Godfather Of Champions

If we don’t win, I’ll jump into the sea!

This phrase became a headline in almost all of England’s media in the sports edition in the days that followed, and even made front page headlines in certain media outlets. Such feverish hype of this topic in the English media was actually a backlash against the Italian media’s previous provocations.

At first when the photograph was published in the Italian media, Dunn did tell the truth in an interview, which was not as the Italians had perceived. However, the Italians opted to turn a deaf ear to it. They chose to make an issue out of this photograph to deliberately make things difficult for Nottingham Forest.

It was a psychological warfare before the big game, but as the parties involved in the warfare, Nottingham Forest and Twain were both very annoyed by this behavior.

The one thing that Twain hated the most in his life was to be insulted by the other people in this way.

As a retaliation, he made a phone call to Pierce Brosnan the day after the photograph was published in the newspapers and told him to print the remark.

As expected, after the one-sentence “interview” came out, it caused an uproar in England and Italy. The other countries joined in to watch a good show and in turn spread this topic around.

The matter was not over yet.

When they first saw the article, some Italians said that it was just the loud-mouthed Twain bragging again. Everyone was used to him making vain promises.

A day later, the BBC television broadcast station announced that they had just signed an agreement with Tony Twain.

According to what Twain had stated before, if his team lost in the Champions League final to AC Milan and the Champions League title, he would jump into the sea. This agreement was based on that situation. The television rights of this exclusive live coverage of his jump was sold to the BBC television station. This agreement would come into effect automatically after the final game and once the Forest team was confirmed as the loser. If the Forest team won, then BBC would receive exclusive rights to broadcast the grand celebration in Nottingham city.

At the same time, exactly the same as the agreement, Twain sold the rights for the live webcast of his jump to the famous online video streaming site, YouTube. The right to report on printed medium was sold to three parties, Nottingham’s local media, Nottingham Evening Post, and the supermarket tabloid, The Sun, which had a wide influence in the UK, across Europe and around the world. The third party was China’s Titan Sports, for which Tang Jing had used tremendous effort to wrangle it from the other Chinese media.

After the news of these various signings was revealed at the same time, it was undoubtedly a series of bombardments thrown at the Italians. The Italians, who had previously mocked Twain’s bragging, were all silent.

As the first football manager to promise to jump into the sea upon his defeat and sell the rights to the entire process of his jump, Tony Twain became famous around the world.

“He [Tony Twain] must be crazy…” After a brief collective loss of voice, Italy’s Corriere dello Sport – Stadio was the first in Italy to speak against this matter.

“We are watching a comedy production from Hollywood, and the Italians did not think that Tony Twain would go to such extremes. After news broke that he sold the broadcast rights of his jump, we saw the entire Italian media collectively lose their voices…” BBC’s Sunday Match of the Day said.

“This is very much in line with Twain’s personality. He is always doing something to shock us. We really do not ever know what he’s thinking. He always comes up with so many strange things to attract attention. It’s a shame he’s not in the entertainment industry. He’s better at showbiz than those entertainment stars.” This passage came from the blog of a famous football pundit on a famous Chinese website.

For a moment, the entire world was talking about it. Not everyone was concerned with football itself, the league tournament, or even the Champions League final. The Times had even published a special commentary on this matter, which was very representative:

“Compared to the suspense around the finals and the winner itself, everyone is more concerned about whether Tony Twain will jump or not and how he will make that jump. I think there’s going to be even a lot of people who want to see Tony Twain leap into the Aegean Sea and will bet on the Forest team’s defeat with the bookmakers. Of course, I’ll admit that I’m one of those people…”

※※※

The man most hated by Twain sat in front of him with his legs crossed and held a glass of red wine as he squinted at him.

Several documents were scattered on the coffee table between the two men, all of which were the contracts with the media outlets.

“I have no problem with the others. Why did you look for The Sun?” Twain stared at Billy Woox, sitting across from him.

“They gave the highest offer and are the best at this kind of thing. Didn’t you say you wanted to maximize the impact? I can’t think of any other print medium that is better suited to this kind of thing than The Sun.” Woox sipped his wine and spoke slowly to Twain.

“Of course I know that. I’m fine with anyone but The Sun.” said Twain with a stiff face.

Woox shrugged. “I don’t think you should take that tone with someone who comes to help, Mr. Twain.”

“I didn’t ask you to help…”

Twain had spoken halfway when he saw Woox pointed behind him. “I certainly can’t refuse the lovely Shania’s request. But are you going to complain that Shania shouldn’t have come to me?”

Shania’s sullen voice came from behind Twain. “You asked me to go to Mr. Fasal, but he’s so busy recently that I went to Mr. Woox. I’m sorry to have found someone you don’t like, Uncle Tony.”

The words were an apology, but he could not hear the apologetic tone. Twain hurriedly got up and waved his hands at Shania, who was making him coffee. “Ah, that’s not what I meant…”

This was a real headache. Why did Woox and Shania have that kind of relationship?

The two of them coordinated with each other, so he could only concede to his bad luck. He softened his tone. “All right, how should I thank you, Mr. Woox?”

Billy Woox put his hand over his heart and acted like he was overwhelmed by the sudden favor, “Ah! It is rare to hear Mr. Twain speak to me in such a gentle manner. Am I dreaming?”

Twain cleared his throat awkwardly before the other man finally gave it a rest.

“Why don’t we talk about George’s contract, Mr. Twain?” Woox said with a giggle.

“I would rather tear up these contracts.” replied Twain, with a straight face.

“Gee, I’m just kidding. Why so serious?” Woox shrugged and was helpless at Twain’s insensitivity. “Just take it that you owe me a favor, Mr. Twain. I’ll find a way for you to repay it in the future when needed.”

“As long as it’s not George’s contract, I’d be happy to.”

Twain did not say the words just for show. When the photograph came out, he was so furious that he tore all the newspapers to shreds in his own home. Then he plotted in his mind how to deal the Italians the most effective counterattack. After much deliberation, he thought of what he said to Pierce Brosnan the day he called — If we don’t win, I’ll jump into the Aegean Sea!

A thought popped in his head and everyone saw what happened next. It was his idea to contact the media, but he had just wanted to tell the media that he would jump into the sea if he lost and to invite them to be the witnesses.

As a result, Shania said it was a good opportunity and that they should make better use of it when she heard. She proposed to take apart the coverage from the various media platforms and sell them separately. They could make money and the publicity would also be more sensational and effective than simply an announcement to the media. It would be a better way to retaliate against the Italian media.

Twain accepted the suggestion. However, he was not good at contacting and negotiating with the media, so Shania volunteered her own agent, Fasal. Who knew Fasal would be busy? Therefore, Shania had to go to Woox. She was aware of the feud between Twain and Woox, but perhaps because she had a lot of respect for Mr. Woox, she had hoped that Uncle Tony could dispel his former enmity against Woox. So, she had asked Woox help.

She had thought that Woox would refuse at first and had prepared a lot of arguments for it. She did not expect Woox to listen intently and nod his assent without hesitation. It went so smoothly that Shania was very surprised.

With Woox’s connections and power, the matter was carried out impeccably. Woox even made a very detailed arrangement for the release timing of the signings. As a result, when the news was released by the media one after another, Twain saw what he most wanted to see — the Italian media was so gobsmacked that they collectively lost their voice.

This relieved his anger, but if he wanted to vent even more, he needed to work harder.

If he could not defeat AC Milan in finals, he would have to jump in the sea. This was not something to be taken lightly. He would be reduced to a laughingstock and would be mentioned for years to come.

And if he could defeated AC Milan, he could return the fury he received a hundredfold. At that time, no one would dare to defy no matter how much he humiliated the Italian media. Because the victor always had the right to speak.

Woox put the glass down and stood up. He was going to leave.

He held out his hand to Twain. “I did everything I could. Mr. Twain, I don’t want the club that my own player plays for to be a joke in whole of Europe. So, it’s up to you now. If you can’t win, everything you’ve asked me to do these last few days will be the grave you dug for yourself.”

Woox rarely spoke to him in such a serious tone. Out of gratitude for his help, Twain reached out to clasp his hand with Woox. “I have to correct you a little, Mr. Woox. I never dig my own grave. I only dig the ones that my enemies order. I don’t do anything in vain.”

※※※

Nottingham Forest got the entry to the Champions League final and was just one step away from Twain’s goal for the season. Everyone was excited, but Twain had to get his men to calm down for a while.

The 37th round of the league tournament was on May 5th.

Three games were scheduled for the same day. Manchester United and Manchester City’s “Manchester derby” was the first to be unveiled. After that was Chelsea’s “London derby” with Arsenal. Then Nottingham Forest’s away challenge against Aston Villa would kick off as that game drew to a close.

Many said that the outcomes of the three games would have a direct impact on the ownership of the league title for the season.

However, Twain did not place much importance to this round of the league tournament. He had already made up his mind to have a big rotation in this away game against Aston Villa — most of the players from the lineup in the Champions League semi-final game would not be in the game’s starting lineup again.

Since he did not intend to compete for the illusory league title, and their third place was in a secure position, Twain would not allow his players to risk injury and play in the game. He would just take the opportunity to let the other players to practice.

With five hours to go until the game, Twain released his starting lineup list, which he rarely did. This time, it looked like he really relaxed for this game.

The goalkeeper of the Forest team remained as Edwin van der Sar, who was the immoveable mainstay. Twain was actually keen to rotate, but Akinfeev, who had been bought before the season, was on loan back to CSKA Moscow and could not be recalled. Paul Gerrard’s recovery after his surgery was far from ideal. The experts had told Twain that Paul was likely to end his career early as a result.

This was not good news, but Twain had not given up yet. As he said, when he went to Athens, no one would be left behind in the Forest team. He was still waiting for Paul to return even though there was not much time.

The center-back was Wes Morgan and Ayala’s partner. The left-back was changed to Gareth Bale and the right-back was Sun Jihai. George Wood would still start in this game. In any case, Twain was still a little cautious. He had allowed rotation, but it was not the same as conceding.

Arteta and van der Vaart did not appear on the starting list. Instead it was Albertini, who had not appeared in the team’s starting lineup in a long time and was only three games away before retiring. Twain wanted the Italian veteran to regain his competition form because he had said he was going to give Albertini the best farewell game, meaning Albertini would definitely play in the Champions League final. If he was being brought off due to bad form, it would not be good for anyone.

In the two flanks, Petrov replaced Ribéry on the left flank and Lennon continued to be in the starting lineup on the right flank due to Ashley Young’s injury. The strikers were Bendtner and Anelka.

In the final stages of the season, Anelka had been given frequent opportunities to play, which some people could not understand. In fact, it was very simple. Because the Forest team wanted to sell him, they needed let him to perform more.This way, the Forest team would have more clout to ask for more money from the other clubs in the transfer market.

※※※

On May 5th, Manchester United challenged its nemesis, Manchester City in same city in a closely watched away game. Twain and Mourinho definitely watched the entire game. Mourinho was keen for Manchester United to lose. Unfortunately, the final result let him down.

Manchester United obtained three points in the away game after much difficulty. The score of 1:0 could clear up a lot of issues, but regardless of how bad the situation was, the three points that were obtained were real. At the press conference after the game, Ferguson laughed until his face was redder than usual.

The recent frustration and pain of being eliminated from the Champions League had been washed away with this game. There was nothing more enjoyable than wiping out a nemesis in the same city within the season. With regard to ‘a derby in the same city”, there was a common and interesting phenomenon in European football which was that the fans could accept losing the heavyweight titles such as the league title and Champions League title and even forgive if they did not accomplish anything in a season, as long as the team they supported could defeat the same city’s nemesis in the same city derby.

It was not just a win over Manchester City that made Ferguson so happy. It was normal for him to defeat Manchester City, so he did not need to be so happy as it would give the wrong impression that it was not easy for Manchester United to beat Manchester City, so Ferguson was so excited.

Another important reason was that he had scored a key victory at a crucial time in his league title battle against Chelsea and continued to maintain a two-point lead over Chelsea. That way, he had put pressure on Chelsea again. If Chelsea was crushed by the pressure in the next game and uncharacteristically lost the game, there was only a fine line between Manchester United and the league title.

Later, in London, Chelsea’s key battle with Arsenal was officially launched.

The game was quite intense and both sides had their own reasons to strive in the fight.

Wenger certainly did not drive the team to go all out for a meaningless reason of helping Manchester United block Chelsea. He was vying with Liverpool for the fourth seat in the league and Liverpool was only one point ahead of Arsenal. Liverpool’s game kicked off an hour earlier than Arsenal’s. When Wenger’s team set foot on the field, the score was still 0:0. If the score remained until halftime, Arsenal would overtake Liverpool to become the fourth in the league as long as they beat Chelsea, thus winning a spot to the Champions League

And not to mention on Chelsea’s side that if they could not win the game, they would trail further behind Manchester United’s home stretch. That was not what Mourinho wanted to see.

It was just ten minutes into the game on this side when news came from Fulham, south west of London — Fulham had scored!

Fulham had led 1:0 at home against Liverpool!

This news gave Arsenal a shot in the arm and they put more pressure on Chelsea.

Thirty-three minutes later, the goal guarded by Čech was finally lost after they were unable to withstand Arsenal’s waves of attacks. Gilberto Silva scored a goal for Arsenal and Arsenal led 1:0!

While Arsenal was leading, Nottingham Forest warmed up at Aston Villa’s Villa Park stadium. When Twain heard the news in the locker room, the first thing he said when the players came back was —

“I’ve changed my mind, guys. We must win this game!”

He still remembered Mourinho mocking him for not even having a chance to “almost win the league tournament.” Now that they were in a good situation, he did not mind returning the phrase to Mourinho and his Chelsea team.

When all three games were over and the dust had settled, everyone saw that the league table had changed into this:

After winning the same city derby, Manchester United remained at the top of the rankings with a score of eighty-five points.

The second and third places had changed.

Chelsea fiercely fought back in the second half of the game to score an equalizer, but unfortunately they could not change the final score. Chelsea’s equalizer was not considered a good result. Arsenal could be screwed this season if they lost to Chelsea again. Wenger and everyone at Arsenal worked together to desperately fend off Chelsea’s attacks while actively seeking chances to fight back. The game came to a conclusion during such entanglement between both teams, and the end result was 1:1. No one had defeated anyone, but no one had won either — neither teams got the results they’d hoped for.

It could be seen from the expressions of the two managers, Wenger and Mourinho once the game ended. They were in a bad mood. Unaware of the outcome of the Nottingham Forest game, Mourinho’s face was like “cloudy and light drizzle.” But when he found out about the results of the Nottingham Forest match, it became a “thunderstorm accompanied by a spell of strong winds.”

The reason Mourinho was so angry was because he knew that the league table would have a change he did not want to see.

Nottingham Forest won 1:0 against Aston Villa in the away game with a lineup of substitutions and got three points. As a result, Nottingham Forest took the second place in the league with eighty-two points. Whereas, Chelsea, who tied with Arsenal, had a score of eighty-one points and came in third.

Although there was no difference between second and third places since neither would win the league title, and both would be able to play in the Champions League next season, Mourinho could not tolerate someone like Tony Twain pressing down on him — it made him angrier than losing the league title.