Chapter 768: Chapter 767: Dream Team 2 Officially Established, Mourinho Takes Charge of Chelsea
They acquired winger Julie from Monaco for eight million euros.
This twenty-nine-year-old veteran winger was in the twilight of his prime, but his skills had not diminished.
This season, alongside the centre-forward Morientes, who was on loan from Real Madrid, they knocked out Real Madrid and made it to the Champions League final, only to be narrowly defeated by Porto.
If it hadn’t been for Julie’s injury forcing him off the field just twenty-three minutes into the game, the winner of that Champions League final might still be in question.
Julie and Quaresma are set to become Barcelona’s devilish wings on the left and right.
As for who will play on which side, it probably depends on how they mesh in the new season.
Moreover, Deng Kai’s little fanboy Lionel Messi is expected to break into Barcelona’s first team this season and make his debut.
But for the short term, it’s unlikely he will be able to displace stars like Julie and Quaresma.
At least that’s what most people think.
Additionally, Barcelona spent twenty-four million euros to bring in the Real Madrid killer Eto’o from Mallorca.
The cheetah Eto’o, once a Real Madrid player, was swept out the door and harbored a grudge in his heart.
Opposite Real Madrid, he always managed to shine brightly, and at Mallorca, he gradually became a world-class forward, one of the best at proving detractors wrong in history.
At this stage, Real Madrid, the Galácticos, had only one mission: to defeat the entire world.
Even though they were far from this goal, any team that mentioned Real Madrid had to be wary.
And Barcelona’s task was much simpler: their sole objective was to beat Real Madrid.
Eto’o and Barcelona were just made for each other; had Barcelona not bought him, he would have run over himself.
Finally, just before the European Championship, Barcelona talked with Porto about Deco.
They hoped to secure Deco, the core player of the Champions League winners, for twenty million euros.
At that time, Porto was asking for twenty-five million euros.
Barcelona and Porto haggled for a while.
But as news of Mourinho potentially leaving Porto surfaced, the deal came to a standstill.
Because Mourinho, one of the top three most sought-after coaches this year, was likely to join Chelsea.
With Chelsea’s owner Abramovich’s ways, taking Deco for thirty million euros would be no issue at all.
So, things remained at an impasse.
And then... as they were locked in stalemate, Portugal won the European Championship.
Deco, as the second core of the team, delivered four assists, placing him second on the Euro assists chart, just behind Deng Kai’s nine assists, showcasing remarkable performance.
For a moment, it wasn’t just Chelsea that fell by the wayside.
Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Manchester United, Arsenal, Juventus, Inter Milan, AC Milan, and Lyon, among other giants, considered Deco and kept asking for quotes.
Chelsea even offered a staggering thirty-five million euros, aiming to clinch Deco.
Don’t ask how Lampard, Makelele, Deco, Robben, Da Fu, Joe Cole, Parker, Oliveira, and other players should partner up.
Chelsea has plenty of money.
Buying two full starting lineups can never be wrong, right?
Once Mourinho took over at Chelsea, the club was bound to sign Drogba, Deco, and Carvalho!
Absolutely must-buys!
Barcelona couldn’t afford to hesitate anymore.
They slapped forty-two million euros on Porto’s face.
One word, will you sell or not?
Porto nodded agreeably.
In the end, Deco, who could have cost just twenty-one million euros, took forty-two million euros for Barcelona to secure.
The price had doubled.
In business, Barcelona always had a knack for it.
The only truly cost-effective deal was Barcelona luring the Swedish veteran Larsson, who joined on a free transfer.
At this European Championship, thirty-three-year-old Larsson’s performance was definitely not less impressive than twenty-three-year-old Ibrahimovic’s.
It was absolutely one of Barcelona’s most cost-effective signings.
With that, although Barcelona spent a bit more money,
they had also assembled a terrifyingly strong attacking and midfield lineup.
Quaresma, Eto’o, Julie, Ronaldinho, and Deco, five superstars.
Joined by the strength of rising stars and veterans such as Xavi, Iniesta, Puyol, Larsson, Van Bronckhorst, Valdes, Motta, and Messi.
If the Barcelona team created by Johann Cruyff in the early ’90s was the Dream Team,
then this current Barça is undoubtedly the Dream Team II!
They are on par with the Galácticos.
...
Just as Barça had wrapped up their big moves,
Chelsea’s fortunes really changed.
Mourinho, between Chelsea and Real Madrid, eventually chose the Blues as his debut in the big five leagues!
The main reason his negotiations with Real Madrid broke down was his desire to have the right to transfer dealings.
He wanted to bring in large numbers of players he fancied to build the framework for his tactics.
But the Galácticos’ midfield and attack were untouchable; every spot was set, requiring a chef who could cook according to the diner’s taste.
Having Mourinho, who would turn things upside down, meant Real Madrid could forget about their commercial value.
Afterward, Chelsea struck repeatedly, splashing the cash!
"€42 million! Drogba and Deco become the transfer kings of this summer!"
"Porto’s seeming madness in acquiring Drogba from Marseille for €24 million a year ago has, within a mere year, not only won them the UEFA Champions League treble but also netted them a profit of €18 million with tears of joy!"
"In the past five years, the Portuguese league has become the real top hustler, far surpassing the Dutch league! Porto could very likely catch up to Sporting Lisbon’s summer two years ago, during this transfer window!"
"€35 million! Champions League’s best defender, Euro squad’s star Ricardo Carvalho joins Chelsea!"
"Mourinho: Carvalho is worth €30 million, and his knowledge of Deng Kai is another €30 million! So, Chelsea made a profit on this deal!"
"Porto player Paulo Ferreira transfers to Chelsea for €22 million!"
"Porto thrives, Benfica skyrockets! Mourinho insists on bringing Benfica’s midfield star Thiago Mendes! Transfer fee €18 million!"
"Buy in bulk! After Chelsea snagged Robben for €18 million, they spent another €8 million on his teammate Kezman, deepening their forward reserves!"
Spend!
The main theme for Chelsea’s recent summers has always been how to spend money!
Of course, Mourinho had long coveted the new best goalkeeper of the Premier League, Europa League, and European Championship, Petr Čech.
Although Čech’s tendency to come off his line thoroughly irritated Mourinho.
Still, Čech’s shot-stopping fundamentals were impressive.
Mourinho had Chelsea make an offer for Čech.
If he could secure Čech, he would transform him into a super goalkeeper with unbeatable goal-line technique who wouldn’t leave the six-yard box!
Deng Kai: MMP! Knife wielder, hand me the knife! I’ve spent over forty games giving Čech wings, and you motherf***er want to clip them?
Schmeichel: Sh*t! Do you have any idea how much effort it cost me to change Čech into your idea of perfection?
Chelsea’s offer for Čech was €25 million!
Frankly speaking... it’s not high.
But for a goalkeeper position, and still so young, without considering Buffon’s value from the previous years, this price is actually fairly reasonable.
After all, the more a coach values defense, sometimes, the less he values defensive players.
Because any player under him gains an extra three points in defensive skills, making them less precious.
Deng Kai inexplicably became agitated, responding publicly on social media, "€25 million? Roman, are you running out of money so soon?"
"A player like Čech? Don’t bother me unless you have €50 million!"
Mourinho immediately jumped out to defend his boss’s dignity, "€50 million? Sorry, but currently, no goalkeeper in the world of football is worth that much, including Buffon!"
Deng Kai didn’t put up with the Special One and continued to post, "Don’t talk about €50 million. To teams like Barça, Arsenal, Bayern, and Real Madrid, Čech’s value should even be €80 million!"
"Before you realize Čech’s value, Manchester City will be the most suffocating team on this planet!"
When Deng Kai said so,
who else could retort?
After all, Manchester City was the Blue Moon Bay of this period.
Mourinho voluntarily silenced himself.
He was looking forward to the clash between Chelsea and Manchester City in the upcoming season!
