Chapter 547: The Night Before
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
On the last night before the game, Twain met his old friends, the Beckham couple, as well as Shania, whom they brought here, at the hotel the team was staying in.
It was a private meeting, and both sides made a lot of effort to avoid the media. It was only in the end when Shania took the Beckham couple in disguise into Twain’s room that they were able to breathe a sigh of relief.
The Beckham couple were personally invited by the club and Twain to watch the final live. Twain’s thinking was simple. In addition to using this approach to show Beckham friends.h.i.+p, he also wanted Beckham to strengthen some of his antic.i.p.ation and sense of belonging with this team.
He knew it was not easy for Beckham, who was from Manchester United, to face Manchester United again in the Premier League, even though Beckham himself had said he would play against Manchester United and even go to Old Trafford as a visiting team.
But Twain had considered more fully that if the Forest team could win this European t.i.tle, the joy of the t.i.tle would somewhat dilute some of his guilt over Manchester United.
At the same time, it was a great opportunity to show the strength of the team to the new players who were joining the team next season. Beckham was naturally included among the new players.
“First of all, congratulations on getting the league t.i.tle.” That was the first thing that Twain said in the meeting.
He had transmigrated before the end of the La Liga season and did not know if Real Madrid had won the t.i.tle in the end. However, at the time he transmigrated, Real Madrid had already launched a ma.s.sive counterattack against Barcelona. He had seen it again in La Liga this season.
Everything was the same as he had described. Capello first decided to dump Beckham but as the season progressed, he realized that they could not do without him and that Beckham had been diligent in training. He did not complain about being displaced, which had led Capello to change his prejudice against Beckham. He decided to use the former England captain again. In Beckham’s first comeback game, he helped the team beat their opponent with a direct free kick. Following that, he gradually changed the prejudice against him across the Spanish media with his performance in every game and regained the hearts of Real Madrid fans.
Calderon discovered that letting Beckham go was the worst decision he had ever made.
As the end of the season approached, there would be banners asking to keep Beckham at Bernabéu at every Real Madrid home game.
This English star player, who had never been understood by the world, had finally used his actions to exchange for understanding and respect from the world. No one would say that he was a star player who relied on his pretty boy face and commercial worth to play ball. No one would think he came to Real Madrid to help Real Madrid sell jerseys anymore.
Beckham said at a news conference ahead of Real Madrid’s final game that he never regretted his four years at Real Madrid and that he was not thinking of Nottingham Forest, but only wanted to help Real Madrid get their first champions.h.i.+p trophy in four years, as well as his first league t.i.tle trophy since he joined Real Madrid.
After a thrilling and tumultuous ninety-minute game, he got what he wanted.
Countless people were moved by him as he led his three children, all wearing the St. George’s flag of England, to say goodbye to the Real Madrid fans at the victory celebration ceremony at the Bernabéu. He knelt on the field, kissed Bernabéu’s turf affectionately, and thanked those people for their final support.
Twain, who saw the scene on television, did not feel unhappy about it at all. On the contrary, he was gratified. Beckham was a person who understood grat.i.tude. With such a person about to become a member of the Forest team, he would certainly dedicate all his strength wholeheartedly to the Forest team.
“Secondly, welcome to Nottingham Forest.”
The two men embraced each other with open arms.
“It’s a pity that if you had joined a season earlier, you would have won the second UEFA Champions League trophy of your career,” Twain said jokingly.
Everyone in the room laughed.
“To be honest, I didn’t expect Nottingham Forest to make it to the final.” Beckham shook his head with a smile.
“We are the Miraculous Forest,” Twain said proudly. “You’ll know next season when you join.” He winked at Beckham.
Victoria did not support Beckham’s return to England to play. She wanted her husband to listen to her and go to the United States to develop his career. However, in the end Beckham football. This was something that certainly did not make Victoria happy, even though she had agreed to her husband’s choice.
Twain glanced at her and found Victoria was having a pleasant chat with Shania and did not want to partic.i.p.ate in the men’s conversation. She would not reveal her inner feelings in front of outsiders. Was it because she wanted to give face to her husband or had they reached some sort of agreement in private?
Twain did not know, but he knew he had to be careful with this woman in the next few years. Perhaps everyone’s relations.h.i.+ps currently appeared to be harmonious due to Shania, but once a fundamental conflict of interest emerged, she would turn her back and become hostile.
At present, Shania was the buffer between him and the other party that avoided letting the contradiction come to the surface and intensify.
Sometimes when he thought about it, he really owed the young girl quite a lot. She clearly did not like football, but she introduced him to the Beckham couple. Was it really so simple as to introduce them as friends? If Twain had not been a football manager, why would she have introduced a footballer to him?
She always preferred him to spend more time with her, but his mind was always on football. Even when he accompanied her back to Brazil, he still went to the beach to watch people play football.
Beckham noticed that Twain was lost in thought, and he followed the direction of Twain’s gaze to Shania, who was having a nice chat with his wife. He smiled knowingly.
“Tony?”
“Huh? Oh, I’m sorry.” Twain came to attention.
“Do you have any plans for next season? I heard you announced before this season that the Forest team would aim for the Champions League t.i.tle this season and now you really did get into the final.”
Twain replied without thinking. “The Premier League.”
“Champion?”
“Of course.” Twain smiled brightly, “We’ve been the runner-up for two years in a row. Now people out there had started calling us ‘the double runner-up’ which is not a nice t.i.tle. Hey, David, do you like to be a champion?”
The question was abrupt, and Beckham stared blankly for a moment before answering. “Does anyone dislike being a champion?”
Twain smiled again. “Yes, you will be very happy on the Forest team, David. We don’t accept any outcome except victory. Next season, our target is the league t.i.tle. I’m going to let the people who gossip about us see how outrageously wrong they are.”
※※※
After they left the hotel, Victoria asked her husband what he thought of the new manager.
Beckham thought for a long time before he said, “he’s not the same as any manager I’ve ever been in contact with before, so I can’t be certain about him. Maybe after working with him I will find out exactly how he is? But…” He looked at his wife. “I can more or less tell from the players on the Forest team that he is good at getting along with his players. He’s different from Capello. And he wants to win t.i.tles which is something we have in common.”
“Haven’t you won enough?” Victoria sounded somewhat frustrated.
“Winning a t.i.tle is just one way for me to prove myself,” Beckham explained with a smile.
“You’ve already proven it. Who else do you want to prove to?”
Beckham did not reply.
※※※
After they sent off Beckham couple, Shania did not leave as well. She came back and stayed alone with Twain for a while.
“Where are we going on a trip this summer?” Shania sat on the couch and asked as she leaned on Twain’s shoulder.
“I haven’t thought about it yet…” After Victoria left, Twain opened the window to let some air in, and the fragrant perfume finally disappeared. Now with Shania sat next to him, he could smell the fragrance in her hair again. “Where do you want to go?”
Shania shook her head. “I don’t know, it seems like I’ve been everywhere…” Her job required her to fly around the world, and there were not many places she had not been to.
“Or… we could go to Brazil?” Twain cautiously offered.
Shania perked up. She left Twain’s shoulder and looked up at him to say, “do you want to go to look for a gifted prodigy?”
“That’s not true!” Twain raised his hands . “Have you been back to Brazil these last couple of years?”
Shania nodded. “I’ve been back twice to do shows.”
“Did you go home?”
Shania shook her head. “No, I didn’t… Too busy, I’m always flying around…”
Twain smiled. “So, let’s go home and have a look.”
Shania stared at him for a long while before she nodded in agreement. She noticed Twain’s words. “Let’s go home” instead of “let us go back to your home.”
She smiled.
“Well, I kinda miss my dad and mom, too. Although I used to hate them… now I miss them since I don’t see them for a long time.”
When he heard Shania, Twain remembered that no matter how mature she looked physically, how famous she was and how glamorous she looked on the runway, she was still a child.
“Hey, little girl. Do you feel lonely sometimes?”
“When?” Shania looked up at Twain.
“Anytime, at work, when you’re flying out of town, in any hotel in a city…” Twain spread out his hands and gave examples.
Shania put her fair legs on the couch and curled up her body. “Since you put it that way… then it’s quite a lot of times. But not now!” She said to Twain with a grin.
Twain raised his eyebrows. “Because I’m with you?”
“Yes! I’m not lonely when I’m with you, Uncle Tony!”
“You’re really easily satisfied… Do you have any friends? Any friends in the modeling circle?”
“I have a few.”
“Are they all women?”
Shania glanced at Twain. “Yes, they’re all women. Not too many… Apart from work, I’m basically not in touch with the people in that circle.”
“Why?” Dunn was a little surprised. Was this not the most playful age? A favorite time to make new friends and when friends.h.i.+ps still felt novel and beautiful?
“Work is work, my private life is my private life. I don’t want to mix the two.” Shania shrugged her shoulders and answered Twain’s question in a very adult manner.
Twain smiled. “No wonder you feel lonely. It’s nice to make friends.”
Shania wanted to say something, but she just in the end she just curled her lips and said nothing.
Looking at her watch, Shania got up from the couch. “It’s getting late, I have to go back. Uncle Tony, rest early. You’d better not lose tomorrow’s game!”
Twain stood up to send her off. “Rest a.s.sured, I’ll not lose tomorrow. That’s not going to happen without my permission.”
“Ahem, the king of big talk.” Shania pulled a face at him. “You’re not G.o.d.”
“Hee hee, I’m not G.o.d himself, but I have a good relations.h.i.+p with G.o.d,” Twain said with a grin. He was not entirely joking. For a thing like transmigration to happen to him, G.o.d might really have something to do with it!
After he saw Shania off, Twain returned to the room and realized that while he was alone with Shania, he had not thought about the next day’s final. He did not feel nervous at all or think about pointless thing like they would not become the champion. He even completely forgot about football. When he proposed to go to Brazil for a trip, he also did not consider how many prodigies there were and how he could benefit from the trip.
Simply put, he could forget a lot of work troubles when he was with Shania. Just like what he young girl said: Work is work, my private life is my private life.
When he and Shania were together, that was their private life.
Twain stood in front of the hotel’s twenty-fourth-story window sill, looking at the night view in Greece. What if one day he got tired of his job in professional football, what would happen?
Who could stay with him, let him forget his troubles, and enjoy his own private life?
This question currently was too uninteresting for Twain. He shook his head and stretched his back before he walked back to the room to get ready for bed.
There was still a tough battle tomorrow.
I still haven’t won an important champions.h.i.+p t.i.tle yet I’m thinking about losing interest. It’s really unlucky to think about such things…
How can I lose interest in this job when I haven’t won?