The Greatest Manager of All time

Compared with Lynn, who had no desire to speak with reporters before the Welsh derby because of UEFA's investigation, Swansea's players gave the media plenty of juicy material when they left the club the day before the match.

Swansea's public relations strategy was simple. Lynn could be sparing with his words, but he did not order the players to keep quiet.

If anything, the players should appear in the newspapers more often. Aside from media coverage, they should also express their own views so the outside world could understand them better.

A player's fame would bring more attention to the club. As long as the players themselves did not say something stupid and cause trouble, it was fine.

Captain Cromwell said in an interview, "I'm really looking forward to tomorrow's match. Cardiff City will feel the terror of the Swan Sea at Liberty Stadium!"

Villa, who was usually very low-key, also told the media, "Tomorrow, we won't let Cardiff City off on the pitch. We're going to blast them into pieces!"

He had never forgotten the scene at Ninian Park, when Lynn had blocked the medical kit Rhys Caston threw at him. Because of that, Villa's hatred for Cardiff City burned fiercely.

Ibrahimović casually told the media, "Cardiff City aren't on the same level as Swansea at all, as long as they don't use dirty tricks on the pitch."

Defensive pillar Friedrich said, "We'll make Cardiff City despair of scoring at Liberty Stadium."

On April 9th, Lynn led Swansea at Liberty Stadium as they awaited Cardiff City's challenge.

Standing inside the stadium, he glanced toward the away dugout, where Cardiff manager Alan Cork sat.

Before the match, Alan Cork had kept silent, and after arriving at Liberty Stadium, he was even quieter.

He noticed Lynn's gaze, then turned his head slightly to avoid it. He had no intention of making eye contact with Lynn at all.

Lynn scoffed.

He felt Alan Cork had turned into a coward ever since the last time Lynn had beaten him senseless in the players' tunnel.

Being bullied by Lynn on his own turf was humiliating enough once the story spread.

Now that he had come to Swansea's territory, he was even more timid, not daring to cause trouble under Lynn's nose.

The key factor was that he had also been frightened by the punishment.

If Cardiff City had not been docked points, they would more or less have locked down a promotion place by now.

But instead, they were only one point ahead of fourth-placed Chesterfield.

Such a slim advantage meant that in the final stage of the season, Cardiff City were under immense pressure.

Inside the players' tunnel, the starting players of Swansea and Cardiff City stood in formation.

Swansea's players, wearing their white home shirts, stood on the side with the black floor. Cardiff City, wearing red, stood on the side with the white floor. From a distance, Swansea looked like swans shining in the darkness, while Cardiff City resembled helpless Bluebirds lying in a pool of blood.

Ibrahimović turned back and warned Rhys Caston, "Kid, if you dare play dirty again today, then even if I don't shoot, I'll use the ball to smash your head open! Hear me clearly!"

When Rhys Caston saw Ibrahimović, his nose began aching faintly. He still did not confront Ibrahimović directly. Instead, he looked away and pretended not to hear.

Graham Kavanagh shot back at Ibrahimović, "What? You want another fight?"

He had only said it casually, but he had not expected all eleven Swansea starters to shout at Cardiff City in unison.

"Come on, then! Who's scared of you?"

The shout thundered through the players' tunnel, echoing loudly. Every Cardiff City player was rattled by it.

They stared at the eleven Swansea players standing neatly with their backs to the black wall. Their opponents were clearly united, and the Swansea black swan crest, highlighted with layered shading on the wall behind them, looked terrifying at that moment. It made them deeply uneasy, as if they had fallen into endless darkness.

Some of them unconsciously lowered their heads, and by chance, they saw the league and cup competition logos printed in the center of the corridor, right on the dividing line between the home and away teams.

Although the outside world had mocked Swansea before for biting off more than they could chew and aiming too high, looking at it now, Swansea had already climbed from the lowest level, the Third Division, into the Second Division!

They were progressing.

They were realizing their ambitions and dreams.

That filled the Cardiff City players with deep envy.

Swansea really were a team people longed to join!

No Cardiff City player tried to argue with Swansea's players again.

Before the teams went out, the refereeing crew also warned both sets of players.

The referee said sternly to everyone, "I do not want any of you losing your heads in today's match. Put your energy into proper competition. If anyone tries to start a conflict, I will not tolerate it!"

Of course he would not tolerate it. In any match that caused trouble, the refereeing team could not escape responsibility.

Of the officials who had handled the previous Welsh derby, two had been directly demoted to officiate regional league matches!

The FA's punishment did not only target the teams. The referees' committee also held its officials to strict standards.

The roar of support at Liberty Stadium was deafening.

Outside the second-tier railing of the South Stand, there had originally been a banner showing Lynn's half-body portrait as he commanded a match, with the words behind him: Even God Can't Save You.

Now, another banner had appeared beside it. It read: Lynn: I Am the Giant!

Those were the words Lynn had said to reporters at the post-match press conference after the Football League Trophy final.

Fleet Street had fiercely criticized the Chinese manager's arrogance and ego, but the Swan Sea fans were thrilled. This line had now been added to the classic quotes of Lynn's coaching era.

Lynn stood calmly on the touchline. Today, he very much wanted to know what kind of fighting spirit and will Cardiff City had brought to Liberty Stadium.

Was it the fire of revenge?

Was it helpless confusion?

Or were they hiding their strength, waiting for a chance to strike?

After the match began, Swansea immediately got the tempo running at high speed, using skilled passing and combinations to create an advantage.

Cardiff City retreated from the start, their defensive line dropping deep and their shape contracting. They left only two forwards, Alan Lee and Robert Earnshaw, up front to search for counterattacking chances.

Seeing this, Lynn's opinion of Alan Cork improved a little.

At the very least, the man was practical. He knew he could not take Swansea head-on, so he chose the safest method: defending deep and counterattacking.

Lynn did not hesitate either. From the touchline, he gestured to Ibrahimović and Villa up front.

After seeing Lynn's signal, Ibrahimović and Villa changed their positioning. Originally, they had been almost parallel or slightly staggered. Now they formed a clear front-and-back structure.

Ibrahimović pushed to the very front as the focal point, while Villa lurked behind him.

Behind them, Cromwell, James Cook, and Horatio Nelson were responsible for supplying ammunition.

Alan Cork sat on the bench with a grim expression.

His plan today had been to hope Swansea stretched their formation too far, allowing Cardiff City to counterattack and use Earnshaw's speed advantage.

But England was not Italy after all. It was very difficult to produce the kind of tightly linked defensive system seen in a proper parked bus. If they shrank inside the penalty area, it looked too cowardly. If they spread outward, it became difficult to maintain airtight collective cover.

As long as Swansea did not stubbornly insist on creating shooting chances inside the box for Ibrahimović or Villa, their three lines could basically stay closely connected.

And Lynn's gesture to Ibrahimović and Villa was precisely to prevent the team's attack from blindly forcing its way deep into the penalty area.

In the second half of the season, Swansea had also encountered the problem of breaking down packed defenses in the Third Division, though it had not been especially obvious.

In the first twenty minutes, Cromwell, James Cook, Pedretti, and Villa completed seven shots from outside the penalty area!

Alan Cork gritted his teeth on the bench.

He could see it. Swansea had already realized Cardiff City's intention. Their players firmly occupied midfield, and the area within thirty yards of the goal, both forward and back, had become Swansea's territory.

This meant that even if Swansea's attacks failed or their shots did not create real danger, they would not leave obvious gaps in the midfield and defensive lines by pressing too aggressively.

Cardiff City wanted counterattacks.

But if they thought they could simply hoof the ball forward and break through Swansea's defense that way?

Too naive!

Four times in a row, Cardiff City launched long balls from the back into the front line. Earnshaw and Alan Lee did not even touch the ball. Their movement up front meant nothing, and in aerial battles for the second ball, they could not compete with the two powerful defenders, Brunel and Friedrich!

In the 29th minute, after Cromwell, Pedretti, and Horatio Nelson played a triangular passing move, Cromwell suddenly made a late run into the penalty area.

His run dragged Cardiff City's defensive line backward. Receiving Nelson's diagonal pass from behind, Cromwell turned with his back to goal and knocked the ball diagonally toward the front of the box.

Cardiff's defenders immediately stopped and turned their heads, only to see Villa running toward the ball outside the penalty area. Defensive midfielder Kavanagh also moved quickly to block Villa from the front.

Just as Villa shaped his leg as if to shoot, Kavanagh made a blocking motion.

But Villa let the ball run past him.

Then he moved two steps to the right, caught up with the ball, and swung his leg to shoot!

Villa's fake shot not only fooled Kavanagh, it also caught goalkeeper Alexsander completely off guard.

When Villa finally struck the ball, Alexsander immediately dived toward the right post, but the ball rolled just inside the upright and into the net!

Liberty Stadium erupted.

Villa jumped as he ran, pumping his fist hard, laughing and roaring with high spirits.

"Villa! Swansea's Super Villa! This is his 40th goal in all competitions this season! An unbelievable number! Truly unbelievable! How many more goals can he score this season? How many more?

"Now we can conclusively say that not a single penny of Lynn's transfer spending last summer was wasted!

"That includes the two biggest signings, Villa and Ibrahimović. Ibrahimović has scored 32 goals in all competitions. Although that is eight fewer than Villa, that number is still shocking!

"Swansea have struck first in the Welsh derby!

"Cardiff City are in danger now, because in another match being played at the same time, Chesterfield are leading Carlisle United 1–0 at home.

"If the matches end with the current scores, Cardiff City will fall to fourth in the table, two points behind Chesterfield!"

Alan Cork stood up from the bench.

He walked to the touchline and immediately signaled for the team to change tactics.

He had wanted to play on the counterattack, but Swansea had scored through repeated long shots from outside the box.

If this continued, there was no point in sticking with defensive counterattacking. It definitely would not produce good results.

Cardiff City had to change tactics if they wanted any chance of turning the match around against Swansea.

On Swansea's side, Lynn smiled when he saw Villa score.

In truth, Villa scoring forty goals in a season was not especially surprising. After all, this was the Third Division. In the original timeline, Villa had been able to score over ten goals this season in Spain's Second Division. In other words, if a First Division-level striker were placed into the Third Division, scoring twenty goals in a season would absolutely not be a problem, maybe even more.

Of course, there was one major condition: the team had to be strong enough.

Considering this was Villa's first year with the team, scoring forty goals was already very good.

After the match restarted, Cardiff City changed their tactical approach. They went from sitting deep and counterattacking to a more balanced shape.

That made Swansea's overall advantage in possession and combination play even more obvious!

Cardiff City could still create some attacks, but as Swansea's defenders had improved over the course of the season, and as their collective defensive understanding had grown, Swansea suppressed Cardiff's attacks very well.

Instead, Swansea kept creating waves of attacks, each one stronger than the last.

In the 34th minute, Ibrahimović unleashed a fierce shot from the edge of the penalty area that struck the crossbar and bounced away. A wave of gasps rose around the stadium. Ibrahimović curled his lips, clearly unwilling to accept it.

Three minutes later, Cromwell's long-range shot from outside the box was blocked by centre-back Scott Young. James Cook, who happened to be arriving in the right-sided area just outside the box, met the rebound and tested goalkeeper Alexsander with a lob.

The ball traced an arc and dropped toward the underside of the crossbar. Alexsander backpedaled, jumped, and used one hand to tip the ball over the bar.

"Wow, James Cook almost killed Cardiff City with a lob! Fortunately, Alexsander is tall and has long arms. Otherwise, Swansea would have scored again!"

Seeing that the ball had not gone in, James Cook grinned. He was clearly a little disappointed, but after taking a deep breath, he ran over to take the corner.

Swansea's corner attacks basically relied on Ibrahimović or Charisteas, as well as Brunel and Friedrich, to create an aerial threat.

This time, James Cook's inswinging corner dropped toward the far post.

At the back post, Brunel used his strength to squeeze Rhys Caston aside while fighting for position, then jumped and headed the ball toward goal. Alexsander could not even make a save and could only watch helplessly as the ball flew into the net!

Even Brunel himself looked a little stunned after scoring.

'I scored?'

This was his first goal of the season.

It was also his first goal for Swansea.

Brunel roared in excitement and ran to the touchline to celebrate, his teammates chasing after him.

On the touchline, Lynn was grinning so widely he could barely close his mouth.

Nothing made him more excited than seeing his students shine on the pitch, each player steadily improving and contributing to the team.

"Swansea score again before the end of the first half! This one really is a rare bloom from an iron tree. Brunel meets James Cook's corner and heads it into the net!

"2–0!

"This Welsh derby clearly isn't as fiery as the last one, but Swansea's dominance is even more deeply impressive. They look as if they won't give Cardiff City any chance at all!"

Alan Cork watched his team concede twice to Swansea with a bitter heart.

Although he did not want to admit it, reality was cruel.

Swansea had already grown stronger than Cardiff City!

But he still could not give up. He had to make the team go all in!

Yet the more Cardiff City tried to attack, the more flaws they exposed at the back for Swansea.

During first-half stoppage time, Swansea almost used the space left behind by Cardiff's aggressive push to kill the match.

Unfortunately, Nelson wasted the one-on-one chance created for him by Villa's wonderful pass.