Perhaps after the match was over, Twain would remember to explain to Anelka why he had replaced him instead of Viduka or someone else.
Because the Forest Team insisted on playing high balls on the field, they needed Viduka, a strong center forward who excelled in headers and had a strong body. Anelka was not supposed to do this job. Eighteen minutes into the match, his job was more to coordinate with Anelka and wait for an opportunity to make up shots.
Perhaps in other matches, Viduka would appear as Anelka's assistant. Just like the relationship between a safflower and a green leaf, Anelka was the safflower and Viduka the green leaf. But in this match, when they needed to blast open Barcelona's goal with a high-altitude bombardment, Viduka became the safflower, and Anelka inevitably became the green leaf.
Twain naturally would not replace the main attacking point, Viduka, nor would he casually replace any of the players on the rear defensive line. The four midfielders were very balanced. They needed to contend with Barcelona's powerful midfield, and one less player would break the balance. After thinking about it, only Anelka could be replaced.
That was the problem.
It was a paradox.
Only Anelka could be replaced.
But Anelka did not want to be replaced. He believed he was the core and fully deserving of N0.1. Eastwood's nine-month injury layoff gave him the opportunity to become the team's offensive core. He firmly grasped it, using goal after goal to prove his value and strength. The manager trusted him. Even his favorite player, Eastwood, could not shake Anelka's position as the main force after recovering from his injury. He also used his own goals to repay the manager's trust.
It looked beautiful. The general and the manager were united, and the three armies put their lives on the line. They created a series of legends: second place in the league tournament, the Champions League final …
Anelka obtained the honor of second place in the league tournament's goalscoring chart. He was also in the top four in the Champions League's goalscoring chart. If the Forest Team could "surprise" Barcelona in this match, then he would reap his second Champions League trophy. This time, he was no longer the forgotten one. He was the team's core, the hero who had won the championship. He would welcome the second spring of his professional career. This would be another peak for him.
What a wonderful future.
But all of this and the beautiful prospects were shattered by this substitution.
In such an important game, on the home ground of the team he once played for, in front of the Parisians who used to laugh at him, he was replaced by the manager just 18 minutes into the game.
That was how he understood Tang En's decision to make a substitution. He was not an important figure in the manager's heart. He could be sacrificed and replaced at any time.
The eccentric Anelka did not consider the factors behind the substitution. He only knew that he had been substituted and abandoned at an important moment.
He walked past Tang En with a dark face. He did not shake hands with the manager, nor did he interact with him. He did not even raise his head to greet him. Just like that, he brushed past the manager he once called his "most admired" in an interview, walked straight into the players' tunnel, and disappeared out of the hustle and bustle.
When Anelka returned to the locker room, he did not shower and change his clothes. Instead, he took out his cell phone from his cabinet and called his brother, who was also his agent.
There were no television cameras to record what happened in that moment. After the match, Anelka would not mention it to anyone, including Tang En.
Holding the phone, Anelka asked his brothers for help, "I want to leave."
※ ※ ※
Ten minutes later, when Anelka had changed his clothes and returned to the sidelines, Tang En remembered to take a look at him. He quickly turned his gaze back to the field. He was in no mood to care about Anelka's reaction and feelings to the substitution.
Forest Team was down a player. He had no choice but to change his strategy. He shifted the position of the goal to the back and strived to stabilize the defense during this time. He even wanted to persevere in defense throughout the match, to defend until overtime, until the penalty kicks.
Nottingham Forest's storm-like offense at the start of the match had become a thing of the past because of Edwin van der Sar's sending off. The new goalkeeper, Paul Gerrard, was not a reassuring fellow.
The British commentator marveled when he introduced him. Under the Forest team's strong appearance, there was such a fatal weakness — their bench was too weak.
Paul Gerrard did not make more than four appearances in a season. Edwin van der Sar's steady performance had brought Forest Team the results they had today, but it also prevented the substitute goalkeepers from finding their match form. At this time, Tang En had no choice but to bite the bullet and let Paul Gerrard, who had little match experience and no Champions League experience, become Forest Team's goalkeeper to block Barcelona's shots. This was truly a double-edged sword.
"Paul Gerrard, making his first appearance in this season's Champions League …" At this point, the British commentator sighed. "I don't think he's a player who can create miracles and make a name for himself in one battle. His career has been lackluster. I think no matter what the outcome of this match is, Manager Tang En will have to seriously consider the problem of the substitute goalkeeper. As the second team in the league, they have a world-class goalkeeper in Edwin van der Sar, but their substitute goalkeeper is only at the English Championship level. This is a fact that is hard to accept. "
Barcelona used this opportunity to launch a fierce attack on Forest Team's penalty area. In these ten minutes, the performance and situation of the two teams were completely reversed compared to the previous ten minutes. Barcelona astonishingly created seven shots, while Nottingham Forest did not have a single shot.
The Spanish hegemon showed people what the real Barcelona should be like. The Catalan commentator also teased Forest Team. "They've shown us what the real English football is like … Haha!"
Viduka had already returned to the penalty area to act as a center back to clear the siege with a header. What kind of offense could they hope for from Forest Team? The ten players huddled in the penalty area to resist the Barcelona players' indiscriminate bombardment. The rain drenched their bodies, and their yellow away jerseys were dyed brown and green by the soil and turf. The three colors were mixed together, and they looked extremely wretched.
"Barcelona's players are gradually adapting to the field. They can already make wonderful combinations and dribbling that will amaze the audience. This is the Barcelona we're familiar with!" the commentator shouted excitedly.
Earlier, Ronaldinho had used a breakthrough at the front of the penalty area to turn Forest Team's rear defensive line upside down. How pathetic! Unfortunately, his shot at the last moment went wide of the goalpost. Even so, Barcelona's performance still received praise from the vast majority of fans. They themselves were not as anxious as before. After all, they had one more player than Forest Team, and Forest Team's substitute goalkeeper was not strong. There were still more than fifty minutes left in the match. They had enough time to score, take the lead, and win.
Therefore, after ten minutes of indiscriminate bombardment, they saw that Forest Team had been forced back by them. Now that the front of the goal was a solid block and there was no way to attack, the experienced Barcelona slowed down the pace of their offense. They no longer continued to put pressure on Forest Team. Instead, they retreated slightly in order to pull out Forest Team's players and look for loopholes again.
Barcelona's players appeared confident. They unhurriedly played the technical style of football that they were used to. They pulled the Forest Team's players by constantly passing the ball back and forth and amazing passing and cutting positions.
Watching Ronaldinho show off his skills to his heart's content in front of Arteta, but Arteta could not even touch the ball, really pained the Forest fans. At this time, everyone would miss the man who was already sitting in the stadium's box.
If he was there, when Ronaldinho dared to show off his footwork skills in front of him, the Brazilian would be greeted with a pair of shoes with glistening studs.
Unknowingly, everyone had gotten used to thinking and looking at the game from the perspective of "George Wood on the field."
※ ※ ※
For Demetrio Albertini, this was destined to be an unforgettable Champions League final for the rest of his life.
In fact, before the opponent for the final was announced, after the Forest Team successfully broke into the Champions League final, Albertini hoped that the Forest Team's opponent in the final would be AC Milan. He wanted to show Galliani and Ancelotti what kind of level he could still show in a high-level game.
Perhaps he wanted to pay tribute to the team he had played for for fourteen years in this way — to show his best side in the final in Wood's absence.
But Barcelona eliminated AC Milan.
Before the game, Albertini had fully anticipated the difficulty of the final. He knew what kind of team Barcelona was. It was a powerhouse team on the same level as AC Milan. There was no reason to look down on them. Coupled with Wood's absence, he needed to share Wood's work with Arteta in the midfield. But after Edwin van der Sar was sent off, the actual difficulty of the game still exceeded Albertini's expectations.
He had long since gotten used to the feeling of having George Wood by his side. When Wood was not on the field, he and Arteta had to share his work, and it was already very strenuous. Not to mention that Wood used to complete this work by himself in the past. What kind of monster was he? Even Albertini, who usually had the most contact with Wood, would be confused.
But now was not the time to lament about it. Wood would not appear in this game, no matter what the reason was, no matter how difficult the team was now, he would not descend from the sky to save his teammates. He sat in the brightly lit VIP box and watched the game quietly.
Therefore, this game did not belong to Wood. If he still thought of Wood, it would be disrespectful to the other ten teammates.
This is my battle, my game, mine, Demetrio Albertini's.
"Barcelona continues to pass the ball. They are not in a hurry to move forward. Nottingham Forest's defensive formation is very tight. They don't have many chances. Deco takes the ball and makes a feint to break through, but he passes the football to Ronaldinho! "
As the commentator's voice rose, the cheers in the stands in the stadium also grew louder.
The Brazilian with rabbit teeth was Barcelona's new idol and leader. Everyone was happy to see the football at his feet. Everyone watched intently, looking forward to a wonderful moment that would amaze them at any time.
Ronaldinho leaned sideways against Arteta. He stepped on the football with his outside foot. This was one of Ronaldinho's signature moves. The advantage was that he could easily make a variety of connecting moves. Whether it was a pass or a dribble, he could keep the football as far away from the opponent's legs as possible.
Arteta tried very hard to intercept the ball, but Ronaldinho leaned sideways and could not exert any strength.
Just as everyone was waiting to see Ronaldinho once again show his superb individual skills, just as Ronaldinho looked up to observe his teammates' positions, Albertini suddenly rushed out from his blind spot and stabbed the ball at his feet with lightning speed!
Ronaldinho jerked his head. He saw the back of Nottingham Forest's number 4.
"Albertini intercepted the football at Ronaldinho's feet. The Forest team is counterattacking! He has no intention of passing the ball. He's dribbling the ball. He continues to dribble the ball forward … "
Although Ribéry and Ashley Young ran in front and Viduka was also ready to receive the ball, Albertini did not pass the ball. However, Albertini did not pass the ball. He chose to dribble the ball to break through.
When faced with Edmilson, Albertini simply pushed the football to the side. The opponent quickly leaned up and stuck to Albertini, not allowing him to easily dribble the football over. He had been forced into a corner, but he was still dribbling the ball forward.
Ashley Young saw his captain run in front of him. He hesitated and turned to the middle. He provided cover for his captain.
Sure enough, after the Barcelona defenders, who had been ready to swarm up to intercept Albertini's ball, saw Ashley Young's position, Márquez and Puyol chose to stay in the middle, leaving only Edmilson and van Bronckhorst to defend against Albertini.
No matter how the opponent interfered behind him, Albertini stubbornly dribbled the football to the left side of Barcelona's penalty area, in the area guarded by van Bronckhorst. After the two men surrounded him, Albertini slowed down to protect the football and waited for the others to pull the ball up for support.
Barcelona would not give him such a chance. Van Bronckhorst neatly hooked Albertini to the ground.
The referee, of course, neatly whistled for a foul.
Van Bronckhorst shrugged and retreated. Albertini got up from the ground and waved for his players to come up. This was a chance for the Forest team to attack. The set piece was repeatedly practiced before the game. It was one of the most powerful weapons specifically used to deal with Barcelona.
"In the 38th minute, a free kick outside the penalty area. This is a chance for Nottingham Forest. It's a chance that Albertini dribbled the ball for more than forty meters. Let's see … how it turns out. "
The commentator fell silent. On the field, the players on both sides were concentrating on the penalty area. The Barcelona players were busy defending, while the Forest players mingled in the penalty area, intending to score a goal.
Arteta wanted to take the free kick, but Albertini refused. He wanted to personally seize the opportunity he created.
Viduka, Pepe, and Piqué, the Forest team's players who were best at headers, rushed to the front of the goal and suddenly felt like a crane among chickens. In contrast, Barcelona's tallest player, Márquez, was sandwiched between them like a poor hot dog.
It was a very common foul. The Barcelona players did not think that the Forest team, which was still battered and short of a player, could do anything. The defense in the penalty area appeared a little loose, and the two players blocking in front of the ball were not very close together.
Albertini carefully observed the situation in the penalty area and retreated to prepare to take the penalty.
He did not run up. He lifted his leg and the football bypassed the empty human wall formed by the two players and flew toward the front of Barcelona's goal.
When the football flew up, the Barcelona defensive players did not even have to run much before they saw a yellow figure in the penalty area streak past the front of Barcelona's goal like a flash of lightning!
"Pepe! Ah! Ah! GOOOOAL！ GOOOOOAL！！ GOOOOOAL!! "
Valdés did not react at all in the face of the tall center back's header that suddenly rushed up from behind. He only jumped once and then turned his head to watch the football fly into the goal he was guarding!
Puyol was deceived by Albertini's curled ball. He thought the football would fly inside, so he rushed toward the goal. He did not expect the football to curve halfway and fly outside. It happened to be in the defensive area that Puyol was responsible for. When he saw Pepe plug in from behind and leap up to head the ball toward the goal, he turned around and jumped back to block it. It was already too late. He was a head shorter than Pepe!
"Pepe! This season, the Brazilian center back who made Tony Twain use the special genius clause to obtain a work permit from the English Football Association has finally allowed Tony Twain to receive a generous reward. He used this goal to prove that he is a well-deserved 'special genius'! "
"Nottingham Forest, who played with ten players, scored first and took the lead! This is unbelievable! "
"Oleg should be responsible for this goal concede! He completely did not notice Pepe who plugged in from behind. It was not wise to let Puyol fight for the header. "
"Ah ha! This is Tony Twain's team. They will never admit defeat! When everyone is not optimistic about them, they are able to explode with shocking energy! 1: 0. The team from our England is ahead of Barcelona! And they only have ten players! "
The commentators from all over the world got excited. After waiting for thirty-eight minutes, the first goal of the final was finally scored. They did not expect it to come from Nottingham Forest, who were trailing by a player and at a complete disadvantage in the game. They were passively beaten and battered …
(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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