446 The Cycle

What was the most commonly used strategy for Nottingham Forest?

Asking ten people, a hundred, or a thousand would still only render one answer.

An unsightly scene, ugly defense, and one or two counterattacks depending on ridiculous luck. The match ends, and Forest wins.

Other than Ribéry's breakthroughs in the flanks, Forest's matches had nothing else going for them.

Majority of neutral fans would stand on Barcelona's side. They hoped to see the representative of artistic football, the team that brought them delight and enjoyment, win. They hoped to use Barcelona's victory to prove that there was still a place where beautiful football lived on within modern football. Or, in other words, hoped that beautiful football could still be restored.

Originally, Tang En had intended on going head-on with Barcelona here. Due to Wood's absence, Forest may not win even if they continued playing reservedly. They might even be cursed at for the ugliness. If they clashed head-on with them, they might have a sliver of hope. However, after the media's stirring up of the "finals between artistic football and utilitarian football," Tang En suddenly changed his mind. Now, he wanted to use the defense that Forest Team was most proficient in to go up against Barcelona. The heavy rain today made him even more certain of his resolution - the field was not suitable for playing with techniques. With their physical advantage, Forest need not try something they were less familiar with and avoid their own advantages.

Even though not having Wood would impact the team's defense, Forest did not get to where it was today solely based on Wood's performance. Pepe and Piqué both revealed their respective talents and abilities. In addition, there was the diligent and honest Leighton Baines, Chimbonda, as well as world-class goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar. With a formation like that, they could not be considered weak no matter where they were.

Of course, this did not mean that Tang En would be asking the team to maintain a completely defensive stance throughout the match. He knew that if they only stuck to defending, they would certainly not get the result he hoped for. A true, high-level defense was built upon the foundations of one's offense. Just as the offense needed to be built upon a sturdy foundation of defense, a stable defense required the side of offense to share the burden and contain the opponent's forces.

Therefore, right from the beginning from the match, Nottingham Forest, who excelled at defense, unexpectedly launched ferocious attacks on Barcelona, changing the reserved image they had had in the past.

Evidently, Barcelona did not expect Forest to take the initiative to attack. After the match began, they seemed somewhat at a loss. Adding to that was the slippery ground. Everything was making them lose their footing somewhat.

In comparison to Barcelona, who incorporated finer techniques in their play, Forest was more suitable to battle under such weather conditions; their offensive strategy was very simple and quick. There was no complicated permeation through the middle or dazzling give-and-go combinations. Instead, they dribbled the ball individually and, in two or three passes, sent the ball into the danger zone. After that, it was the goal shot. Thanks to Viduka, Forest could utilize more air passes by making use of his height and headers to ferry the ball. Alternatively, they could attack the goal directly. Forest's play style lowered, to the greatest extent, the impact of a field that had terrible conditions.

If there was any weakness of Barcelona, it was their defense against air balls. Perhaps it was because their footwork was too outstanding, making them disdainful about putting in more effort into high balls.

It happened that their opponent for this match was Nottingham Forest, a team from England.

"Ashley Young! He is so quick!" On the right flank, Ashley Young dribbled the ball forward rapidly. The slippery ground appeared to have almost no effect on him. Faced with the Dutch defender, Giovanni van Bronckhorst, he suddenly launched the ball more than 10 meters ahead and picked up speed. By the time Giovanni van Bronckhorst wanted to turn, it was already too late. His speed was no match against the fifth-quickest wing assaulter in the English Premier League; his 100-meter sprint result was 10.97 seconds. By the time the Dutchman turned, he only saw his back.

After breaking free from Giovanni van Bronckhorst, Ashley Young did not cut inward. Instead, he lifted his foot and passed center, a high ball!

This was what Tang En had specifically instructed. Forest's players were to play more high balls on the field and use their air advantage to pressurize Barcelona.

Viduka leaped up from amongst the crowd. Before Puyol and Márquez could get to it, he managed to head the ball in an attack towards the goal!

"Víctor Valdés! A beautiful save!"

Spain's number two goalkeeper bumped Viduka's header out over the crossbar even as it shocked Barcelona's fans into a cold sweat.

"Since the start of the match, Forest Team did not choose to defend. Instead, they made use of their kick-off to launch wave after wave of attacks against Barcelona. This time, they were close to scoring a head start!"

After the launch of the corner kick, both Pepe and Piqué rushed in. The area in front of Barcelona's goal became a mess again. The chaotic situation only ended after much difficulty, when Puyol managed to clear the ball from the area.

"Barcelona's defense against headers is a mess… it looks like manager Twain has found a way to deal with Barcelona."

The TV broadcast did a close-up on Tang En. He was sitting on the manager's seat. The short roof was a poor shelter against the rain falling from the sky. Tang En's pants had already gotten completely wet and his shirt was halfway there. In that moment, his gaze was still glued to the field, entirely in a state of focus.

Next to him, Rijkaard stood up from his seat. He was a little worried about the series of threats in front of the goal earlier. His brows were furrowed as he blew twice on his whistle, reminding his players to take note of defense in the flanks.

※※※

Rijkaard's reminder had no effect. Five minutes passed. Barcelona, who made its name in the world by their offense, had not shown a single decent shot. They were completely suppressed by Forest's overbearing attacks and the terrible conditions on the field, failing to perform up to their usual standards.

Tang En's thoughts were simple. Taking the chance in this duration when Barcelona had yet to adapt to the field, Forest would score a goal and transform their advantage into greater odds of winning. Of course, it was even better if they could score more goals. By letting his team gain the psychological advantage, they could gradually lure Barcelona, step-by-step, into a mire of anxiety and mistakes.

This was the pre-match plan. Everyone was certain about it.

If the match proceeded according to plan, it would be much more relaxed for them.

Tang En was not fond of planning beforehand to solve any and all problems. He also did not believe that the opponents would obediently listen to his arrangements. As a result, he valued snap adjustments during the match more.

Ashley Young's performance in the right wing was outstanding. Franck Ribéry also did not lose out to him. On the left, he chose to cut inwards when he encountered Oleguer, taking the ball sideways. After widening the angle, he abruptly drew his foot back and took his shot! Víctor Valdés was focused, his body leaping to one side to block it out. It was another corner ball!

Nottingham Forest's fans on the spectator's stand, with their disadvantaged numbers, erupted with resounding cheers. Under Forest's frenzied attacks, Barcelona's fans were somewhat quiet.

The corner ball launched. While Barcelona's defenders were focusing on Pepe and Piqué in the penalty area, Forest made a change. Albertini did not directly drive the football into the penalty area, instead passing it to Arteta, who came by to receive it. It was a short corner!

Upon seeing Arteta take over the ball, Barcelona's fullbacks rushed out together, hoping to create an offside offense. In this instance, the Spaniard passed center. It was not a high ball, just one of medium height.

Everyone started running outside, including Forest's players who were afraid of becoming offsides. Midway through the sprint, Anelka suddenly turned back and cut forward. Arteta's pass had arrived exactly then! The French forward lifted his feet and kicked the ball forward, barely scraping past Barcelona's fullback, Márquez.

The commentator started yelling. The football fans at the live scene also began screaming at the top of their lungs.

"Anelka! A one-on-one!"

Víctor Valdés stepped up courageously. In the situation where the distance was already perilously close, he dropped to the ground to save the ball. After barely grazing past Márquez, Anelka had restricted space to make any moves. He could only use his arch to shoot the ball off. Landing on Víctor Valdés' thighs, it rolled away from the goal line.

A multitude of sighs sounded simultaneously.

"What a pity! Up to this point, this has been Forest's best opportunity! Barcelona is being suppressed to the point of breathlessness!"

Anelka hugged his head with his hands, tremendously regretful about his failure to kick the ball in.

Tang En felt just as regretful as Anelka. Upon seeing Anelka break through Márquez, he had stood up from the manager's seat, prepared to raise his hands in celebration for the goal. He did not expect Víctor Valdés to work miracles as if he were on drugs. The goalkeeper had been on a streak, successfully defending against several goals from Forest which had had high chances of getting in. This time was no exception as he put an end to Anelka's shot.

"This is godd**n ridiculous. He ought to go for a urine test after the match!" Tang En plopped down onto the seat, venting the annoyance in his heart.

Kerslake, beside him, shook his head. "No hurry, Tony. It's looking good for us."

"Before we score any goals, I'm not going to believe anything." Tang En said with gritted teeth as he stared into the field.

※※※

"We need to go on the attack!" Barcelona's field captain, Puyol, was trying to drum up their morale. "We can't let them go on like this. Ronaldinho!"

The Brazilian's face was grim. "I know."

"Think of something. We have to push back!"

Ronaldinho looked up at the time on the gigantic screen above. The match had been ongoing for 14 minutes. Barcelona had not executed any decent attacks yet. As the team's attacking core, he naturally had the duty to change the awkward situation.

Quickly, after dribbling past Arteta in the midfield with his technique, Ronaldinho set up Barcelona's first effective attack since the beginning of the match. While Forest's fullbacks were focused on Eto'o, Ronaldinho passed the ball to Giuly in the wings instead.

Giuly used his speed and broke through Leighton Baines. After that, he directly drew back his foot and shot at the gate from a tight angle!

Edwin van der Sar was similarly focused. Blocking at the angle the shot came from, his hands cushioned the overwhelmingly powerful shot before hugging it firmly.

"This is Barcelona's first shot at the goal since the match's beginning, in the 15th minute of the match… poor things. The mighty Barcelona is looking rather uncomfortable facing off against a crazed Nottingham Forest."

"Beyond that, there's something else they're unused to: the field and weather. It's obvious that the field is very slippery. Before his shot, Giuly's foot slipped a little. In fact, players from both teams all had sudden slips. But there's greater impact on Barcelona, who plays with more technique and ground combinations. Meanwhile, Nottingham Forest is persisting with the strategy of playing high balls, thus reducing to its greatest extent, the impact of the field on them."

The commentator's analysis was right on the money. But this could not help Barcelona change the awkward situation on the field. They were not proficient with the English football strategy of playing high balls; ball control on the ground was their tradition. Furthermore, it's something that had already seeped into their blood. It was impossible to change it in such a short period.

"I've suddenly remembered. Prior to the match, there was some media source that thought this match to be the finals between artistic football, represented by Barcelona, and utilitarian football, represented by Nottingham Forest. After watching 15 minutes of this match, I just can't make the connection between the team suppressing Barcelona with their attacks and 'utilitarianism.'"

The commentators laughed.

As spectators, their laughter was especially relaxed.

As the teams battled, they could not afford to ease up at all. This was the first time Tang En's team was going up against Barcelona. Before now, their understanding of the team came only from Piqué, a teammate who had emerged from Barcelona's Youth Camp.

Just when Forest's players began feeling that Barcelona was only this capable, Giuly executed a sharp breakthrough and goal shot to warn them that Barcelona was no average team.

George Wood sat in the luxury box along with his mother and the club's chairman, watching the match together. Up to this point, the impact from his absence could not be seen yet.

What Tang En had said before the match seemed reasonable. Forest was not a one-man team. One missing player was not enough to be fatalistic.

It seemed that way…

※※※

In the 18th minute, as Nottingham Forest continued its suppression of Barcelona, Barcelona suddenly executed a fast break after stealing the ball in the backfield.

The moment after Puyol passed the ball to Edmílson, six players from Barcelona rushed forward. They were so fast that Forest, who had gotten used to slow reactions from their opponents, were completely taken aback.

At this point, if they had had George Wood, he would certainly have, in the first instance, started pressing Ronaldinho. But while Forest's midfield was at a loss for how to react, Edmílson had already passed the ball to Ronaldinho.

"Ronaldinho takes possession, and there isn't a single Forest player around him!"

The impact of George Wood's absence from the team became obvious in an instant.

As Forest did not have a midfield player who specialized in defense, there was an enormous void in front of the center back. The defensive line did not have a choice but to move upwards to the midfield position to defend. In that way, there would naturally be large swathes of space behind them.

Without anyone defending closely against him, Ronaldinho did not choose to pass the ball. Instead, he continued dribbling forward, attracting Albertini and Pepe forward to defend. After pulling the focus of Forest's entire defensive line onto himself, he abruptly came to a halt and passed.

Eto'o dashed out suddenly from the diagonal. With everyone looking at Ronaldinho, fearing what magic he might be coming up with, no one had noticed Eto'o. This time, Ronaldinho was only the bait.

Eto'o rushed out from behind Pepe. Ronaldinho had just dodged Arteta's tackle from the back and shot out a direct pass.

"A one-to-one! A direct pass from Ronaldinho pierces through Forest's defensive line! It's not offside!"

Watching this scene from the manager's seat, Tang En's eyes suddenly widened, his pupils shrinking as his bottom launched off the seat.

It was too familiar.

Dammit!

Eto'o's beautiful forward cut successfully reversed the offside. When he received the ball, there were no Nottingham Forest defenders by his side.

Allowing Eto'o to go one-on-one against the goalkeeper and at the same time having a large space for acceleration, there could only be one result.

"Edwin van der Sar attacks!" In truth, after seeing Eto'o cut forward from the back, the Netherlandish goalkeeper had already predicted the situation that would follow. So, before Eto'o even received the ball, he had already rushed forward to the edge of the penalty area.

The two met on the boundaries of the penalty area. Edwin van der Sar tried dropping to the ground to block his path, but Eto'o made use of his own speed advantage and bumped the ball to his right. By that time, Edwin van der Sar had already lost his balance. Would he helplessly watch as the opponent passed him and scored?

He stretched his hand out to Eto'o, who had jumped up, catching hold of his opponent's ankle before quickly releasing it.

But it was too late. Eto'o fell over in the penalty area.

By the side, Giuly watched as the football rolled to his own foot. He kicked the ball into the emptied goal. The spectator's stands rang with the cheers of Barcelona's supporters.

But…

"Foul!"

The whistle of the main referee sounded. He ran towards the goalkeeper, Edwin van der Sar, while the other players of Forest ran at him. They surrounded the referee, pleading for mercy.

It was doubtlessly a foul. But, what judgment would the referee pass?

Without realizing, Tang En had already stood up from his seat.

The scene he was so familiar with appeared once more, gradually overlapping with everything now happening on the field before his very eyes; Ronaldinho's pass and Eto'o's run into position, even Xavi's shot after the rebound did not change. And just like Arsenal, Forest wore the yellow away jersey in this match. The only difference was that Edwin van der Sar had replaced Lehmann.

"The goal has been rendered null… it looks like the referee is about to give Edwin van der Sar a card… a red card! Oh lord, it's just been 18 minutes into the match, and Edwin van der Sar gets a red card! He's out! Pulling down Eto'o with his hands outside the penalty area… the referee shows no mercy!"

In truth, Edwin van der Sar knew that would be the result. When he stretched his hands out to pull Eto'o, he had already realized the price for that foul. But, in that instant, his mind was only filled with the thought of not wanting to lose a goal.

At that moment, he covered his face with both hands, standing apart from the group of people. Meanwhile, his teammates somewhat furiously surrounded the referee, believing the penalization to be overly severe. There were also Barcelona players surrounding the referee, wanting to demand a reason for the negated goal; they were very unhappy about it. Barcelona's people felt that the best result was for the goal to be in effect and at the same time have Edwin van der Sar be penalized by the red card.

In a fit of rage, Tang En kicked the side of the shelter beside the manager's seat, instantly shattering the windshield…

"That bastard referee! Does he even know the art of enforcement?! How are we going to keep playing?"

While he was raging, Kerslake had gone to ask substitute goalkeeper, Paul Gerrard, to warm-up.

No matter how enraged Tang En was, he could not change this result even if he took off the roof of the technical area.

Edwin van der Sar walked down from the field dejectedly. His third Champions League finals had ended just like that.

Forest needed to change in a substitute goalkeeper and, at the same time, switch out a player on the field.

Tang En chose to substitute in Paul Gerrard, changing out forward Anelka.

When the Fourth Official raised the substitution sign, Anelka, who was on the field, was somewhat in disbelief about being changed out. After ascertaining that it was no mistake, his face momentarily darkened to be even more overcast than Paris' night sky.

Albertini ran up to console him as well as hurry him off the field, but Anelka dragged his feet as he walked down. Without slapping palms with Paul Gerrard, shaking hands with manager Tony, or making any kind of greeting, he just walked directly back to the locker room.

When Anelka brushed past him, Tang En did not have the leisure time to care about Anelka's bad mood. He was staring hard at the main referee on the field who was directing the human wall to move back.

It was the same as his recollection. Was history going to repeat itself?

Without his realizing, the rain was beginning to let up.