After four days of training at the Nottingham Welford training base, the squad departed from Birmingham for a direct flight to Madrid, Spain.

Don is no stranger to Spain's capital, having been here many times.

As soon as you come out of the airport, you can already see the atmosphere of the European Champions Cup final everywhere.

Banners and posters for the Champions Cup were erected on both sides of the road, extending to the hotel where they were staying. I haven't been to the Bernabeu yet, but I can already imagine what it would be like there.

Along with the Champions League flags, there are two teams flying over Madrid, and it is clear that Real Madrid have far more flags than Nottingham Forest. If the final is held at a neutral venue, both sides should have the same number of flags. But now in Madrid, it's called home advantage.

Real Madrid's run in the Champions League final at the Bernabeu was a very exciting event, and the whole city of Madrid was immersed in the atmosphere – Real Madrid fans believe that the probability of Real Madrid winning the championship is as high as 85%.

They certainly have reason to think so, because it's on their own home turf. Playing at the Santiago Bernabeu is also a great incentive for the Real Madrid players to burst out with more energy. It is not often in the history of the European Champions League that the final venue is the home of one of the teams.

When the Forest arrived in Madrid, they were in a bus that drove past the city centre and they could see a number of Real Madrid fans gathered together, and as the final approached, such crowds were everywhere on the streets, and there were already more and more of them.

Seeing their bus, Real Madrid fans waved to them in a friendly way. There is no tension in sight.

But Donn knew very well that if Forest caused enough problems for Real Madrid in the game, the expressions on the faces of these people would not be friendly.

It's not like he hasn't heard the overwhelming boos at the Bernabeu. For a guy like him, who chases him wherever he goes, boos have long been used to boos.

"Look, look at them smiling at you and waving at you. When it comes to the game, you won't see such a friendly smile. ”

Donn told the players in the car, and there was a burst of laughter in the car.

The bus turned into the hotel gate, where reporters had been waiting for a long time.

Journalists from all over the world will gather in Madrid in the coming days to bring back coverage from the front lines for fans.

The Foresters, accustomed to big scenes, didn't pay any attention to the reporters, and they got out of the car and headed straight for the hotel. There are some particularly popular and popular players who will be stopped by reporters and interviewed for a few words. But when Tony. As soon as Don was the last to get out of the car, the reporters let go of the player and ran to him.

Donn whistled when he saw the reporters lunging at him, as if he had seen a pack of wolves with green eyes in their mouths.

"Mr. Donn, this is your first time playing at the Bernabeu?"

"I don't know, I don't remember."

"Can you predict the outcome of the game?"

"I'm sorry, I never predict the outcome and score before the game."

Don said this, the reporters didn't think so, they had their own way to get out Donn's heart.

"Mr. Donn, first of all, congratulations to your team on winning both the domestic league and cup competitions. And then...... Do you still have the confidence to win this third title? ”

"Now that we're in the final, are we here to be the runner-up?"

Donn spread his hands.

He said before that he never predicted the outcome of the match, but didn't he let him say it himself? The journalists let out a satisfied laugh.

"What would you say about Real Madrid? Real Madrid also won the league title this season......"

"Real Madrid are strong, they are the strongest team in Spain. I'm glad I was able to meet someone like that in the final, not just a cat or a dog. 'He looks like he has enough respect for Real Madrid.

"Now you have hope of winning the great treble. Are you worried that this pressure will cause your team to play poorly? ”

Donn smiled: "I'm worried that they won't sleep well at night, I'm worried that they'll get injured during the race, and I'm worried that the plane back to the UK will be late...... But I'm just not worried that they're going to play badly. Playing out of order? What is that? ”

He was surrounded by many reporters, and he coped with ease and style. If there were his female fans around at this time, they would definitely scream with excitement for his performance.

"Looks like you're confident, Mr. Donn. We all know Frank. Ribery was brought to England by you from the French second division, but he ended up betraying you......"

Donn interrupted the reporter's question: "I'm sorry, it's been many years since this matter, don't ask if it has nothing to do with this game." ”

"Uh...... Are you worried that he will fight back in the final? The reporter hesitated and asked a question that seemed to be related to the final.

"He was originally a Real Madrid player, what kind of counterattack are you talking about?" Don paused as he looked at the reporters who were full of anticipation. 'He's a good player, he's been doing well at Real Madrid and I'm glad I didn't get anyone wrong.

After saying that, he pushed away the reporters, squeezed into the range of the security guards, and was escorted into the hotel.

"Mr. Donn! I still have questions......"

"Coach Donn, Coach Donn!"

The question about Ribery suddenly reminded him of the past, and he didn't like the way he reminisced in public. He turned a deaf ear to the cries behind him and walked briskly into the elevator opposite. He turned around and looked at the crowd outside, without the slightest smile on his face. Until the elevator door closed in front of everyone's eyes, he still had that expression.

The expression told the reporters unmistakably that he was angry, and that was the end of the interview.

In fact, many times, he has almost forgotten such a person as Ribery. Because after going to Real Madrid, there was no contact between the two. The letter Ribery left for Don was their last contact, and it was torn up by Don in the morning breeze at Wilford.

The media in England are always arrogant, and when they leave England, they don't report it. The big things in domestic football can make headlines, but they don't care about what happens in foreign football. Therefore, it is not easy to learn about a player in the Spanish Liga from the English media.

As soon as the results of the final came out, he thought of Ribery. His feelings for this kid are very complicated, on the one hand, he likes Ribery very much, after all, he brought him from France to England, and then cultivated, there is always feelings. On the other hand, he is still haunted by Ribery's double-faced behavior in the first place. Although Nottingham Forest has long since replaced the old with newcomers, there are not a few players left in the group of Ribery. Don still wanted to seize this opportunity to teach Ribery a hard lesson.

Ribery is still a regular for Real Madrid, and despite being 31 years old, his role in midfield is still huge. As he grew older, his speed decreased year by year, but his skills, experience and fighting spirit effectively made up for his lack of speed. Van der Vaart has long since left Real Madrid, but Ribery is still the main force, which can also explain the difference in the status of the two of them in the Forest team at the beginning - Ribery is the core, Van der Vaart is only the main force.

Take the elevator up to the eleventh floor, and Chris Rac is waiting for him at the elevator door. Seeing him come out, he raised the key of the key card in his hand: "1101, your room." ”

Don took the keycard.

Chris Rac asked again: "Have you figured out what Ribery said to him when you met him?" ”

Donn shrugged: "If his team loses to us, I'll hug him." If you win...... Ah, damn it, it's so unlucky to say something like that before a game! ”

He walked into his room with his key card.

※※※

Ribery was receiving a massage treatment in the treatment room in Valdebaibas, his back was a little sore, and he didn't want to let that affect his chances of playing in the final, so although the team doctor didn't say anything, he insisted on the massage to relax.

Lie on the bed and enjoy the services of the masseur in peace. Ribery narrowed his eyes, suddenly a little sleepy.

When the opponent in the final was decided, the memories in his mind began to get restless. These days are becoming more and more active.

He thought of his days and nights in Nottingham Forest.

His previous career at Nottingham Forest was not worth mentioning, he was on the verge of forgetting. For his part, he wouldn't have a problem saying that he started his career at Nottingham Forest.

Nottingham Forest, Nottingham Forest......

How many years have passed since he left there? It's been almost five and a half years.

He hasn't met the team on the pitch since he left Forest, and his first meeting is now in the final of the UEFA Champions League. It's really a trick.

When you think of Nottingham Forest, you can't think of the navigator, their leader, Tony. Dawn. That's what the Forest players call him today, and that's not how they call a manager at a club in Spain.

With the temper of the leader, he can stay in that place for ten years, and it really is really something that can happen only in English football.

Although Don didn't know much about Ribery's life in Madrid, Ribery kept an eye on him. For example, he knew that Donn had the last laugh in a bet with Spike to eat the table, and that the Forest had just won the FA Cup.

Even if he doesn't deliberately pay attention, there is always news about him in the media. The Spanish media don't cover much about foreign football, but Toney. Don is the special one, he always gets the news media to chase and stir everyone's interest.

In fact, Ribery is full of expectations for this reunion with Nottingham Forest. He really wanted to play against his former boss on the court, and it was a different kind of feeling. As for what exactly, he couldn't say.

Just when Ribery was really about to fall asleep, the therapeutic massage was over.

The physiotherapist gently patted him on the shoulder and woke him up from his half-asleep: "Frank, the game the day after tomorrow, come on!" ”

※※※

Don found an interesting phenomenon that somewhat illustrates his image in world football circles.

Perhaps that will only change when he plays Juventus – because Old Lady and Nottingham Forest are just as conservative and utilitarian, yet hopelessly stable.

In the past few days, many world football celebrities have expressed their opinions on this Champions Cup final, and they are not willing to be lonely and appear in major media.

Someone called Donn's team a thief: "...... Those thieves don't care about playing football, they care about winning. For them, only winning is what they need, and for this they can do whatever it takes. I think they're killing the lives of football...... It's a pity that we will see such a thief in this year's Champions Cup final. ”

Others are clearly emotionally biased towards Real Madrid, just because they play better. "Michelle. Gonzalez's football is a heart-warming art of football. As one of the former Real Madrid Five Eagles, he used to be a director of the Real Madrid academy and he knows what Real Madrid's football is all about...... It is obviously much better for such a coach to lead Real Madrid than to invite those world coaches from outside. When Michel took over two years ago, he was likened to the 'Pep Guardiola of Real Madrid' and now I'm glad he's on the same path that Pep Guardiola has taken. Even though I'm a Barcelona fan, I would like to give a standing ovation to the football Real Madrid is playing right now. The man who said this was Cruyff, the godfather of Barcelona. Although his team was eliminated by Real Madrid, he still gave applause to his rival, which shows that Real Madrid is really playing beautifully.

After a long period of detours, they have rediscovered the right trajectory of Real Madrid football.

Frank. Franck Ribery, former World Footballer of the Year and European Ballon d'Or winner, joined Real Madrid during the 08-09 winter break. Cristiano. Ronaldo moved to Real Madrid in the 12-13 season. They also boast some of the best strikers in European football – 31-year-old Huntelaar and 26-year-old Karim Benzema, as well as 26-year-old Gonzalo Higuain. Such an attacking combination is the capital and foundation for them to play offensive football.

Today's Real Madrid has superstars with box office appeal, as well as an attacking tactical style of play, and it is no wonder that Cruyff is sincerely praised.

Look at Nottingham Forest, George. Wood is already the number one star in the team. What amuses the Spaniards is that the team's number one star is a midfield butcher, which says exactly what the characteristics of this team are......

Ibisevic is the team's top scorer, but he is still a notch behind Benzema, Huntelaar and others. As for those in midfield...... Not to mention.

What will this Nottingham Forest team do with the star-studded Real Madrid?

What does not rely on conservative utilitarianism?

If Don dares to fight against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu, everyone in this world except him will think that he is dead!

So once Don wants to be conservative and utilitarian, he will be pointed out by Qianfu. If he wasn't utilitarian and conservative, everyone thought he would definitely lose the game.

Look at the reasoning, no one thinks there's anything wrong with it, because it happened to Tony. Donn's on this guy.

So does he want a championship or a reputation?

Don tossed the newspapers aside. The question was so idiotic that he refused to answer.

(To be continued)