For Matías Fernández, Madrid might not be the Spanish city he was most familiar with, but he was certainly more familiar with it than London.
When he was still playing for Villarreal, he would come here at least three times a season — visiting Real Madrid's Bernabéu Stadium, Atlético Madrid's Calderón Stadium, and Getafe's Estadio Pérez Stadium.
Perhaps in another season, London would replace Madrid's position, because he would go to London at least five times a season …
The "Yellow Submarine" Villarreal had been a direct competitor of Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid for the past few seasons, so every time he visited the stadiums of the two teams, Fernández was most accustomed to hearing the home fans' boos. But since coming to England, he found that the Spanish fans' boos were nothing — the craziest fans in the world must be from England!
After the Forest team got off the plane, they accepted an interview with the media. When Fernández was asked, "How does it feel to be back in Spain?" he replied with a smile, "I feel like I haven't left Spain yet. It's like I'm playing in an away game again."
Here, the reporters would not ask questions in English, which he did not understand, but in the familiar Spanish. He also answered questions in Spanish, chatting and laughing with the reporters, completely without the formality he had in England.
Twain noticed this, and he hoped that this performance would help Fernández play to his high level.
A reporter asked a question that made Fernández slightly embarrassed, "You haven't played well so far after your transfer to Nottingham Forest. Some British media have called you a substandard product during the summer transfer window. What do you think of this? "
The expression on Fernández's face froze. He froze for a moment before saying, "I'm trying to adapt to the style of the Premier League game …"
"Have you ever thought that a transfer to Nottingham Forest was a mistake? In fact, Villarreal can also guarantee participation in the Champions League … "Last season, Fernández's last contribution before leaving Villarreal was to use his own assist to help the team squeeze out Valencia in the final round of the game and successfully advance to the Champions League qualifying round.
This time, Fernández was not polite with him, "I want to win the championship, and I think Nottingham Forest can do that."
With that, he lowered his head and quickly walked out of the reporters' encirclement and boarded the bus that had been waiting outside for a long time.
These reporters turned to ask Tang En, who was walking at the back of the line, for him to talk about the outcome of the match.
Twain did not give them a good look. "Look forward to what? The competition hasn't started yet, how would I know what the final result will be? If I win, I lose, and if I lose, I win? Before the match, I will never talk about the results or tactics. You are Spanish reporters, don't you know my rules? "
In addition to his usual aversion to the media, he now had to be careful.
After all, it was an away game against a team that they had never played against before. He did not know the team as well as their city rivals.
With that, he ignored the unfriendly gazes of the Spanish reporters and followed the team into the car.
The door slowly closed, and the car swaggered off.
※ ※ ※
The hotel where the team was staying was in the south of Madrid, not far from the Calderón Stadium. From the upper floor, one could see the quietly flowing Manzares River through the window. On both sides of the river were low-rise houses and narrow streets.
This was the old part of Madrid, a place where craftsmen, workers, and civilians lived. The houses here were very old compared to those in the north of the city, but they were not dilapidated. Almost all the people who lived here were fans of Atlético Madrid. The environment and the class of supporters created Atlético Madrid, a civilian team. Therefore, they were irreconcilable with Real Madrid, which symbolized the powerful government.
From this point of view, Tony Twain's Nottingham Forest and Atlético Madrid might have some affinity. But now that they were opponents, they had to put aside these boring emotions.
During his adaptation training in the Calderón Stadium for the past two days, Twain found a Chinese restaurant next to it with an interesting name. So, he took Dunn there specifically to eat.
The taste was certainly not authentic, but the price was very cheap. And most importantly, the name was particularly good: "Liangshan Lake."
"Liangshan Lake" and "Robin Hood" could almost be regarded as synonymous. Twain felt that if such a Chinese restaurant opened next to the City Ground stadium, he would definitely frequent it.
"Liangshan Lake" from England wreaking havoc in the Calderón Stadium!
Good luck!
※ ※ ※
While Tony Twain led the team to train at the Calderón Stadium in Madrid, van Nistelrooy, who had stayed in England, stood in front of Gareth Bale's ward with flowers. But he was not in a hurry to knock on the door because he heard a noise coming from inside. After hearing clearly that it was Bale and his pudgy father quarreling, the Dutchman wisely chose to avoid it — he turned around and walked downstairs. It was not until he saw Bale's father angrily coming out of the elevator that he then went up the stairs.
Then he knocked on the door of Bale's ward.
"We're the only two in the team who don't have to go to Spain." Van Nistelrooy smiled and handed the bouquet to Bale. "I went to Wilford and the first team's training ground was empty. So I came to see you. "
It was very obvious that Bale was in a bad mood. On the one hand, it was because he had just quarreled with his father. On the other hand, he used to be a player who paid great attention to his appearance. He could carry nothing in his bag for away games, but a comb and a mirror were indispensable. He would always fiddle with his hairstyle, hoping to attract beautiful girls.
But now he even had a beard on his lips and chin, and his hair was messy and stuck to his scalp. It was ugly.
"You can train with the reserves." Bale took the flowers. Although he had just quarreled with his father, he still remained polite to the senior he respected. "Thank you, Ruud."
"Ha, my injury hasn't healed completely. I went to the gym to do some strength training and then left." Van Nistelrooy laughed and tried to ease the air in the room that had just been in a conflict.
Bale cast his gaze to van Nistelrooy's right knee, where his own injury was. He thought it was a little strange. "Wasn't the surgery very successful? You can also play in the game … "
"Success is success. I can play in the game." Van Nistelrooy laughed. "But I'm thirty-four years old after all. My physical function is not as good as it used to be. That kind of injury is too serious for my age. And I've also suffered a serious injury here. "
The topic naturally changed to the injury.
"I was only twenty-four years old at the time, and everyone said I was going to say goodbye to professional football. But I didn't believe it. I insisted on going back to the field, and I succeeded. Then I joined Manchester United. "Van Nistelrooy smiled as he told Bale about his past. "You're younger than I was at that time, little monkey. You'll definitely recover better than I did. "
At this point, Bale lowered his head and looked at his knee. "But I was injured without any collision. I'm worried about my knee …"
"There's nothing to worry about. It's just an accident." Van Nistelrooy reached out and gently patted his right knee. "Of course you're to blame for this injury, but not your body, but your mind. I noticed that you were a little absent-minded when you were warming up before that game? Did you meet any beautiful girls at the captain's party? "
Bale scratched his head. "No. All I could think about was the Champions League. The league opponents were always familiar faces. I really couldn't get excited … "
"So the quality of your warm-up was too low. Your body hadn't warmed up yet. Of course your knee couldn't stand it when you made such a drastic change of direction. It's not a steel part that you can do whatever you want. In fact, it's very fragile there. "
Van Nistelrooy took his hand back and pressed it on his knee.
"As a professional player, you have to take care of them. If you don't take care of them, they'll make you suffer. Bale, your career has been smooth, so there are some things you don't know how to cherish, and now you're suffering. Being injured is certainly not a good thing, but you have to see the positive things in it … This injury will make you understand a lot of things. "
Bale nodded. He thought he had understood something.
"So, you can't sink just because you've suffered a serious injury. You look at those big star players. Which one of them hasn't suffered a serious injury? But why did they succeed in the end? "
"I think I understand. Thank you, Ruud." Bale looked up and thanked van Nistelrooy gratefully.
The first few days of the injury were the most difficult for him. Many thoughts flashed through his mind in a mess, good and bad, so he could hardly think. His mood also became terrible.
He had just quarreled with his father because of this.
His father comforted him that it was no big deal. His reason was that "my son is a genius." Bale glared at him and said that his father had never experienced such a thing, so of course he would think it was "no big deal." People who had not experienced it would not understand his feelings, so they were not qualified to criticize him. What was the use of being a genius? He had heard this since he was a child and was tired of hearing it. No matter how much of a genius he was, he was still lying in bed like a wretch.
His father was so angry that his lips trembled, and he did not know how to refute him. In the end, he slammed the door and left him alone in bed to sulk.
For Bale, who firmly believed that "only people in the same boat could understand his feelings," van Nistelrooy came at the right time. A word from a person who had personal experience was worth a hundred words from others because it resonated.
Van Nistelrooy wanted to say, "Don't thank me. Thank the boss. He asked me to come see you. "
But he thought of the father and son quarreling at the door. Almost everyone on the team knew what kind of person Gareth Bale's father was. The most impressive thing about him was his habit of always saying "my son is a genius." But no one would laugh at him because his son was indeed a genius.
As a father, van Nistelrooy felt it was necessary for him to help the father and son reconcile, so … boss, sacrifice yourself!
"Don't thank me. If you want to thank someone, thank your father. He called me and asked me to come. He knows I have a good relationship with you. But he didn't let me tell you. You know, as a father, he has some pride … But I think it's necessary to tell you. In this world, only your parents are really good for you. " At this point, he put his index finger to his lips and blinked. "But don't betray me, little monkey."
Bale nodded vigorously. He suddenly felt guilty for having a big quarrel with his father.
"Rest well and don't think about anything. You don't know how happy the boss will be if you come back. " Van Nistelrooy was afraid that Bale's father would come back again. In that case, the lie he had just carefully woven would be exposed, so he patted Bale on the shoulder and took his leave.
When he left, he looked at Bale again with a glimmer in his eyes. The task given to him by the boss was completed in this way, and it was more than completed.
When he came out, he chose to take the stairs because he was afraid of running into Bale's father in the elevator. Sure enough, after walking down the stairs, he saw the fat man who was a head shorter in the crowd waiting to enter the elevator.
He was holding a package from a nearby fast food restaurant. Apparently, he was going to buy food for his son.
Thinking of his angry look when he rushed out of the elevator, and then looking at what he was holding in his hand now, van Nistelrooy shook his head — Father …
Putting on his sunglasses, buttoning his hat, and turning up his collar, van Nistelrooy ducked his neck and slipped out from the corner of the wall. When he came, he came openly. When he left, he did not want to cause a commotion and attract the attention of Bale's father.
※ ※ ※
Bale was fiddling with the flowers sent by van Nistelrooy when his father pushed the door open and came in. He froze for a moment when he saw the bouquet in Bale's hand. "Who sent this?"
Bale also froze for a moment when he saw what his father was holding. "Uh … a friend." He could not betray his teammate!
His father came over, put the box in his hand on the bedside table, and took the bouquet of flowers. "I'll put it in for you."
Bale did not object. There seemed to be some awkwardness between the two, but it was not as strong as before.
After arranging the flowers, his father came back and looked at the package on the table. He did not know what to say.
Bale suddenly said, "I'm hungry, Dad."
"Ah! Just in time, I bought you something to eat! "His father was relieved. He began to open the package. "Do you want me to feed you, Gareth?"
Bale curled his lips. "I hurt my knee, not my hand, Dad. Besides, I'm not a three-year-old child who needs to be fed … "
"Heh heh!" His father handed the box to his son with some embarrassment and sat down to help him peel the fruit.
"I've decided to go to the United States for surgery, Dad."
"Good! The sooner the surgery, the sooner the recovery! "
"The sooner the recovery? How can there be such a good thing? "
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