Milan, Italy. The city was world-famous for its fashion. But in the hearts of the fans, the city had nothing to do with fashion. There was only one reason for the city's name to spread all over the world — football.
There was a word "derby" in the sports world. It was first used in horse racing, but it was football that carried it forward all over the world. There were many wonderful classic derbies in the world of football, but no derby was more eye-catching than the derby of the same city.
In Spain, the "El Clásico" between Real Madrid and Barcelona may be dazzling, but in the hearts of the players and fans, the real derby was still the Madrid derby between Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid, and the Barcelona derby between Barcelona and RCD Espanyol. The derby of the same city was always the most eye-catching game, such as perhaps the most intense derby in the world — Glasgow, Scotland's "Old Firm."
It would not be an exaggeration to say that "the derby created football." Without the derby, which was dominated by antagonism and hatred, football would not have developed to the point it was today — that kind of emotion was like a catalyst.
Milan, Italy was also such a city derby city. It was one of the few cities where these two world-class powerhouse clubs existed in the same place. The great names of AC Milan and Inter Milan had long spread throughout the world with their respective brilliant results.
AC Milan had the era of the Three Musketeers, while Inter Milan had the era of the Big International. Neither side was weaker than the other. Sometimes the east wind prevailed over the west wind, and sometimes the west wind prevailed over the east wind. Tang En had long been tired of watching the war of words between the fans of both sides when he was still a Chinese.
In fact, there was such a possibility — no matter how hostile the fans of the two teams in this city were, at least when faced with Nottingham Forest, they could unite against a common enemy.
Because both teams had been defeated by Nottingham Forest in important games. In comparison, the AC Milan fans had been hurt even more. Not only had Tang En repeatedly verbally insulted their Rossoneri and had a terrible personal relationship with Ancelotti, but he had also defeated AC Milan on the night of the 2007 UEFA Champions League final in Athens, causing them to return empty-handed after reaching the final two seasons in a row.
The feud between Inter Milan and Nottingham Forest was limited to the 05-06 UEFA Champions League quarterfinals. That time, Nottingham Forest eliminated Inter Milan and eventually reached the final, but unfortunately lost to Barcelona. That was just an ordinary match. It didn't involve too many grudges. Later, Inter Milan eliminated Nottingham Forest. From the perspective of the Inter Milan fans, it was just an ordinary game. The team that performed better won. It was as simple as that.
Unfortunately, they were all wrong. Who asked Nottingham Forest to have a mad dog? An English media once commented on Tony Twain's character — "He's the kind of person who would bend down and bite back like a dog even if he was bitten by it."
Tony Twain and Mourinho had an old grudge when they were in the English Premier League. Now that Mourinho was at Inter Milan, the old grudge between the two sides was naturally transferred to Inter Milan. What's more, Inter Milan had once slaughtered Nottingham Forest. Personal grudges and the entanglement of the team were all mixed together. With Tony Twain around, how could they not be mixed together? He was the best at stirring things up.
Up to now, Inter Milan would be lucky to continue playing out the grudge with Nottingham Forest until the day Tony Twain left his position as Nottingham Forest's manager.
"I think this kind of thing is unbelievable. I can't understand it." The intern reporter who came with Pierce Brosnan frowned and expressed a different opinion. "If Nottingham Forest accidentally loses again, it makes sense for the two teams to continue to be entangled. But what if Nottingham Forest wins? Will Inter Milan not let it go? Even if Mourinho is that kind of person, Moratti is not a president who likes to stir up trouble with his opponents. In this regard, he will definitely strictly control Mourinho's mouth. In fact, when he came to Italy, Mourinho has been much more restrained than when he was in England. "
Brosnan smiled and shook his head. "You really don't understand, because you haven't really understood what kind of person Tony Twain is. If he loses, he will naturally fly into a rage. But if he wins … "He chuckled." He will definitely humiliate Inter Milan at the press conference and show off. He will dress up as the kind of person who will make others want to pounce on him and beat him up when they see him. "
His partner really could not understand this point. "But why would he do that? What good would it do him to offend so many people? "
"You can interpret it as his personality, or you can interpret it as him playing psychological warfare with his opponents."
When Pierce Brosnan said this with a deep look on his face, the intern reporter suddenly looked at Brosnan in a different light. "You really are a reporter who has been with Twain for so many years. Mr. Brosnan, you really know Tony Twain! "
Brosnan shrugged and laughed somewhat self-deprecatingly. "Just when you think you know Tony Twain very well, you must be wrong again. I'm afraid he doesn't even know himself … "
The two men stopped this meaningless topic that would not make their mood better and looked at the Inter Milan manager, Mourinho, who walked to the front of the interview table and took his seat.
The reporters had just finished interviewing Twain, and they flocked to hear what Mourinho would say about his opponents. This group of people was really efficient.
"If you have any questions, ask away, gentlemen." Mourinho, who had just come down from the training ground, was still wearing Inter Milan's sports jacket, which made his figure look a little bloated. Maybe he had a good time in Italy. He crossed his legs on the chair and chose a position that made him the most comfortable to face the reporters.
"Tony Twain just commented that Nottingham Forest came to Milan this time to seek revenge. What do you think of this, Mr. Mourinho?" The first to ask was a reporter from La Gazzetta dello Sport.
"Only a loser would think about revenge. I don't care about this because I'm not a loser. "Mourinho grinned. He seemed to be picturing what a flustered and exasperated Tony Twain should look like in his mind … That must be very impressive.
It was only the first question, but the tit-for-tat flavor was already out, which made the reporters present secretly happy. When Mourinho and Tony Twain meet, never waste precious time at a press conference to ask questions about tactical deployment and personnel arrangements. That would only cause the exciting scene to slip away for nothing.
Mourinho was obviously very proud of being able to lead the team to a crazy 5: 0 victory over Nottingham Forest. He looked at the reporters with a smile and waited for the second question.
The one who stood up next spoiled his good mood.
Pierce Brosnan raised his hand and asked, "Mr. Mourinho, Tony Twain asked me to bring a message to you."
Mourinho snorted and did not stop the reporter from speaking.
"He said — Tony Twain, who you can't win, is here again. What do you think of this? "
Some of the reporters laughed, and Mourinho's face turned a little ugly.
"I've never cared about those boring records. Compared to things like who I can't win against, I'm more willing to care about winning the championship."
If Twain was by his side, he would have said sarcastically at the first moment, "I've won no fewer championships than you, Mr. Mourinho."
Unfortunately, he was not, so Mourinho could continue uninterrupted, "I've never taken the initiative to talk about things like who I've never lost to. It's very disrespectful …"
If Twain was by his side, "That's because you've never had such results."
"Some people only see the past, but what I care about is the future, the game in two days' time …"
If Twain was by his side, "I still want to win against you in the game in two days' time, to let this' past thing 'continue."
If Twain was by his side, the two would probably have thrown themselves into a real-life PK.
Mourinho did not want to answer Brosnan's question anymore because he finally recognized who the person in front of him was. He was a reporter from the Nottingham Evening Post, known as "Tony Twain's mouthpiece." He became famous because of his reporting on Twain. He always wore the same pants as Twain and spoke for Tony Twain. It was said that Twain had once asked this person not to write a bad word about him. It was clear to see how far Twain's dictatorship had reached. He even interfered with the freedom of the press. The crimes he had committed were simply too numerous to list!
"Can you talk about your relationship with Mr. Twain? When you were fired by the Chelsea Football Club, Twain once used foul language to insult Mr. Abramovich in an interview with the television media … "the ESPN reporter asked.
"I have to correct a mistake of yours. It was not that I was fired by the Chelsea Football Club. I resigned of my own accord. It was an amicable breakup. "Mourinho raised his index finger to emphasize. "As for my relationship with Twain …" Mourinho paused at this point, as if he was really seriously thinking about what kind of relationship he had with Twain. "In any case, we're definitely not friends."
It was surprising that he did not say, "We're enemies."
Mourinho did not give the reporters a chance to continue asking. He was tired of these idiotic questions of "How's Tony Twain doing?" whenever they saw him. It made it seem like he had an affair with that guy. Ask him how's he doing. What's the point of asking me!
"If you're not concerned about how Inter Milan is preparing for the game, I think the press conference will end here." Mourinho got up and left. He did not give any of the reporters present time to react. He just disappeared from everyone's stunned eyes.
Although Mourinho flicked his sleeves and left, the reporters present did not show much surprise or anger. Instead, they excitedly discussed the press conference that had just ended in a hurry.
It was clearly the first time the intern reporter had encountered such a situation. He was a little dumbfounded. Pierce Brosnan said to him with a calm expression, "Who would ask him how Inter Milan is preparing for the game? Only then would there be news. Let's go back and make up the script. "
※ ※ ※
When Twain led the team to the Giuseppe Meazza Stadium to adapt to the venue, he met an old friend. This time, it was a real old friend. No quotation marks.
The person who came to see him was the former Nottingham Forest captain, the retired Italian Demetrio Albertini.
In addition to catching up with an old friend like Twain, he also came to cheer for the Forest team.
"Of course I'm going to cheer for you. I'm an AC Milan fan." Albertini, who had put on some weight after not seeing him for a long time, laughed heartily.
Now that he was the vice-president of the Italian Football Federation, he was considered a senior official. His appearance in a suit and leather shoes was very different from when he was a player.
Albertini suddenly came to the stadium in the middle of training. Twain called George Wood down from the training ground.
Once again seeing the young junior whom he had once placed high hopes on, Albertini did not go forward to hug him warmly. Instead, he stared at Wood with a smile and scrutinized him for a while.
"You've got seven assists so far this season, George, right?"
Wood nodded. Seeing his mentor, he actually did not know what to say. He was not the kind of person who was good at expressing his inner feelings. Taking the initiative to hug was practically asking for his life.
"You're doing well, George. But you have to keep working hard. " Back then, it was Albertini who insisted that Wood had offensive talent that made Twain focus on training him in this area. Now, Twain and the Forest team were benefiting together.
Talking about it now, there was a hint of fate in it. Back then, in the away game against Inter Milan, Wood suddenly passed a beautiful through ball. Albertini appeared on the path of the ball like a ghost and scored after receiving the ball. He helped the team force a draw with the home team and even obtained two precious away goals.
That was the first time Wood's offensive talent was revealed, and Albertini had a discerning eye for it.
"You're not a natural leader, George. But you're doing well in the position of Nottingham Forest's captain. Tell me, do you usually talk a lot in the locker room? "
"Not too much." Wood shook his head.
"Then how do you lead your teammates?"
Twain answered for him. "Action. He uses action to lead the team. He never talks nonsense. Action is more powerful than any words. "
He worked the hardest on the training field, was the first to come and the last to leave, ran the most actively on the field, never gave up, and was always full of fighting spirit and passion. He seemed to view football as his life. It was hard for such a person to not be convinced.
Albertini nodded approvingly. "That's your style, George."
Wood had a different opinion. "But I'm not as helpful to the new players as you are." When Aaron Mitchell entered the First Team, the expression on Wood's face was a little too serious when he welcomed him as the captain. He had been brooding over it until now.
Albertini glanced at Twain and turned to Wood with a smile. "Nottingham Forest is a team with a very good atmosphere. There are some things that you don't need to worry about. There will be others to do it. Freddy and Bale are warm-hearted people. Don't think of taking everything on yourself. Just like you on the field, trust your teammates, and you'll gain more. "
Wood nodded and listened attentively. Every word from Albertini was a valuable experience for him.
Twain did not let the two talk for too long. After all, the team was still training. As the captain, Wood was even less qualified to ask for special treatment.
Looking at Wood's back as he ran back to the field, Albertini sighed. "What a good player. It's a pity he didn't come to Milan last summer. "
Twain chuckled. "As long as I'm at Nottingham Forest, he won't leave the City Ground Stadium."
Speaking of Twain's work, Albertini could not help but be concerned about his health.
"There's no problem. Everything seems to be operating normally." Twain gently patted his left chest. There was a pacemaker there, so he could not use too much force. "I'm very lucky. I didn't die the first time. I won't die again in the future." Now that they were talking about life and death, Twain was already very calm. People who had died once had different thoughts and awareness.
Albertini laughed. "I was going to treat you to a drink after the game. Then I remembered that you've already quit, so I can save money. "
Twain winked slyly. "You can change it into cash for me, Demetrio."
The two of them burst into laughter. It was as if they had returned to the good times when they worked together.
When they said goodbye, Albertini held Twain's hand. "When we were together, we never lost to Mourinho. Am I right, Boss?"
His sudden call did not surprise Twain. He smiled and said, "That's right. We never lost."
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