831 Three Battles (1/2)
Nottingham Forest had won two games in a row in the league. After beating Chelsea, they beat Middlesbrough on away. It was as if they had heard the motivating command and had greatly stepped up. Perhaps every step wasn't so steady. There was some fatigue and pain, but they were still progressive steps, nevertheless. They also climbed to being third in the rankings. Ranking between them and Arsenal was only Liverpool.
Then, on April 2, Nottingham Forest hosted Arsenal in the Champions League quarter-finals at home. Nottingham Forest would play Arsenal three times in a row in the next week: two rounds in the Champions League as well as a league game. This week would be a crucial week to decide what Nottingham Forest could achieve this season. The media had hurriedly played out ”the final battle” as the hot discussion title.
”Tony Twain says he's going to win the league this season. That was clearly a direct challenge to Arsène Wenger's Arsenal. Coincidentally, they would also need to face Arsenal in the quarter-finals of the Champions League. The result can vary a lot, and any outcome would be interesting for us as the audience. Arsenal winning both games against Nottingham Forest or Nottingham Forest winning both against Arsenal. Nottingham Forest being eliminated by the Champions League or Arsenal only winning the Champions League but allowing Nottingham Forest to win in the Premier League. Of course we cannot rule out Nottingham Forest giving up the league match to eliminate Arsenal from Champions League…
”… Tony Twain and Arsène Wenger have a good personal relationship, but this week they will surely forget about their relationship and fight each other for the league and the trophy. The game might be exciting…”
”… These are two teams who are meeting for the first time in the Champions League since the 05–06 season. Last time Forest eliminated Arsenal by a penalty shoot-out in the semi-finals. In the end they lost to Barcelona in the final. Will Arsenal be successful in their revenge this time?”
”… Arsenal is in good form now. They've won nine games straight in the league, and their margin with Nottingham Forest is only six points, but we can't look down on Nottingham Forest's potential in the match. I think Tony Twain is a coach who excels in playing such elimination matches. His team has momentum, and that momentum is perfect for elimination matches, so the ideal outcome would be for Nottingham Forest to abandon the league match and eliminate Arsenal.”
There was a lot of debate about what the outcome would be, and it suddenly seemed as if everyone had a point. That was for sure. The teams' respective supporters must think their team would get the best outcome.
At the door of Wilford, Twain was blocked by a group of reporters.
”I don't predict the outcome of the match beforehand.” Numerous microphones were pointed at him, but Twain only waved his hand. ”Yes, I have a good personal relationship with Arsène. He is a coach that I respect a lot, but that has nothing to do with the game. Don't try to set me up. I'm a lot smarter than you all think.”
He was cautious because the team had been particularly physically depleted recently, and three consecutive intensive games in a week might have a negative impact on the team—for instance, a physical breakdown at the last minute. He didn't want to be too negative or put too much pressure on the players.
Seeing that he was about to squeeze out the siege of reporters, a reporter anxiously shouted, ”Will three consecutive games against Arsenal have a negative impact on the team?”
”No, I think it's a good thing. After settling Arsenal this week, we can concentrate on other opponents.” Twain was stubborn as a duck. He didn't want to let others see his true inner thoughts.
Meanwhile, at the Kearney training base in north London, Wenger was also surrounded by a similar number of reporters.
”I'm looking forward to playing against Nottingham Forest again. Tony Twain is a very capable coach, as you would know from the number of championships he's won. Arsenal will be careful in handling this battle…”
Some journalists were tired of such politically correct answers. One asked aloud, ”After Alex Ferguson retired, is Tony Twain the only person you would regard as a worthy opponent, Arsène?”
Wenger looked up at the reporter who had asked the question and smiled. ”All the coaches are my opponents.”
”But will Tony Twain be that 'special one?'''
”He's certainly the special one, and he is also a popular icon anywhere he goes.” Wenger dodged the controversial topic with a joke.
The spat between the two coaches didn't start, much to the disappointment of the media. When Ferguson was there, whenever Nottingham Forest would play with Manchester United, Twain would not mind having a great trash-talking war with Ferguson, but this was always the case with Arsène Wenger. It was so boring.
For Wenger, Tony Twain was still not that ”special one.” Alex Ferguson, who had retired, was the ”special one.” It was like when Mourinho had left England; Twain felt a little lonely. Who knew. Maybe Wenger had also felt that way after Ferguson's retirement.
Francesc Fàbregas, Arsenal's current captain, was the flag-bearer of the Emirates Stadium. He was now the core of the Spanish national team's midfield and was already a superstar in the football world, but there was always a shadow in his heart that had not been mentioned before. That shadow had been buried deep in his heart before he had become famous. It was constantly reminding him that he was not the strongest person in the world.
He remembered meeting George Wood when he thought he was the best youth player in the world. There was no denying that the pitch that day was terrible and not conducive to his play, but on the other side was an unknown ordinary youth player. After the loss to Wood, he came back to collect information about Wood, and he was even more surprised. George Wood was a rookie who had only been receiving professional football training for less than a year! A total rookie!
The blow was big. He thought of himself as the best player in the World Youth Football Championship, which came out of Europe's famous youth camp Ramasia, only to lose to a rookie who had only been training professionally for less than a year. He was even going to start doubting whether he was suitable for football.
This was clearly not what Wenger would like to see, and Wenger was good at coaching the strengths of young players at this time. He counselled Fàbregas, telling him his loss to Wood was an accident because the conditions were so bad. ”You cannot doubt yourself. You can only say that the enemy was too cunning.” As for George Wood, Wenger told Fàbregas, ”Don't be fooled because he keeps a low profile. He is actually a genius of the same caliber as Fàbregas himself. The fight between the two geniuses, both having victories and losses would be normal. There was no need to be depressed.”
This consoled Fàbregas, who reflected again on his thoughts during his early fame and the defeat when he went against Wood. In that sense, it helped him and became a valuable asset in his career. Maybe he would need to thank Wood? But he would never admit this publicly.