340 Bright Red Part 1 (1/2)
(Author's apology announcement: Due to my mistake, when writing the latest chapter, I forgot that George Wood was suspended in the European tournament last season. Although the foul was committed in the UEFA Europa League, this suspension was a suspension for all European club events. Therefore, even though Wood would not play in the UEFA Europa League this season, this suspension would automatically carry over to the UEFA Champions League. As a result, Wood would not be qualified for the qualifying game. However, due to my negligence, Wood had already worn the captain's armband to play the game and overturned Riquelme. By the time I saw my readers' kind reminder, this chapter had already been completed and handed over to the editor responsible for the update, which basically made it impossible to change. So, I could only continue with the mistake and let Wood play the two qualifying games. Then, his three-game ban would start with the group stage. I hope everyone can kindly understand. If you have doubts when you see Wood in the game, please follow this explanation.)
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The competition was very intense. With the Nottingham Forest team full of expectations for the new season, how could Villarreal not be as well?
Both sides parried each other on the field. The speed of their offense and defense conversion was very fast.
The spectators were enjoying themselves.
But in reality, Pellegrini secretly complained in his heart.
The Spanish team was very uncomfortable with the pace of this type of offense and defense conversion. Furthermore, Villarreal still had Riquelme, whose ”slowness” was world-famous.
He knew it must have been deliberately arranged by the opponent's young manager. The English Premier League was the fastest league in the world, and this Premier League team was also very familiar with how to rip their opponents' defenses apart in a fast-paced attack-and-defend rhythm.
Nottingham Forest wanted to establish a home advantage for the qualifier.
Pellegrini paced back and forth on the sidelines, anxiously watching the field. He wanted to tell the team not to follow the opponents' rhythm. However, he could not do it from the sidelines. The deafening shouts in the City Ground stadium completely drowned out all the sounds he had made.
The Yellow Submarine players were unconsciously led by the nose by Nottingham Forest.
Riquelme also wanted to regain control of the rhythm and get the game back on a familiar track. But he was under so much pressure from George Wood that he could not fend for himself. So how could he lead his team?
He had to admit that this guy behind him was a lot better than he had been half a season ago. He might not be able to easily intercept the ball at his foot, but he could make him unable to pass the ball comfortably to where he wanted it to go. There was no way he could smoothly dribble the ball to break through without any impediment and clear the way for Villarreal's line of attack.
Wasn't that the purpose of defense?
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Off-field, Twain looked at Kerslake next to him and laughed. ”Looks like the captain's armband motivated him.”
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Twain was right. Wearing the captain's armband really did make Wood feel different. When his arms moved as he ran, he would catch a glimpse of the armband on his left arm from the corner of his eye and remind himself that he was the team captain now. What did it mean to be the team captain?
Just like Demetrio, he had to work harder than the others and even harder than before at any time and under any circumstances.
Wood did not know how to lead a team, and he certainly did not know how to lead the team to victory. All he could do was to help the team with practical actions. Previously, he could run 50,000 feet in a game. In that case, he would run 65,000 meters in this game.
Wood's style of football was very simple. He used running distance to measure whether he was doing his best.
Every time the captain's armband on his left arm appeared in the corner of his eye, it served to remind him repeatedly: