Godfather Of Champions

“Uncle Tony, I saw that week’s show, but can I make a suggestion?”

“Sure.”

“The next time you go on television, remember to iron your suit.” Shania started laughing in delight.

Tang En, holding the phone on the other end, scratched his head.

Ever since the matter with Inter Milan, he had managed to patch things up with Shania. That probably made him even happier than eliminating Inter Milan. Just like before, they could chat on the phone or the internet. Clarice Gloria was no longer a problem. Still, Tang En still maintained contact with that beautiful woman.

During the period after the away match against Inter Milan, the English media attempted to stir up the gossip between him and Gloria. This time, Tang En completely ignored it, letting it pass. He did not appear in front of the media to explain his relationship with Gloria, and the lady in question made no further response. With time, their audience started to get bored. Or, more accurately, they found some other topic that piqued their interest. The relationship between them slowly fell out of the limelight, and everyone’s interest in Tang En refocused itself on football.

Shania laughed loudly over the phone. Her peals of laughter, sounding like silver bells, were like a song with a graceful melody. Tang En liked hearing it, so he said nothing.

“No matter what, you’re a huge star now. You have to be more attentive to your public image.”

“It’s alright, I do attend to it… I think it’s already pretty good that I’m not out every day wearing just sports attire. You haven’t seen how Dunn dresses. That’s what I call terrible!”

Tang En could almost sense Shania rolling her eyes over the phone.

“Two men living together. That’s the end of the world. How often do you clean the place? And how often do you wash your clothes?”

Tang En suddenly felt that Shania’s tone was not exactly one that a younger person should take on when addressing their elders.

“Uh, it’s fine.”

Shania sighed. That must be some kind of chronic disease for men. There was nothing she could do, so she changed the subject. “How’s Auntie Sophia? How’s her health?”

“It’s okay. She’s still recovering and maintaining her health. Now, Dunn and I have dinner with her once every two weeks. She’s been in good spirits.”

“I’m really sorry. We couldn’t spend Christmas together last year, and this year is unknown as well. Christmas is the busiest time for me. I really hate this job!”

“Shania.”

“Alright, alright. I’m just saying. I’ll stop here, I’ve got to sleep. There’s still work tomorrow.”

“This early?” Tang En raised his wrist to look at his watch. It was only 9:03 pm.

“I need rest so that I can maintain myself better.”

Hearing Shania act maturely and say something like that made Tang En smile. “Okay. Good night, Shania. Sweet dreams.”

“Good night, Uncle Tony.”

After hanging up the phone, Tang En walked down from his room upstairs. Dunn was still silently watching recordings from the matches and training. Tang En stood at the staircase and took in the mess in the living room; all sorts of packaging from the recordings, clothes, and newspapers were strewn all over the floor and on the sofa.

He had always lived in that kind of environment. But, after having it pointed out by Shania, he also found it somewhat unbearable. He walked down and began cleaning up the house.

Dunn heard some sounds behind him and turned to look. “What are you doing?”

“Cleaning up.”

“Now?” Dunn looked up at the wall clock.

“Of course. I have to do it when I remember it.”

Dunn saw that he was about to arrange the packaging of his recordings and hastily stood.

“I’ll take care of that.”

Tang En passed the mission of cleaning up the record packaging over to him. He himself took the dirty clothes on the sofa into the washroom and dumped them into the washing machine. When he came out, he was holding a rag to wipe the table.

“You… finished chatting with Shania?”

Seeing Tang En being so Zealous, Dunn could guess the reason behind it.

Tang En nodded.

“Is she coming?”

Tang En looked up and glanced at Dunn before shaking his head.

“No. I just thought that it was scary that we’ve been living in a pile of rubbish.”

Dunn grimaced but said nothing.

“Hey, Dunn. Shouldn’t you consider getting married more?”

Looking at Dunn, who was so casual that he was somewhat slovenly, Tang En thought that having a woman who could take care of Dunn’s living conditions, entering his heart and occupying an important position, could effectively change his character and temperament.

“But I’m not interested in women now.”

“Oh, stop… I get nervous whenever you say that.”

Dunn saw Tang En’s anxious face and suddenly broke into a smile; it lasted for a mere second before disappearing.

“The law in China states that a male can only get married when they’re above 23 years of age. According to my age, I have only just crossed the average. There are still many in their thirties who aren’t even married.”

“But your true age…”

Tang En thought about the unique situation of their identities, and said, “Ah, how weird…”

“I’m Dunn now. 24-year-old Dunn.”

Tang En coughed twice. “That’s right, that’s right. I am Tony, Tony Twain.”

“37-year-old Tony Twain. Haven’t you, as well, yet to consider your own marriage?”

Tang En glared Dunn. “There’s history behind that. And there’s something I’m really interested in… How many memories do you have of me, Dunn? I’ve only retained memories of the period after you arrived here. I know nothing further back. What about you?”

“The entirety,” Dunn answered. “Since I began understanding things up to now.”

“I thought it was an equivalent exchange…” Tang En grumbled. He never knew the memories of the previous Tony before coming to Nottingham Forest. After meeting Dunn, it was not told to him. So, Tang En figured Dunn was purposefully trying to avoid letting people know. Perhaps, that was an extremely important or beautiful period for him, so he did not wish to share it with others. But it was no matter. If Dunn did not wish to talk about it, Tang En would not force him to. It was not as if he could not live on without having those memories. He did not care about those things.

“Because I… In the past, I’ve tried very hard to forget those days. Maybe that’s why you don’t remember them.” Dunn said, as if he knew what Tang En was thinking. Tang En would not be surprised if that were the case. When they were together, there was always a sense of telepathy between them. Perhaps it was due to having exchanged their bodies and souls.

It seemed that they were bad memories…

“Then, have you forgotten?”

“…No.”

Tang En did not wish to pry into his privacy. So, even though he was greatly curious as to what kind of period it was for Dunn to so desperately try to forget, he did not continue asking.

“Do you want to know about it?” Unexpectedly, Dunn initiated the topic.

“Huh?” Tang En was surprised.

“Do you want to know about ‘your’ past?”

Tang En did not know if he should say yes or no. It was true that he very much wanted to know what had previously happened to the body of Tony Twain, but…

“But, haven’t you always been unwilling to talk about it?”

“I want to talk about it now.”

“Why, suddenly…”

“Because I think it’s unfair to you. I know everything about your past, but you don’t know mine. Do you have anything scheduled tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow? Uh, I’m bringing the team to London for an away match against Chelsea.”

Dunn looked at Tang En. “That’s not an easy team to deal with.”

Tang En shrugged. “Maybe.”

“Do you need any suggestions?”

Tang En shook his head. “No, but thanks. And that sort of work can wait ’til you become a First Team manager.”

“Alright. When you return from London, I’ll bring you to look at your past.”

The sound of dripping water could be heard from the washroom.

“Ah. The laundry is done. I’ll hang them up.” Tang En tossed the rag down and turned, leaving the living room.

After bundling up the boxes from the recordings, Dunn took up the rag Tang En had tossed aside, continuing what he was doing earlier.

※※※

After eliminating Inter Milan, Tang En could, for the time being, finally put his focus on the domestic league. Currently, Nottingham Forest only had a two-point difference from Manchester United. Getting a draw in their match would allow the opponents to be on par with them while losing would set them back. In the final stages of the League matches, Forest still had two tough battles. A home ground match welcoming Manchester United, and an away match challenging Chelsea.

Even though all top four teams of the EPL would be awarded participation rights for next season’s UEFA Champions League, there was still a difference between entering the matches directly and needing to participate in the qualifiers. Leaving out the impact it would have on the team’s preparation for summer to play a few additional matches, the issue of saving face was no small matter; it was incredibly embarrassing if a strong team always needed to go through the qualifiers before participating in the Champions League proper.

The match with Chelsea was going to be a hard battle. But, the good news to Tang En was that this match was not scheduled in the period between the two Champions League matches. Otherwise, he would certainly give up the Premier League match and prioritize the Champions League. However, now that he had a week’s time to prepare, he made a detailed plan, formulated battle strategies, and researched his opponents thoroughly.

He was so busy that he had forgotten about his “fight” with Mourinho. That greatly disappointed the media, who were all too ready to watch the show and stir things up.

Tang En had no time to entertain the media and novelty-seeking audiences.

“Everyone, we have not been preparing a whole week only to come here and lose,” Tang En said to his players before the start of the match.

In this match, Tang En took everyone by surprise; he did not implement his most commonly used tactic of buckling down on defense. It not only took the audience aback but Mourinho as well. On Chelsea’s home ground, Nottingham Forest did not choose a reserved option of tight defense. Rather, they chose to clash directly against Chelsea, who had planned on slaughtering them with their offense.

It was a clash with no holds barred. It made those who had thought Tang En only capable of defense and nothing else watch dumbstruck. The match intensified to a white heat as soon as it kicked off. The pacing of the switch between offense and defense was so rapid that it left people speechless. Of course, it was also tremendously intense. In the first half alone, the main referee gave out a total of six yellow cards to the players. On average, each team gained three.

Chelsea crashed their gates first. Making use of a chance after Forest pressed forward, they counterattacked. In front of the penalty area, Drogba leaned back against Piqué, making Forest’s players think he was waiting for a teammate to take over. When their attention shifted to the others, Drogba made an abrupt turn and volleyed the ball. The ball flew beautifully into the goal, shocking the commentator so much that he repeatedly screamed, “Incredible!”

However, the Forest Team quickly equalized the score after the brief bout of happiness on Chelsea’s end; the goal was an own goal from Chelsea’s player. Carvalho made a mistake under Eastwood’s pressuring in the front field and headed Ashley Young’s pass into their own goal.

Both teams entered the second half with a score of 1:1. After changing sides, the primary pacing of the clash between the two continued unchanged.

There was also no end to the goals. Both parties scored in a very orderly manner; the home team would first score and then the away team would think up a way to equalize it. Thereafter, the home team would again grab an opportunity to take the lead, with the away team soon tenaciously equalizing the score.

When the main referee blew the final whistle of the match, the score was set at 3:3. Using another defensive method, Tony Twain managed to secure his one point in the away field. Meanwhile, Mourinho continued his awkward record of failing to defeat Forest in the Premier League.

“3:3. You madman.” Mourinho said that with gnashed teeth when they shook hands after the match. Before the television lens, however, he put up a smile. He had not at all expected Tang En to go on the offensive this boldly during their away match. They had the momentum of having put everything on the line, taking Chelsea’s players by utter surprise.

“A crazy match needs two crazy managers,” Tang En answered with a smile.

Someplace away from the ears of the media, the two engaged in another short verbal battle with neither the loser nor winner defined.

In truth, this result was the worst acceptable to Tang En. However, he had no choice. It was too difficult to win against Chelsea on their home ground. Currently, Mourinho’s football team was in prime condition; they were practically unassailable.

With Manchester United in hot pursuit of Forest, Tang En urgently wanted to pull apart their point score difference. At this crucial period, however, they had to meet with Chelsea. It was already incredible that Tang En did not end up losing the match.

On Forest Team’s journey back to Nottingham Forest, Tang En finally received a piece of good news. In a match between two strong teams, Manchester United, ranking number three, drew with Liverpool, who ranked at fourth in an away match. Neither side gained anything, instead benefiting Tony Twain.

When Kerslake announced that news, a loud cheer went up on the bus. Tang En also messed around with the players for a while before falling into deep thought. He leaned towards the window, looking outside and watching the scenery whizz by him, disappearing in mere moments.

Since Manchester United had failed to win, the difference between the two remained two points. At the same time, Arsenal, who had been focusing on the Champions League for the season, put in a last-ditch effort in the final stages of the Premier League and caught up. They were only three points away from rank four, Liverpool. As the three teams—Liverpool, Arsenal, and Tottenham Hotspur—were quite a ways in their point accumulation from the top three of the League, the final participation rights of the Champions League would be given to only one of them. It could be foreseen that the final rounds of the Premier League would be extremely cruel to those three teams.

Conversely, there was little meaning in watching Manchester United and Nottingham Forest’s fight for runner-up in the Premier League. When the time came, Tony Twain could also sit in front of the television and watch as everyone fought tooth and nail for a single Champions League entry ticket.

When the League progressed to its 33rd round, Tang En looked back on the season. What allowed him to sit back and relax now was the eight-match victory streak midway through the League. That helped the team earn numerous points. When the Champions League started, the team’s results immediately started becoming unstable. They had won no matches in the recent three rounds of the EPL, getting two draws and one loss. A little further before, they had only won a single match out of seven rounds. They were in the sorry state of being pursued this hot on their heels by Manchester United because of their terrible results from those seven rounds; one win, two losses, and three draws.

Despite Tang En’s current fame as a manager throughout Europe, his mind remained clear.

This season happened to coincide with Wenger’s focus moving from the domestic leagues to the European match scene. Adding to that a persistently low period for Manchester United, the traditionally strong teams did not manage to perform at the level of their true capabilities. Only this had allowed Forest to get to where it was. If Forest’s aim was only to assure their yearly participation in the European competitions, Tang En should be quite satisfied. However, his aim was to become the champion. How could they be worthy of the championship with such a performance? If he could not resolve the instability of the team when playing in multiple leagues, next year would be the same for them…

“Tony, what are you thinking about?” David Kerslake asked him with a smile.

“Ah… nothing much. You seem to be in a good mood?”

“Manchester United didn’t win, and we weren’t overtaken. How could I be in a bad mood?”

Tang En laughed. “We can’t always expect the opponents to perform badly… I think we should sum up our mistakes in our work this season, David.”

Kerslake stopped smiling. “The season hasn’t even ended.”

“We need to prepare for the future.”

“But I think you’ve already done well enough.”

“David,” Tang En said, looking at his assistant manager. “You have to understand, we are aspiring to become champions.”

※※※

On their return to Nottingham, after the announcement that the team was dismissed and to resume training the next afternoon, Tang En went home alone to find Dunn waiting for him. The two did not call for Landy’s cab, instead taking the tram directly towards a small town, Eastwood, north-west of the city.

“The same name as one of your favorite players on the First Team,” Dunn said, acting like a tour guide. The two stood outside a small church.

“Eastwood. Once upon a time, my hometown.”

When Tang En saw the church, he guessed as much.

They walked directly through the front of the church to enter the graveyard at the back. They stopped at a tombstone, the name on which had already been eroded to the point of being unclear. Dunn bent over and scrutinized it before standing up, saying, “This was my father.”