When Tony Twain led England to win the first UEFA European Championship in history, the English media trumpeted that the world of football had entered the "Twain Era." During that time, Tony Twain's reputation in England even surpassed that of the British Prime Minister. Even his nemesis, Carl Spicer, did not say anything bad about him. Just think of the scene when he led the England team back to the country and the tens of thousands of people turned out to welcome him, and you could see how unwise it was to say bad things about him at this time …
But Carl Spicer and the others did not wait too long. When the World Cup qualifiers reignited, they finally found a chance to attack Twain. The England team, which was awe-inspiring in the UEFA European Championship, seemed to have suddenly lost all its momentum and struggled in the qualifiers.
For a time, Tony Twain could not even keep his position as manager. The media scolded him harshly and pinned all kinds of charges on him. There were even a number of authoritative media outlets that announced that the English Football Association was seriously considering whether to let Twain go. As for the great feat of leading the England team to create history a year ago, it had long been forgotten in the wind.
Competitive sports were so cruel, and the winner was king.
What saved Twain was the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup in Australia. As a preview for the next year's World Cup, the FIFA Confederations Cup, which brought together the champions of various continents, received more and more attention. As the 2016 UEFA Champions League champion, the England team was invited to participate.
The England team that participated in the FIFA Confederations Cup was very different from the UEFA European Championship a year ago. Gerrard and Terry and other veteran players had withdrawn from the national team, and the 25-year-old Wilshere was entrusted with the heavy responsibility. The media all saw him as George Wood's future successor in the England team.
At this time, the England team was in a terrible fix over whether they could advance from the European zone. For this time, the FIFA Confederations Cup was more like a relaxing trip. Before the game, no one had high hopes for their results. There were also rumors that after the FIFA Confederations Cup, if the results were not good, Twain would be fired by the Football Association.
It was just that no one had expected Tony Twain to show his talent once again, leading a team that no one had high hopes for to overcome all difficulties and finally defeat their old enemy, the Copa América champion, Argentina, in the final to pick up the Confederations Cup.
After defeating a team like Argentina in the finals and winning the FIFA Confederations Cup, Tang En's position as the manager became stable overnight.
So much so that Carl Spicer said sourly on his show, "Twain can always get a good opportunity in times of crisis. The Confederations Cup is his good opportunity …"
Tang En had also completed the team's renewal and restructuring through the Confederations Cup. The new England team was younger, more spirited and driven. They would not stop moving forward just because they had won the championship title.
In the subsequent World Cup qualifiers, they rushed from third place to second place in their group and finally qualified for the play-offs. In the play-offs, the England team defeated Russia and got a ticket to the World Cup finals in Australia at the last minute.
But at that time, when the whole of England was celebrating their qualification for the World Cup, perhaps even the boldest person would not have thought that they would see this scene today —
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Sydney's Stadium Australia had never been as lively as it was that night. It was like an erupting volcano. However, what it spewed out was not lava, but passion. Stadium Australia, which could hold 81,000 people, was the venue of the World Cup finals. It was now full. The snow-white lights shone from the stadium, illuminating the surrounding sky. The helicopter responsible for aerial photography could clearly be seen hovering over the stadium.
Looking down from the air, the players of the two teams were locked in a fierce battle on the green field in the middle. There was a hubbub of voices in the stands, and the heat wave rushed into the sky. It could be clearly felt in the helicopter.
More than 200 countries and regions around the world were watching the live broadcast of the game, with about 1.2 billion people waiting in front of their televisions to watch. And in such a game, there was impressively Tony Twain's figure!
"… There are less than five minutes to the end of the game, and the England team is currently leading the last World Cup champion, Brazil, with a score of 2: 0! This is really an unexpected score before the game. Perhaps there are still many England fans who think they are dreaming … "
"The Brazilian team is pressing on from all sides. If they can't equalize the score in these five minutes …"
"There are still five minutes! Hold on for another five minutes! We will pick up the World Cup for the second time! Our intensive defense has left the Brazilian team unable to find a way to attack … From the beginning of the game, the initiative has fallen into our hands! Their tactics have been completely guessed by Tony Twain! "
"Twain stood on the sidelines. I can't tell what he is feeling at this time. His face is very calm, and he is not worried about Brazil's counterattack at all. "
"I need to repeat Tony Twain's resume since he became the manager — there is only one word on it: Champion! Now, the World Cup title is close at hand, within reach. If England can finally win the World Cup, then for Tony Twain, there is no championship trophy in this world that he has not won! "
The man who was praised by the crowd was standing on the sidelines with his arms crossed over his chest, looking very calm. In fact, his heart had long been like boiling water, flipping over. Although he had long set the goal of dominating the world for himself, but when it really came to this moment, his heart still beat wildly uncontrollably, as if it would jump out of his mouth if he opened it. That was why he tightly pursed his lips and looked very calm and composed …
Now on the field, England was completely on the defensive. Wilshere, who assisted the team's second goal, had long been replaced by Twain. England lined up with a formation of two defensive midfielders in the midfield. George Wood and Michael Johnson both locked the front of the penalty area. Even if it was the Brazilian team, it would not be so easy for them to attack.
The current situation was also fortunate that the current manager of the Brazilian team was not the Dunga of four years ago. After Dunga led the team to win the sixth World Cup in a more conservative way, he retired and ran to Europe to make a fortune. The person who replaced him was the former Brazil under-20 team manager, Laurenzo. This man was different from Dunga. He was a typical advocate of Brazilian football tradition, liked to attack, emphasized short passes on the ground, and was determined to restore the glory of Brazilian artistic football.
Unfortunately, his ambition was useless against Twain. Laurenzo, who wanted to play against the England team in the final, faced an England team that shrunk and played defensive counterattack. As a result, the Brazilian team did not score a goal. Instead, the England team used defensive counterattack to score two goals in a row, forcing them to a dead end.
Twain did not continue to stand on the sidelines to supervise the game. Instead, he turned around and walked back to sit in the technical area. Next to him, no one could stay in their seats. They all rushed to the sidelines, waiting for the referee to blow the whistle to signal the end of the match. Then, they would rush in to celebrate this historic moment with the players on the field.
Everyone else was excited. Only he felt tired.
He had been under a lot of pressure for the past year, and more than half of this pressure was self-imposed. Now it looked like there should be no suspense for England to win the World Cup. What about after that?
Go back home to celebrate …
Twain thought even further.
Before the World Cup, the Football Association had hoped to renew Twain's contract, but he refused. Even though Shaun Harvey did not look good, Twain still laid his cards on the table — after the World Cup, his contract expired, he would not renew with the Football Association. In other words, he would not continue to coach the England team. This was no longer news.
As the national team manager, he had won all the championships that he could win. What was the point of staying? Twain did not want to lead the England team to create something great. He had no interest in the future of English football. To him, leading the England team was just to satisfy his love for football and a challenge. Now that the challenge was all over, he was tired.
When Twain sat alone in his chair in a daze, the referee blew the whistle at the end of the game.
"The game is over! England has won the 2018 World Cup in Australia! Congratulations to them! And congratulations to Tony Twain! He led the team to the grand slam of honor for the national team — the UEFA European Cup, the FIFA Confederations Cup, and the World Cup! This is an enviable achievement! "
Only then did Twain get up from his chair again. He raised his hands high and appeared in front of the camera with the posture of a winner. This was not the time to show fatigue.
"England is the world champion! This is an unexpected result! When they could not even get out of the qualifiers in the European region, who would have thought that they would have such a day? Two years ago, Twain led the team to the top of Europe. Two years later, they became the king of the world! "
"We are the champions! We are the champions!! " John Motson was so excited that he was incoherent. He only knew to shout the slogan that everyone was familiar with.
Around him, the coaches and players ran around in ecstasy. Some even shed tears of excitement. And Twain? He was very calm and was being interviewed by the reporters.
The reporters surrounded him, thinking that Twain had become the world champion tonight. He must be in a good mood and would answer every question. They could also use this to get a lot of inside news to satisfy the large audience and readers.
Twain looked at the reporters who kept throwing questions and microphones at him, but he just waved his hand to signal them not to worry.
Seeing his gesture, the reporters quieted down. That's right. The game was over. There was no hurry. They had plenty of time to ask questions. There was still half an hour to wait for the award ceremony.
"First of all, I have a list here …" As he spoke, Twain took out a folded piece of paper from the inside pocket of his suit. He unfolded it and waved it to the mass of media. No one could see what was written on it. They only saw a dense line of text.
"I will refuse to accept interviews from the media whose names I read."
As soon as this sentence came out, it was as if a heavy bomb had been dropped in the crowd!
What did this mean? At such a joyous time, he refused to accept interviews with a black face? What was Tony Twain doing? Did he have a brain cramp again?
It was only then that many of the English media came to a sudden realization. The person they were facing was still the same Tony Twain. More than a decade had passed. Although the wrinkles on his face had increased and the hair on the top of his head had become increasingly gray, he was still the unruly Tony Twain who liked to go against the media.
"The Sun, News of the World …" Twain lowered his head and read out the names on the "blacklist" one by one. These names were the media that had kicked him when he was at his most difficult time. They had scolded him the most fiercely and clamored for him to get the hell out of the England national team manager position. At that time, Twain also fought back in his own column, but his voice was like a small stone thrown into the sea. It did not even make a splash.
At that time, these media did not think that one day they would have to put on a smiling face to interview Twain. They hoped that he would open his mouth and let them have something to report.
Now, gentlemen, it was time to settle the score.
Twain had long noted down the names of these media and wrote them on the list, which he carried with him at all times. He was preparing for this. Of course, if he did not win the championship in the end, then this list might not be of use. Because even if he wanted to refuse to accept interviews from these media, it would not stop him from being scolded badly.
When these media heard Twain read out their names, the expressions on their faces suddenly became extremely interesting. Twain's list included almost most of the English media. There were also a few foreign media, including even a Chinese media, because that Chinese media had once said that Twain was "impotent."
After reading this not short list, Twain looked at the group of stunned media in front of him and asked, "Do the others have any questions?"
The first person to react was the reporter from the Liverpool Echo. Because they had a representative against Twain, Chris Beesley, they did not stop saying bad things about Twain in the newspaper. They were very agitated by Twain's announcement that he refused to accept interviews. "You can't do this, Mr. Twain!"
"Of course I can, Mr. Reporter. I'm the world champion! "He said arrogantly. "You guys are asking to interview me, not me begging you to come and interview me."
"You …" The reporter from the Liverpool Echo was so angry by Twain's words that he could not say a word for a long time.
The reporter from The Sun, who was at the side, was more tactful. He would not directly protest. Now that even a fool could see that Twain was in the limelight, it would not be good to go against him. Although they had often gone against each other in the past, as a good reporter, it was a basic quality to go with the flow.
He went up and said in a very humble manner, "I'm a reporter from The Sun. We will publish a letter of apology in the newspaper and give you our sincerest apologies for what we said in the past …" His submissive attitude made the other media "wake up" — this was what they should do at this time! They should use an apology to ease the tense relationship with Twain and coax him after the World Cup. Why did they not think of it? Instead, they let the reporter from The Sun seize the initiative!
The Sun and the other media thought this was the only way to solve the problem.
But Twain's words shattered all of their dreams. "I refuse to accept any form of apology, and I will not accept any form of interview."
His attitude was very firm. He had absolutely no intention of joking or giving in. Seeing that the group of media were all stunned, he laughed.
"It looks like no one has any questions to ask. That's good. I have to be with my players. Excuse me. "He pushed away the few people in front of him and squeezed out of the encirclement of reporters.
The group of reporters watched his back as he blended into the celebratory crowd before they reacted. But in the face of this meritorious manager who had just led the team to lift the World Cup, they could only sigh at this time — they really did not dare to say anything bad about Tony Twain in their respective newspapers and media. Who asked him to be a national hero now? Anyone who went against him was going against all of England, and even all of Britain, and was a national enemy.
Moreover, what made the media feel even more stifled and helpless was that after the World Cup ended, Twain would announce his resignation. Since he was not in the position of a manager, naturally there was nothing for the media to hold on to. There was also no such thing as "ten years is not too late for a gentleman to take revenge."
Twain's turn was very suave, completely cutting off the possibility of the media finding fault with him. It made the group of people unable to vent their anger and suffocate to death.
The group of media sighed helplessly and dispersed.
On this joyous night, they were all unhappy.
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Twain's bombshell had not been dropped yet. At the press conference that night, Tony Twain, who had just led England to a second World Cup, announced a piece of news that surprised everyone:
"I've decided to retire. Yes, it's retirement, not resignation. Not only am I stepping down from the position of England's manager, but I will also not consider the offers from other teams. From today onwards, I'm no longer Tony Twain Manager. I don't have any plans for the future yet. At present, I just want to enjoy the joy of winning the World Cup. I'm grateful to my team and the fans who supported me. "
When he finished saying this, the reporters below the stage were in an uproar …
Everyone was still looking forward to Twain creating glory again. Why was he suddenly retiring? He was not even 50 years old … As a manager, he was in the prime of his life. Why was he retiring?
No one knew what Twain was thinking. Since more than a decade ago, no one could guess this man's thoughts. He always liked to surprise people. When he was scolded badly, he persisted in not resigning at the most difficult time, and suddenly announced his retirement at the peak of his success.
Perhaps he simply liked to play with the public like this …
Twain stood up and waved to the media, preparing to bid farewell. Perhaps realizing that this was the last time he would appear in front of the public as a manager, the reporters picked up their cameras one after another, pressed the shutter, and froze his figure in the camera's frame.
It was just that such a madman was suddenly bidding farewell. Even though the media had just been defeated by him, they could not help but feel a little regretful at this moment. How were they going to attract the readers' attention in the future?
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