The Young Lion

At the end of October, the cold wind was bleak, and the footsteps of winter were getting closer, but the European football world was full of smoke and war.

The Millwall first team board a flight to Barcelona for the third round of the Champions League group stage.

They were sitting in the first-class cabin, and Aldrich was sitting alone by the window with a sinking face, watching the scenery, and he was a little upset.

In the middle of this month, the players who returned from the national team tour on the matchday, it turned out that Trezeguet was injured while playing for France and needed five weeks to recuperate. Other international players also returned to the club exhausted.

There will be a World Cup next summer. At this time, the players recruited by the national team must work very hard as long as they have the opportunity, and strive to get tickets for the World Cup. Some international players who are destined to miss the World Cup will also do their best for national honor or a glimmer of hope.

Especially international players like Shevchenko, Nedved, and Larsson, who have a long journey to the national team, are greatly affected.

The virus caused Millwall to lose points against underdogs in the last two rounds of the league.

A draw with Coventry away and a home win over rivals Crystal Palace in the London derby.

However, Manchester United scored big scores in two consecutive rounds. In the games against Barnsley and Sheffield Wednesday, Manchester United scored 13 goals and conceded only one goal. Directly opened the point gap between the two teams by two points.

The league has only played 13 rounds, which seems insignificant. During the same period in the League Cup, Millwall continued to have good luck. They drew Nottingham Forest, which was relegated last season, and easily defeated their opponents at home to advance to the quarterfinals.

What troubles Aldridge is the virus. Millwall can play and fight with only nearly 1.5 sets of teams. Plus the players are young. Some people in the national team are trying to enter the 23-man squad. Some people are the main competitors, especially in the national teams of traditional strong countries, which causes the players to consume a lot when they go to the national team to play.

Before going to Barcelona, ​​Aldridge had a fire in his heart since yesterday.

Being despised, despised, even made Aldrich feel that his dignity was trampled upon!

Barcelona coach van Gaal's game outlook from Spanish media reports.

Van Gaal's original words are: In view of the backwardness of English football, it is no big deal for Millwall to become the Premier League champion. Hall is the 21-year-old head coach. He did a good job, but the European Champions Cup is a completely different stage. He must be very proud now, but after two games, he will know the gap between Millwall and Barcelona.

In the long report, Van Gaal criticized Millwall as worthless. He not only belittled Millwall's achievements, but also looked down on Aldridge, and even disdained to treat Aldridge as an opponent. He felt that Millwall met Barcelona. . It was a chance for Millwall to learn and for Aldridge to learn from him.

As for Millwall defeating Barcelona half a year ago to win the European Cup Winners' Cup. Van Gaal said bluntly: The British beat the British, Barcelona should have won, but no, Barcelona should have won the league, and they didn't, so Robson left, and the champion coach who is really rich enough came here, Yes, I was talking about myself.

How arrogant does one have to be to say such a thing?

There are many lunatics in the coaching world, and the future famous Mourinho is a model, but Aldrich feels that Van Gaal is a hundred times more arrogant than Mourinho!

Mourinho's entry into Chelsea, in all fairness, is indeed a championship-level coach who condescends to coach the ** team, and he is right to be crazy.

But Van Gaal went to Barcelona to take up his new post. At the press conference, he said bluntly: I have won more honors in Ajax in six years than Barcelona in 100 years!

The Dutch coach who is now a football tyrant in the media evaluation made Aldridge ignite strong anger.

From this, he finally focused on Barcelona and Van Gaal.

Ten years later, fans who know Van Gaal will know that he looks down on English football and is extremely arrogant. Even though Ferguson opened up several generations of the Red Devils Dynasty and won the European Champions Cup twice, Van Gaal still despises Ferguson. Achievements, I think that no famous coach can match him, pointing out that Ferguson's achievements were obtained in the Premier League, which does not prove anything at all.

After the plane took off, looking at the beautiful scenery of the sea of ​​clouds outside the window, Aldrich suddenly calmed down.

Could this - motherfucker be psychological warfare?

Van Gaal defied himself, provoked himself, and made Millwall play attacking football even when he was away.

Aldrich stroked his chin and thought about it, and suddenly sighed: I almost fell for it, er, even if the other party said what was in his heart, if I lost my mind, wouldn't it be cheaper for the other party?

While he was talking to himself, someone suddenly approached him, extended his hand to him in a friendly way, and said, Mr. Hall, do you mind if I sit next to you?

Aldrich looked up, and there was no one in the seat beside him, and it didn't matter if he was seated for the other party. Anyway, if there is a problem, it is the problem of the flight attendant.

He shook hands with the other party, only as if the other party wanted to change seats.

If you're a celebrity and someone recognizes you on a plane, it's nothing to be surprised about.

Here is my business card. Let me introduce myself. My name is Smith Carter.

Aldrich took the other party's business card and looked down, only to realize that the other party might be looking for him on purpose.

Executive at Standard Chartered Bank, UK.

Uh, what's your business?

Hehe, I plan to go to Barcelona to watch the game, which is the Millwall game.

Then you should go tomorrow.

It's nothing, I will take a vacation for myself and spend a day in Barcelona.

Mr. Carter, if you have something to do, please explain your purpose directly. I don't like to kill time with insipid conversations.

Carter looks talented, dressed in suits and leather shoes in a gentle manner, and at about forty years old, he looks very mature and attractive.

He made a special trip to check Millwall's itinerary today, and went to Barcelona with Millwall. Fortunately, Millwall didn't charter a flight. do it. It's nothing more than showing your sincerity. It also made it impossible for Aldridge to refuse his door-to-door contact.

Carter then straight to the point told Aldrich his intentions.

Actually want to cooperate with Millwall.

Next summer, Millwall's two important sponsorship contracts will expire.

One is jersey sponsorship. The club is already in the process of renewing its contract with Puma. Furthermore, this kind of sponsorship is nothing more than a few international first-line brands in the industry, the most famous being Adidas and Nike.

The second is the advertisement on the chest of the jersey. There has been no movement from Barclays Bank. It seems that they do not plan to renew their contract in the summer.

Carter is on behalf of Standard Chartered Bank to fight for the new jersey chest advertising sponsorship. Become a Millwall partner.

From the information we have received, Barclays Bank has no intention of renewing the contract with Millwall. They want a more influential publicity platform, for example, the naming rights of the Premier League.

Aldridge listened most of the time and did not make a speech. Adam should be responsible for this kind of matter, and he made it very clear to Adam. However, someone came to him on his own initiative. He couldn't spoil the other party's interest.

If he really said to ask the other party to find Adam, he would be suspected of putting on airs.

Can you show me the introduction of Standard Chartered Bank?

Aldrich felt that the flight was nothing to do anyway. Why don't we just talk about it.

Carter came prepared and explained the situation of their company to Aldridge.

Although Standard Chartered Bank is headquartered in London and is a British bank, its banking business is globalized. On the contrary, there are very few customers in the UK.

Therefore, when they chose Millwall, the most important factor to consider was the influence of publicity outside the UK.

I think you should go to Manchester United.

Aldridge flipped through the introduction documents of Standard Chartered Bank and said casually.

To be honest, Edwards' asking price is too high. We prefer to have a long-term partner. Moreover, we cannot determine the prospects of Manchester United.

Huh? What do you mean?

Carter's expression was slightly surprised, and then he smiled: Don't you know? It should not be a secret in the English football circle. Martin Edwards wants to sell Manchester United. Start contacting the government to come forward and suppress it.”

Aldrich was stunned for two seconds, then shook his head and said, I haven't heard of it, because I don't care about club political struggles, and I'm not interested in other club equity transactions.

Hehe, in your capacity, of course you don't have to care about these things.

Standard Chartered is unsure about United's prospects.

If Aldridge remembers correctly, it should have been during this period that media tycoon Murdoch was planning to acquire Manchester United, and he will make an official move next year, with a purchase price of more than 600 million pounds!

However, the British government came forward to obstruct this acquisition, which made the Edwards family miss the time to sell Manchester United at the highest price.

In fact, this kind of transaction seems ridiculous to foreign fans. If the club changes owners, the government can control it? One buy and one sell, no one cheats, so why bother?

But Manchester United is a symbol of British football after all, and people's ideas have not changed. Looking at the football industry, there is no capitalism like ten years later.

It is no exaggeration to say that if the Hall family is not native to London, even if it is a non-London family in the UK, the acquisition of Millwall will not be accepted by the fans, and even set off a huge opposition movement.

This has nothing to do with whether outsiders can revitalize the team, but a question of ownership.

The old idea that the club belongs to the community, to the fans, not to the owners!

The commercialization of Manchester United has made fans hate it, because they blatantly turned the football club into a money-making tool. Edwards became the first paid chairman in football history, turning a public welfare position into the role of a migrant worker. In this way, the FA regulations indicate the nature of the club's non-profit organization, but Manchester United still distributes annual dividends with great fanfare.

In the development of commercial football, Manchester United is the leader, the first to eat crabs, and the most controversial.

However, when the club becomes a joint-stock enterprise, whether it is the FA or the government, its restrictive power disappears.

The Edwards family learned to be smart after the Murdoch acquisition case was cut in half. After waiting for several years, they secretly completed the equity transaction and sold Manchester United.

Aldrich closed the document in his hand, and said lightly: Can you explain the reason for the cooperation of Standard Chartered Bank? You want to sponsor Millwall, but I think you should have competitors. I don't want to sit on the ground and raise the price, I just want to know , why do you beat your competitors?

Carter talked freely and said confidently: I am a person who believes in the concept of far-sightedness, and I try my best to promote this cooperation, because we want to be Millwall's long-term partner, and I firmly believe that Millwall will bring us great benefits. market effects.”

What is the grounds for confidence?

First, Millwall has a strong financial background. The Hall family is still looting countries in Southeast Asia. The result of this financial war has been irreversible, and the Hall family has conservatively estimated that it already owns more than one billion pounds in assets. Although you are not involved in these, I believe that as the owner of Millwall, you will not lack financial support. Judging from the hard work you have devoted to this team, you will not just watch the team decline and will always Keeping the team competitive may not guarantee you becoming Premier League champions every year, but since you took the team to the European stage, I think Millwall will stay in this stage for a long time to come. Second, Millwall is now a potential stock. The sooner you start, the greater the benefits. Third, Millwall’s own propaganda. During my research on Millwall, I found that you are trying your best to use the emerging Internet to create publicity. Almost every football-related website has your ad, in other words, by becoming a sponsor of Millwall's chest ad, our bank itself has a publicity through the Internet.

Aldrich turned his head to stare at Carter, smiled suddenly, and said something that made Carter confused.

It turns out that in your eyes, you are Bole, and Millwall is the Maxima. (To be continued..) ()