Chapter 245: Chapter 244: The Football Star’s Wife Shows Her Strength
The party was initiated by Beckham’s wife, Victoria, who was quite savvy at pulling strings.
The opportunity arose when Zidane and Figo came to England to shoot a major advertisement with Beckham.
Victoria knew that Sir Alex Ferguson didn’t like her, and she didn’t like that old man who controlled Beckham either.
She had always been looking for a chance to get Beckham to leave Manchester United.
It was rumored that Florentino, the new president of Real Madrid, had promised during the election that he would bring a superstar to the club every year.
He wanted to turn Real Madrid into the Galácticos of the football world.
Zidane, Ronaldo, Beckham, Totti... these stars were all his targets.
Hadn’t Figo just transferred to Real Madrid?
He must know something.
"He is a schemer, but I have to admit, he dares to do things that sound incredible," Figo affirmed with a change of tone.
Deschamps, on the other hand, widened his eyes, implying that it had nothing to do with him.
Not to mention his age of nearly thirty-three, even at his peak, it seemed that he did not meet the standards of the kind of player Florentino liked to bring in.
He wasn’t considered a superstar.
Deschamps had come over today because he had a meeting with Zidane, and after learning that Zidane was going to attend this event organized by the "Wives of Stars Club," he asked Zidane to bring him along.
Deschamps’s wife was planning to start a fashion-related business and had always hoped to join this glamorous wives’ club.
On the other side, Matthaus’s expression was also somewhat dim.
What a pity.
If he were ten years younger, oh no, five years, no, even just three years younger, he would definitely qualify to be the next superstar Real Madrid brought in.
In their casual conversation, Zidane mentioned to Deng Kai quite nonchalantly, "What do you think about Real Madrid?"
Deng Kai looked at Zidane and smiled, "A great club."
Zidane: "How does it compare to Juventus?"
Deng Kai: "One is the past and present, the other is the present and future."
Zidane shook his head, "If both clubs wanted you, who would you choose?"
Deng Kai replied, "The one without any issues."
Zidane frowned, seemingly not understanding what Deng Kai was saying.
"You’ve always been smart, Zizou," Deng Kai said meaningfully, "You must be feeling the changes in Serie A and... strange..."
Zidane’s pupils constricted, and he fell silent.
While the two of them were talking on this side,
Maxa was on the other side, enthusiastically conversing with Matthaus and Deschamps.
The latter two were quite interested in transitioning into coaching.
Deschamps was open about his plans to transfer from Chelsea to Valencia. He was at the tail end of his career, and it didn’t matter where he played, or even if he got to play at all.
What mattered was that Valencia’s coach, Héctor Cúper, was a very excellent manager, and Deschamps hoped to learn coaching-related skills from Cúper.
Maxa, recalling what Deng Kai had told him before he came, puffed out his chest and said, "Cúper is definitely an excellent manager, especially skilled in defense."
"But for that very reason, forgive me for being blunt, Deschamps... you won’t get many opportunities under him. A manager who is good at training players in defense does not have a great demand for defensive midfielders, especially when you’re no longer young."
"Of course, if it’s about learning from Cooper, there’s even less need,"
"Champion-level teams are never good places to learn about tactics because you can only see the finished, complete combinations. You can’t witness the tactical and player chemistry in play or the scenarios where they fail to integrate,"
"That’s where a coach’s abilities are truly put to the test. You’re an excellent player. You don’t lack professionalism. What you lack is just the integration of theory and practice,"
"From this perspective, the teams that are ready to make drastic changes and rebuild this season are your best opportunity to join and observe. Especially if there’s a famous coach, or if the coaching staff is open to discussing tactics and selecting players,"
Deschamps was startled, finding that Maxa’s words made a lot of sense.
As Valencia made it into the Champions League final, Cooper had become one of the hottest names in European football, with everyone studying his tactics.
But how meaningful was that?
Many people know the coaching characteristics of the famous coaches, but can they simply be applied?
It’s not that simple.
Maxa: "By the way, Cooper’s communication skills are weak, and his relationships with players tend to sour easily, just like Van Gaal. Honestly, not to boast, but our Sporting Lisbon is actually more suitable for you,"
"If you’re willing to join the team, I can apply to Mr. Trigella, allowing you to enter the coaching staff while still being a player!"
"Really?" Deschamps was tempted.
Maxa smiled faintly: "I don’t have much influence or fame, but in Sporting Lisbon, my words still count for something."
Deschamps nodded again and again, clearly planning to give it serious consideration.
Claude, Deschamps’ agent, was also pondering.
If Deschamps went to Sporting Lisbon, wouldn’t he become teammates with Hathaway’s boyfriend?
Then, it would be completely proper for him and Hathaway to get in touch.
Moreover, at the core of this footballers’ wives club were Victoria and Hathaway, with Victoria clearly sucking up to Hathaway. Yet Claude also wanted to go into fashion business with Victoria, and Hathaway’s support was very important to her.
So Claude made up her mind, she would convince Deschamps to join Sporting Lisbon once they got back.
...
"Hey, Deng Kai, I’ve got my eye on you!"
Matthaus came over to Deng Kai, holding a glass of wine.
"I’m really sorry. During the European Championship, I couldn’t tell you anything in advance. I was afraid it would affect your mood. It was all just wild guesses," Deng Kai apologized to Matthaus.
Not answering the phone indeed wasn’t courteous.
"You should’ve told me earlier. Then I wouldn’t have participated in this European Championship," Matthaus said, "Now many people are cursing me, saying I am the reason Germany couldn’t even make it past the group stage."
Deng Kai laughed: "That must be something the Bayern fans concocted."
Matthaus nodded, also feeling it must have been those Bayern fans.
Bayern held a farewell match for him at the end of May, attracting many fans. However, both inside Bayern and among its fans, there were not a few who hated him.
He was never popular.
Many fans also blamed this year’s Champions League exit on him.
The hardship of the Champions League and the European Championship, two heavy burdens, were even for Matthaus becoming too much to bear.
He had planned to return to Europe and play for another club for a year or two.
But now, he was considering retiring.
