In the study, Benitez sat in front of the computer monitor, studying the game video over and over again.
On the desk in front of him, there was a notebook filled with densely written words and numerous tactical sketches. The sketches were filled with various routes and looked like a chaotic maze.
.
Only Benitez can see clearly what is drawn in these tactical sketches.
Sporting Lisbon game videos were constantly playing on the monitor in front of him. Benitez's eyes were always focused on only one person, and that was player No. 36 Su Dong.
He fast forwarded all scenes without Su Dong.
He watched a game very quickly, but he watched it over and over again, stopping from time to time to record something or draw something.
The time passed unknowingly in the early morning, but Benitez was not sleepy at all.
He is such a person. As long as he encounters something that interests him, he can study it day and night until he understands it. But it has been a long time since he met someone who interests him as much as he has in recent days.
Player.
Su Dong, a player full of suspense.
I don’t know how long it took, but a sudden phone call woke Benitez up.
The Spaniard woke up from his addiction, glanced at his phone with complaints, and found that the caller ID was his right-hand man Paco Yesterdam, and his complaints disappeared.
"Hi, Paco." Benitez answered the phone and greeted him coldly.
"I knew you must not have slept yet. Are you still watching the video?"
Benitez did not answer, which was regarded as acquiescence.
"Please, Rafa, how many times have you watched it and still haven't figured him out?" Yesterdam was surprised.
Benitez is a magical guy, always very rational and very calm. He can organize and formulate all complicated and difficult things. He even feels that there is a formula for winning in this world.
Such a person, after studying for so long, still hasn’t figured it out?
"He's too complicated," Benitez sighed.
"You don't want it anymore?" Yesterdam was a little surprised.
"No, no, no, I'm eager for him to come to my team so that I can observe him more closely."
Yesterdam laughed, this is the Benitez he knows.
"Tell you the latest news."
"Well, you say."
"Just now, the results of the first phase of voting completed at midnight came out."
"He won?"
"Including the majority shareholder votes in his own hands, Roig received a total of more than 95,000 votes, and Jaime Otti only had 50,000 votes. That is to say, despite the second phase of the majority shareholder vote next Saturday, the remaining
All 40,000 votes were cast for Otti, and he could not defeat Roig."
When he heard the news, Benitez, who had always kept his emotions to himself, beamed with joy and felt a faint sense of relief.
The three big rocks that had been weighing on his head for a long time finally fell to the ground.
…
Benitez's coaching of Valencia is actually not as good as outsiders imagined.
He was signed by former president Cortes. As a result, Cortes lost to Otti in the election just a few days after he took office.
The new official took office with three things in mind. As soon as Oti came up, he replaced all the Valencia management with his own people. Only the head coach Benitez was restricted by the contract and was forced to stay on. But including general manager Llorente and
Everyone, including sports director Pitacci, made things difficult for him in coaching, the most obvious of which was not giving him a transfer budget.
Valencia is indeed not rich, but it is by no means in such a difficult situation.
Benitez is not stupid. He knows that President Otti, Llorente and Pitacci are all trying to force him to resign. However, he is also very stubborn and insists on staying in office and leading the team.
Won the La Liga title in his first season.
Last season's results declined, but they still performed well. They defeated Celta Vigo at the last minute and qualified for the Champions League.
In the face of results, even if the senior management dislikes Benitez, they can only endure it.
As early as the winter break, Benitez proposed that he wanted to sign Su Dong, but no one cared about what he wanted.
Even though he mentioned Su Dong again and again in the media and in high-level internal meetings, they remained indifferent.
It wasn't until the chairman's re-election, when major shareholder Roig and his partner Subilac came forward to run for office that Benitez saw a glimmer of hope.
Roig insisted on following Florentino's campaign route, knowing that the team's forward line was weak, so he used Ruud van Nistelrooy and Trezeguet, two of the world's top centers, as campaign weapons, threatening to win the chairmanship once he got the chairmanship.
He immediately brought in one of these two superstars.
But what’s interesting is that Valencia’s members and shareholders are not stupid either. Who can’t see that Valencia is strong on the outside but weak on the inside?
With Roig as chairman, will the club have the money to introduce such a superstar?
During that period, Roig's polls were consistently lower than those of current president Otti, until Subilac came forward and persuaded Roig to change his campaign strategy and abandon Van Nistelrooy and Trezeguet.
Choosing Su Dong catered to coach Benitez, which received an indirect response from Benitez.
Su Dong's performance was also very impressive, leading Sporting Lisbon to reverse Porto's championship in the Portuguese Super League, and then defeated Celtic in the UEFA Cup final to win the championship. He won two heavy championships in one fell swoop, and also won the Portuguese Cup
Player of the season in the Super League and UEFA Cup.
He is only eighteen years old!
With the performance of the game, Sudong became famous, and Valencia fans became more and more accepting of Roig's slogan, because Sudong was far more in line with Valencia's reality than Ruud van Nistelrooy and Trezeguet.
situation.
Oti also quickly changed his superstar strategy and followed Roig's lead, pushing the top scorer of the Libertadores Cup, Brazilian striker Oliveira, but this player was not what Benitez wanted.
So much so that at the end of the season, some media asked Benitez whether he wanted Su Dong or Oliveira.
Benitez joked at the time: "Some players are like a sofa, and some players are like a desk lamp. They each have their own uses, but you can't force me to give me a desk lamp when I ask for a sofa.
This is inappropriate."
The media immediately asked, who is the sofa? Who is the lamp?
Benitez smiled rarely and said, "Su Dong is a very comfortable sofa."
The answer is already very obvious.
But no matter how obvious it is, the final decision will have to wait until the votes are announced.
…
"I got the news and heard that after Roig received 95,000 votes and was sure to win the presidential election, he fired Llorente and Pitacci on the spot, and immediately appointed Javier Subirac as the chairman.
Club General Manager.”
Yestedam announced with a smile the great event that had just happened in the early morning.
Jaime Otti stepped down, Llorente and Pitacci were dismissed. The three mountains that had been weighing on Benitez's head for a long time were finally removed.
At this moment, Benitez felt relaxed all over. He had the urge to cheer loudly and an extremely strong desire from the bottom of his heart. He had endured it for long enough.
Thinking of this, Benitez was not willing to delay for a minute.
After hanging up the phone to Yesterdam, Benitez immediately called Javier Subirac, who had just taken office.
Subilac was still at the election site, accepting congratulations from everyone together with Roig.
Seeing that it was Benitez's call, he immediately walked out of the scene and only answered the call when he was in a deserted place.
"Rafa, did you get the news so soon?" Subilac asked with a smile.
He is a famous football star in Valencia and has a good relationship with Benitez.
"Javier, I don't want to be falsely polite to you. I want to tell you that we have the strongest goalkeeper, the strongest defense, and the strongest midfielder. Now, if you give me Su Dong, I promise to win for you."
Become the champion!"
Benitez said loudly.
Subilac sighed inwardly, this guy is still so direct and rude. Fortunately, he is an acquaintance. If it were anyone else, he would definitely be unhappy.
"Rafa, I know. Don't worry, I will start as soon as possible."
"No, no, no, Javier, it can't just be as fast as possible, it must be the fastest, it must be fast."
Benitez was a little impatient, "Sevilla has been in contact with them. Deportivo is going to send away Roy Mackay. I know that old guy from Irueta. He must be interested in Su."
Dong, there is also Bayern Munich's Hitzfeld, who is also an old fox. There is no guarantee that he will not still miss Su Dong after acquiring Ma Kai..."
"Rafa, don't worry, I've been keeping in touch with Mendes."
"I have been waiting for this day for two years, and Javier and Valencia have been waiting for this day for nearly ten years."
Benitez's words stunned Subilac.
Who says it's not?
The current Valencia team was founded during Ranieri's coaching period. The tinkerers laid the foundation for the team, and then reached its peak under the coaching of Argentinian Cooper, with the emergence of a number of stars such as Mendieta.
.
But at that time, Valencia could only reach the Champions League finals for two consecutive years. As a result, they both lost miserably at the feet of Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, missing out on the Champions League championship. Since then, Valencia has also fallen into turmoil of disintegration.
From Ranieri laying the foundation, to Cooper approaching the peak, and then to Benitez's succession, Valencia has been full of anger and unwillingness over the years, because they have been infinitely close to the Champions League twice and missed opportunities twice.
Subilac is a famous player in Valencia, so he naturally feels the same way.
Valencia's current strength is indeed strong, both in defense and midfield. They are very tough, but it is the front line that has always been the biggest pain in the hearts of the Bats.
Both Karu and Salva once brought hope, but they were ruthlessly shattered.
Over the years, Valencia, from the head coach to the fans, has been waiting hard.
"Javier, give me Sudong, I have the confidence to compete for all championships!" Benitez said with confidence.
Subilac took a deep breath, calmed down, nodded and said: "I understand, Rafa, don't worry, I will contact Mendes immediately, and I will definitely bring Su Dong back to you this summer!"
