436 Round Two (1/2)
25th April, Evening.
Nottingham, Trent Bridge.
A police car with flashing sirens was stopped by the roadside. Policemen in groups of two or three wore yellow reflective vests and walked around, patrolling. The receivers on their shoulders were constantly emitting rustling static sounds.
”Forest! Forest! Nottingham Forest!”
A group of Nottingham Forest fans in red jerseys waved the scarfs in their hands as they walked by, loudly chanting their slogan.
The police kept their eyes on the group of football fans who had just walked past, turning their heads to report the latest update of their assigned areas into the receiver.
”The situation here is good, nothing unusual. Over.”
”Northern Gates of stadium… Normal, over…”
The police officers who finished reporting cast their gaze to the group of fans, following them with their eyes as they walked far, crossing the Trent Bridge, before turning left to finally merge into a stream of countless people just like them. They meandered towards the structure standing on the riverbanks, City Ground.
A helicopter flew over their heads, blowing up a gust of wind.
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”For fans of Nottingham Forest, tonight is like the celebration of a major festival. It's the UEFA Champions League semi-finals! It's been a long, long time since they've experienced this sensation. City Ground has no empty seats. Perhaps Nottingham Forest Club's chairman, Evan Doughty, feels somewhat dissatisfied by the stadium's capacity… In truth, on such an important night, even more fans can only sit in the bar to watch the match because City Ground is unable to take them all in. Arsenal will be experiencing a tenacious fight in here while they face tremendous pressure on the away field… Welcome to round two of the 05-06 UEFA Champions League semi-finals!”
The sounds and noise from outside were cacophonous; fans' singing and a mess of other noises drifted in from the crack in the door.
Tang En walked to the locker room's doors and shut them. The noise immediately fell in volume; at the very least, everyone would be able to hear him speak now.
”Everyone. In 90 minutes, our fate for this season will be revealed.” Tang En cleared his throat, so his voice would not sound so scratchy, but to little avail. His voice had long been damaged from these few years of constant yelling.
”This is a match that will decide our destiny.” He leaned down and pressed his hands down on the table, looking at the players before him. Everyone's faces were serious.
”The semi-finals of the Champions League. I don't want to talk to you about how important it is. I'm sure you all already know it better than I do. Listen to the sounds outside. Our fans have never looked forward so much to a match as they have today. And, we can give them even more…” Tang En raised his hand and suddenly slammed it down. ”Victory!”
He looked at his watch. There was still some time before their appearance in the field. But he had nothing else much to say.
”I wanted to say just that. Take a rest and prepare to get on the field.”
He turned and pulled open the door, the noise from the outside finding its way in again in that instant. After he walked out and closed the door, the locker room resumed its quiet state.
Tang En walked directly towards the dedicated washrooms for them. He was very familiar with the path there. Before leading his first match with the Forest Team, he had hidden in the bathroom alone to calm himself down like this. He told himself that it was no big deal. Even if it were not a game, he was still going to carry on playing.
Now that he had carried on, he had gone on to become even better. He had gotten all the way to the semi-finals of the Champions League. That feeling of nervousness from back then returned. The second round was not the same as the first. This was the final 90 minutes. If they succeeded, they would be made. But, if they failed, there would be no opportunity to make up for it.
The pressure he had been feeling intensified significantly.
In front of his players, he made it seem as if he cared about nothing, that he was well-planned and had had everything prepared for a long time. He did not mind playing that character, but the pressure deep inside his heart also needed some release. Prior to the match, it was sometimes not a bad idea to curse at his opponents in front of the media. But he could not just casually scold his opponent for this match; Wenger and he still had some personal ties.
As a result, Tang En could only get the pressure off his chest by smoking a cigarette in the dedicated washroom.
He took out a cigarette from his pocket and lit it up, drawing a deep breath. As he breathed deeply, his heart also calmed.
From the left pane of the glass windows, he could see the field outside brightly lit with lights.
A group of children were currently trying to drag an enormous round banner with the UEFA Champions League logo towards the center circle of the field. The fans were already seated, while reporters were gathered on the two sides of the players' corridor all the way to nearby the midline. Armed with their cameras, all lenses were aimed at the players' corridor.
Everyone was anticipating this night and this match.
As one of the main leads, how could it be any other way for Tony Twain?
After finishing his cigarette, Tony, whose mood had completely calmed, walked out of the washroom. He walked through the narrow tunnels that led toward the home team's locker rooms.
When he turned the corner, he saw Wenger, who was also standing outside the doors. Hearing footsteps, Wenger turned and caught sight of Tang En.
”What a coincidence.” Tang En took the initiative to greet him.
”Yes, what a coincidence,” Wenger said blandly.
Wenger was not at all nervous, or at least he appeared that way. Tang En believed it could be because Wenger was a veteran general; he had already seen so much, he did not feel any nerves. However, from another perspective, this was also Arsène Wenger's first time leading a team into the semi-finals of the Champions League.
Bumping into each other like that was quite awkward. Both men were at a loss for what to say because they were opponents. They knew nothing about the destinies awaiting them.
Tang En walked to the doors of the home team's locker room. He turned to Wenger, who stood before the away team's locker room door, and said, ”I'll see you after the match.”
”Goodbye,” Wenger said concisely.
Tang En turned the knob and opened the door. His players all looked up at him.
”Everyone, are you ready?” He asked, leaning on the door frame.
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”They're coming in!” Someone in the stands shouted. Everyone around him shifted their gaze towards the exit of the players' corridors. Like casting a pebble onto the calm surface of a lake, the actions created a ripple through the entire spectators' stand.
The players from both teams walked in two files into the stadium amid cacophonous cheers. The ones leading Arsenal and Nottingham Forest were captains Henry and George Wood respectively.
Albertini continued sitting on the substitutes' bench for the match. As the season neared its conclusion, his body condition were unable to keep up. More often than not, he could only sit on the substitutes' bench, fielded only when the team needed him.
The condition he had displayed in the match against Inter Milan could not be sustained for long. As he aged, his body began struggling to keep up. Consciously, he started sitting closer to the technical area. During the match, he could overhear the voices of the managerial team discussing their strategies. From this moment on, he had to begin preparing for his own dream of being a manager in the future.
Each time Henry shook hands with Wood before the match, exchanging pennants and guessing for the coin toss, he would feel extremely intrigued; the captain before him was truly too young. Among the top six teams in the Premier League, Wood was the youngest of the captains. While Wenger had been said to value young people highly, Tony Twain was even more so. On the Forest Team, several players appeared more suitable than Wood to be the captain, such as Edwin van der Sar, who was a starter for every match.
In fact, it would not be so astonishing if it was merely about his youth; what was more surprising was that Wood was doing rather well in his position as a captain despite his youth.