Capítulo 463: A Game of Ambition
Aldrich leaned against the fence by the riverbank, smoking a cigarette. Andrew had brought back some fast food, and the two young billionaires were eating cheap takeout for dinner.
After cleaning up the trash, Andrew lit a cigarette, turned around, and leaned back against the fence, smiling. "Why the sudden interest in the national team job?"
Aldrich turned his head to face him, his expression calm as he stared at Andrew. He spoke softly, "I'm the Premier League champion coach now, also the Champions League champion coach. If I were to lead the national team and achieve good results in major tournaments, do you think my career as a football coach and my personal influence would grow significantly?"
Andrew met his gaze for ten seconds before suddenly pointing at Aldrich's nose, laughing and cursing, "I thought you were doing it for the England national team, trying to save our team from disaster. Turns out, you're just a selfish bastard!"
Aldrich raised the corner of his mouth and chuckled lightly. "Right."
He had no concern for the country's welfare. Whether the England national team lived or died had nothing to do with him.
The desire to become head coach was purely selfish—about advancing his personal coaching career and creating an even stronger footballing influence. It would make his "legendary coach" aura shine brighter. This, in turn, would benefit Millwall. The bigger his reputation, the higher his achievements, the easier it would be to attract players and win their respect.
After thinking for a moment, Andrew said, "I seem to remember you saying that you could never take the national team head coach role."
"Yes, I said that a long time ago, because coaching Millwall is a limitation for me. Even if it was a second-rate national team, they wouldn't allow me to take on both roles. A third-rate team might, but I certainly wouldn't be interested. But back then, I overlooked one thing."
Andrew blinked and asked, "What's that?"
"I'm a British citizen."
"Obviously! But do you really think the England national team would let you work part-time?"
"Generally, they wouldn't, but now look at the situation. I'm not talking about the public calling for me to be the national team head coach. What I'm saying is, Fleet Street seems to be struggling to find anyone else who could take the role!"
Andrew thought for a moment.
Yes, it was strange.
The frenzy around Fleet Street ended with Aldrich's refusal, and after that, no matter who they hyped up next, it seemed impossible to stir any strong reaction.
Hodgson? Redknapp? Wilkinson? Keegan?...
Aldrich had also noticed this phenomenon after catching the news earlier today.
He believed Fleet Street had made a fatal mistake in their media strategy.
They shouldn't have placed Aldrich at the top from the start, because Aldrich was too brilliant!
After Aldrich made his statement, any other names that followed would automatically be compared to him in the public's eyes.
Other British coaches were either unemployed with unimpressive resumes or employed in clubs that weren't top-tier teams. Results? Please, they didn't even have a single noteworthy championship to show for themselves, so how could they talk about results?
This meant that among the domestic coaching candidates, Aldrich's presence had created such a huge gap in recognition of others' abilities, that the public's reaction became overwhelmingly negative.
Andrew threw up his hands and asked, "So what? If you don't resign as club coach to take the national team job, the FA will definitely choose someone else."
"You're right. At least, that seems to be the case right now. First of all, because I can't leave Millwall, my only option is to take both roles. And given the circumstances, the only national team left to consider is England. Secondly, who decides the England coach? The FA. If we look at this from their perspective, they've already excluded me from the list of local candidates. What now? They'll choose who they think is the best, but if that person fails to deliver results, what will the FA do? Hire an even worse coach?"
Andrew thought deeply for a moment before shaking his head, saying, "No, Aldrich, you're overestimating how simple this is. It's not that easy! Thompson won't take the risk of being attacked by the FA's internal opposition to let you take both roles. The Premier League won't approve! The FA will never be unified on this! Thompson has to balance interests, and letting you, Millwall's coach, also coach the national team is too crazy. You want to make the whole English football world do international PR for Millwall!"
Aldrich's expression grew serious. He replied quietly, "Of course, it will be difficult. Very difficult. But I also have advantages. As I said earlier, I'm a British citizen. If the next national team coach still fails to deliver the results the public expects, Thompson and the FA will face a crisis of trust. They'll be in a dilemma. Either they choose an even worse domestic coach, or they hire an excellent foreign coach, which would break England's century-old tradition! England will never be able to hold its head up in front of football giants like Brazil, Germany, and Italy, who would never consider a foreign coach!"
No matter how the public viewed the England national team, the people and media had always held unreasonable expectations, viewing the team as a football powerhouse.
This was not hard to understand. England had won the World Cup, its clubs had dominated Europe, and it had made huge contributions to tactical evolution in football. These invisible factors had shaped this mentality and continued to grow over time.
While England couldn't produce as many legendary coaches as Italy, they still adhered to the tradition of "no foreign coaches."
Countries like France and Spain, either because of their national openness or the long history since their last foreign coach, had no such restrictions today. In fact, most footballing nations now used local coaches, driven largely by public support.
Historically, after the year 2000, England saw its first foreign coach in Eriksson, with over 40% of England fans strongly opposed, and support never exceeding 35%. Neutral fans had no choice—England truly had no better domestic options at the time.
Andrew thought for a while and said, "You do have a point. If the next national team coach fails, the FA won't have many choices. Whether they hire a foreign coach or one of the third or fourth choices among the current candidates, the public won't be satisfied. Especially hiring a foreign coach would be unimaginable, considering there's such an outstanding coach like you in England. If they still fail, it would be a disaster for the FA."
Aldrich snapped his fingers and said, "Yes, hiring me, hiring a worse domestic coach, or hiring a foreign coach—these three options all put the FA in a tough position, with significant risks. But in this situation, the smartest thing to do is to weigh the pros and cons and choose the least harmful option: let me take both roles. Why? Because I can bring something no one else can: for example, minimal public opposition, a better national team image, and possibly even more sponsors knocking on the FA's door."
In this regard, Aldrich was extremely confident. Forget local coaches—across Europe, there were hardly any who could outshine him in recent accomplishments. His personal influence was at an all-time high, with his popularity built on a string of championships that not just anyone could boast.
Andrew still furrowed his brow and said, "Your assumption has one premise—that the next national team coach will definitely fail, and fail in a way the public won't accept."
With a casual shrug, Aldrich laughed, "Christmas is just around the corner, and I've decided on my Christmas wish. Here's hoping the England national team faces a humiliating defeat at the Euros next year!"
Andrew stared at Aldrich, speechless for a long moment, filled with both anger and amusement. Finally, he could only shake his head and laugh.
Indeed, it is only through a crushing defeat in the European Championship that the failure of the successor can be proven. Otherwise, even if the England national team doesn't reach the final or the semifinals, as long as the performance isn't too embarrassing, the successor will have an excuse, and the Football Association will have one too: they took over the team in a rush, without enough time!
And that would mean the successor would lead the team for the next tournament cycle, all the way to the 2002 World Cup.
The longer the time frame, the more the risks.
It all depended on how England performed in next year's Euros.
Andrew understood Aldrich's thoughts without needing him to say much. He was already aware.
Aldrich hadn't called him out just to confide his thoughts. Now, Andrew's role was to help by leveraging the relationships he had built within the FA, laying a solid foundation in advance. Aldrich preferred early preparation; even if he didn't get the opportunity in the future, he wouldn't be disappointed. However, if the opportunity came and he hadn't prepared well enough to seize it, that would be the biggest regret!
After parting ways with Andrew, Aldrich buried this matter deep in his heart and focused all his thoughts on the club.
With the upcoming 17th round of the Premier League, where Millwall would host Manchester United, Aldrich decided to field a full reserve team for the Champions League group stage match against Hertha BSC in Germany.
This decision upset the Italian media, particularly Gazzetta Dello Sport, sparking a storm of criticism.
AC Milan, determined to restore their pride, pulled off a victory against Galatasaray, slightly increasing their slim theoretical chance of advancing.
However, Millwall fielded a full reserve lineup against Hertha Berlin, a team sitting second on the table. With Galatasaray losing, Hertha were more determined than ever and fought tooth and nail to secure a home draw. This result extended their lead over third-placed Galatasaray and erased AC Milan's faint hopes of advancing altogether.
The Italian media lashed out at Millwall for what they called a lack of respect toward the Champions League, accusing them of being overly pragmatic. By fielding a complete reserve squad after securing qualification, they supposedly showed contempt for the other teams in their group.
The English media, however, shot back, claiming that AC Milan had only themselves to blame for their elimination. They noted that Millwall's reserve squad managed a draw away from home, which, if anything, underscored Millwall's strength. If AC Milan had qualified early and were facing a Derby or Juventus match three days later, would they really have put out their top lineup?
Aldrich wasn't interested in this war of words. To him, this might even be a blessing in disguise for AC Milan, giving them a chance to focus on the league.
Since the start of the season, Aldrich had enjoyed a rare peace; hardly anyone has dared to provoke him off the field.
But this calm was starting to feel unsettling.
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