Chapter 254: Going Head-On Part 1
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
While the players from both teams were waiting in the players' corridors in Old Trafford to enter the field, cheers drifted in from the spectators' stands outside. The atmosphere at the dream stadium of English football washed over Forest's players.
The younger players on Forest seemed somewhat agitated about the match. It was not because of an inane reason like being able to play at their dream stadium; instead, they were influenced by their manager to have a desire to battle the strong.
All youths have the same way of thinking; If we defeat mighty opponents, it can only mean that we are mightier than them!
Even if Manchester United was currently two ranks lower than Forest, their fame was already far beyond that of Nottingham Forest. In terms of total honors received, they were pulling ahead of Forest by leaps and bounds. People would easily believe the truth of Manchester United as a strong team, but not of Nottingham Forest. There was no way out of it; it was a habitual way of thinking. Now that Nottingham Forest was ranked fifth and was said to be a dark horse by some—a considerably courteous nickname—there were still others that believed that Forest's sustained rank was a product of mere luck. Those who had said this had obviously neglected to consider how Tang En's team had forced Arsenal to a draw, how they had defeated Chelsea and Newcastle, and how they, after the first round of the League match, had maintained ten consecutive rounds with no defeats. They only saw Forest team's continued lack of victory (which was simply a series of draws), and how Forest had lost to Black Rovers and Liverpool.
Keane, as the captain of Manchester United, stood right at the front of the team with the captain's armband.
Numerous people had mentioned to Wood that Manchester's Roy Keane was what he would be in the future; his goal. It was only in today's match that Wood got an opportunity to observe his "future self" at close range.
The Irish man would occasionally turn back to look at his team. Wood could make out the stern expression he had on his face. His gaze swept across the people behind him and finally landed on George Wood, who had been staring at him the whole time.
Wood found Keane looking back at him but made no attempt to move his gaze away. After a brief look at Wood, Keane turned back to the front. No one had ever told him that the youth in front of him, the one that seemed rather rude, would one day become like him. He was not interested in George Wood. Maybe the lad was a new player who had more curiosity than usual; someone who would accidentally go into a daze upon seeing a football star.
George Wood stared at the back of Roy Keane for a while before retrieving his gaze. He stood just behind Darren Ward, the goalkeeper, and was situated extremely close to the Manchester captain. He suddenly remembered that Keane was their opponent in this match. Did he seem as if he was forwardly expressing some sort of goodwill by looking at Keane like that?
That would not do; it was not George Wood's style. As he shifted his gaze he saw Albertini, who was at the front of the team looking back at him smilingly.
"George." Albertini turned and rounded past Ward, stepping in front of Wood.
"If you have an opportunity during the match, you could try to cut forward. The Boss gave you some heavy duty guarding to do, but it would be meaningless for you to just stay behind while we are engaging in offense. It is not enough for an outstanding defensive midfielder to only defend. Do you understand what I mean?"
Wood shook his head and said, "He told me I only needed to focus on defense…"
Albertini smiled and said, "If you wish to achieve more than Roy Keane, you cannot afford to only pay attention to defending. Your defense is already fantastic; you're the best defensive player I have seen!" Although his words were slightly exaggerated, it worked as an effective encouragement.
"What should I do, Demi?"
"Work a little more on offense. The defensive midfielders can no longer just stick to defending. At times, you need to rush into the opponent's penalty area and do a powerful long shot!" Albertini said with a smack of his fist.
"But I'm terrible at shooting…"
"If you don't try at all, how do you know if your shooting is bad? When was the last time you took the initiative in a match to shoot?"
Wood thought for a bit and shook his head. "I don't remember…"
Albertini spread his hands out and laughed. "See. Start with this match. I will create opportunities for you. During our offense, use your own judgment to decide if the situation is suitable for you to move forward. Don't just stick to doing only whatever the boss says. You have to exercise your brain too." He pointed towards his own head. "Football. To kick well, it's not enough to only use the body, you also need to use your brain."
Wood nodded. "I got it, Demi."
Albertini patted his shoulders and turned to walk back.
Just as the main referee was speaking to Keane about something, he saw Albertini walking towards them and called him over. At that point, Keane twisted to face the Manchester players behind him, shouting, "Get ready, guys! It's time for us to move out!"
Although Albertini was facing the referee, he raised his right arm high at the same time. The Forest players at the back who saw their captain's motion fell into silence. The chattering and laughter among them ceased, and everyone's expression turned serious.
The match was about to begin.
※※※
Old Trafford was England's largest football stadium. Although Wembley had a greater seating capacity, they also had running tracks and were therefore not considered a professional football stadium.
This stadium had 96 years of history behind it. After numerous expansions and renovation work, it could seat 67 thousand people. The red Old Trafford was once called the "The Theater of Dreams" by a famous football star from Manchester, Bobby Charlton. This moniker was incredibly apt; whether from its scale or past glories, the Old Trafford could certainly to live up to it.
Today, 28th November 2004, Nottingham Forest team opened the curtains for the play in "The Theatre of Dreams." In the face of Roy Keane's defense, Albertini appeared calm and dignified. Compared to the other children on Forest, he was an experienced old general. Here, the only one who could be discussed at the same level as those football stars from Manchester was him, Demetrio Albertini. The old Spanish Midfielder, Hierro, was not included in the list of starters.
Keane clearly knew the kind of player he was facing and was in no hurry to rush forward. Instead, he boxed out the position.
Albertini looked up and surveyed the situation around him. In the left wing, Ribéry was closely marked by Gary Neville. On the right, although there was no one around Ashley Young, Ronaldo was prowling nearby. It seemed like a purposeful trap.
Ahead…
Needless to say, both Eastwood and Viduka were being closely marked. Even if the ball could pass through and be received by them, there was no way for them to turn around; they would only end up being surrounded by opponents.
Keane's positioning was excellent, much better than Wood's. It prevented Albertini from suddenly going for a break and passing. In the end, he could only choose to pass the ball back to George Wood.
Although the Wood of today was still quite distant from the skill level of Roy Keane, he was far from a new player who would be at a loss after receiving the ball.
Seeing Albertini's situation, he turned and passed the ball back to the right back, Chimbonda. With the full back in possession of the ball, Cristiano Ronaldo was not very active in pressing to get the ball. He took a step forward and attempted a steal but was easily passed from the side. Ashley Young saw Chimbonda move forward and hurriedly shifted towards the middle to make space for him.
Compared to Gary Neville on the right, Manchester's Left Back had always been a problem. Despite having tried a number of players for the position, Ferguson had yet to find someone he was satisfied with.
This Summer, he had bought the Argentine Gabriel Ivan Heinze from Paris Saint-Germain for a price of seven million. Based on his performance over the last few months, he had a good hold over the main position of the Left Back on Manchester United. Against Heinze, Chimbonda tried to break through but was intercepted. However, the Argentine failed to keep control of the ball; the ball he had managed to intercept was picked up by the alert Ashley Young from Cristiano Ronaldo's side.
Right after, Ashley Young took advantage of Heinze moving out of his position and broke in from the wings.
"Nottingham Forest is on the attack; their momentum is strong!"
As Heinze was already passed, the Center Backs of Manchester United needed to eke out a player to fill in. The responsibility fell to Wes Brown. But this way, Manchester United's penalty area became empty. Roy Keane had little choice but to patch up the space left behind by Brown. Defense was an engineered system; once a problem appeared somewhere, it would create a ripple effect down the chain.
Viduka, Eastwood, and Ribéry all cut forward into Manchester United's penalty area. Albertini alone stopped halfway outside it. At this point, Ashley Young passed to the center. He did not pass it towards the penalty area but instead to Albertini, who was just outside it. While Roy Keane was retreating to fill in the gap, he was also taking notice of Albertini's movements. He was sure of the Italian's abilities. Age was not a factor that would affect Albertini. They were both 32; they were far from being old.
"S**t!" With a curse, Keane turned and dashed outwards towards Albertini.
Albertini got into position; it was a pose for a direct shot! Albertini's banana shots were famous, only a fool would let him have a clear shot without any disruption!
Keane leaped forward in hopes of using his body to block Albertini's shot at the goal.
"The Italian is about to shoot!"
Ferguson stood from his seat with fisted hands, ready to curse.
But the curses he had set to unleash were quickly swallowed down; Albertini did not shoot. He positioned himself in that manner, but watched as the ball whizzed right past him.
When the ball landed at the foot of another Forest member, everyone was stunned. It was not just Manchester United players; even Forest's players themselves did not expect it. The one who had appeared at the landing point and received the ball was George Wood!