"Mr. Maddox, welcome." Ottmar Hitzfeld stepped forward with a composed smile, extending his hand.
Richard also stepped forward to meet it, his expression polite yet keen, the kind of look that masked calculation beneath charm. The handshake carried tension, expectation, and the subtle dance of football diplomacy.
Still, Richard respected Ottmar Hitzfeld. After all, who didn't know the man who had boldly dropped goalkeeper and fan favorite Teddy de Beer, replacing him with the 20-year-old Dortmund-born Stefan Klos?
Or the man whose signing of Swiss striker Stéphane Chapuisat from Bayer Uerdingen had transformed the campaign, with Chapuisat netting 20 goals in his very first season?
That was Ottmar Hitzfeld, the 1997 World Coach of the Year.
