204 Get Ready Part 1 (1/2)

Chapter 204: Get Ready Part 1

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The entry of the two champion players, Demetrio Albertini and Fernando Hierro, was a great boost to morale. In general, the current Forest team could be regarded as a young team. The players were dynamic, energetic and motivated, but lacked experience. And Hierro and Albertini, two veterans who had led big-name teams to victory in the UEFA Champions League, could bring the experience and stability that the young players required. Tang En believed that having the older guys on the team would benefit the team a lot, both in training and in the games.

He had to admit that when he went to look for those two old guys, he was somewhat motivated out of the selfish interest as a fan who used to like them. Nevertheless, the difference between having the veterans in the Forest team and not having them was pretty obvious. It could be seen during the training. Young players always liked to imitate the famous players and Albertini and Hierro were willing to teach these kids during training.

Although Piqué was a Barcelona player, Hierro, the former Real Madrid captain, took great care of his fellow Spaniard junior.

And as for Albertini, Twain specifically asked George Wood to learn from Albertini. Not only to learn his defensive stance and route running, but also to learn his ability to organize offense. Albertini was not just a defensive midfielder.

Twain had high hopes for Wood and wanted to make Wood more well-rounded. He could not lose his defensive gift and talent, but his offensive capability should not be nil, either.

He would often praise the achievements of Hierro and Albertini in front of all the team members, hinting at the players that they were their role models.

Privately, he also hoped that Hierro and Albertini could help these young men on the team, and that the two veterans would not refuse to do so.

That summer, Manchester United and Arsenal had not been as active in the transfer market, so Chelsea, with its newly appointed manager, and the high-profile promoted Nottingham Forest attracted a lot of attention.

Since the arrival of José Mourinho at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea had brought in several strong players such as Arjen Robben, Mateja Kežman, Petr Čech, Didier Drogba, and many others. In addition, Mourinho also brought in his players under his direct command in FC Porto: Ricardo Carvalho, Paulo Ferreira and Tiago Mendes.

As Chelsea's new manager, Mourinho came at the heels of his championship title of the UEFA Champions League. That title was much more luminous than Twain's.

What interested the British media was that Mourinho was clearly not an easy man to deal with. When he started work at Chelsea, his speech to the players on the first day of team training was leaked to the media.

”Standing in front of me is a group of outstanding players. But boys, you have to remember—there is a great coach standing in front of you. I, José Mourinho, am a European championship manager!”

Prior to this, during a press conference held by Chelsea to welcome him, he looked directly at the cameras and said point-blank, ”Please don't call me arrogant, but I'm European champion and I think I'm a special one.”

No matter what other people thought, the media was happy. Tony Twain had just led the Forest team to their promotion to the English Premier League, and everyone still remembered the scene where he had made Mark Lawrenson shave his beard in front of the entire British television audience. And now came a Portuguese man who completely held his own next to him, spoke in fluent English, and exuded the mature charm of a successful man. He would become an excellent media figure in every aspect.

The only regret the media had was that, by the middle of July, the two most individualistic managers had not directly faced off against each other in the transfer market. The Forest team repeatedly blocked Manchester United and Arsenal from getting the players they liked in the transfer market, with only Chelsea seemingly being left alone.

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Allan calculated and provided Twain with an account of his spending during the transfer period. At the end of it, Tang En was surprised to find that he had not spent much money. Could it be that he was too accustomed being poor?

Up until now, the Forest team had bought a total of seven players. Ushering in Piqué only cost two hundred and twenty thousand pounds, the introduction of Bendtner had only cost two hundred thousand pounds, and buying Lennon had only cost one million. Then, he had obtained the three players—Ribéry, Albertini and Hierro—for free. One million pounds were spent to buy Chimbonda from SC Bastia. The center back Matthew Upson was the Forest team's biggest expense: four million pounds.

Saving money was good, but Allan hoped that Twain would continue to increase their investment in the transfer market. Although Albertini and Hierro were championship-level players in Twain's eyes, they were older, and their appeal was not as big as before. Twain had previously focused on how to maximize the ability of the team, and had ignored the needs of the market.