856 A New Journey

A day's rest was very short. Everyone made full use of the time to enjoy a momentary break because they were about to face two intense finals.

On the day they returned to training, Twain was waiting for the players at the training grounds with a smile on his face. He greeted every single one of them while observing their expressions. He was satisfied with the results. The players did not go too crazy during their break. They remembered that they had two finals waiting for them even when they were relaxing.

From the 13th to the 17th, the Nottingham Forest's training was not focused on Tottenham Hotspurs. Twain was familiar with their FA Cup's opponent. They had to play each other twice a year at least, so there were no secrets between the two teams. The match would be intense and exciting as they would not pull any punches.

While preparing for the FA Cup, Twain was thinking more about the Champions League final.

La Liga was not over yet, even though it was inevitable that Real Madrid would win the league title. Although they did not have the chance to win the Copa del Rey, it would be impressive to win the double, nonetheless.

The Spanish media was already analyzing the odds of Real Madrid winning the 10th Champions League trophy in their club's history. They gave an example from history to prove that this season's Champions League belonged to Real Madrid. In 2000, Real Madrid eliminated Barcelona before finally winning 3:0 against Valencia to earn the eighth Champions League trophy.

The English media was not one to give up without a fight. The historical case study they pulled out was equally compelling. During the times of Brian Clough, Nottingham Forest successfully defended their UEFA Champions League trophy at Bernabéu. It could be said that Real Madrid's Bernabéu stadium was their lucky ground.

Everybody seemed to care very little about the FA Cup.

For Tottenham Hotspurs, things were much simpler. The FA Cup was the only trophy they still had a chance to fight for. It would be a good thing for them if Nottingham Forest did not pay much attention to it. They could focus all their attention on winning the FA Cup and getting the right to compete in next season's Europa League. Their league placing was not up to their expectations that season. If they wanted more glory and earnings the next season, they could only fight for the FA Cup.

There were even some Tottenham Hotspurs fans who indicated that the ideal result would be for them to win the FA Cup and Nottingham Forest to win the Champions League.

But… How could a sparrow know the will of a swan?

※※※

The match was not for a few more days. Twain could not bear the loneliness and initiated the war of words. When taking an interview with a reporter, he kept talking about the Champions League, Real Madrid, and Bernabéu, but he did not mention the FA Cup or his FA Cup opponent.

The reporter interviewing him could not take it anymore and asked, "What do you think about the upcoming FA Cup final Mr. Twain?"

Twain thought it was weird and asked, "Do I need to think about it? It's an opponent that we meet twice a year at least. We're very familiar with them. I don't think an FA Cup final can make them change into a team of a higher level like Arsenal. There's nothing to worry about." He confidently smiled at the reporter.

This attitude and opinion infuriated Tottenham Hotspurs. Their fans were likely kicking themselves for supporting Forest to overcome Arsenal to win the league title during the last round with Portsmouth.

Harry Redknapp was an old-timer in the English football scene. He could be considered someone with a reputation. Now that his team was humiliated by someone of the younger generation, he had to show up and say something.

"Of course, I would hope that Tony Twain thinks that way. That would give us a higher chance of being the champion. In fact, I can't wait for Twain to continue thinking this way."

He expressed his displeasure by taking the initiative to show weakness.

His players were not so cultured.

Fabian Delph, a talented player formally from the ranks of the Leeds youth team, had joined Tottenham two seasons ago. He was already one of the team's key players. He told reporters, "I've always looked forward to competing against manager Twain during such an important match. I don't want to hide my thinking… I want to defeat them!"

"A team of Arsenal's level? A team of that level lost the league title too. Why would we want to become a level like that? Tottenham is Tottenham. We don't have to become anyone else to defeat Nottingham Forest." Ledley King, who had been playing for Tottenham a while, not only rebutted what Twain said, but he also made use of the chance to mock Arsenal for losing the league title. As a Tottenham old guard, his hatred for the Gunners was deeper than anyone else.

"We've defeated Arsenal before, and we can defeat Nottingham Forest too!" Brazilian goalkeeper, Gomes, also hoped to get his first champion trophy since joining Tottenham.

There was some history between Tottenham and Forest because there were now two ex-Forest players in the Tottenham ranks. One of them was center back Michael Dawson. The other was Jermaine Jenas.

The latter did not have many feelings for Nottingham Forest because he left the team before Twain took over. Initially, he had the title of "England's highest-valued youth player," but he did not particularly do well now and was a peripheral player on the team. Michael Dawson used to be a center back with loads of potential, but he was too injury-prone and lost his position in the national team. However, he was still better than Jenas in the sense that he could still be a key player in the club if he was not injured.

Jenas did not feel much for Twain, so he only participated a bit in the war of words. Dawson was grateful for Twain's part in developing him as a player, so he did not participate. However, he would not think that way during the match. He would do his best for Tottenham and defeat Nottingham Forest.

※※※

After poking the hornet's nest for Tottenham and causing chaos, Twain left. He was acting during the interview. Not only did he not look down on Tottenham, he thought highly of the team. In the past few days, other than analyzing Real Madrid, the team did training specially catered for Tottenham.

If one had to find something special about the FA Cup, it would be that it was the final match. Their opponent would have an even stronger will and energy than usual. That energy could cover the distance between the powers of the two teams. If Forest was not careful, they could still lose due to carelessness.

Since Twain was going for the treble, he would not allow losing due to carelessness to happen.

When it was only two days before the match, he wanted the whole team to watch the videos of the last five Tottenham games to familiarize them with their opponents. He analyzed every single detail for them, including Tottenham's usual tactics, technical specialties and loopholes, how to make use of these loopholes, their method of doing so, etc.

The training durations were deliberately shortened for two days. Watching videos became a compulsory activity for everyone.

Who said that Twain was underestimating his opponent? If his opponent really thought so, they would be in for a show.

Watching the videos familiarized the team with their opponents and got them ready.

Next, Nottingham Forest only needed to wait for the match to start.

※※※

On May 15, the Forest team set off from Nottingham on their bus toward London. They stayed in a hotel to prepare for the FA Cup final on the 17th. This was the first time Twain led the team to the FA Cup final, so the club treated the game with the utmost importance. The chairman even put down his work and rushed over to London to cheer the team on. He also announced that there would be a cash prize if the team won the FA Cup.

The club chairman motivated the players using money, whereas Twain used discipline to ensure that the players would be in their best form. He requested everyone to go to bed before 11 p.m. and wake up before 8 a.m. for breakfast. There had to be a one-hour break in the afternoon. There was to be no pork in any of their meals, and no alcohol for two days. These regulations were not just for the players. The coaches had to enjoy the same "treatment." It was still OK for them to have a set timing for bed and to wake up, but asking Englishmen to not drink felt even worse than killing them.

Twain told the coaches during the coaching staff's internal meeting that there was no better way to manage a team than to lead by example. If one wanted their players to follow the regulations one set, one had to follow them first to convince them. Wood was an example. He was always the most hardworking one in training and the most serious one in matches. That was why he was still held in high regard on the team even though he was not good with his words. That was the power of leading by example.

He treated this FA Cup final seriously. He would not allow even the smallest error.

This was Tony Twain's first time after all…

He had experienced many first times in his life, but this first kept eluding him.

Even though he had already won different champion trophies, he was still a little nervous when facing the FA Cup. It was as if he was a scholar taking the Imperial Examinations in the capital city. He did not know whether he would be pass or fail the examinations the next day.

The other reason he was so serious about the FA Cup was simple. This was the second trophy in the treble. If they lost the FA Cup, they would fail to achieve the objective they worked so hard for that season. This was the same logic as with the league. There was no room for failure.

※※※

One day before the match, when the teams went to check out the venue at Wembley, both managers participated in a press conference.

No one could tell that the two of them were engaged in a war of words when Redknapp and Twain sat together.

They were both polite. Twain gave his industry senior enough respect while Redknapp seemed to have forgotten that Twain had looked down on Tottenham.

They only talked about themselves and not their opponents. This press conference was so boring that it disappointed many people. The reporters who came because of the news and wanted to incite some reactions between them were left wanting as the two wily foxes of different ages did not bite. They did not want to meddle with the other's affairs.

If the reporters insisted on asking Twain about what he said a few days back, Twain simply shut up and did not answer. It was not his first time doing that, so he did not find it difficult.

※※※

On May 17, there was a slight drizzle in London since early in the morning. The temperature was four degrees lower than the day before, and the atmosphere was comfortable. A drizzle would not have much effect on the pitch. However, Twain still requested for the coaching team to prepare two sets of boots for the players.

The rain was still coming down when they went to the stadium in the afternoon. Twain looked at the faraway sky before boarding the bus. The sky near Wembley was so white that it was shining. The rain would probably still fall for quite a while.

On the bus, Twain received a text from his wife reminding him to not stay out in the rain too long during the match in case he caught a cold.

The players were more relaxed. Some of them even started playing poker at the back. Twain did not stop them. It was good for them to relax a little now.

Twain merely turned back to look at his players before reading the message on his phone again.

If there was anything that could calm him down during this nervous moment, which could be triggered anytime, it had to be the care and concern of his wife.

When the Wembley Stadium appeared, the people who were playing cards, resting their eyes, listening to music, or texting all looked up to witness England's iconic stadium.

This was their final battleground.

Twain looked up from his phone to gaze at the massive stadium under the overcast skies.

This was not his first time competing in Wembley, but it was his first time managing an FA Cup final. There would be not much difference.

He closed his eyes to go through every one of his opponent's players once in his mind. He firmly believed that both he and his team were well-prepared. The FA Cup would belong to them.

The bus stopped at the exclusive lane. The fans nearby all rushed forward to witness the players at the earliest moment.

Kerslake was the first to get out. He said in the rain, "Get down, get down!"

The players got out one by one. They pleasantly reacted to the fans' cheers.

Twain was the last to get off the bus. He was stopped by the reporters, who insisted that he reply to some questions.

Twain remembered Shania's message. He put on a stern face and said, "No questions about predictions for the match, no questions about a prediction for the score, no questions about the tactical arrangements, no questions about the starting lineup…"

"What can we ask about then?" one of the reporters asked.

"Oh, so there aren't other questions? I'll be leaving then." Twain turned around and left after making a fool out of the media. He had no intention to stay out in the rain with the reporters who were in raincoats and holding umbrellas.

"Hey…"

"Mr. Twain, please stay…"

"He got us again!" Complaints from the reporters rang out all around them.

"Fine, he better pray that his team doesn't lose in the FA Cup final. Otherwise, I won't let him off easily in the papers!"

"I think he better pray that his team will keep winning. Otherwise, none of us will let him off easily…"

Twain did not hear the vicious cursing of the reporters as he hurried into the tunnel to prevent himself from being drenched.

Even if he heard them, he would not pay much attention to them. It would not be so easy for those reporters to get the goods on him. He would not give his opponents a chance so easily.

Want to watch me embarrass myself? Not even in ten thousand years!