Chapter VIII The Two Presidents of the Club
"How about it, Sainty, would you like to go down and talk?" Riquelme, who was in pain in his heart, couldn't help but feel sad when he saw the tragic experience of his car, but he couldn't have a seizure in the face of his friend who had just returned to China, so he could only suppress the pain in his heart, gestured to the crazy reporters on both sides with his chin, and said as if he was looking away.
"Uh...... I don't think so, Romy. Santiago grinned and shook his right hand, he didn't expect the sound of a Japanese car to be so hard! However, despite the pain coming from his fingers, seeing Riquelme's uncontrollable distressed expression, Santhiago couldn't help but laugh.
Riquelme was born into a very poor family with a total of 10 siblings, so Riquelme's life was very poor since he was a child, even at the age of 7, when he showed his football talent, he could only join a children's football team in Buenos Aire's slum called San Jorge, and fortunately it was there that he met his nobleman, football coach Jorge Rodríguez.
Soon he joined the youth team of the Argentine Youth Club, relying on his outstanding performances there, Riquelme became an instant hit, attracting the kind invitation of Boca Juniors and River Plate, and after some careful consideration, Riquelme also chose to join Boca Juniors, known as the "club of the poor", in exchange for Boca to pay a transfer fee of 800,000 US dollars to the Argentine Juniors, and since then he himself has bid farewell to the poor life.
Today, Riquelme, who is famous in world football and has a strong appeal and reputation in Argentina, is already a wealthy class, but the diligence and thrift he cultivated since childhood have not changed at all. After receiving the sponsorship from Toyota, Riquelme happily got rid of the bad car he had driven for eight years and became the only player in the Boca Juniors first team to drive the car given by the sponsor every day.
In view of Riquelme, as the biggest player in the team, and driving a Toyota every day, San Tiago believes that it is very necessary to help Riquelme to get a little more benefits from Toyota, such as maintenance coupons or fuel tickets, etc., so that Riquelme should be very happy, it is a good win-win situation!
Thinking of this, Saint-Tiago couldn't help but be proud, and couldn't help clapping his right hand with his left hand and giving himself a high-five.
"Santy? What are you thinking? When Santilgo was pulled back to reality by Riquelme, Riquelme didn't know when he had parked his car in the club, and he was loosening his seat belt and looking at him suspiciously.
Seeing this, San Tiago was slightly embarrassed, he coughed lightly and moistened his throat, and was about to announce his great plan, but Riquelme seemed to realize something first. I saw that this famous midfield master in world football showed an obscene expression and whispered: "How long has it been honest, Giant Cannon Santi!" Do you want to ...... Syllable... Syllable... Syllable... Right..."
As he spoke, Riquelme clasped his hands together as he learned from Santiago's movements, and slapped them three times in a row.
"Damn! It's all where it is! ”
"Alright, pretend with me! I don't know you yet? I can tell you, Santy, that it is better to be restrained when you have just returned, for Mr. Louis is very harsh! Riquelme suddenly thought of something after scolding with a smile, and then said seriously: "Okay, I won't accompany you, I'll go first!" Mr. Louis, they should be waiting for you in the chairman's office, so go! ”
"Yes!" After hearing Riquelme's instructions, Santhiago nodded, and without waiting for Riquelme to get back into the car and light the light, he walked slowly along the edge of the training ground towards the chairman's office in the distance. Although he is seven years behind a senior in the national team and club like Riquelme, the two have a very good relationship most of the time, and Riquelme's concern for Santhiago like a big brother also makes him feel a lot of warmth in the football world.
Although it was neither the main team match day nor the youth team match day, there were many active figures on the training ground not far from each other, and at a glance, almost 100 children ranging from 4 to 15 years old were active and training under the leadership of their respective coaches. As a former member, Saint-Tiago knew very well that this was only the case for two hours, and two hours later he would be directly replaced by another group of children who were in a tactical blackboard training session.
As one of the few giants in South America and the famous "Poor Man's Club", Boca Juniors has been able to achieve brilliant results in the past 100 years, never relying on large-scale recruitment, but always relying on a complete and efficient youth training system to maintain the vitality and competitiveness of the club.
From 7 a.m., the first youth teams will be on the pitch for training, and two hours later it will be the turn of the main stars of the first team to take on the pitch, and this is constantly going on punctually, although the first team rarely practises here. From 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., it will continue to alternate like this, and it can be said that the utilization rate of the training ground is very high. And these kids in the 4-15 age group don't need a whole game, because they don't need 11 players every day, and they have to wait until they are 12 years old to play 11 players.
Before that, the 3v3, 4v4, 5v5 training and 7-a-side league can be carried out on the same training ground in the same time period, and according to the characteristics of different age groups, in accordance with the scientific laws of football to set their respective field ranges, at the time of the departure of Santiago, the entire Boca youth of all ages added up to nearly 5,000 people, which is still in the case of ensuring enough training time and venue!
Looking at the group of children who were silently sweating and full of dreams, Santiago sighed unconsciously and accelerated his pace towards the chairman's office.
Prior to that, the president of the Boca Juniors Club was Mauricio Macri, who was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1959 to an Italian immigrant family, and was the eldest son in the family. His father, Franco Macri, was a well-known Argentine entrepreneur with a large industry that included Sevier Automotive, the largest automobile company in Argentina at the time.
Mauricio was president of Boca Juniors from 1995 until last year, three times during which time Boca Juniors became the most successful football club in Argentina, winning several international titles. Until last year, Boca Club not only entered a virtuous cycle of financial situation, but also won 17 championship titles at home and abroad, which can be an extremely successful president.
In such a situation Mauricio. Macri's business management was fully recognized, and the club's success also laid the foundation for his entry into politics. Macri was elected to the National House of Representatives with more than 33 percent of the vote in the country's ruling party-controlled capital. And last year he successfully became the mayor of the capital Buenos Aires, although he resigned from the position of Boca Juniors president, but he is still called the "Berlusconi" of Argentina.
And his charisma not only made Boca Juniors fans fully support him, but also made a lot of River Plate fans vote for him. Macri has left Boca Juniors and is seeking the presidency of Argentina, but his influence at the club remains overwhelming. Even Pedro Pompiro, the current successor of Boca Juniors, was Macri's deputy from 1995 to 2007 and the second vice-president of the Argentine Football Federation.
Therefore, after establishing the idea of returning to Boca Juniors, Santhiago also contacted his former president and expressed his desire to return to join with zero transfer fee (Santiago was begging for food under him at the beginning). As expected, Mr. Macri, oh... No, Mayor Macri is still extremely interested in the affairs of the club, and he is extremely welcoming to the return of Santiago, after all, isn't Riquelme a typical example of a successful return?
The mature Riquelme not only helped Boca Juniors win many accolades, but also brought back European media attention, so the former president Macri welcomed back Santiago. After hanging up the phone, Saint-Tiago couldn't help but sigh, this is really a good chairman! But when I think about it, I can't help but laugh, such a political figure is not stupid, Boca Juniors fans and fans all over Argentina are important sources of his votes, who will let go of their influence in this area in this situation?
When the Boca Juniors stars and fans stand up and shout hard during the general election, won't the votes come in an uproar?
After receiving the affirmation of the former president of Macri, Pompiro, who was once Macri's assistant and is now the president of Boca Juniors, has held positions in the Boca club since the 80s of the last century, and it can be said that family and Boca club are the two pillars of his life. Although Pompiro still had his own business to take care of, he came to the club early every day to take care of all the things and stayed busy until late before returning home.
At that time, Riquelme's return was facilitated by Pompiro, and there was no problem with the return of Santhiago, the team-oriented president. After all, the strength and fame of Santiago used to be there, and now even if it is "declining", its influence in Europe is not bad, and there is no burden on the return of zero transfer fees. What's more, the boss also spoke!
Therefore, in such a situation, the return of Saint-Tiago, who has been affirmed by the two bigwigs, is already a certainty, but at this time, there is still an important person who has an unclear attitude towards the return of Saint-Tiago.