Chapter 929: Win the Ga Like the Forest Team
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
“George Wood!! YES! A beautiful coordinated counterattack! Wood started the attack, and he ended it again this ti! England leads Argentina by 1:0! Well done!”
Goals scored in a friendly match might not have caused the English comntator to be so thrilled, but it held a different aning when it was scored in Argentina’s goal.
Seeing Wood score the goal, the Crimson Stadium erupted with huge cheers, roaring in the air over the stadium and stirring everyone’s hearts.
After Twain finished hugging his colleagues around him, he turned to applaud Wood.
Nowadays, Wood’s offensive talent was fully on display. He not only had beco the initiator of the offensive but could also complete the attack. He was a completely different player than the reckless teenager who only knew about defense a decade ago.
He had scored a number of goals since becoming the England team captain, so of which were important key goals. It certainly had sothing to do with Twain who was familiar with him and knew how to use him well. But more importantly, Wood himself had the belief that he wanted to use the best performance to prove that he deserved The Three Lions’ captain armband.
After he scored the goal, Wood no longer looked as aloof as he had been before. He waved his fists vigorously and welcod his teammates’ hugs.
Twain wanted him to not look so grim and unapproachable, so he acted accordingly. It was a good opportunity after the goal.
It seed that Wood had matured a lot during the period after Twain had left the Forest team.
He ought to have matured a long ti ago… He was already thirty years old and getting older.
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Looking at George Wood celebrating the goal, ssi raised his fists. Although the two n did not have a direct conversation, he still saw Wood’s goal as a challenge to himself.
Which he accepted.
After the ga resud, ssi ca alive and tried several tis to force a breakthrough, but there was not much ti left for him… The first half was over!
ssi’s face collapsed when the referee blew the whistle to end the first half. He recalled that before he had set off for the ga, Guardiola told him that he could only play half the ga in this friendly match.
The England players walked into the players’ tunnel with excitent, while he stood outside for a mont before walking back with his head lowered. Within one short minute, he had made a decision.
In the Argentina team’s locker room, Maradona was making adjustnts for the second half. First of all, he needed to switch out the players who had clear instructions not to play the entire ga. Luckily, there were not many players with such special treatnt. Otherwise he might have a problem on his hands – although this was a friendly match, the number of substitutes was still three spots.
“ssi.” Although Maradona was unhappy with being a goal behind, he had to abide by his agreent with Guardiola and bring off the most precious asset shared by the two teams. The La Liga tournant was in the final stages of the campaign and the Barcelona football club did not want ssi to waste his fitness in such a friendly match.
ssi shook his head and said, “I want to keep playing, coach.
All eyes in the locker room were on him. The remark ca as a surprise to everyone.
Maradona did not expect it as well. He looked up at ssi.
“We have an agreent with Barcelona.” Maradona said as he looked at him.
“I know.” ssi nodded, but the look in his eyes showed that he would not back down. “I’ll call Mr. Guardiola after the ga to explain.”
Maradona knew the reason why ssi was so insistent – his performance in the first half was average. Although he was the core of Argentina’s offense, he did not help Argentina score goals and create several threatening opportunities. England’s defense was too successful.
He wanted to prove himself, at least to show that he was just as good under the circumstances that Wood had scored a goal.
Maradona was an unruly figure during his ti as a player. After his retirent, he increasingly showed more of his unique personality. Since becoming the manager, he sowhat toned it down, but it was only limited to him stopping to threaten to kill the reporters with a shotgun.
Although we have an agreent with Barcelona, … since the player himself insists, I can’t stop him, can I?
“Okay.” Maradona finally nodded his head and said, “But you only have fifteen minutes. I can’t ss up the relationship with Barcelona for your personal feud with Wood…”
His last words were a little redundant. He basically did not care about those things at all.
ssi laughed and sat down again.
Since ssi did not have to be replaced, there was nothing to be adjusted and it was business as usual.
※※※
In England’s locker room, Twain did not praise the England team’s performance in the first half, but he asked the team to continue to play in this way.
Of course, he made adjustnts too. He knew that ssi could not play in the second half. After the biggest threat had been lifted, England’s defense did not need to be as tight as it was. England could put in a lot of force into the offense majority of the ti.
But in the second half, he and the England players were stunned.
Argentina’s number 10 stood right there on the pitch…
“Didn’t Guardiola say to only allow him to play for half the ga?” Twain asked Walker next to him, “Is it a smokescreen that Argentina has cast? Damn it! Do they need to resort to colluding with Barcelona to play a friendly match?”
Walker did not know why as well. A few days before the ga, the dia reported that Barcelona did not want ssi to play full-ti in the friendly match. Guardiola further reduced the ti to half the ga at forty-five minutes.
As a result, when they saw ssi start in the first half, they did not take the second half to heart. But they did not expect this to happen. They really did not think of it…
Wood stared blankly for a mont when he saw ssi opposite. At the sa ti, he found ssi staring at himself too. As an old rival, he clearly knew what that look in his eyes ant.
He was just surprised, but not afraid.
Bring it on, boy.
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After the start of the second half, ssi beca the focal point of attention once again. The comntator also wondered why ssi was still on the pitch, and guessed that Guardiola was probably desperate to fly to Nottingham to drag him off the pitch…
ssi, who took the ball, faced being wedged between two England defenders. He quickly jabbed the ball and turned his body so that he could drilled past the two n to break through!
“What a beautiful bypass! He’s a magician on the football field!” The Argentine comntator exclaid.
Unfortunately, in the next second, ssi’s nimble body was bogged down.
Because Wood struck him without rcy. ssi stumbled at his feet and was knocked off course. The threat to the goal was greatly reduced.
Faced with Wood’s close marking defense, ssi tried several tis to shake him off but to no avail. When he saw the England player whom he had just shook off, ca up again to circle him, he had no choice but to pass the ball to the sideline.
“Ah ha! Don’t think that Wood, who scores frequently, does not know how to defend! ‘Saint George’ is good at both offense and defense. He’s guaranteed to be every opponent’s nightmare!” The English comntator was pleased with the result.
ssi was indomitable and soon made a coback.
This ti he did not et Wood head-on but was forced out the side of the penalty area by three England players. So, he could only kicked the ball for a cross pass. The result of the pass was unsurprising. It was headed out by England’s tall center backs.
But it did not matter. The football fell at the feet of the Argentine player, Higuaín.
Seeing that ssi was still in the penalty area, Higuaín directly sent a straight pass over!
Terry raised his arms to signal that ssi was in an offside position, but the assistant referee did not raise the flag.
“Offside position!” The English comntator roared in a fluster.
“Beautiful! He’s not in an offside position! A gorgeous straight pass!” The Argentine comntator stood up excitedly from his seat. Six minutes into the second half, Argentina finally had their best chance of the ga so far!
ssi received the ball from the side of his body and England’s right back Glen Johnson was trailing at the back. He was really not in an offside position!
Now ssi had no defenders around him. He was completely unguarded!
Terry, who realized that he had misjudged, quickly pounced toward ssi.
ssi just had to swing his leg and he could shoot straight into the goal. But he spied Terry from the corner of his eye, and he decided to choose a more secure way – he feigned a shot and moved the ball. He easily bypassed Terry who rushed up. Then he picked up his feet again and this ti it was for real!
Even though Terry did not stop ssi from shooting, he had bought valuable ti for those players behind him.
When ssi’s supported foot was a little further away from the football while he swung his other leg for the shot, the football was completely unpossessed. It was at this point that George Wood took advantage of the gap to co in. Like a fierce tiger coming down from the mountain, he slid and shoveled the ball out of the end line before ssi could kick the ball. While ssi’s powerful kick struck the outside of his thigh at the sa ti.
ssi felt as if he had kicked a piece of iron. He inadvertently allowed his body to fall forward and pressed right on top of Wood.
“A penalty shot!!” The Argentine comntator who stood up, poked his body out, desperately wishing that he could reach for the referee’s collar with his hands and yelled at him with spittle flying.
The English comntator was hesitant. He could not really see clearly from high in the stands. The small television screen in front of him had not replayed the scene yet. “ssi fell into the penalty area. Maybe Wood got to the ball first?”
It was not that the television broadcast was deliberately not showing the replay. It was just that there was not enough ti to replay for the audience what just happened again. ssi fell in the penalty area and the Argentine players held up their hands to demand for the penalty shot. While the England players desperately waved their hands to show that it must not have been a foul. They even thought that ssi had dived.
The referee made the final decision at the next minute. He held out his right index finger and wagged it in front of the Argentine players. The aning was obvious – George Wood did not foul!
Then he made a hand gesture for a corner kick, completely shattering the Argentines’ idea.
ssi had not gotten up yet. If Guardiola was watching the live telecast at this ti, he must have rebuked Maradona, George Wood, the referee, and Tony Twain in his mind –”Do you know what ssi ans to Barcelona?! If he gets hurt, we’re done for this season! Who is going to take the bla for this?!”
Fortunately, ssi soon got up from Wood’s body and looked normal. He appeared as if he were unhurt.
That was when the television broadcast finally caught the chance to replay what happened just now. Everyone could see from the television screen that even though Wood shoveled ferociously, it was clean and brushed past the tip of ssi’s toes to shovel the ball away. It did not even touch anyone. If ssi did get hurt, it must be because he kicked himself on the outside of Wood’s thigh.
Guardiola and Maradona were worried about whether ssi would be injured, while Twain was also worried about whether Wood was injured. ssi’s kick was powerful…the strength of the kick was to volley a show. With such a hard kick to the outside of Wood’s thigh, how could it not hurt?
Wood followed ssi and got up from the ground. He appeared to be all right.
Terry also ca over to ask in concern, “Are you okay?”
Wood knew what he was asking about and said, “I’m all right.” He rubbed his hand on the spot where he was kicked by ssi. It was sore and painful, but it would not affect his play.
His thigh muscles were naturally tight when he shoveled the ball, so ssi felt as if he had kicked a piece of iron.
Wood looked at ssi beside him. He was looking down and rubbing the tip of his toes.
Agüero ca up and asked ssi a few words in Spanish. ssi shook his head, which should be similar like the conversation between Terry and Wood.
Although ssi shook his head to indicate that he was fine, there was still so pain in the arches of his feet. He gave Wood a sideways glance next to him. The other man also happened to be rubbing his leg.
He suddenly thought the scene was sowhat funny. No one got the better of the situation.
It was the first ti he saw Wood suffer in front of himself and was injured – albeit it was only a surface wound – ssi was still in good spirits. The previous atmosphere of mutual hostility dissipated at this mont.
He reached his hand out to Wood and waved in front of him.
Wood was rubbing his thigh when he saw a hand enter his field of view with his head lowered. It was waving at him, so he looked up at the owner of the hand.
ssi was having fun with him.
Wood put down the hem of his shorts and put his hand out.
The two n’s hands lightly patted and separated.
This might be the only ti they had a physical contact that was not explosive in all the years they had competed against each other… One must know that the two n would even match their strength against each other on the sly when they shook hands before a ga.
※※※
ssi eventually failed to help Argentina equalize the score within the fifteen minutes. He did not score a goal and create good opportunities for his teammates. Perhaps the recent continuous competition had made him physically tired. He always slightly staggered and went a bit soft in the knees after barely bypassing two people.
By the 15th minute of the second half, Maradona had replaced ssi on ti and watched him co off the pitch healthily, which would be a relief to Guardiola in front of the television.
Once the core player was replaced, Argentina’s strength was affected. The England team still played the defensive counterattack strategy as they did in the first half, but their counterattacks beca more frequent and increasingly sharper.
The Argentinians liked to equalize the score, which was an opportunity in the eyes of the England team. Taking advantage of the Argentina team full pressing, England made use of a quick counterattack to score again in the 27th minute of the second half. Rooney score his 40th goal for the national team.
Maradona was clearly not equipped when it ca to counter such defensive counterattacks. He was not a strategic master. To be able to lead Argentina to the World Cup title, half the credit was because his players were so good…
Moreover, the number of managers in the world who could break through a steadfast defense and quickly counterattack could be counted with one hand. Maradona was clearly not on the list. It was a worldwide problem. The ga was ugly to watch but it could win the ga.
And what Twain wanted was results.
As long as he could defeat Argentina, he could shut up the opposition, which was still questioning his ability to this day.
It was more than just a friendly match. ssi, Agüero, Higuaín and Tevez, all four of the attacking players in the front field ca, which showed the importance the Argentina national team attached to the ga.
But the previous World Cup champion, which had such a luxurious attacking lineup, were unable to break through England’s defense. Instead, the England team took advantage of the gaps left behind by their offense and was able to score two goals against them through counterattacks.
In terms of ball possession ratios and number of shots, it was the Argentina team which dominated and ought to win. However, the result turned out like this, which made the proud and arrogant Maradona extrely unhappy. Looking at how worried he was about the Argentina team’s offense at the sidelines, it was as if he wished he could be thirty years younger and be able to personally go on the field to play. At that ti, it did not matter that the England team had a few people blocking in front of the goal, he would still ride alone for a thousand miles and bypassed five players!
With the exception of ssi, who was already brought off, Agüero and Tevez, currently on the field, had also been called the successors to Maradona. But they were not really the king of football. They were out of ideas in the face of England’s impenetrable defensive wall…
Towards the end, the Argentinian comntator had already lost hope that they could beat England. He only hoped that Argentina, which had Higuaín, Agüero and Tevez, could score a goal to save so face for the previous World Cup champion.
Twain would not let them get what they wished. The team defended to the last and did not let up just because they had a two-goal lead. He wanted the Argentina team to completely lose all hope. In the last ten minutes of the ga, Argentina turned out in full strength and the England players still did not forget to fight back, making the Argentinians furious.
The Forest fans cheering on the England team in the stands were a little distracted. Was the team in front of their eyes that had rendered Argentina powerless their national team, or was it Nottingham Forest?
In today’s ga, the Argentina players wore their blue and white striped jerseys, while England wore the red jerseys, which was rather to Nottingham Forest’s ho jersey.
Later on, the Forest fans even sang Nottingham Forest’s team song in a collective mont.
“Forest! Forest!… We’ve got the whole world in our hands and we are the best team in England! We are invincible and undefeated! And we have nothing to fear! Because we are the best team! Because we’ve got the whole world in our hands…”
The familiar song rang out above the Crimson Stadium, and Twain could not help but turn his gaze from the field to the stands.
The singing beca louder and clearer. The Nottingham Forest players in the England lineup were inspired by the singing and their performances beca more and more active. The Argentinians, on the other hand, were getting more and more anxious amid the singing. They hastily sent out long shots, made errors in stopping the ball, dribbled the ball out of bounds… It was simply too horrible to watch.
The ga ended amid the singing. The powerful Argentina team in the face of the England team, which clung fast to defense and counterattack, did not obtain the slightest advantage. Maradona was so unhappy that he lost. In the post-match interview with the reporters, he said he did not expect England to choose such a tactic, because this was not the World Cup final. There was no need to care so much about the result …
It was to mock Twain that he could be so shaless just because he wanted results.
Twain did not care. He just wanted his result. He did not care if he was being barefaced about it. With one layer of face taken off, there was still another layer. He had plenty of that where it ca from.
In fact, today’s set of tactics was also what the England team would use in the future when faced with a strong enemy. Today’s ga was just a preview.
Bullying a weak team required them to attack freely and play beautiful offensive football to please the fans. In the face of a strong team, it was ti to withdraw and lure the opponent out, just like how he lured the Argentina team out today.
Twain was cunning.
“We won and that’s what counts. I’m happy!”
The only regret was that ssi had co off too early. He had wanted to test whether his set of tactics could withstand it under the circumstances that ssi played the entire ga.
At the end of the interview, Twain walked toward the tunnel. At the mouth of the tunnel, a passionate Forest fan handed a red scarf to Twain, who thought he wanted him to sign an autograph. But he did not expect that the other party just waved his hand to him and said, “It’s for you, Tony! A nto for you!”
He ran off after he said it.
Twain held the red Forest team scarf in his hand. It was an ordinary scarf, which could be bought for fifteen pounds in the souvenir shop outside the Crimson Stadium.
That spectacular singing in the final stages of the ga seed to still linger in his ears. The eleven years of ti was like a mark carved in his heart, brought up again and again to be repeated in his mind. Every ti when he thought he no longer cared about the past eleven years, there would always be people reminding him of it in different ways – don’t forget the Forest team, don’t forget the Forest team…
Twain hung the red scarf around his neck and walked into the tunnel.
How could he forget the Forest team?
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