"I know what you're thinking." Keane smirked. "Those who have that aren't necessarily 'men.' There are countless sissies and cowards in the world who are not 'men.' What is a real 'man'? A man who always has the highest requirements for himself. A man who is brave, strong, optimistic, cheerful, confident, and knows a little modesty. They can infect the people around them. They can be role models. They can make countless boys who haven't grown hair aspire to be like them. In my opinion, Pierce is such a man. He's perfect. I can't find any fault with him. A proud man like me will willingly serve him, listen to him, and want to strive to be like him. "
Keane's words echoed in the bathroom.
"So the captain must first be a man. If not, he has to work hard to be a man and be a role model for everyone. It's not enough to just help them solve their problems. Anyone can fight with an opponent on the field. "Keane clenched his fists." But it's not that a man with a hard fist can be the captain. Do you think I became the Manchester United captain by daring to fight with others? A role model and a backer are not the same. The latter will only make your men rely on you. A coward is still a coward. There is no change at all. And the former can make them want to be like you. You will want those cowards, those sissies to want to work hard to be a man. It's useless to be a man alone. A flock of sheep led by a tiger can't beat a flock of tigers led by a tiger in any case. Do you understand what I mean? "
Wood nodded.
"You're lucky, boy. Luckier than I was at that time. Because now you don't need to transfer to a big club to get glory and money. You have a great manager and a group of good teammates. Albertini, that Italian, is a very good captain, but he will get old one day and retire. He will leave you and the team. At that time, you will be needed to be the captain and lead your players. At that time, dozens of pairs of eyes will be watching you … No, thousands of eyes will be watching you, because you are the captain of Nottingham Forest. You represent this team. You shoulder the expectations and responsibilities of all of them. You have to be their role model. You have a way to lead them to victory. Pressure? A person who couldn't withstand this kind of pressure wasn't a man, and wasn't fit to be a captain. For cowards, the captain's armband is the last straw that breaks the camel's back, but for real men, it's just something they should do. "
Perhaps because of the unique environment of the bathroom, Keane's every word was amplified several times, not only ringing in Wood's ears, but also striking at his heart.
"You don't have a goal when you play football? You feel lost? Are you worried that you won't be a good captain? Are you tired of what you have to face as a team leader? Do you think you can be a good captain just by training hard and kicking people in the game? Kid … "Keane snorted." You're not a man yet. That thing between your legs is just a decoration. "
With the sound of splashing water, Keane stood up from the pool. It was as if he was telling Wood that the thing between his legs was not an ornament.
"Don't think about the captain or the purpose of playing football. Let's work hard to become a man first." He stepped out of the pool and walked past Wood to the door.
"Oh, right. I heard you have a bad temper. Have you ever thought about changing your bad impulsive temper? "
Wood froze for a moment, then shook his head.
Keane smiled. "That's good. Don't change. You wouldn't be you if you changed. But if you always get booked because of your impulsive temper, your manager will have a headache. I'll give you a piece of advice. Do you want to listen? "
Wood nodded.
"I used to be a hot-tempered, impulsive and irritable person — I still am. But I used to reflect on my mistakes after I hit someone, and now I'll think about it before I hit. "
Keane got dressed and left the locker room. George Wood was still standing under the shower head, letting the water pour over his head.
※ ※ ※
Michael Kennedy was still waiting for Keane in the parking lot.
"Can we go to Glasgow now?"
"Of course, I'm fine here."
※ ※ ※
The next day, various media outlets published such a piece of news:
Former Manchester United captain and Irish midfielder Roy Keane signed an 18-month contract with the Scottish Premier League powerhouse Celtic. For the 34-year-old Keane, this would be the last player contract of his career. In order to be able to end his career at his favorite club as a child, Keane even lowered his salary requirements from 90,000 pounds a week at Manchester United to 45,000 pounds.
At the same time, Keane turned down offers from Nottingham Forest, Everton, Bolton Wanderers and other Premier League teams, as well as Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Juventus.
On the same day, Roy Keane's public thank-you letter appeared in the English media. The letter gave a cryptic explanation for his departure from Manchester United — his conflict with assistant manager Queiroz. Of course, it was mainly thanks. Keane thanked Nottingham Forest's old scout Manuel McCabe, who discovered him at the beginning of his career, Brian Clough, the former Nottingham Forest manager, Stuart Pearce, the first outstanding captain he met in his career, Manchester United teammates who had fought with him but were now retired, teammates who were still at Manchester United, teammates who had left Manchester United but were still playing, Sheringham and Solskjaer, who helped Manchester United win the 1999 Champions League, David Beckham, who made the world love Manchester United, the club managers who sent him warm invitations and offered him sky-high contracts after he ended his contract with Manchester United, the Nottingham Forest Football Club, his agent Michael Kennedy, his parents, wife and children … Finally, he thanked the manager who had the deepest influence on him and helped him the most in his career, Sir Alex Ferguson.
"Without you, there would be no Roy."
In the entire thank-you letter, there was no mention of Tony Twain's name.
Twain thought of what Keane said:
— But I won't say his name. I don't want him to be too proud.
"This heartless bastard …" Twain shook his head and laughed as he looked at the man in the newspaper holding the Celtic jersey. "Good luck, Roy."
(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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