The Godfather of Football

Cruyff left, coming and going in a hurry, leaving behind only a completely drunk coffee cup with remnants of coffee foam on it. Guardiola was staring at the coffee cup in a daze because his mind was filled with thoughts. He remembered what Ye Qiu said to him that day.

Sometimes people are like this. When they hear something in person, they seem to understand it, but when they think about it afterwards, they still don’t understand it.

It was only today, after Cruyff said so much, that Guardiola felt like he really understood.

As Ye Qiu said that day, the system is very good, but the key to the problem is not the system, but how to introduce fresh blood to stimulate the team, prevent the team from losing passion, and regain its former vitality.

On the first day that Fabregas joined Barcelona, ​​he talked to Guardiola about this matter. He said that he seemed to have lost something at Tottenham Hotspur. He had no passion for anything and played the game more. It's like a task that you have to fulfill, rather than trying to win.

Fabregas also told Guardiola that he had also raised this issue with Ye Qiu, and then Ye Qiu agreed to let him return to Barcelona. Even David Silva decided to transfer to Real Madrid. At that time, Guardiola I just forwarded a quote from Cruyff: it is best not for a person to be in a team for more than four years.

Because not everyone can be as great as Ferguson!

Cruyff has a very high opinion of Tottenham Hotspur. He believes that from the current perspective, at least within the next five years, anyone who wants to prevent Tottenham Hotspur from dominating Europe will basically have to do so. We can only rely on this team to have problems on its own, because at least for now, no team has the strength to challenge Tottenham Hotspur.

Even if Tottenham Hotspur let go of two full-backs this summer, Alves and Alba.

Interestingly, both players came to Barcelona.

Perhaps because Guardiola has been somewhat isolated from the world recently, he did not receive these messages. What makes him incredible is that the value of these two players is so high, with the package price reaching 85 million euros. , this is simply robbery, Russell must be crazy to make such a stupid decision!

"He is going to make a last ditch effort. Real Madrid cannot get these two players no matter what, especially in the new season. Your resignation has already caused Russell to be questioned. If he loses the league championship again, he will become a member." The target of our attack, so he has to make such a decision, he has no choice!”

"However, he was also unlucky to meet Ye Qiu. This bastard's trip to Madrid was fruitful. Not only did he scare Russell, but he also secretly sealed Azpilicueta. I heard that Mourinho was on the spot. He rushed to Stamford Bridge, pointed at Pini Zahavi’s nose and yelled, and the next day, the hapless Chelsea general manager announced his resignation!”

Mrs. Croy left, but the words still echoed in Guardiola's mind.

Half an hour later, Guardiola came to his senses and took a deep breath. He found that the rain outside had stopped. Was he helping the cafe drive people home?

Thinking of this, Guardiola chuckled and picked up the mobile phone on the table. Isn't the mobile phone he was using Ye Qiu's masterpiece? And the number he wanted to call happened to be for Ye Qiu.

"Hello, Mr. Ye Qiu!" Guardiola smiled politely into the phone.

"Haha, Peipei, I didn't expect you to call me!" Ye Qiu on the other side of the phone seemed quite idle, "Is there something wrong?"

"Would you like a set of Tottenham Hotspur season tickets? Is it convenient?" Guardiola asked.

Ye Qiu laughed, "Of course, I will have someone prepare it for you regarding our friendship, but there is a condition."

"You tell me!" Guardiola replied. Although the two are not close friends, they are familiar with each other. With Guardiola's financial resources, he will never ask for a set of season tickets, mainly because of the current trust. Turnham Hotspur are a sellout.

"You come to watch every game. I send you tickets to every game. You can even bring your family with you!"

Guardiola laughed after hearing this, "I am very loyal to Barcelona!"

"I didn't say you were disloyal, you were just watching the football. Don't you want to come to White Hart Lane to watch the football?" Ye Qiu responded with a smile.

"Okay, I'll try my best, but I can't guarantee that I'll be there for every scene!"

Ye Qiu nodded and smiled, "OK, I'll let someone arrange it and let you know when the time comes!"

"Thank you!" Guardiola said with a smile.

"Hey, Pepe, I heard that you are going to Bayern Munich?" Ye Qiu suddenly thought of this question.

"Maybe, but it hasn't been finalized yet!" Guardiola smiled and didn't hide it. The only two people he told were Cruyff and Ye Qiu. Of course, his wife also knew. But that's his family.

"I have to go to a team that has the hope of beating you. Otherwise, how can I avenge the 9-0 loss in two rounds?"

That battle was Ye Qiu's proud battle. After hearing this, he immediately laughed and was in a good mood, "I welcome you to take revenge at any time!"

The two of them talked for a few more words and then hung up the phone. Neither of them was the kind of person who was very talkative.

After hanging up the phone, Guardiola smiled for no reason. At least Ye Qiu gave him the impression of being a very nice person, very straightforward, and also very charming. He remembered what Ye Qiu said to him that day, and he was really looking forward to it. He wondered if he could really coach Tottenham Hotspur one day in the future?

If so, I wonder what kind of scene it would be!

…………

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"You smile so slyly, and people who don't know would think there is some secret between you and Guardiola!"

Roland sat opposite Ye Qiu, smiling slyly and mocking Ye Qiu. He was not polite to Ye Qiu. After all, he and Ye Qiu had been partners for more than ten years. They had been partners since Ye Qiu was in Ajax, and they were close friends when they were in a humble situation, so they spoke to each other more casually.

For Roland's teasing full of some hints, Ye Qiu didn't say much nonsense and directly raised a middle finger.

Fatty Luo laughed and continued to work. "I went to the United States before. It's a nice place, near Yale University. In the past few days, I have arranged for staff to transfer equipment and instruments there one after another."

This time, Tottenham Hotspur's North American trip is mainly concentrated on the East Coast, namely Boston, New York, Washington and Miami, and Tottenham Hotspur's training camp is arranged in New York.

But it's strange that New York is so big, but there is no decent football stadium in the whole state of New York. Even the home stadium of the New York Red Bulls is arranged in Harrison, New Jersey, which is more than ten kilometers away from New York, and there is a Jersey City between the two.

From this point of view, Ye Qiu is not optimistic about the establishment of an American football team in New York. The reason is very simple. New York is now a land of gold. The cost of establishing a football team here and building a new stadium will obviously be so high that you will look up to it. On the contrary, Miami, where a team is established, not only is the Miami government willing to give strong support, but also can enjoy the fans of this city exclusively.

Although the population of Miami is far behind that of New York, this city is the richest city in the United States. It is also the headquarters of countless large companies and banks. It currently has an NBA team, the Miami Heat, but there is no football or baseball.

Football is becoming more and more popular in the United States. Now the average attendance of major league games has exceeded that of NBA and baseball, second only to rugby games, and has become one of the most popular sports in the United States. This is also closely related to the efforts of European giants to develop the American market in the past few years.

Not only in terms of attendance, but also in terms of broadcast ratings, the Major League Soccer has a great advantage, but more importantly, this is a small-scale team. Even if it includes the construction of a new stadium, the total investment is about 200 million US dollars, which is about 120 million pounds, which is very cost-effective.

One of the important reasons why it is so cheap is that the Florida State Council is very supportive of Tottenham Hotspur's establishment of a new team in Miami and participation in the Major League Soccer. Miami also promised that if Tottenham Hotspur decides to form a new team in this city, they will use public funds to help Tottenham Hotspur build a new stadium.

Just for the new stadium, the most conservative estimate is that Tottenham Hotspur can save about $100 million in investment, which was originally intended to support the Florida Marlins baseball team to build a new stadium. But if Tottenham Hotspur can be attracted to move in, Miami will certainly support Tottenham Hotspur.

So, after several considerations, Tottenham Hotspur's new team will be located in Miami, and if there is no suspense, the team will be called Miami Hotspur, and is expected to officially participate in the Major League Soccer in 2015.

This time, in addition to Ye Qiu and Tottenham Hotspur holding 70% of the team's shares, the remaining 30% will be held by stars such as Beckham, Ribery, Messi, Neymar, Pirlo, and the top star of the NBA Miami Heat, LeBron James, who is also a fan of Tottenham Hotspur and strongly supports this plan.

After finalizing the city and share structure, the formation of the team will also enter the plan. The next step is the site selection and design of the stadium, as well as the formation of the team's administrative department and competitive aspects. Tottenham Hotspur will provide strong support at that time, so as to officially compete in the American Major League in 2015.

Because there is no suitable stadium, Ye Qiu chose Miami for the new team, but Tottenham Hotspur chose to arrange the training camp in New York for its North American tour this summer. Strictly speaking, it is no longer New York, but New Haven, which is the location of the famous school Yale University.

Not only that, Tottenham Hotspur also rented a five-story building outside the training ground. This is the team's base camp in New York during the training phase, including the team, media reporters accompanying the team, sponsor representatives and even some fans accompanying the team.

This will not only be a place for the team to rest and stay, but also a series of functions including restaurants, media centers, press conference halls, etc. At that time, Tottenham Hotspur will even arrange staff to work here, and even the chefs here are from Theobald.

In the past few days, Tottenham Hotspur has begun to send some training equipment and tools to New Haven, and some early staff have already gone to New Haven and London offices in advance to prepare for Tottenham Hotspur's trip to the United States.

Listening to Roland's report, Ye Qiu had to admire the strength of the staff, who were really omnipresent.

"This was originally a small hotel. I heard that they first looked for training venues in New York, and then looked for headquarters in the surrounding areas. This time you really should reward them well!" Roland was also very impressed.

Ye Qiu smiled and nodded. Having such a place as a headquarters is still very obvious. That is, everyone can act in unison. Moreover, this time Tottenham Hotspur played games in Boston, New York, Washington and Miami respectively. After the first three games, the team will return to the headquarters to continue training. Only the fourth game in Miami will be played. The team will fly directly to the Middle East after the game. Therefore, Tottenham Hotspur will stay here for at least more than three weeks.

Not only that, Tottenham Hotspur will also cooperate with sponsors to carry out a series of publicity and promotion activities. In order to attract more fans, Tottenham Hotspur has cooperated with sponsors such as Adidas to create a fan experience area in a park in New York.

This is a comprehensive display of the culture, stories and history of the Tottenham Hotspur club. At that time, Tottenham Hotspur players will be arranged to interact with fans on site every day, and some interactive games will be arranged on site. In addition, some retired Tottenham Hotspur veterans such as Davis and Van Nistelrooy will also appear on site.

In addition, some diehard fans of Tottenham Hotspur will serve as volunteers for the team, work for Tottenham Hotspur on site, play interactive games for fans who come to experience, and introduce the history and culture of Tottenham Hotspur.

This is a comprehensive display of Tottenham Hotspur, and even includes the UEFA Champions League trophy, the St. Pauli Cup and two other replica trophies of Tottenham Hotspur, as well as other championship trophies of the team, which will appear in the Hall of Honor in the Fan Experience Area for all fans to visit.

Other players who are interested in football can sign up for the training camp activities in the fan experience area. At that time, there will be active and retired stars of Tottenham Hotspur to guide them, and some real guns and live ammunition competitions will be carried out to let them feel the strength and level of some professional players.

And Adidas has also actively promoted the partnership between Tottenham Hotspur and more than 50 primary schools in three cities including New York, Washington and Miami. Tottenham Hotspur will provide these primary schools with regular teacher training, teaching experience exchanges, teaching materials and equipment sharing, and even assist them in participating in competitions and other activities.

The fan experience plan starts when Tottenham Hotspur lands in the United States and ends when the team leaves the United States, but the cooperation plan with more than 50 primary schools will last for at least two years. During these two years, sponsors such as Adidas will provide full support, which is also a powerful killer move for Adidas to enter Nike's base camp.

There is no doubt that after years of accumulation and improvement, Tottenham Hotspur has now become a powerful weapon for Adidas to compete with Nike, even surpassing Real Madrid and Bayern Munich. At least, Tottenham Hotspur has an attraction and appeal that these two giants cannot match in the United States, Asia and the Middle East.

After Ye Qiu looked at this detailed plan and itinerary, he quickly signed his name and handed it back to Roland. This plan needs his signature as the head coach to count.

After Roland closed the file, his fat face trembled with laughter, "I say, have you been preparing for a speech at Harvard Business School recently? Do you need help?"

This fat guy spoke as if he was very proficient in this subject.

"Tell me about it!" Ye Qiu asked with a smile.

"It's very simple. Just talk about a lot of profound tactical theories and make those amateur fans dizzy, and you will succeed!" Roland laughed.

Ye Qiu shook his head and laughed, "Yes, it succeeded, but after you finish speaking, you will find that all the audience either fell asleep or ran away, leaving you alone to entertain yourself. Is it interesting?"

In Ye Qiu's view, this is undoubtedly a very interesting thing, but it is also a big challenge.

I heard that Ye Qiu received an invitation from Harvard Business School. Platini, Ferguson and others also called to inquire about it. They also talked about this aspect. You can't be too professional, because those business school audiences may not like football. If you say a lot of boring football theories, they will definitely be scared away.

So Ye Qiu's idea is to talk about something that is not so professional, but business school students are more interested in, such as management, which is a big subject. After all, being a head coach and managing a company are in many ways the same.

As the saying goes, you can draw inferences from one instance to another, and that's the truth.

"Heh, look at your attitude, you're too immodest, I don't bother to pay attention to you!" Luo Pangzi was contradicted by Ye Qiu, and he had nothing to say, so he just acted like a spoiled child. This is also the characteristic of this fat guy, he is so thick-skinned.

But he is the lubricant in the team, and he has a good relationship with everyone. Sometimes Ye Qiu feels inconvenient without him.

After sending Roland away, Ye Qiu began to prepare for the season.

Tomorrow is the first day of the team's training camp. At that time, all the players who participated in the Olympics will return to the team for pre-season training, including Azpilicueta, who the team just announced to introduce. Ye Qiu had negotiated with Milia of the Spanish Olympic team when he was in Madrid, and the latter also agreed to let Azpilicueta follow the team to the United States for training.

This player is Montoya's substitute in the Olympic team, so Milia let him train with the team, which is not a loss for the Spanish Olympic team, but for Ye Qiu, this can help Azpilicueta integrate into the team faster.

After the training camp, they will go to the United States, and Ye Qiu still has a lot of things to do.