880 A Call from London

After England was eliminated, they could still comfort themselves by saying, "We were at least eliminated by the champion!"

The host, Brazil, finally had a shot at the cup on their home ground, and this meant Kaka finally completed his World Cup dream - just like Ronaldo when he first won the World Cup, even though he was only a side character. But this time, he relied on his own capabilities and hard work to become the core of the Brazil team, finally leading the team to win the championship. For him, this championship was of more value.

If it was necessary to ask him what regrets he still had after obtaining this year's World cup, he would make sure to mention his regret for not winning against George Wood at his best. This made him a little unhappy after winning the World Cup.

Just before the end of the World Cup, the English team had already spread the news of changing the roster.

Capello's contract with the English Football Association was due to expire right after the World Cup, and with England's unsatisfactory performance during the tournament from the majority's point of view, the Football Association would not offer him a contract renewal. Hence, after the expiration of the contract, Capello ended his job in England and returned to Italy to officially announce his retirement.

Afterward, the Football Association would then begin the process of selecting a new head coach for the national team.

The media had made a list of possible candidates. The list, which had not been officially recognized, was compiled by the media based on their experience.

Tony Twain, who had just resigned, was on the list, but he had the lowest probability of all the candidates. The simple reason was that when he was still the Nottingham Forest manager, he had given the Football Association trouble several times, and in the minds of the Football Association officials, Tony Twain was a hard-to-discipline person who should be avoided whenever possible. It was also rumored that Manchester United and Twain were in private contact and that a preliminary agreement may have been reached between both parties.

Motson, who just finished with his role as a World Cup commentator, also asked Twain about this, mainly asking whether Manchester United had truly invited Twain to coach. Twain nodded as he did get a call from the top management of Manchester United, but he refused because he did not want to snatch Martin O'Neill's job, and just like what he told Allen, he was unable to accept becoming Nottingham Forest's opponent and playing against Nottingham Forest in a competition.

"What about the English national team?"

Twain shrugged, "The Football Association hasn't contacted me. Don't listen to what media said about there being some list up for selection; it is all fabricated."

Motson then laughed, "Okay, why not just come and work for us on BBC 5 tv station to analyze the game or start a special program in the show. With your eloquence and influence, you wouldn't have to worry about the ratings."

Twain declined Motson's kind offer, "I just want to be with my wife."

Motson did not believe this, "Come on, I know you can't live without football. "

Twain touched his nose and asked curiously, "Why?"

"It's very simple. I can't imagine what else you could do after leaving the world of football," Motson quipped. "You'll finish the job and just go relax? "

"I have to go and reunite with my wife," Twain smiled apologetically.

"You..." Motson pointed to Twain, shaking his head helplessly, "Never mind!"

Instead of returning to the United Kingdom with the people from BBC, Twain left directly for Rio de Janeiro to continue spending time with his wife.

Although he was still a little concerned about Motson's words, after more than twenty days of separation from Shania, he just wanted to grow wings and fly directly to his wife's side.

After returning to Shania, Tony Twain was even more passionate than in comparison to how he behaved before the World Cup. This made Shania feel weird, but later she simply thought it was evidence of "absence making the heart feel fonder".

Only Twain knew that he was trying to refute Motson's words with practical action, trying to deny that thought that was still struggling in his heart.

※※※

The $15 million mansion in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles was a shared property between Shania and Tony Twain. In previous years when Tony Twain and Shania decided to purchase it, it was during the global economic crisis. The $15 million price of the house was already $4.5 million less than its original value, and even so, it was still quite expensive.

Twain did not want to live in such a mansion. He did not want to hire a housekeeper, so no matter how big the house was, it would only contain Shania and him or occasionally be used to host their friends. The only reason why Twain was willing to buy the house was not that it was huge but because positioned behind it was the Pacific Ocean.

Standing on his own balcony, he could enjoy the magnificent sea. It also had a private beach, which made the environment of the house deserving of the $15 million price tag.

Twain liked this type of open environment, especially the sea. He was born within the city, which is why during the first half of his life he did not genuinely see the great ocean. So, today he wanted to amend this regret.

The house also had another advantage – it was close to his old friend, the Beckhams' mansion in Beverly Hills; walking there would take at most 15 minutes. He could count them as neighbors.

Tonight, Twain and Shania were here to dine with the Beckhams and Tom Cruise, along with some other Hollywood stars.

It was the second day since they came to Hollywood from Brazil.

The journey-weary Shania was still in her bed, and Twain had already done his morning exercises on the beach behind the house. He sat on the beach, letting the water continuously wash over his body as he was looking out at the sea.

The ocean that had been sleeping all night was gently rippling in front of him, carrying the smell of sea salt. He inhaled a little to sniff it.

It was nice not to get up in the morning and immediately think about how to lead that day's game.

That was what Twain was thinking.

Behind him came a slight "ssh ssh" sound, and Twain turned in surprise. Shania walked out in only her underwear and with sleepy eyes. She had something in her hand.

"It was too damn noisy, I couldn't sleep at all. A call was made five times." Shania handed the thing in her hand to Twain and pouted as she sat beside him, leaning her head on his shoulder.

"Go back in. Don't catch a cold." Twain nudged her and looked at the unresponsive phone. "Is the call not coming anymore?"

"It's hot inside and it's much cooler here," Shania pouted. "I promise there will be another call in less than five minutes."

As soon as she stopped talking, Twain's cellphone rang in his hand.

"You see!" Shania grimaced at Twain and continued to rest on his shoulder.

"Hey, this is Tony Twain." Twain realized that the phone number was unknown and wasn't recorded in his phone book. "I don't care who you are. Do you know what time it is in Los Angeles? Seven in the morning!" He was upset that this phone call had disturbed his wife's dream. And since the caller was a stranger, that was no need to be polite.

"Ah, I'm sorry, Mr. Twain. I didn't know you were in Los Angeles. I thought you were in Brazil." The caller was a man with an extremely low voice. Although he was apologizing, he did not sound humble at all. "I'm Shaun Barclays. I believe you know who I am now, right?" the voice laughed.

Twain was no stranger to this name as the man was the current executive of the English Football Association. Twain's anger immediately reduced by half; this call had come out of the blue. Why did he even call him in the first place?

"Well, Twain, it's about this. I have a plan here, and I am wondering if you would be interested."

Twain rolled his eyes as he had already guessed what Barclays was calling him for. He did not say it but instead waited quietly for Barclays to say it. As a successful coach, he had to be more reserved. But in his mind, the answer was already clear.

"As you know, our contract with Capello has ended."

"Yes, I've realized."

"We are now looking for the next manager of the English national team. And I think you would be the most suitable option."

Twain acted surprised, "Why? I would think that this position and I are an unlikely match." Although the surprise was pretended, what he said was true. Twain knew what his image was in the Football Association; why would the Football Association look for such a disobedient head coach to manage the English national team? At least before this call, he thought it was extremely unlikely.

England's leading figure in soccer administration laughed, "Championships. Aren't the 12 championship trophies you led the Nottingham Forest team to win enough to prove your worth?"

Twain was laughing in his heart. Mr. Barclays had not praised him when he had spoken about Twain before.

When Shaun Barclays took up the position recently, there was a night press conference during which he was asked about his views on Tony Twain. He had pressed his temple with his fingertips while painfully answering, "If he could properly manage his mouth, I'd thank the heavens."

Moreover, Twain had never lessened his critiques of the Football Association, so he often took a booking from the Football Association. Barclays' name was firmly lodged in his head. It was rumored that whenever someone within the Association asked Barclays about his impression of Twain he would answer with a hint of humor, "You mean the name that is always appearing in the booking?"

It was clear that the Football Association boss's impression of Twain was not good.

Although Mr. Barclays' attitude towards him was much better right now, Twain did not want to reciprocate too easily. He said, "But you know, the club and the national level are two very different things, Mr. Executive. Success at the club level does not necessarily translate to success on the national team."

The old fox, Barclays, could hear the sarcasm in Twain's voice, yet he did not show any disappointment or any emotion, but said quietly, "Don't be in a hurry to refuse, Mr. Twain. You can think it over. The others and I agreed that the next English national team manager should be an Englishman. "

Since the other party already treated him with respect, Twain decided he did not want to make enemies everywhere as he used to while managing Nottingham Forest in order to attract all the criticism onto himself rather than his team. So, he paid respect to the other party as well - "Okay, I'll consider this offer."

Then he hung up the phone and looked down at his wife, who was still leaning on his shoulder.

"You did not reject him directly." Shania's words shocked Twain, and he was about to defend himself, but Shania continued talking, "You don't have to worry about me. The key is what you want to do."

She nudged her head against Twain's shoulder.

"I won't say yes," said Twain as he gently stroked her hair. "I only said all that so that Mr. Barclays wouldn't feel uncomfortable or lose face."

Shania sneered, "When did 'Mad Dog Tony' become so gentle? "

"Who gave me that nickname?" Twain glared.

"Marca newspaper. They still hate you." Shania raised her head with a smile.

Twain noticed that she was hugging her arms, so he put his arm around her and brought her into the house. "Be careful not to catch a cold." As for what the Marca newspaper had said about him, he simply did not care.

※※※

Although Twain thought he had already turned down the English Football Association, the English media did not think the same way. In an interview with the English media, Barclays personally admitted that the Football Association and Tony Twain had been in contact, which pushed Twain, who had been avoiding the media, back into center stage.

Within a day, the media in England was energetically glorifying Twain due to the chance that he might take over the commanding position on the English national team.

Twain had not changed his cell phone number, so he got a call from Pierce Brosnan. Brosnan wanted to ask him if this was true. Twain admitted that Barclays had called him, but also that he had not agreed to be the head coach. This made Brosnan a little disappointed, knowing how lonely Tony Twain was after he had left the world of football.

"Actually, I think you should seriously think about it, Tony."

"Why?"

"I think you should be a football coach. I can't imagine you not doing something related to football."

This was the second time Twain had heard someone say that to him.

"Aren't you seeing me do just that right now?" Twain snorted, and then hung up in a hurry.

"God d*mn it, why is everyone saying that? I just want to be with my wife."

※※※

The evening banquet was held as scheduled, and Hollywood celebrities from all walks of life finely dressed themselves and brought their partners to the banquet. Shania was quite well-liked in this social circle, but Twain usually only saw most of these movie stars in the movies.

Outside the mansion gathered several United Kingdom and English reporters, many were reporting for an entertainment channel, while some were for sports. The sports reporters were here to find Tony Twain. Beckham had retired long ago.

For the party, the Twain couple hired a team to take charge, so they did not have to bother with cooking nor waiting the tables. They just needed to entertain the guests.

The party was lively, but Twain's mood was still affected by the incident that morning. Now, the phrase "English national coach" would continuously appear in his mind and haunt him.

Beckham saw through Twain and thought he was distracted as he quipped, "What's up, Twain? Are you jealous seeing Shania becoming the main lead?"

Twain glanced at the crowd that was surrounding Shania as she entertained everyone. "Why would I be jealous?" Looking at the good friend in front of him, the only guest here who had a common language with him, he suddenly thought to himself, "Maybe I can try asking David?"

"You look like you have something on your mind. What's wrong?" Without waiting for him to speak, Beckham took the initiative to show concern.

"I, uh... David. I got a call from the Football Association this morning."

"The English Football Association?" Beckham asked, but he was not surprised.

Twain nodded.

Beckham started to laugh, "I am not surprised."

This time it was Twain's turn to be surprised, "Why do you say that?" "

"If I was a Football Association official, I'd call you, Tony. Now that they're all over the world looking for a new coach, how could they not notice?"

"But I've decided to leave football and just stay with Shania. "

Beckham squinted as he looked at Twain.

"You don't believe me?" Twain asked.

"Do you think anyone believes that, Tony?"

Twain would have liked to retort: "Why not?" However, he suddenly remembered that Shania, Motson, and Brosnan had expressed varying degrees of doubt about his thoughts. And compared to two outsiders such as Motsan and Brosnan, the fact that even his wife who slept with him every night did not believe this meant that this problem was truly serious.

Beckham put his hand on Twain's shoulder and said to him with a serious tone, "Tony, I don't doubt your feelings for Shania. But I, too don't doubt your feelings about football. You're born for football, and I can't think of how you're going to live after leaving it behind."

"But I'm still living fine." Twain spread his hands.

Beckham laughed as he squinted his eyes.

"You don't believe me again?"

Beckham patted him on the shoulder and took back his hand. "Well, don't think about it now, and just enjoy the night. I'll introduce you to some new friends."

He pulled Twain to the raucous crowd, where the bright lights foretold that an unforgettable night had just begun. (Unfinished, if you want to know what happens later, please log in to www.qidian.com, where there will be more chapters. Support the author and support genuine reading!)