Just One More Goal...- A Bayer Leverkusen Story

[fran1412]

Just One More Goal...-A Bayer Leverkusen Story

Chapter One-Preparing For the Big Moment


I think it was six in the evening when I finally woke up. I still couldn't recover from the shock. After a very good season with Leverkusen last term, everybody at the club (me included) thought that Jupp Heynckes would go on finish off the job that he had started, that of winning the Bundesliga. Leverkusen had finished second the last time around to Borussia Dortmund, but this time, they were quietly confident that they will win the Bundesliga this time.

So it came as a huge shock when Jupp decided to rejoin his former club Bayern Munich as their new man in charge. Not just to me, but to everyone at the club. He had given us no advance warning of it whatsoever. And the chairman never revealed it also. Most of us who had been close to him in these two years came to know of it only through the news. I was sipping coffee and watching a videotape of the Dortmund Under 19 squad playing Bremen Under 19s. At about eight in the morning, I got a call from one of the scouts, Uwe Helmes.

"Hello? Is that Matthias?"
"Yes Uwe! How are you?"
"I'm fine. Have you seen the news lately?"
"No. I'm busy with the Under 19s"
"So you don't know?"
"Don't know what?"
"Jupp left us. He's going down to Bavaria!" he shouted over the phone, obviously distressed by what he saw was betrayal.
"WHAT?!" I shouted back.

I kept the phone down and switched channels very fast and landed upon one of them which had the sports news going on.

"...Meanwhile, Bayern Munich have announced that Jupp Heynckes, the current Leverkusen manager, will be officially unveiled at a ceremony at the Allianz Arena two days from now. Heynckes is said to be delighted to rejoin Bayern and he has posted on twitter that he would be arriving in Munich this afternoon."

My mind felt numb. Switching off the television and keeping the notepad and coffee aside, I sat thinking. Thinking deep. Thinking hard. And without realising it, I fell asleep.

***

At about nine in the evening, the telephone rang, breaking the silence of the dark night. I walked towards it, thinking that if it was Heynckes saying anything like a sorry or a goodbye, I would shout the **** out of him. I picked it up.

"Hello?" I said
"Am I speaking to Mr. Matthias Ulrich?" It was the chairman. ****! There went all my plans of shouting!
"Yes. I am Matthias here." I replied, my shaking voice slightly echoing in the room.
"Well, I think you've heard. Heynckes has left."

I stayed silent. It was often the best way to convey your displeasure, they said.

Holzhauser went on. "We've been thinking about appointing a new manager and after debating the matter with the board of directors, I felt that while there were some very good managers without a job now, I think appointing someone with the know-how of the club and with the aim of making it big in management is what the club needs."

I sensed what was coming. But surely...

"So, we thought, why not appoint our Under 19s manager, who's been doing an amazing job for the past three years, leading the side to two Under-19 league titles and a Cup as well, as the new senior team manager?"

I almost screamed my head off! "But obviously, before we do that, we need to be certain that you have the ambition and the drive to do that as well as a proper plan. So, what we would ideally like, is a presentation on what you will do as manager of Leverkusen, positively by tomorrow. Is that okay?"

All I could muster in response was a feeble "Oh. Oh yes."

"I think that concludes our conversation now. You may go and prepare your presentation now. Please be at the club offices by ten in the morning, provided it doesn't rain or snow. Midday if it does. Thank you."

Holzhauser kept the phone down. And so did I at this end. Me? Leverkusen manager? Ridiculous. I mean, I'd dreamed of it happening. But not this soon.

I went to my bedroom with a renewed sense of purpose, opened my laptop and sat there, thinking where to begin. It was just too big. The club, the expectation, everything about Leverkusen was generally big. So as I typed the first line, I sensed that this was going to be a long night.

A very very long night indeed.​

 

[I7IDanny]

Really good start! Love these styles of stories that are exactly that, a story, not a report

Looking forward to the next installment!

 

[fran1412]

Really good start! Love these styles of stories that are exactly that, a story, not a report

Looking forward to the next installment!

Thanks! Me too. I don't like the ones in the newspaper formats.

 

[TheBeardOfZeus]

I like the start dude, and a personal favourite club of mine in Leverkusen.

Can't wait to see how you get on, I'm following!

 

[Steve*]

Nice start mate.
Glad I inspired you to do this. It is well written and seems interesting.
I just have one or 2 pointers for you if you want constructive criticism?
1. Not a big deal bit the Leverkusen badge is a bit on the large size. Id suggest almost having its size. But centre allignment is good
2. I would suggest looking at Appendix 3 of this thread: http://www.fm-base.co.uk/forum/football-manager-2012-stories/88002-story-help-advice-thread.html. Your paragraphs are a bit too short. I suggest combining a few that each paragraph is at least 5 lines long.

But that would just be my way of doing it and it is entirely up to you. And as I said its a nice start

 

[fran1412]

I like the start dude, and a personal favourite club of mine in Leverkusen.

Can't wait to see how you get on, I'm following!

Thank you!

 

[fran1412]

Nice start mate.
Glad I inspired you to do this. It is well written and seems interesting.
I just have one or 2 pointers for you if you want constructive criticism?
1. Not a big deal bit the Leverkusen badge is a bit on the large size. Id suggest almost having its size. But centre allignment is good
2. I would suggest looking at Appendix 3 of this thread: http://www.fm-base.co.uk/forum/football-manager-2012-stories/88002-story-help-advice-thread.html. Your paragraphs are a bit too short. I suggest combining a few that each paragraph is at least 5 lines long.

But that would just be my way of doing it and it is entirely up to you. And as I said its a nice start

Thanks. I was reading through it earlier. The last time I saw it, Appendix 3 wasn't there. Guessing you updated it recently?

I'll take a look at App 3 now.

And yeah, to anybody else who reads this:

​CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM IS ALWAYS APPRECIATED!

 

[Steve*]

Appendix 3 wasn't there. Guessing you updated it recently?

I'll take a look at App 3 now.

Yeah I was at the doctors and that stalled my progress. App 3 and 4 are up. It should be stickied and easy to find sometime in the near future.

 

[TheBeardOfZeus]

2. I would suggest looking at Appendix 3 of this thread: http://www.fm-base.co.uk/forum/football-manager-2012-stories/88002-story-help-advice-thread.html. Your paragraphs are a bit too short. I suggest combining a few that each paragraph is at least 5 lines long.

Personally, I prefer the shorter style. Studying journalism, it's much easier to read shorter paragraphs, and it's much more likely to hold someone's attention for longer.

But 5 lines long consistently or around that would be fine.

 

[fran1412]

Chapter Two-Bypassing Formality



Three Days Later...

Heavy Rain Lashes Across Germany and France


Heavy rains across much of France and Western Germany continued through Thursday, not leaving the two Western European nations for the third day now. Ecologists across the globe believe that the phenomenon of global warming was responsible for this nonseasonal rainfall. The French meteorology department has said that it expects the rain to affect much of the country for the next one week or so, with Strasbourg being one of the most affected cities. The German authorities have also confirmed this and have further warned against people going out of home for the next few days as long as strong wind and rain continued. Among the most affected cities were Cologne, Dusseldorf, Leverkusen, Essen, Mannheim and Wiesbaden. Stuttgart and Heidelburg are also said to suffering spells of rain now and then.

Meanwhile, all major airports and railway stations in the cities of Western Germany and France have shut down. Several key industries are said to be severely affected.

I only had to look out of my window to see how true the last but one line of the first paragraph was. Water had accumulated to such an extent in the garden that it was turned into a muddy swimming pool. So, for the third day continuously, there would be no interview. The roads in Leverkusen had become practically worthless now. Travelling was a risk few would take. Training was also cancelled, for the senior team, for the Reserves and for the Under 19s.

The past three days had been eventful though. The first day was supposed to be the day I was to give my interview originally. But thanks, to the amazing rainfall we'd had, even Holzhauser had to concede and postpone the interview by a day. I was relieved. Partly because I could finally get some sleep and partly because I could once again go through my thirty two slide presentation. I spent the rest of the day doing exactly that.

The next day passed off almost identically like the first one, though the monotony was broken when I saw in the news that Andre Villas-Boas was appointed as the Chelsea manager. Andre and I were good friends. Both of us had passed out with our coaching badges at the same time. We took to each other mainly because we were of the same age. I had worked with Andre too. When he was assistant manager at Porto and Chelsea to Jose Mourinho, I was a coach in the same gang of staff that the Special One took with him wherever he went. So I called up Andre that day. "Hello? Andre?"
"Hello Mato! How are you? Long time since you talked to me. That last time you probably did was to congratulate me when I won the Europa!" He was absolutely ecstatic.
"That's not long. You won it like three months back!" I exclaimed.
"Agreed. So how's it going?" he said
"It's fine really. Just the uncertainty over the top job. Anyway, congratulations! I heard you are travelling to stay in London?"
"Yes. Well, they paid fifteen million to get me out of Porto. When a club goes to those extents, you can't really say no, can you?"
"No. Obviously not. So any idea of what you're going to do with the squad?"
"Well, not yet. But I'm pretty sure I'll need a winger. Kalou and Anelka make for pathetic right wingers. Mata and Malouda are good on the left though."
"Well, I'd advise you to look at Marco Reus. He seems good. You could try and get Hulk to Chelsea along with you also."
" Well yeah. I will see. Anyway, all the best Mato. Looking forward to seeing you soon."
"Yeah. Me too. Goodbye." I kept the phone down.

The rest of the day passed off without incident. The next day saw more rainfall and I saw more of the television. The evening gave slight hope when the sun came out. But after a brief ten minutes of sunshine, just when the cleaners thought they could begin work on clearing up the roads, rains began to pound the city again. And as expected, Holzhauser put the interview off for the next day-which happened to be another rainy today.I was really getting fed up of this. The delays and the postponements were really making me nervous. I felt like screaming my head off every time the phone rang and the secretary, a sexy lady called Alissa Wencker, and told me the interview was postponed. And it was no different today at around five thirty in the evening.

"Another postponement?" I asked, exasperated.
"Yes. But the chairman has a solution. He says you can send your presentation through e-mail to him and he will read through it and call you up with the reply."
"Yes. Tell him I will do it immediately."

Keeping the phone down, I raced to the laptop, opened up the **** thing, and within ten minutes, e-mailed my presentation to the chairman. Now was the hard part. The waiting. It would be hours before he was given a reply. He hoped it was affirmative and he hated to think of it otherwise.

*****

Five hours later, the telephone rang. I was across the living room, sorting out a few files with regard to the Under 19s and administrative matters of the Bundesliga. I dropped the file down in my hurry and then went to pick up the phone.

"Hello?" I said, breathless.
"What were you doing? Running around the house or something?" the chairman asked, a humorous note to his voice.
"Not around. But across." I replied.
"Anyway, congratulations Matthias. You've just been confirmed as the new Leverkusen manager. I must say, that was one **** of a presentation."
I gulped and mustered a feeble thank you before finalizing an appointment for contract discussions the next day.

I couldn't believe it. It had come true. Finally the manager's office at BayArena would read "Ulrich, Matthias"...​

 

[Cai123]

Amazing story. You should right a novel. Loving it.

 

[fran1412]

Chapter Three-Settling Down


My table was the incarnation of untidiness. Papers announcing various offers from player agents, another one giving a detailed list of the various technical facilities we had, and one giving the fixture lists for the year were all mixed up with the bundles of papers having scout reports on various players from Germany and abroad. The scouts had neatly arranged everything when they gave it to me, with their top recommendations of Villareal's Nilmar, Napoli's Ezequiel Lavezzi and Hoffenheim's Andreas Beck at the top of the pile. But I had been rummaging through the reports so haphazardly that I never bothered to keep the reports in their proper order again. This resulted in David Carney's name at the top and Nilmar on the floor. As I completed reading one more report, I checked the time. Eight. I had to go down to the ground for my first training session with the boys. Finishing off my long frozen tea, I got up, looked around and then locked the door and left for the stadium nearby.

I was greeted by the assistant manager, Damir Buric, at the entrance to the BayArena. "Hello Mat! how are you doing?"
"I'm doing just fine. How about you?" I shook hands and we started walking down past the dressing rooms into the stadium itself.
"Oh yes, I'm okay. The boys are changing in the dressing room. They should be up soon."

Just as he finished speaking, we climbed the stairs and entered the ground. It took me a while before he finally realised that I was there, right at the head of the players' entrance to the BayArena. I was not overwhelmed by the occasion. Indeed, I felt humbled by it. And as I looked around, I saw that two or three players were already out on the field. Among them were two people I had known and worked with. Nicolai Jorgensen, the Danish left winger who had been with the Reserves for so long was promoted by me to the first team following an impressive last season. Along with him was the German Under-19 international, Samed Yesil, who had also been promoted to the first team. No. He had been fast tracked was more like it.

"Hi there gaffer! Nice to see you!" Samed exclaimed when he saw me.
"You too Sam! How're you?"
"Incredibly nervous. First team and stuff like that scare the bones out of me."
"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll do well. Andre felt the same but he did just fine." I replied, referring to Andre Schurrle.

Soon, Jorgensen joined us. The only other player on the field was Sidney Sam, who seemed content taking penalties at an empty goal. We talked a bit about football, Jupp Heynckes, some restaurant in Berlin where we'd partied and a little bit about the new Nike boots before the first team came out to join me and the coaching staff. Five minutes later, all the players stood in a semi-circle around me and Damir.

I surveyed the gathering. There was a lot of experience in this side. Simon Rolfes, Michael Ballack, Hanno Ballitsch and Michal Kadlec were all seasoned campaigners. At the same time, there was a nice blend of youthful energy into it too, with the likes Samed Yesil, Andre Schurrle, Bernd Leno and so on. I felt it was just the right mix for a title winning side. All it needed was a little bit of changes here and there and a good catalyst to spur them on.

I spoke first, breaking the silence that had taken over as I surveyed the team. "Right lads. I know some of you might be a little disappointed that Jupp left us. But it's time to put the incident behind our backs and concentrate on what's lying ahead." I looked around for some sort of reaction. Schurrle was listening quietly, Barnetta had his head down and Ballack was fiddling with his thumbs. I went on "Last season, you guys were unlucky and were made to finish second. But this time, we're having none of it. We're going to win the title! We're going to get that shield down to Leverkusen from Dortmund! Aren't we?" I shouted with feeling.

The team muttered a response and some just nodded. I was not impressed. This is not the attitude that I wanted. To resolve this I called out to Andre, Nicolai and Samed. They all stepped forward. I asked them "Show them what we do at the Under 19s." They understood and though initially reserved, a little prodding brought out a deafening "We will do it!" from the three lads. "Good. That's the sort of stuff I want to be dealing with hereafter. Are you with me?"
"Yes!" the team replied in unision, Simon Rolfes being slightly over enthusiastic even.
"Are you going to win it for us?"
"YES!" The roar was even more now.
"That's good. Now. we'll move on to the tactical part of it. We'll be playing..." I went on discussing about tactics and proceeded to some light training. I kept it a low intensity because I didn't want any injuries to the side.

*****

That evening, I went to Hannover with two of my financial advisors. I had already talked about the deal to the Hannover manager, Mirko Slomka, and we both had agreed in principle to it. Earlier in the day, after the training session, I felt that Eren Derdiyok and Stefan Kiessling were far from the out and out finishers that we may require. So, an addition was necessary. I had shortlisted a few strikers, the first of whom plied his trade at Hannover. He was fairly young and had the potential to play among the big boys. His finishing was better than Derdiyok or Kiessling though he was slightly slower than them.

I went to the team hotel at about eight in the evening to grab an hour's rest before I kept up my appointment with officials from Hannover at nine o'clock. I prayed and hoped that everything went right. This was my first attempt at a transfer and I fervently hoped it was a success. I had even taken my best financial advisors to give me the best chance of it going through. If all went right today night, contract discussions would begin tomorrow and the transfer could be done in about a week's time if the player agreed. But maybe I'm counting the chickens before they hatched out. Still, thinking about the possibility was going to do me no harm.

If all went right, Mohammed Abdellaoue would soon be wearing the Bayer 04 jersey...
​

 

[SultanG]

Good layout so far. I would recommend using pictures now and again. This eases off pressure on the reader and also give the story more tangible excitement

 

[fran1412]

Good layout so far. I would recommend using pictures now and again. This eases off pressure on the reader and also give the story more tangible excitement

I'd thought so myself too. Thanks

 

[fran1412]

Chapter Four-The Going Outs and The Coming Ins

The pre-season was to begin in about three weeks and I wanted to have my squad ready by then. I didn't like dealing with any last-minute and midway-through-preseason transfers mainly because I felt that if a player wasn't there from the first day, he would take more time to adapt than necessary. I was also a staunch opponent of spending in the January window unless it was absolutely necessary. Of course, many felt this was an idealist approach but I didn't have any problems with it. And thankfully, neither did the chairman. So, by the time I had started negotiations with Hannover's representatives and Abdellaoue's agent at about eleven that morning, I had already made and received a few phone calls.

The day before, after training, Fabian Giefer had come to me and asked me "Boss, am I going to be in the first team anytime soon?"
I thought about it. Rene Adler was injured at the moment and would be out for about five months. Bernd Leno was a very good replacement for him. Indeed, I felt that if he performed in a match as well as he did in training, I would make his loan deal permanent. But whether Stuttgart will agree to it is another matter. David Yelldell, the American goalkeeper, was an incredible good back-up to Leno and Adler. So Giefer I decided, will not be getting much action in the first team.
"No I don't think so. I mean, you can understand right? There's Bernd, there's Rene when he gets back and then there's David"
"I thought so too. But I feel I need some action. Can you transfer list me?"
I thought about it and said "Well, yes. If that's what you want."
"Yes. I've heard that Sporting Lisbon are interested. So, if you would let me leave, it would be great."
"I'll talk to them too. Don't worry."

That evening, I'd made phone calls to Sporting Lisbon's offices and they'd agreed to our demand of 2.7 million Euros. They said payment would arrive soon and asked for permission to speak to Giefer's agent.

At around the same time when I was discussing terms with Lisbon, my secretary informed me that Andre Villas-Boas had called up earlier in the day. The subject, she said, was an enquiry about the availability of Tranquillo Barnetta for transfer. She told me she hadn't given any response. I told her to call up Andre and tell him Barnetta's not for sale as of now, but that might change after I discuss it with Tranquillo himself.

Meanwhile, later in the night, I'd made enquiries about the German youngster Marco Reus. He was a talented player who could play on either side of my 4-5-1 in attacking midfield. Also, I felt that if Barnetta decided that he was going to leave for Chelsea, I will need a good player on the right wing. And I felt Reus had the ability to match or even emulate Barnetta in that role. Monchengladbach replied later on that they would settle for a 22 million deal with about 19 million spread over 36 months. After some tough talking, the price was whittled down to 18 million. They wanted me to fly over to Gladbach to complete the paperwork and the deal as soon as possible. I promised them I'll be there as soon as I'd finished work with Hannover. My last and final call was to Freiburg, where I'd enquired about Papiss Cisse. But the price they quoted for him was just absolute ridiculous so nothing ever proceeded beyond the enquiry stage.

Getting back to Hannover now, at about eleven in the morning, we began negotiations with Hannover officials. The talks didn't last long and we agreed upon a six million deal which could rise to nine million depending on Abdellaoue's performances for Leverkusen. Then came the harder part. Me, and my two financial advisors-Hans Dieter and Mario Fritsch- began negotiating with Abdellaoue's agent-a certain Lars Olsen from Norway.

"So, Mohammed would like to know what is his role in the side?" he began.
I answered it. "As of now, we have only Eren Derdiyok and Stefan Kiessling, so Mohammed will enjoy runs in the first team quite often, though I can't say outright that he is a key player. Obviously that will change depending on performance. So, he will be a first team player."
"Right. That's great. Now, we want a three year contract. Is that okay? A striker of Abdellaoue's calibre deserves it." Olsen was demanding it here.
"We're thinking of offering him five." Hans Dieter replied back.
"Should be okay with him unless he prefers a smaller duration himself." he said.
"Now, the salary. How much are you going to offer him?" Olsen asked.
"We're beginning at thirty two thousand a week plus additional..." Fritsch began
"That's peanuts. That's a marginal increase over what he gets at Hannover. We want fifty three thousand."
"Our club budgets don't allow for that much. We could give you thirty eight thousand at the most but we could make up for the less salary in terms of appearance fees and goal bonuses. And should he make it to the Team of The Year, he will get a big bonus."
"I don't want sentences. I want exact figures." Olsen was starting to get impatient here.
"Well, we were thinking of a thirty eight thousand base salary which will be complemented by a six thousand appearance fee and an eight thousand goal bonus."
"I want seven thousand five hundred and nine thousand five hundred respectively."

Fritsch deliberated with Dieter and then told me "I think we should agree. It wouldn't hurt our budget much really. Are you planning on some extravagant transfers elsewhere?"
"No. Not Really. Only Reus, but no one else for high prices."
"That's fine then."

Fritsch turned back to Olsen and said "We agree."
Olsen looked satisfied and then said "Okay so now, how much is the yearly salary rise?"
"Ten percent." Dieter replied back.
"Good. Now my fees?"
"How does 1.1 million sound to you?"
"It sounds good," he got up and said, "Gentlemen, I think we have a deal."

We got up and shook hands with him. Finally! The ordeal was over. Olsen clarified after speaking to Abdellaoue that the latter will travel to Leverkusen in two days to put his name on the dotted lines and then return back to Hannover to pack his bags and officially leave Hannover for Leverkusen.

I couldn't believe it. This was my first transfer deal and what a success it was! In between, the thought of rejection did come once or twice but in the end, I was extremely happy that we'd pulled it off. After a few hours, I'd gotten down to business again once the euphoria had died down. My next destination was Monchengladbach. With new filled confidence, I boarded the plane and then thought to myself.

Marco Reus...Here I come, my boy!

*******

I don't think you would want to read through the Reus transfer dealing. It was far less complicated than Abdellaoue's. Gladbach had the paperwork ready and the agent was far more compromising than Olsen. So, by the time night settled down in the city of Monchengladbach, Reus was virtually a Leverkusen player now. All he had to do, like Abdellaoue, was sign the contract. That, the agent said, would be signed on the next day, just a few hours after Abdellaoue's signing his contract.

So, all in all, it was a great day for me. Two deals brokered and two very good players were arriving at the club. While I was returning from Gladbach to Leverkusen at around midnight, my secretary called me and said "Boss. Chelsea have just made a bid of 11.5 million for Barnetta formally. What should I do?"
"They made the bid despite you telling AVB to wait a bit while I talked to Tranquillo?"
"Yes."
"Then, reject it. I need to talk to Barnetta before I can accept or negotiate with them."

He thought AVB was joking when he made the enquiry for Tranquillo Barnetta. Now I realised he was serious. And his interest was bound to provoke Tranquillo's own feelings of professional advancement. I can totally understand that. Chelsea are a big club and he would definitely want to win the EPL at least once in his life.

I sighed. Tomorrow was going to be another long day again.

*****​

 

[Moodh]

This story is amaaaazing.

 

[Iceman362]

awesome story mate keep up the good work definately following this

 

[SultanG]

Nice, I really enjoyed the in depth transfer negotiations. Keep up the good work, more storylines like this and I can see your's becoming just as good as Raikan's, if not better!

 

[fran1412]

Chapter Five-Training and Tranquillo

​

"No! Get back there! Give the ball to Rolfes again! Nico! Don't hold up the ball and wait for the defender to get to you. Release it after a touch at the most!" I shouted to Nicolai Jorgensen. It was the third day of training and the day when the transfer market opened up. Again, Simon Rolfes began what was an almost perfect routine by now. We were practicing freekicks and in particular a move which I had used to great success during my time at the Under 19s.

Again, Rolfes began the move. I watched closely. Yes, Jorgensen was walking first. Reinartz was marking him closely, taking the role of an opposition defender. And yes, Nico timed his run and got slightly ahead of Stefan just as Rolfes released him with a through-ball. Nice going so far. Nico got the ball. Nice first touch, nothing much wrong there.

Now get the cross in! I thought to myself.

And Jorgensen reacted almost as if he had heard me out. Immediately, he whipped in a cross to the far post. About four people jumped for the ball. The front two-Derdiyok and Ballitsch- completely missed it when they jumped up, competing with each other. But behind them, Stefan Kiessling and Omer Toprak jumped up-the latter did so quite awkwardly after being caught out of position by Stefan- and almost inevitably, the momentarily much more stronger Kiessling made contact with the ball and powered a header. But Bernd Leno did just enough to get down and parry it.

If he thought he was saved, Sidney Sam proved him wrong, getting in behind Kiessling and then poking the ball home. An apparently overjoyed Sam, celebrated mockingly in a sort of a Bavarian folk dance with Samed Yesil and Simon Rolfes giving him company. I smiled to myself. Next to me, Damir Buric said "They're gelling well aren't they?" And I couldn't agree more. Even the youngsters like the newly promoted Yesil and Jorgensen were finding it increasingly comfortable with the first team.

I blew the whistle and called them back near the dugouts. When they had all assembled, gulped down water from their bottles (with Schurrle, it was from the others' also, as he managed to sneak in and take out Samed Yesil's and Michael Ballack's bottles and drink water from those two also), and finally settled down on the grass, I addressed them "Right guys. That went well. You guys have been doing well. I'm sure that this hard work won't go unpaid. I'm sure you'll end up winning silverware this year. I just have to tell you a few things now which I've noted today. And for that, I will need Ballack, Sidney, and Reinartz with me. The rest can go down to change."

They packed up and one by one, began to leave. Just as I watched them disappear down the tunnel, I remembered Chelsea and AVB. I immediately called out "TRANQUILLO!". Whoever remained on the field stopped and looked around for Barnetta. "I think he's gone down." Michal Kadlec remarked. "Yeah he did," seconded David Yelldell from the entrance to the tunnel, "I'll call him." He climbed down the rest of the stairs and came back up with Tranquillo five minutes later-now bare-chested and wearing only shorts.

On the way, he received a friendly punch from Gonzalo Castro and mockingly bent over, before again mockingly punching Castro. "Yes boss! Dave said you wanted me?"

"Yes, I did."

"Any issues in training?"

"No. Nothing. That's just Ballack, Sam and Reinartz. Not you."

"So then? What is it?"

"Well, it's about a transfer offer for you."

"I'm not leaving Leverkusen..." he began

"Hear me out please," I cut him short and then continued, "Chelsea want a new right winger. Villas-Boas feels Anelka and Kalou aren't good. They want to buy you so that they have a quality right winger just as they have Juan Mata for the left. And he's made an offer of eleven and a half million already."

"Please tell me you rejected it." he said, pleading.

"Well, yes. We did. But that's because I thought I'd talk to you first," I paused, and then looked at his face and continued, "Listen Tranquillo, Chelsea are a big club. They are challenging for every title that's there. The Premier League is the most popular in the world, even though it may not be as competitive as in Germany. I'm sure we're doing great in Germany and we'll be very competitive here. But look at it, you're a footballer for what? To win trophies. I'm not saying we won't win anything at Bayer. Far from it. But what I'm saying is that as long Bayern Munich remain as strong as they are and as long as we're weaker in Europe compared to the English teams and of course, Barcelona and Real, we can't really expect trophies to be flowing in and filling the trophy room as such."

"And your conclusion is?" he asked, thoughtfully.

"I'm asking you to progress as a player and move to a club that has a much better chance of winning a continental or a domestic trophy. I'd have said the same thing if it was Real Madrid or Barcelona or any of the Manchester clubs or PSG or whatever big team you want."

"I'll think about it and then tell you."

"And one more thing, not a word to anyone else about this. Both from your side and my side."
"Agreed." he said, turning back and then leaving for the tunnel.

*****
I was watching a documentary on the Soviet Union's policies with respect to agriculture on some channel in the TV when two phone calls came in rapid succession. The first was from Barnetta. I picked it up. He kept it brief and said that after thinking about it himself, and talking to his family and friends, he had decided to agree to a transfer if Chelsea came with a renewed bid for him. I was delighted for him and told him that it was a good decision he had taken.

The second was from my secretary just minutes after Barnetta and I had finished. She said that Barnetta had spoken through the club line to Andre Villas-Boas and then followed it up with a transfer request to the chairman. The chairman, after hearing the situation from Damir Buric, reluctantly accepted. And soon after that, Chelsea had formally made an offer of eighteen and a half million, up seven million from their previous bid, for Barnetta. She called me up to know whether I must negotiate and raise the stakes or whether I must accept it.

Partly because of Barnetta's transfer request, the situation got complicated and I had no choice. Taking a deep breath, I muttered into the phone. Alissa couldn't hear it and asked me to repeat it, to which I replied, "Accept it."
​

 

[TheBeardOfZeus]

No! I got big love for Tranquillo Barnetta, but I'm assuming you will go far the Sam/Kiessling/Schurrle combination much as they do in real life, with Reus maybe as a starter over Schurrle to begin with?