Things developed very much in line with Twain's wishes.
The next day, all the major media outlets were hyping up the verbal battle between Manager Tony Twain and The Sun's reporter at the press conference. No one paid any attention to the three players' visit to prostitutes.
Even The Sun itself was hyping up the matter. Of course, they would not say anything good about Twain. They described Twain as unreasonable, badgering, spewing obscenities, and completely uncultured.
Such a description lacked creativity. They had used it on Twain before. So, Twain did not care about such evaluations at all. Even if the whole world thought he was the incarnation of Satan with horns on his head, he did not care.
He was happy to see that no one cared about what the three players did in the red light district.
Now that the focus of the media hype was on him, it gave the team the calmness they needed the most.
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The Amsterdam Invitational Tournament had a history of 31 years and had been held 26 times so far. Because of its long history and the high standards of the teams invited, it had the reputation of "Europe's First Invitational Tournament." Even so, a friendly match was still a friendly match. Tang En did not value the team's ability to achieve good results in this invitational tournament. He valued the team's condition more. This was a great opportunity to test the results of their training during this period of time.
The match between Nottingham Forest and Porto was the second match. In the first match, the host Ajax drew 1: 1 with Inter Milan. Adriano continued his bad form of not scoring goals in the World Cup.
In this match, Twain did not use the parallel 4-4-2 formation that they were best at in the previous two seasons. Instead, he played 4-4-51, or more specifically, 4-4-11.
As the striker, van Nistelrooy was alone at the front. Behind him as the "1" was van der Vaart, whose position was between the attacking midfielder and the shadow striker. Twain's special instruction to him was to make more long shots.
The "4" behind him also had some changes to the Forest team's lineup from last season.
No matter how Twain diverted the media's attention at the press conference yesterday, or how much of a ruckus he made to absolve his men, his arrangements today still exposed the other side of the matter. Ashley Young did not appear in the right midfielder position. The other right midfielder, Aaron Lennon, was also not there. The player in the starting lineup was the China player, Sun Jihai.
Sun Jihai was really a very good jack-of-all-trades. He could play as a right back, right midfielder, defensive midfielder.
The starting left midfielder was not Ribéry, but Petrov.
The two center midfielders were a combination from last season — George Wood and Mikel Arteta.
The rear defensive line had not changed from last season: the center backs Pepe and Piqué, the left back Leighton Baines, the right back Chimbonda, and the goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar.
On the bench sat all the players except Ashley Young, Aaron Lennon and Gareth Bale.
Tang En drew the starting lineup on the tactical board. After explaining the specific tactics, he gave a final reminder, "Two requirements." He held up two fingers. "First, don't get hurt. Second, you have to show off your abilities without getting hurt. "
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Sometimes, when you think about it, there are many interesting things in this world.
Porto was the third strong Portuguese team that Nottingham Forest had faced in three years. Tang En's team seemed to have a special affinity with Portugal.
First, it was Benfica, then Sporting Lisbon, then Porto.
And now, the Forest team's defensive midfielder, Pepe, was bought from Porto. Porto was a team that Tang En's old enemy, Mourinho, had once coached and was famous in Europe.
After Mourinho's departure, Porto might still be able to dominate in Portugal, but it would not be so easy to maintain their position in European football.
Today's Amsterdam Invitational Tournament was a match between the king of European football from three years ago and the upstart of today.
The strength of the two teams was not on the same level anymore.
In the first half, the Forest team scored two goals and basically locked in the victory.
After receiving Petrov's pass, van Nistelrooy stabbed the ball in five meters in front of the goal, continuing his good form in the friendly matches and training. It also proved once again that his departure from Manchester United was definitely not due to a decline in form or the nonsense of age.
"Nottingham Forest scored! Van Nistelrooy and Petrov, the tacit performance between the two new players! "
Tang En stood up from his seat and applauded the field. Of course, the goal was worth being happy about, but what made him even happier was the tacit understanding the team showed before the goal.
After Arteta received the ball, he passed it to van der Vaart, who received the ball with his back facing the goal. Under the circumstances where van der Vaart did not have the chance to turn around and shoot, he cleverly passed the ball to Petrov, who was plugging in at high speed on the flank. Then, Petrov relied on his speed to force a breakthrough and pass the ball into the middle. Van Nistelrooy's instincts as a world-class striker were on full display at this moment. When he saw that the opposing defender was pressing hard, he first rushed forward and looked like he was going to receive the ball. Halfway through, he suddenly braked and retreated. The opposing defender did not fall for it and also turned to retreat. At this moment, van Nistelrooy brushed past the other side — he suddenly started to plug forward again! After these two battles of wits, there was no longer a Porto defensive player around him. After receiving the ball, he easily broke through the goal.
Van der Vaart showed a valuable side in this attack. That was, under the circumstances where he had no chance to shoot, he would promptly pass the ball to a teammate in a better position, instead of turning around himself to seek a shot.
Tang En saw all of this and kept it in mind. He liked this kind of player. If van der Vaart was the kind of person who was willing to sacrifice the team's interests for his own shot, then Tang En would not hesitate to abandon him, even if he had just spent four million pounds on it and promised a lot of good futures.
The second ball came more easily. There was no complicated passing coordination. Arteta's sudden dribbling and plugging in attracted the attention of the Porto players. Just as everyone focused their energy on the Spanish player, he passed the ball horizontally to van der Vaart. Then, the former Ajax player took a long shot in this former home ground amidst the cheers of countless Ajax fans!
The football whizzed past Porto's defensive line and blasted into the goal!
"Rafael van der Vaart — for him, this is a perfect farewell and a new lease on life! He bid farewell to Ajax with his best way of scoring goals, proving his all-round strength to his new owner! Ajax's number 23 has become Nottingham Forest's number 23. Good luck, Rafael! "The Dutch commentator shouted from the commentator's seat.
During the halftime interval, Tang En analyzed the two goals for the team. He praised the entire team for the first goal, while he praised van der Vaart, who had scored the goal, and Arteta, who had assisted his competitor.
"Guys, do you remember what people said about us a month ago? 'This is a strong team.' Now I'm very happy that you've proven this point. Keep it up in the second half! "
Following that, Tang En changed five players in one go, using up all five substitutions during the halftime interval. The team's formation also returned to the 4-4-2 formation they were best at last season, with only slight differences.
Van Nistelrooy, who had scored the goal, was replaced. Tang En sent Bendtner to play as the center forward, while Eastwood replaced Arteta. The team's midfield became a diamond formation. Ribéry replaced Sun Jihai to play as the right midfielder, while Petrov's position remained unchanged.
For the center back, Tang En replaced Piqué and replaced him with Kompany.
Five substitutions in exchange for a big change in the team's face.
The first half was Tang En experimenting with more tactical possibilities, while the second half was a set of tactics that would likely be used more often in the new season. Of course, the lineup would not be the same as it was now.
After the second half, Forest Team changed its offensive momentum from the first half and switched to defense.
Tang En was still constantly experimenting and adjusting tactics. He wanted to see what tactics should be used in different situations, as well as how the team would perform.
There was one thing that everyone was well aware of, even though no one was willing to say it. Who was the direct beneficiary of Tang En's neglect of Anelka? It was Eastwood, who had missed the vast majority of last season's matches due to his injury.
His first match back on the field had been stunning, but it had been quiet again afterward. After nine months, two surgeries, and repeated injuries had still affected his condition.
Now that Anelka was no longer occupying the main position, Tang En could justifiably give Eastwood more chances to regain his match form.
Tang En did not say any of this to him, but he knew Eastwood must be clear that this was his chance. He had to grasp it, or he would be eliminated. Even if the Boss allowed him to continue staying in the team, he would not agree to that kind of life.
Eastwood had to prove that Manager Tang En's abandonment of Anelka was correct, because he could still use him as a forward.
As a forward, what was the best way to prove that he was not old?
"Is _ GOOOOAL — Freddy Eastwood! What a nostalgic name … He scored! Nottingham Forest leads Porto by three goals! "
Tang En jumped up from the substitutes' bench. Eastwood did not let him down.
After scoring, Eastwood ran over to Tang En and hugged him tightly.
This goal was, of course, dedicated to Manager Tony Twain, who had always supported him, trusted him, and waited for the opportunity to give him a new lease on life.
His teammates all rushed up to celebrate Eastwood's goal. Only Anelka did not get up from the substitutes' bench.
"… For you, I f * cking let my favorite player sit on the bench!"
Anelka still clearly remembered the words that Twain had roared out in a fit of rage back then.
Now, you finally don't have to let your favorite player sit on the bench …
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Porto only scored a face-saving goal at the last moment with a long shot from their young player, Anderson.
Through this match, everyone realized the strength of the current Forest team. In the press conference after the match, the Portuguese media no longer indignantly called the result of the Forest team's victory over Porto an "upset." As opponents, they acknowledged the Forest team's current strength and status. They were indeed a strong team.
What a joke. If a team with Van Nistelrooy, van der Vaart, Edwin van der Sar, Ribéry, Wood, and others was still called a dark horse, then what would a truly strong team be like?
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A day later, the Forest team welcomed their last opponent in the invitational tournament at the same stadium — the host, Ajax.
In this match, Tang En unexpectedly started as a substitute player.
He was well aware of the inadequacy of his team's substitutes, so he seized every opportunity to give them a chance to play and practice. Even in the invitational tournament, where there was hope of winning the championship, he only considered how to let his entire team get a comprehensive training, not a mere invitational tournament trophy.
As a result, the starting goalkeeper was Paul Gerrard, the starting center backs were Kompany and Wes Morgan, and the starting defensive midfielder became Sun Jihai. It looked like Tang En was determined to let Sun Jihai, a jack of all trades, fully play his role. Albertini also appeared in the starting lineup. Chris Commons became the starting right midfielder, and van der Vaart went to the left to become the left midfielder. The strikers were Bendtner and Viduka.
Tang En's request for van der Vaart was not to let him move around on the left flank, but to lean as far as possible to the middle, and then let Leighton Baines actively assist.
He referred to the tactics of Real Madrid's most glorious moments at the beginning of the century, intending to test whether it suited the Forest team in actual combat.
Of course, because he had punished three people, and all three of them had their own important roles in the team's tactical system, the results of the test would certainly be discounted.
With such a combination of lineups and this tactic, the Forest team's results could be imagined. They lost to the host team, Ajax, in this match, with a score of 1: 2.
At the last moment, after Tang En used up four substitutions, he finally remembered to send Anelka on the field. But with only ten minutes of time left for him, Anelka could do nothing. He did not score. The Forest team's only goal was scored by Bendtner.
Because they lost to Ajax, Nottingham Forest did not win the championship.
Ajax's rules were very special. In addition to adhering to the general rule of three points for a win, one point for a draw, and zero points for a loss, they also had a self-created rule that was increasingly used in invitational tournaments to encourage offense. Every goal scored counted as one point, and the team's points should be the points from the game's wins, draws, losses, plus the points from the goals scored.
Nottingham Forest achieved a record of one win and one loss, giving them three points for the game. Then they scored a total of four goals in the two games. One goal counted as one point, which counted as four points. The two added up to the Forest team's final points in this invitational tournament — seven points.
The title of this invitational tournament was eventually won by Mancini's Inter Milan. They had two games, one draw, and one win, accumulating four points, beating the host team, Ajax, by the number of goals scored.
Nottingham Forest and Ajax both had seven points, but they were ranked third because of their wins and losses. Tang En did not care about these rankings. The day after the game, he led the team back to Nottingham after the training in the Netherlands.
It was already August. In another ten days, the new English Premier League season would kick off. That was the game that Tang En had to haggle over.
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Sorry, I'm not feeling too well today, so I sent it late. (To be continued, if you want to know what happens next, please log on to WWW. QIDIAN. COM. More chapters. Support the author. Support original reading!)
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