If You Hate Me
If You Hate Me
No one was willing to sit properly on the benches. As soon as they entered the room, they took off their drenched jerseys and tossed them on the floor. They jumped around the locker room, either naked or just in their underpants as if they were a bunch of drunken monkeys.
"WOOOOOOW---" Rooney even jumped on a table with drinks and other miscellaneous stuff on it and let out a long yell with his head thrown back.
"4:0! 4:0! 4:0! Four, oh!" The teammates below were chanting the final score of the game in unison as they splashed him with water.
"I've never played such a smashing game! It's so f**king sweet!" Even though he was drenched from head to toe, Michael Johnson did not care either. He wiped the water off his face and shouted at Chris Cohen next to him.
Despite the fact that Twain and the members of the coaching staff were in the locker room, the players did not stop their frenzied celebrations. There were even people who splashed water at the coaches, making them look like wet dogs.
Twain did not speak up to stop it. Instead, he happily stood at the door and looked at the players making a scene. However, he was careful to hide behind Des Walker to dodge a "stray bullet."
What was the saying for it?
"You can hide for the present, but you can't run forever."
Poor Tony Twain was still spotted by the sharp-eyed players. The strong and tall combination of Rooney and Mitchell rushed up to pull Twain out from behind Walker, and then everyone swarmed up and poured water on Twain's head. They finally let off some steam. This would show the boss for looking down on them before the game. Look at the results now - 4:0! 4 for England and 0 for France, the team that Twain said was the strongest!
"Well, guys... Enough!" Twain felt chilly from being drenched but luckily, it was summer, and not the World Cup in South Africa. Otherwise, he would definitely catch a cold outside. The players ignored Twain's plea for mercy. They poured the water from all the water bottles in the locker room over his head, leaving him looking like a drowned rat.
After the players dispersed in a rush, everyone saw Tony Twain looking like he had just been fished out of the water and burst into laughter.
Twain wiped the water off his face with his hand. Looking miserably cold with his neck curled against his shoulders, he gave the players a stern glare. Nevertheless, no one was scared of such a boss because his current appearance was so comical.
There was even a distinct smile on George Wood's face. Those who had a lively temper were bent over with laughter on the floor.
Twain stared at those people who laughed the hardest and said, "Look what you guys have done! How am I supposed to go to the press conference?"
There was another burst of laughter.
Amid the sounds of laughter, Twain's expression also changed, from pretending to be angry into a helpless smile, and finally a wide grin, revealing a row of white teeth. He smiled very brightly.
"You did great, guys. I'm sorry to have made you feel bad before the game. The whole English media scolded me for not having confidence in my team. Actually, it was not a lack of confidence. It was a strategy to make the French opponent underestimate us. And now... does everyone see the results?" He clapped his hands and was pleased to see the surprised expressions on the many faces of the players.
He laughed in an even happier manner.
"All right, let's put aside what happened and enjoy the night to the fullest. That's the reward you've won! After tonight, forget this game. You have to face challenges that are even more serious. We are only two games away from being the kings of Europe. I will not allow you to fall until you touch the championship trophy! Listen well, before you win the championship title, tonight is your last chance to relax. So, enjoy it to the utmost!"
Having said that, Twain took Des Walker along with him and walked out of the locker room.
He only saw Twain wiping the water from his head with a towel he had brought out, while he reached out to him.
"What's the matter, Tony?" Walker was puzzled.
Twain stuffed the used towel into Walker's hands and said, "Your clothes, take them off quickly."
"You want me to undress? Here?" Walker turned his head and looked around, feeling a little awkward.
"I'm not asking you to strip naked. What are you thinking? I'm in a hurry to go to the press conference, and in fact, I'm already late... I can't go, dressed like this." He did not know whether to laugh or cry as he pointed to his suit, which had been ravaged by water.
It would indeed be an insult to the winner's status if he were to be dressed like this to meet the reporters.
Walker laughed and obediently took off his jacket to hand it over to Twain while he took Twain's suit at the same time.
"Do your best, Tony. You're the winner!" He said to Twain, who was now wearing his clothes.
"Of course. When have you seen me make the loser feel good?" Twain winked at Walker and walked out wearing Walker's suit.
"Damn, I've been working so hard and yet I've put on weight," Walker laughed happily after hearing Twain muttering to himself.
※※※
The French team manager was being interviewed when Twain rushed to the press conference hall. However, it was almost at the tail end. The French reporters were rather dejected. Even so, someone had to be responsible for the fiasco. Seated on stage, Claude Puel naturally became the target of public criticism – holding all the good cards in his hands, he did not know how to play them. As a result, Tony Twain won, and Puel remained looking like an idiot.
When Twain saw Puel at the press conference, he was already exhausted by the flurry of questions from the French reporters.
"...I'm responsible for this loss..." Puel glanced at Twain, who stood waiting at the entrance. The expression on his face changed and very soon returned to normal. He said, "However, I will not resign unless the French Football Federation sacks me. I think the achievements of my team over more than two years are obvious to all. Football matches are always full of all kinds of surprises..." Seeing Twain, Puel suddenly felt energized and spoke more quickly. The press conference, which was due to end, was extended.
"I'm proud and pleased with the lads' performance. We were just unlucky."
The corners of Twain's lips curled up as he listened from below: judging by this game alone, the French players' performance did not deserve the slightest bit of pride and dignity. They did not lose because of bad luck.
"I repeat, I will not resign. I am satisfied with my work. My contract will run until the end of the 18th World Cup and I will stay to work there until then. I think the French team will accomplish much at the World Cup."
After saying his piece, Puel rose angrily from his seat.
Seeing his action, Twain immediately stepped onto the stage, reached out his hand, and intended to shake Puel's. He did not expect Puel to walk off from the other side without even giving him a glance.
The scene surprised the reporters. Claude Puel, who had always lived as an authentic French gentleman and maintained a charming manner, had ignored Twain's invitation to shake hands and rudely walked away.
Twain was shunned in public by Puel, but fortunately, he reacted quickly. He shrugged it off and then sat down. He spoke into the numerous microphones on the table, "Obviously, Mr. Puel is a little flustered and exasperated."
Since the other party did not give him face, he did not have to give him any. He was a lot more skilled than Puel when it came to humiliating people.
"I understand how he feels at this moment. I am sorry for even trying to shake his hand just now. As an authentic English gentleman, I shouldn't have appeared in front of him to provoke him. For that, I'm guilty."
Although they were unhappy with Puel's last words, they were still fellow countrymen, and no French reporter could keep smiling in the face of Twain's blatant taunts. Although they had roundly abused Twain before the game, adhering to the principle of "everything is okay once the game is won", the English reporters were all laughing especially happily. Some people even applauded Twain.
Having led the team to a 4:0 win over France, it could be predicted that Tony Twain's popularity in England would be unmatched. It would be wise to say good things about him at this time.
Only The Sun asked why Twain had thought the France team was better than England before the game, when in fact it was proven that France was not as good as England. This question caused the faces of the French reporters to look grim again.
Uncharacteristically, Twain did not make things difficult for The Sun reporter this time. Instead, he grinned and said, "That was just a trick of mine before the game. More than two thousand years ago, China's great military expert, Sun Tzu, once said: there can never be too much deception in war. It applies to football as well."
The Chinese reporters present were thrilled to hear Twain mention Sun Tzu's Art of War, but they were no longer surprised. Now the whole world was aware that Twain could speak Mandarin and loved China.
The British reporters finally understood Twain's actions. Although such a trick was not used for the first time in the world of football, Tony Twain was definitely top of the list for having acted so realistically and being so committed.
The faces of the French reporters looked even worse at this point. It turned out that Twain's praises for them before were all false and meant only to deceive them. How could they endure the humiliation? It was as if a man declared his love for a woman just to trick her into sleeping with him and take her money before leaving.
Tony Twain played upon their feelings. For the French people, it caused extreme shame and humiliation.
A young French reporter stood up impulsively, trying to regain the last trace of dignity for the failed French team.
"Mr. Twain, don't you think it's very rude of you to say that? To be honest, I had disliked you before, but your words before the game made me decide to change my mind about you. I thought maybe I was wrong and that you were a nice person. Now, however, I want to take back my naive thoughts! A person like you..." He pointed to Twain's nose while his lips trembled, and he did not know what to say.
The young man's impulsive behavior surprised everyone present, except that different people had different surprised reactions. Everyone looked at the young man differently. The French reporters were surprised while at the same time felt some admiration and delight. They certainly thought that the impulsive and reckless young reporter had said what they wanted to say but did not dare to, which gave vent to their frustration. His courage was commendable, and his actions must have made Twain feel very embarrassed. Let us take a look at how Tony Twain is going to respond to this brave man's charges, they thought.
The English reporters were surprised as well as angry at the French reporter's action. Now that Twain was England's national treasure and hero, shouldn't the French have more respect? Was this reporter's attitude equal to having a go at England? Who do you think you are, boy? You accuse Twain of being rude. Shouldn't you take a look at how impolite you are being with your action of standing up and blaming others? Thus the British reporters thought. However, they were not too worried about Twain because they knew that as someone who was cursed and abused by other people every day, Twain must have a wealth of experience in dealing with such a sudden scene.
The reporters from other countries were thrilled. First, it was a face-to-face clash between France and England. A brave young man who openly challenged the authority of the world's famous manager, like Don Quixote, who carried a lance to meet with the windmills head-on. Second, Tony Twain paid the price for his previous hubris, and now how would he end it? Third, whatever the outcome was, they would benefit from it! A good show like a face to face clash between a reporter and a team manager was not staged every day. Come on, come on! Let the anger burn!
The young Frenchman who accused Twain was still standing, feeling somewhat superior, which gave the young Frenchman the illusion that he was the only hero here who dared to confront the King of the Great Demons. While his colleagues had their heads between their legs, quaking in fear, only he stood up to the challenge. Even if the demon king was a hundred times taller than he was, and the great shadow descended from the sky to overwhelm him completely, he was not afraid. Moreover, what he stretched out was not a finger, but a sharp sword, pointing directly at the heart of the king with the blade slightly quivering and flashing a chilling brilliance.
The evil demon king, Tony Twain, was on stage, looking at the French reporter who stood up and accused him. However, he did not angrily shout "Security! Where's the security?" Instead, he looked at the other party and smiled.
The chilliness of the smile suppressed the righteous indignation of the young French man, making him feel a little cold.
Twain pulled back his lips to reveal a row of white teeth. In the eyes of the young man, it was the ferocious mouth of a predator with the broken body of the French team hanging from its fangs and saliva dripping over it, which was disgusting.
"Young man, I have a phrase which I want to share with you." Twain did not abuse him directly, but rather, the look of his smiling face seemed benevolent. And what he said was surprising. What did he mean by "sharing?" Someone had scolded him, so why was he being so nice? Furthermore, listening to his tone, it sounded like he was proud of his age and experience and intended to pass on some magnificent pearls of wisdom.
"First of all, I want to explain that I have never wanted to win your heart and favor. You have misunderstood me on this point. I regret and apologize for the misunderstanding caused." Twain got up, which was a precursor to his departure.
"Next ... I have something to share with you, young man. The most important thing in life is not what you want to do or what you get, but sticking to your principles. Nothing is more important than that." Twain repeatedly used the words 'young man' to give the other party a lesson, which confused people. What was it about sticking to principles? Where was this heading? Besides, what principles was he insisting on? What did this have to do with the young man's accusations?
Fortunately, Twain solved the mystery very quickly.
"If you hated me before, then please hate me now, too. If you hate me now, then please hate me in the future. Thank you."
After saying this, Twain smiled at the young man and then waved to the reporters who were shocked by the remark. He turned and walked away. He disappeared out of the door before anyone could react.
It was a while before the reporters in the room responded. Suddenly it all boiled over like a heated frying pan.
"What did that bastard mean?!"
"Who does he think he is? I've been at L'Équipe for thirty years, interviewed countless superstar managers, and no one was as arrogant and condescending as he is! Maradona? Cruyff? Beckenbauer? No one acts like he does!"
The people who ranted were the French.
A few English reporters who understood French sneered, "That's because you haven't met him in 30 years, mate."
Other English reporters clapped their hands in applause for Twain. As the winner, such a scene was so cool! No wonder Pierce Brosnan said that as long as he was in the same trench as Twain, he would be confident of victory. Now the English reporters thought Twain was extremely admirable.
The neutral media were just enjoying themselves as they watched the lively scene and were full of praises for Twain's performance at the end.
A group of Chinese reporters gathered to discuss Twain's previous performance, and the topic quickly changed from Twain's reference to Sun Tzu's Art of War to the last sentence: "If you hated me before, then please hate me now, too. If you hate me now, then please hate me in the future."
"Look what he said, it was so impressive! Although it did not contain a dirty word and his attitude was very kind, it made people feel that he just gave the Frenchman a slap in the face! That's so cool!"
"Yeah, yeah! This is the art of language!" A few years ago, due to the then moronic French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, the Sino-French relations were very tense, and many people in China had developed an unfavorable attitude toward France as a result. Hearing Twain insult the French media, the Chinese reporters felt happy.
"It's a pity he can't come to China to coach," someone suddenly sighed.
"Are you crazy? What could he get out of going there? Stop dreaming!" He was immediately awakened from his daydream by someone next to him. "If he really came to China, he would be a fool..."
"What if he is a fool?"
"Then we wouldn't want him!" The same man answered earnestly.
"But I think it would be great. . . We are short of such a big mouth in our football. Let him come to give some people slaps in the face. I think that would be so cool..."
The colleagues next to him all shook their heads and ignored him. The man was hopeless.
However, an irrepressible memory emerged in everyone's mind.
Eight years ago, Twain took his wife to China for a visit and accepted an interview from Tang Jing, the then star reporter of Titan Sports. The content of that interview did not appear in any media but was well known to the world. This was certainly thanks to Tang Jing's move to choose to resign to make it public. However, this was not the important part. Rather, it was Twain's words. Even thinking about it now, one would feel stirred up. Everyone who had verbally taunted his colleague's naivety had to admit how he felt when reading the interview at the time, the panic and excitement, surprise and helplessness. Although they had to please the upper management and write articles to attack Twain after the matter to submit their work, every Chinese reporter who still cared about and loved Chinese football, would give a big thumbs-up in their hearts to the British man who had nothing to do with China.
Twain was the man, a real man with nerves of steel!