Don remembers a season and a half ago with Roy. An encounter with Keane. He had expected that it would have a happy ending - something like the princess and the prince living happily together: Roy. Keane has announced that he has joined Nottingham Forest on a free transfer, joining Donn's side.

But alas, not all stories are like fairy tales. Roy. Keane's stubbornness and loyalty are beyond his imagination, and in the end, the two meet and separate in the middle of nowhere, without any story.

Donne's only gain is to have the friendship of this Irish tough guy. They got along very well, and Keane asked Donn a few questions about coaching a team when he was back in training with Forest. Of course, the haughty Keane was just asking questions about some questions, and Don answered. Other than that, Keane wasn't overly enthusiastic and curious about the career of head coaching. At that time, Keane had not yet decided to retire, and becoming a coach was just a dream.

But Keane did say to Donn more than once that he wants to be a good manager like Alex Ferguson and Clough when he retires, and that he can influence a new generation of players to take the right career path.

He later joined Celtic and left England. As he left, he published a heartfelt open letter thanking everyone, including the old man Alex Ferguson, who kicked him out of his house. The only person he doesn't mention is Tony. Dawn. He said he wouldn't make someone feel too good, and he did what he said.

Now, a year and a half later, he's back, back with his dreams on the stage that once belonged to him.

He is no longer the captain of the "Red Devils" Manchester United, nor is he the down-and-out player who has been kicked out of the club and is already in the late stages of his career, he wears a crisp suit, shiny leather shoes, and a dark red tie with a tie clip pinned to it with the Sunderland crest.

He is now the manager of Sunderland, who has been promoted to the Premier League in the new season.

"Do you like to hear me call you Mr. Keane? Or Coach Keane? At a regular press conference the day before the game, Don met his long-lost friend Roy. Keane.

"Either way. Whatever you want. ”

In front of the cameras, two coaches with the surname held hands together, both with smiles on their faces, but this was not a show in front of the public. Don doesn't have many friends in coaching — some may not be Done's enemies, but they aren't friends either—and he's lucky, Roy. Keane is one of them.

"Then I'll call you Roy, by the way. I heard about your results in the Championship and I have to say what a job you did! As the two shook hands and embraced, Don whispered in Keane's ear.

"No matter how beautiful it is, it can only be 'Tony. Don's Nottingham Forest Miracle Second'. "Roy. Keane shrugged and pouted.

Roy. Keane spent half a season with the Celtics before deciding to retire completely, and then he took a break for a while. At the end of December last year, he was approached by Sunderland to hire him as the head coach of the "Black Cats". At the time, Sunderland were bottom of the Championship and their remaining target for the season was relegation, with nothing else to think about.

In Roy. Keane had made a number of other managers, known and unknown, but none of them were willing to take over the mess. There was also discussion in the coaching association at the time, with many feeling that coaching at Sunderland was a disaster, or at best a "risky gamble". Maybe he'll be buried with Sunderland – relegated to the First Division, which is England's third division, the equivalent of the former Second Division.

What coach would do such a thing?

This incident piqued Donn's interest, and he certainly didn't want to coach. Rather, he has a suitable person to recommend to Sunderland.

His pre-emptive memory came to an abrupt end in the first half of 2007 and is now completely useless. Despite this, he still vaguely remembered that Roy was at the beginning. Keane did coach Sunderland, but he doesn't know when he started to coach the team and whether he eventually led the team to relegation or promotion. And he doesn't know the story behind Sunderland's hiring of Roy to coach in the first place.

But now, he has a chance to make it happen.

Roy. Keane would be a great manager and then threaten Toney. Donn's grades? Will he be the big man to compete with Donn in the league and Europe?

Don didn't know, and he didn't want to know. That was later, and Keane's own business. Now he just thinks that Roy has told him about his dream of being a manager more than once before, so now that the opportunity has come, he can use the little bit of prestige he has in football to help Roy. After all, the two are friends.

Then he found Danny, the president of Sunderland FC. Quinn, who recommended him to the former Ireland international's national team team-mate.

Speaking of the young president of Sunderland FC, there are some well-known "grudges" between him and Keane.

At the beginning, Quinn was the main center forward of the Irish national team and a loyal supporter of Irish head coach McCarthy. At the 2002 World Cup in South Korea, when Keane and McCarthy turned their faces, Quinn stood firmly behind the head coach. The following season, when United played Sunderland away, Keane also elbowed fellow Irishman McAtier on the pitch and got into a verbal altercation with Quinn. The relationship between the two was not good, so Quinn did not choose Keane, who was idle at home, when the club could not find a head coach.

Quinn initially wanted to be the president of the club and the head coach of the team, but he failed to win any of his first five games in charge, which made the Irish striker wake up. He can rely on the strength of his hometown consortium to buy Sunderland, which is in financial crisis, and then sit in the high chair, but he may not be able to lead a team to victory. Then he found his mentor in the Irish national team, McCarthy.

As a result, one of Keane's most hated managers was unsuccessful at Sunderland, who was largely responsible for Sunderland's bottom-to-bottom finish, and two months later, the Sunderland board decided to sack McCarthy. Then, until Christmas, Sunderland's manager made a cameo appearance as their youth manager, and the team was demoralized and on consecutive defeats, eventually slipping to 20th place in the Championship – bottom 1st.

This is a familiar situation, right? Similar to the situation when Donn took over Forest, the only situation Sunderland is better than Forest is that they are not in financial crisis. But if the team loses like this, if it loses to the third division, there will be no economic crisis, but no one dares to pack tickets.

It was around this time that Don recommended Roy to Quinn. Keane.

Donn's reason for recommending it is simple: "...... I don't think what you need is money or a star player, but to get the players out of the gloom of losing streaks. In that regard, I believe Roy will be the one to bring the victory back to the dressing room and back to the pitch. ”

Later, when attending the press conference of the new coach, he was asked why he chose Roy. Keane, Quinn repeated Donn's words to the media as they were.

After listening to Donn's recommendation, Quinn weighed the advantages and thought that under the current circumstances, personal grievances were really not worth mentioning compared to the current situation of the club, so he generously took the initiative to find Keane and very sincerely hoped that Keane would be the head coach of Sunderland. At the same time, Donn also made a call to Keane, suggesting that he should accept the opportunity: "If you are worried about the inexperience and poor results of the team...... Look at Sunderland now, do they have anything to lose? You're just a rookie coach anyway, and no one has unrealistic expectations of you. I think Sunderland are the best team to start your coaching career at the moment. ”

Roy. Keane became the manager of Sunderland after Christmas.

The rest of the story is a rehash of Donn's first full season, Keane has injected a lot of mental strength into the team, and as Donn said, Sunderland, who have shaken off their dark mentality, burst out of their fighting power. Coupled with the financial backing of the club's board of directors and Keane's former club Manchester United loaning young players to Sunderland, half a season later, Sunderland are the bottom of the list, not only relegation, but also qualified for next season's Premier League.

Head coach Roy. Keane's debut couldn't have been more amazing. It's no wonder that some media put the miracle he created at the same young age and Tony. Don connects and thinks Keane has the potential to become "Tony." Donn II".

But for the haughty Keane, I'm afraid this is not a good word, even if the comparison is to his good friend.

Don knew that Keane said, "No matter how beautiful you are, you can only be 'Tony.'" Donn's Nottingham Forest Miracle Second'" There was some unwillingness and unconvincing emotions in this, and he smiled and patted Keane on the shoulder, but said nothing.

After the two managers sat down, they began to answer questions from reporters, mainly around the game to be played tomorrow, and some people will gossip about whether the friendship between the two will affect the result of tomorrow's game.

Don fully demonstrated the momentum of the host at this time. He glared at the reporter who asked such a stupid question: "Are you suggesting that there may be injustice in the match between our two teams?" ”

In fact, it cannot be said that this reporter is completely untargeted.

Because after Sunderland was promoted, they bought people everywhere to enhance their strength. Keane accomplishes this by two means: one is to rely on the strong financial resources of the club's board of directors to buy the players he has his eye on directly from the transfer market; The second is to increase the depth of the team's bench by loaning talented young players to teams with whom they have a better relationship. For example, he loaned central defenders Evans and Simpson to Manchester United. Nottingham Forest is naturally on loan as well. Don is also happy to let some of the best players in the youth team go out and see the world, gain experience and improve themselves. So at the beginning of the new season, he will be Adriano of the youth team. Mock is on loan at Sunderland. He also recommended Keane to centre-back Aaron. Mitchel and a couple of other young players, but Keane didn't pay attention.

After the two teams have this relationship, it is inevitable that people will reverie.

Keane also clarified with a straight face: "A private friendship is a private friendship, and a game is a competition." I'll drink with Don after the game, but until then we're enemies. ”

Don looked at Keane very tacitly, nodded and said, "When you leave, he and I will start fighting immediately." These are the inside stories that you will not know. ”

His serious expression provoked laughter from the reporters below, and the question that embarrassed the two managers was skipped.

Then they asked some of the usual questions, such as "Can you give us an outlook on the game?" and "What do you think of Sunderland [Nottingham Forest]...... The two managers answered in a decent manner and did not let the sensitive media grasp anything.

After the usual press conference, Keane went to the stadium to watch the team acclimatize to the training and Donn went home for the next day's game. As Keane said at the press conference, the two men need to put their personal friendship aside and focus on playing the role of "enemy" before the end of the match. So Don didn't invite Kean to dinner very warmly, and Keane didn't take the initiative to talk to Don again.

After the two shook hands and said goodbye at a press conference, they separated.

※※※

When he got home, Don, who had been waiting at home for a long time, asked him, "How do you feel?" ”

"How does it feel?" Don was confused.

"Old friends reunited." Don's words are as simple as ever.

Don knew he was asking how he felt after meeting Keane. The routine press conference is very boring, and I believe that the reporters will feel the same way, there is no story at all. However, he remembered the whispered conversation between himself and Keane earlier, and a small detail re-entered his memory.

"Ah, you said Roy. Luckily, Keane in a suit and tie was a bit unfamiliar to me, and I'm used to seeing him in a Manchester United shirt frantically blocking opponents' knees on the pitch. Donn shrugged, "His results in the Championship last season were truly impressive, and to be honest, when I first recommended him to Quinn, I didn't expect him to do so well. ”

Tang smiled slightly: "So do you feel the threat from him now?" ”

Don, who was pouring himself tea, looked back at Don sitting on the sofa, and he shook his head: "No." No, far from it. ”

"The water is overflowing." Don gestured to the teapot in Don's hand.

Don put the teapot down and walked over with the teacup. One cup is handed to Don, and one is enjoyed by himself.

"For Roy......" he took a long sip of tea before continuing, "that beginning was too amazing to be a good thing. Fate is truly wonderful, I think ...... occasionally now" He looked up at the red sky outside his window. The fiery clouds at dusk will be a good weather tomorrow.

"If Gavin hadn't had an accident, the morale was high, I was in great shape, I was promoted to the Premier League at the end of my first season, I wasn't sacked and I went back to the youth team, and Michael didn't go to the United States...... Now, four years later, can I still appear in public as a manager who has won the Champions Cup and the Super Cup? Donn looked out the window and muttered, "I don't know...... I don't really know. ”

"Some things seemed abrupt and accidental at the time, but after a long time, I have to admit it...... They are all relevant to the present. "Therefore, the heavens will descend on the people, and they must first suffer their minds, strain their muscles and bones, starve their bodies and skins, empty their bodies, and act chaotically, so they are tempted to endure their surnames, and they have benefited what they can't." "Tang En memorized a passage from Mencius, which anyone who has received nine-year compulsory education in China will know." It was said by the Chinese ancestors again. To be honest, I hate this rhetoric – why do you have to accept failure before you succeed? Why should failure be success? But...... It's a pity, whether I like it or not, this is indeed true, and its ability to circulate for more than 2,000 years shows that it is a wise saying, and it has a reason to exist and continue. This is the law of nature, and there is no way for man to fight it. Do you understand, Don? ”

Tang nodded, although he was not an authentic Chinese, he understood the meaning of these words.

"I ...... Experienced many things, good and bad...... That's why I'm where I am today, and it's cause and effect. And Roy he ...... Succeeding too quickly is not conducive to his future coaching career. With that, Don withdrew his gaze from the sky outside the window and turned to look at Don, who smiled. If God wants a person to achieve great things, he must first hone him and let him experience failure, setbacks, and hardships. But now Roy doesn't have that to go through, he's coming to the Premier League with the label of 'Coach of Genius'. It's not right, it's not reasonable, God there's something wrong there. He pointed out the window to the sky.

"So, I decided...... I'll do the right thing for heaven. ”

If you want to win, you have to say it...... Don muttered inwardly.

(To be continued)