Chapter 48 Two Requests
When he was in China, Gao Shen heard more than once that Real Madrid represents the nobility and the wealthy class, so it was named Royal. Even King Juan I was a die-hard fan of Real Madrid.
Atletico Madrid represents the common people and the lower middle class, so their nickname is "The Bed Sheet Army".
Listen, what a tacky nickname, which tall, rich and handsome guy would call himself "bed sheet"?
But after arriving in Madrid, Gao Shen found that this statement was really unreliable, because the development of professional football is no longer what it was decades ago. Even if the two major teams in Madrid still inherit years of grievances and struggles, the fan group is no longer the same as it used to be.
Just like now, Gao Shen called a taxi from the Hortaleza district to the Bernabeu, and the driver was a die-hard Real Madrid fan.
Along the way, he told Gao Shen that his whole family were Real Madrid fans, but unfortunately, they had no money and could not afford the high ticket prices at the Bernabeu. However, this did not hinder their love for Real Madrid and its superstars.
He also said that his favorite players are Raul, Ronaldo and Zidane. He hopes Gao Shen can think carefully about letting Ronaldo return to the starting lineup. After all, the Brazilian superstar is still very capable.
The driver was full of praise for the team's two games at the Bernabeu and Highbury. He said that the Highbury match was the most exciting game he had seen in the past two or three years. He could never have imagined that Real Madrid's superstars could play such football.
But he also learned from the media that Real Madrid won this game in a pyrrhic victory and the players were exhausted.
"It will probably be difficult to play Valencia away next time, right?" the driver asked anxiously.
Gao Shen laughed and said, "Don't worry, we will do our best."
When Gao Shen got off the car at the Bernabeu, the driver refused to take his money no matter what, saying that it was a rare opportunity to give the head coach of Real Madrid a ride and it would be unreasonable to charge him money.
But how could Gao Shen be willing to give in?
In the end, there was no choice but to throw a bill on the back seat, get out of the car and leave quickly.
I didn’t get my change back, so I suffered a loss!
But when he heard the driver sitting in the front seat, taking out his cell phone, calling his colleague, and proudly shouting that he had just taken over as the head coach of Real Madrid, the pride that came from the bottom of his heart made Gao Shen couldn't help but turn his head and smile at the cute driver.
Well, it's well worth the money!
…
The last time he came to the Bernabeu office, it was Raul, who was familiar with the place, who brought him in.
This time, Gao Shen didn’t know which way to go or who to find, so he went straight to the front desk.
The lady at the front desk looked up and was obviously surprised when she saw Gao Shen, but she quickly reacted and immediately took him to the office of Vice Chairman Butragueno.
After knocking on the door and escorting Gao Shen in, the lady at the front desk asked politely, "Excuse me, what would you like to drink?"
"Just boiled water will do, thank you." Gao Shen replied with a smile.
The lady at the front desk blushed and left immediately.
This head coach is quite young and handsome, completely different from those old guys in the past.
Butragueno is the vice-president, head of the public relations department and technical director. He is recognized as a powerful figure within Real Madrid. He was previously a senior executive trained by Florentino and was one of the Five Eagles of Real Madrid in the 1980s.
Florentino has always had a wish, which is to turn everyone in Real Madrid, from the chairman to the management to the head coach to the players, into superstars, making Real Madrid the most star-studded legendary team in the world.
But this ambition only lasted three years before it was shattered, and Florentino stepped down in less than six years.
Of course, Gao Shen knew that he had made a comeback in 2009, but others didn't know.
So now, there are two contradictory emotions inside and outside Real Madrid, one is to improve the superstar strategy, and the other is to tear it down and rebuild.
As a professional player, Butragueno was very satisfied with Gao Shen's coaching in the past two games as soon as they met. He asked some questions of his own, which also served as an interview for Gao Shen before signing the contract.
Gao Shen could talk fluently with Carlo, and naturally he could do the same with Butragueno. He could answer many questions easily and cope with them well, which surprised Butragueno very much.
As the technical never knew when such a young talent came to Real Madrid?
Of course, he felt that this was because he had been away from Valdebebas for too long.
After all, as an executive executive, his office is at the Bernabeu, which is some distance away from the training base.
"I wonder if you have any thoughts on this contract? For example, salary requirements, etc."
After the chat, Butragueno also started to get to the point.
Gao Shen had already prepared for this, and shook his head and said, "I don't have any requirements for personal treatment."
Money is a good thing and everyone needs it, but Gao Shen knows very well that as a rookie head coach, he is like a newcomer in the workplace. The most important thing now is to learn things, improve his abilities and reputation, and lay the foundation for long-term development in the future.
For him, coaching Real Madrid is not a matter of money at all.
Of course, not paying won’t work either; it’s a matter of attitude.
"But I would like to make two requests." Gao Shen changed the subject.
He suddenly remembered what Lucas said, that he seemed to like twists and turns.
"Please go ahead." Butragueno was curious.
"First, I think our club is completely blank in terms of data analysis. We rely entirely on reports submitted by scouts to analyze opponents and problems, which is not enough."
Butragueno listened carefully, holding a pen in his hand and writing something on the note on the desk.
"Nowadays, it is the age of computers and information technology. In the past, the videotapes our scouts received would probably not fit in several rooms. But later, they became VCDs and DVDs, and now, they have become USB flash drives. The transmission methods are also keeping pace with the times. The next step is probably to build an information-based scout network that covers all parts of the world."
Butragueno kept nodding, this has indeed been put on Real Madrid's agenda.
"Baseball and the NBA in the United States have already fully embraced the era of data analysis. The Premier League has also begun to make extensive use of data analysis in recent years. For example, Ferguson's sale of Stam was based on the conclusion drawn by data analysis. Of course, it was later proved that it was not very reliable."
"But I would say that this is because its analysis model is still very crude. With the continuous updates and iterations in recent years, it has become more and more mature, and its application in the Premier League and various fields is becoming more and more in-depth. Premier League coaches such as Allardyce and the cooperation between Ajax and Adidas have applied it to all aspects of the team, including daily training."
As a senior executive of Real Madrid, Butragueno has naturally been exposed to this information, but Real Madrid has not made a decision yet.
But Butragueno found that Gao Shen's tone was very firm when he said this, which means that he was sure that this was the future.
This is what vultures are most interested in.
"You mean, the club is going to invest in this aspect?"
Gao Shen nodded, "The initial investment is not high. I believe it is not a big problem for the club, but we need someone to receive professional training in this area."
After seeing Butragueno's expression of no objection, Gao Shen continued: "Loughborough University has courses in this area and has cooperated with some teams. I would like to arrange for Fernando Lucas to study there."
It is obvious that Gao Shen's so-called further studies must be paid for by Real Madrid.
Lucas is Gao Shen's die-hard fan and a righteous man. Now that Gao Shen has obtained a formal contract, he naturally has to promote his own people appropriately. Otherwise, after a long time, will Lucas still be willing to continue to follow him?
Therefore, Gao Shen wanted to secure such an opportunity for him to study at public expense so that he could improve himself.
Lucas majored in economics, and data analysis happened to be his strong point.
"It's not a big problem. I can arrange it." Butragueno nodded on the spot.
For the wealthy Real Madrid, many coaches have to go for further training every year. Adding Fernando Lucas is just a piece of cake.
"I have another request. I want to hire a more professional fitness coach on behalf of the club."
Butragueno frowned, "Now?"
"Yes, now, I guess the issue of liquidated damages may be involved."
"Which club does he work for?" Butragueno asked with concern.
If it is a big team, the salary offered will be very high. If Real Madrid wants to poach a player, they will not only have to offer a higher salary, but also have to pay a considerable amount of liquidated damages. This is something to consider.
"Kardis."
"The newly promoted team?"
"right."
Butragueno was obviously relieved and smiled, "That's no problem. Go ahead and contact him. For now, the contract will last until the end of this season. The maximum salary during this period can be 100,000 euros, bonuses are extra, and we will discuss the penalty."
It is already mid-March and there are more than two months left until the end of the season. 100,000 euros is considered a very good sum.
This is equivalent to a monthly salary of 50,000 euros and an annual salary of 600,000 euros. Looking at the current La Liga, except for the top few teams, at least half of the team's head coaches cannot get such a high salary.
It's more than enough to use it to recruit a physical training coach.
Besides, Butragueno knows the situation of Cádiz very well. How can such a newly promoted team offer such a high salary?
Gao Shen didn't expect that Butragueno would respond so readily to the two requests he made.
Is it that Real Madrid is so rich that they don't care about such a small amount of pocket money? Or is there something else going on?
Gao Shen's first reaction was that the salary in his contract would probably be very low, so Butragueno used this method to make up for it.
Thinking about it this way, the first coaching contract in his career would probably be difficult.
But Gao Shen was mentally prepared for this. What he valued was not money, but coaching experience and resume.
Thinking of this, Gao Shen tried hard to calm the strange emotions in his heart and make his face look normal.
Butragueno asked Gao Shen if he had any other requests, and Gao Shen said no.
In this case, Butragueno took out the contract he had prepared in advance and handed it to Gao Shen.
Gao Shen opened the contract, took a quick glance at it, then looked up at Butragueno in disbelief, his eyes full of questions.
Are you sure this contract is serious?
