Godfather Of Champions Chapter 380

When Anelka put his index finger on his lips to make a "keep quiet" gesture, the Bernabéu stadium went quiet for a moment, but immediately got even louder .

The Real Madrid fans hated the French striker to the core . They did not hesitate to put up their middle fingers at the arrogant Frenchman and abuse him with the most commonly used insults in Spain .

Ear-splitting cheers rang out from Nottingham Forest substitutes' bench and resounded clearly in the midst of the booing of the entire stadium .

The Forest team's substitutes stood on the sidelines and applauded Anelka . Twain pumped his fists in celebration of the goal . He was not celebrating, he was demonstrating in front of Bernabéu .

Being ahead of Real Madrid was not very exciting to Twain . He had already done the same thing once in City Ground stadium .

Taking the lead over Real Madrid at Bernabéu was not considered a winning advantage . Still, Twain enjoyed the thrill of striking a blow to the team on their home ground .

As a result, he was very pleased to see Anelka put his forefinger on his lips to make the Bernabéu fans shut up .

※※※

"What a surprise, Nottingham Forest takes the lead in Bernabéu! The English scored a goal in the first five minutes of the game!"

The ESPN commentator was right . It was normal to lead against Real Madrid, but it was astounding to take the lead within such a short period of time from the start of the game .

"I believe that this Nottingham Forest team, which has defeated Benfica twice, is definitely not a complete unknown who pulled off an upset in Portugal . "

The group points and ranking were displayed in the lower left corner of the screen . Real Madrid and Nottingham Forest occupied the first and second spots respectively, but they had the same points: ten each .

The television footage then gave Tony Twain, who stood on the sidelines, a five-second closeup . His face no longer showed the excitement and joy from the goal . It was replaced with a serious expression .

"The youngest manager in the UEFA Champions League has taken the lead at Bernabéu . Tony Twain seemed to be shrouded in a mist that we can't see through . "

Twain did not know that the television commentator was commenting on his close-up . He stood on the sidelines for a while before he walked back to the technical area .

"The game has just begun, David," he said .

※※※

After the kickoff, Real Madrid was not adversely affected by the goal; instead, they soon launched a frenzy of counterattacks .

After all, this was a veteran powerhouse club . No matter what low point they were facing, their foundation still existed . It would be a sham if they were to be knocked out by one goal .

Wood once again became a busy man . Such a moment was rarely seen as the Forest team's strength increased and their ranking in the Premier League rose . When the Forest team was weak and often pressed by their opponents' positional warfare, George Wood was the most eye-catching player, which was one of the reasons why he quickly became famous even though he was young and had debuted less than two years .

More balls were sent to Zidane's feet . It looked like they did not trust Guti, who was a brilliant but inconsistent playmaker .

More offense was concentrated on Zidane's side, which meant that George Wood was under more pressure .

As the game progressed, Zidane made him feel bad again, whether Wood admitted it or not .

When an opponent faced the French baldie, he would always have a way to bypass his opponent . If he could not go around, he would immediately pass the ball and not leave his opponent with too much time to intercept .

This was not only a divergence in skill but also a huge disparity in experience .

Zidane took possession of the ball when he faced Wood and made a feint to move the ball to the left for a breakthrough . Wood quickly rushed out . Then Zidane calmly shifted the ball to the right flank as Salgado plugged in from behind .

Wood was not the only one under enormous pressure . The young left back Gareth Bale and the right back Chimbonda were equally so . It could be said that everyone in the Forest defensive line faced tremendous pressure . This defensive line was very young and the offensive lineup they faced was world-class .

Salgado did not break past Bale . But after he lured Bale to the vicinity of the end line, he passed the ball back .

And behind him was the right midfielder, Beckham!

"Beware the Englishman!" The commentator shouted in an exaggerated way .

"Beware the Englishman!" The commentator shouted in an exaggerated way .

Beckham did not stop the ball . Instead, he received Salgado's return pass and made a direct pass .

The football drew a perfect arc in the air and almost hit Ronaldo, who was not good at headers, on the forehead!

"A header by Ronaldo . . . WOOOW!"

Close at hand, Edwin van der Sar made an incredible save . He deflected Ronaldo's header with a single palm!

"Oh, what a shame! If the shot was headed by Morientes instead, it would have gone in . "

Ronaldo put his hands on his hips as he looked at van der Sar, who had gotten up from the ground, in disbelief . He had thought that this ball was set to go in .

In fact, when he saw Beckham swing his leg to kick, Twain's heart leaped as well . At that moment, when he saw the football hit Ronaldo's head and then change direction to fly towards the goal, his heart almost came out of his throat .

Fortunately, van der Sar's outstanding performance put Twain's heart back in its place . But it was still thumping wildly .

After taking the lead, Twain experienced that keyed up state where a heart attack might happen at any time .

1:0 was not secure at all .

However, the Forest team must now persevere with the defensive counterattack . They had to hold fast under their opponents' constant onslaught and wait for the opportunity to sneak attack again .

This was not just testing the mettle of the players on the field, but putting this manager's heart to the test .

Very soon, Twain was unable to sit still in the technical area . He stood up and held onto the awning of the technical area . He continued to keep a close eye on the situation on the field .

※※※

This was not the first time that the Forest team was confronted with a situation in which they were under enormous pressure from their opponents . They had recently had a taste of it in the league game with Chelsea .

This was not the first time that the Forest team was confronted with a situation in which they were under enormous pressure from their opponents . They had recently had a taste of it in the league game with Chelsea .

It was painful, but they must bear it .

This was also a game experience .

Once there was a breakthrough by Zidane which resulted in a corner kick . Albertini pulled George Wood aside .

His hand slipped . He almost could not grasp Wood's arm . Albertini realized that Wood's arms were very sweaty .

"George . "

Wood turned his head to look at his captain .

"Let's switch . I'll defend against Zidane . "

Wood, who always listened to the team captain, shook his head this time . "No, Demetrio . The chief told me to defend-"

"But…" Albertini wanted to say, "But you won't be able to . " However, before the words came out of his mouth, he swallowed them back . Those words would be too much of a blow .

George Wood was not a fool . He knew what Albertini wanted to say . He gasped, "He's really good . But the chief said to let me defend against him . Unless I'm being brought off, he's mine . "

After that, he ran past Albertini and returned to the penalty area to participate in the defense .

Albertini shook his head as he looked at Wood's back, and then ran to go back .

※※※

Kerslake noticed that Albertini had pulled Wood aside to discuss the matter . He turned to Twain .

Twain shook his head and said nothing .

Kerslake turned his gaze back to the field .
Twain shook his head and said nothing .

Kerslake turned his gaze back to the field .

※※※

The situation did not improve . Zidane was still very active . Pressing on, Real Madrid still bombarded the Forest team's penalty area . It looked like they wanted to regain the dignity and position they had lost .

Twain stood up from his seat again and walked to the sidelines . Edwin van der Sar was preparing to kick off the ball . He placed the football twice . He had been wasting game time since the first half began .

Wood stood on the right side of the center circle, and not far from him was the Frenchman .

Twain took a breath, and then suddenly shouted Wood's name . "George!"

Not only Wood but almost all of the Forest team and even some of the Real Madrid players heard it . They all eyed Twain at the same time .

"Did you forget what I said to you? Restrain him!" Twain pointed at Zidane . "I don't care what you do, use any means! By hook or by crook! Use whatever damn means!"

He pounded his fist in the palm of his hand .

If Zidane could be hurt and brought off the field without Wood even getting a yellow card, that would be the perfect outcome in Twain's mind .

However, that was not likely .

Real Madrid's right flank was on the side of both teams' technical areas . Beckham heard Twain's expletive-peppered English clearly . He glanced towards the indecorous visiting manager and frowned .

Zidane also looked toward the sidelines . He saw Twain point in his direction as he shouted and knew in all likelihood that it was related to himself . It was merely to let the boy mark him . Zidane had seen much of that in his career . Almost every manager would instruct the same to his team's main defensive players .

Except, the disparity between him and this Forest team's number 13 seemed to be too big . Up until now, everything was well within his control . He did not feel that the game was too hard . Other than conceding a goal, which was an accident, the Forest team was completely misfiring now .

Ever since they took the lead, they had not even fired a single shot at the goal . Everyone had withdrawn to their side of the field . As long as Real Madrid continued to attack like this, an equalizer was only a matter of time . Things would be simple once they equalized the score . The opponent would surely collapse . At that time, it would be a home victory for Real Madrid . When Anelka put his index finger on his lips to make a keep quiet gesture, the Bernabéu stadium went quiet for a moment, but immediately got even louder . The Real Madrid fans hated the French striker to the core . They did not hesitate to put up their middle fingers at the arrogant Frenchman and abuse him with the most commonly used insults in Spain . Ear-splitting cheers rang out from Nottingham Forest substitutes bench and resounded clearly in the midst of the booing of the entire stadium . The Forest teams substitutes stood on the sidelines and applauded Anelka . Twain pumped his fists in celebration of the goal . He was not celebrating, he was demonstrating in front of Bernabéu . Being ahead of Real Madrid was not very exciting to Twain . He had already done the same thing once in City Ground stadium . Taking the lead over Real Madrid at Bernabéu was not considered a winning advantage . Still, Twain enjoyed the thrill of striking a blow to the team on their home ground . As a result, he was very pleased to see Anelka put his forefinger on his lips to make the Bernabéu fans shut up . ※※※ What a surprise, Nottingham Forest takes the lead in Bernabéu! The English scored a goal in the first five minutes of the game! The ESPN commentator was right . It was normal to lead against Real Madrid, but it was astounding to take the lead within such a short period of time from the start of the game . I believe that this Nottingham Forest team, which has defeated Benfica twice, is definitely not a complete unknown who pulled off an upset in Portugal . The group points and ranking were displayed in the lower left corner of the screen . Real Madrid and Nottingham Forest occupied the first and second spots respectively, but they had the same points: ten each . The television footage then gave Tony Twain, who stood on the sidelines, a five-second closeup . His face no longer showed the excitement and joy from the goal . It was replaced with a serious expression . The youngest manager in the UEFA Champions League has taken the lead at Bernabéu . Tony Twain seemed to be shrouded in a mist that we cant see through . Twain did not know that the television commentator was commenting on his close-up . He stood on the sidelines for a while before he walked back to the technical area . The game has just begun, David, he said . ※※※ After the kickoff, Real Madrid was not adversely affected by the goal; instead, they soon launched a frenzy of counterattacks . After all, this was a veteran powerhouse club . No matter what low point they were facing, their foundation still existed . It would be a sham if they were to be knocked out by one goal . Wood once again became a busy man . Such a moment was rarely seen as the Forest teams strength increased and their ranking in the Premier League rose . When the Forest team was weak and often pressed by their opponents positional warfare, George Wood was the most eye-catching player, which was one of the reasons why he quickly became famous even though he was young and had debuted less than two years . More balls were sent to Zidanes feet . It looked like they did not trust Guti, who was a brilliant but inconsistent playmaker . More offense was concentrated on Zidanes side, which meant that George Wood was under more pressure . As the game progressed, Zidane made him feel bad again, whether Wood admitted it or not . When an opponent faced the French baldie, he would always have a way to bypass his opponent . If he could not go around, he would immediately pass the ball and not leave his opponent with too much time to intercept . This was not only a divergence in skill but also a huge disparity in experience . Zidane took possession of the ball when he faced Wood and made a feint to move the ball to the left for a breakthrough . Wood quickly rushed out . Then Zidane calmly shifted the ball to the right flank as Salgado plugged in from behind . Wood was not the only one under enormous pressure . The young left back Gareth Bale and the right back Chimbonda were equally so . It could be said that everyone in the Forest defensive line faced tremendous pressure . This defensive line was very young and the offensive lineup they faced was world-class . Salgado did not break past Bale . But after he lured Bale to the vicinity of the end line, he passed the ball back . And behind him was the right midfielder, Beckham! Beware the Englishman! The commentator shouted in an exaggerated way . Beckham did not stop the ball . Instead, he received Salgados return pass and made a direct pass . The football drew a perfect arc in the air and almost hit Ronaldo, who was not good at headers, on the forehead! A header by Ronaldo . WOOOW! Close at hand, Edwin van der Sar made an incredible save . He deflected Ronaldos header with a single palm! Oh, what a shame! If the shot was headed by Morientes instead, it would have gone in . Ronaldo put his hands on his hips as he looked at van der Sar, who had gotten up from the ground, in disbelief . He had thought that this ball was set to go in . In fact, when he saw Beckham swing his leg to kick, Twains heart leaped as well . At that moment, when he saw the football hit Ronaldos head and then change direction to fly towards the goal, his heart almost came out of his throat . Fortunately, van der Sars outstanding performance put Twains heart back in its place . But it was still thumping wildly . After taking the lead, Twain experienced that keyed up state where a heart attack might happen at any time . 1:0 was not secure at all . However, the Forest team must now persevere with the defensive counterattack . They had to hold fast under their opponents constant onslaught and wait for the opportunity to sneak attack again . This was not just testing the mettle of the players on the field, but putting this managers heart to the test . Very soon, Twain was unable to sit still in the technical area . He stood up and held onto the awning of the technical area . He continued to keep a close eye on the situation on the field . ※※※ This was not the first time that the Forest team was confronted with a situation in which they were under enormous pressure from their opponents . They had recently had a taste of it in the league game with Chelsea . It was painful, but they must bear it . This was also a game experience . Once there was a breakthrough by Zidane which resulted in a corner kick . Albertini pulled George Wood aside . His hand slipped . He almost could not grasp Woods arm . Albertini realized that Woods arms were very sweaty . George . Wood turned his head to look at his captain . Lets switch . Ill defend against Zidane . Wood, who always listened to the team captain, shook his head this time . No, Demetrio . The chief told me to defend- But… Albertini wanted to say, But you wont be able to . However, before the words came out of his mouth, he swallowed them back . Those words would be too much of a blow . George Wood was not a fool . He knew what Albertini wanted to say . He gasped, Hes really good . But the chief said to let me defend against him . Unless Im being brought off, hes mine . After that, he ran past Albertini and returned to the penalty area to participate in the defense . Albertini shook his head as he looked at Woods back, and then ran to go back . ※※※ Kerslake noticed that Albertini had pulled Wood aside to discuss the matter . He turned to Twain . Twain shook his head and said nothing . Kerslake turned his gaze back to the field . ※※※ The situation did not improve . Zidane was still very active . Pressing on, Real Madrid still bombarded the Forest teams penalty area . It looked like they wanted to regain the dignity and position they had lost . Twain stood up from his seat again and walked to the sidelines . Edwin van der Sar was preparing to kick off the ball . He placed the football twice . He had been wasting game time since the first half began . Wood stood on the right side of the center circle, and not far from him was the Frenchman . Twain took a breath, and then suddenly shouted Woods name . George! Not only Wood but almost all of the Forest team and even some of the Real Madrid players heard it . They all eyed Twain at the same time . Did you forget what I said to you? Restrain him! Twain pointed at Zidane . I dont care what you do, use any means! By hook or by crook! Use whatever damn means! He pounded his fist in the palm of his hand . If Zidane could be hurt and brought off the field without Wood even getting a yellow card, that would be the perfect outcome in Twains mind . However, that was not likely . Real Madrids right flank was on the side of both teams technical areas . Beckham heard Twains expletive-peppered English clearly . He glanced towards the indecorous visiting manager and frowned . Zidane also looked toward the sidelines . He saw Twain point in his direction as he shouted and knew in all likelihood that it was related to himself . It was merely to let the boy mark him . Zidane had seen much of that in his career . Almost every manager would instruct the same to his teams main defensive players . Except, the disparity between him and this Forest teams number 13 seemed to be too big . Up until now, everything was well within his control . He did not feel that the game was too hard . Other than conceding a goal, which was an accident, the Forest team was completely misfiring now . Ever since they took the lead, they had not even fired a single shot at the goal . Everyone had withdrawn to their side of the field . As long as Real Madrid continued to attack like this, an equalizer was only a matter of time . Things would be simple once they equalized the score . The opponent would surely collapse . At that time, it would be a home victory for Real Madrid .

Chapter end