I'm Not Small At All

"Little God of War?"

After the match ended, in the office of Sporting Portugal head coach Gorba, Mendes heard for the first time from the other man the nickname the Sporting Portugal fans had given Su Dong.

"That name isn't bad," the agent said with a chuckle.

The current Batistuta could be said to be at the peak of his career.

Never mind that he was already thirty-two years old. He had served Fiorentina for years, and even after Viola were relegated, he had still never abandoned them. That sentiment had won over countless fans, and over the years, many fans had also felt sympathy for Batistuta's circumstances, because he had never won a Serie A title.

Last summer, the thirty-one-year-old Batistuta had finally chosen to transfer, arriving at Red Wolf Roma. Together with the Red Wolf Prince Totti, he led Roma to the Serie A league title, and Batistuta also scored twenty goals in the league.

This could almost be said to have pushed Batistuta's career to its highest peak. Though he had already shown signs of age and decline this season, it still could not stop the fans from admiring and loving him.

"Our fans like him very much, especially the way he plays. It's very similar to Batistuta, so they call Su Dong 'Little God of War.' For him, that's praise, and also an expectation," Gorba said with a smile as well.

As time passed, he admired the decision he had made back then more and more. It had absolutely been incomparably wise.

When he had kept Su Dong back then, his highest expectation had been to train Su Dong for a year and sell him for a good price.

Thirty thousand Euros. That had been the ideal valuation in Gorba's mind at the time.

But looking at it now, he had still far, far underestimated Su Dong.

"I imagine that if Su Dong hears this name, he'll probably have some thoughts about it," Mendes said with a smile.

Gorba laughed loudly and nodded. "Matello said Su Dong doesn't like the word 'little.'"

Mendes nodded approvingly. This was what he liked about Su Dong and Rony.

Sixteen- or seventeen-year-old boys ought to have that kind of edge and ambition. They could even be a little arrogant.

Ahem, ahem...

Mendes and Gorba were chatting enthusiastically, but Carlos, the Belenenses Technical Director who had been left hanging at the side, felt somewhat neglected. It made him embarrassed, and not very comfortable either.

As the parent club, Carlos, as Technical Director, had always carried great authority in front of satellite teams like Sporting Portugal.

"Gentlemen, as for Little God of War or Big God of War, we can discuss that topic another time. Let's talk about proper business now."

Mendes and Gorba exchanged a glance. The former was an old fox, while the latter had spent years mixing in the lower leagues and was no easy mark either. How could they not understand what the other man meant?

Did he really think they had the leisure to sit there discussing Su Dong's nickname?

"All right, then let's talk about proper business." Mendes put away his joking manner and sat up solemnly.

"Jorge, I'm sure you should be aware that we and Sporting Portugal have had close cooperation for years, including player training and transfers. To be frank, we're very interested in Su Dong, and hope to bring him into our team."

Mendes narrowed his eyes, as if he had not heard the first half at all. "Mr. Carlos, there are many teams interested in Su Dong. Benfica, for example. They're also very sincere. Mr. Vieira came to the scene today too. There's also Leiria. Mourinho has called me several times, and also..."

"Jorge." Carlos could not help interrupting Mendes. He lightly tapped the desk in front of him. "I have to remind you of one thing. We and Sporting Portugal have a cooperative relationship. They are our satellite club, and we have the right of first refusal on their players. You should be very clear about that."

After solemnly reminding him, Carlos looked toward Gorba again.

Gorba hurriedly nodded in support. "Yes, that's right. According to the contract, Belenenses theoretically have priority."

Hearing this, Carlos could not help frowning. What did he mean, theoretically? They had it in practice too, all right?

These two fellows had clearly already colluded together.

But this kind of thing was normal too. Clubs wanted to maximize their benefits, and agents also had to fight for benefits for themselves and their players.

If it were an ordinary player, then it would not matter. But Su Dong was in demand now. If they still handled things according to the satellite club rules, then Belenenses would get a huge bargain, while they would suffer a big loss.

"It's only priority," Mendes said with a completely unconcerned look. "As long as there's a team willing to pay a higher transfer fee than Belenenses, that's enough, isn't it?"

Carlos's face darkened, but Gorba was delighted and kept nodding.

That was exactly the logic.

"Besides, if I'm not remembering wrong, Su Dong signed a youth-training contract at the time. Theoretically, his ownership doesn't completely belong to Sporting Portugal either. We don't necessarily have to transfer to Belenenses, do we?"

If he had still been pretending to cover things up before, then this sentence was the dagger revealed at the end of the map.

Mendes's meaning was very clear. He was reminding Carlos: don't think we can only transfer to your team.

You want him?

Fine. Like Benfica and the other teams, show your sincerity. Don't put on the face of a parent club and wave the contract around to scare people. These days, no one was raised by being frightened.

Anger showed on Carlos's face, and the look he gave Mendes also became less than friendly.

He had heard of Mendes, but this was his first time dealing with him.

He was like a sly fox. The key was that every single thing he did and every word he said was perfectly reasonable.

"All right." Carlos stood up from his seat and took a deep look at Mendes and Gorba.

"We will come up with a transfer plan as soon as possible, as well as a player development plan. When the time comes, we'll talk properly. But during this period, I hope that if you have any news at all, you can notify me immediately."

When he reached the last words, Carlos's gaze fell on Gorba.

The Sporting Portugal head coach hurriedly agreed and quickly got up to see him out.

Su Dong's transfer was a one-time matter, but Sporting Portugal's cooperation with Belenenses was long-term.

Which was lighter and which was heavier, Gorba still knew in his heart.

"Ha, I heard you scored again yesterday, Little God of War."

At exactly five o'clock the next morning, at the south gate of Edward VII Park, Su Dong ran into Rony again.

The moment Rony saw Su Dong, he got so excited he almost rushed over and jumped on him.

From the look of it, Su Dong's goal seemed to make him happier than anyone.

"Don't add the 'little.' I'm not little at all," Su Dong said very seriously.

Rony looked Su Dong over and nodded. He really was not little. He was a good half a head taller than him.

After several months of physical training, Su Dong's fitness had clearly improved as well. The muscles all over his body had gained definition. He was still no match for those beasts who had spent years in the gym, but among people his age, he was already quite impressive.

Of course, Rony was no slouch either.

"All right, Little God of War," Rony agreed solemnly.

Su Dong rolled his eyes, speechless.

"Seriously, the club can't hold you anymore. Hurry up and come to Sporting Lisbon," Rony said, slinging an arm around Su Dong's shoulders as he kept egging him on and stirring him up. "I've recommended you to Aurelio Pereira several times already. I heard our technical team has been studying you too, but it's strange—there still hasn't been any movement."

Recently, there had been plenty of transfer rumors about Su Dong.

The fans naturally did not care, and the media had never paid attention to transfers in such low-tier leagues, but Su Dong and the people around him all knew that quite a few teams were indeed interested in him. Even Porto in the north had sent scouts to watch him.

Su Dong smiled. "You keep telling me to go to Sporting Lisbon. Aren't you afraid at all that if I go, you'll have to give up your throne as the youth team's top dog?"

Rony burst into exaggerated laughter. "You? As if you're worthy?"

But very quickly, he put his arm firmly around Su Dong's shoulders again and said with complete sincerity, "If it were someone else, I'd definitely fight him for it. But if you really can take my spot, then I'll accept it. Who asked you to be my good buddy?"

Although the two had known each other for only a few months, their friendship had grown deeper by the day.

Especially not long ago, when Su Dong had emptied his own pockets and lent all his money to Rony so that his father could come to Lisbon for treatment in time. Up to now, Rony still had no money to pay him back, and he had always remembered that kindness.

"Tell me the truth. Are you coming to Sporting Lisbon or not?" Rony asked very seriously.

Over this past stretch of time, Rony had asked this question countless times.

It was obvious that he truly hoped Su Dong would play on the same team as him.

Su Dong shook his head with a sigh. "You know how it is. There are a lot of things I'm not very clear on either, and I can't make the decision. Besides, Mendes said that until the final moment, there are variables in a lot of things. Nothing can be taken as certain."

"I asked Jorge, and he said the same thing." Rony curled his lip, a little annoyed.

He knew Mendes was definitely hiding something from him.

Su Dong knew Rony was anxious on his behalf, and warmth rose in his heart. He patted Rony lightly on the shoulder. "In any case, I promise that if there's any progress, I'll tell you right away."

Rony had no choice but to agree.

In truth, Su Dong did know some things about his own transfer, because Mendes could not possibly hide them from him, but there were some things best left unsaid if possible.

It was not that he did not trust Rony, but that he was afraid Rony might inadvertently send out some kind of signal.

The upcoming negotiation concerned his development over the next few years, and one could even say it would decide his future career.

Mendes had parted on bad terms with Belenenses yesterday, and that had been something he had arranged on purpose, because he wanted the teams interested in Su Dong to know that Su Dong did not have to transfer to Belenenses.

By the same logic, Su Dong absolutely could not reveal which team he wanted to go to right now, or else he would be put in a very passive position during negotiations.

Business was like a battlefield, and the negotiating table was no different.

Su Dong was not good at these off-field matters, but after spending some time dealing with him, he believed Mendes could help him handle these issues well and win him the best possible benefits.

As for Su Dong, as a player, his most important task was to focus on playing football.

That was more important than anything else.

Thank you all for leaving comments so enthusiastically. Some readers' ideas happened to match mine exactly—shake hands, shake hands. But we should consider the timeline in the book, shouldn't we? I like Lewandowski and Dehua very much too, but the timing doesn't fit... Klose would work, though. He made his name at the Korea-Japan World Cup. In any case, thank you, everyone. I hope to see more of your comments. Many thanks!