Chapter 431 Is this considered face-to-face poaching?
For the entire afternoon, whether in the hotel or at the award ceremony at Cardin Square on the Champs-Elysées, Su Dong was busy dealing with all kinds of people, including representatives from sponsors, media representatives from various countries, and football legends.
Baggio, Van Basten, Papin, Gullit, Rummenigge, Keegan...even old man Di Stefano came.
This made Su Dong a little dazzled.
There are too many famous people, many of whom we have only heard of but never seen in person.
Not to mention specially invited guests like Pele and Maradona, each of whom is a well-known legend in world football.
In front of them, Su Dong was like a young kid who had just started out.
Luis Suarez once said something that Su Dong thought made a lot of sense, that is, the so-called legends are all those who have withstood the test of time and survived the test of time.
This is also why some Ballon d'Or winners are always remembered by fans, while others are quickly forgotten.
Among the many legendary celebrities, there are two who left the deepest impression on Su Dong.
One is Platini, the vice president of the French Football Association, a member of the UEFA Executive Committee, and the only French legendary star to win the Ballon d'Or for three consecutive years.
There are players who have won three Ballon d'Or awards, such as Cruyff and Van Basten. There are also players who have won two, such as Rummenigge, Cruyff, Van Basten and Keegan. However, looking at the history of world football, the only player who has won three consecutive Ballon d'Or awards is Platini.
This is undoubtedly particularly rare.
After retiring, Platini entered politics, first taking charge of organizing the 1998 World Cup, then joining FIFA and working under Blatter, before returning to the French Football Association.
Not long ago, there were reports that Johansson might step down as UEFA president. Platini quickly came out and said that he was interested in running for the UEFA presidency. It was clear that he wanted to continue on the path of politics.
I just don't know if he is as good at politics as he is at football. But at Cardin Square, Su Dong saw Platini's side of being good at politics.
When I met Su Dong, his smile was refreshing and his words and actions were quite dignified. He was not tall, but he spoke clearly and his tone was neither humble nor arrogant. He could chat with anyone and was very versatile. He took the initiative to take on the role of host and was very familiar with everyone.
Another person who impressed Su Dong was the football emperor Beckenbauer.
Unlike Platini's spring breeze, Beckenbauer seemed to have the aura of a protagonist as soon as he appeared on the stage, outshining everyone around him. He was not as eloquent as Platini, but he was concise and to the point. Even Rummenigge, a star who won two Golden Ball Awards, was overshadowed by his aura.
Su Dong has heard a lot about Beckenbauer.
He is one of only two legendary figures recognized by FIFA. One is Pele, the King of Football, and the other is Beckenbauer, the Emperor of Football. At the FIFA Centennial Celebration in 2004, the two people who won the Footballer of the Century were Beckenbauer and Pele.
But what really surprised Su Dong was that when Beckenbauer saw him, he actually took the initiative to walk towards him.
The Football Emperor first exchanged a few polite words with Luis Suarez next to Sudong, and then started chatting with Sudong. He was nothing more than concerned about his situation in Barcelona and encouraged him not to be satisfied with the status quo too early and to maintain that hunger.
"You know, we had two chances to sign you when you were playing for Sporting Lisbon and Valencia, but unfortunately, we missed both opportunities. It's a great pity."
Beckenbauer spoke these words with a very sincere tone.
"So, if you leave Barcelona in the future, you must give us a chance to work together."
After hearing this, Luis Suarez laughed and took over the conversation, "Franz, Su is very expensive now."
Beckenbauer laughed and nodded, "Of course, of course, we know, but as long as he is willing to come, I am confident that I can sign him."
These words were said with great dominance and confidence.
After he finished speaking, he nodded towards Su Dong again and said, "I hope that one day I can see you wearing the Bayern Munich jersey and stepping onto this podium again. This will be a wonderful thing not only for you, but also for Bayern, the Bundesliga, and German football!"
…
“Louis, is this considered poaching in person?”
After seeing Beckenbauer off, Su Dong asked Luis Suarez with some amusement.
The Spanish star nodded slightly, "I think so."
"But the Bundesliga is not in a good situation recently," said Su Dong.
There is a saying among fans that there are four major leagues and five major leagues, which is nothing more than adding a French Ligue 1.
In the years after the turn of the century, the Bundesliga flourished for a time, with some Bundesliga teams led by Dortmund, Bayern Munich and Leverkusen reaching their peak. However, with the bankruptcy of the Kirch Group in 2002, the Bundesliga quickly declined.
In recent years, the Bundesliga has lost much of its momentum, and there are even signs that it has been overtaken by Ligue 1.
"Don't underestimate the Germans!" Luis Suarez warned.
"What do you mean?"
"Don't think that the other three major leagues are booming, but think about it, how did Serie A's mini-World Cup come about? What is the current situation of Serie A? How is the business situation of La Liga, including Barcelona, except Real Madrid?"
"Let's talk about the Premier League. Everton had already mortgaged Rooney to the bank before selling him. Other Premier League teams are also in deficit. Only a few top teams can barely maintain it."
Su Dong nodded. Professional football has never been a profitable business. He has never heard of making money by running a club.
"The Bundesliga is not very well-known nowadays, but it is the most financially healthy, especially with the support of Germany, the most powerful economy in Europe. In addition, since 1998, Beckenbauer and others have launched a vigorous youth training reform in Germany, which should produce results in the next few years."
"you mean……"
"The results of Spain's youth training reform have come out. Aragones has decided to recruit Marcos Senna into the national team. Xavi, Iniesta and other players will also join the national team. Fabregas, David Silva and other younger people are also being examined."
"In Spain, we generally believe that the team most likely to become Spain's strongest rival in the future will be Germany, and you can also see that Germany is inviting Klinsmann to carry out radical reforms."
Su Dong was shocked when he heard this.
He has heard about the youth training reforms in Spain and Germany many times. The golden generation of Portugal is also the product of youth training reforms. But now, Luis Suarez actually foresees that in the next few years, Spanish football will become strong and Germany will become Spain's number one rival. This is indeed a bit surprising.
"What about Italy?" Su Dong asked with concern.
This is the most powerful football country now.
Luis Suarez sighed, "In the next few years, if you really leave La Liga, it would be best to go to the Premier League, or the Bundesliga, but don't go to Italy."
"Why?"
"Everything that goes up must come down. Italy will soon face a talent gap. After the current group of players headed by Nesta, who will take over? In today's Serie A league, how many young players can you name?"
Su Dong thought about it carefully in his mind, and it seemed to be true.
The hottest young player in Serie A right now is Cassano, but in fact, his development is far below expectations.
Adriano reached a new height last season, but this season he seems to be a bit lackluster and even starting to indulge himself, which is indeed a bit surprising.
Only a few people, such as Kaka, Ibrahimovic and Pirlo, have developed smoothly.
But Serie A has a very serious problem, which is lack of money.
They don't even own the stadium, so where do they get the financial resources to compete with the Premier League and La Liga for talent? Totti's previous attempt to sell himself to save Roma is a microcosm of the entire Serie A league.
Even among the three giants like Juventus, AC Milan and Inter Milan, except for the Old Lady, which of the two Milan giants does not rely on the investment of the big money behind them? Luis Suarez has a deep connection with Inter Milan, but after hearing what he said, Su Dong really felt that the decline of Serie A seemed to be a matter of time.
Of course, this is also normal.
Aren’t the four major European leagues all experiencing ups and downs, each dominating for several years?
No league can thrive forever. Even a small World Cup like Serie A, which has flourished for so many years, will eventually reach a low point. Perhaps, as Luis Suarez said, it will happen in the next few years.
Of course, the so-called low point is also relative.
For a team like Italy, no matter how weak it is, it is still a world power.
…………
…………
The subsequent selection of the Golden Ball seemed to confirm Luis Suarez's judgment.
The list of the best team for the Ballon d'Or is: goalkeeper Cech, the three defenders are Maldini, Terry and Carvalho, the midfielders are Juninho, Lampard, Makelele and Gerrard, Ronaldinho plays as attacking midfielder, and the two forwards are Henry and Sudon.
In the eleven-man list, Serie A only had one seat, La Liga had two seats, but the Premier League performed very strongly, winning seven seats in the best team, and Ligue 1 also got one seat.
In the 50-man list for the Ballon d'Or announced shortly afterwards, Juventus was the team with the most nominees, with a total of nine, but what was interesting was that six of the nine had zero points.
Among the 24 people who received votes, Serie A still occupied the majority, which shows that the influence of the Mini World Cup is still not weak, but none of the top five are Serie A players, namely Su Dong, Ronaldinho, Lampard, Gerrard and Henry.
The next five are Shevchenko, Maldini, Adriano, Ibrahimovic and Kaka, all of whom are Serie A stars.
Although there is no one in the top five, the top ten occupies half of the market, which is considered strong.
But only two Italian players received votes, Maldini and Buffon.
As the grand prize, Su Dong took the heavy golden ball from Elno without any suspense.
Although this is the second time he has received this award, he is still very excited.
He thanked everyone at Barcelona, without missing a single one.
And he also hopes that he can stand on this podium again.
“I will definitely come again!”
Su Dong's determination also won him warm applause.
Below the podium, many elderly legends looked at Su Dong, who was only 21 years old, on the stage with eyes full of envy and nostalgia.
Being young means infinite possibilities!
(End of this chapter)
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