Chapter 391 Barcelona's No.1
The morning after returning to Barcelona from Liverpool, after a recovery training session, the coaching staff called everyone to the conference room for a meeting. This was obviously not an ordinary post-match summary meeting.
Sure enough, the club's president Laporta, vice president Soriano in charge of finances, Alfonso Godard in charge of daily operations, and Sarah Martin, the senior director in charge of business development, made the senior lineup of attendees unprecedentedly large.
This also made all the players feel the extraordinary nature of this meeting.
Just kidding, after an absence of 11 years, they returned to the Champions League final again. Everyone in the club regarded this as their own outstanding achievement, especially Laporta, whose position as chairman was not very stable.
It is worth noting that Rosell, the vice-president in charge of competitive affairs, was absent from this meeting. Only technical director Begiristain attended. This shows that the rumors outside are true and Rosell's resignation has become a foregone conclusion.
Laporta and others obviously did not even give Rosell the last bit of face, and they couldn't wait to tell everyone that Rosell was finished, and that Laporta and his group would take charge of the club next.
Su Dong took a special look at Ronaldinho and other Brazilian players and found that the expressions on their faces were not very good.
This is normal, as they were all introduced at the insistence of Rosell.
As the saying goes, a new emperor chooses new ministers. Now that power has changed in Barcelona, who knows what strategy Laporta and others will adopt? Will they purge Brazilian players on a large scale as Cruyff said?
Su Dong had nothing to do with this matter, just like he had never worried about Roselle coming to power before.
If Laporta and others were smart enough, they should have calmed people's hearts and consolidated their achievements instead of carrying out purges.
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As Su Dong expected, President Laporta first expressed his gratitude to the players in his speech.
He praised the players' performance this season and mentioned some league and Champions League games. Sudon's name appeared the most times, followed by Ronaldinho, Deco, Xavi and Puyol, all of whom are the core players with the best performance this season.
Laporta said that the team has drafted a reward plan and hopes that everyone in the team can continue to work hard.
During the conversation, the Barcelona president made no secret of the fact that the club's management is about to undergo major changes, but he promised everyone that the change in management will never affect the operation of the team and the future of the players. He hopes that everyone can play football and compete in peace, and he also promised to start a new round of contract renewals.
Soriano is the club's vice-president in charge of finances. He does not belong to any faction and is considered a technical talent. He also gave the players a preliminary introduction to the club's financial situation and said that there will be no major transfers this summer, but did not rule out the possibility that the club would make signings if it encounters the right players, mainly in the defense.
As for the bonuses, Soriano said they are being worked on and will be announced within three days.
"I can guarantee that this will be the biggest reward Barcelona has ever received!"
"As long as we can win the Champions League and achieve the double championship, I can guarantee that every player will receive a very generous bonus. We will never be stingy in this matter."
Alfonso Gaudal mainly discussed the arrangements for the Champions League final, which is also a technical job.
This year’s Champions League final was held in Istanbul, Turkey, which was far from peaceful and a long journey away.
According to the consultation between the club and the coaching staff, the team has basically decided to give up the 37th and 38th rounds of the game because the team has already won the championship in advance.
But there is a problem. The 37th round is the last home game of the season. Barcelona will attend the La Liga awards ceremony at Camp Nou and strive to receive the La Liga championship trophy. This is also a very memorable moment.
Although they have reached the final of the Champions League, it is still hard to say whether they can win the championship. Even in the outside world's evaluation, Barcelona's odds are much lower than those of the powerful AC Milan, especially their shockingly fragile defense.
Therefore, no matter what happens in the Champions League final, the most important thing is to win the La Liga championship first.
The club's itinerary was to charter a plane to Türkiye the next day after winning the La Liga title at home.
The trip was a bit rushed, but there was nothing we could do about it.
AC Milan, like Barcelona, also participates in the Serie A, and the Rossoneri currently have the same points as Juventus. The two teams are fighting fiercely for the Serie A championship.
According to Italian media, Serie A will have a decisive battle this weekend, with AC Milan facing Juventus at home. If they win, Ancelotti will probably guarantee the league first, but if they lose, AC Milan will most likely give up the league and gamble on the Champions League.
However, Italy is much closer to Türkiye.
On the contrary, the Premier League ended all schedules early in mid-May.
When Su Dong was in Liverpool, he heard from Jesterdan that Benítez had even planned his schedule for the Champions League final. He planned to go directly to a small island in the Mediterranean for a week of closed training after the league.
Unexpectedly, the wishful thinking was ruined by Su Dong.
Relatively speaking, Barcelona's itinerary has both advantages and disadvantages.
…
Subsequently, Sarah Martin and Begiristain made some speeches, mainly within their respective areas of authority.
This also shows that after Rosell steps down, Begiristain is likely to be in charge of competitive affairs.
Head coach Rijkaard analyzed the situation the team is facing this season, studied the crises and advantages in the Champions League final, and said that the team's focus in the future will be preparation and adjustment. He hopes that every player will be in the best condition when participating in the Champions League final.
Not only that, Rijkaard also stated that he had reached a contract extension with the club, which would automatically be renewed for two years.
With the war approaching, the club and coaching staff announced the contract renewal at this time, undoubtedly to stabilize the morale of the team.
After the meeting, Su Dong, Ronaldinho, Puyol and Xavi were specially kept to hold a small meeting.
The content of the meeting was mainly about the unity and cohesion within the team. Laporta reiterated that he had absolutely no prejudice against Brazilian players and foreign players. His attitude was the same as Rijkaard's, and they were all Barcelona players.
In the past one or two years, the situation in Catalonia has not been very stable, political conflicts have become increasingly fierce, and there is even a tendency for independence.
Someone had previously disclosed in the newspaper that Laporta wanted to use the platform of Barcelona president to enter politics, but Laporta reiterated this time that he had no plans in this regard and would also create a calm and relaxed external environment for all players.
Finally, Laporta communicated with Su Dong and others individually, mainly to hear their ideas and opinions.
Laporta is quite satisfied with Su Dong. In private communication, he told Su Dong that he had asked the finance department to draw up a new salary structure, and the team will officially start contract renewal negotiations with Su Dong after the end of this season.
"By then, you will become Barcelona's highest-paid, one-of-a-kind superstar!"
Su Dong was not surprised by this. He expressed his gratitude calmly and promised that he would do his best to help the team win the Champions League. However, he also made some suggestions, hoping that the team could strengthen its defense and increase its efforts to train young players.
"Messi and Iniesta are both excellent players and they deserve more attention. Marcos Senna is not young, but his quality is unquestionable and he deserves more recognition."
These three players have a close relationship with Su Dong, so Su Dong will naturally look for opportunities to take care of his younger brothers, just as a reward for the frequent pats on the head.
Laporta had no doubts about him, and he even hoped that the "Sudong Gang" would appear in the locker room.
Rijkaard and Begiristain both gave high praise to Su Dong's vision.
No one knows what Su Dong relies on to evaluate the players. It can only be understood that the genius has a unique understanding of football, and naturally his vision of people is very sharp.
However, when Laporta jokingly expressed his hope that Su Dong would recommend a defender he admired, Su Dong said that he did not have any such candidate and that the club should study who to introduce.
Knowing when to advance and when to retreat made Laporta even more satisfied.
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In the 35th round of La Liga, Barcelona will challenge Valencia away.
This is the first time Su Dong has returned since leaving Mestalla.
The Valencia fans at the scene welcomed him with warm applause. The Bats fans in the stands used a huge poster of Su Dong wearing a Valencia jersey to express their longing and gratitude for Su Dong.
Barcelona’s most important task now is to adjust their condition and reserve physical strength, so they did not give their best in this game.
But in the 13th minute of the first half, Su Dong, Iniesta, Xavi and Belletti made consecutive passes on the right, tearing open Valencia's left defense. Finally, Su Dong stopped the ball and turned around on the right side of the penalty spot, then shot directly and broke through Valencia's goal.
But after scoring the goal, Su Dong did not celebrate to show his gratitude to Valencia.
This also won him warm applause from the Valencia fans at the scene.
Afterwards, Ronaldinho scored another goal for Barcelona.
In the end, Barcelona defeated Valencia 2-0 away and won three points.
For Barcelona, which has already won the championship, this victory does not mean much.
…
On the same day, in Milan, Italy.
AC Milan lost 0-1 to Juventus coached by Capello at their home ground.
This defeat made the Rossoneri lose the initiative on the road to the league title and fell three points behind the Zebras.
With three rounds left in the league, these three points are quite fatal.
You know, Capello's team is incredibly stable.
After losing to Juventus, Ancelotti publicly stated that the team will do its best to win the Champions League title, while also continuing to maintain pressure on Juventus in the league.
This also sends a clear signal that AC Milan has adjusted its season strategy and set its sights on the Champions League.
Even if necessary, AC Milan is likely to give up the last three games and make every effort to prepare for the Champions League.
This is definitely not good news for Barcelona.
(End of this chapter)
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