At the end of January, the weather in Munich was cold. At four o 'clock in the afternoon, the night began to fall. The temperature was twelve degrees below zero, and the wind was very strong. It felt a little painful when the wind blew on one's face.
Li Ang was wearing a slim leather jacket and a windbreaker, but he still felt very cold. He had come to Germany from the warmth of Italy and felt the chill of winter.
The two of them arrived at the hotel first. Then, Massimiliano Mirabelli called Tony Twain's father, Roland Kroes, and learned that the Kroes family and his agent were already waiting at home.
Soon, Li Ang and Mirabelli appeared in the living room of the Kroes family. The two of them sat on the sofa. Opposite them were Roland Kroes (Tony Twain's father), Bircht (Tony Twain's mother), and Volker Strutt (Tony Twain's agent). On both sides of them were the two younger Kroes. They were Tony Twain and his younger brother, Felix Kroes. The younger brother was not yet seventeen years old. Like his older brother, he was also a football player.
His parents, brothers, and agent were all present. Li Ang smiled and nodded. It was a very grand occasion. He could feel that Tony Twain's family attached great importance to this meeting.
On January 4, 1990, Tony Twain was born in Greifswald, a city on the Baltic Sea in East Germany. Although the two Germanys were reunited in October of that year, Tony Twain was born when the Berlin Wall had already been torn down. In terms of origin, the difference between the young Toni Kroes and his national team teammates might be that the others might have been born in the flourishing West Germany (Federal Republic of Germany). Even some players who were born in the former East Germany (GDR) were born in some big cities such as Berlin. They had basically transitioned to the Federal Republic of Germany. They were not like Toni Kroes, who had experienced a period of socialist life after being born. Therefore, Toni Kroes was a true East German.
Every genius could not casually carve out a brilliant career path. The atmosphere of the family was especially important. Kroes was born into a sports family. Tony Kroes grew up in a sports family. His father, Roland Kroes, was the youth coach of the Greifswald Football Club where Tony Kroes was born. His mother, Bircht, was the former East Germany national badminton champion. Kroes also had a younger brother, Felix Kroes, who was one year younger than him, who was also a young football player.
In 2002, when their father became the coach of Rostock's C-level youth team, the Cross brothers followed their father to join the "big club" Rostock in July 2002. At that time, Old Cross, who was in charge of Rostock C Team, had been of great help to Tony Cross and had laid a solid foundation for his career. In the 2004-2005 German Under-17 Youth Football Championship, Kroth helped Rostock to become the runner-up. His performance during the season attracted the attention of Bayern Munich's scouts. Kroes did not even play a single match for Rostock, a team from the former East Germany. In the summer of 2006, he signed an amateur contract with Bayern until 2011.
*****
The Cross family warmly welcomed Li Ang's arrival.
He even invited Li Ang to try the Munich sausage.
After a simple greeting, Li Ang went straight to the point.
"Well, delicious sausage. But let's talk about business first." Li Ang said with a smile. "I believe that everyone already knows the purpose of our visit from our previous phone call. As for sincerity, there is a cup match with Juventus tomorrow. The fact that I can come here now is the greatest sincerity." As he spoke, Li Ang winked at the Cross brothers.
Everyone smiled and nodded. Li Ang was right. During the busy break between matches, he came here personally. This was the greatest sincerity.
Li Ang had lived in Europe for a long time and was used to this kind of attitude towards people and matters. He had to be so direct and cool when speaking. He was a world-class commander. For an eighteen -year-old kid, he had taken the time out to make a trip. This was the greatest sincerity he could show to Tony Cross and his family. It could even be said that the Cross family was a little overwhelmed by this favor.
"Sincerity is the foundation of good communication. Then there are some more practical issues." Li Ang nodded. "Tony is a good lad. I admire him very much. Inviting him to play in my team is the purpose of my visit. Regarding this, if you have any thoughts or concerns, we would like to hear your opinions, Mr. Cross," Li Ang said to Tony Cross's father, Ronald Cross.
Before Ronald Cross could speak, his wife, Birchit, who was Tony Cross's mother, spoke first. "Tony has never left his family at this age. Italy is also overseas …"
"I've already grown up, Mom!" Tony Cross said immediately. His tone was a little anxious. He did not know if it was because he was eager to play for Inter Milan or because his mother's words would make others misunderstand that he was a child who had not grown up.
"In another ten years, you'll still be a child in your mother's eyes," Birchit said.
"Mom …" Tony Cross was anxious.
"Tony is already 18 years old. He's a man," Ronald Cross, who had been silent all this time, suddenly said.
Well, in this family, the father had great authority and prestige. After he said this, Birchit did not dwell on the issue of Tony Cross being too young.
*****
"In fact, you don't have to worry about Tony's life abroad." Li Ang said with a smile. "Luca Modric was only 18 years old when he came to my team from Croatia. Agüero was only 17 years old when he came to Milan from Argentina. Karim Benzema was also 17 years old when he came to Gijón from France. They are all younger than Tony. And Ivan, well, Branislav Ivanovic is a little older. He's already 20 years old. Franck Ribeiro? This kid is much older. He's already 21 years old. "
Hearing Li Ang say this about Ribeiro, the two young Cross laughed.
"Look, I'm very experienced! Tony is 18 years old. It's just right, "Li Ang said jokingly.
Tony Cross' parents and agent, Walter Strutt, also smiled knowingly. Ronald Cross thought of the magical legend that Li Ang was good at grooming young people and looked forward to the future of his son playing under such a legendary manager. Birchit was relieved. As for the agent, Walter Strutt, it was because the names of the players that Li Ang mentioned, whether it was Modric, Ivanovic, Benzema, Agüero, or Ribeiro, were all players that Li Ang had groomed. They were now famous star players, and some of them could even be considered as top star players. This made the agent look forward to the day when Tony Cross, under his team, would become famous. Li Ang was a top international manager and was especially good at grooming young people. This was also the reason why Walter Strutt took the initiative to contact Inter Milan and showed a positive attitude when he heard that Li Ang had taken a fancy to Tony Cross. It was a chance that would not come again! Now, no one could be sure of Tony Cross' future achievements. Under such circumstances, playing under a top manager who was good at grooming young people, his chances of success were obviously higher!
"But Bayern Munich is also very interested in Tony," Ronald Cross said after thinking for a while.
"Bayern Munich may indeed value Toni, but as we all know, Bayern has two ways of grooming star players: one is like Schweinsteiger, and the other is like Lahm. I believe that Mr. Kroes is very clear about these two ways of developing players. I believe that Bayern Munich may already be discussing with you about loaning Tony out, "Li Ang said.
Ronald Cross nodded. He was naturally clear about this. Like Schweinsteiger, who had stayed in the team from the start and had been nurturing him with all his might, or like Lahm, who had been loaned out to the team after discovering his talent, Cross belonged to the latter. Moreover, Li Ang was right. Bayern Munich was looking to sign a professional contract with Toni Kroes. After signing the contract, they planned to rent Toni Kroes out during the winter transfer market. They even planned to rent him out for two years from the start!
*****
In order to reassure Ronald Cross, the head of Bayern Munich's youth academy even used Lahm's success story to reassure him.
Now, the 24-year-old Lahm had become an indispensable member of Bayern Munich's team. Looking back on Lahm's growth, people would realize that this small player had an extraordinary journey, which made Lahm even more legendary.
When he received the call from Bayern Munich, Philipp Lahm was playing for a youth team. The former Bayern youth team coach, Jan Pienta, found Lahm and asked if he was willing to come to Bayern.
But to everyone's surprise, Lahm rejected the offer that any young player could only dream of. Compared to going to Bayern, he wanted to continue playing with his friends in his hometown team, FT Guyon. (Guyon was near Munich.)
But the next temptation was hard for a 12-year-old kid to resist: they allowed Lahm to be a ball boy during the first team's matches! This way, Lahm could be in close contact with Bayern Munich's star players. This was something that any kid who loved football could not refuse.
So, Lahm changed his mind and chose to join Bayern Munich's youth team.
Philipp Lahm had been in every level of Bayern Munich's youth team and was a key player in all age groups. After entering the youth team, Lahm began to collect trophy after trophy. In 2001, he and his teammates, Herwagen, Foyerner, and Misimović, won the German youth league championship. In 2002, he successfully defended his title. At that time, his teammates included Ottle, Schweinsteiger, and Trochowski.
Lahm's patience and his good attitude as a professional player made it easy for him to stay calm and wait for the opportunity to play as a first team player. Finally, on November 13, 2002, in the Champions League match between Bayern and Lens, Coach Heathfield replaced him. The result of the match was three to three. The little guy did well!
However, it was difficult for Lahm to get a chance to play in Bayern Munich's first team, which was full of big names. The club's managers wanted to push out talented players, so when VfB Stuttgart made the request, they agreed to sign a two-year loan contract. This was a new stage in Lahm's career. In VfB Stuttgart, Lahm not only received a professional contract for the first time, but his position on the field also changed. He no longer played as a right back or defensive midfielder, but as a left back.
In his first Bundesliga season in VfB Stuttgart, Lahm played 31 times. His success in his new position attracted the attention of the national team manager, Voller, and Lahm was quickly recruited to the national team. In his first national team match, Voller arranged for him to play the entire match. In the match, Germany won 2: 1 against Croatia, and Lahm became famous.
Later, Lahm used his outstanding performance in VfB Stuttgart to get a chance to return to Bayern Munich.
Although Lahm only played 20 games in the 2005200 season, it was enough for Bayern fans to vote him as the best player of 2006. Of course, a large part of the reason was his outstanding performance in the 2006 World Cup in Germany. Lahm scored the first goal of the World Cup, a beautiful goal.
Lahm's special short stature did not stop him from moving forward. He was nominated for the best team of the 2006 World Cup. Now, whether it was in Bayern Munich or the German national team, Lahm was an indispensable member of the team.
*****
Lahm's success was also a benchmark for Bayern Munich's promotion. Whenever a young player was loaned out, they would now use Lahm's successful counterattack as an example to motivate these young players.
However, as a football insider, Tony Twain's father, Ronald Kroes, was more aware of the cruelty of the competition in football.
It was also because Bayern Munich planned to loan Tony Twain out immediately after signing a professional contract with him. Furthermore, the loan would be for two years. This made Ronald Kroes and his agent, Walter Strutt, a little worried.
Although there were examples of players like Lahm who were loaned out by Bayern Munich and then taken back, and then established a foothold in Bayern Munich and grew into a top star player, these were very few successful cases. More players who were loaned out did not return to Bayern Munich in the end. They played for mid-tier and lower-tier teams for their entire career. Some even disappeared and could only play in lower-tier leagues.
Young players were constantly loaned out. Many young players were lost in the process of being loaned out. They needed to constantly adapt to the characteristics of each new team that they joined on loan, as well as new teammates. Then, in this process of adaptation, their talent was lost.
Therefore, Ronald Kroes understood the importance of a stable environment for his son's growth.
And when this stable environment could be combined with the world-class manager Li Ang, who was known for being good at nurturing young players, it would be even more perfect.
In a sense, Ronald Kroes' family had agreed to Li Ang's arrival, and the whole family had come out to give him a "grand" welcome. This in itself showed their attitude. Li Ang was very, very close to taking down Tony Twain.
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