Godfather Of Champions

“The game is over! The game is over!” John Motson roared with joy. England had not beaten Germany in any international competition before the year 2000. In the group stage of the 2000 UEFA European Championship, England beat Germany with a goal by Shearer. But both teams were eliminated, and that victory was gradually forgotten by people. Since then, England had not met Germany in the international arena. In the eyes of the Germans, the England team was a second-rate team that could only show off its ability in non-important games. It could not be compared to the three times World Cup winner and three times UEFA European Football Championship title holder, Germany.

Such a view was unacceptable to the proud English people, who were also the forerunners of modern football and had never lost to Germany before 1968. Instead, now it was ridiculed by its opponent who was not worth mentioning at the time. Defeating Germany in an important international competition, and preferably knocking the Germany team out, was the biggest wish of all English people.

Now their dream had become a reality.

Just one minute before the match between Germany and England ended, a piece of heartening news for the English people came from another stadium – Portugal and Wales tied at 0:0 after a dreary game.

What did it entail?

One would know just by looking at the broken-hearted Germans, and then looking at Sammer’s desolate eyes.

The Germany team was eliminated!

The rankings from the latest results went like this: the England team, which had won twice and lost once in three games, was at the top of the group with six points. Portugal and Wales were tied with four points apiece with a win, a draw and a loss. But Portugal was ranked second based on its higher goal difference and Wales was in the third. England and Portugal would advance directly to the top 16, while Wales would have to wait for the final points rankings against teams from the other groups to see if they could finish as the best team among the third placeholders in the top four teams to advance to the next level. As for the Germany team… they were ranked fourth with one win and two defeats. They accumulated only three points and was confirmed to be eliminated.

“The Germans are going home! They don’t have to go too far, because a lot of German players are going on holiday in the sunny Spain…” Motson waved to the pitch below, “Goodbye to the Germans! Goodbye! Ah ha!”

The football feud between England and Germany was vividly reflected in this moment.

While the English people in the stands cheered their team’s victory, they did not forget to laugh at the Germans. They loudly chanted, “What’s wrong with your face? Matthias? Why do you look so sad?”

Then they sang “Time to say goodbye.” It was time to say goodbye, the things you haven’t had time to experience, and now you’ll never see them again… Time to say goodbye…”

At this time, the security guards and police force at the Nou Mestalla stadium were suddenly on high alert and stood in between the fans of both team with fierce expressions on each of their faces. They asked the England fans to remain in the stands for the time being to allow the German fans to leave first so as to avoid clashes between the fans of both teams as they walked out of the stadium. The England fans did not mind. They wanted to enjoy the joy of victory a while longer here.

There were fewer and fewer German fans in the stands. A few overly agitated German fans were still under police control. Only the England fans were left. They sang and danced in the stands.

On the pitch below the stands, the England players had just lined up to thank the fans and were enjoying the victory at present.

Twain was the first to rush onto the field when the final whistle blew. Instead of hugging the nearest player, he ran straight to George Wood, along with the team doctor, Derek Wright. The two of them clearly had the same thought.

“How’s the right foot, George?” The two men reached almost at the same time and asked in unison.

The scene was really a little comical but none of the three people laughed. Wood shook his head and said, “It’s nothing.”

“Don’t lie. I saw the look on your face just now!” Twain said sternly with a frown.

While Twain was still talking, Wright had already crouched down to check on Wood. That was when Twain caught a glimpse that some of the media had turned their attention over. He hurriedly said to Wright, “Don’t be hasty, Mr. Wright. Don’t let the bunch of reporters get any good news.”

Wright knew what Twain meant. He hurriedly got up and took his leave of the two men.

A reporter recognized him when he passed by the media. He had wanted to ask him about George Wood’s condition. But Wright just waved his hands, walked past him quickly and disappeared into the crowd.

Just as Twain grabbed hold of Wood’s shoulder, the sharp-eyed and quick photojournalists pressed the camera shutters to capture the scene.

It was a precious photograph: after a fierce battle, the team’s two biggest contributors embraced together to celebrate the victory.

“Congratulations on the victory. Can you say a few words to us? Mr. Twain!” The reporters extended the microphones to Twain’s lips.

“I’m very happy that my team has advanced out of the group stage and defeated Germany.” Twain had nothing much to say.

The reporters could only turn the microphones to Wood when they saw that Twain was being uncooperative, “Congratulations on your wonderful performance in the game, George! Can we ask about your right foot…”

“There’s no problem.” Wood replied categorically.

“Will you be in the starting lineup in the next game?”

Wood was about to open his mouth to answer the question when he was interrupted by Twain’s voice. “I’m sorry, my player just had a tough game. He needs to rest now. Can you not stand in our way?”

This group of reporters rolled their eyes when they heard it. George Wood had went on and ran for fifteen minutes. Why would he need a break? The excuse was …

Twain did not care what they thought. He held Wood and squeezed out of the crowd. A procession of reporters pursued them along the way, but he turned a blind eye to them.

Until they entered the tunnel, then Wood asked, “Why didn’t you let me answer the question just now?”

“I’m afraid you would say the wrong thing.”

“I can play in the next game.”

“It depends on the results of the team doctor’s examination.” Twain turned to look at Wood as he said, “The situation was too risky today. I do not want to do it again. For the sake of my heart, just bear with it a little longer, George.” He said with a smile.

Wood was out of ideas when he brought up his heart condition. He was silent.

When Twain saw his mood became a little low, he hurriedly patted his head to comfort, “Aren’t you quite confident about your own body? The team needs you, George. I won’t always keep you on the substitutes’ bench.”

Wood stopped to look at him, as if he was trying to glean from his expression whether his words were true or just to placate him.

Twain did not shy away from his eyes.

Wood did not see that he meant to placate him with those, so he believed Twain.

“Let’s go, George.” Twain patted him on the back and added, “Go back and have a good rest. There are more intense matches waiting for you.”

※※※

After seeing Wood to the locker room, Twain finally accepted interviews by the reporters. He admitted that the game was tough and also praised the Germany team for its performance.

When a reporter asked if he knew that Wood was still a little injured when he brought George Wood on at the last minute, Twain gave pause for a moment. Eventually he nodded and said, “He hasn’t fully recovered from his injury, but I think it’s okay for him to play ten minutes.”

“Are you worried that he will aggravate his injury?” The same reporter followed up with a question.

Twain had to appraise the reporter who raised the question again. This person was actually in a suit in this weather, wearing a white shirt with a tie, with his hair combed back and not a strand out of place. He was also wearing a pair of black-rimmed glasses and appeared to be matured, but this person also looked not over thirty years old. Was he from The Sun? He had not seen this man. Or from the News of the World? He did not look like it…

Twain frowned and said, “I’m not worried. We know all about his recovery from his injury.”

He told a lie because he did not want to continue to tangle with the group of reporters here.

The reporter’s questions made Twain lost his mood for the interview. He quickly made his way to the locker room to see the results from the team doctor, Wright’s examination of Wood.

“Mr. Twain, I still have a question!”

Twain, may I ask if George Wood will be in the starting lineup in the round of 16? Or will he just play during the game…”

Seeing him leaving, the group of people hurriedly shouted without any regard for order.

Twain turned a deaf ear and turned a blind eye as he pushed the reporters aside and squeeze out of the crowd.

He pushed open the door to the locker room. Some of the players had already returned. As for those players who had not returned, they must be at the interviews in the mixed zone. Seeing the boss appear at the door of the locker room, everyone looked over and greeted Twain. Twain nodded his head in response and went straight to a corner where Wright was examining Wood’s right toe.

“How is it, Mr. Wright?” Twain asked.

Derek Wright looked up at Twain, then stood up and motioned for them to go out to talk.

Next to them, Wood watched the two men gradually walk out the door and then closed it.

“George, how’s your injury?” As soon as the boss left, the players suddenly gathered around and asked with concern.

Wood shook his head and replied, “I think it’s all right. But …” He looked toward the door and everyone knew what that meant.

The person who would decide whether Wood’s right toe was okay was not himself, but the two men who had just stepped outside together.

※※※

Outside the locker room, the two men dodged the crowd and found a corner that no one noticed to start a conversation that was likely to be relevant to the England team’s path in the future.

“From a purely medical point of view, I suggest letting him do strength and endurance training the day after tomorrow and not come into contact with the ball. As to what to do after that, we have to keep observing. I have just examined it. His injury is not too big a problem, but I can’t tell you at this point how it will definitely be or not be.” As the head team doctor, Derek Wright had always been cautious. He had to be cautious as it directly affected a player’s future career. If he misjudged and said something wrong, it was likely to ruin the future of a promising professional player.

It was not as if there was no precedent for such a thing in English football, because most of the English clubs’ former team doctors were not truly qualified doctors. They even did not have any knowledge about sports medicine, thinking that using a “magic sponge”, they could cure a hundred illnesses.

Such tragedies had occurred in the Redknapp family, a famous football family in England. The former Liverpool captain, Jamie Redknapp’s brother, Mark Redknapp, was originally a promising professional footballer. As the hopeful star at Bournemouth Football Club, he was injured in a game and carried off the field. After which, he could only walk on crutches.

What was initially an ankle fracture, it was instead recklessly diagnosed by the club’s team doctor as “ligament strain.” As a result, in the following year with the condition of a fractured ankle, he continuously trained, played in games, was injured and recovered Then he would train again, appeared in games, and be injured again… Until he finally had to end his career early and become a football agent. But he tried not to watch football matches in the stadiums. Football had left him with no good memories, and it was all thanks to an irresponsible and inexperienced “Mr. Nanguo.”

“If it is possible, it’s better to undergo an X-ray.” He added.

However, Twain found the request difficult. “We didn’t bring such equipment to Spain…”

“Where’s the local hospital?”

“I don’t know, but I can try asking.”

“Then explain it to them.”

Twain nodded in agreement with the suggestion. He dared not treat George Wood’s problem lightly. Even though it was a bit of a hassle, it was worth it. He also wanted to give himself a peace of mind.

After the decision was made, both men seemed to feel a little more relaxed. Wright even joked with Twain, “Although it was dangerous to get Wood on the pitch in the last ten minutes, we also confirmed one thing: George’s form is still there and there is no problem coordinating with the team. You can rest assured, Tony.”

Twain smiled, “He has always been like this, so impossibly stable that it would frustrate the enemies.” His tone suggested he was rather proud of it. After all, George Wood was cultivated by him. It reflected well of him that Wood was doing well.

The two men chatted casually and returned to the locker room. The players who were being interviewed outside had all come back. When they saw the boss come in, they all looked over to him. They had defeated their sworn enemy, the Germany team and even gained the top spot in the group to smoothly advance. Everyone still wanted to hear praise from the boss.

Twain did not disappoint them. When he saw that everyone was present, he said beaming, “Well done, guys. We’ve just won Germany and even sent them packing home!” He made gesture of kicking butts which made the players laugh.

England and Germany had a feud in football. Although Twain was not an Englishman at heart, his players were English, so he must act the same and view this feud as important. In this way, it would help to boost the team’s morale and rally the hearts of the people. If he ignores the fact that the entire country placed a lot of importance to this opponent, then he could not establish the trust within his team. That was another reason why Twain was so focused on the game against Germany.

It was as if the manager of the Chinese national team had said he did not care about the outcome of the match before the game between China and Japan. That he even found the feelings of enmity toward the Japanese displayed by the players, media and football fans inexplicable and remained indifferent. His position in the locker room would have plummeted and he would receive little support from people.

“Now you all can relax for a little. We’ll have a holiday tomorrow! But I must remind you…” Twain’s expression became serious again as he said, “I don’t want you to be in a good form for one game and be terrible for the next. I don’t want a repeat of the game against Wales. Every game from now on is a game of knockout. Losing a game means we’re the ones to go home! Our goal is to be the champion. No one is allowed to drop out of the team before we lift the championship trophy!”

At the end of the lecture, Twain put his hands together and announced, “Well, now pack up your things and head back to the hotel. You can have a good night’s sleep tonight, England’s heroes!”