338 The Captain’s Armband Part 1 (1/2)
Tang En did not dare take Villarreal CF lightly. In the past, though the team was only capable of ranking between the lower and middle tiers within Spanish football leagues and had little fame to their name, Tang En knew exactly how strong this season's Villarreal CF was.
The 05-06 season was one of the most glorious seasons for Spain's ”Yellow Submarine,” Villarreal CF. From the beginning of the Champions League qualifiers, where they defeated Everton (ranked fourth in the English Premier League), they commenced their stunning journey as the dark horse of the Champions League. On the way, they eliminated Celtic F.C. and A.S. Roma, battling all the way into the semi-finals of the Champions League. However, they could not defeat Wenger's Arsenal in the semi-finals and had to, regrettably, halt their steps at reaching the top four.
Villarreal CF's line-up for this season was not actually its strongest. In truth, that would occur only one season later. However, the current capabilities of the team were enough to be considered the strongest in the club's history.
In Barcelona, Riquelme was an untrusted player when he was under Louis van Gaal and Frank Rijkaard, However, in El Madrigal (Villareal CF's home), he found his place as a core player; Villarreal CF made him the core of the team, with the team's strategy revolving around him. The team's offensive pace was controlled by him alone, strung along in tandem with the speed of his movements.
In the last season, Nottingham Forest had already suffered at his hands during the Europa League matches. In this match, Riquelme was slated as a priority target to mark. And of course, the person defending him was still George Wood.
Wood was evidently quite excited about his mission, filled with eagerness to try. Since the time he heard that Forest's opponent in the Champions League qualifier was to be Villarreal CF, he had been anticipating this day.
He did not care about the kind of position Riquelme had in the football scene or the Argentine team, one of the strongest in the world. He only knew one thing: he had once lost to this person, and now he was going to win.
Of course, as the main manager, Tang En's considerations were not only for the issue of Riquelme. He was well-aware that Villarreal CF's gobsmacking achievements in this season were not just because of Riquelme's go-between play in the midfield, or Forlan's siege in the forward line. Instead, the crux was an Argentinian player, Sorin, hidden behind Riquelme.
The Argentine captain's tireless running on the field to intercept and assist was the true moving force propelling the submarine forward.
If Forlan and Figueroa were the torpedo launcher, and Riquelme was the control room, then Sorin would be the engine of the yellow submarine.
Just like Sorin, another escort of the submarine for Riquelme was the Brazilian defensive midfielder, Marcos Senna. Even though Senna was Brazilian, he had no hope of being selected for the National Team in the land of Brazil which was filled with experts. Instead, due to his outstanding performance in the La Liga matches, he attracted the favor of the Spanish manager, Camacho. At the end of the year, Senna would be granted Spanish citizenship. Rumor had it that Camacho was interested in bringing Senna, a Brazilian with Spanish citizenship, into Spain's National Team. Senna could play numerous positions, not just as a defensive midfielder; he could also play as fullback. He would be a beneficial addition to Spain's defense.
The Villarreal FC under Chilean Manager Manuel Pellegrini was a team consisting of excellent football stars with a strong emphasis on unity. The overall team was a team with tenacious combat ability.
Such an opponent was tough to deal with, so it was no surprise that Everton met their end at their hands.
That was what occurred during the same period in Tang En's memory. Right now, right here, in City Grounds, Tang en did not wish for history to develop as he remembered.
Utilizing the time before the match began, Tang En went through their strategy in the locker room with the players once more. He reminded them of how they could interfere with Riquelme's performance, block Sorin's path forward, prevent Senna from assisting Riquelme, and contain Forlan so that he remained helplessly isolated.
All those strategies were already implemented and practiced during their usual training sessions, but Tang En still felt the need to repeat himself again before the match. The pressure on him for the match was not minor. The club had spent so much effort as well as funds, and the fans were all harboring enormous hopes for the Forest Team in the new season. If they suffer a thrashing defeat in their first match, Tang En would not know how to look at all those faces in the spectators' stand afterward.