July 1 is the day when the players and coaches return from vacation.

Tang returned to Nottingham with Tang Jing the day before, he said that he met Tang Jing by chance at Yanjing Airport, Tang En didn't believe him, and laughed at Tang with his fangs and sharp teeth, and made Tang's flirtatious face blush like a monkey's butt before stopping.

The Premier League starts earlier than any other league, kicking off in mid-August, so the Premier League's training camps start earlier than other national league teams.

The first day of training was only scheduled for physical recovery, considering that everyone had just spent a month of vacation and their skills were not good in all aspects, the training intensity on this day was not large. Physical fitness is not under Tang En's control, there is a special physical fitness coach in charge, and he doesn't have to worry about anything.

But he still has to go to the team because there are other things that need him to come forward besides leading the team in training.

※※※

After a month's vacation, the players felt as if they had just woken up from a sweet dream, sleepy-eyed, yawning, mentally and physically not in the best condition.

To Donne's satisfaction, after a wonderful holiday, no one was absent to this day. In addition to Mikel Arteta and Ashley, who have already announced their departures. Young, even Nicolas Anelka, who had a falling out with Donn, drove in to train and is still in talks with Juventus on a personal contract, and there are still some issues in dispute between the two sides.

When the players, who were not yet in a state of mind to take themselves out of vacation, were driven outside the Wilford training ground, they were woken up by the media waiting there.

To say "scared" may be an understatement of their knowledge, but it is actually – these Nottingham Forest players have never seen so much media at the training base on the first day of pre-season.

Not only the media, but also countless fan-like people, who were on both sides of the narrow alleys, holding banners and shouting slogans.

If you only look at the media, you may not know why it is so lively. But look at those fanatical fans and everything is clear.

Some of them wore red Manchester United shirts, some wore white Real Madrid shirts, and one thing they had in common was that they were all holding posters of a person.

Ribery, who arrived by car, parked his car in the parking lot inside the training base and whistled to several of his teammates who arrived at the same time: "How was the holiday?" ”

"Okay, I went to Hawaii." Eastwood, who was about to become black, pointed to his floral shirt. He also came by car, and now that he has become famous, he no longer lives in the caravan in the training base, he has bought a small farm outside, and lives there with his wife and children. Of course, he still warms up on horseback riding in the morning of every home game – riding on his own farm, but no one can blame him for obstructing traffic.

Ribery pointed to the gates of the training ground, from where hordes of media and fans could be seen.

"It's hilarious, isn't it? It seems that a big man is coming today. ”

"Don't you know who you're coming?" Eastwood was a little surprised.

"Tsk, it's boring to say it." Ribery gave Eastwood a roll of the eye.

The two were not in a hurry to go to the locker room, so they chatted by the parking lot looking in the direction of the gate, and as more and more cars stopped beside them, more and more people were chatting next to them. This has led to a strange phenomenon – instead of having a cash locker room to change clothes and go to the training ground, the Forest players greet and chat with each other in the parking lot.

It feels as if the holiday has not yet passed.

Wood didn't come by car, his home was very close to the training base, and he usually came to train on the run, so he came here to do the most basic warm-up. Everyone is not surprised by this strange person.

Albertini has retired, and now he is the official captain of the team, and he decided to get into the role as soon as possible - when Albertini is there, he only needs to be a captain on the field, and he basically doesn't care about it after the game, and those trivial things are done by the real captain Albertini. Now it's a completely different experience.

Wood stood outside the crowd, hesitated for a moment, coughed a few times, and cleared his throat.

His unusual behavior sparked some people's thoughts.

"Hey, George, do you have a cold?" Van Nistelrooy asked with concern. As soon as he spoke, several of the Dutchmen who had been chatting with him turned their heads to look at him, and as soon as the three took the lead, the others followed suit and turned their gaze to Wood.

"Ah, uh...... No, I don't have a cold. Wood was a little embarrassed, "What are you talking about?" ”

Ribery grinned and pointed to the door: "Let's talk about the big guys who came today." ”

Wood knew who they were talking about, but he wasn't interested in getting involved in such a conversation, so if it had been before, he would have turned around and gone back to the locker room, changed his clothes and went to the training ground to warm up. But not now, he's the captain, he's the captain on and off the field, is there such an unsociable captain?

Wood remembers what Albertini said when he hugged him before leaving. "It's up to you."

It's a kind of trust, Wood isn't stupid, he understands it.

He moved a few steps, but instead of retreating, he squeezed into the crowd.

"You ...... Like him coming? He thought about it for a long time and asked a question that made everyone laugh.

"George, if you're a journalist, ask me that and bet you're going to get a lot of closed doors." Van Nistelrooy laughed. 'We're going to interpret this as a sowing discord in the dressing room.'

"I can't talk about whether I like it or not, I used to know about him through the media, but I basically don't believe what the media says, whether it's good or bad. Now I have the opportunity to get in touch with it in person, and I will know if I like it or not. Pepe's words were met with a nod of approval from most people.

I guess this is the attitude of the whole Forest team towards this new teammate...... If you let the media know, I don't know how they will feel?

Then there were groups chatting with each other, some talking about upcoming players, others chatting with friends about their holidays, and a few talking about two team-mates who had already left, Mikel Arteta and Ashley. Poplar.

just sighed a few words that they won the championship together more than a month ago, and now they are going to become opponents. But other than that, I didn't express my indignation at the departure of the two, they are professional players, and they have seen a lot of things together, and it's not a big deal. If it's a friend, it's a friend anywhere, and you can make an appointment to go out for a meal together with a phone call.

Anelka was the last to arrive, and instead of joining his team-mates chatting, he made a beeline for the dressing room. There was also no one to keep him, so he stayed and chatted. Everyone knows that this French striker is a person who has made up his mind, and since his heart is not here, the people here must also make something to keep him.

※※※

Don and Don were on foot from the training base, so they arrived a little later than the players.

Seeing the media and enthusiastic fan groups along the way, Don and Don were also a little surprised.

"Look, look. The king of popularity is different. In all these years, has Nottingham Forest been so lively on the first day of pre-season training? Don pointed to the fans on both sides and said to Don, and when it came to the interest, he also waved to the infatuated fans.

If all the people gathered here are die-hard Nottingham Forest fans, then Donn's wave will definitely get a tsunami-like response, which can greatly satisfy Donn's vanity. But this time, he waved his hand without getting any response.

The men were just holding up the posters and keeping their eyes on the end of the alley – which was the direction the players were driving from – completely taking Don and Don for air.

"Okay......" Don was a little embarrassed as Don silently watched. At the very least, it proves that they are not Nottingham Forest fans...... But that's okay! Then he raised his voice and grinned. They were soon to be. ”

When Don and Don walked to the gate of the training base, they found that the iron gate, which had been open before, was now closed.

The security guard in the house saw that it was the head coach and the assistant coach, and hurriedly came out of it to open the door.

"What's going on?" Don asked a little strangely.

"Uh......" The young security guard hesitated for a moment, pointing to the noisy crowd outside the gate, "those reporters and fans were so enthusiastic that I was afraid that they would rush in, so I closed the gate......"

Don turned his head to look at the men, who included some sports reporters he knew, as well as completely unfamiliar faces. The reporters he knew saw Donn turn around and waved at him.

But Don didn't respond with a straight face, and they were all bored.

The young security guard thought that the head coach with a straight face would teach him a lesson, and he was scared to stand aside and walk, nor did he stay.

Unexpectedly, turning his face, Tang En smiled and patted him on the shoulder: "You did a good job." ”

After the two walked in, Tang, who had been silent, suddenly said, "It seems that he has comprehended the essence of your closed training." ”

In front of the media, Don squatted on the ground with a very graceless smile.

"Bye...... Please, Don. Can you give us a preview of the show before you tell a joke next time? ”

※※※

After Don finally got up, the two continued to walk inside, and they saw the team members gathered in the parking lot.

Tang En and Don glanced at each other, and they both saw doubts in each other's eyes.

It was something they had never seen before.

Did there be a fight?

Don walked over quickly, only to realize a false alarm. Ribery waved to him from afar: "Chief, long time no see!" "With a big smile on his face, where is this fighting?

"Hey, you're not changing in the locker room, what are you doing standing here?" Don asked as he stood in front of the crowd, and everyone stopped chatting.

"We all want to see for ourselves what it looks like when he's here." Ribery pointed to the crowd behind him, and then to the gate.

Donn tilted his head and spotted George standing in the crowd. Wood, he smiled inwardly.

"Then you might as well go to the gate and take a look, what can you see here?"

"This is not good, we used to have the media happy, and we didn't do it." Ribery's head shook like a rattle.

"You also let the media see it here, don't think those reporters can't see it? Well, well, there's nothing to see, let's go back and change their clothes, I don't want him to come and make it look like the queen came to inspect it. Don blasted the group back into the locker room like a chick.

Watching Wood leave in the middle of the crowd, Don turned his head to Don and smiled: "What a group of interesting boys, they are not people who have never seen big stars, they are all big stars." ”

"I just think it's fun to get here." Don nodded.

The group was gone, and now it was Don and Don's turn to wait outside the parking lot.

Assistant coach Krislak waited on the training ground for a long time and saw only one Anelka, which he thought was strange because Anelka would not normally be so aggressive. He looked at his watch, only to realize that it wasn't Anelka who had come early, but that the others hadn't come at all!

Leaving Anelka behind, Chris Rac headed for the locker room. The locker room was empty, and he exited and saw a large crowd of players hula at the exit.

"Did you all come here as a bus? So neat? Chris Rac isn't as good at saying good things as Donn, he asked, furrowing his eyebrows.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, sir. We chatted outside for a while...... "Since it was Ribery who got up to stand outside and wait, now it's up to him to bear the wrath of the coach." In all conscience.

"Stop talking nonsense, hurry up and change your clothes, go to the training ground and wait for me, you all know the punishment for being late!" Chris Rac waved his hand impatiently.

As soon as the "punishment for being late" was heard, a large crowd rushed to the locker room. It's no joke, even if they're European champions, it's still a special tradition for the Forest team to be penalised for laps if they're late.

Ribery ran at the front, but was stopped by Chrisla: "What about Tony and Don?" ”

"They're out there,......," Ribery hurriedly pointed to before jumping out of Chrislac's grasp, nimble as a loach.

Chris Rac didn't have time to care about the boys, so he went up the river and headed for the exit.

Assistant coach Chris Rac kept walking and walking, and finally found two Don and Don who were leaning together and chatting in the parking lot.

"What are you doing here?" Chrislac's loud voice startled a flock of birds in the trees.

"Ah, David, come here." Don turned his head to see the person and beckoned to him.

"What's coming? You've just arrived? Why didn't you go to the training ground? The other coaches arrived. ”

Donn patted his head, it seemed that it was not only those players who were not yet in working form. He pushed Tang: "I forgot about this matter, I can only introduce new players by myself, you go, Tang." ”

Don obediently followed Chrislack, and Don no longer waited in the parking lot, he walked back to his office and began to prepare.

Today Arshavin and Akinfeev did not come to the team because they did not come. The Forest team will travel to Russia in four days for a pre-season training camp. They will join the team directly in Moscow.

As for why he chose to train in Russia, Donn said something that made all opponents feel very bad when answering reporters' questions: "To adapt to the venue in advance for this season's Champions Cup final, do a warm-up." "The final of the UEFA Champions League in 07-08 was played at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow.

In fact, the real reason was that the Forest team was invited to participate in the Russian Railways Cup, and as the new European champions, invitations to various pre-season warm-up matches were piled up on Donn's desk, and finally Donn chose this event. The reason is simple, Don pays more attention to the quality of the warm-up game than to where he plays, even if it is as far away as Moscow, Russia. In addition to the weaker strength of the host Lokomotiv Moscow, the other two participating teams are Real Madrid, which invited the gold medal coach to take a pragmatic route, and ...... They have just lost to Nottingham Forest's AC Milan in the final.

What a coincidence!

※※※

Don didn't wait long in his office, and about ten minutes later he received a call from the doorman.

"Sir, he's coming!" The young doorman's voice was a little excited, and through the phone line, Donn could still hear the noise outside, and the screams of women came and went.

It's a young man after all, and he can't hold his breath.

Don simply answered and hung up the phone, he didn't get up and went out of the door, and went to the gate to greet him. He didn't want everyone to think that this person was special, so he even asked Evan and Alan not to leave their offices to join in the fun.

Donn spun his chair around for half a circle and looked out at the training ground outside the huge floor-to-ceiling windows, where the players were training for laps — or rather, punishment. Because the whole team was late, they were penalized for running laps.

However, since the training subjects in the past few days are all physical recovery, it is no problem to say that this is training.

As for how to introduce this much-anticipated new teammate to them, Don already had a plan in mind.

Five minutes later, there was a knock on the door behind him.

Don stood up, turned to look at the door, "Please come in." ”

The man who was loved by thousands of people walked in apologetically: "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry...... I wasn't very familiar with the traffic in Nottingham and almost got lost...... "Next to him, was his agent, Simon. Fuller, a well-dressed middle-aged man who looks shrewd.

"You've got to drive yourself, and if you call the club to pick you up, that's fine, David." Donn said to Beckham in front of him, and then he simply shook hands with Fuller's agent and didn't have a deep conversation. Because of a series of things in contract negotiations, he became acquainted with this agent half a year ago, and he didn't need to greet him very warmly, and the agent was not the protagonist in his office.

"Ha, I lived in Spain for four years and I thought it was the same in England...... What should I call you, from now on? ”

"Privately - Tony. In front of his teammates, it's still - the boss, so kind. Don walked around the table and stepped forward. Let's go, I'll take you to get to know them. He gestured to the floor-to-ceiling window behind him.

Beckham's gaze flickered, then nodded, and walked out with Donn. Fuller continued to follow the two without saying a word, deliberately keeping a certain distance, so that Beckham and Done could communicate to their heart's content without worrying about the embarrassment of having a third party present.

※※※

"It's not like Real Madrid's Valdebaibas Sports City, but it's very well equipped with everything you need." Along the way, Donn gave Beckham a brief overview of the Wilford training base.

Beckham is naturally very good at complimenting people, and the head coach Donn is remarkable to have walked out of the European championship at such a training base......

When the Forest's players finally finished their lap, exhausted and out of breath, and were resting on the sidelines, a sharp-eyed man saw three people walking in from the outside, one of whom was Tony, the leader they all knew well. Don, another middle-aged man, was not impressed, and was automatically ignored. Everyone's attention quickly focused on one person—David, who walked by Donn's side and talked and laughed with him. David Beckham.

He wasn't dressed in casual clothes anymore, so Don took him to the locker room at the training base and assigned him a cabinet for him to use, and he changed into his training clothes and went straight here.

The players who were resting on the sidelines didn't stand up and lined up, they continued to sit when they should have been sitting and resting, they continued to lie down when they should have rested, and they just turned around and stopped chatting and looked at their new teammates.

Donn was pleased with the performance of the players, and it seems that his men are not blind to the stars.

Only Wood deliberately stepped out of the crowd and stood at the front, which was a sign of his identity. He learned from Albertini, and when a new team-mate came in the Forest team, Donn brought it and Albertini took it.

David Beckham knows Wood, and he remembers the adorable boy who comforted him when he was substituted and cried on the sidelines in the World Cup game against Portugal. He smiled kindly at Wood.

Seeing that everyone's eyes were focused on him, Don pointed to Beckham next to him.

"Your new teammate, professional David. David Beckham. He deliberately emphasized the term "professional footballer".

That's how he thought of it, and he didn't say that it was the famous star, or that he was the darling of advertisers. He doesn't care what you have out there, it's a good identity, it's in Wilford, his turf, it's his players, he's a professional player.

With that, he turned his head to observe Beckham's reaction. Beckham didn't show the slightest displeasure, he greeted the crowd with a smile: "Hi guys, it's great that we can play together in the future. ”

In fact, he was very grateful to Don for introducing him like this. What did he come to the Forest for? Isn't it just to prove to the world that his real identity is a player, not an advertising model or an actor or something......

It was where everyone on the training ground gathered, with players and coaches gathered around Beckham.

Chris Lack introduced Beckham to the Beckham coaching staff and helped him get to know the team and who to ask if he had any questions.

Next......

"George." Donn reminded Wood, who was standing next to him with some hesitation.

Wood finally stepped up, and he said to Beckham in the most ordinary tone possible: "I'm going to introduce you...... Teammate. "It sounded a bit aloof.

Fortunately, Beckham and Wood spent a summer with the England national team, and he knew the man's surname and temperament, so he didn't care, and happily let Wood take him to get to know the Forest players one by one.

Everyone was very welcoming, and didn't show any unpleasantness.

When the mutual acquaintance phase was over, Don spoke.

"The break is over, guys, back to the training ground."

The players got up and walked towards the training ground.

Beckham was about to follow, but was stopped by Donn: "Wait, David. ”

"Huh? What's the matter, sir? "Beckham quickly got into the role where he was under Donn.

"Hmm......" Donn scratched his head, and what he was going to say next had been in his mind since he introduced Beckham to coach. He's a little worried, but he has to say because it's team discipline. In terms of discipline, Don is very important, and he can't ignore it just because the person who offended him is Beckham, then he will have no prestige in the team.

He looked up at the players who were not far away, and it was clear that these people also knew and were waiting to see the play. A bunch of cunning stinky boys!

"That's right, David. Forest has a tradition that has emerged since I became the manager of this team. That is, any player who is late for training will be sent off for running laps. Don looked into Beckham's eyes and made his eyes look genuine. Did you just see them panting from exhaustion? He pointed to the players who were watching the play over there, "I just got punished for running laps and rested here." They were waiting for you in the parking lot and ended up being late en masse. ”

He was telling the truth, and the only one who survived was Anelka, who was indifferent to Beckham and was already determined to leave.

Beckham turned his head to look at the players, then at Donn.

"You're also late, so ...... You've got to run laps, eight laps. After Donn finished speaking, he looked at Beckham quietly.

These words made the agent Fuller, who stood on the side, a little dissatisfied, and his player was the famous David. Beckham, besides, it wasn't intentional to be late, and they didn't know anything about it beforehand...... He thinks Donn has gone too far. What is this? Give my players a dismount?

He had just stepped forward when he saw Beckham wink at him.

"No problem, sir." Beckham shrugged, "I had the same rule when I played at Real Madrid, but we don't penalize laps. ”

"What's the punishment?" Chris Lak, who is interested in the inside story of the giants, asked first.

"Take a free-kick." Beckham blinked and smiled slyly.

A group of people burst out laughing loudly, and the atmosphere that had been a little embarrassing just now was suddenly relieved.

Amid the laughter, Beckham turned to run laps. His agent waited for Beckham to run away and walked up to Donn's side to question him.

Donn was the first to speak, "I know what you're going to ask me, Mr. Fuller. But I want you to understand that David is still a professional footballer and he wants people to think so. I'm just doing what a manager should do to a professional. You want 'David' in the media the next day. Is Beckham playing big names and engaging in special 'negative press'? ”

"Uh......"

"Of course I'm not going to chew my tongue on the media, but you can't guarantee that there won't be anyone among these people who can't get used to David. Everything Beckham has gained...... he pouted, "you have to know, Mr. Fuller, that I'm helping David." David Beckham. If David had been wise, he would have understood...... And obviously he is a smart guy, he does a good job, people can't find fault at all, and by the way, he has won the support and trust of his teammates. What else do you have to worry about, Mr. Fuller? ”

Simon when he said that. Fuller was speechless, and had to admit in his heart that Don did this very reasonably.

※※※

David Beckham was running laps on the edge of the training ground when Eastwood followed, pretending to run with him before approaching him.

"David?"

"Ah, you are...... Freddy. Eastwood? "Beckham has a very good last name, and Wood only has to tell everyone's name once, and he can quickly match the name with the face in his heart.

"Just call me Freddie." Eastwood blinked, "They still call me Gypsy Kid, but I'm never angry!" ”

Beckham smiled.

"Are you free for the evening, David?"

"Hmm...... Yes. Beckham thought about it, there really wasn't anything else he needed to do, and ...... Even if he is busy, he has to push it off, he is very smart and already knows what the signal is.

"That's good." Eastwood snapped his fingers. "Everyone has prepared a welcome party for you, drink together, chat, and have fun."

"For me?"

"It's like a penalty lap, that's our tradition." Eastwood laughed happily, "Any new player coming in is going to have a ...... Of course, that new person must be recognized by all of us. ”

This is true, such a welcome party must have been prepared long ago. However, it is usually in the last moments before the pre-season camp and the summer transfer market closes, when the Forest team generally does not bring in new players, and everyone will only consider this welcome party after a period of getting along and getting acquainted with each other. If the newcomer wasn't welcome, he wouldn't have been invited – thankfully, Anelka was the only one who hadn't been invited in the past few years, and he really wasn't very popular when he first arrived.

"Boss...... Do they go? Beckham glanced at Donn, who was talking to his agent.

"No, neither the coach nor the staff will go. If we don't invite them, they won't be allowed to go. This is a gathering of our players, looking for some head to spoil the fun? ”

Beckham nodded: "Okay! I'm glad I was invited, does that mean I'm ...... Accepted? Like a hero in the green forest? ”

"Yes! We're all in this together! ”

Both laughed.

In the distance, a loud voice from Chrislak rang out: "Freddy." Eastwood! What are you doing? Training is here, here! He waved his arms vigorously and looked menacing.

Eastwood was not afraid of him, and he replied sharply, "Ah! I remember that I was lazy and ran one lap less when I was penalized just now, and now I make up for it! You can't let David perform alone, I'm also a professional footballer! ”

Everyone on and off the training ground laughed, even Chrisrak, who had a fierce look just now, couldn't help but laugh, and then grinned, muttering, "This little bastard!" ”

Looking at the smiling group of players, Beckham remembered his agent, Simon, on the way to Forest's training base. Fuller asked him if he knew what was going on inside the Forest. He shook his head and said he didn't know, he really didn't know much about the inside of this team, and his impressions of this team all came from his good friend Tony. Dawn. And before he officially became a member of the Forest team, Donn never told him the story of the team. He can only use his four years at Real Madrid to envision his life at Nottingham in the next two years, which will be the closest he has lived.

Now he thinks...... It's definitely a completely different feeling from being at Real Madrid.

※※※

Don is still talking to Fuller, and he wants to make sure that the agent understands his thoughts and makes sure that there is no misunderstanding in between. After all, it's not just a David that this agent can influence. Beckham, and Beckham's wife, that instability Victoria. David Beckham. Because he used to be the agent of the "Spice Girls" group, he had a good personal relationship with Victoria.

"Mr. Fuller, I know you have just returned from Spain. But this is not the aristocratic Real Madrid, this is Nottingham, the Sherwood Forest where the green man Robin Hood has been born. Donn grinned at the agent, showing a mouthful of white teeth. If you have the strength and you are honest with people, you will get sincere support. Eating meat in large chunks and drinking wine in large bowls will never treat you badly. ”

(To be continued)