The Reveal
The Reveal
After the Latin-inspired opening ceremony, the host, Spain, started the opening match with Belgium.
La Liga was known for its offense, and the Spanish national team's style was a level above their league. The European Cup in Spain also seemed to be a ceremonial display of offensive football.
The opening battle of the past European Cups always gave off an impression of dullness, with both sides playing with great caution for fear of making mistakes. But this time, at Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid, Spain and Belgium put on a great offensive show.
In the end, Spain was better in terms of technique, beating Belgium by a score of 3:1 to get the first win of the group. Spanish striker Bojan scored the first goal of the tournament, while Belgium's Axel Witsel was shown the first yellow card
The 80,000-person-capacity Bernabeu stadium was filled to the maximum as fans witnessed the launch of Spain's new invincible fleet, which they hoped would once again dominate Europe on their own soil.
On the next day, June 10, the European Cup was in full swing. In the first round of each of the strong teams, they did not face any significant opponents as they effortlessly achieved their respective victories.
As the European Cup had expanded, the rules to leave the group stage had also been adjusted. Twenty-four teams were divided into six groups, with four teams in each group. The first two teams from each group would immediately leave the group, while the third of the four best-performing groups would advance as well, bringing together 16 teams to play in the quarterfinals.
With this modification, the competition for the group stage would not be as intense as before, because as long as your team could get the third place in the best-performing group, it could still qualify for the knockout stages. Other than the stronger teams, which were aiming for the first position of each group, most of the middle-tier teams were more pragmatic in terms of their goals and were aiming for the middle positions.
It was only those groups who were supposed to be competitive which were still intensely competing with each other, like the "group of death".
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"Portugal's weakness is the back. " Twain was conducting his strategy lessons for his team in the conference room; this was the last strategy lesson before the match. If there were any tactics that the team had to use the next day, the players would need to learn them on the day itself.
In fact, each player had a tactics brochure, which was developed by the coaching staff specifically for each individual's characteristics and their respective responsibilities, and distributed to all players. If they were unable to recall, they just needed to look at the booklet to remember the content. However, Twain still needed to personally explain the details from a general perspective.
"The players holding their central line are older, and they move slower than the rest. Pepe is the core of their defense, and even though he's only 33 years old, injuries and age have made him less physically fit than he used to be. Ze Castro's turn is also not as agile. The two wing-backs, Ben Nello on the right and Antoines on the left, are both assisting wing-backs and have a chance to insert, which is also a feature of Portugal's offense. This often creates a situation where their defensive half would always be empty."
Twain drew circles around the Portuguese's full-back.
"We'll use defensive counter-attack to bait their full press, then use agility to charge into those spaces," Twain said as he drew a few arrows from the mid-field of England into the back of the Portuguese's defensive line.
"The Portuguese side offense is effective because they have Ronaldo, Nani, and Quaresma. So I request our wingers don't back down in the game and instead go head-to-head with them." Twain then raised his fist and pumped it. "If you retreat, you'll only let them get their way. Our offense should also make more use of the side flanks, and the wing defenders also need to actively assist the offensive ... We are utilizing the defensive counter-attack, not just defensive and not just counter-attacking. When there are counter-attacking opportunities, both sides must press forward; I don't hope to see a situation where our ball is being passed to the front field while our players haven't even run past the midfield."
Counter-attack was the core reason for Twain's insistence on defense, and if there was not any counter-attacking, there would be no use for a strong defense. They must not lack in either defense or counter-attacking; they could only win the game if they properly utilized both.
"While you're counterattacking, your speed must be fast; it has to be fast. Minimize passing in the midfield whenever possible."
At this point, Twain switched on a projector on the side, and the white curtain showed England's warm-up match against Argentina. George Wood was taking the ball with him, and after running for a while, he passed the ball to Downing on the left. Downing's clean insertion into the opponent's defensive half allowed him to pass by Fazio while he passed back the ball, allowing Wood to shoot the ball powerfully towards the goalmouth.
That was the whole process of England's first goal against Argentina.
"In this goal, we saw the benefits of effectively handling the ball in midfield..." Twain rewound the film of the goal as he explained the process to his players in detail.
"As we were launching our counterattack, Argentina's players were still coming back quickly. If during this time, George Wood had stopped the ball and turned around, raising his head to observe the situation, what would have happened?"
He pressed play the remote control and the frames began to move, then paused when Wood's pass had just passed Mascherano's defense. "Then there would be a good chance that this pass would not be completed successfully."
The clip continued from where it had been paused, at the moment Downing forced his way past Fazio.
"Even if the pass was made, Downing would not be able to pass by Fazio so easily, because there would be an Argentinian defender behind Fazio to protect that space, perhaps a wing-back who returned to his position, or perhaps a central defensive midfielder who came over to assist. But in any case, the probability of success of this particular attack would have been greatly reduced."
"You must remember, counter-attacking is fighting for time against the defending opponents. You can win half the battle if you are able to get the initiative. Don't even stop in midfield at that point. Even if you are unable to bring the ball forward at that moment, just quickly pass it to the players around you, then create the route for the ball yourself by running into position."
"Of course, if the other side's defensive system was maintained better, their speed in returning back to defend would be much faster. Without a great passing position, then there would be no need to fight for speed, and we could decrease our own speed and pass the ball back, while baiting them forward." Twain made a hand gesture, as he illustrated his words on the board.
"Bait them, and then pass the ball decisively forward! Pass the ball into the most dangerous areas!"
"Mitchell, you'll take the position in the front, attract all their defensive attention on you. Rooney and Gerard will hide behind you and wait for the opportunity to insert. You're not a scorer in this game, you're the head of the bridge, understand?" Twain turned towards his disciples from Nottingham Forest.
Aaron Mitchell nodded. As long as it was the arrangement of his head coach, he would not have any opinion even if he were to play center back. The head coach always had his reasons behind any of his arrangements.
"Attract Portugal's defensive firepower, create opportunities for team-mates, and score if you have a good chance yourself. When we are launching our counter-attack, you have to be the first to advance, press the Portuguese defensive line back, and give Wayne Rooney and Gerrard space to insert in their defensive half."
"No problem, coach," Mitchell replied.
"If Portugal focuses on guarding our side when we're in our attacking formation, then the central path will have to assist more. If the Portuguese shrink into the middle road to defend, then pass towards the side flanks."
Either way, there was Mitchell's excellent header, which would dominate the air space even if Portugal felt that there was something wrong and shrank to play a possession game against England, so Twain was not afraid.
He did not utilize the double-speed combination of Agbonlahor and Rooney, as he needed to defend against this point.
"This game we won't play the man-to-man defense; remember how we trapped Argentina's forward attacking line-up? We'll proceed with the same tactics, area defense. After the defensive line intercepts the ball, they'll pass the ball forward, reducing the number of horizontal and return passes. If there aren't any good passing opportunities, Michael Johnson should head back to receive the ball. You're the hub of the midfield."
Twenty-seven-year-old midfielder Michael Johnson, from Tottenham Hotspur, nodded. He was the one Twain had found to be a temporary replacement for Wood. But he was not the only candidate, and in fact, although Gerrard needed to be closer to the opposing team's penalty area, he was able to do Johnson's job when it was necessary. George Wood's incredible running, defensive, and offensive capabilities needed to be split amongst several people, and that was Twain's "non-core strategy." Until now, England's opponents had just needed to find ways to mark George Wood, but today, that wouldn't be enough.
As Twain continued to explain the strategy, George Wood sat in the corner and listened. Really, he did not need to attend the lesson as he was not going to play, so there was no difference whether he listened to the lesson or not. But as the team leader, he still sat there, attentively listening to Twain's tactical arrangement, even if for no other reason than that he just needed to experience the competitive atmosphere.
Now, while listening to the tactical arrangement, watching the clip of the process of the goal, Wood felt like his own body was missing the times when he was healthy.
He was thirsty for competition.
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Tactical meetings were held in the morning. In the afternoon, Twain went to the Nou Camp for a pre-match press conference. He was in attendance at the same time as Portugal coach Queiroz. The media had high expectations for this, because Queiroz was said to be unhappy with Twain back when he was in Manchester United. It was also precisely because Ferguson preferred Twain over Queiroz that he did not end up in as his successor, which was why he chose to coach the Portuguese national team.
Now, he finally had the opportunity to prove in front of the world that he was also a good coach who was not inferior to Twain.
Because of this relationship, Twain felt that the atmosphere was not right when he and Queiroz shook hands.
Queiroz had no smile on his face, Twain also hid his smile.
The two coaches posed for a photo in front of a crowd of reporters with straight faces.
At the start of the press conference, Twain made a startling statement: "I've known Mr. Queiroz for a long time, and we were familiar with each other in the Premier League. A lot of Portuguese players play in the Premier League, and I am familiar with many, such as Nani and Adrian of Manchester United, Danny and Moutinho of Manchester City, Postiga at Middlesbrough, Pepe at AC Milan... I know them very well, so this Portuguese team holds no secret to me. I have great confidence that I'm able to defeat them."
As soon as these words were spoken, there was an uproar in the scene.
Everyone said Tony Twain was a mad man. Today, that title seemed well-earned.
Who would ever express this type of opinion before a match? He was clearly not respecting his opponent at all, and he was also not afraid of agitating his opponent's fighting spirit.
Sure enough, Queiroz's face suddenly sank.
He rebutted, "I've also known Mr. Twain, as we've played against each other in the Premier League. I have great respect for what he has achieved. Other than that, I don't really like him as a person at all. Truth be told, I've actually been in the Premier League for a long time, and I know the England team very well. To tell you the truth, I think Mr. Twain is joking when he said they were very sure they were going to beat us."
After finishing his statement, he laughed. Then came an outburst of laughter from the crowd.
Twain laughed along — this joke was really ridiculous.
He did not continue to embarrass Queiroz. Queiroz saying "I think Mr Twain was joking when he said he was sure they were going to beat us" was already a sign of weakness.
There was no point to completely destroying him.
But he was convinced he has successfully ignited the opponent's firepower. Defensive counter-attack...if he didn't agitate his opponent to go on a full press, how could his side even launch a counter-attack?
The reporters were more concerned about what the England team would do when Wood was away. Twain did not answer such questions.
Whenever there were issues relating to the tactics and formations, he would always find excuses to push them away. If he were forced to answer, he would try to say as little as possible.
There was nothing else significant enough to mention, other than that groundbreaking speech he made in the ten-minute long press conference.
It was Queiroz who was freely talking, as he was unable to compete against Twain.
"We'll try our best to attack, as Portuguese football is equivalent to offensive football."
Twain was laughing secretly by the side; it would be best for him if this occurred.
"If there's no one with injuries or issues, we will be able to send out our strongest roster."
Twain nodded. This way, the roster they sent out would be exactly the same as his predicted one.
"Group of death? Our aim is not just to leave the group; leaving the group is not the problem."
Twain responded to himself internally, "The third team in the best group could also leave the group stage."
...
It went on like this until the end of the press conference, when Twain stood up to shake hands with Queiroz again.
"See you at the game, Mr. Queiroz. "
Queiroz was surprised by Twain's sudden statement. Not waiting for him to respond, Twain had already let go of his hand and turned to walk away.
Queiroz looked at the somewhat arrogant back, his lips pursed.
You won a few championships for the club; are you satisfied, Mr. Twain?
You beat a few weaker teams in the selection matches; you think you can do whatever you want, Mr. Twain?
In the national team field you're just another beginner; let's see how long you can stay this brash!
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Twain did not know how Queiroz was cursing him internally as he took a bath and washed away all the stinking sweat after he returned to his hotel. He changed his clothes and lay down on his bed, talking to Shania on the phone.
He was very relaxed now, and he was not the slightest bit nervous about bringing a national team to participate in a global competition for the first time.
What about the European Cup? I have already won championships until I got sick of it; what type of situations have I not seen?
At the end of the conversation with Shania, he turned over in bed and fell asleep.
He did not dream of his team lifting the championship trophy. Instead, he dreamed that he had a child. She was a lovely girl, looking as attractive and pretty as her mother. When she grew up, she would definitely be quite the looker.
She would naturally stick by Twain, constantly calling him "daddy," but Twain would never get tired of it.
He wouldn't want her to grow up, but he would look forward to her blossoming. He would carry such contradicting emotions watching her grow up and mature day by day.
Even when Twain was woken up for dinner by Walker, there was still a distinct smile on his face.
"Are you in a good mood today, Tony?" Walker asked in the elevator.
"Oh, you can tell?" Twain asked.
"I've once heard it said that you have to see a person's expression right after they got out of bed to properly determine a person's emotion. You're clearly smiling, so…"
Twain laughed again. "I'm in a really good mood because I just had a beautiful dream."
"Did you dream of winning the championship?" Walker could not think of anything else that would make Twain smile after his dream.
Twain shook his head. "No, it was a sweeter dream that would make me even happier than winning the championships."
"And what is that?" Des Walker responded, surprised at that reply.
Twain did not answer. From the smile glued to his face, maybe he was immersed yet again in that dream scene?