The day before the game, the Barcelona team arrived in Birmingham by plane and then took a special bus to Nottingham. After a simple field adaptation training, all they had to do was wait for the game to arrive.
At the airport, Messi and Guardiola became the targets of the reporters' pursuit. Both men were very low-key. They did not say they would win, just that everything was possible in a football game. This was Nottingham Forest's home ground. Everyone knew that the Forest team's home games were not easy to play, so they thought it was wrong to take it lightly.
That was what the Barcelona players said. Only they knew what the Barcelona players were thinking.
At the airport, Barcelona, as the most high-profile team in Europe, was warmly welcomed by the media. The density of flashes still dazzled every Barcelona player's eyes when they walked out of the hall. Later, Catalonia's El Mundo Deportivo ran the headline "The Champions Arrive," revealing Barcelona's ambitions.
After leaving their luggage at the hotel, Barcelona went to the City Ground stadium to adapt to the field training without stopping. At that time, Tony Twain was giving his players a tactical lesson at Wilford. Kerslake, the assistant manager, was entrusted by Twain to secretly come to the City Ground stadium. He used the home team's convenience to observe Barcelona's warm-up training from the box.
Guardiola clearly knew these little tricks that the home team liked to play, so he did not arrange any training programs that might reveal his tactical content in the afternoon training. It was just for them to adapt to the field.
A coach in the Barcelona coaching staff laughed after seeing the turf at the City Ground stadium. "What a small club. I'm afraid this field is not as good as our training ground."
"I heard that their new stadium has dragged down the team's finances. It's normal to have no money to maintain the turf."
"I really don't know where Tony Twain's arrogant confidence comes from. Is this the turf?"
"A stadium that can only accommodate 30,000 people looks like a high school stadium."
Of course, what they saw was not the best turf, but it was specially arranged by Tony Twain. Just yesterday, he asked the turf workers at the City Ground stadium not to throw the best turf over, but to keep the set of turf that had been used frequently before.
Guardiola listened to his colleagues' comments on the site and did not express any opinions. The field was indeed not as good as Camp Nou, but it was normal. Stadiums like San Siro had been ridiculed for the quality of the turf.
What he cared more about was not the state of the field, but Tony Twain's tactics.
He had studied Twain and he almost completely knew what tactics Twain would use in the game — defensive counterattack. There was nothing new at all. When it was a draw, it was a defensive counterattack. When it was ahead, it was a defensive counterattack. When it was behind, it was a defensive counterattack. When it was away, it was a defensive counterattack. His tactical manual might only say "defensive counterattack."
Even in the face of the current situation of 1: 2 behind, Guardiola did not believe that Twain would press out and fight against Barcelona. What a coward. He would never know the beauty of offense. His brain was full of utilitarian paste.
Due to the difference between heaven and hell in football, Guardiola did not have a good impression of Tony Twain. The only reason why people thought that he did not hate Tang En was that he did not openly say it. But in fact, he hated Tang En more than anyone else. Others might hate Tang En because of his unscrupulous mouth, but Guardiola hated Tang En because of his ideals and beliefs. It was a gap that could never be filled. There would come a day when Mourinho and Tony Twain would sit down for a drink together and laugh away their enmity. This kind of thing would never happen to Guardiola.
Guardiola already had a plan. If Twain continued to play defensive counterattack, Barcelona would not mind playing defensive counterattack. It was good for Barcelona. No matter how you looked at it, the away team, Barcelona. For the home team, a score of 1: 2 was not fatal. Even if Pepe, Baines and Fernández were suspended, it would not be too difficult for them to play. The most fatal thing was that that person could not appear on the sidelines to lead the team. Without Tang En's on-the-spot command from the sidelines, Nottingham Forest's standard would drop by a notch. The players who had lost their backbone would perform poorly and become a pile of loose sand. Inter Milan in the 08-09 season was Guardiola's example. Mourinho defeated a leaderless Nottingham Forest at home. It was as easy as stepping on an ant.
If Nottingham Forest attacked and staked everything on one throw, it would be more in line with Guardiola's expectations. In that case, Barcelona would go head-to-head with Forest. He was not afraid of conceding a goal. The person who was afraid of conceding a goal should be Tony Twain. Because Forest only had one away goal, and Barcelona's chances were limitless in these 90 minutes. With Barcelona's unrivaled offense, did anyone believe they could not score a goal when they went head-to-head with Nottingham Forest? Even if Barcelona lost the away game 2: 3 in the end, it would be Barcelona, who scored one more away goal than Forest, who advanced.
In short, no matter how Tony Twain reacted, he was destined to fail this time. The initiative was always on Barcelona's side. If Guardiola had read the classic Journey to the West from China, then he would think that Tony Twain, who always liked to jump around in front of the media, was the abominable Sun Wukong, and he was the Buddha who had everything under control. No matter how resourceful Sun Wukong was, he could not get out of his grasp.
After hurriedly finishing the adaptation training in the City Ground stadium, Guardiola took the team back to the hotel where they were staying. There, he held a tactical meeting to make the final arrangements for tomorrow's game.
※ ※ ※
While Guardiola led the team to adapt to the pitch in the City Ground stadium, Twain was giving the team a tactical lesson. The last day of training before the game was almost all tactical lessons. He spoke in more detail than ever before, because he could not even step into the locker room the next day.
The UEFA was strictly guarding against him this time: he was not allowed to wear any usable communication equipment. At the same time, they learned from the lesson that Mourinho learned when he was coaching at Porto. They also did not allow any assistants to follow Twain to the stands and sit next to him to be his mouthpiece. Tomorrow, before he went to the stands to watch the game, he would be carefully and thoroughly checked by two UEFA supervisors. The UEFA did not mind choosing people who had a great prejudice against Tony Twain to complete this task, because it would help them better prevent Twain from playing any tricks and tricks.
In the last tactical lesson, Twain analyzed the video of the first leg between Barcelona and Nottingham Forest in detail and made targeted arrangements for his players. He believed that Barcelona would continue to attack in the away game, but he did not rule out the possibility of Guardiola suddenly deciding to be utilitarian and defend the 2: 1 away game.
"I was sent off with a red card. Pepe was sent off with a red card. Baines was also suspended for one game because of accumulating yellow cards. The outside world thinks that our prospects are bleak. Guardiola might think that their chance has come, but I hope that you will show them whose chance has come in tomorrow's game. Our core tactic for this game is fouls. "Twain raised his index finger." A bad field will limit their play, but it's not enough. You must use frequent fouls and oppressive defense to completely disrupt the rhythm of Barcelona's game. If you lose the ball in the front field, snatch it back. Don't be stingy with your dangerous moves in less dangerous places. If you foul a few more times like this, they will know what's good for them and know fear. "
"Remember, you must play like this from the beginning of the game. Barcelona, who is leading in the score, has a higher chance of advancing than us — at least it looks that way. So, it's easier for their players to cherish their game opportunities. They don't want to be injured in this game and miss the semifinals and finals that follow. Psychologically, their desire to win is not as strong as ours. What kind of team is Barcelona? Their techniques and tactics are impeccable. They are the best in Europe today. But their psychological quality … "Twain shook his finger and laughed." Artists always lack a bit of a bachelor's temperament that is not afraid of death. "
"Use what we do best to defeat what they do best. That way, they will start to break down from the bottom of their hearts. Body! Speed! Resistance! And … in the air. "Twain looked at Aaron Mitchell. "Mitchell, since you already know, I won't waste any more time on you. You will start as the center forward in tomorrow's game. We need your height and your headers. In this game, don't even have the slightest idea of showing off your footwork skills. If you dare to do so, I will dare to replace you at the start of the game. Do you understand? "
The Boss spoke to him very seriously, and Mitchell hurriedly nodded. His starting position did not surprise his other teammates, because the training these days had always revolved around Mitchell's training. Even a fool could see the clues.
"Your task is very simple. When we hit the front field, squeeze into the opponent's penalty area, then block the position and jump to fight for a header. When we are still in the backfield, you will retreat to the vicinity of the midfield and prepare to receive. Use your headers to send the ball back to your teammates who plug in, or protect the ball and wait for support. "
Mitchell continued to nod.
After reminding Mitchell, Twain looked at the whole team again. "The key to winning this game is in the sky. Barcelona's air defense is very weak. Piqué alone can't be used as four players. As long as we have control of the air, no matter how excellent Barcelona's techniques and footwork are, they can only wait to be slowly slaughtered by us. Does anyone think that doing this is ugly? "
No one made a sound. Only a fool would make a sound.
"Looks like no one has any objections. That's good. Let me tell you an unbreakable truth on the football field — what is ugly? Only failure is ugly! Those who clamor for an 'ugly victory' are people who say that the grapes are sour because they can't eat it! If you don't believe me, look, when they win, no matter what method they use, they will never say that they are ugly. Barcelona thinks they are the most gorgeous, and we are the representatives of the ugly. Then let them die gorgeously! In the face of ugliness! "
※ ※ ※
Tony Twain, who had ended the tactics class, did not go straight home like the other coaches or players. Instead, he drove to the City Ground stadium.
By the time he arrived at the City Ground stadium, the Barcelona team had already left. In addition to him, Thompson Isaksson and his team had also rushed over from the Wilford training base. In addition, he also saw Kerslake.
"Did you find anything?" he asked casually.
Kerslake pursed his lips. "Guardiola is very cunning. He didn't arrange any dramatic content. It was the same even after the reporters left. "
Twain shrugged. "It's normal. Think about what we did at Camp Nou. "
Then he turned to Isaksson.
"Thompson, I have a request."
Isaksson did not wait for Twain to continue and nodded to show that he understood.
Twain found it strange. "I haven't said what the request is."
"Whatever our manager Tony Twain comes up with must not be a good idea. I've already guessed it. You want us to make this stadium like that training ground, right? "
Twain snapped his fingers. "Exactly! But my request is more demanding — I hope you can replicate the number three training ground to the City Ground stadium. Ctrl + C and Ctrl + V. Even the uneven position has to be the same. Can you do it? "
Isaksson frowned and thought for a moment, then nodded. "I think it's no problem. We are professional turf maintenance, and we have already memorized every detail of the field. It's just a simple replication. I think it should be possible. "
Twain breathed a sigh of relief. He clapped his hands. "Thank you so much! But you only have one night, is that OK? "
"We need to ask the stadium manager to turn on the lights, but I don't know if the stadium manager will agree to do so … The stadium is very sacred to them …" Isaksson looked troubled.
"That's not a problem. You can ask for anything you need, and the club will do its best to satisfy it. It's just that time is tight, and we have to finish it by tomorrow morning. I don't want those damn media to smell anything. "
Isaksson looked back at his team, and when he turned back again, his face was already with a proud look. "They've been with me for more than a decade. They are my Nottingham Forest team, Mr. Twain."
Twain smiled and held out his hand. "I dedicate the victory to you, gentlemen!"
"But the game hasn't been played yet, Mr. Twain." Isaksson said that, but he also held out his hand.
"The two Nottingham Forest teams have joined forces. We're going to win!"
The two men's hands clasped tightly together.
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