Yang Yang stayed in Madrid for another day. He went to the Bernabéu with Zidane and signed a coaching contract with Real Madrid's management. He officially became the First Team's Chief Assistant Coach.
This could be considered a novelty in European Football, though not because of his age.
Yang Yang was not yet twenty-nine. In the First Team coaching profession across the Four Major Leagues, he was exceptionally young, but not so young as to be shocking. However, if one added the halo of being the team's number-one star and the best player in world football, it became an entirely different matter.
Real Madrid was also assessing what impact this might have, and had therefore decided to keep the news under wraps for the time being.
But where in this world was there a wall that could keep out every wind?
In fact, long before rumors emerged that Zidane would replace Ancelotti, news that Yang Yang would serve as a coaching-staff member had already been spreading nonstop. Many fans and media outlets were eagerly anticipating it. Everyone wanted to see whether Yang Yang would be as formidable as a coach as he had been on the pitch.
After signing the contract, Yang Yang and Zidane held another meeting with Real Madrid's core management, mainly to discuss this summer's transfers.
As for this summer's transfer plans, Valdano's technical team had already begun preparing them in February. By now, they had a mature and comprehensive plan. The key was simply to see what the coaching staff thought.
Yang Yang and Zidane had discussed things all day yesterday and had basically set the tone: Real Madrid did not need to make any major moves this summer. Their main focus would be on observing developments and promoting players from within.
By "observing developments," Yang