Football Philosopher
Towards Austria and Croatia

With the certainty of the 2 players heading to Manchester, James could finally calm down a little and the trip in Germany was finished with satisfaction in his heart. But the trip is still not over, he will still go to some other countries in Europe or even around the world.

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James then took a Private Taxi from Munich to Vienna. The travel time is about 4 hours, and after arriving in Vienna they search for hotels in the city. It was late, and they rested well, for tomorrow's journey would still be very long.

Vienna is the capital of Austria, the largest city, and one of the nine Austrian states. Vienna is host to many major international organizations, including the United Nations, OPEC and the OSCE. And this is also where a club from the Austrian capital is located, namely the Austrian club Wien AG. They are a big club in Austria, and have won many trophies.

The trophy they won is 22 Austrian Bundesliga titles, they have just won the 24th title in the Austrian Cup, 6 Austrian Supercup titles, Winners Cup 2 titles, and more, and in Europe they were even runners up Europan Winner Cup in 1978, they were defeated by Anderlecht with a score of 4-0.

James and Ralf came here only to recruit a 13-year-old boy who was still in the academy, a boy named David Alaba. Yes, he was a former Bayern Munich player in James's previous life. This left-footed player is very talented and can play in various positions. He can play as a central and left midfielder, left wing, left back, and even last time at Real Madrid he was a centre-back.

James and Ralf only showed great interest in Alaba, and after a meeting with Alaba's parents, James offered a 1-month Trial at Manchester United. If they feel at home and want to be part of the Manchester United academy, they will be accepted with pleasure.

'Hopefully he will stay at home in Manchester' James thought.

After the talks they flew straight to Croatia, and the next destination was the city of Zagreb.

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Zagreb is the home of one of the two giants of Croatian football: Graddanski nogometni club Dinamo Zagreb or better known as Dinamo Zagreb. Dinamo Zagreb with Hadjuk Split have dominated Croatian football since the founding of Prva HNL, the first division of Croatian football since its founding in 1992. They have split all but one top division title since then.

Of course James is here to try to buy players from Dinamo Zagreb because at Zagreb has a lot of talented players including future Ballon D'or winner Luka Modric. James will offer a transfer price that will be difficult to refuse Dinamo Zagreb for Modric who is currently still not even 19 years old.

James recalled that Modric, in addition to providing assists and scoring goals he was also exposed because his genius set up an attacking midfield giving indulgent passes to his team-mates, He is known for his elegant style of play using his brain rather than using physical strength. But make no mistake, he can also be very aggressive chasing the ball when the team is defensive.

Last year, he was loaned out to Croatian club Inter Zapresic. He spent one season there, helping the team to reach second place in Prva HNL and helping the team to the UEFA Cup preliminary round . He also won the Croatian Football Hope of the Year (Best Croatian player) award in 2004.

James and Ralf reach the meeting's goal to see that Luka Modric and his agent, Marko Naletilic are already waiting for them. John had contacted Marko Naletilic before and found that the deal was possible.

After they greeted each other, John started and said, "Mr Naletilic, we want to recruit Modric. We, at Manchester United, think that Modric is very talented and if given the chance, he can become the world's top player."

James speaks English, because even though Modric doesn't know how to speak English, his agent knows.

"We are very happy to hear it, Mr. Packer that you consider Luka very high and we are also interested in moving. But many clubs are interested as well, we will discuss it first with Luka. " Naletilic said to James.

James knows it's true, but he's very confident about the midfielder's move to Manchester. Because other clubs are only interested and do not make an official offer. Especially with a big team label like Manchester United, anyone wants to play there.

"There is always interest from clubs in talented players. But they have not made an offer. What if it was just an interest and no offer materialized. And even if Luka Modric moves to another club, most are just to warm up the bench. Although he is only 19 this year, at this stage of his career, the thing he needs the most is experience and play. And Manchester United are willing to give it that, and it will be for sure in the 2006-07 season after one season he will get regular first-team opportunities." James decided to be aggressive in his approach. He wants to capitalise on the uncertainty of the move as other clubs have yet to make an offer.

"We consider Modric a player who is ready for a rotation position in the Premier League and who will grow into a star and is willing to train him wholeheartedly. We want to sign him as and give him the minutes he needs to play. We will support him fully and help him reach his potential. We also have midfielders like Roy Keane and Paul Scholes with experience at the top, who are willing to mentor Modric." James tried his best to make a list of the advantages the Club could give him.

"In addition, we are willing to give Modric a five-year contract with an annual salary of 500 thousand pounds." James proposed confidently.

This is the reason for the dominance of the countries with the top leagues, their financial strength. The wage bill of most teams is higher than that of many top division teams in other countries. After all, it is a professional sport, the players give everything on the football field to earn money. It is hard to resist the lure of money.

They will travel to Manchester as soon as possible to complete the signing. James and Ralf finally left. James was satisfied after finishing

the deal.

"Let's go, Ralf, to our next destination." James said to Ralf in a cheerful tone.