Chapter 709: A Narrow Escape

Twain soon could not think about the stage at which his relationship with Shania should be. Once again, he was plagued by the many complicated and compressed competition schedule as well as the undulating and inconsistent condition of the team.

On November 15th, Nottingham Forest traveled north to the cold Newcastle and lost 1:2 to the opponent in the away game.

On November 24th, the Forest team returned to its home ground and struggled to beat Everton by 3:2 after a bitter battle. They finally managed to hold to the third place in the league tournament.

The Forest team’s results were not too bad purely based on the points table alone. Other than their point difference being a little far away from the top two teams, they were still in the top tier in any case.

But only those people, who were really familiar with Nottingham Forest, knew how dangerous the Forest team’s situation was now. Every game won was always full of twists and turns. It was scary while trying to win. Furthermore, the specter of injury was like a nightmare which could not be dispelled and always followed the Forest team’s onward march, ready to pounce and bite hard when the Forest team was tired.

Tony Twain himself had the illusion that he was walking a tightrope.

He did not know when the team would collapse if they were to persist continuing. From last summer until the end of this year, his players did not have any time to rest and their physical strength had reached the stage of collapse. How were they going to survive the cold winter? He had no idea at all.

They achieved victories by the skin of their teeth. If they slightly loosened the grip, they might fall like a house of cards. But the constant taut nerves might cause them to collapse earlier …

“… I’m awestricken by Tony Twain’s approach to coaching and also admire the Nottingham Forest team’s fighting spirit and will to win. They reversed West Ham United and Manchester City to win, but lost to Liverpool at the last minute, and then overtook Everton to win… Tony Twain proudly declared after the game against Everton that his team was the only one in the world which could turn the tide against their opponents. But I think he’s just seeking to impress by exaggerating his abilities—which manager would want his team to win every game with such a thrilling reversal? I bet Tony Twain is eager for his team to take a two-goal lead at the start of every game, and then win by a comfortable margin…”

The pundits on the television station analyzed the current situation the Forest team was experiencing. Although Twain always said that his team was in a good shape and everything was normal to the outside world, plus the team’s results were not bad, any fool could see that he was putting up a front.

Any discerning person could see the team’s crisis at the first glance. Twain’s actions were nothing more than doing what his personality dictated.

Indeed, the crisis was not the kind of crisis in which they had been hit by repeated defeats in a row, and continuous decline in the points ranking. However, that kind of situation was likely to be the future for Nottingham Forest. Now the team was walking a tightrope, in case of a misstep, what was underneath them could really be the abyss…

※※※

Twain brought an exhausted team and flew to Minsk, Belarus, to face the local team. It was a crucial battle over whether Nottingham Forest could finally make it out of the group stage. If they did not break through the group stage as the defending champion, then he and his team could really become the laughingstock of the entire world.

No matter how bad the team’s situation was now, Twain would never allow that to happen to him.

Therefore, he deployed the strongest squad he could send. Pepe, who had a minor injury, was also in the starting lineup as it was important to ensure that the team’s defense was worry-free.

By the end of November, Belarus had turned white all over the country. Pure white snow had covered the Eastern European country. When the team went to adapt to the venue, only to find that they simply could not adapt to the venue ahead of time—a thick layer of snow covered the pitch and the snowplows were plowing snow in the stadium.

Until the day before yesterday, it was still snowing here, and it was a blizzard. Although it stopped yesterday, the thick layer of snow was still a shocking sight. Twain frowned as he looked at the field in front of him.

FC BATE Borisov’s Dinamo stadium in Minsk did not have the same artificial turf field as Russia. If the geothermal and drainage system were not good enough, tomorrow’s game would be a mud pool …

The players huddled around their necks and looked at the pitch at a loss. Could this kind of venue really allow them to play their best?

During the pre-match preparations, Twain also knew that the game would be tough. The tactics were repeated more than once. Now there was no need for talk. He just told the players that no matter what difficulties they encountered; the game must be won. He said, “I don’t care how you do it, even if you put the ball into the goal with your hand, as long as the referee does not see it!”

Now the Champions League was not just about his face. After the financial crisis affected the Forest team, the Champions League tournament also directly involved economic benefits— UEFA bonus was awarded for winning games. The more games they played, the more bonuses they received. The share in the final television broadcast fee was higher. The Forest team’s financial losses would be huge if they were eliminated early in the group stage.

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Thankfully, there was no snow on the day of the game. Although dark clouds loomed over the city, the snow that Twain was most worried about did not descend upon them. The lights at the Dinamo Stadium were kept on till at night. The sky was calm and still.

The snow plowed yesterday was piled around the pitch, hemming in the green field in layers.

Twain was a little relieved.

At the start of the game, Borisov used a long shot that brushed out of the goal to warn the visiting team, which was intent on scoring. They were not pushovers that could easily be overpowered.

In the frigid weather, the Borisov players were able to move freely and with vigor. They played better than they did at Nottingham Forest’s home game. On the other hand, the Nottingham Forest players, with the exception of Arshavin, a Russian player, were a little unaccustomed to the weather here. It was so cold that even if they had warmed up for twenty minutes before the game, their bodies seemed to be stiff.

The ground was slippery. With a little force, the footage of a complete mess would emerge. Clearly there were opportunities to shoot, but as the supporting foot slipped, the players would directly shoot the football into the stands behind the goal. They could barely struck the football, but the shots were weak.

The fifty-five thousand fans who came to cheer on the home team filled the stadium’s stands to the brim. Their enthusiasm even melted the snow beneath the stands. There were also some valiant fans who were topless and rode on the grandstand railings to wave the scarves in their hands, sing and clapped loudly as they shouted for Borisov. The Borisov players’ every move would elicit thunderous cheers. Furthermore, whenever the Forest players took the ball on the sidelines or kicked a corner kick, white snowballs would fall from the air and struck beside the players, splitting into numerous spatters. If the snowball was packed with a lighter, cell phone, coins or something else… it would be unthinkable if it hit someone.

The fans and team brought a double pressure to the Forest team, which could not enter the game form and its attack appeared to be messy.

The first half was basically Borisov besieging and bombing the Forest team’s half of the field indiscriminately. The Forest team only had the strength to ward off the attacks but was powerless to retaliate.

But in the end they managed to keep it to a tie after much difficulty and did not lose the game yet.

In the second half, Borisov began to withdraw while the Forest team began to fight back, with both sides deadlocked near the midfield.

In the seventieth minute, van der Vaart was inattentive and fell to the ground when he picked up the ball in the front field because the ground was too slippery. The football was given directly to the Borisov player next to him. How could Borisov let go of such a big gift? They immediately organized a counterattack and rushed into the Forest team’s penalty area after a series of quick passes. With a two-versus-one pass in front of the goal, they tricked van der Sar and easily pushed the ball into the empty goal.

The Dinamo stadium immediately erupted into thunderous cheers, vibrating and making everything groan in the stadium, as if the sky was about to collapse.

Looking at the dazzling white light in front of his eyes and listening to the roar in his ears, Twain only felt his chest tightened, as if a needle was stuck in it. He gritted his teeth and stood still.

The Borisov people reveled, while the Nottingham Forest players were dejected. Faced with such a weather, such an opponent, and such an away trip … they were somewhat powerless.

Just as everyone was their wits’ end, they heard Twain’s roar from the sidelines, “What did I say? We must win! We must win! I will absolutely not accept anything less than victory! Absolutely not! I don’t care what you do… Damn it!”

He suddenly turned around and summoned Žigić, “Five minutes!” He opened up five fingers on his left hand and said, “You only have five minutes to warm up. I want you to immediately come back after your warmup. Just go!” He pushed the big man.

Žigić stumbled and ran to warm up. Five minutes later, he stood in front of Twain again.

“We’re going to change tactics. The ground coordination and breakthroughs from the two wings obviously won’t work. I don’t mind making the game looked uglier. The traditional English style of play is suitable in the face of such a situation. Do you know what to do when you go on?” He stared at Žigić and asked.

The Serbian player performed averagely after scoring one goal against Manchester City. He did not live up to expectations, and his inability to adapt to the pace of the Premier League made many felt like Twain had made an error of judgment again after Grosso. He himself was under a lot of pressure. He was a substitute at Valencia and ended as a substitute again when he came here. He was desperate to be able to prove himself again that he had not passed into oblivion because he was on the bench at Valencia.

He nodded forcefully and said, “Batter them in the penalty area.”

“Make good use of your height and jump! Go up and tell them that when we have the ball, pass it to your head. Where you are, that’s where the ball goes!”

After he pushed Žigić onto the field, Twain continued to stand on the sidelines. Now that Borisov’s temperature at night had dropped below zero, Twain felt a little warm instead. He felt a layer of sweat on his forehead. He was perspiring on his chest and back, and his shirt was drenched. He had to open his black coat and unbutton the buttons on his shirt.

A cold wind flowed straight at his chest, and yet he felt more relaxed and comfortable.

If the team lost the away game to Borisov… Twain dared not even think that such a situation would happen to him. He must not let this come true.

Within minutes of bringing on Žigić, Twain replaced Lennon with Beckham. The situation was obvious. He wanted to use the side passes and headers in the middle to overcome the disadvantages in the field condition and weather.

Having done all this, he was basically out of moves. He had done all that was to be done. What was next? He did his best. Could he leave it up to fate?

Twain looked up at the dark sky.

He suddenly squinted his eyes. A chill passed over his face. This icy feeling spread from his face directly to the bottom of his heart—it was snowing.

After holding out for a day, the snow had finally fallen. The fluttering snow soon filled the air in the city and the sky above the stadium.

Could this be destiny?

Twain only felt the kind of needle-like pain in his heart became increasingly noticeable. He clenched his teeth and stared at the sky. White snowflakes were visible to the naked eye under the light.

In the area next to him came a smattering of cheers, the Borisov players and coaches saw the snow and knew the game was moving towards a situation that becoming advantageous to them. The Borisov’s head coach was already plotting how to compete with FC Kyiv Dynamo for the other spot for advancement in the group.

“Nottingham Forest looks like it’s going to be in trouble.” The ESPN commentator announced the Forest team’s impending doom in a very calm tone, “Once it starts to snow, the team’s performance will only be worse. I think their players must be freezing. The ground is completely wet and the drainage system at the Dinamo Stadium is terrible. But the Belarus team clearly doesn’t have these troubles. They are totally used to the grounds and playing in the snow is as common as breathing. What does Tony Twain have in mind? Maybe he wishes his team has a home ground that is at an altitude of three kilometers above sea level…”

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“I don’t accept failure!” George Wood said to the two full backs while the opponent was slow-going in preparing for a free kick. He had a serious expression as if a fire was burning in his eyes. “All of you go up during the attack. Just leave the back to me!”

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“Is it going to be okay?” Rafinha was a little worried. Borisov was strong in its counterattacks.

“We still have more than ten minutes to go. What difference does it make if we concede one goal or ten goals?”

Bale nodded first in reply, “Got it!”

Rafinha followed suit and said, “No problem!”

Borisov’s free kick was slightly above the crossbar, which still drew cheers from the stands.

“Those bastards! The Belarus team is getting the better of us!” Twain was hopping mad and raining curses on the sidelines. He yelled, “Get your spirits up! We’re the damn defending champion! We can’t lose to a team like this! You have to run even if you can’t! If you don’t run now, you may not get a chance to run again in the future!”

He was aware of the players’ physical condition and knew that it was more physically draining to play in a stadium like this in today’s game. However, in the present circumstances, he could only let the players grit their teeth and persist. If they conceded here, the season would be over.

They must advance from the group stage whatever it took!

The Forest team’s full backs began to provide frequent assists, which were stronger than ever. Sometimes Pepe would dribble the ball himself to rush ahead and get involved in the attack. George Wood stood alone in the backfield, waiting for Borisov’s counterattack himself.

Rafinha dribbled the ball ahead and when he saw the opponent wanted to intercept his ball, he hurriedly passed the ball to Beckham. He ran forward, hoping to do a one-two combination with Beckham.

David Beckham did not pass the football back to him. He stood in place and suddenly swung his leg for a shot, ten meters away from the penalty area. It was a diagonal pass at a forty-five-degree angle!

Žigić was entangled with the opposing defenders. When he saw Beckham swung his leg for the diagonal pass, he suddenly charged out, and leapt high after a sprint!

“He’s so tall—GOOOOAL!! Eightieth minute! Nottingham Forest equalized the score!!”

Twain turned and threw a punch at the underside of the awning in the technical area.

The snow was getting heavier, but he no longer cared about such minor details.

“It’s not over yet!” After he vented a little nervousness, he turned back and made threatening gestures toward the field as he shouted to remind the players to continue to work hard.

Žigić also knew the team’s current situation. He did not wildly celebrate his goal. Instead, he picked up the football from inside the net and was surrounded by a group of teammates as he ran back.

“Aerial shots! High passes! Blow open their goal!” Following which in the game, Twain leapt and jumped on the sidelines as if he was deranged. Foul language spewed continuously from his mouth. He was caught in a dead end. Just like he warned the players, if they did not go crazy now, perhaps there would be no chance…

Borisov also had to give up the idea of a home win over the Forest team. They needed to try to play well defensively first. The two center backs were used to keep an eye on Žigić, and Beckham was also given extra attention. Then the Borisov players began to try their best to waste the time in the game.

The slightest touch would send them falling painfully to the ground. In quick succession, they would hold their calves and fall to the ground with cramps. If they kicked the ball from the goal, the ball must be repeatedly placed twice. To throw in an out of bounds ball, they would definitely wait for the full backs to slowly walk up before they launched…

Every time he saw the Borisov players fall to the ground because of an “injury” and the Forest team kicked the football out of bounds on their own due to sportsmanship, Twain’s chest would violently heaved up and down off the field. Fury would rushed out and he could immediately exploded if a spark were to be lit.

It was not the first time he had witnessed such a “reasonable” use of the rules of the game to delay the game time. But he felt extremely unpleasant to personally experience it… he was so out of sorts that he almost blew up.

One of the Borisov players fell to the ground during a scuffle with the Forest players. Pepe did not see what happened behind him. He intercepted the ball and passed it to George Wood in front of him.

The Borisov player was still holding his wrist and lay motionless on the ground.

The Nottingham Forest players did not see it, but the Borisov players did. In fact, in the final stages of the game, they were basically watching their players at all times other than defending. Whenever someone fell to the ground, a series of hands were raised to signal that they were injured and asked the Forest players to kick the ball out. While the Forest players really carry forward the spirit of sportsmanship and politely kicked the football out.

But this time, when the players raised their arms to ask George Wood to kick the football out and let their player receive treatment, George Wood remained unmoved. He bypassed the opposing players easily, and the Borisov players could not believe what just happened in front of their eyes.

When George Wood bypassed another man, no matter how much the Borisov players on the opposite side gestured, and no matter how many people in the stands booed him, he continued to dribble the ball forward and attack as long as he did not hear the referee stop the game with his whistle.

When he bypassed the second man, the Borisov players finally understood. Nottingham Forest simply did not intend to carry out any sportsmanship this time!

One of the players charged up and wanted to use an aggressive foul to shovel Wood along with the ball to force a halt to the game.

Wood did not give the other side a chance to foul. He passed the ball to Bale in the wing, and then jumped up to dodge.

Bale also seemed to hesitate. The Borisov player across from him stepped back to defend while asking him to kick the ball out.

But George Wood yelled, “Keep attacking!”

He sent the football into the penalty area.

The Borisov players were bewildered by the Forest team’s attack. Some of them rushed to face the attack, which simply could not make up an effective defensive protection.

When the football flew toward their goal, no one cared about sportsmanship and how the Forest team acted shamelessly … the arrow on the bowstring was ready to be fired!

Žigić leapt high again and the two center backs jumped close to him, trying to squash him.

The Serbian player did not shoot his own goal, and he ferried the ball to the unmarked Arshavin behind.

Arshavin did not hold back. He swung his leg to kick right away and the football volleyed into the net!

“Arshavin! Arshavin—Nottingham Forest turns the game around! Now they’re ahead! Although the goal is somewhat controversial, the referee signaled that the goal was valid!”

Twain knelt with both knees on the ground and point two fingers at the sky. He opened his mouth wide and shouted in Mandarin, “If this is Heaven’s Will, then I will defy you wily God!”

The Borisov players angrily blocked the referee and tried to reason. The others came at George Wood in a rage, looking murderous.

The Forest players rushed over before they could celebrate the goal.

“This is so lacking in sportsmanship!” The young Borisov manager, Goncharenko, roared angrily at the fourth official on the sidelines. Sometimes, the fourth official was a pathetic character that the two teams’ coaches would vent at… and the fourth official could only treat it as one ear in and one ear out and not take it to heart.

“This is disgraceful! We want to appeal!” He yelled at the fourth official in broken English.

“Where are you going to appeal, Mr. Goncharenko?” Twain, who had finished giving vent to the sky, had a smirk on his face as he appeared on the other side of the fourth official. He looked at the somewhat hysterical opponent and said, “My players have the right to decide whether to kick the football out of bounds. As long as the referee doesn’t blow the whistle to stop the game and we don’t kick it out, what can you do? The FIFA rules do not state that if the opposing player falls to the ground, the player with the ball must suspend the attack. You won’t win if you appeal to FIFA!”

“You… No sportsmanship!” He pointed to Twain’s nose this time and scolded him.

Twain gave a shrug and said, “At least my players did not deliberately waste the game time. A manager, whose goalkeeper was shown a yellow card for procrastination, is unqualified to say that about me.”

After saying that, he turned around and walked away, letting the poor fourth official continue to suffer the venting from the already thunderous Goncharenko. The UEFA also did not want a team like Borisov, which had no market prospects, to advance to the final sixteen teams in the Champions League. Nottingham Forest at the top was easier to deal with. Borisov, which played in the Champions League for the first time, was really tender…

The situation on the pitch was a bit chaotic. There was physical contact on both sides and the referee had to show four yellow cards to four players in a row before the situation was brought under control.

George Wood stood at the heart of the struggle. No matter how angry the opposing players were, he just clenched his fists and celebrated the decisive winning goal with his teammates, completely ignoring the other side’s anger.

It was his blatant attitude that infuriated the Borisov players, making them want to punch him.

After the players on both sides squandered the game time, there was really little left. Once the experienced Nottingham Forest team overtook with a goal, it completely defeated Borisov’s fighting spirit. They felt ill at ease and were completely unable to concentrate on the game itself. Their minds were full of anger and unwillingness, grievance and regrets …

How could such a team pose a threat to Nottingham Forest?

The snow was still falling, but no one cared anymore if it would affect the Forest team.

Nottingham Forest had won because the game was over! Tony Twain won!

When the final whistle sounded, Borisov’s head coach immediately rushed to the pitch and got hold of the referee to demand him why he did not decisively whistle to suspend the game when his player had fallen to the ground and was injured. But due to his aggressive words, coupled with his pulling actions, he paid the price for his recklessness and youth as a result—he was directly sent off by the referee with a red card!

Twain was not in the mood to watch the young manager’s passionate performance. He did not even hug and celebrate with his players who had a narrow escape. He slumped in a chair and took a deep breath. A weight was lifted off his chest, but a heavier weight was hoisted up, hanging above his heart.

A life like a roller coaster was almost the entire trajectory of a professional manager.

Even if it was clamorous around him, he could still clearly hear the rapid throbbing of his heart as if it were echoing in his ears.

The game was over, and he won, but the sound did not slow down because of it. It kept beating at that pace, just like the speed in which Nottingham Forest had suddenly risen in the European continent for the last three seasons.

This was really worrying. He did not know when that taut string would break …