Chapter 1033 Superstar

"Did you hear about this, Catalpa Dragons?"

"What?"

"The team is planning to implement a new salary structure for the new season, saying that it wants to align with European teams. This..."

At the Beijing Guoen training base, Xu Yunlong, who was called the Dragon Captain, also frowned when he heard this.

Among the many Chinese Super League teams, the salaries of Beijing Guo'en players have always been relatively low. This is also an important reason why the Guo'en team has suffered serious talent loss and lacked the attraction of strong domestic players in the past few years.

In professional football, anyone who puts aside salary and benefits to talk about feelings and the future is acting like a hooligan.

Over the past few years, Beijing Guoan was not unaware of the team's problems, but on the one hand, the parent company was a state-owned enterprise and was not very willing to invest money, always wanting to do big things with little money; on the other hand, the team's performance was stable and the overall structure was good, but it lacked motivation.

So, although every year they call for increased investment and salary reforms, in reality, the people in the team know what is really going on and are even worried about hearing such news.

Reform, reform. Without additional investment, any reform will be a one-sided deal.

"This year, we have brought in players like Terry, Kaka and Xabi Alonso. I heard that they are going to bring in more superstars. Most of the team's salary will be spent on them. But what should we do?"

Xu Yunlong was also dejected. He really didn't know much about the team's current situation.

The management had just been replaced, and he had not received any notification as to what the higher-ups were thinking.

What I am afraid of is that the higher-ups are now calculating, and while aggressively introducing foreign and strong reinforcements, they are adopting a policy of tightening money supply for existing players, and saving as much as possible on the issue of salaries and benefits. That would be really depressing.

The fans were having a great time watching the game and cheering with joy. The arrival of a large number of superstars and strong signings further increased the enthusiasm of the fans and boosted the football market. However, for the old players who had played for the Guoan team for many years, it was stingy and mean.

Such things have been nothing new in the past few years.

If they are young and have good potential, they can still think about changing jobs, but if they are a group of veterans, or lower-middle-class players who are neither good nor bad, I am afraid they will have a hard time.

But every team exists and must have such a group of players, right?

They are professional players, and they naturally care about their own interests. Their views and ideas are naturally different from those of the fans.

If the team is doing well and has brought in a bunch of big names, but their own interests are damaged, who would be happy?

Not as good as before!

Xu Yunlong also sighed, "Regarding this matter, I will find out the details from my superiors as soon as possible. You tell the brothers that I will do my best to protect everyone's interests."

After a pause, Xu Yunlong continued, "Our new boss is Master Huan. I have met him several times and often heard people talk about him. As far as I know, he is not a stingy person. On the contrary, I heard that he attaches great importance to talents, even the most ordinary employees of the club. As long as they have achieved results in their positions, they are all talents and are valued."

"So, I think everyone should relax and not worry. I believe the club will give an explanation soon."

After hearing this, everyone felt that it made some sense.

But is Young Master Huan really as generous as Captain Long said?

Whoever believes easily is naive.

Nowadays, there are so many wealthy people who are not worthy of their title. Who would easily believe them?

"Captain Long is right. The most important thing for us now is to train hard and play well. As long as we perform well, we will have the bargaining chips to fight for our own interests. As for other things, don't think too much for now."

Veteran Zhou Ting also came out to persuade and comfort his teammates.

The training camp is about to begin. It is not a good thing if people are uneasy at this time.

"Yeah, I think so too. The salaries given to foreign players and Wu Lei are so high. It's impossible that they are stingy with us old servants. This doesn't make sense!"

"I think so too. Everyone listen, the training base is being rectified. I just heard from the staff that Bielsa stayed there for three days when he first arrived. He knew what to change, how to change, what to build, what to demolish, what was unreasonable, and what was inappropriate. He said one word and the club approved it all."

"The new CEO Fang personally ordered that there is no budget for the rectification and that it must be completed before the start of the league. In my opinion, the new leadership team does not seem to be stingy, but rather seems to be ready to do something big."

"I heard that the new team plans to sell the naming rights of the training base."

"Really? I heard that we are planning to buy a whole piece of land in Gongti and demolish it to rebuild it."

"Is it true? How much would it cost?"

"Based on the current land value in the second ring of Beijing, it is simply an astronomical figure."

"It shouldn't be necessary to acquire the land in the name of the club. I heard that they are planning to build a football theme park."

"Not only in Beijing, I heard that the club is going to build a football theme park in Hainan as well, which will be used as our winter training base. This is also a big deal."

As everyone was talking, they all felt that the club seemed to be very courageous and not stingy at all.

But until this matter is revealed, everyone is still unsure.

As they were talking, everyone started talking about the newly introduced foreign players, and they were all amazed.

There is no need to mention Terry, the captain of the England national team and a world-class central defender with great ability and experience. Even though he is older, he is still a starter in the Premier League. Just on this point, who can disagree?

As for Kaka, there is no need to say more. He was able to produce such impressive statistics in the Major League Soccer, and attracted several European giants during the winter transfer window. He is also the World Footballer of the Year. Based on this point, Kaka is definitely the team's leader.

There is also Xabi Alonso. In the first half of the season, he was the main force and core organizer of the Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich. Such a player coming to Beijing Guoan will definitely be the soul core, there is no doubt about it.

"When I was in Wolfsburg, I watched Xabi Alonso's games up close. Although he is old, his awareness of playing football and his ability to observe and control the situation on the field are something we cannot help but admire."

Zhang Xizhe, a former Germany player who played for Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga for a short time, said this with admiration.

"Not to mention me, after the match against Bayern Munich, my teammates also admired him very much. He is the kind of player who can see the overall situation on the court and play wherever he is told."

"We have a lot to learn from being on the same team with players like this!"

After hearing this, everyone nodded.

"Xiao Zhang is right. The team's introduction of big names is not only to improve the team's competitiveness, but more importantly, we hope to use Europe's top stars to promote our progress. We have to learn with an open mind, because they are better than us!"

"That's right!" Zhang Chengdong, who once studied abroad in Spain and had just returned to the team, also nodded.

"I really don't think that European players are much better than us technically, but the overall and rational way they play, even their understanding and prediction of the situation, are much better than ours, so we have to learn from them."

"I heard that our head coach is Pochettino, so I called Spain and told my former coach that I wanted to know more about Pochettino. As a result, our head coach said that in the Spanish coaching circle, Pochettino is a great man that even Guardiola and Ferguson admire!"

"Is this true?" Everyone was shocked.

“Absolutely true!”

"If you're really that awesome, why do you always leave get out of class?"

"Yeah, you're really talented, why didn't you achieve any results?"

Zhang Chengdong laughed when he heard it. "So, you don't understand. In Europe, the head coach is just a part of a team. There are many factors that determine the success of a team, and the head coach is not the decisive factor."

"Look at it from another angle. Pochettino's performance is not good, but why do teams always invite him?"

"Da Zhang is right. Take Ronald Koeman for example. Didn't he also have poor results in the years after he became famous at Ajax? How many people criticized him? When he went to Monaco, everyone thought he was no good, but what happened? Not only did he have outstanding results in European competitions, he also remained a steady leader in the French Ligue 1, and young players in the team emerged one after another."

"So sometimes the head coach is just unlucky."

"Captain Long is right!" Zhang Chengdong immediately agreed, "Pochettino is famous in the Spanish coaching circle not only because of his coaching style and his coaching ability, but also because of his ability to guide players, especially young players."

When everyone, especially the young players in the team, heard this, their eyes lit up immediately.

For them, a head coach who is good at management and dares to promote young players is like a blessing in disguise.

"This guy is a professional player, an Argentine international. He was a good player when he played football. After retiring, he taught by example and was very helpful to the players. No matter which team he was in, he was always able to dig out a few gems. So although he is young and not famous, he has a very high reputation among people in the circle."

After hearing what Zhang Chengdong said, everyone couldn't help but nod their heads.

"So, Master Huan's appointment of him was not random."

"That's for sure. European media have said that Master Huan is the boss who understands football the best. He was able to personally finalize Pochettino, so this head coach must be extremely talented."

"Our team is now implementing a youth reform, and Pochettino is just the right person to do it."

"Yes, and his coaching style is very advanced and in line with the current tactical trend. I think there is definitely hope!"

"Look at what you said. It makes me eager to meet him."

"It's almost time. I heard that Pochettino and several foreign players are coming to gather when we arrive in Spain."

"Hey, have you heard who the last big star is? He's a center."

"Who knows? The club operates in a very secretive way. A lot of my friends called me and asked me, but I know nothing."

"Me too, they all thought I was hiding it on purpose."

"Hey, in my opinion, this superstar center may not be possible. It's hard to find a good center nowadays."

"Isn't it? Especially for a superstar, I think... it's difficult!"

At this moment, a loud voice suddenly came from outside, interrupting everyone's conversation.

"Who said that?"

Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw the team leader Wei Dong walking in from outside with a smile on his face.

Wei Dong is a former Guo'en star. After retiring, he has been working in the club. He is a very nice person, so he has a good relationship with the players.

When they saw that it was Wei Dong who came in and heard what he just said, everyone immediately became curious.

"Hey, Mr. Wei, it seems like you know something?"

"Yes, Mr. Wei, please tell me quickly, who is it?"

"Is he really a big star?"

Wei Dong chuckled, "I guarantee you, she's a superstar, she's as famous as it can be!"

"It's not just about bringing in superstars. I just finished a meeting at the club. The salaries of all the players, including the staff, will be increased. The specific increase will depend on your performance and strength. If you can perform at the level of the top players in the Chinese Super League, the team will give you the highest salary in the Chinese Super League."

When everyone heard this, they all showed expressions of disbelief.

Is this true? Are you really going to get a pay raise?

Wow, isn’t this too happy?

But soon, the players' curiosity was attracted by the superstar Wei Dong mentioned, who was so big that he couldn't be any bigger.

"My respected President Wei, please tell us quickly, who is it?"

"Yeah, don't hide it, just tell me now, Mr. Wei!"

"I beg you, I kneel down for you, Mr. Wei, please tell me."