Chapter 480 Is He Crazy?
Barcelona's first stop in North America was directly in Mexico.
At the University of Monterrey Stadium in Mexico, Barcelona faced their first warm-up match opponent, Tigres.
Barcelona continued its excellent warm-up match performance in Denmark, defeating their opponents 3-0. Su Dong made one assist and one goal, helping Barcelona win again.
After this warm-up match, Barcelona immediately set off for Los Angeles, USA. After a short rest, they faced their second opponent in the North American Invitational, Guadalajara.
Barcelona finally defeated their opponent 2-0 thanks to Su Dong's two goals and won the victory again.
Although only two games have been played in the North American Invitational, Barcelona has caused a strong whirlwind in North America.
The first match in Mexico was packed with people, and the stadium in Los Angeles was packed again, attracting nearly 100,000 fans to watch the game, which shocked the entire North American region.
Su Dong, who scored in two consecutive games, created a phenomenon in North America.
You know, three years ago, Barcelona came here once but failed. At that time, they played three warm-up matches in Philadelphia, Washington and Boston, which attracted a total of 90,000 fans to watch the games.
And now, Barcelona has come to the United States again with the title of treble. The battle in Los Angeles attracted nearly 100,000 fans, which caused a sensation in the entire American sports world.
Especially Su Dong.
Many American media outlets exclaimed in amazement, saying they had never imagined that a Chinese could have such an influence in the United States. What's even more terrifying is that he is a football player.
In addition to the surge in ticket revenue, revenue from other areas has also increased significantly.
For example, Barcelona signed an agency cooperation agreement with Warner Bros., authorizing them to manufacture, promote and sell official Barcelona peripheral products in the Americas. Su Dong also has a part in this agreement because his portrait rights are in his hands.
This is only part of the gains from the North American trip. The most important thing is the cooperation with several major sponsors.
…
After playing Guadalajara in Los Angeles, Barcelona stayed in this immigrant city for one more day to participate in sponsor activities.
This event attracted more than 10,000 fans to the scene, and the scene was very sensational.
First, Kobe Bryant, the famous NBA star in Los Angeles, came on stage to welcome the Barcelona players.
Amidst thunderous applause from the audience, several Barcelona players, led by Puyol, took the stage.
Su Dong also noticed that Kobe wore a Barcelona jersey today, with the number nine and Su Dong's name on the back.
This really surprised him.
During the event, Su Dong and Kobe did not talk much. The most contact they had was in a ball skills competition. The two competed in football and basketball respectively. Needless to say, Su Dong won in football and Kobe was the undisputed king in basketball.
But after the game, Kobe smiled and said that Su Dong is very tall and has excellent physical fitness.
"Really? I've watched a lot of your games, and I've found that your physical training, especially your muscles, is excellent and very scientific. I think if you didn't play football and played basketball instead, you would definitely be a very good NBA player."
Su Dong couldn't tell whether this was just a commercial boast or a sincere one, so he jokingly asked, "Can I join the Lakers? And become your best partner?"
"That's entirely possible."
There was a lot of noise on the stage, and after the event, the two met again off the stage.
Kobe told Su Dong that he really enjoyed watching Su Dong play, especially his physical training.
As a basketball player, Kobe's training is also very hard, and the same is true for Su Dong. He believes that Su Dong's training is very scientific and the final result is amazing.
"You know why I thought you could play basketball?"
Su Dong shook his head.
"Because your body has almost no shortcomings, and every statistic is very outstanding. If I'm not mistaken, your 100-meter speed should be able to run under 11 seconds."
Su Dong smiled and nodded, "I've tested it at the club, and it's basically around 10.7 seconds. If you're in better physical condition, it can be better."
"That's amazing!" Kobe exclaimed. "You know what? This kind of speed is definitely among the best in the NBA. What's more terrifying is that you are so tall and strong, and you have such amazing explosive power. What's more, your body flexibility and agility are so outstanding. I almost suspect that you were created by God to stimulate us."
Su Dong smiled, but of course he wouldn't say that he had a system that could help him improve through training.
Whether it is basketball or football, technology is one aspect, but the body is also crucial.
Especially for players at Su Dong's level, they all have outstanding physical strength, skills and awareness.
Consciousness is too metaphysical and uncontrollable, and technology is difficult to advance after adulthood, but the body can continue to improve, reaching the limits of the body or even exceeding the limits.
This is the charm of competitive sports! For example, in the Olympics, track and field events have the greatest influence.
This is what Kobe admires most about Su Dong.
It was the first time the two met, but they both left a good impression on each other. After exchanging some experiences, they exchanged each other's mobile phone numbers.
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Flying from Los Angeles to Houston, Barcelona ushered in the third warm-up match.
This time, it once again attracted more than 70,000 fans to watch the game, and it was still packed with people.
You know, before the World Cup, the US national team played a warm-up match with Mexico here. The number of fans in attendance was less than 70,000, but Barcelona's attendance was close to 72,000.
According to the organizers, if the stadium capacity was not limited, the attendance is expected to exceed 90,000 again.
This is already a very shocking number.
Barcelona did not disappoint the fans and defeated America 4-1 cleanly, winning again.
…
The team then flew from Houston to New York to play against the New York Red Bulls.
Su Dong scored twice again, helping Barcelona beat the New York Red Bulls 4-0.
This battle was another packed one.
This year's Barcelona North American Invitational Tournament was extremely popular, with every game being sold out, allowing everyone to see Barcelona's influence in North America, especially the United States.
Barcelona made a lot of money from tickets, and also reaped great rewards in commercial development, signing several significant commercial sponsorships in succession.
But the most meaningful thing is reaching a consensus with the jersey sponsor.
Barcelona's jersey sponsorship was signed in 1998 for a period of ten years and expired in 2008.
Although there are still two years left, a team like Barcelona is definitely a hot target for sponsors. So during the stay in the United States, the jersey sponsor proposed that it is willing to start contract renewal negotiations with Barcelona and strive to extend the contract as soon as possible.
Long before Barcelona came to North America, it had already applied for renewal with its jersey sponsor, requesting that the sponsorship fee be increased from 15 million euros per year to 30 million euros. This would be the most substantial sponsorship in world football.
The jersey sponsor also expressed this time that it hopes to start negotiations as soon as possible.
Unfortunately, however, Barcelona is currently in a leaderless state.
…
If we really want to talk about the biggest beneficiary of the North American trip, then Soviet Union and Eastern Europe are definitely one of them.
During his time in North America, Su Dong signed a sky-high sponsorship contract of 20 million euros with a football boot sponsor. This was the most astonishing sponsorship in the history of football and it shocked the entire sports world.
When Kobe had a private chat with Su Dong, he was full of praise for Su Dong's achievements.
The two have the same sponsor, but his sponsorship fee is only half of Su Dong's, even less than that of the newly debuted James.
Su Dong's sponsorship also shocked everyone.
As a general rule, high sponsorship fees often mean longer contract terms.
But this does not apply to Su Dong, because the new contract he signed is only for five years.
In other words, in the next five years, Sudong will be able to take out 100 million euros in sponsorship fees from the sponsors' pockets, making it a veritable money-making giant.
The whole world was amazed, but only Su Dong himself knew that the key reason why he was able to sign such a high contract was competition.
The sponsor encountered a rival and did not want to miss out on Su Dong, so he had to keep raising his offer.
…
Flying from New York to Spain, Barcelona can be said to have traveled a long way.
The club will next prepare to participate in the Spanish Super Cup against Espanyol, but after being away for a month and returning to Barcelona, everyone clearly felt the change in the atmosphere of the club.
Laporta and others temporarily suspended their duties as chairman and presidium, professionals such as Soriano continued to run the team, and technical director Begiristain continued to be in charge of the competitive department, but many things had to be temporarily suspended.
The upcoming presidential election has also caused panic among the entire club.
Both Laporta and Rosell have announced their intention to run for election, and both have put forward their own election platforms. From how to run the team to how to help the team improve its performance and influence, they have each put forward their own set of policies.
The day after the team returned to Barcelona, Vice President Soriano and Technical Director Begiristain came to the Joan Gamper Sports City and told all the players that the presidential election would not affect the team's operations and performance. They hoped that the players would not worry about the outside disturbances and focus on the game.
"We will create a relaxed and stable competition environment for the team!"
Soriano also made a promise on behalf of the team that a generous reward system will be offered for the performance in the new season, and he hopes that everyone will continue to work hard.
As the technical director, Begiristain also gave some encouraging words.
But it is impossible to say that holding a presidential election at this time will have no impact on the team.
…
At the same time as Barcelona returned to Spain, the sensation caused by the team in North America, especially in the United States, also attracted strong attention in European football.
The most important thing is the sky-high sponsorship contract, which makes everyone feel his influence as the number one person in world football.
But at the same time, in the editor-in-chief's office of Mundo Deportivo, Santi Nora received an anonymous letter.
The content of the letter shocked him! "Is he crazy?" Santi Nora fell back into his office chair, unable to speak for a long time.
(End of this chapter)
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