Football Dynasty

Chapter 162: End of Pre-season

In 1986, Shevchenko failed a dribbling test for admission to a specialist sports school in Kyiv. However, he caught the eye of a Dynamo Kyiv scout while playing in a youth tournament and was subsequently brought into the club.

Eight years later, he made his Vyshcha Liha debut for Dynamo Kyiv in an away game against Shakhtar Donetsk.

It was actually his second appearance for the senior squad.

In his impressive debut the previous year, he scored his first goal against Krystal Chortkiv in a 1–1 home draw.

Despite delivering a strong performance and scoring, he was surprisingly sidelined and didn’t play again until a year later.

This likely left Shevchenko dissatisfied and created an opportunity for another club to lure him away from Dynamo.

That was Richard’s personal analysis of the situation at the time.

Shevchenko, who was about to turn 19 in September, became a target after Richard, Marina, and O’Neill reviewed a VHS tape of his performance. A total of £500,000 was allocated to sign the striker.

Richard wasn’t interested in the other listed strikers. For him, this was the opportunity. Manchester City would have needed to secure a work permit for Andriy Shevchenko, as Ukraine was not a member of the European Union. However, thanks to Wiseman’s revision of the non-EU player rules, the club could wisely use its final available quota.

So, it had to be Shevchenko.

Another notable breakthrough came for Manchester City’s U17 squad, where Marina Granovskaia identified 16-year-old Craig Bellamy and 17-year-old David Trezeguet from Platense as the best choices for the current youth setup.

Richard gave his green light for both Shevchenko, Craig Bellamy and Trezeguet.

The next 24 hours were eventful, beginning with the players gathering at the Stockport Hotel near Edgeley Park.

Richard, who rarely traveled with the team, joined them on the bus—an experience that brought back memories of his own playing days. However, soon after, they parted ways. While the team was focused on their friendly match, Richard stayed behind at the hotel restaurant, quietly waiting for someone.

City performance department is expanding.

First came the medical, which had already been completed with the recruitment of Dave Fevre, who now serves as City’s head physiotherapist.

Second is the strength and conditioning department, which he failed with in the strength as he failed to recruit Gian Piero Ventrone, leaving him with no choice but to bet on the conditioning alone to lead the City squad next season.

"It’s him," Richard said suddenly, making Fevre, who was beside him, quickly turn around.

There, Andreas Schlumberger appeared wearing casual clothes instead of his training jacket. Currently, he was still a part-time coach at FC Nuremberg and relatively new to his role.

Mr. Schlumberger looked up, his face lighting up with recognition. He then shook both hands firmly.

"Dave, great to finally meet you in person."

Because Richard had already informed him that in the future he would be working together with Dave Fevre.

"The pleasure’s mine."

Richard clapped him on the back. "I have no doubt you’ll make an impact wherever you go."

Schlumberger had recently returned from a month-long training program in the United States, where he gained valuable insights into cutting-edge American fitness technology. When it comes to sports science, the U.S. currently leads the world.

Determined to apply what he had learned, he planned to integrate this advanced technology into FC Nuremberg’s existing physical training program. But he knew that technology alone wouldn’t be enough.

That’s why, a month later, he traveled to Juventus’ Stadio delle Alpi—to observe firsthand how top Italian fitness coaches designed and implemented their elite training systems.

It was during Gian Piero Ventrone’s seminar that the two crossed paths.

Recognizing him was easy for Richard, who had witnessed firsthand how Liverpool came to dominate modern football in the late 2020s.

Seizing the opportunity, Richard invited the young coach, luring him with the eye-catching title Head of Conditioning and the promise of unlimited support for everything he would need.

"Physical training is a distinct area of expertise that will help City players train more effectively, combining structured development with the right sports equipment," began Schlumberger, offering a broader overview of his role during a recent conversation with Richard and Fevre.

"I want to optimize the rehabilitation process and definitely need the cooperation of the physios during the recovery phases. So I would say these are my main responsibilities. Since this role is still very new and vaguely defined, I will be providing a new perspective based on my own experiences over time."

The concepts of rehabilitation, conditioning, and recovery are still at a very early stage, so Richard wanted Schlumberger’s role to sit between those of the fitness team, led by O’Neill, and the head of physio, Dave Fevre.

Schlumberger would act as a bridge between the performance and medical/rehab departments—an essential role in response to the growing physical demands being placed on players.

Richard was also mindful of the fact that the fixture calendar over the coming seasons was likely to look very different from previous years. While City once had a bloated squad of nearly thirty players, they now only had 24 following recent cuts.

"Why are you interested in this kind of thing?" Fevre asked, curious.

For him, it was personal—his child was currently living with diabetes, so he needed the money that would allow him to work in multiple places, which eventually led him into the world of sports health. But what about Schlumberger himself?

Schlumberger smiled ruefully. "I had a bad rehabilitation experience, which forced me to end my football career. That became a major motivation for me to learn more about it and to try to influence how injured players can be rehabilitated optimally during my professional career."

Ah, so this was a personal experience.

Both Richard and Fevre nodded, especially Richard, who could empathize with him.

After discussing salary, perks, and the support he would need, everything was finalized just as the match between Stockport and Manchester City ended with a 1-0 win for Manchester City.

While City and current owner Richard Maddox were very busy, English football was also entering the transfer season, with clubs beginning to make moves in the transfer market.

A legal challenge in the European Court of Human Rights by Belgian midfielder Jean-Marc Bosman granted out-of-contract players—those whose contracts had expired with their clubs—the right to become free agents and move to other teams without a transfer fee.

Some clubs were worried, as there was widespread controversy following the announcement. Many feared they would lose expensively signed players for nothing. However, others were excited, and many began to headhunt stars from across Europe.

The first to make a move was Newcastle United, signing French winger David Ginola from Paris Saint-Germain for £2.5 million.

Following Newcastle’s example, several smaller clubs jumped into action.

Sheffield Wednesday signed Belgian midfielder Marc Degryse from Anderlecht for £1.5 million.

Queens Park Rangers brought in Australia national team captain Ned Zelic from Borussia Dortmund for £1.25 million.

Next came a surprising move: Andrea Silenzi became the first Italian to play for a Premier League club when he joined Nottingham Forest in a £1.8 million deal from Torino.

Just as everyone thought foreign players would dominate the headlines of this transfer window, English football was shaken when Arsenal signed England captain David Platt from Sampdoria for £4.75 million—making Platt the world’s most expensive player in terms of total career transfer fees, which had now exceeded £22 million.

Striker Les Ferdinand also made a high-profile move, joining Newcastle from Queens Park Rangers for a club-record fee of £6 million.

Meanwhile, England midfielder Paul Gascoigne returned to Britain after three years with Lazio in Italy, completing a £4.3 million move to Scottish champions Rangers.

The next major story wasn’t from the transfer market.

Eric Cantona, who had caused controversy with his infamous kung fu kick toward a fan in the stands following racist remarks, initially announced his intention to leave English football. However, Manchester United refused to terminate his contract. After a meeting with Alex Ferguson, Cantona reversed his decision and announced that he would stay with Manchester United.

Five days after the match against Stockport—and on the same day City continued their pre-season against Wolves—Manchester City officially announced their final signing of the season: Andriy Shevchenko from Dynamo-2 Kyiv, leaving all City fans speechless.

Another 18-year-old players?

What the hell is this?

Perhaps only Neil Lennon (24), Jens Lehmann (25), Henrik Larsson (23), and Jackie McNamara (21) were already in their twenties.

The rest were mostly below twenties!

The fans were anxious, and the media was also restless. After the City vs. Wolves match, they began searching for people they could ask about it.

Fortunately, after the match, thanks to Richard joining the club’s entourage personally, the situation was more tightly controlled.

External security, hired by the Maddox group as bodyguards for Richard, assumed the reporters were there because of him. They cleared everyone without hesitation, leaving the media to watch the City players and staff from a distance.

The last pre-season match for City was against Burnley. However, O’Neill and his staff weren’t so fortunate. Richard didn’t join them this time, which led to a loosening of security.

As soon as the official press conference ended and they were heading to their bus, they were immediately surrounded by fans and the media.

The first question asked left O’Neill and the staff stunned.

"Martin, Martin, tell us—what is City’s strategy for next season? Is it about following Manchester United’s approach of relying on young players?"

The media huddled in close, microphones thrust forward, eyes eagerly waiting for an answer.