After the game against Macedonia, on the 9th of September, in the second round of the qualifiers, England was absent, but the team did not disband early. Instead, they played a friendly match against the visiting Australia in London.
That day was also Tony Twain's birthday. After that day, he would be 45 years old and heading towards 46 years old.
The national footballers from the Forest team wanted to use a victory to make a birthday present for the boss, but Twain did not care about the result of the game. For him, this was a chance for the team to break in the lineup. He did not mind sending out a large number of players who did not play in the game against Macedonia.
But before the game against Australia, Twain still had a very important thing to do.
On the morning of the game, he drove out of Colney and left London alone. He returned to Nottingham along the A1 motorway and found the barber shop he had visited many times before.
Then he sat quietly in a chair and let the middle-aged barber dye his hair.
Yes, the very important thing was to dye his hair.
After days of hard work, his white hair had increased again. The previously dyed hair had grown out. It was black and white and did not look good.
Dyeing his hair was an important part of maintaining his image. He was only 46 years old. He wanted to make himself look as young as possible. He did not want to give people the impression that he was "old." Forty-six years old was certainly not old, but a head full of white hair would give people the feeling that he was already 66 years old, which was not very good …
"Tony." The barber who dyed his hair, Connelly, was five years older than him. Since Twain decided to dye his hair, he had been serving Twain. The relationship between the two men was also considered close. So he could dye his hair while chatting with Twain.
"Hmm?" Twain, who had his eyes closed, replied lazily with a nasal voice.
"Happy birthday!"
Twain opened his eyes and turned his head slightly. He wanted to give the other person a surprised look, but was stopped.
"Don't move, Tony."
"How did you know it's my birthday today? I don't remember telling you … "
"Ha, as a celebrity, your birthday is no longer a secret, right? Today's Evening Post even dedicated a page to wish you a happy birthday. Even if I didn't know before, I know today. "Connelly laughed.
Tang En was not in a good mood. He muttered, "I'm already forty-six. Celebrating my birthday six years ago was not something to be happy about."
Connelly smiled without saying a word and continued with his work.
At this moment, Tang En's phone rang. He took out his earphones, put them on his ears, and pressed the answer button.
"Happy birthday, Uncle Tony!"
Shania's energetic voice came through the Bluetooth earpiece, instantly lifting Tang En's mood. Even though Shania and Connelly said the same thing. At the same time, he was surprised.
"It's past two in the morning on your side, isn't it?" There was an eight-hour time difference between London and Los Angeles. It was 10: 20 in the morning on Tang En's side.
Shania giggled and said, "I specifically waited until this time to call you, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to sleep."
Hearing his wife's voice, Twain suddenly wanted to reach out and hug her. He lifted his shoulders and realized that there was an Atlantic Ocean and an American continent between the two of them. It was probably not enough to describe it as a thousand mountains and ten thousand rivers.
"Forty-six, another year older …" Tang En did not mind having an outsider around. He flirted with Shania on the phone.
"My Uncle Tony gets more attractive as he gets older! I like old men! "Shania chided. It was as if she was in Twain's arms acting coquettishly. "What are you doing?"
"Dyeing my hair."
Shania heard Tang En say this and suddenly laughed. "Using this to celebrate your birthday. Is this your birthday wish, Uncle Tony?"
"Of course, if I were a few years younger, I could be with you for a few more years." Perhaps realizing that the question was a little sad, Tang En quickly changed the subject. "Is it hard to film in Los Angeles?"
"It's okay. I'll go to Paris in a few days. I'll come to see you then. "Shania was also smart enough not to dwell on that issue.
"Are you staying for a long time?"
"I can only stay for three days …" Shania's voice was a little disappointed.
Tang En was also a little silent.
The long separation made it impossible for them to even live like a normal couple, and they did not know how long this situation would last.
"I saw the news that your England team beat Macedonia, and it was a big victory. Congratulations, Uncle Tony!" The question was as sad as "How long can Uncle Tony stay with me?" So Shania also changed the subject. Although she did not care about football, it was better than talking about that.
The two people chatted for a while. Tang En kept urging Shania to go to bed. After dilly-dallying and repeating it several times, Shania finally reluctantly hung up the phone and went to bed.
Tang En took off his headphones. Connelly could finally dye his hair.
"You guys have a good relationship, Tony," Connelly said enviously. "My wife only knows how to complain that I don't make much money."
"So, are you also envious of living apart, Connelly?"
"If it's living apart from my wife, I'm very happy! Haha! "Connelly laughed loudly, and Tang En also laughed with him. "No one cares if I go to drink, and no one cares if I go to watch football! A free life is what every man like me longs for! "
"Hey, Tony. Can you reveal a little about the game tonight? How are you going to play against Australia? "After laughing, Connelly suddenly lowered his voice and asked in Tang En's ear.
Tang En smiled. "How else can we play? Those who didn't get a chance to play in the last game have a chance to appear tonight. "
"That's right. Australia is not a strong team. " It was natural for this to come out of the mouth of an England fan. In their eyes, other teams were not strong teams except England. "Then I'll cheer you on in front of the TV tonight!"
"Thank you, Connelly."
The two men stopped talking. Connelly focused on the work at hand, and Tang En continued to enjoy the leisure time with his eyes closed. Then he fell asleep at some point. He had been very tired recently and did not sleep enough. He could always fall asleep easily at such times.
But this would not hinder Connelly's work, because even when he fell asleep in the chair, Tang En's head always maintained a fixed position and did not hang down.
When Tang En was woken up, it was already after his hair was dyed.
"I fell asleep?" Tang En was still a little confused.
Connelly smiled and nodded. "You slept quite deeply. No matter how I fiddled with you, you didn't wake up."
"Uh … Sorry." Tang En rubbed his eyes and then looked at himself in the mirror.
With a head of black hair and having just slept, he looked much more energetic than when he first came. There should be nothing to worry about when he appeared in front of the players and the media in this image.
He grinned at the mirror and made a smiling expression. "The effect is good!" He praised. "If I can, I really want to suggest to the Football Association to call you into the national team's coaching staff, Connelly!"
"Ha!" Connelly laughed. "Did he go specifically to dye your hair?"
Tang En took out the money and tipped Connelly. "Yes."
Walking out of the shop, Tang En got into his jeep, pulled down the rearview mirror, and looked at his image again. After confirming that there was nothing missing or not paying attention to, he started the car and drove away, heading for London.
On the long and boring road, he hummed an English song he learned in middle school.
"Happy _ birthday _ to _ you ~ ~ Happy _ birthday _ to _ you ~ ~ Happy _ birthday _ dear _ teacher — — Happy _ birthday _ to _ you …"
※ ※ ※
Tang En finally rushed back to the hotel before lunch. He had told Walker in the morning that he had some private matters to attend to, so everyone was not surprised that he rushed back from outside.
The players were eating. Tang En found the coach's table and sat down to greet his colleagues.
"Happy birthday!" Walker raised a glass of fruit juice to him. At the same time, he noticed that the black hair on top of Tang En's head had increased a lot compared to yesterday. He guessed what Tang En had gone to do.
"Happy birthday, Tony!" The others also raised their glasses to Tang En.
"Thank you, thank you …" Tang En returned the greeting one by one.
After seeing Tang En sit down, Walker smiled mysteriously at Tang En. "We've prepared a birthday cake for you."
He clapped his hands.
Then he saw the players stand up one after another, smiling and clapping together as they sang "Happy Birthday Song." The two vice-captains, Wood and Terry, pushed a small dining cart and walked in from the door.
Amid the singing, they passed through the hotel's dining hall and walked to Tang En's table.
Wood opened the lid, and what appeared in front of Tang En was a chocolate cream cake in the shape of Wembley Stadium.
"Happy birthday, Boss." Wood tried hard to make a sincere smile appear on his face, but it looked even more awkward …
Tang En smiled and shook his head. "You guys planned this?"
"We heard it from Aaron by chance after we won the game in Macedonia," Terry explained.
Mitchell heard his name mentioned and hurriedly raised his hand to wave at Tang En. It was as if he was introducing him to a large audience of friends.
"Don't blame me for talking too much, Boss!" Mitchell said loudly. "I was just discussing with David what present to give you on your birthday, and they overheard it." He pointed to the other teammates around him.
In fact, Tang En was a very approachable manager. Although there were many unfavorable rumors about him, the players of the national team found that the devil-like man was not difficult to get along with after spending a week with Tang En. In fact, he was very easy to get along with at times. If you joked with him, he would never glare at you and reprimand you, telling you to pay attention to your superiors and subordinates. If he was in a good mood, he would even take the initiative to joke with you. For example, after winning against Macedonia, Tang En joked with George Wood in the locker room. It was really interesting to see George Wood, who usually kept a straight face, not knowing whether to laugh or cry in front of Tang En's rascally face. Tony Twain was probably the only person who could joke around with that cold-faced fiend.
Seeing so many players worrying about his birthday, Tang En's heart was filled with a sense of accomplishment. It looked like he had captured the hearts of this group of players, and the team was very harmonious.
He stood up to accept the birthday cake that the players presented. He raised a cup filled with fruit juice.
"I'm very grateful to you guys. After this game, the national team will be temporarily disbanded. The next game is October 16th. I hope I can still see you guys back here, healthy and in excellent condition. Of course, it is also a headache for a manager to arrange so many good players, but I would rather enjoy such a headache. For me, this is a happy headache. Everyone relax and enjoy the game tonight! Thank you! "
This was a good opportunity. He did not forget to use this opportunity to close the distance between himself and the players.
He drank the fruit juice in one gulp.
※ ※ ※
The game that night was just as Tang En said. The England national team's lineup was completely different from the previous game.
Even George Wood was placed on the substitutes' bench. None of the eleven players had played in the game against Macedonia in the starting lineup.
Australia did not see this game that way. Although England was their sovereign country politically, football did not care about politics. To be able to beat England in the new Wembley Stadium was a very tempting result. Australia wanted to give it a try.
Such a game still attracted a lot of fans to watch the game live.
Australia took advantage of the time when England's lineup did not have enough chemistry to take the lead. They were aggressive.
Although Tang En did not care about the result, he only wanted to observe the performance of this group of players. But not all the players on the field thought so.
For example, Joe Mattock, Bentley, and Agbonlahor, the three players from the Forest team, did not want to lose the game on the boss' birthday. The birthday cake was a birthday cake, and the birthday gift should be the victory of this game. Even if it was just a friendly game, they did not want to lose.
The concept that Tang En had instilled in Nottingham Forest for a long time played an inertial role at this time. The Forest players' habit of not wanting to lose made them work especially hard on the field.
The commentator thought it was a way of hoping to perform well in front of Tang En and have a chance to be in the starting lineup.
Before the end of the first half, England's "Nottingham Forest Gang" had a rather tacit cooperation between them to tear apart Australia's defense. In a situation where the whole team's cooperation was not good enough, the small cooperation between these players from the same club showed its value.
Joe Mattock directly passed a long diagonal pass from the left to the right flank. Bentley beautifully stopped the football and passed it to the middle. The striker, Agbonlahor, made full use of his speed to plug in from behind and shake off the heavy Australian center back. He received the football and stepped into the penalty area!
Things were much simpler after forming a single attack. Agbonlahor used his upper body to deceive the goalkeeper and shoot. The football passed through the goalkeeper's feet and rolled into the goal. The score was equalized to 1: 1 by England!
After the goal, Agbonlahor ran all the way to the front of England's technical area and hugged Tony Twain.
"Happy birthday, boss!"
On the way back to the field, Agbonlahor pulled his other teammates and said, "We can't let the Australians spoil the boss's birthday night. We have to win!" He clenched his fists and waved them with great force.
The Forest players worked very hard. It did not look like a friendly match to inspect the lineup, but more like a life-and-death battle to determine who would advance to the next round.
The Australians desperately resisted for a while at the beginning of the second half, but then raised their hands and surrendered.
England began to exert their strength in the second half, which was completely outside of Tang En's arrangements.
In the 67th minute, Curtis Davis successfully fought for a header from a corner kick and his header led England to overtake the score.
In the 79th minute, Delph received Vaughan's pass after breaking into the penalty area and scored with a low shot. The score became 3: 1.
Downing also scored a goal in the 85th minute, but it was ruled offside first and the goal was invalid.
But Tang En was already very satisfied with the score of 3: 1. England's strength was indeed above Australia's.
At the post-match press conference, there were some reporters who had a better relationship with Tang En to congratulate him on winning the game on his birthday and receiving the best birthday gift.
It looked like after becoming the England national team manager, his birthday would not be spent alone.
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