Became The Premier League’S Youngest Manager [EN]: Chapter 119

Unfortunately, while Father refused to allow her to be expelled, everyone agreed that Emil’s suggestion was the most practical.

In the end, after an emergency meeting of the Cartwright Fund’s top executives (CEO: Father, Chief Director: Older Brother, Managing Director: Helena, Youngest: No say), it was decided that Emil would take a leave of absence and assist Helena in building the stadium in Burnley.

It was a satisfactory outcome for everyone.

The young college student, with his passion for soccer and architecture, could visit stadiums all over Europe and watch games without spending a dime of his own money, all under the guise of researching other stadiums.

Moreover, he was thrilled to be involved in the construction of a new stadium, an opportunity he would never have had under normal circumstances in his career.

As a bonus, after a few phone calls, Emil’s department head agreed to give him credit for his graduation project once the stadium was completed.

From the department head’s perspective, the substantial scholarships that the Cartwright family donated to the alma mater were, of course, a factor.

However, he was even more motivated by the desire to elevate the architecture department by showcasing a graduate who had achieved the feat of building an actual stadium for his undergraduate graduation project. Typically, students only submit designs or models. He also wanted to one-up the other department heads at the same university and architecture department heads at other universities.

Of course, the happiest person was Helena, who not only received approval to build a new stadium but was also delighted to exploit her younger brother without pay, in exchange for providing room and board.

From then on, everything proceeded smoothly.

Helena began openly touring the most renowned sports-related architectural firms in New York, significantly cutting into Emil’s sleep.

***

“Um… Ms. Cartwright. Usually, stadium reconstruction plans like these take several years of design and planning. We need to check the various conditions on-site, and we don’t know how long it will take to get the permits, so we’re very cautious.”

As the employees of the architectural firm buzzed in the conference room, Helena raised an eyebrow and scoffed slightly at the cautious remarks of the director of Gensler, one of the largest architectural firms in the world.

“Our goal is to start construction immediately at the end of May, after this season, and to make as much progress as possible before the next season opens in August. Of course, the club will be responsible for obtaining the necessary permits.”

The director of Gensler, sitting across from her, looked perplexed.

“It’s impossible to build a soccer stadium with more than 30,000 seats in three months. It takes time to dismantle the existing stadium, and building a new stadium and installing the facilities…”

“We don’t have to complete everything.”

Helena interrupted the gray-haired director.

“The skyboxes and roof can be installed sequentially during the season, and the convenience facilities can be moved in later. We can proceed by demolishing the stands one by one, as long as the conditions for the game to be played are met. The important thing is that the stadium reconstruction starts this summer and is completed as quickly as possible.”

“Oh, so we’ll have more time to build?”

Helena shook her head slightly at the director’s suddenly brightened face.

“It must be completed by the end of next year.”

“By the end of next year… it’s November 2022 now, so you mean it has to be completed by the end of 2023, not the end of 2024?”

“That’s right. And it rains a lot in Burnley from autumn onwards, so… you’ll have to make as much progress as possible in the summer.”

This time, the people across the table started shaking their heads.

“Ms. Cartwright…”

“I don’t want to hear explanations about why it can’t be done, Mr….”

Helena pretended to check the business card that had been handed to her.

“…Henster. Mr. Henster, the Cartwright Fund wants to know if Gensler Architects can complete the construction within this timeframe, and if so, what the cost will be. That’s all we’re interested in.”

“For us, this is…”

…impossible, Michael Henster, the director of Gensler Architects, was about to say, but he abruptly stopped when he saw the thick document that Helena had taken out of her bag.

“But Populous said it was possible. They said that if we assemble prefabricated seats, fix them in place, and then build skyboxes and put a roof on top of them, it would take four months to complete.”

Silence fell in the conference room.

Helena placed the documents on the table as if she was intrigued and continued to speak as if she was talking to herself, slowly turning the pages one by one.

“I’m not an expert, so I don’t know if I understood the contents correctly, but Populous just won a contract to build the New York Buffalo Bills’ $1.6 billion stadium, so I guess Populous has more experience with sports-related facilities.”

Helena closed the documents again and looked at the people at Gensler Architects with a smirk, as if sharing a joke.

“They even pointed out that the bigger problem for us would be not getting the permits in time, which was a pleasant stimulus.”

It was a blatant slap in the face, but Gensler, which prides itself on being the world’s best architectural firm, couldn’t back down so easily.

“…If you give us a little time, we…”

“Populous gave us this data the very next day after we asked for it?”

It’s no exaggeration to say that the Cartwrights are a legendary financial powerhouse that has been around for three generations in Wall Street, where dozens of financial companies are founded and fail every day.

As Emil, who was sitting next to her, tried to hide his admiration, Gensler raised the white flag.

“…Well, then we’ll deliver the data to you by tomorrow. With the estimate, of course.”

The faces of the employees, who were about to start an all-nighter, turned pale, but the veterans of Gensler Architects, including Michael Henster, knew it all too well.

New York is a smaller town than you think, and the moment a prominent family like the Cartwrights spreads the word that Populous is better than Gensler, work in New York could dry up for a while.

It’s better to work all night than to face the sudden closure or downsizing of Gensler’s New York office, which employs 600 people.

As Helena rose with a satisfied smile, everyone sitting around the table stood up.

“As expected, you are Gensler Architects, which I’ve heard is the best in the world. Then I look forward to tomorrow’s meeting. I have a few appointments in the morning, so how about 2 p.m. after lunch?”

Michael Henster sighed and nodded at Helena’s generous offer to give them at least half a day.

At least she’s not asking for the data by 9 a.m. tomorrow…

“Of course. We will be happy to prepare the data.”

As Emil was escorted out of Gensler Architects’ office by the employees, he couldn’t hide his surprise until he got into the taxi and looked at his sister.

“Wow! Sister, how did you do that? Gensler was completely played!”

Helena elegantly raised an eyebrow and looked at her young and innocent younger brother.

“If you’re a member of the Cartwright family, you have to do this much, little brother.”

“Haa… I don’t think I can do that like you or Brother.”

Helena glared at Emil, who was shaking his head.

“What are you talking about? Now it’s your job to compare and analyze the proposals submitted by the architectural firms and then select one. And it’s your responsibility to manage and supervise the actual construction.”

“…Including controlling the budget?”

Helena nodded with a solemn expression, enjoying the sight of her brother’s face turning pale.

“Of course. You’ll have to explain the budget overruns directly to Dad every time the budget is exceeded, so take care of it.”

Helena smiled gleefully at Emil’s face, which was now turning yellow, and looked out the window at the New York sky.

I wonder what everyone is doing in Europe…

***

[Germany, Leipzig]

“Haa…”

Carolina Stefan sighed as she adjusted the collar of her unfamiliar suit again.

In the studio where she was sitting, preparations for the upcoming broadcast were bustling with bright lights.

On the large screen behind the table where she was sitting, the stadium’s prospects for the upcoming game were constantly being shown, and in front of her, various cameras were aiming at her from various angles to capture the conversation between her and the caster [sports commentator].

“Thank you for your help today, Proline Stefan.”

Carolina forced a smile at the friendly greeting of the caster sitting next to her, but once again cursed herself for accepting this absurd position.

[…that’s why I’m asking you.]

[…No, I’ve never done anything like broadcasting.]

1 month ago.

At her home on the outskirts of Manchester, Carolina was receiving a long-awaited phone call from an acquaintance in Germany.

She has become a talented host and producer in various sports broadcasts in Germany and has become friends with Carolina while meeting at various events and interviews.

Her friend was begging Carolina as if she was pleading.

[…You’ve done a lot of interviews. It’s not that different from that. And you’re going to be analyzing games every day, right?]

[…No, the game analysis is basically done by our team’s video analysts. And what kind of interview lasts 90 minutes? But this is a 90-minute broadcast!]

[…You’ve won the World Cup twice, and there’s no one in Germany who doesn’t know you! If you come out and commentate, it’ll be a big topic. And you’ll be able to show off your knowledge!]

[…Haa…]

Carolina sighed and tried to refuse again.

[…I can’t do it. Call someone like Lothar Matthaus [famous German soccer player].]

[…Please. He was already scouted by someone else. We have to raise the ratings somehow this time, but we can’t compete with the other broadcasters.]

They had hired a famous former coach to commentate on the German national team’s games at this World Cup, but he suddenly returned to active duty to take charge of a Bundesliga [German professional soccer league] team that had fired him.

With the veteran who had returned to active duty to assess the team’s strength during the winter break gone, the producer in charge of the World Cup broadcast, who suddenly had a hole in the commentary team, was begging Carolina, who was a friend of hers.

[…I’m active too! No, I’m even the head coach, so I can’t use my time as I please!]

[…Please. If the ratings are bad this time, I’m dead. No, our whole team is dead. Herman, Frida, Anne, who are friends with you…]

Now, her friend is even mentioning her job and the jobs of her colleagues in a mean way, trying to persuade Carolina somehow.

Carolina sighed deeply.

[…Okay. I’ll ask the club once. But I can’t do it if the club doesn’t allow it. Okay?]

[…Okay! That’s right! Let me know after you check! I’ll call you again in an hour!]

With a joyful response, her friend on the other end of the phone hung up, and Carolina barely managed to hold back the curse that was about to burst out.

Permission my ass…

Anyway, that’s the time when all the coaches are given a vacation, and there’s no way the club’s board of directors or football director Jonathan Landris would not allow her to be on TV.

Hyungmin is even more so.

Is this the showcase effect that Hyungmin was talking about…

Carolina sighed again and glared at the phone that her producer, who had called her bluff, would soon call again.

“Damn it. Damn it. Damn it…”

Carolina muttered a curse and straightened her posture again.

The first game between Germany and Japan went by so fast that she didn’t even know how 90 minutes had passed.

But after it was over, the reaction of her partner, the caster, the studio, and most of all, the producer, was very encouraging.

“It was really good! At this rate, you could go full-time?! I’ll contact you often if this happens again!”

This was the reaction of her damn producer friend.

“I knew that Proline Stefan was good at soccer, but I didn’t know that she was so good at talking. Thank you for your help during the World Cup!”

This was the reaction of the veteran caster, who couldn’t hide his anxiety when she first arrived.

Carolina sighed again and tried to focus on the countdown echoing in the studio.

“Okay, we’re going live in ten seconds. Ten! Nine! Eight! Seven…”

Ah, damn it. Why did I say I’d do this…

Carolina, swallowing her regret, tried not to frown at the bright lights shining on her face and checked that the red light was on on the camera in front of her.

“Hello, viewers. I’m Helmut Schneider of DHK Sports. The second game between our German national team and Spain in the Qatar World Cup is about to begin.”

The caster smiled at the camera and turned his head slightly towards Carolina as if introducing her, and continued.

“We’d like to watch the game with you, along with Carolina Stefan, a former German women’s national team player and head coach of Burnley Football Club in the Premier League, who gave a great commentary on the last game against Japan.”

“…Hello, I’m Carolina Stefan.”

Damn it. Damn it. Damn it.