Almighty Coach

The office area of Dingtian Soccer Club.

Xiong Zhou walked to the door and looked at the plate that read, "General Manager’s Office." After smoothing his collar, he knocked at the door.

"Please come in!" a euphonious female voice came out. Xiong Zhou took a deep breath, then he opened the door and entered the office.

Yunan Xiao was sitting at her table; several documents placed in front of her.

Xiong Zhou walked to the table seriously, prepared to accept the instructions of his boss.

As a member of the club’s management level, Xiong Zhou knew the beautiful General Manager in front of him was the only daughter of the group’s Chairman. Therefore, Xiong Zhou showed respect every time he met Yunan Xiao.

Yunan Xiao picked up three documents and handed them to Xiong Zhou, and she said, "These three coaches of the League One clubs are rejected. Harman is not satisfied with coaches of the Super League clubs, let alone the coaches from League One clubs. By the way, have you received any reply from Coach Sun of Shanggang?"

"That is why I came to speak with you. Coach Sun has replied to me. He said his child is still attending high school in Shanggang, and he doesn’t want to come here," Xiong Zhou said.

"In that case, let’s stop requesting him for now," Yunan Xiao said helplessly.

"Besides, Chairman Fang of Dalu Group recommended a coach to me. I have his resume here." As Xiong Zhou spoke, he handed the folder to Yunan Xiao.

"Chairman Fang called me about this candidate. He said this coach has a background of track and field events, and used to act as the physical trainer of the National Table Tennis Team. I think he must be competent enough if he had a foothold in the National Table Tennis Team. Furthermore, Chairman Fang is our shareholder; respecting his opinion is of utmost importance. So I have accepted his recommendation," Yunan Xiao said, taking the folder. After opening the folder, she saw Dai Li’s picture of Dai Li.

"He looks familiar to me. Dai Li? The name also sounds familiar." Yunan Xiao started to read the working experience of Dai Li.

"Now I remember, it’s him! He is the coach I met during that marathon." Yunan Xiao recognized Dai Li quickly.

During the Half Marathon held at Jinyan Lake, Dai Li left a deep impression on Yunan Xiao. Dai Li’s help to Dalu Fang, as well his victory in the end made Yunan Xiao remember him. After looking at Dai Li’s picture and reading his working experience, Yunan Xiao could remember that marathon clearly.

He has been acting as a physical trainer on the National Table Tennis Team these last few years. Now he is applying for the physical trainer position in our club.

Yunan Xiao smiled suddenly. She placed Dai Li’s resume on the resumes of another two people, and said, "Translate these three resumes into English, and then send them to Coach Harman."

...

"Look, these are the resumes for the three physical trainers found by Ms. Xiao." Harman handed the three resumes to Claude.

After taking the resumes, Claude opened the first one.

"Chowtai Kim, a Korean. He used to act as the physical trainer in Chunnam Dragons Club in the K-league of South Korea." As Claude spoke, he nodded. "This one is okay. He has coaching experience in the professional soccer league, and the K-league is pretty impressive in Asia."

Then Claude opened the second resume.

"Haoxin Liu, a guy who was born in Hong Kong and brought up in Canada. He was a professional hockey player for a little while, and then acted as the physical trainer in the Vancouver Canucks of the NHL." Claude frowned slightly, then he said, "This guy’s experience is good. After all, the NHL is one of the top four leagues in the United States. The level of their coaches should be fine. However, hockey is different than soccer. Maybe he will need some time to adapt to soccer, which is new to him."

Finally, Claude opened the third resume.

"Dai Li, is he also a coach? He is so young! It seems he is as young as our players. He has a background in track and field events, and used to act as the physical trainer of the table tennis event. Haha, they are kidding me, right?" Dissatisfaction flashed in Claude’s eyes. Obviously, both Dai Li’s age and working experience were not satisfactory to Claude.

Dai Li’s experience as the physical trainer in the National Table Tennis Team was very impressive for many people in China. However, to Claude, Dai Li’s working experience meant nothing.

As a physical trainer of the soccer event, Claude could be considered one of the best coaches in the world. To him, Asian physical trainers were far behind their European counterparts, let alone a physical trainer of a "small ball" event like table tennis.

"I have asked Xiong Zhou, who sent the resumes to me. According to his information, this table tennis coach was recommended by a shareholder of the club." Harman looked at Claude with an expression that said, "You should know that." Then he said, "It’s okay, he used to be a coach of the track and field team, so he should be good for something. You just make do with him."

"That’s the only way out." Claude sighed helplessly. "I shouldn’t have had high hopes for Asian physical trainers."

...

Dai Li signed his name on the contract.

The Dingtian Soccer Club offered Dai Li an annual salary of RMB 300,000. Although it was not very high in the first-tier cities, Dai Li was quite satisfied with the amount.

Besides the annual salary, Dai Li would also get some additional income, such as the travel allowance for the team’s away games. If the team won a game, Dai Li could get a bonus as a coach. If the team won the championship of China’s Super League, or even the championship of the AFC Champions League, the club would also pay Dai Li a bonus.

"Coach Kim, Coach Liu, and Coach Li, please allow me to welcome you to join us on behalf of the club." Yunan Xiao smiled at the three of them.

Yunan Xiao’s voice lingered in Dai Li’s ears after he walked out of the meeting room.

This General Manager is really a beautiful girl! She’s so young, she must be about the same age as me, Dai Li thought.

Dai Li had met Yunan Xiao during the Half Marathon held at Jinyan Lake, but that had been a long time ago, and Dai Li had forgotten much of what had occurred on that day.

Today, when Dai Li met Yunan Xiao again, he still found her very attractive.

However, Dai Li was quite sober and he didn’t have any inappropriate ambitions on her. On Dai Li’s way to the meeting, someone working in the club had mentioned Yunan Xiao. This pretty General Manager was the darling daughter of the Chairman of Dingtian Group, and could basically be considered the princess of Dingtian Group. This kind of rich girl who was born with a silver spoon in her mouth was out of Dai Li’s reach, since he was just an ordinary person. Yunan Xiao and Dai Li were people from two different worlds.

...

"The three new physical trainers have signed their contracts, and will start work tomorrow. Do you have any plan in using them?" Harman said, picking up his coffee and taking a sip.

"That Chowtai Kim from South Korea was a soccer physical trainer before. I plan to let him participate in the formulation of next two weeks of training plans, so that I can check his level before giving him any concrete work. Haoxin Liu was brought up in Canada, so he should have no problem in verbal communication with the foreign players. I plan to arrange him to do the strength training. As for that table tennis coach..."

Claude’s expression was quite troubled. "For now, I really don’t know what he could do. He is a person from a different world!"

"My old friend, I have a suggestion for you." Harman put down his coffee mug, then said, "Several players on our team are not very self-disciplined. After months of rest, they have put on a lot of weight. Now the league is about to start, but they are still overweight."

"I got you! The table tennis coach could be instructed to help those players lose weight. It’s really a good idea!" Claude heaved a long sigh of relief. "I think that table tennis coach should be qualified for such easy work."