champion godfather

Chapter 563
The 06-07 season of the English Premier League has come to an end, and England has been disbanded except for two teams.This year is a good year for European players, because there are no international competitions, and their bodies and minds can finally relax after a season of exhaustion.

Although the players of those two teams did not have the right to rest so early, I believe many people will envy them because they reached the finals of their respective cups.

Liverpool, who just lost their qualification for next season's Champions League, will only be able to continue to struggle in the UEFA Cup next season. The good news is that they finally reached the final of this season's UEFA Cup, and their opponent is Sevilla in Spain.

The UEFA Cup final will be played on May [-], just four days after the league ends.

At this stage, the media were all reporting on the UEFA Cup final, and Liverpool became the most photographed team.As for Benitez, his first season in Liverpool was amazing, helping the "Red Army" regain the European Champions Cup that had been lost for many years.But after that, whether in the league or in the cup, Liverpool seemed to be stuck in some kind of bottleneck all of a sudden, unable to achieve anything.

After being blocked from the Champions League next season for two consecutive seasons, he urgently needs to prove his ability with a championship of sufficient weight.The UEFA Cup became his last straw.If this season is still empty-handed, it's hard to say whether Benitez will leave next season.

While everyone was paying attention to Liverpool, Twain led his team to conduct closed training at the Welford Training Base in Nottingham.

Most of the media in England hated Twain very much, and it had something to do with the "closed training" he always did.Before him, there were very few head coaches in English football who engaged in such frequent closed training. This may have something to do with him being a Chinese fan, and he is too familiar with "closed training".

Closed training has advantages and disadvantages, and for him now, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.At least his team can avoid those annoying media harassment.

The final day is getting closer and closer, and there are still many things he needs to deal with...

※ ※ ※

Pepe has fully recovered. Although he did not participate in the competition, his performance in the team's match made everyone believe that Pepe who appeared in Athens must be a healthy and excellent Pepe.The problems that have plagued the Forest team's defense for a long time have been solved.

Ashley Young also returned from injury, and there is no problem going to Athens with the team.

Before such an important competition, the Forest team solved the injury problem. It stands to reason that Twain should be very happy.But in the past few days, his brows are always tightly locked, making the players not understand what's going on, and they are a little hesitant.

In fact, even many members of the coaching staff didn't know the reason. Except for Twain, only two assistant coaches, Chris Lack and Tang, knew the reason. Oh, and the team doctors knew.

According to the practice of English football, when a player is injured, the team doctors need to be the first to notify not the injured player himself, but the team's head coach, and then the head coach decides how to tell the players.If there is a team doctor who directly skips the head coach and tells the injured player about the injury, then the team doctor will basically not be able to get along in football-no club will want a team doctor who has been in close contact with the players behind the back of the head coach.

But the problem with Fleming now is not that he bypassed Tony Twain and told the players about his injury, but that the players took the initiative to find him.

Generally, players take the initiative to find the team doctor, nothing more than asking about their injuries. At this time, the team doctor can’t just talk nonsense. In any case, he may be kicked out by the club.

Today's Nottingham Forest is controlled by the American owner, such traditions and practices have become less and less, and Tang En is not a head coach who cares about this authority.But Fleming is also an old team doctor who has worked in this club for decades. That tradition has long been deeply rooted in his bones and has become a professional habit.

Two days ago, the person who took the initiative to find the team doctor Fleming was the team's substitute goalkeeper Paul Gerrard.

He has recovered from surgery and started recovery training a month ago. At first it was just a simple physical rehabilitation program and did not involve specific goalkeeper training.

After 25 days, he began to enter specific goalkeeper training.Here comes the problem.

Paul Gerrard found that his reaction speed, anticipation and vision were all affected.He was somewhat unable to correctly position the distance between the football and himself, and occasionally his eyes would experience short-term astigmatism.This is a fatal problem for a professional goalkeeper.

Worried, he found the team doctor Fleming, hoping that he would give himself another comprehensive physical examination, especially the brain.He suspects these are hangovers from that head injury.However, he did not tell his real situation, he just said that he hoped to have a comprehensive understanding of his body after recovering from the injury.

This request aroused Fleming's vigilance. He has been a team doctor for decades. How could he not guess what the players are thinking?
This kind of request must be approved by the head coach before it can be carried out.Fleming told Gerald that he would have to speak to the boss before he could answer him.

The next thing happened was that Fleming went to find Dunn. At that time, Tang En, Tang and Chris Lark were present, so they became the only four people who knew about this matter.

Tang En frowned after listening to Fleming's retelling of the incident, and he had a very bad premonition.

As far as he knew, in his world, Cech was hit by the Reading team with a sunken head and fractured his head.Unexpectedly, in just three months, he returned to the court again, wearing a "tank helmet" to protect his head to guard the gate for Chelsea, and he is still one of the top three excellent goalkeepers in the world.

This incident made Dunn maintain a certain optimism about what happened to Paul Gerrard. He thought that since Cech can recover in three months, we should be more conservative and let Gerrard recover in eight months. , there will be no problem, right?
He is not a professional doctor, nor does he know some medical knowledge about the head.He just referred to Cech's actual experience and thought that Gerrard would not have any major problems.

"I'm not a craniologist either." Fleming said to Dunn, "but I don't think a comprehensive physical examination is necessary. What we need to examine is Paul Gerrard's head. And it's not just a fracture, Nerves in the head. I suspect..."

Tang En, who had been silently listening to Fleming's speech, waved his hand and interrupted him to continue speaking. He had already made up his mind. "Tomorrow you take Paul to the Royal College of Medicine, University of Nottingham, and I will wait for you there with Professor Constantine."

Constantine is well-known in the British medical community, and he is an expert in the brain and nerves.Fleming, as a doctor, knew this too.Since it was Professor Constantine, he had nothing to worry about.

He nodded.

※ ※ ※

The next day, Paul Gerrard and Fleming came to the hospital together and met the head coach Tony Twain and Professor Constantine.

After seeing these two people, Gerald felt a little bad. He felt that the matter was not simple, otherwise why would the boss appear here?Shouldn't he lead the team to train on the sidelines of the training ground?The Champions League final was approaching, and he had no reason or time to come here for a physical examination for a substitute goalkeeper.

After Tang En saw Gerald, he smiled and held out his hand to him: "Good morning, Paul. You seem to be in good spirits." Next, he introduced Gerald to the old man beside him.

"This is Professor Constantine, the most famous brain expert in the country."

Constantine smiled at Gerald and shook his hand. "Hello, Paul. Tony has told me everything about you. I need to do some simple checks on you."

After hearing this introduction, Gerald thought that the bad feeling he had just now had finally become a reality.

He shook hands with Professor Constantine with some hesitation, and smiled very reluctantly.

Tang En didn't say a word, but he saw everything in his eyes.

Constantine also noticed the unease in Paul Gerrard's heart, he smiled and patted Gerrard on the shoulder: "Don't worry, young man, it's just a simple inspection." He winked at Gerrard, and then Take the other party for a brain examination.

Fleming and Dunn didn't follow, they were afraid that a group of people would follow along, which would cause a greater psychological burden on Gerald.

Fleming, who followed Constantine, was like a helpless child, terrified of the unpredictable future.

He looked back at Tang En and Fleming, and Tang En gave him a smile.It wasn't until he walked away that he smiled.

"If I had known earlier, I wouldn't have rented Akinfeev back...it made us rely on Van der Sar for a whole season." Sitting on a bench in the hospital corridor, Tang En took out his cigarette and lighter, intending to Light yourself a cigarette.

"Who knew before this happened?" Fleming pointed to the no-smoking sign on the wall.

After Tang En looked up and saw it, he put away the cigarette and lighter.

There was a moment of silence in the empty corridor, and no one spoke until Constantine led Paul Gerrard back to them.

"OK." Professor Constantine nodded to Dunn.Then he turned his head and said to Gerrard: "The test results won't come out until tomorrow, and we will notify the club directly when the time comes."

Gerrard didn't raise any objections. Twain stood up and patted him on the shoulder: "Go back and have a good rest, Paul. You don't need to train today."

After sending Paul Gerrard and Fleming out of the hospital, Dunn turned back.

"I knew you still had something to tell me." Constantine was not surprised by Tang En's return of his carbine.

"I want to know the results of the inspection." Dunn asked straight to the point.

"I'll call you tomorrow when the results come out..."

"Come on, professor, don't use the trick you used against Gerald against me." Dunn walked over and sat down, "If you don't tell me the truth today, I won't leave."

Constantine shook his head with a wry smile, he really had no way to deal with such a rascal.

"Actually, the results of the examination did not come out." Constantine stood up from his seat, walked up to Tang En, and handed him a glass of water. "But I can talk about my personal feelings. His here..." He pointed to his head and said, "...not very optimistic."

"Is eight months of recovery still not enough?" Tang En murmured.

"No, it's not about the length of time, Tony." Constantine corrected, "I don't think you'll give him two years to recover."

Tang En raised his head and looked at Constantine standing in front of him, a little surprised: "You mean..."

"I don't think he's fit to be a professional goalkeeper anymore."

These words were like a thunderbolt hitting Tang En's head, and he froze for a moment.Tilting his head, "What did you say, Professor?"

"His head was severely injured. Although he has recovered after surgery, I think there is no problem in living an ordinary life, but it is no longer suitable for him to fight fierce professional football." This time Constantine said more Be more detailed.

"Not everyone can resume their careers after such a serious injury..." Constantine had an "I'm sorry" expression.

Tang En suddenly stood up from his seat, startling him.

He looked at Constantine, which made the professor feel uncomfortable.But soon, he lowered his head, and when he looked up again, there was no uncomfortable thing in his eyes, and he said to Constantine: "But the test results haven't come out yet, have they, Professor? "

Stunned for a moment, Konstantin nodded: "Yes, the result hasn't come out. What I just said was based on my personal experience. Maybe the situation isn't that bad?" He shrugged and pretended to smile relaxedly.

Tang En also grinned at him.This person is a well-known figure in the national medical field. He has been engaged in clinical research for so many years, and his experience is a kind of wealth in itself.He said that the judgment based on personal experience is actually almost inseparable...

"Then, I'll be waiting for your call tomorrow, professor." Dunn waved his hand and left Constantine's office.

On the car back to the training base, Tang En sat in the back row and didn't speak, and Randy, who was dead in the front row, couldn't ask.He knew that Tony must have encountered some kind of problem. This person always seemed to be fearless, but in fact he also had a lot of troubles in his heart.Others don't know, but he, who is almost regarded as Tang En's "personal driver", knows it very well.

Tang En was thinking about a football fantasy novel he had read before time travelling. It was a rather famous novel on the Internet.After the protagonist in it experienced an injury that could destroy his entire career, he was miraculously cured by an unknown Chinese medicine doctor, and his ability improved to a higher level, as if it was not an injury, but a tonic like.This is an online pornographic novel, and any plots are normal, Tang En doesn't think it's too bad.But in his opinion, it is the protagonist who is at fault. If it were someone else, the author might arrange to be a tragic character—think about the poor high school classmate of the protagonist.

At that time, he regarded everything that happened to the protagonist as the obscene plot of an obscene novel.Now the cruel reality appeared in front of him bloody.

Paul Gerrard can no longer continue his career, how much is this a blow to a professional football player?
That's right, Tang En admitted that Paul was not capable enough to be the main goalkeeper. He had an ordinary personality and didn't attract much attention. The media never paid attention to him. He seemed to be born as a supporting role.But in Twain's eyes, this is also one of his players.In his world, there is no distinction between supporting roles and protagonists. Everyone is the same, playing for him and accepting his training.

You are not the protagonist, Paul Gerrard... If you are the protagonist, fate will show you the light of miracles and let you stand up again from the dark abyss of hell.No matter how absurd and incredible this fate seems, as long as you are the protagonist.

He sighed softly.

When Eastwood was injured and wanted to give up, I ran to the hospital and told him that fate is a net, and different paths are entangled and intertwined. It depends on how you choose.Eastwood's optimistic gypsy chose to move on.But this time, he couldn't even tell Paul Gerrard this, because fate didn't even give this supporting actor a chance to choose.Perhaps for Paul Gerrard, destiny is a path that goes straight up and down without forks.He has never been given a glorious moment. After finally following the right coach, he will hope to touch the championship trophy, but because of this damn serious injury, he has to face the problem of retiring or dying on the court one day.

Is this an option?
That would be damned!
※ ※ ※

The next day, Professor Constantine made a direct call to Dun En's mobile phone. At that time, he was leading the team in training. Paul Gerrard was also on the training ground, doing individual training accompanied by the goalkeeper coach.

"Bad news." Constantine didn't say "bad news" directly, probably out of consideration for Tang En's feelings.He knows this is a guy who cares about his players and takes care of them very, very much as if they were his own.

Twain's mood was better than Constantine had imagined, perhaps because he had figured out something on the way back to the training base yesterday.Hearing what Constantine said, he didn't show "his heart sank", he just waited silently for the professor to finish speaking.

"I suggest, as a doctor, to let him retire."

The eyes wearing sunglasses were staring at Paul Gerrard, but the owner of the eyes still did not speak.

Everyone on both ends of the phone was silent for a while.

"Is there no other way?" Tang En asked.

"I don't joke about human lives, Tony." Constantine's tone was extremely serious. Only then could Dunn connect him with the identity of the doctor who did the research. "It was good luck that he didn't die that time. I'm by no means alarmist. In 1931, Celtic's 22-year-old goalkeeper John Thompson saved Rangers striker English in the famous Glasgow derby. He was also hit with a skull fracture when he kicked the ball. He died in the hospital 5 hours later. Fortunately, Paul survived, but now if he returns to the court again, his brain injury may be life-threatening. He will face The danger medically known as 'Second Impact Syndrome', that his brain would be damaged if he was hit again at the wound. It would be fatal, even though the impact might not have been violent. And..."

After a pause, he continued: "I asked him some questions yesterday, other than blurred vision, headaches, and slow reactions. He told me that he would have intermittent memory loss recently. So I To correct what I said to you yesterday, it’s not that his daily life will not be affected, but has already been affected. It’s just that the symptoms are mild now, and these symptoms can be controlled if the treatment is maintained. But once he participates in fierce professional competitions ...God knows what will happen. English football is the most competitive league, you know."

Of course, Twain knew that injuries were very common for those who played in the English league.But bumping your head is definitely not as normal as eating.

"Then... the only way to go is to retire?" Tang En asked.

"Yes, Tony."

Constantine answered very simply, without hesitation, and thus sentenced a professional athlete to death.

"Thank you, Professor, I owe you another favor."

"Don't say that, Tony. I am also a Forest team fan, and I don't want any Forest team player to leave. But at the same time, I am also a doctor, and I must be responsible for my patients."

"I know, I understand. Goodbye, Professor. Now I'm going to have a headache as to what to say to Paul..."

After hanging up the phone, Tang En watched the training for a while from the sidelines.He found that Paul Gerrard quickly finished training and walked to the sidelines.

The goalkeeper coach noticed that Tang En was looking this way. He pointed at his temple behind Paul Gerrard, then shrugged and spread his hands.

Paul had to terminate today's training early because of a headache.It looks like things are going from bad to worse.

Some players noticed that Gerrard left the training ground early, and they whispered and talked a lot.When Paul just announced his return to the team, everyone was very happy, because the boss said that when he went to Athens, he didn't want anyone to be left behind, and he wanted everyone to have a lot.Seeing that Paul, who was the most injured, can return to the team, everyone feels that they are ready for the finals, and the championship must be theirs.

Now it seems that the problem is not as simple as they imagined.

Chris Lack made a loud whistle to remind everyone that they are still training and it is not time to drink water and chat.

Tang En stood on the sidelines for a while, and waited for Paul's figure to disappear completely. He was probably taking a shower and changing clothes in the locker room at this time, and then he quietly turned and left the training ground.

He wanted to go to the locker room to talk to Paul and show his cards. Although it was cruel, it was better than risking Paul's life.

After all, football is just football, it cannot and should not be higher than life and death.

He met Paul Gerrard outside the locker room door. The latter just took a shower, changed his clothes and went out.

"Are you going back, Paul?" Dunn asked, startling him.

"Why are you here, boss?" Paul was a little embarrassed after seeing who was coming.

"Why can't I come?" Tang En said with a smile, trying not to let the other party guess his intentions from his face. "Going home, Paul?" he asked again.

Paul Gerrard didn't answer "yes" or "no" right away, he was silent for a while, and then hesitantly said: "No, I want to find you, boss."

"Looking for me?" The surprise on Tang En's face was not feigned.

"Yeah." Gerrard nodded, "I've thought about it for a long time, and I've also asked my wife for her opinion...she doesn't approve of me continuing to play football."

Gerrard said this very easily, or deliberately made his tone sound relaxed, but Dunn was not at all relaxed in his heart.What he always wanted to say to Gerald, but now let the other party say it first...

Should he breathe a sigh of relief, or did he feel more blocked?
"Then... what's your opinion?"

"I think I should listen to my wife." Gerrard smiled at Tang En. "I'm also afraid of death. I'm afraid that I will die on the field at some point. Although I have always been a substitute goalkeeper, I don't have many opportunities to play. , but there are also times to play.”

Looking at his smile, Tang En felt a little sad. He wanted to comfort him with a smile, but he couldn't.

"So... I decided to retire after this season."

Tang En didn't know where to start, so he could only look at Paul Gerrard.

After saying this, Gerrard let out a long breath, clapped his hands and said: "Look, boss. Many people say that it is difficult to make a decision to retire, but didn't I say it now? Actually, it's nothing , my body did not allow me to continue playing, so I retired. Simple as that."

Tang En grinned: "Yes, it's very simple." After saying this, he didn't know what to say.

After saying what he wanted to say, Gerald obviously felt a lot more relaxed. He smiled and asked Dunn: "Boss, do you think there is any work in the club that I can do? I can do turf repair."

Speaking of this, Tang En's brain came alive again, and he winked at Gerrard: "Seriously, I hope you stay in the team as a goalkeeper coach."

Gerald was stunned for a moment, he didn't expect Tang En to be joking with himself.

"I need someone to help me, and you're a good fit, Paul. How about it?"

"I...I have to go back and ask my wife." Gerald said hesitantly.

Tang En laughed loudly: "You are a man who is afraid of his wife!"

He's in a much better mood.

Retirement is actually nothing, it is just the end of one journey and the beginning of another.You can't be a player, but you can also be a coach. If you really love football so much, it doesn't matter what you do.retired?That's just a conventional saying.

※ ※ ※

After bidding farewell to Gerrard, Dunn returned to the training ground and found that the players were resting, and the coaches were drinking water and chatting together.

Seeing him coming back, Tang quietly walked up.

"nailed it?"

Dunn nodded.

"What did you say?"

"I didn't say anything, he was the one who said it... He himself raised the hope of retiring to me, and he seems to have made up his mind." Tang En said with erratic eyes, he was looking around, not many people noticed him and Don's talk.He didn't want to break the news before the Champions League final. "I didn't persuade him, and I don't know how to persuade him. But I suggested that he can be the team's goalkeeper coach after retiring, whether it is a youth team or an adult team. What do you think?"

Tang nodded: "It's a good idea."

"Poor man..." Tang En sighed. "Tell Andy (Andy Beasley, head of the forest team's goalkeeper coaching staff), let him do simple training these days, I'm worried that there will be any problems in the training..."

"You still plan to take him to Athens?" Tang asked.

Tang En turned his head and glanced at him: "What else? He is Van der Sar's substitute goalkeeper, our No. [-] goalkeeper. He was injured before, but now he is back from injury. Why don't we take him to Athens?"

"No, I didn't mean that." Tang shook his head.

Tang En turned around and looked at Tang, and said to him word by word: "Tang, I know he is just a substitute goalkeeper, even if he retires, it will not affect our strength, he is not a protagonist, not a core player, not that kind Great guy who wouldn't turn without the earth. But he's a Nottingham Forest player, my player. I don't feel bad for anyone who really follows me. He hasn't had a great career so I hope he retires before , give him one last glory...At the very least, I want him to wear the game jersey and hold the championship trophy instead of sitting in the stands in suits and ties."

(End of this chapter)