After being rejected, I became Shi Yijiao

"It's amazing, I've wanted to go there for a long time!"

On the plane from England to Sweden, Valentina happily hugged Pan Yi.

Yes, they are going to Sweden again.

But this time the destination is not Stockholm, but a small city called Östersund.

Although this city has a population of only 6 people and seems to be relatively unknown, it was awarded the title of "City of Gastronomy" by UNESCO on July and 2010, 7!
In the whole world, there are only three cities that enjoy the official title of "Gourmet Capital": Popayan in Colombia, Chengdu in Dragon Kingdom, and Östersund in Sweden.

This sparsely populated agricultural region has a long culinary tradition and has developed a unique gastronomic culture based on locally produced green food.

It is commendable that the municipal government has provided strong support to local gourmet entrepreneurs and agricultural producers through guidance, training support and product development. The city of Östersund has been voted a world-class gourmet capital.

For Valentina, who has always regarded herself as a "foodie", such a city is the most attractive to her.

Why does she like Yorktown too?Not because the food there is much better than in other parts of the UK!

"Take it easy when you eat, don't turn into a ball lightning again!" Pan Yi laughed, "I don't want to press F to enter the tank..."

"Bah!" Valentina spat, and then asked again, "By the way, why did you come to such a small city to find someone?"

"I've looked at it, there's something about this guy taking a fourth-tier team to the top and should be a good fit for a lower-tier team like us."

Pan Yi replied, and then cast his eyes out of the window, thoughtfully.

The person he was looking for in Sweden this time was Potter.

Not Harry Potter, of course, but Graham Potter, the future Chelsea manager.

The 41-year-old British Graham Potter was mediocre in his player days.

As a left back, he has played for 10 teams in his club career, and has been in the lower leagues of England all year round, including Birmingham, Wycombe Wanderers, Stoke City...

He even played for York City, which is considered a famous team!
After retiring in 2005, he did not immediately refocus on professional football, but went to university to study.

During this time, he was an assistant coach for England's varsity football team, even managed the primary school girls' football team, and in 2007 became the technical director of Ghana's women's football team.

Until 2010, Porter successfully obtained a taught master's degree in leadership and emotional intelligence at Beckett University, and finally started his head coaching career.

Unlike many local coaches who have been working hard in English football, Porter came directly from the UK to Östersund in Sweden with a cold climate.

In January 2011, Porter officially took over as the head coach of Östersund. At that time, the football club had only been established for 1 years. It had been relegated to the Swedish fourth-tier league for the first time before, and the situation was extremely bad.

Potter's arrival has successfully transformed Östersund.

In 6 years, he not only led this previously sunk team to sweep away the gloom and become a victorious team, but also promoted from the fourth level to the first level of the Swedish Super League, and became the historically meritorious coach of the Östersund team.

It can be said that in the minds of the Ostersund people, this Potter can be Harry Potter!
In fact, Potter's magical experience is not over yet.

Later, he led this small team to win the Swedish Cup, which was also the first championship of his coaching career.

Through this championship, they also won the UEFA Europa League qualifying seat. In the end, they broke through the siege and entered the main match.

After that, Porter played a battle of fame that allowed him to return to coaching in England in the future: in the second round of the 1/16 final, Ostersund led by him defeated Arsenal led by Wenger 2-1 at the Emirates Stadium!
London's "Evening Standard" also made him an interesting headline: Harry Potter?No, Graham Potter!

Leading the team to defeat Arsenal made Porter famous. Finally, he spent 7 and a half years of wandering overseas in exchange for a ticket to go home.

The first to greet him was his hometown team Swansea.When Swansea were relegated, Porter's first England coaching season was not too conspicuous.

But there is a Premier League boss who makes a living from football statistics and has noticed him-Brighton boss Tony Bloom.

Bloom was the quintessential British son of the rich: rebellious, bold.Graduated from the Department of Mathematics of the University of Manchester, he did not rely on family property at first, but relied on gambling and Texas Hold'em to accumulate his first pot of gold for himself.

Afterwards, he invested and founded an investment management company called "Starry Lizard", which is actually a gaming management company that manages funds for rich people in the way of football betting.

His company has 5 sets of powerful servers and specializes in collecting football data from all over the world.

When he needed to find a potential coach for Brighton, one of the machines spit out a name: Graham Potter.

And when Porter came to Brighton, he immediately built a strong team.

Unlike coaches from wealthy families, Porter is cautious in the transfer market and has never demanded money from any boss. Instead, he is more willing to believe in the energy of the players themselves.

But with such a low investment, Brighton has created a whirlwind in the Premier League.

Brighton under Porter has flexible and changeable tactics. Some players who seemed to have fixed characteristics at first have different highlights in their careers.

Soon, Brighton changed from a "dumpling" that people used to eat at will to a real "Seagull Legion", which repeatedly overturned the strong team.

In the end, Porter was favored by Chelsea again, and finally embarked on the road to a wealthy family, which can be regarded as the end of his legendary experience.

Well, why a period?
It's because Porter dismissed get out of class halfway before coaching for a full season...

If it weren't for this last "failure", his wonderful experience would be enough to make an excellent football-themed film and television work.

But this may show that a grassroots coach like him cannot grasp the locker room of a wealthy team for the time being.

In fact, this is also normal. There are too many coaches who can lead small teams but cannot drive aircraft carriers. Isn't it the same for Moyes and Emery?
For Pan Yi, a coach like Porter is actually very suitable for York City.

This person not only adapts to local conditions, but also likes technical football and promotes talents.

Later, he played a pleasing game in Brighton, and he also used a 3-4-3 formation. Everyone in the frontcourt participated in high pressure and immediately launched a fast break after stealing the ball.

Frequent switching of frontcourt attackers is one of their offensive features, with particular emphasis on the cooperation of the wings and ribs.

Brighton's offense is based on the midfielder, and the positions of the midfielders are changed in an orderly manner. It can be seen that it has been carefully rehearsed: when the midfielders are in parallel positions, the wing backs and the inside forwards conduct group attacks; In the rhombus position, the winger and the full-back take turns going forward.

During his three years of coaching Brighton, his players have increased their goals one after another, completing the leap of a carp leaping over the dragon's gate.

Cucurella, who was once abandoned by Barcelona, ​​has become an all-around top full-back on the left; Bisuma has grown into a top all-around midfielder in the Premier League. Down.

Later, the British media even called Porter: the local version of Guardiola.

And back in time, he did it even in Östersund.

In Sweden's low-level league where physical confrontation is particularly fierce, Porter did the opposite and recruited a large number of technical players, laying the tactical foundation for the team's future rise.

The midfielder Jamie Hopcart, who was unable to play in the professional league in England and was released by the amateur club York City at the time, was brought to Sweden by him after a trial training and became the core of the midfielder.

Bowa Nouri, an Iraqi midfielder known as the "bad boy" who had a bad reputation in Sweden, was also entrusted with important tasks by Porter, and later became the first Iraqi to score in the Europa League...

In short, for such a person who can succeed in the lower leagues, including civilian teams like Brighton, there is definitely a place for him in York City! ——
After arriving in Sweden, Pan Yi did not go to the Östersund Club, but took Valentina to a local theater.

Of course, Pan Yi also went through a simple "disguise", wearing sunglasses or something, this is also to avoid unnecessary trouble.

After all, as a Swedish national hero, no matter where he appears in Sweden now, he is likely to be warmly welcomed by the masses...

On the stage at this time, a group of male actors were performing the ballet "Swan Lake" for more than 1600 people.

From the posters at the entrance of the theater, we can know that this is a program of a local charity gala.

At this moment in the center of the field is the protagonist of the show, the "beautiful" princess Odette.

The reason for adding quotation marks is because this "princess" is also a man!

Yes, the elegant man in the center of the stage is the target of Pan Yi's trip: Graham Potter!
The row of male actors behind him are actually players from Östersund Club...

Why did the head coach of a professional club suddenly bring players to the theater to dance?

This is actually one of Potter's characteristics.

He is someone who can consider everything for the club, which is equivalent to a position like "football manager".

Although Porter is the head coach, he successfully helped the club establish its own culture in Östersund, allowing the club to set up a cultural academy, encouraging players to participate in community cultural activities, and leading players to organize concerts.

The Östersund Football Club, which was originally in a bad situation and had little support, has gained wide recognition and support in the local area.

Look, isn't this exactly the same as what Pan Yi did in York City?

The support and love of the masses is the most important factor for the long-term development of a football club!
Actively participating in such activities can also allow Porter to mingle with the players, be honest with the players, and win their trust.

In a later interview with the FA official, Porter once talked about the "five major values" of his coaching: transparency, vision, sincerity, reliability, and professionalism.

And this is exactly the secret to keeping the players closely united by his side.

It can be said that these five values ​​are very close to the "corporate culture" of York City under Pan Yi's current administration!
Whether it is Pan Yi or Scaloni, or even the chairman McGill and the director Horta, they are never superior, but they are as close as a family to the players and staff.

So recruiting Potter can also be said to be "not a family, not a family".

And Pan Yi also did his homework beforehand. He learned about today's performance from the Östersund Club, so he came directly to the theater.
-
After watching the "Swan Lake", which was a little hot on the eyes, Pan Yi went backstage.

After all, he is the "protagonist", and Potter has a dressing room all to himself, which is convenient for Pan Yi's visit.

At this time, Potter was still taking off his make-up, and when he felt someone coming in at the door, he looked up and was a little stunned.

"Pan...Pan Yi?"

Under the dim light off the stage, no one could recognize Pan Yi, but under the lights in the dressing room, Porter still recognized the most powerful football coach in the world at a glance.

"It's me." Pan Yi said, taking off his sunglasses.

Pan Yi's first impression of Porter's face was that he had deep hatred and bitterness. His brows were always deeply frowned, as if he would always have unresolved troubles.

Feeling a bit like Allegri?It's an embarrassing face all day long.

"Why did you come here today?" Porter asked, and then suddenly slapped his head, "You don't think you are looking for some player of mine, do you?"

It is well known that Pan Yi is good at recruiting unknown players from various corners of the world, and then turning them into famous stars.

Not to mention the past, this season Pan Yi took away an Amon that almost no one knew from the Norwegian League, and now this Amon has already made a big splash in the League One.

As the Swedish Super League, which is similar to or even slightly stronger than the Norwegian league, it is not particularly unusual for some players to be favored by Pan Yi.

Although it is still some time before the winter window of the English League opens, it has already entered November after all.

Getting in touch with relevant clubs and players earlier can also better prepare for the opening of the transfer window. This is also a routine operation of various clubs, so it is normal for Pan Yi to do so.

"Is it Bois Nuri?" Porter began to guess, "He is the core of my midfielder. If he leaves, it will be troublesome. It is difficult to find a substitute at this time... Ah, I see, yes Jamie Hopcarter! He is an old player of York City himself, you must want him back!"

Because of Pan Yi's magic, everyone knows that it is difficult for players to refuse an invitation from York City, especially for small clubs in places like Norway and Sweden.

So Porter has begun to worry about the future of his team, after all, he still wants to take the team to another level!
As he spoke and thought, Potter's face looked more like a bitter melon.

"No, I'm here to invite you to join Yorktown." Pan Yi cut to the chase.

"Huh?" Now Potter opened his mouth wide open, like a bitter melon being cut open.

On the one hand, he didn't expect that Pan Yi came here for himself, on the other hand, his heart really moved violently.

There are many rich bosses in the football world now, and there are some rich bosses who are willing to invest in football, but there are very few bosses who are rich and willing to invest in football, and at the same time have deep feelings for football and know football very well.

And Pan Yi's background as a coach obviously made Porter have a deeper sense of identity with him, not to mention that the football Pan Yi played when he led the team was exactly the kind of football Porter dreamed of!
Including the 3-4-3 he is currently using in the Östersund team, which is actually inspired by Pan Yi's three-back system and combined with the actual situation of the team.

"But...but don't you already have Scaloni? He leads the team very well." Porter asked one of his doubts.

"Haha, it seems that you still pay attention to our team, at least English football." Pan Yi smiled, "I'm not asking you to replace him, but to be our team's technical director, how about it? "

The position of technical director does not exist in many English clubs, including the current York City.

However, Pan Yi intends to invite Porter to take up the position. This position is more like an assistant and consultant to the head coach, taking into account the affairs of the youth academy and player training.

In this way, it can not only help Scaloni in all aspects of competition and training, but also give full play to Porter's characteristics.

After all, Porter is capable of formulating and implementing things that are conducive to the development of the team from the perspective of the entire club.

Giving him a higher position and authority is to encourage him to let go.

At the same time, this is also the way to attract Porter to return to England at this stage. After all, although Porter is only in the Swedish league now, he is a head coach after all.

If you just let him come back as an assistant coach, it is obviously not attractive enough.

As for the real full-time assistant coach... Pan Yi has another candidate in mind at this time!
"We are really sincere, Mr. Potter." Seeing Potter's puzzled and hesitant face, Pan Yi added,

"Frankly speaking, York City is just a small team at present, but we will upgrade this year, and we will continue to upgrade next year. In the future, we will enter Europe, and you can realize your ambition here!"

"York City can be your destination, or your springboard. When you are willing to become the head coach of a new team, I will definitely not stop you."

"Nagelsmann, Inzaghi, Arteta, including the current York City coach Scaloni, you all know these. They used to be my assistant coaches, but now they have started their own coaching careers. .”

"Believe me, follow me, it is definitely easier to attract the attention of European teams than you are in Sweden!"

Potter was stunned when he heard that.

His ultimate ideal, of course, is to return to the mainstream European leagues, or even his hometown of England, to coach a Premier League team!
Coming to Sweden to coach a fourth-tier league team can be said to be a strategy to save the country with a curve.

Otherwise, why would an Englishman go to the cold Sweden to coach?

This is because his career resume is too mediocre, and no English professional team is willing to invite him to be the head coach after retiring.

So, when this small town with only 6 people in the north-central part of Sweden offered him an invitation from the team that had fallen to Sweden's fourth tier, he accepted.

Unfortunately, this job was not enough to bring him the professional recognition he wanted.

So much so that when he went to St. George's Park (FA headquarters) for the first time to apply for a UEFA professional coaching course, he was stopped outside the classroom: Who are you?What are you doing here?Are you qualified enough?

These three questions of the soul have been running through Potter's entire career.

Even if he takes Ostersund to the Swedish top league now, it is obviously still difficult to be recognized by English football.

——After all, he really caught the attention of English football after he led the team to defeat Wenger's Arsenal, and this incident has not yet happened.

But now, Pan Yi's promise to Porter obviously hit his heart directly!
What Pan Yi said is correct, it is indeed easier to stand out with him, the most powerful football coach in the world.

Pan Yi is always willing and even encourages his disciples to go out and teach independently!

On the one hand, this is because Pan Yi thinks about the future of others. On the other hand, it also shows that these disciples have made rapid progress around Pan Yi, otherwise they would not be accepted by the teams of the five major leagues.

On the whole, isn't this a hundred times better than staying in Sweden and staying in such an unknown team?
Moreover, Porter had played for York City as a player and was familiar with the environment there, so there was really no reason to refuse.

"However, I still have a contract with Östersund, I'm afraid..." Potter moved his lips, expressing his last doubts.

"Don't worry, I'll take care of the contract. It depends on how much the termination fee is. Our club will help you pay it!" Pan Yi said very richly.

In fact, in countries such as Norway, Sweden, and Denmark, the salary of the head coach is basically only a few thousand euros per week, so the termination fee will not be very high.

For Porter, the termination fee of tens of thousands to one hundred thousand euros is beyond his reach, but Pan Yi can easily "redeem" him, which is not a big deal at all.

Pan Yi still has the "money ability"!

He saves money at this stage. On the one hand, it is not yet the time to really spend money. On the other hand, he also avoids giving others the impression that he is a "big dog" and being slaughtered for no reason.

What's more, at present, all the sponsors have sharpened their heads and want to drill into the club, and even the profit part is enough for the team to be responsible for its own profits and losses. How can there be any need to use Pan Yi's small coffers?
Therefore, Pan Yi now is to be a "backup" boss with peace of mind, and wait until there is really a big need for funds in the future before making a move.

This is also the biggest guarantee for York City.

Although money may not necessarily make it to the Premier League, money can at least guarantee the club's operations and prevent the team's development from being suddenly hindered.

There are many things that sell players, sell team facilities, or even sell stadiums because of lack of money, and end up going bankrupt!

But now that Pan Yi had said that, Potter naturally no longer hesitated, and immediately nodded in agreement!

After that, things are simple.

Pan Yi stayed in Sweden for two days, allowing Valentina to enjoy a good time in Östersund, the "gourmet city", and helped Porter and Östersund club resolve the contract issue.

The club didn't have too much embarrassment about Porter's departure. After all, Pan Yi had agreed to pay the termination fee, so he readily let Porter leave.

In this way, "Harry Potter" finally returned to his "Magic Kingdom"!
After all, in the "Harry Potter" series of movies, Hogsmeade Station, the train station where Hogwarts is located, and Diagon Alley, a street of magic, are all filmed in Yorkshire, or their source of inspiration .

After getting Potter, Pan Yi immediately took Valentina to Italy.

There, there is a real first-team assistant manager for York City!