Godfather Of Champions

The 06-07 season’s English Premier League had ended and every team in England was disbanded for the holidays except two teams. This had been a good year for the European players because without an international competition, they could finally get a complete break after working hard for a season.

Although the players of those two teams could not rest so early, it was believed that many would envy them because they advanced to their respective championship finals.

Liverpool, who had just lost the qualification for the next season’s Champions League, would only be able to continue to fight in the UEFA Europa League next season. The good news was that they ended up in the final against Spain’s Sevilla Football Club for this season’s UEFA Europa League.

The UEFA Europa League final would be held on May 17th, just four days after the end of the league tournament.

The media was covering the UEFA Europa League final, and Liverpool had become the team with the highest coverage. For Benítez, his first season at Liverpool had been stunning, helping the Reds retake the UEFA Champions League title after so many years. But after that, whether it was in the league tournament or the championship, Liverpool seemed to be caught up in some kind of bottleneck and was unable to achieve anything.

After two consecutive seasons of being kept out of next season’s Champions League games, he desperately needed to prove his ability with an important championship. The UEFA Europa League became his last hope. If he still came up empty-handed, it was hard to say whether Benítez would still be there the next season.

While everyone was watching Liverpool, Twain led his team in a closed-door training at the Wilford training base in Nottingham.

Most media in England hated Twain and it had something to do with his closed-door training. Before him, few managers in English football would have such frequent closed-door training. It might have had something to do with him being a Chinese fan before. He was all too familiar with it.

Closed-door training had its pros and cons. Currently for him, the advantages outweighed the disadvantages. At the very least, his team could avoid harassment from the nasty media.

It was getting closer to the day of the final game and there was a lot more he needed to deal with…

※※※

Pepe had made a full recovery. Although he did not play, his performance in the team’s internal competitions had convinced everyone that the Pepe that would appear in Athens would be healthy and in top form. The problems that had plagued the Forest team’s defensive line for a long time had been resolved.

Ashley Young also returned to the team once he recovered from his injury and had no problem making the trip with the team to Athens.

Before such an important tournament, the Forest team solved its injury problems. By all accounts, Twain should have been happy. However, his brows were always knitted these days. The players did not understand what was going on and some of them were nervous.

In fact, even a few members of the coaching unit did not know what it was about because, except for Twain, only the two assistant managers, Kerslake and Dunn, and the team doctors knew the whole story.

According to the practice in English football, the team doctor only needed to first update the condition of a player’s injury to the team’s manager and not the injured player himself. Then the manager would decide how to convey to the player. If the team doctor directly bypassed the manager and informed the injured player about his condition, then this team doctor would most likely not be able to continue in the football circle — no club wanted a team doctor who was in close contact with the players behind the manager’s back.

However, Fleming’s current problem was not that he bypassed Tony Twain and told the player about the state of his injury. Instead, the player took the initiative to come to him.

Generally, when the player looked for the team doctor first, it was nothing more than to inquire about his own injury situation. At such a time, the team doctor simply had to be careful with his words and used ambiguous words such as “your recovery is going well” at most to dismiss him. If he honestly disclosed the player’s condition, he might be kicked out by the club.

The current Nottingham Forest club was controlled by an American boss. Those traditions and practices were decreasing, and Twain was not a manager who would split hairs over the bit of authority. But no matter what, Fleming was also an old team doctor who had worked in the club for decades. That tradition had been etched in his bones and had become a professional habit.

Two days ago, the man who took the initiative to look for the team doctor, Fleming was the team’s substitute goalkeeper, Paul Gerrard.

He had already recovered from his operation and started recuperative training a month ago. Initially it was only a simple physical rehabilitation program that did not involve specific goalkeeper training.

Twenty-five days later, he began to start his specific goalkeeper training and the problem came.

Paul Gerrard found that the speed of his reaction and judgment had been affected, as well as his line of sight. He could not properly determine the distance between the position of the football and himself, and occasionally, he would briefly suffer from astigmatism in his eyes. This was a fatal problem for a professional goalkeeper.

Deeply worried, he went to the team doctor, Fleming, hoping he would give him another full physical examination, especially in his brain. He suspected these were the sequelae of that head injury. But he did not tell the truth about himself. He only said he wanted to have a full understanding of his body after recovering from the injury.

This request alerted Fleming. As a team doctor for decades, how could he not have guessed what the players had in mind?

The request had to be approved by the manager before he could proceed. Fleming told Gerrard he had to go speak to the boss before he could answer him.

Fleming went to Twain. Twain, Dunn and Kerslake were present, so they became the only four people who knew about the matter.

Twain frowned and listened to Fleming’s retelling of the incident and had a bad feeling about it.

As far as he knew, in his previous world, after Čech was struck by the Reading player, he had suffered from a fractured skull and fell unconscious on the spot. At one point, his life was in jeopardy. Unexpectedly in just three months, he was back on the field, wearing a “tank helmet” to protect his head as he guarded the goal for Chelsea and was still in the world’s top three most outstanding goalkeepers.

This matter made Twain maintain a certain degree of optimism about what happened to Paul Gerrard. He believed that since Čech could recover in three months, then there would not be a problem if they conservatively gave Gerrard eight months to recover?

He was not a professional doctor and did not have any medical knowledge about the head area. He just took the reference of Čech’s actual experience and thought Gerrard would be all right too.

“I’m not a cranial expert either,” Fleming said to Twain. “But I don’t think a full physical examination is necessary. What we need to check is Paul Gerrard’s head. And it’s not just about a fracture, it’s the nerves in his head, I suspect…”

Twain, who had been silent while he listened to Fleming, interrupted him. He had made up his mind. “You’ll take Paul to the Royal Hospital of Nottingham University tomorrow. Professor Constantine and I will be there, waiting for you both.”

Renowned throughout the British medical community, Constantine was a neurological expert. Fleming was also aware of that as a doctor. Since Professor Constantine was personally in charge, he has nothing to worry about.

He nodded.

※※※

The next day, Paul Gerrard went to the hospital with Fleming and met Manager Tony Twain and Professor Constantine there.

When he saw the two men, Gerrard had a bad feeling and felt that things were not simple. Otherwise why would the boss be here? Wasn’t he supposed to be at the training ground leading the team in training? The Champions League final was looming, and he had no reason or time to be there, especially for a substitute goalkeeper’s medical checkup.

When Twain saw Gerrard, he smiled and held out his hand to him, “Good morning, Paul. You look well.” Next he introduced Gerrard to the old man next to him.

“This is Professor Constantine, the most famous neuro expert in the country.”

Constantine smiled at Gerrard and shook his hand, “Hello, Paul. Tony has told me all about you, and I would like to run a few simple tests on you.”

After hearing the introduction, Gerrard’s bad feelings became a reality.

He hesitantly shook hands with Professor Constantine and forced a smile.

Twain did not speak at the side and observed everything.

Constantine also noticed Paul Gerrard’s uneasiness, so he smiled and patted Gerrard on the shoulder, “Don’t worry, lad, it’s just a simple checkup.” He winked at Gerrard and led him to a neuro examination.

Fleming and Twain did not follow. They feared that it placed a greater psychological burden on Gerrard if a group of people tagged along.

Gerrard, who followed Constantine, was like a helpless child, terrified of the unfathomable future.

He looked back at Twain and Fleming. Twain smiled at him until he walked far enough away for him to stop.

“If I had known, I wouldn’t have put Akinfeev back on loan… it caused us to rely on van der Sar alone for a season.” Sitting on a bench in the hallway of the hospital, Twain pulled out his cigarette and lighter, intending to light a cigarette for himself.

“Who knew that this would happen?” Fleming pointed to the no smoking sign on the wall.

When Twain looked up and saw it, he put the cigarette and the lighter away.

The empty hallway plunged into a silence, and no one spoke until Constantine led Paul Gerrard back to them.

“Okay, it is done.” Professor Constantine nodded to Twain. Then he turned to Gerrard. “The test results won’t come out till tomorrow. We’ll call the club directly when it does.”

Gerrard did not 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 he sent off Paul Gerrard and Fleming from the hospital, Twain turned back.

“I know you have something else to say to me.” Constantine was not surprised by Twain’s sudden prod.

“I want to know the results of the examination.” Twain asked straight to the point.

“When the results come out, I’ll call you tomorrow…”

“Come on, professor, don’t treat me like Gerrard.” Twain walked over and sat down, “I won’t go until you tell me the truth.”

Constantine shook his head with a wry smile. He was powerless against such a rascal.

“In truth, the results of the examination have really not come out.” Constantine got up from his seat and went up to Twain to hand him a glass of water. “But I can talk about my personal thoughts. His area here,” he pointed to his head as he spoke, “is not looking too good.”

“Is the eight-month recovery period still not enough?” Twain muttered.

“No, it has nothing to do with the amount of time, Tony.” Constantine corrected. “I think even if you give him two years of recovery time, it would still not be enough.”

Twain raised his head to look at Constantine, shocked. “You mean…”

“I don’t think he’s fit to be a professional goalkeeper anymore.”

It was as if a thunderbolt had struck Twain. He froze for a moment and then shook his head, “What are you talking about, Professor?”

“He suffered a severe impact in his head. Although he has recovered from his surgery and I think there is no problem for him to live out an ordinary life, he’s no longer suited for fierce professional football.” Constantine explained more in more detail.

“Not everyone can resume their careers after such a serious injury,” Constantine said with an apologetic expression.

Twain suddenly stood up from his seat, which startled him.

He looked at Constantine with an expression that made the professor uncomfortable. However, he soon lowered his head and looked up again without the unnerving expression in his eyes. “But Professor, the test results have not come out yet, have they?”

Stunned for a moment, Constantine nodded. “Yes, the results are not out yet. What I had just said was based on my personal judgment and experience. Perhaps the situation is not so bad?” He shrugged his shoulders and tried to smile with ease.

Twain smiled at him, too. This man was a resounding figure in the country’s medical world and had been engaged in clinical research for many years. His experience was a source of wealth itself. When he said his diagnosis was based on his personal experience, he would be right most of the time.

“In that case, I’ll wait for your call tomorrow, Professor.” Twain waved his hand as he left Constantine’s office.

In the car back to the training base, Twain sat in the back without talking. Driving in the front seat, Landy did not feel right to ask. He knew that Tony must have encountered a problem. This man always looked fearless but in fact, he had a lot of worries inside. The other people would not know, but as someone who could almost be considered as “a private driver” to Twain, he was well aware of it.

Twain was thinking of a football fantasy novel he had read before he transferred. It was a novel that was quite well known on the Internet. After the protagonist suffered from an injury that could potentially destroy his entire career, he had been miraculously cured by an unknown Chinese physician, and his ability went up another level as if he had not had an injury, but had taken a tonic. It was an online fantasy novel, so the appearance of the plotline was normal. But in his view, it was because it happened to the protagonist. If it had been another character, the author might have arranged for the character to be a tragic character — like the example of the protagonist’s poor high school classmate.

At the time, he regarded everything that happened to the protagonist as a fantasy plot of the novel. Now the cruel reality had appeared, blood-drenched, in front of him.

How big a blow would it be to a professional footballer like Paul Gerrard if he could no longer continue his career?

Indeed, Twain admitted that Paul was not capable enough to be the main goalkeeper. His character was ordinary, not very appealing, and the media was not concerned with him. It was as if he was born as a supporting character. But in Twain’s eyes, he was one of his players. In his world, there was no difference between the leading and supporting characters. They were all the same, played for him and received his training.

You’re not the leading character, Paul Gerrard… If you want the lead role, fate will show you the light of miracles and bring you back to your feet from the dark abyss of hell. No matter how preposterous and unthinkable this fate may seem, as long as you are the central character.

He sighed softly.

When Eastwood was injured and wanted to give up, he ran to the hospital and said to him that fate was like a net with different paths entangled and intertwined together. It was up to him to choose. Eastwood, the optimistic Romani, chose to move forward. He could not even say that to Paul Gerrard because fate did not even give him a chance to choose. Maybe for Paul Gerrard, fate was a straight line up and down without a fork in the road like a sheep’s intestines. It never gave him a moment of glory. Having met the right manager after much difficulty and had the hope to touch the championship trophy, he had to face the problem of whether he would face retirement or die on the field one day due to this damned serious injury.

Was this considered a choice?

G*ddamnit!

※※※

The next day, Professor Constantine directly called Twain’s cell phone. He was training the team, and Paul Gerrard was on the training ground doing a separate training with the goalkeeper coach.

“Not good news.” Constantine did not openly say “bad news.” He probably took Twain’s feelings into account. He knew the man cared a lot about his players, looked after them well, and treated them as if they were his own family.

Twain was in a better mood than Constantine thought. Perhaps because he figured some things out on his way back to the training base yesterday. When he heard Constantine, he did not show that his heart had sunk. Instead, he silently waited for the professor to finish speaking.

“As a doctor, I recommend letting him retire.”

His eyes watched Paul Gerrard behind his sunglasses, but the owner of the eyes still did not talk.

Both men were quiet for a moment at both ends of the line.

“Is there no other way?” asked Twain.

“I don’t joke about other people’s lives, Tony.” Constantine’s tone was exceptionally serious. It was only at that point that Twain was able to reconcile him as a doctor who worked on research. “He’s lucky that he did not die from that injury. I’m not trying to frighten you with my alarmist talk. In 1931, the 22-year-old Celtic goalkeeper, John Thomson saved the shot by the Rangers striker, Sam English at the famous Glasgow derby but also sustained a fractured skull from the collision. He lost his life in the hospital five hours later. The good thing is that Paul survived. But if he returns to the field again, his brain injury could lead to life-threatening injuries. He will face what is medically known as ‘second impact syndrome.’ Once the injured area suffers another impact, it could be fatal even if the collision was not fierce. And…”

He paused for a moment before he continued. “I asked him some questions yesterday if there were any other problems besides the vision blurriness, headaches, and slow response. He told me that he has had intermittent amnesia recently. So I want to correct what I said to you yesterday about his daily life not being affected. He has already been affected. His symptoms are mild for now. If treatment is maintained, the symptoms can be managed, but once he takes part in a fierce professional competition… God only knows what’s going to happen. English football, as you know, is an intense league tournament.”

Twain knew this. Injuries were all too common for people who played in the English league, but a collision to the head was definitely not as commonplace.

“So… retirement is the only way?” Twain asked.

“Yes, Tony.”

Constantine answered simply and without hesitation. He announced the death penalty for a professional athlete just like that.

“Thank you, Professor. I owe you another favor.”

“Don’t say that, Tony. I’m also a fan of the Forest team and I don’t want any of the Forest players to leave. But at the same time, I’m a doctor and I have to be responsible for my patients.”

“I know, I understand. Goodbye, Professor. Now I’m going to worry about how to break it to Paul…”

After he hung up the phone, Twain watched the training for a while on the sidelines. He found that Paul Gerrard quickly finished his training and walked off the field.

The goalkeeper coach noticed that Twain had looked that way. He pointed to his temples, and then shrugged his shoulders and spread his hands.

Paul had to stop practice early because of an attack of headaches. It looked like things had gotten worse.

Some players noticed that Gerrard left the training ground early, and they whispered to each other. Everyone was happy when Paul had announced his return, because the boss had said that he did not want anyone to be left behind when they went to Athens. He wanted everyone to be present. With the most serious injury, Paul was able to return to the team, so everyone felt they were ready for the final game, and the championship title had to be theirs.

Now it appeared as if the problem was not as simple as they had thought.

Kerslake whistled loudly to remind everyone that they were still in training and that it was time to take a break.

Twain stood on the sidelines for a while, waiting for Paul’s figure to disappear completely. He was likely to go shower and change in the locker room before he quietly left the training ground.

He wanted to go to the locker room and talk to Paul. Even though it was cruel, he was going to lay the cards out. It was better than risking Paul’s life.

Football was just football after all. It could not and should be more important than life.

He ran into Paul Gerrard outside the locker room entrance. The latter had just taken a shower and changed his clothes.

“Are you going back, Paul?” Twain asked, startling the other man.

“Why are you here, boss?” After he clearly saw who it was, Paul was a little embarrassed.

“Why can’t I be here?” said Twain with a grin, trying not to let the other man guess his intentions from his face. “Are you going home, Paul?” He asked again.

Paul Gerrard did not immediately answer. He kept quiet for a while before he tentatively opened his mouth to speak. “No, I was going to look for you, boss.”

“Look for me?” Twain did not need to fake the surprise on his face.

“Yes.” Gerrard nodded. “I have thought for a long time, and asked my wife for advice… She disapproved of continuing to play football.”

Gerrard said it easily, or deliberately made his tone sound relaxed, but Twain’s heart was not at ease at all. What he had wanted to say to Gerrard was spoken by the other man first…

Should he be relieved, or feel worse?

“What are your thoughts?”

“I think I should listen to my wife.” Gerrard smiled at Twain. “I’m afraid of death, too, and I’m scared that I don’t know when I’m going to die on the field. Although I have always been a substitute goalkeeper and there are not many opportunities to play, there will be times when I have to play.”

Looking at his smile, Twain felt a little sad. He wanted to smile and comfort the other man but could not smile.

“So… I decided to retire at the end of the season.”

Twain had many words inside but did not know where to start. He could only look at Gerrard.

With that, Gerrard breathed a sigh of relief and clapped his hands. “You see, boss. A lot of people say it’s hard to make a retirement decision, but I have said it now. In fact, it’s nothing other than my body just doesn’t want me to keep playing, so I will retire. It’s as simple as that.”

Twain smiled. “Yes, it’s that simple.” He did not know what else to say.

Gerrard looked more at ease after he said what he had to say. He smiled and asked, “boss, do you see any work at the club that I can do? Even turf maintenance will do.”

Twain’s brain fired up. He winked at Gerrard. “Seriously, I want you to stay on the team and be a goalkeeper coach.”

Gerrard froze for a moment. He did not think Twain was joking.

“I need someone to help me and you’re the person for it, Paul. What do you think?”

“I… I have to go back and ask my wife.” Gerrard said hesitatingly.

Twain laughed. “What a henpecked man!”

His mood greatly improved.

Retirement was nothing but the end of a journey, and the beginning of another journey. Even though he could not be a player, he could still be a coach. If he loved football so much, it did not matter what he did. Retirement? That was just a conventional statement.

※※※

After he said goodbye to Gerrard, Twain returned to the training ground and found the players on a break. The coaches also gathered and chatted together during the water break.

When he saw him come back, Dunn quietly walked over.

“All settled?”

Twain nodded.

“What did you say to him?”

“I didn’t say much. He did all the talking… He brought up his hope of a retirement to me and he seemed to have already decided.” Twain’s eyes wandered as he spoke. He looked around, and not many people noticed his conversation with Dunn. He did not want the news to leak out before the Champions League final. “I did not persuade him, nor did I know how to persuade him. But I suggested that he can be the team’s goalkeeper coach after retiring, whether it’s in the youth team or the adults’ team. What do you think?”

Dunn nodded. “It’s a good idea.”

“Poor man…” Twain sighed. “Tell Andy, have him to do simple training these few days. I’m worried about what can go wrong during training.”

“Do you still plan on taking him to Athens?” asked Dunn.

Twain turned to glance at him. “If not, what will happen? He’s the substitute goalkeeper for Edwin van der Sar, and our second goalkeeper. Previously it was because of his injury, and now that he’s back from his recovery, why can’t we take him to Athens?”

“I didn’t mean like that.” Dunn shook his head.

Twain turned around to look at Dunn. “Dunn, I know he’s just a substitute goalkeeper. Even if his retirement does not affect our strength, even though he’s not the leading character, not the core player, not the kind of great man that makes the earth go around, he’s still a Nottingham Forest player and my player. I don’t fancy that everyone follows me wholeheartedly. There are no moments of glory in his career, so I hope to give him one last glory before he retires… At the very least, I want him to hold the trophy wearing his jersey instead of sitting in the stands wearing a suit.”