The term "legendary figure" had been overused, but he was a true "legend."
— Arsène Wenger (Arsenal manager).
A red Ford Focus from 2001 was driving on the A52 road. Four men sat in the car, three of them in high spirits, and only one of them grumbling incessantly.
"Kenny, I have a question for you. Is your bar closed today? "
Burns shrugged. "I'm the boss, not the bartender. I don't have to be there all the time."
Tang En rolled his eyes, then turned to look at Walker, who was sitting beside Burns. "Why are you here, Des?"
Walker only smiled foolishly and did not reply. He and Burns sat in the back, excited like star-chasers going to a celebrity concert.
Looking at their silly expressions, Tang En turned back to the front of the car and exclaimed, "This is so unfair. Boss invited me and Bowyer. Why did the two of you come as well?"
"Don't be so petty, Tony. I think Boss would like to see us go to see him. "
"That's right. The more the merrier."
Tang En did not know what to say. He sighed and said to Bowyer, who was driving, "Let's listen to a song."
Bowyer pressed the play button on the car's stereo system, but the music that came out gave Tang En a fright. It was a real "fright." If not for his seatbelt, Tang En's head would have definitely hit the roof of the car.
That was because the music that came out of the stereo was a group of fans shouting, just like what he had heard during the match.
"This is music?"
The two people in the back burst into laughter. Tang En was speechless from their laughter. He realized that there was a clear "generation gap" between him and the three of them. The three of them seemed to have a tacit understanding when they were together, and they knew many things that Tang En did not. For example, "Boss" and this "music."
After the fans' shouts ended, the music finally played. However, after hearing the first line, Tang En was stunned again. It was the song he often heard on the field, Nottingham Forest's team song, "We've Got the Whole World in Our Hands."
"Isn't this the fans' …" he asked doubtfully.
Bowyer shook his head. "What you're hearing now is our own song."
"And me," Burns added from behind.
"This was recorded by all the Forest players in the recording studio at the time." Walker explained further to Tang En. "At first, they were invited by a television program. At that time, I wasn't in Forest yet. They sang the song on the program, and it was then recorded and released as an album."
"Sales are good," Bowyer said proudly. Then, he began to hum the tune of the song, his voice getting louder and louder. Then, Burns and Walker joined in the chorus.
Cars passed a street sign marked "Derby" to the sound of men singing proudly.
Brian Clough. The name was unfamiliar to Tang En, who had transmigrated from China. But for the entire English football scene, it was the most unique name. Even though he had retired a long time ago, he still maintained enough influence in this circle. He could casually criticize the players and coaches he disliked. Even a big shot like Sir Alex Ferguson did not dare to talk back when he scolded him. Using a line from a movie, it would be — I'm not in Jianghu, but Jianghu has its own legend.
From the moment he set foot in the football scene, this name appeared again and again, accompanied by various miracles. When he was a player, he set the record for the fastest 200 goals in England. He played 296 games for Middlesbrough and Sunderland and scored 267 goals. Of those, he scored 204 goals in 222 games for Middlesbrough and 63 goals in 74 games for Sunderland. This was a goal scoring efficiency that would be terrifying even in modern times. But his career as a player was very short. He retired at the age of 29 due to an injury and took up a coaching position.
It was his position as a manager that really made him famous and became the "godfather of football" of this generation.
Derby County, who had just lost to Tang En, was currently ranked 21st in England's second division and was in deep financial trouble. But even though they were in dire straits now, they were once glorious. Their most glorious years were known as the "Brian Clough Era." Just by hearing the name, one would know who was the manager of that team at that time.
In the 1965/67 season, Clough became the manager of this team. He used two years to lead the struggling Derby County in League Two (equivalent to the current League One) to become the League Two champion, and then won the League One champion in the 71/72 season. The following season, his team made it to the semifinals of the UEFA Champions League. Unfortunately, they lost to Juventus, who were said to have bribed the referee.
Following that, he left the team and moved to Nottingham Forest, creating a brand new "Forest Dynasty" that dominated English and European football. And at that time, the Derby County team became the League One champion again in the 74/75 season because of the solid foundation laid by Clough. But they lost the UEFA Champions League to the Spanish overlord, Real Madrid the following year.
As for Clough's achievements after becoming the Forest manager, there was no need to elaborate further. Anyone who had a slight understanding of the English and European football scene in the late seventies and early eighties would know that the main color during that period was red, because the two teams that dominated European football at that time both wore red jerseys. One was Liverpool, and the other was Clough's Nottingham Forest.
If people only remembered him because of his results, then Clough was no different from most managers. But in reality, he was the most unique manager in the history of English football. His charisma was comparable to Liverpool's greatest manager in history, Bill Shankly.
Tang En wholeheartedly agreed with this. It was clear just by looking at the performance of the three men beside him. He felt that it was very much like his previous school experience. A good form teacher would make his students unable to forget him long after they graduated, and their attitude would certainly be respectful when they mentioned him. On the other hand, an incompetent form teacher would only make his students curse and mock him in the future.
Clough was one of those very, very outstanding form teachers.
He had only won the Manager of the Year award for February once, and it had already made Tang En feel complacent for a long time. But in front of Clough, he was like an ant facing a tall mountain, just a speck of dust under Clough's feet.
And today, he was going to face the most famous manager in the history of English football. Looking at the gradually bustling street scene outside the window, an extraordinary feeling suddenly welled up from the bottom of his heart. I'm not going to have afternoon tea with an old man who had retired from his coaching position. Instead, I'm going on a pilgrimage to meet an emperor who had founded the Forest Dynasty.
After his retirement, the old manager's home was no longer in the downtown area of Derby. He had bought a small manor that looked like a farm on the outskirts northwest of Derby. It hung alone outside the city, with only a narrow and difficult to walk path connecting it to the bustling world.
The car bumped along the road. It almost made Tang En carsick. He never thought that such a great manager would actually live in such a place. Looking at the muddy road under the car's wheels, he reckoned that it would be even more muddy and difficult to walk on when it rained.
"We're here," Bowyer suddenly said. Bowyer suddenly said. Tang En noticed a red brick building in the forest ahead. It was no different from any brick building he had seen anywhere in the country. This place was too inconspicuous. Tang En was a little disappointed.
Just as he got out of the car, he heard a dog barking. Then he saw a golden shepherd rush out of the courtyard and pounce directly at him.
"Wah!" Tang En covered his face with his hands and shouted. He was really afraid of dogs …
However, this shepherd dog only put its front paws on his shoulder and stuck out its tongue, panting as it tried to lick his face.
The three people at the side saw Tang En's sorry state and laughed. "Hey! Tony, it just wants to be intimate with you. "Walker laughed.
At this moment, an old but somewhat sharp and loud voice came from the courtyard.
"Looks like Sam likes you a lot, kid."
Hearing this voice, other than Tang En, who was being "intimate" with by the dog, the other three people stopped laughing and stood respectfully on the spot.
An old man walked out of the courtyard with slow steps. He looked at the three people standing by the car and muttered, "What the hell … I only prepared two sets of tea sets for the guests. Walker, what brand of juice do you like? "
Hearing this, Walker was dumbfounded. "Boss, I'm already of age …"
The two people at the side lowered their heads and tried their best to hold back their laughter. Finally, the laughter escaped from their mouths.
The old man ignored Walker's complaint and turned to look at Burns. "It's been so many years, but you haven't become any more handsome, Kenny."
Burns smiled awkwardly. "Boss, you know … I don't like plastic surgery." When Burns was still a player, his own manager had publicly announced that Kenny Burns was the ugliest player he had ever signed.
Hearing this answer, the old man smiled. Then he looked at Tang En, who was still "intimate" with the dog, and exclaimed, "I didn't think you liked Sam so much." He whistled, and the dog immediately let go of the poor Tang En and ran back to its owner's side.
Tang En wiped the saliva off his face with difficulty and finally saw the old man standing in front of him clearly.
His face was haggard, and his eyes were swollen. His eyelids were drooping, as if he had not woken up yet. Was this the legendary Brian Clough whose name shook the European football scene back then? Tang En felt that reality was indeed far from his dreams …
"Are you disappointed?" Clough's words gave Tang En a fright. The old man had guessed correctly.
"Oh, are you going to reevaluate me now?" Clough continued.
Tang En shrugged. "Evaluating others is the job of the personnel department …" Faced with this old man with a sharp gaze, he did not know what to say for the first time. It looked like his premonition on the way here was right.
"You're wrong, kid. What do you think a manager does? "
"Leading a team to victory …"
"That's just a part of the job." Clough waved his hand. "Come in, I think the cookies should be ready. Let's chat over tea. I really liked the show you put on during the half-time interval of the FA Cup match. "
Bowyer deliberately stayed at the back. When Tang En came up, he whispered to him, "The boss likes you very much, but that's just his personality. Don't take it to heart."
Tang En nodded. "I like this kind of personality."
Bowyer smiled. "We like it too.
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