As the players from both sides stood in the players' tunnel at Old Trafford waiting to enter the stadium, loud singing poured in from the stands outside, giving the Forest boys a sense of the momentum of English football's Theatre of Dreams.
The young players of the Forest team were a little excited about the game, not because it was their wish to play in the Theatre of Dreams, but because they were influenced by their manager and were eager to play against strong opponents.
Young people had the idea that our opponent is very strong, so if we beat him, it means we are stronger than them!
Although Manchester United's ranking was two places lower than the Forest team, their reputation far exceeded Nottingham Forest's, and they pulled the Forest team far away in the overall honor list. People would easily believe the fact that Manchester United was a strong team, but they could not accept that Nottingham Forest was a strong team. It could not be helped. This was the habitual thinking. Now that Nottingham Forest was ranked fifth, they would be called a dark horse — which was already a very polite way of putting it — and so far some people thought that the Forest team could stay in this ranking because they were lucky. The people who said this obviously ignored how Tang En's team forced a draw with Arsenal, how they defeated Chelsea and Newcastle, and how they were unbeaten in ten consecutive games after the first round of the league tournament. They only saw the Forest team's consecutive winless streak (which was actually consecutive draws), saw the Forest team lose to Blackburn Rovers, lost to Liverpool …
As the captain of the Manchester United team, Keane wore the captain's armband and stood at the front of the team.
More than one person had told Wood that Roy Keane, who was now playing for Manchester United, was his future, his goal. It was not until today's game that Wood had a chance to observe his "future" up close:
The Irishman occasionally looked back at the team behind him, and Wood could see the serious expression on his face. His eyes swept over the people behind him one by one, and then fell on George Wood, who had been staring at him.
Wood also found that the other person was looking at him, but he did not pretend to look away as if nothing had happened. Keane looked at Wood, then turned his head away again. No one had told him that the impolite kid in front of him would become like him in the future. He was also not interested in George Wood. Maybe he was just a curious newcomer who could not help but feel his mind go blank when he saw a star player.
George Wood stared at Roy Keane's back for a moment and then looked away. He stood behind the goalkeeper Darren Ward and was very close to the Manchester United captain. He suddenly remembered that Keane was his opponent in this duel. Was he looking at Keane in a friendly manner?
That would not do. That was not George Wood's style. He shifted his gaze back and saw Albertini, who was standing at the front of the team, turning his head and smiling at him.
"George." Albertini turned around and bypassed the goalkeeper, Ward, and walked in front of Wood. "I'm thinking that if there's a chance during the match, you can insert yourself at the front. Although the boss has assigned you a very heavy defensive task, there is no point in dragging you behind when we attack. An outstanding defensive midfielder doesn't just need to be good at defending. Do you understand what I mean? "
Wood shook his head. "He said that I just need to focus on defending …"
Albertini smiled. "If you want to achieve more than Roy Keane in the future, you can't just focus on defense. Your defense is already very good. You're the best defensive player I've ever seen! "These words were somewhat exaggerated, but the effect of encouragement was very good.
"What should I do, Demetrio?"
"Put more effort into the offense. Nowadays, defensive midfielders can't just defend. Sometimes you need to rush to the front of the opponent's penalty area for a powerful long shot! "Albertini clenched his fist and pounded it.
"But my shot is very bad …"
"If you never try, how do you know if your shot is really bad? When was the last time you took the initiative to try to shoot in a game? "
Wood thought for a moment, then shook his head and said, "I don't remember …"
Albertini spread his hands and said with a smile, "Look. Let's start with this game. I'll create opportunities for you. When we attack, you can see the situation and decide for yourself whether to come up or not. Don't always do what the boss says. Use your brain a little. "He pointed to his head. "It's not enough to rely on your body to play football well. You also need to use your brain."
Wood nodded and said, "I got it, Demetrio."
Albertini patted him on the shoulder and turned to walk back.
The referee was talking to Keane about something. When he saw Albertini coming, he called him over. At this point, Keane turned his head and shouted to the Manchester United players behind him, "Get ready, guys! It's our turn to play! "
Although Albertini was facing the referee, he also raised his right arm at the same time. The Forest players behind him quieted down when they saw the captain's action and stopped talking and laughing with each other. The expressions on everyone's faces became serious.
The game was about to start.
※ ※ ※
Old Trafford was England's largest football stadium. Although Wembley could accommodate more people, it had a running track and was not a professional football stadium.
The football stadium, which had a history of 96 years, could accommodate more than 67,000 people after several expansions and renovations. The red Old Trafford was once called the "Theatre of Dreams" by Manchester United's famous star player, Bobby Charlton. The metaphor was very appropriate. Old Trafford deserved the title, both in terms of size and past glory.
Now, on November 28, 2004, the Nottingham Forest team's performance in the "Theatre of Dreams" kicked off.
Albertini appeared unruffled in the face of Roy Keane's defense. Compared with the other children on the Forest team, he was a veteran with a wealth of experience. The only one here who could be compared to the Manchester United star players was him, Demetrio Albertini. The old Spanish center back, Hierro, was not on the squad list to travel with the team.
Keane clearly knew what kind of character he was facing. He was not in a hurry to pounce on him. Instead, he blocked his position.
Albertini raised his head and looked at the situation around him. Ribéry was being marked by Gary Neville on the left, and Ashley Young on the right had no one by his side. However, Ronaldo was cruising not far away. It seemed to be a trap deliberately set up?
What about in front …
Not to mention, Eastwood and Viduka were being closely marked. Even if they passed through, they would not be able to turn around and would only be surrounded by the other side.
Keane's positioning was good, much better than Wood's. It made it impossible for Albertini to rush to break through and pass the ball. In the end, he could only choose to pass the ball back to George Wood.
Although Wood was still far from Roy Keane's strength, he was no longer the rookie who was at a loss after getting the ball.
Looking at Albertini's situation, he turned and passed the ball to the right back, Chimbonda, behind.
Cristiano Ronaldo was not active in pressing for the full back's possession of the ball. He stepped forward to make a tackle, and Chimbonda easily bypassed him. Ashley Young saw the Frenchman coming up and hurriedly moved to the middle to make way for him.
Compared with Gary Neville on the right, Manchester United's left back had always been a problem. Ferguson had let a lot of people play in this position and was not satisfied. This summer, he bought the Argentine Gabriel Ivan Heinze from Paris Saint-Germain for seven million. Judging from his performance in the past few months, he had completely secured the position of Manchester United's main left back.
Chimbonda's attempt to break through against Heinze was intercepted, but the Argentine did not have complete control of the ball either. The ball he poked away was intercepted by the astute Ashley Young in front of Cristiano Ronaldo.
Then, taking advantage of Heinze's loss of position, Ashley Young dribbled the ball to rush over from the flank.
"Nottingham Forest's attack, they have good momentum!"
Because Heinze was bypassed, Manchester United's center back had to fill in a player. Wes Brown took on the responsibility, but as a result, Manchester United's penalty area was empty. Roy Keane could only fill the space left by Brown. Defense was a systematic project. As long as there was a problem in one place, it would cause a chain reaction.
Viduka, Eastwood, and Ribéry all plugged into Manchester United's penalty area. Albertini ran halfway but stopped outside the penalty area. At the same time, Ashley Young passed the ball. He did not send the ball into the penalty area, but passed it to Albertini, who stopped outside the penalty area!
Roy Keane paid attention to Albertini's movements as he retreated to fill in the position. He knew the Italian's ability. Age was not a factor that affected Albertini. They were both thirty-two years old, and they were not old yet!
"Damn it!" With a curse, Keane turned around and rushed out, pouncing on Albertini.
Albertini set up his stance. This was a posture for a direct volley shot! His long shots with falling leaves were famous all over the world. Only a fool would let him shoot without interference!
Keane flew out, hoping to block Albertini's shot with his body.
"The Italian is going to shoot!"
Ferguson got up from his seat and clenched his fists, ready to curse.
But his prepared foul language was blocked as soon as it rose to his throat — Albertini did not shoot. He just made a swinging gesture and then watched the football slide past in front of him!
When the football flew past and landed at the feet of another Forest player, everyone was stunned. Not only the Manchester United players, but the Forest players also did not expect that the person who appeared at the point where the ball landed and received the ball turned out to be George Wood!
(To be continued, if you want to know what happened next, please log on to WWW. CMFU. COM. More chapters. Support the author. Support genuine reading!)
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