An open-top double-decker bus for the parade was parked outside the airport terminal, and a large crowd of fans and journalists flocked the Forest team out of the airport building and boarded the bus.

Waiting with the bus were four police cars that had arrived from Nottingham to escort them, a city of Nottingham's pride, and the police were no surprise to do so.

A convoy of four police cars and an open-top double-decker bus cheered off on the road as they headed back to Nottingham.

After turning onto the M1 motorway from the airport expressway, the players found that the buses were quickly followed by a special convoy of vehicles, which did not have a unified vehicle, but cars of various models and brands, all of which had the red flag of the Forest team on their bodies. Although it was driving on the highway, there were still many fans leaning out of the car windows and waving their arms. Since the forest team bus in front of it is not fast, and the convoy following behind is not fast, it is not afraid of any traffic accidents...... They were all fans who had just welcomed the team at the airport. At the moment, they are escorting the team back to Nottingham.

It's not the first time Donn has experienced this firsthand, as he and his team were escorted to Nottingham all the way to Cardiff after winning the Carabia Cup.

It's just that there weren't so many people at the beginning. After all, the English League Cup and the UEFA Champions Cup are not at all the same level of honor.

The players happily greeted the handguards of the fans who followed them in the car, and the fans kept honking their horns.

The convoy pulled over on the highway and slowed down, and other passing cars had to detour.

There are constantly people going up to the second level of the bus to blow the wind, wave to the fans, and accept their praise and cheers. There are also people who keep blowing enough wind and coming down from above.

Don hasn't gone up below, he was tired for a day yesterday, and he was tired for most of the day today. He will continue to be tired at night, and he plans to take advantage of this time to rest and rest.

He closed his eyes.

It was all like a dream, and he couldn't tell whether the dream was reality or reality.

After the game, from the dressing room to the press conference to the hotel where they were staying, the whole Forest team was in a state of extreme excitement, and many of them won the honour for the first time – European Champions.

Even those who have won the trophy once did not expect to lift it again at the end of their careers.

Van der Sar made his debut at Ajax. He played in the UEFA Champions League final in 1995 when he played for Ajax. Coincidentally, their opponent at that time was also AC Milan, and there was also a "former Milan player" in the Ajax team at that time - Rijkaard, and it was Rijkaard who assisted Kluivert to defeat the then invincible AC Milan with a goal seven minutes before the end of the game, and unexpectedly lifted the Champions Cup.

Van der Sar never forgets that day, and the best moment of his career belongs to that day. Later, both in Ajax. Neither at Juventus, nor in the Dutch national team, has he won such an honor.

Van der Sar was thrilled to win the Champions Cup for the second time. He is thirty-six years old and has not had a few years left in his career. He got his career off to a good start with a Champions Cup victory. He hopes that the end of this career will also be a happy end with the Champions Cup.

He lifted the championship cup and rubbed his face against it, the cold feeling reminding him that it was all real, not a dream.

Van der Sar is just a representation of some. Many veterans are like this. Even a world-class goalscorer like Ruud van Nistelrooy has never won a Champions Cup in his career. When he was abandoned by Manchester United, he chose Nottingham Forest only to avenge Manchester United and prove to Ferguson how wrong United were to give up on themselves. I didn't expect ...... He never imagined that his unfulfilled wish at Manchester United would be fulfilled at Nottingham Forest.

He doesn't know what to say with the trophy in his hands, he is the top scorer in the 52-year history of the Champions League (this data includes the Champions League qualifiers, the most scored in the Champions League is Real Madrid's Raul. Gonzalez). But he didn't win a championship trophy, which is somewhat unreasonable.

Now Van Nistelrooy is finally out of this embarrassment.

The Foresters, who have been partying in hotels and bars, whether they are retiring, just starting out, or in the prime of their careers, will have a glorious record on their resumes – the 06/07 UEFA Champions League title.

Just that sounds remarkable.

But in fact they are more remarkable than this simple honor. You must know that this team was still struggling in the English Football Championship (then called the first division) four years ago, with a financial crisis, a relegation crisis...... It's bothering everyone up and down this team.

Nottingham Forest are a team with a tradition of creating miracles. The Clough era is still today, Tony. The era when Donn was at the helm. They have all done things that no one else would dare to think of.

This night. Don did not restrain his men, and did not let them enter the room to rest until eleven o'clock. They were not forbidden to drink freely.

Because he himself was drunk unconscious by his colleagues in the hotel bar.

The English drunkards even poured beer into the trophies of the Champions Cup and drank them apart. In fact, not much of it went into their stomachs, and more wine was left along their necks and poured all over their bodies.

Don didn't know how much wine he drank, he couldn't count it, anyway, the glass was full when it was empty, and it was full when it was empty. In the end, these people simply grabbed the wine bottle and poured it up their necks. Tang En believes that "life must be happy, don't make the gold bottle empty to the moon" is an eternal truth, when the spring breeze is proud, he has to drink, in addition to drinking, he can't think of any other way to celebrate the most appropriate, the most cathartic inner feelings. Wine is the greatest invention in the history of human civilization, without wine, his life would be boring, wine is his favorite in addition to football.

Now that he finally has the opportunity to drink openly and heavily, how can he let it go? Drank and vomited, spit and drank. He didn't know how much alcohol he had in his stomach, but he remembered very well how he was feeling - happy, happy.

Beer, champagne, whiskey, wine, brandy, vodka...... They all want alcohol for sale in the hotel bar.

The next day, the manager of the hotel received a report from their bar that the people at Nottingham Forest had drunk the entire bar yesterday......

The Greeks had seen how much the English were drinking.

That's why the team flew to London in the afternoon, not in the morning – most of them were still too drunk to get up.

There's no George in these crazy crowds. Wood, who accompanied his mom out shopping and buying souvenirs. He had little interest in these things about drinking celebratory wine. He wasn't interested in parties, he wanted to be with his mom when he wasn't playing, where she wanted to go with her, what she wanted to buy to swipe her card.

Wood had always felt that he owed his mom a lot, and now that he had made a lot of money, he wanted to make up for it.

Don also knew, so he didn't ask Wood to come to the party, just told him and his mom to be safe outside.

Everyone else on the team knows how much Wood loves his mom. So no one forced him to drink and party together.

When Don opened his eyes again, he was awakened by a loud noise.

He opened his sleepy eyes in a daze, turned his head to look out the window, it was the building he was familiar with, and the bus finally arrived in Nottingham. Further down ...... He was taken aback. He slammed into his seat and fell asleep.

The eyes are all red, from one end of the street to the other, and the whole world is red.

Wearing a Red Forest shirt. Fans in red T-shirts of Forest's third trophy are crowding the streets, waving arms and flags to cheer and salute the players on the ground.

The bus moves very slowly, and in the crowded streets, although there are police cars in the way, it still seems to be climbing......

The players all made their way up to the second floor, only to receive cheers and salutes from the fans along the way.

"Wow, the alleys are empty......" Don whistled.

It's noisy. He could barely hear himself. The cries of the fans here are the only voices that can be heard clearly.

They were calling every Forest player by name. The caller would get up from his seat, wave his hand, and then get a louder cheer and sit down contentedly.

It seems to be a military parade, but it is not the people in the car who parade the street, but the fans on the street who review the "soldiers" on the car.

Don rolled over, and he saw Chrislak slumping down from above, and found Donn waking up and waving happily to him. Shouted: "Come up! Come on! ”

Don hadn't reacted yet. The fans were so loud that he didn't hear what Chris Lak was shouting.

That's when he heard the fans shouting their names: "Tony! Tony! Tony. Dawn! Tony! Tony! Tony. Dawn!! ”

He looked at Chris Lack's excited smiling face. Now I understand.

Donn appeared on the second floor of the open top with Chris Lack, and the fans cheered loudly and excitedly when they saw him coming up.

Don leaned over the railing and waved to the crowd below. This position was even higher than what he had just done, and he could see it more clearly. It's not just the street, forward, backward, where he can't see the end...... Everywhere there was a patch of red.

The ancient city of Nottingham seems to have been dyed red overnight.

"Look!" Chrislak pointed down and said excitedly, "Twenty-seven-year pomp! ”

Don En smiled: "Don't worry, David, there will be more often in the future." You can watch it as many times as you want. ”

"Hehe, I know you have the ability, Tony. "Chris Rac punches Donn.

Donn stepped forward, took the trophy from Wood, and held it high, his actions causing another scream from the bottom of the car.

Someone handed Don a microphone, which was connected to the bus speaker, so that he could speak on the bus. In the past few days, his voice has become hoarse, and his speech at the airport has been over-performing...... At this time, he still wanted to speak, and he couldn't do it without borrowing a microphone connected to a speaker.

He coughed into the microphone, which was amplified several times by the loudspeakers in front of the bus. You can hear it from afar. The fans in this area saw that Don had something to say, and they all fell silent.

"I'm Tony. Don is grateful for your support, and honestly I'm thrilled to see this. You can't see the end of it......" he waved his hand, "Half of Nottingham is out, right?" ”

After a pause, he continued: "When I was acting manager of Nottingham Forest, I used to say this to a couple of good friends in the bar. I don't care if it's good, I don't care if it's offensive or defensive, I don't care how the Forest team used to play. My goal is simple – to win. I said that a team that can't win is worthless, and a manager who can't lead a team to win is just a suck! He raised his voice word by word.

These words quickly received enthusiastic feedback from the people below, and they all agreed.

"I also told my players that ...... What kind of football is football at Nottingham Forest? It's football that keeps winning, winning! I'm happy, today, to use such a trophy to prove that everything I said before is not bragging. He held up the trophy with one hand and turned his head to look at it affectionately. "Twenty-seven years. She's back in our hands. But here, in front of so many people, I promise you – this won't be the last! ”

He handed the trophy back to Wood, raised his hands and shook his head.

"As long as I'm in this position, we can keep repeating it. Right now. Let's go to City Stadium tonight and celebrate! ”

With that, he put the microphone down and waved his fist again. went down.

His throat hurt and he didn't dare to continue talking.

In the past few days, I have been yelling, talking, smoking, drinking, and my throat can't stand it anymore.

The car moved slowly, but finally arrived at the Municipal Square at 5 p.m., where the whole team waited for the Municipal Building across the square to celebrate with the gathered fans. This meeting will make the eyes of many old Nottingham Forest fans moist. Because it was here that Forest won the Champions Cup for the second time 27 years ago and celebrated with the fans.

Later, on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of Forest's victory in the European Cup, the Forest team organised a parade that simulated the original era, which was celebrated here at the end of the event. Although there were many people who came at that time, the future of the Forest team was still uncertain in the first division at that time, and there was not much excitement for those who came except for remembrance.

Because whenever people think of the glory of the past. You will find that the reality is so cruel - the European champion who has won twice in a row. Now they can only fight in the second division.

This time is different, and those who come here may still be nostalgic for the past. But more often than not, they just cheer for the Forest team in front of them.

The silver cup they held in their hands was not a replica, but a real championship trophy, a trophy that could not be real.

Coming down from the terrace of the municipal building, the whole team of the forest team has changed into their suits again by this time, and they will have dinner with the mayor, which is a formal dinner. The players put away their hippie smiles and ate with the mayor and other senior government officials.

This kind of scene, Evan. Dogetty coped with it with ease. Don and the players were miserable, and it was a torture for them to play such a serious scene.

The Mayor praised the team for their outstanding contribution to the city of Nottingham, and he toasted with emotion: "It was Robin Hood who made the world know about Nottingham, and now it is you, all the soldiers of Nottingham Forest, who have made the world know us again!" ”

Everyone raised their glasses and thanked the mayor for his praise. The atmosphere was harmonious.

Dinner wasn't long, as the Forest team had to go to the City Stadium to prepare for the evening's celebratory evening.

Donn led the team away, and Evan Brown. Dogetty and Alan. Adams stayed, and they had to talk privately with the mayor about the location of the new stadium. If you can get government support and some preferential policies on the purchase of land, then you can save the club a lot of money in the construction plan of the new stadium.

Now that Forest have just won the Champions League and become the kings of Europe, it is clear that the time has come to make that request. Another reason why Forest is particularly beneficial is that the current mayor is a big fan of Nottingham Forest, and his family has grown up watching the club play for four generations. Emotionally, he should also support Forest's plans to build a new stadium.

The news of the Forest's evening gala party has long been known in Nottingham. At the same time, everyone also knows that this is an opportunity to say goodbye to a few people.

Albertini is retiring, Paul. Steven Gerrard has also announced his retirement, and at this juncture, it would be nice to see them off at the City Stadium.

At night, the City Stadium is brightly lit, and like any home game, the crowds rush to the stadium. The Trent River reflects the dazzling lights on the main entrance of the City Stadium, rippling in the microwave, and the City Stadium in the water is illusory like a dream palace. The 100-9-year-old stadium radiates a modern glow at night.

There are still police officers around the stadium to maintain order, but there are fewer police than in a draw. Because there are no away fans who might cause a riot this time, no one else can buy tickets at all, except for real Forest fans.

A police car was parked at the Trent Bridge, and the young cop stood alone outside the car, smiling at Forest fans passing by.

The radio in the police car was telling the audience about the current grand scene of the city's stadium, and it was said that it was almost full.

The young cop looked at the fans walking in front of him and wondered if his former partner would be among them now.

The Forest team invited a number of celebrities and celebrities to attend the gala. But none of them are the protagonists, they are just Forest fans with a special identity.

The protagonist of the night is the team, the players, the coach.

After everyone had entered, the outside of the stadium slowly became deserted. The lights inside the City Stadium were also turned off, leaving only a few lights to create the atmosphere of the stage.

After a simple theatrical performance, the host of the scene - John. Mortensen began to introduce the guests to the upcoming Forest players.

At this moment, the players of the Forest team have changed into commemorative T-shirts and are standing at the Yongdao crossing. The big guys looked at each other, and they all saw excited smiles on each other's faces.

These two days are really unforgettable for them.

The first name to be called was George. Wood. As an outstanding player from the forest youth team, as well as the next captain, he was the first to appear.

He ran out to the applause and cheers of the fans from Forest.

The spotlight on the roof came down, and a pillar of light shrouded Wood, accompanying him from the corridor to the center circle of the court.

Next, the Forest players were called out one by one. Everyone who runs out will be warmly welcomed. It's not the same as celebrating in Athens, it's a night that belongs entirely to Nottingham Forest, and no one thinks about their opponents, and no one worries about celebrating and cheering up their opponents and making them feel that the championship is not graceful enough.

The Nottingham Foresters themselves have the lead singer to celebrate the title in every way they can think of it, with unbridled and unbridled celebrations. And don't worry about gossiping.

Don and the members of the coaching staff waited in the hallway. There were fewer and fewer people around him, and everyone would come and hug Don before they were called by name and ran out.

In the corridor, you can clearly hear the sound of the live broadcast and the tsunami-like shouts of the fans.

Don had a strange smile on his face. There was never a moment of tiredness.

When Anelka's name was called, the cheers of the fans were still enthusiastic, but Anelka's smile was a little awkward, and he didn't hug Don or even shake hands, and just ran out.

Don didn't care either, he didn't even pay attention to it, he was just chatting with Don at the time. It was Don who reminded him, and looking at Anelka's back, he shrugged: "He's the best to have such a performance." ”

Then he called Paul. Gerrard.

This time the fans were a little louder than before. Although Paul was only a substitute goalkeeper, everyone remembers his performance in the Champions League final last season. Don't blame him for the two goals conceded, he's done well enough.

Paul. Gerald turned around and hugged Donn. "Thank you, Boss, for winning a championship trophy in your career...... I never thought there would be such a good thing! ”

Don smiled and didn't say anything, just patted him on the shoulder. He didn't know what to say either.

Gerrard turned and ran onto the pitch.

Right now. Of the players next to him, Albertini was the only one left.

Donn turned his head to look at the Italian.

He'd already seen Demi retire once, but he still had an indescribable emotion in his heart.

He wanted to open his mouth to say something, but he heard his name being shouted on the radio outside.

"Below...... Let's welcome—" Mortenson dragged out his voice, as if he was still deliberately trying to leave the suspense, in fact he was just giving the fans time to play.

Sure enough, the fans in the stands began to chant the names of the last two people who had not yet played:

"Tony! Tony! ”

"Demi! Demy! ”

"Demy, it's time for us to play. Donn lifted the trophy on the ground. Hand the other handle to Albertini.

Albertini took it and nodded.

Then the two of them carried the trophy together and walked onto the pitch amid overwhelming shouts.

"Tony and Demy!"

Mortenson had previously used the full names of the players he had used when he played them, but this time he used two nicknames. He knows, and the Forest fans know, that Nottingham Forest only has one "Tony" and only one "Demy".

The cheers grew louder and louder, and they finally merged with the applause into a huge torrent. swept away. As Don and Albertini walked, they held the trophy in their hands aloft, and in the light, it shone brightly.

When they reached the middle of the line, the waiting players swarmed up. Raising two people high along with the trophy, the atmosphere of the stadium reached a **.

"Cheers to the champions——!!" Mortenson howled into the microphone.

He was not the commentator of the Champions Cup final, he was a commentator for the BBC and was not qualified to cover the Champions Cup match. But it also gave him a benefit. It's the ability to cheer on the Forest team in your own home, drinking beer and watching TV, without thinking about the commentator's tendencies.

After a while, the players finally put the two down, and Don put the trophy on the prepared table and took the microphone.

"I have a lot of people to thank, but at this time today. I would like to thank one person individually. "His voice can be heard all over the stadium.

He walked towards Albertini.

"You know what? When I decided to put Demy in the starting line-up before the final, I was asked: 'Are you crazy?' That old guy can't play anymore, and you actually let him start in such an important final?! Someone else said to me: 'We understand your feelings for Demy, but this is the final and you can't joke with the fate of the whole team because of your personal feelings!' The result? Donn shrugged and pointed to the championship trophy behind him. "I would say that if it wasn't for Demy, we wouldn't have been able to win this trophy!"

"About half a year ago, I told Demy. 'I'll give you a real farewell match'. Champions Cup Final ...... This is not my handout to Demi. Never, I think Demy's form and level are good enough for that final. So I started him. I'm very happy because it was an important decision in my coaching career and it gave us a glittering Champions Cup! ”

The people in the stands agreed with cheers.

"I always thought it was too early for Demi to retire at 35 and you could play for at least two more years. But I can't persuade you, I can silence the reporters at the press conference, but I can't convince you. Donn looked at Albertini, who just smiled. "No one here wants you to go. He waved his hand at the players around him. "But we respect your decision. The only thing I'm happy about is that I can give you a Champions Cup as a souvenir at the end. ”

With that, he handed the microphone to Albertini, who knew he had something to say.

Albertini took the microphone and said to his teammates, "Thank you." ”

Then he turned around and looked up at the stands around him.

"I would also like to thank you, Forest fans. I don't want to lie, apart from the Milan fans, you guys are the loveliest group of fans I've ever met. Three years ago, when the head went to Italy to look for my land. I never thought I would be able to lift the trophy in the last race of my career...... I'm not a dreaming kid anymore. However, I really had a beautiful dream - the three years here are unforgettable. In the last three years of my career, I've met a great manager, a great group of team-mates, a great team, and you'......" he pointed to the stands, "a great crowd of fans. ”

There was a huge round of applause from the stands. This applause poured in from all directions, as if a pair of invisible hands were bringing their captain Dmitrio to the table. Albertini hugged him tightly.

The applause made Albertini unable to continue, in fact, his voice was a little choked up when he reached the end. The teammates around him came up to hug him one by one, and the younger Rubel even cried.

George. As Wood and Albertini embraced, he felt a little bit of strength in Demi's hands. "I'm leaving, George. Now it's up to you. In his ear, Albertini whispered.

Wood nodded.

He still didn't know what to say the parting message. Eastwood was clever enough to make Albertini laugh, but he couldn't.

For the past three years, it was Albertini who stayed with him and taught him how to become a qualified professional footballer. How to be a good midfielder, how to be a competent captain. He had become accustomed to training and living with Albertini by his side, and the feeling and emotions were indescribable. If you have to describe it, it's like a good friend who has been with you for many years is suddenly going away. He wanted his friend to stay, but he couldn't deprive him of his freedom.

Or should I say, "Demy, have a nice run"? But I don't even want to say that......

He let go of Albertini and stepped aside, keeping his head down and silent, making way for the rest of his teammates.

Not only the players, but also the coaches of the coaching staff came up to the Italian one by one to hug the Italian and thank him for all the contributions he has made to the team. And my deepest greetings to his retirement.

The last person to come forward and hug Albertini was Donn.

"There's a message I'm going to give you, Demi. Then Tang En recited a poem in Chinese, "Don't worry about the road ahead without knowing yourself, no one in the world knows you." ”

"What do you mean?" Albertini did not understand Chinese.

That means ...... Uh......" Donn wanted to translate this sentence in poetic English, but he found that he couldn't. "Anyway...... It's that you're the best player in the world. Maybe some people disagree with me, but don't bother, I think you're you! Ignore the ignorant rhetoric, now I'm the champion. I've got the final say! ”

It was clear that Donn couldn't explain what that meant. I just want to use this way to fool around.

Albertini had long been accustomed to Donn's tricks, and he could see it at a glance. Then he smiled at the embarrassed Donn.

His smile relieved Don instead, and the two of them looked at each other and laughed.

Tears came out of my eyes......

After laughing, Don wiped the corners of his eyes, and he saw that Albertini's eyes were also red.

"Demi. ”

"Huh?"

"It's time to say goodbye......"

"Hmm. ”

At the same time, a piece of music sounded on the stadium's radio, and it was the famous soprano Sarah . Brightman and the famous Italian blind male singer Andrea. A famous song "time_to_say_goodbye" sung by Bocelli.

The Italian singing was melodious but a little sad with a farewell, and an indescribable emotion stirred and spread in the chests of everyone present. Use this song to give Italian veteran Demitrio. Albertini's farewell couldn't have been more appropriate. Donn admired Mortenson for being able to pick this song.

Albertini didn't expect to hear a song in Italian at this time, and it turned out to be this one. He froze for a moment, listened intently, and then pursed his lips and his eyes reddened.

In the song, he seemed to watch his career again, and he had a wonderful start...... I wanted to continue like this, and I played in Milan until I retired. Unexpectedly, he guessed the beginning, but he didn't guess the ending. Later in his career, he was swept away, Atletico Madrid, Lazio, Nottingham Forest...... These teams have all been his stopovers. If it weren't for the second spring of his career at Nottingham Forest and the unexpected lifting of the Champions Cup, how many people still remember who chose to retire at this time?

Single-mindedly loyal to Milan, but swept away. What could be more cruel than this? If given a choice, he would rather trade the trophy for a chance to be a loyal servant.

Is it possible? No way.

The city stadium, which had been noisy all night, fell silent the moment the song began, and all eyes were on the man who was shrouded in the spotlight.

In the midst of the sad song, the Italian Albertini slowly raised his hands, pursed his lips, and said goodbye to his eighteen years of wandering career.

Don joined everyone in watching him applaud and salute him. He did all this while he was hiding in the crowd, with the players, and was unobtrusive, so no one saw the tears glistening in his eyes.

Goodbye, Demy.

Your story is over, and my story has just begun......