Chapter 63
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Translator: Silver Dragon
Chapter: 63
Chapter Title: Chapter 63
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Translator: Silver Dragon
Chapter: 63
Chapter Title: Winter Transfer Window: Preparing for Threats of Losing Players Rather Than Buying
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In English football, December is the month of death.
Unlike other leagues, there was no winter break, crammed with League Cup matches, FA Cup qualifiers, Boxing Day fixtures, and the UEFA Cup round of 32.
The opponents were Slavia Prague from Eastern Europe.
Now that they were in Prague anyway, they scouted promising Eastern European talents from Sparta Prague and Slavia Prague, but none really caught Hitzfeld's eye.
Meanwhile, with the league race hot on Manchester United's heels just three points behind their dominant run, a trip to France came up.
"Mr. Lee, I can't go because of player training... you sure it'll be okay?"
"Absolutely. Let's just prepare the celebration party."
Off to Paris, France.
The Ballon d'Or ceremony was being held to cap off the year 2000.
They had earned the right to attend with pride, as one of the world's top players based on the previous year and the first half of the current season—the greatest honor in football.
Managers usually accompanied their nominees, but during the season, if that wasn't feasible, any club official could go instead.
Like Real Madrid's president Perez himself, or Bayern's Rummenigge, Milan's Berlusconi, Inter's Moratti, and so on.
"Do you need any additional signings in the winter transfer window?"
"Not yet."
Hitzfeld insisted the current squad was more than sufficient and burned with determination to compete for the remaining trophies.
"Mr. Lee, now it's less about signing players and more about worrying about other teams poaching ours."
"!"
"As Blackburn's name spreads across Europe, plenty of clubs will start eyeing our promising talents."
They'd been the ones buying up players until now, but from here on, others would come hunting theirs.
Fine by him. Let them try.
He'd snatched Figo right out from under Real Madrid's nose—who could negotiate properly against him?
With Hitzfeld's advice in mind, he decided to make a big push to resolve all contract issues with the players upon his return.
The Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, France, was a historic venue steeped in culture and tradition, and it doubled as the annual gathering spot for football's elite.
"Crespo, Thierry Henry, Rivaldo—and David Beckham's here too."
"It's a fresh feeling for me. I claimed this honor here three times."
Standing in for manager Hitzfeld was their striker coach, Marco van Basten—three-time Ballon d'Or winner.
The moment reporters spotted van Basten, they swarmed for interviews, and several football heavyweights approached with warm greetings.
In a sea of football faces no matter where he looked, his eyes locked from afar with Florentino Pérez, chatting in a tuxedo with others.
"…."
Pérez's face twisted sharply, and Lee Dae-hyun responded with a grin.
Just thinking about Luis Figo waiting in the nominee lounge probably still burned him up inside.
At least they were making good use of Mendieta. Cheers to that.
"Hey, hey, hello there?"
"!"
A short Italian with a sly grin and a stocky build approached, flanked by a balding middle-aged man with heavy dark circles.
"The English club owner who's been snapping up Italian players and making a killing, right?"
"Berlusconi?"
"Yup—"
Silvio Berlusconi, AC Milan owner, approached with an even broader sly smile.
Beside him was Adriano Galliani, the man who effectively ran Milan.
"Who do you think'll take the Ballon d'Or?"
"Luis Figo, obviously."
"Figo from Barcelona, maybe. But from an English club? Eh, we'll see."
"…!"
Milan had more than seven Ballon d'Or winners already, so no sweat for them, huh?
"Too bad—if it'd just been 60 million euros, I might've signed him myself."
"Take care of the players you already have."
"Heh heh, touchy, aren't we?"
Galliani, sensing the tension, stepped in to defuse it.
"Just a light joke. We're here supporting Andriy Shevchenko's Ballon d'Or bid."
"Shevchenko's a standout striker, for sure. Wonder how he'd fare in the Premier League."
Berlusconi let out a snicker.
"Why leave the world's top league...?"
"Ah, time to head in for the ceremony. It's for the best player, whoever that may be."
Galliani hurriedly led Berlusconi to their VIP seats, and Lee Dae-hyun found his assigned spot.
The selection was by vote from France Football journalists.
The final top five were set, and names were called one by one.
5th place by journalists' vote: Lazio's Alessandro Nesta, with 39 votes.
Lazio's Nesta stood with an awkward smile and a wave, earning applause from the crowd.
Nesta was a beast back then, and with Lazio not signing Mendieta, their finances were solid—he'd stick around longer.
4th place: Arsenal's Thierry Henry, with 57 votes.
Henry, another star yet to claim Ballon d'Or glory, got consolation from his accompanying manager Wenger.
At least Wenger had come all this way.
"Now the final three—announced back-to-back."
Van Basten, drawing from experience, whispered the tip-off, and Lee Dae-hyun eyed the remaining candidates.
Juventus' Zinedine Zidane.
AC Milan's Andriy Shevchenko.
And Blackburn's Luis Figo.
All three wore tense expressions as the moment arrived.
The Ballon d'Or winner shining through 2000 is 'Luis Figo', with 197 votes.
"That's it!"
Everyone rose for a standing ovation as Figo received the gleaming golden ball from France Football.
The venue erupted—the pinnacle of any footballer's career.
But a strange killing intent emanated from one corner.
The group with Rivaldo and Kluivert, and those suits sporting the Barcelona logo.
Figo, who should've been theirs, claiming it in another club's shirt—must've burned like hellfire.
Luis Figo, heartfelt congratulations. We'd like to hear your acceptance speech.
Clutching the Ballon d'Or, Figo spoke with a face full of emotion.
"First, I dedicate this honor to my family. I've played for many teams, but I must thank my current club, Blackburn Rovers, and my boss, Mr. Lee, above all. You believed in me and made this new challenge possible."
⟨ Ballon d'Or Acceptance ⟩
A rush of pure relief washed through him, amplified by the worldwide broadcast shoutout from a world-class star.
He clapped until his palms stung, then joined van Basten in approaching Figo after the ceremony.
"Luis, congratulations."
"It's finally in my hands. Battling Zidane right to the end was tough."
After shaking hands with runner-up Zidane, Figo handed the Ballon d'Or over to Lee Dae-hyun.
"This can't be the end with just one."
"Hahaha, words worthy of Marco with his three."
He wanted to capture this glory forever with Figo and van Basten.
"Come on, let's get a photo together."
Figo, Lee Dae-hyun, and van Basten posed holding the Ballon d'Or for the press photographers.
Luis Figo Wins Ballon d'Or!
Glory to the Premier League! First Premier Leaguer Since Manchester United's George Best in 1968—32 Years Later.
Luis Figo Succeeded at Barcelona, Shines at Blackburn.
Luis Figo: 'I Dedicate This to My Boss, Lee Dae-hyun.' Proudly Declares Loyalty to Blackburn.
Figo's Ballon d'Or was expected, but winning it with EPL's Blackburn instead of Real Madrid in the original timeline was massive.
The city was already prepping a parade, plus a special Ballon d'Or interview and a commemorative match at the stadium.
"Since the Ballon d'Or's inception, only three Premier League clubs have produced a winner—and now Blackburn's one of them."
"Hearing that makes it even more meaningful. Liverpool and Arsenal couldn't pull it off, but we did."
Well, next year's might come from the Premier League too, who knows...
Adviser John Williams gifted framed photos of him and Figo as a congratulatory present.
He'd duplicate them for his office and have plenty of bragging material back in Korea someday.
It was a feel-good end to the year, and now it was time to gear up for the second half of the league and the UEFA Cup.
After knocking out Prague in the round of 32, the round of 16 pitted them against one of Serie A's Seven Sisters, Parma AC.
"Buffon in goal, Cannavaro, Thuram on defense... a team that wins with defense alone."
Even after offloading Crespo to Lazio for an astronomical fee, they boasted Conceição, Miloshevich, Fabio Cannavaro, Lilian Thuram, Buffon, and more—a powerhouse still battling for the Serie A title.
New Year's meant heading to Korea for group business and family matters, but the winter transfer window needed handling.
Headaches had piled up since the club's last 'one player signing proposal' and Hitzfeld's no-further-signings stance.
RRRR- RRRR-
Another call came in the meantime.
"Call from Italy."
"Say no?"
He didn't want to take it, but his secretary insisted it was poor form between clubs.
"I've got the phone."
"Mr. Lee, it's Galliani. I'd like to talk about Gennaro Gattuso again."
"I told you, not for sale."
Gattuso had received an offer from AC Milan.
Not even salmon migrating back—Lee Dae-hyun had signed him first in this world, and now that he was showing growth, they came sniffing.
"Mr. Lee, we've prepared 20 million euros. Gattuso has the quality for next year's World Cup. Giovanni's interested too."
"If Giovanni Trapattoni is truly interested, it doesn't matter—he plays in England, and Italy will call him up anyway."
"He's not just for the Italy national team—he's essential for our Italian club, AC Milan. 20 million euros is plenty to find a replacement, no? Let's negotiate."
"Let me be clear: not for sale. Goodbye."
He ended the call and pulled a cigarette from his drawer, lighting up.
A knock echoed then.
"Come in."
Gennaro Gattuso entered.
He stubbed out the cigarette without lighting it fully and set it on the table.
"Oh, Rino."
"Mr. Lee, I've got a question."
"?!"
"Did I get a transfer offer from Italy?"
"Yeah, from AC Milan."
"Milan... that Milan?"
"Rino, have a seat. We've got a lot to talk about."
AC Milan's winter transfer offer for Gattuso.
But the midfielder anchoring this team's spine wasn't ready to return to Italy just yet.
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