Chapter 542: The League Tournament Ends

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

May 24th was the final game of the UEFA Champions League. Before that, there was a final round left in the Premier League. Twain no longer thought about the dreary matter of getting a “Double” with the league and Champions League t.i.tles. Manchester United was ahead of them by three points and had only a 0.1% likelihood of losing the league tournament at the last minute.

The final round of the league tournament was held on May 13th. With eleven days to go until the Champions league final, this was good news for Twain as it meant that he did not have to make way for the Champions League final by considering a rotation. He could use the strongest lineup to have a showdown with Liverpool in the final round.

Even though losing to Liverpool would not affect the Forest team’s Champions League qualification for the next season, Twain wanted to keep Chelsea down right up to the last minute. He did not want Chelsea to s.n.a.t.c.h back the second place in the league tournament.

Obviously, this depended one more than the Forest team’s results. Chelsea currently had one fewer game than the Forest team. If they wanted to continue to suppress Chelsea, they had to watch the results of the make-up game, which was Chelsea’s home match against Manchester United.

This match would take place on May 10th.

This make-up game was also the time to uncover the suspense around the owner of the league t.i.tle.

Eventually, on that day, at the Stamford Bridge Stadium, tens of thousands of Chelsea fans saw the scene they least wanted to see, serving as a background to their opponent’s celebrations at their own stadium.

Manchester United tied Chelsea at 0:0. Chelsea’s points became eighty-two which was the same as the Forest team and temporarily came in second. But they were four points away from Manchester United, the league’s number one. With one last round in the league tournament, Chelsea would not be able to overtake Manchester United to reverse the t.i.tle.

The result of this match proclaimed that Manchester United had won the 06-07 season’s English Premier League t.i.tle ahead of time.

The Red Devils, Manchester United, welcomed their ninth Premier League t.i.tle amidst the boos at Stamford Bridge. This was also the 16th English Premier League t.i.tle in the club’s history.

Ferguson looked happy and spirited when he shook hands with Mourinho. He had fought with Mourinho for the entire season and finally got the last laugh.

A few days later, the English media were all news about Manchester United’s ninth league t.i.tle. Ferguson made headlines and were in the limelight for a while.

As for Mourinho and Chelsea’s defeat, most of the media gloated about it. Although four years had pa.s.sed since Abramovich took owners.h.i.+p of Chelsea, many people still despised the Russian oligarch upstart.

Although the phenomenon was very common, after all, everyone had the mentality to hate the rich, this kind of thinking was not necessarily correct.

Chelsea had fallen heavily into debt before and could have declared bankruptcy at any time. Bates was unable to repay the mounting debts. Abramovich’s arrival not only saved him, but also rescued the Chelsea Football Club, and indirectly rescued the fans who loved Chelsea. However, the fans were ungrateful. At that time, London’s Evening Standard said, half-jokingly and half-sarcastically:

“Besides spending money to purchase the players, Abramovich is also preparing to buy the fas.h.i.+on guru, Armani to design jerseys for Chelsea, acquire the media king, Murdoch to publish Chelsea’s “guide,” hire Campbell, Prime Minister Blair’s think-tank as Chelsea’s public relations consultant, and purchase the F1 ace driver Schumacher as the driver of the Chelsea team bus…”

At the time, there were also media outlets that said that if Abramovich’s a.s.sets were all converted into cash and spread under a mattress, then when he accidentally fell out of bed during his sleep, he would not fall to his death, but starved to death.

Chelsea had been hugely successful over the last two years with the money of the Russian oligarch, but was unable to win over the ma.s.ses. All of English football had refused to acknowledge Chelsea’s achievements, especially when comparing Chelsea and a.r.s.enal. That was one reason why Mourinho hated Wenger so much — no one liked to be the negative archetype of others.

Abramovich was aware that the best way to block people’s mouths was to win t.i.tles. The league t.i.tle was not enough. Only the Champions league t.i.tle would do.

He brought in the Champions.h.i.+p league level manager, Mourinho, who could win the Champions League t.i.tle even with a team like Porto. Unexpectedly, fortune made fools of people. After Mourinho came, they could not even get into the Champions League finals for three years in a row.

Chelsea had even lost the league t.i.tle this season.

After a simple handshake between Mourinho and Ferguson, he left the stadium with a grim face and was out of sight. A few days later, the media could not locate him when they wanted to interview him.

Rumors were suddenly rife that Chelsea was going to change their manager next season, and Abramovich could not tolerate the embarra.s.sment of putting in hundreds of millions of pounds for three consecutive seasons and not win the Champions League trophy. There was also another rumour that Abramovich had an irreconcilable difference with Mourinho over his use of Shevchenko, whom Abramovich had insisted that the team put in the starting position. Even if he could not score a goal and that Mourinho believe that the players who did not perform well and were in a bad shape, should go to the bench and leave the opportunity to the others.

Twain did not know if Mourinho would leave Chelsea in the end. At the very least not before he crossed. When he was a fan, he felt that Chelsea and Mourinho were inseparable. When he thought of Chelsea, he would think of Mourinho, and when he thought of Mourinho, he would think of Chelsea.

He could not imagine what Chelsea would be like without Mourinho. Although the two of them were usually arch rivals, he still did not want Mourinho to leave Chelsea. Because then he would have a lot less fun…

He liked to be a manager. In addition to the opportunity to win all kinds of trophies and instruct world-cla.s.s star players, he was able to compete with famous managers he had only seen on televisions and newspapers before. Professional football was not a game played by one person. Without a good opponent, the fun of the sport would be halved.

With the spread of the rumors becoming more widespread, they also became more outrageous. Soon Abramovich and Mourinho appeared before the media in succession to refute the rumors. Abramovich said he appreciated Mourinho’s work in Chelsea for the last three seasons and promised that Mourinho had a bright future in the team. Mourinho, for his part, said he enjoyed his job at Chelsea and had no intention of going to other teams to pursue other development.

Neither of the men mentioned that they had lost two t.i.tles during season, leaving many people still unconvinced of Mourinho’s possible departure of Chelsea next season. More pundits a.n.a.lyzed that they came out at that time to dispel the rumors because they did not want to affect the morale of the team and wanted them to play the last game of the league well in the season. When this season was over, it was then time for the reckoning.

※※※

In the final round of the league, all the compet.i.tions started at the same time.

Some people said that for them to come out and dispel the rumors before the final round of the league was to not affect the morale and fighting spirit of the entire Chelsea team. They did not want to affect their last league game. But locking the stable door after the horse had bolted did not contain the horse.

Chelsea’s morale and fighting spirit had already been affected. In the final round of the league tournament, Chelsea was forced to tie with Moyes’ Everton at 1:1 at home.

Manchester United, who had already won the league t.i.tle, lost distractedly to West Ham United at home, which saved the team from relegation. The score was 0:1.

The game between Nottingham Forest and Liverpool had many twists and turns, with Liverpool taking the lead at the start of the game.

Because Liverpool had lost in the away game to Fulham in the crucial 37th round of the league, while a.r.s.enal tied with Chelsea at home, the two teams, which would have been one point apart at one point, now had the same points. Liverpool and a.r.s.enal both wanted to get the final spot to the Champions League. Although Liverpool had also advanced to the final of the UEFA Europa League this season and their opponent was Sevilla, they still wanted to play in the Champions League.

Therefore, at the start of the opening, Liverpool launched a siege on the Forest team’s goal and was aggressive throughout the away game.

This game was also a nationally broadcasted match for BBC 5.

Liverpool became even more aggressive after the goal, and they continued to besiege Nottingham Forest. Benítez had gone all out for the sake of the Champions League qualification. But he forgot what kind of team Nottingham Forest was and what they were best at.

From the looks of it, the home team, the Forest team was in a mess. Under the stormy attacks, the goal might have been penetrated again at any time. But the Forest fans were not worried or scared. They were familiar with the scene.

In the 27th minute, thirteen minutes after Liverpool had scored, the Forest team equalized the score. They made use of the void when Liverpool pressed forward to launch a quick counterattack and cracked open the goal guarded by the Spanish national goalkeeper, Reyna.

Another ten minutes later, the news came from Portsmouth, where a.r.s.enal scored in the away game.

This was no doubt a bolt from the blue for the Liverpool people. If the scores for both games were maintained till the end, Liverpool would lose their eligibility to enter the Champions League for the second year in a row.

They stepped up their offense and tried to breach Nottingham Forest’s goal again. But the score did not change until the end of the first half of the game.

They switched sides in the second half and fought again. While Nottingham Forest and Liverpool were still in a deadlock, another piece of news came from the other stadium and it was in Liverpool’s favor.

Just five minutes into the second half, Portsmouth scored, and the score was tied at 1:1.

Watching the live game at the City Ground stadium while listening to the radio to keep an eye on their opponent, the half-hearted Liverpool fans erupted in loud cheer and nearly made the other people think that their team had scored.

This news has greatly stimulated the fighting spirit of the Liverpool players, who launched a frenzy of attacks on the Forest team’s goal and further stepped up the pressure. In the first nineteen minutes of the second half, the Forest team conceded its goal again.

Gerrard’s long shot directly pierced through Edwin van der Sar’s ten fingers. The Forest team was not angered by this goal concede because it was so beautiful, just like the long shot that Wood had fired into the Chelsea’s goal. What else could they say about a shot like that?

The Liverpool fans began to burst into loud singing in the stands at the City Ground stadium to celebrate their lead. They angered the Forest team fans, and soon the singing of the Liverpool fans was quickly drowned out by the songs from the Forest team fans.

Meanwhile, Liverpool’s renewed lead also aggravated Twain and his team.

Albertini started the game in place of Wood. It was his last warm-up game before the Champions League final. After Liverpool’s lead, the commentator complained ceaselessly about Twain’s rotation decision. In his view, the older Albertini had become unfit to start in a fierce game. His running ability had greatly declined and could not pose any threat to Gerrard defensively. As for the offense… the Forest team was trampled in half of the field and struggled. What offense could there be to speak of?

In short, the commentator raised many questions about Albertini’s ability and argued that there was no justification for Twain’s rotation. George Wood was not injured and in a stable form. He had strong stamina and it was foolish to use Albertini instead of him.

Just as the commentator was jabbering on about how Albertini had been eliminated by the times, Albertini scored a goal.

It was a typical “Albertini-style” banana shot. Reyna could not save in time and could only watch the football fly past his hands to fall into the net.

Nottingham Forest equalized the score at 2:2.

The Liverpool fans were not too frustrated, because there was no further news of a goal from Portsmouth. Even if both games were draws, Liverpool would still rank in the fourth place with its goal difference advantage and suppress a.r.s.enal.

The result was good news for Liverpool, but Twain would not accept a draw, which was dangerous without knowing the outcome of the Chelsea game.

The game went on till the injury stoppage time, and neither side scored again. The same went for Portsmouth, where neither a.r.s.enal nor Portsmouth scored.

It looked like Liverpool was going to qualify for next season’s Champions League as they’d hoped, and a.r.s.enal would only be able to play in the UEFA Europa League.

The Liverpool fans had begun to celebrate ahead of time and some Liverpool fans had even given thumbs up to the Forest fans to thank them. In the eyes of the Liverpool fans, this result was a happy outcome.

The people of the Forest team did not see it that way.

The injury stoppage time was four minutes with the first three minutes uneventful. Liverpool did not plan to score again, and the Forest team did not seem to be in the mind to continue the game. But at the last minute, the situation suddenly changed on the field.

Led by Albertini, Nottingham Forest organized a very effective attack. Four Nottingham Forest players were involved in the attack. After three pa.s.ses of the football, it flew to the front of Liverpool’s goal. Bendtner jumped high and used a header to shoot the football at a very close distance into the Liverpool goal.

The Liverpool fans in the City Ground stadium became silent. Only the cheers of Nottingham Forest fans could be heard. Obviously they did not appreciate the friendliness shown by the Liverpool fans before. Like the team they support, they thirsted for victory and would not accept any results other than victory.

When the game was over, the results of the other stadium also came. a.r.s.enal and Portsmouth tied and overpowered Liverpool by one point to reach the fourth place in the league tournament. Thus, they won the spot for next season’s Champions League qualifying tournament.

With tears flas.h.i.+ng in their eyes, the Liverpool fans stood dejected in the stadium and stared blankly at the Nottingham Forest players celebrating their victory. They thought that for the Forest team, the victory of this game was insignificant because they would not lose their Champions League qualification if they lost this game. They did not understand why the Forest players still wanted to score at the last minute to win.

Benítez shook Twain’s hand with a sullen face and had nothing to say about losing at the last minute — his team had slacked off and had not marked Bendtner.

Twain did not comfort Benítez, nor did he know how to. He could not console with “never mind, at least you can still play in the UEFA Europa League again” which was no consolation. It was like putting salt on the other party’s wound. He had no personal grudge with Benítez, so he did not need to act this way.

After he shook hands with Benítez, Twain turned his head and saw the heartbroken Liverpool fans in the stands. He was aware that he had another enemy in the league. The Liverpool fans would not forget today’s game for quite some time and would remember who pushed them out of the Champions League.

During Brian Clough’s time, the ambitious Liverpool was beaten by Nottingham Forest and lost the league t.i.tle and Champions League t.i.tle. At that time, the Liverpool fans had little affection for Nottingham Forest. Later, with the decline of Nottingham Forest, this hatred quickly dissipated in the river of time.

Today, Twain was like a demon making them to relive the nightmare from twenty-eight years ago, which had a profound effect.

“Wenger must thank Twain. How could a.r.s.enal qualify for the Champions League qualifying tournament had it not been for the Forest team so desperate to win in the last insignificant game? I’m afraid only Tony Twain would do such a thing and not care if they wiped out Liverpool at the last minute…” The commentator muttered.

How would he know that Twain was not trying to help Wenger, or being ruthless, but that he just did not want to Chelsea to be ahead of him?

“Tony!” Kerslake’s excited voice came behind him.

Twain looked back at his a.s.sistant manager, Kerslake with the headphones in his hand and full of smiles.

“Good news, Chelsea and Everton tied!”

Twain did a fist pump.

“We are second in the league!” Kerslake cried aloud, and everyone heard it.

They were the runner-up in the league for two consecutive years which was a remarkable achievement. The crowd burst into cheers.

Twain looked at their celebration with a smile on his face, when Dunn stood beside him at this time.

“You don’t look very excited, do you?” Twain glanced at him and Dunn looked calm.

“The compet.i.tion season is not over yet,” Dunn replied simply.

This was a reminder to Twain that there was still another final game. It was not the time to celebrate.

“Ah, thank you, Dunn.” Twain finished clapping and walked toward the coaches who were still celebrating.

“Don’t be too happy too soon, guys. We still have one last game.”

“Athens!” A chorus of shouts from everyone answered him.

“Very good, it looks that you have not forgotten.”

The league tournament had ended, and Twain did not have to worry about how to rotate, keep the players in shape and avoid injuries, and make sure they didn’t lose their sense of the compet.i.tion. Today was May 13th, eleven days before the final game on May 24th.

Within these eleven days, he still had time to solve some of the problems and then lead the team to Athens without any concerns.

A glittering trophy was waiting for him to pick it up over there. This time, no one would be allowed to meddle!