After the game against Chelsea, there was still one more league game before Nottingham Forest flew to Barcelona to prepare for the Champions League quarterfinals.
Their opponent was not strong. It was just Blackburn Rovers. Tony Twain rotated again. Only half of the players who were going to play against Barcelona appeared in this game. In the end, Nottingham Forest easily defeated Blackburn Rovers, who were not on the same level as them, with a score of 3: 1.
Nottingham Forest's game was played on Saturday afternoon. It was one of the earlier games in this round of the English Premier League. After the game, Twain handed the team over to Kerslake and rushed straight to London with Dunn. They had to catch the night flight to Madrid.
They were not going to Spain for a vacation, nor were they eloping. They were only there to watch the next night's El Clásico live at the Bernabéu and gather first-hand information from the closest distance.
The team would only leave for Barcelona on Sunday afternoon. By then, Twain and Dunn would already be waiting in the hotel they had booked.
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There were still six hours before the night's game, and they had already arrived early. There was no point in staying in the hotel anyway. They might as well come out and walk around, enjoying the exotic atmosphere and relaxing their taut nerves at the same time.
Spain was not the United Kingdom. The sunny streets were full of tourists. Twain saw many fans from all over the world. He even saw Asian faces, but he did not know if they were Chinese or Japanese. Some of them looked like ordinary tourists, wearing sun hats, sunglasses, and cameras hanging in front of their chests. But some people wore the jerseys of Barcelona and Real Madrid as they swaggered through the streets.
Fortunately, this was not Glasgow. There was no need to worry about being stabbed to death by the extreme fans of the opposing team.
There were also media from all over the world doing random interviews on the streets and interviewing those fans.
This was a scene that could never be seen in Nottingham. No matter how outstanding Nottingham Forest's results were, the gap between a big city and a small city could not be easily closed. This was also why most people did not think of Nottingham Forest as a "powerhouse" — none of the so-called "powerhouses" were in small cities.
Inter Milan and AC Milan were in Milan, Italy's second largest city. Juventus was in Turin, Italy's automobile city. Barcelona and Real Madrid were needless to say. Manchester United was in the heavy industrial city of Manchester. Liverpool was a famous port and tourist city. There was also Munich, the home of Bayern Munich. Hoffenheim was doing well in the Bundesliga, but no one would regard them as a "powerhouse." Even they themselves would not think so.
Without a big city, there would be no big market, and there would be a lack of attention. This was interlinked. Nottingham Forest had completed its renaissance under Evan Doughty's management, but there was still a long, long way to go to create even greater glory.
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"This is my first time watching the El Clásico live …" Tang En and Dunn stood outside the Bernabéu stadium, looking up at the huge white building.
"When I was still a fan, I used to look forward to watching those famous derbies in European stadiums, such as the Milan derby, Manchester derby, Liverpool derby, North London derby, El Clásico … Unfortunately, I didn't have the conditions." When Tang En and Dunn were alone together, he did not shy away from talking about his previous identity. "Now I have the conditions, but it took me so many years to fulfill my wish …"
"I thought you really wanted to spy on the enemy."
"Ha, of course I'm here to spy on the enemy, but it's normal to have some selfishness …"
"If you were a fan, who would you cheer for?" Dunn also asked a question that had nothing to do with work.
Tang En rubbed his nose and thought for a moment. "Barcelona … I think, maybe."
"Why are you a little hesitant?"
"Because I'm not quite sure what my mentality was at the time. It's been so many years, and I've been a manager. I've long forgotten what it's like to be a pure fan … Why do I support Barcelona? Because they play well. But now, when I watch the game, the only thing I consider is whether I can win, even if not as a manager. "When he was a guest commentator at BBC, he also looked at a game in this way.
Dunn smiled. "Occupational hazard?"
"Maybe."
"Actually, the football you're playing now is quite good to watch. The tempo is very fast, and the scene is very intense."
"Some people think I'm trying to whitewash myself, ha!" Tang En found it funny as soon as he said it.
Dunn also laughed because he knew what kind of person Tang En was. It was not his style to do such a thing to win the support of public opinion.
In the game against Barcelona, if nothing unexpected happened, Tang En would stick to the tactics of defensive counterattack. In the away game, he would strive for a draw and an away goal, and then return to the home ground to seek a fatal opportunity.
To play against the best offensive team in the world, that manager must be crazy.
Standing in front of the home ground of Spain's most famous powerhouse club, Tang En looked up at the lofty name as a fan. Everyone liked beauty and was willing to pursue beautiful things. Football was no exception. Beautiful football would always win people's heartfelt applause and cheers. If Tang En were a fan, he would pay the highest respect to those teams that played beautifully but lost, maintaining the necessary respect. Even if he was not a supporter of that team.
But he was now a manager, a manager who could only rely on the pursuit of victory to prove his value and maintain his status.
A voice suddenly came from behind them. Tang En and the others could not understand it at all, so they ignored it. It was not until the voice rang out again that they realized it was calling out to them.
At the same time, the owner of the voice also came around to them. It was a professionally dressed beauty, holding a microphone and accompanied by a cameraman carrying a camera.
It turned out to be an interview. Tang En and Dunn looked at each other and saw the surprise in each other's eyes. They did not inform any media that they were coming to Spain. Why would the Spanish media find them here? But in the next second, they realized they were wrong.
"Tony Twain!" The female reporter was the first to exclaim.
Tang En and Dunn looked at each other again. It turned out to be a blind cat bumping into a dead mouse.
They had originally thought there was no need to wear sunglasses or do any disguises in a place like Spain, a place where they could not find anyone to blackmail even if they were kidnapped. They did not expect the dedicated reporters to come out so early to interview and do a program. They actually bumped into them among so many people.
Tang En's first reaction was to cough and lower his head. "You've got the wrong person, Miss."
"How could that be?" The female reporter looked very excited, and there was laughter in her rhetorical question. "For the past month, the Catalan media has posted all kinds of photos of you everywhere. I've personally collected a lot myself. How could I be wrong?"
She was so happy not because she was a loyal fan of Tony Twain and longed for a one-night stand with him. But because she was lucky enough to get the best news that no one else could.
"It looks like you're also a member of the Catalan media. Do you really want to slap me now?" Tang En finally awkwardly admitted his identity. He knew he could not escape today. Since that was the case, he might as well admit it.
"Although I'm not a lady, I don't hit people for no reason, Mr. Twain."
"Oh, is that so? I've seen the words of the Catalan media. You can't wait to chop me into pieces. I'll give you an exclusive piece of news. In fact, I'm already considering whether to hire professional security to protect me while I'm directing the game at Camp Nou. If I faint from a weapon of mass destruction like a pig's head, should the game be suspended and replayed on another day? Would the home game at Camp Nou be canceled? "
The beautiful Catalan reporter did not know whether to laugh or cry at Tang En's words. She began to feel that perhaps interviewing Tony Twain was not a job that others envied.
"Can we not talk about those things? Mr. Twain. I'm curious why you're here. Yesterday you were still directing the game in the English Premier League's technical area. "
"Don't tell me I'm here to buy toilet paper?" Tang En retorted.
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"This is the latest news from our reporter from the periphery of the Bernabéu stadium. Let's see who Miss Saville met!" The "latest news" was inserted into TVC's special pre-match program. The scene changed from the studio to the outdoors.
In the square of the Bernabéu stadium, Tony Twain faced the television camera. The person opposite him was the beautiful reporter.
"What am I doing here? Don't tell me I'm here to buy toilet paper? Of course I'm here to watch the game. "
"To observe the opponent for the next game?"
"That's right."
"I can see that you attach great importance to the next game. So, what do you hope to see the outcome of tonight's battle of the century? "
Tang En gave an answer that surprised the reporter herself. "Barcelona wins."
The scene cut back to the host with a smile on his face. "What an unexpected answer. Tony Twain, after fighting a war of words with us for a month, is this a show of goodwill? "
The interlude came to an end amidst the host's laughter.
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While waiting in line to check in and enter the stadium, Dunn still could not figure out why Tang En had answered that way.
"I originally thought that even if you didn't say 'I hope Barcelona injures a few more people,' you would at least say 'I hope Barcelona loses.' Why are you acting so out of character … "
Tang En laughed. "We're going to play defensive counterattack, so we naturally have to lower our stance. That way, Barcelona will be willing to obediently press out and play. Even though Barcelona will insist on attacking no matter what tactics we play, they definitely want us to go against them, and we won't do what they want. It's best for us to lower our stance and play defensive counterattack. "
Having said that, he smacked his lips again. "If a person like me were to go to Barcelona to coach, I reckon I'd be fired after the first game, right? Ha! "
Dunn thought about what kind of treatment Tony Twain would receive if he were to stand beside the home team's technical area at Camp Nou and laughed. "You'd probably become the first manager in Barcelona's history to be booed by his own team's fans in every game."
"That'd be terrible. I hate the practice of booing my own team. But for Wednesday's game, I'll be looking forward to hearing boos all over the place. " Tang En opened his arms as if to embrace the boos. "The fiercer they boo, the more afraid they are!"
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The clash between Barcelona and Real Madrid, against the backdrop of the Champions League quarterfinals, seemed a little lacking in passion. This made Tang En very disappointed. The battle of the century that he most hoped to see should be like this: The referee was like a dealer in a Las Vegas casino, flipping through the cards in a frenzy. The players of the two teams were like 22 bulls in heat, colliding endlessly on the field. Then, a few core players would leave the field injured in the intense collision — perhaps it did not have to be intense. The process was not important. What was important was the result. The latest news from the hospital the next day was that these players would all be injured for a month, just missing the two games against Forest.
Unfortunately, Guardiola was not a fool. Although the battle of the century was the game that they could not afford to lose the most in the season, he was also unwilling to give up on the Champions League. What made him feel fortunate was that their opponent, Real Madrid, had also made it into the Champions League quarterfinals. They also did not want to expend too much energy in the battle of the century.
Both sides played the "battle of the century" at a slow pace on the field in tacit understanding, which made Tang En very unhappy. In the stands, he kept booing like an ordinary fan. "A game like this should really be refunded and the television broadcast fees should be refunded! It's simply cheating the audience's feelings! It's too fake!! "
There were many spectators at the Bernabéu who had the same view as him. It could be seen how huge the divide between the fans and the coaches was. The fans who paid for tickets to enter the stadium to watch the game might only care about this one game in a season. As a team's manager, he could not do that. Otherwise, he would definitely be fired.
Ribéry was unable to play in this game due to his injury. As a result, Tang En did not see the showdown between his two former disciples. Piqué's performance was average and did not stand out. Perhaps he was conserving his strength for the game against Nottingham Forest?
When Real Madrid temporarily led Barcelona by 2: 1 with 20 minutes left in the game, the Barcelona players were not in a hurry to equalize the score. Messi was working hard to find a chance to score, but with the whole team's tempo in the background, he could not make a difference alone. Guardiola did not whistle on the sidelines until there were ten minutes left in the game to signal the team to speed up the pace of attack and strive to equalize the score.
But it was too late.
It was easier said than done for Barcelona, who was 80 minutes slow, to suddenly speed up. The only one who could keep up with the pace, Messi, was replaced by Guardiola five minutes ago. He had to protect Messi and let him conserve his strength.
In this way, Barcelona lost the game to Real Madrid by a score of 1: 2. Both sides had each won one of the two "battles of the century" this season and played to a draw.
Tang En and Dunn were very disappointed when they left the Bernabéu because he did not see some of the key players in Barcelona's team get injured. He complained that Guardiola treated Messi like a vacuum package, for fear that he would receive the slightest injury.
From this point of view, although the two had not officially fought, Guardiola had already won.
For the Catalan young manager, losing to Real Madrid in the league tournament and equalizing the points with the opponent was no longer too important. There was no value in continuing to discuss the game that had ended. The biggest victory was that no one in the team was injured in this game.
In the post-match press conference, Guardiola appeared a little distracted. Perhaps he was already imagining Tony Twain's expression when he saw this scene.
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