Eastwood's shot became a hot topic among the Forest fans after the game. It was even featured in the opening of ESPN's highlights program and was repeatedly played. It was indeed a wonderful goal, like a work of art. Some commentators joked that it was not a humiliation for Mourinho to die under such a goal.
While Nottingham Forest eliminated Inter Milan with a score of 3: 2, Barcelona also easily defeated Eindhoven with two 2: 0's to advance to the top eight. The two closely watched teams finally met. (Author's note: A friend mentioned the bug in the draw ceremony. Let's just treat it as the UEFA Champions League changed the draw rules starting from the 2010-11 season. After all, no one can predict what will happen in the future. How many people could have thought that the Champions League would change so many times after entering the 1990s?)
Although there was still nearly a month before the two teams actually met, the media and fans were already eagerly counting down.
So far this season, Nottingham Forest's ranking in the league had been hovering between third and fifth. If they wanted to win the league title, they would need to put in a lot of effort. At the same time, they had to pray that the top teams would make consecutive mistakes. The probability was too low. Therefore, people who were familiar with Tony Twain thought that Twain would concentrate on the Champions League and at the same time maintain a top four position in the league.
And Barcelona's situation was slightly better than Nottingham Forest. They were currently ranked first in the league, and second place Real Madrid was still four points behind them. At the same time, in the Copa del Rey, they also made it to the final. It looked like it would be another successful season — they were likely to achieve the great cause of the treble. Although Real Madrid was eyeing them covetously in the league, they also faced Sevilla in the Copa del Rey final, which was recovering and hoped to use the Copa del Rey title as a chance to rise again. In the Champions League, they met the most difficult opponent …
It was right to say that they had a bright future, but it was not unreasonable to say that their future was unpredictable.
With half a month left before the game, Guardiola was asked by the reporters about the game against Nottingham Forest. He did not want to answer the question, so he said, "I'm only thinking about the next round of the league and the derby against RCD Espanyol. The Champions League starts in half a month. "
Unlike him, Twain talked to the media about the game early. "Who will be the final winner? Is there a need to ask? Of course it's us! Barcelona is very unlucky. Their schedule during this period of time is not good for them. This is our chance … Do you want me to comment on the Derbi Barceloní on the night after tomorrow? I heard it was more intense than the El Clásico? I hope a few of their team members got hurt in that game … "
This caused an uproar in the Catalan media. Mundo Deportivo angrily reprimanded Tang En for being a "field pervert." He could actually say such shameless words as hoping for the opponent's players to get injured in a match.
Sports Daily ridiculed Tang En's words as a "declaration of a coward." Why? Because "he can only pray that our Barcelona players are injured so that his team can win. This is so sad and pitiful! "
There were also a bunch of other tabloids that published their denunciations against Tang En. In the comics they published, Tang En became a monster with a human face and a bull's body with a long horn on his head and a tail behind his buttocks. He also had a mustache above his lips, making him look like Hitler.
But what Tang En said was not nonsense. At least Guardiola had such a concern — what if his player was really injured in the Derbi Barceloní against RCD Espanyol? Messi's current form and performance were excellent, scoring goals and assists in a row. He had long become a player who needed the opponent's focus in the game. Since it was the Derbi Barceloní, it was almost inconceivable that RCD Espanyol would not send someone to mark Messi. Nowadays, the use of lethal tactics against Messi in the game seemed to have become an "unspoken rule" in the Spanish league. No matter which team met Barcelona, Messi would always be the player who was violated the most at the end of the game.
Cruyff had more than once called on the Spanish Football Federation in his column to introduce a rule to protect those players with artistic talent and severely punish lethal tactics that specifically targeted a certain player. Although he did not mention the name "Messi," anyone with a normal IQ knew he was speaking for Messi.
It was impossible for the Spanish Football Federation to change the rules for a certain player. FIFA had long had regulations to crack down on "tackles from behind," so there was really no way to change it.
Messi had been injured once in the first half of the season and only returned after a month and a half of rest. In fact, he had been injured almost every season over the years. As one of the best offensive star players on the planet, he was a natural contradiction with the defenders. All the defenders would never have the feeling of being "protective of the fairer sex" when facing Messi. They would only fiercely tackle him to the ground again and again, forcing him to concede the ball, thus causing Barcelona's offense to fall into a stalemate.
Tang En was definitely not cursing the Barcelona players. He was just telling the truth — this was the situation now. It could be said that the players with outstanding skills were envied, or that the defensive players were killing the beauty of football. It was an irrefutable fact that they were more likely to be injured.
Therefore, Tang En's words caused a certain degree of trouble for Guardiola. There was no doubt that the game against RCD Espanyol would be intense. Messi would also be heavily marked by the opponent as the core figure of his side, and even use lethal tactics. If Messi was really injured in this game and missed the next few games, wouldn't the loss be even greater?
He thought about it. In the Derbi Barceloní a day later, Messi's name was indeed not on the starting list.
Some media lamented that Tang En's mouth was really powerful. He could actually make the Barcelona manager change his mind.
It was not as simple as losing Messi. In that game against RCD Espanyol, the entire Barcelona team played somewhat cautiously. Playing in the away game, they were clearly not as proactive as the home team, RCD Espanyol. When the commentator talked about this, he guessed that Guardiola had also instilled in them the idea of trying not to get injured in the game.
Regardless of Guardiola's excessive caution, Tang En was right. Barcelona's schedule during this period was very unfavorable to them.
After playing the Derbi Barceloní with RCD Espanyol, the next round was the game against Valencia, which was ranked fourth in the league. Then it was the "El Clásico" that attracted worldwide attention — Barcelona's away challenge against Real Madrid. After playing this game, it was time for the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals. They were waiting at home for Nottingham Forest to come and challenge them. Then after playing this game, they would face Sevilla at home in the league, and then go to challenge Nottingham Forest in the away game.
It seemed that Tang En really had a deep understanding of his opponent. He even knew the opponent's schedule. In the face of such a difficult schedule, it was indeed a little difficult for Barcelona to break through on all fronts. After the league tournament reached the middle of April, it was the time when everyone was exhausted and lacked the strength to carry on. However, this was also the final sprint. If there was even the slightest mishap, it could lead to "a single misstep may cause everlasting sorrow".
Barcelona would not be willing to lose the Champions League, nor would they be willing to give up the league tournament. A gap of four points was not enough for them to shake off Real Madrid, not to mention that they still had a chance to directly talk to Real Madrid.
On the other hand, Nottingham Forest's schedule was much easier. They had only encountered one relatively strong opponent before the game against Barcelona, and that was Chelsea.
※ ※ ※
The result of the Derbi Barceloní was a 2: 2 draw for both sides. In this game, the referee showed nine yellow cards and one red card. RCD Espanyol's center back, Sergio Sanchez, was sent off with a red card because he kicked Iniesta. The latter persisted for 15 minutes after he was sent off with a red card, and was then replaced by Guardiola with Yaya Touré.
After Iniesta was replaced, the center back, Gabriel Milito, also twisted his ankle in a scramble and was forced to leave the field.
The Barcelona fans should really be thankful that the game could be a 2: 2 draw. Because in the end, Barcelona had nine players in the match — there were still eight minutes before the end of the game when Milito was injured, and Guardiola had used up all the substitutions.
The only thing to be thankful for was that Guardiola was right not to put Messi in the starting lineup. In fact, at the last minute of the game, when Barcelona was facing a disadvantageous situation, Guardiola did not let Messi play. After seeing the RCD Espanyol's exuberant fighting spirit and rough movements, only a fool would let Messi go up and take that risk.
After the game, another media ran to interview Twain and asked him for his views on the game. Twain said in a tone that made the Catalan media gnash their teeth, "This result fully shows that I'm definitely not maliciously cursing, because what I said is the truth. I don't believe that playing a game like the Derbi Barceloní, there will be no injuries and no one will leave the field. So, I also don't believe that playing a game like the Derbi Barceloní will not have a little friction … "
This last sentence exposed his insidious and shameless nature — one RCD Espanyol was not enough. He continued to look forward to Real Madrid creating trouble for Barcelona.
Of course, Twain's two remarks also attracted Barcelona's attention. As always, Guardiola did not express any opinions, but his players could not sit still.
Big mouth Baeto 'o was the first to fire at Tony Twain. "Some people just lack basic respect. I really don't know how this kind of person became a professional football club manager. "
Xavi also expressed his dissatisfaction. "I don't think it's appropriate to promote letting the players get injured. Quaresma's injury is a tragedy. Does Mr. Twain want to see such a tragedy happen every day? "
In fact, the Barcelona players were quite eloquent. Twain chose to shut up in the face of Barcelona's counterattack.
But the person who suffered the most in the middle was Piqué. As a Barcelona man, Piqué had deep feelings for Nottingham Forest and Tang En. If not for the boss and Nottingham Forest back then, Piqué did not know how long he would have to endure before he could be picked up by Barcelona's First Team and become the main center back today. This could be considered as "saving the country in a roundabout way."
Twain took the initiative to provoke a war of words with Barcelona. For Piqué, who had played under him before, he certainly knew what the boss was thinking — it was not that he had any deep hatred for Barcelona. It was completely a necessary means to win. But in the hearts of his Barcelona teammates, this person had a deep hatred for Barcelona that could not be dissolved.
When a reporter came to ask him, the person in the Barcelona team who understood Tony Twain the best, Piqué could only use "I refuse to express my opinion."
He did not want to say bad things about his mentor, but he also could not help an outsider, so he could only remain silent.
Twain had the capital to pay so much attention to Barcelona. He was not like Barcelona, who had to fight for multiple championships in multiple tournaments. At present, his team's performance was enough to establish a foothold in the top four of the league. They had long given up on the FA Cup and EFL Cup. Now, he had a lot of time to play slowly with Guardiola.
※ ※ ※
After a draw with RCD Espanyol and the loss of two key players, the Catalan media could not help but panic. In fact, the media were all like that. They liked to make a fuss. When they learned that Nottingham Forest's opponent in the next round of the league tournament was Chelsea, they began to trumpet the great results that Rijkaard had achieved at Barcelona. Since they had previously referred to Guardiola's Barcelona as the "second dream team," they could only say that Rijkaard was the "founder of the second dream dynasty," just like AC Milan's Sacchi and Capello.
They reviewed Rijkaard's experience at Barcelona. Of course, they automatically blocked out the bad things, only talking about his achievements and not his mistakes. Everyone gave him high praise and sang praises. They also wished him all the best and success at Chelsea.
Looking at this posture, it was impossible to tell that when Rijkaard was in trouble, they were the ones who hit him when he was down.
Rijkaard was a smart and calm man. His reaction to the sudden collective crazy praise from the Catalan media was very cold. Everyone who left Barcelona did not seem to have a good impression of the local Catalan media.
When pressed on this topic by the reporter, he just said in a very flat tone, "I'm the Chelsea manager now. Of course, I'll strive to win the game against Nottingham Forest, but that's not for Barcelona. "
But if it was just to win against Nottingham Forest, it would not be good for Barcelona. Tang En did not pursue the league title, so he could afford to lose a game or two. The Catalan media certainly hoped that Tang En would "curse" them to happen to themselves — that a number of players would leave the field injured in the fierce competition with Chelsea.
Tang En did not give them such a chance.
In previous years, when the two teams met, a war of words was inevitable, which ignited the fiery scene in the game. In addition, Tang En and Rijkaard had an old grudge. The media speculated that the game might not be exciting, but it would certainly be intense. But? Tang En did not take the initiative to start a war of words. Rijkaard, who was badly battered by the team's cliques in the locker room, was not in the mood to quarrel with outsiders.
During the game, Tang En rotated the entire starting lineup and rotated all the players that the media expected to be in the starting lineup in the Champions League to the substitutes' bench and the stands.
The game ended in a 1: 1 draw with Chelsea. Nottingham Forest was still fourth in the league and did not have much of an impact.
Compared to the Derbi Barceloní, this game was very civilized. There were no red cards, only four yellow cards, and no one left the field injured. The media only guessed half right. The game was indeed not exciting, but it was also not intense. After a dull 90 minutes, both sides scored a goal and ended the highly anticipated "Mars colliding with Earth showdown" as if they were handling an errand.
After the game, Tang En wrote articles in the columns of his four media outlets ridiculing the Catalan media for "wasting their efforts." This further escalated the war of words between the two sides.
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