Chapter 2 Chapter 1

·The ideals of grandparents and fathers ·Born into a wealthy family ·Sports fans The waves of the Mediterranean Sea are slowly hitting the coast of Barcelona; flocks of seagulls are flying in the sky singing beautiful songs; tourists wearing sunhats and swimming suits are playing leisurely on the beach... More than 500 years ago, Columbus set sail from here, leading a group of brave explorers, passing through the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, and finally landed on the coast of the "New World".The two isolated worlds of the East and the West came into contact for the first time, and a new chapter in human history began.Today, in the center of Columbus Square on the north side of the pier in Barcelona's port area, there is still a monument tower more than 50 meters high. The vertical bronze statue of Columbus on the top of the tower stretches out its right arm, pointing to the world beyond the ocean.

The pleasant climate and beautiful scenery of the Mediterranean make Barcelona, ​​a shipping center, a tourist attraction.The water and the sky are of the same color, which attracts tourists from all over the world to visit and rest here, and also cultivates the bold and romantic character of the people here.Julio, the world's super love song prince, was infected by Barcelona's enthusiasm and romantic atmosphere, so he created those popular love songs. The unique geographical environment has created good conditions for the economic development of Barcelona.As the second largest city in Spain, Barcelona is also an important port in Spain and even the Mediterranean Sea. The large and small ships that come in and out every day and the waves of the Mediterranean Sea have promoted the development of shipbuilding, steel, textile and other industries.

People at the time didn't notice that an entrepreneur in the textile industry, although not impressive and not the richest man in wealth, had cultivated an outstanding leader for the modern Olympic movement, although this was not his original intention.He is Spanish textile entrepreneur Francisco Samaranch Castro. Francisco is not considered a wealthy family.According to written records, dating back to the second half of the 16th century, the Francisco family belonged to the generation of commoners.The first person in the family that can be found is Dominigo Samaranch, who has a son named Joan.When Joan grew up, his family moved to Terrassa.Then he moved to Barcelona at the end of the 18th century.

Francisco was born in Barcelona in 1880. He is the 8th generation descendant of Dominigo Samaranch and has been married twice.The first wife, Payata Rialte Mavisi, died in 1918 of the flu that ravaged the European continent.Payata left Francisco two children. In May 1919, Francisco married Panita's cousin, Juana Torrello Mavesi. Juana was born in Barcelona in 1888 in the Mavisi family, a textile family in Barcelona.After her father, Torrello married the Mavisi family, he opened a textile store by himself, specializing in the sale of textiles produced by the Mavisi family.Torello made money from the store and spent it on acting.He is an obsessed amateur artist who regards acting as one of the great pleasures of his life.Influenced by her father, Juana has loved art since she was a child, especially music.Before marrying Francesco, she was an organ teacher in a Catholic church choir.

On Sunday, July 17, 1920, Juana was still a few days away from her due date, but the constant labor pains made her toss and turn.Francisco, who loves his wife eagerly, hastily invited a midwife and midwife. Francisco walked anxiously up and down the corridor.Juana's repeated groans of pain convinced him that the child was soon to be born.It seems that the little guy is not going to live his life peacefully and peacefully. He has to fight from the beginning and control his own destiny. Is it a boy or a girl?Like most anxious fathers pacing outside the delivery room, Francisco's first concern was the baby's sex.Preferably a boy, Francisco prayed to himself.After all, the child was his first with Juana.He secretly made up his mind to raise this child well and inherit his own property in the future.

In order to stabilize his emotions, Francisco lit a cigarette, stopped in his tracks, and looked out the window. This is Baylenstrasse 28.Looking east, not far away is the Si San Che district.The Sanchez district is the textile industry and business district of Barcelona.Francisco has spent 30 years in this district, more precisely, in Mavisi Co., Ltd. Perhaps Francisco was born with the textile industry.His grandfather, Mestres, opened a textile shop in the local Gothic Quarter.Although the business is mediocre, there is no need to worry about food and clothing.And his father, Pastores, was not a shrewd businessman.

After Mestres' death, Pastores, the only male in the family, inherited the textile store as an errand, along with the obligation to support his mother and sisters.Due to Pastores' poor management, the store went from bad to worse and was forced to close when Francisco was 9 years old.Pastres moved his family to Barcelona. In order to make ends meet, my mother sews clothes for others, and my father can only take turns working as a temporary worker in several factories.Francisco has changed several primary schools because he cannot pay the monthly tuition fees.To make matters worse, in 1890, poor family circumstances forced him to drop out of school and come to Marvisi Co., Ltd. as an apprentice.

Marvisi Co., Ltd. is actually a factory that produces tapestries.Francisco, who had just entered the factory, had to go to work at 7:00 every morning, cleaning and oiling the machines before the workers went to work.After the workers go to work at 8:00 in the morning, he has to go to the warehouse to deliver raw materials again and again until 7:00 in the evening.Day after day of hard work finally paid off. In the summer of 1892, Francisco was transferred to the company office, but he continued to do odd jobs: cleaning tables, vacuuming rugs, and going out to do the shopping.Although the working conditions are better, there is one more unbearable job - emptying the spittoon.Seeing the staff spitting in it one mouthful at a time, Francisco felt nauseous.Even so, he didn't ask his father to take him away from here, but figured out how to deal with it himself.

One morning, in front of the crowd, Francisco pretended to accidentally drop a porcelain spittoon.A few days later, a new spittoon was added to the office, but soon, the new spittoon broke for no reason.You may or may not understand why a good spittoon will crack by itself.As a result, because there was no spittoon available, everyone gradually developed the habit of not spitting. After the incident, Francisco realized the truth: first, the dirtiest work always falls on the most humble people;From then on, he secretly made up his mind that he must break away from the bottom! Francisco began to struggle.

Mavisi Co., Ltd. is a large-scale textile factory in Si Sanche District, and its production technology is relatively advanced.Francisco carefully observes and ponders carefully, knowing everything from feeding materials, weaving to customer conditions. Later, when a new generation of the Mavisi family came to power, a rift arose between the brothers. One of them took away his own shares, and a protracted quarrel ensued, and the entire company was about to collapse. Francisco saw the right time, borrowed 5,000 pesetas, became a shareholder of Mavisi Co., Ltd. in a blink of an eye, and married Payata Mavisi and Juana Mavisi successively. Became a member of the Mavisi family.

Looking back on the past, Francisco was restless.Today, although he is not yet the richest man, he has at least entered the ranks of the middle class.He hopes that his family business can be inherited and become more prosperous, instead of ending in decline like his grandfather's small family business. "If it's a boy, I will let him study business. He will start high and become a great businessman in the future." While contemplating, a baby's crying awakened Francisco from his reverie.The midwife came to congratulate him: "Congratulations, Don Francisco, it's a boy." Francisco breathed a sigh of relief, for the safety of the mother and child, as well as for his imagining just now, he had already had a good start. He entered the room where another midwife was holding the baby for Juana to see.The child's small mouth was moving and still crying. Francisco came to the bed and kissed Juana on the cheek. "Choose a name for the baby, Francisco." Juana never took her eyes off the newborn baby. "I've already thought about it, let's call it Juan Antonio Samaranch." The solid economic foundation allowed Francisco to give the next generation conditions that they did not have when they were his own age: a superior life, a happy childhood and good educational opportunities.Shortly after the birth of Juana's fourth son, Montserrat Samaranch, Francisco built a house in an exclusive residential area west of Barcelona.Francisco later recalled: "The house is like a palace in the middle of the country. It has a medieval architectural structure, an ancient Chinese-style living room, and a small study. I think the collection is very rich, including monographs on British classical artists, which fascinate me in particular. .” In this house, the Francisco couple lived happily with their 6 children.The children each have their own room, which can be arranged as they wish. In addition, everyone has their own friends and manages their own expenses.The father did not set strict requirements for the lives of his children, in order to let them cultivate the consciousness of controlling their own destiny from an early age. As an entrepreneur, Francisco knows the importance of intellectual investment, especially early education.When Samaranch was 6 years old, he was sent to study in a primary school run by Swiss in Barcelona, ​​and several of his younger brothers also entered primary schools run by foreigners. Little Samaranch was a lovable child at school. He was modest and courteous, meticulous in his work, and won the trust of his friends and the love of his teachers.When I was in the third grade, a classmate nicknamed "Bad Boy" once tripped the teacher in class. When the teacher turned around and blamed him, he said that Samaranch sitting next to him deliberately encouraged him.The teacher criticized Samaranch indiscriminately. The little Samaranch blushed and refused to say a word. When the teacher finished speaking, he quickly said "I'm sorry".After class, the "bad boy" put his arm around Samaranch's shoulders and praised him as "a buddy". Unexpectedly, Samaranch said righteously: "I didn't let you trip the teacher, you have to apologize to me Otherwise, I will explain the truth to the teacher." In addition to primary school lessons, mother Juana assigned each child to learn a musical instrument.Little Samaranch got a violin.Mother's fate is hard to break, but Samaranch's posture for practicing the piano is not like practicing the piano.He reclines on the couch with a violin on his left shoulder and a kitten on his right shoulder, focusing more on the cat than on the violin. When he was in elementary school, the thing that pleased Samaranch the most was watching boxing with his uncle Manuel.Gradually, he not only watched, but was eager to try, and practiced quietly in his room.Sometimes I also practice duels with a few children.In the gym at home, he often finds his three younger brothers to compete in martial arts, and they often beat them to the point of crying. After graduating from elementary school, Francisco sent little Samaranch to study in a German middle school not far from home.At this time, Samaranch has grown into a young man with a neck and neck, and he is gentle and shy in class.But as soon as he left the classroom and came to the sports field, he became very angry and full of vigor.His favorite sports are soccer and boxing.Every time the school organizes a football match, Samaranch signs up for it.Gradually, he became the main winger of the German middle school football team. In the 8th grade, Samaranch was also selected as the captain of the school football team by his peers.In addition to playing football, Samaranch has never stopped practicing boxing. When he was in the ninth grade, he hid his family and teachers from his family and teachers, and went to the underground boxing ring in the central block to challenge the young boxer who was a little famous in Barcelona at that time, but he was beaten every time. His face was bruised and swollen from the beating. In the 9th grade, Samaranch became obsessed with hockey again, and his skills improved rapidly, becoming a well-known young hockey player in Barcelona. In July 1935, Samaranch completed his middle school studies with an average A-. Francisco, who was looking forward to his son's career, chose the Barcelona Experimental College for Samaranch to major in business studies.Although Samaranch wasn't interested in business, he didn't want to disappoint his father.In the first year of enrollment, Samaranch passed the very difficult accountant exam with honors and obtained the accountant certificate. something unexpected may happen any time. In July 1936, the Fascist Falange Party led by Franco rebelled, triggering a brutal civil war that lasted for three years.The confrontation between ideology and religion made Spanish society turbulent.Not only did Samaranch's studies and life suffer, but he was also conscripted into the army and served as a battlefield health worker. Samaranch was unwilling to participate in the civil war, so he soon found an opportunity to return home. When he returned home, the Experimental Academy had stopped teaching, and Samaranch was doing nothing all day long, hanging out in the market with a bunch of playboys.At that time, Samaranch's favorite thing was to race with a few "confidant" rich kids. The route they chose was the first-class highway from Barcelona to Madrid.At that time, Samaranch was driving a Gordia car, and he was driving very fast, reaching a speed of more than 200 miles per hour.Although a section of mountain road between the two cities affected the speed, Samaranch was able to run nearly 1,000 miles between the two cities in less than 5 hours.For this reason, Samaranch was questioned several times by the police station.The police suspected that Samaranch drove into the reverse lane in some areas.But doubts are doubts, the police couldn't find any evidence, so they could only let Samaranch go home with a wry smile.Francisco was very worried about his son's dissolute behavior, urging him to pick up books and teach himself business knowledge from time to time; sometimes he asked him to give him "practical lessons" in his company. In April 1939, the civil war ended, but Samaranch was conscripted to Zamora to serve in the military. Perhaps he was infected by his father's hope that his son would become a dragon. At this time, Samaranch was determined to continue his studies and become a qualified businessman .In June of this year, Samaranch ended his military service early through his father's relationship and returned to Barcelona. In 1940, he entered the Graduate School in Barcelona, ​​where the certificate as an accountant obtained at the Experimental Institute before the war was recognized.In the graduate school, Samaranch changed his habit of a prodigal son and became a well-known good student in the school.His classmate and friend Sevgot recalled the scene at that time, which is still fresh in his memory: "At that time, he (Samaranche) always carried a big leather bag, and hurried back and forth between classrooms, libraries, and laboratories. Girlfriends. In his spare time, he likes all kinds of sports. He loves football, basketball, and hockey, and his skills are not bad. Oh, by the way, Samaranch is also enthusiastic about club activities and is a well-known social activist in the school. '. I remember that once a club organized a debate at school and invited Samaranch to be the guest of honor. As a result, Samaranch turned his back on the guest and made the host speechless with his eloquence." While training the next generation, Francisco did not stop his own learning and struggle.He is a person who has the courage to explore and keep making progress.During the day he devoted himself to work; at night, he participated in various evening training courses organized by the trade union, and he always paid attention to technological innovation and scientific development. With the accumulation of knowledge and the broadening of vision, Francisco deeply felt that traditional concepts and management could no longer meet the needs of enterprise management.But his reform proposals were opposed by other shareholders.In order to put his plan into practice and show off his ambitions, Francisco founded his own company, Samaranch Co., Ltd. in 1931, which specializes in the production of bedding.Under the leadership of Francisco, Samaranch Co., Ltd.'s business is booming, and it quickly surpassed Mavisi's company. 1938 was a successful year for Francisco's career, and he established nearly 10 factories elsewhere in Spain, as well as in Argentina and Portugal.A lot of money poured into Francisco's pocket, and gradually, the Samaranch family became one of the few wealthy families in Barcelona. 1940 was also one of the important turning points in Samaranch's life.At the end of the year, Samaranch completed his studies at the Barcelona Graduate School and entered his father's company in general management.This is the first time for Samaranch to actually work. Although his father arranged everything from studying to work, which did not reflect Samaranch's own wishes, he is naturally serious and does not complain about others, but works conscientiously. Every job in the job.Soon, his talents were appreciated by his colleagues in the company and his father, and also by Mr. José Mavisi, chairman of Marvisi SA, the rival of Samaranch SA.Under Jose's repeated requests, Francisco had to reluctantly give up his love and let Samaranch, who had just started working for less than half a year, be the general manager of Mavisi. Samaranch became the manager of a large textile company at the age of 20, on the one hand because of his extraordinary talent, on the other hand it was a coincidence.As early as 10 years ago, when Francisco established the Samaranch Co., Ltd., the Mavisi family expressed strong dissatisfaction.Because Francisco is very familiar with all the customers of the original company, he will definitely take away a large number of customers from the original company if he forms his own company.Francisco did not regress, and he managed the newly established Samaranch Co., Ltd. in full accordance with his own wishes.He regards workers as his own collaborators and cares about the interests of each worker.He established a nursery, library, soccer field, restaurant, garden and even a social club at the factory.Francisco believes that only by establishing a good workplace, providing employees with sufficient income and freeing them from worries, can they devote themselves to work and create wealth of the greatest value.With its excellent management, high-quality products and good reputation, Samaranch has attracted most of Mavisi's customers.Mavisi Company and Samaranch Company became life and death rivals. In order to compete for customers, the two companies even competed to lower prices at all costs.It was not until the mid-1940s, when Francisco and Jose met in Madrid, that the two sides shook hands and made peace.Jose expressed great interest in the new management method of Samaranch Company, and proposed to Francisco to hire Francisco's "direct disciple" Samaranch as the general manager of Mavisi Company.In this way, the 20-year-old Samaranch began his father's long-awaited entrepreneurial career. But will Samaranch become a good entrepreneur?