"Congratulations to Nottingham Forest. They have qualified for the 05-06 UEFA Champions League finals! For the Forest team that was still in the English Champions League a year and a half ago, this is a remarkable achievement and an inspiring result. Congratulations to them! "
The fireworks display began in the night sky. Even the celebrating players in the stadium could not help but look up and enjoy the beautiful scenery.
The match was over, but the fans did not leave. They were still celebrating this "great" victory with the team in the stands.
On the other side, the Arsenal players looked desolate. They stared blankly at the Forest players who were celebrating wantonly.
They had tried their best in this match. To be able to equalize the overall score under such a disadvantageous situation, and then threaten the Forest team's goal several times, and finally enter the penalty shootout … they had used all the means and methods they could. However, luck was not on their side this time.
Wenger walked onto the field and comforted his players one by one. Not far from him was Tony Twain, who had his arms raised high in the air in celebration of victory.
The man who had talked to him in the rain and was drenched like a drowned rat had now become the victor in the contest with him.
Twain was basking in the joy of victory. He was surrounded by excited smiling faces. Eastwood, Anelka, Ribéry, Ashley Young … and so on. Everyone was laughing and shouting wildly. Tang En also laughed with them. It was only when he saw George Wood that the smile on his face froze.
The team had won. They had a ticket to the finals. However, one person had been shut out. And this person was the one who had put in the most effort and contributed to this victory.
Gareth Bale, who had missed the penalty kick, still had glistening tear stains on his face. However, he still smiled because the team had successfully advanced to the finals. He did not become a sinner.
In front of him, the smile on George Wood's face was a little forced. It was obvious that he had forced it.
Tang En lowered his raised arm. He was suddenly not in the mood to celebrate.
Just as he was about to go over to comfort Wood, Albertini walked out quickly from the side. Tang En saw Albertini put his arm around Wood's shoulder and then reach out to stroke his head.
The other teammates were still celebrating. They sang and skipped from one end of the field to the other.
Only this corner was lost.
Tang En turned around and walked down. He saw Wenger and took the initiative to walk over to shake his hand.
But he didn't know what to say.
"It's really … an exciting match, isn't it?"
Wenger forced a smile. "Yes."
Tang En planned to comfort the other party. "You could have won … If Wood did not foul …"
"He won't be able to participate in the finals, right?"
Twain nodded.
"That's a pity. Your opponent must be very happy to hear this news. Good luck, you guys really need some good luck … "
"Thank you." Tang En smiled.
"Goodbye, I still have to comfort my people." Wenger pointed to the disappointed Arsenal players.
"Goodbye." Twain waved goodbye, then turned around and walked towards the tunnel.
※ ※ ※
At the post-match press conference, a reporter mentioned George Wood's absence from the final after receiving a third yellow card. He asked if Wood's absence was a heavy blow to the Forest team.
Tang En admitted that Wood's absence would affect the team, but he did not admit it was a heavy blow. He expressed that no matter who the Forest team's opponent was, he would not give up the match because of Wood's absence. Without Wood, they still had Albertini and ten other teammates who performed well. The Forest team was a whole, not a team of one person.
Although what Tang En said was very reasonable, Nottingham Forest's image to the outside world had always been a united team. But at this moment, looking at the expression on his face, the reporters sitting below thought that he was just being stubborn and did not want to admit it.
Whether it was Barcelona or AC Milan, their offensive power was not weak. Without George Wood's frantic running, intercepting, tackling, and fouling in the midfield, it would be too difficult for the Forest team to stop the opponent's attack.
This was not a heavy blow, but a fatal one.
The Forest team had entered the finals, but they had paid a heavy price. The team's captain on the field, the defensive core, and in a sense, the spiritual pillar of the team would not be able to participate. Not only was Tang En not used to it, but his players would also feel uncomfortable.
When the reveling crowd outside gradually calmed down from their excitement and passion, many would feel a chill down their backs at the thought of Wood not being able to play in the finals.
As a result, Wood became the focal point of this press conference. Even though he was not present, almost all the questions thrown at Tang En were about Wood. On the contrary, no one brought up the matter of Forest making it to the finals.
Tang En felt sorry about Wood's situation. But if everyone only asked about Wood and did not care about the team's results or others, including himself, he would be very angry.
"If you want to know about Wood, you can ask him alone, or I can specially call for a press conference with Wood attending for you to ask. But I can't guarantee that he will be willing to answer these questions. Now that the Forest team has entered the finals, I admit that George Wood has contributed a lot and made a huge sacrifice. But do you think that our being able to enter the finals has nothing to do with the other ten? George Wood would rather get a card to send the team to the finals, but you're only concerned about the impact of his absence. Why? Are you going to criticize George Wood for being hot-headed and only caring about himself and not the team in tomorrow's report? "Tang En asked the noisy reporters below the field with a dark face. "Are you here to participate in this post-match press conference, or are you here to tear me down? I'll say it again. I refuse to answer any questions about George Wood's absence from the finals! "
Tang En played the "big shot" again, and this time, he did it with ease. He was not afraid of offending the media because he knew very well that he was not the one begging the media to interview him, but the media begging him to accept an interview. Now that he was the most famous person, he was not afraid of offending people.
The press conference fell into an awkward situation for a while. It was Pierce Brosnan who came out to save the situation. He stood up and asked a few questions about the evaluation of the match, finally getting Tang En to speak again.
※ ※ ※
While Tang En was losing his temper because of the endless questions about the five in the press conference, the Nottingham Forest players had already returned to the locker room from the field.
At this time, after everyone gradually calmed down, they discovered a very serious problem.
"George, the yellow card you got in overtime is the third one, right?" As soon as Ribéry said this, the locker room, which had been very lively earlier, suddenly quieted down. Everyone turned to look at Wood.
"Yes." Wood nodded.
"Then … the finals …"
There was almost no need to answer this question. Everyone knew what it meant to get three yellow cards in the Champions League.
Silence quickly spread throughout the locker room.
Albertini clapped his hands to break the awkward atmosphere. "Why are you all so dejected? Didn't we make it to the finals? Did George pay the price just to see you all like this? What do we usually look like after we win? "
In the past, after the Forest team won, the locker room would be a mess. It was like a small-scale party. The music would play non-stop, and everyone would be naked, fooling around from the bathroom to the locker room. When it was enough, or until the manager, Twain, spoke up to remind them, only then would they restrain themselves.
"Today, we won not an ordinary game. It's the Champions League semifinals! Do you know how important this is? How amazing is it? We can go to the Champions League finals. Countless people want to go but can't! Look at you all now, it's like you don't want to go … Hey, don't ruin George's efforts. Don't let George get that yellow card for nothing! "
Ribéry stood up with his arms raised high. He was the one who started the conversation, so he had to end it. "OK, although it's a pity that George can't participate, I don't think we have no chance in the finals. I don't care if our opponent is Barcelona or AC Milan. I want to show them what I'm capable of! I'm going to make them lose their bearings — "
Ashley Young whistled. "Be careful not to let them ambush you until you can't find your bearings —"
Ribéry glared. "How is that possible? I'm on the French national team … "
Without waiting for him to finish, Eastwood imitated Tang En's voice and cut him off. "Substitute player."
Hearing Tang En's voice, Ribéry was startled. "Boss! You're back so soon? "He had his back to the door and could not see the situation there. He did not hear Tang En's answer. Instead, there was a loud burst of laughter in the locker room.
"Freddy!" Ribéry flew into a rage out of humiliation and pounced on Eastwood. "I knew it was you … You b * stard!"
With the two men stirring things up, the atmosphere finally became lively.
Albertini turned his head to look at Wood. The kid was still pretending to be cool with a poker face.
Just as the two men were having fun, the locker room door was pushed open. Tang En appeared at the door with an unfriendly expression.
"Ribéry, what are you doing?" Seeing the Frenchman jumping up and down after Eastwood, Tang En asked.
"Don't try to lie to me, Romani boy!" Ribéry did not turn his head. There was another burst of laughter in the locker room. Gareth Bell even knelt on the ground laughing.
"What are you shouting about?" Tang En frowned.
At that moment, Eastwood, who was in front of Ribéry, shrugged at him and gestured for him to shut up. Only then did he realize that the person who had just spoken to him was not Eastwood, but the real Tony Twain.
"Boss …" He stopped in his tracks and turned his head to look awkwardly at Tang En standing at the door.
"I thought a 120-minute game would be enough to knock you out. I didn't expect you to still have energy left. Do you want to run back to the hotel from here?" Tang En said with a sneer.
"Uh, no need … no need." Ribéry obediently returned to his seat. Ribéry had nothing but respect for the coach who had personally unearthed him from the lower leagues in France and groomed him to become a member of the French national team.
"Guys, we're in the finals. It's amazing. I want to congratulate you. Have fun tonight, but don't play too late. We'll resume training tomorrow afternoon. The season is not over yet. Now is not the time to celebrate. Remember, we still have two league games and one Champions League final! Now is not the time to slack off! "
Although what Tang En said made sense, the people below felt that there was something wrong with their boss.
Why was there something wrong? Perhaps it was because of that yellow card?
"Alright, go back to the bus. I bet you don't want to spend this meaningful night in the locker room, right? "
The players left the locker room one after another and walked to the bus parked outside the stadium. At this time, the singing of the fans could still be heard from nearby. For the Forest players and the Forest fans, the wonderful time of the night had just begun.
As Wood walked past Tang En, Tang En called out to him.
"Accompany me for a drink."
Wood froze for a moment. He did not expect Tang En to make such a request. "Professional players can't drink …"
"You drink juice, and I'll drink. It's settled. When we get to the hotel, you come with me. "
Wood did not refute.
In the bus, on the way back to the hotel, Tang En announced a piece of news to his players that made them jump in joy. "You have free time tonight. Do whatever you want. It's fine if you don't want to go back to the hotel. But tomorrow afternoon during training, I want to see every one of you in Wilford. You're not allowed to be late! "
※ ※ ※
Back at the hotel, the players put their things back in their respective rooms and dispersed in groups of three or four. Ribéry had wanted to find Wood to go out and play with him to ease his mood, but Wood rejected him.
Ribéry watched Wood and Tang En walk out of the hotel together and whistled.
"I thought it was a date with a beauty and was planning to secretly follow her. I didn't expect it to be with the boss. How boring."
Wood thought they were just drinking in the bar downstairs of the hotel. He did not expect Tang En to directly pull him into a taxi.
"Where to, Tony?" the driver, Randy James, who sat in the front seat, asked without turning his head.
"The usual place to drink."
"Got it."
"Can't you drink at any place?" Wood thought it was strange.
"I'm not used to going to unfamiliar places to drink." Tang En glanced at him.
※ ※ ※
Kenny Burns' Forest Bar was brightly lit both inside and outside. The Forest logo on the outer wall was particularly eye-catching at night and could be seen from afar. The match had long ended, but there were more and more people coming to the bar. The door opened and closed, closed and opened again, and people came in one after another.
These people had all come to the bar to drink and chat with their friends after watching the match at home. The match that had just ended was too exciting. If they did not come out for a few drinks and a few words, they would not be able to sleep at night.
Burns sat behind the bar and busied himself. The waiters he had hired were too busy, so he had to do it himself. However, he was very busy. After watching Forest eliminate Arsenal on the television, he was so excited that he shouted and drank with the others.
Fortunately, he did not impulsively say, "Tonight's drinks are on me!" Otherwise, he would have lost a lot.
"So many people!" Fat John wiggled his body and squeezed to the bar with great effort. He stretched out his hand and asked Burns for a drink. "This is too much!"
"You're back from the stadium?" Burns asked as he got him a drink.
"Yeah. As soon as the match ended, I rushed back with Bill and the others. I didn't expect there to be so many people. Hey, Kenny, did you break the record for the number of people in your bar tonight? "
"Who would have the leisure to calculate such numbers?" Burns poured the drink into a glass and passed it to John. "But … it's really crowded. Thanks to Tony, my business is good today. "
"Then treat me to a drink for free!" Tang En's loud voice rang out not far away.
Burns and John were both stunned.
Tang En stood in the crowd with George Wood behind him. The fans around him patted Tang En's shoulder one after another, congratulating him or thanking him. Tang En was very used to their intimate actions and greeted the people around him with a smile.
"Tony!" John was a little surprised. "You haven't been here for a long time!"
"I've been busy. But my hard work has finally paid off." Tang En pulled Wood over. He did not need to squeeze like John. Everywhere he went, the crowd would make way for him.
"Look, it's George Wood!"
"Hi, George, how are you? Your performance tonight was great! "
"Welcome, Captain!"
Wood reacted unnaturally to the voices of the fans around him, whose faces were flushed red and whose mouths reeked of alcohol. He followed closely behind Tang En, as though he was trying to hide from them.
Burns saw the embarrassed boy behind Tang En and laughed. "Guys, go do what you need to do! Don't scare our hero! "He then smiled at Wood." Relax, George. Do you want a glass of wine? "
Wood shook his head. "Players don't drink …"
Tang En interrupted him. "Give him some juice. Give me a glass of whiskey with ice. "
Seeing John at the side, Tang En punched him in the stomach. "You went to watch the match live?"
John rubbed his stomach and laughed. "Of course, it's more exciting to watch this kind of match live!"
Tang En smiled and said to Burns, "I'll give everyone here a glass of wine. It's my treat."
As soon as he finished speaking, a wave of cheers came from the bar.
Tang En turned around and faced those people. He raised his glass and said, "Let's have a toast."
John raised his glass high. At the same time, he raised both his hands and roared, "To the Champions League final, to Tony, to our new captain! To Nottingham Forest — cheers! "
"Cheers —!!"
Wood held his glass of juice and looked at the group of fanatical fans. They were even crazier than they were in the stands of the stadium …
(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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