Sean. Barclay's arrival was a bit of a surprise to Donn. Because the England FA number one didn't come to inspect his team throughout the tournament, only to help Wood during his medical check-up, and the rest of the time it was like disappearing.

Barclay didn't make contact with the players, but went straight to Donne. This makes Donn quite satisfied, at least England's FA officials will not bypass the head coach and directly interfere in the team's affairs like the officials of the Chinese Football Association. For now, he feels he is treated with the respect he deserves in the England squad.

Barclay and Don had a one-on-one meeting, in the café of the hotel where they were staying, with a cup of coffee each. Barclays is most concerned about what England can achieve this time. The FA's minimum target for Donne before the game was to be in the semi-finals, and now that Donn has exceeded his task, it stands to reason that as an FA, he should also relax. But people are always greedy, and since we made it to the final, why not fight for the championship?

Everyone has such an idea, let alone an FA CEO.

Although Donn expressed his ambition to compete for the title in front of his colleagues, he had to take a handle in the face of the FA CEO.

"I can't promise anything." Donn spread his hands, "The game hasn't started yet, and our opponents are very strong. ”

Barclay scolded Donn for being cunning in his heart, but said to him with a smile on his face, "It's not like the Tony I know. Donne, who said before the season that his team was going to win the European Cup? ”

Donn knew that Barclay was running on him, but there was no change in his face, just shook his head slightly: "The season is long, we have enough time to adjust." And there is only one final, 90 minutes or 120 minutes, and there is too little room for error. I don't want you to let the more hopeful you have, the greater the disappointment, Mr. Barclay. He fought back quietly.

Barclay continued to curse in his heart. He came out this time to find out what Donn's real goal was. As a result, Donn's mouth was tight, and he didn't leak.

"But I guess no one's goal is to be runner-up, right?" He asked.

This time Don nodded dryly: "Of course, we will try to win the championship." ”

This sentence is Barclays' only takeaway this time. What made him a little unhappy was that Donn was still as unruly as rumored, and his attitude towards himself, the FA CEO, was even a little impatient at the end of the conversation, as if he had a lot of things to do, and Barclays' own time was not the same time.

After leaving the hotel, Barclay was blocked by reporters for a brief interview.

"Our goal is to win the championship." In front of numerous media outlets, he announced the team's ultimate goal on behalf of Donn.

In contrast to Barclays' high-profile profile, Donn was surprisingly low-key ahead of the final.

In the past, when Donn coached the team to participate in important games, he always forgot to fight with the opposing head coach or something, provoking psychological warfare. But this time, he didn't.

He did not take the initiative to attack Italy, nor did he provoke Lippi. Except for regular training, he doesn't talk about anything else. It seemed that he wanted to save the first meeting with Lippi for the press conference the day before the match.

It's just that the more low-key Don is, the more worried the Italian side is. Think about the fate of the French team - before the game, Donn pretended to be his grandson, and after the game he became the only uncle.

The Italians feared that Donn's low-key profile was plotting against them. In the past two days, the Italian media has done everything possible to find out what England is doing.

In fact, they really wronged Don this time...... ※※※Wood relayed the information that Bell told him to Don during the training session. These things are very helpful to Donn, and they are even more targeted when it comes to developing tactics, especially defensive tactics.

The overall tactics of the game have also been determined for a long time. Today's training revolves around that tactic. Regardless of the disagreement among the coaching staff, once the head coach has decided, they must put aside their opinions and work together wholeheartedly.

The good news is also coming, with Bentley and Theo Walcott both returning from injury. In the finals, you will be able to put on the battle. With the exception of Mitchel, who is suspended for accumulating yellow cards, England can field their strongest squad against Italy.

George. Wood's right foot is no longer a problem, and the team head of the team, Derek. White thinks Wood is now physically strong like a bull.

※※※The three-day preparation time flew by, and it was the last day before the race. In the afternoon, both teams will head to the Santiago Bernabeu for acclimatisation, while the managers of both teams will bring one player to their final press conference before the final.

The Italian team was given the first time to acclimatise at the Bernabeu, and after the acclimatisation session, head coach Lippi took Italy's captain Giorgio Chiellini to a press conference.

At the meeting, the reporters were most interested in the first and final head-to-head meeting between the two managers. Lippi and Donn are both well-known and successful managers in European football, but they have never crossed paths. In the years when Donn was at his most popular, Lippi didn't talk about him either. Donne, of course, wouldn't take the initiative to advance someone who is out of reach, even if he is the head coach of a world championship team.

But today, it is obviously inevitable to compare the two of them.

After asking the usual question, the reporter of the Italian newspaper "Milan Sport" stood up and asked the question: "Marcelo, what do you think about Tony. What does Donn think? ”

'He's a very good manager and the trophies he's won with Nottingham Forest are a testament to his quality. Lippi's answer was nothing surprising, because it was true.

Obviously, such an answer is not satisfactory to the journalists.

"But he hasn't achieved any convincing results in the field of national team coaching...... "The reporter from Milan Sport continued.

"I don't think it's a problem. England's performance at this tournament is there for all to see, and that's his result. This time the answer began to interest the reporters. Because as an opponent, it stands to reason that you shouldn't praise the other party so nakedly, not to mention that Lippi is a coach who has won almost all the honors he deserves, and it is not easy to get his praise occasionally.

So is his praise for Donn a smoke bomb or a genuine appreciation?

When Lippi was still inside to be questioned by many reporters, Don was already taking George with him. Wood stood outside and waited. Due to the media being particularly interested in the first meeting between Lippi and Donne, the press conference was also extended a bit.

You can see the inside and hear the sound from inside at the door. But most of it was Italian, and Donn couldn't understand it.

Suo was outside chatting casually with Wood.

"How's your mom doing, George?"

"It's okay......" said on his lips, but there was no joy on his face, and Don could guess that the situation was not necessarily good. It's just that he can't help in this regard, so he can only sigh in his heart. Such a poor woman seems to have come to earth just to suffer.

"Will Mom watch the finals?"

"She watches TV."

"Behave well and get a trophy to make her happy."

Wood nodded.

There was a sudden silence between the two of them, and it seemed that they both had something on their minds. Or did Wood take the initiative to break the silence: "You...... How are you and Shania? ”

Don smiled and glanced at Wood: "George will also care about others, it's not easy." How can it be? That's it, I'm busy with work, and she's busy with work. Gather less and leave more every year. It's you, thirty years old, and there's no woman at this age who would make people doubt your surname, George. ”

Wood pouted, "Whatever they are." ”

"You can see it." Don looked Wood up and down, hey hey. "The best same-sex magazine has judged your ideal partner for gay love for three years in a row."

Don is really anxious about Wood's lifelong events, so he also knocks him in the name of same-name love. It's just that it seems that Westerners don't value the lineage as much as Easterners, otherwise Tang En would definitely move out of "unfilial piety and three nos" and use his mother's name to suppress Wood.

"It's the final tomorrow, do you still have the heart to think about this?" Wood fought back.

"Everything that needs to be done has been done, what can we do now? Frowning and silent? Donn smiled brightly, "That's not my style. Besides......" he pointed to Lippi inside the door, "we can't let the enemy look at us. Take it easy, George. We're the ones who took three big-eared cups, what kind of wind and waves haven't we seen? Ha! ”

While he was talking, the press conference inside ended. In a round of applause, Lippi pulled back his chair and walked with Chiellini to the exit.

Lippi was slightly taken aback when he saw Donn, who was standing outside, smiling at him, but soon his expression returned to normal.

He knew that Don was greeting him with a smile, and that the head coach didn't seem to be as vicious and unapproachable as rumored to be. Since the other party took the initiative to show favor, there was no need for Lippi to stand up, he also looked at Tang En and nodded slightly.

Perhaps because it was the final, Lippi, who attended the press conference today, did not wear the cappa T-shirt he usually wears on the training ground, but a very formal dark blue suit and white shirt. The two passed by, and Don didn't keep his eyes on Lippi's back, but George. Wood and Chiellini, the captain of the opposing team, sparked a spark and glanced at each other.

After leaving the press conference, the old cigarette Lippi never let himself be wronged again, he shrugged his shoulders and took out a small cigarillo from Tuscany from the pocket of his suit, put it in his mouth, lit the fire, and took a puff. That voice even Donn could hear.

With their cigars in their pockets, Lippi and Chiellini departed. Donn, on the other hand, patted Wood next to him, "Let's go, George." It's our turn. ”

He doesn't smoke, but he doesn't need to smoke to be cool, he's synonymous with "cool" himself. Especially when he appeared in front of the media, the continuous flashing lights have shown very well that in the limelight, he is no worse than Lippi, who won the world championship.

"What do you think of Marcelo. Lippi, Mr. Donne? After the normal problems were over, Don also faced such problems.

'He's a good manager. The trophies he won with Juventus and Italy have long been proof of that. Don didn't hesitate or be surprised, he replied quickly.

But the journalists below, who knew both English and Italian, laughed. Because it was so coincidental that Lippi answered this question with the same answer.

These two people have such a tacit understanding even if they deliberately act in a low-key manner, and they really deserve to be the opponents in the finals...... Don laughed inexplicably, but he didn't ask what was going on.

"Was it a little difficult to play against such a manager in the final?" Milan Sport asked.

"I'll admit it's a bit difficult, because Lippi has a lot of experience. But......," Donn said, with a twist, "no one has come to the Bernabeu to compete for second place." I'm sure Lippi thinks the same way, and I'll be very happy to beat Italy and win the title. ”

"Mr. Donn. You were unexpectedly low-key before the game, did you want to make Italy lightly? "The reporters of the newspaper "Milan Sport" are aggressive.

"Not really." Donn stretched out his hands, "You're insulting Mr. Lippi's IQ. "He didn't forget the other party's joke, and used this method to retaliate against the Italian journalist's intransigence." I do respect Lippi and I'm very happy to be able to play him in the final. ”

Don wasn't lying. Although when he was a fan, Don hated Juventus and Lippi very much, but since becoming a coach, his thinking has changed, and after thinking about everything from the coach's point of view, his thinking is getting closer and closer to the Italian coaches. As a head coach, a master tactician is always worthy of respect.

And Don also knows that with Lippi's experience, if he provokes a war of words, he must suffer in the end. Lippi's Italian team will not be fooled, and in that case, England, which seems to be provocative, will fall behind and will suffer morale. Psychological warfare is also not a panacea that can be useful at all times.

This kind of double-edged sword will only hurt himself if it is not used well, so Tang En always picks soft persimmons and pinchs it.

Lippi is an old fox, a rock, and if he doesn't do it, he will mess up the psychology of himself and the players.

'I hope tomorrow is a good game, but that doesn't mean I'm committed to playing attacking football tomorrow.' Don smiled slyly, "For me, the result comes first. ”

Hearing him say this, some reporters sighed in their hearts. It looks like tomorrow's final will be a dull one, and if nothing happens, it will likely be a penalty shoot-out.

Other journalists have heard what they want – England are likely to be defensive-oriented tomorrow, defending on the counter-attack, sacrificing the attack, and dragging it out to extra-time and penalty shoot-outs.

It turned out that it was covered up for three days, and this is the tactic that Donn formulated for the England team? There's nothing new about it...... Defense, defense, defense...... I really want someone to knock his head open and see what else is in it besides "defense".

Donn didn't think about what the reporters were talking about, and after answering their questions, he left the Bernabeu Stadium with Wood and followed the team back to their hotel in the team's bus. Tonight the team had their last tactical meeting, and then it was time to wait for tomorrow night.

For the first time in his life, he led the national team to the final of the World Surname Series, and it was close at hand.

(To be continued)