Chapter 262: The Lead of the Theatre of Dreams Part 1
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Ronaldo made a fake pass that he thought looked quite authentic. He gracefully got past his defender, George Wood, with a fake pass and a kick that switched his movement direction. With the camera tightly focused on Cristiano Ronaldo, the genius from Portugal, Wood rapidly disappeared from the screen. Any fan of Manchester United who watched the scene could not help but sigh. "He got past another person beautifully!"
The commentator was already waving both hands, preparing to cheer for Ronaldo's breakthrough.
Right at that moment, another leg suddenly appeared on the screen followed by a person dashing in. Ronaldo had just lifted his foot when the football in front of him vanished.
"Ronaldo, Ronaldo! Rona… Wooow! What is this?! George Wood! Where did he come from?"
As Tang En watched from the sidelines, Wood flew back into the scene from outside and intercepted Ronaldo's ball. As if the team had scored a goal, Tang En pumped both his fists victoriously into the air.
"An incredible defense!" The commentator continued in surprise. He even used a famous line from the English former commentator Kenneth Wolstenholme, "When they think it's all over… George Wood comes back!"
When Wood cleared the ball Albertini, who had just returned, gave him a tight hug. "Great job!" Without another word, he clearly expressed the feelings in his heart.
If not for Wood, who gave his all in chasing the ball back and not giving up even when he was thrown out of the end line, Forest could be behind three goals by now. They would have been smashed by the home team on the away field with 0:3. At that point, the match could practically be considered over.
But Wood had saved a glimmer of hope for Forest team. Perhaps it wasn't much. But the match was yet to end. Who knows? Perhaps his defense would become a turning point.
While Ruud van Nistelrooy was complaining about how Ronaldo had not passed the ball in time, the Portuguese man ignored him and stared at Wood's back in a daze. He still could not understand how Wood had managed to dash in from the outside. If it was because of his reaction speed, that would have been unbelievably fast.
It was not just beautiful goals that could raise morale; seemingly impossible defenses could too.
Wood was someone like that; rarely would he use words to encourage his teammates. He also did not know how to speak like Tony Twain to rouse the team's fighting spirit. In fact, he did not know what it was to "boost morale." He only knew that he had to complete the mission he was given. Regardless of how the mission may appear to be impossible to accomplish, he would still find a way to do it. Wood did not think about how he may influence his teammates because of this, but the truth was that his actions had shone a light of hope for the others.
The defense against Ronaldo's rapid entry this time was comparable to the goalie's defense against the penalty kick at score 0:2. Manchester United's probable goal was, to much astonishment, eliminated by George Wood. All of Manchester's people had already gotten ready to stand and cheer for such a stunning ball, but Wood shoved their cheers back down their throats.
"George Wood. It's hard to believe that he has only been playing for two years… Where did Tony Twain find such a genius? His shooting may be terrible enough to make someone vomit, he is a true genius in the realm of defense!"
Following the praise of the commentator, the camera pivoted and shot a close-up of Wood. His face was expressionless and as cold as an iceberg. Behind him was Cristiano Ronaldo, who looked somewhat lost. From the shot, it was obvious that Ronaldo was still staring at Wood as if he wanted to see right through him.
Tang En waved his fist wildly and turned to Kerslake, who was similarly happy. "Look, David," he said. "When I first brought him to you, neither of us thought we would see this day."
Kerslake nodded. "That's right. We found someone amazing!"
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Thanks to Wood's successful defense, the morale of Forest skyrocketed in an instant; they had all seen the hope of a graceful retreat from this match.
On the field, they also gradually became able to go toe-to-toe with Manchester United.
Piqué, in his new position as a defensive midfielder, performed commendably. Roy Keane's bids to assist during their offense were reducing, and Manchester United appeared to have the intention of shifting their focus to defense for the match.
Ronaldo received the pass again with George Wood still guarding him. Ronaldo had learned his lesson and did not wait for Wood to come forward and press on him. He surged ahead with the ball and tried a quick breakthrough via the sidelines without allowing Wood an opportunity to get close. Wood's defense was even simpler this time. He fiercely tackled Ronaldo, sending both Ronaldo and the ball out of the sidelines.
Amidst the loud jeers from the spectators' stands of Old Trafford, the referee's whistle sounded. Yellow card.
Wood did not care about the referee's warning with the yellow card. He also made no attempt to help up a grimacing Ronaldo. Wood simply got up and ran off after dusting himself down.
Since a long time ago, after Tang En told him that the players on the field were all his enemies, he had never shown any friendliness to his opponents. To be amiable to his enemy was to be cruel to himself. Wood had taken his words to heart.
Ronaldo lay on the ground and did not get up. Upon seeing this, the referee waved for Manchester United's team doctors to approach. It seemed like he needed some simple treatment…
By the time Ronaldo returned to the field again, he seemed a lot tamer.
When Ferguson saw this from the outside, he signaled from the sidelines for Ronaldo and Giggs to swap places on the wings. The lofty Portuguese man made no protest to the decision. His ribs were still throbbing from Wood's earlier clash with him. Somewhere in the depths of his heart, he felt that it was probably better for him to avoid that wild kid for now.
As Tang En watched Ronaldo and Giggs swap places—the Portuguese moved to the left and the Wales veteran shifted to the right—he knew that it was an adjustment made with Wood in mind. So he also waved his hands and moved Wood to Forest's right side. Leighton Baines moved back to the position of left back while Chimbonda retreated into the penalty area. This gave Wood the mission of defending against Ronaldo on the right; Tang En wanted the Portuguese guy to stay uncomfortable.
With a significant amount of pressure off the defense, Forest began to think about retaliating. The opportunities for Albertini to advance started increasing, and he patiently kept a look-out for chances to capitalize on loopholes at Manchester's end.
Wood has already done his utmost. Now it's our turn to make a contribution!
When Forest was in possession, Albertini did not kick the ball forward in search of Viduka's head as he had done previously. That mode of attack was much too simple and would be easily defended by Rio Ferdinand.
This time, Albertini chose to fake a pass, creating space for him to move. He then accelerated suddenly and cut forward with the ball.
Scholes failed to defend in time, not expecting Albertini himself to breakthrough with a dribble. He could only watch as his opponent ran past him.
Roy Keane came up to defend against Albertini, but the intelligent Italian had already given the ball up to Ribéry. Although Gary Neville approached Ribéry to box him out, he had no intention of making a break. Instead, he took a kick that sent the ball flying to the other wing, where Ashley Young took over.
As soon as Young got the ball, Forest's right back Chimbonda followed the routine attack pattern they practiced in training, cutting forward in response.
This was originally a very basic mode of assist for the full backs. However, Chimbonda only managed to do it once within the duration of the match. Manchester United's pressure on the flanks was much too strong; this caused him to struggle with just defense alone, not to mention taking part in the offense.
But now, he did not worry that the space he had left behind upon cutting forward for assists would be made use of by a Manchester player; he had George Wood behind him. Even though Wood did not talk much, he was truly dependable.
Chimbonda's advancement was so resolute and rapid that it attracted Ronaldo to return for defense and distract Heinze at the same time. Seeing Chimbonda run up to help, Heize retreated a few steps in preparation to prevent Ashley Young from passing the ball over to the full back.
The gap from those few steps was fully seized by Ashley Young; he did not pass but took the chance to suddenly nudge the ball inwards; a breakthrough!
He was heading straight for the penalty area!
Rio Ferdinand hastily moved forward to fill in the gap for defense once he caught onto Ashley Young's movements. He planned to stop his opponent from even entering the penalty area.
But just as Ferdinand dashed forward, he saw Ashley Young glance down at the ball he was dribbling and pass it out to exactly where Ferdinand had originally stood.
Viduka received Ashley Young's diagonal pass. Thanks to Ferdinand being pulled outwards, there was not a single Manchester United player near him; it was a beautiful assist.
The goalkeeper for Manchester United in the match was the American Tim Howard. Last season, his performance could be said to be perfect, and he had taken the main position from Fabien Barthez, the goalkeeper for the French national team. However, his performance in the current season was extremely unstable. Ferguson would not have fielded Howard if he had been able to find a more stable candidate.
Viduka killed the ball and looked up at where Howard stood. Staying where he was, he followed it up with a chip shot.
The football drew an arc in the air and, at an unexpected moment, dove straight into the corner of the goal!
Howard did not even attempt to save the ball. He had not expected Viduka to be left unguarded, and to score so easily.
The goal came so suddenly, the audience in front of the television could not react in time. In fact, because of the lack of cheering from where it had happened, Forest's fans thought the ball did not go in. Only when they saw Viduka running with raised arms towards Ashley Young, who had given him the pass, did they know for certain that Forest had scored.
"The ball… the ball went in!" Not only the audience, but even the commentator himself was taken aback. Forest was constantly suppressed by Manchester United and did not have many good opportunities. But this single attempt at offense had unexpectedly resulted in a goal. The commentator seemed unprepared for it. "Rio Ferdinand made a mistake! He lost his own target… and Nottingham Forest wins back a point! There are still 17 minutes before the end of the match. What a dramatic moment in an originally one-sided match! Might we be able to see a completely different end to this?"
"Yes!" the Nottingham Forest's fans in front of the television screamed.
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Tang En was not as excited as people expected him to be as he watched Viduka make his goal. He stood on the sidelines and clapped for the players in the field but did not raise his arms to cheer for them. To him, there was no difference between a score of 1:2 or 0:2. He had already seen what he had most wanted: George Wood's growth.
Instead, it was his assistant beside him who exclaimed, "Tony! There's hope!"
"Of course." Tang En nodded. "But it depends on if Ferguson will react in time. It will be impossible for him not to make any adjustments, David."
Kerslake calmed down. Tony was right. With barely over ten minutes left before the match ended and the loss of a ball, Ferguson would not stand by and do nothing. Kerslake looked over at Manchester United's technical area; the hale and healthy Scot had indeed stood up.
Just a minute after Forest scored the goal, Manchester United made a substitution.
Cristiano Ronaldo walked off the field with a disgruntled look. Substituting for him was a Brazilian defending midfielder, Kleberson. Ferguson intended to keep the one ball advantage they had.
Ronaldo, who had gotten changed out, did not go to the home team's substitution bench. Instead, he walked straight back toward the locker room. Even a fool could tell that he was upset by the substitution. Maybe he thought the others did not perform as well as he did and questioned why it was he who got substituted and not someone else. Take Rooney, for example. His performance in the match was average, and he had made few threats to the opponent's goal. Why not substitute him?
Other than the cameras, no one cared about the disgruntled Ronaldo. The match was still going on, after all. Forest was high in morale. For a whole, unbroken five minutes, they bombarded Manchester United's goal.
If Ferguson did not adjust in time, the goal guarded by Howard would truly be in danger.
Now, Manchester United amassed their players before the penalty area, resolutely eliminating any opportunity for Forest team to bring the ball into their penalty area. They could not care less about the ball being passed around within 30 meters outside. But they would not even let Forest dream of entering it.