Albertini’s return was not just about having one more player on the team; more importantly, it boosted the team’s morale.
Next, on October 15, the Forest team challenged Tottenham Hotspur in an away game. After a fierce battle, the Forest team defeated their opponent with a modest win of 1:0.
Unconsciously, the Nottingham Forest team, which was short one match, had already accumulated nineteen points and was ranked second in the league table. First place was still Chelsea. Mourinho’s team had won nine out of nine games from the start of the new season, topping the list with twenty-seven points.
Nevertheless, Twain was not focused on the Premier League at the moment, but on the Champions League tournament.
On October 19, the day of the Champions League game, the Forest team faced Benfica on their home ground. Twain adjusted his squad’s lineup. Arteta was replaced by Albertini. With the end of his suspension, George Wood returned to the starting lineup and the Forest team’s midfield was supported again.
What were the consequences of a supported midfield?
The Forest team finally won their first Champions League game on their home ground.
Nottingham Forest defeated last season’s Primeira Liga champions, Benfica!
Before this game, there were doubts about whether Wood, who had missed two Champions League games, could keep pace with the team. However, Wood seemed to perform the same as usual. The reason was that before the game, Twain had told Wood to play the Champions League game as if it were a regular game and that they were all football games. There was no difference between the games.
Prior to the game, Benfica also thought Nottingham Forest was easy meat, but they did not expect to be beaten.
In fact, Nottingham Forest’s performance was not bad for the first two group stage matches. It was only due to certain reasons that they had not won. In the first group stage match, the Forest team had scored the first goal over Real Madrid and was overtaken by Real Madrid at the last moment. And it was not easy for the exhausted Forest team to draw with Lille in the away game for the second group stage match.
No player was absent for the game. Everyone’s physical fitness, mentality, and condition were good. Playing at their home grounds, the Forest team finally unleashed their real strength. Benfica, which had underestimated the Forest team, became its first victim.
After the game, the Portuguese media used “an upset by the Forest Team” to describe it. On the other hand, the English media thought it was a given that the Forest team would defeat Benfica. The Sun mocked the Portuguese media’s theory of an upset: “The second-ranked team in the Premier League defeated the fourth-placed team in the Primeira Liga. How can that be called ‘an upset’?”
There was no strong and detailed comparative analysis, but it was clear to people at a glance how absurd it was to use the term “upset.” Although Twain did not like The Sun, it made Twain feel good that they had stood up for the Forest team.
In another group stage game held on the same day, Real Madrid easily defeated Lille at their home ground by 2:0.
As a result, the status quo in Group D became Real Madrid at the top with seven points from their two victories and one draw. Meanwhile, the Pot 4 team, Nottingham Forest, which was originally ranked second to last, suddenly became the second place in the group with four points because they beat Benfica. In the same boat of losing the games in this round, Lille and Benfica both had two points each and were ranked third and fourth.
After they beat Benfica, everyone looked at the Forest team from a different perspective. No one dared to look down on that tenacious team again. The latest installment of the UEFA Champions League Magazine introduced the game in this way: “…The youngest Champions League manager has led his team to win its first game in the Champions League. Let us take a look at what other results Tony Twain can create.”
Being the youngest really was a good headline grabber.
※※※
By the end of October, the Forest team had won in succession in the Premier League. It followed closely at the heels of Chelsea and kept Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool, and other strong teams at bay. They had also won their first victory in the Champions League. It looked like Twain should be feeling triumphant by now.
However, he still had a vexing matter which he had told no one.
On October 24, the day after the tenth round of the Premier League, Twain came to the Royal Hospital of Nottingham University to visit Freddy Eastwood.
After his first operation, the doctors found that his condition had not improved, and therefore a second operation was performed on Eastwood’s right knee. The Romani Gypsy’s comeback was pushed back once again. It had been seven months since he had been injured in the game against Sporting Lisbon. And it had been a frustrating seven months.
It was a cycle of surgery, recovery, lack of improvement in his condition, surgery again, and recovery.
There was no light at the end of the tunnel, and he did not know if his leg would suddenly have a relapse after recovery.
Twain still remembered that he had made a fervent speech to Eastwood in the hospital ward at that time. He had told him that fate was a massive network composed of choice after choice, in which people always had to face one choice or another. But regardless of the choice, one could never be at a standstill.
Seven months later, Twain felt ashamed to have said such things in front of Eastwood. He himself had waited in some despair. Every time there was bad news from the hospital, his heart sank further.
Twain did not ask for Eastwood’s ward location in the lobby below. He went straight up. He did not need to ask for that number; he had long known it by heart.
However, he only saw an empty room when he opened the ward door. Twain thought he had the wrong room, so he pushed it back and looked up at the ward number. It was Eastwood’s.
He stood at the door and thought for a moment. It was impossible for Eastwood to move out of the hospital without his knowledge. Professor Constantine kept him constantly updated on everything about Eastwood’s developments.
Twain walked in and found that the ward was very neat. There was a bouquet of flowers in the vase on the bedside table. He took a closer look. There were droplets of water on the petals and leaves. He felt the bed; it was still a bit warm.
It looked like Eastwood had not transferred, but… Looking down from the window, Twain soon found his target.
※※※
Freddy Eastwood was taking a stroll in the garden with his wife supporting him by the arm. He was somewhat surprised to see Twain appear in front of him.
“Chief? What are you doing here?” He sounded pleasantly surprised.
“I came to see you, Freddy.” Twain waved the floral bouquet in his hand and then smiled at Freddy’s wife. “Hello, Sabina.”
“Hello, Chief.” The Romani woman addressed Twain in the same way as her husband had.
The three people sat down on a bench by the gravel path.
“Yesterday’s game was really exciting!” Eastwood brought up football first. He was referring to the tenth round of the league competition that had just ended. The Forest team faced Middlesbrough at home. The game had garnered much attention due to the grudge between Twain and the Middlesbrough manager, McClaren.
The final score was 4:2. Both sides had waged a fierce battle. With a more incisive offense and a better defense, the Forest team beat Middlesbrough and continued McClaren’s record of losing at City Ground stadium.
Twain scratched his head. “You watched the live broadcast? Didn’t the doctor say you’d better not watch the Forest games?”
Twain did not jest even though he really had thought it was a joke when he had first heard the suggestion. After the second operation, Professor Stephen Albert, the chief surgeon for Eastwood’s operation, had seriously warned Eastwood that he had better not watch the Forest team games in order for him to recover as soon as possible, lest he hurt his fragile knees again in midst of any emotional excitement.
When people watched the games, it was inevitable to have some body movements in moments of excitement. If the action was considerable, it would not be surprising if he injured the knee that had just been operated on.
Eastwood snickered. Beside him, Sabina pointed to him and said, “He has watched every single Forest game. He watched them all live.”
“You can’t stop me from watching the game,” Eastwood said. “I can’t play football now. I don’t know how to pass the time if I can’t even watch it.”
Twain glanced at his right knee and hesitated before he asked, “How’s the recovery going this time?”
“I feel pretty good!” The Romani Gypsy answered simply and firmly. “I think I’ll be back at the training ground in two months.”
Unlike what Twain had thought before, the Freddy Eastwood before him was full of hope for the future and did not intend to give up.
Seven months and even a longer recovery period did not crush him. He was as optimistic as before.
“That’s good, Freddy. We’ll all be waiting for you.” Twain thought that he had worried for nothing. This was better than he had thought. “Oh, that’s right. In the next round of the league games, you don’t have to watch live TV. Just come to the City Ground stadium and watch it live.”
Eastwood paused for a moment.
“What’s the matter? You can’t go?” Twain asked.
“No, Chief. There’s no problem. Even walking from here to the City Ground is no issue.”
“No one asked you to walk there!” Twain laughed. “I want you to watch the game live, but you have to be careful with your knee.”
“Don’t worry, Chief. I want to recover sooner than you do! But… Chief, who are our opponents in the next round?”
“Chelsea,” replied Twain.
Eastwood whistled. “Chelsea, the one with nine wins, one draw, and not a single defeat?”
“Yes, that Chelsea. Which is now ranked first in the league and has twenty-eight points in ten rounds. Why, are you scared, Freddy?”
“Please! What’s there to be afraid of?” Freddy retorted loudly, and then whispered, “It’s not as if I’m playing this time.”
The two men laughed.