Chapter 38 – World-Class Midfielder
From Poland's capital Warsaw, Yang Cheng headed south to the industrial city of Katowice.
Seventeen kilometers west, in the small town of Zabrze, he easily located Górnik Zabrze, a club competing in the Polish top flight.
The club wasn't strong, nor was it wealthy.
In fact, they were quite surprised by Yang Cheng's arrival.
It was common for German clubs to scout Poland, but very rare for English clubs.
When Yang Cheng mentioned Łukasz Piszczek, the club staff immediately understood.
This 19-year-old Polish U19 international was one of their best players and currently with the national youth team preparing for the upcoming UEFA U19 Championship in Switzerland.
In Yang Cheng's previous life, Piszczek had become a breakout star at that very tournament.
Poland's U19s were crushed, losing all three group matches, but Piszczek, then a winger, scored four goals in three games, tying Turkish striker Ali Öztürk for the golden boot.
Even tournament champions Spain, with Roberto Soldado, only managed three goals.
No one could've predicted that this blisteringly fast attacker would eventually become one of the world's best right-backs.
But fate works in mysterious ways.
After the tournament, Piszczek transferred to Hertha Berlin, who loaned him back to Poland.
Over the next few years, Piszczek struggled to find his place as a winger or forward.
His career stalled—until a free transfer to Borussia Dortmund.
There, after switching to right-back, everything clicked.
He would go on to become a world-class fullback.
At the moment, though, Poland's league structure was still developing, and Piszczek hadn't signed a professional contract.
Technically, Bayswater Chinese FC could've picked him up for free.
But Yang Cheng, after thinking it through, decided to pay a transfer fee out of respect.
The club received 400,000 Polish złoty—roughly £50,000.
Peanuts for Bayswater, but it helped build a good relationship with the Polish football scene.
Yang Cheng originally also planned to look into Robert Lewandowski while in Poland.
But Lewandowski hadn't even joined Legia Warsaw yet—he was still at a local youth academy.
Too young, Yang Cheng thought. Even if he found him, the kid likely wouldn't want to move yet.
…
After finalizing the deal with Górnik Zabrze, Yang Cheng made a quick stop in Warsaw.
There, with the help of an agent, he met Piszczek face-to-face and sealed the agreement.
Then he headed south to Slovakia.
In Trenčín, a city near the Czech border, Yang Cheng visited the local club FK AS Trenčín.
There, he signed Slovak center-back Martin Škrtel for €300,000.
Škrtel had just been called up to Slovakia's national team for a friendly against Japan—his first senior cap.
Even so, the fee of €300,000 pleased Trenčín.
…
From Trenčín, Yang Cheng traveled west to Vienna, then flew to Basel, Switzerland.
There, he visited FC Basel and paid €450,000 to sign a player who had never even made a first-team appearance:
Gökhan Inler, a 20-year-old midfielder.
For a player with no senior caps, €450,000 was a significant sum.
Inler had languished in Basel's youth system, waiting for his shot.
He was torn about the move—excited, but anxious.
But in the end, he accepted Yang Cheng's offer of a professional contract, eager to start fresh.
…
From Basel, Yang Cheng flew to Paris.
His destination: Créteil, a southeastern suburb of Paris.
There, he visited a club named US Créteil, which focused solely on youth development—they didn't even have a senior team.
Their business model was based on academy tuition fees and future training compensation from player transfers.
It was sustainable, as long as they kept developing talent.
At Créteil, Yang Cheng found 17-year-old Blaise Matuidi.
Originally, Matuidi hadn't trained there.
In 2000, he had been selected for the prestigious INF Clairefontaine, where he trained for three years.
After Clairefontaine, his development rights were transferred to Créteil.
This summer, he had been trialing with Ligue 2 club Troyes, hoping to earn his first professional deal.
He never expected Yang Cheng to show up with an offer.
Matuidi, who came from a modest family, didn't hesitate.
Bayswater offered him a contract—a real lifeline.
He said yes.
But what truly shocked Yang Cheng was discovering another familiar name at Créteil:
Aubameyang.
Not the world-famous Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, but his older brother:
William-Fils Aubameyang, the second of the three brothers.
William was training at Créteil as well.
From him, Yang Cheng learned that Pierre-Emerick, the youngest brother, was currently playing at Rouen, a club in northwest Paris.
Could he join Bayswater?
Absolutely not, said William.
In fact, he rejected the idea on his brother's behalf.
Why?
Their father had connections.
Pierre Aubameyang Sr. had been a former Gabon international, spending most of his career in France.
He retired from Rouen in 2002.
While not a stellar player, he was a master at networking.
During the 1996–97 season, he played in Serie C2 in Italy for a club named Stintino.
That connection allowed him to build ties with Serie A.
After retiring, he became AC Milan's chief scout for Africa.
In 2000, he got his oldest son—Aubameyang I—into Milan's youth system.
Now, he was trying to send Aubameyang II to Stintino, who had just been promoted to Serie B.
The idea was to eventually move him to Milan as well.
As for Pierre-Emerick, though he was currently at Rouen, he was being heavily groomed by the club.
Bayswater wouldn't be able to touch him.
If you've got connections, and you've got the network, then who's going to say no to you?
"My father already has it all planned. When my younger brother turns 17, he's going straight to AC Milan."
Aubameyang II said this with his chin slightly lifted, smug with pride.
Clearly, in his eyes, a club like Bayswater Chinese FC wasn't even worth considering.
His family? They were bound for AC Milan.
Even if they didn't stay long, just a stint at Milan would be enough to give their résumé that golden shine.
And truth be told, Yang Cheng had to admire them—they were the real deal.
Old man Aubameyang had schemed for years and had successfully raised a future superstar: Aubameyang III.
Still, Yang Cheng wasn't bothered. He wasn't the kind of guy to fuss over a 17-year-old.
In his previous life, he had scouted and developed countless players.
If it wasn't meant to be, he'd move on.
After securing Blaise Matuidi, Yang Cheng passed through Rouen, where Aubameyang III was playing.
But he didn't stop.
Instead, he headed straight for Le Havre, his final stop on this scouting trip.
…
Le Havre is one of Europe's most renowned football academies.
Every year, it churns out talent.
In Yang Cheng's previous life, the most famous name to come out of Le Havre was Paul Pogba.
Manchester United nearly went to war with the club to get him.
But United wasn't the first.
This very summer, Newcastle United had battled Le Havre for a full year just to sign Charles N'Zogbia, an 18-year-old left winger.
In the end, Newcastle threw down £250,000 in compensation to settle the dispute and got their man.
By contrast, Liverpool handled things with class.
Back in 2001, they paid several million pounds to sign Le Havre's teenage duo Anthony Le Tallec and Florent Sinama-Pongolle, two of the most hyped prospects in France.
So no—Yang Cheng wasn't going to play dirty.
He walked in the front door and made a formal offer.
€1 million for Lassana Diarra, a promising player in Le Havre's U19 squad.
At that point, Diarra had:
Never played for the first teamNever received a call-up to a French national teamA reputation in youth circles for his standout performancesOne major flaw: his height—he was very small for a midfielder
Some said he might be the next Claude Makélélé.
But Diarra himself didn't want to be a defensive midfielder.
His technical ability was elite. He wanted to play higher up the pitch.
Even within Le Havre, opinions on him were split.
But Bayswater Chinese FC's €1 million offer changed everything.
In pounds? About £650,000.
A bargain.
Even before selling Martin Rowlands, Yang Cheng had already locked in on Lassana Diarra as a midfield priority.
Why?
Because in 2004–05, Diarra was about to explode onto the scene in Ligue 2.
It wouldn't be long before Chelsea paid €4.5 million for him.
And when things didn't work out in West London, he moved to Arsenal.
There, Wenger was smitten—he saw immense potential.
Even when Diarra demanded a transfer after just six months, Wenger did everything he could to make him stay.
Eventually, in January 2008, Diarra moved to Portsmouth, where he played the best football of his life under Harry Redknapp.
Then came the bombshell.
In January 2009, Real Madrid paid €20 million for Diarra and gave him the number 10 shirt.
Let that sink in:
Claude Makélélé, wearing the number 10?
Unimaginable.
And yet, that was Lassana Diarra's reality.
He became a key piece of every manager's plans at Madrid, regardless of who was in charge.
Even when he left in 2012, Mourinho personally tried to keep him.
Every coach loved him.
But every coach had the same message:
"Please, just focus on defending. Do that, and you'll be our next Makélélé."
Better than Makélélé, in fact.
He had better technique, a smoother touch, and more precise passing.
The only issue?
He didn't want to be a Makélélé.
He wanted to be a number 10.
Yang Cheng had studied Diarra's career in depth.
On the defensive side? Flawless.
His only limitation was his height.
But otherwise, as a defensive midfielder, he did everything at an elite level—and he did it brilliantly.
What about that "ball hog" reputation?
Funny story.
Yang Cheng had once seen a data report showing that Diarra's pass completion rate at Real Madrid was always above 85%, often over 90%.
Between 2009 and 2012, those numbers were top-tier.
But there was a catch: he averaged 1.5 to 2 dispossessions per game.
Compare that to…
Sami Khedira at Madrid: over 2 per gameModrić at Spurs and Iniesta at Barça: around 2Xavi: 1 to 1.5Xabi Alonso, the gold standard: under 1 (as low as 0.5)
His dribbles per game?
Diarra: ~1.5Xavi: lowerIniesta and Modrić: around 2
And key passes per game?
Diarra: 0.8Modrić, Alonso, Xavi, Iniesta: all over 2Khedira: 3+
Conclusion?
Yes, Diarra's passing was clean and efficient.
But most of it was link play, not chance creation.
Still, the numbers painted a fascinating picture.
A brilliant player—complex, misunderstood.
In Yang Cheng's eyes, Diarra had the talent to be a world-class midfielder.
He just never got the guidance he needed.
Neither Mourinho nor Wenger ever truly shaped him.
Redknapp gave him confidence, and Diarra had his best season.
But then he joined attack-heavy Real Madrid, and his unique skill set became a misfit again.
One thing was certain: the potential was there.
That's why Yang Cheng signed him.
To see for himself:
Was Diarra truly worth building around?
Diarra's biggest issue?
He craved attention.
At Chelsea, Arsenal, Madrid—he left because he didn't feel valued.
That, Yang Cheng could work with.
He would give him that recognition.
He would develop him.
He would even promise him a starting spot.
Whether or not Diarra lived up to the expectations…
That was up to him.
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