"Awesome, I've wanted to go there for a long time!"
On the plane from England to Sweden, Valentina hugged Pan Yi happily.
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 about 60,000 people and does not seem to be famous, it was awarded the title of "City of Gastronomy" by UNESCO on July 27, 2010!
In the world, there are only three cities that enjoy the title of official "Gastronomy Capital": Popayan in Colombia, Chengdu in the Dragon Kingdom, and Östersund in Sweden.
This sparsely populated agricultural region has a long culinary tradition and has developed its own unique food culture based on locally produced green food.
It is commendable that the city government has provided strong support to local food entrepreneurs and agricultural producers through guidance, training support and product development, and the resulting food tradition that is closely connected with the surrounding natural environment has also The city of Östersund is promoted as a world-class gastronomic capital.
For Valentina, who has always considered herself a "foodie", such a city is the most attractive to her.
Why does she like York City 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 ball lightning again!" Pan Yi said with a smile, "I don't want to press F to enter the tank..."
"Bah!" Valentina spat, and then asked, "By the way, why do you want to come to such a small city to find someone?"
"I have done some research and found out that this guy can bring a fourth-level team to the top league. He has something, and he should be very suitable for a low-level team like us."
Pan Yi answered, then looked out the window, thoughtfully.
The person he was looking for in Sweden this time was Potter.
Not Harry Potter, of course, but Graham Potter, the Potter who would become Chelsea manager in the future.
The 41-year-old Englishman Graham Porter was unremarkable in his playing days.
As a left-back, he has played for 10 teams in his club career and has been involved in England's lower leagues all year round, including Birmingham, Wycombe Wanderers, Stoke City...
He even played for York City and is considered a team star!
After retiring in 2005, he did not immediately refocus on professional football, but came to university for further studies.
During this period, he served as the assistant coach of the England college football team, and even led the primary school women's football team. In 2007, he served as the technical director of the Ghana women's football team.
It wasn't until 2010 that Porter successfully obtained a taught master's degree in leadership and emotional intelligence from Beckett University and was finally about to start his head coaching career.
Unlike many local coaches who have been working hard in English football, Porter came directly from the UK to Östersund, located in the cold climate of Sweden.
In January 2011, Porter officially took over as the head coach of Ostersund. At that time, the football club was only 14 years old and had been relegated to the fourth level of Sweden for the first time. The situation was extremely bad.
The arrival of Porter succeeded in giving Östersund a completely new look.
In 6 years, he not only led this previously sinking team to clear away the gloom and become a winning team, but also promoted from the fourth level to the first level of the Swedish Super League, becoming a meritorious coach in the history of Ostersund.
It can be said that in the minds of 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 championship, which was also the first championship in his coaching career.
Through this championship, they also obtained a spot in the Europa League qualifying rounds. In the end, they fought their way out and entered the main draw. In the group stage, they shared the same points with Athletic Bilbao, and the first place advanced to the knockout rounds.
After that, Porter played a famous game that allowed him to return to England to coach in the future: in the second round of the 1/16 finals, his Ostersunds defeated Arsenal led by Arsene Wenger 2-1 at the Emirates Stadium!
London's Evening Standard also gave him a title worth pondering: Harry Potter? No, Graham Potter!
Leading the team to defeat Arsenal made Porter famous. Finally, he spent 7 and a half years wandering overseas in exchange for a ticket home.
The first person to greet him was his hometown team Swansea. When Swansea were relegated, Porter's first season in charge of England was not very conspicuous.
But one Premier League boss who makes a living from football statistics noticed him - Brighton boss Tony Bloom.
Bloom is a typical British son of a wealthy man: rebellious and bold. He graduated from the Department of Mathematics at the University of Manchester. He first accumulated his first pot of gold through gambling and Texas Hold'em poker, not through family property.
After that, he invested in and founded an investment management company called "Star Lizard", which was actually a gambling management company that specialized in managing funds for wealthy people through football betting.
His company has five sets of powerful servers that collect football data from all over the world.
When he needed to find a potential manager 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 asked any boss to spend money. Instead, he prefers to believe in the players' own energy.
But with such a low investment, Brighton caused a whirlwind in the Premier League.
Brighton under Porter's tactics are flexible and changeable, and some players who originally seemed to have fixed characteristics have shines that are different from before in their careers.
Soon, Brighton changed from a "dumpling" that people could eat at will to a real "Seagull Army", which has repeatedly overturned strong teams.
In the end, Porter was spotted by Chelsea again, and finally embarked on the road to a wealthy club, which also brought an end to his legendary experience.
Okay, why a period?
It's because Porter quit the get out of class midway before coaching for a full season...
If it hadn't been for this final "failure", his wonderful experience would have been enough to make an excellent football-themed film and television work.
But this may mean that a grassroots coach like him cannot yet control the locker room of a wealthy team.
In fact, this is normal. There are many coaches who can lead small teams but cannot drive aircraft carriers. Aren’t Moyes and Emery like this?
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 can promote talents.
Later, he played a pleasing game at 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 special emphasis on coordination between the wings and the ribs.
Brighton's offense is based on the midfielder, with orderly changes based on the midfielder's position. It can be seen that it has been carefully drilled: when the midfielder stands parallel, the wing-back and the inside forward conduct a group attack; In the diamond position, the wingers and wide midfielders take turns to advance forward.
During his three years coaching Brighton, his players have scored goals one after another, completing a leap from carp to dragon.
Cucurella, who was once abandoned by Barcelona, has become a top all-around full-back on the left; Bissouma has grown into a top all-around midfielder in the Premier League and was acquired by Tottenham shortly after the start of the summer window. Down.
Later, the British media even called Porter: the local version of Guardiola.
But back in time, he was doing this even in Östersund.
In the Swedish lower-level leagues, where physical competition is particularly fierce, Porter went in the opposite direction and recruited a large number of technical players, which laid the tactical foundation for the team's future rise.
Midfielder Jamie Hopcart, who was unable to play in the professional league in England and was released by York City, an amateur club at the time, was brought to Sweden after a trial and became the core of the midfield.
Iraqi midfielder Bois Nouri, who has a poor reputation in Sweden and is known as the "bad boy", was also entrusted with important tasks by Porter, and later became the first Iraqi to score in the Europa League...
In short, for a person who can achieve success in lower leagues, including civilian teams like Brighton, he definitely has his place 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 simply "disguised" himself by wearing sunglasses and the like to avoid unnecessary trouble.
After all, as a national hero of Sweden, no matter where he appears in Sweden now, he is likely to arouse a warm welcome from the masses...
On the stage at this time, a group of male actors were performing the ballet "Swan Lake" for more than 1,600 people in the audience.
From the poster at the entrance of the theater, we can know that this is a program for a local charity gala.
At this time, in the center of the venue, is the protagonist of this show, the "beautiful" princess Odette.
The reason why I need to add 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 actors behind him are actually players of Ostersund Club...
Why did the head coach of a professional club suddenly bring his players to the theater to dance?
This is actually one of Porter's characteristics.
He is someone who can consider the overall situation for the club, which is equivalent to a position like "football manager".
Although Porter is the head coach, he has successfully helped the club establish its own culture in Ostersund, allowing the club to establish a cultural academy, encourage players to participate in community cultural activities, and will lead player organizations to attend concerts.
Ostersund Football Club, which was originally in a bad situation and had few supporters, has gained widespread recognition and support in the local area.
You see, isn't this exactly the same thing as what Pan Yi did in York City?
The support and love of the masses are the most important factors for the long-term development of a football club!
Actively participating in such activities also allows Porter to mingle with the players, be honest with them, and win their trust.
In a later interview with the Football Association, Porter once talked about his "five major values" in coaching: transparency, vision, sincerity, reliability and professionalism.
And this is his secret to keeping the players closely united around him.
It can be said that these five values are very close to the current "corporate culture" of York City under Pan Yi!
Whether it is Pan Yi or Scaloni, or even Chairman McGill and Director Horta, they are never aloof, but are as close to the players and staff as a family.
Therefore, recruiting Porter can also be said to be "not part of the same family."
Pan Yi also did his homework in advance and learned about today's performance from the Ostersund Club, so he came directly to the theater.
——
After watching the somewhat eye-catching "Swan Lake" in the audience, Pan Yi walked backstage.
After all, as the "protagonist", Porter had a dressing room to himself, which made Pan Yi's visit more convenient.
At this time, Potter was still taking off his makeup. He felt someone coming in at the door. He looked up and was stunned.
"Pan...Pan Yi?"
Under the dim light in the audience, no one could recognize Pan Yi, but under the light in the dressing room, Porter could still recognize the most awesome football coach in the world at a glance.
"It's me." Pan Yi said, taking off his sunglasses.
The first impression that Porter's face gave Pan Yi was that of great hatred and deep suffering. His brows were always deeply furrowed, as if there were always troubles that could not be resolved.
Feeling a bit like Allegri? I have an embarrassed face all day long.
"Why are you here today?" Porter asked, then suddenly slapped his head, "You are not interested in one of my players, are you?"
It is well known that Pan Yi is good at collecting unknown players from all corners of the world and then turning them into famous stars.
Not to mention the past, this season Pan Yi took away an Aman who was almost unknown to the Norwegian league, and now this Aman has already made a killing in the English League One.
As the Swedish Super League, which is similar to the Norwegian league and even slightly stronger, it is not particularly unusual for some players to be favored by Pan Yi.
Although it is still some time before the English League winter window opens, it is already November after all.
Contacting relevant clubs and players earlier can also better prepare for the opening of the transfer window. This is also a routine operation for various clubs, so it is normal for Pan Yi to do this.
"Is it Bois Nouri?" Porter began to guess. "He is the core of my midfield. It would be quite troublesome if he left. It is difficult to find a replacement at this time... Ah, I understand, it is Jamie Hopcart! He is an old York City player, you definitely want him to return!"
Because of Pan Yi's magic, everyone knows that it is difficult for players to refuse invitations from York City, especially 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 the next level!
As he spoke, Potter's face looked more like a bitter melon.
"No, I'm here to invite you to join York City." Pan Yi got straight to the point.
"Huh?" Now Potter's mouth opened wide, like a bitter melon that had been cut open.
On the one hand, he didn't expect Pan Yi to come here for him, but on the other hand, his heart really moved.
There are many rich bosses in the football world today, and there are also some bosses who are rich and willing to invest in football. However, 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 understand football very well.
Pan Yi's background as a coach obviously made Porter identify with him more deeply, not to mention that the football Pan Yi played when he led the team was exactly the kind of football that Porter dreamed of!
Including the 3-4-3 he is currently using in the Ostersund team, it was actually inspired by Pan Yi's three-back system and launched based on 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 are still very concerned about our team, at least very concerned about English football." Pan Yi said with a smile, "I am not asking you to replace his position, but to be the technical director of our team, how about it? "
The position of technical director is not available at many English clubs, including York City currently.
However, Pan Yi plans 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 training camp and player training.
In this way, it can not only help Scaloni in all aspects of competition and training, but also make full use of Porter's characteristics.
After all, Porter has the ability to formulate and implement things that are beneficial 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 do it freely.
At the same time, this is also a way to attract Porter to return to England at this stage. After all, although Porter is only in the Swedish league, he is a head coach after all.
If he was just asked to come back as an assistant coach, it would obviously not be attractive enough.
As for the real full-time assistant coach... Pan Yi has someone else in mind at this time!
"We are really sincere, Mr. Porter." Seeing the confusion and hesitation on Porter's face, Pan Yi added,
"Frankly speaking, we at York City are just a small team at the moment, but we will upgrade this year and will continue to upgrade next year. We will also enter Europe in the future, and you can realize your ambitions here!"
"York City can be your destination, or it can be your springboard. When the time comes, if you are willing to be the head coach of a new team, I will never 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, if you follow me, it will definitely be easier to attract the attention of European strong teams than if you were in Sweden!"
Potter was stunned upon hearing this.
His ultimate ideal is, of course, to return to a mainstream European league, or even his hometown of England, to coach a Premier League team!
Coming to Sweden and coaching a fourth-level league team can be said to be a strategy to save the country.
Otherwise, why would an Englishman go to the freezing 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 60,000 people in the north-central part of Sweden, a team that had fallen to the fourth tier of the Swedish league, invited him, he accepted.
Unfortunately, this job was not enough to bring him the professional recognition he desired.
So when he went to St. George's Park (the FA headquarters) for the first time to apply for UEFA's professional coaching course, he was stopped outside the classroom door: Who are you? What are you here for? Are you qualified enough?
These three questions of the soul have been running through Porter's entire career.
Even if he now leads Ostersund to the Swedish top league, it is obviously still difficult to be recognized by English football.
——After all, he really attracted the attention of English football after he led the team to defeat Wenger's Arsenal, and this incident has not happened yet.
But now, Pan Yi's promise to Porter has obviously hit his heart!
Pan Yi is right. It is indeed easier to get ahead by following him, the most awesome football coach in the world.
Pan Yi is always willing and even encourages his students 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 with Pan Yi, otherwise they would not be accepted by the teams in the five major leagues.
Taken together, isn't this a hundred times better than staying in Sweden with such an unknown team?
Moreover, Porter had played for York City as a player and was familiar with the environment there. There was really no reason to refuse.
"But, I still have a contract with Ostersund. I'm afraid..." Potter moved his lips and expressed his last doubts.
"Don't worry, I'll take care of the contract. It depends on how much the termination fee is, and our club will help you pay it!" Pan Yi said very generously.
In fact, in leagues in countries like Norway, Sweden, and Denmark, the salary of the head coach is basically only a few thousand euros per week, so the termination fee is not very high.
For Porter, the termination fee of tens of thousands to one hundred thousand euros is beyond his ability to afford, but Pan Yi can easily help him "redeem", which is not a problem at all.
Pan Yi still has the "money ability"!
He was saving money at this stage, on the one hand because it was not the time to really spend money yet, and on the other hand, he was trying to avoid giving others the impression that he was a "big dog" and being ripped off for no reason.
Besides, every sponsor is currently trying to get into the club, and even the profit part is enough for the team to cover its own profits and losses. Where is the need to use Pan Yi's small treasury?
Therefore, Pan Yi is now content to be a "backup" boss and wait until there is any big demand for funds later.
This is also the biggest guarantee for York City.
Although having money may not necessarily mean you can reach the Premier League, having money can at least ensure the operation of the club and prevent the team's development from being suddenly hindered.
There are many people who sell players, team facilities, or even stadiums because they have no money and end up going bankrupt!
But now that he heard Pan Yi say this, Porter naturally no longer hesitated and nodded immediately in agreement!
Things are simple after that.
Pan Yi stayed in Sweden for two days, allowing Valentina to enjoy a good time in Ostersund, the "city of food", and helped Porter resolve the contract issue with the Ostersund club.
The club didn't have 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, the magical street, were all shot in Yorkshire or were their inspirations. .
After taking care of Porter, Pan Yi immediately took Valentina to Italy.
There, there is a real candidate for York City's first team assistant coach!
