Chapter 156: Chapter 155: Trigella Loses Support, Maxa Rises Tearfully (World Cup Prediction Attached at the End)
In early August, Portugal officially announced some amendments to its tax law provisions.
This was a routine change, with just a few clauses altered, largely irrelevant to the general public and causing minimal impact on various sectors of society.
Amendments to tax law are often made when loopholes are exploited, and upon discovery, the government patches them up.
As for those who exploit such loopholes, they usually face additional penalties.
However, this time, the person who moved for changes in the Portuguese tax law was a certain tycoon in Portugal.
This should have had nothing to do with football.
But... this tycoon also happened to be one of the senior members of the Sporting Lisbon football team.
Over the past few years, Sporting Lisbon’s performance had been disappointing, causing dissatisfaction among the fans who had been waiting for years for the day when the club’s presidency would be up for re-election.
As a tycoon with ideals, a passion for football, and deep pockets, this businessman had just officially announced his candidacy for president of Sporting Lisbon Football Club one month ago.
Then, in the blink of an eye, he found himself behind bars.
All one can say is that the waters of international football are indeed deep.
In fact, as long as you have money, tax issues aren’t a big problem.
This tycoon could be out in a few months at most.
But the issue lay in the timing.
This tycoon would undoubtedly miss the election.
And he... was precisely Trigella’s backer!
The president of Sporting Lisbon was successfully re-elected.
He ignored the highly popular Trigella and instead invited the veteran coach Augusto Inacio to become the new head coach of the team.
Instantly, there were outcries of discontent.
But that wasn’t the end of it.
Two days later, upon taking office, Augusto stated in an interview that the team had old players and young ones, and without significant new signings in recent years, it was normal for their performance to be poor.
For better results, Sporting Lisbon would need to bring in a considerable number of excellent players.
He provided the club with a list of players valued at over thirty million euros in total.
Among them, the Primeira Liga’s three-time top scorer and Porto’s star forward Jia De’er was his priority target, valued at over fifteen million euros.
That price for Jia De’er was certainly not expensive, and with him, any team could dominate the Primeira Liga.
But then again, is the Primeira Liga champion’s spot worth fifteen million euros?
This is not the English Premier League, Serie A, La Liga, Bundesliga, or Ligue 1.
This is just the Primeira Liga.
In the past two years, the strongest players from lower leagues went to Serie A, no matter their age, they were all labeled "new talents."
A "new talent" worth fifteen million euros suggests the player has potential likened to that of Ronaldo and Zidane.
Does Jia De’er... even match up?
Terry Trigella was the first to voice opposition, "Sporting Lisbon has its own system. Although we haven’t won the championship in a while, our overall achievements aren’t far from the championship team."
"What the team needs is a high-level coach, not just the blind introduction of star players."
"The last thing Sporting Lisbon lacks is star players. From Figo to Simon, Quaresma is the next superstar; he has the ability to lead the team even further."
Augusto seemingly responded to Trigella during media interviews, "The team has already got a high-level head coach, but it still lacks corresponding players."
"A team that repeatedly turns newcomers into its top stars, doesn’t that indicate the other players lack ability?"
"Could Juventus have reached the Champions League final without buying Zidane?"
"Could Inter Milan talk about revival without buying Ronaldo?"
"And how could Sporting Lisbon aspire to win the Primeira Liga without buying Jia De’er? My only goal here is to transform Sporting Lisbon into the Juventus of Primeira Liga! The Inter Milan of Primeira Liga!"
Juventus, the team with the most Serie A championships.
Inter Milan, the team with the most substantial investment and biggest stars in this summer’s transfer window.
How could the fans resist such a slogan?
At that time, the tides turned in favor of Augustus.
Augustus was the team’s head coach.
Trigella was the team’s chief assistant coach.
As the two had differing opinions, it was obviously difficult for them to coexist.
Several days later, Sporting Lisbon officially announced the transfer of Jia De’er from Porto for 17 million euros, offering him the top salary in the Portuguese league.
While welcoming Jia De’er to the team, Augustus hinted in an interview that he was hindered too much, suggesting the team needed more autonomy to be rejuvenated.
As a result, Trigella received a notice from the team the following day, reassigning him to coach the youth team.
Trigella was so furious that he spat blood, reluctantly choosing the U17s.
This was because Deng Kai and Ronaldo were on this team.
Maxa, who had been the youth coach for this team, was promoted to an assistant coach position for the first team.
It was said that Augustus valued Maxa highly, considering him to be a technically educated coach with genuine talent, which he needed to help him refine the team’s tactics.
This reaction highlighted the tactical shortcomings of Augustus, a traditional coach.
However, to err is human; to rectify, divine.
If my tactical knowledge is not sufficient, why not find someone whose is?
To this, Maxa replied... he was indeed more than sufficient!
On the day Maxa left, he did so with tears.
Because he knew that his coaching legend was about to be shattered.
Deng Kai, how can I live without you!
Deng Kai, please keep me behind, Deng Kai!
Deng Kai, I could be an assistant to Boss Trigella!
Initially, Trigella felt somewhat dissatisfied with Maxa’s "promotion."
He suspected that Maxa had connections with Augustus and had sought to ingratiate himself with new flattery.
But Maxa’s tears made Trigella feel guilty.
Little Maxa’s deep affections and such genuine tears and sadness certainly couldn’t be feigned.
To think I suspected Little Maxa had found another, I’m not human!
As a result, Trigella took the time to talk more with Maxa, encouraging him to do well in his new environment, to use his abilities, and to try to shine.
Maxa cried even harder.
If I really had the ability, would I be crying my eyes out!
...
And so, under Trigella’s leadership, the Sporting Lisbon U17 team entered the training camp phase before the new season started.
Trigella called up some young players from the previous U15 team.
This included Deng Kai, Ronaldo, Angelo, Semedo, Duarte, Wu Xudong, and others.
The day before the training camp started, Trigella even invited Deng Kai and Ronaldo to his home for a visit.
During this, Trigella revealed a major secret.
"Several teams have invited me to coach!"
Deng Kai and Ronaldo were instantly energized.
"But I haven’t accepted," Trigella said, changing his tone, "Jia De’er doesn’t fit Sporting Lisbon’s style of play. We have always excelled in developing wingers, and the rise of wingers requires the center forward to cede a lot of authority."
"At the same time, the center forward has to create space for the wingers, drop back to link up, and play a pivotal role, among other things."
"Although Jia De’er is tall, strong, and imposing, his technique is crude, and he’s lazy in his movements, lacking a pivotal role. He is merely a shooting machine."
"Sporting Lisbon’s transfer policy is headed for failure! I bet Augustus gets sacked before the winter window!"
Deng Kai understood what Trigella meant.
After the winter window, he might very well become the main coach of Sporting Lisbon’s first team!
