The stands of the City Ground Stadium were already full. The two teams were warming up in the middle of the field, and the fans burst into cheers. Tony Twain sat alone in the locker room, looking at the blank tactical board and muttering to himself.
"Guys, what kind of game is this? I know the record from 25 years ago is too far away for us. Many of you weren't even born then. But that is the glory of Nottingham Forest. Now someone is coming to take away the glory that belongs to us. Are you willing? "
Twain paused, thought about it, and shook his head. "No, it's too pretentious."
He coughed, frowned, and waved his hand. "Arsenal is a strong team. They haven't lost in 42 games! Are you afraid? Are your legs weak? "
"No, it's too much of a bluff." Twain rejected it again.
"Uh-huh! We … this season, we haven't had a good start. We've only achieved one loss and one draw in two rounds of the league tournament, and now we're facing an opponent like Arsenal … "
This time, Twain rejected it as soon as it started.
He felt a hint of nervousness. Everything he felt at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff half a year ago came back.
But today's situation was different from that day. This was just an ordinary league game.
Why should I care about this record that has nothing to do with me? Even if Arsenal took three or one point and set a new record, what could I lose? We're not direct competitors with Arsenal on the way to the championship. Even if we lose a game, it's reasonable. After all, the difference in strength between us and Arsenal is too great.
If I were smart enough, I'd tell the players to relax and not think about messy things that have nothing to do with the game. No matter what the final result is, we just need to learn something from the process of playing against Arsenal. That's enough.
But …
"Mr. Tony Twain, what do you think of Manager Wenger's unbeaten record of 42 consecutive games in England's top league, which forced Forest to a draw?"
"Mr. Twain, as the record-maker, do you have anything to say about meeting Arsenal in this crucial game?"
"Arsenal is very strong. As their opponent, what plans does Forest have for this game?"
"Henry has been in excellent form recently. May I ask Manager Tang En if the Forest Team has any special arrangements specifically for him?"
"As Arsenal, which has already equalled the record set by Forest, do you think that Arsenal is already a great team?"
"What do you think of Manager Wenger? Are you going to learn from him? "
…
When he thought of these problems, he couldn't make himself "smart." Twain was not a person who did not know what was good for him, but this did not mean that he could endure such humiliation and contempt and remain silent, like a castrated person.
He hated being looked down upon, hated being ignored, and hated being stepped on to elevate others. He was only thirty-five years old, but his actual age was even younger!
He was still a young man, and young people were impulsive. He didn't care about the consequences and just wanted to vent his anger.
There was nothing wrong with that. This was a football match, not a political show. If you were unhappy, you would fight back. If you were looked down upon, you would slap them and pinch their cheeks to make them look at you. If we want to win, why do we have to give up? Just because … our opponents are stronger than us?
Bullsh * t!
I've never been afraid of anyone. It doesn't matter if it's Wenger or Ferguson sitting in the manager's seat next door. My team shouldn't be afraid of any team, whether it's Arsenal or Manchester United standing opposite them!
The crisp sound of shoe studs hitting the ground rang out in the tunnel outside the door. Twain knew that his players had returned from their warm-up. So, he unclenched his fists and waited for the players to push open the door to let them see a manager full of confidence and fighting spirit.
※ ※ ※
At the same time, in another locker room.
Like Tony Twain, when the team went out to warm up, Wenger did not follow them out to check on the players' latest state. Instead, he stayed in the visiting team's locker room alone, thinking of ways to slow down his heartbeat.
He was nervous … or perhaps, he was excited. At such a juncture, 90 minutes from now, he might be making a new record. He was as nervous and excited as a rookie.
When he led the team to win the championship last season without losing to them for 38 matches, he had also been nervous and excited, but it was not as intense as it was this time.
In the home ground of the old record holder, against the record keeper, Arsenal would be written in the history books as the new record maker as long as they did not lose to them. And he, Arsène Wenger, a Frenchman, would be the chief director of this record, leaving a strong mark in his managerial career. Compared to this result, the Premier League title seemed insignificant.
The Frenchman, Wenger, paced back and forth in the locker room, which was not spacious and had old facilities.
He already had a well-thought-out tactical strategy for this game, and he believed that his players were the same. There would not be any problems in executing it in the game. The team was in good form and had defeated countless strong opponents. Now, there was no opponent that could stop the iron hooves of this army.
The only regret was that this game was not held at Highbury.
What threat could the Forest team bring to him? Wenger remembered that he had followed the youth team to Nottingham to participate in an ordinary FA Youth Cup match. He had met Tony Twain in that match and had left an impression on him. After all, not every manager he played against could occupy a place in the heart of this somewhat arrogant Frenchman.
He did not expect the words he said to him after the game to become a reality so quickly.
What should he be wary of? Tony Twain was a person he could not see through. What kind of trouble would he create for Arsenal during the course of the game?
He did not know.
But there was one thing Wenger was certain of: as long as the team played according to their own pace, victory would not be too far away from them. They had played like this for the past 42 games, and it would continue from the 43rd round onwards. There would not be any difference just because they met Nottingham Forest.
Footsteps could be heard outside the door. Wenger stopped and sat in his seat, waiting quietly.
※ ※ ※
"Does anyone know what special significance this game has?" Twain raised his hand and asked.
"That record? Forty-two consecutive unbeaten games? "The players answered one after another. Some of them sounded certain, while others were uncertain. Twain was right. What did the record from 25 years ago have to do with the current Forest team? What did it have to do with the players who joined the team this summer for various reasons?
If he were to waste his precious time here to endlessly tell the players how glorious the Forest team was in the past, most of them would probably yawn. Because those things had nothing to do with them. They were not interested. It also did not have the effect of boosting their fighting spirit at all.
"Wrong. Today's game has no special significance." Twain waved his hand. "It's just an ordinary Premier League game. What does the record from more than 20 years ago have to do with us now? "
Someone shook their head, agreeing with Twain's statement.
"There are only four days between the second and third round. Our time is tight, and we still have to be pestered by those damned media, asking us what we think of Arsenal. What a joke. What does it have to do with us whether Arsenal can break that record or not? I hope you can win today's game, but it's not because of some boring reason like stopping them from breaking the record. It's because this is an English Premier League game where we get three points if we win and none if we lose. Arsenal is our opponent. Which team does not want to win? Our start was not too good, with one loss and one draw. We do not have the right to generously give our opponent three points on our home ground. When I say I want to win against Arsenal, do you think I'm talking big? Are you daydreaming? "
Twain looked around at the players in the locker room and carefully observed their expressions, hoping to find out what these people were thinking at that moment.
Albertini shook his head. He still did not speak much English and only knew a few simple words. "No, coach."
Hierro's English was slightly better than Albertini's. Perhaps it was because there were English players in Real Madrid's team. When McMaraman first arrived at Real Madrid, the person responsible for introducing him to the team's traditions, introducing his teammates, and arranging his life was Hierro.
"Even teams like Real Madrid and Barcelona are not invincible forever. If Arsenal loses this game in the end, I won't be surprised at all. " Even though there were still many problems with his grammar and pronunciation, it did not prevent everyone from understanding what he meant.
"Anything can happen in a football game." Viduka did not say much, but he hit the nail on the head.
Twain's gaze rested on Wood's face, hoping he could express his opinion in front of everyone. Wood looked at Twain, then opened his mouth to say, "If you say we have to win this game, we'll win it."
His words amused everyone in the locker room. How could it be so easy?
Twain also smiled and nodded. "Very good, George. I'll tell you before every game in the future that I need this victory. "
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