Barcelona's corner kick did not pose much of a threat to Nottingham Forest's goal. In front of George Wood, Pepe, Piqué, and Bendtner, Barcelona, which was not good at headers, could not gain any advantage at all.
Barcelona also knew this, so their corner kick was low and quick, but it was still headed out by George Wood who rushed to the front.
It was his first close-up on television. It was a successful defense, but it was not against Messi. Behind him was the poor Mexican center back, Márquez.
Messi was outside the penalty area and did not go in to join in the fun. He knew that Barcelona was not good at headers in set pieces. The ball was likely to be headed out by the Forest team. In the worst case scenario, it would be confiscated by Edwin van der Sar. But if it was headed out, he could grab the second landing point of the shot from outside and then form a second attack to continue the pressure on the Forest team's goal.
The football did bounce to his side, but it was nodded off by a faster player with his head.
Franck Ribéry was in the limelight this season. He snatched Messi's ball and caused the City Ground stadium to erupt in cheers for the first time. Messi's brilliant performance had stifled the Forest fans. Now, they also had someone to be proud of!
Ribéry nodded off the football with his head and then sped up to chase the ball. He instantly shook off Messi. By the time Messi reacted and turned to chase, it was too late.
Ribéry successfully intercepted the ball, and the Forest team instantly switched from defense to offense. At this time, Rijkaard and Messi clearly saw George Wood, who had just headed the ball in the penalty area to clear the siege, shoot out like an arrow leaving the bow — he followed and ran to the front field!
Ribéry did not dribble a few steps before he was faced with Barcelona's black defensive midfielder, Yaya Touré's frontal defense. He did not entangle with Touré. He moved the football to the side and continued to plug forward.
The player who received his pass was the retreating Arshavin. Although he received the ball, his back was to the direction of the attack. With Abidal's close defense, it would not be easy for him to turn around.
He did not have the intention to turn around. Yaya Touré was taken away from the area by Ribéry while he waited for someone.
Like Ribéry, he also turned and ran forward after passing the football. Since it was a counterattack after a corner kick, the Barcelona players had not had time to run back to organize the defensive line, so Abidal did not chase the ball. Instead, he retreated with Arshavin, which suddenly created a gap in the midfield.
Then who was the target of Arshavin's group and the pass to?
"Wow, George Wood!" the commentator exclaimed.
He really did not expect George Wood to rush so close to the front during the counterattack. His current position was no different from an attacking midfielder. After he received Arshavin's pass, he did not stop. Instead, he dribbled the ball forward in a straight line.
"This job used to be done by van der Vaart … At that time, George Wood was protecting him from behind. Now …" The commentator suddenly understood. "So Tony Twain wants George Wood to be the midfield playmaker for this match!"
"This is a little crazy …" The guest commentator sighed.
For him, in the face of a strong Barcelona team, it was indeed a little crazy to use the best defensive player to do the offensive work.
When Yaya Touré saw that Ribéry was almost in the area that the defenders were responsible for, he resolutely abandoned the Frenchman and turned to pounce on George Wood, who was dribbling the ball.
He knew that this man was a defensive midfielder like himself. Organizing an attack was not their forte. As long as he put some pressure on him, he would be flustered …
As soon as he pounced, George Wood passed the ball. He tiptoed and passed the football to Ribéry in front of him.
When the three men passed and cooperated like this, neither the Barcelona players nor the Nottingham Forest players had time to run to their positions. Arshavin was the player who stayed at the front to receive when the Forest team defended the corner kick, and there were only Yaya Touré, Abidal, and Gabriel Milito near Barcelona's penalty area.
After Ribéry received the ball, he made a move to pass the ball. When Milito, who was in front of him, dodged a little, he did not hesitate to lift his leg to shoot!
The football rolled quickly toward the goal along the turf. Fortunately, Valdés had been on guard against Ribéry and was not surprised by his direct shot. He fell to the ground and pressed the ball firmly under his body.
Seeing that the attack did not succeed and the football was directly confiscated by the opposing goalkeeper, George Wood, who had just rushed to the front of the penalty area, did not hesitate. He turned and sprinted back. He had to prepare to defend. Although it was not to defend against Messi, he had to defend against the other Barcelona players.
He was not van der Vaart or the other midfielders who had partnered with him. After an attack, he could boldly stay in the front field and wait for a second attack opportunity. Sidwell could not help him intercept the football and then give it to him to launch an attack. All his energy had to be used to defend against Messi. Therefore, he had to rely on himself to attack and defend.
When Valdés saw George Wood sprinting, he knew that Nottingham Forest's key figure in the game must be him, not Ribéry. Since Wood had not yet had time to return to his defensive position, then … he threw the ball with his hand to launch a quick attack.
Yaya Touré received the ball. Next to him, Ribéry just made a defensive gesture and gave up. He did not want to waste his energy here. Touré passed the football to Xavi, who had just run back. His task was considered complete. At this time, George Wood had just run past the center circle.
Xavi obviously also knew that Wood was the key. He would not give the other side a chance to return to his defensive zone to reorganize the defense. While Wood was still returning to defend, he quickly passed the football out.
Messi got the ball again. The few Barcelona fans in the stands at the City Ground stadium cheered. They wanted to see Messi perform a good show of passing several people in a row again.
Messi did not satisfy their desire. Such a performance was only possible under extreme conditions. Most of the time, the offense was more threatening by passing and moving.
He passed the football to Iniesta. He did not choose to break through on his own. There was another reason that could not be said — facing Sidwell, he really had no interest in breaking through.
Iniesta's straight pass was intercepted by Pepe. George Wood just ran back, and the ball that Pepe blocked rolled to his feet. He turned and threw himself back into the attack.
There was no time to rest and breathe. George Wood ran back and forth tirelessly at both ends of the field. It was rare to see a midfield playmaker like him.
"The tempo of the offensive and defensive transitions of both sides is very fast! This game is going to be interesting! " The commentator became excited when he discovered that Tony Twain's team did not really want to defend to the death on their own home ground.
Judging from the past few minutes of the game, there were indeed signs of this Champions League semi-final. But the commentators should remain cautiously optimistic about the matter of looking forward to Tony Twain's performance.
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After Nottingham Forest and Barcelona attacked for five minutes, they shrank back again. The situation of the game became Barcelona's advantage, with the time of possession reaching 67% at one point. Nottingham Forest once again brought out their magic weapon of steady defense and counterattack.
At this moment, the commentator really wanted to slap himself in the face. For the Barcelona fans, the game might have indeed become interesting to watch, but for the vast majority of neutral fans, a one-sided game could not attract much interest.
Tony Twain sat in the technical area, stroking his chin as he said to the two assistant managers next to him, "George Wood still needs to accumulate more experience as a playmaker in the game. He performed well at the beginning, but when the team as a whole shrank back to defend, he did not know what to do. If that guy, Demetrio, saw George's performance now, he would hate me to death, right? "
Kerslake grinned silently at the side.
Dunn said, "With van der Vaart and Ribéry around, he really does not have more opportunities to come into contact with this kind of work. I don't think his training can be rushed. "
Twain nodded. "This is just the beginning, not the end."
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Just as the three Forest coaches were discussing George Wood's future, Rijkaard frowned, and his frown deepened.
Tony Twain's tactics were no secret. Everyone knew that he would defend and counterattack. So, before he came to Nottingham, he had the team do targeted training on how to break a tight defense.
What he did not expect was Tony Twain's special use of George Wood. When he defended, there was not much difference from the usual game, except that he did not guard against Messi. That meant that Nottingham Forest's midfield defense still needed to rely on him. But when it came to the offense, he actively and decisively plugged in to participate, which gave Rijkaard and David a headache.
When Barcelona did defensive tactical drills, the imaginary enemy was van der Vaart or Ribéry, or at least Arshavin. Who would have thought that Twain would push George Wood into the position of a playmaker in the midfield in this game?
Wood's basic skills had long been very solid after years of daily practice. The results of his training were something that gave his opponents a headache in the game. Because of his good basic skills, it was not easy to intercept his ball. His dribbling and passing were very simple, which was most useful in actual combat. Because he would not waste fleeting opportunities because he wanted to play fancy skills. As long as he saw an opportunity, he would pass the football out without a second's delay. It was easy to say, but it was difficult to do it. Skillful players often wanted to show off their skills out of habit.
Originally, George Wood's skill would be average at other times. If an opponent were to closely mark him, they would be able to contain him. But the current situation was very suitable for Wood to play. Because Nottingham Forest was a defensive counterattack, their offense was about one word — fast!
If it were a smart and skillful midfielder, they might hesitate when they took the ball to counterattack, or show off a set of beautiful skills to win the loud cheers of the audience outside the field. But what about the opponent? They would quickly return to their positions to defend. Then, a quick attack would turn into a positional battle.
George Wood would not let the coaches have that kind of worry. When Forest counterattacked, his first choice after getting the ball was always to pass the ball. As long as there was a chance, he would pass the football out. He would use the fastest speed to pass through the midfield and directly hit the opponent's hinterland without any hesitation. If there was no way to pass the ball, he would dribble the ball forward himself. At the same time, he would observe the situation around him to find a point to pass the ball.
He was not like some midfielders. If there was no suitable point to pass the ball, he would wait in place for his teammates to plug in. Even though his teammates would plug in, the opponents would also return to their positions to defend. Furthermore, he could lose the ball because he held the ball for a long time and was surrounded by the opponents.
His dribbling would disrupt the opponent's defensive plan. When the time came, the opportunity would naturally appear.
This was also the reason why Twain used George Wood as the playmaker in this game. With such defensive counterattack tactics, such an opponent, and such a situation in the game, there was no more suitable candidate than George Wood.
Faithful implementation of the manager's tactics, excellent physical fitness, calm and composed psychological quality, and stable play. Why did the player that any manager dreamed of appear in Nottingham Forest?
Rijkaard clenched his fists at the thought of it. There were many factions in his locker room. Talented players always had this and that problems. Ronaldinho lingered in places of pleasure. Deco had greater demands. Why did he not have a George Wood?
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Barcelona was really strong. Their offense suppressed Nottingham Forest, leaving them with only defense and no spare energy to attack. Nottingham Forest's overall defense was not made of paper. Barcelona's offense was all bark and no bite. They could not break the defense at all.
Messi was good, but no matter how good he was, he was only one person. In the Copa del Rey against Getafe, he passed five players in a row and repeated Maradona's classic goal. It was only because Getafe's defensive line was too deep that Messi could pass one player after another with ease. Nottingham Forest was not stupid enough to widen the front and back of the defensive line and create opportunities for Messi to pass several players in a row.
Compressing the defensive line as much as possible, Sidwell followed Messi closely, with one or two people protecting him from the flanks at any time. If Messi intended to take on Nottingham Forest's entire defensive line alone, he would be smashed to pieces on this thick "Wall of Sighs."
If he was smart and did not have the delusion of defeating the opponent's entire team by himself, then Nottingham Forest's overall defense was not just aimed at Messi alone.
The first half calmed down after the two sides fiercely attacked each other for a while. The game returned to the track that Tony Twain was most familiar with and best at.
No one could do anything about the other. The score was 0: 0. The referee blew the whistle to end the first half.
As soon as the whistle sounded, Twain got up and left the technical area. In front of the television cameras, he was expressionless, making it impossible to guess his mood at the moment.
"No goals in the first half of the home game. It's still 0: 0. Is Tony Twain satisfied or dissatisfied? "
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