"The goalscorer is Raúl González!"
Spain's former golden boy, wearing the white number 7 jersey, ran to the sidelines with his arms outstretched. He hammered the Real Madrid emblem on his chest twice with his right hand and then made a "V" gesture.
Zidane, who had assisted him, ran towards him happily.
In the stands behind the superstars, the white crowd surged.
The loser, George Wood, stood on the field and stared blankly at the celebrating Real Madrid players. He had more reason to feel pain than anyone else because he could have prevented the goal from happening at the cost of himself being taken off the field.
Albertini ran up from behind and rubbed Wood's hair hard without saying anything.
Tang En sat in the manager's seat. When he saw Zidane easily get past Wood, he had already expected this outcome. That was why he did not even get up.
Why did he feel that 1: 0 was not safe? Because he knew how difficult it was to prevent Real Madrid from scoring a goal at the Bernabéu. He had to expand his lead. But before he could do so, the advantage was already gone.
The television broadcast gave him another five-second close-up. Tony Twain's face was still expressionless.
Kerslake, who was beside Tang En, looked very annoyed.
※ ※ ※
After Real Madrid equalized the score, the situation continued to be in their favor. Nottingham Forest had no choice but to retreat and completely give up on attacking. That was how they managed to withstand Real Madrid's fierce attacks in the final moments of the first half.
When the referee blew the whistle to end the first half, the fans at the Bernabéu stadium were full of optimism for the second half. The Nottingham Forest fans looked worriedly at the players coming off the field with their heads down.
What kind of impact would it have on the team's morale after the equalization?
※ ※ ※
Tang En returned to the locker room and looked at the players. Everyone was taking advantage of the time to rest. He closed the door, walked to the tactical lever, and wiped it clean.
"I remember saying before the game that our defense would be a full-court press defense." Tang En redrew Real Madrid's lineup. "But I didn't see it. Did anyone see it?"
The players looked at each other. It was clear that the boss was angry again.
"Most of the time, what I saw was …" Tang En drew eleven circles in Forest's half of the field. "This kind of defense!" He drew a cross on the eleven circles.
"Eleven people hiding in their own half of the field, waiting for the opponent to attack. Are you all a bunch of cowards?!"
"It's just a one-goal lead, and they're retreating in hopes of holding on! Who told you that? Me? "
The group of players shrunk their necks as they were scolded. They looked like turtles that were hiding in their shells.
"What does that mean? Are you all from the youth team? Do you need me to explain? " After venting the dissatisfaction in his heart, Tang En's tone softened a little. "In the second half … press the entire field. Start defending from the frontline. One line, two lines, three lines, four lines! "Tang En started drawing a straight line from the front of the field and lined it up one line at a time to his back.
"I don't want to see everyone turn around and run back when we concede the goal. Intercept the ball in the front field and counterattack on the spot. Send as many people as you can. We don't need a draw. You have to be clear that this is not a game that concerns whether we qualify or not. If we want to qualify, even if we lose to Real Madrid, we can still qualify! This is a competition that concerns our honor! We lost to them on our home ground. Do you want to lose here again?! "
Tang En gritted his teeth and glared fiercely at the players.
※ ※ ※
At the start of the second half, Kerslake asked Tang En, who was sitting beside him, "Tony, weren't you a little … We haven't lost yet, after all."
"The score is not the real reason I'm angry. That's just an excuse." Tang En looked at his assistant manager on the field. "What I'm unhappy about is that the players' performance on the field went against our pre-match arrangements. I allow the players to perform as they wish on the field. But if their free play is wrong, I'll criticize them. It's that simple. "
"Then Wood …"
During the halftime interval, Tang En did not say anything special to Wood. He also did not leave Wood in the locker room to talk to him alone when he was about to enter the field. He did not praise or criticize him. It was as if he had completely ignored his defensive performance against Zidane and the goal concede.
Kerslake felt that this was not Tang En's style. Everyone knew that Tang En favored Wood.
"There's nothing much to say. He's performed very hard, but the difference in ability is there. And some things … can't be made up for with just a little effort on the field. "
Kerslake found it even more strange. "You're not going to comfort him? He's been very quiet, even quieter than before. I think that goal concede was a big blow to him. "
Tang En smiled. "He's not a three-year-old who needs me to comfort him all the time. I think it's pretty good. His career has been a little too smooth. It's a good thing that he often encounters some setbacks."
In fact, the most important reason Tang En did not mention was that he did not know what to do now. Wood had a yellow card on him. For the team's defensive core, it was equivalent to carrying a bomb that could suddenly explode at any moment. It was a hidden danger.
But Tang En was currently hesitant to change him or not.
Changing him was equivalent to removing the barrier in front of the rear defensive line, allowing Real Madrid's offense to quickly reach the most dangerous area.
If he did not change him, once Wood received a second yellow card, then the rear defensive line would still lose an important barrier. Furthermore, Forest would have one less player on the field. That would be a more serious situation.
Simply analyzing it, Tang En should choose to change him. It should be because it could reduce the losses relatively to a minimum. But the matters on the football field could not be analyzed and understood so simply. Firstly, Wood might not necessarily receive a second yellow card. Secondly, changing Wood just at the start of the second half might have a negative impact on Wood. After all, it was equivalent to negating a player's performance on the field in front of everyone.
The above were all uncertain factors. Making judgments based on uncertain factors and putting them into action could also bring about uncertain consequences.
When these messy uncertainties were put together, it made Tang En hesitate.
He did not speak anymore. His expression was solemn as he stared at the field.
※ ※ ※
Tang En's scolding in the locker room during the halftime interval was effective. Forest's performance in the second half had a huge change compared to the first. The players strengthened their tackling in the front field. They also did an outstanding job of counterattacking after conceding the ball. Real Madrid suddenly found it difficult to adapt.
This was the scene that Tang En wanted to see. Real Madrid's players had to put more energy into how to deal with Forest's frenzied tackling, instead of thinking about how to play beautiful coordination and score goals.
Real Madrid had always been afraid of this kind of tackling. They placed too much emphasis on beautiful ball control and offense, but they did not have players who could protect such beautiful space and offense. The only one, Makelele, was abandoned by them. Now, Real Madrid had paid the price of being empty-handed for two consecutive seasons. If there were no accidents, they would continue to be empty-handed this season.
Nottingham Forest's rise was inseparable from their outstanding defensive midfielder, George Wood. When Wood's condition was stable, the rest of the Forest team could rest assured and attack boldly. They did not have to worry about falling into the opponent's tackle because Wood was better at tackling than the opponent. They were not afraid of losing the ball.
The current Real Madrid did not have this ability.
What? You mean Gravesen?
In Tang En's eyes, the Dane was not worth mentioning at all. When he was at Everton, Gravesen could still shine. Coming to Real Madrid was tantamount to regressing. In fact, this phenomenon was very interesting. Many players who performed well in other teams immediately faded into the crowd when they came to Real Madrid.
For example, Gravesen, who had just been mentioned, was a midfield core who could organize attacks when he was at Everton. There was also the Uruguayan defensive midfielder, Pablo Garcia, who had only transferred to Real Madrid this summer. When he was at Osasuna, he was the dirtiest defensive midfielder who received the most yellow cards in La Liga last season and was known as the "Butcher." However, he suddenly lost his direction when he came to Real Madrid. Similarly, there was Baptista, who was the core of Sevilla and one of the most eye-catching players in La Liga. His performance at Real Madrid was like falling from heaven to earth.
As a defensive midfielder, Gravesen was more than a level below Makelele in terms of positioning, anticipation, movement, and defensive skills. Tang En even thought that Gravesen at Real Madrid was not as good as George Wood at Forest.
He seemed to have suddenly changed from an all-around midfielder who could organize attacks and kick accurate passes to a boorish man who could only tackle and commit fouls.
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