Tang En had claimed the day before the match that the match had entered his orbit. When his words got out, it caused an uproar in Barcelona. The Catalan media began to fight back. They went to the Barcelona players, hoping to get the team's support.
Eto 'o, the big mouth, was the first to jump out to respond to Tang En's provocation. In an interview with Mundo Deportivo, he said, "I don't know what his orbit is. Maybe it leads directly to the cliff? But I'm not surprised he said that, because only he would do something so ungentlemanly. Wasn't he like that after last year's final? "
This was an attack on Tang En's personal qualities and gentlemanly demeanor.
Barcelona's captain, Puyol, directly said that Tang En's actions were disrespectful to his opponent.
The Brazilian, the core of the team, Ronaldinho, was not worried about Tang En's orbit. He said to the reporters with a smile, "We'll play at our own pace, no matter who the opponent is."
Rijkaard refused to make any comments on this.
The entire Catalan region was still generally optimistic about the outcome of the match. After all, Barcelona was still leading in the league tournament. Their century-old opponent, Real Madrid, was at an all-time low. Capello's team dared to lose to any opponent. More than once, earth-shattering boos rang out at the Bernabéu Stadium, with eye-piercing white handkerchiefs waving. The Italian's dismissal seemed to have entered a countdown. The Real Madrid players and fans were equally confused, not knowing which way to go.
The more miserable the opponent was, the more it highlighted Barcelona's limitless glory.
The Barcelona people were not worried about the league title at all. They believed that the main focus of this season was not to defend the league title — because it was already an honor that belonged to them without having to deliberately defend it. Barcelona hoped to achieve a historic breakthrough in the European arena — to defend the Champions League title for the first time.
Now that Barcelona was in such good form, what was Nottingham Forest? They were just losers!
Barcelona's hardcore fan organization even shouted the slogan, "We beat you once last year, we'll beat you again this year!"
The media was still analyzing "Barcelona has a psychological advantage against Nottingham Forest." Why did they think there was a "psychological advantage"? It was because Barcelona had defeated Nottingham Forest in last year's Champions League final. According to convention, the winner would always maintain some psychological advantage over the loser. But did they all forget what Tang En said at the press conference?
Convention is ineffective against my team.
"Tony Twain is such a person. He's just habitually arrogant. If Rijkaard really thinks he has a foolproof countermeasure and tries to guess his thoughts, then he'll have fallen into Tang En's trap. My friends in England are happy to tell me about the various jokes this man has made there. In their opinion, it's a pity that this man is not a clown in a circus. He jumps up and down all day long, making shocking remarks, hoping to attract the attention of the world. Most of the time, he doesn't look like a football manager, but more like an entertainment star. You must know that when The Sun reports news about him, it's always on the entertainment page, not the sports page … "Mundo Deportivo, the representative media of Catalonia, finally defined Tony Twain's character as such.
They were promoting a person from an unfamiliar country, and the readers thought so too.
On the day of the game, the Barcelona media was full of such reports.
The war of words between Nottingham Forest and Barcelona had begun. Barcelona was fully involved, while the Nottingham Forest players stayed out of it. They did not accept any interviews and did not discuss the manager's words in front of the media. They prepared for the evening's game with peace of mind, letting Tang En be the shield to attract the firepower.
※ ※ ※
In the afternoon, before the team was about to board the bus to Camp Nou, Tang En was surrounded by many reporters at the hotel entrance.
"This is the last interview before the game." Tang En raised his index finger. "If you have any questions, hurry up and ask. If not, I'm leaving. You only have … "He looked down at his watch." five minutes. "
"That's too little!" A reporter complained.
"My team is about to go to the stadium. Do you want me to hold a forty-five-minute press conference here?" Tang En retorted sarcastically. He then added, "There are still four minutes left."
The reporters looked at each other. They did not expect Tang En to do this.
Only one person reacted first. Taking advantage of the fact that the other reporters were still dissatisfied with Tang En's treatment of them, she threw out her own question. "Mr. Tang En, may I ask that your remarks yesterday caused a huge uproar in Barcelona? Are you worried that your actions will anger your opponent and make today's match more difficult?"
The person asking the question was no stranger to Tang En. It was the China reporter, Tang Jing, who followed them wherever they appeared.
"Yo, I didn't expect to see you here, Reporter Tang," Tang En said in Mandarin.
"Answer my question quickly. Don't try to stall for time." Tang Jing's face was cold and ungrateful.
Tang En shrugged and replied in English, "Do you think the Champions League Round of 16 will be easy? Even if I don't say that, the game won't be easy. Besides, I'm telling the truth. Why should I worry? Anger my opponent? What does their mood have to do with me? If they feel unhappy, fine, come and beat me. If they beat me, they have the right to scold me until I'm black and blue and drown me with their saliva. If I win … hmph. "Tang En laughed." Those people will have to admit their mistakes! "
When Tang En answered Tang Jing's question, the other reporters finally reacted. They understood that reasoning would not work when faced with this person, so they all prepared their questions to ask.
Unexpectedly, Tang En had just answered Tang Jing's question when he raised his hand to signal for everyone to be quiet. "Alright, ladies and gentlemen. It's time for me to get on the bus and set off. I'll see you after the game! "As soon as he finished speaking, he turned and jumped on the bus. Without waiting for the group of reporters to react, the bus door had already closed automatically.
Everyone looked through the transparent window and saw Tony Twain standing inside the door, smiling smugly at them. And so, these people realized — they had been fooled again.
※ ※ ※
From the hotel to the stadium, George Wood, who would wear the captain's armband in the starting lineup for this game, had been silent. The others either listened to music to relax or took a nap to adjust their state. Only he sat upright and still, with a serious face.
Kerslake noticed the kid on the bus. When he got off, he quietly said to Tang En, "I keep feeling that George is too serious. He has the most important task in this game. Will he be nervous because of this?"
Tang En looked at the captain walking at the front of the team and shrugged. "Have you ever seen him nervous because of a game?"
"Uh …" Kerslake thought about it carefully. It seemed to be rare for Wood to be nervous. Tang En had once said that if Stuart Pearce had the heart of an oak tree, then George Wood's heart must be made of diamond.
Diamond was also known as diamond. It was the hardest natural substance in the world. Tang En's words were used to describe George Wood's tough and unyielding character. He would rarely have big emotional fluctuations and ups and downs.
Although Tang En did not think George Wood would be nervous because of this game, he felt that Kerslake's worries were not without reason. Before an important game, it was better to ensure that nothing went wrong. He decided to talk to Wood alone and find out what was going on in his mind.
So, when the team went out to warm up, Tang En followed Wood out.
"George, I think you're a little off today. Although you usually don't talk much, you're unusually quiet today. Is there something on your mind? "
"No."
"Don't tell me … you're nervous?" Tang En glanced at Wood.
Wood stopped in his tracks and turned to look at Tang En. "I'm not nervous. I just don't feel like talking. "
"Don't feel like talking. Can you tell me why?"
"I didn't participate in last year's finals. I want to play this game as the finals. Just now, I've been trying hard to remember what it was like on the day of last season's finals. "
Hearing Wood say that, Tang En did not know what to say for a moment. He remembered very clearly the reason why Wood could not participate in last season's finals.
"George, did you … hate me in your heart after that?" he asked cautiously.
Wood looked at him strangely. "Why would I hate you?"
"It was because I insisted on letting you play that led to you accumulating yellow cards and being suspended. If I had replaced you earlier, wouldn't you have been able to participate in that finals? "
Wood thought about it and then asked, "If the team was eliminated because you replaced me earlier, I would hate you."
Tang En suddenly laughed. He patted Wood's shoulder hard. "Don't think too highly of yourself, brat! We'll be eliminated if I replace you? I won't allow that to happen. "
"You can say whatever you want about the past." Wood did not comment on Tang En's big words.
Tang En also knew that he was nothing more than an afterthought. So, he changed the topic. "Just now, you said you were replaying the day of the finals in your head. How did it go?"
"If you hadn't come to me to say this, it would have been completed."
Tang En grinned. "Very good. It looks like you're full of confidence. Then I won't say this nonsense. I know you want to say that what I said was nonsense, right? Alright, then I won't say anything. But later, you'll have to use your actions to prove that what you said just now was not nonsense. "
Wood snorted. Tang En pushed him from behind. "Go out and warm up. Don't let the Barcelona people wait too long."
Watching Wood run out, Tang En turned around and walked back to the locker room. The booing outside was already quite loud. If he went out again, it would probably be even louder. As the "final boss" hated by the Barcelona people, it was too degrading for him to appear so early.
※ ※ ※
While the team warmed up amidst the overwhelming booing, Tang En was busy alone in the locker room, making the final preparations. His preparation was not writing on the tactical board. Instead, it was arranging the newspapers — English, Spanish, Catalan. There was even a local Chinese newspaper placed on the table in front of him.
When the players returned from their warm-up, they saw the colorful newspapers placed on the table. It was very eye-catching. Everyone was confused. They did not know what new tricks the Boss had up his sleeves in the precious time before the match.
When everyone came in and the locker room door was closed again, Tang En sat by the table and cleared his throat.
"Good evening, everyone. It's time for Tony to read the newspapers. Tony Twain will quickly take you through the latest news, anecdotes, and scandals from all over the world. "
Everyone who was looking forward to the new tricks the Boss was going to play laughed.
Tang En also laughed with them. This was the result he wanted. Full of fighting spirit, but never nervous. When everyone stopped laughing, he casually picked up a few newspapers and showed them to everyone.
"'Mundo Deportivo' analyzed and argued from ten aspects and finally came to an 'authoritative' conclusion that we can't beat the invincible Second Dream Team in an away game."
"'Daily Sport' said that Nottingham Forest's manager, Tony Twain, is bluffing again. This is a common trick to hide the fear and weakness in their hearts."
"There are also some messy tabloids whose names can't be named. They claim that Nottingham Forest's ability to advance to the Champions League final last season was due to dogsh * t luck. They could only go to Paris because no one paid them any attention. Now that Barcelona is playing at home against Nottingham Forest, it's a good opportunity to see how the Second Dream Team will beat the fake strong team back to its original form. Let the mighty Barcelona teach the ignorant Forest team what a true strong team is, what a true … f * cking European champion is. "
The last swear word was added by Tang En himself.
"Guys, these are all genuine media comments. I didn't make up a word." Tang En shook the newspapers in his hands, making a rattling sound. "These newspapers can be bought in every corner of Barcelona. They represent the city's true view of us. It's really unfriendly … "
Then he casually threw the newspapers on the table. Some even slipped to the ground, but he did not bend over to pick them up. He did not even look at the pitiful newspapers. He discarded them after he had used them.
Tang En stood up from his chair and looked at everyone in the locker room. He said very seriously, "It's obvious that we're being looked down upon. We're being looked down upon! This makes me very unhappy. We're not being respected at all. What should we do? "He smiled again. The expression on his face changed like the weather in Nottingham during the summer. "It's actually very simple. Use our victory to force the arrogant Barcelona to bow their heads. If they think we can't win, then we'll win for them to see! They think this is a good opportunity for the Second Dream Team to teach us. Then we'll let them see who's teaching who! "
Seeing the positive changes on everyone's faces, Tang En felt that the time was ripe. He took advantage of the momentum and roared, "Who do they think we are?! We're their creditors, Nottingham Forest! "
That's right. Barcelona's creditors, loan sharks. I'm here to collect interest today.
※ ※ ※
(Note 1: The oak tree is majestic and imposing. From a spatial point of view, it is not an exaggeration to describe it as "majestic." At the same time, its bark is tough, and the outer layer of its seeds is wrapped in a hard shell. Animals that eat hard fruits are often unable to chew through it. All of its characteristics ensure the strength of the tree. Unless it is deliberately destroyed by humans, ordinary natural disasters cannot destroy it. Therefore, Westerners see the oak tree as a symbol of strength. Pierce has the reputation of "The Heart of the Oak" because of his tenacious style of play, high psychological quality, and strong as iron.)
PS: Everyone knows that there was a huge earthquake in Wenchuan, Sichuan. Chengdu is only 92 kilometers away from the epicenter. On the afternoon of the 12th, when I was writing at home, the building suddenly shook violently, so I fled in a hurry. The manuscript was written at the risk of death. Now there are many cracks on the walls at home, and there are some rumors outside. In short, I feel uneasy. I will try not to let this matter affect the update, but if there really is an accident, please understand.
Lin Hai Tingtao, Chengdu, Sichuan.
2008.5.12
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