The first day of July was the day the players and coaches returned to the team after their holidays.
Dunn had returned to Nottingham with Tang Jing the day before. He said he had bumped into Tang Jing at the Beijing airport, but Twain did not believe him. He used his sharp tongue to tease Dunn until Dunn's face was as red as a monkey's butt before he stopped.
The English Premier League started earlier than the other leagues, fully kicking off in mid-August. As a result, the training of the English Premier League teams started earlier than the teams of the other countries' leagues.
The first day of training was only for physical recovery. Considering that everyone had just had a month's holiday and their skills were not good in all aspects, the intensity of the day's training was not high. Physical fitness was not under Twain's control. There was a dedicated fitness coach in charge, so he did not have to worry much.
But he still had to go to the team because other than leading the team for training, there were other matters that required his presence.
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After a month's holiday, the players seemed to have just woken up from a beautiful dream. They were bleary-eyed and yawning. Their minds and bodies were not at their best.
What made Twain very satisfied was that after a wonderful holiday, no one was absent on this day. Other than Arteta and Ashley Young, who had already announced their departures, even Anelka, who had a conflict with Twain, drove over to train. He was still discussing his personal contract with Juventus, and there were still some disputes between the two sides.
When the players, who could not immediately wake up from their holiday state, drove their cars to the outside of the Wilford training base, they were shocked awake by the media waiting there.
To say that they were "shocked" might be underestimating their knowledge, but in reality, these Nottingham Forest players had never seen so many media outlets at the training base on the first day of pre-season training.
Not only the media, but there were also countless people who looked like fans. They held banners on both sides of the narrow alley and shouted slogans with all their might.
If one only looked at the media, they might not know why it was so lively here. But looking at those fanatical fans, everything was clear.
Some of them wore red Manchester United jerseys, and some wore white Real Madrid jerseys. These people had one thing in common: they were all holding a poster of one person.
After Ribéry parked his beloved car in the parking lot inside the training base, he whistled to his teammates who had arrived at the same time. "How was your holiday?"
"Fortunately, I went to Hawaii." Eastwood, who was almost tanned black, pointed at the flowery shirt he was wearing. He had also driven there. Now that he had made a name for himself, he no longer lived in the caravan at the training base. He had bought a small farm outside and lived there with his wife and children. Of course, he still warmed up on horseback on the morning of every home game. No one could complain that he was blocking the traffic when he was riding on his own farm.
Ribéry pointed to the gate of the training ground. From there, they could see groups of media and fans.
"It's so lively, isn't it? Looks like a big shot is coming today. "
"Don't you know who's coming?" Eastwood was a little surprised.
"Tsk, it'll be boring if I tell you." Ribéry rolled his eyes at Eastwood.
The two of them were not in a hurry to go to the locker room. They chatted in the parking lot while looking in the direction of the gate. As more and more cars stopped beside them, more and more people joined in the conversation. This formed a strange phenomenon — the Forest players did not go to the locker room to change their clothes and go to the training ground. Instead, they greeted and chatted with each other in the parking lot.
It felt like the holiday was not over yet.
Wood did not drive. His home was close to the training base. He usually ran to train, so he did the most basic warm-up here. Everyone was already used to this weirdo.
Albertini had retired, and he was now the official captain of the team. He decided to get into his role as soon as possible — when Albertini was there, he only needed to be the captain on the field. He basically did not care about the matters off the field. The real captain, Albertini, would handle the trivial matters. Now it was a completely different new experience.
Wood stood outside the crowd and hesitated for a moment. He coughed a few times and cleared his throat.
His unusual behavior attracted some people's attention.
"Hey, George, do you have a cold?" Van Nistelrooy asked with concern. As soon as he spoke, the few Dutchmen who had been chatting with him turned their heads to look at him. With the three men taking the lead, the others also turned their eyes to Wood.
"Ah, uh … No, I don't have a cold." Wood was a little embarrassed. "What are you talking about?"
Ribéry pointed to the door with a grin. "We're talking about the big shots who came today."
Wood knew who they were talking about. In fact, he was not interested in participating in such a topic. If it had been in the past, he would have turned back to the locker room, changed his clothes, and went to the training ground to start warming up. But not now. He was the captain. He was the captain on and off the field. Was there such a captain who did not fit in?
Wood still remembered what Albertini said to him when they hugged before he left. "The rest is up to you."
It was a kind of entrustment. Wood was not stupid. He understood very well.
He moved a few steps but did not retreat. Instead, he squeezed into the crowd.
"Do you … like him coming?" He thought for a long time before he asked a question that made everyone laugh.
"George, if you were a reporter, I bet you'd get a lot of cold shoulder if you asked this." Van Nistelrooy laughed. "We'll interpret this question as sowing discord in the locker room."
"I can't say whether I like him or not. I used to know him through the media, but I basically didn't believe what the media said, whether it was good or bad. Now that I have a chance to get in touch with him personally, I'll know whether I like him or not after getting along. "Pepe's words were nodded in agreement by most people.
This was probably the attitude of the entire Forest team towards this new teammate … If the media were to find out, who knew how they would feel?
After that, everyone gathered in groups of three or four to chat. Some people talked about the players who were about to join, while others talked about their own holiday with their friends. There were also a few people who talked about their two teammates, Arteta and Ashley Young, who had already left.
They just lamented that they had won the championship together more than a month ago, and now they were going to become opponents. But other than that, they did not express any indignation over the two men's departure. They were professional players and had seen a lot of separations and reunions. It was no big deal. If they were friends, they would be friends wherever they were. They could make an appointment to have a meal together with a phone call.
Anelka was the last to arrive. He did not join his teammates in chatting but went straight to the locker room. Similarly, no one tried to hold him back, letting him stay to chat. Everyone knew that the French forward was someone who was set to leave. Since his heart was not here, there was no need for the people here to hold him back.
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Tang En and Dunn walked to the training base, so they arrived slightly later than the players.
Seeing the media and passionate fan groups along the way, Tang En and Dunn were a little surprised.
"Look, look. The King of Popularity is indeed different. In all these years of Nottingham Forest's existence, when has the first day of pre-season training been so lively? " Tang En said to Dunn as he pointed to the fans on both sides. When he got excited, he even waved at the infatuated fans.
If the people gathered there were all hardcore Nottingham Forest fans, then Tang En's wave would surely be met with a tsunami-like response. That would greatly satisfy Tang En's vanity. But this time, his wave did not get any response.
These people only held up the posters and set their sights on the end of the alley — the direction the players had driven from — completely treating Tang En and Dunn as air.
"Alright …" Under Dunn's silent gaze, Tang En felt a little awkward. "At least it proves one thing — they're not Nottingham Forest fans … But it doesn't matter!" Then he raised his voice and grinned. "They'll be soon."
When Tang En and Dunn walked to the training base's main gate, they found that the metal gate, which used to be open, was now closed.
The security guard in the building saw the manager and assistant manager and hurriedly came out to open the gate.
"What's going on?" Tang En asked, a little puzzled.
"Uh …" The young security guard hesitated for a moment and pointed to the noisy crowd outside the gate. "Those reporters and fans are too passionate. I'm afraid they'll rush in, so I closed the gate …"
Tang En turned his head to look at those people. Among them were some sports reporters he knew, but there were also completely unfamiliar faces. The reporters he knew saw Tang En turn back and even waved at him.
But Tang En kept a straight face and did not respond. They were all asking for a snub.
The young security guard thought the stony-faced manager would teach him a lesson and was so frightened that he stood to the side, not knowing whether to leave or stay.
Unexpectedly, when he turned around, Tang En smiled and patted him on the shoulder. "You did well."
After the two walked in, Dunn, who had been silent all this time, suddenly said, "It looks like he's already understood the essence of your closed-door training."
In front of the media, Tang En laughed so ungracefully that he squatted on the ground.
"Please … Please, Dunn. Next time before you tell a joke, can you give a preview of the program? "
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After Tang En stood up with much difficulty, the two continued to walk in. They saw the team members gathered in the parking lot.
Tang En and Dunn looked at each other and saw the doubt in each other's eyes.
This was a scene they had never seen before.
Could it be a fight?
Tang En walked over quickly and realized it was a false alarm. Ribéry waved at him from afar and greeted, "Boss, long time no see!" He had a bright smile on his face. How was this a fight?
"Hey, what are you guys doing standing here instead of changing in the changing room?" Tang En asked as he stood in front of the crowd. Everyone stopped chatting.
"We all want to see with our own eyes the wonderful scene outside when he comes here." Ribéry pointed to the people behind him and then to the main door.
Tang En turned his head and found George Wood standing in the crowd. He smiled to himself.
"Then why don't you go to the main door and see? What can you see here?"
"That won't do. The media will be happy if we go there. No way." Ribéry shook his head like a rattle drum.
"You guys can let the media see here too. Don't think they can't see it? Alright, alright, there's nothing much to see. Go back and change your clothes. I don't want him to look like a queen inspecting when he comes. "Tang En shooed the group of people back to the changing room like he was shooing away chickens.
Watching Wood leave in the crowd, Tang En turned to Dunn and smiled. "What an interesting group of kids. It's not like they haven't seen a big star before. They're all big stars."
"They just think it's fun to gather here." Dunn nodded.
The group left. Now it was Tang En and Dunn's turn to wait outside the parking lot.
Kerslake, the assistant manager, waited for a long time on the training ground and only saw Anelka. He thought it was strange. Anelka was not usually so enthusiastic. He looked at his watch and realized that it was not that Anelka had arrived early, but that the others had not arrived at all!
Leaving Anelka behind, Kerslake walked to the changing room. There was no one in the locker room. He backed out and saw a large group of players at the exit.
"Did you all come in the same bus? So orderly? "Kerslake was not as easy to talk to as Tang En. He furrowed his brows and asked.
"Sorry, sorry, sir. We chatted outside for a while … "Since it was Ribéry who had initially thought of standing outside to wait, now he had to bear the manager's wrath. Fair and reasonable.
"Cut the crap. Hurry up and change your clothes. Wait for me on the training ground. You all know the punishment for being late!" Kerslake waved his hands impatiently.
Upon hearing the words "punishment for being late," a large group of people surged toward the changing room. This was no joke. Even if they were the European champions, it was still a special tradition of the Forest team to be punished for being late.
Ribéry ran at the front but was held back by Kerslake. "Where's Tony and Dunn?"
"They're outside …" Ribéry hurriedly pointed to the exit and jumped out of Kerslake's hand, nimble as a loach.
Kerslake had no time to care about the group of kids. He went against the flow and walked toward the exit.
Kerslake kept walking and walking until he finally found Tang En and Dunn, who were leaning against each other and chatting in the parking lot. They looked relaxed and carefree.
"What are you doing here?" Kerslake's loud voice startled a flock of birds in the trees.
"Ah, David, you're here." Tang En turned his head to see who it was and waved at him.
"What are you here for? You just arrived? Why didn't you go to the training ground? The other managers are all here. "
Tang En slapped his forehead. It looked like it was not just the players who had not entered a working state. He gave Dunn a push. "I forgot about this. I alone will be enough to introduce the new players. You go, Dunn."
Dunn obediently followed Kerslake and left. Tang En did not wait in the parking lot. He walked back to his office and began his preparations.
Arshavin and Akinfeev did not come to the team today because they did not have to. The Forest team would travel to Russia in four days for their pre-season training. They would meet up with the team directly in Moscow.
As for why they chose Russia for the training, Tang En said something that all his opponents felt was asking for it when he answered the reporter's question. "To adapt to the venue and warm up for this season's Champions League final." The 07-08 season's Champions League final was held in Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium.
In fact, the real reason was that the Forest team had been invited to participate in the Russian Railway Cup. As the new European champions, invitations to various pre-season friendlies had piled up on Tang En's desk. In the end, Tang En chose this competition. The reason was simple. Tang En valued the quality of the friendlies more than where they would play. It did not matter even if it was the faraway Moscow, Russia. The participating teams in the Railway Cup this time were filled with experts. Other than the host team, FC Lokomotiv Moscow, which was relatively weak, the other two participating teams were Real Madrid, who had invited a gold medal manager and took the pragmatic route, and … AC Milan, who had just lost to Nottingham Forest in the final.
What a coincidence!
※ ※ ※
Tang En did not wait too long in his office. About ten minutes later, he received a call from the guard.
"Sir, he's here!" The young guard's voice was a little excited. Through the phone line, Tang En could still hear the clamor outside and the women's screams.
He was a young man after all, unable to keep his composure.
Tang En gave a simple response and hung up. He did not get up to go out and greet him at the door. He did not want everyone to think that this person was special. For this reason, he even asked Evan and Allan not to leave their office to join in the fun.
Tang En turned his chair half a circle and looked at the training ground outside the huge floor-to-ceiling window. The players were doing laps training — or rather, punishment. Because the entire team was late, they were punished to run laps.
However, because the training subjects for the past few days were all about physical recovery, it was not a problem to call it training.
Tang En had long had a plan in mind on how to introduce this new teammate who was the center of attention to them.
Five minutes later, there was a knock on the door behind him.
Tang En stood up and turned to look at the door. "Come in."
The man who was doted on by thousands walked in with an apologetic face. "I'm so sorry, so sorry … I'm not very familiar with Nottingham's traffic and I almost got lost …" Beside him was his agent, Simon Fuller, a well-dressed middle-aged man who looked very shrewd.
"You had to drive yourself here. It would have been better if you had called the club to pick you up, David," Tang En said to Beckham, who was in front of him. Tang En said to Beckham, who was in front of him. Then, he simply shook hands with Fuller's agent. They did not have an in-depth conversation. Because of a series of contract negotiations, he had become familiar with this agent half a year ago. There was no need for warm greetings and small talk. In his office, the agent was not the main character.
"Ha, after living in Spain for four years, I thought England was all the same … What should I call you, from now on?"
"In private, Tony. In front of your teammates, it's better to call me Boss. It's so intimate. "Tang En walked around the table and walked forward. "Let's go. I'll introduce you to them." He pointed to the floor-to-ceiling window behind him.
Beckham cast his gaze over and nodded before following Tang En out. Fuller continued to follow behind the two without saying a word, intentionally maintaining a certain distance so that Beckham and Tang En could interact to their heart's content without worrying about the awkwardness of a third party present.
※ ※ ※
"This place can't compare to Real Madrid's Valdebebas Sports City, but it has all kinds of facilities. It has everything." Along the way, Tang En introduced the situation of the Wilford training base to Beckham.
Beckham naturally knew how to be a person and complimented him. To be able to become a European champion in such a training base, Manager Tang En was amazing and so on.
When the Forest players finally finished running laps and were panting from exhaustion, they were resting by the side of the field. A sharp-eyed person saw three people walking in from outside. One of them was Tony Twain, whom they were all very familiar with. The other was a middle-aged man whom they did not have any impression of and was automatically ignored. Everyone's attention was quickly focused on one person — David Beckham, who was walking beside Tang En and chatting cheerfully with him.
He was no longer dressed in casual attire. Tang En brought him to the training base's changing room and designated a cabinet for him to use. He changed into his training clothes and went straight there.
The players resting by the side of the field did not stand up to line up. Those who should be sitting and resting continued to sit, those who should be lying down continued to lie down, and those who should be standing and chatting simply turned around and stopped chatting to look at their new teammates.
Tang En was very satisfied with the players' performance. It looked like there were no blind groupies among his subordinates.
Only Wood deliberately walked out from the crowd and stood at the very front. This was an indication of his identity. He had learned from Albertini. In the past, when the Forest team had new teammates, it was also Tang En who brought them and Albertini who took over.
Beckham knew Wood. He still remembered the cute boy who comforted him when he was brought off in the World Cup match against Portugal and cried on the sidelines. He smiled at Wood in a friendly manner.
Tang En saw that everyone's eyes were focused on him and pointed to Beckham next to him.
"Your new teammate, professional player David Beckham." He deliberately emphasized the word "professional player."
This was the way he introduced him. He did not say that he was a famous star player, nor did he say that he was the darling in the eyes of advertisers. He did not care what achievements or statuses you had outside. Once you entered Wilford, it was his territory. You were all his players, professional players.
With that, he turned his head to observe Beckham's reaction. Beckham did not show the slightest dissatisfaction. He smiled and greeted everyone. "Hey, guys. I'm glad we can play together in the future."
In fact, he was very grateful that Tang En introduced him this way. Why did he come to the Forest team? Wasn't it to prove to the world that his true identity was a player and not an advertising model or actor?
Everyone on the training ground gathered here. The players and coaches were all around Beckham.
Kerslake introduced the coaches of the Forest team to Beckham one by one to help him get to know the team and know who to ask if he had any questions.
Next …
"George." Tang En reminded the hesitant Wood standing next to him.
Wood finally stood up. He tried his best to speak to Beckham in a normal tone. "Let me introduce you to … my teammates." In the end, it sounded a little cold.
Fortunately, Beckham and Wood had spent a summer with the England national team. He knew the man's character and temper and did not mind. He gladly let Wood introduce him to the Forest players one by one.
Everyone was very enthusiastic and did not show any unhappiness.
After the mutual introduction phase was over, Tang En spoke.
"The break is over, guys. Back to the training ground."
The players got up and walked to the training ground.
Beckham was about to follow but was stopped by Tang En. "Wait, David."
"Hmm? What's the matter, Boss? "Beckham quickly got into the role of being Tang En's subordinate.
"Hmm …" Tang En scratched his head. He had been mulling over what he was going to say since he introduced the coaches to Beckham. He was a little worried, but he had to say it because it was the team's discipline. Tang En placed great importance on discipline. He could not ignore it just because the person he offended was Beckham. Otherwise, he would have no prestige in the team.
He looked up at the players standing not far away and did not leave. Clearly, these people also knew and were waiting to watch the show. A bunch of sly brats!
"It's like this, David. The Forest team has a tradition that started after I became the team's manager. That is, any player who is late for training will be punished to run laps. "Tang En looked into Beckham's eyes and made his gaze look sincere. "Did you see them panting from exhaustion just now?" He pointed to the players watching the show. "They just finished running laps and are resting here. In order to wait for you in the parking lot, they ended up being collectively late. "
He was telling the truth. The only one who was spared was Anelka, who was indifferent to Beckham and was determined to leave.
Beckham turned his head to look at the players and then at Tang En.
"You're late, too, so … you have to run laps. Eight laps." Tang En finished speaking and quietly looked at Beckham.
These words made Fuller, who was standing to the side, a little unhappy. His player was the famous David Beckham. Besides, the lateness was not intentional. They did not know about it beforehand. He thought Tang En had gone overboard. What is this? Is he trying to put my players in their place?
He had just taken a step forward when he saw Beckham give him a look.
"No problem, Boss." Beckham shrugged. "When I played for Real Madrid, there was this rule too. But we don't have to run laps as a penalty."
"Then what's the penalty?" Kerslake, who was interested in the inner workings of the powerhouses, asked first.
"A free kick." Beckham winked and smiled slyly.
A group of people roared with laughter. The awkward atmosphere was immediately relieved.
Amid the laughter, Beckham turned to run laps. His agent waited for Beckham to run far away before walking to Tang En's side, intending to question him.
Tang En spoke first. "I know what you're going to ask me, Mr. Fuller. But I hope you understand that David is still a professional player. He also wants people to think so. I'm just doing what a manager should do to a professional player. Do you want negative news to appear in the media the next day that 'David Beckham acts like a big shot and gets special treatment'? "
"Uh …"
"Of course, I won't tell the media. But you can't guarantee that there won't be people who don't like what David Beckham has achieved …" He pursed his lips. "You have to be clear, Mr. Fuller. I'm helping David Beckham. If David were a smart man, he would understand. And he's clearly a smart man. He's done a good job. No one can find fault with him at all. He's also won the support and trust of his teammates. What else do you have to worry about, Mr. Fuller? "
His words left Simon Fuller speechless. He had to admit that Tang En's actions made sense.
※ ※ ※
Beckham ran laps around the periphery of the training ground. Eastwood followed, pretending to run with him, and then approached him.
"David?"
"Ah, you're … Freddy Eastwood?" Beckham's memory was very good. Eastwood only had to say everyone's name once, and he could quickly match the name with the face in his mind.
"Just call me Freddy." Eastwood winked. "They also call me Gypsy boy, but I'm never angry!"
Beckham smiled.
"Are you free tonight, David?"
"Well … Yes." Beckham thought about it. There really was nothing else that required his help. Even if he was busy, he had to push it off. He was very smart and already knew what the signal was.
"That's good." Eastwood snapped his fingers. "We've prepared a welcome party for you. Let's drink together, chat, and have a good time."
"For me?"
"It's like running laps as a penalty. It's also our tradition." Eastwood smiled happily. "Any new player who comes in will have it. Of course, that new player must be acknowledged by all of us."
This was the truth. Such a welcome party must have been prepared long ago. However, it was usually held at the last moment before the summer transfer market closed for pre-season training. At that time, the Forest team would generally not bring in new players. After everyone had gotten along for a period of time and familiarized themselves with each other, they would then consider holding a welcome party. If the newcomer was not welcomed, he would not be invited to participate. Fortunately, in the past few years, only Anelka had not been invited. When he first arrived, he was indeed not very well-liked.
"Boss … Are they going?" Beckham glanced at Tang En, who was talking to his agent.
"No, the coach and the staff will not be going. If we don't invite them, they're not allowed to go. This is a gathering for us players. Are we going to find some bosses to dampen the mood? "
Beckham nodded. "Alright! I'm very happy to be invited to participate. Does that mean I'm … accepted? Like a hero in the woods? "
"Yes! We're on the same team now! "
Both of them laughed.
Kerslake's loud voice rang out in the distance. "Freddy Eastwood! What are you doing? Training over here, over here! "He waved his arms forcefully, looking aggressive.
Eastwood was not afraid of him. He yelled at the top of his voice, "Ah! I remembered that I was lazy during the penalty run just now and missed a lap. I'm making up for it now! I can't let David perform alone. I'm also a professional player! "
Everyone on and off the training ground laughed. Even Kerslake, who had a fierce look on his face, couldn't help but grin. He muttered, "This little bastard!"
Looking at the group of laughing players, Beckham remembered that on the way to the Forest team's training base, his agent, Simon Fuller, had asked him if he knew the situation within the Forest team. He could only shake his head and say he did not know. He really did not know much about the team's internal affairs. His impression of the team was all from his good friend, Tony Twain. And before he officially became a member of the Forest team, Twain had never told him about the team's internal affairs. He could only use his four years of experience at Real Madrid to imagine his life in Nottingham for the next two years. After all, that was the most recent period of his life to date.
Now he felt that this was definitely a completely different feeling from when he was at Real Madrid.
※ ※ ※
Twain was still talking to Fuller. He wanted the agent to understand his thoughts and ensure that there would be no misunderstanding. After all, the agent could not only influence David Beckham, but also Beckham's wife, the unstable factor, Victoria Beckham. Because he was once the agent of the Spice Girls and had a good personal relationship with Victoria.
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