The Greatest Manager of All time

On April 16th, in the 42nd round of the Third Division, Swansea continued their run of home fixtures at Liberty Stadium. Their opponent this time was Hartlepool United.

The Welsh media were rather "disappointed," because this was Swansea's home match. Whenever Hartlepool United were mentioned, most Swansea fans would remember that match from the first half of the season, when the entire Swansea squad drove supercars over mountains and across half the country to the northeastern corner of England to challenge Hartlepool United.

Back then, it had been so flashy and sensational.

Half a year had passed. Now, Lynn led his team at home, waiting for Hartlepool United to arrive as guests.

Before the match, when Hartlepool United manager Chris Turner was interviewed by reporters, they asked him, "Will Hartlepool United drive sports cars to Swansea?"

All he could do was look helpless.

Hartlepool United, currently fifth in the Third Division, still had hopes of overtaking Chesterfield and claiming third place for direct promotion to the Second Division.

They were only three points behind Chesterfield and only one point behind fourth-placed Cardiff City!

In other words, they desperately needed a win.

Unfortunately, they had now run into Third Division leaders Swansea, and even worse, in the first half of the season, they had been the team that helped create Swansea's "crossing mountains for three points" spectacle.

This was what Turner told the reporters:

"I'm sorry, but we're just a very small club. Even if we sold the club, we still wouldn't be able to buy a luxury sports car. But with a very small investment, we're currently fifth in the Third Division, and I'm proud of my players. We'll take the train to Swansea, then see whether we can take away the points we need from Liberty Stadium."

Chris Turner's words were neither humble nor arrogant, and they did deserve respect.

Compared with Swansea's heavy investment, Hartlepool United's spending was indeed barely worth mentioning. If investment and results were compared side by side, Hartlepool United might even be more impressive than Swansea.

But the reality of football was that everyone only looked at results. No one cared how much you had invested.

If your results were poor, no one would sympathize with you for not spending enough. Instead, they would demand more!

And if you spent heavily but still failed to produce good results, then you could wait to be drowned by spit from the media and fans.

Although Swansea had already secured promotion, Liberty Stadium was still packed for their home match.

Why would anyone turn down free football?

Quite a few fans from surrounding counties and towns even drove over to Liberty Stadium to watch the free match and feel the youthful storm the Swan Sea had stirred up on the pitch.

When Lynn and Chris Turner met at the touchline before the match, Lynn took the initiative to walk over and shake his hand. Smiling, he said, "I heard Hartlepool United urgently need three points?"

Chris Turner looked awkward.

Of course Hartlepool United wanted direct promotion. If they had the chance, why would they willingly gamble everything in the play-offs?

Before he could answer, Lynn smiled and continued, "If you want three points, come and take them yourselves. Right now, I hope every opponent can bring out stronger fighting spirit and combat power to sharpen my team."

Yes. Swansea's only remaining target this season was to win the league title. Lynn was worried the players' hunger might decline. If opponents could cause Swansea trouble, that would be perfect.

But Swansea's players were enjoying their football!

Chris Turner had brought Hartlepool United to Liberty Stadium for three points, of course.

So after the match began, Hartlepool United played attacking football.

They attacked in a wide-open style, using long balls and crosses to threaten Swansea's goal.

Damn it, they actually succeeded!

In the 21st minute of the first half, Hartlepool United's direct aerial tactics created chaos in front of Swansea's goal. Glendower and Brunel collided while trying to deal with a cross, allowing the opponent's striker to fire the loose ball into the net amid the scramble!

Swansea conceded first at home!

On the touchline, Chris Turner punched the air fiercely, then immediately ordered his team to defend.

Defend deep!

Lynn did not lose his temper. Instead, he remained composed, his expression unchanged even as the mountain seemed to collapse before him.

Swansea were in good form, but that did not mean the players would never make mistakes.

The error in the back line was only an accident, not a structural flaw in the defense.

Hartlepool United's deep defending looked very effective at first.

Until just before the end of the first half, when Charisteas pressed down a header inside the penalty area and the ball struck the arm of an opposing defender. Swansea were awarded a penalty!

Cromwell stepped up and converted it.

Liberty Stadium erupted in cheers. Lynn showed a faint smile and turned his head toward Chris Turner.

At half-time, the two managers walked into the players' tunnel together. Lynn did not hold back and said to Turner, "Although your team took the lead, you started defending too early. Didn't you know Swansea have the strongest attack in the Third Division?"

Chris Turner curled his lip. "Please. You only got lucky and won a penalty."

Lynn patted his shoulder and smiled. "Then let's see what happens in the second half. Whether you believe it or not, Hartlepool United's performance will get worse after the break."

"Hmph. Maybe Swansea's performance will get worse instead!"

"You can start praying to God."

After parting from Chris Turner, Lynn walked into the dressing room.

The reason he dared speak so boldly to Turner was that Hartlepool United had taken the lead too early, then spent a long time defending deep.

No matter how Chris Turner adjusted at half-time, Hartlepool United's overall match rhythm had already been disrupted!

Surging attack and stubborn deep defense were two extremes.

If a manager issued two extreme commands in a short period of time during one match, how could eleven players on the pitch shift together as a unified whole?

A top-level team might manage it, because they would have rich experience and strong collective understanding. Everyone could stay on the same rhythm.

But teams in the Third Division absolutely could not do it.

Swansea included!

Lynn had never given Swansea an extreme tactical instruction like launching a storming attack and then immediately switching into a tight, orderly deep defense.

In the second half, just as expected, Swansea faced the match calmly, while Hartlepool United's shape was torn apart by the frequent changes in tactical instruction.

The team could not move with a completely unified rhythm.

In the 58th minute, Swansea played a passing combination in the front line. Charisteas received Cromwell's direct pass in attack, then laid the ball off to James Cook. Cook sent in a wonderful forty-five-degree cross from the wing. Tobias Rau cut into the far side of the penalty area, controlled the pass, and shot from a tight angle, blasting the ball into the near corner!

On the touchline, Chris Turner threw his hand down in disappointment.

They had been overturned!

Tobias Rau's goal sent the fans wild. The Swans supporters watched Swansea's young swans gradually spread their wings, their hearts full of happiness.

Swansea were growing stronger every day!

Lynn applauded Tobias Rau's goal from the touchline. Then he turned and walked to the bench, stopping in front of Cristiano Ronaldo, who was watching the match with intense anticipation.

"Cristiano, go warm up."

Cristiano Ronaldo immediately stood and ran to the sideline to warm up.

Three minutes later, Lynn put his arm around Cristiano Ronaldo's shoulder on the touchline and assigned him his tasks after coming on.

The match on Cristiano Ronaldo's birthday had been a gift. After that, Lynn officially began focusing on developing him. Whenever Cristiano Ronaldo came off the bench, Lynn would let him play on the right flank first, so he could learn to serve the team.

In the 64th minute, Cristiano Ronaldo officially came on, replacing James Cook, who had performed well today.

When Cristiano Ronaldo entered the pitch, Hartlepool United had already been overturned, so they were committing more men to attack. Under those circumstances, Cristiano Ronaldo did not face much defensive pressure after coming on.

Lynn did not suppress Cristiano Ronaldo's talent. Instead, in the early stage, he allowed him to show his dazzling technique freely on the pitch.

Only after suffering more setbacks and recognizing reality would Cristiano Ronaldo actively accept the stylistic transformation from flashy but inefficient to practical and effective.

On the pitch, he was dazzling, even though he was only sixteen.

When Chris Turner saw Lynn bring on Cristiano Ronaldo, anger erupted in his heart.

Damn it, we're fighting so hard for third place in the league, and you're using this match to train players?

Cristiano Ronaldo also received support from the vast majority of Swansea fans, because they had never seen a sixteen-year-old from their own club showing off his skills on the pitch like this.

Sudden stops and turns, nimble touches to change direction, pushing the ball past defenders, stepovers — every time Cristiano Ronaldo successfully fooled an opponent, deafening cheers burst from the stands!

As long as Cristiano Ronaldo was not completely lost in a personal performance, probably only professionals could tell that many of his choices on the pitch were wrong. He delayed attacking chances and prevented Swansea's attacks from continuing smoothly or increasing in speed and rhythm.

But in this match, Hartlepool United desperately wanted three points. After falling behind, they exposed more space at the back.

After coming on, Cristiano Ronaldo became the main attacking focus of the team. Captain Cromwell was willing to give him more passes to his feet, allowing this sixteen-year-old prodigy to display himself.

Compared with some teammates who privately complained that Cristiano Ronaldo did whatever he wanted on the pitch, Cromwell was still able to tolerate him. He also knew that the sooner Cristiano Ronaldo matured, the stronger Swansea as a whole would become!

In the 79th minute, Cristiano Ronaldo changed direction on the wing, knocked the ball forward, and accelerated past his marker, once again bringing thunderous cheers from the stadium.

After driving the ball to the byline, he crossed.

This time, the timing of his cross was good, and the delivery was good too.

Charisteas rose high in front of goal and powered his header downward, smashing the ball into the net with his forehead!

Seeing that he had provided an assist for a teammate, Cristiano Ronaldo jumped excitedly and ran toward Charisteas. As Charisteas celebrated near the stands, Cristiano Ronaldo leapt onto his back.

For some reason, as Lynn watched this scene from the touchline — a scene that should have made him very happy — another image surfaced in his mind.

Three years later, at the European Championship held in Portugal, the host nation Portugal would lose only two matches from the group stage to the final.

The first match and the last match.

And both defeats would come against the same opponent: Greece!

The Greece team led by Rehhagel would create the Aegean miracle, and the player who scored the winning goal in the final would be none other than Charisteas!

This Greek striker, who would help Greece create a dark-horse miracle on Portuguese soil, was now teammates with Portugal's prodigy Cristiano Ronaldo.

Perhaps Lynn was worrying too much, but he really did wonder whether, after the two teammates took part in that European Championship three years from now and returned to the club, their relationship would remain only outwardly harmonious.

After all, the whole world had seen Cristiano Ronaldo's heartbroken tears after losing the European Championship final.

Lynn mocked himself with a smile.

He was worrying far too early.

He would see when the time came.

On the touchline, Chris Turner deflated.

Hartlepool United had once again lost to Swansea. He could not help muttering inwardly, 'Swansea really are a bloody annoying team!'

If Swansea did not exist, Hartlepool United would now be fourth in the league, only one match away from the gap to direct promotion.

If they had not been beaten twice by Swansea, even one win and one loss would have balanced things out, and Hartlepool United would be level on points with Chesterfield, trailing only slightly on goal difference.

But Swansea existed in the Third Division in such a dazzling, eye-catching way!

The storm they had stirred was beginning to frighten people.

After the match ended, Lynn shook hands with Chris Turner. Smiling, he said, "I wasn't wrong, was I?"

Chris Turner said irritably, "Yes, yes, you won. You bloody won again! Lynn, I just don't understand. Your team has already secured promotion. Is it really necessary to fight this hard against teams like us who still need points? What benefit does it bring you? Oh, the media will praise how amazing you are. You're really amazing! But can't you let Swansea relax a little? They're so young. After a whole season, they must be exhausted too!"

Lynn widened his eyes and looked at Chris Turner in disbelief.

"Please. Today, we only used fifty percent of our strength. Did you see Ibrahimović play? Did you see Villa come on? Even like this, we won. I gave you more than enough chance to beat me, but why couldn't Hartlepool United work a little harder? Why couldn't you be a little stronger?

"You can't blame me. That's an unreasonable accusation. As for asking my team to relax — is that a curse? Swansea won't be satisfied with the Second Division. Precisely because they're young, they can't relax. Every one of them needs to stand on the top stage!

"Turner, I'm truly sorry for making you lose again today. Only this time, I don't need to thank you. Also, I don't need to refuel my sports car. There are still four rounds left in the league. You'd better keep going. Maybe Hartlepool United can miraculously secure direct promotion."

After saying that, Lynn separated from Chris Turner and was the first to walk into the players' tunnel.

Chris Turner stood where he was, unsure whether he should curse Lynn a couple of times. He really was a little angry, but in the end, all he did was let out a long sigh.

Looking at Lynn's back, Chris Turner muttered, "You really are one dashing Young Marshal of the Swans. So dashing it makes people want to take your place."