Twain’s mood suddenly turned for the better. Using “everything becomes clear at once” to describe might not be appropriate, but it more or less meant that. He was no longer bothered by things outside the competition and dedicated himself in the research of the opponent and training. The people around him could feel the change. The Tony Twain of the two days again made them feel insecure because if the team’s leading general himself was distraught, the hearts of the troops would naturally be affected. Now all was well. His unknowing restless heart had settled down, and so the people around him settled their hearts as well.

As the final match was held in faraway Russia, the team had to travel there two days in advance to adapt to the venue.

Before he left, Twain took the tickets to Gavin’s grave. This was his routine as long as his team made it to the finals, he would do so. As with this habit, previously he would mail Michael Bernard a ticket. But this time, he clipped a piece of paper with it in the envelope. These words were written on it: “You don’t have to come, Michael. Just keep this as a memento.”

In front of Gavin’s tomb, Twain ran into George Wood, which surprised him a little. He said, “Is this a coincidence? We never ran into each other here.”

Wood looked back at his manager who held a bunch of flowers and said, “I don’t know. I don’t know when you’ll be here too.”

“Then why do we always pick the same day?”

“Because this is the only day the team ends training early.” The day they were referring to was today which was the day before the team traveled to the finals’ venue.

“What you said makes a lot of sense.” Twain crouched in front of Gavin’s tomb and put the flowers next to George Wood’s bouquet. He then pulled out a lighter and lit the ticket in his hand.

“Is that how you send him the tickets?” Wood saw this for the first time.

“Yes. I don’t know Gavin’s address in heaven, so I can only burn it for him.” Twain patted his hands after he burnt the ticket. He got up and looked at Wood.

“Gavin …. Will his father come back to watch the game this year?” Wood asked.

Twain shook his head and said, “No. He has his own life and football games are just a pick-me-up in life.”

“A pick-me-up?”

“They’re not professional players or career coaches. They’re just regular fans. Maybe football is life for us but it’s not like this for them.” Twain looked at Wood and explained. Then he asked, “How’s your mother?”

“Her health … has always been that way.”

Twain nodded to show his understanding. Sophia’s illness was the after-effects from a lot of hard work and running around over many years, the mental and physical stress of not taking good care of herself, not resting well and not eating well. Such an illness basically had no hope of recovery. It could only be controlled gradually. Until now, she still often needed to go to the hospital for treatment.

“George.”

“Yes?”

“Take good care of your mother.”

“I know.”

“So … will she go to watch the final on the 21st?”

“She wants to go but I won’t let her.”

“Oh?” Twain was a little puzzled when he heard George Wood said so.

“She’s not well enough to be able to be in a flight for a long time. I asked her to watch the live broadcast on TV at home.”

“Then you’d better play well!” Twain patted Wood on the shoulder with a smile.

“I’ve always play well…” Wood suddenly thought of the red card in that last game of the league tournament when he wondered how Ronaldo whom he shoveled to the ground and ended up having to be carried off on a stretcher was. He paid little attention to the reports in the media. “What happened to the Portuguese?”

“Portuguese?” Twain froze for a moment, and soon reacted, “Oh, you mean Cristiano Ronaldo? He… Well, he’s okay. He was well after he just took a few days off. Now he’s alive and full of vigor in the Portuguese national team’s training camp. You don’t have to worry.”

Twain exaggerated a little. Ronaldo did appear in the training camp of the Portuguese national team in preparation for the UEFA European Championship, but he was not vigorous and lively at all. Until now Scolari had not allowed Ronaldo to train with the ball. His mission was to regain his physical health and rest fully. Out of caution, the team doctors of the Portuguese national team advised Scolari to only bring Ronaldo on in the second game of the group stage.

As there would be UEFA European Championship and the Olympic Games this year, all the European leagues came to an end in succession. The players of the various club teams had gone to report at their respective national teams. Only Nottingham Forest and Chelsea had delayed their dismissal of the teams because they had to prepare for the Champions League final. Between the Champions League, European Championship, commercial games and Olympics … this summer would be very busy for the Nottingham Forest players.

Wood had no expression on his face, but he was slightly relieved in his heart.

This was not the same as the last time when he broke Rochemback’s leg with a kick. He tried to avenge Eastwood the last time. Whereas it was about their tactical needs this time. The needs of a game was completely different from “I just felt like doing it.”

“Oh right. About that foul, you did a beautiful job.” He had been busy with the celebration and the preparations for the Champions League final after the game. He was also busy worrying about Shania’s “major life event” and did not talk to Wood about that game. He was afraid Wood would worry that his red card had gotten the team into trouble. It was actually not like that …

“Without that decisive foul from you, we might have conceded the goal and wouldn’t have gotten that valuable chance to fight back. It was you who changed the course and outcome of the game.” Twain gave high praise to Wood. “You had been instrumental in us being able to win this league title.”

Wood did not smile with delight because Twain had praised him. He was always like this, and nothing seemed to betray his happiness or anger across his face

Twain was used to it and did not find it strange either.

“Let’s head back?” He said.

“Okay.” Wood nodded.

Before they left, Twain turned to look at Gavin’s tombstone and said, “We’re heading off to Moscow to play in the final, Gavin. If we can defend the title, I promise I will come back to see you with the trophy. Also, remember to go watch the game live.”

With these words, Twain and Wood walked out of the quiet cemetery side by side. The flowers swayed gently in the breeze, as if they were nodding.

※※※

For Twain, the city of Moscow was no longer an unfamiliar place that could only be appreciated sporadically in a variety of films and television works. Nottingham Forest spent last summer here in the friendly matches before this season. This trip was down the memory lane.

“Luckily, Chelsea didn’t take the same flight as us.” On the way from the Moscow airport to the hotel, Kerslake said of their flight from the London airport. London Heathrow Airport was filled with the press, which at one point made one thought it had become the second “Fleet Street.” (note: It was once the street that was most concentrated with the British press and a symbol of the advancement in the British media. Now the various media outlets had moved out in succession and “Fleet Street” had become a symbolic label used to refer to the British media headquarters). Because Chelsea and Nottingham Forest coincidentally left the United Kingdom and headed for Moscow on the same day, so everything was thrown together.

“The media don’t think so. They must be very disappointed not to see the buzz.” Twain was always merciless in mocking the British media. “It’s like you dangle the bone in front of them but they are not allowed to take a bite.”

These two teams did not encounter each other before the game as the media had wanted. The airport made meticulous arrangements that prevented them from running into each other. Both teams also cared a lot about this matter and requested for the players not to wander around before boarding their flights. The current hostility between the two teams was so high that no one wanted any chaos to happen …

The bus stopped at the entrance of the hotel where the team was staying. A number of reporters had gathered there. After the players alighted the bus, they accepted a short interview before they entered the hotel. They went to their rooms according to the long-allocated room combinations to rest.

Twain took a little longer and was delayed at the hotel entrance. As the team’s leader and famous big mouth, he was more “favored” by the press.

“There’s nothing to say. There’s been a lot of news about us lately, and it’s talking about the same old things. You don’t want me to put you off with something that’s out of date, do you?” Twain said aloud in the crowd.

“You can talk about the outlook for the final. What kind of results do you want to get?”

“No one wants his own team to lose, mate. Your question lacks standard.” Twain amused the other reporters.

Tang Jing was naturally in there. While everyone was laughing, she squeezed in and asked, “Since the restructuring of the Champions League, no team has ever successfully defended its title. Now that Nottingham Forest has a high chance, excuse me … Mr. Twain, have you fully assessed the difficulty of defending the title?”

If she had asked “Do you have faith in defending your title?”, Twain was bound to retort, “You’re talking nonsense.” She also learned to be smart in the process of constantly bickering with Twain.

Hearing this question, Twain nodded, “Any final game has a certain degree of difficulty. I actually think the Champions League final is the same as the final round of the just-concluded league tournament. But my and my players’ job is to face one difficulty or another, and then we’ll … kick them off! Are you satisfied with my answer, Miss Tang?” Twain winked at Tang Jing.

“Thank you.” Tang Jing did not pay him any mind and continued to ask, “Can you talk about your trip to China this summer…”

“Sorry, that has nothing to do with the game the day after tomorrow. I don’t want to talk about that now.” Twain put on a matter-of-fact expression.

Tang Jing nodded to show her understanding and stopped any mention of other issues.

After responding to some of the other reporters’ questions, Twain squeezed out of the crowd and walked into the hotel. He was not hurrying to rest, but to hold a meeting attended by the entire coaching unit.

The preparation were in its final stages, so they could not be sloppy. He must take control of the team’s current form at all times. After all, it was not as if they did not have any problems on their side.

※※※

Just when Tony Twain returned to his room to hold the meeting with the coaches, Chelsea, which had arrived in Moscow a little later than they did, also reached the hotel where they were staying. The two teams were respectively in the north and south of Luzhniki Stadium, not far from the finals’ venue. If the weather was fine and the visibility in the air was good, Twain could also see the spire of the hotel building where Chelsea was staying through the windows of his room.

The Blues’ star player, Lampard, had just experienced the pain of the passing of his mother. After he alighted the bus, he expressed his wish to pay tribute to his mother’s spirit with the first Champions League trophy in the Chelsea club history when he spoke to the reporters. Terry and Drogba also said they hoped Lampard would score the winning goal in the game.

Although there was always leaked news of discord within the Chelsea locker room during the tournament, those who supported or did not support Mourinho, and those who supported Grant or questioned Grant, this team was more united than ever at this moment. All differences did not matter. They just wanted one thing in Moscow and that was to help the team win the final game, beat Nottingham Forest and win the Champions League title!

The players’ conduct made Grant, who then got out of the bus, very happy. A united Chelsea team increased his confidence of winning against Tony Twain.

Although Nottingham Forest had just won the league title and their morale was high, the final round of the league tournament drained a lot of their energy and it was said that Beckham’s old injury had relapsed. It was not known whether he could play in the final and news also broke about van Nistelrooy’s seemingly minor injuries during training.

Compared to them, Ashley Cole, who was previously injured in training, had returned from the firing line and had no problem playing in the final. Moreover, Chelsea had an easy game in its final round of the league tournament and their strength was assured.

And there was the most important point.

“Some press mention that Chelsea lacks the experience of playing in a Champions League final, but I think that happens to be our advantage. Compared to Nottingham Forest, which has already won the Champions League title, our players are hungrier for the honor, and their fighting spirit is more exuberant. This is something that Nottingham Forest cannot compare.” Grant spoke frankly with assurance to the reporters who surrounded him. After he came to Moscow, he was bursting with confidence, believing that this was the stage prepared for him, and that the protagonist must be himself.

“I believe in my players. At this point, I don’t want to talk about myself or my predecessor because it’s disrespectful to my players. To be able to reach the final, that credit belongs to the entire team.”

“… Of course, this is going to be a difficult game. Nottingham Forest is not a weak team. But we have the confidence to win. I know Chelsea has never won this honor in its history and I look forward to the prospect of returning to Stamford Bridge with the championship trophy.” Grant diminished his confrontation with Twain and repeatedly emphasized the team while at the same time, the confidence in his words had made the reporters sit up and take notice of this manager, who had been subjected to their doubts.

His performance was like that of a veteran manager who was neither nervous nor excited. He calmly knew what he should do.

After seeing the conduct of the entire Chelsea team, the BBC television pundits exclaimed, “This is really going to be a tough game because both sides must have the title. No one will concede in advance. In this instance, modesty is not a virtue.”