Chapter 119: Error 119
Extremadura is a region of Spain wedged between Andalusia and Portugal. Since 1999, this region has had no more residents in the Spanish elite. Worse, there has been no professional club for more than a decade.
However, the pool of budding footballers and the passion for football are present too. Hector and a certain Jose Calderon, a former NBA player born in this region, have for a project the construction of a basketball club.
Discussions are in place, but Hector wants to acquire a football club in Spain. There is no better place for him. Extremadura is struggling to recover from the 2008 Spanish economic crisis.
The most rural region of the country, it has 30% of the population unemployed and up to 60% among young people. Incredible figures with a growth that regresses, it is expected that football has been impacted.
The lack of professional infrastructure and training centers and the absence of clubs at the professional level mean that even if good players come out of the region, they cannot retain them. They all go to Seville or Madrid.
Badajoz is the largest city in this region.
For Hector, Extremadura is a land of football that awaits an elite team. With enthusiasm, he decided to acquire CD Badajoz (Club Deportivo Badajoz), buy the stadium, and build a sports complex.
The Estadio Nuevo Vivero has a capacity of 15,200 seats and can be expanded to 30,000 seats. It plans to expand to 27,000 places, expandable to 40,000 places.
The club is at the fourth level of the Spanish football league system. The division also includes the reserve teams of many La Liga and Liga 2 clubs.
Fortunately, Puma is a minority shareholder of Borussia Dortmund, which has been worth considerable time saving on efforts to set up a robust youth team system. He got help from a former player of the club, Paco Herrera.
"I have big ambitions, the first thing is to create a soul, create a dynamic, and we will do it slowly and serenely by balancing our budgets. "
He put the structure in place and will administer the club during the first season while Hector finds a staff that meets the criteria.
The academy is not bad, but it is suitable for amateur football. Not enough to satisfy Hector. Puma advised Helmut Jungheim, who worked for Bayer Leverkusen, to oversee the academy, but Hector asked him to supervise all the academies in his network.
He also financed the training of several scouts. Most rely solely on their experiences. With specialized courses, they will benefit from a qualitative education from professionals in the sector.
One thing that doesn't change in all teams Hector owns: each expense is thought out and around the data. The recruitment methods and policy are based on ultra-precise algorithms operating thanks to a complete database.
Many specialists are employed in the image of what is done in American sports, including personal development coaches, sleep counselors, and specialists in hitting balls or free kicks.
CD Badajoz is one of two clubs at the top of Hector's pyramid in the long run, and each club shares the same database. For this database, he needs a large team of recruiters to be trained to operate all over the planet.
The lack of flagship teams in the region will have to include a vast communication campaign through in-depth work by the club on its identity around local roots to strengthen its history and culture.
Beyond communication, the future training center and the promotion of the youth of Extremadura will be vital in the long term, but it will take years to put all this in place.
Hector ordered recruitment: "Let's first take the players released by the academies in Spain. There are a lot of them. They make mistakes and must make decisions at an age where age is relative. Reject them that fly under the radar. We will look for them. »
Hector thought of himself in this sentence. He didn't get a scholarship from an NCAA university, he had to opt for JuCo, and now he's a multiple NBA All-Star. Even if he only has one Hector, having a star in these conditions is a crazy person's dream. But it is certainly possible to have good players in this way.
This will make recruiting players at paltry sums possible, strengthening each season with underrated or rejected players who could become central with a sense of belonging if things are done right. They can be resold for large sums.
This is the guideline of Hector and his many clubs worldwide. When the world realizes in a few years the empire formed by Hector in addition to his success in the NBA, the entire sports world will be shocked.
But for now, everything is hidden in the darkest darkness. Hector, the businessman, tidies up his suit and puts on his basketball jersey. The 2023-24 season is about to begin.
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