“Dingdong!”

  “Dingdong!”

  Early in the morning, Su’s doorbell rang.

  Su, who had woken up at six for training, checked the time—only eight o’clock—and then glanced at his parents sitting at the dining table, complaining about how foreign bread couldn’t compare to Chinese meat buns.

  Instantly, his head started to ache.

  Lisa, ah, Lisa!

  He had thought about calling to tell her she didn’t need a medical checkup today, but he hadn’t expected her to come so early.

  Based on her usual behavior, as soon as she stepped inside, she’d start with all her usual antics. If his parents saw that, how could he possibly explain?

  “Who is it, Su? Hurry up and open the door! What are you dawdling for? Old man, you go open it!”

  Su’s mother noticed Su frozen on the sofa and called out to his father, who was still eating his bread.

  “No!”

  “I’ll get it myself!”

  Su panicked.

  If Lisa were to throw herself at him, his old man might be left with skyrocketing blood pressure.

  Hands trembling, he opened the door.

  “Hi, Su! Congratulations on the championship!”

  A familiar voice greeted him.

  Su finally relaxed.

  Thankfully, it wasn’t Lisa!

  It was that Ann Carr woman!

  Relieved, he opened the door fully.

  Ann Carr walked in carrying a fruit basket.

  “Su! You were fantastic!”

  “You don’t know—I was in the stands, and that free-kick of yours was so beautiful! It was exactly like David’s. I used to watch David practice his free-kicks up close!”

  “Your free-kick is definitely on par with David’s!”

  Ann Carr strode into Su’s room with her usual self-assurance.

  She dropped by every now and then for a chat.

  Su didn’t know why—he always insisted he wasn’t interested in buying anything, but Ann Carr had her own way of doing things.

  Sometimes, she even brought coffee.

  When Su’s parents saw the guest, they greeted her briefly before retreating into their room with the bread from the table.

  The two elders never interfered in their son’s affairs.

  “What would you like to drink?” Su asked as Ann Carr settled onto the sofa.

  “No thanks, Su, I’ve already had something!”

  “I came today to deliver Sir Alex Ferguson’s congratulations!”

  “Manchester United is as eager as ever to have you on board!”

  “Oh, and one more thing!”

  “Sir Alex Ferguson asked me to invite you to the UCL final at Wembley Stadium!”

  “You know, the great Manchester United is going to defeat Bar?a at Wembley!”

  “As the future superstar of Manchester United, you can’t afford to miss it!”

  “Right, what’s your phone number? I need to save it again—my old phone was too outdated, so I got a new one!”

  As soon as Su recited his number, Ann Carr swiftly stood up and left like the wind.

  Looking at the fruit basket on the table, Su was confused.

  What is this person doing? When did I say I wanted to go to Manchester United?

  Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

  But after a moment’s thought, he realized this person was also quite pitiful. He had come to invite him at the start of the season, and now, almost a year later, he was still stuck in Gelsenkirchen.

  He must be really homesick!

  Suddenly remembering Lisa, Su quickly made the call.

  After explaining the situation, Lisa could only reluctantly agree. She had recently become obsessed with anime and had even bought a few sets of cosplay outfits, ready for Su to "counsel" her. But now, she would have to wait for another time.

  Cosplay?

  Bunny ears? Or…?

  This made Su suddenly feel that his body did seem a bit off. After telling Lisa he’d meet her at the hotel tonight with her "extremely swollen patient," Lisa laughed and hung up.

  However!

  Before Su could even settle in, Hao arrived with Wu and Zhang in tow.

  Carrying—what else—a fruit basket!

  Zhang admitted he didn’t know what to buy, so he just grabbed a fruit basket.

  And just like that, two fruit baskets now sat on Su’s table.

  Without wasting time, Hao brought up Zhang and Wu’s desire to play soccer abroad.

  Looking at two of the most unfortunate figures in Chinese soccer history, Su agreed without hesitation.

  Zhang’s ability, admittedly, was easily the best Chinese soccer had produced in the past decade.

  Whether in physical conditioning or technical fundamentals, he wasn’t inferior to European players of the same era.

  But just as he was on the verge of going abroad, he was caught in Chinese soccer’s big-money era.

  His dream of joining Chelsea was completely crushed.

  As for Wu, his misfortune ran even deeper.

  His speed was world-class, but his poor finishing held him back from greatness.

  By the time he made it to RCD Espanyol, he was already set in his ways—too old to improve much, even if he wanted to.

  But!

  Now!

  It wasn’t too late!

  The year was 2011.

  Wu was 19, and Zhang was 21.

  There was still time.

  No nonsense—Su called Carvajal directly.

  He didn’t have to wait long.

  Carvajal arrived at Su’s place, clutching his back.

  “Oh! Dear Su! Congratulations!”

  “The Bundesliga title! Absolutely marvelous!”

  “I wasn’t sure what to bring, so on the way here, I stopped by…”

  Carvajal, too, had bought a fruit basket to celebrate Su’s victory. But as soon as he stepped inside, he saw two identical baskets already on the table.

  Slightly embarrassed, Carvajal cleared his throat and placed his basket beside the others.

  “Mine’s bigger than theirs! This one cost 50 euros!”

  Alright then!

  The old man!

  After sitting down, Su gave Carvajal the straight facts.

  "En...!"

  "Su! I don't know what level these two players are at! This is difficult, and you know how European teams these days prefer Japanese or Korean players over Chinese!"

  Carvajal looked at the hopeful Wu and Zhang and spoke bluntly without mincing words.

  Of course!

  He didn't need to hold back - these two couldn't understand German at all.

  However, Hao could understand, and when he heard Carvajal's response, he frowned slightly.

  Right!

  Chinese soccer's international reputation nowadays...

  Honestly not great. Even as the national team's star player, he still faced prejudice in Germany.

  Zhang and Wu were just newcomers to the national team after all.

  Zhang thought their club would be world-class.

  Zhang thought their club would hold them back!

  "I'll find a way to terminate my contract myself. I know it won't be easy on the Chinese side, but I've made up my mind. I'll break ties completely and handle it with my club personally!"

  "Me too!"

  When Wu heard this, he also thumped his chest in agreement.

  "That's not it! The issue is Carvajal doesn't know your skill level, so he doesn't know which teams to recommend you to!"

  "Huh?"

  Hearing Su's explanation, Zhang was momentarily stunned.

  They were in Germany - he only knew two people here, Su and Hao!

  Where could they find enough players for a proper trial match?

  "Isn't it simple? Go to FC Schalke 04! Why don't we call their players over for a friendly match?"

  Hao slapped his thigh excitedly.

  "That's right! Why didn't I think of that? I'll ask the gaffer if he's available - we'll call him over to evaluate them!"

  Su immediately had the same idea.

  Picking up his phone, Su called Magath!

  At that very moment!

  Magath was having a private conversation with someone at home!

  "Su? You guys can't afford them! Don't get your hopes up - even Vardy would probably be too expensive!"

  "But that Hao could be bought. He can play wing-half, attacking midfielder or full-back!"

  "Our goal for the new season should be avoiding relegation, and within three years, I'll bring München 1860 back to the Bundesliga's top tier!"

  Across from Magath,

  München 1860's owner nodded enthusiastically.

  Hiring Magath!

  This was something he never expected to succeed. After all, why would a super tactician - one who used classic free-agent tactics to hold Barcelona to a draw and even win the Bundesliga title - agree to coach a newly promoted team?

  But after yesterday's meeting, he understood why Magath said yes.

  The season hadn't even ended yet, and FC Schalke 04 was already selling players.

  This marked the second time Magath had endured such frustration.

  Perhaps Magath simply wanted to find a team that wouldn't sell off its squad.

  As for top clubs?

  Magath had coached Bayern before, but truth be told, elite clubs weren't particularly interested in him. He lacked truly outstanding achievements - this Bundesliga title being his first major one - and currently, there was no place for him at football's top tables.

  Other Bundesliga teams already had stable managers in place.

  So in the end, München 1860 - ambitious for their upcoming season - found themselves benefiting from this situation!

  The agreement was straightforward:

  München 1860 would give Magath complete control.

  He would have final say on all transfers - both incoming and outgoing.

  This clause would be written directly into his contract.

  Perhaps this was exactly what Magath needed most!

  Just as Magath and München 1860's owner Fletchers were discussing their recruitment strategy for rebuilding the squad after the season ended, Su's call came through.

  Su's unexpected phone call!

  "What? You want me to evaluate some players?"

  "Oh! Well, tell Hughes to recall those lazy bastards from vacation!"

  "I've got time - I'll head to the club immediately!"

  A puzzling phone call indeed!

  However, seeing Fletchers' confused expression, Magath suddenly realized:

  Su was recommending players?

  Could this be another Vardy situation?

  "Ah, Fletchers... how would you like to sign some new players?"

  ....................