The penalty in the 31st minute of the first half dealt a heavy blow to the Forest team. For the rest of the time, the Nottingham Forest players appeared a little listless. In an away game, they were leading by two goals in 30 minutes, and the opponent was Manchester United. How were they going to play this game?
Some people thought of the league game they lost to Liverpool. They were also beaten 0: 2 in the first half, and the team completely collapsed.
Today was the same. Only George Wood was still running. Unfortunately, he was too insignificant in front of Manchester United's powerful midfield.
When the whistle sounded to end the first half, the stands at Old Trafford rang with the cheers of the Red Devils fans. It was as if they could already see a victory within reach.
Tang En was not in a hurry to return to the locker room. Instead, he stood on the sidelines and watched his men enter the tunnel. All the Forest players lowered their heads when they passed by the manager. They themselves felt that they had played poorly in today's 45 minutes of the game.
Opposite them, Ferguson was also not in a hurry to return to the locker room. Instead, he stood on the sidelines with a smile. When a Manchester United player passed by him, he would pat him on the shoulder.
Of the two managers, one expressionless and the other beaming, the contrast was as strong as the score on the electronic scoreboard.
When only the substitutes from both sides were left on the field, Tang En and Ferguson walked into the players' tunnel one after the other.
Pushing the door open, Tang En almost thought he had entered an empty room by mistake. There was no sound, as if there was no one there.
Looking at the dejected players, the speech script that Tang En had originally prepared disappeared without a trace. At this time, it was necessary to change tactics.
He coughed to remind everyone in the room of his presence. This attracted a lot of people's attention.
Having achieved his goal, Tang En raised his wrist to look at his watch. He pretended to be surprised and said, "Is there a problem with my watch? The game is already over? David, can you correct your watch? "
Kerslake knew what Tang En was going to do. He shook his head. "No need to correct it, Tony. It's only the end of the first half. "
"The end of the first half? Are you sure? "Tang En asked with widened eyes.
"I'm sure." Kerslake nodded.
"Well …" Hearing the answer, Tang En looked at the players. "It seems that my watch is normal, and there's nothing wrong with my memory. If that's the case … "
He drew out his voice and paused. "Since we have forty-five minutes, what are you doing, gentlemen? They all wore sad faces. I thought I had entered the wrong room and remembered the wrong time. Was the competition over? No! Then why are you like this? Or … "He waved his hand and pointed at the door of the locker room, raising his voice." Do you think that we won't have any chance to improve in the second half, and that this match will end here?! Answer me! "
One of the players replied sporadically, "No … Boss …"
"In my team, I will never allow cowards to give up hope and think that they will lose before the game is over! If there's anyone who doesn't have confidence in themselves and their companions, you can raise your hand now. There's not much time left until the winter transfer window! "
No one raised their hand.
"What? No one raised their hands? So when you were silent just now, were you all sleeping? Well, let's put this issue aside for the time being … "Twain waved his hand and really put it aside. "I don't want to waste the fifteen minutes after the halftime break on this nonsense. That's right, we're not in a good situation right now. We're still two goals behind in an away game. It looks like it'll be very difficult to come back from the dead. But these are not reasons for us to give up on this match. In fact, we have no reason to give up hope of winning. "
Hearing the manager's tone soften, the players, who had been scolded by Twain to the point of burying their heads and not daring to breathe, raised their heads one by one.
"Franck." Twain turned to the corner of the locker room and looked at Ribéry. "You're a side midfielder or even a winger. Remember, you're only assisting Baines in defense. I won't criticize you for giving the opponent a chance to dive to get a penalty kick, but you have to know that you're an offensive player. Defense is not your first task. Look, you've been tangled with Ronaldo near our penalty area several times. What if we successfully intercept the ball and need to counterattack? "
Twain's tone was not harsh, and his words were reasonable. Ribéry listened and nodded frequently. His head was hot on the field, and he was only thinking about how to win the one-on-one with Ronaldo, completely forgetting the needs of the team's overall tactics. Now that he thought about it, what he did was indeed thoughtless.
"We all know that in addition to creating opportunities for our own goals, the flank offense also has an important role, which is to suppress the opponent's flank offense. So, Franck, you retreated too much, which was equivalent to letting the opponent suppress our offense on the left flank … "
When Twain said that, Ribéry completely understood. He was completely led by Ronaldo.
"I got it, boss. I won't let them be so comfortable in the second half! "He said, clenching his fists.
Twain nodded and turned to Wood. "Then … George. Remember your task before the game? "
Wood nodded.
"But you've given too little support to the flank defense. If you're more proactive, Ribéry won't be under so much pressure. "
Wood opened his mouth to defend himself, but he immediately gave up on the idea and said nothing. Instead, it was Albertini who spoke up for him. "Boss, I'm not … In fact, Keane is giving George too much pressure …"
Twain nodded to show that he knew, but he continued Albertini's words. "Anyone who plays with Keane will be under a lot of pressure. Do you think the Arsenal captain, Vieira, is not under a lot of pressure? It's the same. Roy Keane … is such a person. So, George, it's still the same. If you can't complete the task I've given you, I'll replace him. "
To Ribéry, Twain spoke in a pleasant manner, but to his favorite, George Wood, he was harsh to the point of being unreasonable. If it were any other player, faced with such an unreasonable arrangement, they would probably have muttered to themselves.
But Wood was not. There was not even a change of expression on Wood's face. He nodded and said, "Okay." His tone was so flat that it made people feel that he must not have heard Twain's words and just responded casually.
Twain did not repeat words like "Do you understand?" and so on. He turned around and said to the entire team, "Guys, you should know that football is a collective sport.
"Guys, you should know that football is a team sport. Whether it's offense or defense, it can't be decided by one or two people. So … you also need to help Wood. "He smiled." Don't let Wood be Superman alone. I need 11 Supermen! "
"That's too simple, Boss!" Eastwood raised his hand and stood up.
"Do you have any good suggestions, Freddy?" Twain looked at him.
Freddy nodded and said in all seriousness, "Just wear your underwear outside!"
Even Viduka, who was usually more serious, could not help but laugh after hearing his forward partner say so. His laughter was like a signal flare in the silent room. Everyone, including the players and coaches, laughed out loud. The suffocating atmosphere in the locker room was swept away with everyone's laughter.
※ ※ ※
When the managers of both teams reappeared on the sidelines, waiting for the whistle to kick off for the second half, Twain glanced at Ferguson. The old Scottish man had a faint smile on his face, his face glowing.
Seeing this face that always had a faint smile on it, Twain felt uncomfortable and quickly turned his face away.
There's still 45 minutes. Don't laugh too early, Sir Ferguson.
※ ※ ※
After the second half of the game began, it seemed to be a repeat of the first half. Manchester United used their home advantage to launch a tidal wave of attacks on Forest's goal. Wave after wave, they beat Forest into a sorry state.
Ribéry remembered Twain's words during the halftime break. But when he realized that the football could not reach his feet at all, he hesitated and ran back. Counterattack? That's if we don't concede the goal first.
Seeing that the team's situation had not improved, Twain stood up from the manager's seat and walked to the sidelines. He waved at the field and yelled, "George!!"
Wood heard Twain call him, but he did not turn around. He knew what Twain was calling him for.
Keane pressed up more frequently in the second half, which seemed to be Ferguson's instructions. Scholes and Roy Keane, plus Rooney and van Nistelrooy who took turns to retreat, made the defense in the middle too tense.
Wood had never experienced such a feeling in a game. When facing a person like Roy Keane, he would be highly nervous and could not take a breath. Any carelessness could lead to fatal results. He was not in the mood to think about other problems. He only had Manchester United's number 16 in his eyes.
Tang En understood Twain's current situation very well because he still remembered that when Keane later announced his retirement, his number one nemesis in the English Premier League, or rather, his opponent, Patrick Vieira, had paid tribute to the Manchester United captain, saying that Keane was the greatest midfielder he had ever played against. When playing against Keane, he had to raise his spirits and stimulate 100% of his energy. He liked the excitement of fully immersing himself in playing against a master.
Twain did not know if Wood would like the feeling, but he was certain that playing a life-and-death official game with Keane in his best form would give George far more growth than immersing himself in three months of hard work on the training ground.
There was a sentence that had been buried in Twain's heart. He did not say it to anyone: Even if the game was lost, as long as the process was in line with Twain's expectations, then he would not have any complaints. He could still bear the pressure of consecutive defeats.
What he showed was to inspire the players' fighting spirit. He was not a sore loser as people thought.
Failure was the only way to victory. Of course, it had to be a worthwhile failure.
※ ※ ※
"Roy Keane gets the ball, but he can't shoot. He's always followed by George Wood, and Wood is inseparable from him. This should be Manager Tony Twain's tactical arrangement. "
When Keane saw George Wood closing in, he immediately passed the ball to Ronaldo on the sideline. Wood saw it and pounced on Ronaldo again. The Portuguese saw him coming and passed the ball back to Keane. The center back, Piqué, went up to fill the position but was passed behind him. Fortunately, the Forest team's right back, Leighton Baines, received the ball in time into the penalty area and interfered with Rooney to send the ball flying.
Seeing the scene, Twain shook his head off the field. This would not do. No matter how fast a man was, he could not outrun the ball.
Wood stood beside Keane and watched as the goalkeeper, Darren Ward, gave Baines a thumbs up, thanking him for withdrawing in time to remove a threat. A thought suddenly flashed through his mind.
Why couldn't it be like this?
So, he walked in front of Albertini and briefly explained his thoughts. Albertini quickly understood Wood's thoughts. He thought for a moment and nodded. "Although this method is not arranged by the boss, I think we can give it a try."
Then he turned to tell everyone about Wood's idea. Not everyone agreed. Some people were hesitant because George Wood had never played as a full back in training, and the Spaniard, Piqué, had never played as a defensive midfielder.
Taking advantage of the dead ball, Albertini said to a few of his teammates who needed to participate in the plan, "I don't think there's anything to hesitate about. Look at the score. We're already two goals behind. If we can't contain Manchester United's attack, we have no chance to fight back. George's idea is very good. Piqué, have you played as a defensive midfielder before? "
The Spanish kid shook his head. "No, Demetrio."
"Then why not take this opportunity to try?"
"But this is an important game …"
"Don't worry about that. This is not a cup final. Well, I say it's settled. Piqué, you usually play as a center back. If you see Keane coming up to get the ball, you head him out and force him. Then Baines, you go back into the penalty area and play as a center back. Leave the side corridor to George. Is there no problem? No. Just do it! " At the crucial moment, Albertini showed the ability and decisiveness that a captain should have. He quickly and efficiently assigned the new tasks. Of course, this also had something to do with his English level. He always avoided long grammatically complex sentences and used phrases to express his meaning, so it was easy for everyone to understand.
No one had any objections to him doing so, because everyone knew how highly Manager Tony Twain valued the Italian captain. The relationship between the two sometimes did not look like that of a simple coach and player …
Twain saw his players gather together on the sidelines and then quickly separate. He did not know what happened. Then when Manchester United attacked again, he was surprised to find that Piqué had gone to Wood's position!
"Defensive midfielder!" He could not help but cry out. Next to him, Kerslake asked, "Is there a problem, Tony?"
Twain hurriedly shook his head. "No, no, no problem. This is good …"
He still remembered that Piqué was loaned to La Liga's Zaragoza because he could not play in the Manchester United First Team. Under the circumstances that Ferguson felt delayed, Piqué faced the same predicament of not being able to play in the game at first. But the contract between Manchester United and Zaragoza stipulated the number of appearances for Piqué — he had to play twenty times a season. So, Zaragoza arranged for Piqué to play in the last few minutes of the game. At the same time, they also used him as a utility player, letting him play in whichever position was lacking. For example, the defensive midfielder.
Originally, Piqué could only play as a right back and center back. As a result, Zaragoza was forced by the environment, and the third position of the defensive midfielder was also developed.
It turned out that Piqué also did a good job in the defensive midfielder position, even though his favorite was still the center back …
He did not expect Piqué's third position to appear in the Premier League two years in advance!
Playing as a defensive midfielder for the first time, Piqué was completely forced to do so. He was at a loss in the face of Keane and was easily shaken off. Fortunately, Albertini filled in in time and resolved the crisis.
Piqué gestured apologetically to the captain, but Albertini smiled and said to him, "The first time is inevitable. In fact, there's no difference. You just need to pay attention to your movements. The defense outside the penalty area is not the same as inside the penalty area. Don't easily make a move and stick close to him! "
Piqué nodded to show that he understood.
On the other side, the Portuguese genius, Cristiano Ronaldo, was a little surprised to find that his opponent had changed. Leighton Baines went to the penalty area and looked like he was playing as a center back. And that scarred face …
Ribéry wanted to come back to assist in the defense. Note, it was "assist." Although the frequent running up and down made him feel tired, he could still continue to persevere if he gritted his teeth.
Wood looked up and saw Ribéry running towards him. "What are you doing?"
"The boss said to help in the defense …" The Frenchman secretly pointed to Manchester United's number 7.
"No need." Wood stiffly refused Ribéry's kindness. "If you come back, who will attack? Go up. "He pointed to Manchester United's backfield.
Ribéry wanted to refute, but his mouth opened and closed again. Then he turned and ran back.
Cristiano Ronaldo, who was next to Wood, clearly heard the conversation between him and Ribery. The kid did not even look at him when he spoke. The Portuguese suddenly felt resentment in his heart. Looking down on me? Do you think you can defend against me alone? Well, come and try!
When Keane took the ball again to face Piqué and was ready to break through, he suddenly saw Ronaldo waving at him on the sidelines, asking him to pass the ball over.
With such an obvious intention to pass, even an idiot would know to defend in advance!
Keane ignored it and chose to pass it to Scholes. Scholes then passed it to Giggs on the left side. Giggs' pass created a chance for van Nistelrooy to head the ball into the goal, but he headed it wide.
This seemed to give Ronaldo a chance to express his dissatisfaction. He waved his hand and was a little unhappy that Keane did not pass the ball to him. Keane glanced at him, then turned and ran back.
Tang En snickered as he watched from below. Ronaldo, who had just joined Manchester United, was a little arrogant and very unsociable because of his good dribbling skills, good looks, and the manager's high regard. He also had an extremely bad relationship in the Manchester United locker room. At that time, there was a lot of negative news about him. He was even driven back to his hometown in Portugal by Ferguson for a period of time because of a fight with his teammates. At one point, there was news that he was going to transfer away from Manchester United.
This kid was still far from mature …
(To be continued, if you want to know what happened next, please log on to WWW. CMFU. COM. More chapters. Support the author. Support the original reading!)
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