Chapter 35: This is the life a time traveler should have!
As night falls, the lights in the head coach's office at Arsenal's Colney training base, north of London, are still on.
Wenger was sitting at his desk, watching a football match on the computer screen in front of him.
In the 26th round of La Liga, Real Madrid will face Atletico Madrid at home.
How many times has he watched this game?
Wenger himself couldn't remember clearly, but the more he watched it, the more interesting it became.
In the match against Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid's offense was actually very rough, and it was obvious that it had not been carefully polished and practiced, but the team's defense is worthy of scrutiny.
The players made many mistakes and looked very passive on the field, so many fans and even some Spanish media accused Real Madrid of playing Italian football. Little did they know that real insiders could easily see the clues when watching this game.
Real Madrid's defensive system has changed!
The 25-year-old Chinese youth injected fresh blood into this aging team.
Whether it is the double defensive midfielder or the defensive system, it all looks very much like Benítez. The only difference is that Real Madrid does not adopt high-pressure tactics in the game.
Is this for the players' sake? Or is it that Gao Shen doesn't understand this?
Wenger doesn't know, but even so, it's amazing enough.
He is only twenty-five years old!
After watching the game, Wenger felt a little unsatisfied, and a question involuntarily arose in his mind. This is also the question that fans all over the world have been looking forward to in the past few days.
What tactics will Real Madrid adopt when visiting Highbury?
If it was Carlo, it would actually be easier to guess, because it would be difficult for this head coach to have such courage.
But it is not necessarily profound.
Young people are always more impulsive and more reckless.
And will Ronaldo and Carlos, the two offensive generals of Real Madrid, get a chance to play?
When Wenger was doing pre-match simulations with the coaching staff, they all felt that there was a high probability that they would be included in the squad, even if they were not in the starting lineup, because Real Madrid really needed the offensive capabilities of Ronaldo and Carlos.
Moreover, the new president of Real Madrid also came out.
Wenger also added fuel to the fire in a previous interview because he also wanted Ronaldo and Carlos to start.
The reason is simple, he wants to replicate the battle at the Bernabeu at Highbury.
Real Madrid has many old players, and the bodies of several superstars can no longer keep up with the high-intensity game rhythm. If Ronaldo and Carlos play, Real Madrid's rhythm will be slower and the players' overall running will be worse.
What are Arsenal, or Premier League teams, best at?
Fast-paced running and rushing!
Beat the slow with the fast!
That's why Wenger deliberately said those things in the media.
The media, fans, management, chairman, and even opponents have come forward. Wenger feels that Real Madrid's 25-year-old acting head coach should compromise, right?
When the professor thought of this, a smile appeared on his face.
He learned this trick from that old man who was full of evil intentions.
Just then, assistant coach Pat Rice appeared at the office door and knocked.
Wenger looked up and saw the assistant coach walking in hurriedly with a fax in his hand.
"The press conference in Madrid is over. This is the 18-man squad of Real Madrid that we just got."
Pat Rice handed the fax to Wenger with a serious look on his face.
"It is somewhat different from what we had guessed before. None of the Brazilian players including Ronaldo, Roberto Carlos, Baptista, Robinho and Cicinho made the squad."
Wenger's eyes were always focused on the faxed list. He scanned the names one by one and found that Ronaldo, Carlos and others were really not on the list. Then he looked up in surprise and looked at his assistant.
They guessed wrong!
But soon, Wenger laughed again and shook his head, saying: "You are indeed a young man, so brave!"
The whole world was calling for Ronaldo and Carlos, and even their boss asked for the two to play. As a result, Gao Shen refused to do so and just bore all the pressure.
This is either stubbornly sticking to your plan or throwing the jar into the air.
Being able to beat Atletico Madrid at the Bernabeu, it should be the former no matter how you look at it.
"This young man is quite interesting!" Wenger praised with a chuckle. He seldom praises others, especially the opposing head coach.
But this time, he really felt that Gao Shen was very interesting.
"He's from Loughborough University, if I remember correctly?"
"Yes, a sports major. I went to learn more about it and my academic performance is very good."
Wenger nodded and said, "When he steps down from Real Madrid, you can contact him, offer him a contract and let him come to work at Kearney. I like this young man!"
Pat Rice was stunned. Was this an attempt to poach people?
Without Ronaldo and Carlos, and without the Brazilian gang, Wenger was a little surprised but also relieved.
What he said was true or false, and there were pros and cons with or without Ronaldo.
But it is obvious that Gao Shen is making choices based on his own ideas.
What exactly does he want to do?
Wenger would also like to know.
…
…
Almost at the same time as Wenger, in a luxury house in the suburbs of Madrid, former Real Madrid president Florentino also learned the results of the press conference that had just ended from his assistant Redondo, and even got more.
"According to UEFA's requirements, the head coach must attend the press conferences before and after the game unless there are special circumstances."
As soon as Redondo finished speaking, Florentino couldn't help laughing.
"So, he has a special case?"
Redondo suppressed his smile and nodded, "Yes, he said he was uncomfortable."
This reason is too far-fetched, and anyone can tell that it is just a perfunctory answer.
"Our acting head coach is really interesting. He doesn't even bother to think of excuses, but on the other hand, he still insists on not using Ronaldo and Carlos. He dares to be an enemy of everyone. It's quite interesting, really interesting!"
Florentino suddenly felt that he really wanted to meet this young man.
Interesting young people are rare these days.
"He's pushing himself into a dead end." Redondo shook his head.
In his opinion, this was somewhat impulsive.
"If you think about it this way, Manuel, if he had decided early on that he would leave if he lost to Arsenal, whether the club kept him or not, then it would not be difficult to guess his decision at this moment."
If he follows public opinion and uses Ronaldo and Carlos, even if he loses to Arsenal and Real Madrid is eliminated from the Champions League, it is highly likely that Gao Shen will be fired, but there is still a little hope. But now, he has to withstand all the pressure and go against the management, media and fans. If he wins, everyone will be happy, but if he loses, he will have to leave with all the infamy.
"Besides, Manuel, what do you think Martin is thinking at this moment?"
The first thought that flashed through Redondo's mind was that Martin should be angry now because the subordinate he promoted disobeyed his wishes.
But soon, he thought more deeply and found that Martin had no reason to be angry.
Ronaldo was the benchmark signing of his predecessor. If he uses Ronaldo at this time, if they win, the credit will go to his predecessor, and if they lose, he will take the blame himself. This is not cost-effective no matter how you look at it, and he even threatened to suppress superstars a while ago.
People who know some of the inside story understand that Martin came out to mediate at this time because he felt the pressure from the board of directors, the media and the fans, but he certainly didn't want Ronaldo and Carlos to return in his heart.
There is no need for the Brazilian. If we win, it’s all his credit. If we lose, isn’t it normal?
No team has won such a game in the Champions League for so many years. Who can demand that they must win?
Thinking of this, Redondo suddenly understood.
Martin must be secretly happy at this moment.
"Have you figured it out?" Florentino asked with a chuckle. "This kid is young, but he's quite resourceful. He tricked Martin before, and now he's taking the pressure on himself. Even if he really takes the blame and gets fired, Martin will treat him well."
Taking the blame for the leader is also a science.
Putting aside other things, wasn't Valdano's dismissal from Real Madrid just a scapegoat for Florentino?
Didn't Florentino treat him well anyway?
Even if the time is right and Florentino returns to the presidency of Real Madrid, he will still let Valdano return with him. This is the best proof.
At this moment, Redondo's cell phone suddenly rang.
There is another piece of news from the Bernabeu.
"Martin has decided to go with the team to Highbury!"
It is basically impossible to win this game. For the sake of face, arranging Vice President and Technical Director Butragueno to accompany the team is already a high standard.
Martin went there in person, which is a show of support for Gao Shen!
…
…
Before the team set off, Gao Shen made a special trip to the Ortaleza district.
He came to say goodbye to Carlo.
"If we lose this game, I won't come back!" Gao Shen said firmly.
Carlo suddenly raised his head and looked at Gao Shen with great surprise. He didn't expect that Gao Shen had made such a big decision.
This game is important, but is it really worth it for Gao Shen to gamble it all?
"Don't be so surprised, Mr. Carlo, this world is fair." Gao Shen smiled with relief.
"If I win, everything will be completely different when I come back. I should get a permanent coaching contract by then, which will make me the youngest head coach in the history of European football, and even world football. My life will change dramatically."
"Compared to this, the cost of losing is nothing ."
Gao Shen suddenly enjoyed the feeling at this moment. He was like Jing Ke who was about to enter Qin to assassinate, like Xiang Yu who burned his boats, and like Han Xin who lined up his troops with his back to the water. But he liked Li Shimin on the banks of the Wei River more.
This is the life a time traveler should have!
Carlo was silent. He understood what Gao Shen said, but he still sighed. "If that's the case, then why are you still so stubborn and don't let Ronaldo and Carlos into the squad? With these two people, the team's offensive power will be stronger. Don't you know that?"
"I know." Gao Shen understood Carlo's thoughts, "but they are really not in my plan."
Gao Shen took many aspects into consideration when making this decision, but the most important one was from a technical and tactical perspective.
"What's your plan?" Carlo frowned. "You mean, you plan to defend tightly and wait for Arsenal to make a mistake?"
Gao Shen smiled slightly and asked, "Do you think I am such a conservative person?"
Carlo was speechless for a moment, because if he were in his shoes, he would probably do the same thing.
"Don't worry, Mr. Carlo, you will definitely see a different Real Madrid at Highbury!"
