Chapter 21 Florentino is here!
Looking down at Madrid under the dark night sky, the Bernabeu Stadium is the brightest area on match days.
Thousands of fans poured into Madrid from all directions and gathered in the direction of the Bernabeu.
The streets that extend in all directions were blocked off early on, only allowing fans watching the game to pass through.
They walked in groups in the streets and alleys of Madrid, like blood vessels of varying thicknesses, and finally converged into the big heart of the Bernabeu Stadium.
At this moment, the lights inside and outside the stadium are bright as day.
Although there was still half an hour before the game, there was already a long queue of fans waiting to check their tickets for admission.
No one wants to miss this annual city derby feast.
Even though Real Madrid's mortal rival is Barcelona, and even though Atletico Madrid is not as good as Real Madrid today, the derby in the same city always carries a special meaning.
…
The new chairman Martin just called Gao Shen.
On the phone, Martin told him that they had to win the derby tonight no matter what.
But privately, he and his staff were fully prepared.
"From the current public opinion surveys, the odds of major bookmakers, and the predictions of professionals, our situation is not optimistic, even..."
The personal assistant was at a loss for words, but Martin understood what he meant.
No one will be optimistic about Real Madrid tonight.
This is actually not surprising.
It would have been fine if they had just changed the coach, but they ended up replacing him with a 25-year-old rookie. More importantly, this rookie had the audacity to challenge the team's core fighting force, the Brazilian gang, right from the start, and even directly took down the top scorer and several key players.
There is even a rumor circulating that the Real Madrid locker room has collapsed.
Carlos's attack was the best proof, while Raul's response was more interpreted as compensation.
The Real Madrid captain has always been like this, always checking for shortcomings and filling them up.
Atletico Madrid's morale is high, while Real Madrid is almost collapsed. In the eyes of many people, this is no longer a question , but whether Real Madrid can lose more gracefully?
"Then be prepared and start the public relations plan at any time." Martin made a prompt decision.
"As soon as the game tonight is over, as long as the team does not win, immediately announce the coaching change."
"Have Bosque and Hierro reached an agreement?" the assistant asked happily.
Martin shook his head and sighed, "They all still have concerns."
After all, both Bosque and Hierro are very worried about the current situation of Real Madrid and are watching Florentino's next move.
Friends are friends, but they will only stand up when Martin is firmly seated as the president of Real Madrid.
If Martin was just a puppet of Florentino, they wouldn't have shown up at all.
"Then change the coach..." The assistant wanted to ask, who to change?
"Anyone would be better than him, right?" Martin asked back.
He didn't even know why he had a brain cramp in Valdebebas at that time and directly chose this Chinese person. Which one would not be more suitable than him?
Maqueda used to be a player of the club, Portugal, the head coach of the second team, could also be competent, and even the sports director Floro, they could all be competent, but why did they suddenly choose Gao Shen?
Whenever Martin thought of this, he wanted to slap himself.
It’s still too wasteful!
At this moment, the phone in Martin's office rang suddenly.
As soon as he picked up the phone and heard the report from the front desk, Martin almost dropped the microphone in his hand.
Florentino is here!
…
…
Florentino is really here!
This was beyond everyone's expectations.
Not only did he come, but he also had a huge lineup.
The first vice chairman of the board of directors Tapias and former Real Madrid star and former technical director Valdano accompanied him, followed by personal assistant Manuel Redondo, Honorary President of Real Madrid Di Stefano, and Vice Chairman and Head of Public Relations Butragueno personally led a team to greet him outside the stadium.
The whole scene was very lively.
The media seemed to be prepared as well, and when they saw Florentino, they all rushed over.
After his abdication, Spain's most powerful football tycoon had been on vacation in Miami, USA. Unexpectedly, he suddenly ended his vacation early and returned to Madrid and appeared at the Bernabeu Stadium. This has to be said to be big news.
The media are very concerned about why Florentino suddenly returned to Real Madrid at this sensitive moment?
Florentino smiled and said: "Although I am no longer the president of Real Madrid, don't forget that I am still one of the most senior members of Real Madrid. I have a VIP box at the Bernabeu Stadium and I am still the most loyal fan of Real Madrid."
He ended his vacation early because there were some things in the company that he needed to deal with personally, and he came to the Bernabeu because he, like all Real Madrid fans, wanted to watch the derby live.
Florentino expressed his confidence in the team's victory or defeat tonight.
"This is not the first time we have faced Atletico Madrid. I just checked and in the past three years, we have never lost to Atletico Madrid. We have won 4-0, 3-0 and 2-0. And it was at our home ground. I think we don't care about losing."
What if I lose... hehe, you know what I mean.
The media naturally asked about Gao Shen and the Brazilian gang, and Florentino smiled and said that he had heard about it.
"Martin has been my partner for many years. I know him well. He is a very thoughtful person. I believe that this young man, who is nearly 25 years old, must have his own unique ideas. We should give him more space and allow young people to try and make mistakes."
As for the Brazilian gang, Florentino believes that every head coach has his own preferences in lineup and they should all be respected.
"For us at Real Madrid, the most important thing is to win the game and play football that satisfies the fans. As for how to use the players, we should give the head coach more freedom, which is a kind of respect."
The media reporters at the scene were all very surprised.
Is this something Florentino would say?
At the beginning, he often interfered with the head coach's deployment of troops in order to ensure the appearance of superstars.
Now, he says he wants to respect the head coach’s freedom?
There is definitely something wrong!
…
Entering the Bernabeu and heading to the VIP box, Florentino took the time to visit King Juan and members of the royal family.
They are all die-hard Real Madrid fans, and as long as there is a game at the Bernabeu, they will take time to watch it.
During the meeting, King Juan expressed his concerns about the game and his worries about Martin's leadership of Real Madrid, especially the use of this 25-year-old Chinese as the head coach of Real Madrid, which was simply absurd and had never happened in the history of Real Madrid.
Florentino still smiled and said that he believed Martin could handle the team's current predicament.
He visited several old friends one after another, and they all expressed their concerns about Real Madrid, either explicitly or implicitly. Someone even directly suggested that Florentino should return to Real Madrid.
But Florentino just laughed it off.
…
After receiving the news, Martin immediately rushed to Florentino's box.
He was not at all careless towards his old friend. He knew better than anyone what Florentino was planning.
But he did not expect that Florentino suddenly returned to the Bernabeu, catching him off guard.
Along the way, he kept hearing Florentino's movements and what King Juan and Madrid's political and business celebrities said.
There are no secrets in this circle. Once something is said there, it will spread here immediately.
Martin's expression grew more gloomy, but before arriving at Florentino's box, he took a deep breath and tried his best to put on a welcoming smile.
But as soon as he opened the door, his face couldn't help but droop.
Tapias, Valdano, Butragueno and others were all within his expectations. They were all close friends of Florentino. Although Tapias had previously complained about Florentino choosing Martin as his successor, he was scolding Martin, not Florentino.
What really annoyed Martin were the other people in the box.
Ronaldo and Carlos, two big Brazilian gangsters, were not included in the roster. When they heard that Florentino was coming, they immediately ran over, but this is also normal. Ramos is a local rookie introduced by Florentino, so it is also understandable that he came to the box.
The question is, why are the Carlos here too?
This is the head coach who was fired by Martin himself. What does Florentino mean by inviting them to the Bernabeu to watch the game now?
"Haha, Martin, my friend, it's a surprise, right?" Florentino came over with a smile.
Martin tilted his head and nodded with a fake smile, "It's a surprise, Florentino, weren't you on vacation?"
"I'm still worried, so I have to come back to take a look."
Florentino had a smiling face, as if he was chatting casually. Noticing Martin's eyes fell on Carlo, he immediately laughed again, "When I came in just now, I happened to see Carlo queuing to enter the field. You know, he has made great contributions to the team, so I invited him over."
Carlo was a little depressed, but he didn't dare to do it.
"Don't be modest, Juan, I've heard that our new head coach comes to your house every day to learn from you. You must have made a significant contribution to tonight's game, right?" Florentino laughed.
After Gao Shen took office, he went to Carlo's house almost every day, which has been exposed by the media.
Some media even believe that although Gao Shen is the agent of Real Madrid today, Carlo is still the one who actually arranges the lineup.
Carlo was sandwiched between two big guys and felt a little embarrassed, but since the matter was of great importance, he still shook his head firmly.
"Actually, these are all rumors from the outside world. From the time I stepped down to now, I have never even met Gao Shen, so how could I help him with his plans?"
Carlo's words surprised everyone present, including Florentino and Martin.
Florentino invited Carlo to obviously disgust Martin, and he even said this deliberately to tell Martin that everything Gao Shen did was due to Carlo.
Didn't Martin know?
No, he had such speculation before, and even in the extremely small probability that he believed Gao Shen could lead the team to defeat Atletico Madrid, Carlo was an important consideration.
But now it’s different. Carlo has never met Gao Shen. Then, in the past few days, Gao Shen’s drastic reforms in Real Madrid, the suppression of the Brazilian gang, and the earth-shaking reforms to the team’s tactics were all his ideas?
Isn’t this young man too crazy?
It's over! It's really over!
I was blinded by the depth!
Martin felt like crying his heart out.
Ronaldo, Ramos and others were equally shocked, because the locker room had always believed that Gao Shen went to Carlo for advice, but it turned out not to be the case. This was really surprising.
It is simply unimaginable that a 25-year-old rookie has caused so many problems in Real Madrid.
More importantly, without Carlo's support and the Brazilian gang, what can Gao Shen use to fight Atletico Madrid tonight?
Looking at Martin who was as disheartened as a madman, Florentino secretly laughed and felt a little sympathy for him.
My friend is just too extravagant.
If people are too reckless, accidents are likely to happen.
