2024-03-28 10:44:03
Meet the eminence grise of big transfers.
İdman.biz presents an article with a link to soccer.ru.
Kalafat keeps in the shadows
Real Madrid is run by three people. Florentino Perez is the public apex of the power triangle. Any football fan will recognize his grandfather; the Spanish billionaire is part of folklore. But next to him is Jose Angel Sanchez, a 57-year-old director who started at Real Madrid as a sales and marketing specialist in 2000. Nine years later, Jose was promoted and became the club’s executive director. And the third in the bunch is the youngest, 51-year-old Huni Kalafat, a Real Madrid scout who became the chief negotiator seven years ago.
It is Kalafat who flies to communicate with the parents of the football players and the players themselves. The chief scout approves the candidates, arguing with Ancelotti and Perez. Huni is no longer just a club analyst. He is trusted with the work that Florentino Perez used to do. Do not forget that the president of the famous club is 77 years old, an elderly man, who finds it difficult to travel around the world from Rio de Janeiro to Dortmund when difficult negotiations need to be carried out. Perez invites players’ representatives to visit him, and Mbappe’s mother recently visited Madrid.
And Kalafat is negotiating on the road. Huni has been successful in recent years, creating a reputation for himself as the “eminence grise” of the club. Moreover, he has to come out of the shadows, since the football players themselves began to talk about him. Endrick, the scorer of Brazil’s winning goal at Wembley, received invitations from a dozen clubs in Europe. Many in Brazil point out that other rich people were willing to pay more and offer better financial terms than Real Madrid. But Calafat flew to Brazil every two months, talked with the young man and convinced him to refuse PSG.
Scout rejuvenates Real Madrid
Spectators who remember football at the beginning of the century know about the strategy of “Zidane and Pavon”. Real Madrid had such a defender and student – Francisco, whom Perez wanted to see at the base next to superstars like Beckham, Ronaldo, Figo and Zidane. But Florentino did not take into account that it is impossible to replace Makelele with Gravesen in the supporting zone without losing his status in European football. Real Madrid lived without the Champions Cup for twelve years. And successes came, coincidentally, along with Kalafat. He was appointed as a scout in January 2014, on the eve of Ancelotti’s breakthrough.
It is clear that Ronaldo and company were invited to the club through the efforts of Perez. Florentino did not skimp and paid big money for Bale, Modric and other future Real Madrid legends. But now, when that era is ending – all that remains is to say goodbye to Carvajal, Modric and Kroos, new leaders are needed. And it is Kalafat who brings them. Huni chooses his shots wisely. For example, last summer he had disputes with Perez and Ancelotti. After Courtois’ injury, the president and coach were looking for a star, they put the Spaniard Kepa, and Calafat always supported Lunin.
As a result, Andrei will be Real’s main goalkeeper in the decisive matches of the season. No one is immune from mistakes; scout Calafat has and will have them. But we must give credit to the Spaniard with a Brazilian passport, he knows how to negotiate. In 2022, the head of the international football department of Real Madrid was named the best scout on the planet. Moreover, Kalafat is aiming at guys who can be called not the present, but the future of football. For example, when Zidane headbutted Materazzi, Endrik was still in his mother’s stomach, the boy was born two weeks later.
Huni is praised by football players
Bellingham singled out Calafat when a photo of them together was published. It was the former journalist turned successful scout who flew to Dortmund and proved to Jude that Real Madrid were better than Manchester City. Huni knows how to persuade, because the Englishman received calls from Manchester and Liverpool. When Guardiola offers cooperation on the one hand, and a short Spaniard arrives on the other, looking like an office worker in a typical suit of a poor lawyer, many would choose Josep over Huni. But Calafat explains Real’s trump cards.
Let’s see how the next battle between Guardiola and Ancelotti ends. The chances on the eve of the Champions League quarter-finals are almost equal. The two winners of the Champions League of recent years are playing. But Bellingham is leading the way for Real, just like Vinicius, Valverde and many of the other Latin Americans Calafat brought to Real. The Spaniard is friends even with those who came before his promotion. For example, Huni knows Casemiro very well. Although the scout’s specialty is the South American market, Calafat also has good connections in clubs in Europe.
Monaco could have sold Tchouameni’s contract to the Premier League, but they chose Real Madrid. The scout insisted that the transfer amount outweigh offers from other clubs. Huni also chose Camavinga from Rennes. Calafat did business with Vinicius when others doubted – they paid a lot of money for the young Brazilian. Now Huni is expanding geographically. Last summer, the club’s chief scout took young Guler from Fenerbahce. And although Arda is hampered by injuries, it is too early to put an end to his career in Spain. The boy is very talented. Calafat definitely has a taste for football.
At home, he’s an ordinary middle-aged, inconspicuous-looking dad—Huni has two daughters in high school. But at work, this is the man who will give Real one of the most promising squads in the world. Rodrigo, Edric, Vinicius and Mbappe in attack, Valverde, Tchouameni and Bellingham in midfield. Camavinga and Guler are somewhere nearby, at the Lunin gate. Even Militao, who is currently injured, was guided since the days of Porto by the scout Calafat. It is very important that many newcomers suit Real’s style. Even casting a line in Haaland’s direction can work.
Talk of Davies on the left flank and Alexander-Arnold on the right doesn’t seem like an attempt to grab stars. All the targets are not old, but with a lot of experience in the Champions League. Both sides are better at attacking than defending, but it is Ancelotti’s job to force the superstars to work without the ball, as Benzema, Kroos and Modric did.
İdman.biz