When the three whistles sounded, the golden beer in Nottingham's pubs, big and small, was splashed into the air. The cars on the street gave a deafening honk. They stopped, and the drivers and passengers leaned out of the windows and waved their arms and shouted.
"Champions! Champions! We're the champions! "
The celebration in Nottingham and the celebration in the Olympic Stadium of Athens merged into one.
The Forest players ran wildly on the field, cheered, and spoke incoherently as they were interviewed. The media were like flies circling around a cream cake. They surrounded the Forest players, and the cameras, cameras, and microphones were all extended forward.
As the team's manager and the biggest contributor to the miracle of creating the championship, Tang En was surrounded by the most media.
Tang En ignored them. He ran straight onto the field to celebrate with his players. He hugged everyone, his lips tightly pressed together, unable to speak. He was so excited that he did not care about the media surrounding him and filming him that he forgot that the first thing he should do after the game was to shake hands with the opposing manager.
By the time he came back to his senses and remembered the matter, Ancelotti had long left.
"Manager Tang En! Manager Tang En! Can you do a simple interview? "
"How does it feel to win the championship? Mr. Tang En? "
"It's f * * king great! Haha! "Tang En laughed loudly and spat out an obscenity. At this time, he felt that he was the happiest person in the world. The frequent flashes of lights made him feel dizzy.
Is this real? I've become the manager who picked up the Champions League?
I'm not dreaming, am I? I, a manager who became a manager halfway through, can also become the king of Europe one day?
Are you sure this is not FM 2007? Am I not playing a game? It was a scene that could only be seen on the television screen in the past, and now he was experiencing it himself …
My team really, really became the European champion?!
He ran back and forth on the field aimlessly. No matter where he ran, he would be followed by a large group of reporters carrying cameras, holding cameras, and holding microphones.
He saw Eastwood kneeling on the ground, crying bitterly, and ran over.
"Hey, what are you crying for, Romani boy! You should be happy that we're the champions! "He laughed loudly.
"I'm happy, boss!" Eastwood turned his head and saw the boss standing next to him. He also saw a large group of reporters behind the boss. The cameras and cameras in their hands were aimed at him … The gypsy quickly wiped away his tears and stood up from the ground. "Boss, you're like a giant piece of dog sh * t. Everywhere you go, you bring a swarm of flies with you!"
"Hey! Freddy, you're a legendary shooter now. You have to watch your image in front of the media! A goal that sealed the victory in the Champions League final. Beautifully done! "Tang En finished speaking and hugged Eastwood tightly in his arms with a bear hug.
※ ※ ※
Maldini looked at the man before him, and the latter was also looking at him.
"Well, are you going to apologize to me?" he asked.
The man shook his head, then nodded.
"I want to swap jerseys with you."
Maldini did not expect Demetrio Albertini to make such a request, so he was a little surprised.
"Aren't you going to give me a retirement present?" Albertini took off his jersey and handed it to Maldini.
"You've already snatched the championship title, and you're still asking me for a present …" Maldini muttered, but he still took off his jersey and handed it to Albertini.
"Have you really decided to retire just like that?" Maldini asked after exchanging jerseys.
Albertini nodded. "I'm tired and satisfied. I can't think of any reason to continue playing. "
Looking at his old friend, Maldini could not get angry even if he wanted to.
He had played at AC Milan until he was thirty-eight years old and enjoyed all kinds of praise. Demetrio, who was as loyal to AC Milan as he was, could only wander outside … Then this championship trophy might be the best compensation for AC Milan, which owed him, right?
Maldini looked up at the podium. He even wondered if the Forest team could still break into the final and win the game if Demetrio was not in the team.
Unfortunately, there were no ifs or what-ifs on the football field.
Albertini turned his head to look behind him. The Forest team members had gathered together hand in hand, ready to thank the Forest fans in the stands.
He had to say goodbye to Maldini. "I have to go … Well …"
"Go ahead. Call me when you're back in Milan." Maldini waved his hand.
Albertini nodded. "I'm sorry, Paolo …" he whispered and turned to run away.
※ ※ ※
The Forest players were waiting for their captain, Albertini. When he ran over, they held hands and rushed to the Forest fans' stands.
When they ran to the goal over there, everyone dove and slid on the ground collectively.
There were deafening cheers in the stands.
The players stood up and applauded to thank them.
After Tang En had done this, he was surrounded by reporters in the middle of the field for an interview. His brain had calmed down, and he was convinced that he was not dreaming. He was indeed a champion manager.
Tang Jing pulled Dunn alone to a secluded corner for an exclusive interview. As the first assistant manager to win the Champions League, Dunn had too many things worth hyping up for coverage. The other Chinese media surrounded Sun Jihai. Although the Chinese player did not play for a minute and only sat on the substitutes' bench for 90 minutes, it was enough for the Chinese media to be excited for a few days.
This was the first Champions League won by a Chinese player!
Tang En found the Italian photojournalist who had secretly taken a picture of him raising his hand among the reporters. He was the culprit that caused everything. If he had not secretly taken that picture and deliberately misinterpreted it and put it in the media, how could there have been the matter of him promising to jump into the sea if he could not win?
Meeting again, as a victor, Tang En did not give the other party any face.
"Hey, isn't this the Italian photojournalist? What? Are you here to raise your hands and surrender to me today? Oh, what a pity. If we were in war, I'd just kill a captive like you, so as not to waste food. Our army will never accept captives. "
His words made the Italian reporter's face pale and red. He did not know what to do with his hands.
After mocking the Italian photojournalist, Tang En glanced at the crowd in front of him. He saw many Italian reporters among them. At the thought of the Italian media's behavior before the game, he could not suppress the disgust in his heart.
"I'll be happy to answer your questions. But before that, I also have my conditions — I won't accept any questions from the Italian media or Italian reporters. I can't understand your broken English. "He shrugged and spread his hands.
Originally, the Italian reporters thought that Tang En, in a good mood, would grant their requests after winning the championship. They did not expect this man to be so vengeful. For a moment, they looked at each other and did not know what to do.
"You don't have the right to do this!" An Italian reporter shouted in very pure English.
"I do!" Tang En glared and roared back. "I'm the champion now! You're the ones begging me to accept the interview, not me! Listen to me or not! If you don't like to interview me, I'm happy to go back and rest! "
With that, Tang En pushed through the crowd to leave.
"I've never seen a manager as ungentlemanly as you, Mr. Tony Tang En!" The Italian reporter shouted in dissatisfaction from behind.
Tang En stopped and turned to look at him. "You're right, Mr. Reporter. I'm ungentlemanly, and I don't care what you Italians think of me. I don't mind you writing in the newspaper that I'm no different from Mussolini. You can attack me in tomorrow's newspaper for refusing to accept your interview. You can also say that I despise the whole of Italy. Do you want to PS a picture of me giving you the middle finger to attract attention? Look, how considerate I am to you. I've provided you with such a great topic to stir up. Why do you still want to interview me? Nothing good comes out of my mouth. Why aren't you comforting the losers? Why are you surrounding me? "
With that, Tang En turned and hurried away again. A group of people hurriedly surrounded him.
"Mr. Tang En, Mr. Tang En, we're not Italian reporters!"
"That's right, I'm from Spain. I have nothing to do with Italy!"
"I'm an English reporter myself …"
As Tang En walked, he casually answered the media's questions. At this time, he fully enjoyed the privilege of being a champion.
The group of Italian reporters who had been left behind felt that everything that had just happened was too unbelievable. They had never seen such an ungentlemanly champion. Who was he? What was his brain made of? How could he be so vengeful? What right did he have? Was he not afraid of the media attacking him? Did he not care about his personal image and reputation?
They were right. Tang En really did not care how the Italian media viewed him and attacked him. He did not care about his image and reputation among this group of people at all. He was only responsible for the Nottingham Forest fans. It was enough for him as long as the Nottingham Forest fans liked and loved him. He did not even care about the English media. This was something that the English counterparts of the Italian reporters must have felt deeply.
※ ※ ※
The interview on the field did not last long. The Forest players all returned to the locker room to change into the T-shirts that the club had specially prepared for this championship. Under the red background, there was a golden number "3." There was a line of golden letters above and below the number:
“CHAMPION
NOTTINGHAMFOREST”
The champion was Nottingham Forest!
Right now, the podium was probably being built outside. The players were not in a hurry to go out yet. They continued to celebrate wildly in the locker room.
The champagne had already been opened, and the shirtless players were "firing" at each other with the bottles in their hands.
Tang En had just ended the interview and pushed the door open to enter when he was doused from head to toe with several streams of champagne. The photographers who had followed behind Tang En, intending to take some shots of the team's locker room, were also unlucky. Wine stains appeared on the lenses of their cameras.
After everyone saw clearly that it was the boss who had entered, they roared with laughter.
"Welcome, our champion manager, Tony Tang En!"
Everyone raised the bottles in their hands and moved closer to Tang En. From the looks of it, they were about to pour the champagne on his head. Tang En, who was caught off guard, hurriedly asked Kerslake for help. "Help me, David!"
Kerslake stood up with a sense of brotherhood. He sat on the chair and was a head taller than everyone else. He raised his hands and signaled for everyone to calm down. "Listen to me, listen to me, guys!"
Everyone temporarily put down the bottles in their hands and looked at their assistant manager.
"You've all listened to the manager's teachings more than once, right?" He stood on the chair and pointed at Tang En as he spoke to everyone.
"Yes, yes!" The players nodded in reply.
"He's the one who instilled you with spirit and faith!" Kerslake raised his voice and waved his arms more vigorously.
"That's right!" Someone replied loudly.
"Let's cheer for him together. Chant after me: Damn Tony!"
"Damn Tony!" The players roared loudly.
"We need your damn incitement!"
"We need your damn incitement!"
"We're a bunch of mad dogs. A bunch of drooling, courageously advancing mad dogs … We beat our opponents into a pulp!"
The players roared as if they were really mad dogs.
"Defense, what do we live for!"
The defensive players shouted one after another, "Get rid of the opponent! Flatten them! "
"Attack, what do we live for!" Kerslake waved his arms and shouted rhythmically.
"Score! Score! Score! "
"I say, guys! What do we live for? What do we die for?! "Kerslake raised his arms and asked loudly with his head raised.
The players, whose emotions had been completely stirred up, stood on their chairs. They waved their fists and roared at the sky, "Victory! Champion! Victory! Champion! "
Tang En watched from the side with a grin. At that moment, he saw Kerslake suddenly turn his hand and point at him as he roared, "Now, let's thank the person who brought us the championship!"
With that, he took the bottle handed to him by someone else, twisted it open, and poured the wine on Tang En.
More players rushed forward and poured the wine in their hands on Tang En.
"Drink to your heart's content in celebration!"
"Cheers!" Tang En wiped the wine off his face. His eyes could finally see the people in front of him.
After the players finished teasing their manager, they went to tease each other.
Tang En pulled Kerslake and insisted on using his suit to wipe his face. "Damn it, David. What you've just said makes my blood boil! If I had a bottle of wine on hand, I'd pour it on your head too! "
"Didn't I learn it from you, Tony? Haha! "Kerslake laughed heartily.
Looking at the group of naked players scurrying around the locker room, Tang En remembered something. He clapped his hands and shouted, "All right, all right, guys! Change your clothes and go out to receive the award. We've already made AC Milan wait twice! "
※ ※ ※
Yes, the podium had long been set up, but the main character had not arrived, so the award ceremony could not proceed.
The dejected AC Milan players had no choice but to wait amidst the cheers of the Forest fans until their opponents appeared at the entrance of the tunnel.
Tang En walked out from there with a group of extremely excited players, their faces glowing. Seeing the main character appear, the atmosphere at the scene rose to another level.
"Tony! Tony! You did what you said! "
"Champion! We're the champions! Nottingham Forest is the champion! "
Loud shouts erupted from the stands. Amidst the voices, all the Forest players came to the side of the podium.
The first to proceed was the award ceremony for the runner-up. The Forest players did not care about this procedure. They continued to party wantonly on the field, celebrating to their heart's content.
It was Tang En who finally found the opportunity to go up and shake hands with Ancelotti.
The two men said nothing, and there was nothing they could say. Silence was the best. A simple handshake and they parted.
Then Tang En stood to the side and quietly watched the runners-up come on stage to receive the silver medals. He knew that these AC Milan players must be dissatisfied, just like he was last year. At that time, he was so angry that he directly threw the silver medal he had just received to a ball boy. These people obviously would not do something as shocking as he did, because the AC Milan players were all well-behaved, standard professional players in line with their chairman, Berlusconi's aesthetic standards.
So what if they were dissatisfied? Now they were losers. Just like us last year. There could only be one champion and one winner in the football world. History was written by the victors, just like in football.
Gattuso went to accept the silver medal with a black face. As soon as he came down, he stuffed the silver medal into his pants, only the belt swinging outside.
You must be in a bad mood, right?
In fact, it was very simple. If you want to be in a good mood, beat us next year!
The last to go on stage to receive the award was Ancelotti. He took the silver medal and had a few words with the UEFA president, Johansson. It could be seen that he was not in a good mood. Then he took the silver medal and walked off.
Seeing that AC Milan had received the medal, songs rang out in the stadium, which had been a little silent.
It was the Forest players' turn.
The Forest players, who were still jumping and singing, quieted down for a while and lined up under the podium, ready to go up to receive the gold medal.
Everyone went up one by one, took the gold medal from Platini's hands, shook hands, and then stood aside, waiting for the final moment to come.
Tang En was the second to go up to receive the award. It was not Johansson who gave him the award, but Platini. Tang En did not want to have anything to do with these officials. He wanted to take the gold medal and step aside. After all, everyone was waiting for the final highlight.
But Platini pulled him back. "Tony," he said in English, "you embarrassed us last year."
Hearing this, Tang En naturally knew what Platini was referring to. He laughed dryly twice and did not intend to apologize for it.
"But you surprised us all this year. No one thought you could break into the final, beat AC Milan, and win the championship, including me. None of your opponents were weak … "
Tang En asked rhetorically, "Did you arrange it?"
Platini did not say anything. He just smiled.
Tang En also knew that he could not say, "Yes, these were all arranged by us." He turned around and walked to the middle of his players.
Albertini walked up to the stage. This time, even the AC Milan fans who stayed behind gave him a warm applause.
The Forest teammates waiting on the stage also applauded and whistled for him.
Albertini walked up to Platini. The Frenchman patted him on the shoulder and said in Italian, "Any compliment to you is too much, Demetrio. You did what many people can only think about in their hearts. Congratulations, Demetrio! "He hung the gold medal in his hand around Albertini's neck.
Then he turned around and picked up the shiny silver European Champions Cup.
"Now, it's all yours!"
Albertini took the trophy from Platini's hands. He took a deep breath, lowered the trophy slightly, and then raised it high.
At this moment, countless red ribbons floated down from the top of the stadium, while golden ribbons gushed out from behind the podium.
"Boom —" The night sky was lit up by the bursting fireworks and dyed red.
"Congratulations to Nottingham Forest! Congratulations to Nottingham Forest! They are the champions of the 06-07 UEFA Champions League! He deserves to be the champion! "
At the same time, Queen's classic "We Are the Champions" was sung over the Olympic Stadium of Athens.
In the song "We are the champions, we are the kings of the world," the players swarmed up and lifted Albertini, who was holding the trophy, on their shoulders.
Tang En raised his head. Under the red fireworks and colorful ribbons, the glittering silver trophy was exceptionally beautiful.
This was not a game, this was reality!
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
