Chapter 238: The Madman Part 2
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Just as the final whistle blew, Mourinho, who stood on the edge of the technical area, turned and walked towards the tunnel. He completely ignored the tradition and courtesy that the two managers should shake hands after the game. Of course, Twain had not expected this defiant man would shake hands with his sworn enemy after the defeat. Tang En already knew this based on how Mourinho treated Arsène Wenger in the future. Thus, his first reaction after the game was not to go to the Chelsea technical area to shake hands and exchange greetings with his opponent, or perhaps pretend to say a few polite words, but to walk straight to the players who were celebrating the victory on the field.
As a result, there was this weird scene on the sidelines: Both assistant managers came together and completed the post-match custom on behalf of their managers. They shook hands, the loser congratulated the winner, and the winner consoled the loser.
After Twain walked onto the field, he made a beeline for the Danish center forward, Nicklas Bendtner, who had scored the winning goal. The young lad looked very excited and when he saw Twain coming over, he rushed up to hug him, "Boss! We won, we won!"
"That's right, we won. Good job, Nick." Twain was bound in a tight embrace by the other man. He grimaced and said, "If you could let go of me, I would feel even better..."
Bendtner sheepishly let go of Twain, but more Forest players came up again and surrounded the manager, full of admiration in their hearts.
Since the Forest team had lost the game to Blackburn in their first round of the league, they had not lost again. That was an incredible achievement, and what made the players full of confidence was that Nottingham Forest had never been at a disadvantage while playing against the stronger teams.
Seeing how everyone's spirits were running high, Twain simply let them surround him in a circle and stood in the middle. He said now what he had wanted to say in the locker room. "Guys, how does it feel? It feels fantastic to win, right?"
The players laughed loudly.
"That's it, victory. Constant victory. Give all the frustration and pain to our opponents, and enjoy our one-day break tomorrow!"
Cheers rang out from the crowd.
"Well, go and thank the fans who persisted and cheered for you in the rain, then go back to the locker room to take a shower and change. Enjoy your night!"
After watching the players thanking the fans, Twain turned and walked towards the tunnel. There was a press conference waiting for him, and it would be another head-on confrontation with Mourinho. Of course, now that he was the winner, he was looking forward to it. There was a smile plastered on Twain's face as he walked.
※※※
While the Forest players were still outside celebrating the victory with the fans, Twain was already seated in the lobby of the press conference, waiting for his rival, Mourinho, to arrive.
Mourinho must have been admonishing his players in the locker room at the time. This reminded Twain of the situation after his first game. In the FA Cup, the Forest team had lost to West Ham United. At that time, the West Ham United manager had made him wait alone for a long time at the press conference, until he was so annoyed that he announced the start of the press conference in advance.
But today was different. Mourinho had made him wait here, but he willingly waited because he had won the match and was in a good mood.
There were not many reporters in the press conference hall; instead they crowded in the mixed zone, interviewing the players. Twain was not in a hurry, so he sat and waited. As time passed, more and more reporters came into the hall, and it seemed like the players had returned to the locker room.
At that time, Mourinho also arrived. He sat with a serious expression in the seat next to Twain. The reporters, who had gathered together to chat in groups of twos or threes just now, saw that the two leading subjects had arrived, and hurriedly returned to their seats. The press host also announced the official start of the press conference.
The reporters were not very enthusiastic about the result of the match, but they were very interested in the retaliatory confrontation between the two managers on the sidelines. Almost all of the questions were related to the near-end of the first half, when the two managers had clashed.
Twain did not want to talk much about this issue because he was the winner. He hoped that everyone would focus more on the match results than the silly "one-on-one match between the managers."
Mourinho also refused to answer the question because he was in a bad mood due to his defeat. He ignored the reporters' questions to him and talked directly about the game. "I don't want to talk about the results of the game, I just want to talk about a few points of the game. First of all, it was absolutely unfair for Ferreira to be sent off, I think that there's a high chance that Ribéry was just diving. Don't ask me why, I don't have a reason, but I ask you to go back and watch the game video."
At this point, Twain interjected next to him. "Of course, after watching it a hundred times, you will also think that Ferreira's red card was a result of his own actions." When he said this, he did not look at Mourinho, but instead glanced at a corner of the room. It was obvious that he disregarded Mourinho.
The expression on Mourinho's face grew even darker. The reporters were thrilled. Is there going to be a repeat performance of the scene on the sidelines?
But they were disappointed. Mourinho clenched his jaw and pretended not to hear Twain. He continued. "Secondly, I suggest that the English Football Association consider a penalty for the deliberate action of wasting time in the game."
"Well, first you'd need to have a lawsuit for one year to prove someone's 'deliberate action of wasting time in the game.'"
It was as if these two men were in a debate. One stated a remark, the other returned with another remark. Twain deliberately interjected Mourinho's speech, and Mourinho intentionally ignored Twain.
"Thirdly, it was only a victory for a game, it doesn't prove anything. We lost this game, but we're still a strong contender for the league title. As for the Forest team, I sincerely hope that I'll still see them in the Premier League next season." He could ignore it all he wanted, but his fury within could not be concealed any longer. Mourinho had finally targeted the attack directly at Twain's team.
"Ah, are you talking about the Champions League?" Twain smiled. "I also hope I can see Chelsea there."
Mourinho got up directly from his seat, and the reporters' cameras were flashing wildly.
What were they anticipating? Of course, it was Mourinho, unable to endure any longer, punching Tony Twain, and then the two managers quickly punching each other's lights out in full view of everyone. The newspapers, on the radio, on the television, on the internet the next day… All the media would be broadcasting the sensational affair. The English Football Association would be the one with the headache, but the media and readers would be thrilled.
However, to their disappointment, Mourinho did not swing his fist at Twain. Instead, he turned and left the scene of the press conference, leaving behind Twain to do his one-man show.
Twain was not embarrassed by the sudden departure of Mourinho. In fact, he had expected that this would happen. Mourinho was a conceited man. When faced with his repeated provocations, it was not possible for him to just sit there, answer questions, and pretend to play nice with a person he disliked. Think about how he treated Arsène Wenger.
Therefore, Twain was completely unaffected by Mourinho's early departure, and did not complain about the other man's manners like he once had with the West Ham United manager Glenn Roeder.
He looked down at the group of stunned reporters and said with a smile, "Firstly, I want to make clear that I don't wish to see you define this game as 'an upset.' Any mention of 'an upset' in your questions, and I will directly refuse to answer. It's a normal outcome for whoever won the match between us and Chelsea. And I think that even if we win against Manchester United, Arsenal, and Liverpool, it's still not an upset. Because we have the strength, it's just that you never knew it. Well, gentlemen, do you have anything you want to ask?"
No one immediately raised their hands to ask questions. The media were obviously shocked by the performance of these two idiosyncratic managers and forgot what they were here for. There was a loud buzzing in the press conference hall.
Twain sat on the platform, not caring if no one asked him a question. On the contrary, he looked at the scene in front of him with satisfaction.