When returning to Spain from France, Dick breathed a sigh of relief.
Thuram was the first real superstar he signed. Although he took advantage of Atletico Madrid's fame, Dick knew that Thuram agreed to join Atletico Madrid because the prospect he painted moved him more.
As I said before, Thuram is different from anyone else signed by Atletico Madrid this summer. He is a world-famous top defender, a main member of the World Cup and European Cup champions, a world-renowned star Although he did not play for What a top giant, but the current status of Serie A is no worse than La Liga, or even better. Compared with Parma, Atletico Madrid has no advantage. The bigger factor is that Dick impressed Tula Mu, it brought him to join.
"My reputation is not big enough."
Dick sighed in his heart. If Dick was famous enough and was a symbol of championship, I am afraid that a star like Thuram who is very famous but does not have much honor in the club would be easily impressed by him. But the fact is, Dick's performance in the last month or so of last season was amazing, but it still did not make the stars trust him. A capable head coach can never make people trust him just by playing a few games. , but it takes long-term accumulation of championships to give people this sense of trust.
Dick still has a long way to go to reach the point where no matter which team he goes to, there will be many stars willing to play under him because of his charm and ability.
Compared with other coaches, Dick's start was quite good, but similarly, compared with those top coaches, he still lacked a lot of foundation.
Mourinho stayed with Robson and Van Gaal for five or six years, and he also started from Portugal's mid-table team. Ancelotti started from the Serie B team, and Benitez started from the Real Madrid youth team. After the team came out, he also started with the Spanish relegation team and the Spanish second division team. Rijkaard served as the assistant coach of the national team. Wenger had great results when he debuted, but he also had experience coaching in Japan these Top head coaches reach their peak after time, setbacks and self-enhancement. On the contrary, like Gullit, Vialli, Klinsmann and Deschamps, they immediately transformed from players into a top team. Because of the existence of the head coach, he suffered serious setbacks in his subsequent coaching career and did not make any achievements.
The career of a head coach also requires qualifications. Dick was lucky enough to catch the Atletico Madrid second team as a springboard. Taking advantage of the good opportunity of Atletico Madrid's imminent relegation, he gained the capital to establish himself in the top head coach circle. However, This is just the beginning. As long as his performance drops slightly, all the pitiful capital he has accumulated will be lost!
Shopping malls are like battlefields, and football fields are no less cruel than shopping malls. Those famous head coaches can fail. However, for newcomers, failure once is almost equivalent to losing everything. Very few people can stand up again after a failure. Those who can do this are the top coaches of this generation.
Mourinho and Benitez all failed, and then they stood up, so they became top head coaches. Rijkaard, Deschamps, Vialli and others also failed, but they did not stand up, so among this generation of head coaches, they only left a trace.
Dick didn't want to leave just a trace. If he wanted to become an unprecedented top head coach, he couldn't fail. Temporary failure and dormancy might be a valuable experience for other head coaches, but he didn't need to be like this. experience!
On July 13, Atletico announced the last signing of the season.
The 28-year-old French international, new European Cup champion, defender Lilian Thuram, joined Atletico Madrid from Parma for a new defender transfer record of US$23 million, signing a three-year contract with an unknown salary. .
This transfer immediately shocked all the teams. Top players are top players. The joining of Makelele or Jardel has never brought such a big shock before!
While Real Madrid and Barcelona are busy running for president, Atletico Madrid has completed its preparations without saying a word. In the summer, Kiko left for Cordoba on a free transfer, and Lardin's contract expired. He left and has not yet found his next home. Hasselbaink moved to Chelsea for $21 million. Three defenders retired. Toni moved to Espanyol for $2 million and Chamot for $2 million. He transferred to AC Milan for US$8 million, Juninho went to Middlesbrough for US$8 million, Leal moved to Paris Saint-Germain for US$7 million, Solari went to Real Madrid for US$7 million, and Serbia Reina left for Fiorentina on a free transfer. Atletico Madrid left twelve players this summer.?They cashed out $47 million.
And their investment is top-notch. Thuram is Atletico Madrid's top transfer bid this summer, with 23 million US dollars, followed by Jardel's 20 million US dollars, and Makelele's 15 million US dollars. , Cruise is ten million dollars, Vicente is five million, Camoranesi is eight million, Mora is Tony's addition, Marchena and Hector add up to five million, David is three hundred Ten players were brought in, with a total cost of US$89 million. Excluding those who were cashed out, only US$3 million was left in the transfer fee of US$45 million given by Hill, which can be said to have been completely spent. .
The club also has some different opinions on this. The main reason is that among the players introduced, except Thuram, the other players do not seem to be worth the price. Jardel can still say, how can Makelele be worth 15 million? Already? Cruz's $10 million is also questionable. Camoranesi, a guy who plays in the Mexican League, is worth $8 million? Dick must have taken advantage of the other party's agent!
However, Hill didn't care about such remarks. The main reason was that Dick did not make any money in the process. The flow of funds was quite normal. After all, Dick only had control rights and the money did not go through his account - of course. It's normal to do tricks, such as reaching a private agreement with the player's agent to give the agent a higher signing fee and then the agent gives kickbacks to the head coach. This practice is the most common method used by head coaches to make money in the middle. However, this time For all transfers, the amount of kickbacks given to agents was quite normal, which basically eliminated the suspicion that Dick was making money in the process.
Of course, Dick used the club's money to travel around, watch European Cup games, and go to cities where other clubs are located to have fun But these are all normal expenses. You can't bring in players and have a head coach. Just pay for the travel expenses in your own pocket to observe everywhere
The main reason is that Hill asked Dick privately, and Dick patted his chest and said that the investment was definitely worth it: "After this successful season, I am confident that we can enter next season. I have greater confidence in winning the Champions League and winning a European championship! If I have better luck and smoother integration, winning the league championship may not be unbelievable! Mr. Chairman, I said before! I want to enter next season¡¯s Champions League and win the honor of a European championship. If I can¡¯t do these two things, I will take the initiative to quit!¡±
Seeing that Dick was always saying things that could easily drive him to a dead end, what else could Hill say? He could only comfort Dick with a few words, such as "The club believes in you, don't put too much pressure on it, as long as the team performs better than before and has hope, we will definitely be patient with you"
Dick just smiled at such words. Nothing is more unreliable than the chairman's promise. When your grades are good, everything is fine. But if your grades are not good, no matter how good your relationship with the chairman is, in order to relieve the pressure from all aspects, The head coach will always be the first target to be operated on.
Only by being able to win more victories is the first factor to stabilize one's position. Other factors are not worth mentioning in front of this factor.
Fortunately, Dick has got the main lineup he wants. Now the goalkeeper position has Molina as the main force, Mora as the substitute, and a third goalkeeper Sergio Sanchez, which is enough. Now, on the defense line, the right backs are Aguilera and Hector, the left backs are Capdevila and David, and the center backs are Thuram, Gamarra, Sandy and Marchena, whether it is Both the main force and the substitutes have sufficient manpower; in the midfield, there is Makelele in the defensive midfielder position, Belleron, Baraja and Czech midfielder Beybul in the middle, Vicente on the left, and Ka on the right. Moranesi and Paunovic can serve as substitutes for Belleron and Vicente. Capdevila can also play as a left midfielder, and Aguilera can also play as a right midfielder. The number of midfielders may be small. A little, especially the defensive midfielder still needs a substitute, but Makelele is not a frequently injured player. It is enough to promote someone from the second team to serve as his substitute. Dick plans to use the second team's defensive midfielder Curro? Backas was transferred to the first team. Although this kid is not famous and his strength is not very good, his characteristics are very similar to Makelele. If he can learn something from Makelele, he might be able to It will bring some surprises.
There is nothing to worry about on the front line. Jardel is a top shooter. As long as he can display his strength and status in Portugal, he will become Atletico Madrid's most powerful guarantee for scoring goals - Dick has no idea about this. Doubtful, historically he went to Galatasaray this season. In a completely different environment from Portugal, he still achieved close to one goal per game, and after returning to Portugal, he had a big explosion¡ª¡ª The subsequent rapid slump was due to a serious injury, and it was also due to the fact that a center like him would face a decline in physical fitness when he reached the age of thirty.¡ª¡ªEven if he is as strong as Vieri, his condition declines rapidly after he turns thirty, let alone him? Dick only needs his excellent form for one or two years, not to mention whether he will continue to coach Atletico Madrid in one or two years. By then Torres will have grown up, and Dick is not worried about the lack of top strikers he can use. .
Cruz is an excellent substitute. Whether playing as a single forward or as a double forward, he has his own position, and his ability to score goals as soon as he comes off the bench also makes Dick appreciate it very much. Torres is a rookie with strong potential. Even Correa is a good substitute. After the continuous introduction of Jardel and Cruz and the promotion of Torres, Atletico Madrid's forward line has been transformed compared to last season. The change!
??Three goalkeepers, eight defenders, eight midfielders, and four forwards¡ªa total of 23 people in the first team are enough for Dick. Even if it is a third-line battle, there will be no problem!
Gamala, Paunovic and Cruz are three non-EU players. Dick did not get one more. After all, non-EU players sometimes cause some trouble.
Now that everything is ready, Dick is waiting for the day when the team gathers