Chapter Sixty-Five: Caballero

  Rush to the top on Monday, seeking recommendation votes, collection and member clicks ^_^

  After Zhang Chenglin decided to go to the Shanghai Flower Team, Gao Jun had also tried to dissuade him, but this guy has always been very opinionated and ultimately could not be persuaded. However, as for Zhang Chenglin's future, Gao Jun is not too worried. Firstly, Zhang Chenglin's independent personality makes it easy for him to adapt after leaving, secondly, his "万金油" attribute guarantees his playing time, and thirdly, his self-discipline is still good, so the possibility of him being abandoned should be small.

  Although, in the heart of Gao Jun, there is still some regret about this. The Dongfang team has good young players like Qi Duo at the wing-back position, but they are generally still young. After Zhang Chenglin left, the vacancy of a wing-back position will be difficult to fill completely in a short period of time. Zhang Linpeng, who was freed up after introducing two central defenders, can take on this position, but he is more helpful to Dongfang team by playing as a defensive midfielder. Therefore, Coach Xu finally decided to let Wang Shengchao, who is several months older than Zhang Linpeng and has a smaller build, play as the right wing-back.

  It's a coincidence that this young man, who eventually became the captain of the Oriental team, is also a super versatile player like Zhang Chenglin. Except for forwards and goalkeepers, he has played almost all positions and performed reasonably well. However, due to physical differences, he never reached the heights achieved by Zhang Chenglin in history, and it's probably still difficult in this timeline. Nevertheless, Coach Xu seems to like this little guy very much, perhaps because he is obedient, listens carefully, and is born with a sunny and handsome appearance.

  Du Wei's joining has raised the level of Dongfang's defense to that of a mid-table Super League team, but this cannot satisfy Xu Genbao's ambition. Therefore, he decided to use the last foreign aid quota on a central defender. As for Gao Jun, he actually had a suitable candidate in mind, but it was hard to find a good reason. Finally, he suggested to Xu that instead of listening to agents' nonsense, they should directly select players from national teams of various countries. They would focus on developing countries with football levels ranking second or third in the world, and only consider main players of these national teams. If a player is currently not playing well and sitting on the bench, it would be even better, as they could be purchased at the cheapest price.

  "Where would such a good thing be waiting?", Xu Genbao said, but still agreed to let Gao Jun search online for relevant information. As a result, it didn't take long before Gao Jun "surprisingly discovered" a suitable candidate...

  " Caballero, the captain of Honduras national team, played for Udinese in Serie A from 2001 to 2004, but then changed two clubs without success. He didn't play a single game in the last half season?", Xu Genbao was very surprised after hearing this, and after watching some match videos downloaded by Gao Jun from foreign websites, he was even more impressed. He immediately decided to go to Uruguay's Montevideo National Team to inspect Caballero in person, and if he was indeed good, he would offer a price to buy him."

  "Wouldn't going to buy it yourself make the national team think that the goods are cheap and raise the price?" Gao Jun said with some concern, he knew the financial situation of Dongfang Team. After being promoted to the Chinese Super League, the coaches and players in the team generally had their salaries increased by several times, and the club's expenses increased greatly. If it weren't for the FA Cup championship helping Xu Genbao get a certain degree of support from the municipal government, the sponsorship fee for Dongfang Team next season would have increased significantly compared to 2004. But even with many sponsors, Dongfang Team's financial resources were still limited without industrial support. If the Uruguayan asked for an exorbitant price, they would definitely not be able to afford it.

  "Coach Xu isn't that stupid, I said it was a trip to South America, and then I accidentally saw it and became interested...", Coach Xu heard this and burst out laughing.

  Gao Jun couldn't help but laugh at this, thinking to himself, "I'm really worried for nothing. Xu's just more emotional when it comes to people close to him, that doesn't mean others are stupid!"

  Samuel Caballero, full name Jorge Samuel Caballero, debuted in the Honduran team Olimpia. In 2001, Caballero went to Europe and played for Udinese in Serie A for two and a half years. Due to dissatisfaction with decreasing playing opportunities, he joined Salernitana in Serie B in 2004 but was not favored and left after six months. Six months ago, Caballero joined Montevideo Wanderers in Uruguay but still failed to gain the favor of the head coach, failing to play even one official match in half a year, without even getting substitute opportunities. Disheartened, Caballero was preparing to try his luck again in Major League Soccer when a Chinese team owner suddenly came to invite him to join.

  Although he didn't know much about Chinese football, Caballero didn't underestimate the level of the Chinese league because China had just qualified for the World Cup in 2002. In fact, he overestimated it a bit. With limited options at the time, he quickly became interested. After verifying the authenticity and sincerity of the other party, Caballero signed a "3+2" contract with Dongfang, which did not include appearance fees or bonuses, for an annual salary of $300,000. This was higher than what Dongfang paid to their two future world-class forwards, but Gao Hong knew it was worth it. Not only did Caballero's contract with the national team have only half a season left and had not been renewed, so no transfer fee was required, but also because Caballero was the most successful foreign center-back in Chinese football history. He played a crucial role in Gao Hong's league championship win when he coached Changchun, so Gao Hong understood his strengths very well.

  Although Gao Jun was forced to step down as the head coach of Changchun Yatai later on, Caballero was also one of the main participants. However, in the Dongfang team, Coach Xu has the final say, and there is only one Honduran foreign aid, Caballero, so nothing should go wrong. Moreover, for Gao Jun, who used to quarrel with big-name players wherever he went, now that he has become a big name himself, he gradually understands the key to the problem. His idea of creating two sets of lineups to deal with injuries and multiple fronts is reasonable, but the team's practice of not distinguishing between main players and substitutes will naturally make those strong core players dissatisfied. The situation in the national team is slightly better, as it only involves honor, but in club matches, the number of appearances directly determines the player's income. If you want to smash their rice bowls, how can they not resist? To completely do what Gao Jun initially thought, unless he himself is a team boss like Xu Guobin, or a authoritative head coach who even surpasses the boss, such as Ferguson or Wenger, otherwise it will definitely end in failure...