I Want to Be the King of Football

After finishing his morning recovery training, Boloni walked straight to the technical director's office.

This is the notification received before the training session.

On the way, Lionel Pontes, now a member of the technical team, came up from behind.

Have you heard what's going on? Boloni asked with concern.

The technical department has fixed regular meetings, mainly to discuss various affairs related to football. Meetings like today's temporary notice are generally held on an ad hoc basis when something goes wrong.

Pontes shook his head, I only found out before training, it seems to be the situation on the second team.

After Boloni listened, his brows still did not loosen.

For the situation of the second team, just ask the coach of the second team, James, why should he also participate?

Certainly not so simple.

...

The two walked side by side to the office of technical director Aurelio Pereira.

Just knocking on the door, I found that the head coach of the second team, Jean James, was already sitting inside, along with another member of the technical team, Nuno Nare.

But the real surprise was that football director Carlos Freitas was there.

The football director and the technical director are two different positions. In the club management system, the football director can be regarded as the superior leader of the technical director, because the technical director is only responsible for technology and youth training, while the football director has some operational powers. , and even the appointment of head coaches, player renewals and transfers.

If Aurelio Pereira called them over for a meeting, it should be a technical matter, but the director of football is also there, which means that the next thing to be discussed is related to the idea of ​​​​the club's leadership.

Sit. Aurelio Pereira saw the two come in and immediately greeted them to sit down.

Although he is the technical director, in fact, he and Carlos Freitas are more divided and cooperated, because Lisbon Sports also includes a women's football team, so the scope of authority of the football director will be larger.

But Aurelio Pereira has served in the club for many years, specializing in technology and youth training, and is considered a veteran.

After Boloni and Pontes sat down, Pereira made another cup of coffee for each of them, and this began today's high-level meeting.

I invite everyone to come over today, mainly to discuss some of the problems the team has encountered recently.

Aurelio was the first to speak and opened the topic of today's meeting.

I don't know if you have noticed that in the past few days, some fans have often been watching outside our training ground. According to the response of our patrolling staff, many of them are scouts from other teams, and some even come from other teams. nation.

Arranging scouts and spying on the military situation is very common in professional teams, and it is not uncommon.

But Aurelio clearly meant more than that.

Sporting Lisbon has vigorously promoted young players in recent years, especially in the past two years, a group of outstanding players have emerged, among which Quaresma is the most eye-catching, which has made many European teams pay attention. Sporting Lisbon.

Since last year, the German media giant Kirsch Group has had a debt crisis, tearing down the illusion of prosperity in European football in the past few years. Now many teams in the Bundesliga are in a financial quagmire, not to mention even football players in other European leagues. Teams are all too busy to take care of themselves.”

Football director Carlos Freitas took Aurelio's words and analyzed the current European football situation.

On the one hand, a group of giants, led by Real Madrid and Manchester United, have embarked on the pace of globalization. They have the most influential superstars, the highest influence in the world, their financial income is very amazing, and they have the ability to pay sky-high prices. To buy the best superstars, especially a membership club like Real Madrid.

On the other hand, the Kirsch Group's debt crisis is just the beginning,

Many mid-stream and even mid-to-upstream teams have encountered financial difficulties. It is said that many teams in the Premier League have been so depressed that they have to take their players to the bank to mortgage before they can get loans. Other leagues are also in a bad situation.

Speaking of this, Carlos Freitas sighed, Our Lisbon sports are also not ideal. Although it is not bad enough to mortgage players, we must also operate carefully.

Everyone nodded, this is the keynote.

As early as last year, even when Sporting Lisbon decided to build the Alcochete training base, this was the operating tone of the decision.

Some giants led by Real Madrid and Manchester United, plus Serie A's Roma and Lazio, have invested a lot, which has made the supply of stars in the entire transfer market very short, and many teams with insufficient financial resources have moved. The target, looking at the young players, teams like us Sporting Lisbon and Ajax are often their target.

Sporting Lisbon is certainly not comparable to top academy teams like Ajax, but with the rise of Portugal's golden generation led by Figo and Rui Costa, Portugal's academy strength, and landing as a South American player The best pedal of the four major leagues, Portugal Supernatural has received considerable attention.

What the board means is that we still can't invest in the transfer market this summer, we still have to dig inside, and not only that, we may have to cut some expenses or even sell some players early.

That's the real purpose of Carlos Freitas' participation in this meeting.

When Boloni heard this, the first thing that came to his mind was Jardel.

Many people think that Jardel and his agent brought out the uproar of transfers during the winter break.

But on second thought, didn't Sporting Lisbon think so?

No, they thought about it, and would love to sell it.

Although it may be cold-blooded and cruel, in a certain sense, running a club is like running a company, and the players are the products of this company.

From a competitive level, Jardel has brought a lot of goals after joining, which is a success, but from an economic point of view, Jardel, who is 29 years old after playing this season, has been a 29-year-old since he joined. A consumable item does not have much value-preserving properties, and it will only get cheaper and cheaper.

That said, every goal is draining Jardel's market value.

It is best not to buy it at first, but since you have bought it, stop loss as soon as possible.

But other clubs are not stupid. They are also unwilling to provide Jardel with a rich transfer fee and pay his high annual salary. This is the core factor preventing Jardel from transferring to the four major leagues.

In fact, many people in the club opposed the purchase of Jardel at the beginning. Boloni opposed it from a technical level, and others opposed it from an economic level, but in the end, the club chose to buy it considering its immediate interests.

As a result, I bought a piece of hot potato, which was not easy to throw.

This sounds contradictory.

A striker who scored a lot of goals has become a star that the team is eager to sell quickly. Who will believe it?

But for a team like Sporting Lisbon, that's the irony.

...

Yesterday, Amadora's head coach Jorge Jesus talked to James about Sudong, he was very interested, and then Amadora also called us to learn about Sudong's situation. A transfer and a loan is accepted, or a loan and then a transfer.

Aurelio Pereira said something else.

Jesus is a very capable head coach. Without him, Amadora was relegated. The players he values ​​are generally not bad, so I don't think it is a good idea to sell Sudong to them. Decided, although maybe the price is not bad. Pontes expressed his opinion.

How is he doing? Aurelio asked.

The progress is very fast, even... Pontes pondered his words, ...I am surprised.

Aurelio turned to Boloni, wondering what the first-team coach thought.

If there is no chance in the first team, then a loan or a transfer is a good choice.

Because of this change of hands, it is likely to earn hundreds of thousands or even millions of euros for Sporting Lisbon.

Su Dong's performance in the first team training and group confrontation is still relatively poor, but this is normal. Like all young players who have just entered the senior team, he needs a process of adaptation, getting used to the close combat of adults, and getting used to cruel competition. , Get used to the fast-paced offense and defense, which is a cruel and long-term process.

Physically, I have an advantage among my peers, but in the senior team, I think it's pretty average, but some things are very good, such as some things that can't be practiced, like smart moves, and the kind of timing The keen sense of smell, the ability to judge at critical moments, those are outstanding.

As for his body, although he is inconspicuous in the senior team, his height is already more than 1.9 meters, but unlike other tall players, his legs are very long, but he is very fast, and Very flexible and agile, with outstanding balance and running endurance, especially excellent emergency stop ability, which is very unscientific.

In the end, Boloni himself couldn't help laughing.

But Aurelio, Pontes and others showed tacit expressions one after another.

When Su Dong joined them, they had already experienced this unscientific impact.

But what really impresses me is his here. Boloni reached out and tapped his temple lightly, He's really smart, and his ability to capture offensive opportunities is like a player who has been kicking for a lifetime. As sharp as an old fox in professional football, his comprehensive skills give him the potential of an offensive playmaker.

When Boloni said this, the second team coach Jean James also took over.

Yes, in the recent game against Amadora, we were very passive in the first half. In the second half, I tried to let Sudong play the core of the attack in the frontcourt, and let Marcelino and Ronnie all surround him to attack. , as a result, we scored two goals in a row and reversed the opponent, Su Dong is the kind of player who can open up the attacking space for the team in the deadlock.

After a pause, Jean James smiled: I guess Jorge Jesus is looking at him because the Argentine center Campos he introduced has done a terrible job in this regard.

When Aurelio and Freitas heard this, they basically understood the coaches' evaluation of Su Dong.

That is, the strength is good, the potential is extraordinary, and the characteristics are very lovable.

But the key question is...

Do we have a place for him in the first team? Aurelio reminded everyone.