Back in the days when the internet was not yet widespread and live television in China was just beginning, his access to information was extremely limited, but that didn’t stop him from falling completely in love with football from that time onward. He got to know Gascoigne, even though he was already famous by then. He also got to know Bierhoff, even though at twenty-eight he was still called a “rookie.” Zidane entered everyone’s view that year, and later became the best European footballer of the century... He met many, many people, and those people accompanied him through the next ten years, from middle school to high school, then to university, and finally into society. Some of them have retired, some are still fighting on. The rookies of those years are now old and gray, the superstars of those years have long faded from his sight, and the once-unknowns have become today’s leading stars. They carried all of Dunn’s youthful years; they were like friends to Dunn, appearing punctually every weekend to keep him company.

He didn’t know how to describe that feeling. This person, who was always unpopular and stubborn in front of others, could actually shed tears over the retirement of a football star—of course, he would never let anyone see him cry.

So, seven years before 2003, he watched a major international football tournament for the first time, was captivated by the charm of football for the first time, and thus became its devotee. This was also the only hobby that had accompanied him all along.

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On the other side of the world, a young man with the same name pronunciation was facing a turning point in his life. The young man Tony Dunn from the small town of Eastwood left his hometown. Like the other Dunn, he loved football, but after a family tragedy, his personality changed dramatically. He no longer wanted to stay in the hometown that brought him so much sadness, and decided to venture out into the world.

What could the silent and reserved Tony do? Wherever he went, he seemed to bring a chill with him, and he was not liked by others. Besides, he knew nothing except his passion for football. In the end, God gave him a chance.

The summer of 1996 saw England melting in a football frenzy. This country, once isolated, had finally emerged from its darkest and most difficult times, rejoining the world and attracting global attention. Nottingham, in the heart of England, was no exception. After suffering the pain of relegation from the English Premier League in the 92–93 season, Forest returned to the Premier League the following year. Then they had a dream season: in 94–95, they thrillingly finished third in the league, earning a spot in the UEFA Cup and returning to European competition after eleven years.

But as Forest relived the glory of their European days, they faced the same problems that all small and medium-sized clubs encounter. Tempted by the money of the big clubs, they sold their star player Stan Collymore to Liverpool for £8.5 million, and at the same time brought in new Italian international Andrea Silenzi from Torino, a deal that cost the club £1.8 million. This tall Italian had scored seventeen goals in a season for Torino and had become an international. But unexpectedly, he later became the biggest joke of Forest’s season.

It was at this time that Tony Dunn joined Forest. The club made new personnel arrangements for their youth academy and needed to hire some staff. With his love for football, Tony walked through the gates of Forest’s training base. His first job was as a stadium cleaner. But Tony knew where his true position was. In his spare time, he paid close attention to the coaches’ work, listened carefully to their conversations with the players on the sidelines, observed what they did, and then started to think and learn for himself. That year, he was only twenty-seven.

All of Forest’s efforts that summer ultimately came to nothing. After eleven years, they could no longer keep up with the pace of European football. Although they made it to the quarterfinals of the UEFA Cup, they were humiliated and knocked out by the mighty Bayern Munich with an aggregate score of 7:2. At the same time, fighting on two fronts took its toll, and their domestic league performance was disappointing—they finished only ninth at the end of the season.

The disappointed board fired Frank Clark, the coach who had led the team back to the Premier League. The team captain, thirty-four-year-old left-back Stuart Pearce, became the interim coach. It was also in this year that Tony met the most important person in his life, Paul Hart. Forest poached him from Leeds United’s youth team to become the head coach of Forest’s youth team. He was the man who had appeared repeatedly in Dunn’s dreams.

Paul Hart was a highly respected youth coach. While working at Leeds, he developed a group of treasures for the team: Jonathan Woodgate, Alan Smith, Paul Robinson, Harry Kewell... Look at these now dazzling names—they are all masterpieces of coach Paul Hart.