Before Aldridge was set to leave for Spain, he finalized a transfer in London.
Offered £200,000 for Danny Mills, a young player from Norwich City, a team that was relegated from the Premier League last season.
After haggling, the final price was settled at £300,000.
Danny Mills is 19 years old and can play center back and right back. In order to increase the thickness of the team's bench, Aldridge must ensure that there are two or three players in the same position, like Lucas Neal.
Players like Zambrotta, who are only 18 years old, cannot be expected to attend every season. It’s not that they can’t do it, but if they do, it will tire them to death and seriously affect their future development. Healthy competition will also help them not to
They will be proud and complacent because they became the main force early, and maintaining a sense of crisis can sound the alarm for them.
In the sunny Spain, Aldrich and Andrew came to Spain together and then split up into two groups. He came alone to Tuilia, a small town in the city of Greo.
In a less prosperous neighborhood, Aldrich, wearing a suit and tie and a pair of sunglasses, was very eye-catching. He followed the address on the note in his hand as if he was following the map. The closer he got to his destination, the more Aldrich noticed the buildings around him.
The landscape becomes more and more like a slum. Of course, this is a reflection of the contrast between rich and poor. Compared with the clean and tidy neighborhoods with beautiful buildings, even if the people living in this neighborhood are not the lowest income group in society, they probably cannot be said to be wealthy.
.
Arriving at a bungalow, Aldrich took off his sunglasses and looked at the small house carefully. He sighed softly and thought to himself: Many football stars who will earn a lot of money in the future have very poor family lives before they become famous.
Struggle.
It was this opportunity that gave Aldrich the opportunity to take advantage of it. He sometimes asked himself whether it was despicable to do so, but he could never convince himself to give up.
If you have the opportunity to dig up a mountain of gold, who would care about the opinions of others?
Besides, he is not an unscrupulous businessman and he can feel at ease.
After tidying up his clothes, Aldrich knocked on the door.
"Who are you?"
The person who opened the door was a middle-aged man. He was unshaven and could not be said to be slovenly, but he had an obvious down-and-out look.
Aldrich took out his business card and handed it to the other party, smiling in Spanish: "Hello, sir, my name is Aldrich Hall. I am from London. I am the owner and head coach of a football club. I would like to express my gratitude to your son.
I am very interested and hope he can join my team."
The middle-aged man looked shocked, his hand holding the business card trembled slightly, and he said in disbelief: "David? David is only 14 years old, how much contract will you give him?"
In many parts of the world, including Africa, South America, and even Europe, playing football is a way for lower-class families to change their destiny. Being able to play professional football and become a star is enough to change the shabby state of the entire family or even the family. As for those who are talented but have no money.
Wen's genius, before he was shrouded in the spotlight, had no confidence in bargaining. Whoever paid more money would play football for him.
Aldrich walked into the narrow house and sat on the creaky single sofa.
At this time, a mother and son also appeared in the living room. The fourteen-year-old boy stood in front of his mother, with her mother's hands around his neck, as if she was afraid that her flesh and blood would be taken away.
Aldrich looked at the young man with a smile and made sure that he had found the right person. He turned to the middle-aged man and said, "His name is David Villa-Sanchez, right?"
The middle-aged man nodded, turned around and waved to his son. As a miner, his father seemed very nervous. He asked Villa to say hello to Aldrich.
Villa opened his mouth, as if he didn't know how to address Aldridge, and finally he could only say hello.
Aldrich stretched out his hand and motioned for Villa to sit down and chat with him. Villa turned to look at his father, and seeing his father nodding, he sat down next to his father.
Aldridge took out a stack of documents from his briefcase and handed it to Villa and his son. He said sincerely: "My club is called Millwall. Maybe you have never heard of this team before. Here is the team."
A brief introduction, by the way, next season, my team will compete in the top league in England."
Villa and his father looked through the documents in their hands, most of which were illustrated introductions to the club's facilities, including the Lion's Den Stadium, the club's training ground, internal equipment, and some data from last season's games.
Villa looked at it very seriously, his eyes full of yearning, while his father was a little uninterested. He said in a deep voice: "Sir, even if what you said is true, we can't just hand over the child to him."
You, let me take him to leave Spain and go to the strange London."
Aldrich nodded and said calmly: "I don't think David should live independently from his parents at his current age. Therefore, the club can provide a free apartment for your family. In addition, if you don't mind it, the club
Owned communities provide jobs.”
The gift that Barnett gave to Aldrich six months ago has come in handy now. Aldrich can provide apartments for free, and supermarkets and bars in the community can also provide jobs for families immigrating to England. Of course,
, this is all for families with financial difficulties. East London is the area with the most immigrants, so there is no problem of being able to adapt or being out of place.
Villa's father was a miner whose job was not very well-paid and dangerous. After hearing Aldrich's tempting offer, he was already a little moved.
"David has unparalleled football talent. I hope that he can join Millwall's youth academy and receive the best guidance and care to ensure that he grows up healthily and become an important part of Millwall when he grows up.
"
"Apprentice?"
"I know your family has some difficulties. It doesn't matter. If David is willing to come to Millwall, I can give him a contract of two thousand pounds a week. When he enters the adult team, I believe his salary will be improved even more.
"
"Two thousand pounds?!"
The three members of the family were all wide-eyed. Even after deducting taxes, it was more than 4,000 pounds a month. However, the British relief standard at this time was less than 500 pounds a month. This money was enough to allow them to live better in London.
life, especially with a free apartment.
Villa's father did not agree directly, but said: "Let us think about it."
The pie that fell from the sky was so big that it made him feel dizzy.
Aldrich was not in a hurry, and took out another envelope from his briefcase and put it on the table. Before leaving, he said: "If you decide, you can call me at any time, or you can come to London to take a look first.
"
After Aldridge left, Villa opened the envelope on the table, which contained one thousand pounds and three round-trip air tickets from Spain to London.
On the way out of town, Aldrich's phone rang, and after he answered it, he heard Andrew's voice.
"Both players have settled. Helguera's uncle is with me. I talked with him about the treatment and it was finalized. The same goes for Capdevila."
"Well, okay, then the next stop is Italy."
Neither 20-year-old Ivan Helguera nor 17-year-old Juan Capdevila signed a formal contract with any team, and these two players were acquired without costing the club a penny in transfer fees.
The former was the absolute main force in the first phase of the world-famous Galacticos, and could play as a central defender and defensive midfielder. The latter was the only non-Barcelona Real Madrid player in Spain's World Cup victory in 2010, and served as a left back.
Two days later, Rome, the capital of Italy.
In the cafe, a man in his thirties was reading "Corriere dello Sport" and taking a sip of coffee from time to time, looking relaxed and at ease.
Aldrich and Andrew walked into the cafe. After searching for a while, Aldrich saw the man wearing a T-shirt. He calmly walked over and said hello in Italian. The man closed the newspaper and extended his hand to say hello.
, Aldrich and Andrew sat opposite him.
"Hello, Mr. Alberto De Rossi, Aldrich Hall, and Mr. Andrew Hall."
The man leaned forward and extended his hand to shake hands with the two visitors one after another. Then he waved to the young man at the end of the cafe who was opening a football magazine and called out in a low voice: "Daniele."
The boy who looked exactly like his father put down the magazine and walked over to sit next to his father.
Aldrich looked at the thirteen-year-old De Rossi, and then his eyes returned to Alberto De Rossi's face. He said solemnly: "Mr. De Rossi, I know that you have deep feelings for this city and the city."
The Roma team has an extraordinary feeling, and I also know that you will spare no effort to train your son to become a member of the Roma team. Before I send out the invitation, I will not deny two points. First, Daniele
His talent, and secondly, his future contribution to the Roma team if he stays in Rome."
Alberto De Rossi has reached the age of retirement, but he is still playing for Roma, and he is very sure that De Rossi's future should also be in Roma.
Old De Rossi nodded candidly and said: "Yes, so I don't think this meeting will have a satisfactory result for both parties. I am skeptical about English football. If I send my son to Millwall, it may be ruined."
Got him."
The old De Rossi was really outspoken. He did not mention Italian football in his words, but he was implicitly contemptuous of the football environment outside Italy.
After a moment of silence, Aldrich said: "In my team, there are now four young players from Italy."
The old De Rossi raised the "Corriere dello Sport" in his hand and joked: "The whole of Italy knows about it, and you also recommended those players to enter the Italian youth team, haha."
After saying that, he turned over the newspaper, and the page with the headline "Where is Millwall from?" came into Aldridge's eyes.
