(Author’s apology announcement: Due to my mistake, when writing the latest chapter, I forgot that George Wood was suspended in the European tournament last season. Although the foul was committed in the UEFA Europa League, this suspension was a suspension for all European club events. Therefore, even though Wood would not play in the UEFA Europa League this season, this suspension would automatically carry over to the UEFA Champions League. As a result, Wood would not be qualified for the qualifying game. However, due to my negligence, Wood had already worn the captain’s armband to play the game and overturned Riquelme. By the time I saw my readers’ kind reminder, this chapter had already been completed and handed over to the editor responsible for the update, which basically made it impossible to change. So, I could only continue with the mistake and let Wood play the two qualifying games. Then, his three-game ban would start with the group stage. I hope everyone can kindly understand. If you have doubts when you see Wood in the game, please follow this explanation.)
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The competition was very intense. With the Nottingham Forest team full of expectations for the new season, how could Villarreal not be as well?
Both sides parried each other on the field. The speed of their offense and defense conversion was very fast.
The spectators were enjoying themselves.
But in reality, Pellegrini secretly complained in his heart.
The Spanish team was very uncomfortable with the pace of this type of offense and defense conversion. Furthermore, Villarreal still had Riquelme, whose “slowness” was world-famous.
He knew it must have been deliberately arranged by the opponent’s young manager. The English Premier League was the fastest league in the world, and this Premier League team was also very familiar with how to rip their opponents’ defenses apart in a fast-paced attack-and-defend rhythm.
Nottingham Forest wanted to establish a home advantage for the qualifier.
Pellegrini paced back and forth on the sidelines, anxiously watching the field. He wanted to tell the team not to follow the opponents’ rhythm. However, he could not do it from the sidelines. The deafening shouts in the City Ground stadium completely drowned out all the sounds he had made.
The Yellow Submarine players were unconsciously led by the nose by Nottingham Forest.
Riquelme also wanted to regain control of the rhythm and get the game back on a familiar track. But he was under so much pressure from George Wood that he could not fend for himself. So how could he lead his team?
He had to admit that this guy behind him was a lot better than he had been half a season ago. He might not be able to easily intercept the ball at his foot, but he could make him unable to pass the ball comfortably to where he wanted it to go. There was no way he could smoothly dribble the ball to break through without any impediment and clear the way for Villarreal’s line of attack.
Wasn’t that the purpose of defense?
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Off-field, Twain looked at Kerslake next to him and laughed. “Looks like the captain’s armband motivated him.”
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Twain was right. Wearing the captain’s armband really did make Wood feel different. When his arms moved as he ran, he would catch a glimpse of the armband on his left arm from the corner of his eye and remind himself that he was the team captain now. What did it mean to be the team captain?
Just like Demetrio, he had to work harder than the others and even harder than before at any time and under any circumstances.
Wood did not know how to lead a team, and he certainly did not know how to lead the team to victory. All he could do was to help the team with practical actions. Previously, he could run 50,000 feet in a game. In that case, he would run 65,000 meters in this game.
Wood’s style of football was very simple. He used running distance to measure whether he was doing his best.
Every time the captain’s armband on his left arm appeared in the corner of his eye, it served to remind him repeatedly:
This is what Demetrio wore; so you cannot put Demetrio to shame and you cannot let Demetrio down.
In training before the game, Twain repeatedly told Wood to not easily make a move when he faced Riquelme, or that he must guarantee to intercept the ball in one shot if he made a move. If not, he should keep pressing on him, constantly interfere with him, and harass him to force him into a dead corner and into a siege.
Those were the only two approaches.
Wood chose the latter. When Riquelme did not have the possession of the ball, he was only 15 feet away from the Argentine. Once the football was passed to Riquelme, he would rush over. When the opponent had the ball, it would become a close marking defensive stance.
Wood’s advantage was that he was faster than most of the defenders Riquelme encountered, giving Riquelme no chance to get rid of him. After more than two years of competition experience, Wood now grasped how to maintain a reasonable distance.
Riquelme had a technical advantage and George Wood had the physical advantage. Both of them played a well-matched game in the midfield.
The commentator was amazed by this. Before this game, he had not thought that Riquelme would be immobilized by George Wood.
“This is unbelievable. The Argentinian football midfielder genius was trapped in the quagmire of George Wood’s defense. Villarreal’s offense has entered into a deadlock at the same time!”
As if in response to the commentator’s doubts and surprise, a loud singing broke out in the stands. It was sung for their new team captain, George Wood.
Each time Wood successfully defended against Riquelme, the stands cheered and put great psychological pressure on the Villarreal players. Such a crazy stadium environment could not be seen in Spain. The English football hooligans were world famous, and so were the English hardcore fans.
The thousand-strong Spanish fans, who followed the Yellow Submarine team, did not dare to make a noise amidst this powerful outpouring at home. In fact, even if they tried to make a sound, they could not be heard. From the start of the game, the entire City Ground stadium was surrounded by sounds of feverish clamor.
The Spanish football tradition was completely different from England’s. In La Liga, there were very few visiting fans who would follow the team and attend an away game. They focused more on their home games. Moreover, the Villarreal home stadium, El Madrigal, could only accommodate seventeen thousand people, which was ten thousand people less than the Forest team’s City Ground stadium.
If the atmosphere of the stadiums were to be compared, the Spanish fans could not compete with the English fans in any case.
Faced with the fanatical onslaught of the English fans, these poor Spanish fans were powerless to fight back, just like the team they were supporting right now.
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While Wood was trying his hardest to enmesh Riquelme, the Forest team’s offense was not idle either. The situation on the field was evolving. Villarreal did not pose a threat to Forest’s penalty area, so it was the Forest team’s turn to create trouble for the opponent.
Franck Ribéry continued his excellent play from last season and faithfully carried out Twain’s tactics. He zealously assisted on the left flank. He kept pressing on, again and again. He alone pinned the two Villarreal players.
On the other side, Ashley Young also performed well. Although he was not like Ribéry who could contain two players simultaneously, he made Juan Pablo Sorín rather afraid. He was less active in plugging in to assist than before.
Together with Arteta’s control of the middle, the Forest team’s midfield turned around smoothly. The four players each had a clear division of labor and their respective roles. Their well-oiled coordination made a strong overall formation in the Forest team’s midfield, rather than each fighting on his own. That was what Twain would like to see the most.
Unlike a striker such as Anelka, Viduka and Bendtner required more support from the midfield. They would only have a chance to score when the midfielders could deliver the strikes.
And now, in the contest for the midfield, Nottingham Forest had beaten Villarreal. In that case, the striker’s breakthrough was only a matter of time.