long live football

Carl left London and returned to the UK after Christmas, so he couldn't see the New Year's special issue of The Sun after he left-"Ronaldo Ronaldinho spends the festive season with the former assistant coach of Manchester United".

The subtitle of the special issue is "Auston is more attractive than Ferguson?" ", which mentioned: "Manchester United coach Ferguson has always had the tradition of inviting foreign players to his home for Christmas, but this year, Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo did not appear at Ferguson's home in Lancashire. According to our reporter I saw with my own eyes on Christmas Day that the Manchester United star and the club's former assistant coach appeared together in Harrods department store, carrying dozens of packaging bags (attached photo). After shopping, the two drove into a high-end community together Inside."

"Due to security restrictions, the reporter was unable to follow up and check inside the complex, but until the reporter left the complex three hours later, he could not see the car that Manchester took pictures of leaving... Why did Ronaldinho reject Ferguson's Christmas invitation ? Is there a golden house hiding a beauty in the community? Or is there a bigger secret hidden there?... "The Sun" sports page will keep track of the latest progress for you at any time."

Not to mention how many people vomit blood after reading this special issue. Karl is in such a hurry to return to Munich because he wants to do more preparatory work before the winter transfer window opens, so that he can start buying players as soon as possible after the transfer period arrives, so as to prevent long nights and dreams. .

In addition to taking the initiative to extend transfer invitations to those big-name stars who are already famous all over the world, the team generally absorbs new members through three channels-youth training selection, scout recommendation, and player self-recommendation.

The first is youth training selection.Most European clubs attach great importance to the construction of youth training. When there are talented young players in the region, they often take advantage of the geographical advantage to seize the opportunity to sign them and hold trial training regularly. As long as they are young players who intend to join the team All players can come to participate, and if they perform well, they have the opportunity to get a youth training contract with weekly subsidies.

However, there are so many European football clubs, and the talents of most countries have not spread too much fame, and they are basically absorbed by the local teams.At this time, the scouting networks of giant clubs all over the world can come in handy. South America is one of the hardest hit areas for scouts. It is possible that you pass by any open-air stadium on the streets of Brazil. The middle-aged uncles watching the game may be employed by different clubs-Manchester United, Real Madrid, Arsenal, Milan Shuangxiong and other giants all have rich networks in South America.

In addition, the local teams of South American football powerhouses are not vegetarians. They also attach great importance to their own talents, so talented young players from Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and other countries often become famous very early.In recent years, due to the fierce competition in the European and South American football markets, African and Asian players have gradually spread the reputation of being cheap, easy to use and cost-effective, so many scouts have set their sights on Asia and Africa.

The practice of players sending their own training and game videos to the club in person, hoping to attract the attention of the team, was very popular in the last century, but now it is getting less and less attention. Because the media industry is so developed now, teams are used to finding new players through means such as news and databases, and 90.00% of the video discs sent to the club have not been unpacked.

Although there are so many ways to absorb new players nowadays, Karl still feels a headache-first of all, the player youth training he needs cannot be provided, because what the youth training camp can produce are semi-finished products with good talent but need to be trained, what Karl needs most is He is in his prime of life, and he can be the main player in the game after the transfer!

Secondly, the financial situation of Munich 1860 has been poor in the past two years, and scouts outside Germany have basically stopped cooperating (because every time a scout successfully recommends a player to the club, they have to charge a lot of money), they want to rely on scouts It's not enough to recommend some high-quality and cheap foreign stars to him.

So Carl had only one way left—try to pan for gold and see if he can find someone by himself.

……

Munich 1860 has four trial training sessions every year, probably attracting at least dozens of teenagers from all over the world each time. Many of them are from poor families. The biggest reason for playing football is to earn money through professional leagues. And change their own destiny, but unfortunately, none of them succeed in the end.

Karl heard from the coach of the youth team that many minors came to Munich by train for dozens of hours. They were tired, hungry and cold when they participated in the trial training, and most of them never accepted the training. Formal football training, only dribbling the ball with brute force on the field.

Running a team is not doing charity, so even if these teenagers have amazing will, they will still be rejected by the club in the end.

The first step Karl did was to find out all the trial training videos of the club in the past two years, and moved four TVs in the office to play at the same time. It was he who wanted to see if he could catch another fish that slipped through the net.

The second step is to convene the remaining scouts of the club and ask them to draw a list of players for themselves based on their memory—it’s just those world-famous talented stars. The current Munich 1860 can’t afford it. There is only 150 million euros in the money, which is only enough for him to buy two or three unknown but hard-working players.

The third step is to gather the strength of the entire coaching staff and scouts to collect as much information as possible on the players on the list, such as name, age, height and weight, skills, preferred foot, etc. It is best to find a video of one or two official games. Put them all in his office.

Then there was a period of darkness, and when Carl came out of the office retreat contentedly, he lost a full five pounds.

After January 2005, 1, the winter transfer window had officially opened. Karl first went to the club's manager Nesser, and after confirming that the other party had received 1 million euros in cash from the account, he told Nesser that he was going to draft three transfers. After receiving a formal contract, he bought his own air tickets to Essen in the Ruhr area of ​​Germany, Madrid in Spain and Athens, the capital of Greece.

……

There is a saying in Spain: Barcelona's youth training feeds the first team, while Real Madrid's youth training feeds the entire La Liga.

At first this sentence sounds like Real Madrid is very good and awesome, but it is quite ironic, because Real Madrid has a world-class youth training system, and fans can at least play in the main lineup of at least ten teams in the Spanish League I saw familiar faces in my youth training camp, but in Real Madrid's first team, there are very few players who have been promoted from the youth training.

Some people blame it on Real Madrid Chairman Florentino, because the opponent's "Galaxy Superstar Policy" makes Real Madrid buy foreign big-name stars one after another, but ignores all the talents that their club has worked so hard to cultivate. The young players who were promoted did not get a chance to play in the first team at all. Their talents were wasted from then on, or they simply left Real Madrid to find another way out for themselves.

Javier Garcia Portillo is one of the biggest victims of this policy.

Portillo was born in the youth team of Real Madrid. He once had a record of scoring 700 goals in the youth team. So far, there has not been a second person in Spain to break his record.Because he was too dazzling in the youth training camp, Portillo was regarded as "Raul Second" and "Another Golden Boy of Spain", and was soon promoted to the Real Madrid first team.

But unfortunately, Portillo just caught up with the "Galaxy Battleship Phase I". In the Real Madrid first team with Zidane, Ronaldo, Beckham, Raul and other superstars, he got very few opportunities to play From the age of 20 to 23, which is the most critical three years for young players, he has been with the water dispenser, even in the Champions League match against Real Madrid and Dortmund in 2003, he scored a shocking goal for Real Madrid. The team evened the score and failed to get the head coach to give him even the position of the main substitute.

In 2004, Michael Owen came to the Bernabeu, and his arrival completely cut off Portillo's chance to play for Real Madrid, because he and Owen played overlapping positions.The disheartened Portillo made a request to leave Real Madrid, and the cruel club then loaned him to the Italian Serie A team Fiorentina.

But what Portillo didn't expect was that going to Serie A was the second irreparable mistake for him-the first was willingly sitting on the bench in Real Madrid for three years, which made him win in his golden age. Without sufficient game training, his quality in all aspects is declining.

The head coach of Fiorentina arranged for Portillo to start as soon as he arrived at the team, but Portillo had just arrived at the team, neither forming a tacit understanding with his teammates nor identifying his own state. His bench period was indeed a waste of himself, and his performance was naturally very bad. He played 18 times for the team in half a season and only scored 1 goal.

The result annoyed Fiorentina, who felt cheated.The head coach of Fiorentina publicly stated to the media in December that he was very dissatisfied with Portillo. If Real Madrid does not take the opponent back, then Portillo will sit on the bench until the contract period between Fiorentina and Real Madrid ends, and then was sent back to Madrid.

Since then, the Spanish media has been full of voices that "the former golden boy has fallen".

The football world always likes to spread rumors. When the head coach of a team decides that a former star has become a waste, other teams will immediately become cautious and dare not attack this player. Portillo’s career was once again suffered. Fatal blow.

However, after watching Portillo's game videos, Karl found that the opponent was not as bad as the Fiorentina coach said.

First of all, at the age of 20 to 23, this youth team needs to get continuous games and exercises to improve their skills and state. What is Portillo doing?He is sitting on the bench of Real Madrid's first team, observing the chiller by the way.No matter how peerless a genius is, his state will decline after three years of neglect. We can't expect a person who hasn't played football for three years to show the hand of God when he touches football again!

Secondly, the style of Serie A football is not suitable for Portillo, where tactics and high-intensity defense are emphasized, and the quality of forwards is extremely high.Perhaps Portillo, who has fully recovered his form and skills, can adapt there, but the head coach of Fiorentina never gave the opponent a chance at all. He has already said that Portillo will sit on the bench in the second half of the season.

Portillo is a tragic character. When others are looking down on him, Carl feels that the other party's talent is still there, and there are no major injuries. Why can't he give him some time to see him? Will it return to its former style?

What's more, after the failed trip to Florence, Portillo might want to go to Germany to try it out, and now Real Madrid must be eager to sell Portillo and will not demand too much from the other party.

However, the premise of everything is that Portillo is willing to go with him.

So Karl came, came to Madrid.

……

The sunshine in Madrid is very bright, and the people in the sun are warm, but Portillo has felt extremely cold in his heart during the past six months.

Real Madrid no longer wants him, and Florence has expressed dislike for him again.

He returned to Madrid before Christmas and wanted to go to some La Liga teams for trial training, but the coaches of those teams looked at him meaningfully with smiles, showing that the team didn't need him— —Unless he agrees to wait until the end of the season for a free transfer and cut his salary in half.

Free transfer?Is he not even worth a hundred thousand euros now?And his annual salary has already dropped again and again.

Portillo was in so much pain that he almost despaired of his career.

At this time, suddenly a young man who claimed to be the head coach of the Bundesliga team found his agent and asked to meet him.

A spark of hope ignited in Portillo's heart, but at the same time, he was also a little apprehensive—is the other party really sincere?Will it be another one who wants to wait for his contract with Real Madrid to end and let him free transfer?

"If I hadn't been sincere, I wouldn't have come to Madrid from Munich to meet you just after the New Year."

The Bundesliga coach in front of Portillo, although young enough to make people feel unbelievable, exudes a convincing demeanor: "I will not loan you away from Fiorentina for the second time. Come, I want to talk to Real Madrid about your buyout contract."

Portillo's heart stopped beating: "Buyout?" For players, a formal buyout contract will make them feel more secure than a loan.

"Not only a buyout, we are also going to sign a three-year contract with you. Actually, before I came to see you, I had already talked with the transfer managers of Fiorentina and Real Madrid. Real Madrid agreed to send you for 3 Sell ​​it to us at the price, and Fiorentina said that as long as you agree to leave, they will immediately terminate the loan contract with Real Madrid."

Although he was mentally prepared, Portillo couldn't help being surprised when he heard the two figures of "three-year contract" and "3".

70 euros, of course, is nothing compared to the current Real Madrid first-line superstars who spend tens of millions of euros in transfer fees.But for Portillo, it is already a suitable price that will not make him lose face. After all, he is not very popular in Spain and Italy now, and his contract with Real Madrid only has half a year left.

He began to seriously consider the other party's proposal: "You said you are the head coach of 1860 Munich? What kind of team is that?"

"You may not understand that you grew up in Spain, but 1860 Munich is indeed a team with a long history. We were founded in 1860 and have decades more history than our rival Bayern Munich." Karl saw the fish hooked, He couldn't help smiling and said: "Although 1860 Munich is now playing in the Bundesliga, we have been in the Bundesliga for the past ten years, and now we also have a good position in the standings. Our goal is to upgrade again this season and return to the league. to the top league."

Seeing Portillo's facial expression loosen again, Karl emphasized his tone a bit: "The atmosphere in German football is very good. The fans are extremely loyal to the club and love every player. Munich is another big city. City, where you won’t feel lonely, or unaccustomed to life – if you don’t like living alone, I can also arrange a dormitory for you in the club, so that you can live with other players. By the way, The Allianz Arena, which we jointly built with Bayern Munich, will be put into operation next year. It will be one of the top stadiums in Europe in the future, not much worse than the Bernabeu or the Nou Camp. Don’t you want to go and see it? "

Portillo was really moved. After a few minutes of quiet thinking, he asked, "If I agree to sign with you, how much will my salary be? And in the team, how many starts will I get?"

Hearing this, Karl laughed again—if the other party didn't want to go to Munich, why did he ask about his treatment?Now that the salary is asked, it proves that Karl is not far from success.

"Maybe we can't give you the same salary as Real Madrid, you know, even the average salary of Bayern's first team is too far away from Real Madrid, let alone us. But, I can give you something else, something you want already. For a long time." Carl said confidently: "The style of German football is more suitable for you than Italian football. I will ask the physical coach to make a training plan according to your situation, so that you can return to the previous state as soon as possible. And, as long as you are physically fit If you are healthy and in good condition, I will arrange for you to play in the game, but I will not require you to score or assist. I will give you enough patience and wait for you to find the feeling of scoring..."

The man in front of him, this young man named Carl Oston, his tone was not very impassioned, and his words were not so deceptive, but there was a sincere feeling in it, which made Portillo feel His own heart beat warmly in his chest.

puff.puff.puff.

In the past three years, Portillo has been shrouded in impetuous and sad clouds. He has not felt this kind of quiet, peaceful, but full of little confidence and longing for a long time.

Portillo wants to make another decision for his career.

And the beating heart at this moment told him that the decision he made this time would not make mistakes again.

"I'll go back to Munich with you!" Portillo interrupted the description of the young man in front of him, and said firmly, "And I'm willing to cut my salary by half!"

Karl Alston, Portillo's future head coach, smiled with relief.He stretched out his right hand, held Portillo's equally thick one, and said gently: "Munich 1860 welcomes you."

……

In much the same way he talked to Portillo, Karl also signed a Greek striker, Theofanis Yekas, for the team.

Yekas is different from Portillo, because he has been playing for Greek domestic clubs since he was a teenager and has never been to the five major leagues for trial training. Yekas is not well-known in the five major leagues, but in fact he is Is an extraordinary player.

Karl knew him for the first time at the European Cup last year.

The Greek team won the European Cup with a full attack and full defense formation. While shocking the world, it also made other countries pay attention to the group of notorious but quite capable stars in the Greek national team.

After the European Cup, many of the Greek team's international players were taken away by other European clubs. This is also a tradition in international football-the team that won the World Cup and the European Cup will wait for the players of the national team after the game. They are always inflated and snapped up.

The funny thing is that the Greek team that won the championship in 04 was robbed of their international players, but the stars of their domestic league did not get any glory. What is the price? After the European Cup is over, the price will still be the same. Hundreds of thousands of euros can even buy a star with the same strength as the international football team. At that time, the price of the Greek international football team has been fired into millions.

Karl was watching the European Cup at that time, thinking that if he became the head coach in the future, he must come to the Greek Super League to seek gold. At that time, he noticed Yekas, who is 24 years old this year, very fast and skilled. good player.

Now he has his wish, and Jekas himself is very willing to play in the top five leagues.

Interestingly, Nesser, the manager of the Munich 1860 club, just came to Greece and signed the contract with Karl and Yekas. The Greek national team issued a call for Yekas——Diofanis Yekas also became a member of the team. A national footballer has been recruited!

Nesser and Karl were very lucky, fortunately they made an early move, otherwise if they signed Yekas now, the price might have increased by 2 to 30!

……

Portillo and Jekas jointly spent about 1860 million euros in Munich 120, and then Karl has only one goal left in the winter transfer period, that is, he once came to Munich 1860 for trial training, and now he is in the German Northern League. Mesut Ozil playing for Essen.