Godfather Of Champions

Chapter 1056 Afterword · Trivia
【postscript】

It's time to write "Postscript" again.Before writing this postscript, I ran to re-read the postscript of "We Are the Champions".After watching it, I just feel that time flies so fast, three years have passed in the blink of an eye.I have changed a lot from myself three years ago, so the character I wrote has also undergone a huge change, from a simple passionate youth to a middle-aged uncle.

My subtext is not that I have become a middle-aged uncle, in fact I am still young.A friend who came to Chengdu saw me and said something: "I always thought that Lin Hai Tingtao, who wrote an uncle like Tony Twain, was a wretched uncle who was at least 34 years old."

I can only be silly.

Writing "The Godfather of Champions" is a very special experience for me, or can it be considered a challenge?

For the first time, I tried to write a protagonist whose age and experience did not match my own.Age spans from 34 to 60, which is biological age.As for the more illusory and unrealistic things like mental age, it's even harder to say.

When I wrote "We Are the Champions", I used a lot of reference to myself and my classmates who were equally youthful when I was in school.When writing "The Godfather of Champions", this condition was not there.

But there is also a prototype.

Speaking of Tony Twain's inspiration, it didn't come from any real-life head coach.Although he looks a lot like Mourinho.But in fact, the first time this image popped into my mind was because of a movie I watched a long time ago.

I mentioned that movie many times in "We Are the Champions". It is "Fighting Sunday" starring Al Pacino. It is a movie reflecting American professional football. Al Pacino plays the leading role in it— —Tony D'Amato, a down-and-out former football champion coach who is getting older and a little out of date.

I have always been a fan of Al Pacino, and I am naturally fascinated by the image of the head coach he created.Then there was this idea—to write about a head coach like Al Pacino, he is unkempt, he is full of foul words, his words are not rough, he is not arrogant, his voice is hoarse, his body language is rich, He's headstrong, he gets frustrated, he gets teased and laughed at, and of course he ends up slapping all his opponents.

Just like that, Tony Twain was released.The choice of "Tony" as the name is also a tribute to the character shaped by Al Pacino.

So writing the story of Tony Twain is a kind of enjoyment for me most of the time.I could feel my ideal head coach popping off the page a little bit, becoming something believable, popular or unpopular but impossible to ignore.

I love creating characters, and there is nothing more fulfilling than creating a living human being.

I write little by little and perfect him little by little.From the frivolous and domineering young man who crashed into the world of professional football, to the 50-year-old old man who knows his destiny and calm down, I write slowly, and my heart changes along with this process. I imagine myself as frivolous and impulsive like him , The words are rough and the rationale is not rough, I also imagine that I will return to calm after experiencing too many things like him, longing for plainness.

This is why the ending of "The Godfather of Champions" is not as sensational as "We Are the Champions".For Zhang Jun, retiring is the ending of his most brilliant career and then suddenly returned to silence. The contrast between before and after is quite large, so it is even more touching.But Tony is different. He slowly and gradually put away the dazzling light, like a flower that is slowly withering. very natural.

This is an ending that fits Tang En's character, so I dealt with it like this - a little bland, not gorgeous enough, but revealing a strong warmth and a touch of parting sorrow.

I feel like I did it, and I love the ending.Whether it was Tony leaving slowly with tens of thousands of people seeing him off, or disappearing in a car in the rain and fog in late autumn.They are all natural, and fit the artistic conception of the last volume - calm and breezy.No matter how brilliant, gorgeous, dazzling, or invincible it was before, it has gradually returned to mediocrity.

It has the taste of "how many things in ancient and modern times are all paid for jokes".

Different from writing the ending of the championship, writing the ending of the championship made me sad several times.But when I wrote Tony’s ending, I finished it with a happy mood, as if I had finally completed a long journey step by step with an old friend. I reached the end and found a place to rest. Satisfied with everything I experienced.

That's how I finished The Godfather of Champions.

Looking back now, I am quite surprised to find that my word count is in the top ten of the starting point total word count list.But this statistic is watery. I definitely haven’t written more than 600 million words in the past two years. Otherwise, I would have averaged 400 words a day, but I rarely have such a high time.I counted it privately, and it seems that there are nearly [-] million words.

That's slightly more than We Are the Champions, and it takes less time.It shows that I work harder than when I wrote that we were champions, which is a good thing.I am very proud of this matter. From the beginning of uploading "The Godfather of Champions" to the end of the day, except for the 512 earthquake, I stopped updating for a few days in that month, and I never stopped updating, even I haven't had anything from asking for leave from one day to the next day.No matter what happens, even if I go out, I can update it every day, which is an amazing thing.

Of course, I also want to thank the starting point editor Hat who is responsible for uploading and updating VIP for me. He updated all my VIP chapters on my behalf. My job is just to pass the written manuscript to him. If I forget After submitting the manuscript, he will remind me, what a good comrade!With him around, I only need to finish writing the manuscript in advance, and then I can go out with peace of mind, so after finishing "The Godfather of Champions", he must be one of the people who needs special thanks.

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"The Godfather of Champions" is a story that I have never encountered before. To write a football coach, to write a protagonist who does not meet the age that mainstream readers like on the Internet, I dare not say how good the writing is. No matter how thick-skinned I am, I'm not so thick...

But still being welcomed by so many people, I am very happy and have a sense of accomplishment.It's pretty good to have such a result on the first try.

In this book, I deliberately weakened the description of the game and increased the off-court stories, which seems to be correct now.Competitive novels can't just write about games, that's too thin.

In fact, I really like characters with extremely weird personalities, because there will be many stories to write around them.The Tony Twain I designed back then was more individual than what you see now, and of course it was more annoying.Later, when I was preparing to write, I was not sure whether someone would like it if I wrote it this way. I was afraid that it would be self-defeating, so I did some processing to make him look less weird.This is the current Tony Twain, with a slightly weaker personality.This may be a pity...

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In fact, I originally prepared a lot of things I wanted to say to everyone, but after I really started writing, I found that I couldn't say anything.Just like Tang En said to Shania when he went to the party celebrating the 14th anniversary of Nottingham Forest's five European Championships:
"Just looking at them feels good."

If we could face each other, I would not be able to eloquently, but just looking at you feels good.What I want to say can be finished in the novel... I am a person who is not good at expressing words. I have told everyone through novels. We met and met through novels. What else do we need to say?We have been friends for a long time, and it is enough to look at each other and smile.

So thanks anyway.

Thanks to every friend who just subscribed to the VIP chapter; thanks to every friend who likes "The Godfather of Champions"; thanks to those friends who helped me in my writing process; thanks to my parents who washed and cooked for me; thanks to my girlfriend , in the last more than a month of this book, it is great to have your company; thanks to the starting point Chinese website, for providing me with such an environment to write such a story; thanks to my editor-in-charge, Jing Ji, and the team leader, Mr. .

Finally, I would like to thank my readers and friends. Without your support as always, there would be no Lin Hai Ting Tao today.

I especially like Zhou Huajian's songs, and there is a song I want to give to all readers who support me. "you".

There is a line in it that really touched me.

"It has never been so popular that it is shocking, and it is not afraid that it will be dark and no one will ask."

It's basically a true portrayal of my situation.At the beginning, I am not the kind of writer who is so popular, and the monthly ticket rarely exceeds [-]. Compared with those masters who are often tens of thousands on the general list, it is simply insignificant.But I have never felt that there are too few monthly tickets, because I know that these are the wishes of my readers and friends. They voted for me because they really like to read my books. For this, I am full of gratitude.

I am already very happy to be able to get the category monthly ticket award every month by writing about the subject of sports.You know, competitive themes are really not popular themes.

But I'm not afraid that no one will ask me in the street.Because of you.My average VIP subscription is very stable, and the data does not fluctuate much, which is the best proof. 600 million hits, 180 million recommendations, nearly three to one point-to-point ratio, not many in my word-level book, right? In "We Are the Champions", it was a three-to-one point ratio, and it is still the same until now, and it has not changed.These are all the confidence that I am not afraid of being dim and no one will ask, and this confidence is given to me by you, so thank you again!
There is no return, I can only write more and better stories to satisfy everyone.

Seeing too many ups and downs,
Say goodbye to innocence and innocence.

no regrets,

Take every applause seriously.

It was never so popular that it was appalling,

Not afraid of the bleak, no one will ask.

along the way,

If it weren't for you,
not possible for me.

……

For more than two years, I sat in front of the computer and wrote almost every day.Suddenly one day I turned on the computer and documents and found that there was nothing to write. I don’t know whether I should feel relieved or sad?Feeling a little empty and overwhelmed...

Thank you!

Thank you everyone!thank you all!
Sincerely thank you!
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[Facts]

1. About Yang Yan.

This character was later asked why it never appeared again.This is actually a result of one of mine doing my tweaks.When I first wrote such a character, I originally planned to let her have a relationship with Tang En. From the clues I revealed earlier, it can be seen that she had a good impression of Tang En before the time travel.But then I fell into an ethical contradiction—is it Tang En's soul or Tang En's body that makes her feel good?If she is allowed to have a relationship with Tang, then what she likes is only the body, not the soul?But if it wasn't for Tang's body, there was really nothing to like, so he could only like the soul.If you like souls, you shouldn't like Tang, but Tang En.But from the very beginning, I never thought that Tang En and Yang Yan would have a passionate relationship.

Therefore, under this kind of contradictory thinking, she can only helplessly let her slowly fade out of the story.Think of it as a wonderful encounter, the sea of ​​people is vast, you are you, I am me, passing by, you go east, I go west.That's all.

So there is no role for her in the future.

2. About Sophia.

I have to confess one thing - I never thought Sophia would be so popular before I put the character of Sophia in front of you readers.I think that the experience of the starting point novels in the past told me that readers don’t like the ambiguous relationship between a character like a prostitute and the protagonist, so I have already thought about her ending from the beginning of designing her—shortly after the beginning of the second volume, she died of illness. Passed away, so I wrote her illness was very serious before, as if she would die in bliss at any time.In the second volume she uses her own death to make Wood more mature.

What I didn't expect was that after it was released, everyone's acceptance of this character was very high.At that time, I told classmate Jingji that I planned to write Sophia to death, and he was surprised and said to me: "If you want to hang around the streets until you die, you can do it!" decided not to kill...

To be honest, it takes courage to kill a very popular character, because I can't guarantee how many readers will be lost after doing so.So I kept it, and kept it, until the last volume, and finally...

3. About Chen Jian.

When I first wrote such a character, someone couldn’t wait to post a post on the Dragon’s Sky forum to satirize me for creating a savior of Chinese football. Just wait and see, it must be Chen Jian who led the Chinese team to use more World Cups in the end. champion.

But unfortunately, let that classmate down, I didn't do this.

Later, some people continued to speculate that Chen Jian was written by me as the hope of Chinese football.

Actually no, I just want to write about an ordinary person who loves football, and this person happens to be Chinese.Because it is unnecessary to expend so much effort to write about someone who has nothing to do with me or your country.So of course I want to write that he is Chinese, so as to have a sense of substitution. I write with a sense of substitution, and you will also have a sense of substitution when you read it.Until now, I still think that I wrote the chapter about Tang En calling Chen Jian after recovering from a heart attack. The comments in the book review area at that time also proved this point.

In the "Godfather of Champions" book, I have little interest in saving Chinese football, because I have already saved it in "We Are the Champions".But our dislike of Chinese football cannot be rudely and brutally transferred to all Chinese who play football.There are many ordinary Chinese who love football and should not be blamed for Chinese football.That's why I'm disgusted with any form of behavior where I see "China" and "football" and yell at "garbage". To vent your anger, you must find the right direction, otherwise it will become empty guns, which is useless at all.Not to mention making a fool of yourself by swiping your foot when shooting, you will also strain your muscles and knees, which is not worth the candle.

All the insults and disgust towards Chen Jian were unreasonable, so I insisted on writing, and finally gave him a good home.

4. About George Wood.

The encounter between George and Tony can be said to be accidental or inevitable, and there is a pair of hands in the dark who are arranging all this.When Tang En was robbed of his wallet on the street, he didn't know that the person who stole his wallet was George Wood.George Wood would never have imagined that this theft would change his life.

Next, after he found the documents and photos in the wallet, he decided to recommend himself.Of course, he didn't forget to steal the change in his wallet.

The next story, the whole world knows...

5. About Nottingham Forest.

When I write football novels, I especially don’t like to put the environment of the protagonist’s activities in those already well-known wealthy clubs, which will reduce my space to play by half, and it is easy to offend people.So I always write about those down and out nobles. On the one hand, they are already down and won't offend anyone. On the other hand, they once had a story, which is worth playing.

So I chose Nottingham Forest.The reason why I chose her at the beginning was because she had a very brilliant time, but now she is so depressed that it makes people sad.Such a background is simply too suitable for writing a novel.

Later, as I got to know more about the Forest team, I felt more and more how correct and wise my original choice was.They used to have a very individual head coach—Brian Clough, who did a lot of things that would go down in English football history. There was such a person, Twain's character was completely out of line with the mainstream perception in England. It is reasonable for the characters to appear in the Forest team.Because of the tradition.

6. About Don.

Some people think that when I wrote that Tang En and Tang met, it was Tianlei, which turned them off.On the contrary, I feel that this is an arrangement that makes me very proud.I've always had a similar idea--time travel novels possessed by souls, what happens when the time traveler meets another self?
So I wrote Don and arranged for him to meet with Don.It's just that my skills are limited, and at the same time, the time is tight and the subject matter is limited, so I haven't written the feeling I want to express very well.This is a great pity.In fact, I really want to explore in depth what will happen when two people meet in this situation, and what changes will occur in their respective hearts. It must be very interesting and interesting.

Now there is only one regret left.Maybe I'll use it in other works in the future?

7. About Shania.

In fact, what I originally designed was that when Tang En went out, he saw a homeless little loli orphan with no parents, and then he kept it at home to grow up. The relationship between the two went from "father and daughter" to "husband and wife", but the titles were always the same. No change - "Dad".

But later I felt that this was too naked, so I changed it to what it is now.

As for her name, it was indeed influenced by one of my favorite female singers, "Shania Twain".At the beginning, I also designed a plot, but unfortunately it was useless in the end:

Tang En proposed to Shania. At that time, Shania was out of town, and Tang En called to propose.Shania didn't agree at the time, but said to think about it for a few days.A few days later, Dunn received a courier package. When he opened it, he found an album by Shania Twain, the queen of American country music, with a song marked "Any_man_of_mine".

This is a somewhat cryptic hint.In fact, she had already agreed to Tang En's marriage proposal.Because the album that was sent was sung by "Shania Twain".After getting married in the future, Shania also had this name.

It's just that when the plot developed to the point where it was time to propose, this story was no longer used.So it can only be put in the tidbits.

Shania is a fictional character, and I mainly refer to these two prototypes for her.Her career refers to Brazilian model Bruna Tenorio (Bruna_Tenorio), and her smirk expression refers to American movie stars. Jordana Brewster (Jordana_Brewster) of other movies.

The woman on the cover is a picture of Brazilian model Bruna Tenorio.

8. About the ending and the music.

What a coincidence.When I was writing "The End. When I'm 60", it had been raining continuously for a week in Chengdu, and the temperature plummeted, giving me the feeling of late autumn.So I made their party sit in an old-fashioned bar with orange lights on a rainy afternoon, and it warmed me just thinking about it.

When I opened the document and was thinking about how to write the ending, I suddenly remembered a song, a song by the Beatles that was recommended to me by a friend - "When I'm 64".That name was about the same age as Twain, so this song was decided.

A friend said that the music I used in this book is all good, which makes me very happy. It’s always good that others like what I like, haha!

So in the singing of "When I'm 64" played repeatedly, I wrote the epilogue and this postscript.

I like to play music when I write, and I need suitable music to feel it.For example, when I write lyrically, I will choose soothing music, and when I write about excitement, I need passionate music.The environment I live in is very noisy, and only these kinds of music can make me fully immersed in it, so I like music very much, and I also like to incorporate music into it when writing books.When I used to write that we are the champions, I would just copy the lyrics bluntly. When I wrote this book, I felt a little more natural.

At the beginning, I wanted to write the first volume of The Godfather of Champions, in order to write the feeling of Britain.I specifically searched for dozens of classic English music to listen to, especially music with a British style, so that I have the British flavor of the first volume.

It can be said that without those ten G MP3 files in my computer, the champion godfather would never have written so smoothly.

9. About Tang En's youngest daughter, Liv.

If anyone has read "Road to Glory" written by He Lancai, they will know the origin of this name, right?If you haven't read it, it doesn't matter, go and read the outer chapter "Troy's Utopia" of "Paths of Glory", hehe.

I would like to thank Helan Cairen here, because he wrote a very good sports novel, and pay tribute to him.

Unfortunately, due to my plot setting, Liv was born a few years later and missed the Troy bus...

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【new book】

Here are some things to do with the new book.

When I wrote this epilogue, I probably haven't figured out what to write in the new book. I need to communicate with the editor before making a decision, and it also depends on the quality of the outline.

So now I can't tell you what I will write in my new book, but I hope you will continue to pay attention. Once I have confirmed news, I will definitely publish it here in "The Godfather of Champions".

If there are no accidents, we will meet again in the new book in a month's time.At that time, I will be waiting for you at the starting point of the new journey.

It's like a long journey.We started our trip with Zhang Jun six years ago, and when the trip ended three years ago, Zhang Jun and Sophie stopped their steps and faded out of our sight.But our journey is still going on, and this time we are accompanied by Tony Twain and his fellows on the bus.Now the Tonys get off the bus, they're at the stop.

After waving goodbye to them on the platform in the car, we continued.

There are more and better scenery waiting for us ahead, let us continue.

`
Lin Haitingtao
Chengdu, January 2009, 10
(End of this chapter)