Chapter 19: Taking the blame is also a science
If the media's focus had previously been on the new chairman Martin, now, with Carlos's criticism, everyone began to pay attention to this rookie head coach who is nearly 25 years old.
He is the youngest and most unconvincing head coach in Real Madrid's history, and his ending should be the most tragic.
There are even many newspapers of all sizes speculating how long Gao Shen can stay as the head coach of Real Madrid?
Noon? Afternoon? Evening?
It would be optimistic to guess that we can hold on until tomorrow.
Over the years, no Real Madrid coach who publicly offended a superstar has had a good ending.
But what was also surprising was that they all miscalculated.
Until the evening, they did not receive the news about Real Madrid's coaching change, but instead received another interview.
De La Morena, the famous host of Spain's SER Radio, interviewed the Real Madrid captain Raul, who is in the spotlight, in his show. This is Raul's first appearance in the media after Florentino was dismissed.
During the show, Raul discussed Florentino's administration and affirmed the achievements Real Madrid has made in the past six years. As for Florentino's resignation, he said that he only knew about it in advance.
"He talked to me about it and he believes it is the only way to change Real Madrid."
De La Morena also asked about Florentino's comment that he had spoiled some people.
Raul said he had not heard it himself and did not know why Florentino said that.
"But it certainly has nothing to do with me. I've been here for 15 years and I've always worked hard for the team."
Raul said he was puzzled by the management's appointment of a 25-year-old rookie with no qualifications as head coach.
"When I heard the news, I was very opposed to it. Like everyone else, I thought it was a ridiculous decision. But after I met Gao Shen a few times, I found that he actually had his own ideas and was very courageous. He was also very young and full of energy."
"You know, sometimes we always look back and think that this is a sign of maturity, but in fact, this may cause us to miss the best opportunity to correct ourselves."
When De La Morena asked if Raul supported Gao Shen, Raul denied it.
"I don't know, but he is now the head coach of Real Madrid and as captain, my responsibility and obligation is to help him."
After a short pause, Raul added: "You know, for a team like ours, the head coach is the least important, but also the most important position."
"It doesn't matter what he says, because we have the best lineup in the world. As long as everyone can work together and play normally, we have the ability to beat all teams."
"He is important because how to coordinate the relationship between each player in the locker room and how to make everyone work together is a very big problem, so I always think that Bosque is a seriously underestimated head coach. He has done a great job."
Raul also made an appeal regarding Real Madrid's current situation.
The Real Madrid captain believes that as a professional player, what he should do is to adjust his condition and prepare for the city derby at the weekend and the life-and-death battle in the Champions League next week.
"Real Madrid needs unity more than ever now. We need a unified voice to the outside world. We all have a common desire, which is to get the team out of trouble as soon as possible. Anyone who does anything contrary to it will become an enemy in the locker room."
…
As soon as Raul's interview came out, it immediately caused a huge response.
This was interpreted by the media as the Real Madrid captain responding to Carlos' interview, saying that he should shut up, talk less and do more.
But the media also believed that Raul was actually avoiding the main issue and simply not talking about Gao Shen's appointment. This was a smart approach. He also mentioned Bosque vaguely in the interview.
Alfredo, editor-in-chief of AS, analyzed in his column that Bosque is the head coach most acceptable to all parties in Real Madrid. If he can bring Hierro back, it will be a major benefit to Real Madrid.
First, Bosque is a good friend of the new president Martin; second, Raul has now publicly expressed his welcome to Bosque; superstars such as Ronaldo and Zidane also have a good impression of Bosque; finally, Bosque is now unemployed at home and can take up the post at any time.
It can be said that everything is in place, at the right time and with the right people.
Bosque seems to be the perfect match for Real Madrid.
The only obstacle is Florentino and his direct lineage, who are the most strongly opposed to Bosque's return.
Bosque once said that he would only have the possibility of returning to Real Madrid if Florentino left Real Madrid.
In other words, if Bosque returns to Real Madrid, it means that Florentino has completely lost his influence on this Real Madrid.
Alfredo believes that Bosque is only one step away from returning to Real Madrid.
As long as Gao Shen makes a mistake in the city derby at the weekend, the new chairman Martin will seize this opportunity to fire Gao Shen and promote Bosque to take office.
When that time really comes, even if Florentino and his people are reluctant, it will probably be difficult to stop it.
Gao Shen did not pay much attention to the disturbances in the outside world. He was busy with training, polishing the team's tactics, and honing the players' cooperation during the day. At night, he hid in the tactical library to study and improve his own strength. How could he have time to care about these things?
He even didn't care whether he would be replaced by Bosque.
…
…
Knock~knock~knock.
Gao Shen, who was working at his desk with his head buried in his computer, heard a knock on the door. He suddenly looked up and saw Raul standing at the door.
"It's so late, why haven't you left yet?" Gao Shen waved, stood up, and turned his sore neck, "What's the matter?"
Raul nodded and walked in and said, "I just received news that there may be some... well, more extreme, you know, some banners and speeches in the stands of the Bernabeu tomorrow night. You have to be mentally prepared."
Gao Shen understood, and he had been mentally prepared for all this.
Especially this afternoon, he did not attend the pre-match press conference in person, but asked assistant coach Maqueda to go on his behalf and announce the 18-man roster for tomorrow night. Except for Felipe Luis, no Brazilian player was included.
If it was just speculation before, now everyone is very sure, even ordinary fans can see clearly that Gao Shen is targeting the Brazilian gang.
"You haven't left yet so late just to remind me of this?" Gao Shen saw the hesitation on Raul's face at a glance.
Raul was very surprised. Every time he stood in front of Gao Shen, he felt like he was seen through, which made him very puzzled.
Isn’t Gao Shen only twenty-five years old?
Why does he look so cunning?
"To be honest, we are all very worried," Raul said with a sigh.
"Normal." Gao Shen smiled slightly.
In the Real Madrid locker room, the reason why the Brazilian gang can compete with the local gang is not just because they have more people, but because they are strong enough. From a purely strength perspective, the local gang is no match for the Brazilian gang.
In the past few years, the core fighting force of Real Madrid has been the Brazilian gang and superstars, and the local gang is gradually declining.
But now, Gao Shen is determined to take down the Brazilian gang, which is equivalent to cutting off one arm of Real Madrid. In such a fierce competition in La Liga, can Real Madrid defeat Atletico Madrid with only one arm? Can it reverse Arsenal in the second round of the Champions League?
Raul and others are worried, on the one hand because they all love this team, and on the other hand because they all know the strength and contribution of the Brazilian gang.
Doesn’t Gao Shen know?
No, he knew, and he knew it very well.
But he had to do it.
From the moment he decided to support the local gang, he had to constantly marginalize the troublemakers of the Brazilian gang. Otherwise, he would have no need to do his job as the head coach and would definitely be defeated.
As a manager, there are only two views on your subordinates: those who can be used by me and those who cannot be used by me.
Obviously, the Brazilian gang belongs to the latter, at least many Brazilian players belong to the latter temporarily.
Once Gao Shen has secured his position and they have submitted, Gao Shen will consider using them to balance the local gang, thereby achieving the goal of the head coach having full control over the locker room.
Of course, all this is based on the premise that he can continue to work in this position in Real Madrid.
The path Gao Shen has chosen is difficult, but he must do so because it is the right way.
Queiroz, Raymond, Luxemburgo and Carlo, and even going back to Bosque, they have all been constantly compromising and adopting a policy of appeasement, which will only intensify the internal conflicts in the Real Madrid locker room.
Many people miss Bosque, but even if he had stayed in 2003, after Hierro, Makelele and others left the team, could he have controlled the locker room?
Now that Bosque has returned, can he control the situation?
No, he is probably another Carlo.
If you only treat the symptoms and not the root cause, you will not be able to break out of this vicious circle in the end.
Gao Shen has been aiming to cure the root cause from the very beginning, and if he fails, he will die!
"We Chinese have a saying that a real man should do what he should do and not do what he shouldn't do. This means that people should have a bottom line and stick to principles. There are some things that should be done and some things that should not be done."
Gao Shen's words surprised Raul and triggered his empathy.
He was only 1.80 meters tall, but in Raul's eyes, he seemed to be taller.
"Don't worry, I'm very confident after these few days of training. So you see, I don't even ask the players to stay in a hotel tonight, but let them stay at home. You should go back and rest early too." Gao Shen comforted.
Raul found that he couldn't seem to beat the profoundness of the argument, so he could only nod and leave.
Gao Shen watched Raul's back as he left, secretly laughing in his heart.
In fact, there is another very important reason why he tried his best to suppress the Brazilian gang, and that is Martin.
If there are still people who cannot see clearly the tussle between Martin and Florentino, it is a bit too inconsiderate.
The Brazilian gang was once Florentino's favorite. Taking down the Brazilian gang means dealing with Florentino's legacy issues. As for the team's performance, does Martin care?
Please, Real Madrid is already in such a bad state this season, how much worse can it get?
In other words, Gao Shencai needs good grades to secure his position, but Martin doesn't.
If Gao Shen uses the Brazilian gang now, and the results are not good, he will be fired; what if the results are good?
Doesn't this prove that there is nothing wrong with Florentino's favoritism towards the Brazilian gang?
Then why doesn’t Martin eat Gao Shen? Is he going to keep him for the New Year?
On the other hand, if Gao Shen does not use the Brazilian help and the results are not good, he will still be dismissed, but his situation will be relatively better. However, if the results improve, Martin can get rid of Florentino with a clear conscience, and Gao Shen will be able to continue as the head coach.
The position of head coach is like the sandwich of an Oreo cookie, you have to consider both the top and the bottom.
Nowadays, taking the blame for the leader is a science!
