Chapter 53

"Very happy to reunite with Lin in Malaga, he is a coach I respect very much..."

"Malaga is my hometown, playing for my hometown team is my wish..."

"Very happy to join Malaga, it is a beautiful city, I hope my career can have a new beginning..."

During the interview, the three new signings gave three different responses, each with their own thoughts. Koke came to Malaga mainly because of Lin Sen. Isco came to Malaga because his hometown was a significant factor. Alba came to Malaga because the opportunity was the only reason.

Just the day before Lin Sen was preparing to return to Spain, the Malaga official website announced three new signings in one go: Koke from Atletico Madrid, Isco from Valencia, and Alaba. They completed their medicals and joined the team smoothly. Of course, since the transfer window had not officially opened, the relevant paperwork still needed to be processed. However, the signings of these three young players did not cause much of a stir, either in European football or even in Spanish football. Such transfers were countless every season, so many that sometimes only a few words could be found on the official website. Moreover, with the European Championship about to open, people's attention was even more divided.

Compared to the arrival of the three young players, another announcement on the Malaga official website undoubtedly attracted more attention: former Atletico Madrid coach Lin Sen signed with Malaga, becoming the new head coach of the team.

Apart from the contract duration, Malaga did not reveal any details of Lin Sen's contract, including the details related to transfer rights. This did not stop the media from making various speculations. The title of former Atletico Madrid coach seemed impressive, and it appeared that coaching Malaga was a step down, but everyone knew the real situation. However, compared to his time at Atletico Madrid, Lin Sen's current situation was undoubtedly much better. At least, journalists no longer harped on his past career.

Malaga fans, while some expressed dissatisfaction with Lin Sen's appointment, generally held a reserved attitude. They knew that Lin Sen had coached Atletico Madrid, and his overall record was only mediocre. His coaching philosophy was not clear, and his willingness to use young players was the only positive point. As for his coaching style, during his time at Atletico Madrid, Lin Sen used a 4-4-2 formation in the first few matches and a 4-2-3-1 in the later matches. Sometimes he seemed very conservative, but other times he seemed very creative. Given the limited number of matches and the changing dynamics, his style was hard to pin down.

Compared to the doubts about Lin Sen's coaching ability, Malaga fans were more concerned about the transfer market. The listing of Bahia and Balista for sale had already caused dissatisfaction among many fans. Although it was still at the rumor stage, the departure of Citalgo, who was a pride of the team last season, had already made them angry about the club's inaction. Now, they were even trying to get rid of the remaining two? It was said that they had already started to criticize Livermore for his opportunism. The arrival of the three young players clearly did not calm their discontent.

For Livermore, who unintentionally bore the brunt of the criticism, Lin Sen, still in China, could only express deep sympathy.

When the news of Lin Sen coaching Malaga was announced, several Atletico Madrid players publicly wished him well in his new team, including Aguero and Motta, who had already signed with another team. Both had Lin Sen's phone number and sent him text messages, though they did not call. However, not everyone shared this sentiment.

Fernando Colomer was one of them.

Lin Sen did not know him, but he knew Lin Sen. Because the fax that Lin Sen had framed as a motivational tool was written by him.

Since the turn of the century, only one team in Spain had truly changed the duopoly of La Liga champions, and that team was Valencia, which won two titles from Real Madrid and Barcelona in the 01/02 and 03/04 seasons. They even reached the UEFA Champions League final twice at the beginning of the century, although they lost both times. However, the Valencia of that time was a force to be reckoned with. Of course, times have changed, and like many football clubs, financial crises have ruined this rising team.

Although Colomer did not experience Valencia's glory days, he was a thorough Valencia fan. In the past two seasons, Valencia's management had changed frequently. Last season, head coach Flores, with his excellent coaching performance, ousted general manager Caponi. It was during that time that Colomer became Valencia's sports director. However, this season, Flores was sacked mid-season, and the club's president changed frequently. Villalonga had just taken over the club from former president Soler, but now the two were at odds over how to resolve the club's financial crisis. If they could not reach an agreement, Soler, who had not yet sold his shares to Villalonga, could at any time cause another change in the club's presidency.

The internal turmoil in the management made Colomer's mood quite bad. It was during this time that Lin Sen submitted his coaching application, and the result was predictable.

The fax that anyone would consider a humiliation was, in Colomer's view at the time, just a casual act. The reason was simple: he really thought Lin Sen was just a team doctor, or rather, not qualified to be a head coach, even though he was indeed the former head coach of Atletico Madrid.

Now, Malaga announced the signing of Lin Sen and then announced the signing of two young players from his hands. Although the announcements were made one after the other, they were almost on the same day, which made Colomer feel like he had been played.

This feeling made Colomer somewhat angry, but he was helpless.

It turned out that Malaga's actions were indeed necessary. If Colomer had known beforehand that Malaga's new head coach was the Lin Sen he had rejected as a team doctor, he would not have sent the two young players to Malaga, at least not so easily, and certainly not at a discount for Alba.

Thinking about this, Colomer felt a gnawing frustration.

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On June 5th, Lin Sen and Dina returned to Spain. They said goodbye after getting off the plane. Dina went back to her home in Madrid, while Lin Sen took the train back to Malaga. Before leaving Spain, he had entrusted a real estate agency to find him a house, and now he had a result. He planned to go and see it the next day, but he was still only renting, not buying.

Lin Sen was naturally well aware of Malaga's transfer progress. He had insisted on delaying the announcement of his signing until the first phase of transfers was completed, even though it was a bit unfair to Rod, but there was no other way.

Alba for 150,000 euros.

Koke for 200,000 euros.

Isco on a free loan.

The three transfers in the first phase cost Malaga 350,000 euros. On the other hand, news from Switzerland indicated that the Grasshoppers had accepted Malaga's 300,000 euro offer for Brazilian defender Wellington, who had been on loan to the team last season. This deal was also in the personal negotiation stage and could be completed at any time. Thus, the million-euro budget was quickly depleted. Lin Sen had to turn his attention to the still-listed Bahia and Balista.

It's easy to buy players, but hard to sell them.

Lin Sen originally thought that these two, whose names were flying around in rumors, would quickly receive offers after being listed for transfer. However, it had been over a week, and the offers for the two were like thunder without rain. There were many inquiries, but only one real offer: 500,000 euros from Santander for Balista.

Yes, 500,000 euros, and it was fair and reasonable.

Although Balista was the offensive core of Malaga last season, he had a fatal flaw: his age.

At nearly 33, Balista was essentially a player who could be used once and then discarded. Who knew when he might say goodbye to the pitch? This was why Livermore was conflicted. Balista was worth more than 500,000 euros in terms of his role, but in terms of transfer value, he was not worth much. Livermore had discussed with Lin Sen whether to keep Balista, but Lin Sen clearly stated that Balista could stay, provided he accepted a pay cut and a new contract.

Upon hearing this, Livermore knew there was nothing to discuss. Balista, who earned the highest salary of 1.2 million euros and had only one year left on his contract, would accept a pay cut? If you were in his shoes, would you? Livermore certainly wouldn't.

Livermore tried to get Santander to raise their offer, but their response was straightforward: take it or leave it. If it weren't for head coach Muniz specifically requesting Balista, Santander wouldn't be interested in a 33-year-old forward.

In the end, the frustrated Livermore approved the transfer yesterday.

The vacationing Balista had no attachment. Leaving a relegation-threatened team to join a team that could play in the UEFA Cup and reunite with his mentor was a no-brainer.

500,000 euros, Balista transferred to Santander.

Livermore, who was originally pondering whether the remaining 300,000 euros in the budget could secure Lewandowski, finally breathed a sigh of relief. However, it was only a slight relief because the second phase of transfers had more than just Lewandowski as a target. In his last conversation with Lin Sen, Livermore had intentionally or unintentionally avoided a point: the transfer of defenders.

Compared to the smooth transfer of forwards and the subjective reasons for the transfer of midfielders, the problem with the transfer of defenders was entirely due to an objective reason that Livermore could not change.

That reason was money!

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PS: Sustainable update plan: Afternoon updates remain unchanged, morning updates will be as much as possible. Sticking to 3k.