Godfather Of Champions Chapter 429 - A Hidden War

Chapter 429: A Hidden War

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The two n stopped in front of a tombstone with a faded inscription that had been eroded by the elents. It was just an ordinary tombstone. Sweeping their gazes across it, they saw that the cetery had countless other similar-looking tombstones quietly erected.

However, this particular one was distinctive because it lacked care. The white tombstone had turned to a dark grey and it looked decrepit.

“This is ‘my’ father’s,” Dunn said as he stood in front of the tombstone.

Twain squatted down and reached out to pick out the black spots on it. He thought they were just regular spots. He had not expected the marks to penetrate the inner layers of the tombstone. It was impossible to pick them out.

“I haven’t been here since the burial.”

“How long ago?”

“Ten years.”

Twain looked up at Dunn. That was indeed long enough. The British people’s notion of a family was not the sa as that of the Chinese. Children would leave their parents once they grew up and did not often stay in touch. However, to not even visit his father’s tombstone for ten years… It was too much, wasn’t it?

Dunn knew what Twain thought, so he said, “He was my father only because he and my mother gave birth to .”

“You dislike your father?”

“No.” Dunn shook his head. “it’s more like hatred.”

Twain was speechless. It looked like ten years ago, a lot of things happened that Dunn desperately wanted to forget but ultimately could not.

“Because of his drinking and smoking, they detected three types of diseases in him before his death. Each one could have killed him on its own.”

“Where’s your mother?”

“She ran off a long ti ago. Long enough that I don’t rember the exact ti.”

“And she never contacted you again?”

When he heard Twain’s question, Dunn suddenly smiled. “She couldn’t wait to cut all ties with this family, even to the extent of forgetting she ever had one. Her drunk of a husband and incompetent, weak son were her nightmares. How could she possibly want to contact ? Maybe she’s already dead and buried in a public cetery God knows where. I think the three of us being together was a big mistake.”

Twain was dumbstruck by what he heard. He had had no idea that “his own” history was so complicated that it appeared to be more miserable than George Wood’s.

He stood up again.

“Now I think I know why you were so willing to beco Tang En.”

“I’m sorry. I took your family...” Dunn looked down.

Twain hugged him instead. “I never used to think that it was a great thing to have an ordinary nuclear family of three. I still don’t think it’s that great. But after knowing you, I think I was lucky to have that. You’re going back to China this sumr, aren’t you?”

“Yes, I told them it was my ‘family leave.'”

“Say hello to the parents for … Wait, no. Don’t.” Twain suddenly changed his mind. “When are you leaving?”

“I’m not sure yet, but it definitely has to be after the end of the season.”

Twain looked up and thought. He was thinking about Shania’s plans for the sumr holidays. He was not able to call the young girl now and ask about her plans for the sumr, but… He guessed she would be busy. She wasn’t a student anymore.

“See, Dunn. When the season ends, don’t be in a hurry to go ho just yet. Co with to Germany.”

“Germany? The World Cup?”

Twain nodded. “To watch the entire World Cup and see if there are any cheap bargains to be had along the way. Then I’ll go back to China with you.”

Dunn was sowhat surprised. “You want to go back too?”

“Well, do you rember when I t you in Chengdu? That ti I tried to go back to my hotown to visit my parents. I just wanted to check in on them, because I didn’t know how to explain to them why a foreigner suddenly wanted to visit them. Now the problem is solved. I’m your friend. I can enter the house openly to visit… our parents.”

“Okay… That’s a good idea.”

“Co on, let’s go back.” Twain turned to leave the cetery.

Dunn looked back at that tombstone and then turned to catch up with Twain.

“Hey, Dunn....in the past, I an before we swapped our bodies, have you ever been in love? Have you ever liked a girl?”

“No.”

“God, your life is so boring.”

※※※

Now that Twain knew what “Tony Twain” had been like, his family background and his life, he felt the distance between him and Dunn lessen again.

He had already considered transferring Dunn to the First Team’s coaching unit next season. The chap had proven his ability in the youth team. In just two seasons, he had gone from being a coach in the youth team to being its assistant manager. Everyone on the team knew that Dunn had real ability and learning. He would not encounter any obstacles in convincing Evan at this point.

After the matter was settled in his mind, Twain put it aside for the ti being and devoted his energies to preparing for the final stage of the season.

On April 15th, the Forest team ushered in Tottenham Hotspur at ho. They must win this ga because Manchester United was close at their heels.

The Forest players’ performance did not disappoint Twain. They beat Tottenham Hotspur by 1:0 on their ho ground.

At the sa ti, Manchester United’s away ga with Sunderland was a tie at 0:0. The gap between the two teams widened to four points.

On April 17, during the 35th round of the league tournant, Nottingham Forest won by 2:1 against Birmingham City at ho. Two consecutive wins at this critical mont bought Twain so ti.

Although Manchester United had won this round too, the four-point lead gave him peace of mind to prepare for the Champions League semi-finals.

At the sa ti, while preparing for the semi-finals against Arsenal, Twain had a strange feeling that this was not the Champions League semi-finals, but just a regular league tournant ga.

Why did he feel that way? Because both teams were so familiar with each other. They were in the sa league and often played against each other. Twain and Arsène Wenger also had so kind of personal relationship.

He did not feel as excited about the semi-final ga against Arsenal as he was about Inter Milan. He thought maybe if his opponent were switched to Barcelona or AC Milan, he would feel more excited.

At the ntion of Arsenal, Twain suddenly rembered another thing. He had not taken the matter to heart before. However, now that the two teams were going head-to-head in the Champions League semi-finals, he had to re-examine it.

He went through Arsenal’s accomplishnts for the Champions League this season.

Since they had entered the top 16, Arsenal had repeatedly scored big.

During the eighth-final ga with Real Madrid, Arsenal’s total score for the two rounds was 4:2.

And they scored 3:2 in total for both rounds in their quarter-final ga with Juventus.

Reviewing that data, Twain frowned.

It was not the sa as what he had rembered.

He rembered that Arsenal’s ability to break into the UEFA Champions League finals this season was related to Wenger’s decision to take a strong defensive position. After Arsenal entered the top 16, they did not concede a single goal, which enabled them to advance into the finals. This was the best proof. At the sa ti, while emphasizing their defense, Arsenal’s offensive firepower was weakened, which was the price to pay for focusing on defense.

Twain recalled that he used to joke that Wenger had beco smarter because he knew that defense was most important in the competition to win the championship.

So, what was happening here? Arsenal had not changed their usual style. Wenger still insisted on playing offense in the Champions League as always. They used swift attacks and subtle coordination to defeat Real Madrid and Juventus.

It was clear that the difference between the tiline that Twain occupied now and the tiline that he knew was widening increasingly. Arsenal did not rely on defense and yet they had advanced to the semi-finals. Their offense was still gorgeous and incisive.

Watching Arsenal’s ga highlights on the television screen and examining at their familiar offensive routines and styles, Twain was certain that the team was indeed Arsenal. There was no doubt about it.

To tell the truth, Twain liked Arsenal like this because they were more wide-open. As their opponent, he would have more opportunities to find his opponent’s defensive weaknesses and loopholes when they were wide open, and then to make use of them. A football ga was one that looked for the opponent’s weaknesses and tried every ans to conceal one’s own weaknesses.

If Arsenal was really different from what he rembered and they still stuck with this open play in the semi-finals, then…

Another thought popped up in Twain’s mind.

“Dunn.”

“Hm?”

“Do you have a video of Arsenal’s recent league matches?”

Dunn stood up from the floor and walked to the front of a row of bookshelves. Although they were bookshelves, they were neatly lined with videotapes and CD-ROMs.

He stood before a shelf marked with the word “Arsenal” and asked, “Which rounds?”

“Starting from the 33rd round up to the present.”

Dunn took out the three videotapes that Twain needed and handed them to him.

“Thank you. Can you help put them on?” Twain pointed to the video recorder.

When the footage of Arsenal’s latest three competition rounds ca onto the television screen, Twain and Dunn watched the screen intently in silence.

After watching the three gas in fast-forward, Twain stared blankly for a while.

“This was totally different than what I saw in the Champions League highlights. They played defensive counterattack, defensive counterattack, defensive counterattack. I’m surprised to see Arsenal play like that.”

Arsenal won all the three rounds of league tournant and the scores were all 1:0 without exception.

Arsenal did not dominate the gas and played under pressure by their opponents most of the ti. They also did not have the upper hand in the possession of the ball. The typical “Arsenal style” was nowhere to be seen, or it was cleverly concealed by Arsène Wenger. Henry and the other players were as efficient as ever, seizing the few chances that they had to end these three rounds in victory.

“Do you know what I think?” Dunn suddenly asked.

Twain nodded. He pointed to the screen and said, “Of course I know, this is classic Nottingham Forest.”

“Wenger spends more ti studying you than you spend studying him.”

Twain bit his lip.

※※※

While Wenger was still busy at his office, his assistant, Pat Rice, ca in.

“It’s really incredible. I thought I was back in the middle of the 1990s. I’m a little worried, Arsène.”

“Rest assured, Pat.” Wenger stopped his work and took off his glasses to put them on the table. “I’m not George Graham. Today’s Arsenal is not the Arsenal of yesteryear.”

George Graham was a Scotsman who had brought brilliant success to Arsenal and created a real “invincible army.” But he was also a manager hated by countless Arsenal fans because their supporters were tired of his “1:0 doctrine” and dreary football. Although Arsenal’s tradition was to be tough and never compromise, the tradition, which lasted for almost one hundred years, had reached another extre and people began to tire of it.?Their playing was ugly to watch, and they played a football match like it was a military mission.

Until this Frenchman had appeared.

“Arsène, we all like this Arsenal now.”

“I like it too, Pat. But sotis we need to make changes. Of course, it’s only temporary. Pat, you know what we’re up against this season. During the final stages of the league, we need to compete against Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool for the last spot in the Champions League, and at the sa ti, we’re now in the semi-finals of the Champions League. Do you want to end up empty-handed?” Wenger opened up his hands.

“No, I don’t.”

“Neither do I. No one does.”

“But, Arsène, we stuck to our guns and broke into the semi-finals. I don’t think we need to start changing to another style two weeks ahead.”

“The boys are doing well,” Wenger answered, changing the subject slightly. “I’m amazed at the speed with which they adapted to the new tactics, and I’m proud of them.”

“Don’t change the subject, Arsène.”

Wenger shrugged and then pointed to the computer monitor, “Co, Pat. Take a look.”

Rice walked over and found a WORD docunt on the screen. In addition to a couple of long paragraphs of text, there was an image of Tony Twain.

“Oh no… You’re still studying him? Are you infatuated with him, Arsène? There are only going to be two semi-final gas...” Rice covered his face.

When Wenger first ca to London, he was very low-key and led a hermit-like lifestyle. He was touted as a homosexual by the English dia. The impact of that incident on Wenger was that he would never accept any dia interviews and completely hid his personal life.

“If it were only just two gas, it certainly would not be worth putting in so much effort. But Rice, the contest between us and him will not end with just two gas. I have to fully understand this person before I can understand his team. In this season and every season in the future, we’re going to keep competing. There’s a good saying from the East: if you want to defeat your opponent, you have to fully understand him first.

“He said,” Wenger pointed to the image of Twain on the monitor, “He doesn’t care which thod to use, whether they play beautifully, or if their playing is ugly to watch, it doesn’t matter to him. He only cares about one thing, and that’s victory. Tell , Pat, who cos to mind?”

Rice froze for a mont, and then said, “George, George Graham.”

“Take a look at their performance this season, especially in the Champions League, where the most typical example of them was in the quarter-finals with Inter Milan. The entire team retreated and compressed every inch of space and every second of ti in their backfield, so that they were in a highly pressurized situation with their opponents. The ga was suffocating and ugly, but they won.” Wenger spoke frankly and with confidence. “Twain likes to play aggressive teams the most. He prefers to lie in wait quietly, patiently searching for his opponent’s loopholes and mistakes; and then he strikes!” Wenger’s hand suddenly reached forward and startled Pat Rice.

“It will make him very happy if we launch a large-scale attack. I believe he’s quite familiar with Arsenal’s style. He must have devised a set of tactics to deal with our style, just like he did with Chelsea, Inter Milan, Manchester United, Liverpool, and Real Madrid. So, we can’t act according to his expectations. We have to surprise him.”

“But, Arsène. we’ve won three uninteresting gas with this set of tactics. Do you think that Twain wouldn’t figure it out by now?”

“Then let him have a taste of what it’s like to deal with his most commonly used tactics.” Wenger shrugged.

Pat Rice stayed for a while. He had to admit that Wenger was right. Tony Twain was such a fellow. “All right, Arsène. Our ranking in this season’s league is really terrible. I hope we can make it up in another competition arena. A historical entry to the semi-finals is not enough, we also have to advance to the finals and make history by holding the championship trophy in our hands!”

Wenger smiled and said, “I just read Twain’s words to you just now and you said it made you think of George Graham, the manager who would score a victory by all ans. But I have to correct you. Twain is not like Graham. He does insist on the results, but his football is not as boring as Graham’s. He assimilates a lot of things and knows when to make adaptations. I think if we want to achieve a historic breakthrough, we also need to make so adaptations and incorporate things that are advantageous to us.”

“I understand, Arsène. I’ll make a move first.”

“Goodbye, Pat.” As he watched his assistant manager leave his office, Wenger put on his glasses again and gazed at the image of Twain on the LCD monitor.

※※※

anwhile, Twain was still bothered by his problem.

“Wenger, you wily old fox!”