Don took his glass and squeezed Wood to the bottom left in front of his fixed seat.

Everyone could see that he had brought Wood here, and there must have something to talk about, so no one came forward to bother. They drank Donn's wine and chatted casually, but of course, the main topic was the game that had just ended.

"Haven't you been?" After taking his seat, Donn asked Wood.

Wood nodded. Mom won't let me drink."

"Your mom is right." After saying that, Don drank to himself. And ignore Wood.

Wood was a little embarrassed, and he sat down and began to pay attention to the people around him. When those people saw his gaze, they raised their glasses to greet him.

Donn looked up at Wood, and then asked, "Why don't you even ask me why I brought you here?" ”

"Why?" Wood was very obedient and asked right away." Why ask? ”

"You're a ...... Where did the wisdom of the ground go in the competition? ”

"Are you still thinking about that?" Wood points to the yellow card.

Don nodded: "I thought about it more after the game. If we lose, it doesn't matter if you get 10 red cards, now we win, the final against Barcelona or AC Milan is very good, and I have a headache when I think about losing a barrier in the midfield in the final." Talking. He rubbed the sun**.

Wood looked at the head coach who kept rubbing the sun in front of him, his lips squirmed several times, and finally said, "I don't want to ...... But there's no way to ......."

"Even if you don't foul at the time, they don't necessarily score, right?" Don looked up at him.

"I've never believed in 'not necessarily.'" Wood's answer this time was categorical.

Looking at Wood's determined expression, Donn sighed, leaned back in his chair and spread his hands, "Okay, I admit that I was too greedy. Not only hope that the team will advance to the finals. I also hope that it will be a complete team, where everyone is injured and unlicensed, and can use the strongest squad to deal with our opponents......"

Wood listened quietly as he fantasized about the impossible.

"George, do you want to play in the final?" Suddenly, Donn changed the subject and asked.

Wood was stunned for a moment, then nodded.

"Curious?"

Wood continued to nod.

"Why? I remember you didn't even know who Riquelme was, you didn't have that much passion for football, you didn't ......"

"Because my mom wants to see me play in the finals."

Donn put the glass down to his lips as he looked up at Wood, as if he didn't believe it.

"Before today's game. She said to me."

"You ...... Bastard......" Donn scolded in a low voice.

Kenny. Coming over, he put the bottle on the table and sat down." Tony, I think you're running out of wine."

"Thank you." Don picked up the bottle and poured it for himself, halfway through it, he remembered. Then he pointed to Burns and said to Wood, "I don't think I have introduced him to you yet. Kenneth, Nottingham Forest's two-time winner of the European Champions League, was awarded the Matthews Award by England.

Burns smiled at Wood.

Wood turned to look at him and nodded, "Hello sir."

"Don't be so reserved, young man. I've heard Tony talk about you. When you were in the youth team. He told us he had picked up a kid from the street who couldn't play football, and we all laughed at him. I didn't expect three years to pass. The kid who couldn't play became the captain of the Forest team."

Wood glanced at Donn, who was drinking alone.

"George, I heard you got an agent?" The man who talked to Wood during this time was Burns.

"Hmm."

"How is he?"

"It's fine. Very serious......"

"I mean...... Did he put you in touch with other teams? ”

Wood shook his head, "No, now he's just in charge of my business contract."

Burns looked at Donn and smiled, "Tony is worried about losing you."

Donn coughed.

"We're also worried about losing you. Let me tell you the truth, your agent, I'm not too relieved. I heard that he didn't come from a football background before, and he has a limited understanding of football. There are some things that he will only think about in terms of interests, and I hope that you will make your own decisions when the time comes."

Wood, of course, knew what Burns meant by that, "I like it here. My mom likes it too, and I'm not going anywhere else."

"That's good." Looking at Wood's serious expression, Burns smiled. But...... Who can say what the future will be like now? He's been in professional football for decades. Even if he retires, he can still open a bar here and continue to pay attention to the big and small things in the *** world. Now, how many of those who are loyal to them have really made it to the end? Some are voluntary, some are involuntary, and in short, the movement of people is guided by only one truth – profit.

Despite all this mess, Burns would not break the "ideals" of young people.

Burns and Wood finished talking, and he patted Wood on the shoulder. I got up and walked back. There are more guests who need him to greet them, and the Forest Bar is really full tonight.

Wait for Burns to go. Tang Encai put down his wine glass.

"George. I don't care what you think...... But I owe you a favor."

Wood was puzzled, and Don wasn't going to explain. That's right, he really owes a debt to Wood, who made Donn at the expense of himself, and when he leads the team to the Stade de France in Paris on May 17, he will become the youngest head coach to appear on the pitch in the final of the European Cup. Regardless of whether the Forest team can win the championship in the end. His Tony post has been etched in history.

And what about the biggest contributor behind this? At that time will only be able to sit in the stands.

"I'll give you a chance to make amends."

Wood shook his head: "The semifinals are over......"

"That's right, it's over. But it's only this season that ends. Next season, next season, next season, next season, we all have a chance. It's definitely ......" Donn held out his index finger and shook it in front of Wood, "definitely not the only chance we have. Look at them......" he pointed to the jubilant fans.

"They think of this night as one of their fondest memories. And we'll bring them more nights like that in the future. George. You know that Demi is going to retire at the end of next season, right? ”

Wood nodded.

"He was supposed to retire at the end of the season."

Wood was a little surprised to hear Donn say this, he obviously didn't know what was going on.

"Didn't he tell you? Not...... I can understand. I advised him to stay. I don't have a proper reason though. He's not in good shape right now, and you saw that he's played very little in the second half of the season...... Later I moved you out and I told him I wanted him to stay for another year and develop you into a midfield all-rounder, both offensively and defensively, as good as Demi as a midfielder. And he agreed."

Donn held out his index finger again: "You only have one year, George. I don't want to go all over the world in a year to find the heart of the midfield for Forest. Your mom says she'd like to see you on the field of the Champions Cup final. I hope too."

Wood listened quietly and did not speak.

After saying this, Don raised his hand and looked at his watch: "Go back."

Wood gets up.

"Not going back to the hotel. Go home, go back to your house. Spend time with your mother." Don waved his hand. You're going to get your stuff in the locker room tomorrow afternoon when you train out."

"Good land. Aren't you going back? ”

"Me? My nightlife has just begun! Don winked at him.

Wood picked up the juice and drank it clean, "Goodbye, chief."

"That's right, George. Did I tell you that your mid-game performance was just perfect? ”

Wood shook his head. I thought you were going to criticize me."

"That's scaring you." Don grimaced at him." Perfect, I'll give you a 10 point for your performance. I can't ask you to do better. Go back and tell your mom. You won't be on the field in the Champions League final, but you'll be the hero of the team. She'll be proud of you."

Tak nodded and turned to squeeze out of the crowd.

Seeing that he was leaving, the fans in the bar shouted, "Goodbye George!" ”

"I'll ask you for an autograph tomorrow when I go to the training ground...... Damn, I didn't know you were going to be here today......"

"George! Come on! Come on! ”

The door opens on the on. Wood left the bustling bar, and the atmosphere quickly returned. Everyone was excitedly discussing the game that had just ended. Or talk about topics that have nothing to do with the game.

Burns sat down next to Donn again: "I didn't expect you to bring the captain of the team to the bar. How many managers would do that? ”

"Hmm...... I also made an improvisation."

"Because of Wood's yellow card?"

"I'm still haunted by it...... But ah. After a few glasses of wine, there are no worries. What about without Wood? Whether the opponent is AC Milan or Barcelona, they all play the same. If our opponents thought Nottingham Forest would be vulnerable without Wood, I wish they were going to think so."

"You've done well enough. Tony. Whether we win the championship or not, you're good enough."

Donn pointed at Burns and said, "Is that a consolation?" ”

Ens shook his head, "I understand it as 'praise.'"

The two looked at each other and smiled.

"It's been three years, Tony. You're doing a good job. You're still young, and you can do it for thirty years if you want to. Don't rush too much, take your time."

Donn looks at the ceiling. Thirty years...... It's been a long time, he's never thought so far into the future. For him, the "future" is tomorrow, and next year is already far away......

"Hmm......" he nodded. You're right, Kenny. I'm still young compared to old men like Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger."

yes, thirty-seven years old Tony light.

The next day, the highly-anticipated match was covered by major media outlets. Nottingham Forest made headlines across the sports media. Twenty-six years later, the experience of returning to the Champions League final, and the rocket-like rise every year, are very interesting, and it is even more legendary for Donn, a young local manager.

When the team resumed training in the afternoon, there were countless shots outside Wilford. And non-English chronicles make up the majority here. This team has already attracted the attention of all over Europe.

Of course, most of the media focus is still on how George will affect the team in the future. Don avoids all of these kinds of questions. He doesn't want to overplay Wood's role in the team, although perhaps Wood does have that big of a role.

There are also some media outlets that have taken a different path. Hyping up Wood's absence would have led them to rejection in the interview, so they simply turned their attention to the final penalty shoot-out.

In fact, Van der Sar was not a goalkeeper known for his penalty saves before this, and what makes him a world-class goalkeeper is his height of 1.97 meters and excellent reflexes, agility and ability to block one-on-one balls - all of which are shown in athletic battles. On the contrary, in a game such as the penalty shootout, he did not lack painful recollections:

95-96 times tasted penalty nightmares. In the next 96 European Championships, the Dutch team was eliminated by the French team on penalties in the quarterfinals.98 World Cup semifinals, the Dutch team fell to the penalty spot again, and this time the Brazilian goalkeeper Tafarel who was good at saving the penalty was radiant. Of course, the most painful memory comes from the Euro 2ooo year. The local tournament is held at home. The Dutch team lost to Italy. The reason for the defeat was still a penalty, and Toldo became a god in a fight, and Van der Sar could only be saddened...... With all these experiences, it's not hard to understand the surprise of Van der Sar when he saved Gilberto's ball at a crucial moment.

According to the photograph at the end of the photograph taken, Van der Sar turns over his socks before each penalty, then takes out a small note, looks at it twice and stuffs it back.

Some media pointed out that this was actually the secret of the final victory of the Forest team, and their speculation was quickly confirmed. After training, Van der Sar revealed the contents of the note in an interview. The result surprised a lot of the media - they didn't expect it for this semi-final. Nottingham Forest is so well prepared.

Of course, Arsene Wenger, who wants to study Dondi, naturally paid attention to this news. When he saw Van der Sar say it was Donn's idea, what else could he do but shake his head and smile wryly?

Mysteriously, the little note became famous all over the world. Later, in the World Cup finals, the German team used this trick against the Argentine penalty takers, and after the game, Germany's main goalkeeper Lehmann admitted that he was inspired by the game...... Of course, that's all for later.

The UEFA Champions League final will be played on the evening of 17 May, while the final round of the English League will be played on 7 May. This will give the Forest team up to 10 days to prepare, so they don't have to be distracted by the league or other domestic cup competitions and can concentrate on preparing for the game. This may be good news for the Dondee team.

A day later. Forest's final opponents have been revealed – Barcelona play an o:o at home to AC Milan, so they rely on a goal away from home in the first leg. With an aggregate score of 1:o, they eliminated anetbsp and everything was the same as Don N Di remembered. Barcelona reached the final, and the so-called "Dream Two" team is the hottest offensive football representative in football today, and they will be cheered by the fans everywhere they go, because they symbolize the best art of football.

But Tang Encai doesn't care what art is not art, for him, no matter how good the game is, it is not as cost-effective as winning the championship. He's going to make the proud Barcelonans suffer a lot in Paris!