Tang En found Kerslake and chatted in a low voice. The other players also quickly relaxed and found friends they were on good terms with to chat. The locker room became lively. Everyone's attention shifted from the captain's armband to other aspects.
Tang En cast a sidelong glance at Wood. He did not find anyone else to chat with, nor did anyone find him. He was only looking at the captain's armband on his left arm, lost in thought.
Kerslake noticed this as well. "Isn't it too early, Tony?"
"It's only a matter of time. There are advantages to doing it early. I don't think George is the kind of person who will be crushed by pressure and responsibility. Otherwise … "Tang En thought of Wood working alone to support his family and worrying about his mother's illness. Living in that kind of environment, surrounded by danger and vigilance, was not peaceful. "He's broken down a long time ago. I hope that wearing the captain's armband will make him more mature, to consider problems more comprehensively, and to nurture his view of the big picture. "
Kerslake nodded. He understood Tang En's painstaking efforts. He did not have to worry about Wood's matter. He was worried about someone else.
"For this match, you let Anelka play as a substitute. Does he have any dissatisfaction?" he asked in a low voice.
Tang En retracted his gaze from Wood and looked at Anelka, who was sitting in another corner of the locker room. "So far … I can't tell. He's the kind of person who is very introverted. Some emotions are not easily expressed. "
"You didn't explain it to him?"
"Explain what? I already said to treat him as a normal player. Isn't it normal to see who starts and who is a substitute? "Tang En still gave Anelka the cold shoulder.
Kerslake smiled.
Tang En also knew what he had done. What he said now was not very convincing. His tone softened slightly. "I'll find a chance to talk to him. But not now."
As the last new player to join the team, Anelka seemed a little out of place in the lively locker room. He sat quietly in the corner, listening to music with his headphones on.
※ ※ ※
Forest Team's starting lineup for this match was no different from the final stages of last season. Tang En did not use the newly joined Anelka up front. Instead, he paired Mark Viduka with Nicklas Bendtner. In the midfield, the main position of the left midfielder was firmly occupied by Franck Ribéry. As for the right midfielder, the Forest team still used Ashley Young, who worked well with the team, and put Aaron Lennon on the bench.
There were two players in the midfield, George Wood and Mikel Arteta.
For the center backs, the starters were two young players — the Brazilian center back, Pepe, and the Spanish youth team international, Piqué.
In fact, for the entire rear defensive line, the Forest team's starting lineup was young. The starting left back was the twenty-year-old Leighton Baines, and the right back was the twenty-six-year-old Chimbonda.
Edwin van der Sar was the oldest player in the team. And his experience was particularly important in the young Forest team.
Tang En let George Wood defend Riquelme tightly. Riquelme's movements were slower, and he liked to let the football stay longer at his feet. This was Wood's chance. No matter what method he used, whether it was a foul or not, he could not let Riquelme have the ball comfortably. He could not give him too much space and time.
Blocking Riquelme was tantamount to crippling Villarreal CF's offense.
In terms of offense, the Forest team's main offensive direction would be on the two flanks due to the two center forwards they had lined up. Sorin was more active in the match, and he liked to sprint back and forth on the flanks the most. He used his aggressive running to deliver cannonballs to the team's offense. Tang En did not intend to arrange for specialized personnel to deal with this Argentinian madman when he plugged in from the back. Sorin liked to plug in to assist, so Tang En used his offense to suppress him. The two flanks attacked wildly, pushing Sorin back so that he could only defend and not dare to attack.
This was the Forest team's home ground. Tang En hoped that the team would be able to get out of the group stage in this match. He wanted to learn the lesson from last season's match against Sporting Lisbon. For the two-legged match at home and then away, he absolutely could not leave the fateful moment to the away game.
※ ※ ※
The City Ground stadium was a boiling cauldron of voices. The match had just begun.
George Wood made his stance clear from the start of the match: I'm going all out with you, Riquelme!
The game was the away team, Villarreal CF. Riquelme was the core of Villarreal CF's midfield, and the ball was quickly passed to him for him to launch an attack. As for George Wood, he was like a wolf searching for its prey, quickly pouncing on him.
After half a season's worth of training, the current George Wood was no longer the kid who could be easily played around by Riquelme.
Foul.
George Wood had knocked Riquelme down.
Riquelme lay on the ground, looking up at Wood. He still recognized this kid. Last season, he had played him to the point of not knowing what to do, which directly led to the Forest team's loss in that match. He himself had been elected as the best player of the match.
Why was it that after half a season, when they met again, his arm was actually … actually wearing the captain's armband?!
Could he be the Forest team's captain?
"George Wood wearing the Nottingham Forest captain's armband is a bit of a surprise to us. With Albertini injured, the best candidate for the captain position should be Edwin van der Sar. To be honest, I don't think Wood will be the captain at all. Maybe he's an outstanding defensive midfielder, a defensive genius. But being the captain has nothing to do with these talents. I don't understand why Tony Twain would make such a decision … Look at his jerky performance when he was guessing the coin toss just now. It's really worrying! "
The commentator did not praise Wood's defense this time. Instead, he raised doubts about Wood's position as the captain. The Forest fans felt that the commentator was too noisy, saying nonsense that had nothing to do with the match. What's wrong with Wood being the captain? He was groomed by our youth team. He's one of us. Twain chose him as the captain, and our fans are very supportive!
Many Forest fans began to miss John Motson, who commentated for them when they were still in the First Division. Ever since the Forest team was promoted to the Premier League, Motson's voice basically did not appear in the ears of the Forest fans. Who asked the British BBC to not win the broadcasting rights for the Premier League …
Although Martin Taylor and Andy Gray were also very popular commentators, they were still very good for the Forest team. John Motson, on the other hand, made it clear that he liked the Forest team — this was very popular with the Forest fans.
After putting Riquelme down, Wood turned and ran back.
Sorin came up to pull his fellow Argentinian up. "Are you okay?"
Riquelme shook his head.
"Be careful, that kid … I heard some things about him. Last season, he seriously injured the Brazilian from Sporting Lisbon with one kick."
Riquelme looked at Sorin, and Sorin nodded. "I'm not joking. The Brazilian is still lying in the hospital now, 18 months. "
(To be continued. If you want to know what happened next, please log on to WWW. CMFU. com. More chapters. Support the author. Support original reading!)
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