Seeing Valdés save the goal from his shot, Eastwood could care less about dodging Puyol"s slide tackle from behind. He went flying out after the opponent slammed into him. When he got up, his head was in his hands. It was a real pity, a true regret.
Tang En and all the rest of the players from Nottingham Forest were feeling the same regret. Almost everyone was doing the same thing: arching backward with their heads in their hands.
An opportunity such as this, to counterattack after directly intercepting a ball in the opponent"s penalty area, was tremendously rare. If they had grasped hold of the chance, they would basically have had a 90 percent chance of scoring a goal. And if it had gone in, it would be the equivalent of giving Nottingham Forest, who had only been pa.s.sively defending, a shot of rea.s.surance.
But Fate had to toy with Forest at this crucial moment. Valdés" actions appeared to be a conditioned reflex rather than ones made from his own judgment.
"Valdés" condition in this match is excellent. As the number two goalkeeper in Spain"s National Team, he is performing at a level that will cause his enemies to despair!"
Tang En knew that the greatest weakness hidden in Barcelona"s defensive line was Oleguer. Through Eastwood"s own observations, he could tell the same thing. So, he chose to press Oleguer for the ball and succeeded. What he did not expect was how outstanding Valdés" performance today would be.
Eastwood"s shot had frightened Barcelona into a cold sweat. Even up until Forest Team"s coming forward to launch the corner kick, their hearts were still racing frantically.
This time, Barcelona had meticulously prepared their defense against high b.a.l.l.s. Forest"s corner kick did not form up to be a threatening attack.
However, if Barcelona was intending to relax, thinking that Forest Team was only lucky, they would certainly be making a mistake.
Immediately after, Forest initiated another attack. In the midfield, Arteta and Albertini executed a wall pa.s.s combination and followed up with a direct pa.s.s to the front. In the speed contest between Eastwood and Puyol, Eastwood depended on his abundant stamina to win out. At the same time, he let the ball pa.s.s him before accelerating suddenly into the penalty area! Seeing Eastwood enter the penalty area, Puyol was left with no choice. His initial turn had been slightly slow and caused him to be stuck behind his opponent. Now, he could only try to disrupt him as much as possible from his back. A sudden tackle at him may only end up awarding them with a penalty kick. That would not be worth it.
"Eastwood! He is full of energy. This is Nottingham Forest"s chance… his one-on-one! Shoot!"
It was a pity. The shot could not be taken from a good angle due to Puyol"s intense hara.s.sment and disruption. It was caught by Valdés" when he dropped to the ground for the save.
"Valdés! His performance allows Barcelona to hold onto some hope!"
※※※
"Ah, f**k! dammit!"
Off the field, Tang En almost jumped as he watched the scene. As the remaining time in the match trickled away, he also began getting agitated.
The only disadvantage about having a single forward was that once that leading figure received the ball, he lacked the support around him and could only depend on his own abilities to dribble and attack the goal. He would not be getting any better opportunities the moment he started to be pressured by his opponent.
Getting to the root of the cause, it was still because Forest was down a player. If it were a full team of 11 players, one of the two opportunities Eastwood had gotten, at the very least, would have scored.
During the last one-on-one, there was hardly anyone on Barcelona"s defensive line thanks to their anxiousness to equalize the score. It allowed Eastwood to easily enter the penalty area. At that time, if there was one more Forest player who could follow up from the middle of the penalty area, Eastwood would have much more room to perform, regardless of whether it was a shot at the goal or a pa.s.s to the center. He would not have to make a forced shot after being pressed into a limited angle by Puyol.
Both Arteta and Albertini were already unable to run. At this point, requesting for them to dash forward and follow up would be too unrealistic.
Tang En bit his lip. Edwin van der Sar being called out was the turning point of this match. It created a deep impact on the minutes that came after. With the pa.s.sing of time, this impact was currently developing towards being more and more advantageous for Barcelona.
Tang En had originally wanted a fair duel with his opponent. He did not expect himself to be forced into a disadvantage from the start.
This was the point that enraged him. He could accept the referee making the call of Giuly"s goal being in effect and giving Edwin van der Sar a yellow card as a warning. This would have a disciplinary effect, and at the same time, guarantee the smooth proceeding of the match and still maintain its entertainment value. Now, Forest Team, with one player less, found it difficult to even save themselves, not to mention play out a beautiful match with Barcelona.
Tang En did not think it was his own goalkeeper, Edwin van der Sar, who had ruined the match finals. It was that Norwegian main referee, Hauge.
※※※
Having been unable to break the stalemate, Barcelona was also beginning to get anxious.
After a glimpse at the match time on the big screen, Rijkaard decided to take a gamble. In the 71st minute, the Fourth Official signaled for a subst.i.tution by Barcelona.
Seeing this, Tang En cast a concerned gaze towards the subst.i.tutes" bench on Barcelona"s side. He saw number two Belletti and number seven Larsson stand up and make their way to the Fourth Official.
Even their choices of subst.i.tutions were the same!
Kerslake was also watching. He felt great admiration for Tony for being able to make an accurate guess of the subst.i.tutes they would be putting in. However, he was not aware that Tang En was feeling a completely different emotion.
"Barcelona makes a subst.i.tution. Rijkaard finishes up all three of his subst.i.tutions. He is going all in for this! This is entirely a subst.i.tution for the attack. Larsson subst.i.tutes defending midfielder Mark van Bommel, while Belletti subst.i.tutes in for fullback Oleguer Presas, who has been performing terribly."
These would perhaps be the final two straws that broke the camel"s back.
Tang En stood up from his seat and hurriedly strode to the sidelines. Taking the chance when Barcelona was proceeding with the subst.i.tutions, he blew on his whistle into the field, signaling Forest"s players to look at him.
"Mark down Eto"o and Larsson! Take note of Belletti"s forward cut from behind, and defend in our wings! Don"t give them an opportunity!"
In his recollection, it was precisely the two players that Rijkaard subst.i.tuted in during the final minutes of the second half that had changed the results of the match. Larsson had a.s.sisted Eto"o in scoring the equalizer. And later, a combination from Belletti and Larsson would allow them to cut into the penalty area from the side. Belletti would then receive Larsson"s pa.s.s and shoot a tightly angled shot, pa.s.sing through the crotch of a.r.s.enal"s goalkeeper, Almunia, and scoring the goal that overtook their opponents.
Tang En believed that so long as they marked these three key players down, Barcelona"s attack would end there. Forest would then doubtless attain victory. He would become the youngest and most successful manager. Forest Team and his name would be carved into UEFA Champions League"s history, as well as the history of European football.
Ultimately, ideals are beautiful things.
※※※
As per Tang En"s instructions, Forest very quickly adjusted their defensive strategy. They fortified their control of the two corridors in the wings and the defense against Eto"o and Larsson.
Just as Tang En had predicted, Eto"o took the initiative to switch to the wings after being unable to find a path through the middle. He hoped to make use of his speed to create an opportunity in the flanks.
He was helpless. It was as if Forest knew what he was going to do. He had only just switched to the wings when he saw Forest"s defensive focus following him over. In the middle, he often had to go up against two on his own; and now, it was the same in the flanks.
Five minutes pa.s.sed. Up until this point, there were no visible effects of Barcelona"s subst.i.tution of the two. Conversely, Forest"s defense was right in position. Larsson had basically been pinned down by Pepe; he could hardly make a turn, not to mention lifting a foot to kick at the goal.
Eto"o was also squeezed out of the penalty area by the compact defense, having no choice but to move around in the wings instead.
Belletti? While he managed to cut forward, he could only pa.s.s the ball around in the outer area.
Iniesta pa.s.sed the ball to Larsson. Larsson, who was back facing the goal, was unable to shoot. The only thing he could do was pa.s.s the ball out again. Seeing Larsson in possession, Eto"o begin to cut inwards from the wings, planning on a combination with Larsson. Upon seeing this, Forest"s fullback, Chimbonda, gritted his teeth and followed in a run after Eto"o, pressing close to him and refusing to let him easily receive the ball.
In a moment, everyone"s gaze became focused on Eto"o.
But Larsson did not follow the script in Tang En"s heart, in which he pa.s.sed the ball to Eto"o who was cutting forward. He made a show of doing so, but instead, pa.s.sed the ball to Ronaldinho in front of him!
Did anyone take notice of the Brazilian?
No.
Albertini had run off into the wings to a.s.sist in defending against Eto"o, while Arteta was keeping an eye on Larsson. Pepe was also in close engagement with Larsson. At the same time, Piqué was guarding Giuly. Not a single person had noticed Ronaldinho, who had quietly retreated.
The Brazilian did not wait to see Forest"s players react. He received the ball and volleyed!
Paul Gerrard tried his best to save the shot, but Ronaldinho had shot all too suddenly. He had no time to prepare at all. Jumping from where he was would not get him close enough to the ball…
"GOOOOAL! GOOOOOOAL!!" The Catalan commentator rose from his seat. They had been waiting much too long for this moment.
"Barcelona equalizes the score! Ronaldinho has become the hero of his team!"
"Nottingham Forest"s hard work has completely gone down the drain!"
The pa.s.sionate shouts of the various nations at the commentators" area merged into a wave of noise.
Barcelona"s fans within Stade de France were all effervescent. They loudly cheered on Ronaldinho"s name, their hero.
Meanwhile, Nottingham Forest"s players were standing on the field in a daze, looking in disbelief at the football sitting within the net.
Nearing 40 minutes of hard work, and it had all just vaporized.
After sprinting on a dead run after Eto"o, even someone like Chimbonda had to lie on the ground, stretching out his legs as much as possible. They were cramping.
Barcelona"s technical area and subst.i.tutions" bench were full of joyous cheers. Nottingham Forest"s side, however, was devoid of spirit.
Tang En leaned back on his chair, not even able to muster up a curse.
Barcelona had equalized the score as "planned." But the scorer was not Eto"o. It was Ronaldinho instead! A candidate he had not thought of. He had put all his focus on the person in his recollection and ended up neglecting one who was extremely dangerous to begin with.
This was his mistake. He was in no position to curse it.
In the beginning, the situation was oddly similar. It made him think that this match would turn out to follow the script within his recollection. In fact, he had even thought that it might not be a bad idea. His advantage over the others lay in the fact that he had his pre-transmigration memories. He knew what would be happening in the later parts of the match, so he could implement strategies to counter it beforehand. That was why he had made the team defend so tightly against Eto"o and Larsson whilst keeping a close eye on the wings; the two goals from Barcelona were both initiated and completed from the wings.
But his cleverness had turned around and bit him instead. His success came from transmigrating, and so did his failure… The things he knew beforehand limited his own scope of thinking, and he was unable to surpa.s.s it. In the end, he was led by the nose by his own memories.
He leaned back in the chair and looked up at the sky. He suddenly remembered. In his memory, the final match did not start off with rain. In its first half, there was not a single raindrop. The heavy rain only began in the second half…
He felt a headache and reached out to press on his temples.
How did it turn out this way?
※※※
In the 71st minute, Rijkaard had made a final subst.i.tution, deciding to take a gamble. Five minutes later, in the 76th minute, Ronaldinho received Larsson"s pa.s.s and took a long shot that helped his team equalize the score.
After that, Forest"s momentum disappeared in an instant. In the face of such a severe blow, Forest, formed of mostly young players, was somewhat unable to recover from it.
Albertini had gone through enormous waves and tides in the span of his professional career. But at this point, there was nothing he could do beyond using his words to drum up everyone"s morale; he was too tired and could no longer run. With a player down, Forest Team had already needed the 10 remaining players to run more to compensate for the numerical disadvantage. A sense of responsibility made Albertini run even more than the others. Chimbonda had already fallen to the ground, his legs cramping, while Albertini had also on several occasions skirted close to getting a cramp.
In this kind of situation, loudly shouting for his teammates not to give up was a futile effort. Everyone"s stamina had already reached its limit. Anybody could shout a few slogans, but it would not be able to spur everyone"s fighting spirit.
If George Wood was present, he never would shout any slogan. But he could use his own crazed running to spur the madness hiding within the depths of the hearts of his teammates. Many a time, actions were much more powerful than words; doing"was always better than saying.
It was a pity. At this moment, the person who could make his entire team go on a frenzy with him was sitting within the VIP room high up on the spectators" stands. He was with his mother and the club"s chairman, a fly on the wall watching.
※※※
Logically, even with Barcelona"s equalizer, the Forest Team was not yet certain to lose. They could still drag the match time until it went into extension and a penalty shoot-out. In that manner, even though there may be more people falling to the ground due to cramps, it was still better than losing the match within 90 minutes. But the loss of the goal was an enormous psychological blow to the young members of Forest.
All their hard work fighting without any regard for their own bodies, going all out… What was it for? Wasn"t it precisely so they could maintain the one-goal lead on Barcelona?
Now that this single advantage was gone, no one noticed that they still had the opportunity of playing into match extension, of entering the penalty shoot-out. They carried on the match, distracted and out of sorts as if they had lost their souls.
Other than mechanically defending, they were at a loss about what else they could do; they had no ability to attack and no stamina left. What else could they do except defend?
Tang En did not hope for Barcelona to drag it out until the match extension. Based on his team"s current physical status, a match extension was only 30 minutes of time before their certain death.
He needed to enhance their attack. Defending at this point was not the least bit helpful.
He called up Bendtner from the subst.i.tutes" bench.
He was going to continue using his final card to adjust the forward line. Tang En intended on going all out. He was not going to care anymore about inane things such as what the match looked like in his recollection, or what it would become. He only knew that if the match went into extension, Forest would be finished.
He needed a goal.
"Nicklas. No need to warm-up. You"re going in now, we"re running out of time. Remember, when you"re up there you must score. Try all means and get a goal! I don"t care what method you use, so long as you can get a goal in! If you want to use your hand to hit the ball in, just don"t let that b.a.s.t.a.r.d of a referee catch you! If you want to do a flop to earn a penalty kick, then make it look real!"
Just as Tang En grabbed Nicklas Bendtner to make the final arrangements, Barcelona again launched a successful a.s.sault. Ronaldinho and Deco pulled off a wall pa.s.s at the front of the penalty area. Just as everyone thought Ronaldinho would use his own technique to invade the penalty area, he abruptly threw out a diagonal pa.s.s. This time, his target was Eto"o, who had cut into the middle from the flanks.
"Eto"o- Eto"o! It"s a goal! It"s a goal—Oh lord, they"ve gotten a streak of two goals within five minutes, overtaking the score!"
The spectators" stands suddenly exploded with a tsunami of cheers, making Tang En jump on the sidelines.
a.s.sistant manager David Kerslake, who was beside him, furiously threw out the tactical board he held.
Tang En looked back with wide eyes. He saw Barcelona"s players in frenzied celebration of their goal. They piled up one on top of another, squas.h.i.+ng Eto"o right at the bottom. Meanwhile, Forest"s players were standing woodenly on the field.
"F**k… This is ridiculous!"
The players behind on the subst.i.tutes" bench covered their faces and held their heads, unwilling to look at their joyful opponents.
Bendtner stood beside Tang En and hesitated, asking, "Boss… do you still… do you still need me to go in?"
Tang En twisted around to look at the field and gritted his teeth. "Yes!"
He then turned back to look at Bendtner. "Do you still remember what I just told you?"
Bendtner nodded.