In fact, Twain himself was a little nervous. But it was not as serious as some of the players. He had participated in the finals of important games many times. He was just a little nervous for his first time — the first time he led the national team to participate in the final of a major international competition.
As a manager who used to be a China fan, he had a bit of a "major international competition" complex. National team competitions such as the World Cup and the UEFA European Championship had been the theme of his football career for a long time. He even once thought that the national team was better than the club team because it represented the highest level of a country.
Later, it became a joke. But to be able to stand in the final of a major competition like the UEFA European Championship made him a little excited.
In order to calm himself down, he chose to walk out of the empty locker room and stood on the sidelines to observe the players' warm-up. Work could make him forget other emotions.
He was very satisfied with the players' warm-up. In the face of such a final, everyone was excited. He did not have to worry about a lack of fighting spirit. He only had to worry that someone might be too excited and get injured during the warm-up.
The coaches were in charge of the warm-up. Twain, who was free, turned his gaze to the stands. The Bernabéu stadium, which could accommodate 80,000 people, was basically full. The stadium was noisy and thousands of flags were fluttering in the wind. There were even some impatient fans who set off small fireworks in the stands.
When they saw the England team appear on the pitch and start to warm up, the England fans in the stands began to sing in unison. Just like they did in the Premier League, they used their singing to convey a message to the team — we are with you.
The singing gave the England players the feeling of being at home. In fact, the number of fans from both sides who entered the stadium today was almost the same. Most Spaniards lost interest in the final due to the Spanish team's defeat in the semi-finals. The England fans who flew from England to Spain before the final were blessed. There were many Spaniards selling tickets outside the Bernabéu stadium the day before the final. Of course, for the Italian fans who came from Italy, they were also lucky.
The neutral Spanish fans in the stands became supporting characters for this game.
The England fans had just started singing when the Italian fans also began to sing. The two sides launched a "singing contest" across the stadium.
When the players from both sides began to warm up on the pitch, the media from all over the world also began to get busy.
"This is the Bernabéu, the temple of Spanish football. Today, under the watchful eyes of the public, a heavyweight duel will take place! " China's national TV station, CCTV5, also sent a commentator and reporter to the scene to explain and report the game. Although the level of football in their country was very low, China's football fans were still considered lucky. The developed television and Internet allowed them to watch the best games in the world, and it was basically free.
"England will wear the white home jersey for this game. However, it was said that their manager, Tony Twain, wanted the team to wear red jerseys because red was his lucky color and also the same color as Nottingham Forest's jersey. Now it looks like his wish didn't come true … "The Spanish TV reporter was introducing some details of today's game to the audience, such as the jerseys. Italy wore their traditional blue shirt and white shorts. Ten years ago, when they won the World Cup, they wore the blue jersey. Sixteen years ago, when they lost to France in the final of the UEFA European Championship, they wore white jerseys. Maybe blue is more auspicious than white to the Italians. "
"The temperature tonight is 31 degrees. It's not too hot, but it's not too cool either. It's very hot during the day, and now the heat of the sun has not dissipated yet, which will affect the performance of the players on both sides. The humidity of the field … "
Although their own teams were eliminated, the television stations of various countries still attached great importance to the coverage of the final. There were as many as 27 satellite cars parked outside the Bernabéu stadium, parked in a row together, it was a spectacular sight.
"We can see that the players from both sides have appeared on the field, and they are warming up. We have got Italy's starting list, but there is still no sign of England's starting list … Tony Twain doesn't seem to be announcing the starting list until the last minute. Compared to the battle-hardened and experienced Lippi, he seems to be a little too cautious … "
"From the list we got, Italy has sent out their strongest lineup. The goalkeeper is Marco Amelia, who plays for AC Milan. The left-back is AC Milan's Simone Vitale, and the right-back is Inter Milan's Davide Santon. The two center-backs are the Juventus duo – Giorgio Chiellini and Domenico Criscito. The midfielders, from left to right, are Juventus' Sebastian Giovinco, Roma's Daniele de Rossi and Alberto Aquilani, and Davide Lanzafame, who is also from Juventus. The two strikers are AC Milan's Alberto Paloschi and Juventus' Salvatore Foti. From this starting lineup, we can see that Lippi trusts players from strong teams more than those mid-tier teams in Serie A. The starting lineup is all players from last season's top four in Serie A. What's more, he prefers to use Juventus players in the semi-finals … "
When the England players finished their warm-up and returned to the locker room, the media finally got the England starting lineup released by Twain. Twain did not give everyone unlimited surprises like he did in the previous games. His starting lineup was not far from what the experts predicted before the game. It was just that not starting Vaughan, who performed well in the semi-finals, was slightly unexpected.
※ ※ ※
Not to mention the media, even the England players themselves did not know who was in the starting lineup until now.
The goalkeeper, Joe Hart, was the one who had the least suspense for the starting position. Almost all the other positions in this competition had been changed, except for his position. As long as there were no major mistakes or injuries, the starting goalkeeper would almost never be changed.
The right-back was still Richards, who started after the game against Wales. Twain valued his defensive ability. The left-back was Joe Mattock. In the UEFA European Cup, Mattock withstood the test and performed satisfactorily. It was natural for him to continue to be in the starting lineup for the final. Just like Lippi preferred the Juventus players he had coached for many years, Twain also preferred the Nottingham Forest players he had brought up.
The center backs were John Terry and Steven Taylor. This pair of center backs had also been with England from the first game until now. Their tacit cooperation was trustworthy.
The midfield was the partnership between Gerrard and Wood. Twain's "double Wood" was much more effective than the "double Wood" during the era of Eriksson and McClaren. Because he had the versatile George Wood, who could be the core and also assist others, so that England's midfield would not be in a mess with too many cores. Some teams could have two cores, but England absolutely could not.
On the right was Walcott, who had recovered from his injury, in the starting lineup. The right midfielder was the position that was changed the most due to frequent injuries in the big game. Where Walcott had an advantage over Bentley and Moke was that he had speed and dribbling skills, and was more dexterous.
On the left was Middlesbrough's Downing. Like Walcott, he had speed and dribbling skills. Due to Twain's tactics for this game, he returned to the starting lineup.
The most eye-catching was the choice for the forward line. Mitchell was suspended due to accumulating yellow cards, so this became the place where the competition was the most intense. Everyone wanted to be in the starting lineup in such an important final. There was no doubt that Rooney would be selected. As the most experienced and most qualified player in England's forward line, Twain needed him.
And who would be the player to partner with Rooney?
James Vaughan had a lot of support for his two goals in the semi-finals. He himself also thought that he had been in excellent form recently and should be able to be in the starting lineup in the final. Therefore, when Twain began to announce the starting lineup, he looked forward to hearing his name.
After reading Rooney's name, there was only one candidate left. Vaughan straightened his sitting posture and straightened his body, ready to welcome a historic moment — he would be the starting striker in the UEFA European Championship final.
"Agbonlahor."
But the name that came out of Twain's mouth made him pause.
He did not expect Twain to choose the mediocre Agbonlahor over himself. He looked at Twain in disbelief, but he did not say anything in the end. He lowered his head again and clenched his fists unwillingly.
Twain's decision also surprised the other players. Previously, everyone thought that the other starting striker's position must have been secretly decided on James. Even Agbonlahor himself did not expect that he could be in the starting lineup in such an important game. Surprise and joy intertwined, making him feel very complicated inside. He even did not dare to look at Vaughan, who was sitting next to him.
"Why is Agbonlahor starting?!" When they saw the list, all the reporters asked the same question.
"Judging from his recent form, James Vaughan should obviously be in the starting lineup with Rooney. If it were not for his two goals in the semi-finals, it might have been Spain who made it to the final! "
"I can't figure out why Tony arranged it this way …"
"Hey, what can't you figure out? Just look at Lippi. These more successful managers will do this during important games — they would rather choose a player that they are more familiar with and like than a player who performs better. It's just empiricism. Agbonlahor is a Nottingham Forest player and admires Twain very much. Twain also likes him very much. Compared to Vaughan, Twain is more familiar with him, so he's in the starting lineup. "
The reporters were in a flurry of discussion. For a moment, "nepotism" prevailed in the hearts of the reporters.
※ ※ ※
After reading out the starting lineup, Twain looked at the players. He took in everyone's expressions and remembered them in his heart.
"This is the starting lineup."
The specific tactics had been discussed in yesterday's tactical meeting. Although no one knew who would be in the starting lineup at that time, the tactics required everyone in every position to remember.
"I hope everyone on this list still remembers what happened last night. Let's give them a surprise!"
The impact of the starting lineup was so great that they did not completely listen to what Twain said after that. Vaughan was the target they were concerned about.
Twain had to get them to put their minds back on the game. So, he clapped his hands and raised his voice. "What's wrong? Is the nervousness before the final making you a little distracted? "
The players could easily hear that their boss was a little dissatisfied. So, no matter how much they felt for Vaughan, they could only keep their grievances in their hearts and put their minds back on the game.
But after the incident with the starting lineup, they had long forgotten their nervousness. They were just a little puzzled. Why would the boss, who had always been impartial to every player in the team, make such an obvious mistake? It was not that they felt that Agbonlahor should not be in the starting lineup. It was just that even a fool could see that letting Vaughan, who was in excellent form, start was much more effective than letting Agbonlahor. Did he not want to win this game? Was it really because he wanted his own team to leave their names in such an important historical moment? Then why did he not let Moke, Cohen and Bentley start together? Weren't they also Nottingham Forest players?
With such doubts, a group of people walked onto the field for the final match.
※ ※ ※
"They're out! Let's welcome England's eleven starting players! " John Motson's passionate voice rang out as he began to introduce each of the England players who came out on the pitch to the fans.
Although Agbonlahor's starting lineup surprised him, his tone was no different from before when he read Agbonlahor's name.
To be honest, Twain's starting lineup was basically within Lippi's expectations. It was only in the striker position that he did not expect Twain to abandon James Vaughan, who was in excellent form in the semi-finals, and let Agbonlahor start. He also could not understand this change. As a striker, Agbonlahor's shooting was not as good as Vaughan's. Other than his speed, he basically had no other advantages. He was more suitable to be placed on the flanks than in the middle. For this reason, the Italian team had specially studied Vaughan. But they did not expect Twain to not let him start!
Although he was surprised, Lippi also had a strong interest. To be able to surprise him meant that this game would be very interesting. As his last game before his retirement, he was no longer simply pursuing results. It would be best if it could be unforgettable for him.
Tony Twain and his England team were obviously qualified to be his opponent for his farewell match.
Let's have a spectacular final and then we'll win the championship.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
