Over there, the finals of the "Soccer Kid" draft in China are in full swing. Don wasn't idle, either.

In January, he went to the draw for the second knockout round of the Champions Cup. The result was another proof of what he believed was an artificial draw within UEFA, with his team drawn against AC Milan in the quarter-finals...... The Italian media excitedly clamored that Nottingham Forest would be returned tenfold.

What can be returned...... Some media even can't wait to imitate Donne's tone when he led the team to beat Barcelona last season and say: "...... We lost in May last year, and this time we have to find Nottingham Forest to win it back! ”

Yes, the last champions, Nottingham Forest, beat their opponents in the final of the last Champions Cup, and thus went all the way to the last championship. Now AC Milan could also repeat last season's play, beating their opponents in the final and then going all the way to the final to lift the European Cup.

After the draw, Donn was surrounded by reporters who wanted him to talk about his opponent.

Everyone wants to see Don give an arrogant speech and then provoke a war of words between the two sides, and that's what the media likes the most. But Don is an awkward man by nature, and he won't let most people get their way.

"Milan is a strong team and it's normal for anyone to win and to lose. Of course, I don't want to lose and I believe that Mr. Ancelotti is also an idea. So that's it...... The defending champion? This statement is meaningless, and will the last champion get any benefits other than making us targets? Donn shrugged, "Look at the results of this draw, apparently not." ”

In the end, he still had no one to live up to the skyrocketing resentment against UEFA.

Yes, it is really difficult for the team to play the next game when they encounter such a strong opponent in the quarterfinals. And this time they are the host before the guest, and the first two years were the guest before the host. The advantage of playing all the cards in your hand at once is that you don't have to play all the cards in your hand at once, and you can save the back hand and solve the opponent after returning to your home court in the second round. For a coach like Donn who likes to defend, the schedule is the most suitable: the first leg is to rely on defensive counter-attacks to get the result he wants away from home - even if it is a draw, it is even better if he can win, and even if he loses, he will not lose too much. Then wait until the second leg to take advantage of the home field, and then decide on a specific countermeasure based on the result of the first leg.

If you put the host before the guest, it is equivalent to putting the initiative in the hands of the other party. In case there is an accident in the first leg, I am afraid that the second leg of the away game will be weak...... Donn didn't like the feeling of losing control.

What's more, AC Milan is indeed a strong team.

Although on the surface Don is arrogant, but inside, he never despises opponents who should not be underestimated.

His coaching staff is going to start to take a hard look at the strengths and weaknesses of AC Milan today and find a solution to it.

Thankfully, Don is back.

※※※ Don came back on time to make Don En breathe a sigh of relief. The Champions League is about to start, and several teams in the league are also biting tightly, if there is an accident at this time, more than half a season's hard work may be in vain.

Nottingham Forest are now expected to be high, with wins and titles taking for granted for them, and Donn has a heavy load on his shoulders and a lot of pressure on his head.

And with Don by his side, he can feel that these pressures are shared...... In fact, his colleagues in the coaching staff share this pressure, but Don shares more, because he and Don are the closest.

Everyone knew that Tony liked this young man from China, and he didn't give any explanation for it, just asked Don to work in the youth team, and then everyone slowly saw the level hidden in this young Chinese man, and then no one questioned whether Don trusted a Chinese so much, whether it was too unstandard...... Don doesn't look like a young man from a football-backward country. He's young, but he's also very talented – a talent in coaching.

Tang En and Tang are together all day, which makes some people outside wonder if these two people are in love with the same surname - after all, they still have no public girlfriend or lover - but people in the forest team know that Tang and Tang are only together for work reasons, and Tang is an Englishman who loves Chinese culture, and Tang happens to be a Chinese.

How many of the many tactics used by the Forest team were devised by Don? Nobody knows, and it doesn't matter anyway. Just know Don's place at this club – he's Tony. Donne's most trusted person.

After letting Don finish reading the story about the young man named Chen Jian, Tang and Don went to work as normal.

A few young Chinese players selected through the draft will not come until March, and before that, there is nothing for Don to worry about - in fact, even if he comes, he has nothing to do, at most he just goes to meet a few lucky players and say a few beautiful words of encouragement, and may not see each other once in a few months. According to the agreement, these young Chinese players will be sent to the youth team of Nottingham Forest, assigned to different age groups, and trained alongside.

※※※ In addition to Don's return, there is another person's return that makes Don En feel very good.

Pepe has been cleared by the medical team and can proudly return to Donne's side and rightfully ask to play in the next league game.

As with last season, when he returned to the pitch after his injury was like a ball. Don and Fleming, the head of the team doctor, were kicked back and forth.

Donn insisted that Pepe would be considered for a re-entry into the squad until the team doctor issued a written certificate.

Fleming, on the other hand, told Pepe that it was up to Don whether he wrote the written proof or not.

Eventually, Donn and Fleming studied Pepe's physical examination report together, and after various tests on him, it was concluded that Pepe's physical condition had returned to the level before his hand. Fleming then gave Pepe a written proof.

Looking at Pepe's smiling face, Don was actually very happy. For more than three seasons, Pepe has long been a well-deserved core of the Forest team's defence, he is an ironclad mainstay in the back line, and his talent and talent have been fully exploited under Donn, a defence-oriented manager.

His physicality, speed and explosiveness to the strikers, his ability to anticipate, his composure in one-on-one situations, his decisiveness in his footing, and the accolades the Forest have made him one of the best centre-backs in the world.

At this moment, Nottingham Forest's backline is also in need of Pepe's return. So watching Pepe come back triumphantly, Don couldn't hold back the smile on his face, and the fierce and evil that he had pretended to have with a straight face disappeared.

"Alright." Seeing Pepe running over, he pointed to the training ground.

"See there, Pepe?"

Although he didn't know why Don wanted him to look at the training ground, Pepe obediently turned his head to look at it, and he nodded: "I see it, Chief." ”

"Where the weeds are...... They are all almost one man taller. ”

Hearing Don say this, the smile on Pepe's face grew even stronger. He had already received an answer from the leader, and he didn't need to ask any more.

After arriving in England from Portugal, the media were initially skeptical of the obscure kid due to the use of the club's once-a-season "special talent clause" place, which they thought was a waste of Donn's blind eye and the use of the prized "special talent clause" place for such a brat.

But soon Pepe conquered the discerning English media with his performance.

No one criticized him anymore for what kind of parallel he was, and The Sun even gave him a nickname - "Lawn Mower".

Don had heard the nickname before the crossing, but it didn't mean the same thing as this one. In the pre-travel world, Pepe earned the nickname when he was playing in Portugal, where he had to take on more and faster "mowing" work due to the team's habit of playing three central defenders.

Now that he has become famous in England, the Sun gave him the nickname for a more figurative metaphor. Pepe's performance on the field was like a tireless lawn mower, clearing the Forest's defensive area clean, with no weeds at all.

So, as soon as Donn says that now, Pepe knows that he agrees to return to the ring.

"Why don't you say something else, chief?"

"What else is there to say?" Tang Enle said, "Let's go training." Be careful not to hurt your feet with excitement. Also, I'm glad you're back. ”

Pepe answered, turned and ran to the training ground.

For Donn, Pepe's return is the best news he's heard in recent times, and the Forest team really needs Pepe now. The reason why he is so obsessed with making sure Pepe is healed before he can return to the game is that Donn was terrified by Pepe's injury during the winter of these two seasons. He didn't want to let one of his digging defensive geniuses become a complete "glass man" because of frequent injuries. As a defender, then your technical awareness is the best in the world, but if you can't keep up with your body and get injured all the time, what world-class skills and awareness are all in vain, and it is useless at all.

Don was afraid of making Pepe the second Nesta, which is why he was so cautious.

When Pepe was frequently injured, Done was worried about his knee when he saw Pepe suddenly make a sudden stop on the sidelines of the training pitch. Fortunately, the fearful days have passed...... The most physical centre-backs in FM2007 are not a fiction of the developer's SI team, but as a partner of the Forest team, they have the advantage of being "close to the water, first served", and Nottingham Forest's player stats are the closest to the real level in the game.

In a league as close as the Premier League, Pepe has rarely been at a disadvantage in many direct duels with opponents.

There's a good defender like Pepe, and George. Wood, a defensive monster, and the Forest team have been able to achieve such brilliant results in three years, which is not a castle in the air. Donn has shown the world that in today's football, when it comes to winning titles, defense really really matters. It doesn't matter how sharp your attack is, how strong your midfield is, without a solid defence, it's all nothing. Defense is the foundation of a team, the foundation of attack and midfield, without this foundation, no matter how beautiful and artistic the attack is, it is the real castle in the air.

Let's take a look at how Barcelona have fared this season...... After the half-way season, they were seven points ahead of the more pragmatic Real Madrid and also lost the crucial national derby at home. Rijkaard's proud art of football, attacking football, has long been a bygone thing.

As a football fan, Donn likes to watch beautiful football, but as a head coach, he will never sacrifice the team's results in pursuit of illusory "art football" - he knows the difference between "work" and "personal interest".

※※※ The first game of Don and Pepe's return is very close, on February 9, in the 26th round of the league, Nottingham Forest away to Sunderland.

Same opponents, the same away games, but it's completely different from the FA Cup in January. Don won't take the second-tier team out again, and he won't take Sunderland with a training mentality. Similarly, Sunderland manager Roy Brown. Keane also doesn't think this is what Nottingham Forest can do for their players to 'find confidence' right now.

He has set up a tight defensive formation on his home turf, intending to trade even a point for a stubborn defense.

If it had been a season earlier, his tactics might have been successful.

This time, no.

Nottingham Forest's attack is no longer simply a "counterattack" relying on two flanks to break through quickly and hit the opponent's back, and they are not afraid of the opponent and their stubborn defense.

Sunderland lost 2-1 at home stadium.

Nottingham Forest got the three points as they wished, and with this victory surpassed Manchester United, who lost the "Manchester derby" in this round, and because the match between Arsenal and Blackburn Rovers will not be played until the 12th, Nottingham Forest is now at the top of the table with 60 points.

Pepe came off the bench in the second half of the game to replace Ayala. Sunderland's only goal came after that, and he was a little out of action with his team-mates, allowing the opposition to take advantage of the opportunity to score a goal. This goal once gave Sunderland hope, but fortunately, Pepe quickly adapted to the rhythm, and held the middle with Wood and Pique, and Donn adjusted in time to hold on to the three points.

Through the performance at the end of this game, Donn believes that Pepe's form is not very stable and needs to be further adjusted through training.

The good news is that they still have plenty of time.

The next round of the league will not resume until February 23, and the first leg of the Champions Cup quarter-finals will not be until February 19. During this period of time, there are international competitions for various national teams.

Anyway, Pepe's injury has healed, and he won't feel anything wrong with playing for his country, not to mention that what Pepe needs now is not rest, but more games to find the rhythm and feeling of the game as soon as possible. It's better to use the national team competition as a "testing ground" than to risk Nottingham Forest's results in the league and Champions League...... In the home game against AC Milan, the defense remains key, and the returning core of the defense Pepe is the key of the key. His performance will have a direct impact on the outcome of the Forest's game.

Donn hopes to get a good enough "lawn mower" in the match against AC Milan.

He's going to use his solid defense and sharp counter-attacks to cut AC Milan's legs.

(To be continued)