The Godfather of Football

It is really good to be a civil servant in the UK, working 5 days a week, 7 and a half hours a day, and it is easy and comfortable.

"But they don't make as much money in a year as you do in a month!" When hearing Ye Qiu muttering about the benefits of British civil servants, Eliza Moon couldn't help but laugh and hit him aside. She seemed to be addicted to hitting Ye Qiu now.

Many people know that you can't get rich while serving as a civil servant in this country, but it is not necessarily the case after leaving the post. If you are a more powerful official, a lot of companies are lining up to hire you as a consultant, and you are still getting paid for nothing.

At this moment, they are standing in Connaught Square in St. George's District at the north gate of Hyde Park in London. This is the headquarters office of the Premier League, a very common townhouse in the UK, with five floors. The lower two floors are covered with white smooth wall tiles, and the upper three floors are exposed with old red brick walls, leaving traces of years.

Although it is called Connaught Square, it is actually just a crowded alley, and the entire row of townhouses is not owned by the Premier League. They just rented one of them as an office.

After Ye Qiu and Eliza parked the car by the side of the road, they approached the townhouse. He had to admit one thing, that is, the Premier League was too low-key. There was not even a big sign at the gate. There was only a small sign similar to a house number on the brick wall. If you were not careful, you would have missed it.

If no one pointed the way, Ye Qiu would never have thought that this was the headquarters of the Premier League, let alone that billions of euros of Premier League business were negotiated here every year. It really fulfilled the saying that you can't judge a person by his appearance.

Although this hearing was held by the Ministry of the Interior, it was not held at the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Labor, nor at the English Football Association, but at the Premier League headquarters. The time was set at 9 o'clock, and Ye Qiu arrived at 8:30.

"Mr. Ye Qiu!" As he approached the gate, a bald middle-aged man, slightly fat, and dressed in a well-tailored suit came from not far in front.

I believe that anyone who sees him now will say his name at a glance, former Manchester United CEO Peter Kenyon.

Two months ago, he was not familiar to the fans, but now, two months later, he has become well-known, but the taste is not good at all. At least in the eyes of many people, Peter Kenyon represents a traitor.

Although Peter Kenyon cannot come to Chelsea to work for the time being due to the lawsuit, he has actually started to contact Chelsea's business in private. Paul Smith can't do this hearing, and Bruce Buck, a lawyer from Chelsea, can't do it, but Peter Kenyon can.

"Hello, Peter!" Ye Qiu has met him several times and had in-depth contact and conversation.

Peter Kenyon gave Ye Qiu the impression of being a very shrewd person. He was not only shrewd in business and marketing, but also shrewd in getting along with people. It is not difficult to see his ability in this regard from his ability to get along with both sides during his time at Manchester United and his ease between Ferguson and the board of directors.

The two met for the first time before the club's senior management meeting more than a month ago. They had a special communication. The two sides were very frank with each other when they met for the first time and expressed their opinions and views directly. The two sides defined each other's scope of power, that is, Ye Qiu was in charge of competition and Peter Kenyon was in charge of management.

In Ye Qiu's eyes, there are only a handful of the best club management talents in the Premier League and even in the whole of Europe. Moggi was controversial, but he was also very powerful, Arsenal's vice chairman David Dunn, and the former Manchester United CEO Peter Kenyon in front of him.

Ye Qiu had heard rumors before that Abramovich originally wanted David Dunn. Although some people did not think highly of the temper and personality of this Arsenal vice chairman, he was very proficient in football business, which was what Peter Kenyon lacked. Manchester United's CEO was more successful in business, but his football business was not as good as David Dunn.

In other words, Peter Kenyon was Abramovich's replacement after he failed to recruit David Dunn.

Abramovich established the three-horse pattern of Chelsea's management from the beginning. The boss, CEO and head coach, these three horses cooperated with each other to drive Chelsea forward quickly. Among these three horses, the boss is now in charge of the overall situation, and the executive power began to fall mainly on the CEO and head coach.

Therefore, Ye Qiu and Peter Kenyon had a harmonious relationship, so naturally everything could be solved.

After the two met at the gate, they walked in together.

"I talked to Eriksson and Chris Waddle last night, and there shouldn't be any big problems!" Peter Kenyon looked ahead while walking side by side, but whispered in his mouth.

This is the first time that the British Home Office has implemented the special talent clause after it was passed, so all parties attach great importance to it. The Home Office, the Ministry of Labor, the English Football Association, etc. have arranged people to come and join the judging panel. Among them, the English Football Association asked the England national team coach, Eriksson, who is known as a gold medal coach, to be a judge.

Speaking of which, Eriksson is also a cunning old man. At that time, the CEO of the English Football Association, Crozier, overcame all objections and invited him to England with a sky-high annual salary, making the Swede the first foreign coach in England's history. But when Crozier was in trouble not long ago, Eriksson immediately drew a clear line and protected himself. It's really the fickleness of human nature.

However, some people in previous lives also said that if Crozier was still around, there might not be any subsequent sex scandals.

"Wait a minute inside, try to keep your posture as low as possible. These gentlemen are soft-hearted and not hard-edged!" Peter Kenyon had been dealing with this group of people all day long, so he naturally knew what to do. How to deal with them.

"I understand!" Ye Qiu smiled and nodded. He was not a person who didn't know how to adapt.

Of course, it is impossible for him to pretend to be a grandson.

When they arrived at the front desk, they were immediately greeted by an aunt who, well, looked really hard to match the audience. This aunt was standing with the young and beautiful Eliza Moon. Ye Qiu had a kind of Eliza Moon. Well, it turns out to be so beautiful and stunning.

As I said, flowers also need green leaves to accompany them to make them look even more beautiful.

Of course, Eliza noticed Ye Qiu's teasing and teasing eyes, and glared at him angrily.

The group of people went up to the second floor and entered the reception room. Not long after, Richard Scudmore, the CEO of the Premier League, walked into the reception room and extended his arms to Ye Qiu and Peter Kenyon from a distance. Take action and greet warmly.

It seems that he is more polite to Ye Qiu, because he is not familiar with him. On the contrary, he has interacted with Peter Kenyon frequently. They have a better relationship with each other and speak more casually. He is not as polite as when he was keeping a distance with Ye Qiu.

Ye Qiu is used to this, because as a Chinese, even if he has reached the point where he is today, Europeans have always maintained such a respectful attitude towards him, unless he is the kind of friend who knows and understands each other well. , otherwise it is like this, and you won’t find it strange if you see it more often.

A few people sat here for a while, and soon Eriksen came.

As the head coach of the England national team, Eriksen was very friendly towards Ye Qiu, because his recruitment of the national team required Ye Qiu's cooperation. Otherwise, Ye Qiu had enough means to deal with him, such as deliberately letting the players pretend. Sickness etc.

Of course, no one is willing to do this kind of thing unless they really break their skin.

From Erikson's attitude in his words, Ye Qiu also knew that the England head coach would not embarrass himself.

"I think, Mr. Ye Qiu, you should give the judges more respect later. Do you understand what I mean?" The handsome old man with glasses said with a smile to Ye Qiu, who is always known for his sharpness.

Ye Qiu also smiled and nodded in agreement, obviously accepting Erikson's kindness and acknowledging that he owed him a favor.

British people, especially older British people, still retain a strong sense of arrogance about the empire on which the sun never sets. They are arrogant, rigid, and stubborn... You can attack these guys with countless bad reviews behind their backs. , but now you need them to nod, not shake their heads.

Nodding and shaking their heads is nothing more than a simple matter for the judges who participated in the hearing. It all depends on their wishes, so this reflects the importance of public relations.

This is why Ye Qiu said that for wealthy teams like Manchester United and Arsenal, many times the hearings are just a formality, because they have already settled all the judges in advance before the hearings, but it is just a matter of time.

…………

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The hearing was held on time at 9 o'clock in a conference room on the second floor.

The entire hearing process was conducted in strict accordance with the procedures of the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Labor. Although the six previous judges had seen the information and videos of all applicants, namely Messi, as usual, they were still hearing It was played and introduced again at the meeting.

Peter Kenyon, Eliza Moon and others were sitting opposite the judges, while the six judges were sitting in a row facing them. Ye Qiu, as the most important witness this time, carried on his back alone. Sitting facing Eliza and others, facing the judges, he accepted their questions.

"Mr. Ye Qiu, we have all carefully read the materials and videos submitted by your club. We are also surprised by this player's delicate skills, but I believe that everyone will follow us after seeing him. The same question arises, can he adapt to the Premier League and play at Chelsea?"

The elderly judge appointed by the Ministry of Interior in the middle of the panel seemed polite, but was so stiff that Ye Qiu had to answer. Otherwise, this hearing would not need to continue at all.

"I think to answer Mr. Spike's question, please allow me to give you a few examples!"

After getting the approval of Spike and the judges, Ye Qiu said with a smile: "Everyone's worry about Leo Messi is nothing more than his body. He is relatively short and not strong enough. They are worried that he will not be able to adapt to the Premier League. That kind of fierce competition, then let's take a look, how tall is Zola?"

Among the judges, except for Eriksen and Chris Waddell, who are football professionals, the other four are not professional footballers, but government officials. So what Ye Qiu said, even if Eriksen and Waddell couldn't give an accurate answer. Who would remember these for no reason?

"1.66 meters!" Ye Qiu did not intend to make things difficult for the judges, and immediately gave the answer himself, "Arsenal's left back Ashley Cole is 1.72 meters tall, forward Defoe is 1.70 meters tall, and Manchester City's Wright, who performed well, ?Phillips is 1.68 meters tall. These players have proven their strength in the Premier League.”

After hearing this, the judges all nodded immediately and could not refute, because these players have indeed established themselves in the Premier League.

"Messi's height is 1.69 meters, but he is only 16 years old and is still growing. And I also said in the report that Messi's technical characteristics are not the type of player who relies too much on his body. His skills and speed It allows him to avoid more physical confrontations with the opponent, so I don’t think his body is a problem.”

After a pause, Ye Qiu continued: "Of course, we are also worried that he will not be able to adapt to the Premier League. Therefore, judges, please take a look at the other report in your hands. That is the physical fitness report specially prepared by our club for Messi. Intensive training plan, according to this plan, in the next three years, Messi's body will not be inferior to any of the short players I just listed."

When he said this, Ye Qiu smiled and said, "Three years later, he will only be 19 years old!"

After Ye Qiu's reminder, the judges immediately opened another report submitted by Chelsea. It was indeed about a training plan to strengthen Messi's body. It was very detailed and had been affirmed and evaluated by professional institutions. .

From this point, it is not difficult to see that Chelsea has made a lot of preparations in this regard.

"Mr. Ye Qiu!" A middle-aged woman who was about forty or fifty years old next to Spike asked a very pointed question, "We don't deny that Messi may be really talented, but we I really want to know why you would rather offend Barcelona and recruit a player who does not meet the regulations of the British labor department instead of choosing a player from our own country or even the EU? "

This is also the biggest problem with the special genius clause, because according to the purpose and original intention of the British Ministry of Labor to establish labor certification, if we have it here, we will refuse to bring in outsiders, so this issue is actually very difficult.

First of all, you can't say that the youth training in the UK is not as good as Messi. That is just to make things difficult for yourself, and the devil will let you pass. Secondly, you must not only say that the youth training in the UK is worse, but also prove that the football training is inferior to Messi. The team needs to bring in Messi.

Ye Qiu thought about it. He and Eliza discussed a series of issues that might make things difficult for them at home last night. They also touched on this issue, but now it is obvious that they must change some attitudes and think about their words.

"First of all, what I want to say is that there are also a group of outstanding young talents in the UK, such as Manchester City's Wright Phillips whom I just mentioned. I think he is outstanding at this age, but he is different from Messi. Of the two types, Messi’s technique is more delicate, his ability to combine the ball is stronger, and his dribbling is better, while Wright-Phillips is faster.”

"There is no doubt that I think the Premier League is developing more and more rapidly. I believe that in the near future, it will be able to replace other leagues and become the world's number one league. And I believe everyone has noticed that the Premier League has been continuously absorbing new talents in recent years. Football professionals from across the continent and around the world.”

"I believe that no one can deny that at a tactical level, the Premier League is indeed lagging behind other leagues. For example, Premier League teams generally lack control. Although the long pass rush style has improved in the past, hard bridges The style of hard work has not changed, which is a very important reason why Premier League teams generally suffer in European competitions.”

"I came to the Premier League and carefully studied the trends in recent years, such as Ferguson, Wenger, Houllier, etc. Many people are trying to inject more things into the traditional style of the Premier League, such as rigor. tactics, delicate ball control skills, more skillful rhythm control, etc.”

"So, back to this question, in my opinion, the Premier League does not lack traditional offensive players, that is, wing talents like Wright Phillips, but we need players like Messi who are different from the traditional players in the Premier League. Players bring some different tactical ideas and changes to change some of our traditional ideas.”

"His speed is faster than Joe Cole, and his skills are finer than Wright Phillips. Isn't this a change?"

"I once said that my ideal team is the rigorous tactical system of Serie A, coupled with the overall execution of the Bundesliga, plus the ball control of La Liga, and the fighting spirit of the Premier League. The introduction of Messi and Cesc Fabregas will all This is my attempt to work in this direction, and I think anyone who is interested in further developing the level of Premier League football should welcome such an attempt."

It can be said that Ye Qiu had prepared this paragraph for a long time. He said it neither condescendingly nor arrogantly, but he would not make the judges dissatisfied. At the same time, he told them his original intention to introduce players, and he did not mean to belittle local British players. He just explained it very simply. An attitude, players' technical styles are different.

The transformation of the Premier League has been the consensus of all football professionals. Starting from Wenger to Ferguson’s introduction of Veron, everyone has clearly seen this trend and general trend. What Ye Qiu is saying now is exactly in line with this trend.

The biggest problem with Messi getting a labor certificate is not whether he is really a genius. There is no way to prove it. The biggest crux of whether he can get it is that the British want to protect their youth training, and the party applying must It is necessary to prove that the introduction of such players will not affect the British youth training and at the same time bring benefits to the Premier League.

As long as you can prove this, then you are successful!

After saying so much, Ye Qiu felt that he had basically explained his ideas clearly, and also mentioned a problem implicitly, that is, if Messi was not introduced, he would not introduce local youth training players like Wright Phillips, because this was not the style he wanted.

So, after listening to Ye Qiu's words, the judges did not say anything more, but just said that the six people needed to negotiate well, and asked Ye Qiu and others to go to the reception room to rest for a while.

Ye Qiu tried his best, and the rest depended on the attitude of this group of bureaucrats.