Chapter 105 The Chinese Market

In late January, Milan resumed their schedule of playing two matches a week, with four league games in just 14 days: away against Bologna in round 20, home against Genoa in round 21, away against Lazio in round 22, and home against Reggina in round 23.

Of their four league rivals, only Genoa can be considered a close match. Lazio's performance this season has been mediocre, while Bologna and Reggina are both hovering in the relegation zone.

Milan secured 8 points with two wins and two draws in their four matches, accumulating 50 points and remaining second in the Serie A standings. Inter Milan still leads the group with three wins and one draw in their four league matches, accumulating 53 points and narrowing the gap with Milan to 3 points.

A three-point difference won't make Inter Milan feel secure, nor will it make Milan feel threatened. There are still 15 rounds left in the league, and the outcome is still uncertain. Moreover, the next round of the league will be a direct confrontation between Milan and Inter Milan.

With an eight-day gap between the 23rd and 24th rounds of the league, Milan had ample time to prepare for the Milan derby. Ancelotti even gave the players two days off after playing Reggina to relieve the fatigue of playing two games in a week and to recharge for the Milan derby.

During his two-day holiday, Fino was once again dragged by Mendes to go on a personal business trip. This time, he personally flew to Italy to accompany him, all for the sake of the brand representatives and media from China.

In recent years, China's rapid economic growth has attracted worldwide attention. With the influx of media and sponsors brought by players playing in Europe, European teams have realized that the vast Eastern continent has a huge fan base and is a large, untapped market full of opportunities.

In 1999, Manchester United, riding high on their treble-winning glory, was invited to China for a commercial tour. This commercial operation was a great success, and subsequently, other top clubs such as Real Madrid, Barcelona, ​​and Bayern Munich also launched similar tours to China.

Some of these visiting teams made a fortune, while others were met with a cold reception; their situations varied greatly.

In 2003, Real Madrid's first China tour drew massive crowds and made a fortune. Emboldened by this success, Real Madrid eagerly launched a second China tour in 2005, bringing along a host of big-name stars including Ronaldo, Zidane, Beckham, Raul, Figo, and Owen. However, due to their perfunctory attitude and inconsistent promises, this China tour fell far short of expectations.

Chinese fans have plenty of money but they're not stupid. More and more European teams are coming to make money, and Chinese fans will show you the same attitude you have. If you don't show sincerity, making money is just a pipe dream.

Regardless of the outcome, these European teams' forays into the Chinese market have solidified the idea in European football that the Chinese market is a huge pie, and whether or not they can get a piece of it, and how much they can get, depends on their own abilities.

Sometimes, the flowers you plant with care may not bloom, while the willows you plant unintentionally may thrive. The cooperation that major clubs have gone to great lengths to secure has unexpectedly come to Fino.

And there's more than one.

The story begins with a post on AC Milan's official media that involved Shao Jiayi and others.

The media covering the Chinese national team in Dubai immediately interviewed Shao Jiayi and his two companions. Milan is very popular in China, and domestic fans are very curious about how they got in touch.

In an interview, Shao Jiayi revealed Fino's key role in the process and praised Fino for being sincere, enthusiastic, polite, and speaking excellent Chinese.

In the past two years, as Fino has gradually made a name for himself in Milan, he has also become increasingly popular in China, gaining a lot of attention and attracting a large number of fans.

However, domestic fans know too little about him. There are reports that Fino has one-quarter Chinese ancestry, but the accuracy of this information has dropped significantly after it travels across the ocean, and neither the media nor the fans dare to be sure.

Judging from his appearance, Fino has black hair and black eyes, which are typical of Asians. However, there are also people with black hair and black eyes in Italy. His Asian genes are not obvious. He can only be described as having a more delicate appearance than the average Italian.

In this context, for domestic fans, Fino, besides being a star player, is somewhat like a promising child from a distant relative, evoking a slight sense of pride, but really only a tiny bit, incomparable to Yao Ming, a pure-blooded Chinese player who has worked hard abroad.

When news of Fino's participation in "The Voice of Football" reached China, fans were certain that he was indeed one-quarter Chinese and had a strong sense of cultural identity, not only referring to China as another motherland but also learning Mandarin.

Chinese people are scattered all over the world, and bloodline doesn't mean anything. Only when you identify with Chinese culture and recognize your identity as a descendant of Yan and Huang can you be considered half one of us.

At this time, Fino had already gone to Dubai with Milan for training. Then came Milan's social media updates and interviews with Shao Jiayi and others by domestic media.

This greatly increased the enthusiasm of domestic fans for Fino. The child who was like a distant relative suddenly became a child of a distant relative, and domestic fans also began to feel a bit like they were one of their own.

Domestic brands have also seized this opportunity, and have all connected with Mendes' team. With Chinese heritage, Milan star, and stunning good looks, the collaboration with Fino is bound to be fantastic. It can not only attract traffic in China, but may also help them enter the European market.

Sports Weekly also arranged a time with Mendes' team to interview Fino and introduce the real Fino to domestic fans.

Mendes was absolutely ecstatic!

He dreams of connecting with Chinese brands and media, okay?

He absolutely adored Fino; he had just managed to snag a piece of the huge Chinese market pie!

Mendes's roster includes not only Fino, but also this year's Ballon d'Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo, the European champion coach Mourinho, and a large number of high-quality, affordable players. He has players of all price ranges (scratch that) and star players of all prices. There's bound to be one that can be sold to Chinese brands or Chinese teams.

Mendes carefully selected two brand endorsements for Fino.

One is a dairy beverage brand with a very large market share in China, and Fino will be endorsing a milk product that is about to be launched.

Another is a long-established Chinese daily chemical brand, which has launched a men's version of one of its best-selling shampoos, with plans to test the waters in Europe.

Neither of these advertisements had a complicated storyline; they were basically just product showcases.

Milk commercials only require filming a few shots of him playing with a ball, then drinking milk and reciting the advertising slogan. Shampoo commercials are a bit more special; they require him to be shirtless, and there are some scenes in a bathroom. Fino wasn't afraid of that at all; his muscles are incredibly well-defined.

The two commercials could be filmed in one day, and the second day of the rest day was an exclusive interview with Sports Weekly.

Mendes felt he had arranged things perfectly.

Although Fino found it somewhat tiring, the thought of the money that was about to arrive made it all worthwhile. Moreover, he was genuinely happy to strengthen his ties with his homeland.

The filming of the two commercials went extremely smoothly. With the consent of the brand, Sports Weekly also filmed some behind-the-scenes footage, which was then quickly edited and released on the domestic internet.

Before the advertisement was even finished filming, Fino's wet scenes had already gone viral on the Chinese internet.

[Domestic brands react really fast. Cabrini became a hit in China less than a month ago, and they've already filmed commercials for it.]

[Milan has four matches in the past two weeks, so Cabrini just couldn't find the time to film the commercials. Otherwise, he probably would have filmed them much earlier, since popularity translates into money.]

[Tsk tsk tsk, those muscles, that expression, it's impossible it wasn't done on purpose!]

[So don't worry about whether it was intentional or not, I enjoy watching it anyway.]

[Cabrini's appearance is so different! She looks so innocent when drinking milk, but this wet look gives her a wild and alluring vibe.]

The contrast between his smile and his non-smile is quite striking. When he's not smiling, he looks very aloof, but when he smiles, he exudes warmth, and his slightly mischievous grin is... well... very alluring.

[Beautiful, I love watching, take more photos!]

[Sports Weekly has already announced that they will be conducting an exclusive interview with Cabrini tomorrow.]

Wow, I can't wait!

[Expect +1]

...

That evening, Fino invited the three groups of people from China to dinner. He knew that this was a custom in China, and although he hadn't yet settled in, there was nothing wrong with following the local customs.

This time, Fino treated us to Italian food. It's not very meaningful to treat Chinese people to Chinese food; they can definitely eat more authentic food in China. Let's try some local specialties instead.

Mendes naturally wouldn't miss this opportunity and came along, constantly trying to get close to the guests from China, especially the reporter from Titan Sports.

Mendes has always liked to leverage the power of the media. He maintains good relationships with major sports media outlets in Europe. It might be difficult to get them to drop their dirt on his players, but they can certainly help him create a smokescreen when the time is right. This is very useful during the transfer window and when he needs to generate buzz.

When he helped Fino secure the interview with Sports Weekly, he had already learned that Sports Weekly was one of the largest circulation sports newspapers in China, and a professional and serious newspaper, not a tabloid, with strong authority.

Such media outlets must have extraordinary connections and enormous influence in the Chinese sports world, and it is essential to maintain good relations with them.

The meal was a great success, and both the host and guests enjoyed themselves immensely. Fino gained a lot of information about China, and Mendes exchanged contact information with the Chinese guests. Both brands and the press groups had a good impression of Fino and Mendes, praising them for being polite, approachable, having high emotional intelligence, and being good at interpersonal relationships.

The team from Titan Sports that came to Italy this time consisted of a reporter, a photographer, and a translator. The team leader, Liu Yangfan, is under forty years old. He is not only a senior reporter for Titan Sports, but also runs his own account on the Chinese internet with a large number of followers.

After returning to the hotel after dinner, he posted a photo of himself with Fino on his social media account.

[He's a superstar on the court and an exceptionally talented young man in real life. Looking forward to tomorrow's interview.]

The comments instantly flooded the message notification box; in less than half an hour, hundreds of comments had appeared.

Liu Yangfan chose to reply to the first few comments.

[I'm so envious! They get to follow sports stars on public funds.]

→Reply: Cough cough cough, work, it's all work!

[Brother Liu, you got the group photo, don't forget your brothers! Aren't you going to get some autographs for the raffle?]

→Reply: I'll ask tomorrow, it should be fine, Cabrini is really nice!

[Brother Liu, ask Cabrini tomorrow whether he loves Pirlo or Kaká more!]

What the heck?! Ignore this!

...

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Author's Note: Thank you all for your support! [Let me see...]