The 2003/2004 season was the year the "Old Guard" of football met the "New Money" of the East. Roman Abramovich had arrived at Chelsea, and with him, a blank checkbook that had already swallowed up players like Hernán Crespo, Juan Sebastián Verón, and Claude Makélélé.
Julian Vane sat in the visiting manager's office at Stamford Bridge. He was 25 years old, facing a team that cost more than the city of Birmingham's entire infrastructure.
[ THE EMINENCE PROTOCOL: LAYER 1 ACTIVE ]
[ CURRENT MATCH: CHELSEA FC VS. ASTON VILLA ]
[ PROBABILITY OF VICTORY: 18% ]
"Eighteen percent," Julian whispered to the empty room. "The system is being generous."
He stood up and walked to the mirror, adjusting his black tie. He wasn't wearing the club tracksuit today. He was wearing a slim-fit charcoal suit. He needed to look like a professional, not a PE teacher.
A knock at the door signaled the arrival of Claudio Ranieri, the Chelsea manager.
Ranieri was a gentleman of the game, a man known as "The Tinkerman." He walked in with a warm smile, though his eyes showed the stress of managing Abramovich's millions.
"Julian," Ranieri said, offering a hand. "I saw the Lisbon boy on the team sheet. Bold. Very bold to play a child against Makélélé."
"Experience is just a polite word for old habits, Claudio," Julian replied, his voice flat. "Makélélé is the best holding midfielder in the world because he occupies a specific zone.
I've told Cristiano that if he enters that zone, he's failed. We aren't going through your center. We're going around it."
Ranieri's smile faltered for a fraction of a second. "I wish you luck. You will need it."
As Ranieri left, Julian activated the [ANTI-TANK MINE] blueprint he had purchased from the Black Market.
[ TACTICAL BUFF ACTIVATED: 'THE PRICE OF PRESSURE' ]
[ TARGETS: ALL CHELSEA SIGNINGS OVER £15M ]
[ EFFECT: -30% COMPOSURE FOR THE FIRST 20 MINUTES ]
Julian walked out into the tunnel. The noise of Stamford Bridge was a deafening roar of expectation. He saw the Chelsea players—global superstars—looking at his Villa squad with casual indifference. They expected a walkover.
Julian's eyes found Roman Abramovich in the director's box. The Russian billionaire was looking down at the pitch like a man watching a new horse race.
I'm going to make your investment look like a waste of money, Julian thought.
The match began, and for the first ten minutes, Chelsea dominated. Verón was pulling the strings, and Crespo was lurking on the edge of the box.
But Julian wasn't watching the ball. He was watching the [COMPOSURE BARS] of the Chelsea stars. They were flickering.
In the 14th minute, the Protocol's "Anti-Tank Mine" hit.
Verón, under a slight press from Gareth Barry, made a simple unforced error—a backpass that was too short.
Julian didn't even have to shout. The [3-2-2-3] system he had drilled into his players was already in motion. Because he had "Synced" Barry and Ronaldo, the moment the ball went loose, Barry didn't look at the ball; he looked at the space behind Chelsea's left-back.
He clipped a first-time pass.
Ronaldo, wearing the number 7, didn't hesitate. He took the ball on his chest, and instead of taking on the defender, he used a "Predictive Path" Julian had shown him in the simulation lab. He cut inside before the defender even shifted his weight.
Makélélé arrived to snuff out the danger, but Ronaldo didn't try to dribble. He played a lightning-fast one-two with Peter Crouch, who Julian had instructed to act as a "Static Pivot."
The wall pass returned to Ronaldo's feet inside the box. He smashed it low, across the face of goal, into the bottom corner.
0-1.
The Bridge went silent. The "Apex Tactician" stood on the touchline, his hands in his pockets. He didn't celebrate. He simply pulled out a small tactical notepad and made a mark.
[ MISSION STATUS: 22% COMPLETE ]
[ CURRENT REPUTATION: 'THE BRAZEN UPSTART' ]
"Stay in the shape!" Julian commanded, his voice piercing the silence.
The match became a war of attrition. Chelsea threw everything at them, but Julian's 3-2-2-3 was a nightmare for Ranieri's traditional 4-4-2 diamond.
By playing three at the back but using two "Inverted Wingbacks," Julian had created a five-man block in the middle of the pitch.
Every time Chelsea tried to find Verón, they found a wall of claret and blue.
Julian's high intelligence was constantly scanning the [STAMINA] bars. At the 65th minute, he saw Mellberg's energy hit the "Red Zone."
In 2003, managers usually waited until the 75th or 80th minute to make subs. Julian didn't care about the "norm."
"Mellberg out. Alpay in. Now!" he shouted.
The substitution was so fast it caught Ranieri off guard.
Chelsea had just prepared a cross for Crespo, expecting the tired Mellberg to miss his header. Instead, a fresh Alpay cleared it easily.
As the clock ticked toward the 90th minute, Chelsea's "Composure" had completely bottomed out. They were playing long, desperate balls—exactly what Julian wanted.
The final whistle blew.
Chelsea 0 - 1 Aston Villa.
The media in the stands were already scrambling to rewrite their headlines. The 6-1 loss to Arsenal was now being framed as a "tactical anomaly." The win against the billionaire-backed Chelsea was the "Birth of a Genius."
Julian walked across the pitch to Ranieri. "Good game, Claudio. Tell Roman that money can buy players, but it can't buy the 40,000 simulations I ran last night."
He didn't wait for a response. He walked toward the tunnel, but a man blocked his path. It was a tall, broad-shouldered man with a sharp suit and a ruthless aura.
Roman Abramovich's right-hand man.
"Mr. Vane," the man said, his accent heavy. "The Chairman is... impressed. He would like to know what kind of computer you use to prepare your matches."
Julian looked him in the eye. "Tell him I don't use a computer. I use a Protocol."
He walked past him and into the dressing room.
[ LEVEL UP: MANAGER LEVEL 2 ]
[ PRESTIGE CREDITS EARNED: 400 ]
[ NEW FUNCTION UNLOCKED: LAYER 1 — THE LOYALTY PRISM ]
Julian sat at his desk in the dressing room, the sounds of his players celebrating in the showers muffled by the walls. He opened the [BLACK MARKET]. Now that he was Level 2, new items were appearing.
One item caught his eye.
[ ITEM: THE SCOUT'S BLACK BOX (ITALY) ]
[ DESCRIPTION: Reveals all players in Serie A with a PA over 175 who are currently 'Undervalued'. ]
He had 400 PC. The box cost 350.
Julian knew that the January window would be the most important of his life. He needed to build a team that could do more than just "survive" the big teams. He needed to conquer them.
He clicked 'Buy'.
[ SEARCHING SERIE A... ]
[ TARGET FOUND: ANDREA PIRLO (AC MILAN) ]
[ STATUS: Currently viewed as 'Inconsistent' by Ancelotti. ]
[ POTENTIAL SYNERGY WITH RONALDO: 98% ]
Julian's eyes widened. Pirlo. The man who would redefine the deep-lying playmaker role. In 2003, he was still being rotated.
"If I get Pirlo," Julian whispered to the empty room, "the Premier League is over."
He pulled out his phone. It was time to call Jorge Mendes again. The "Endgame" was scaling up.