Galliani sincerely wanted to persuade George Wood to join AC Milan, but he did not think it would end up being stirred into a farce by Twain.
George Wood did not come and even wasted AC Milan's precious half a month. Now that the summer transfer window was about to close, Gattuso's successor had not been found.
Ancelotti's already gloomy face was now even gloomier. If Galliani and Braida could not find him a new defensive midfielder, then AC Milan's league title plan for the new season would be doomed.
Galliani also knew what kind of player the team needed. He was better than Real Madrid's former general manager, Mijatović.
Blasi, who was mentioned by Ancelotti before, was a candidate to be considered, but Galliani did not put all his eggs in one basket this time. While asking the team to contact Blasi's agent, he also looked for two other people.
The first defensive midfielder to shine in Sporting Lisbon and be closely watched by many big clubs at the same time — — Miguel Veloso (Miguel _ Veloso).
The second was Liverpool's unshakable main player, an important contributor to Argentina's World Cup victory this summer, defensive midfielder Mascherano.
In terms of actual value, Mascherano was a head higher than Veloso and higher than George Wood because he won the World Cup. The mainstream view in the world of football was that Veloso was still slightly young. Mascherano and George Wood were already excellent defensive midfielders who had experienced hundreds of games. The two of them could be regarded as the best defensive midfielders in the world.
Galliani's plan was that although it was difficult to buy Mascherano, the Argentine was not the Anfield captain and naturally could not be a boring player who was not for sale. Then it would be easy as long as there was money. He did not want George Wood. Wood's position in the Forest team determined that no matter how rich AC Milan was, the deal would be difficult.
Galliani was inclined to Mascherano.
But Liverpool vowed not to let the Argentine go to AC Milan, even though they already had Lucas, a Brazilian defensive midfielder.
Time was running out. Mascherano's side was in a deadlock due to Liverpool's lack of cooperation. In Portugal, however, things were progressing smoothly. Veloso had long wanted to leave Sporting Lisbon, but he did not leave last summer because his agent and the club believed that Veloso's value would rise after the UEFA European Championship, so they advised him to stay in Portugal. This year's World Cup had just ended, so it was a good time to move to a big club.
Sporting Lisbon also thought that selling Veloso at this time could get more transfer fees, so they did not dwell on the issue of whether to release him or not and directly began to talk about the transfer fees. Veloso himself was also very happy to join a world-class powerhouse team like AC Milan. There were more fans, more attention, and more glory there. Joining AC Milan was an important step towards becoming a world-class star player.
In the end, Galliani and Braida had no choice but to give up on Mascherano and sign a contract with Veloso.
On August 25th, AC Milan announced that they had signed the Portuguese national team's main defensive midfielder, Miguel Veloso, for a price of 23 million euros.
The series of transfers that started with George Wood finally came to an end.
※ ※ ※
Twain no longer cared about the matter of AC Milan buying a replacement for George Wood since Wood published an open letter in the newspaper. For him, it made no difference whether Galliani bought Veloso or Mascherano. He had to lead the team to prepare for the second leg of the UEFA Champions League qualifiers, as well as the second round of the league tournament.
In the first leg of the Champions League qualifiers, Nottingham Forest defeated Red Star Belgrade 4: 0 at home. Such a result almost guaranteed their entry into the Champions League proper. Therefore, Twain adopted a rotation system in the away games.
Akinfeev's starting position was given to Dale Roberts. The left back changed from Gareth Bale to Joe Mattock. The center backs were Woodgate and Morgan. The right back was Nkoulou, who joined the team this season. In the midfield, George Wood continued to rest. Tiago was still in the starting lineup. Şahin was replaced by Bostock. The left midfielder was Fernández, and the right midfielder was Bentley. In the forward line, Ibišević did not sit on the bench because of his mediocre performance in the first round of the league tournament. Twain gave him full trust and continued to let him start. His partner was the "fast horse," Agbonlahor.
If the Serbs thought that this was Nottingham Forest's substitute lineup and they could do whatever they wanted at home, then they were in for a big loss.
The rotation lineup did not mean that it was a substitute lineup. Looking at this lineup alone, its strength was comparable to what they thought of as the "main lineup."
Such a lineup in Red Star Belgrade's home stadium, the Red Star Stadium, tied the home team with a score of 3: 2.
The Red Star Team was quite crazy from the start. If they wanted to enter the main competition, they had to score at least four goals at home and not let the other team score at the same time. It was too difficult, but they had no other way but to attack.
The first to score was the Red Star Team. They scored a goal 14 minutes into the game, and the Red Star Stadium was in jubilation. Unfortunately, the home fans' good mood did not last long. Seven minutes later, Nottingham Forest relied on a corner kick and Morgan to head a goal.
Then, Nottingham Forest continued to work hard. After Agbonlahor received Ibišević's pass, he directly faced the goalkeeper and successfully pushed the shot to overtake the score.
In the second half, the Red Star Team continued to fight back wildly. Unfortunately, there were too many holes in the back field. The empty space was too big, and Nottingham Forest seized the opportunity to counterattack. Agbonlahor scored twice.
This goal completely destroyed the Red Star Team's fighting spirit. They played weakly for the rest of the game, only taking advantage of the Forest team's negligence in defense to score a face-saving goal at the last minute. It did not help the result.
Nottingham Forest advanced to the main competition with a total score of 7: 2.
It was a little regrettable that Ibišević still did not score against such an opponent …
Carl Spicer and some of the media must have something to say after the game.
Could Ibišević really be a bright shooting star?
After the game, Ibišević was also a little depressed. But overall, his mood was not too affected.
Twain comforted him with the same words, "You did well, Ibišević. You're integrating into the team bit by bit. "
He was not the kind of person who immediately denied himself after making a decision. Even if he really made a mistake, he had to give the other party a period of time to prove himself.
※ ※ ※
So, in the second round of the league, Nottingham Forest challenged Newcastle United in an away game. Ibišević was still in the starting lineup.
But unfortunately, he still did not score a goal.
In the 75th minute, he was replaced by van Nistelrooy.
The commentator's evaluation was "Tony Twain doesn't look too satisfied with this Bosnian."
Twain's real intention was to not put too much pressure on Ibišević.
In the end, Nottingham Forest shook hands with Newcastle United in an away game. Neither side scored a goal.
After the game, some media believed that if Nottingham Forest had grasped the opportunity a little better, they could have actually defeated Newcastle United in an away game and taken all three points. But Ibišević was a huge disappointment. He wasted at least three chances.
Carl Spicer mocked Twain on the show after the game that he should reconsider the bet with him. "Of course, if Mr. Twain originally wanted to shave his head, then I'd be happy to oblige."
Nottingham's local media also had discordant voices. They thought that Tony Twain had made a mistake again. Ibišević was not as outstanding as everyone thought. His performance in the 08-09 season was indeed short-lived. He was actually just a substitute level striker in a third-rate league in Europe.
※ ※ ※
Ibišević had already integrated into the team in terms of lifestyle and language. But on the field, he had been slow to find the feeling to score goals. Matías Fernández had to thank Ibišević, because if Twain and Carl Spicer had not bet on the Bosnian's goal count, he would be the one being criticized by the media now, because he himself had not integrated into the team.
Twain felt that the first problem he had to solve was not to study the opponent or how to win. Instead, it was to let these two people quickly adapt to the team, because they were not bought to be substitutes.
There were many reasons why Ibišević did not score. First, he had not fully adapted to the English Premier League's style of play. Second, he cared too much about Twain and Spicer's bet and put all the burden on himself. Third, it was a tactical problem.
In Hoffenheim's craziest season, Ibišević's crazy goal scoring was related to their crazy offensive tactics. The offensive 4-3-3 style of play allowed them to always score big. The two wingers constantly attacked on the flanks, feeding the ball to Ibišević in the middle. The three players in the midfield moved as precisely as clockwork. The four defenders pushed forward, creating offside with such precision that it was maddening.
They implemented simple, fast, and direct tactics, which were somewhat similar to Nottingham Forest a few years ago. But Nottingham Forest rarely, almost never created offside. Twain did not believe in tactics like creating offside, especially in the English Premier League, which liked to be straightforward. Moreover, he liked it when his opponent created offside, and then let his fast players repeatedly counter offside, seizing an opportunity to take the opponent's life!
This kind of tactic was simply a typical tactic used by newly promoted teams. But the current Nottingham Forest was no longer a newly promoted team. Twain emphasized controlling the ball in the midfield. The tactic of rapid advancement was not used at all times. He had to make his team's tactics richer and more varied. Otherwise, it would be easy for the opponent to study them. Just like Hoffenheim in the second season of the Bundesliga.
Ibišević was used to having two wingers to deliver the cannonballs to him, and the fast passing and running style of play. He had to adapt to another method — to control the football under his feet, advance slowly with each step he took. Even though Nottingham Forest also had fast wingers, the wingers and midfielders could not be compared.
Twain believed that Ibišević had no problem in this aspect, but there was a process of adaptation, and the process required time.
So, he decided to talk to Ibišević. He could not put too much pressure on him.
A player who had just suffered a defeat came to a completely unfamiliar environment. It might not be apparent on the surface, but the psychological pressure was very great.
He had prepared many sets of words beforehand, intending to help Ibišević reduce the pressure from multiple angles.
But Ibišević was surprised that the manager suddenly sought him out for a private talk.
"I'm fine with my life, Boss. I'm barely used to the food I eat. "He thought Twain was concerned about his life.
"Of course I know your life is fine." Tang En felt that his enthusiasm had been extinguished by Ibišević just like that. He said in a bad mood. "I'm not here to talk to you about this. I'm …" He deliberated in his mind on how to use his words so as not to agitate the striker.
The position of a striker was different from other positions. Sometimes, technique or awareness was not the most important. What was important was actually confidence. And the source of confidence was very simple — scoring goals, scoring goals in a row.
He hoped to restore Ibišević's confidence as much as possible without damaging his pride.
"I know. Is it because I haven't scored in a few games?"
Twain nodded vigorously. It was really easy to talk to smart people. But why did these words come out of Ibišević's mouth? Isn't this my line?
Ibišević was silent for a moment. Just as Twain was about to open his mouth to comfort him, he spoke again. "Boss, are you worried … that you can't win against that reporter?"
Twain laughed. "What are you talking about? If you didn't mention it, I would have almost forgotten about this matter. Didn't I say it? I never worry about things that haven't happened yet. Unless you still haven't scored a goal in the last round of the league tournament, then I'll seriously consider shaving my head. But that kind of thing will never happen, right? "
Ibišević did not answer his question. He asked in return, "Do you regret buying me to come to Forest, Boss?"
Twain looked at Ibišević. "To be honest … I don't regret it." He smiled. "Why should I regret it? How many games have you played? I'm not an impatient person. We still have time. I knew your performance last season, but I still bought you. I have no intention of regretting it. You know, I'm not a person who likes to slap myself for no reason. I usually slap others. Ha! "
"I came to talk to you just to confirm a question. Are you starting to have doubts about your ability and this choice?"
This time, under Tony Twain's gaze, Ibišević fell into a long silence.
Twain did not rush him. He got up and poured a glass of water for Ibišević. Then he sat back down and quietly looked at the tall center forward sitting opposite him.
After a long time, Ibišević began to say, "My career has always been like this, Boss. It's always one choice after another. Before each choice, I don't know if I'm doing the right thing. So, after a long time, I don't think about this kind of question anymore. If I really made a wrong choice, then the solution is very simple. I'll make a choice again. "
Twain smiled. "I know why the European media calls you 'Ranger.' But I don't want the person I spent more than ten million euros to make another choice after playing a season. "
"If it's possible, I don't want it either," Ibišević answered him. "I don't like that nickname."
Twain clapped his hands. "It looks like we have a common understanding, Ibi. That's easy. You've experienced more miserable times than you are now. I think the current situation should be nothing to you, right? "
Ibišević nodded. "I'm a little depressed that I haven't scored. But it's not time to lose confidence yet, Boss. "
"That's good. Actually, it's nothing. I just want to make sure of one thing. You know, I'm happy to give new players a chance, but I have to first know if they're willing to use these opportunities to prove themselves again. I don't do useless work, and I'm not a philanthropist. If the other party doesn't have this idea, I naturally won't waste time and energy on them. But as long as you have this idea of not admitting defeat, I'll make you succeed at all costs. Do you know what I mean? Ibi. Nottingham Forest's football is different from any football you've seen before. "At this point, Twain paused and a smile appeared on his face. "Never admitting defeat and never giving up are our best lovers."
"If you can accept this set of football ideas, then I'll have to welcome you again."
Twain reached out to him.
Ibišević did not say anything. He just extended his hand.
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