Volume 7 The Heart of the Lion King Chapter 103 Rivals
How many people remember Donne's remarks in the newspapers six years ago after the World Cup in South Africa?
While the Argentines won the world championship and the major media and football legends were congratulating them, Donn made a discordant sound.
"I admit Messi's three titles, but it's too early to call him the 'new champion'. Argentina can win the World Cup, and that's because they didn't meet England. Barcelona can win the European Cup, that's because Nottingham Forest is not ......"
He questioned Messi's status as the "new king of the ball", even if Maradona himself had given Messi the hat of the king of the ball. In Donn's view, a man who can be called a king must have absolute dominance in his era, and his light must eclipse everyone else and make him a benchmark of his time.
Messi is not yet up to that status.
Because there is George. Wood, owns George. Wood's Nottingham Forest could end Barca's dynasty early with George. The same can be said of Wood's England.
It's just a pity that Donn proved his words right at club level, but the England national team has never had the opportunity to play against the Argentine national team.
But don't worry, here's your chance!
On April 4, at the Crimson Stadium in Nottingham, England will welcome their friendly opponent - Argentina!
When it comes to choosing warm-up opponents for the European Championships, the English FA listens to Donne. So Donn called Argentina's name.
Maybe others have forgotten all about what he said in the past, but he still remembers.
"I'm going to show them if I'm talking big."
The match aroused a lot of interest from fans in both countries and also attracted the attention of fans around the world. Because the feud between them is really known to the world.
Originally, the well water between England and Argentina football did not interfere with the river water, and it had nothing to do with it. But at the 1986 World Cup, one man created a feud that lasted for decades.
And this man is now the coach of Argentina - Diego. Maradona.
As a result of the Anglo-Argentine Falklands War in 1982, the two countries became bonded. Passionate young people who play football are always patriotic, so they also want to beat their rivals on the football field, and the World Cup in Mexico gave both teams such a chance - in the quarter-finals, Argentina against England.
It was a game that will forever go down in the history of the World Cup, and there are so many classic moments.
Argentina scored their first goal, and Maradona, who was only 1.68 meters tall, won the battle in front of the tall England international Hilton and pushed the football into the top...... It's a pity it was a handball. The referee did not see Maradona's hidden action and ruled the goal valid. Although the English players tried their best to argue, to no avail, they had to accept the result.
Then Maradona scored the best goal in the history of the World Cup - five in a row. The rest of the fans were talking about the goal, but the English were indignant – they thought that if it hadn't been for the previous handball, the England players would not have been distracted, and naturally the 'five in a row' would not have happened.
Unfortunately, there are never ifs and bolts on the football field.
Because the Falklands War intensified the antagonism between the two countries, Maradona did not admit his handball, and in the end he was forced to simply say "that is God's punishment for the English, half of God's hand, half of Diego's head". His refusal to admit his mistake made the English very unhappy, and the two football teams became enemies.
Although the Falklands War has long ended, the feuds on the football field have been inherited.
People like to say that "football is war in times of peace", and that's not wrong at all. For England and Argentina fans, every time their teams meet, it's a life-and-death war.
At the 1998 World Cup in France, England and Argentina met again. Beckham's red card, Simeone's sly eyes and exaggerated performance, as well as Owen's emergence and Argentina's exquisite free-kick combination.
In the 2002 World Cup in South Korea, England and Argentina were placed in the group of death, but Argentina, who was regarded as the favorite to win the championship before the game, did not even qualify from the group.
Every time England and Argentina meet, there is always such a spark.
They are a well-known pair of rivals in world football.
When Donn was a regular Chinese fan, he was interested in this kind of match between rivals, such as England and Argentina, England and Germany, Brazil and Argentina...... Not to mention the rivals at club level, just the example can go on for a day and a night.
He feels that the best expression of the essence of football is this kind of fierce competition, full of countless stories. So when the FA gave him a shortlist, he didn't even look at the other teams and directly crossed Argentina's name.
If some teams want to meet them in international competitions, the probability is not high, it depends too much on luck. Since it was a warm-up match, he could pick an opponent at will, so Don naturally picked a team that could stimulate his interest.
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The Anglo-Argentine match, even if it was just a friendly match, was followed by the media in England and Argentina.
As the game drew closer, the English media brought out the "Hand of God" again, and it was much stronger than ever.
In the past, the head coach of Argentina was not Maradona, and that past was just a conversation after dinner. Now, the coach who led Argentina to England soil was none other than Diego, the Argentine national hero who humiliated England with the "Hand of God" and "Five in a Row" thirty years ago. Maradona.
An English reporter ran to ask Diego what he thought of handball 30 years later.
Maradona pretended to be surprised: "Has it been thirty years?" Ah, that's a great memory to think about now......"
"Don't you feel guilty about scoring points by cheating?"
Maradona shook his head and said, "No. On the football field, we are enemies with you, and defeating them by any means to achieve victory is the ultimate goal. I still feel like I did the right thing. ”
Even though the former football king is 55 years old, his temper and surname are still a headache.
"If my handball is seen by the referee and the goal is cancelled, I don't have a problem with that. But he didn't see it, so the goal worked. It's as simple as that. Maradona shrugged his shoulders and spread his hands in front of a crowd of English journalists.
An English journalist couldn't stand Maradona's "brazen" attitude, and he asked a very pointed question: "Mr. Maradona, have you ever thought that you have given a bad start to many Argentine players?" As a result, we can often see those well-known Argentine stars on the pitch using their hands instead of feet and heads to help their teams score goals. Like your son-in-law Sergio Aguero, and your favorite Messi ......"
Maradona was a little upset, but luckily he didn't have a shotgun at hand. He just sank his face and said: "The 'Hand of God' is common in South America and it is not the preserve of Argentine players. Also, I don't think it's common for Argentines to handball......"
Refusing to answer any further questions, he pushed the reporters away, turned and entered the room, and slammed the door behind him.
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Donn was holding a newspaper with reports of the journalists "besieging" Maradona, who in England were happy to portray Maradona as a bastard scoundrel whom the whole of England hated. For example, he refused to admit that he was against the spirit of sports competition by scoring goals with his hands in the first place, and repeatedly declared that he would still choose to do so if he did it again.
It's an Englishman who will grit his teeth when he sees this remark, right?
Don was laughing.
"I like him, ha!" Don didn't care what the expression of Shania next to him was, it sounded very ambiguous.
"Then you can go and hug him and show love to his face." Shania pouted.
"But I'm not going to be friends with him." Don shook his head, "Two maverick and unruly people can only lose when they get together, and this kind of person can only be watched from afar. He looked at Shania next to him, "You don't eat men's vinegar, do you?" ”
"I even ate the vinegar of football, what can't I eat with a man's vinegar?" Shania pouted.
Don smiled and took her into his arms.
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The English media even went to Argentina to ask Maradona what he thought of something that happened 30 years ago, which made the Argentine media feel that "it is too deceitful" and "unreasonable".
So they also "happily" recalled Tony. Donne's despicable deeds. For example, they made the city stadium like a rotten vegetable field, trying to plot their core, the new football king Messi, and eliminated Barcelona by despicable means.
He also claimed that "Messi can go off the field with a broken leg in five minutes". Of course, this is what has been purified by the Argentine media, and his exact words are actually "If I really want to use that method against Messi, I can guarantee that he will not be able to stay on the field for even five minutes".
Lo and behold, even the Dutch can't stand it. Cruyff once publicly stood up and criticized Donne's actions as stifling football and art. He also called on FIFA to pay attention to protecting the dwindling number of football artists these days. 'The reason why there are fewer and fewer players who can bring us pleasure now obviously has to do with the fact that everyone is emulating Nottingham Forest......
After the Champions League final, he publicly supported Pepe, who was sent off for hitting people like crazy, declaring: "If there is a reason to play, I think it's okay to hit people." If it were me, I might have done it."
The Argentine media relished Tony. Donn's "Bad Deeds". In fact, usually they don't pay attention to Tony at all. Don't, if it weren't for this game, they wouldn't care what Donn said and did.
Just as the Argentine press was smearing Donn, a new advertising poster appeared in downtown Buenos Aires.
This is an advertising poster for Ray-Ban sunglasses. The man in the picture is no stranger to Argentinians, because his photos have appeared in the newspapers on the streets during this time - Tony. Dressed in black and holding a pair of Ray-Ban sunglasses in his hand, Donn leans against the railing of an iron bridge and looks cool with his eyes looking into the distance, like a godfather of the underworld.
Next to him is the advertising slogan: Ray-Ban, the choice of a real man.
A few days later, a new poster was erected not far from this billboard in the same downtown area. The brand that appeared on it this time was the Gillette razor. The spokesperson is still Tony. Donn, holding a gillette razor with a glowing blue glow, held it to his lips while he himself watched the bustling crowd and traffic beneath the advertisement. The black-and-white poster has a "cool" feel.
The slogan is: Sharp.
Then a third billboard was erected, this time by the famous British shoe brand Dr. Martin (), and the spokesperson was Tony. Dawn. Wearing the shoes of the surname involved in Dr. Martin, Don does not look like a football coach but more like an explorer, and he is not wearing the black suit of the first two advertisements, the appearance of the underworld boss is far away from him, a casual jacket and jeans, which match Dr. Martin's men's shoes. The outfit made him look many years younger than his actual age, and Don liked this youthful outfit.
The advertising words are very consistent with Donne's style of doing things and his temperament, and it is no wonder that Dr. Martin will ask Don to sign a contract as an endorsement:
Assertive. Stubborn. Never compromise.
Advertisers are not worried about Tony at all. Donn's bad reputation will damage these two world brands. Because the main sales strategy of these two brands is to highlight the distinctive surnames in this mediocre society, a topic like Donn, who has recently become a hot topic in Argentina, is really a good spokesperson. It's like the villains of movies tend to have a lot of fans like, Tony. Don is sure to find a soulmate here, too.
In fact, Maradona's surname is also very much in line with the requirements, if his body shape and appearance are better......
The media in Argentina must have been depressed when they found out about those ads, because their efforts to hype them up brought Donn more advertising endorsement income......
Even the English media took the large advertisement that appeared in Buenos Aires as social news and repeated it as their retaliation.
It did make onlookers laugh, but not everyone found it funny.
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In the past, when Donn was still the head coach of the club, it was relatively rare. It only happened to players who left Nottingham Forest to join his team.
That is: when Donn and the opposing team have a big war of words, how can the former Forest players be embarrassed......
For example, before the match between Forest and Barcelona, when the two sides attacked each other, Piquee was embarrassed.
Most of Nottingham Forest's players now have the opportunity to 'enjoy' that treatment.
As long as they are not England internationals, they have the opportunity to play for England for their national team. If Don didn't know which tendon was wrong and provoked a war of words, then it would be embarrassing to be a player who had been in a trench with Donn.
This time it was the turn of the hapless Gargo.
Nottingham Forest have very few Argentine players in their squad, with only one player, Gago. How could he, as the only Argentine who had received Donn's teachings, be forgotten in this big war provoked by the media on both sides?
But fortunately, he didn't have to go through this kind of ordeal, because he was not called up to the national team by Maradona, and he didn't have to play in this friendly match. Since he didn't have to compete, he didn't have to take on the embarrassing questions he asked. He declined to comment on the match as he would not be playing in it.
Let his national team teammates face those headaches......
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Maradona arrived in Nottingham with his players from the Argentine domestic league and then flew to Nottingham to join the team after the international players who played in the European leagues.
As an Argentine player who also played in Spain, Messi arrived in London with Higuain and Aguero, and was immediately surrounded by "enthusiastic" journalists.
"Messi! Messi! Can you answer a question? ”
"To Tony. Donn, what do you think, Messi? ”
"It is said that he once tried to break your leg during the game, is that really the case?" What a terrible rumor......
"Messi, will you play against England? Is it true that Barcelona only want you to play half a game? ”
If you don't know the inside story, you will think that those who surround Messi are crazy fans.
Messi didn't want to answer such questions, he lowered his head, covered his face with his hands, and squeezed out quickly. And the two teammates who arrived with him on the same plane were like bodyguards, sandwiching him in the middle.
Finally got rid of the crazy group of reporters with the help of airport security, and Messi was still a little afraid.
"It's just a friendly match, it's not a World Cup match, why are those people ......?"
"Have you forgotten who our opponent is? England and Tony. Dawn. Aguero complained on the side. Messi's popularity is too strong, and he suffers from the pond fish. was originally a star-studded celebrity, but when he squeezed it out, he almost squeezed out his sunglasses, and now he can't wear them properly, and he looks so embarrassed and embarrassed. After adjusting it for a long time, it was crooked, and he simply stuffed his sunglasses into his backpack.
Higuain also said next to him: "This game can't be seen as an ordinary friendly match...... At home in England, be prepared to be booed for the whole game. ”
They hurried to the car sent by the Argentine team to pick them up before they breathed a sigh of relief.
"I'm only playing half the game anyway......" Messi didn't care about the boos.
"Hey, are the rumors in the media true?" Higuain is a little envious, and to be asked of by the manager shows that he is very, very valued and an absolutely indispensable core of the team. I obviously don't belong to that kind of player.
"Mr. Guardiola is afraid that I will get hurt."
Aguero laughed next to him: "Then it's better to leave you alone for a minute." Have you forgotten who your opponent is? ”
A name instantly appeared in the minds of the other two people, and along with the name, his lifeless face, like a wood carving, lifeless, but you must not take it lightly. There were a lot of people who fell at his feet, and if you don't want to get injured in a friendly match like this, you have to be careful.
Messi got excited.
"George. Wood! He clenched his fists.
(To be continued)