From the beginning of England's first game to their elimination by Portugal, Twain never stopped attacking Eriksson in the commentator's box.
And as the World Cup progressed and England's games increased, more and more people began to feel that Twain's attacks were reasonable. Eriksson's England team had not played a convincing and entertaining game in this World Cup. Their wins were all won by fluke.
The 1: 0 victory over Baraqui relied on the opponent's own mistake.
The 2: 0 victory over Trinidad and Tobago was also not as smooth and easy as the score.
After shaking hands with Sweden 2: 2, the England team only played well in the first half and also lost Owen.
The 1: 0 elimination of Ecuador made all the English people even more tired. If it were not for Beckham's direct free kick and the two help from his own goalpost, the England team should have returned home after the Round of 16.
"This is the strongest England team in 30 years?" Twain commented during the game. "It's so hard to play against a small South American country. What's so strong about it? I only see Beckham playing alone. Lampard? Sorry, his form in this World Cup was terrible. If there is a tally of the number of missed shots after the game, he must be the highest. Of course, I don't think it's the players' problem. They can't always ensure that they are at their best. Even if they are at their best, they need a manager who knows how to use them to make them play … This is clearly the manager's problem. "
In the end, Twain still pointed the spearhead at Eriksson.
He believed that Eriksson also knew that no matter what the final results of this World Cup were, he was bound to leave after the end.
According to the English Football Association's tradition, the England national team's loss would eventually find a person to take full responsibility, and then the media would hype it up so that the public would believe it. In other words, they were particularly good at finding excuses for their own failures.
For example, Beckham in 1998, unfortunately became the protagonist of this tragedy. The English always said that if Beckham had not been sent off at that time, they would have beaten Argentina. Twain scoffed at this argument from the beginning. If the Argentines were so competitive, they would not be a strong team in the world. The England team only said that they had a chance to beat Argentina within 90 minutes, but it was not certain that they would win. Beckham's red card became a fact, and England's loss became a fact. When the two were linked together, it made Beckham a sinner. They always needed a scapegoat, no matter who it was, and they would never let go.
It was not until Beckham later defeated Greece with a beautiful direct free kick in the 2002 World Cup game against Greece and sent the England team to the World Cup finals that he was forgiven and respected by the English people and became a god again.
With the precedent set, it was not surprising that Tang En's criticism of Eriksson ended up gaining more support.
In the last match, against Portugal. Eriksson replaced the injured Beckham in advance. The England captain limped off the field and returned to the substitutes' bench. He sat down next to George Wood. Then, Wood saw the idol who was admired by tens of thousands of people crying next to him!
Seeing this scene, Tang En murmured in front of the microphone, "It's all over … Eriksson is now starting to bring on the newcomers. Let them accumulate big match experience and feel the atmosphere of the competition …"
Replacing Beckham was the Forest team's right midfielder, Ashley Young. He performed well after coming on and did not have stage fright. This made Tang En deeply gratified. The players who came out of Nottingham Forest must be different from the others. That was because their manager was also a very unusual person.
Ashley Young was lucky. After all, he also played for England in the World Cup, even though he did not play much. George Wood, who was also from Nottingham Forest and was his captain, was not so lucky. He was selected for the England national team, but he did not play a single minute of the game. Other than playing for England for twenty-one minutes in the warm-up before the World Cup, he did not play again.
At this moment, the England team was in a tough battle on the field, and he placed his attention on Beckham next to him. The captain of the national team, the idol who was admired and envied by many people, was crying so weakly and helplessly at this time. He covered his face with both hands, and the tears could not stop falling from between his fingers.
The television broadcast cut to Beckham's side several times. As a teammate sitting next to him, George Wood was also filmed.
Wood's attention was all on Beckham. Before he entered the national team, he knew this man. Before he started playing football, the only star player he could name was David Beckham. He had always felt that this man was successful in his career and had a beautiful wife and a loving son at home was a sign of success. He did not expect to have such an unbearable side at this time.
Seeing Beckham cry so unscrupulously in front of the public, he suddenly thought of the night of the Champions League final in Paris, France. He did not cry at that time, but he felt that he could understand Beckham's feelings at this time.
He hesitated for a moment, but still put his hand on Beckham's shoulder.
The taste of failure is really not good …
Beckham felt a warm hand on his shoulder. He turned his head to look at George Wood sitting at the back with a serious face.
He wiped away his tears and sat on the chair from the ground. He looked at Wood and squeezed out a smile, but did not say anything.
※ ※ ※
In the end, in this game, the Portuguese eliminated England with a penalty kick. During the game, Rooney was sent off with a red card by the referee on duty for stepping on the crotch of the Portuguese player, Carvalho. This was the last straw that crushed England. And Rooney's teammate at Manchester United, Cristiano Ronaldo, stood up for the Portuguese team at that sensitive moment. As a result, he was seen as a betrayal by the English, which made them furious. Of course, in the game commentary, Tang En unexpectedly did not make any comments on this sudden incident. He did not speak for a period of time.
He actually felt that neither side was wrong. Cristiano Ronaldo was wearing the Portuguese jersey at the moment. It was understandable for him to ask the referee to give Rooney a red card. But the angry English would not care about this. Tang En was also unwilling to waste his breath on such meaningless things during the game broadcast.
He just felt that Beckham was much more unlucky than Rooney back then when they were both sent off with a red card.
Rooney would certainly not be criticized by the media. What Ferguson needed to carefully protect was not the "purest English boy," but the "traitor," Cristiano Ronaldo.
Of course, if it was different from what Tang En knew, and Ferguson suddenly became dizzy and wanted to give up Cristiano Ronaldo and protect Wayne Rooney, Nottingham Forest would not mind accepting such a public enemy of England.
Even if it was reluctantly to share Sir Alex's worries and difficulties.
※ ※ ※
No one would feel good about England's elimination. The live broadcast room fell into a period of silence. Motson and Alan Shearer were quietly packing up their things to end today's game broadcast work.
Tang En's things were very simple. The information he prepared was all in his head.
He took off his headphones and looked at the silent, busy staff around him, and then looked at John Motson.
"Is this the end of my action?" His question broke the silence in the workshop.
Motson looked up at him and said, "No, Tony. The World Cup is not over yet. "
"But I don't think anyone will be interested in the next games?"
"Of course, maybe. But we paid for the broadcasting rights of those games and sold the advertisements. If we don't, the advertisers will eat us up. "
Tang En nodded.
Alan Shearer suddenly interjected between the two of them and said, "Tony, I think it's strange. How can a person like you remain silent and say nothing when there is a conflict on the field? "He was referring to the matter between Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Tang En shook his head and said, "Because my opinion is not quite the same as yours, so I think it's better not to speak."
Motson knew what Tang En meant and expressed his understanding, "Well … You still know when to speak and when not to speak … I really thought you were a hothead who was not afraid of anything."
Motson had just scolded Cristiano Ronaldo as a "liar," a "traitor," and a "despicable man" in his commentary. His tone was very harsh. Tang En did not touch that bad luck.
"I don't have to go against the entire English society, John. That won't make me more money. "
"You're so vulgar. You talk about money every time you open your mouth." Motson laughed.
※ ※ ※
The England team went home early, and the English fans were extremely disappointed. After the game, the criticism of Cristiano Ronaldo began to spread. The English media one-sidedly condemned the young player who betrayed his teammates in the game. It looked like they wanted to drive Ronaldo out of Manchester United and out of England. Even the media from other countries joined in. For example, there were people in the Chinese media who followed the English tone, declaring that Little Ronaldo "sold out his friends for glory," "betrayed the club," "betrayed sportsmanship," "let down his family name," and so on.
Tang En did not want to talk about these things in front of the English media because he was an Englishman, and some things were not convenient to say. However, he did not have to care about anything in the Chinese media. In his own article, he scolded the Chinese media who followed suit in criticizing Little Ronaldo, believing that these criticisms were "easy to find a way to pin a crime on someone."
"… Little Ronaldo was a player for the Portuguese national team at that time. He naturally represented the interests of the Portuguese national team on the field. What does this have to do with him 'betraying the club'? … What kind of sportsmanship is it against to remind the referee to give a card to a player who committed a crime? In this way, there are many players in the world who violate sportsmanship. Are the Barcelona players who made the referee give a red card to Edwin van der Sar in the Champions League final also violating sportsmanship in the eyes of some people? Although I am happy to hear them say so, I still have to say that their words are bullsh * t. … As for saying 'let down' the surname 'Ronaldo,' it is even funnier. Are you his parents? Aren't you embarrassed to say such mushy words? "
His article directly targeted the sports media in China, and it immediately caused a stir in the country. However, Tang En just published the article and did not care about it. The subsequent impact had nothing to do with him. He also did not have the leisure to run to a domestic portal to build a blog to argue with those boring people. Because these words could not be exchanged for money, he was equivalent to helping others do free publicity.
The storm in China was a bit of a farce, but what happened in England was not like a farce. Looking at the intentions of the English media and fans, they really wanted to drive Cristiano Ronaldo out of England completely.
Especially after the media reported that Rooney beat up his Manchester United teammates in the locker room after the game and called them scum, things became even more heated.
——I_can_never_play_with_him_again.I_am_going_to_fucking_sort_him_out.
— I will never play with this kind of scum again.
These were Rooney's original words. The "scum" in his words naturally referred to Cristiano Ronaldo. He put aside his foolish behavior and put the blame for England's loss on his teammates at Manchester United. The effect was obvious. The English media downplayed Rooney's mistake and did not mention it, while they relentlessly attacked Cristiano Ronaldo.
Under such circumstances, when more than one media outlet mentioned the issue to Tang En, he finally could not hold back and publicly stated that if Manchester United intended to sell the talented player, then Nottingham Forest was willing to accept him.
"Of course I know his current situation, but it has nothing to do with my team, because Rooney is not a Forest player. His opinion will not be used as a reference for me. I only know that Ronaldo is a talented player, and my team really needs such a person. Of course … I'm not trying to poach him. I'm saying that if Mr. Ferguson thinks it's too difficult to let Rooney and Ronaldo be in the same locker room, I'm willing to be the first to share the pain for him. What? Real Madrid is also interested in him? Then I have to remind him not to go to Real Madrid. It's not suitable for him there. The most suitable place for him is the English Premier League. "
Tang En had not finished speaking when Ferguson jumped out and declared that the club had just renewed Ronaldo's contract before the World Cup, and he would not go anywhere other than Manchester United. The old Sir Alex risked going against all of England to support Ronaldo. Just like after the 1998 World Cup, he insisted on using Beckham under great pressure. For people he valued, he would always protect them at all costs and give them space to grow. Just on this point alone, Tang En respected the old manager … but when the two sides met, this respect had to be thrown aside first.
※ ※ ※
England was eliminated. The rest of the World Cup was not worth paying attention to for the English people. There was only one thing worth paying attention to. That was the ownership of the World Cup.
In the end, at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin, Italy defeated France on penalties and picked up the World Cup, which symbolized the highest honor in world football, for the fourth time.
That final was similar to what Tang En knew. Zidane used a spoon-kick to give France the lead, and then Italy's Materazzi used a corner kick to head to equalize the score. In overtime, the great Zidane unexpectedly bid farewell to the World Cup and his career as a professional player in a way that no one had thought of. He headbutted Materazzi and was sent off with a red card. The French team, with one player down, was unable to turn the tide and was dragged into a penalty shootout by Italy, where they finally lost.
Tang En was pleased with the result. It was not that it was the same as he remembered. He no longer cared about those things. He was happy that Italy used defense to win the championship. This was what he liked to see. It made his Forest team less alone.
Barcelona's victory in the UEFA Champions League once made people feel that artistic football was the king of the world. Defensive football was ugly and impossible to win the championship. Now Italy used their championship to slap these people in the face, telling them that in important games, defense was still the most important.
As for Zidane's fate … Tang En could only sigh.
A legend in this area bid farewell to his legendary career with the most legendary defense.
As for Materazzi, Tang En did not comment.
This World Cup came to an end.
Tang En ended his first job as a television commentator perfectly. Afterward, he received high praise from Motson, who thought it was great to work with him to commentate the game. He also asked if he was interested in resigning as a manager in the future and coming to BBC to develop his career. Of course, this was declined by Tang En with a smile. He still liked being a manager. How could there be a better sense of accomplishment than personally leading the charge and breaking through the enemy lines by commenting on others in the stands?
However, Motson's words did not open a door for Tang En. Instead, they opened a window. He knew his talent in this area. Perhaps after he really retired from his position as a manager in the future, he could still be a television commentator. Taking ten thousand steps back, he was not afraid of losing his job as a manager now, because he could no longer starve to death because of losing a game and losing his job.
Of course, this would not change his pursuit of victory. Because now his pursuit of victory was no longer to keep his job, but to declare war and slap those who looked down on him and waited to see him make more jokes after he angered the UEFA.
After the World Cup ended, the players seized the time to go on vacation. They did not have much time. As one of the earliest of the five major leagues in Europe, the English Premier League would kick off in mid-August. The team training time was also earlier than the other countries.
This time, in the United Kingdom's World Soccer magazine's special plan for the new season, the comment on Nottingham Forest was: this is a strong team. (To be continued, if you want to know what happened next, please log on to WWW. QIDIAN. COM. More chapters. Support the author. Support original reading!)
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