"Abramovich has arrived in Nottingham and will be watching the game live …"
This was the latest report on the match between the Forest team and Chelsea in the Nottingham Evening Post. This piece of news was as eye-catching as Mourinho's arrival in Nottingham on the sports page. The two men stood together on half of the page, while the other half belonged to Tony Twain.
The editor's intention was obvious. He wanted the readers to know the meaning behind the news without having to read the main text — these three men were the real focus of the game.
"… This game is very important to Mourinho. Now that Abramovich has suddenly come to Nottingham to watch the game, we can't help but wonder if the result of this game will affect Mourinho's position as manager. There are a lot of rumors about Mourinho's impending dismissal. Although Mourinho is always refuting them, it seems to have become a tacit fact — — Facing Nottingham Forest, a team that he has yet to win against, facing Tony Twain, if Mourinho loses this game … "
Twain threw the newspaper away.
He saw Mourinho push open the door from the outside and walk in a hurry. His heavy overcoat was brought along, and it was clear that he had just come down from the training ground.
His team was doing field adaptation training in the stadium outside, and he had come here to attend the pre-match press conference.
Twain stood up and extended his hand to Mourinho. It was the same look. He did not remember the two men actually shaking hands before the press conference.
He did not expect Mourinho to extend his hand and shake Twain's. But he kept a straight face and did not say any pleasantries. Knowing that he had been in trouble recently, Twain did not say anything sarcastic. At this time, the two managers just had to do their job — lead the team to win the game. As for the fate of others … they would wait until the game was over.
The two men did not have any private conversation and went straight into the press conference.
The media gathered in the press hall saw the two main characters enter and raised their cameras to aim at them and pressed the shutter.
The two men sat on the stage and waited for the reporters to take enough pictures before they began to answer questions.
Although it was the Forest team's home ground, Mourinho, as a guest, received more attention than Twain. Because there were too many rumors about him recently. In more than three seasons at Chelsea, Mourinho had long branded the Chelsea team with his personal mark. Almost everyone was used to the relationship of "Mourinho = Chelsea, Chelsea = Mourinho." It was hard to imagine what Chelsea would be like without him.
His predecessors such as Gullit, Vialli, Ranieri and the others did not leave such a deep impression on people. Apart from the increasingly developed media, perhaps the most important reason was that Mourinho's personality was very, very strong and unique.
No one cared about the game against Nottingham Forest. Everyone was concerned about the conflict between Mourinho and Abramovich, the conflict with certain players, and the conflict with Grant …
"May I ask Mr Mourinho, Abramovich coming to Nottingham to watch the game, does this mean …"
"Chelsea is his team. Isn't it normal for Mr. Chairman to want to watch the game live?"
"There are rumors that …"
"I'm not interested in answering rumors."
"So the fact that Chelsea's results this season are not very good, does this mean …"
"Every team has its ups and downs. The 49-game unbeaten Arsenal also lost, and the 58-game unbeaten AC Milan also lost. Why is Chelsea not allowed to lose?" Mourinho answered unhappily with a straight face.
"About the recent news about your resignation …"
"I said I'm not interested in the rumors."
The atmosphere at the press conference was a little stiff. It was rare that Tang En did not add insult to injury. He had been watching Mourinho's "war of words" with an indifferent expression. Until this moment … he suddenly stood up and took the microphone from an unknown media outlet.
"I'm really sorry. I think I've come to the wrong place. Everyone, please continue. "
With that, he turned and walked off the stage, directly exiting the door of the press conference.
Almost everyone did not expect Tang En, who had been silent all this time, to explode at this time. They were all stunned. Only Mourinho glanced at Tang En's back and then stood up. "Being reminded by Mr Tang En, I also realize that I've come to the wrong place. I'm sorry to disturb everyone. Goodbye."
With that, he walked out of the door like Tang En. The room of reporters was left frozen in place, unable to come back to their senses.
Outside, Tang En heard footsteps coming from behind. When he looked back and saw that it was Mourinho, he suddenly smiled.
"You're the only person on the stage. How can you let it go just like that?"
"If you like it, I don't mind giving it to you." Mourinho pointed to the open door behind him with a straight face.
The atmosphere between the two of them suddenly returned to normal.
"Forget it. I'm afraid those reporters won't be able to answer my rhetorical questions and will collectively leave." Tang En sneered.
Mourinho did not comment on Tang En's words. He said, "Goodbye, Mr Tang En." He still had to go to the stadium to supervise the team's training and had no time to chat with Tang En here.
Seeing Mourinho turn to leave, Tang En suddenly called out, "Hey, Mr Mourinho."
"What's the matter, Mr Tang En?" Mourinho turned to look at him.
"After the game, can we have a drink together?"
Mourinho did not expect Tang En to say such a thing. He froze for a moment, then smiled and said, "I must have heard wrongly. But no, I won't drink with the enemy, even after the game. If I win, I might agree. "
Tang En shook his head. "That won't do. If you win, I'll refuse. But you can't win. "
Mourinho did not say anything more and turned to leave.
Tang En stood at the door for a while and was about to leave when he heard a flurry of footsteps. He turned back to see the reporters running out of the press conference and hurriedly waved. "I said I came to the wrong place, so I won't accept any interviews!"
The group of people stopped three meters in front of him.
"We have the right to ask questions!" Someone in the crowd shouted.
"So I also have the right to refuse to answer." Tang En shrugged. "Goodbye, everyone."
Tang En also left through the door that Mourinho had left through.
※ ※ ※
Tang En and Mourinho's refusal to cooperate at the press conference made many of the media very unhappy. That was because they had no other news to attract attention the day before the game other than stirring up cold food.
So they hyped up the two of them to leave one after another and criticized them for being ungentlemanly. It was just that this kind of news was common to Tang En and Mourinho. Their supporters would not take it seriously, and they themselves would not take it seriously either.
Shania held the newspaper and studied it for a long time. Then she looked up at Tang En and said, "That means if he doesn't win this game, there's a 99% chance he'll be dismissed?"
Tang En shrugged. "Maybe. This is something that happens inside the house. No one knows about it behind closed doors. It's useless no matter how many rumors there are outside. "
"What if he wins? Does that mean he can stay in Chelsea?"
This time, Tang En shook his head firmly. "Impossible. Ah, I'm not saying he can't win. I'm saying that even if Chelsea wins against Nottingham Forest, he won't be able to stay at Chelsea for long. "
"You just said that the rumors outside can't be trusted."
"It has nothing to do with the rumors. I'm just analyzing his and Abramovich's personalities … These two people can't work together for long."
"Because they're both very strong people?"
Tang En nodded. "They're both very strong and want to be strong. No one is willing to give in, not willing to lose, not willing to lose face … That's how things will develop. Shania, have you heard of a Chinese idiom? Two tigers cannot live on the same mountain. "
"I've never heard of it. What does it mean?"
"It means that two tigers cannot live on the same mountain. The tiger is the king of beasts. Here, it means that it's the leader. There can't be two leaders at the same time. Otherwise, no one will listen to the other and it will be a mess. That's the situation in Chelsea now. Abramovich and Mourinho are both tigers, and both want to be the boss. Mourinho thinks he doesn't have enough power and trust, while Abramovich thinks that Mourinho's existence has threatened his authority in the club … That's the result. "He spread his hands.
Shania rolled her eyes after hearing that and suddenly laughed. "But in my opinion, Uncle Tony is also a big tiger! Ahhhh, he's scary when he's angry! "
"Hey!" Tang En glared. His hands made a tiger's paw gesture and he growled in a deep voice. "How am I scary?"
"Now!" Shania pointed at Tang En. She curled up on the sofa and hugged a pillow. She looked at Tang En in front of her with her big eyes.
Tang En's heart still beat faster when he saw her adorable look, even though he knew it was an act. His hands on his hips were frozen in place.
Shania realized that Tang En was suddenly in a daze. She waved her hand in front of Tang En's eyes. "Uncle Tony?"
"Ah? Ah … "Tang En came back to his senses. He felt that it was strange. He sat on the sofa and did not look at Shania. He just stared at the television.
"What's wrong, Uncle Tony?" Shania asked curiously as she leaned on Tang En's shoulder.
Tang En could clearly feel the warmth of her body through his clothes and smell the girl's body fragrance. He suddenly became upset. He stood up from the sofa abruptly. "Uh, I'm a little dizzy. Maybe I'm too tired. I'm going to rest. I still have a match tomorrow … "
With that, he walked upstairs. Halfway there, he stopped and turned back to look at Shania, who was still watching him from the sofa.
"You should rest early too. Don't watch TV too late."
Shania looked at him and did not agree.
"Goodnight, Shania." Tang En waved at her.
"Goodnight, Uncle Tony …" Shania waved the Chinchilla pillow in her hands.
After Tang En walked upstairs and heard the sound of the door closing, Shania looked at the Chinchilla pillow in her hands and sighed.
"Goodnight, Totolo." She waved the Chinchilla pillow and imitated it. "Goodnight, Jordie."
She put down the pillow, got up, turned off the television, and walked upstairs.
※ ※ ※
Like in London, on the day of the match, Nottingham, which was originally sunny, started to drizzle. There was no sign of it stopping. It rained from early morning all the way into the afternoon, and the temperature dropped by three degrees.
Football matches were not events that relied too much on the weather. However, the sudden drop in temperature could still increase the possibility of injuries to the players. Therefore, in the last warm-up before the match, Mourinho had the team increase the intensity of their warm-up. They had to warm up their bodies to prevent injuries from the drop in temperature.
Chelsea's assistant manager, Mourinho's most trusted man, Steve Clark, guided and supervised the team's warm-up on the sidelines. Their manager was not on the sidelines but stayed in the locker room. However, he stayed in the locker room not because he was used to it, but because someone was looking for him.
"José, I need a beautiful victory. Especially when facing this opponent. " The club's owner and chairman, Mr. Abramovich, appeared in his casual attire in a place where he was not supposed to be.
"Yes, victory. It will be as you wish, Mr. Chairman." Mourinho replied politely. His politeness was a little too polite.
"I don't think I've said it clearly enough? It's a beautiful victory, José. "
"But this is an away game. It's Nottingham Forest's home ground. It's not easy for us to play, Mr. Chairman." Mourinho retorted bluntly.
Abramovich's expression was a little ugly.
"This is my team. I hope they can win beautifully!"
Mourinho sat and made a "please" gesture. "The players will be back in a while. Why don't you explain the tactics to them and then sit in the technical area to direct the game, Mr. Chairman?"
This was a great disrespect to the club's chairman. It was also the most unacceptable fact for someone in a high position — his authority had indeed been seriously challenged.
Abramovich did not get angry in front of him. He left with a sullen face. Not far from the locker room, he dialed the phone number of Mourinho's good friend and agent, Mendes.
At this time, Mourinho sat in a chair in the locker room with a frown. He was not angry. He was just seriously thinking about his future.
※ ※ ※
Fifteen minutes later, when the starting players of both teams walked out of the tunnel and stepped onto the field, there was a huge cheer in the stands of the City Ground stadium. It even disturbed the drizzle.
Mourinho and Tang En appeared at the exit at the same time. The television camera immediately cut to the two of them and gave up on continuing to show the players entering the stadium. Mourinho's face was stiff and his mouth was slightly pouting. There was not the slightest hint of a smile. Tang En, on the other hand, smiled and looked very confident. Although Mourinho was a world-renowned manager and Chelsea had many world-renowned star players, Tang En and the Forest team did have a psychological advantage against this team.
"Tony Twain and José Mourinho …" The television commentator sighed. "This is the seventh time the two young managers with the most personalities in the Premier League have met in the League. Before this, Mourinho had never won against Tony Twain. For the proud Portuguese, this is undoubtedly an embarrassment. Not only in the League, but in last season's Champions League semi-final, it was also Tony Twain who led Nottingham Forest to keep Chelsea out of the city of Athens. Mourinho has every reason to settle scores with Tony Twain, not to mention that his recent situation is not good … "
Mourinho and Tang En did not shake hands and talk before the game. They went their separate ways after exiting the tunnel, one to the left and the other to the right.
It was still drizzling.
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