Chapter 82 – Transfer Market (2)
082
Barcelona council room.
Club executives gathered one after another ahead of the regular meeting.
The International Football Federation (FIFA) stipulates two transfer periods per season.
A transfer window of up to 12 weeks between seasons and a transfer window of up to 4 weeks between seasons.
Within the rules set by FIFA, each league can make some changes on its own, but the transfer market in the big picture does not change. In Europe, the summer transfer window, which is a transfer market between seasons, is usually from July to August, and the winter transfer window is January.
In the European league of Chuchunje, which starts in autumn and ends in the spring of the following year, the summer transfer period ahead of the new season was the most active.
The time is already mid-August.
As the summer transfer window nears its end, club officials are busiest. Ahead of the new season, all the executives who are preoccupied with planning sit down with a grumpy complexion.
“Looks like everyone is busy. Your face is very rough.”
Barcelona executives raised their mouths at the light joke of Joannes, head of scouting.
“Then you also have a very rough face.”
“Oh, you noticed. Everyone will be tired, so this regular meeting will also proceed quickly.”
Back in Barcelona’s heyday, there were 40 scouts in the scouting department alone. However, the rapid financial deterioration during the corona period also led to the reduction of the scouting department, and now there are only 17 people who are less than half of the heyday. It was the same.
At the gesture of Yoannes, the player’s profile picture appeared above the large beam projector.
“This is Ahmed Kessie, whom our scouting team has been monitoring consistently for the past five months. As you see-“
A few players were introduced, and the executives who flipped through the prepared report while listening to Yoanneth’s presentation looked grim.
Mid-August.
By this time, when the summer transfer market is also running towards the end, the club shows two main aspects.
A relatively leisurely club that succeeded in recruiting a player that was marked in advance, and a club that fell into a panic because it failed to recruit players as well as protect its squad.
Barcelona was the former.
Even before the transfer market opened, they had been negotiating behind the scenes and had a fruitful transfer market.
They succeeded in recruiting the player they wanted, and succeeded in keeping key members.
Although the most wanted target, Jorge Garcia, was missed, it was also lost to arch rivals Real Madrid, but that is unavoidable.
Although he is still busy, such as reviewing players who can be recruited for positions that still need reinforcement and reducing the size of the squad by releasing or leasing unnecessary players, it is not so much that he is thirsty to find new players.
“And the last player… It is this player.”
The executives who looked at the beam projector in awe, their eyes twinkled.
Rare… No, the first appearance of an Asian during the transfer period this year.
“Hoo. I’m Asian… Are you Japanese?”
“You look good. It is a very attractive mask.”
“Hmm. I think it looks too pretty to me. It looks like a Korean boy group that young girls liked. Guys who used to be gay.”
“Hey, Manuel. What kind of old man are you talking about? You know that these days it’s a big deal to say something like that, right? And from my point of view, they’re way better than the nerdy kids from the Korean boy groups. It may not be known to women who prefer the macho style, but that style is quite popular.”
Yoannes, who had been smiling at the whispering executives, clapped her hands to get their attention.
“Everybody is interested in how this player looks. It feels very good to see the enthusiastic response of our scouting team’s ambitious players. So, shall we continue the presentation? First of all, this player is not Japanese. Oh, he’s not even Chinese, of course. This player is Korean.”
“Manuel, one of your words was right. You said you look Korean, but you really are Korean.”
“Greatness. What… I don’t like how fragile it is, but it looks like women like it.”
In recent years, I’ve been interested in Asians who first appeared in scouting, but that’s all. His handsome appearance became a hot topic for a while, but the executives were still squeamish.
And Yoannes was happy with that.
Because to make the squeamish executives enthused. Because nothing excites him more than the introduction of a hidden gem.
“It seems everyone is not interested, right? But that will change soon. Because? Because this player is a hidden gem.”
The beam projector screen goes over and player information is displayed.
“As you can see, he is a young player. Born in 2013, he is a 20-year-old fresh friend. He is 175 cm tall and weighs 62 to 3 kg. He can cover the entire second line of attack, but his main position is on the left, and like Korean players, he is a good two-footer.”
Click.
Once again, the project screen went over.
“This athlete became known for his performance at the Olympics, and you’ve probably heard of him. The Asian boy who flattened the nose of Jorge Garcia, our number one target.”
“Well? For a moment. Korea… Korea is the country that faced Spain in the final.”
“Ah. Got it. I’ve heard of it. The player who was called Jorge of the East was this player.”
It was only then that the executives corrected their posture and flipped out the report.
Yoannes smiled and turned the screen.
“At the Olympics, the Korean national team used a 4-2-3-1 position, and this player mainly played on the left wing. Tactically, he tended to stay in a high position as the core of the attack, and the Korean team’s offense is quickly and easily developed through this player. He maintains possession of the ball, advances through the dribble and breaks through the pressure with fantastic technique. This is the heat map for this player in the final.”
“It’s very linear, it’s elevated. And then this is the video of the game.”
Videos of several Olympic games were played.
“Please pay attention to this video. This is the group stage match in which Spain lost 3:0 to the Korean team. The defenders facing you will be used to it. This is Fernando, our first team backup member. And as you can see.”
In the video being played, the scene where Fernando gets knocked out over and over again is played.
“It neutralizes it very simply. He is a technically complete player.”
“Hoo. To break through Fernando so easily.”
“The player who defends cooperatively is Martin defending Mendian. This is amazing.”
“Very good balance shift. Excellent body balance. It’s agile and has a good reaction rate.”
Executives watched the video with interest.
In response, Yoannes smiled and turned the screen again.
“Anyway, one match is not enough, right? As it is the first time, it may be carelessness, condition problem, or lack of data research. So I prepared. This is what it looked like in the finals. I can see the national team coach Unai Simon is very determined and is making an effort to mark this player… As you can see, it was unstoppable. As those who watched the final will know, this player managed to break through all the interference from our Spaniards and score two more goals.”
Yoannes trudged and headed toward the executives.
A few frowned as his body covered the beam projector.
“He is a very, very, very powerful player in the final third. What I appreciate above all else is the speed at which a player grows. Let’s look at the report. The number of key passes per game goes up and rises sharply starting with the match against Japan. His ability to distribute the ball continues to rise while maintaining high scoring, as evidenced by his xG and xA data.”
Yoannes, who moved again, turned over the screen of the beam projector.
“We observed this player and picked out his good attacking habits. One of the strengths of this player is that he always looks around before receiving his ball. It’s simple, but it’s often overlooked by many players in urgent situations. Thinking about what to do next, how to control the ball… For example this scene. If you look here, when a teammate passes the ball long, this player is already turning his body half way. With this half turn, we were able to easily peel off the mark and continue the attack.”
Looking around at the earnestly listening executives, Yoannes smiled contentedly.
The thrill of seeing others recognize the true value of the jewels he excavated was the driving force that enabled him to continue his difficult life as a scout.
“Analyzing the Olympic games, the player is good at playing in the half-space and giving up wide areas for overlapping full-backs, so he could be a big draw for a manager who values wing rotation and occupying space for full-backs. He is also good at getting out of close defense because his body is flexible and agile.”
“Well. I have heard your compliments. So what are the downsides?”
“What… Like most young players of this type, you have to learn not to complicate things. You may lose possession of the ball due to an unnecessary touch or turn. In La Liga, the top stage, this disadvantage can be more pronounced. In particular, our team’s style, which emphasizes control and possession, requires more attention. Other than that, you need to improve your overall defense or activity. Ah! Improvements in physical abilities.”
After Yoanneth’s presentation, the executives began to open their mouths.
“Looks like a player who plays soccer with his feet rather than his head.”
“He is a player who has strengths in breaking through the straight dribble. He does tricky plays well.”
“It’s like Kaka in his AC Milan days. His soccer intelligence isn’t looking very good. He has zero movement without the ball… “
Yoan Ness, who was smiling deeply as he listened to the executives, snapped his fingers as if he had belatedly remembered.
“Ah. I didn’t tell you this. This Korean player is being treated as a superstar in his country… Above all, he is a free agent.”
“… What? FA? Independent?”
“Exactly, an amateur.”
“That means… Since he’s an amateur, there’s no transfer fee, and since it’s his first professional contract, his weekly wage will be cheap. There is a Korean superstar… It will be a good opportunity to secure the East Asian market.”
“Right now… Send me a recruitment offer right now!! You must catch this player!”
And it wasn’t just Barcelona’s move.
Real Madrid too
“But for us, Jorge is—”
“What does that matter!! Even if you only play a few games in the first team and play as a backup, you have nothing to lose! I’m not a player who can just waste money with marketing and throw it away!!”
Italy’s greats,
“What crazy! Is this player an amateur? Get it now!”
“Who is the transfer manager! Send it to Korea!”
Even EPL clubs,
“It’s an opportunity to make the Asian market our market! You have to recruit them no matter what!”
“Even if it is used for FA matches, it must be recruited. This is your chance!”
“What are the work permit rules? Find possible referrals right away!!”
It was the beginning of the race toward Hong Min-jun.
