Due to various reasons such as war, there is still no direct flight from London to Zagreb, the capital of Croatia.
Yuvi had to take Lufthansa to Frankfurt, Germany, and then transfer to Zagreb from Frankfurt.
As a dual-use military and civil airport, Zagreb's Presso Airport has only a very small terminal building with very simple facilities.
It can also be seen from this that Zagreb has not yet completely walked out of the shadow of the war.
After exchanging a sum of Croatian Kuna for daily expenses at the airport, Yuvi called a taxi and went to Ilica Street in the center of Zagreb.
This is known as the most prosperous street in Zagreb.
But it was still very disappointing.
This country, which has only been free from war for a few years, obviously has not had time to develop its economy.
Fortunately, Yuvi's trip was not for vacation.
The day after arriving in Zagreb, Yuvi went to visit Dinamo Zagreb.
He was received by the chairman of Dinamo Zagreb, Zedravko Mamic.
Mamic, 44, is the best football agent in Croatia and is also well-known in European football.
He has long been a member of the board of directors of Dinamo Zagreb and also runs a football school.
This football school has gathered the most talented football teenagers in Croatia and concentrated them in Zagreb for training and improvement.
After reaching a certain age, the best children are selected to enter Dinamo Zagreb.
At the beginning, Mamic looked down on Yuvi, a young man from India, and even wanted to fool him.
But who is Yuvi?
In his previous life, let alone a young Karami like Mamic, Yuvi had dealt with top agents such as Raiola and Mendes.
After a few words of confrontation, Yuvi made Mamic look at him with new eyes and dared not be blindly arrogant.
He even took the initiative to get close to him.
"My brother Zoran Mamic plays for Fürth in the German second division as a central defender. He told me that there is a Indian shooter among his teammates who is very strong."
Yuvi nodded without comment.
He knew who it was.
Not long ago, Mamic had just taken over as chairman of the board of directors of Dinamo Zagreb.
The first decision after taking office was to form a second team.
This is also a project that Mamic attaches great importance to.
Ilya Lonkarevic, the director in charge of youth training, introduced that the second team is composed of young players aged 16 to 18, all of whom are the most talented players in the football school, Dinamo Zagreb, and even in Croatia.
The head coach is Romeo Jozak, who is well-known in Croatia .
Yuvi didn't know him, but he remembered this name.
Romeo Jozak later became the head coach of the Kuwait national team.
The training grounds and facilities of Dinamo Zagreb are not good, but they are complete and professional.
This should also be the main factor that enables them to attract many young talents in the country.
Yuvi seemed to be watching casually, but he was actually paying attention all the time.
As Lonkarevic said, Dinamo Zagreb's second team is indeed full of talents.
For example, a left-back named Glovachki Kale is very strong.
There is also Marco Sindric, who plays on the right side, is very fast and has a strong impact.
In the next few years, many fans will be familiar with Vedran Joelluka, who once played for Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League. He can play as a central defender and midfielder. He is tall and strong, and his footwork is also very solid.
On the court, when playing against his peers, he is really very dominant, which makes people's eyes shine.
"This player will become a great player in the future!" Yuvi "couldn't help" praising.
Whether it is Mamic or Lonkarevic, they all agree with it and nod repeatedly with complacency.
Yuvi did not find his goal on the training ground.
However, he did not ask questions.
There has never been a fixed price standard in the European football transfer market. The price often depends on the negotiating parties.
This is a very complicated game.
Yuvi tentatively asked about the value of Joelluka, Sindric and Kalai.
The result was as he expected.
Facing buyers from England, Mamic slaughtered them without mercy.
He even offered a whopping 15 million Croatian Kunas for Joel Luka, the most talented player in the team.
According to the current exchange rate between Croatian Kuna and Euro, it is about 2 million Euros.
Yuvi smiled bitterly in his heart, but on the surface he remained calm.
Not to mention the two or three players with the best talent, even the less talented players like Saric, Gravina, Kardum, Mikulic, etc., are asking for hundreds of thousands or even nearly one million Euros.
Yuvi deliberately looked embarrassed and said that he would communicate with London.
Mamic and others would naturally not object.
...
At noon, Mamic treated Yuvi to a meal at a restaurant called Kolovom.
In the afternoon, he wandered around Zagreb and enjoyed the scenery of the Croatian capital.
The next morning, Yuvi came to the training ground again.
This time Mamic did not show up again.
Obviously, he saw that Yuvi was not the "fat sheep" buyer he expected.
On the contrary, this club in the third-tier English league was not well-off.
The person who received him this time was the club's CEO, Damir Vbanovic.
He also had another very prominent business card, a member of the UEFA Executive Committee.
This title looked very impressive, but in fact it was useless.
Moreover, he had only taken office in 2002 and had very little experience.
But during the conversation, Yuvi deliberately catered to Vbanovic's identity and talked to him about all kinds of European football, which surprised the Croatian again and again.
For example, when talking about UEFA Vice President and Spanish Football Association President Bilal, Yuvi could even blurt out the detailed address of his home in Madrid and some of the surrounding conditions.
All of this relied on Yuvi's experience and knowledge in his previous life.
As for some insider rumors about UEFA, Yuvi was even more handy.
For example, he reminded Vbanovich to pay attention to the Frenchman Michel Platini.
"As early as March last year, he was already an executive member of FIFA, and at
the same time he joined UEFA as an executive member as the vice president of the French Football Association. Guess..." Yuvi's pretentious and mysterious behavior immediately made Vbanovich
's eyes light up. After the association, the look in his eyes when he looked at Yuvi was also different.
More enthusiastic.
There were a few more people in today's training session, but they were obviously not the main force.
During the group competition, they all got the substitute vests.
Yuvi found his target this time.
Luka Modric.
Luka Modric, who will not turn 18 until September, is the shortest and thinnest among all.
Especially standing with tall and strong men like Joel Luca, he really looks like a little Karami.
Facts have proved that his position in the team is indeed a little Karami.
"Luka's skills are really good. Look at how he holds and stops the ball. They are really good."
Vbanovich introduced Yuvi enthusiastically.
"But he is too short and too thin, and his physical confrontation is very bad."
"Other players like him who are not tall, such as Marko Sindric, are only 1.8 meters tall, but they are very fast, which makes him perform better on the court."
"On the contrary, Luka Modric has neither physical confrontation nor the speed of a short man. We have tried many different positions, but he has never performed well."
Vbanovich also revealed that Modric's contract treatment and status in the team were the worst, whether in Mamic's football school or in Zagreb Dinamo II.
Yuvi was not surprised by this.
He knew these things from Modric in his previous life.
Many fans like to read the autobiographies of stars.
But little do they know that those autobiographies are often written for the media and fans after they become famous.
It is common for the content inside to be fictional, not to mention beautification.
Modric described in his autobiography the careful cultivation he received in Dinamo Zagreb, the importance that Mamic attached to him, etc., but after careful analysis, it cannot withstand scrutiny.
Later, Modric told Yuvi that his early experience in Dinamo Zagreb was very bad.
The salary was the lowest, the status in the team was the lowest, and Mamic did not attach importance to him.
Why?
Because the people around him were stronger than him.
So, when the team needed to loan a few people to Zlinski in the Bosnian League, Dinamo Zagreb sent Modric, who was the least valued in the second team.
During that time, Modric and his family were very painful.
Because the Bosnian League is known for its fierce physical confrontation.
This was a very difficult decision for the short and thin Modric.
After Zlinski's success, Dinamo Zagreb loaned him to Sapresic in the same country to play.
Of course, Modric kicked out.
So his two loans were beautified in his autobiography as the club's targeted and focused cultivation of him.
Otherwise, what else can I say?
But Yuvi knew that at this moment, in the minds of Dinamo Zagreb, Modric was a young player who was neither high nor low, with obvious advantages and disadvantages and unclear career prospects.
...
After knowing this, Yuvi did not continue to linger on Modric, but changed the subject.
After "having a good chat" with Vbanovic, he took the initiative to reveal the difficulties of his trip.
A rich second-generation eager to prove himself in front of his elders, with a limited budget, came to Croatia to select football talents.
Yuvi first entangled with Vbanovic for a long time on Joel Luka, but the price was never negotiated.
After that, he went through many other players, but still could not reach an agreement.
"No, Yuvi, Kale is the most talented player in our youth team. Although he is a defender, the price will never be less than 5 million kuna."
5 million kuna is equivalent to more than 600,000 euros.
But Yuvi still looked tangled.
"This is still beyond my budget."
After saying that, Yuvi sighed again and looked at Vbanovich with a frustrated face.
"Could it be that Damir, my friend, we are really not destined to be together?"
Vbanovich benefited a lot from the conversation with Yuvi, learned a lot of secrets of European football, and admired Yuvi very much.
It felt like they had met too late.
At this moment, it was really a pity to hear him say that.
"How about you take a look at the other players?" Vbanovich suggested.
Yuvi shook his head, "I am only interested in these players. We don't want players who are too bad."
"Then I really can't help." Vbanovich was also helpless.
Although he is the CEO of the club and a member of the UEFA Executive Committee, the core power of the team is basically in the hands of Mamic.
With Mamic's character, he would never sell young players at a low price.
These are all treasures!
Yuvi looked at Vbanovich, thought about it, and clicked his tongue twice.
"Forget it, we are good friends after all."
"How about this, the cheapest one here is the one called Luka Modric?"
"Yes, he is the one with the least future."
"It's a rare trip for me, and I can't go back empty-handed, just give me a friendly price, and I'll take him away, just as if I have made friends with you, is that ok with you?"
(End of this chapter)