Chapter 64

Audrich and Pirlo had a deep conversation until the café closed for the night. Pirlo was eventually persuaded and agreed to transfer to Millwall.

After finalizing Pirlo's transfer, Audrich concluded his trip to Italy. He had many transfer targets, but like Owen and Gerrard, they simply looked down on Millwall. Most of the young players who were swayed by money and sincerity were those from non-premier football clubs, like Helguera and Capdevila. For instance, the young prodigy Torres, even though his agent Andrew had already met with him in Madrid, Torres had no intention of leaving Madrid. The same went for Xavi. For players like these, who were clearly unattainable, Audrich wouldn't waste his time. There were always other fish in the sea...

However, Audrich's summer transfer plans were not yet complete. He still needed a heavyweight striker, someone who could mature into a superstar within two to three years.

Larsson and Trezeguet were the team's mainstays, but Larsson had caught the eye of Manchester United, and Audrich was unsure if he could keep him for long. As for Trezeguet, Audrich had even less confidence in retaining him long-term. The 1998 World Cup was only three years away... At that time, Thuram, Trezeguet, Vieira, Pires, and possibly Makelele, who had already switched to a defensive midfield role, would all be champions of France.

Van Nistelrooy, the "King of the Penalty Box," had yet to "wake up." Luca Toni had significant limitations within the tactical system. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was more effective as a surprise player than a stable starter. Glen Johnson and Phillips, limited by their talent, could not be relied upon to break through by chance.

So, despite the abundance of talent in Audrich's team, he was still tirelessly scouting for promising young players. In reality, he didn't know if he would wake up one day to find that the entire starting lineup had submitted transfer requests.

For the final stop of his summer transfer plan, Audrich and Andrew traveled to Kyiv, Ukraine.

Since the early 1990s, with the collapse of Eastern Europe, Europeans, especially the British, were very sensitive when visiting former Soviet states. This region was still under the shadow of the KGB, and one could easily be targeted by agents, brainwashed, and turned into a spy.

Therefore, after landing, Audrich and Andrew took a taxi to their destination: Dynamo Kyiv.

Before their arrival, Audrich's transfer offer had already been sent to Dynamo Kyiv.

A bid of £1 million for the young player Shevchenko!

Shevchenko, who would turn 19 in September, had made 17 appearances and scored one goal in the Ukrainian league last season, showing promise.

A piece of good news for Audrich was that the legendary Dynamo Kyiv coach Valeriy Lobanovskyi, who had returned to the club three times, had not yet made his third return.

Lobanovskyi had a magical touch, and almost every time he returned to Dynamo Kyiv, he created a golden generation. If not for the heartbreaking loss to Bayern Munich, led by Kahn, Matthäus, and Effenberg in the 1999 Champions League semi-finals, Dynamo Kyiv would have faced Manchester United in the final.

If Lobanovskyi were still in charge, Audrich's attempt to sign Shevchenko would have been much more difficult.

But now, Audrich only needed £1.8 million to secure Shevchenko's release from Dynamo Kyiv.

Among the current Dynamo Kyiv players, besides the future world-renowned "Nuclear Head" Shevchenko, there were also future San Siro stars like Kaladze and the less successful Rebrov in England.

Audrich wasn't uninterested in them, but he could only sign Shevchenko because none of these players had EU passports. To replicate the transfer of Nedved, Audrich could only bring in one player, and the answer to this choice was clear: Shevchenko.

In later history, Shevchenko's move to the Premier League ended in disappointment. Audrich believed there were many reasons for this, both from the player and the club.

A significant part of the player's injuries were due to accumulated fatigue from continuous play, leading to a decline in physical condition. Shevchenko, like later Torres and Owen, suffered from overexertion early in their careers, including inadequate and inappropriate treatment, which directly affected their later performance and physical condition.

On the club side, the lack of patience with established stars was a major issue. Fans and coaches expected immediate results, and if a star didn't live up to expectations in the short term, criticism would flood in, negatively impacting the player's psychology and creating a vicious cycle.

More importantly, Audrich believed that Chelsea's system, established during Mourinho's tenure, emphasized a clear hierarchy: defense over midfield over attack.

In such a tactical system, it was the hardest for strikers to succeed. Even a monster like Drogba took years to win the Premier League Golden Boot. If Henry, who won the Golden Boot three consecutive times, were placed in Chelsea, he might not have scored over 80 goals in three seasons.

One shouldn't judge a player's ability based on their inability to adapt to a specific tactical system. Audrich would give all his signings the patience to adapt, integrating them into the tactical system step by step, without rushing or expecting young players to shine immediately upon joining the team.

Upon arriving at Dynamo Kyiv, Audrich and Andrew were led by club officials to a meeting room. After shaking hands with the club manager, the young Shevchenko appeared before Audrich, accompanied by an interpreter. Despite his proficiency in multiple languages, Audrich did not understand Ukrainian.

Shevchenko appeared calm, but Audrich could see a hint of excitement in his eyes.

The status of Eastern European football in Europe had been declining since the collapse of the Soviet Union, affecting the decline of Eastern European football. Players seeking a bigger stage naturally aimed for the traditional top five leagues. As ambitious players, they wouldn't be content playing in the icy and snowy Ukraine for their entire careers.

However, Shevchenko aspired to the alluring Italian league, not England.

The somewhat naive Shevchenko directly expressed his thoughts through the interpreter.

"I want to go to Italy, not England!"

Audrich could only patiently explain to the interpreter, "Please tell him that playing in England will bring him more attention than playing in Ukraine, especially as the influence of Premier League broadcasts is growing. He can start his career in England, and once he makes a name for himself, more Serie A teams will notice him. Moreover, if he stays in Britain for a few years, he can obtain an EU passport, which will give him a significant advantage when transferring to Serie A."

The interpreter spoke to Shevchenko for a long time before turning to Audrich and saying, "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 team owner and manager."

When it came to his expertise, Audrich didn't need to resort to persuasion. He spoke fluently and at length through the interpreter.

After speaking for about ten minutes, the interpreter conveyed the message in just thirty seconds...

Audrich wanted to punch the interpreter but held back when he saw Shevchenko's expression waver.

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

"If he wants to leave Ukraine, he will face this issue in any of the major leagues—Italy, Germany, England, Spain, or even France. No one speaks Ukrainian! The team will provide him with an interpreter until he can live independently in English. I think you can tell him that, rather than dreaming of joining a top club and struggling with language barriers, even with the manager, it would be better to start with my team. At least, the negative impact of these shortcomings will be minimized, and he can gain experience and learn how to live in a foreign environment."

Audrich used all his efforts to persuade Shevchenko to join, and although the negotiation took a considerable amount of time, he understood that it was reasonable for someone leaving their hometown to be cautious.

Before completing the transfer, Audrich returned to London and immediately had Andrew handle the matter.

Millwall couldn't directly negotiate with the FA; a middleman was necessary.

The English football world had its share of black money scandals, but they were mostly related to player transfers.

Audrich only wanted the FA to open the door for him.

Even if the scandal were to be exposed in the future, Audrich could easily distance himself from it.

Nedved didn't have an EU passport, but when he became a star, who would dare say he wasn't a genius? Not signing him would be a loss for English football.

The same applied to Shevchenko. As long as he became famous in English football, no one would bother to expose any potential irregularities in the transfer hearing.

As long as the financial transactions were clean, Audrich felt secure. He trusted Andrew, who had been a money enthusiast since childhood and had mastered the art of handling finances, even researching street drug trade models before he was of age, ensuring no trace was left behind.

However, in London, Audrich received feedback from Andrew: the FA required a sponsor at the hearing.

Millwall was no longer the obscure team from last year's League One. No one cared who they signed then, but this summer, Millwall was a Premier League team. If they could get the FA to open the back door just with written materials, the other 19 teams would surely follow suit!

Audrich needed a respected figure in English football to step in. After much thought, there was only one person he could ask for help, someone who would "owe him a favor" in return.

Alex Ferguson!