Chapter 15 Superstar or Victory?
The goalkeeper is Casillas, the defense line from left to right is Felipe Luis, Helguera, Woodgate and Arbeloa, the double defensive midfielders are Gravesen and De La Red, the frontcourt is Raul, Zidane and Beckham, and the center forward is Negredo.
This is the starting roster that Gao Shen has arranged for the yellow vests in the team training match.
The list of players in red vests is: goalkeeper Diego Lopez, defense is Raul Bravo, Mejia, Ramos and Cicinho, midfield is Pablo Garcia and Guti, front court is Robinho, Baptista and Cassano, and forward is Soldado.
The remaining players are divided into two teams as substitutes , among which the substitutes of the yellow vests are mostly young players, such as Parejo, Granero, Juan Mata and other players are all in the yellow vests.
Everyone knows that there is a tacit understanding on the training ground that the yellow vests represent the starting main players.
Therefore, when the coaching staff saw the team list submitted by Gao Shen, everyone was shocked.
None of the Brazilian players made it into the Yellow Vests group. The only Brazilian player who made it into the Yellow Vests, Felipe Luis, is a young player from the second team who was previously unknown. What does this mean?
It was at this moment that everyone realized that what Gao Shen said yesterday was not directed at all superstars. At least Zidane, Raul, Beckham, Casillas and others were all in the yellow vest group and were still the main players.
But Carlos and Ronaldo didn't even make the red vest start.
This is really humiliating!
…
"Are you crazy? Do you know what you are doing?"
When Maquida saw the list, he opened his throat and yelled at Gao Shen, looking extremely angry.
The shock brought by the list and Maqueda's gaffe made everyone in the coach's office silent.
Everyone thought that Gao Shen was crazy!
They actually dared to put Carlos and Ronaldo in the red vests group and didn't even let them into the red vests roster. Isn't this too outrageous?
Do you know who Carlos is?
One of the three captains of Real Madrid!
From joining Real Madrid in 1996 to now, Carlos has always been the best choice for left-back. He has made outstanding contributions. In terms of seniority, even Raul and Guti have to give him some points.
You know, Raul became the captain only after Hierro left the team in 2003.
"What are you yelling about?" Maqueda's almost roaring angered Fernando Lucas who was next to Gao Shen.
But Gao Shen quickly stopped Lucas and signaled him not to say any more.
The whole office suddenly became dead silent.
Gao Shen said nothing, just stared at Maqueda.
Others also smelled the strange atmosphere in the office and dared not say a word.
Everyone knows that Maqueda is dissatisfied with Gao Shen, because even if Carlo is dismissed, the position should go to the chief assistant coach. However, Chairman Martin did not play by the rules and directly appointed Gao Shen. How can people accept this?
Everyone could see that Maqueda was determined to undermine Gao Shen, but he was suppressed by Gao Shen in the morning.
Now, Gao Shen’s move was so big that Maqueda couldn’t help it.
After all, in Maqueda's eyes, Gao Shen was just a puppet of the management. He always looked down on Gao Shen and still regarded him as an intern who had just joined the team. So when he saw the list, he immediately shouted arrogantly.
Gao Shen looked at him without saying a word. There was a moment of silence in the office, but Maquida felt very uncomfortable.
It really proves the saying: As long as you don’t feel embarrassed, it’s others who are embarrassed.
Gao Shen indeed did not feel embarrassed, he just looked at Maquida, as if waiting for him to continue his outburst.
For some reason, Maquida suddenly felt anxious for no apparent reason.
After all, he is just an assistant coach, and Gao Shen is the head coach.
Whether he obeys or not, the authority is there and Gao Shen is his direct leader.
Although the silence lasted less than two minutes, it felt as long as two years. Finally, Maqueda couldn't stand it anymore. He coughed awkwardly twice and explained hesitantly: "I... I don't mean anything else, but this list is just a joke."
Gao Shen still didn't say anything, but nodded, indicating that he should continue.
"You know Ronaldo is our team's top scorer right now, we need his goals..."
Throughout the afternoon, while others were taking a lunch break, Gao Shen was carefully preparing for the afternoon training.
Not only did he repeatedly ponder and polish his own tactical framework in the tactical library, combining it with Benítez's tactical ideas, but he was also imagining various possibilities, including how to deal with the coaching staff and players.
Maquida's statement had already been subjected to profound deduction, so he simply did not allow him to continue and interrupted him rudely.
"Juan, I have to remind you to update your data and information in a timely manner."
Maquida's face turned very ugly, but Gao Shen ignored it and continued speaking.
"You're right, Ronaldo is indeed the team's top scorer. So far, he has scored nine goals and two assists in the league, but..."
Gao Shen emphasized his tone, pointed at Maqueda, and reminded him, "From October 15, when he scored twice in the derby at the Calderón Stadium, it has been more than four months. We have played 18 league games, five Champions League games, and six Copa del Rey games. How many goals has he scored?"
Without giving Maqueda any time to react, Gao Shen directly raised three fingers.
"Three goals, including one in the Copa del Rey match against Zaragoza 4-0, and in the other games, he made no contribution due to rotation, injury or other reasons."
This is an ironclad fact that no one can refute.
"I never deny that even now, Ronaldo is still the most dangerous killer in the world, but..."
Fernando Lucas, who was standing by, was stunned. He found that Gao Shen was completely different from before, especially when he spoke clearly and liked to say "but", and every turn of events caught people off guard.
"From a head coach's perspective, we have to admit that he is not in his best form right now, but what we need now is to win and beat our opponents, not to let our stars waste opportunities on the court."
"Superstar and victory, when we have to choose between the two, please tell me, what would you choose?"
Maqueda was suddenly speechless.
Gao Shen's attitude was so tough that it even caught Maqueda off guard.
Are superstars the cancer of Real Madrid’s fighting power?
This is actually a very difficult thing to prove. Perhaps, as some people say, the problem is not the superstars, but how to use them.
But when a club pays such a huge price to introduce a superstar, and when a head coach has such a big-name superstar, who can have the heart to put him on the bench?
This is going to cause big trouble.
"Do you think we can win the game using a young player from the second team?" Maqueda also became much more rational.
Gao Shen shook his head. "No one can guarantee it, but I am the head coach. I will use my understanding of football and tactics to arrange my lineup. I will take all the responsibility for winning or losing. You are my assistant. What you need to do is not to question my decision, but to help me do all this. Do you understand?"
Maquida's face turned quite ugly because Gao Shen made it clear directly.
No matter what his qualifications are, no matter how disdainful he is of Gao Shen, there is one reality he cannot change, that is, Gao Shen is the head coach of Real Madrid and his immediate superior.
Faced with orders and requests from above, he had no choice but to obey.
Unless, he leaves!
Is Maqueda willing to leave?
He couldn't bear to do it .
Because if Gao Shen is dismissed, the person most likely to take over will be Juan José Maqueda.
The position of coach at Real Madrid is far more attractive than outsiders imagine.
Everyone in the office felt Gao Shen's sudden outburst of power and they were all shocked.
In their past impression, Gao Shen was a very low-key, even somewhat cowardly Chinese, but today, he suddenly straightened his back and used the authority of his position to suppress the usually arrogant Maqueda.
Everyone had no doubt that if Maqueda continued to fight back, he would be fired on the spot.
If this is the case with Maquida, let alone others.
Maybe the head coach Gao Shen cannot decide whether to sell a superstar, but he can still decide whether to fire an employee.
At least, there is no problem in getting kicked out of the first team.
"Okay, you're the head coach, you decide and I'll cooperate." Maqueda gave in. "But I have the responsibility to remind you that you must be responsible to Real Madrid, the fans and the players. You can't win anything relying on these kids you temporarily pulled from the second team."
Gao Shen revealed a sarcastic sneer. If he followed the plot in online novels, shouldn't he have scolded these young players at this time, saying "Don't bully the young and poor"?
"You don't need to worry about whether we can win or not. I have been in the second team and I know their strength very well. You just need to arrange the training." Gao Shen did not give him any face at all.
Since Maqueda didn't even give him face, why should he bother to try to please someone who was so cold?
…
Maqueda took the coaching staff out to set up the field.
Gao Shen was thinking that he would have to continue communicating with the players, so he had to understand the temperament of each player, especially their interests, and then break them down one by one.
"Honestly, you've impressed me now. You're so tough. It really makes me feel better!" Lucas praised with a smile.
It was obvious that he had long been disgusted with Maqueda.
Gao Shen also smiled slightly, "Some people just want to be cleaned up."
He now truly understood what it meant that a higher-ranking official could crush someone to death.
"However, although Maqueda is annoying, his words are not without reason." Lucas is a college student, and he still has the most basic dialectical thinking, and he will not blindly follow blindly. "Tell me the truth, how confident are you about this weekend's game?"
Gao Shen looked at the person in front of him, the only person he could trust at the moment. He suddenly smiled and asked, "If I say I'm not sure, would you believe me?"
Lucas wasn't surprised, instead he looked as if he had guessed it.
This is normal.
Gao Shen was shut out by Carlo for two consecutive days. Without learning anything, how could he come up with a strategy to defeat Atletico Madrid?
But no matter what, now we can only pretend to be strong and hold on to the end.
"Don't worry, no matter what, I support you!"
After saying that, Lucas turned and left, saying that he was going to the training ground to help keep an eye on Gao Shen.
Looking at his back, Gao Shen felt warmth.
This guy is really loyal.
