That evening, they were set to watch Leonardo DiCaprio's latest film, "The Man in the Iron Mask." Aldrich was settled in his seat with a bucket of popcorn, waiting for the movie to start. De Rossi sat next to him, while Messi and Agüero, clearly uninterested in the film, slumped down in their seats, struggling to stay awake, possibly due to overeating.
As the movie began, De Rossi leaned over and grabbed a handful of popcorn, asking, "Boss, is this movie based on a true story?"
Aldrich shrugged, "I'm not sure. I'm not well-versed in history, especially French history. But you know how movies go; they often take liberties. For instance, the film's setting is supposed to be 1662, but they claim the action takes place in the Palace of Versailles, which is absurd since construction on Versailles didn't even start until 1664."
"Wait, aren't you the one who claims not to know history?"
"Sure, but I have visited the Palace of Versailles."
The two continued their quiet conversation, making sure not to disturb others around them.
In the midst of their chat, De Rossi suddenly asked, "Boss, aren't you heading to Japan at the end of the month?"
Aldrich looked puzzled and responded, "Yeah, who doesn't know that?"
Millwall was gearing up to travel to Japan to compete in the Toyota Cup.
De Rossi showed a mischievous smile and interrupted: "Take me with you! I want to watch the game too!"
Aldrich looked at him with amusement, "Are you really here to see the big show? Aren't you just looking for a chance to lazily enjoy your vacation?"
De Rossi, embarrassed but undeterred, quickly replied, "Definitely not! I'm a training superstar! Japanese football has gained momentum recently, hasn't it? Lineker used to play in Japan, and let's not forget Dunga, the Brazilian captain, did too!"
Aldrich shook his head. "You really think that mentioning a few football names will mask your sneaky plans? No worries, you're going to Japan for sure."
De Rossi's eyes lit up, "Really?"
"No need to lie to you; it's not just you. Your teammates will be there too."
De Rossi's expression turned sour as he sighed, "Oh, so it was in the plan all along? Wish I hadn't mentioned it."
"Ha ha."
When the film ended, Aguero stirred awake, yawning and struggling to open his heavy eyelids. He stood up and headed outside, but Aldrich pulled him back with a bemused smile. "You're on the path to getting lost, aren't you?"
The exit was on the left, but Aguero turned right...
Messi, jolted by the bump from Aguero's leg, also woke up. Rubbing his face, he said, "That movie was really good."
Aldrich took Messi's wrist and placed his hand on Aguero's shoulder. "Don't get lost, okay?"
At that moment, they resembled a couple of confused kids, with Aguero still having sleep crust in his eyes!
As they exited the cinema, Aldrich and the three lads decided to grab a taxi home when a few reporters, cameras in hand, suddenly appeared, snapping pictures and smiling at Aldrich. They waved goodbye as they left.
While it sounded like a farewell, it was really just a cover-up. The paparazzi scuttled around the corner, continuing to follow Aldrich and his crew to see where they went next. Even when he got into a taxi, they trailed behind until they confirmed that Aldrich and the others returned to the club's community.
Aldrich didn't think much of it at the time but nearly spat blood when he saw the next day's newspaper!
A gossip rag subtly insinuated that Aldrich had a "pedophile" obsession!
Some more reputable papers that picked up the story took a professional approach, analyzing how Aldrich taking young players out for dinner and movies signified Millwall's youth training successes.
Aldrich had no choice but to call Andrew for help in sending cease-and-desist letters to several newspapers.
There was no escaping it; the young manager's private life was under suspicion.
Outsiders speculated that his girlfriend was just a front. They suggested either he was engaged in same-sex relationships or possibly had inappropriate preferences.
Another day passed, and Millwall held an official press conference.
During a public announcement, club CEO Adam revealed that Millwall's first team and all their academy teams have signed a sponsorship agreement with the British company umbro. Training kits and equipment for the reserve and youth teams will be supplied by umbro.
This announcement has stunned English football and caught the attention of the entire European scene.
Millwall's lower-tier teams earning a sponsorship?
The deal is for two years, worth £1 million each year!
This figure is already higher than sponsorship fees for many lower-table Premier League teams!
umbro's commercial representatives are optimistic about this partnership.
They believed that Millwall's success was attributed to their strong youth training program. Over the last two seasons, statistics showed that Millwall's youth and reserve teams attracted spectators at rates much higher than average.
Aside from Millwall's dedicated fans, other supporters were also interested in attending their matches, perhaps wanting to catch a glimpse of a future star before they made it big.
Millwall's reserves had won back-to-back reserve league titles, and the youth team had accomplished a treble, winning the youth league thrice and the FA Youth Cup twice—this was a significant reason for Umbro's investment. Moreover, their youth team would also be facing European heavyweights during their UEFA matches, further enhancing their profile.
All the top clubs were astonished.
That Millwall could package both their reserves and youth teams so profitably was no small feat.
Others envied the club, but even powerhouses like Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Bayern Munich, known for their fantastic academies, couldn't claim better youth team performance compared to Millwall.
What was most concerning was the turmoil within these clubs, with their senior teams fretting about performance pressures while the youth sides were neglected.
Aldrich remained resolute in his commitment to youth training, and after four and a half years, he had established a solid framework. If the senior team could keep achieving success, it would also drive commercial revenues for both the reserves and youth squads.
CEO Adam was ambitious, planning to double the sponsorship value with Umbro as Millwall moved to a new stadium in two years!
The club's revenue would increase, which Aldrich welcomed, although Millwall's profit report for the previous season was already £14 million. This season, they expected to surpass £60 million, thanks to selling players over the summer for more than £80 million. While they had increased player wages and costs, as long as the team maintained their performance, the club's finances would balance, excluding transfer income.
But that wouldn't be enough—not by a long shot. The club's current scale couldn't support the vast consumer market, and once the new stadium was completed, the diversified commercial opportunities surrounding it would lead to a substantial leap in revenue.
After announcing the new sponsorship deal, Millwall quickly followed up with their itinerary for the trip to Japan at the end of the month. They would play the final at Tokyo National Stadium against Vasco da Gama, champions of the Copa Libertadores.
Simultaneously, Millwall reached an agreement with the Japanese Football Association to hold friendly matches, bringing along two youth teams: one U21 and one youth squad to play two friendlies the day before the Toyota Cup against Japan's U21 and youth national teams.
Japanese football has made significant strides in recent years, focusing on attracting late-career stars to enhance public interest while steadily building their youth training programs.
While those two friendly matches might not hold immediate value, the potential impact they could create—motivating young players and stimulating public interest in football—was invaluable.
Behind the scenes, sponsors played a crucial role in facilitating this connection. Aldrich had actively sought out matches against European youth teams for his players but hadn't initially considered having Millwall's young players train against Japanese youth teams—feeling it wasn't necessary as Japanese football, despite its rapid development, didn't seem outstanding enough to merit it; the trip was more for tourism.
However, since the Japanese had reached out with offers, including sponsorship, Aldrich had no reason to decline.
Before heading to Japan, however, Millwall had one last league match to play—a London derby against arch-rivals Tottenham.
The media hyped the fixture as a clash between the "Fallen Monarchs" and the "New Kings."
Fleet Street was eager to create headlines.
This wasn't just about Millwall and Spurs; Tottenham itself could hardly be considered an old powerhouse.
It was more about the contrast between Spurs' new manager, George Graham, and Aldrich Hall.
Almost at the time Aldrich took charge of Millwall, Graham was watching his Arsenal dynasty crumble. The last match Graham helmed for Arsenal ended in defeat at the hands of Aldrich-led Millwall, which eliminated them.
Graham was subsequently fired, and after being banned from coaching for a year, he returned to lead Leeds United. Unfortunately, his force was no longer intact, and Leeds' performance fell flat. During their encounter with Millwall, Aldrich's team was at its zenith, making it difficult for Fleet Street to create much buzz.
Given that Millwall had a feud with Leeds, Aldrich never passed up an opportunity to show disdain for their manager.
Why? During Millwall's first Premier League season, Leeds fans engaged in egregious racial abuse against their players, on a notable scale.
Even now, Makélélé hasn't forgotten; every match against Leeds brings out his fiery side. A red card? He doesn't care. Aldrich doesn't criticize him—he backs him up after the match. Players are only human and sometimes need to blow off steam. In those moments, Aldrich tends to overlook such things.
While Millwall fans could stir trouble, they were generally open-minded about racial issues, given that East London is a region with a significant immigrant population; people were accustomed to friends of different skin tones, although a small minority of extreme fans did harbor racist tendencies.
Over the past two years, Aldrich hadn't exchanged a word with Graham, nor had they shaken hands; Aldrich couldn't care less about Graham being Leeds' manager, while Graham had been humiliated by Aldrich's verbal confrontations during his Arsenal dismissal.
Fleet Street tried to stir up tensions before the match, reminding everyone about their past grievances, especially considering the current stakes in a London derby!
Unfortunately for Aldrich, he wasn't easily provoked, and Graham was in a precarious position, with Spurs struggling in the bottom half of the table and lacking the means to challenge Millwall.
Against the backdrop of such an overhyped "face-off," Millwall triumphed with a comfortable 3-0 victory over Graham's Spurs at home. Van Nistelrooy stole the show with a hat trick, driven no doubt by the pressure of Henry's comeback. He brought his A-game to fiercely defend his starting role.
Following their victory in the 15th round of the Premier League, Millwall traveled to Moscow, where they played a match with all substitutes, ending in a draw. In the Champions League group stage, Millwall clashed five times, securing four wins and one draw, leading the group and confirming their advancement ahead of Inter Milan, who registered four wins and one loss.
After wrapping up their European adventures, they began preparations for the trip to Japan for the Toyota Cup.