Chapter 751 Arm Wrestling
"Thomas's excellent report just now has given us a clear view of the team's financial and operational problems."
Following Thomas Recke, Dietmar Beiersdorf also stood up.
After the new club CEO started the first fire and calmed the situation, he should also start the second fire.
If Thomas Rek is responsible for the overall situation and mainly faces pressure from the board of directors, especially from people like Khoff, then Beiersdorf faces football director Oliver Kruse.
One is the football director and the other is the technical director. Who makes the decision?
Now it's time for arm wrestling!
"I would say that the main reasons for this situation are the team's business strategy and transfer operations!"
"Why do you say that?"
"As we all know, in the past few seasons, we have tended to introduce more famous players without considering long-term interests, such as Van der Vaart!"
When Cruze heard what Beiersdorf said, his face turned a little embarrassed.
If Van der Vaart's first arrival in Hamburg was a brilliant masterpiece of Beiersdorf, who brought him in for 5 million euros and sold him for 15 million euros, and the Dutchman performed well in Hamburg, then his second visit was Kruse's responsibility.
"When we signed him, he was already 29 years old and his form had declined a lot, but we spent 10 million pounds on him and paid him 3.5 million euros a year, which was even more than Lewandowski and Reus, but what did we get in return?"
Kruse couldn't listen any longer and immediately said, "Dietmar, maybe you don't know, but Van der Vaart performed well in Hamburg."
"Yes, I know!" Beiersdorf nodded, "But his performance this season has been declining, and we have invested nearly 20 million euros in him in the past two seasons. His contract expires next summer. What can we get?"
This is indeed a very vexing contradiction.
Given Van der Vaart's current situation, he wouldn't be worth much if sold.
First-tier teams are unwilling to accept players in their early thirties, and mid- and lower-tier teams think their salaries are too high, making it difficult to trade them.
With Beiersdorf's vision and ability, it is difficult for others to refute what he says.
This is very embarrassing for Hamburg.
Or they can try every possible means to send Van der Vaart away this summer, but how much transfer fee can be recovered depends on fate.
If not, don’t expect to get a penny next summer!
Even in the next season, the club will have to invest another 4 million euros in him, including salary and bonus!
Therefore, such a transaction is a disadvantage no matter how you look at it.
"There are many such deals, such as Ruud van Nistelrooy, Ze Roberto and Rost. I don't think it's necessary to mention them one by one, but what I want to say is that this is not a long-term solution."
Cruze had no choice but to sneer, "Then what good suggestions do you have?"
Beiersdorf did not take it seriously and replied: "I believe that in the past few seasons, you must have thought of many possibilities and tried to make changes, but why did you fail?"
"Why?" Khoff still trusted Beiersdorf's vision.
Beiersdorf didn't even look at him, because the reason he chose to leave Hamburg was because of Beckhoff.
Besides, he now knows better than anyone that he is Young Master Huan's man, and he must stand firm on this position!
Therefore, he nodded towards Yang Huan and said, "I think a very important reason is that the management's actions have a direct impact on the operation of the team. The board of directors interferes too much in the locker room. The coach cannot play a normal role in the club and has no prestige at all!"
Actually, it’s not surprising when you put it this way.
Hamburg attaches great importance to fame when recruiting players, and the superstars they bring in are naturally the most valued by the management, after all, it is related to the team's income.
But if that's the case, wouldn't it be almost the same as Real Madrid and Inter Milan?
When it comes to head coaches, Hamburg always invites famous coaches at the Bundesliga level, such as Van Marwijk, or the current head coach Slomka, who are both well-known in the Bundesliga and Europe.
But why can’t we do anything about it?
To be frank, a few years ago, players like Ruud van Nistelrooy, Ze Roberto, and now Rafael van der Vaart were directly connected with the management. Which coach could control them?
The coach has no authority and cannot control the locker room. Who among the players will listen to him?
Let me ask, how can such a team be integrated into a whole?
In addition, the management has been in turmoil in the past few years, the team is in financial distress, and even has salaries in arrears for some players. It would be strange if such a team could remain united!
As the chairman of the board of directors, Khoff knew very well that Beiersdorf's words were very insightful.
In terms of transfer operations and team management, Hamburg has indeed been a mess in the past few years. He wanted to fix it, but he couldn't.
This made him feel helpless.
"Dietmar, what do you think?" Khoff asked with a sigh.
These words immediately made Cruze's face change drastically, because he knew very well what this meant.
If Beiersdorf succeeds in convincing Khoff, then his position as football director will probably be in name only.
But Beiersdorf is not stupid and is well aware of the opportunities he faces.
"I think we should do it with two hands, at the same time, and it has to be hard!"
After a pause, Beiersdorf continued: "First of all, coach, I must say that the team's current ranking is completely inconsistent with the team's strength. If we look at our true strength, we should at least be ranked in the middle."
"So, my suggestion is to find a strong head coach, give him authority, and build a team with him as the core, because in modern football tactics, the importance of the head coach has surpassed the star players!"
Kerkhove was clearly convinced.
At least Beiersdorf had already proven his vision and ability when he was in Hamburg in his early years.
Kruse looked a little flustered, he was able to come to Hamburg because of Khoff's strong support, but in the past one or two years, Hamburg's performance has been getting worse and worse, and the board of directors has less and less trust in him.
Now, the emergence of Beiersdorf has put even more pressure on him.
What this person fears most is comparison, especially comparison with those who have proven themselves!
"Dietmar, it's easy to say, but it's not easy to do. Who is willing to coach Hamburg now? Do you want to continue to trust Slomka?"
When Cruze said this, even Khoff, who supported him, looked unhappy.
Because it's too cynical and gloating, isn't it?
Why are today's famous coaches unwilling to come to Hamburg?
Half a year ago, when Van Marwijk's performance was not good and Hamburg wanted to fire him, they contacted famous coaches like Magath.
But what is the result?
It was because of the internal strife among these directors, some supported Magath, some supported Slomka, and finally the club was in chaos, and it was even reported in newspapers and on TV.
In the end, the directors who supported Slomka won!
But when Hamburg announced that Slomka would take over as head coach, five of the eleven board members directly announced their resignation.
Khove's so-called reduction of the board size from eleven to six people is a nice way of putting it.
The real reason is that those five people resigned!
Because of this, the fans almost protested!
Everyone in the Bundesliga knows that Hamburg’s management is a bunch of bastards.
But now, Cruze used this incident to ridicule Beiersdorf. Isn't this shameless?
But who is Beiersdorf?
Having been in the German football scene for so many years, what kind of storms have you not seen?
As soon as he heard what Cruze said, he immediately laughed.
But before answering, he did not forget to glance at Yang Huan and ask for Young Master Huan's opinion.
He had mentioned this matter to Yang Huan before, so at this time, Yang Huan naturally gave his support.
"I actually have a suitable candidate here. I have received news that he will leave after the end of this season. If everyone is okay with it, I am confident that I can invite him to Hamburg."
"Who?" Kruse laughed. "Are you talking about Klopp? Haha, stop kidding, okay? Klopp will come to coach Hamburg?"
When Yang Huan saw the guy's appearance, he shook his head in his heart.
How does the saying go?
Oh, by the way, if you don’t seek death, you won’t die!
This guy is now obsessed with power and is only thinking about defeating Beiersdorf, but he never thought about how disgusting and offensive the words he said would be.
Not to mention Yang Huan, I'm afraid even Khoff, who stands on the same side with him, is dissatisfied.
At least, people still have some love for Hamburg, right?
As expected, after hearing what Kruze said, Khoff snorted coldly, "Dietmar, who are you talking about?"
Judging from his tone, he obviously feels that inviting Klopp to coach is unrealistic.
The head coach of the Hornets is now a famous coach in Europe. If he were to go, he would definitely go to a top-tier club, or at least a strong team. Why would he come to Hamburg to wade into this muddy water?
"I'm talking about Mainz's head coach, Thomas Tuchel!"
"It's him!" Khoff suddenly realized.
Speaking of Tuchel, he is not very old, only forty years old, but he is already a well-known first-line coach in Germany. During his coaching tenure at Mainz, his strength has been recognized and affirmed. This season he helped Mainz reach the upper middle of the league with remarkable results. However, he recently had a falling out with the Mainz management.
Tuchel not only has excellent team performance, but his passing and controlling style of play is also very pleasing. He is indeed a rare talent.
"Tuchel and Mainz have completely broken up, but the two sides still have one year on the contract. Tuchel wants to leave the team immediately, but Mainz's attitude is also very firm. Even if Tuchel leaves the team, he must rest for a year and can only coach again after the contract expires. However, I believe this is not a problem!"
Yang Huan also agrees with this.
If things really get out of hand, it won't be good for Mainz.
Therefore, the best solution is to redeem yourself.
If Hamburg is really sincere, they can pay a buyout fee acceptable to both parties and end the contract early.
Speaking of Tuchel, his abilities are indeed good, and his style is also very much in line with Yang Huan's taste.
In addition, Beiersdorf had connections with him and was very confident in inviting him, so as soon as Beiersdorf finished speaking, Yang Huan immediately voiced his support.
"I also think Tuchel is very suitable. His ability has been proven and there is no need to doubt it. I believe that as long as he is given trust and resources, he will achieve results. He also proved his ability to turn the tide at critical moments when he was in Mainz!"
Speaking of Mainz, the situation was quite bad back then.
The management was still okay, but the coaching staff and the players were already seriously alienated, and there was even infighting within the coaching staff. Finally, the management cut the Gordian knot and fired the Norwegian coach Jon Andersen, who had led the team to promotion, before the start of the season, and let the then youth team coach Tuchel take over.
But even in this situation, Tuchel led the newly promoted Mainz to ninth place in the league, becoming a young coach who was in the limelight that year. In the second season, he started with seven consecutive wins, which made Tuchel famous and established his position as a top coach in the Bundesliga.
In fact, in some ways, Tuchel is more famous than Slomka and Van Marwijk!