Godfather Of Champions

This was Tang En\'s second time going to a funeral since his arrival in England. However, compared to the first, he did not feel sorrowful. A person like Boss invoked complex feelings in him. Fondness, respect, and some displeasure, all mixed together. So Tang En couldn\'t be like Clough\'s family, who all had tears running down their faces.

It was a private funeral. Very, very private. Other than Clough\'s family, Tang En was the sole outsider. He wore a black suit with dark sunglasses and stood with his head bowed behind the rest, attending the funeral in silence.

Other than comforting Madam Barbara, who did not actually seem in need of comforting, but for a few words at the beginning, Tang En did not say a word throughout the funeral. And the ceremonial process made no arrangements for him to speak.

The others—Ian Bowyer, Des Walker, Stuart Pearce, Martin O\'Neill, Trevor Francis—none of them received an invite. The only one invited was Tang En, who had gotten to know him the latest. Tang En wondered if it was Clough\'s idea to ask him to attend such a private event.

After the funeral ended, the group silently walked out of the graveyard located behind the church. Tang En did not know what to say, and kept silent. Not far ahead was where everyone\'s cars were. It seemed that the funeral had come to its end. Tang En figured he should also hurry back to Nottingham to meet up with his team. Then Madam Barbara, who was ahead, stopped and turned to face him.

Tang En knew she must have something to say, and paused in his stride.

"I\'m very sorry, Mr. Twain, to ask you to come at this time." Barbara said with her head bowed.

Tang En quickly waved his hands. "No, I\'m glad I came. I\'m honoured to have been invited."

"In truth… Brian didn\'t say who could attend his funeral. In the last few days, he was hardly ever conscious. After discussing it with my children, we decided on a private funeral. Brian never liked the media, even up till now, so we didn\'t want to be disturbed by strangers. And you, Mr. Twain… Did you know about Brian accepting an interview after Arsenal fought Forest to a draw?"

Tang En nodded.

After the draw between Forest and Arsenal, Arsenal had set a new record for the highest number of matches with no losses. The media wanted to interview Brian Clough because of this, in hopes of hearing his opinion about the new record. He fulfilled their hopes well, praising Arsenal\'s football as as beautiful as the Marilyn Monroe he saw in his dreams. "If there was anyone who could break that record, it would be Wenger\'s Arsenal."

Later, he had also spoken about Chelsea\'s new manager, José Mourinho. He had considered the Portuguese man to be his successor. Whether it was the handsomeness of his youth or the style of his leadership, Mourinho was very similar to him. During his time as a coach, Clough was someone who could always attract the attention of the media with bold declarations of his opinions, his arrogance, and his tendency to say quotable things. José Mourinho had all those traits as well.

Thus, the media began calling José Mourinho "Clough the Second," ignoring the previous comparison that they had made between Tony Twain and Clough.

During the interview, Clough made no mention of Tony Twain at all.

Who is my favourite manager? Of course, it\'s Wenger. He\'s my idol.

Which manager is most like me? It has to be José Mourinho; he\'s as handsome as I was when I was young.

"But when he was at home, do you know who he talked about the most?"

Tang En shook his head.

"You, Mr. Twain." Madam Barbara pointed at him. "He was always talking about this Forest team of yours. When you defeated Man City, he was in front of the television acting as excited as a young man… Can you imagine, Mr. Twain, what it looked like for an old man like him to be jumping up and down the sofa with his arms up?"

Tang En continued shaking his head. It was indeed unimaginable. When they were playing Man City, Clough\'s health had already been not too good.

Madam Barbara smiled but for an instant. "He would always talk about you, so my children and I feel as though we\'ve known you for a long time."

Tang En was shocked by what Barbara had said. "I didn\'t know that Boss... he, uh, he never talked about that with me."

"You have to understand, Mr. Twain. Clough is like that. At times you might feel like he\'s arrogant and extreme, but in reality, he was just putting on a fa?ade. He rarely complimented someone to their face. That was why people would often find him cold. Clough probably wouldn\'t get another chance to tell you that. Thank you, Mr. Twain. You brought lots of happiness to the last two years of Clough\'s life."

Madam Barbara said her goodbyes to Tang En and left in a car. Tang En stood alone outside the church, savouring what he had just heard.

He still remembered when he had first met Brian Clough. Straight from their first encounter, the pushy old man had thrown him questions to which he had no answers.

"Lad, what do you think the manager does?"

"Bring the team to victory…"

"That\'s just one part of their job."

A honk from a car startled Tang En from his thoughts. He saw Pierce Brosnan sitting in a Jeep, looking at him.

"What brings you here, Mr. Reporter?" Tang En asked with some surprise.

"Um…" Brosnan scratched his head. "Mrs. Clough said that this funeral was meant to be a private affair, but the public still hopes to learn a little more about it… but I saw nothing." He shrugged. "I\'d gone through almost every church in Middlesbrough before I found this. I knew I got the right place when I saw you here, but I\'m obviously too late."

"No, you\'re not late. In fact, you\'re right on time," Tang En said with a shake of his head. "I need a car to take me back to Nottingham right now."

Brosnan smiled. "Hop in, Mr. Manager."

As they rushed their way back to Nottingham from Middlesbrough, the radio in the car continued to air news of Brian Clough\'s passing. The glory that he had achieved at Nottingham Forest was brought up yet again.

"He was one of the best managers in England!" As Brosnan drove, he said so to Tang En with certainty. "But on the best managers\' ranking board in the UK, he could only rank 8! Alf Ramsey is above him, and that\'s only because he led England to the World Cup once. In the hearts of Nottinghamians, he really is the best! Even better than Paisley! It\'s a pity… He had to retire early because of his drinking."

Brosnan sighed. "Tony, you should drink less too…"

"Well…" Tony answered distractedly as he peered out the window. The discussion within the radio receiver had already turned to the question of Brian Clough\'s successor. Clearly influenced by the media, several listeners felt that it was José Mourinho, the Portuguese man. Then there were others who believed that it was Tony Twain.

Tang En himself was uninterested in the discussion. He did not want to become someone\'s successor; the second coming of anyone. If José Mourinho is happy to be, then let him do it. I want to be Tang En for life!

※※※

"In our final interview with Brian Clough, who has just passed away, José Mourinho, the manager of Chelsea, was said to be the one most similar to him. But let\'s not forget, before José Mourinho came to England, who was the manager we said was most like Clough? Tony Twain! Let\'s hear Tony Twain\'s views on Nottingham Forest\'s home match against Chelsea tomorrow. It will be a contest between the two successors of Clough."

City Ground\'s gates appeared on the television screen. The previously empty grounds were filled with fresh flowers and lit candles all around. Meanwhile, numerous red scarves of the Forest team were tied onto the bars of the iron gate. The square area in front of the gates was also filled with many mourning fans. They had come to offer flowers and their scarves, which they had had with them for numerous years.

That was the scene at City Ground in the afternoon. Tang En then appeared on the screen wearing a black suit and dark sunglasses. He had clearly just returned from the funeral at Middlesbrough.

"… I don\'t think that this is the right time to discuss about who is Boss\' successor. But I know the media is always doing inappropriate stuff like that, so I\'m used to it. You want my views on the matter? I think it\'s pretty clear. José Mourinho is, without doubt, Clough\'s successor. And I think so too." Tang En had not forgetten to mock the reporters he disliked. "I respect Boss very much. And because of that, I don\'t want anyone to call me his successor, or whatever. I firmly believe that boss wouldn\'t want me to become another him. Of course, if José Mourinho is happy to take on the title, then you guys can feel free to call him "Clough the Second" in the future, not José Mourinho, right?"

Tang En\'s words to José Mourinho could hardly be considered friendly.