This time, Crouch even had a Sporting CP player marking him by his side. The opportunity did not look too good. However, Crouch having someone marking him so closely seemed to be forcing him to perform at his best. He suppressed his opponent with his towering body and a swipe of his long leg.
“GOAL! GOAL! GOAL! Crouch, who had wasted several chances, finally gets ahold of this one. He scores a crucial point! Nottingham Forest takes back the lead!”
Crouch was incredibly excited after he scored. Despite knowing that the value of victory in this match was not all that high, especially since their opponents had already gotten two away goals in, he was still happy to be able to win. This win was for Eastwood and for George Wood. It was a match that they had to win for their teammates.
He had not even taken two steps before being pulled down by Viduka. Following that, more of his teammates swarmed over and piled atop them, their faces all twisted from the excitement.
At the moment that the ball flew through Sporting CP’s goalposts, a long-suppressed outburst of cheers erupted from Tang En’s side.
“That was damn beautiful!” Even Kerslake, who usually refrained from cursing, could not help but swear. It was easy to imagine their level of excitement.
While Tang En himself was not as excited, he was still overjoyed by the goal. He stood and gave a thumbs-up to Crouch. His thoughts were the same as those of the players. If this was merely about advancing into the quarterfinals, they were no longer that hopeful after having played to a draw. The team had no reason to risk so much, running their bodies haggard with the risk of injury. But they all knew the true meaning behind the victory of this match.
Honestly, as the manager, he should be more utilitarian. But Tang En very much liked the feeling of being one with the team, working hard together in pursuit of a victory even if it appeared meaningless. Although professional football was ultimately about profit, wasn’t it also meaningful to occasionally play a match like this? Tang En keenly felt that only such a team would have a future to envision. It was because they were an inseparable team.
※※※
Forest was leading once again. The cheers that arose in the stadium continued for ten minutes straight.
In the face of the loss of a ball, Sporting CP’s manager, José Peseiro, was not in the least bothered. After all, he had already gotten two away goals.
Just like that, the match progressed to its end without any more surprises. While Forest’s players were collectively thanking their fans in the stadium, Tang En left the area and headed towards the location of the press conference.
As a manager who had held in his temper fairly well earlier, this was where the fun began.
It was not only he who knew this. The reporters and their keen noses knew it too. After quickly wrapping up the interviews in the common area, everyone had swiftly taken their spots in the press conference hall, waiting for it to begin.
When José Peseiro arrived, the press officer announced the commencement of the press conference. Countless hands shot up immediately.
No one cared about how the match’s results would impact Forest’s pursuit of the UEFA Europa League or Nani’s breakthrough performance. Everyone was only concerned about the two injuries and one red card that had appeared in this match.
Peseiro’s expression was grim when he took his place at the press conference. The joy from scoring two goals on an away match had all but vanished after hearing about Rochemback’s injury.
According to the preliminary examination by the team doctors, Rochemback’s injury was most likely to be a ligament tear in his ankle. After hearing this, the smile on his face completely disappeared. As a manager who was constantly in contact with football and its associated injuries, he knew exactly what it meant for a player to get a ligament tear.
For this season, Rochemback was finished.
As a result, he spoke nothing about the results of the match during the press conference or if it made him happy. Instead, he jabbed his fingers towards Nottingham, Tony Twain, and George Wood.
“…I think that the foul by Forest’s number 13 was an extremely unethical and dirty play. He needs to suffer a heavier penalty for it! That was completely…”
Peseiro had not even finished his criticism when he was interrupted by Tony Twain beside him. “I think there’s a need for me to remind Mr. José Peseiro of something. If Rochemback had received a red card after fouling against Eastwood, he wouldn’t have gotten injured. No one would have gone looking for trouble with him in the away locker room. Rather than criticising my player, shouldn’t you be reprimanding the main referee for this match? Of course, if you must keep criticizing my players, I would like to trouble you to first lecture Fábio Rochemback, your own player. Currently, Eastwood is still lying in hospital, and I have no news of the severity of his condition. Can I ask, Mr. Peseiro…” Tang En swiveled his head to glare at his opponent, suddenly raising his voice, “What are you angry about?!”
“That- that was just an accident. Such accidents will occur from time to time in a football match. That can’t become an excuse for your player to maliciously violate Rochemback!
“Very well, then. Regarding George Wood’s foul, I feel extremely sorry. I’m sure that was just an accident that we did not want to see, right? Such accidents occur from time to time in a football match. Surely, there’s no reason to feel angry because of it. I’ll ask the same question, Mr. Peseiro. What on earth are you angry about?”
Watching the confrontation of the two managers who had begun arguing back and forth without heed to their audience, the media kept their silence. They were all watching a good show. No one tried raising their hands to ask questions; that would only disrupt the ongoing dramatics.
Tang En’s retort left Peseiro without any response. Realising that the situation was not going well, the press officer made a move to end the highly-reactive press conference ahead of time. However, Tang En raised a hand to stop him.
“Allow Mr. Peseiro to finish venting his anger. You can’t stop him from speaking, can you? Mr. Peseiro, what are you angry about? Don’t you feel that it is very, very normal for your player to intentionally violate my player, that it’s something that ‘occur from time to time in a football match?’ Yet, when an opponent fouls your player, it’s unethical, dirty, and should be severely punished?”
Tang En continued pressing him, his barrage of questions causing Peseiro to sweat.
“I am truly sorry about George Wood’s foul. I believe that he definitely, definitely did not mean to do it. After all, no one on the field would purposely try to violate a stranger that they don’t have a grudge against, right?” Tang En purposefully emphasized heavily on “don’t have a grudge,” making the sarcasm painfully obvious.
“I don’t know if Mr. Peseiro has ever heard of the phrase, double standards. I think that your earlier performance gave it an excellent definition. You have flawlessly explained to our current audience what makes a double standard. Oh, dear. In fact, I should have spoken first in today’s press conference. In that case, I would surely have pronounced Fábio Rochemback’s foul to be extremely unethical, supremely dirty, and deserving of a more severe punishment. That way, you could have used my words against me. You were too anxious, Mr. Peseiro. As for Rochemback and his injury, I believe he had the same realization when he acted against Eastwood. What goes around, comes around.”
After saying this, Tang En stood and said to the reporters below the stage, “Everyone, despite Sporting CP having scored two away goals, we are greatly overjoyed about our victory. That is especially true after the situations that cropped up. I am tremendously proud of my players and team. I am also proud that Forest has such great fans. Thank you, everyone. Today’s press conference will end here. Thank you and goodbye!”
Once again, he prematurely left the scene… Or perhaps not; he had already announced the end of the press conference.