April 25th, night.

Nottingham, Trent Bridge.

Police cars with flashing lights parked on the side of the road, and police officers in bright yellow reflective vests patrolled back and forth in groups of two or three, rustling from the walkie-talkie on their shoulders.

"Forest! Forest! Nottingham Forest! ”

A group of Nottingham Forest, dressed in red jerseys, waved scarves in their hands and shouted slogans as they walked by.

The police stared at the group of fans walking in front of them, tilting their heads to report to the intercom the latest situation in their precinct.

"We're in good shape here, everything is normal, it's over."

"Rustle...... The north gate of the stadium ...... Normal, done......"

The debriefing police officers turned their gaze to the crowd of fans, followed them away, turned past the Trent Bridge, and then turned left, merging into the same stream of people as they did, and swarming towards the city stadium that stood by the river.

The helicopter flew overhead, blowing a gust of wind.

※※※

"For the Nottingham Forest fans, tonight was like a big festival. European Champions Cup semi-finals! It's been a long, long time since they've experienced this feeling. The City Stadium is packed, and perhaps Nottingham Forest president Evan Dogerty is going to be unhappy with the capacity of the stadium...... In fact, on such an important night, there are many more fans who have to sit in the bar and watch the game, because the city stadium can't fit them...... Arsenal will face very stubborn resistance here and face huge away pressure...... Welcome to the second leg of the semi-finals of the 05-06 European Champions Cup! ”

Outside, there was a lot of buzz, with fan singing and other jumble voices coming in through cracks in the doors.

Donn walked to the door and closed the locker room door. The noise suddenly became much quieter, at least now everyone could hear him talking.

"Guys, in another ninety minutes, our fate for the season will be revealed." Don cleared his throat to make his voice sound less hoarse, but it didn't work, his voice had long since broken in the years of incessant roaring. "It's a fateful game." He leaned down, pressed his hands on the table, and looked at the players in front of him, all with serious faces.

"The semi-finals of the European Champions Cup, I don't want to introduce you to its important surname, you must know it better than me. Listen to the voices outside, our fans have never looked forward to a game more than today, and we can bring more ...... to them" Donn raised his hand and slammed it down, "Win!" ”

He looked at his watch, there was still a little time left before he played, and he didn't have much to talk about.

"That's all, rest and get ready to play." He turned and opened the door, and the sound from outside instantly poured in, Don walked out, closed the door again, and the locker room was quiet again.

Don walked straight to the dedicated bathroom, the road he knew well. Before his first game with the Forest, he hid in the bathroom alone to stabilize his mind, telling himself that it was no big deal, even if it wasn't a game, he would play it.

Now he's playing and he's getting better and better until the semi-finals of the European Cup. The feeling of being so nervous that there was no master of the six gods has returned. The second leg is different from the first round, it's the last 90 minutes, and if you fail, you won't have any chance to make amends.

Instantaneous pressure increases dramatically.

He tried to show that he didn't care about anything in front of the players, as if it had been arranged a long time ago. He didn't mind playing such a role, but the pressure on his heart also needed to be relieved. Sometimes it's a good idea to scold at the news media before a game, but he can't just scold the opponent in this game – Wenger still has some personal friends with him......

So now Don can only smoke in this dedicated bathroom to relieve the pressure in his chest.

He pulled a cigarette out of his pocket, lit it, and took a deep breath. The heart calmed down with this deep breath.

His vision pierced through the glass window on the left and saw the brightly lit pitch outside.

A group of children are rolling a huge circular UEFA Champions League logo towards the middle circle of the pitch. The fans were seated, and reporters gathered on both sides of the stadium, and then all the way to the halfway line, with long guns and short guns, all the cameras aimed at the exit of the road.

Everybody was looking forward to a night like this, a game like this.

What about Tony Donn, who is one of the main characters?

After smoking a cigarette, Donn, who had completely calmed down, walked out of the bathroom and walked through the narrow passage to the home team's locker room.

When he turned out, he saw Wenger, who was also standing outside the door, and Wenger heard footsteps and turned his head to see Donn.

"What a coincidence." Don took the initiative to say hello.

"yes, that's a coincidence." Arsene Wenger replied unfurcatedly.

He wasn't nervous at all, or so it seemed. Donne's mailbox may not be nervous because Wenger is also a "handsome" and well-informed. But on second thought, for Arthur Wenger, this is also the first time he has led his team to the semi-finals of the Champions League.

Such a meeting was really awkward, and neither side could say anything, because now they were rivals and knew nothing about their future fate.

Donn walked to the door of the home team's dressing room and said to Arsene Wenger, who was standing in front of the visitors' dressing room: "See you after the game." ”

"Goodbye." Arsene Wenger cherishes words like gold.

Donn squirmed the door open, and the players looked up at him.

"Are you ready, guys?" He asked, leaning against the door.

※※※

"They're out!" Someone in the stands shouted, and everyone around him turned their eyes to the exit of the player's tunnel, a move that rippled like a stone dropped on a calm lake.

Amid loud cheers, players from both sides walked onto the pitch side by side. At the head of the line were Arsenal captain Thierry Henry and Nottingham Forest's captain George Wood.

Albertini was still on the bench for this game, and as the season drew to a close, his fitness could no longer keep up, and more often than not, he had to sit on the bench and be called on when needed.

The form shown in that game against Inter Milan really can't last, and as you get older, your body can't keep up. He is now consciously seated close to the dugout, where he can hear the coaching staff discussing tactics during the game. He is preparing for his future coaching dream from now on.

Every time Henry and Wood shook hands before the game, exchanged flags, and started guessing coins, he had the feeling that the captain was too young to be in front of him. Wood is the youngest captain of a top-six team in the league. It is said that Wenger is very good at reusing young people, and Tony Towne is not to be outdone. There are several in the Forest squad that look more suitable to captain than Wood, such as Edwin van der Sar, who started every game.

In fact, if it is just young, it is not too surprising, but it is even more surprising that the young Wood is doing a good job in the captaincy position......

"Words." The referee placed the coin in front of Henry's eyes, and he pointed to the side facing up.

The referee flipped the coin over and handed it to Wood, who nodded.

The coin is tossed high and falls onto the turf. The referee leaned over to look, and Henry was looking at Wood.

"Words!" The referee picked up the coin and pointed it at Henry, signaling him to go first.

"Tee-off." Henry did not hesitate to choose what was best for them.

There was nothing left to pick and choose the rest, and Wood opted for the side of their team that is now warming up as their half.

The captain and the three referees shook hands and then separated.

Don admits that he didn't think about what he would do even if he made it to the semi-finals, and in his eyes, it was the final.

He adjusted his sitting position and waited for the referee to blow the whistle for the start of the first half.

※※※

"Audience friends, welcome to the second leg of the semi-finals of the 05-06 European Champions Cup, between Nottingham Forest and Arsenal! This is an English civil war, and it is believed that the English would prefer the two teams to meet at the Stade de France (the venue for this year's Champions League final). Let's take this opportunity to introduce the starting line-ups of both sides......"

Kenny Burns sat at the bar, looking up at the large-screen television hanging beneath the ceiling. The whole bar was packed, and it was full of people in the same posture as him.

The Forest Bar used to be a frequented spot for Donn, and everyone here knew what kind of head coach the Forest team was, and they were some of Donn's biggest fans, not a star, but a coach. Although Don rarely comes back here to drink and chat because of his work, the fixed position of Don is still retained, and no one else is allowed to sit.

Today, in the crowded bar, only that place is empty.

When the list of Forest's appearances began on TV, the people in the bar chanted the names one by one, like fans in the stadium. When the last name "Anelka" was called, everyone added another -

“…… And Tony Donne! ”

After shouting, they laughed and raised their glasses to drink.

Burns raised his glass to greet everyone, and the charm of Brian Clough is now reflected in Tony.

The noise gradually subsided, and everyone looked up at the TV, waiting for the game to start.

A crisp whistle came from the TV, sounding in every corner of the city.

The race is on!

※※※

'Arsenal have taken the initiative from the start and they have to do the same. To qualify for the final, Arsenal, who conceded a goal at their home stadium, will have to attack in this game, score and break Forest's advantage if they are to get the game back into Arsene Wenger's hands...... However, they are up against a team that has the third-best defense in the Premier League this season......

'I don't agree with that, the Premier League is not the same as the Champions League. Defending well in the Premier League doesn't necessarily mean you can do it in the Champions League......"

Arsenal's Thierry Henry attacked with the ball and he quickly found himself in a two-man encirclement. Donn asked the team to implement a pinching defense on Henry, and pay attention to the front and back protection, and have depth when defending, and never let him break through easily. Henry is no stranger to this kind of defense, after all, he has been battling the Forest for almost two seasons.

After attracting two Forest defenders, Thierry Henry passed the ball out.

Cesc Fabregas followed up to receive the ball and at the same time, George Wood pressed on. The Spaniard didn't stop the ball to observe, he saw Wood running over and passing the ball straight to Reyes.

Reyes crossed, and he pushed a low ball in an attempt to create chaos in front of the Forest goal. Pepe scrambled to kick the ball off the touchline.

Wood beckoned to his teammates in front of him and motioned for them to come back and join the defense.

By the way, forgot to say. One of the things that makes Donn happy lately is that George Wood has become more and more proactive in telling others what he thinks, such as his actions in games that would have been hard to see a season ago.

If he wants his teammates to come back to defend or attack, he will tell them in his own way instead of being silent.

Wearing the captain's armband really made him grow a lot.

Seeing that defense might be needed early in the game, Wood asked everyone to come back.

He did the right thing and Arsenal did want to use that time to storm for a while after the opening kick-off and try to break the deadlock early.

Three minutes, five minutes...... Arsenal raced around the Forest penalty area, and the Forest team had to rely on dense defence to stop the opposition's attack.

But no one in the stands was unhappy about this, and Forest fans have long been accustomed to this kind of football in Donn. For them, as long as they can win, it doesn't matter what they play.

The Forest players are used to it – defending first and then attacking. A lot of the time, that's the basic tactic of Nottingham Forest.

Henry forced his way into the box, causing a flurry. In the confusion, his shot hit Pique, there was a line change, and it flew straight to the back corner of the goal, and Van der Sar blocked it in the near corner at this time, could not do anything?

The Arsenal fans who saw this scene in front of the TV were already about to start celebrating and cheering in advance, when a figure rushed out and stretched out his foot to kick the football out!

"George Wood's clearance was very timely, he saved the forest! Arsenal's offensive is too fierce, and Nottingham Forest is a little overwhelmed! ”

Piquet patted Wood with trepidation and thanked him for his clearance.

Donne, who was sitting on the pitch, turned his head to look at the visitors' dugout, where Arsene Wenger sat in the same position as him, without saying anything.

Arsenal put a lot of effort into this game and they had to score, so Wenger ditched the counter-attacking style and switched to what Arsenal do best against Forest.

Such an Arsenal is the most terrifying. Originally, it was too easy for the halfway monk to learn the Forest team to defend and want to rely on this to advance to the finals. It's supposed to be what it is......

Don is not afraid of Arsenal's attack, Arsenal did not attack in the last round, and he still desperately forced the opponent to attack. Now that Arsenal have taken the initiative to attack, Forest's defensive counterattack can be more comfortable.

In the face of Arsenal's tidal attack, Donn decided to stand still and wait and see.

I've seen a lot of scenes like this, and it's not a big deal......

(To be continued)