Although there was one less person, the Christmas dinner at Sophia's house still had a festive atmosphere. Under Sophia's careful arrangements, everyone had a very happy night.
In Milan, Shania also received a large Totoro doll that Tang En had sent her via FedEx — a doll that was as tall as a person. After Shania opened it in front of the other models, she received a wave of envious exclamations. This greatly satisfied the little girl's vanity. Although she was still eating fast food backstage during Christmas, to be able to have such a Christmas gift was enough to make her the happiest person among all the girls.
However, when she answered her companions' questions about who gave the gift, she was a little troubled.
Parents or relatives?
Definitely not.
Friends?
It seemed to have distanced her from their actual relationship.
In the end, she could only say, "It was from a very, very, very, very, very good friend."
How good was it?
It was just very, very, very, very, very good …
※ ※ ※
After having an early Christmas dinner, Tang En led the team to challenge Aston Villa in an away game on Christmas 26th December, beginning their devilish Christmas schedule of three matches in six days, two away games and one home game.
On this day, in Milan, Italy, the girls in the same room went out together to tour the fashion capital, spending the holiday with a lot of shopping. However, Shania declined her companions' invitation and chose to stay alone in the hotel room. She turned on the television and searched for a channel that could show the English Premier League matches.
When she finally found a channel that was broadcasting Nottingham Forest's away game against Aston Villa, the second half of the match had already begun.
The television broadcast happened to give Forest's manager a close-up. Shania's anxious and restless heart immediately calmed down after seeing Tang En.
Aston Villa had just equalized the score, and the television broadcast wanted to see Tang En's expression. However, Shania did not care about the score. As long as she could see the person she wanted to see, she would be satisfied.
On the television screen, Tang En stared closely at the field. He did not know that the camera had already locked onto him, nor did he know that there was a pair of eyes watching him from far away in Milan, Italy.
Sitting beside him, David Kerslake was saying something to him. Tang En listened and occasionally nodded. Then he stood up and walked to the sidelines.
He did not do anything. He just walked to the sidelines and stood there with his arms crossed over his chest. His players seemed to have received some kind of encouragement. On the field, the visiting team, Nottingham Forest, suddenly began to exert their strength. Shania was entranced. Although she liked Uncle Tony joking with her and smiling, she also liked Uncle Tony when he was serious. Different looks have different charms.
When the television screen switched to the players from both sides fighting on the field, Shania curled her lips and rolled her eyes. She was not interested in the competition itself.
The commentator's voice was not in Italian or English. It seemed to be a Nordic language, perhaps Danish or Norwegian. However, Shania didn't care because she just wanted to see a person. It didn't matter if she didn't understand the explanation.
※ ※ ※
Villa Park was buzzing with noise. The home fans were doing their best to cheer for Aston Villa, hoping that they could present their supporters with a victory on Christmas night.
However, Nottingham Forest would not be willing to give up the three points. The two sides were now in a deadlock.
Tang En certainly did not think that a draw with Aston Villa in an away game was an "acceptable result." The Aston Villa manager had said before the game that he hoped to win at home against the second-ranked team in the Premier League. It would give some comfort and confidence to the Villa fans who were pained by the team's current poor results.
It was a good thing to have the confidence to win, but it also depended on where it was used.
Tony Twain was not the Villa fans' Santa Claus. He also had a reason to win.
With 15 minutes left in the game and injury stoppage time, Twain replaced the physically exhausted Albertini with Arteta to strengthen the midfield's offensive organization.
Tang En noticed a detail.
When Albertini saw that he was about to be replaced, he turned his head to look for George Wood and pulled the captain's armband from his arm. In the past, George Wood would be the one to put on the captain's armband. This time, however, it was George Wood who ran over and took the captain's armband from George Wood's hand and put it on his left arm. Then, he waved the captain's armband on his left hand and asked his teammates to press forward while he guarded the rear.
Since Keane's departure, George Wood seemed to be taking more and more initiative. Many times, he would use body language to express his thoughts.
Tang En knew that Roy had talked to Wood before he left, but he did not know the specifics of the conversation. He did not ask Keane, nor did he ask Wood. He thought it was a secret that belonged to the two of them. He was happy to see that Wood was actively making some changes. That was enough for him.
Aston Villa really wanted to win the game. They did not give up on the attack until the last ten minutes. Although the Forest team pressed forward, they also did everything possible to seize the opportunity to fight back. The game suddenly became more intense in the last ten minutes.
George Wood's performance in the defensive midfield position made everyone feel at ease. Although Keane's training time with the Forest team was short, it was not like George Wood did not learn anything.
Aston Villa counterattacked after intercepting Ashley Young's dribbling, but they did not expect to be tackled by George Wood, who had pounced on them, just as they passed the center circle. The tackle was fierce, but it was not a foul. Villa Park was filled with boos, but they could not stop Nottingham Forest's attack.
It was a very simple pass. Wood passed it to Arteta, and Arteta passed it to Anelka. Finally, the French striker made use of a sudden change in speed to open up a space for himself to shoot. Without hesitation, he raised his leg and kicked. The football brushed against the goalpost and rolled into Aston Villa's goal!
The boos stopped, replaced by the cheers of the Nottingham Forest fans and the singing of "Merry Christmas."
Amidst the singing of "Merry Christmas," Anelka, who had scored the goal, ran all the way to the substitutes' bench. He then took the red Santa hat from his teammate. Just as the television audience thought he would put it on himself, he suddenly turned around and put the hat on Tony Twain's head, who was celebrating the goal with Kerslake!
Then, without waiting for Tang En to react, Kerslake took out a white fake beard and stuck it on Tang En's chin.
"Ah … You guys planned this!"
Wearing the red hat and a white beard, Tang En appeared in front of the television cameras like Santa Claus.
"Merry Christmas, Boss!"
"What do you think of this Christmas present, Tony?"
Everyone surrounded Tang En and roared with laughter.
"You bastards …" Twain wanted to put on a stern face to scare them, but when he saw the smiling faces, he laughed along with them.
In front of the television, watching the comical Uncle Tony, Shania laughed so hard she laid on the bed, hugging her Totoro and rolling around.
※ ※ ※
"This is the surprise the players gave Tony Twain. It looks like it was a great success! He was shocked! "The commentator, John Motson, laughed happily.
"Poor Aston Villa. Their Christmas is fated to be associated with failure. Tony Twain is a great Santa Claus, but he only serves Nottingham Forest's supporters! "
"Merry Christmas! Manager Tang En! "
(To be continued, if you wish to know what happened next, please log on to WWW. CMFU. com. More chapters. Support the author. Support original reading!)
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