Chapter 17 Abu's Regret

Abu was not only spending money like water in the transfer market, but also paid great attention to Chelsea's youth training.

The Cobham training base was built at a huge cost, and everywhere showed luxury and grandeur, including the supporting facilities for the youth team, which were also extremely advanced.

In the past six years, Chelsea's youth team had won the FA Youth Cup five times.

The number of Blues youngsters coming out of Stamford Bridge was almost catching up with Southampton.

"How much money does it take to cultivate a genius like Li?"

"Boss, this is not a question of money... it's all destiny's arrangement."

"Are you fucking kidding me?"

Abu looked displeased, grabbed the remote control and slammed the power button to turn off the TV.

Assistant coach Holland looked embarrassed.

He couldn't help but recall the interesting story of when this tycoon had just taken over Stamford Bridge:

Abu gave the then coach Ranieri a transfer list with the names of Ronaldinho, Zidane, Carlos... and other T0 superstars. Ranieri was dumbfounded on the spot...

It took a long time to persuade him to change the list of signings to a group of T0.5-T1 stars.

Many years later, the media commented: This is where Ranieri is not as good as Mourinho.

...

Why does Holland, a small assistant coach, often appear in Abu's office?

It was still an internal problem with the coaching team.

Conte was trying to "Italianize" Chelsea.

Abu was certainly unhappy, saying that Chelsea should retain "English elements".

But as Chelsea's record in the Premier League soared, the conflict between the two gradually resolved.

Holland was ready to leave, and he had found a new home in time: the coaching team of the Three Lions.

"Thank you for your eight years of service to Chelsea."

Abu's assistant handed Holland an envelope.

The latter left the office with tears of gratitude.

Joy mixed with sadness.

Who doesn't want to work with a generous boss?

In addition to the salary, bonuses, and various benefits, in the past ten years, any staff member who left Stamford Bridge would receive a heavy "breakup fee".

...

At the same time.

Conte was leading a group of Italians in a tactical meeting.

The content on the big screen was divided into two halves: one side was Arsenal's formation changes, and the other was a heatmap.

Everyone's expressions were subtle... and gradually turned into bitter faces.

"Boss, Li is more flexible than during the European Cup."

"He no longer relies solely on his body to solve problems."

"Dribbling and passing... This kid has developed a terrifying ball-handling ability in half a season at Arsenal!"

Humans are complex animals.

Although Conte was stubborn, he liked to avoid problems and procrastinate.

His coaching style on the sidelines was very passionate, but when the team encountered adversity... he often behaved like a coward.

A single-line operation was a god.

Multi-line operations were pigs.

The cowardly past in Italy was temporarily put aside.

Chelsea's resurgence this season was not only because his "three-center-back system" perfectly matched the Blues, but also because Kante, who was "temporarily only proficient in defense"... became the iron underpants of this top lineup.

The atmosphere was too heavy.

Let's change the subject.

"Diego Costa recently had a very unpleasant fight with the therapist. He also injured Chalobah in training and measures should be taken to punish him as soon as possible."

Hearing this, the Italian assistant coach looked embarrassed: "Boss, Chalobah is just a young player, we don't need to... Diego Costa didn't do it on purpose, he is the enema for Chelsea when facing a dense defense."

"We can't lose him. It's hard to find such an excellent center forward and super scorer on the transfer market..."

Conte's old face darkened.

"Let's get back to the main topic, we have to face Arsenal in a few rounds!"

...

Taking advantage of the rest day, Li Kang and his little assistant hurried to Germany.

Of course, not back to North Rhine.

The management team finally selected a product endorsement that "ordinary fans can afford": Braun shavers.

This time the destination was: Hesse, Frankfurt am Main, Braun headquarters.

On the plane.

Wang Erde, with dark circles under his eyes, said:

"Li, Kimmich is also a Braun spokesperson, and that kid doesn't even grow hair!"

"We'll be seeing several Bayern players later."

"And Mourinho, he'll be there too."

Who is the most profitable coach in European football?

Mourinho!

A brilliant coaching career and a rebellious personality made him a darling of advertisers.

In the days before Guardiola and Klopp shone brightly, Mourinho had already made a lot of money: Heineken beer, Hublot watches, Jaguar, Adidas, football game EASports... and so on.

Even if he lay flat at home for a year without coaching, his advertising revenue was close to 20 million euros.

...

The plane broke through the thick clouds and landed at Frankfurt Airport.

Frankfurt was very cold at this time.

The average temperature was close to minus 1.5 degrees Celsius.

Because the German brand did a good job of keeping it secret, there were no fans or reporters waiting at the arrival gate.

Li Kang and his little assistant quickly got into a business car and rushed to Braun headquarters.

...

Braun doesn't just make shavers.

It was once a global giant in small household appliances.

The living equipment it created led the aesthetic trend of the entire era, and its influence has not diminished to this day.

The early Apple company really liked to pay tribute to Braun's design.

Braun was founded in 1921. It was first acquired by Gillette, then "hitched a ride" and was acquired by P&G, and then acquired by De'Longhi in 2012.

During this historical period, for ordinary consumers, there were only three choices for shavers: manual, rotary, and reciprocating.

The functional differences between the three had not yet evolved to the point of being unified.

Facing hard, dense stubble, Braun reciprocating shavers were a good choice.

...

An hour and a half later.

Li Kang and Wang Erde arrived at Braun headquarters.

CEO Matthews led a group of staff and had been waiting for a long time.

"Li, it's nice to see you."

"Let me take a look at your chin... Not bad, how do you feel about using our shaver these days?"

As early as two weeks ago, Braun had sent a best-selling model of shaver to North London in advance.

Li Kang smiled.

Wang Erde touched his newly grown stubble and added: "I've been using Braun since I was 15 years old, of course it's good!"

Matthews also touched his stubble with satisfaction.

Without much small talk.

The group quickly entered the headquarters office area.

Along the way.

Glass cabinets on both sides of the wall displayed Braun's historical industrial designs.

Snow White's coffin: the SK4 radio phonograph.

The Seven Dwarfs' microwave oven: the TP1 portable record player.

Romeo and Juliet's battlefield: the TG60 reel-to-reel tape recorder.

More than fifty years later.

You can still feel the simplicity of these industrial products.

Elegant and timeless.

...

Studio.

The bearded director squeezed through the busy and crowded crowd and waved excitedly.

"Li, long time no see!"

"This time your partners are all men!"

Li Kang looked around: Lewandowski with a straight face, Boateng with enthusiasm, Kimmich with restraint.

And Manchester United coach Mourinho sat on a small chair in the corner, with his arms crossed in front of his chest, and smiled.