Chapter 114: This is my team (Part 1)

The stands at the city stadium were already full, and the two teams were warming up in the center of the stadium. The fans burst into cheers after cheers. Tony Donn sat alone in the locker room, muttering to himself as the blank tactical board.

"Guys, what kind of game is this? I know the record twenty-five years ago was too far away for us, and many of you were not born yet. But that was the glory of Nottingham Forest after all. Now someone is coming to take away our glory. Are you... willing?"

Speaking of this, Tang En stopped, thought for a while and shook his head and said, "No, it's too pretentious."

He coughed, frowned and waved his hand: "Arsenal is a powerful team. They have not lost forty-two games now! Are you scared? Are your legs and feet weak?"

"No... it's too bluffing." Tang En denied again.

"Hmm! We... our start this season is not very good. We only achieved one loss and one draw in two rounds of the league, and now we are facing opponents like Arsenal..."

This time, Tang En vetoed it.

He felt a little nervous, and everything he felt at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff half a year ago was back.

But today is different from that day. This is actually just an ordinary league game.

Why do I care about this record that has nothing to do with me? Even if Arsenal takes three points or one point and sets a new record, what losses can we lose? We are not direct competitors on the road to winning the championship, and it is reasonable to lose a game. After all, we are too far from Arsenal now...

If I'm smart enough... I'll tell the players to relax and not think about messy things that are not related to the game. No matter what the end result is, we just need to learn something in the process of playing against Arsenal. It's enough.

But……

"Mr. Tony Donn, what do you think about the record of the 42 consecutive unbeaten England top league unbeaten in the 42 games that coach Wenger led the team to tie the Forest?"

"Mr. Done, as the creator of the record, encounter Arsenal in this crucial game, do you have anything to say?"

"Arsenal is very strong, so what are their opponents, Forest team, what are their plans for this game?"

"Henry is in great shape recently. Does Coach Donn have any special arrangements for him?"

"As the record set by the Forest team, Arsenal has already tied. Mr. Done, do you think Arsenal is already a great team?"

"What do you think of Coach Wenger? Are you going to learn from him?"

...

When he thought of these problems, he could not make himself "smart". He, Tang En, is not a person who does not know the good or bad, but this does not mean that he can tolerate such insults and contempt, and remain silent, like a castrated man who cannot turn his head out.

He hates being looked down upon, being ignored, and being stepped on his body to lift others up. He is only thirty-five years old, but his actual age is even younger!

He is still a young man. He will be impulsive and ignore the consequences. He just wants to speak out before his breath.

There is nothing wrong with this, this is a football game, not a political show. If you feel unhappy, fight back. If you are looked down upon, you slapped them in the face, then pinched their cheeks and let them face us. If we want to win, why should we give up our efforts, just because... the opponent is stronger than us?

fart!

I'm never afraid of anyone. No matter whether it's Wenger or Ferguson on the coaching table next door, my team shouldn't be afraid of any team, no matter whether it's Arsenal or Manchester United standing opposite them!

The crisp sound of shoe nails hitting the ground sounded in the corridor outside the door. Tang En knew that his players were warming up. So he let go of his fists and waited for the players to push the door open, allowing them to see a confident and high-spirited head coach.

Meanwhile in another locker room.

Like Tony Donn, when the team went out to warm up together, Wenger did not go out to check the players' latest status, but stayed in the visiting team locker room where he was the only one. He tried every means to slow down his heart.

He was nervous...or rather, he was excited.   At such a juncture, ninety minutes later, he might be as nervous and excited as a novice.

When he led the team to win the 38-round unbeaten record last season, he was nervous and excited, but it was far less intense than this time.

In the home court of the old record holder, facing the guardian of the record. As long as he does not lose to them, Arsenal will be written to history as the creator of the new record. And he - Arthur Wenger. A Frenchman will be the director of this record, leaving a strong mark in his coaching career. Compared with this result, a league championship even seems a bit insignificant.

Frenchman Wenger is not spacious, and the facilities are a bit old, paced back and forth in the locker room.

The tactical style of this game is already clear. I believe his players are the same. There will be no problems in the execution of the game. The team is in a good state and has defeated countless powerful enemies. Now there are no opponents that can stop the iron hoof of this army.

The only regret is that this game was not in Highbury.

What threat can the Forest bring to him? Wenger remembered that he followed the youth team to Nottingham to participate in an ordinary Youth FA Cup match. He met Tony Donn in that game and left an impression - you know, not every time the coaches who have played against each other can occupy a place in the heart of this somewhat arrogant Frenchman.

What I said to him after the game didn't expect it to become a reality so soon.

What should he be wary of? Tony Donne, a man who can't see through, will cause Arsenal to cause trouble during the game?

unknown.

But Wenger is sure that as long as the team plays at their own pace, the victory will not be too far away from them.  The past forty-two games, they have played like this, starting from 430% and will continue, and there will be no difference just because they encounter Nottingham Forest.

There was a dense sound of footsteps outside the door, and Wenger stopped, sat in his position, and waited quietly.

"Does anyone know what the special meaning of this game?" Tang En asked with his hand raised.

"That record? Forty-two consecutive games unbeaten?" The players answered one after another, some people speaking affirmatively, while others were not sure. Tang En thought it was good. What does a record twenty-five years ago have to do with the current Forest team, and what does it have to do with those players who have joined the team this summer for various reasons?

If he wasted his precious time here and talked about how brilliant the Forest team was, I am afraid that most of these people would yawn. Because those things had nothing to do with them, they were not interested. They would not play any role in encouraging fighting spirit...

"Wrong, today's game has no special meaning." Tang En shook his hand, "It's just an ordinary Premier League game. What does the record from more than 20 years ago have to do with us now?"

Someone shook his head and agreed with Tang En's statement.

"There are only four days between the second and third rounds. Our time is very tight, and we are still entangled by the damn media. I ask how we view Arsenal... Joke. Can Arsenal break that record and what does it matter to us? I hope you can win in this game today, but this is not to stop them from breaking the record. It is because this is a Premier League game where you win three points and you don't have a single point if you lose. Arsenal is our opponent, so where can you not want to defeat your opponent? Our start is not very good, one loss and one draw, and we are not qualified to generously give our opponent three-point gift at home. When I say I want to defeat Arsenal, will you feel that I am talking big? I dreaming in the daytime?"

Tang En looked around the players in the locker room and carefully observed their expressions, hoping to find out what these people think at this moment.

Albertini shook his head. He didn't know much about speaking English yet, and only knew a few simple words: "No, coach."

Jero's English is slightly better than Albertini. This may be because there are British players in Real Madrid. When McMaraman first arrived in Real Madrid, he was responsible for introducing team traditions to him, introducing teammates, and arranging his life was Jero.

"Even teams like Real Madrid and Barcelona are not unbeaten. I don't find it strange if Arsenal loses this game in the end." The Spanish veteran said this. Although there are still many problems with his grammar and pronunciation, it does not prevent everyone from understanding his meaning.

"All things can happen in football." Viduka didn't say much, but it hit the nail on the head.

Tang En kept his eyes on Wood's face, hoping that he could express his opinion in front of everyone. Wood looked at Tang En, then opened his mouth and said, "You said you want to win this game, so we will win."

His words made everyone in the locker room laugh: How could such an easy thing be?
Chapter completed!