Chapter 297: First Championship in History
For the time being, Mendes is not Mourinho’s agent, but he will be soon.
It is said that Mourinho is dealing with Jose Vega's contract, and once it is done, he will immediately switch to Mendes.
At the same time, he will officially move into Stamford Bridge, replacing Ranieri.
This is no secret in the European professional football circle. Even Ranieri has criticized Abramovich many times, saying that it is disrespectful to him to contact other head coaches in advance before he is officially dismissed.
But Abramovich never responded to Ranieri.
The reason is simple, there is no need for that! Perhaps, in Abramovich's eyes, Ranieri's dismissal is inevitable if he can't win the championship.
When Mourinho took over Stamford Bridge, he handpicked three players to join Chelsea, all from Porto, namely Deco, Carvalho and Ferreira. At present, there are no major problems with Carvalho and Ferreira, the main problem is Deco.
Chelsea has Lampard in the team, and if Deco goes there, how to coordinate the midfield will be a big problem.
In addition, Deco was also pursued by Barcelona.
The forward line was originally Chelsea's strongest force. Players such as Crespo, Hasselbaink, Gudjohnson and Mutu were all famous players of the time, but Mourinho was very dissatisfied with these forwards.
He wants a center forward more.
The best and most ideal one is a center forward like Su Dong! If it was just a concept before, then after experiencing this crazy Champions League final against Schalke, Mourinho was more certain than ever that Su Dong was the player he wanted.
As soon as the game ended, he immediately returned to the locker room and called Peter Kenyon.
This was the Chelsea leadership that contacted him directly, and Mourinho's suggestion was that he hoped Chelsea would bring in Su Dong this summer, and Peter Kenyon gave a positive response.
Chelsea was eliminated by Valencia led by Su Dong in the Champions League. In that match, Su Dong left an extremely deep impression on Chelsea's management, and even Abramovich applauded his performance.
But if Chelsea really wants to sign Su Dong, they face two difficulties.
First of all, is Su Dong willing to go to the Premier League and play for Chelsea? As a 19-year-old young player, Su Dong's strength and potential are beyond doubt, but he has obviously been in the same vein from the Portuguese Super League to La Liga. At this time, is he willing to break away from his original upward track and take the risk of going to the Premier League?
Now, almost the vast majority of people believe that he should continue to stay in La Liga.
Play for at least another two or three years to make yourself more mature and dominant before leaving.
Another problem is that Abramovich has an obsession with Shevchenko that outsiders cannot understand.
If Chelsea really wants to recruit players on the front line, the most likely superstar to be introduced is none other than Shevchenko.
It is unrealistic to introduce Shevchenko and Su Dong at the same time in one summer!
Abramovich is rich, but not rich enough to be so extravagant.
The Russian tycoon is actually not stupid at all. He knows very well the rules of how the professional football world works.
You know, for a wealthy man of his level, the resources and connections are quite amazing.
Mourinho knows the difficulties, but he still wants to give it a try.
After hanging up the phone with Peter Kenyon, he came to the podium and walked directly in front of Su Dong.
…
“Do you want to come to the Premier League?”
Su Dong was obviously stunned for a moment. He didn't expect Mourinho to ask so directly.
This made him think back to the first time he met Mourinho in Lisbon. When the two sat down to talk, Mourinho was also so straightforward and stunned him with his first sentence.
After many years, Mourinho is still the same Mourinho, he hasn't changed at all.
"Chelsea?" Su Dong asked indifferently.
Mourinho nodded. "I've always wanted to work with you, you know."
"Thank you!" Su Dong was really grateful to Mourinho for his favor.
Although, Mourinho's interest in him has not been simple.
For example, when they first met, Mourinho was coaching Leiria and he just wanted to prevent Su Dong from joining Benfica.
As for his later coaching of Porto, he wanted to poach Su Dong and also had the idea of weakening Sporting Lisbon.
But this time, he seemed to really want to recruit Su Dong.
"You know, although Chelsea is said to have a lot of talent up front, in reality, there really aren't that many people."
"Crespo only scored 12 goals last season. He is not used to the English climate, nor the rhythm and intensity of the Premier League. He is lost in the Premier League just like Veron."
"Hasselbaink scored 13 goals, but he is already 32 years old and is no longer in his prime."
"There is no need to talk about Mutu, he can no longer be trusted, and Gudjohnson has never been an efficient scorer."
Mourinho has analyzed Chelsea's forward players thoroughly at this point. From his words, it is not difficult to see his true opinion of Chelsea's forward lineup.
That is disappointment! Su Dong heard the hidden meaning of Mourinho. The Portuguese madman almost told him directly: Come to Chelsea, I will let you play as a starter! Frankly speaking, Su Dong is not against the Premier League, but he is not sure enough and does not know whether he can adapt to the Premier League.
It is not difficult to adapt from the Portuguese Super League to La Liga, after all, they are both on the Iberian Peninsula.
But it’s completely different in the Premier League. From the climate, eating habits to football style, everything needs to be adapted to.
Su Dong was not sure.
"I will think about it seriously when I get back." Su Dong did not agree on the spot.
Mourinho did not ask him to give an immediate answer, so he talked a lot about his plans for Chelsea.
Abramovich still gave him a lot of transfer budget this summer, which he plans to use to strengthen the team's overall strength.
"I am confident that I can lead Chelsea back to the Champions League final in the shortest possible time!"
…………
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Following Porto, Valencia began to prepare to go on stage to receive the award.
Head coach Benítez, captain Albelda and vice-captain Baraja stood in the front three, followed by the players who spontaneously lined up.
According to Article 11, paragraph 3 of the UEFA Champions League rules, each team that wins the Champions League will receive 40 championship gold medals, which will be distributed by the club to players who have played in the Champions League this season, those who have registered but did not play, and the coaching staff of the first team.
Sometimes, the winning team will even consider giving some players who have left the team but have contributed to the team's championship.
What is special is that on the night of the final, basically all eighteen players on the roster were present.
Su Dong deliberately fell to the end of the queue. Even though his teammates in front of him kept asking him to move forward, he still stood at the back and politely declined his teammates' calls with a smile.
He's already in the spotlight enough, there's no need for him to be the first in everything!
The players of Valencia were also very happy. Seeing that Su Dong was unwilling, no one forced him, and everyone was happily preparing to go on stage to receive the award.
Before presenting the championship medals, UEFA also announced the best player of the match for tonight's Champions League final.
Su Dong, who scored twice, deservedly became the MVP of the Champions League final!
This also earned him warm applause from the audience once again! Su Dong kept a modest smile, followed the team, and walked up to the podium step by step.
It has to be said that the award ceremony after the Champions League final was more upscale than that of the UEFA Cup. Even the podium was carefully prepared, making it much more grand than the UEFA Cup.
On the way to the podium, people kept coming out to greet the Valencia players, especially Su Dong.
No matter whether he knew the person or not, Su Dong would always nod with a smile and shake hands to express his gratitude.
In the crowd, he saw Luis Suárez.
This is an old friend.
Su Dong came over specially, shook hands with Luis Suarez and then hugged him.
"Thank you, Louis, thank you for coming to watch this game!" Su Dong thanked with a smile.
He knew that given Suarez's status in European football, he was probably invited by UEFA and not here specifically for him, but he was still happy and wanted to thank him.
It was said to be this game, but in fact, it was also due to the help Luis Suarez gave him back then.
Luis Suarez smiled and patted Su Dong on the shoulder, unable to say a word.
He was indeed very optimistic about Su Dong, even more than anyone else, but he never expected that Su Dong would progress so quickly and get to where he is today.
This reminded him of Moratti again.
Once upon a time, Moratti only wanted stars and he looked down on Su Dong. But now, Moratti looks up to them, and it is Su Dong who looks down on Inter Milan.
If he really leaves Valencia, he will definitely go to a top team that can compete in the Champions League. Does Inter Milan have one? Besides, with Su Dong's current value, can Inter Milan afford him?
If you ignore me today, I will make you out of my league tomorrow!
Su Dong practiced this saying with his words and actions.
…
When Sudong bent down and let UEFA President Johansson put the Champions League gold medal around his neck, the two captains Albelda and Baraja were already standing in front of the Champions League trophy.
As soon as Su Dong arrived, the two of them took the Champions League trophy from Johansson at the same time and held it high above their heads.
Instantly, the entire Schalke Stadium burst into applause! "Let's congratulate Valencia!"
"Congratulations to them for winning the first Champions League trophy in the club's history! This creates a new history for Valencia!"
"Congratulations to Benítez! Congratulations to Albelda! Congratulations to Baraja! Congratulations to Ayala! Congratulations to Aimar!"
"Especially congratulations to Su Dong!"
"Tonight's final undoubtedly belongs to Su Dong. He is the number one contributor to Valencia's Champions League victory. He also used a wonderful final to make the whole world know him again!"
"Su Dong is only 19 years old and still has a long way to go, but we have every reason to believe that with his current strength and potential, his future will shock the whole world!"
"Let us all remember this name that is destined to become a legend!"
"Su Dong!"
(End of this chapter)
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