Godfather Of Champions

The area which Guardiola was most careful about these days was not on the training ground, but on the team doctor’s side. Iniesta and Milito were injured in the game against RCD Espanyol, with Iniesta slightly injured. The team doctor said at the time that he was likely to play against Nottingham Forest. So, after playing in the war of the century with Real Madrid, he began to care about this issue for fear of a relapse.

Iniesta was now the team’s midfield core. He and Xavi managed things well in the midfield for Barcelona’s offense. Barcelona was considered to be the team that played most beautifully on the planet at the moment, and it was to the credit to the both of them.

Guardiola did not want to lose that player when it came to deal with the aggressive Nottingham Forest.

Aside from Gabriel Milito’s slightly more serious injury, he did want to come up with the strongest lineup to deal with a tiger like Tony Twain.

Two days before the game, the good news finally came. After a detailed physical examination of Iniesta by the team doctors, they confirmed that he recovered well and was in good form. He could play in the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals.

Guardiola could finally heaved a sigh of relief.

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Despite the life-and-death battle between the two teams, there was already tension between the two managers. But the relationship between the players was not as bad as what the outsiders thought. As a Barcelona player who had played for Nottingham Forest for many years, Piqué still had a good relationship with a few people even though many of his former teammates had left Nottingham Forest, such as Bale and Lennon, as well as his former center back partner, Pepe at Nottingham Forest.

Fortunately, Twain got used to it a few months early. Otherwise he really would not know how he would feel when he saw Real Madrid’s future main center back and the future Barcelona’s main center back joking together and acting like brothers…

Of course, there were also some media that used this relationship as speculation. When the Nottingham Forest team arrived in Barcelona, Pepe was asked such a question in the interview. Pepe did not mince words to say he and Piqué were good friends, “… We had a good understanding on the pitch, and I enjoyed that time. Of course, I currently work well with Kompany, Woodgate and other teammates… But I thought it was normal that he left. After all, he came out of La Masia… You ask what happens when it comes to the game? I certainly will not hold back. Friendship is friendship and the game is the game …”

Piqué also responded to Pepe’s words, “… Yes, I still remember my time at Nottingham Forest. But I’m clear-headed and know what the game is. You don’t have to doubt my loyalty to Barcelona. Otherwise I wouldn’t have chosen to leave Nottingham Forest then. Maybe I’ll treat them out to a meal after the game, but until then I just want to beat them.”

He was also asked by the reporters how it felt to work with Twain. Piqué was slightly upset by the recent Catalan media’s aggressive and strong comments about Twain, which were already sufficient to constitute personal attacks and slanders—leaving aside his loyalty to the team and the manager, Guardiola did not hold the same place as Tony Twain in Piqué’s mind.

So, he decided to put aside his previous “no comment” attitude and say something nice about Twain, “Tony Twain is a charismatic manager. He seems to have a magical aura that captivates you. There are a lot of criticism of his style in England, but his players always stand with him.”

The Catalan media were not happy with the answer. They wanted to hear the voices of the Barcelona players joined in opposition to the same adversary, rather than such an “anomaly.” Then someone asked, “But every player who left Nottingham Forest did not seem to have anything good to say about him…”

Piqué laughed, “Am I not one?”

“What about Guardiola?”

It was a trap, and Piqué carefully went around, “They are both very good managers. I have the privilege of playing for them and won the Champions League titles.” Piqué won two Champions League titles under Tony Twain and under Guardiola, he lifted the championship cup for the third time last season. Therefore, when it came the experience of getting the Champions League title, he might have more than many of his current teammates.

Piqué was probably the only player in the Barcelona team who had goodwill toward Nottingham Forest and Tony Twain. The other players did not speak as nicely during the interview.

“There is no doubt that we will win.”

“I want a victory.”

“We’re the defending champions!”

…

And so on. Declarations like this made people think that Barcelona was full of confidence.

What did the master of psychological warfare, Tony Twain think of this?

“The louder the clamor is at this time, the more nonsense being said, the more they prove that they lack confidence, and must use this false bravado to boost some confidence in themselves. As for me? I never talk nonsense before a game.” He casually dismissed Barcelona’s angry attacks even though a number of Catalan media derided him as giving himself a slap in the face, “If he ‘never talks nonsense before a game’, then maybe it’s the end of the world.” Some Barcelona fans in China even lashed out at Twain’s “thick skin is as thick as the Great Wall.” On the internet, they even traded insults with those they labeled as “country bumpkin upstarts”, the rising emergence of a large number of Nottingham Forest fans following the rise of the Forest team.

That was what Twain said, and that was what he did. Since the team’s arrival in Barcelona, he refused to accept interviews of unidentified origin. If the outsiders wanted to know what the manager was doing, they could only find out through Pierce Brosnan’s <Nottingham Evening Post>. Still, he gave pitifully little information to the “royal correspondent.”

He was focused on preparing for the game and intended to wage a big war at Camp Nou.

The media complained that “Tony Twain’s secretive time” had returned and did not know why he liked closed door training so much. But what made the media even more miserable was that even though Tony Twain drove them away like they were flies, they did really scrabbled madly for him like flies to a cake. To put it bluntly—they were really lowly.

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On April 16th, after a month of repeated hype, both sides engaged in numerous wars of words, mixed with Derbi barceloní, El Clásico, Nottingham Forest’s heavyweight games against Chelsea and other teams, this high-profile clash that would leave both sides shattered was finally on the verge.

By this time, all the noise seemed to disappear. Whether it was the Forest team’s side or Barcelona’s side, no one jumped out and spat at each other. If they still clung to the outcome of war of words at this time, then they could not be considered as qualified professional players.

On the day of the game, there was only ninety minutes in the game to decide which team could finally be able to hold their heads up high and which team could only hung their heads in dejected and go home with the tails in between their legs. If they did not want to be trampled in the mud and be humiliated after the game, then they had to put all their efforts into the game.

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Tony Twain was in the luxurious away team locker room at Camp Nou, giving the players one last reminder and special instruction.

“Iniesta and Xavi are the playmakers in the game. More attention must be paid. Don’t give them too much space and time to get the ball in front of the penalty area. Our flanks should pay attention to the opponent’s full backs, especially on their right which is our left side. Today’s defensive task is quite important. Alves and Messi are both put here. But I don’t ask that you just defend, because that doesn’t work. Fight back at the appropriate time and let Barcelona know that if they dare to press on, we’ll fight back!”

Twain looked stern, and so were his players. No one would take such an opponent lightly, let alone it was the opponent’s home ground.

Using “luxurious” to describe Barcelona’s lineup today was probably not enough. “Terrifying” must be used.

On the tactical board, Twain listed the opponent’s starting lineup which he had just received:

The goalkeeper was Valdés. The center backs were Piqué and Puyol. The right back was Alves and the left back was Lahm, who joined the team from Bayern Munich this summer. The three midfielders were Yaya Touré who were further back, with Iniesta and Xavi in the front to organize the offense. Among the three strikers, Bojan was in the middle, Silva, whom Twain was interested in at one point, was on the left, and Messi was on the right.

The 34-year-old Henry had already left the club. While there were rumors of Eto’o being sold off cheap every season, but ultimately still remained in the squad, only for his main position to be replaced by Bojan. His speed, which he was so proud of, also gradually grew rusty with age. Other than his mouth, he was not his valiant self of the yesteryear.

This time, Twain had no intention of handing Messi over to Wood, as there were Xavi and Iniesta, the two players in the middle. It was impossible to cede the middle to them. So, the main responsibility of Wood and Tiago would be in the middle to directly defend against the two playmakers in the midfield. Messi was left to Baines, Matías Fernández, and the others to take care of.

At the same time, the defensive pressure on the right side was not small either. Silva was not to be trifled with and Lahm was also a full back who exceled in assists.

Coupled with an agile Bojan, it was really a headache to face such an offensive lineup. The defensive side should handle everything and not be exposed.

If they really had to attack Barcelona head-on, there were probably few teams in the world that could fully withdraw. Twain cleverly chose to play defensive counterattack and placed many players in the middle of the backfield. To be on guard and defend to the end required the cooperation to the team.

“You have to make sure the formation stay in shape and not let them give and go to disrupt. The full backs do not have to withdraw by too much. It will give them the chance to play near the sides. Messi and Silva were great players. We have George and Tiago in the flanks. The range of activity should be appropriately increased, but don’t lose your positions.”

“Guys, this game is very demanding on the defense. But that doesn’t mean we don’t value offense. The aim of the away game is not to prevent defeat, but to score goals and score more goals. You must think of attacking anytime, anywhere during defense. But with defense as priority, we can’t give the offense too much support. This requires you, the attacking players to find your own way. But no matter what you do, you must be resolute. When there’s a chance, you must plug ahead and pass forward! Don’t think about the pointless question of whether the attack will be successful. You only think about getting the football closer to the other side’s goal, and that is success! As long as we can create enough trouble, Barcelona’s offensive momentum will naturally wane. There is no unadulterated offense and defense in this world. We must be more patient than the opponent!”

After he finished talking about the technical tactics required attention, Twain tossed aside the marker pen in his hand. He said, “Okay, guys. Let’s talk about something that’s not so dry. Will you be surprised If I say I’m not sure we can finally win the championship title this season?”

It appeared that most of the players were not surprised. Obviously they also had a certain understanding of their own strength.

“I always give people the impression that I’m arrogant and conceited. But I’m never blindly arrogant. When did I say we’d win the championship and not win? No, not once.” He shook his head. “But I can’t ask you for more this time. Barcelona is currently really strong, and I think it’s even stronger than last season when they won the Champions League title.” Twain said this with an imposing expression on his face.

But someone disagreed. Eastwood smiled and said, “Hey, chief. You’re kidding us, aren’t you? I’ve been with you all these years and never seen you so afraid of a team…”

Twain glared at him and said, “It’s not fear. I’m never afraid of an opponent, but I hope you don’t develop a blind self-confidence, which will only push us into the dark abyss. To be honest, I haven’t thought to advance into any finals this season, so I’m happy to be able to encounter Inter Milan and Barcelona in two rounds in a row—I don’t have to wait until the final to meet one of them, which is great! I’m asking you now to play every game as if it were a final. Regardless of how far we can finally go, it’s beside the point! Totally beside the point!”

The boss’ anomaly today was not to boost morale for everyone before the game. The players really found it incomprehensible that he would say something that demeaned himself and gave high praise to the opponent… But when they saw the serious expression on the boss’ face, he was definitely not pretending. So, they also followed suit and wiped the smiles off their faces, leaving only frowns and piercing gazes. They always believed in the boss, and since the boss said so, they would do so as well.

“Play against Barcelona like they are our opponent in the finals, and then play against any opponents after like you would in a final! That’s all I ask of you.”

The players finally took to the pitch with this sentiment, while Twain and Dunn stayed at the back.

“What’s all that about?” Dunn asked.

“Barcelona is really strong, so I’ve got to scheme a little. An army burning with righteous indignation is bound to win.” Twain laughed slyly, “Tell them not to think about what to do in the future, to play the game like it was the finals, to play every game with their utmost efforts, and then when they suddenly want to stop to take a breather, they look up—wow, it’s already the finals!”

“So, do you think about winning the title or not?”

“If we’re in the finals, why should we do our best to fight for a runner-up spot?” Twain turned to look at his partner. His brown eyes flashed with an elusive glow.