Arnold Catalano, the name for Afei, is like a star in the distant sky, strange and mysterious. However, in the sky of French football, he is like a shining star, shining with dazzling light. Because the legendary French striker Thierry Henry, the football superstar, was discovered by this old man and brought to Monaco.
This is undoubtedly a colorful part of Arnold Catalano's scouting career, but it is only the tip of the iceberg of his brilliant achievements. Subsequently, Trezeguet's transfer also left his footprint. During his more than 20 years in Monaco, he was like a magical magician, bringing one talented player after another to the team.
The scout's keen eyes are like a sharp sword, which can understand a player's hidden talent. However, if a player wants to truly thrive and become an outstanding star, he still needs to rely on his own unremitting efforts.
Although Afei has never heard of Arnold Cattalano, he is a treasure to Monaco. This city in the south of France is like a pearl inlaid on the European continent. It is one of the four major ducies of Europe and the second smallest country in the world today. Its total area is only 1.98 square kilometers, but it contains amazing wealth, like a splendid palace. It is not only one of the four major casinos in the world, but also the most luxurious country in the world, emitting a dazzling glow.
However, for Afei, what really attracted him was not the rich country or the so-called casino, but the team named after this country - Monaco Football Club. This team is like a flame in Afei's heart, burning his love for football.
"It's my pleasure!" Afei, who came back to his senses, quickly stretched out his hand, as if to grasp his football dream.
Monaco is like a bright pearl. Although it is independent from France, its team is like a dazzling star in the French league, occupying a crucial position in the French League.
However, this important team in the French League has struggled in the past two years. The end of the 10-11 season was like a heavy shadow over Monaco. It disappeared like a meteor in the sky of the French League and fell into the abyss of the Second Division. This is also Monaco's sinking again after 33 years.
Although the financial resources of the Monaco royal family are strong, in fact, the wealth of the royal family does not nourish the club as well as the sweet rain, which is undoubtedly the root cause of the Monaco tragedy.
The sinking of the strong team is sobbing, but Monaco's tribulation is not over. In the 11-12 season, Monaco, eager to return to Ligue 1, failed to achieve self-redemption, like a lamb lost in the dark.
The reality of not being able to return to the French League, like a basin of bone-piercing ice water, extinguished the fire of hope in the heart of Prince Albert of the club's royal family, the owner of Monaco. At this moment, a Russian businessman found Prince Albert like a savior.
Finally, on the first day after the end of the season, Monaco ushered in the dawn of rebirth. Russian businessman Dmitry Rebolovlev officially joined the home team and became the new master of Monaco. He is just like a magician waving a wand, bringing new vitality to the team.
This Russian oligarch is undoubtedly another typical Russian oligarch. With Abramovich's success in the field of sports, Russian oligarchs have poured into the sports industry like carp crossing the river.
On the first day of the Russian oligarch in Monaco, he sent a brand-new head coach to the team like a spring breeze - Claudio Ranieri, the Italian "pot repairman".
This not only made Monaco fans see the Russian's firm determination to lead Monaco to rise again, but also made them full of expectations for the future of the team. After all, in terms of the current situation in Monaco, Ranieri is undoubtedly the most suitable candidate to be the head coach of the team.
From Ranieri's title, we can also get a glimpse. Although the title has some irony, from another perspective, it is actually a disguised affirmation of Ranieri's ability. After all, only people with real strength will attract so much attention and discussion, whether positive or negative.
Russia has money, but in the current situation in Monaco, even if Russia swings this "ruble", it can't buy excellent players.
Not to mention that this Russian oligarch is not a good man, he will not be a fool for no reason. Although he is indeed willing to spend money, it is also conditional - this player must be worth the price!
You know, although Ligue 1 is also among the five major leagues, its influence is really small compared with the previous leagues. Moreover, now Monaco is still struggling in the French Second Division, which makes Monaco's road to help extremely difficult.
Perhaps, when Monaco returns to Ligue 1, the "ruble" in Russia's hands can bring a group of powerful players, but now Monaco can only rely on the head coach Ranieri.
However, this is undoubtedly exciting good news for some players. Among them, Afei is the one who benefits the most. It turned out that Catalano came to Paris this time not only to inspect the eliminated players and young talents of Paris Saint-Germain, but also accidentally found Afei by chance.
Time flies, and a day flies. In this short time, Afei felt the sincere blessings from the boss and the bar guests. These blessings are like warm sunshine, illuminating his way forward. Finally, in the expectation and blessings of everyone, Afei resolutely followed Arnold Catalano on the train to Monaco.
In Europe, the most common way for people to travel is by self-driving, followed by train, and finally by plane. It takes a dozen hours to drive from Paris to Monaco, which is simply a long torment for ordinary people.
Afei, who was lying on the train, took out the magical broken gloves again. The reason why he came to Europe so impulsively was because of his gloves. And whether we can succeed this time depends on these gloves.
After in-depth research during this period, Afei has a clearer understanding of gloves. The first magical function of this pair of gloves is that it can make his attention highly concentrated. When he put on these gloves, his attention on the court was like being enchanted, and he always maintained a high concentration.
This is very important for a player, especially a goalkeeper. During the game, the goal was often scored in an instant, and the goalkeeper was slightly distrayed, and a fatal blow awaited him. Because the goalkeeper should not only respond to the opponent's shots, but also be alert to possible mistakes in his teammates.
Therefore, if you want to be an outstanding goalkeeper, your attention must be like a nail, firmly nailed to the game all the time, and be highly vigilant about everything that may happen in the game.
The second magical function of this pair of gloves is that it can make Afei's rescue action standardized. Afei is just a person who likes to play baseball. He has not received professional training. At most, he plays with a few friends who love football as well. This is also the reason why Afei's data is miserable.
However, when Afei put on these gloves, his rescue action became more and more standardized as if he had been carefully guided by an experienced coach. In nearly a year of obtaining this pair of gloves, his rescue action has become more and more standard with the help of gloves.
Before getting the gloves, Afei was like an uncarved jade, which could not be called a qualified goalkeeper. However, after getting the gloves, Afei gradually turned into a real goalkeeper like a phoenix nirvana. One of the important reasons why Catalano invited Afei was Afei's textbook-like standardized rescue action.
For this reason, Catalano once asked Afei curiously. When he got the answer, Catalano couldn't help marveling, because Afei told him that he had not received formal training.
The old scout not only has a pair of sharp eyes like eagle eyes that can see through the talent of players, but also is an amiable old man. After getting on the train, he talked endlessly about a lot about the trial training, and comforted A Fei warmly like a spring breeze, encouraging him that as long as he could give full play to the level of the previous game, he would definitely achieve a satisfactory result.
The third magical function of gloves is to change their constitution. In nearly a year of obtaining the gloves, Afei was surprised to find that his physical quality had changed dramatically.
The most significant change is the height. The 19-year-old Afei, who was originally only 180 cm tall, was like a tender tree. But after getting these gloves, in just one year, he grew up like bamboo shoots, growing 7 centimeters tallers to 187.
Although this height is not outstanding among goalkeepers, it is enough for Afei to be among the heights that a real goalkeeper should have. More importantly, the changes brought by gloves are not only limited to height, but also cover the physical quality of the whole person.