Bechyně was a little-known village west of Prague, with a permanent population of just over four hundred people. Most of them worked elsewhere and only returned to the village on weekends, holidays, or festivals. On weekdays, there might only be about a hundred people around, making the place feel empty.
Mr. Janek Robert was a celebrity in this small village. He had once been the chairman of the Czech Football Association. Even though he was now retired and had returned to his birthplace, he had still established a football team here, naming it after the village.
Mr. Robert ran a hotel in Bechyně. He converted the empty land behind the hotel into a football pitch and set up a series of football training facilities inside the hotel, such as a sauna and swimming pool.
Due to his extensive network, this obscure village welcomed several Czech club teams every year. They came here to train and prepare for the upcoming Czech league campaign.
Bechyně Club currently competed in the Czech First Division, but it was still a team that had only been professional for two years. Moreover, not a single well-known Czech star was willing to join, because the village was simply too small. So small that hardly anyone came to watch the games, which meant Bechyně Club's matches were always played in front of empty stands.
A fortress-like home ground seemed like a familiar phrase from the newspapers, but in reality, Bechyně Club's players rarely experienced that kind of atmosphere. Sometimes, they felt like they were playing against thin air.
Although the home atmosphere was poor, Mr. Janek Robert was a very respectable man. Every player in the team respected him greatly, because he was the only pride the team had.
Every time Mr. Robert stepped out through the back door of the hotel and stood by the training ground, the players on the pitch would become especially energetic. And when he saw their excellent performances and play, Mr. Robert could not help but smile with relief, feeling very satisfied.
He often said that he hoped one day to see one of these children enter the Czech national team, become a star like Nedvěd, and become the hope of Czech football.
But today, something was different. It was already past the time he usually came out to watch training, but Mr. Robert had not yet appeared. This made the players, who were used to having a white-haired old man on the sidelines, feel a little uneasy.
"Has something happened to Mr. Robert?" there was a buzz of discussion on the pitch.
"Yeah, I heard he hasn't been feeling well lately. I hope nothing bad has happened!"
"No, when I arrived, I saw him at the hotel entrance. It looked like he had guests!"
The players discussed it for a while, but continued their practice under the coach's guidance.
This team only had one coach, who served as both head coach and held several other club responsibilities. Despite this, he was very dedicated to his work. He often said he was very grateful to Mr. Robert for giving him such an opportunity.
The training content was simple. It was difficult to expect a team with such a low level of professionalism to have very formal training, even if they were currently in the Czech First Division. But Bechyně could never become Sparta Prague, just as Bechyně could never become the Czech capital.
Once they performed well, they would leave this respectable team, even though it was very worthy of sympathy.
About half an hour into training, Mr. Robert emerged from the back door of the hotel and came to the side of the training ground. Beside him was a middle-aged man in a suit. As soon as he reached the pitch, his eyes scanned the training ground, finally focusing on a tall young man playing in goal.
"Standard goalkeeper height, probably a bit taller than me. Good physical condition, steady footwork, strong sense of rhythm, quick reactions, and decent handling. However, he clearly hasn't had professional training, which is a bit of a shame!"
This was the middle-aged man's first impression of the young man.
"He's pretty good, isn't he?" Mr. Robert asked.
The middle-aged man nodded. "He's got potential, but he still needs polishing. He has talent, but he needs to work hard later. You know, for a goalkeeper, talent alone is far from enough!"
Mr. Robert smiled and nodded. "To have the famous Schmeichel personally travel from England to the Czech Republic, I think Petr should at least have the ability to play for the national team, even though he was once the goalkeeper for the Czech under-16 national team."
"Mr. Robert, no one can guarantee the future, but I must say, his talent is better than the current Czech national goalkeeper. Our boss values him highly, and our team needs a talented young player to take over."
"I was sad to hear that you've retired. You were an excellent goalkeeper, and I hope Petr's future will be the same!" Robert said with a hopeful smile.
He walked to the sidelines and waved to the coach on the pitch, signaling for training to stop. Then he beckoned to the tall goalkeeper.
"Petr, come here for a moment!"
The tall goalkeeper, somewhat puzzled, jogged over. His mind was clearly still on continuing training later, and he did not even take off his gloves.
"This is Mr. Peter Schmeichel from England, the great former Manchester United goalkeeper!"
Petr was somewhat shocked. He quickly took off his goalkeeper gloves, extended his hand, and shook Schmeichel's.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Schmeichel!"
Schmeichel smiled. "Me too, Petr. You have excellent talent, but that's far from enough. You need more professional training and match experience."
Mr. Robert, standing nearby, looked a little embarrassed. Although Bechyně were a professional club, they did not even have a goalkeeper coach. Petr Čech had always trained himself based on his own understanding of goalkeeping, which made Robert feel ashamed.
"Ahem, Petr, it's like this. Mr. Schmeichel came all the way from England because he hopes you can go there and play for their team. The club has already agreed to your transfer, so now it's up to you!"
Čech was somewhat shocked. He had not expected an English team to approach him, and Schmeichel was a great Manchester United goalkeeper. Could it be Manchester United that were interested in him?
"Is... is it to play for Manchester United?" Čech stammered a little. For Čech, who had been at Bechyně for two years, Manchester United were undoubtedly a lofty existence.
"No, not Manchester United, Petr. It's New Manchester United. You can also call them the Red Rebels, a legendary and unique club like Bechyně. They will be competing in England's third tier next season."
Despite this, Čech was still pleasantly surprised, but soon, he seemed to think of a problem.
"But, Mr. Schmeichel, I heard that playing in the English league requires a work permit. Players from non-EU countries need to have played for their national team, but I..."
Schmeichel smiled and nodded. "Yes, that's right. You don't currently qualify for a work permit. But you might not know that England introduced an exceptional talent route two years ago, specifically for players like you who have talent but no senior national team experience. A club can only apply for one player per season."
Upon hearing this, Čech immediately felt that this route was extremely precious. For a professional club to apply for such an exception for a non-EU player, how astonishingly talented must that player be to impress the club?
"Our club intends to apply through the exceptional talent route for you, so you can play for our team in the English league."
Čech was greatly shocked. "For me?" He still could not quite believe it.
"Of course!" Schmeichel said with certainty.
"But... but I'm a goalkeeper!" Čech still could not believe it.
Schmeichel recalled something Ethan had said and smiled. "Our boss says that goalkeepers can also be geniuses, like Casillas at Real Madrid, or Buffon at Parma. They are all goalkeeping geniuses, and you will be the next one!"
Čech was stunned, and so was Mr. Robert.
His past experience as chairman of the Czech Football Association had given him a certain network of connections within Czech and European football, so he was very familiar with the English system. He had initially thought that Schmeichel was just coming to take Čech to train with the youth team, but he never expected it to be a direct move to the first team, and that they would even apply for the exceptional talent route for him.
This was truly unbelievable!
"Petr, we have already offered Bechyně Club a transfer fee of £600,000 for you, and Mr. Robert has also agreed to your transfer. I want to ask, are you willing to play for New Manchester United?"
Čech paused for a moment, but quickly nodded firmly. "Yes!"
Schmeichel smiled and looked at Mr. Robert. "Mr. Robert, I think Čech's move to England will still require your help!"
"Anything you need help with, please just say so!" Robert replied with a smile.
At this moment, Schmeichel was utterly impressed by Ethan's planning. He felt that Ethan was like a prophet who foresaw everything, even thinking of using Janek Robert's connections to create favourable conditions for Čech to play football in England.
"According to the application mechanism for England's exceptional talent route, we need some videos and data of Čech's domestic matches. At the same time, we need a strong witness to testify at the appeal hearing, proving that Čech indeed meets the requirements of the exceptional talent route, that is, that Čech can be considered a genius among goalkeepers."
Robert hesitated for a moment. This was clearly asking him to help strengthen the case. After all, although Čech had some talent, he was still far from being a genius, at least not a goalkeeping genius like Casillas or Buffon.
However, Robert had always hoped that Bechyně Club could produce a Czech national team star, but those with even a little talent were monopolized by the big domestic clubs. It was rare for an English team to take an interest in Čech this time. This was a good opportunity.
And frankly, although the testimony might be somewhat generous, the club's interest in Čech was genuine. Otherwise, who would be willing to spend £600,000 and their one exceptional talent application on a goalkeeper?
Thinking of this, Robert nodded heavily in agreement.
With his reputation in the Czech Republic and his connections in European football, helping Čech was achievable.
(To be continued.)