Nottingham Forest head into their first FA Cup semi-final in over 30 years on Sunday, but for Nuno Espirito Santo, the occasion has a deeper personal meaning.
Forest lost the 1991 FA Cup final in their last attempt at the famous trophy, giving Espirito Santo’s side the perfect motivation to write those wrongs by first beating Manchester City.
In fact, Forest won the 1991 semi-final 4-0, so the past experiences at this level are positive, with legends like Stuart Pearce and Roy Keane amongst the goals that day.
If the Reds can replicate that result and make the final, Espirito Santo will have a chance to create a piece of individual Forest history as Brian Clough never managed to win an FA Cup, but the trophy has significance for the Portuguese coach beyond Forest.
Nuno Espirito Santo has a special relationship with the FA Cup
Chris Sutton expects Man City to win on Sunday, but Espirito Santo and his Forest squad can go into the game full of belief, having beaten the Cityzens in March.
No extra motivation is required, but Espirito Santo will carry some extra emotion into Wembley due to his childhood fascination with the FA Cup, according to Paul Taylor in a Q&A with The Athletic.
Taylor said: “It is very much worth noting that Nuno is a huge fan of the FA Cup. He would watch the finals as a kid back home in Portugal. I think he would take huge pride in leading Forest to an FA Cup final himself.”
Espirito Santo is known to be an incredibly calm, collected coach, so knowing that the occasion will have a more personal significance will be endearing for Forest fans who will undoubtedly share the same sentiment.
However, once the game kicks off, the Forest manager will return to his level demeanour in an attempt to best Pep Guardiola. Luckily, his tactics back in March highlighted that the task is more than achievable.
Nuno Espirito Santo can replicate the tactics that beat Manchester City
Taylor continued in the Q&A to discuss the tactics involved in beating a side like City, specifically, a blueprint that Espirito Santo laid out in March.
Taylor said: “The tactics are going to be fascinating for this [Sunday’s semi-final]. In the league game vs City, Nuno played a sort of 4-4-2/lopsided 4-3-3, with [Nicolas] Dominguez on the right to double up on City’s left.”
Dominguez’s position in the game allowed Gibbs-White to drop deeper on occasion to pick up the ball in more space. This routine was executed to devastating effect for the winning goal when Gibbs-White picked out Callum Hudson-Odoi with a crossfield pass from deep.
Gibbs-White was hailed for the assist and rightly so, but Espirito Santo’s tactical call with Dominguez allowed the Englishman to find this space. Let’s hope the Forest boss has something similar up his sleeve for Wembley.
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