The reporters gathered in the mixed zone had already dispersed, and no players stayed there to wait for the reporters to interview them. At this time, the focus was no longer on them.
In the press conference hall of the San Siro stadium, a rather special press conference was being held.
Inter Milan's manager, Mourinho, sat on the left, and Nottingham Forest's manager, Tony Twain, sat on the right. The English media had not seen this scene for more than three years, so they appeared a little excited. However, the Italian media felt that this was just an ordinary press conference.
Twain and Mourinho quickly let them see what kind of press conference this was …
In reality, a reporter from La Gazzetta dello Sport raised his hand and asked Mourinho to express his views on the game.
Mourinho snorted, "We were not very lucky to be able to win in the end. I'm not very satisfied with the two goals we conceded, but football is like this. You can only accept the result … "
Then he said some nonsense that was equivalent to not saying anything.
The same reporter threw the question at Twain again, and Twain smiled and said, "Mourinho said they were unlucky? However, I felt that their luck was too good. Otherwise, we would have taken three points from here, not just one. The game is over, and I don't want to comment on the referee's work … "In fact, he did not want to find any trouble for himself. "But I think Mr. Mourinho should really thank God for letting them get this point."
The smell of gunpowder had already appeared.
Twain took the initiative to provoke, and Mourinho endured.
The press conference continued.
This time, it was a question from an English reporter. He was clearly much clearer about the story between Twain and Mourinho than his Italian counterparts. "Mr. Mourinho, you seem to have never beaten Tony Twain when you led the team, and this time is no exception. Do you think this matter has become a vicious cycle?"
During his years in England, Mourinho had answered many such questions. He had long been tired of such questions. So, he decided not to answer.
The atmosphere suddenly became a little awkward. Next to him, Twain raised his hand and smiled to save the situation, "I can answer your question, Mr. Reporter."
Mourinho knew that Twain's mouth could not spit out ivory, so he glared at Twain coldly.
"It's like this, Mr. Mourinho and I have never cared about this kind of record." Unexpectedly, Twain's first words were to speak up for Mourinho. "Because it doesn't mean anything. After all, I have 19 opponents in the league. Even if I can win every time I meet Mr. Mourinho's team, it will only be six points. What can six points do? Nothing would do. So compared to maintaining an unbeaten record against Mourinho, I'm more concerned about the championship. "
At this point, everything was still normal.
But then, Tang En changed his tone.
"However, even though I don't particularly value my unbeaten record with Mourinho, I don't want to lose for no reason. No manager wants to lose. That's why I won't treat Mourinho's team as an individual. I will treat them like any other opponent and strive to win. So the result … is what you see! "
At the end of his sentence, Tang En smiled proudly.
Everyone understood that Tang En was taking advantage of the situation and still flaunting it!
This kind of method was too hateful!
Mourinho really wanted Tang En to shut up, because this was the only thing he could not refute. What was he talking about? Say, "Actually, I don't care about that bullsh * t record, I only care about the result"? But the result was that he did not win the game against Tony Twain again, and caused the team's path to the Champions League to reach an impasse. Or, "Even though we didn't win again this time, I promise we'll win next time!" That was a little too boring. Saying something like "we'll win next time" was really not up to standard. It was like the wording used by a gambler who had lost so much that he was swearing to borrow money from someone. Mourinho would never say something like that.
Mourinho's face darkened. He wanted to flick his sleeves and leave, but he could not. Because his boss, Moratti, had already warned him more than once that this was Italy, not England. He had to pay attention to his own image. His image was also Inter Milan's image.
The next question was a little more normal. He hoped that the managers would comment on the performance of the players in the game. Mourinho spoke highly of Quaresma's goal and performance. Quaresma would definitely be overjoyed when his words were spread through the media. Tang En praised the entire team. He did not single out anyone, even if George Wood's performance had shone the whole stadium. But … Tang En was indeed the reincarnation of a mad dog. He could even make such a question sound like gunpowder.
"I don't single out any player. It's not because they didn't perform well. On the contrary, their performances were so outstanding that I couldn't praise a few players individually. If I really had to point out names, I would have to. If I really had to call out names, I would call out the names of all the Forest players who played. I'm very satisfied with the team's performance tonight. Even though we drew in this game, we scored two away goals. This is the result of everyone's concerted efforts. In contrast, only a few of Inter Milan's players performed normally. "In other words, why did Mourinho single out Quaresma? Because there was no one else he could praise other than him.
Mourinho was not a fool, but he could only pretend to be mute at this time. Who asked him to actually lose to Tang En? A draw in his own home ground was a loss.
This result made him too sullen. What was even more sullen was that if it were not for the referee's extra grace at the last minute, he might have had to face the result of losing at home.
Pierce Brosnan stood up and asked Tang En if forcing an away draw against Inter Milan was considered revenge for Inter Milan's elimination of the Forest team two seasons ago.
Tang En shook his head and corrected Brosnan's question. "First of all, it's not that we forced an away draw against Inter Milan, but that Inter Milan forced an away draw against us at home. Secondly, I don't think this is a successful revenge. It's just a draw. We still have a game to play. After that game, I might be able to say what you asked. "
Mourinho finally found a chance to fight back. "Don't speak too early, Mr. Tang. I don't think you can beat Inter Milan when you return to your home ground. Since you can score two goals at our home ground, why can't Inter Milan score at least two goals at your home ground? "
Twain laughed and said, "Well said, Mr. Mourinho. It's useless for us to say anything here now. I think football is played with our feet, not with our mouths. I'm looking forward to the game then. "
"I'm looking forward to it too." Mourinho responded with a cold face.
It seemed that he was specifically trying to embarrass him. At this time, an English reporter asked, "Conceding two goals at home, the situation for the team to advance is grim. May I ask, Mr. Mourinho, what do you think of the current situation? "
"I admit the game is going to be tough. But I'm confident. We've eliminated them once before, and this time is no exception. "
Tang En pursed his lips, but he did not say the words "that's because I'm not there."
Winning a verbal argument with Mourinho was certainly a very satisfying thing, but the words could in turn hurt the feelings of Dunn, Kerslake, and the other coaches. Because it was equivalent to indirectly saying that his assistants were incompetent …
The press conference finally ended in a lukewarm and awkward atmosphere. Mourinho did not even shake hands with Tony Twain and hurriedly left the scene. Tang En still had a smile on his face as he posed for the photographers present to take a few more pictures.
Getting two goals in an away game and making Mourinho suffer at the press conference put him in a good mood.
※ ※ ※
Even though Twain did not praise George Wood by name in the post-match press conference, Wood's outstanding performance in the game had already attracted a lot of attention. Nottingham Forest's opponents were horrified to discover that the silly boy who used to only know how to defend and run around the field like a headless fly had now grown into a very deterrent offensive weapon in Nottingham Forest's formation.
"He can freeze the opponent's midfield core one-on-one. His outstanding stamina and freakish physique that never gets injured means he does not have to worry about attendance. He has world-class long shots to score. Now, he can even dribble the ball from the backfield to pass several people and send the ball straight into the opponent's penalty area … Can you ask for more? Since the start of the season, Tony Twain had been focusing on nurturing George Wood's offensive abilities. He planned to turn George Wood into the team's dual core. In the past, Wood had always been a spiritual core. Now, he showed signs of becoming a tactical core. He can directly intercept in the midfield and then deliver the cannonballs to his teammates. In some cases, he can also dribble the ball himself to break through to create opportunities. A midfielder like this is the dream of any manager. "
The media's evaluation was not bad. Currently, George Wood was in good form. His physical fitness was also on the rise. His position in the national team was also becoming more and more important. Although Lampard did not announce his retirement from the national team, he could no longer shake George Wood's main position in the national team.
Wood's partner was sometimes Gerrard, sometimes Barry, and sometimes Joe Cole. Only Wood's position was unshakable. Capello liked this boy with a serious attitude. The only headache was that Wood received more yellow cards. Although he did not get red cards often, it was still depressing to accumulate yellow cards and be suspended.
Nottingham Forest received a lot of fans' welcome after returning to England. They scored two goals in an away game. Now, the public was unanimously optimistic about them. The local Nottingham media even could not wait to start following the big battle between Nottingham Forest and Barcelona. Poor Mourinho was thrown to the side instead …
Even the Forest players were very satisfied with the result when they were interviewed. They were optimistic about the team's prospects of advancing to the next round.
There were even people who took the initiative to talk about their next opponent, Barcelona, in an interview. Those who did not know the inside story would have thought that the game that just ended was the second round between Nottingham Forest and Inter Milan …
This optimistic mood continued into the Premier League. Nottingham Forest easily beat Tottenham Hotspur 3: 0 at home in the English Premier League. For a time, the media touted Nottingham Forest as an invincible battleship.
Therefore, they met Bolton Wanderers in the 28th round of the English Premier League. That game was Nottingham Forest's home ground. Everyone thought that the Forest team, in good form, could easily beat Bolton Wanderers, who were ranked 16th in the Premier League.
But …
The young player, Nathan Woolfe, who was nearly twenty-one years old, scored a miraculous brace in the game to help his team defeat the powerful Nottingham Forest. The score of that game was 1: 2, with the home team in front and the away team behind.
When the game ended, Tang En, who sat in the chair in the technical area, did not express anger over it. He neither threw his suit, nor kicked a water bottle. He did not even grumble incessantly. He just got up and shook hands with the Bolton Wanderers manager, Phil Brown, expressionlessly.
Some people thought that Tang En must be extremely angry to not express his stance at all. The Nottingham Forest players also thought so. Losing at home to the weak Bolton Wanderers, who was on the edge of the relegation zone, was such a result not enough to make the boss furious? So, after hurriedly thanking the fans at the scene, they hurriedly walked into the locker room with their heads down. Everyone was on tenterhooks waiting to bear the boss's anger.
But the reality was beyond their expectations.
Tang En told them with a smile, "Good loss."
"Do you know why I said that? I'm definitely not being sarcastic, so you don't have to worry that I'll spit on you. I'm not talking nonsense because I was so angry. I'm very sober. I've seen your previous performance. I didn't remind you because I felt that saying that kind of thing when you were so passionate was not convincing enough. But it's different now. " He spread his hands. "You just lost a game, and it was against the weak Bolton Wanderers. I think it must be very convincing to say it now. No one will secretly mutter in their hearts, 'Boss is always exaggerating to scare people.' I'll tell you now — if you continue to face Inter Milan with this mentality, you'll lose until you don't even have your underwear left! "
"Am I being an alarmist? Then take a look at the game that just ended. I bet before the game, you must have felt that an opponent like Bolton Wanderers, who was about to fall into the relegation zone, could win effortlessly, right? "
No one said anything, but everyone knew in their hearts that the boss was right … Facing a team that was ranked fourth from the bottom, few people could raise their interest, especially when they were about to usher in an important Champions League game.
"To lose a game against a team like Bolton Wanderers because of a moment of underestimation, do you think Inter Milan is not even as good as Bolton Wanderers? So, this game was lost in a timely manner. If you have to lose a game because of your pride and underestimation of your opponent, I'd rather lose a regular league game than the Champions League. So, I'm laughing now because I know I won't lose the Champions League. Will I? "
"No, boss." Someone answered him.
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