"We're going to win the Double."
Below this sentence was a large photo of Tony Twain. His head was slightly raised, his mouth was open, and he raised a hand. His face was filled with unconcealable arrogance.
Of course, this photo was certainly not taken by Twain at the press conference yesterday. It was chosen by the reporters from Twain's previous photos to match with this line. The effect was just right.
Outside the noisy Old Trafford, many fans were lining up to enter. Almost every Forest fan had a copy of this newspaper.
They liked to see Tony Twain be arrogant, especially in front of a veteran powerhouse, Manchester United. This would make them feel especially at ease before the game.
Who knew if the Nottingham Forest players had the same idea …
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The Nottingham Forest players were warming up on the field. The stream of fans entering the field gradually made Old Trafford noisier.
This time, Tony Twain was not waiting alone in the locker room. He was standing on the sidelines, watching Manchester United warm up with interest. The other coaches were busy leading the Forest players to warm up.
Twain rarely came out when the team warmed up. Usually, he did his own preparations in the locker room. Even if he had nothing to do, he would choose to rest there. However, today, he wanted to see Old Trafford before the game and observe Manchester United and Ferguson.
Ferguson was next door, in front of the home team's technical area. Like Twain, he had his hands in his pockets as he watched the players warming up on the field.
Intuition told him that someone was observing him. He turned his head to find Tony Twain, who was looking in his direction.
The two men's eyes met. Neither was the first to move away. In the end, they could only look away at the same time. Because it felt weird to keep looking at each other like this …
Kerslake came down from the field and walked to Twain's side to get a drink of water.
"There are so many people." He noticed Twain looking at the stands, so he casually said.
"The capacity of 60,000 is indeed much larger than the City Ground Stadium …" Twain also casually added. It was not his first time coming to Old Trafford to play. There was no need to be so surprised.
Kerslake turned back to the field.
Twain no longer stayed on the sidelines. He turned back to the locker room. From his earlier observation, Cristiano Ronaldo's condition was as good as ever. He would be a big problem in the game.
Portugal's Ronaldo has scored 30 goals in the league this season. With only one round left in the league tournament, it was almost certain that he would win the Premier League's best striker award this season.
This season, Ferguson successfully transformed Cristiano Ronaldo into the core of the team's offense. Even Rooney had to make a sacrifice for this. However, Rooney had learned how to assist his teammates and was no longer as solitary as before.
Manchester United was extremely strong this season and could have created better results than they did now. Unfortunately …
Not long after Tang En returned to the changing room, he heard dense footsteps coming from outside. The sound was getting louder and louder. He knew that the players had finished warming up.
He straightened his back.
The door was pushed open and George Wood was the first to walk in. The others followed behind him and filed in.
The last to come in was Don, who closed the door.
As soon as the players came in, they began to change their jerseys. Everyone was immersed in their own tasks, and Tang En was not in a hurry to speak.
Seeing that everyone was almost done with their own things, he stood up and pressed his palm down. "Be quiet, guys. I have something I want to say to you. "
The changing room gradually quieted down. Everyone turned their eyes to Tony Twain, their boss, standing by the door.
"There are 90 minutes left before this season's league tournament is over. We've worked hard for a season. What we can reap in the end depends on the 90 minutes. If there's any regret in our team, it's that we haven't won the league tournament yet. Now is a great opportunity. "Tang En pointed to the door.
"Yesterday, I said that Forest's goal this season was to win the Double. That scared a lot of people. They thought I was bragging again. Because the opponents in the last round of the league tournament and the Champions League final are strong teams. But I don't think it's a big deal. If the opponents are not strong enough, maybe I won't even have the strength. "
The players roared with laughter.
"If the opponents are strong enough, we'll be able to win the championship. I say, does the goal of the Double scare you?" He looked at his players.
"What's there to be afraid of?" Eastwood stood up. "We'll all be laughed at if word gets out that we're intimidated by the number of championships."
"Yes, yes. To win the Double is something we can only wish for. How can we be intimidated?" The others echoed.
Hearing these answers, Tang En laughed. "We're really a team! When I said I wanted to win the Double, people outside said Tony Twain was crazy. Even if he wasn't crazy, he was stupid. They didn't believe it. No, it's not that they didn't believe it. They were afraid. "Tang En's mouth drew back.
"What are they afraid of? They're afraid that if we really win two championships, it'll make them look bad. For an arrogant person like me to win the Double, it must be the end of the world for them. "
When the players heard this, they also laughed.
Tony Twain never hid his arrogant character, whether it was in front of the media or his players. So when he said that he was such an arrogant person, the players also smiled knowingly. The boss was indeed arrogant, but if you stood in the same position as him and stood in the same trench, then you would feel that his arrogance was a great pleasure for yourself.
"Today's game is the key to whether we can win two championships or not. If we win the Double will make some people afraid … then let them be afraid! "
"That's right, boss!" The group of people were as excited as wolves. The league title was their only regret. This was the closest to this goal, and they could not let it go no matter what.
"I don't know what the future will be like! Maybe we'll win a lot of championships together in the future, but that's a matter for the future. Now, since the league title is only 90 minutes away from us, we have no reason to let her go. If we hold on to her tightly, others want to come up and snatch it? Then let them pay the price! "
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"I definitely won't accept the result of a home defeat." In Manchester United's locker room, Ferguson was also mobilizing the players before the final game. "This is not up for discussion. We lost too many important games at the end of the league tournament. Otherwise, we could also consider winning the Double at this time. We lost the previous games, but we must not lose this game! Do you know what losing this game means to us? "
Most of the players did not say a word. Ferguson's nickname as "the hairdryer in the locker room" was not for nothing. Everyone knew that they were the team with the highest hopes of winning the league title and the Champions League title to advance to the final. As a result, they were now reduced to the point where they had to compete with Nottingham Forest for the league title … Sir Alex was not in a good mood at all, so no one wanted to be unlucky.
"Do your best and take down Nottingham Forest! This is our home ground, there's nothing to worry about. I don't want anyone to think that they can win the title by drawing. We've played against them more than once or twice. What kind of opponent is Nottingham Forest? I think you should be very clear — remember, don't give them the slightest chance! "
Ferguson clenched his fists. At 66 years old, he did not look old at all at this time. His face was ruddy, his eyes were bright, and his movements were big and powerful.
At the end of last year, he said in an interview with a French radio station that he might work for another three years before he retired. Later, for some reason, he denied that he had said such a thing. Recently, after Manchester United was knocked out of the Champions League by Chelsea, he mentioned his retirement time again in an interview. This time, he did not specify the specific time and said it could be at any time — it could be four years later, it could be tomorrow. He wanted to find a suitable time to leave, such as for health reasons or to find a qualified successor, or to win another UEFA Champions League title.
His last condition was most likely because he had just been knocked out by Chelsea and he wanted to vent his dissatisfaction. No one thought he would really leave just because he won the Champions League title. Because a few years ago, when Keane was still at Manchester United, there was a rumor that he was going to retire and make way for Keane. The result? When it came to the year he said, he suddenly announced that he had renewed his contract with Manchester United and stayed.
He simply could not bear to part with the Manchester United team, so he said he had to find a qualified successor. Otherwise, he would not consider stepping down from this position unless he was physically unable to do so.
It was normal for a manager to have such an idea after working in a team for more than two decades.
However, he was already very old after all. Looking at his agitated expression today, it really made people break out in cold sweat for his heart …
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There was a huge uproar in the "Theatre of Dreams" Old Trafford stands. In fact, the starting players from both sides were still waiting in the tunnel. Only the substitutes and coaches from both sides came out.
Ferguson, dressed in a suit and leather shoes, came out with a red face while chewing gum. His appearance drew a chorus of cheers from tens of thousands of Manchester United fans at the scene.
In this Theatre of Dreams, there were countless world-famous star players performing here. A man as famous as Beckham finally had to bow down in front of one person. Driving out Paul Ince, driving out Stam, driving out David Beckham, driving out Roy Keane … These things did not affect his position in the minds of these Theatre of Dreams audience. Because English fans knew one thing better than fans elsewhere — a good manager was more valuable than a good player.
Not to mention that Ferguson had been here for twenty-one years.
In twenty-one years, Manchester United had gone from an alcoholic club in the Atkinson era to one of the most famous football clubs in the world. When Ferguson first came to power in 1986, the once glorious Red Devils had lost all of their spirit. The management was chaotic, and the bus driver was a fan of their city rival, Manchester City. Now, the Manchester United Football Club had become the model of European professional football club operations. From the Far East to the Caribbean, Manchester United had footprints all over the world. Even when Evan and Allan looked for Twain to talk about the future of Nottingham Forest, they referred to the current Manchester United. How great was it to be used as a teaching material by their opponents? In the twenty-one years of the Red Devils, Manchester United, there had been a change of owners, faced crises, star players came and went, but only one person's name remained throughout.
This man was now standing on the sidelines, listening to the cheers for him.
Tony Twain walked out a little behind Ferguson. He had not heard the cheers in the stadium yet. He knew that the cheers were not for him. It must not be, because no fan would cheer for the enemy who was about to compete with their team for the league title.
Ferguson raised his hand and waved to the surrounding stands. He did not stay any longer and went straight to his technical area.
Twain did not follow him to his technical area. He stood where he was and turned his head to look at the man's back.
This man had already won eighteen different championship trophies in his position as Manchester United's manager, but he would not go soft on today's game just because he had won too many trophies. His Nottingham Forest wanted to pick up the league title trophy for the first time. If they did not do their best in today's game, they might not be able to get through it. As for the Champions League ten days later? Who would think about that at this time?
After struggling in the English professional coaching circle for a few years, Twain suddenly realized that the ideal he had set for himself was not Brian Clough, who was always mentioned by people, nor was it Arsène Wenger, who had a good personal relationship with him. It was not even Mourinho, who had some rivalry with him. It was this unremarkable old man in front of him, who even had the air of a Scottish country bumpkin.
Because he had won the most championships. His team had created a dynasty in English football that lasted for a decade. He had changed the Manchester United Football Club. He had even changed English football. He was the well-deserved Godfather of Manchester United.
Could he become such a figure one day?
He had won so many championship trophies that he could not even count. He had turned Nottingham Forest from a down and out team into a famous powerhouse team. He had swept through the world of football.
At the thought of this, Twain suddenly felt his blood boil again.
It was as if he could see people standing up from their seats in the huge stadium in front of him, stretching out their arms and shouting his name. "Twain! Twain! Twain! Twain … Don (an Italian honorific for a man. In the Sicilian Mafia, it also means godfather)! "
Twain could not help but raise his hand to greet the crowd in the stands.
A piercing hissing broke through the illusion and pulled him back to reality.
Looking at the hostile Manchester United fans around him, he curled his lips dispiritedly. He put down his hand and walked back to his seat.
Well, in ninety minutes, when I win you, I'll see what kind of expression you have on your faces. At that time, even if you lose your voices from booing, the championship trophy will not return to your side!
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