254 Going Head-On Part 1 (2/2)

The match was about to begin.

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Old Trafford was England's largest football stadium. Although Wembley had a greater seating capacity, they also had running tracks and were therefore not considered a professional football stadium.

This stadium had 96 years of history behind it. After numerous expansions and renovation work, it could seat 67 thousand people. The red Old Trafford was once called the ”The Theater of Dreams” by a famous football star from Manchester, Bobby Charlton. This moniker was incredibly apt; whether from its scale or past glories, the Old Trafford could certainly to live up to it.

Today, 28th November 2004, Nottingham Forest team opened the curtains for the play in ”The Theatre of Dreams.” In the face of Roy Keane's defense, Albertini appeared calm and dignified. Compared to the other children on Forest, he was an experienced old general. Here, the only one who could be discussed at the same level as those football stars from Manchester was him, Demetrio Albertini. The old Spanish Midfielder, Hierro, was not included in the list of starters.

Keane clearly knew the kind of player he was facing and was in no hurry to rush forward. Instead, he boxed out the position.

Albertini looked up and surveyed the situation around him. In the left wing, Ribéry was closely marked by Gary Neville. On the right, although there was no one around Ashley Young, Ronaldo was prowling nearby. It seemed like a purposeful trap.

Ahead…

Needless to say, both Eastwood and Viduka were being closely marked. Even if the ball could pass through and be received by them, there was no way for them to turn around; they would only end up being surrounded by opponents.

Keane's positioning was excellent, much better than Wood's. It prevented Albertini from suddenly going for a break and passing. In the end, he could only choose to pass the ball back to George Wood.

Although the Wood of today was still quite distant from the skill level of Roy Keane, he was far from a new player who would be at a loss after receiving the ball.

Seeing Albertini's situation, he turned and passed the ball back to the right back, Chimbonda. With the full back in possession of the ball, Cristiano Ronaldo was not very active in pressing to get the ball. He took a step forward and attempted a steal but was easily passed from the side. Ashley Young saw Chimbonda move forward and hurriedly shifted towards the middle to make space for him.

Compared to Gary Neville on the right, Manchester's Left Back had always been a problem. Despite having tried a number of players for the position, Ferguson had yet to find someone he was satisfied with.

This Summer, he had bought the Argentine Gabriel Ivan Heinze from Paris Saint-Germain for a price of seven million. Based on his performance over the last few months, he had a good hold over the main position of the Left Back on Manchester United. Against Heinze, Chimbonda tried to break through but was intercepted. However, the Argentine failed to keep control of the ball; the ball he had managed to intercept was picked up by the alert Ashley Young from Cristiano Ronaldo's side.

Right after, Ashley Young took advantage of Heinze moving out of his position and broke in from the wings.

”Nottingham Forest is on the attack; their momentum is strong!”

As Heinze was already passed, the Center Backs of Manchester United needed to eke out a player to fill in. The responsibility fell to Wes Brown. But this way, Manchester United's penalty area became empty. Roy Keane had little choice but to patch up the space left behind by Brown. Defense was an engineered system; once a problem appeared somewhere, it would create a ripple effect down the chain.

Viduka, Eastwood, and Ribéry all cut forward into Manchester United's penalty area. Albertini alone stopped halfway outside it. At this point, Ashley Young passed to the center. He did not pass it towards the penalty area but instead to Albertini, who was just outside it. While Roy Keane was retreating to fill in the gap, he was also taking notice of Albertini's movements. He was sure of the Italian's abilities. Age was not a factor that would affect Albertini. They were both 32; they were far from being old.

”S**t!” With a curse, Keane turned and dashed outwards towards Albertini.

Albertini got into position; it was a pose for a direct shot! Albertini's banana shots were famous, only a fool would let him have a clear shot without any disruption!

Keane leaped forward in hopes of using his body to block Albertini's shot at the goal.

”The Italian is about to shoot!”

Ferguson stood from his seat with fisted hands, ready to curse.

But the curses he had set to unleash were quickly swallowed down; Albertini did not shoot. He positioned himself in that manner, but watched as the ball whizzed right past him.

When the ball landed at the foot of another Forest member, everyone was stunned. It was not just Manchester United players; even Forest's players themselves did not expect it. The one who had appeared at the landing point and received the ball was George Wood!