Football: The British Legendary Manager

The morning sun rose over Rome, casting a golden glow across the Eternal City. Henry, still not used to Rome's bright sky, couldn't help but sigh.

June in Rome was a time of vibrant energy, with the summer heat just beginning to make its presence felt, promising long, sun-drenched days. For someone used to England's so-called gloomy skies, this was a new experience.

After a quick shower and a light breakfast, Henry made his way to the training ground. As today's training started very early, he didn't have time to go to the Bar Stella d'Oro.

In fact, Henry wasn't really the kind of person who liked to wake up early due to his tendency to sleep late. He always wanted to wake up naturally, but unfortunately, life didn't permit it. Maybe someday after retiring?

He quickly shook his head while walking, feeling like a fool. He really couldn't see what he would do with his life if he stopped working in the football industry. Anyway, time would tell.

As usual, Paul was already at the training ground when Henry arrived. As a workaholic, even though Henry had suggested he spend some time with his family, Paul hadn't taken the advice.

Henry wasn't surprised to see Paul already there. His assistant was just like that—dedicated, disciplined, and always a step ahead.

Paul grinned when he spotted Henry approaching. "You're late."

Henry checked his watch. "I'm right on time."

Paul shrugged. "Doesn't change the fact that I was here before you."

Henry rolled his eyes. "Crazy, I really don't understand how someone like you, whose life revolves around football, has a family. Don't they say women don't like workaholic men?"

Paul smirked but didn't argue. Instead, he turned serious as he handed Henry a folder. "I made adjustments to the training plan based on yesterday's tests. Some players are in worse shape than we expected."

"Totti and De Rossi will need careful monitoring, pushing them too hard could cause injuries. Also, Lamela's endurance is lacking. He might struggle with the intensity."

Henry took the folder and skimmed through the notes. He already had a good understanding of the squad's condition, but seeing the details confirmed he was glad that the coaching staff wasn't undermining him.

Roma's squad had technical quality, but their physical preparation wasn't at the level he wanted.

"Alright," Henry nodded. "We'll ease Totti and De Rossi into things. As for Lamela, he needs to build stamina, but we'll do it gradually. No need to burn him out before the season starts."

Paul hummed in agreement. "And what about tactics? Do you want to introduce them gradually or go all in from today?"

Henry considered for a moment. There were pros and cons to both approaches. Going all in would get the team used to his system faster, but it could overwhelm the players and lead to frustration. On the other hand, a gradual approach might take too long, and he didn't have the luxury of time.

"For now, it's better for them to first regain their form," Henry decided. "It will probably take one to two weeks. When we go to the United States, where there are fewer fans and journalists, we can start implementing the tactics."

To be honest, this Roma squad was full of talented individuals. Every position on the pitch had the kind of player he wished for, except for the center. Unfortunately, he didn't have the power to replace Osvaldo now.

In Henry's mind, with Totti, Bojan, Lamela, and Pjanic, the attack was strong, with all of them being players who could play with the ball.

What he needed for the center position wasn't a scorer like Osvaldo but someone willing to do the dirty work, attracting defenders, making passes when needed. Scoring wasn't that important for his center, but unfortunately, it wasn't easy to find this kind of player now.

It was the same problem Barcelona had been trying to solve for years. They wanted a center who could allow Messi to display his best, but unfortunately, they still hadn't found the ideal candidate.

Unfortunately, Osvaldo, with his troublesome personality according to the system and Henry's observations, wasn't the kind of player willing to play for his teammates. Hell, he might even cause some unnecessary trouble.

The team's first game was against Sel. Val Pusteria in two weeks, on July 8. To be honest, this couldn't even be called a game.

In fact, Roma was going to the Puster Valley for a training camp, and the game against Sel. Val Pusteria was just a friendly match without any real training value.

After all, the Puster Valley was a summer camp destination for many national teams, and this season, teams like Inter Milan and AS Roma were also there.

The game against Sel. Val Pusteria, considered an amateur team, was naturally just a friendly match with no real competitive value.

Only the second match had some training value, but even then, it was minimal since it was against Turnu Severin, a Romanian professional club founded in 2007 that had managed to reach the first division in Romania last year.

So, there really weren't any interesting games apart from the one against Liverpool, but even then, both teams would be in the transfer period and not fully focused on the pitch.

The only troublesome aspect was the location of the games. The first two would be in Italy, one in Austria, three games in the United States, a return to Austria for two games, then back to Italy for one game, and finally back to the United States for the last game.

To be honest, this schedule didn't care about the players or the coach but was designed solely for the club to make money.

Just look at Real Madrid's preseason schedule this year: a friendly match in Spain, the Eusébio Cup (which is just a match against Benfica), the World Football Challenge with teams like Milan, Chelsea, and Celtic, and a final Bernabéu Trophy. In total, they wouldn't have more than seven games, which gave Mourinho better preparation time while ensuring that the opponents were strong enough to test the squad and identify and fix problems.

Henry sighed as he glanced over the schedule again. The preseason was going to be a logistical nightmare, with the team constantly on the move, crossing continents multiple times.

It wasn't just the physical toll he was worried about; it was the mental fatigue. Players needed time to settle into a rhythm, build chemistry, and adapt to his tactical ideas.

But with this schedule, it felt like they were being pulled in every direction, with little time to focus on what really mattered: preparing for the season ahead.

If, before the season even started, the players were mentally fatigued, that would be a disaster. Fortunately, they didn't have many competitions this season, or it would be worse.

Henry, who had processed these thoughts in a few seconds, looked at Paul. "Don't forget to take the schedule into account for the training. You know our preseason is really messed up."

Paul nodded. He also felt that this was just a waste of time while adding more fatigue to the players, but there was nothing they could do.

He could only do his best to give Henry a team with good physical fitness and a solid theoretical understanding of Henry's new tactics.

If they had a better schedule, they could have practiced the tactics against strong teams, but unfortunately, they had to implement them during the season, which was a very bad choice.

Still, he didn't know where Henry's confidence that everything would be alright came from. Henry seemed just annoyed by the schedule but still full of confidence that they could achieve something.

This couldn't help but make Paul dream a little. He and Henry were on the same team, and any achievement Henry had would also bear his name.

The reason he hadn't become a coach in the first place was because of his personality. He was too soft-hearted and couldn't bring himself to punish a player, even if he knew it was the right thing to do, exactly the opposite of Henry.

This friendship between people with almost opposite personalities, objectives, and points of view was really weird, but here they were, still together, trusting each other.

...

Okay, here's the chapter for today, don't forget to vote, speaking of it, before I make up my mind, can you give me some suggestions for the potential FL, I would like Katy Perry but unfortunately, she was already married and divorced at this time which I'm sure many people wouldn't accept, the age different shouldn't surpass 16 years.