Even after returning to Nottingham and resuming training, some of Wood’s teammates still talked to him about his forward cut at the final minute to assist with the offense. Precisely because of how he had moved up abruptly with the ball, Albertini was able to create an opportunity to equalize the score. Even the teammates who were familiar with George were mystified by his actions. Without considering actual matches, it was extremely rare to see George Wood dribble the ball for more than 30 meters even when they were playing against each other in practice matches during usual training.
“Uh huh. Wood, could you tell us how you felt after taking off with the ball to assist with the goal, from the back?” Ribéry asked Wood, acting like a reporter during a moment’s rest in training.
Wood look at him and expressionlessly said, “Not bad.”
Ribéry scratched his head. “Hey, George, you’re not cooperating at all. Reporters would have a headache, you know that? Didn’t that playboy agent of yours teach you how to deal with the media?”
“But you’re not a reporter.”
The surrounding teammates laughed.
Ribéry coughed twice and muttered, “Can’t tell if you’re not immersed enough in the act, or overly immersed…”
※※※
While Ribéry was joking with Wood on the training grounds, Albertini was not sitting at the sidelines and resting. Instead, he found his way into the manager’s office.
“Is anything the matter, Demi?”
Tang En was making tea for himself in the office. He liked drinking tea very much, but his habits of tea-drinking were not at all like those of an Englishman. Everyone in the club knew about that.
“Boss, I would like to discuss something about Wood with you…”
Tang En set the teacup on the table. “George? What’s the matter with him?”
“I think you’re using him in a rather limited way,” Albertini said seriously.
Tang En understood this man’s personality. He was the kind of person who would say exactly what he thought. That was the reason he had clashed with every other manager he previously worked under. However, nothing like that had taken place throughout their cooperation so far. Tang En was just beginning to think something was wrong, and he had immediately come knocking.
Tang En turned back to the tea. “Would you like sugar or cream?”
“Ah? Oh, no. Thank you, Boss. But water is fine for me.”
Tang En handed a glass of water to Albertini. “Now, tell me more, Demi.”
“Boss, you’ve been using George as a midfield engineer, but I don’t think he should be used that way. His position and effect shouldn’t be restricted to just being an engineer, to be responsible for the defense and ending his mission there. It shouldn’t be like that.” Albertini said, shaking his head.
“Then, what do you suggest?”
“I want George to become a midfield player who is capable of both offense and defense. To become a midfielder like me.”
“To take control of the pace of attacking and defending?”
Albertini nodded. “Where he has the edge over both Arteta and I is the fact that his stamina is better than either of ours. He can persist and play in every match in the season for the full 90 minutes without needing to be rotated. I believe stability is a prerequisite for being a core; regardless if it is the stability of his condition or the amount of time fielded. In that way, the team could also adapt to him more easily.”
Tang En nodded as he listened, and noticed Albertini looking at him. He waved his hand at him, saying, “Go on.”
“George has an outstanding physique. I think it is rather wasteful for him to only be a defending midfielder. If he could put his body into offense, he would surely create huge trouble for his opponents. Did you see the final goal we scored? Martins, Cruz, and Cambiasso all failed to threaten him. If we had a player like him capable of holding the ball in our front field, someone who was not afraid to lose the ball, our offense would be better paced.”
Tang En pointed to Albertini. “You could do it with George. You hold the ball, he protects. Haven’t we always done that?”
“If one person can achieve that, do we need two?”
Albertini’s question stumped Tang En.
“If one person can do the work of two, then wouldn’t the other person be relieved to do other things? Wouldn’t that be equivalent to having 12 people on the field for us?”
“You could be right, Demi. But you know that George is lacking talent in attacking.”
Albertini shook his head. “Perhaps that’s only because he performs too well in the defensive arena and it obscured his talent the other way. Did you see his performance in the final moments of the last match?”
Tang En nodded.
“Wasn’t it beautiful?”
“Yes. It was great, very beautiful.”
“If he truly had no talent, how could he have discovered that pass route? You must understand that the penalty area was entirely filled with people. I also made no signal for the ball from within that crowd. I only ran diagonally towards the gap I spotted, praying that George had also seen it. He did, and passed the ball accurately, without error.”
Speaking of that ball, Albertini was somewhat excited even now. However, he was not excited over scoring a goal himself; while he had not scored that many goals over the course of his professional career, scoring a goal was just not worthwhile enough for him to be that thrilled about it. What he was excited about was the fact that the ball came from George Wood’s assist.
“Uh… I think it was just a wild shot, Demi. It was a coincidence.”
“But, behind every such accident must surely be an inevitability. I believe that maybe he did not know I was in the penalty area. But he had surely seen that gap, otherwise, he wouldn’t have passed the ball to that spot. Do you agree with that, Boss?”
Tang En nodded. “Agreed.”
“Some football players would never be able to see that gap, even after playing football their whole life. But Wood could. Isn’t that also a kind of talent? It’s just that he expressed that talent a little later than other aspects of his genius.”
As the two were discussing that point, David Kerslake walked in.
“What are you guys chatting about?”
“We’re chatting about George’s future,” Tang En said, opening his hands.
“George’s future?” Kerslake asked, confused.
“I told Boss that he has a misconception about how to use George. George shouldn’t just be a midfield engineer, knowing nothing except defending.”
After hearing Albertini say that, Kerslake looked up at Tang En, wanting to know his opinion.
“We were just discussing whether George has any talent in attacking. What do you think, David?” Tang En asked.
Kerslake thought about it. “When he was in the Youth Team, I always let him play the position of a defending midfielder. I also told him to guard at the back whenever they were attacking… Because, truthfully speaking, I don’t see any attacking talent in him.”
Albertini was unhappy with Kerslake’s answer and shrugged.
“If you only tell him, ‘when attacking, you should stay at the back and wait’, how could you possibly discover other talents outside of his defensive capabilities?”
“Demi. Right in the beginning, George’s position in the team was a forward. But he never scored a single goal. Instead, he tackled Eastwood’s leg and broke it,” Kerslake explained to Albertini.
The Italian nodded.
“I know about that, coach. But, George back then and the George now are different. The current George is more mature. I believe he can do better than before… But, of course, I don’t think he is suitable to play as a forward. The best position for him is still a defensive midfielder, not merely an engineer who can only defend.”
“You want Wood to become the true core?” Tang En asked, understanding Albertini’s intention.
“Yes. Not just in spirit, but even more strategically.” Albertini paused momentarily and said, “In truth, there’s also another crucial reason. The other reason I hope for George to become a player like me, to become a midfielder who can both defend and attack is… I’ve decided to retire.”
The teacup that Tang En held by his mouth stopped moving. He thought he had heard wrong.
Kerslake turned to look at the Italian sitting on the sofa.
“I’m sorry… if I didn’t hear wrong, Demi, did you say you were going to retire?” Kerslake asked.
Albertini nodded. “My contract ends after this season.”
“Oh, no. No… the club has already drafted a new contract for you. The conditions are no problem at all. So long as you sign off it, you can continue to play. There’s no problem at all…”
Kerslake panicked. He thought Albertini was only saying that because the club had yet to announce a contract renewal with him.
“You misunderstand me, David. When I got injured before the season, I seriously pondered this issue. I feel that my body can no longer recover. If I continue like this, I will certainly continue getting injured in the matches I play. I won’t be of any help to the team. I don’t want to become a good-for-nothing who sits on the spectators’ stand drawing a pay.”
Tang En put down his teacup and pulled out his drawer. He scoured through it, looking for something.
“So, I decided not to renew my contract with the club after the end of the season. After that, I’ll go back to Italy to register for the manager’s course. After retirement, I plan to become a manager. This is something I’ve planned for since a long time ago…”
Tang En walked over, and with a wave, stopped Albertini from saying any more. He handed a document over to the Italian.
“It’s still not time to say goodbye, Demi. This is the draft contract the club has prepared for you. We were just planning to contact your agent for a discussion.”
Albertini flipped through the contract and returned it to Tang En. “I’m very grateful for the trust the club has in me. This is an extremely generous contract.”
It truly was generous. Same as before, it was a two-year contract. It was without stipulations on the number of times fielded, goals scored, assist counts, or any other conditions that would restrict him from continuing to receive a salary. In comparison to the first contract, the salary had been raised even higher due to the improvement in the club’s financial condition. At the same time, the salary standards across the team had also been raised.
“But I can’t accept it.”
Tang En looked at Albertini’s expression. “Do you think this is charity, Demi?”
Albertini shook his head.
“Your performance is worthy of this contract. The team still needs you. At this moment, if I walked out to tell them that their team captain has decided to stay on the team, do you know how elated they would be?” Tang En said as he pointed to the windows behind him.
“Look at your last match. Your performance was stunning. You’re not old yet, Demi.”
Albertini cocked his head and laughed. “I’m already 34. Not old? When I was young, I could play matches like that throughout the entire season. Now, I can only occasionally play that way. That’s the difference.”
That news came too suddenly for Tang En. During Albertini’s period of injury, Tang En had once worried about it. But at that point, Demi had appeared greatly optimistic. So, Tang En had also gradually forgotten about it. He had not expected the optimism to only be a façade; he had been planning this the whole time.
Kerslake looked at the stubborn Albertini and was at a loss for words.
But Tang En was even more stubborn than Albertini.
“No, Demi. I hope you will reconsider your retirement. Didn’t you just say you hoped for George to become a midfielder like you? If you retire after this season ends, how will he ever become like you? If you must leave, please stay for another year and help us. Train George. You can do it in the matches and training. You can personally coach him about what he should do… what do you think?”
Albertini looked at Tang En. “The one who suggested this was me.”
Tang En nodded.
“So, the person to resolve this also has to be me.”
Tang En continued nodding.
Albertini dropped his head and thought seriously. Tang En did not hurry him, turning back to continue drinking tea.
“Really? Only for a year?” Albertini’s voice sounded.
“A year. But, if you think a year isn’t long enough, and you need more time, I won’t object.” Tang En said with a laugh.
“Alright. I’ll sign. I’ll call my agent to come tomorrow. You’ve won, Boss. But this is my final contract. When the next season ends, I’ll officially retire.”
It was already a rather good result, having retained Albertini’s service for another season in the team. Tang En had nothing more to ask.
“As you wish, Demi. Okay, return to your training.”
Albertini left with Kerslake. Tang En was in no hurry to return to the training grounds. He added some hot water to his now cold tea. Then, holding the teacup, he returned to stand by the windows, looking out at the training grounds outside.
He had thought that providing Albertini with an extremely generous contract would let him feel more for Forest Team. But in the end, whether it was Atlético Madrid, Lazio, or Nottingham Forest, none of them had managed to leave a deep impression in his heart; just like having the back of a blade running through it, it would only leave a white mark that would gradually disappear with time, no matter how hard one tried. AC Milan to him, on the other hand, was like a mark from the sharp edge of a blade; it was extremely painful and bled. But after the bleeding stopped, it left a permanent scar that would stay there no matter how much time passed, to the point of death.
Tang En sighed as he watched Albertini return to the training grounds.
※※※
The next day, Nottingham Forest held an official press conference. Evan Doughty, Tony Twain, as well as Demetrio Albertini were all in attendance.
The first piece of information Tang En announced during the press conference was the renewal of Albertini’s contract.
“… I am very delighted to announce this decision. Demi has signed a new contract with the team. Next season, our number 4 captain will remain here and fight with us.”
A round of applause sounded from where the reporters were seated.
Tang En pointed to Albertini. It was his turn to speak.
“I’m very grateful that the club was able to provide me with a good contract. I like Nottingham Forest very much. Playing for Forest for two seasons has brought me great joy and terrific memories. Everyone here treats me very well, to the point that it made me feel as if I was not a foreigner here. That’s is the main reason I decided to renew my contract for another year. Thank you to the club’s Chairman Evan Doughty, Manager Twain, and each one of my teammates. I’ve decided to stay and battle through another season with you.”
Another round of applause sounded.
“At the same time, I’ve also decided that this will be the final contract of my professional football career.”
Faced with that declaration, the reporters were clearly unprepared. All of them looked at each other blankly.
Tang En sat to one side, quietly listening to Albertini speak.
“At the end of the next season, I will officially retire and end my professional football career. This is a decision I’ve made after immense consideration. Thank you, everyone.”
After Albertini finished speaking, he stood up and shook hands with Tang En before turning to leave.
Tang En turned his head and said to the reporters, “Just as everyone has seen today, we are lucky that Demi agreed to play another year. What’s not so lucky is that he will only be playing for one more year. I have nothing else to say. Today’s press conference ends here. Thank you, everybody. Goodbye!”