Chapter Thirty-Five: Yunjia Tianyu Football School

“Why? Does it seem strange? Do you think the assessment was simply too easy?” Xia Liquan walked with the Long father and son toward the dormitory, smiling as he asked.

“It does, indeed,” Long Yuyun nodded. Although he trusted the reputation of Yun Jia Tianyu Football School, he couldn’t agree with this selection method—judging by these criteria, even someone who’d just played football a few times as an amateur could pass. Coupled with such generous admissions terms, who knew how many children across the country would be able to get into this school!

“In fact, the real assessment for Long Bisheng was completed long ago,” Xia Liquan said, smiling. “Mr. Long, your doubts arise only because you don’t know our selection process. What we seek are players with distinctive qualities—not those produced on an assembly line, identical and lacking originality. Wei Zhe had already evaluated Long Bisheng. His strengths are his height, excellent physical condition, and judgment of where the ball will land. The rest we can teach him, but he must have his own unique features. The test just now was only to confirm whether he possessed the traits Wei Zhe described. The actual assessment was over the moment Wei Zhe sought you out.”

“For young players discovered by our scouts like yourself, we only need to know you truly possess these characteristics. That’s what we value. As for students who apply on their own…” Xia Liquan grinned, “They will naturally face a different and far stricter assessment.”

“Why is it done this way?” Long Yuyun was deeply interested. As an avid football fan, he was fascinated by this novel method of selecting players.

“The reason is simple. Other clubs and football academies have already produced plenty of players who’ve undergone professional training from childhood, all conforming to the same model. But what we want are players who are different, who have their own qualities. Every country needs all kinds of players. Since other clubs haven’t considered this, let Yun Jia Tianyu take the lead!” There was an air of pride and boldness in Xia Liquan’s words. “Our boss once said that the most glorious period of European culture was the Renaissance, while China’s most brilliant era was the time of the Hundred Schools of Thought during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods. Only in such vibrant times can dazzling culture be born. It’s the same in football.”

“Your boss is truly remarkable,” Long Yuyun said sincerely.

Just from what he’d seen of Wang Sa before, and now Wei Zhe and Xia Liquan, Long Yuyun could already tell how outstanding and visionary this legendary owner of Yun Jia Tianyu was. Long Bisheng, standing to the side, was even more excited—he was about to enter the academy of this club! If he worked hard, couldn’t he one day become a member of Yun Jia Tianyu himself? Perhaps he might even don the sacred national team jersey and represent his country on the World Cup stage!

As they walked, Xia Liquan introduced the vast grounds of the football school. Yun Jia Tianyu Football School was divided into elementary and junior high departments, and within those, ten age groups, from six-year-old preschoolers up to ninth graders of about fifteen. Each grade had forty to fifty students. Besides learning football, they had to study the full academic curriculum from elementary to junior high. This was so that students destined for elimination would still have educational opportunities. After successfully graduating from junior high, students could formally join the U-15 squad, where, in addition to football, they would also learn a vocational skill at the technical school.

Such thoughtful arrangements meant that, if football didn’t work out, students’ life risks were minimized, giving them the best possible safety net—after all, the success rate in football has never been high. Out of ten kids who start young, perhaps only two or three might go on to play professionally. No wonder Yun Jia Tianyu Football School now enjoyed the best reputation and was the hardest to enter—unless, of course, you were like Long Bisheng and personally scouted.

The academy boasted an astonishing five full-size training pitches and a large gymnasium, with much of the equipment imported from Europe. In Xia Liquan’s words, “We keep pace with Europe. Any new training facility they have there, we’ll have one here within two months.”

The cafeteria could seat five hundred at once, with dedicated nutritionists planning the students’ diets. The teaching and dormitory buildings stood side by side. The campus even included a small recreation center, two bookstores, a video room, an arcade, and an internet cafe. Only the bookstores remained open all week; the other entertainment facilities opened only on weekends and holidays—enough to keep the students’ free time from being too dull, but not enough to let them go wild.

As for the bathhouse and laundry, those were standard amenities. All in all, after seeing everything, Long Yuyun felt that the school’s facilities were no less impressive than those of any professional club’s training base.

“It’s hard to imagine a football school like this isn’t profitable,” Long Yuyun murmured.

Xia Liquan smiled at that. “At the moment, it isn’t. Every year, we lose nearly a million. But as long as even one player makes it, the entire investment will be recouped. It’s a long-term investment, but the harvest is almost here…”

At these words, Long Yuyun nodded repeatedly. Indeed, for any club, the most valuable asset is its players. Take the players Yun Jia Tianyu has sold in recent years: just one, Recoba, brought in three million US dollars. From that transfer alone, the club earned nearly twenty million yuan. Compared to those players’ value, this investment in the football school was trivial.

The real question was, how many clubs had such foresight? How many owners would be willing to invest millions and wait years to build a school like this? Only someone like Pei Wei, who had total control over the club, could have the determination to do it. Other owners, even if they had the vision, might not have the nerve.

This was Yun Jia Tianyu Football School!

“Come, I’ll take you to your dorm now… Building One, fifth floor, Room 505,” Xia Liquan said to the Longs as they arrived at the dormitory.

PS: All the best parts have been shared; I’ll make it up to you all next week.