The stadium is packed with vibrant fans, and the stands are covered in a red hue with visible smoke and fireworks.
I've never been in an atmosphere like this before. Looking around, I see men wearing football uniforms with socks and cleats. One team is dressed in blue shirts and shorts, while the other wears red-cornelian shirts with sky-blue sleeves, white shorts, and matching socks.
Am I watching a football match? These uniforms remind me of the typical Aston Villa kit, but it's an old model. How did I end up in England?
As I look around, I realize I'm not in the stands but on the bench. This place is exclusive for players and team members!
I hold my head in pain as I receive fragments of memories. Damn, what kind of insanity is this? I ended up five years in the past in someone else's body!
I'm going crazy!
I stand up and head towards the exit of Villa Park when someone grabs my arm. Looking back, I recognize the man as Graham Taylor, my boss and the current coach of Aston Villa.
"Where are you going, assistant coach Wright?" he asks.
I look at the former England coach and calmly respond, "I'm going to the restroom, Coach Taylor."
He looks at me with irritation, probably because of the 2-0 scoreline for Birmingham at 38 minutes in the second half. The game is practically lost. "You can go and don't bother coming back. This game is over, as well as my job," he sighs.
From my memories, I know that The Lions are having a horrible season. They are in 14th place in the Premier League and losing a home game to their main rival, Birmingham City. Moreover, they had already suffered a 3-0 defeat to Birmingham at their home ground.
The fans and President Doug Ellis no longer want Graham Taylor as the club's coach, so his job is at risk.
I respond to him with understanding, "Of course, I understand, Mr. Taylor. I hope everything will be okay."
Calling someone by their last name is a strange custom in Europe.
I walk through the stadium corridors until I find the restroom. When I enter, I take the cigarette pack and match from the pocket of my trench coat.
I light the match and put the cigarette in my mouth. How could this have happened?
...
After the end of the game, I left Villa Park and walked to my house in Witton, an area in Birmingham where the Aston Villa Stadium is located. Since I live only a 10-minute walk from the stadium, I can easily walk home.
During the walk, I reflected on a lot of things, mainly that I am now a different person.
My name is Christopher Wright, I was born in June 1966, and in 1986, after completing the UEFA course, I received an offer to visit the Werder Bremen Training Center in Germany. It was there that I met the legendary coach Otto Rehhagel and, after a conversation, I became part of the Werder Bremen coaching staff. When Rehhagel left the club to go to Bayern Munich, I stayed on the Werder Bremen coaching staff to fulfill my contract. After the end of my contract and Rehhagel's move to Kaiserslautern, he invited me to be his right-hand man and assistant coach, an invitation that I accepted. I accompanied him from the unprecedented Bundesliga title to his end at Kaiserslautern and learned a lot from him, but I decided not to follow him when he went to coach Greece.
I was unemployed until the start of the 02/03 season when President Doug Ellis called me to be assistant coach to Graham Taylor. As I was born in Birmingham and am an Aston Villa supporter, it was perfect.
Since then, I have lived in the house that was inherited from my parents. Upon entering the house, I observe it carefully. It has two floors, three bedrooms, two bathrooms, and an open kitchen that connects to the living room. The house is built with square bricks and has a small garden in the front and a larger garden in the back, which includes a patio area for outdoor dining and a lawn for children to play. On the ground floor, there is a small living room with an electric fireplace and a flat-screen TV, as well as a comfortable sofa. The kitchen has wooden cabinets, granite countertops, and stainless steel dishes. The bedrooms are located upstairs, where there is a master bedroom with a private bathroom and two smaller bedrooms that share a bathroom. The house also has a garage for one car and street parking for other vehicles.
This house is very different from the studio apartment where I lived in Brazil in my "previous life".
I decided to lie down and sleep, tired of banging my head several times in the Villa Park bathroom trying to understand my current situation.