The Rise of Millwal

Chapter 65: In Search of New Stars

Aldrich and Pirlo talked until the café closed at night, and in the end, Pirlo was persuaded to agree to transfer to Millwall.

After finalizing Pirlo's transfer, Aldrich wrapped up his trip to Italy. He had many potential signings in mind, but just like Owen and Gerrard, most players didn't even take Millwall seriously. Generally, only young players like Elghera and Capdevila, who didn't hail from "football powerhouses," would be swayed by money and sincerity. It was similar to the young talent Torres, who, despite Andrew having contacts with him in Madrid, had no thoughts of leaving Madrid for now. The same applied to Xavi; Aldrich didn't want to waste his efforts on clearly unattainable players. There were plenty of fish in the sea...

But Aldrich's summer recruitment wasn't over yet. He still needed a heavyweight striker, at least one who could mature into a superstar in two to three years.

Larsson and Trezeguet are the team's steadfast core, but Larsson has already caught the attention of Manchester United, and Aldrich is unsure if he can stay long-term. As for Trezeguet, Aldrich has even less confidence in being able to keep him for an extended period. With just three years left until the 1998 World Cup... by then, the World Cup champions Thuram, Trezeguet, Vieira, Pirès, and now Makélélé, who has transitioned to a defensive midfield role (and who knows if he will miss the World Cup), frankly, Aldrich does not have enough confidence in being able to hold onto them for the long run.

The king of the small restricted area, Van Nistelrooy, still does not know when he will "wake up." Luca Toni has considerable limitations within the tactical system, while Solskj?r's role as a super-sub is more effective than that of stable starters. Glen Johnson and Phillips, constrained by their talent, cannot have the false hope that they can quickly improve just by relying on luck.

Thus, even though Aldrich's team is filled with talented players, he is tirelessly working to uncover new talent. In reality, he has no assurance about the future and might wake up one morning to find that the main players of the team have collectively submitted transfer requests.

For the last stop in his summer recruitment plan, Aldrich and Andrew arrived in Kyiv, Ukraine.

Since the early '90s, when Eastern Europe disintegrated, people in European countries, especially the British, have been very sensitive about visiting the former Soviet states. In this still KGB-dominated region, one could easily attract the attention of agents and end up brainwashed into becoming a spy.

Therefore, right after getting off the plane, Aldrich and Andrew took a taxi to their destination: Dynamo Kyiv FC.

Before their arrival, Aldrich's transfer bid had already reached Dynamo Kyiv.

￡1 million to acquire young player Shevchenko from Dynamo Kyiv!

Shevchenko, who was about to turn 19 in September, had shown glimpses of his talent by making 17 appearances and scoring once in the Ukrainian league last season.

The good news for Aldrich was that the legendary coach Valeriy Lobanovskyi, who had made three comebacks with Dynamo Kyiv, hadn't returned for a third time yet.

This coach has a Midas touch, as he manages to create a golden generation almost every time he returns to coach Dynamo Kyiv. If it weren't for the unfortunate loss to Bayern Munich, led by Kahn, Matth?us, and Effenberg in the semifinals of the 1999 Champions League, that generation of Dynamo Kyiv would have faced Manchester United in the final for the Champions League title.

If he was still around, Aldrich's pursuit of Shevchenko would be significantly more challenging.

Now, Aldrich only needed ￡1.8 million to open the door for Dynamo Kyiv to release Shevchenko.

In the current group of players at Dynamo Kyiv, aside from the future illustrious Shevchenko, there is also Kaladze, who would later join San Siro, and Rebrov, who could not find success in the English leagues.

Aldrich wasn't uninterested in the others, but he could only sign Shevchenko because none of them had EU passports. To replicate the deal for Nedvěd from last year, Aldrich could only bring in one player. Given this situation, the answer was obvious — it had to be Shevchenko.

In future history, Shevchenko moved to the Premier League but returned in disappointment. Aldrich believed there were many reasons behind this, from both the player and the club perspective.

Many of Shevchenko's injuries stemmed from cumulative wear and tear; gradually compounding minor injuries would ultimately lead to a decline in physical condition. Players like Shevchenko, along with later stars like Torres and Owen, faced similar fates — they achieved fame too early, overextending their bodies in the early stages of their careers. Factors like incomplete recovery and improper treatment also had lasting impacts on their form and fitness.

As for the club's side, a lack of patience for star players played a big role. Both fans and coaches wanted players who could perform immediately; if a star couldn't showcase their value within a short period, criticism would come flooding in. This creates a negative psychological cycle for players.

More importantly, Aldrich believed that Chelsea's system, cemented during Mourinho's era, established a clear hierarchy of three lines: the defense dominated the midfield, which in turn overshadowed the forwards.

In such a tactical framework, it was the forwards who found it hardest to score. Even a beast like Drogba took years to secure the Premier League Golden Boot. It's questionable whether Henry, who won it three times in a row alongside Drogba, could have reached over eighty goals in three seasons at Chelsea.

Just because a player struggles to adapt to a specific tactical system doesn't negate their ability. Aldrich would give all the players he recruited some room to adapt, allowing them time to integrate into the tactical framework. He would never rush them or expect young players to shine right away.

Upon arriving at Dynamo Kyiv, Aldrich and Andrew quickly followed the club officials to the meeting room. After shaking hands with the club manager, a young Shevchenko soon appeared, accompanied by a translator. Although Aldrich was fluent in multiple languages, he didn't understand Ukrainian.

Shevchenko appeared calm, but Aldrich could see a glimmer of excitement in his eyes.

The status of Eastern European football on the European map had been on a steady decline since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, which also affected the fortunes of Eastern European football. Players naturally sought bigger stages, aiming for the traditional top five leagues. Ambitious players wouldn't settle for playing in the freezing winters of Ukraine for their entire careers.

However, Shevchenko dreamed of playing in Italy, not England.

The slightly na?ve Shevchenko expressed his thoughts directly to the translator: "I want to go to Italy, not England!"

Aldrich could only patiently urge the translator: "Please tell him that playing in England will attract more attention than playing in Ukraine, especially now that the visibility of the Premier League is on the rise. He can play in England first, create a name for himself, and then be discovered by more Serie A clubs. Also, if he stays in the UK for a few years, he could obtain an EU passport, which would give him a significant advantage when making a transfer to Italy."

After a lengthy back-and-forth between the translator and Shevchenko, the translator then said to Aldrich, "He wants to know if your team can stay in the Premier League long-term and what plans you have for his future as the club owner and head coach."

Speaking about his old profession, Aldrich no longer needed to be charming or sly with his answers. He opened his mouth and spoke passionately for about ten minutes.

Then Aldrich realized the translator had condensed his ten minutes of speech into a mere thirty seconds...

He wanted to punch the translator, but when he saw Shevchenko's expression wavering, he held back.

"He is concerned about his language barrier and whether he can integrate into your team."

"If he wants to leave Ukraine and join any major league, he will encounter this issue, whether it's Italy, Germany, England, Spain, or even France. No one speaks Ukrainian! The club will assign him a translator until he can fully read and use English in daily life. I think you can tell him that, rather than dream of joining a big club and struggling to communicate with various star players, including the head coach, he might as well join my team. At least this way, his shortcomings will have minimal negative impact, and he will gain experience on how to live in a foreign environment."

Aldrich exerted all his efforts to successfully persuade Shevchenko to join. Although the negotiation took longer than expected, he thought it was reasonable, considering the player was leaving his hometown to head to England; caution was warranted.

Before finalizing this transfer, Aldrich returned to London and immediately asked Andrew to handle this matter.

Millwall couldn't deal directly with the FA; they needed a middleman.

The English football scene had always been riddled with black-and-gold scandals, but mostly behind the scenes of player transfers.

Aldrich simply wanted the FA to open a convenient door for him. Even if someone exposed this scandal in the future, Aldrich could wash his hands of it.

Nedvěd didn't have an EU passport, but once he made a name for himself, who the hell would dare claim he wasn't a genius? Not signing him would be a loss for English football.

Shevchenko's situation was similar; as long as he could shine in English football, no one would be foolish enough to leak any wrongdoing regarding the transfer hearings down the line.

As long as the money transaction left no incriminating evidence, Aldrich felt secure. He had complete faith in Andrew; that kid had been obsessed with money since childhood and had mastered the art of handling finances, even studying street drug trade models before he turned 18. He certainly wouldn't be caught red-handed and would leave no trace behind.

However, Aldrich learned from Andrew in London that the FA needs a guarantor to be present at the hearing.

Millwall was no longer the unnoticed team it was in League One last year; back then, nobody cared who they signed. But this summer, Millwall was a Premier League team. Relying solely on paperwork to get the FA to open its back door would invite imitation from the other 19 teams.

Aldrich needed a respected figure in English football to step in. After much thought, he realized there was only one person who could help him and would be willing to repay the favor:

Alex Ferguson!

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