Rise of the Argentine Empire

Saint Hesser enjoyed watching soccer games, but he rarely had the time to sit down and watch one properly. He had a lot of things to do, and Elena often complained about it.

He saw their so-called "Argentine University Soccer Cup" proposal. The first group match was scheduled to be held in a week. The time was really tight, and the task was heavy.

Although the name of this competition sounded quite impressive and ambitious, he felt relieved after taking a closer look. It couldn't even compare to the tail end of the fifth-tier league; it was just an amateur competition for a group of ordinary enthusiasts.

Fortunately, it wasn't a formal soccer tournament, but there was still room for some maneuvering, like getting some sponsorships.

Organizing a soccer tournament requires money, venues, referees, organization, and prizes.

The event plan wasn't very professional, but it was quite complete. Clearly, they had put in some effort. They had even obtained event approval from the Argentine municipality and pulled in student organizations from several schools to co-host. Now, they just needed money, professional referees, and prizes.

It was impossible to completely overhaul the plan, but he could make substantial additions.

"Powell, gather the people from the New Youth League. I think it's necessary to make this event bigger."

"Uh, President, are you sure?"

Powell was a little surprised. The president had been blatantly skipping class lately and hadn't been managing the New Youth League much. Why would he be interested in such a small soccer game?

"I'm sure. I think this competition is great, and we need a competition for young Argentines. Invite more universities and colleges in the city, and also invite some amateur teams. Oh, and the University of La Plata must be invited. If we're going to do it, let's do it well. Don't worry about the money."

In Saint Hesser's memory, the La Plata University student team club had won many Copa Libertadores and intercontinental league titles. They were a big-name team in the Argentine league. The more exciting the competition, the better, and the higher the gold content, the better for hype.

In the afternoon, a large group of core student members came to the New Youth League headquarters.

"We're going to make this University Cup a big deal and show off the style of our Buda University. I've already found several sponsors and co-organizers, so don't worry. Since it's a competition for young people and our country already has a Youth Cup, let's propose calling it the Future Cup. Young people are the future of the country, what do you think?"

They could directly ask the sponsors to provide sponsorship, and they would find people to talk to about co-organizing.

"Okay, President, whatever you say. Anyway, you're paying for the trophy."

Powell said jokingly from the side.

"The vice president is right, that's a good name." * 41 people

"Well, okay then."

Thus, a chuunibyou-ish soccer cup name appeared.

"The following are our co-organizers: New Argentina Newspaper, Blue Delta Security Company. We will also invite the Buda City Police Department, the Capital Garrison Command, and the Argentine Import and Export Association to participate. Of course, we will try our best to invite two of them, and the others are no problem."

If they could promote the company while holding a soccer game, it would be beneficial for future development. They couldn't lose too much money.

"Also, I will try my best to invite some people from the Argentine Football Association to be referees."

The Argentine Football Association was established in 1893 and is the earliest football association in South America. They could try to contact them to support young people's football.

"The following are the sponsors: Blue Cloud Clothing Group, Prari International, Thunder Mining, La Plata Steel Plant, and Rennes Industries. The prizes and bonuses will be provided by these companies."

In order to gather enough people and teams, Saint Hesser's company could find a bunch of young people to compete. It wouldn't be a problem to use them as cannon fodder. They could try something like the New Argentina Newspaper team or the Rennes Motorcycle Factory team. Then, they could bombard the news and publicity, and it would be another living advertisement.

Since his life goals changed, Saint Hesser no longer loved soccer, but it had become a tool in his hand. But he had to show his love for soccer, which he still needed to learn.

......

Besides talent, what else does soccer need? It needs endless money. As the sport with the most fans, the most matches, and the highest value in the world, soccer has countless fans.

Soccer is known as the "world's number one sport" because of its strong confrontation, varied tactics, and large number of participants.

Even at any time, Saint Hesser must show his love for soccer. This is a persona. If the New Youth League can successfully organize a soccer league under his leadership, then his reputation will grow rapidly.

Modern soccer originated in England. Soccer is also a money-burning competition. Why didn't Messi develop in Argentina in his later years and go to Europe instead? Isn't it because Argentina doesn't have money, even though Argentina has the most talented soccer players in the world?

"Our Buda University has two teams participating, and our New Youth League will also form a team, called the Buda New Youth Soccer Team, but it's very weak and only used as cannon fodder. The Buda Soccer Club is the main force."

Powell reported on some situations.

The New Youth League team was formed temporarily and did not have very strong players. They were just some student enthusiasts, and there were no good players to train and work together.

"Are there any suitable freshmen? Dig them over and give them some benefits. Everything can be discussed. That way, winning a game will give the contributing players a maximum of $2,000 USD, and a minimum of $1,000 USD. There are also opportunities for internships and full-time positions from sponsors, which can also be given to others. What do you think of this? But it must be kept absolutely confidential. Any other requirements that can be met can be raised... There's money for referrals, and money for participating first."

As the organizer, the team they send out at least can't lose too badly, right? It wouldn't be good if they were eliminated without winning a single game. There must be a lot of freshmen who just entered school who play soccer. Saint Hesser has no other choice.

He doesn't have much to give, so he can only give some bonus incentives. $2,000 USD isn't a small amount, and the average person's annual salary is about that much. Job opportunities, like Prari International, Rennes Military Industry, and New Argentina Newspaper, can all be considered large Argentine companies, and it wouldn't be a problem to set up a new position.

"President, leave this to me. Absolutely no problem."

Powell's eyes lit up. The president had already said it so clearly. It shouldn't be too much of a problem to dig up a few good players and train them. It wouldn't be a problem to win one or two games. Moreover, Saint Hesser meant that middle schools could also participate. There were four soccer fields arranged for the group stage, so it wouldn't be a problem to hold them at the same time.

So Powell began his great undertaking of digging people up.

"Powell, what kind of broken international joke are you playing? I'm going to participate in the Copa America in the future, would I come and participate in a wild event with you? Hurry up and leave, don't disturb my practice, and pretend I don't know you in the future."

Powell dug people up to some of the top soccer players in the school.

"Manero, don't you need money? $2,000 USD for winning a game, paid in cash. If you win the championship, there's a group bonus of 50,000, and the third place also has 30,000. Oh, and you can get $500 USD first just for participating."

Manero is known as the golden defender among the freshmen. He went to the same elementary school as Powell and has a great talent. As for participating in the Copa America, he's probably bragging, and he might not even make the substitutes. Nevertheless, he's already very good.

"When is the competition, how many people are there, and which players are there?"

"There are Soto, Miguel, and those people."

"Damn, even these guys are participating. You're not being a good brother doing this, Powell. How can you face me? I even used to greet you on the street when we were kids. Hurry up and take me over there. I need to practice my ball skills. Money is no object between brothers. We're good brothers, aren't we? Just put the five hundred dollars in my backpack first."

"Alright, we'll go together later."

"Then it's settled."

The New Youth Alliance team expanded rapidly under Powell's money offensive, and even had a reserve team, all of whom were rich, of course. They also hired a retired veteran soccer coach to help with training and tactics, rented a soccer field outside for closed training, and even had a nutrition chef to serve them good food and drink.

"Chairman, mission accomplished. Recruited a lot of people. Here's the bill. Please take a look."

"Good, I trust your work. Let's do a good job this time. All the personnel have been contacted, and the publicity will start today."

Saint Hérse quickly prepared the venue, personnel, and sponsorship. The trophy could be finely carved by the machine tools of Rhein Military Industries.

With most things settled, Saint Hérse rarely relaxed, accompanying Ilena to the library to study, shopping, and watching movies.

"Cohen, aren't you busy these days?" Ilena tilted her little head and asked Saint Hérse.

"There's nothing major recently. By the way, Ilena, I might be going abroad for about half a year in the second half of the year, to the United States."

Saint Hérse said apologetically.

"Ah, will you come back later?"

"Yes, I plan to graduate early next year."

"Well, that's a long time. Should I go to America with you then? I have nothing to do anyway."

"Uh, really? Wouldn't that be too much trouble?"

Saint Hérse said with some difficulty, going to the United States to make things happen.

"No trouble at all. My uncle is the ambassador to the United States. It's quite convenient."

Ilena didn't think it was a problem at all.

"Well, okay, let's arrange it together then. It's just that taking a boat takes too much time. It would be great if there was a plane."

Am I hooking up with a rich woman or a little princess from some family? Or is it some big family? The former president is the grandfather, and the uncle is the ambassador to the United States.

Saint Hérse had never understood too much about his girlfriend, and it was impossible to let his subordinates investigate anything. The relationship between the two can be said to be quite ordinary.

He didn't know why Ilena would take a fancy to him. Could it be because he was handsome? That's probably the only reason.

"Okay, Ilena, your family seems to be quite powerful."

"It's very ordinary. My family is just average."

"Okay, where do you want to go? I'll take you shopping. I won't be so free in a while."

Saint Hérse suddenly felt that eating soft rice wasn't such a bad thing.

"Okay, I want to see ostriches."

"I'll take you to the Potassium Triangle to see the stars in the future. The starry sky there is especially beautiful."

… …

While accompanying Ilena, Saint Hérse occasionally had to deal with Natalie. The New A Newspaper was also actively promoting the soccer game and intending to develop into a comprehensive media group.

The New A Newspaper also acquired a small publishing house, incorporating some novelists serialized in the New A Newspaper under its name and beginning to simply re-create some famous novels of later generations to expand its influence. Moreover, the publishing house group was very important for Argentina to understand the world.

After all, the influence of Spanish in the world is not as good as English, so if you need to open your eyes to see the world, you must study the most advanced countries and carry out the translation of various professional works and scientific books.

Saint Hérse even planned to establish some science and engineering research institutions in the future to connect with the world trend.

Especially STAM, which the Americans proposed a few years later. After the Soviets launched the world's first satellite, the Americans were really anxious. The 1950s and 1960s were also the golden age of American scientific research.

STEM is an abbreviation for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. These can be said to be the shortcomings of Argentines at present. The importance of basic science is self-evident.

He also had some ideas to invest in the American electronic technology industry and emerging computer industry in the United States, share the dividends of American development, and strategically invest in some new American companies, which was a good opportunity not to be missed.

The New A Newspaper also established a comic book agency, starting to draw some superhero comics, such as Zorro, a superhero who resisted Spain, and an Argentine version of Iron Man, changing Stark Industries inside to Rhein Industries, integrating the La Plata Steel Plant, and promoting the dream of Argentina's rise.

Nora did a good job in Sunshine Agriculture. Saint Hérse specially bought a house, and the relationship between the two became closer.

Sunshine Agriculture has recently started a buy, buy, buy mode, buying a lot of wasteland in the north, preparing for the reclamation work in the spring of September.

… …

As time went on, this ordinary event attracted the participation of many teams. The "Future Cup" was also well known by many people. Under Saint Hérse's hype, its influence quickly expanded to the whole country. Stimulated by money, the number of participating teams increased a lot.

Moreover, the ticket price was set very low, and the entry group stage was full. Saint Hérse allowed Prari Foods to open small shops outside the stadium, which can be regarded as expanding its influence.

Especially the interviews before the game and the sponsor links are a perfect advertising time. In particular, the players are all provided with a full set of blue cloud clothing sponsored thermal underwear and specially customized "player soda", which are very easy to spread.

Moreover, a large part of the audience are students. For them, it is the first time to be exposed to this kind of advertising bombardment at close range, which also increases a lot of potential consumers.

Saint Hérse also gave an opening speech as the representative of the organizer, the New Youth Alliance. It was lively, interesting, and full of philosophy, and it also had a strong publicity heat.

The New A Newspaper and other newspapers reprinted all of them, making many Argentines aware of Saint Hérse, a very promising young man.

Saint Hérse's excellent performance has also attracted the attention of some people. Most of these speech contents are spliced together from some well-known speeches of later generations, which has a very good communication effect.

Even the New Youth Alliance has gained a lot of exposure. This event also invited the University of the Republic of Uruguay to participate in a friendly match. It has to be said that it is quite promising for hype.

This soccer game hype can be said to be quite cost-effective. Saint Hérse's companies have all shown their faces. Some companies' sales have risen against the trend. Blue Cloud Clothing produced hundreds of thousands of small Argentine national flags, and also sold soccer uniforms and athlete-specific sneakers, which are the biggest winners.

"The Argentine Youth Worth Watching Soccer Game, the Most Valuable Event Outside the America's Cup"

"This is Argentina's future golden defender. Ask them what magic water they drink during training, and the result is touching"

"Our Football Association coach criticized the Future Cup for being flashy and unrealistic, and was beaten by crazy fans"

"Why is it called the Future Cup, the future of Argentine youth soccer?"

"The speech of the young chairman of the organizer, the New Youth Alliance, is thought-provoking and deeply good"

"Domestic brands appearing in the Argentine University Soccer Cup are the pride of our country"

Miranda soda sales have also risen again, even though it is now a relatively cool autumn, the soda bottles are also specially printed with photos of some popular soccer team players, doing some fan marketing.

Saint Hérse also specially launched some functional drinks and the like for market testing.

What surprised Saint Hérse a bit was that the New Youth Alliance soccer team actually eliminated the Buda soccer team, which surprised many people.

I don't know where Powell found so many new players. The defenders, forwards, and goalkeepers all played very hard, and they had a lot of tricks, which was very entertaining.

It can be said that just the group stage has made many Argentines aware of some domestic brands, such as Kenai sneakers, Blue Cloud sportswear, Miranda soda, Hule functional drinks, and a large number of other brands have received a lot of attention.

Saint Hérse also watched a few games. I have to say that under the money offensive, the excitement of this amateur event is still very high. Except for some soccer teams that disdain to participate, there are still many soccer teams that are popular for winning the championship.

Especially the La Plata University Student Team, which is very strong, as in history.

What surprised him again was that the Blue Delta soccer team also entered the top eight, which was a surprise. He didn't invest any money here.

The Blue Delta is responsible for the security of several major stadiums, and it is really great to be able to enter the top eight.