champion godfather

Chapter 576
"Forest! Forest! Nottingham Forest!"

"Champions! Champions! We are champions!"

"Don't you want to reverse us? Come on, Italian bastards! Come reverse!"

Amidst the overwhelming cheers, the Italian commentator is still cheering for AC Milan, after all, this is the team representing Italian football.

"There are still 7 minutes, counting injury time, at least 10 minutes. Don't give up, AC Milan! Don't give up!"

The England commentator next door has already begun to prepare a congratulatory speech for the Forest team's third championship.

"AC Milan wants to reverse, it is more difficult than heaven-shaking! What they are facing is not just any team, they are facing Nottingham Forest! It is Tony Twain's Nottingham Forest! This is a team that will never A team that will give up and never give the opponent a chance to comeback!"

※ ※ ※

The Forest team celebrated frantically stacking arhats on the sidelines, but the referee van der intervened in the past to stop it.

This time Van der pulled up the players of the Forest team one by one, and saw Tony Twain who was under the pressure.His suit was crumpled, his tie was thrown somewhere, two buttons on his shirt were missing, his hair was messy, his face was flushed...it looked as if he had been raped by someone.

Van der with a poker face couldn't help laughing. He has officiated countless games, and he has never seen a head coach treated so badly by his players.

"Damn it!" Tang En got up from the ground with swear words in his mouth. He tidied up his suits, and found that they were still wrinkled no matter how he tidied them up, so he simply ignored them.

The people next to him were all laughing, with a "good to see Tony like this" expression.

For example, in Nottingham, the fans watching the football in the bar burst into laughter when they saw Twain's appearance on TV.

Sometimes they don't feel that Twain is the head coach of a team, but an ordinary person around them, their friend.Sitting in the same bar, drinking and chatting with them, making dirty jokes, and then laughing rudely.

They like Tang En, just like they like their friends around them.

"Hey, Tony! Come back and we'll buy you a drink! The best, the best!"

※ ※ ※

The players have all returned to the stadium, and the people from AC Milan have been waiting impatiently for a long time. They even think that the forest team is deliberately delaying the game time. Ancelotti is very dissatisfied and is negotiating with the fourth official.Regarding his doubts, the fourth official could only ask the referee to tell the group of crazy Nottingham Forest players to start off from Tang En.

This indirectly saved Tang En's life.

Tang En panted heavily and said to Chris Lark who was still laughing: "Next time, you can try it down here?"

Chris Lark quickly waved his hand: "That's not okay, the players push you down, which means you are popular, Tony."

Tang En glared at him, looked at the field, and then said to Tang on the other side: "Go and call Arteta back."

This is his last substitution.

"Milan have to score two more goals in 10 minutes and stop Forest from scoring any more to have any hope of taking the game to extra time. It sounds like a mission impossible...but always try Only then will we know what the outcome will be.”

The game restarted, and AC Milan used the opportunity of serving to bombard the goal of the forest team.

They had no choice at this time. Even if they knew that such a pressing attack would leave the rear empty and was very dangerous, they could only bite the bullet and go forward.

It's not a matter of losing by one or two goals, it's a matter of life and death.

AC Milan, who did not want to give away the championship, launched the final charge.

※ ※ ※

Pirlo is in charge of organizing Milan's offense. Now he really wants to send the ball directly to the Forest team's goal, but Gilardino is not a powerful center who is good at heading the ball. He basically didn't perform well after he came on the field.Looking at it now, it's better to keep Inzaghi on the court, even if he can only wait in the opponent's penalty area because of exhaustion, he is better than Gilardino.

Pirlo suppressed the idea of ​​sending the football directly to the Forest team's goal, or organized the offense honestly, looking for the Forest team's loopholes.He knew very well that at this time, the more he had to keep calm, the other party was excited now, and might show his flaws, if he missed this opportunity because he didn't handle it well, he would really be a sinner.

He is still patiently looking for opportunities, while his teammates are desperately interspersing to create opportunities for him.

Just as he found the gap, he was knocked down.

The man who committed the foul was Demetrio Albertini.

The former Milan player has no nostalgia for the past.When he saw Pirlo temporarily diverting his attention from the football under his feet, he rushed up decisively, knocked Pirlo down, and prevented an attack by AC Milan.

Unlike Wood's foul, Albertini's foul, AC Milan fans did not boo overwhelmingly, but remained silent.

Because this scene makes them very uncomfortable.On one side is his favorite team, and on the other side is the vice-captain who is recognized as having received unfair treatment from the club.It's not good to boo anyone...

The referee gave Albertini a verbal warning to pay attention to his defensive actions. Albertini nodded and accepted with a very good attitude.

Then he ran over to pull Pirlo up and patted his head to show his friendliness.

Seeing this scene, the Italian commentator didn't know what to say.When Albertini was still playing in Italy, he was very popular in Italian football. He had a good relationship with players, coaches, commentators, and reporters.Even as AC Milan's opponent, in this final ended AC Milan's hope of winning the championship, the Italian commentator could not say that he was wrong.

"It's really sad..." After a while, he sighed.

※ ※ ※

The atmosphere in the stadium became more and more enthusiastic. The fans of Nottingham Forest sang songs non-stop, setting off a wave of people, as if the victory had been won.

The fans of AC Milan were also unwilling to give up. They also sang the team song, cheered for AC Milan, and prayed to God for a miracle to appear at the last moment.

"It's only two goals away! We still have time, we still have a chance! Calm down!" Maldini clapped his hands to encourage his teammates, and then rushed up from the back line himself.

Now it's an all-out attack.Anyway, the opponent Nottingham Forest has withdrawn Van Nistelrooy and Eastwood. It seems that they don't want to fight back. Maldini is not afraid of going up to assist and leaving the defense empty.Faced with Milan's turbulent attack, wave after wave, do you want Nottingham Forest to fight back?We'll make you half-time with big feet!

Pirlo charged Maldini up from the left, feinted a shot, and then passed the ball to Maldini who inserted it.

After the captain of AC Milan received the ball, there was a huge cheer from the stands.

At this time, seeing the person wearing the captain's armband taking the ball, everyone will feel at ease, as if they have seen hope.

"Paolo Maldini. He participated in the European Champions Cup final for the eighth time, tying the record of former Real Madrid superstar Gento. At 38 years old and 330 days old, he also became the biggest player in the history of the Champions Cup final except for the goalkeeper. Participated in the Champions League final as the captain for the third time, and broke the record of the 1961-year-old Barcelona goalkeeper Lamarez in 36, becoming the oldest captain in the history of the Champions League. In his career, he has won numerous honors , he is someone who has seen the big scene, now... AC Milan's hope of creating a miracle is at his feet. When he was young, he used to be a full-back with excellent defense and assists. Now he rarely appears in frontcourt……"

The commentator introduced the glory of Maldini in detail, in order to give Italian fans a reassurance, and told them-what a great figure the captain of AC Milan is.Don't give up, believe in him, you will surely reap miracles!

Maldini adjusted the football at his feet, and he decided to drive the ball himself.Obviously, the forest team's defense is preventing his diagonal pass, and no one has come forward, so what are you waiting for if you don't break through at this time?

He had just started when a red figure suddenly attacked, and he could not help but shovel it fiercely.

"Demetrio Albertini!"

Caught off guard, Maltibe was shoveled out of the line by Albertini, and AC Milan's attack came to an end.

Then the referee's whistle sounded.

Maldini only felt that at that moment, he seemed to be hit by a heavy truck, and his ribs hurt a little.He lay on the ground and didn't get up right away.The moment the two collided, he saw clearly who was coming.

It was a face that he was once familiar with and could no longer be familiar with.

When he was a teammate in the past, he always smiled modestly, making everyone fall in love with him at first sight.All the little guys who come to Milanello will get his best help, sometimes he is more like a captain than me as a captain.Although he is only a vice-captain...

It's hard for you to connect this person who always has a kind smile with the position of the midfielder on the football field.It was he who changed Italian football. Since then, the Italian national team has had its own midfield commander.

I once asked him what his greatest wish was.His answer is not to win the World Cup or the European Cup, but to play in AC Milan until he retires.

I say it's easy, you can definitely retire here and say goodbye at San Siro.You are our vice-captain, AC Milan will not treat each of her loyal ministers badly.

As a result, now he was wearing the opponent's jersey and knocked me to the ground with a hideous face.

Should I turn over, grab him by the collar, and angrily question him about this despicable foul?
Maldini lay on the ground, staring blankly at the night sky.

A hand appeared in his field of vision.

"Don't give up, Paolo, you have five minutes," he said to Maldini in Italian.

Maldini rolled over and sat up, taking the hand he offered. "Why did you suddenly encourage the enemy?"

Albertini pointed to the sidelines: "I have to end, my way is over. So, now I can wish you good luck."

Maldini followed his hand and looked at the fourth official standing on the sidelines holding up the electronic card. It was not the time of stoppage time, but the substitution.

No. 4 off, No. 14 on.

A man in a red jersey stands next to the fourth official, jumping for a shot.

Albertini exerted force on his hand and pulled Maldini up.

"Hey, you knocked me down and took away my championship, do you want to end so easily? Demi!" Maldini asked in a low voice.

Albertini opened and closed his mouth, said nothing, and turned away from his former teammate.

"Come back! You said, there are still 5 minutes, stay and finish it! Did you hear that, Demi!" Maldini shouted.

Albertini, however, seemed to have not heard it at all, and quickened his pace without saying a word or looking back.

"I originally said that I would retire after this season. I am almost 39 years old...but I have changed my mind now! I still want to win the championship! You are only 35 years old, why did you leave first?! You can continue to play Yes, look at your performance in this game!"

Maldini's retention did not shake Albertini's will. He walked quickly to Wood, and then reached out and took off the golden captain's armband on his arm.

"Demi..." Wood looked at his partner, his teacher, his captain.

"I'm leaving, George." Albertini smiled and put the captain's armband on Wood's arm.

Wood wanted to dodge reflexively, but he heard Albertini lower his head and shout: "Don't move!"

He froze there, allowing Albertini to complete the captain handover ceremony.

※ ※ ※

"Demetrio Albertini...a 35-year-old veteran, this is the last game of his career. He was replaced in the No.806 minute." The Italian commentator sighed. "The Nottingham Forest he represents now is leading the team AC Milan he played for 3 years with a score of 1:12. His love for AC Milan is unquestionable, but his professionalism is also unquestionable. What else can we say What? An indirect assist and a direct goal in the final, what more can we ask for? This is your best final ever and you deserve the title! Good luck Demi! Thank you !"

The England commentator was equally emotional: "It is often said that Italian players cannot succeed in English football. I don't want to give them the example of Gianfranco Zola, I just want them to see this guy, This legend. Demetrio Albertini, he came to Nottingham Forest at the end of his career, but created a legend of his own. Thanks to Tony Twain, he was the one who kept Demy to play this game For one season. The Nottingham Forest fans would like to thank you, Demy, and I would like to thank you too."

※ ※ ※

After repeating it again and again, finally put on the captain's armband, Albertini raised his head and bid farewell to Wood: "Goodbye, George."

Wood looked at the man in front of him, turned around with a smile, and walked off the court.

At this time, he suddenly remembered what Roy Keane said to himself in the bathroom of Wilford Training Base:

"... Albertini, the Italian, is a very good captain, but one day he will grow old, retire, and leave you and the team..."

He just woke up like a dream at this time: Demi is really going to leave, he is really going to leave, and he won't come back again.His "acting field captain" has become the real "field captain"...

He just stood there, staring blankly at Albertini's back, and watched him leave.

He saw Albertini walking towards the sidelines. Along the way, players from the Forest team and AC Milan came up to shake hands and hug him.

When he walked to the sidelines, he raised his arms and applauded the stands.

At this moment, a large group of people stood up in the stands, whether it was fans of Nottingham Forest or AC Milan, they all gave a standing ovation and saw off their captain.

Off the field, Tang En, all members of the Forest team's coaching staff, and the players on the bench also stood on the sidelines, applauding with the fans.The same is true for AC Milan's bench.

During this short period of time, everyone forgot about the fierce fighting on the field, calmed down, temporarily put aside their grievances, and bid farewell to their mutual friends.

"Thank you..." No sound came out of his squirming lips, but everyone saw what he wanted to express. "……goodbye."

Albertini finally left the field. He walked towards Tang En, wanting to shake hands with the head coach who had given him a second youth.Unexpectedly, Tang En hugged him.

"I don't know how to thank you, Demi. Let me give you a hug...you're leaving..." He was surprised to hear the boss's voice choked up!
How did he know that when Tang En decided to replace him in advance, he felt as if his heart was overwhelmed, and he felt very uncomfortable.

At this moment, he is not the head coach, he is just an ordinary fan.A man who watched Albertini represent AC Milan in Serie A for the first time, then had ups and downs, lost the World Cup champion, lost the European Cup champion, lost his beloved Milan, and was forced to leave his hometown and drift away in desolation Reluctantly choose to retire, ordinary Chinese fans who have shared joys and sorrows with him for more than ten years.

He really wanted to say to Albertini: "I grew up watching you play, Demy."

Albertini thought it was just the boss showing his true feelings as a friend, so he patted Tang En on the back: "You think I can go to Milan to find me, boss."

Tang En let go of him and said with a smile, "You're right, buddy. Go say goodbye to them..." He pointed to the people behind him.

Albertini stepped forward to say goodbye to his teammates and coaches one by one, and then he ran to AC Milan's coaching bench to say goodbye to the players.

※ ※ ※

The game continues.

AC Milan still did not give up, and launched a siege to the Forest team's goal in the last few minutes.

Maldini hardly returned to the defense, he was waiting in front to participate in the attack.

Arteta's task on the field is not to organize the offense, but to assist in the defense, helping Wood build an indestructible line of defense in front of the defender.

Wearing the golden captain's armband, Wood is particularly conspicuous. He can be seen almost everywhere. He makes beautiful tackles, competes for headers with opponents, blocks powerful shots from opponents with his body, and delays Milan's attack by fouls... He is more than For any minute before, there is still effort and energy, as if this is not the last few minutes of the game, but the first few minutes of the game.

He ran like crazy, defended, sprinted, and competed for the top... as if it was not AC Milan that was behind, but Nottingham Forest.

His idea is simple: AC Milan is not reconciled to failure, they will launch a general attack at the last moment.If you take it lightly, maybe you will be succeeded by the other party.Demi gave me the captain's armband. This championship belongs to Nottingham Forest. I can't let him down.

The Forest team reclaimed the entire line, and the three lines maintained a compact formation, and all people gathered within the 30-meter area in front of the goal.This is the ultimate defensive formation they are most proud of - the wall defense.

Faced with this "wall of sighs", AC Milan players launched a desperate charge.

The fourth official held up the injury time sign on the sidelines - 4 minutes.

Maldini's header was too direct, and the football was directly confiscated by Van der Sar.The Forest team directly kicked the football forward, and AC Milan continued to attack after stealing the ball.

3 minutes left.

Seedorf's long-range shot was taken by Pepe with his body. The AC Milan players raised their arms to indicate that Pepe was handball, but the referee ignored it. Gattuso questioned the referee in dissatisfaction and resulted in a yellow card.Milan fans in the stands booed dissatisfied.

2 minutes left.

Kaka tried to force a breakthrough and was brought down by Arteta on the penalty area line. The people of AC Milan thought it was a penalty kick, but the referee awarded a free kick.At the same time, players from both sides clashed at the foul spot.The people of Nottingham Forest hoped to make the conflict worse. Maldini saw through their trick to delay the game time, and tried to pull his teammates away, telling them that the most important thing at this time is not to fight with each other, but to keep calm and seize the time goal.

Arteta and Ambrosini each received a yellow card after the clash.

There are still 1 minutes left.

The Nottingham Forest fans in the stands had already started to set off red fireworks, while the AC Milan fans gradually fell silent.In the TV close-up, the Milan fans were silent, with tears in their eyes and red eyes. They clutched their scarves in their hands and stared helplessly at the pitch.In the face of the forest team's strict defense, AC Milan's field players have nothing to do.

Ancelotti kept roaring and waving his arms on the sidelines, trying to score two goals in a row in the last minute. This probability is about the same as a person being struck by lightning twice in a row.But he was unwilling to give up, or he was unwilling to admit defeat, because his opponent was Tony Twain whom he hated the most.

All the substitute players and coaches of Nottingham Forest stood shoulder to shoulder and arm in arm on the sidelines. They cheered and rushed up to celebrate while waiting for the referee to blow his whistle to end the game.

England's commentator no longer commented on the game. He began to talk about the grand occasion when the Forest team won the Champions League for the first time 28 years ago.He was young then, and he is over fifty now.

Van der Sar raised his arms again and again, not knowing whether he was preparing for a save or celebrating early.

Wood is still running and fulfilling his defensive responsibilities.

Maldini became a complete striker in the last minute, and he couldn't go out in the Forest team's penalty area.

Tang En clenched his fists tightly. He felt the tightness of his heart. He didn't even dare to take a big breath, for fear that the heart would jump out of his mouth.His legs were already trembling slightly. It wasn't nervousness, it was excitement. It was a feeling of impending great happiness. It was indescribable, but wonderful.

With 30 seconds left, this will be the first substantial championship in his coaching career, which is more exciting and exciting than winning the English League Cup.

Because this is the European champions, the opponent we beat is AC Milan, a six-time Champions League winner.

We won 3:1, is there anything more convincing than this?

Who dares to underestimate us?Who dares to think that we are not qualified to stand here?Who dares to laugh at us!Who!
Want to see me jump into the sea?Want to see me make a fool of myself?I'm so sorry to disappoint you again!
30 seconds left.

"Almost the entire Italian media swore before the final that Twain would definitely jump into the sea. Twain must go into the sea, because Nottingham Forest's opponent is AC Milan, a giant with countless championships. No matter what Analysis, none of them could think of the reason and possibility of AC Milan's loss. There was even an Italian travel agency that organized a tour route to Athens to watch the game and watch Twain jump into the sea after the game...Now, I really want to know about those Italians It must be wonderful!" England's commentator stood up from his seat, and he raised his arms high.Wait for the whistle of fate to blow.

In the city of Nottingham, all the bars have already started the carnival ahead of time. They don't believe that AC Milan can score two goals in a row in the last few tens of seconds. Even if God came, there is no such possibility!

The guests in the forest bar are taking turns to toast the bar owner Kenny Burns: "Kenny, we thought we would never see this day again!" These people are old people who cannot go to Athens to watch the game guy.

"Thank God, thank God..."

"Hey, old fellas! You've got to thank Tony!" a younger voice called.

"Ahem...all the same, all the same..." The old man coughed, "Tony is God, God is Tony..."

※ ※ ※

The Italian commentator stopped talking, and the AC Milan players also stopped running.

At this time, the football was at the feet of the Forest players.Ribery passed the ball to Wood, Wood passed to Ashley Young, who passed the ball to Arteta.The Forest team kept passing the ball, just not giving the AC Milan players the opportunity to press close.

"The game is coming to an end!" The Forest fans in the stands shouted. "We are the champions! We are the goddamn champions!!"

The referee is looking at his watch.

The Forest players outside the stadium all raised their arms high, leaned forward, and made a sprint.

Ancelotti sat in a chair, surrounded by people blocking his view.But he doesn't care anymore, anyway, it doesn't make any difference whether he watches the stadium or not.He lost.

Huge din filled every corner of the stadium. If two people who were close to each other wanted to speak, they had to put their mouths to each other's ears so that the other could hear clearly.

But in such a noisy environment, the three whistles were still very clear.

Forest player Eastwood, who was back and forth, heard the referee blow the first whistle, and he couldn't wait to drive the football into the air.

Immediately afterwards, the second sound and the third sound followed.

This is the whistle for the end of the game!
The people around Tang En disappeared in an instant - they all rushed up and embraced with open arms.

"The game is over! The champion belongs to Nottingham Forest!"

"Long live! Long live!" A unified cry sounded from the stands.

"It took Tony Twain and his team four years to go from England's second-tier league to the European championship. We seemed to see the shadow of Brian Clough behind him... that glorious team appeared again In our field of vision....This is not an accident, this is a red storm! Nottingham Forest, the team that has won the European Champions Cup for two consecutive years, is in Europe for the third time!"

Tang En realized that everyone around him had run away, and he reacted. He opened his arms and rushed onto the court.

This is my road, paved with championship trophies and countless honors, that represents the noble red carpet extending from my feet to... all the way to the horizon, I can't see the end of it, but I know it will go on like this stretch down.

Some people say that winning the championship is the end and success.

success?

Hey, I'm just on my way!

Champion, one is not enough!
(End of this chapter)