Greedy
Greedy
George Wood's return to the national team attracted a horde of reporters to the scene. The press and the fans all wanted to see how Wood's injury had recovered so far. Everyone's hearts would sink if Wood appeared before them wearing slippers and walking on crutches.
The moment Wood's manager, Billy Woox, parked his Bentley car outside the Colney training base, crowds of reporters rushed towards it. The security guards tried their hardest to hold the reporters back, but they could not stop them from firing off their cameras at Wood.
George Wood got out of the car with his head lowered. Everyone's eyes were on his right foot, and they all sighed in relief collectively when they saw him walk out in a pair of Nike sneakers.
George Wood did not turn around to retrieve a pair of crutches from within. He simply got out of the car and stood before the crowd.
Woox got out of the car as well and walked over to the trunk to retrieve Wood's luggage. The sight of Wood's luggage meant that Wood would be following the team over to Spain and that he would not be continuing his treatment at home.
The security guards felt the force behind their backs increase significantly, and they knew that they could not hold back the crowd much longer. The security guards were like a dam, and the crazy reporters and fans were just like a body of water that kept pounding against them. Countless microphones and cameras went past or above the security guards' heads, and they were all aimed at Wood.
"George! How is your injury?"
"Are you able to walk now?"
"What about running?"
"Are you sure you can recover in time for the Euro Cup?"
"George! George! The 'St. George Fan Club' wishes you a speedy recovery! Can you talk to us for a bit?"
"Mr. Wood…"
The security guards tried painstakingly to maintain order at the scene. Their defense would definitely crumble if the people behind them launched another attack. Fortunately for them, a voice rescued them from their predicament.
"If you guys continue to push like that, I can guarantee that you will definitely step on George's right toe."
A voice that sounded like it came from a loudspeaker boomed from behind. The voice was so loud that it could be heard clearly even in the noisiest of environments.
Everyone stopped pushing forward the moment they heard the voice. It was as though the voice had enchanted them. The crowd turned around to look at the source of the voice.
Tony Twain stood behind them, with a bullhorn in one hand. His face was glum as he stared at the crowd.
It was at that moment that everyone knew it was time to leave.
The crowd that had gathered around Wood began to disperse, and the security guards finally heaved a sigh of relief. Their uniforms were drenched in sweat, and there were even black palm prints left by others on their shirts.
There was a hint of a smile on Wood's face when he saw Twain.
Similarly, Twain's face lit up when he saw Wood.
Billy Woox passed the luggage in his hands over to Wood. He then waved at Twain before getting back into his car. Twain tossed his bullhorn into the hands of one of the security guards and strode towards Wood.
The press thought that Twain was going to shake Wood's hand. They did not expect to see Twain embrace Wood instead.
Twain hugged Wood tightly. He was afraid that he would run away like before.
Twain had known that Wood would show up for the national team's training session the day before. Doctor Wallace had called him personally to inform him that Wood was fit enough to follow the team over to Spain. He also told Twain that Wood still had to continue with his rehabilitation even while in Spain and that he had gotten the team doctor to pay extra attention to Wood.
However, Twain could not truly be at ease without seeing Wood with his own eyes. He was afraid that he would go to sleep and wake up to a phone call from Doctor Wallace telling him that Wood had to miss out on the Euro Cup entirely because he had picked up a second injury by accidentally wedging his big toe in the drain while taking a shower…
The aforementioned scenario might sound ludicrous, but it wasn't like it had never happened before.
It was great that Wood had returned to the team. Twain felt the stress inside of him decrease significantly as he no longer had to answer any questions from the press about whether or not Wood would make it to the Euro Cup. Wood's return would also bring about a calming effect on the team that was currently in a state of unrest, as it signified that the backbone of their team was back.
"Welcome back to the team, George," Twain whispered in Wood's ear, as he held him in his arms.
※※※
Wood's return to the national team made headlines across numerous newspapers, and it also helped to reduce the insecurities of the England fans a little. There was now hope that Wood would be able to play in games soon, even though the national team had announced during a press conference that Wood was still not able to join in the national team's training or handle a ball at his foot just yet.
The very first match of the Euro Cup would be played on June 9th, and England would play in their first match on June 12th. There were still 12 days left till their first Euro Cup match. There was still a chance that Wood would be fit by the match.
George Wood indicated that he was feeling good during his interviews. He believed that participating in the Euro Cup would not be an issue for him.
However, his condition was actually not as good as he thought. On the afternoon of his return to the national team, Twain called Wood over after the training session had ended. He then carried out a secret experiment on Wood with the team doctors, and they found out that Wood was still in a lot of pain over his injury to his right big toe. He was unable to use any force when running or touching the ball.
The results of the experiment left Twain with furrowed brows, because they showed that Wood's condition had not improved. Wood had most likely chosen to return to the national team just to calm everyone down…
In the end, Wood could only continue with his rehabilitation in the pool.
The next day, Wood flew over to Barcelona with the team. England had chosen Barcelona as the city for their training because their first match would be held at the Camp Nou stadium.
The beauty of Barcelona could not improve Twain's mood. He had already formulated his tactics for the upcoming games, and the team had been practicing those tactics all this while, but a big issue was that all those tactics had been devised on the premise that George Wood would be playing. For the past month or so, however, Twain had had to train the team on how to play without Wood on the team. He would only show the press 15 minutes of the team doing meaningless warm-ups every day. He did not show them any of the actual training that the team was going through.
Twain noticed that there were several German reporters outside the training grounds every time he allowed the press to observe the team's training sessions. He believed that the reporters were there to gather information for their national team because that was exactly what the British reporters would do. Some of the reporters who were close to Twain would deliberately collect information that would benefit the English team when covering stories about the training sessions done by other countries, and they would then pass that information on to Twain.
What the German reporters were most interested in was the status of George Wood's injury. They knew that Wood was the core player of the England team, and that the England team was very different without Wood. They all smiled in relief when they saw that George Wood was the only player jogging in the corner when the team gathered together to do their warm-ups. It looked like the injury to his toe had yet to fully recover.
On June 5th, George Wood trained with a ball for the first time in front of the public. Despite the fact that the training session was only open to the press for 15 minutes, the training ground still teemed with reporters from all over the world.
Wood performed dribbles and passes before the press during his training session. It did not seem like he was still suffering from a toe injury.
The British cheered at the sight. In contrast, the Germans were a little depressed.
However, none of them knew that things were not what they seemed.
※※※
Doctor Wallace flew over from England to Barcelona just to perform a thorough examination of Wood's right big toe. Thereafter, he spoke to Twain privately about the matter.
With only seven days left till England's first match in the Euro Cup, this conversation between Doctor Wallace and Twain could determine whether Wood would be able to play in the Euro Cup or not.
"Wood wouldn't be able to play in any games right now based on his current condition." Wallace got straight to the point and did not beat around the bush.
Twain was not surprised by Wallace's words. He only furrowed his brows even more deeply.
"He needs to be careful when practicing with the ball, too."
"Can you give me the exact time in which you think he'd fully recover, Doctor?" This was the only thing that Twain cared about.
Wallace had clearly mulled over that issue for a long time, so he was able to respond to Twain's question without a second thought. "He definitely won't be able to play in the match against Portugal. As for the match against Wales, it'll depend on how well he is recovering until then." He paused for a moment before continuing, "I think the safest thing to do is to not let Wood play in any of the group stage matches."
"Are you saying that he'll be able to play in games during the knockout stages?"
"There's a high possibility that he'll be able to play then."
Twain went deep into thought.
The group that England was in was not made up of weak opponents. Germany and Portugal were both strong teams, and Wales was also a force to be reckoned with. Wales had successfully qualified for the Euro Cup for the first time 40 years, and the team was currently brimming with confidence and fight. They could become the dark horse in the competition.
Could England make it out of this 'group of death' in one piece without George Wood? Could they forge a path ahead for themselves?
Twain still didn't know for sure if his team was capable enough to accomplish that.
Wallace discerned Twain's worries. He said, "If you think that this all sounds very risky, you can substitute him for another player right now. After all, I can't guarantee you that he won't pick up another injury during the knockout stages, either. Also, a bigger concern is his form. He hasn't played in a match for quite some time, and he hasn't trained with the team recently, either. It might not be a good idea to play a player like him whose form remains in doubt."
Wallace's words were exactly what Twain was thinking. His two greatest concerns were Wood's injury and form.
Wood had yet to recover from his injury to his toe. In addition, no one knew if he would be able to play at the same level that he had prior to his injury.
Wood was the core of the team every time he played. But, if the core is not in good form... It could lead to disastrous outcomes for the team.
All in all, this was an extremely risky bet to make.
Wallace understood that Twain had to think things through carefully because there were too many things that he needed to consider. He took his leave quietly after saying what he had to say. The press surrounded him the moment he stepped out of the training grounds. They wanted him to talk about what he had discussed with Twain earlier.
"We were discussing Wood's injury, but I can't give you any details. I'm sorry."
He then climbed into his car, a little wearily, before driving off.
※※※
There were indeed many factors preventing Twain from coming up with a decision on the matter. Firstly, he needed to consider the impact that his decision would bring on Wood's professional career. Would it be positive? Or would it be negative? Secondly, he needed to consider whether Wood's injury would really heal by the knockout stages, as Wallace had predicted. Thirdly, he needed to think about Wood's current form. Wood had either been recuperating or training alone lately, so it was difficult to tell how well or how badly he was playing. Lastly, he also needed to think about the team's results for the Euro Cup. This was a very important factor that couldn't be ignored. What kind of results would the England team achieve if they dropped Wood completely from the team? If they were to insist on keeping Wood on the team, what kind of influence would that have on their results?
This wasn't just about choosing between a player's professional career and glory… If that had been the case, Twain would have definitely been much more relaxed about having to make the decision.
With the Euro Cup just around the corner, Twain decided to talk to Wood regarding the issue once more. This could be the last chance for him to come to a decision on the matter. He had to make a decision, no matter what the outcome might be. He didn't want the issue to remain at the forefront of his mind until the 8th of June.
※※※
Wood climbed out of the pool. He wiped off the water droplets from his face and saw Twain squatting before him.
"How are you feeling?" Twain asked.
"I'm feeling good," Wood replied.
"I'm feeling really vexed right now, George." Twain passed a towel over to Wood, as he had just climbed out of the pool.
Wood did not respond to Twain. He dried his hair with the towel before sitting down at the side of the pool beside Twain.
"I spoke to Doctor Wallace earlier. He told me that you won't be able to play in the group stages based on your current condition. This means that England would need to make its way into the knockout stages before you even have a chance of playing. But, I'm a little worried about the group stages…"
"It won't be a problem." Wood cut Twain off abruptly.
"Huh? What's not a problem?"
"The team won't have a problem getting past the group stages."
Twain nodded his head. If Wood said there was no problem, then it was most likely true. "All right, then. What do you think of your current form?"
Wood answered Twain honestly. "I don't know. I haven't played in a game for a while. I don't know how well or how badly I'd play right now."
"I bet your feet have gone rusty after so many days of not playing football, huh?"
Wood rotated his ankles and shook his head. "Not really."
Twain smiled.
"George, actually, we still have the World Cup…"
"I know. But I want to win the Euro Cup too." Wood was being quite greedy.
This time, Twain broke into a laugh at Wood's response. He rocked back and forth as he laughed, and it nearly caused him to fall into the pool.
"You're so greedy, George!"
"Don't tell me you don't want to win the Euro Cup?" Wood asked.
Twain grinned. "Greed is my favorite sin."
The pair went quiet for a moment before Twain asked, "George, do you really want to participate in the Euro Cup?"
"Yes."
"This decision comes with a lot of risks. It's almost a gamble."
Wood did not respond. He waited for Twain to continue.
"I kept telling the press that you'd make it for the Euro Cup, but I think I have to confess to them now that that's not true."
Wood furrowed his brows. He had a bad feeling about what Twain was going to say next.
"My actions would put immense stress on me and the team. But I hope that you can prove to them that what I did wasn't for naught. Do you remember what I said when you were in the hospital? I said I'd bring you to Spain as long as you could recover in time." Twain looked at Wood. "Doctor Wallace told me that you'd recover by the knockout stages, and that would mean that you'd have to miss out on three of the group stage matches before you could play in a game. Still, I can't guarantee that you won't get into an accident during that time, and I also don't know if you'd be able to play in a match when we get to the knockout stages either. It's possible that you might not have fully recovered by then, and it's also possible that you might be in poor form… Despite all that, do you want to stay on the team?"
Wood nodded. "I want to stay."
Twain clapped his hands. "All right, I've made up my mind. We'll participate in the Euro Cup together. I'll give you three group stage matches to get yourself fit. I hope you'll be back in the team by the quarter-finals."
"If I don't recover in time, I'll just get a cortisone shot before the game."
Twain smiled. He felt a weight being lifted off his shoulders as he stroked Wood's wet hair. He had to face whatever might come his way after he made this decision.
However, he wasn't worried about what would happen to him in the future at all, because it was a decision that he'd made of his own accord. No one forced him to make the decision, and no one begged him to make a decision that he didn't wish to make, either. So, what was there to worry about?
"I want to become champions of the Euro Cup, and I also want a healthy George." Twain winked at Wood. "Don't you think I'm even more greedy than you?"