After a long conversation with Magalhães, Ethan truly realized that his understanding of this mysterious football nation was still far too shallow.
There was no doubt that Brazil produced the most stars, and talented players here seemed to emerge in batches. However, it was also a chaotic world filled with disorder, darkness, and dirt. Tragedies happened almost every day. Somewhere, every day, a potential superstar on Ronaldo's level might be lost, led astray, or swallowed by the chaos.
In Brazil, there was a way of survival unique to Brazilians, and outsiders simply could not understand all its complexities.
Not only Ethan, but even the well-travelled Cassell found it difficult to fully comprehend after listening to Magalhães.
"Why does Brazil's largest supermarket chain also need to set up a player investment department?" Cassell asked in confusion on the way back to the hotel.
Ethan had heard of this company before from reports he had later seen online.
In early 2008, Bayern Munich announced that they would buy Breno from São Paulo for a transfer fee of 19 million dollars. However, the nineteen-year-old had only recently arrived at São Paulo and had played just twenty-two matches for them.
Why would Bayern spend such a large sum on a young rising star?
A large part of the reason was Breno's well-connected agent. It was said that around thirty percent of the young player's economic rights belonged to a supermarket chain called Grupo Sonda at the time. The company had spent 250,000 dollars on that share, and from investing in Breno to selling him to Bayern, only one year had passed. Yet they made 5.7 million dollars.
Tell me, where else in the world could someone find such an easy and profitable business?
"As long as there is profit, nothing in this world is impossible," Ethan said with a hint of sadness.
He felt sorry for these young Brazilian footballers, because the moment they showed enough footballing talent to succeed, their fate often no longer belonged to them.
Apart from Brazil, the situation in Argentina was much the same.
In the past year, Argentina had repeatedly seen reports of young football talents committing suicide, getting into fights, and becoming involved in other incidents, precisely because the pressure they endured was too great. At the time, the Argentine media had even cried out, "Who will save Argentina's young talents?"
Ethan had no way to change this situation.
He was only one person, and New Manchester United was only one club. It was impossible for him to change everything. Besides, he had come to Brazil to seek benefits for his own club.
"Jim, the scouting network must be established as soon as possible. I hope that within two years, we will have a mature and functioning scouting network in Brazil and Argentina. This will be extremely important for the club's future recruitment."
Cassell nodded in agreement.
This concerned the future of the club and could not be taken lightly.
Building a scouting network in Brazil did not necessarily require excessive spending.
Apart from hiring a few excellent scouts on a full-time basis, most scouts could be hired part-time. They would only receive a referral fee if they recommended a rising talent to New Manchester United and the player was accepted. That fee would be linked to the player's talent and ability.
In addition, Ethan also planned to establish a football school in Brazil when the time was right, attracting and training talented young footballers. That would also serve as a future talent reserve for New Manchester United.
"Malin, Magalhães has already agreed to help introduce you to the right people. OPTA's South American branch needs to be established as quickly as possible. I'll handle the funding, but it must be done fast!"
"Don't worry, boss. I guarantee I'll give you a satisfactory result within six months!" Malin said with a confident smile.
After OPTA's success, he was no longer the frustrated young man he had once been. He now controlled one of the most professional football data companies in Europe, and even the world.
With partnerships involving media giants such as Yahoo and Sky TV, he could already be considered a successful man.
Ethan naturally had confidence in the two assistants he had personally brought with him.
...
The next day, Magalhães represented São Paulo and signed a cooperation agreement with New Manchester United.
The agreement covered players, scouting networks, and several other areas. Of course, all of them involved compensation.
After the cooperation agreement was signed, Cassell immediately began setting up the Brazilian scouting network.
São Paulo also provided strong support, but such a project would not produce results overnight.
On the other side, through Magalhães' recommendation, Malin contacted SBT, Brazil's most powerful television station.
It was Brazil's national television network and had considerable influence throughout the country.
As a television station in the football nation of Brazil, most of its programming naturally revolved around football. OPTA could already be considered an authority in football data. When Malin approached SBT, they agreed to cooperate almost without hesitation, because OPTA had already proven its authority in Europe.
After that, Malin reached preliminary cooperation agreements with several other television stations in Brazil and neighbouring countries.
With that, OPTA's South American branch began to take shape.
In addition to recruiting local staff, Malin also brought several outstanding assistants from Europe to form the backbone of the South American branch, helping it begin operations as quickly as possible.
In Ethan's view, the data company and the scouting network complemented each other.
If a scout's report could be supported by data, it would be more convincing and reliable. Moreover, South America was indeed another major market for OPTA besides Europe.
With both the data company and the scouting network progressing in an orderly manner, Ethan took the opportunity to visit the United States for a few days of holiday. He reunited with Eva after their long separation, then returned to São Paulo.
...
"Boss, some of the players on the list you gave me before you left couldn't be found. Some were found, but either their clubs refused to release them, or their agents demanded too much, so we gave up on them as you instructed."
As soon as Ethan arrived at OPTA's rented office in downtown São Paulo, Cassell eagerly reported the latest progress.
Before Ethan had left for the United States, he had given Cassell a list.
Some players on the list had only a name and position. Some also had their current club written down. Others even had details such as their age clearly marked.
Cassell had long grown used to Ethan's sources of information.
Over the past two years, almost every player Ethan had brought to New Manchester United had been excellent, so the club staff spoke highly of Ethan's eye for talent. Cassell had even asked Ethan several times where his information came from, and Ethan always smiled and said, "From the internet."
Although the answer was vague, Cassell could only choose to believe it and did not dare press further.
"Hm. Tell me the situation!" Ethan had already prepared himself mentally for this.
In Brazil, players who showed even a little talent were basically either valued by their clubs or targeted by agents.
Although some would slip through the cracks, and there would also be late bloomers, Ethan would need luck to find them again.
"We found Alexandre Pato at Grêmio's training camp. At the time, he apparently wasn't planning to join Grêmio because they didn't have dormitories for academy players. Also, when he was examined by the Grêmio team doctor during the camp, they found a cancerous bone growth in his arm that requires surgery."
After hearing this, Ethan thought for a moment.
"Jim, contact Pato's parents immediately and tell them that New Manchester United are willing to pay for his surgery. In addition, we will arrange for him to train at São Paulo. See if they are willing to join New Manchester United!"
Cassell nodded in agreement, and the pen in his right hand marked a large check beside the name on his list.
If he knew that this casual mark would bring New Manchester United a future AC Milan star, one wondered whether he would feel that the mark had suddenly become particularly heavy.
"We found the Daniel Alves you mentioned at Bahia, a club in Brazil's second division. This seventeen-year-old is currently in Bahia's academy and hasn't played senior matches yet. However, the position he plays is not the right-back you mentioned, but right winger. I watched one of his matches. He is very quick, has excellent technique, and plays with a determined attitude. He is a talent worth developing!"
As Cassell introduced him, his eyes were filled with admiration for Ethan.
He had no idea how Ethan had known there would be such an excellent player there, one whose technique was even comparable to Hleb's in the New Manchester United squad.
"Are Bahia willing to sell?" Ethan asked with concern.
Cassell nodded.
"Of course. They're asking for 200,000 dollars."
Ethan nodded.
"Buy him. After he arrives in São Paulo, have him switch to right-back. I've seen his videos too, and I think he has more potential as a right-back. He will become a player like Roberto Carlos, capable of controlling the entire flank!"
Cassell was fully convinced by Ethan and did not dare ignore his words. He immediately nodded in agreement, then carefully added notes to the list, clearly afraid of forgetting anything.
The players Ethan had written on his list would all become well-known figures in European football in the future, but right now, they were still obscure young talents in Brazil.
Every year, countless such talents emerged, and no one paid attention to where they went. Nor did anyone count how many of them eventually succeeded.
After discussing Alves, Cassell mentioned several other names.
There was Douglas Maicon, who would join Cruzeiro in 2001. Ethan had asked Cassell to look for him in Cruzeiro's academy, but Cassell had not been able to find him.
There was also Juventus's future midfielder Felipe Melo, who likewise could not be found in Flamengo's academy.
"Boss, while we were searching for players, we found someone at Corinthians. He's already twenty-four, isn't valued by Corinthians, and is currently planning to leave the club. No transfer fee is required, and I think he's very good!"
(To be continued.)
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◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)