CHAPTER 445: MANCHESTER CITY FIRST TRIAL

By late July, Manchester City began their trip to Asia, planning to play friendlies in Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, and Singapore, spending an average of three days in each location.

Although they had lost several key players over the summer, some indispensable players remained, such as Ronaldo. Adding to the excitement was the recently transferred Dejan Stanković—fans were curious about him, as he was, until now, the only player to have been signed by Manchester City.

Upon landing at Narita International Airport, the enthusiasm of the city ignited; the streets were packed, leaving the European players, many of whom had never visited Asia, in awe. "These Japanese fans are crazy!" they thought.

Thanks to Japan’s first-ever World Cup qualification in 1998, football had become a major activity for youth and families. Big matches, especially international ones, drew increasing television audiences. Although baseball remained the dominant sport, football was no longer a niche interest—as was clear from the chaotic welcome Manchester City received.

Hidetoshi Nakata, especially with his success at Manchester City, had become a symbol of national pride, and local fans welcomed him like a hero.

Streets were lined with cheering supporters, and young children waved banners with his name. It can be said that Nakata’s visits inspired young people to choose football over baseball in schools.

Even though Japan was already an important hub for football in Asia, Manchester City’s visit was rushed. Upon landing, they immediately boarded a bus arranged to take them to Hiratsuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, south of Tokyo, to be hosted by Bellmare Hiratsuka.

The friendly match ended in a resounding victory for Manchester City, who embarrassingly trounced Bellmare Hiratsuka 9–1 on their home turf.

Richard had initially encouraged the players to take it easy and enjoy themselves, but Bellmare Hiratsuka took the match far too seriously. They were determined to win, driven by their desire to prove themselves after their struggles on the international stage. Their manager seemed to overlook the fact that, in the World Cup, they had lost all three group matches. Coupled with their aggressive 4-3-3 formation, City counterattacked with precision, with Ronaldo scoring four goals almost effortlessly in the first half before being substituted.

While friendlies are often considered less important, Manchester City demonstrated their strength throughout the last three matches, leveraging both their technical and physical advantages.

Without needing to go all out, they secured three consecutive victories, each with more than three goals. O’Neill followed his usual pattern of substituting all eleven players at halftime, using the opportunity to evaluate everyone’s performance.

The trip was primarily a venture for financial gain—promoting the club to attract fans while also securing sponsorship deals.

However, while during the friendly match, some sponsorship offers left Richard bewildered.

Learning from Nakata’s success, large companies in Japan and South Korea wanted to sponsor Manchester City, hoping to help their own players gain entry into the Premier League. They were even willing to cover both transfer fees and salaries, as long as those players wore Manchester City’s colors.

Faced with such proposals, Richard said nothing and simply remarked that it was a matter for the CEO, not for him, as it fell under non-football management. His role was strictly as Head of High Performance.

Of course, it was his way of rejecting them. Though the idea could increase the club’s income and bring in an extra ’free’ player, it risked damaging the club’s reputation as a developer of genuine talent if those players failed to perform at the expected level

After the game, they flew back to Manchester, and upon returning, the team disbanded at 3 p.m. However, Richard himself did not rush back to his sea container hotel; instead, he went to the pitch, where Manchester City were holding their first trial ever under his management.

O’Neill and Mourinho were already on the field, and when they saw Richard, they were surprised.

"I’ve come to see if there are any outstanding players," Richard said graciously, taking the empty seat beside them.

Manchester City wasn’t shy about investing in rookies. Even a weekly wage of £5000 would amount to under £260,000 a year; with a budget of £1 million, they could nurture nearly 40 young talents. Richard had set an annual budget of £11,000,000 for the youth squad, including salaries and operational costs.

In England, it was probably only Manchester City, or rather Richard himself, who dared to invest more than 10% of the club’s revenue into youth training.

"You’re staring pretty hard — did someone catch your eye?" Richard couldn’t help but ask as he noticed O’Neill hadn’t taken his eyes off the pitch.

Hearing Richard’s question, O’Neill sighed.

"For now, not really," he said. "But to be honest, I’m here because Miss Karren told me she received a favor from an old friend of hers in France — back when she was at Olympique de Marseille. Apparently, this friend had a player who’d just been released, and she asked me to take a look and see if he might fit in." He shook his head slowly.

Richard perked up at the mention of Karren bringing in a player from France. "A French player? What’s his name?"

"No, not really French," O’Neill replied. "He and his family are immigrants from Africa. I heard he’s from the Ivory Coast." O’Neill sighed again before adding, "But his performance so far... well, this is the first time I’ve seen someone play football half-heartedly."

He paused, then dropped the name. "His name is Didier Drogba. Number 28, in the B team."

"..."

Richard’s heart skipped a beat, but he managed to calm himself down. If Didier was here, then... there were probably a few other names he would recognize as well.

"Do you have the list of names?"

"I have it," answered Mourinho as he handed it to Richard.

The moment Richard looked at it, his attention was immediately drawn to two other names—both midfielders.

Jackpot.

In five days, City would play their final warm-up match before the Premier League season — the Community Shield.

The day after training, O’Neill and Mourinho remained at the club long after the players had left. Both were poring over the thick stack of materials provided by Richard and Mylvaganam, sourced directly from his revolutionary system — Prozone.

Under the curious gazes of those still in the room, Mylvaganam unlocked the suitcase he had carried with him. Inside were neatly arranged folders — detailed player reports, charts, and analysis sheets. Among them was one file that stood out, a comprehensive dossier on Dejan Stanković, compiled from the system and supplemented with data he had painstakingly photocopied from Red Star Belgrade.

He pulled out the folder labeled Stanković

and distributed copies to everyone present.

Five minutes later, as the last page was turned and silence settled over the room, Richard finally spoke.

"I didn’t expect such a detailed report in just two years."

Hearing that, Mylvaganam couldn’t hide his pride — Prozone was his baby.

The documents were meticulously organized, containing Stanković’s full profile: performance statistics, psychological assessments, injury history, attributes, and even personal notes on his playing style, ratings, and potential as evaluated by the Prozone system!

Thanks to Richard’s investment and support, at least in terms of scouting, Prozone could now make up for a lot of shortcomings. It saved both time and money on scouting individually.

A scout was a staff member no professional football club could do without. Scouts were familiar with local football environments, had wide networks and deep insight, and possessed sharp judgment. They were essential figures — the ones who provided clubs with fresh blood and future stars.

The amount of money required to hire a scout was quite considerable. The expenses were not limited to the scout’s salary, but also included the travelling fees, lodging fees, equipment fees, and even the fees used to bribe the family members of the players.

But with Prozone, everything was changing.

Richard leaned forward and tapped the folder.

"Alright then. Let’s see what our new guy can really do."

Mylvaganam connected his laptop to the projector, and the screen flickered to life — a grainy video feed overlaid with digital grids, coordinates, and running metrics. The word Prozone pulsed faintly in the corner.

"Here," he said, pointing to a heat map glowing red across the center-right of the pitch. "This is Stanković’s movement over six matches. He likes to drift inward from the flank, creating overloads in midfield. His average sprint count per game is thirty-seven — above standard — but his recovery speed drops after seventy minutes."

O’Neill whistled softly. "You’ve tracked that much from video alone?"

"Not video," Mylvaganam corrected, smiling with quiet pride. "Sensors and coded movement data. Every frame tells a story — how he turns, how he positions himself before receiving, how often he checks his shoulder."

Mourinho folded his arms. "Technically sound, strong body, but... impulsive. Look here," he said, gesturing at a clip. "He rushes forward too early, leaving space behind. Against a team that counters quickly, that’s a risk."

"True," O’Neill said, his voice thoughtful. "But his stamina can compensate for that. He’d make a great backup for Makélélé."

After thirty minutes of dissecting Stanković’s role, the group shifted their focus back to the footage from the previous day’s trial.

This time, Richard stood by the screen, his arms crossed, eyes fixed on the television as the replay rolled. The room fell quiet — only the faint hum of the tape echoed in the background.

There were three names he couldn’t take his mind off — three players who had caught his attention more than anyone else during the trials:

Didier Drogba – recently released by Levallois, France.

Gennaro Gattuso – who had failed to make an impact in Scotland with Rangers.

Deco – who unexpectedly found himself on the chopping block at Benfica after his loan spell at their farm team, Alverca, came to an end.

Richard was surprised and a little shocked to see their names here — but also thankful. Probably, they hadn’t come just for City’s trial, but even so, their mere presence was enough. Richard was genuinely happy to see these unexpected names appear.

Mylvaganam sat beside Richard with a remote in hand, occasionally fast-forwarding the tape. When the player scheduled for tomorrow’s trial appeared, he slowed it down, letting the footage play in crisp slow motion for deeper analysis.

The first player was Deco.

"From his positioning, he still shows a strong understanding of the game," Richard said, leaning forward. "However, as a midfielder, he consciously avoids physical contact with defenders. In over ninety minutes, he only succeeded once in direct duels! That’s why Benfica dropped him, I believe. But honestly, I don’t think he was used properly there."

Both O’Neill and Mourinho listened quietly, nodding from time to time.

By reviewing the full match footage — especially with long shots and slow motion — they could assess each player’s positional sense and decision-making far more accurately than with the highlight reels agents usually sent to clubs.

Richard nod his head slightly as the next clip began.

"As for Gattuso... Rangers is a head-scratcher," he muttered. "I think they tried to train him in a system that focused purely on technical play. But that’s not who he is."

He pointed toward the screen.

"He’s not particularly skillful in a technical sense, and Rangers play very traditional English football — long balls, physical duels. It’s not that he performed badly; it’s that they used him wrong. They wanted him to control the tempo, when his real game is about strength, aggression, and hard tackles. They forced him into a role he’s simply not built for."

On the screen, Gattuso appeared — short, broad-shouldered, his expression fierce even in still frames. The footage showed him charging after a loose ball, sliding in hard, then bouncing right back to his feet before anyone else.

"In there," Richard said, pointing at the screen, "Gattuso looks completely out of place — but not because of lack of ability. Look at his positioning."

Mylvaganam rewound a few seconds, letting the clip play again in slow motion.

"You see? He’s trying to press higher, instinctively hunting the ball, while the rest of the Rangers midfield drops back. That’s why it seems like he’s breaking shape. But in truth," Richard continued, "he’s got natural defensive instincts — anticipation, reaction, timing. He just needs a system that values that aggression instead of suppressing it."

Mourinho chuckled as he watched his style of play. "A bulldog with fire in his eyes."

"True," Richard agreed with Mourinho about Gattuso’s style of play.

"And for the last one..." Richard’s mouth twitched.

This time, he said nothing — O’Neill spoke first.

"Nearly twenty minutes — no shots, no successful passes, no headers, no fouls, no offenses received, nothing at all..." He shook his head. "This kid has no future."

Richard sighed.

’Indeed. What are you doing out there, Drogba?!’