In the afternoon of the second day, his team-mates were curious to ask for some details about Albertini's farewell match. It's all about football, and I'm still very interested in those legendary stars.

Albertini did not refuse to answer the endless stream of questions, and for many of the current players in the Forest squad, such as Baresi, Van Basten, Ruud Gullit, Rijkaard, Stoichkov...... and others can be regarded as legends.

He's happy to tell you the stories of these people.

Of course, he said this between trainings without affecting his training.

Donn doesn't stop them, he feels the story of a legendary player can inspire young players to strive for the better.

After training, Albertini approached Donn, thanked him for coming to the stadium yesterday, and then mentioned the text message.

"Thank you, but I think I've got a good farewell match. To be able to complete the final contract with the Forest team is my biggest wish right now. "Albertini was such a down-to-earth and straightforward person, he was very straightforward in his ideas.

Donn, who was accustomed to Albertini's way of doing things, was not angry, he looked at Albertini with a grin: "Are you satisfied?" But I'm not satisfied, Demi. My captain, how could there be only such an innocuous farewell game? The best players in the world need a special stage for a curtain call, an exhibition match? I don't think it's for you. ”

"But ......"

"Yesterday's game was just you saying goodbye to AC Milan, you don't object to me saying that, do you?"

Albertini shook his head, he thought so in his heart.

"Look. Now we don't have a disagreement. Yesterday was just your farewell to AC Milan, but not your farewell to Nottingham Forest and the football stadium. So it's worth it all over Nottingham Forest to prepare for you with another farewell match. It's the Forest's farewell ceremony to her captain, don't say no. Donn pointed at Albertini, and then closed his mouth again. There has never been such a rule, the captain of a team has retired, and the team has not expressed the slightest word. ”

Donn looked at Albertini, who was silent, and continued: "Is it because you can't fit any other team in your heart except for AC Milan, Demy?" ”

This time Albertini quickly explained: "No, sir. That's not true...... It's just that I feel like it's just for me......"

"It's just a gesture. Demi. You think we're going to go all over the world looking for people to play an exhibition game where they don't care about the outcome? ”

Albertini acquiesced.

Don smiled.

"Didn't I say that? That's not what I want to give you. You rest assured, about your farewell game. It will never be a hassle or a nuisance for all of us. Don't think about it. Just train and compete. Farewell ...... When that day comes, everything will be ready. It's the perfect stage for you......"

Albertini had nothing more to say, and looking at Donn's confident smile, he nodded, "Okay, I'll listen to you, chief." ”

Donn smiled and patted him on the shoulder, "Go back, Demy." It's good for me to think about this kind of thing. All you have to do is enjoy the last half of the season. ”

Albertini was gone, and Don talked about it on the way home with Don. Don was also interested in what kind of farewell match Don was going to give Albertini, but when he asked the question, Don was surprised.

"You don't know, Don? I thought you knew. ”

Don thought for a moment. Understood. "Now I know. But you are so confident...... Now you give gifts everywhere, to Albertini, to Beckham. Send Kenny Burns, send the president of the club...... Aren't you afraid of what if you mess up in the end? ”

"I have confidence in my team." Don put away the smile on his face and said seriously, "I think it's time to win the championship." ”

※※※

On 13 January, the league resumed after a week-long hiatus, with Nottingham Forest hosting Portsmouth in the 23rd round. The opponents were not strong, and the Forest, playing at home, also won easily ̄ ̄3:o.

Manchester United are still strong in the league and with a win this game, Forest even have a chance to return to second place in the league, and they are now just one point away from Chelsea: Chelsea 51 and Nottingham Forest 50.

This is great good news. There has been talk of a lot of talk within the club about the round in which they will catch up with Chelsea and pull the old rival down.

But Don calmed down. He felt that this good news was a trap for the team if it was not handled well. If the Forest squad is really aiming to catch up with Chelsea, they are likely to have too much energy ahead of the Champions League knockout rounds. He needs to get the rhythm down.

So after this round of the league, Don held an internal meeting of the coaching staff, reiterating that the team's goal this season is the Champions Cup, the league is not in the plan, there is no need to go to the game in order to pass Chelsea, what if a few important players are injured? There are only so many first-team players in the team now, and one less is a disaster.

With the current strength of the team, it is not possible to advance on several fronts at the same time and compete for the championship.

Even the FA Cup, a historic competition, he played in the reserves and youth teams.

After unifying opinions within the coaching staff, Donn highlighted it again among the players.

Thanks to the club's excellent working relationship with the Royal College of Medicine at the University of Nottingham, injuries are now extremely manageable, with injuries of the kind rarely occurring. Still, Donn's long-standing concern came to the next round of the league.

Since being tackled in the game against Reading, Brazil ̄ ̄ is now a Portuguese citizen and a member of the Portuguese national team.

Stop, stop, stop. Stop, stop, stop.

Coincidentally, in the 24th round of the league, Nottingham Forest's opponent happened to be Reading again.

However, this time it was the Forest team that played away.

The English FA took this game very seriously, and sent a number of match supervisors to the scene to closely monitor several "dangerous people" such as George Wood and Hunt.

Because of the heavy penalties in front, the players on both sides in this game were much more honest. But the FA can control the players, but not the fans. The Forest team was on the road and was almost drowned out by Reading's boos and spitting stars. It doesn't matter who it is, as long as it's a Forest player who gets the ball. They were greeted by overwhelming boos. Even head coach Tony Downe was not immune, every time he walked out of the dugout. As soon as you stand on the sidelines, there will be boos and curses in the stands behind the away team's dugout.

Donn was unmoved. Standing proudly in the midst of a storm of boos, how cool it would be. Even the game commentators repeatedly mentioned that Donne's mental quality was very good.

But only the Forest's dugout will know what's going on ̄ ̄ ̄Don has an Apple iPod with him, then wears earplugs, listens to the music of "German tanks", and turns up the volume to the fullest. What was being scolded outside, he couldn't hear it at all...... Of course, he couldn't hear what he said himself. He could only shout loudly, but in this environment, if he didn't speak loudly, no one could hear what he was saying.

The result of this is that every time I see Donn posing on the sidelines with a serious face, listening to the insults coming from behind the coach's box. Chris Rac wanted to laugh

Don is conditioned to stuff headphones in his ears and listen to the raucest music. The players on the pitch did not have this condition, under huge away pressure. Forest's players didn't play very well.

In the second half, Pepe had to be replaced early when he sprained his knee due to turning too quickly when he was one-on-one with the opposing striker.

At the time, Don didn't take it to heart. After all, as mentioned earlier, Pepe has been suffering from minor injuries, and he replaced Pepe with Vincent Kompany, and continued to stand on the sidelines as a target for Reading fans to distract the players.

At half-time, Donn roared at the team, telling them that if they couldn't win away from Reading, they would be sorry for Paul Gerrard, who is still recuperating at home, and everyone at Nottingham Forest would be ridiculed by Reading. So no matter how much pressure they are facing right now, they have to win this game.

With this mental support, Nottingham Forest won 2:1 away at Reading and ended the away trip with a long boo.

But on the way back to Nottingham, Donn finally got bad news.

Team doctor Fleming made it clear to Don that Pepe would need to rest for at least nearly three months. If you don't want it to become a stubborn disease and repeat it in the future, you need to have surgery right away.

Because of winning the ball, Tang En's face suddenly darkened.

Pepe is now a big defender, and he is very skilled with Pique, especially since Pepe has become more mature and experienced than he is getting older. His one-on-one ability has made many English strikers suffer, and his excellent explosiveness and accurate judgment of the landing point have allowed him to repeatedly take the lead when competing for headers, coupled with a good degree, as a central defender, there is almost no fault with it. Confucius. Learn. Net. Donn has said more than once in front of the media that Pepe has everything it takes to be a world-class centre-back, and all he needs now is game experience and a trophy or two.

Unexpectedly, after the battle with Reading, Pepe became a "quasi-glass man". This time, it was a complete stop.

As a head coach, how can Done not be annoyed?

"Damn Reading......" he cursed in a low voice, "there's no other way than surgery?" After scolding Reading, Don asked Fleming again.

"Without surgery, it may take longer to recover slowly, and it will be repeated more often in the future...... He probably won't be able to play 10 games in a season. ”

"Okay, surgery is surgery...... I need him to come back by May. ”

"If everything goes well ̄ ̄ ̄ and the recovery after the surgery goes well, I think there will be no problem."

After finishing his conversation with Fleming, Donn began to sit alone in his chair and think. How to use the winter transfer window to add defenders to the team.

At this time, there are not many central defenders who can be bought, and their strength is not weak...... Don searched his mind carefully for a while, and finally decided on a candidate.

Argentine veteran Roberto Ayala, who is currently unhappy in Valencia.

Although he is almost 34 years old, his quality as an experienced centre-back is unquestionable. In recent seasons, he has been banished due to a conflict with Valencia manager Carboni. Ayala had also wanted to leave Valencia for a change of scenery.

At this time, whether it is a transfer or a loan. It's all good to say.

Donn decided to return to Nottingham and put the club in touch with Valencia. If the price is right, buy it directly. If the price is not negotiable. He was on loan for half a season. Ayala can't play much on Valencia's side anyway.

With Forest's current influence, Ayala won't turn down the opportunity.

The only regret is that ̄ ̄ Ayala will not be able to play for Forest in the UEFA Champions League, as he has already played for Valencia in this season's Champions League.

It seems that the Champions Cup can only be held up by young people......

Speaking of the Champions Cup, Don is about to go to the draw ceremony. He is very much looking forward to this draw......

※※※

Back in Nottingham, Don checked the information, and now things are not quite what he imagined, but there is no big problem.

Ayala and Valencia's contracts expire at the end of the season. A year ago, Ayala had asked the club to renew his contract with Valencia and end his career at the club. However, after the World Cup, he waited for the news that Valencia did not plan to renew his contract with the 33-year-old, which made him very disappointed, which also led to a conflict with Carboni.

There aren't many teams interested in Ayala at the moment, after all, his age is there. His agent had been in contact with Villarreal. That was in June last year, when Valencia rejected the deal and they didn't want Ayala to stay in Spain. If you want to transfer, you will also go to foreign exhibitions. Any club in Spain that wants to pursue Ayala will make Valencia very unhappy.

It's not good news for Ayala, it's really good news for Tony Donne.

Clubs abroad? Nottingham Forest is!

Now after the New Year, Valencia can no longer stand in the way, and Ayala's agent is in contact with Real Zaragoza to make Ayala have no choice but to transfer to the team. If there are no accidents, I believe Ayala belongs to this club.

But now, the unexpected has struck.

After getting the mobile phone number of Ayala's agent, Muscati, Don couldn't wait to dial the phone. First he needs to know what the player thinks about a move to an English team, and if he doesn't, he talks to Valencia immediately ̄ ̄ Of course, not about a transfer, but on loan. Don doesn't want to spend millions on a transfer fee for a player who is destined to be free.

The conversation with Muscati is confidential and cannot be known to Valencia FC, otherwise it will not be easy.

In the phone call, he fully expressed to Muskati Nottingham Forest's need for Ayala and his personal appreciation for the former Argentina national team captain, hoping that Mascati could convey the transfer offer to Ayala.

There is no suspense in the matter. Valencia doesn't want Ayala to stay in Spain, several big teams in the country have little interest in the old and frail Ayala, and the few clubs that Mascati has no choice but to choose are not strong enough, if it is not a last resort, there is no choice, who wants to go to the lower reaches of Zaragoza that can't even play in the League Cup?

In this case, there is a team that is not only foreign, but also not weak, expressing its appreciation for Ayala, what is there to hesitate about?

Muscati flew to Nottingham the next day to begin discussions with Nottingham Forest over Ayala's personal contract.

Ayala wanted to end his career at one last club, so Mascati offered Forest a three-year contract, for which the annual salary requirement could be lowered.

In three years, Ayala will be thirty-seven years old, which is also the age of retirement. Although Alan Adams did not agree to pay a thirty-six-year-old for an extra year's salary, Donn agreed. Don is the general manager of the athletic department, and Alan can't do anything but be dissatisfied.

The length of the contract is the biggest problem, and with this done, everything else is simple.

After an individual contract was negotiated, Forest began to ask Valencia to sign Ayala on loan.

As long as it's not a domestic club that wants Ayala, Valencia is happy to do it. Forest's loan request was quickly met with a positive response, with Valencia agreeing to loan Ayala to Forest, subject to a 50 per cent salary.

This certainly won't work, and Alan negotiated with Valencia and eventually succeeded in convincing them to change 50 percent to 20 percent.

Donn is also well aware that the current Forest backline is too young and there will be problems in the long run. After Hierro, he needs an experienced veteran to play in the field and pass on his valuable experience to the younger defenders. Ayala is very much in line with his requirements: old, experienced, and still at the same time, because of the decline in physical strength due to age, he can't play a full English season ̄ ̄ England is known for its intensive competition ̄ ̄ can give young people more opportunities to play, and then after a few years of retirement, the young people he once taught have also grown. It's a perfect transition.

It doesn't matter if it's Hierro, or Albertini, or Ruud van Nistelrooy, or Beckham, or Ayala. Don bought them all with that in mind. When he took over, the Forest team had nothing. What about veterans who are not qualified enough to be qualified and influential enough, what about young players? I can only rely on my previous memories to buy these veterans and help the young people in the team one after another, just like a relay race.

Hierro retired and Albertini, who was followed by Ruud van Nistelrooy, David Beckham, and now Ayala.

Fully "squeezed" their surplus value, this is the little tail hidden behind Donn**.

Three days later, Nottingham Forest's official website announced that Forest would be on loan for Ayala for half a season. The press release did not say a word about their intention to buy the Argentine defender.

After securing Ayala's loan + free transfer, Don took Don out to Nyon, Switzerland, to prepare for the draw for the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League to be held there.

Which opponent is waiting for Switzerland with beautiful mountains and rivers?

※※※

Note: The date of the Champions Cup draw was supposed to be in mid-December, but for the sake of prioritization, I changed the UEFA tradition to January of the following year. I ask for your understanding, and in the meantime, don't worry about this date or anything...... Just watch the story.