Twain was a little surprised by Shaun Harvey's arrival. Because throughout the entire UEFA European Championship, the head of the English Football Association did not come to inspect his team at all. He only provided a little help during Wood's medical examination and disappeared at other times.
Harvey did not interact with the players but went straight to Twain. This made Twain quite satisfied. At least the officials of the English Football Association would not bypass the manager and directly interfere with the team's affairs like the officials of the China Football Association. For now, in the England team, he felt that he was getting the respect he deserved.
Harvey and Twain had a one-on-one meeting in the cafe of the hotel where they were staying. They each had a cup of coffee. Harvey was most concerned about what results England could achieve in this tournament. The lowest goal that the Football Association gave Twain before the tournament was to get into the top four. Now that Twain had exceeded his goal, it was reasonable for the Football Association to relax. But people are always greedy. Since they have made it into the finals, why not fight for the championship?
Everyone had this kind of thinking, let alone the CEO of the Football Association.
Although Twain expressed his ambition to fight for the championship in front of his colleagues, he still had to be careful when facing the CEO of the Football Association.
"I can't promise anything." Twain spread his hands and said, "The competition has not started and our opponent is very strong."
Harvey scolded Twain in his heart for being cunning but he smiled at him and said, "This is not like the Tony Twain I know. Who was the one who said before the season that his team would win the UEFA Champions League?"
Twain knew that Harvey was mocking him but there was no change in his expression. He just shook his head and said, "The season is long and we have enough time to make adjustments. There is only one match in the finals, 90 minutes or 120 minutes. There is too little room for mistakes. I don't want to let you have high hopes and be even more disappointed, Mr. Harvey. "He retorted without batting an eyelid.
Harvey continued to scold in his heart. He came out this time to find out what Twain's real goal was. In the end, Twain was tight-lipped.
"But I don't think anyone's goal is to be the runner-up?" He asked.
This time Twain nodded and said, "Of course, we will try our best to fight for the championship."
This sentence was Harvey's only gain from this trip. What made him slightly unhappy was that Twain was still as unruly as rumored. He was cold to the CEO of the Football Association. He even became a little impatient towards the end of the conversation. It was as if he had a lot of things to do and Harvey's time was not his own.
After leaving the hotel, Barclays was blocked by reporters for a short interview.
"Our goal is to win the championship." In front of the media, Harvey represented Twain and Twain announced.
Compared to Harvey's high profile, Tang En was surprisingly low-key before the finals.
In the past, when Tang En coached the team to participate in important matches, he could not forget to engage in a war of words with the opposing manager and provoke psychological warfare. But this time, he did not do so.
He did not take the initiative to attack Italy, nor did he provoke Lippi. He did not attack Italy nor did he talk about anything else. It was as if he wanted to save his first confrontation with Lippi for the press conference the day before the match.
However, the more low-key Tang En was, the more worried the Italians were. Think about the fate of the French team — Twain acted like a grandson before the game, and he became the only boss after the game.
The Italians were worried that Twain was plotting something against them. These two days, the Italian media tried to find out about England's training. They wanted to find out what the English were up to.
In fact, they wronged Twain.
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During a break in training, Wood relayed the information Bale had told him to Tang En. These things were helpful to Twain. They were more targeted in the development of tactics, especially defensive tactics.
The overall tactics for the game were already determined. The current training was centered around that tactic. No matter what opinions the coaching staff had, they had to put aside their opinions and cooperate wholeheartedly after the manager decided.
Good news kept coming. Bentley and Walcott were back from their injuries. They would be able to play in the finals. Apart from Mitchell, who was suspended for yellow cards, England could send out their strongest lineup to face Italy.
George Wood's right foot was also completely fine. The team doctor, Derek White, believed that Wood's body was as strong as a bull.
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The three days of preparation passed quickly. In the blink of an eye, it was the last day before the game. In the afternoon, both teams would go to the Bernabéu Stadium to adapt to the field. At the same time, the two managers would bring a player to the final press conference before the final.
The Italian team was arranged to go to the Bernabéu Stadium first. After the adaptation training, Coach Lippi brought Italy's captain, Chiellini, to the press conference.
At the press conference, the reporters were most interested in the first and last face-to-face confrontation between the two managers. Lippi and Tang En were both famous and successful managers in the European football world, but they had never crossed paths. Lippi did not talk about Twain in the years when he was in the limelight. Twain would not take the initiative to talk about someone who was completely unrelated to him, even if he was the manager of a world champion team.
But today, it was unavoidable to compare the two of them.
After asking the routine questions, a reporter from Italy's La Gazzetta dello Sport stood up and asked, "Marcelo, what do you think of Tony Twain?"
"He is a very good manager. The trophies he has won with Nottingham Forest are proof of his ability." Lippi's answer was not surprising, because it was the truth.
Obviously, such an answer did not satisfy the reporters.
"But he has not achieved any convincing results in the national team's coaching field …" The reporter from La Gazzetta dello Sport continued to ask.
"I don't think this is a problem. England's performance in this UEFA European Championship is obvious to all. This is his result. "This answer began to interest the reporters. Because as an opponent, it was reasonable to say that Lippi should not praise the other side so blatantly, not to mention that Lippi was a manager who had won almost all the honors he deserved. It was not easy to occasionally get praise from him.
So, was his praise for Twain a smokescreen or genuine appreciation?
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While Lippi was still being questioned by the numerous reporters inside, Tang En was already standing outside with George Wood, waiting for him. As the media was particularly interested in the first confrontation between Lippi and Twain, the time of the press conference was also extended.
From the door, they could see the situation inside and hear the voices inside. But most of it was in Italian, which Twain could not understand.
Therefore, he simply chatted with Wood outside.
"How's your mother, George?"
"She's fine …" His mouth said she was fine, but there was no joy on his face. Twain could guess that the situation might not be that good. It was just that he could not help in this aspect and could only sigh in his heart. Such a poor woman seemed to have come to the world to suffer.
"Will your mother watch the finals?"
"She will watch TV."
"Do well and get a trophy to make her happy."
Wood nodded.
There was a sudden silence between the two of them. It seemed that they both had something on their minds. It was Wood who took the initiative to break the silence. "How … how are you and Shania?"
Twain smiled and glanced at Wood. "George also knows how to care about others. It's not easy. What can I do? It's just like that. I'm busy with work and she's busy with work. Every year, we spend more time apart than together. But you, you're already 30 years old. If you don't have a woman at this age, people will doubt your sexual orientation, George. "
Wood pursed his lips. "Let them be."
"You're quite open-minded." Twain looked Wood up and down and chuckled. "The best gay magazine has made you the ideal partner in the hearts of gay men for three years in a row."
Twain was really anxious about Wood's marriage, so he used the name of homosexuality to knock him down a peg. However, it seemed that Westerners did not place as much importance on the matter of carrying on the family line as the Easterners did. Otherwise, Tang En would have used his mother's name to pressure Wood.
"It's the finals tomorrow. You still have the mood to think about this?" Wood retorted.
"What should be done has been done. What else can I do? Furrow my brows and remain silent? "Twain smiled brightly." That's not my style. Besides … "He pointed to Lippi inside the door." We can't let our enemies look down on us. Relax, George. We're people who have won three trophies. What have we not seen? Ha! "
While they were talking, the press conference inside ended. Amidst a round of applause, Lippi pulled out his chair and walked toward the exit with Chiellini.
When Lippi saw Twain standing outside and smiling at him, he was slightly surprised, but his expression quickly returned to normal.
He knew that Twain was greeting him with a smile. This manager did not seem to be as fierce and difficult to get along with as the rumors said. Since the other party had taken the initiative to express goodwill, Lippi did not need to put on airs. He looked at Twain and nodded slightly.
Perhaps it was because it was the finals, but Lippi did not wear the Kappa T-shirt he usually wore on the training ground. Instead, he wore a very formal dark blue suit and white shirt. The two men brushed past each other. Twain did not continue to look at Lippi's back. Instead, it was George Wood and the opposing team's captain, Chiellini, who exchanged glances.
After leaving the press conference, the old smoker Lippi no longer let himself be wronged. He shrugged his shoulders and took out a small cigar made in Tuscany from the inner pocket of his suit. He put it in his mouth, lit it, and took a big puff. That sound was heard even by Twain.
Holding the cigar, Lippi and Chiellini left just like that. Meanwhile, Twain patted Wood beside him. "Let's go, George. It's our turn. "
He did not smoke, but he did not need to smoke to pretend to be cool. He himself was the synonym for "cool." Especially when he appeared in front of the media, the continuous flashes already clearly showed that in terms of the limelight, he was no worse than Lippi, who had won the World Cup.
"What do you think of Marcello Lippi, Mr. Twain?" After the normal questions, Twain was also faced with such a question.
"He's an excellent manager. The championship trophies he led Juventus and Italy to have long proved this point. "Twain did not hesitate or feel surprised. He answered very quickly.
However, the reporters below who understood both English and Italian laughed. Because it was really too coincidental. Lippi also used the same answer to this question.
Even if the two deliberately kept a low profile and acted so well, they really lived up to being opponents in the finals.
Twain was baffled by the laughter, but he did not ask what happened.
"Is it difficult to play against such a manager in the finals?" La Gazzetta dello Sport asked.
"I admit it's a little difficult. After all, Lippi has a lot of experience. But … "Twain's tone changed." No one came to Bernabéu to fight for the runner-up. I believe Lippi also thinks so. I'll be very happy to be able to defeat Italy and win the championship. "
"Mr. Twain. You were unexpectedly low-key before the game. Do you want Italy to underestimate your opponent? "The reporter from La Gazzetta dello Sport was aggressive.
"No." Twain spread his hands. "You're insulting Mr. Lippi's intelligence." He did not forget to joke with the other party, using this method to retaliate against the Italian reporter's relentlessness. "I do respect Lippi. I'm very happy to be able to play against him in the finals."
Twain did not lie. Although Tang En hated Juventus and Lippi very much when he was a fan, his thinking had changed ever since he became a manager. After considering everything from a manager's point of view, his thinking was getting closer and closer to that bunch of Italian managers. As a manager, a tactical master was always worthy of respect.
And Twain also knew, based on Lippi's experience, if he were to provoke a war of words, he would be the one to suffer in the end. Lippi's Italy team would not be fooled. In that case, it would appear that England, who had taken the initiative to provoke, was at a disadvantage. Their morale would also be affected. Psychological warfare was not an all-purpose weapon that could be used at all times.
This kind of double-edged sword would only hurt oneself if it was not used properly. That was why Twain always picked the soft persimmon to pinch.
Lippi was an old fox and a stone. If he did not do it well, he might mess up the mentality of himself and the players.
"I hope tomorrow will be a wonderful game, but it doesn't mean I promise to play offensive football tomorrow." Twain smiled slyly. "For me, the result comes first."
Hearing him say so, some reporters sighed in their hearts. It looked like tomorrow's final would be a dull battle. If there were no accidents, it was likely that the champion would be decided through a penalty shootout.
Other reporters heard what they wanted from it — tomorrow the England team was likely to focus on defense, steadily defend and counterattack, sacrifice the offense, and drag it to overtime and penalty shootout.
So, after being secretive for three days, this was the strategy that Twain had formulated for the England team? There was really nothing new to speak of …
Defense, defense, defense … They really wanted to ask someone to knock open his brain and see what else was in it besides "defense."
Twain did not think about what the reporters were silently criticizing. After answering the reporters' questions, he and Wood left the Bernabéu Stadium together. They took the team's bus and followed the team back to the hotel where they were staying. Tonight was the team's last tactical meeting, and then it was to quietly wait for the arrival of tomorrow night.
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