Chapter 54: Physical Training Master
Lorenzo Buenaventura has long hair that reaches his ears and is parted in the 3:7 style. He is a handsome middle-aged man who maintains a pretty good figure.
At first glance, his temperament is quite artistic and academic, and he doesn't look like a muscular man who trains for physical fitness at all.
This somewhat overturned Gao Shen's previous impression of him.
At the age of 43, he has experienced the ups and downs of his career and looks quite mature, though a little serious.
He is actually not from Cadiz, but from Seville, not far north of Cadiz, and is a fellow countryman of Ramos.
Gao Shen and Carlo flew here specially from Madrid, and he was also on vacation and came specially from Seville.
After meeting, getting to know each other and greeting each other, we started ordering food and then chatted.
"I happen to have classes in Madrid in a couple of days, and I was planning to arrange to meet then, but I didn't expect you to come."
Buenaventura looked at Gao Shen and Carlo and spoke lightly, with a hint of joy in his tone.
As for the profound matters, he had known them clearly from reading in the newspapers over the past period of time.
To be honest, when he received the call from Carlo, his first reaction was to refuse, because he, like everyone else, felt that Gao Shen would not last long in Real Madrid.
A coach is different from other professions. He is not very interested in odd jobs.
After all, he now has a long-term contract with Cadiz.
But Carlo told him that it was not Gao Shen who signed with him, but Real Madrid. This made Buenaventura interested. After all, he had always longed to play for a big team.
This is a rare opportunity to gild yourself.
Hence, this meeting took place.
Gao Shen has been keeping an eye on Buenaventura.
On the way here, Carlo had told him that Buenaventura was actually a teacher in the Spanish Football Association's coach training class, specializing in physical fitness and physical therapy, which was considered a part-time job.
Gao Shen was also thinking, Guardiola also participated in coach training in recent years, could the two of them have met in the training class?
After they started chatting, Gao Shen hinted at it a little bit, and it turned out to be true.
Buenaventura really gave Guardiola a lesson.
Of course, the content is physical training and physiotherapy, which is what Buenaventura is best at, but he also has a good impression of Guardiola.
This connects together many of Gao Shen's memories. It is estimated that Guardiola also admires Buenaventura's abilities very much, so when he coached Barcelona, he recruited this physical training master.
But now, Gao Shen must be the first to arrive.
…
"Lorenzo, I believe you are aware of the current situation of our team." Gao Shen said straight to the point.
Buenaventura nodded. "I watched a few of Real Madrid's recent games these past two days, including those against Atletico Madrid, Arsenal and Valencia. The games on the field reflected many problems in training, including physical training and fitness training, as well as the players' physical therapy and rehabilitation issues."
"Excuse me, but Real Madrid's training level is probably lower than ours in Cadiz. This leads to Real Madrid's players always suffering a lot in the game, especially when facing a strong opponent like Arsenal, they are obviously at a disadvantage."
"Yes." Gao Shen also admitted, "So, Mr. Carlo and I came here."
"Honestly speaking, this job at Real Madrid is not easy," Buenaventura said with a wry smile.
Anyone who is in the professional football circle knows how serious Real Madrid’s internal problems are.
In the locker room, the conflicts between the local gang and the Brazilian gang are irreconcilable. There are also conflicts within the Brazilian gang and the local gang. There are also huge problems between the superstars and other players, coupled with the aging of the player structure and other issues.
Today's Real Madrid can really be said to be a wooden house with leaks everywhere. God knows when a tornado will come and blow it away.
Gao Shen smiled, knowing in his heart that Buenaventura was telling the truth, but since they could sit down and talk, it proved that Buenaventura must be interested, otherwise, who would have nothing better to do and come so far to meet him?
So why bring it up?
This is a negotiation technique, either for salary or for power.
"You must be aware of my situation. The situation in the locker room is basically stable. Some players have been suppressed by me, and most of the remaining players are actively cooperating. I believe there will not be any big problems."
Gao Shen said it very lightly, which surprised Buenaventura somewhat.
At the age of 25, how could a Real Madrid coach who is so responsible be able to control the situation so quickly?
This made him look at Gao Shen seriously for the first time, as if he wanted to find out what made Gao Shen different from others.
Gao Shen did not continue to dwell on Buenaventura's issue, but went straight to expressing his own thoughts.
For example, he wants to adopt a high-pressure pressing tactic in Real Madrid. He believes that this will be a long-term trend in the future, so he needs the players to have more running ability. At the same time, he also wants to improve the training level so that the players can better display their strength in the game.
Gao Shen emphasized one point, that is, the speed of offense and defense conversion needs to be improved.
This requires the team to speed up the pace of the game and the number of players' round trip runs will increase. The team needs to conduct targeted training to improve the players' abilities in this area.
Every time Gao Shen puts forward his ideas, Buenaventura can give his targeted training plans, including the problem of aging, for which he has some solutions.
After a detailed discussion, the lunch was eaten casually, but the conversation between the two sides became more and more in-depth.
Buenaventura also changed his previous doubts and began to realize that Gao Shen was not a simple young man, but really had some ideas and things of his own, so he was able to stabilize the Real Madrid locker room in such a short time and lead the team to three consecutive victories.
In particular, some of his tactical ideas are very advanced and some are very foresighted.
Gao Shen and Carlo were also satisfied with Buenaventura's "interview" performance. Whether it was theoretical knowledge or practical experience, he had his own ideas. What was even more rare was that he was not only a master of physical training, but also had a good set of skills in injury rehabilitation and physical therapy training, and even dabbled in psychology.
It is no wonder that such an all-round talent is entrusted with important tasks by Guardiola.
The lunch lasted more than two hours. Gao Shen only then realized the time and felt a little unsatisfied.
"Lorenzo, I believe that, whether from previous understanding or our conversation today, you should have a clearer understanding of Real Madrid's current situation and me personally. I also sincerely hope that you can seriously consider our invitation."
Gao Shen spoke very sincerely, showing deep sincerity.
Buenaventura felt it, and he nodded repeatedly, "I will seriously consider it."
"As you know, our time is very precious. We will have two matches in a row after this week, especially the Champions League quarter-finals. We don't have much time to prepare, so I hope you can give me an answer as soon as possible."
"If you come to Real Madrid, I will put you in charge of the team's physical training, including developing targeted training plans for each player. You will also be responsible for the players' rest, diet, injuries and psychology. All of us will do our best to cooperate with your plan."
As soon as Gao Shen finished speaking, not only Buenaventura on the opposite side, but even Carlo next door was startled.
Just the first time we met, and you entrusted me with such an important task?
You know, if it was just as Gao Shen said, then most of Maqueda's power as the chief assistant coach would be taken away directly.
Buenaventura was even parachuted in and became the real power in the Real Madrid first team coaching staff. What kind of trust and importance does this show?
Even after many years in Cadiz, Buenaventura had never been given such great authority and trust.
What's more, Real Madrid is one of the world's top teams.
"Are you...kidding me?" Buenaventura was a little unconvinced.
Gao Shen nodded seriously and solemnly, "I am serious and I will do what I say."
Buenaventura and Carlo now believed that Gao Shen was not kidding.
But the question is, does he really trust Buenaventura's ability so much?
Gao Shen stared at Buenaventura with a very affirmative look , until he saw a little gratitude and emotion in his eyes, he was sure that this physical training master would not be able to escape.
In fact, there are many reasons why he made such a decision.
Firstly, the situation in Real Madrid was serious and he was personally eager to recruit talented people. Secondly, he had asked Carlo about Buenaventura's personality and character. Thirdly, as a time traveler, Gao Shen knew Buenaventura's skills and abilities better than anyone else.
Putting aside other things, can a fitness coach who is reused by both Bielsa and Guardiola be bad?
Therefore, Gao Shen's decision may seem very risky to outsiders, but only he himself knows that it is not at all.
More importantly, he also wanted to take the opportunity to recruit this talent.
Even if we don't mention whether we can continue to cooperate in the future, it is worth it if we can cooperate better with each other during this time in Real Madrid.
…
Buenaventura was indeed moved, so he personally drove the two to Jerez Airport.
While waiting for the flight, Carlo finally couldn't help asking Gao Shen about Buenaventura. Did he think it was a risk?
"Sir, I believe in your vision and your judgment. Since you can recommend him to me, it proves that you admire him very much. After meeting him, I also think there is no problem, so there is no need to think too much about it." Gao Shen said with a smile.
Since it's a free favor, Gao Shen doesn't mind giving you another one.
Carlo was quite moved by what he heard, because he knew very well how important this position was to Gao Shen.
The fact that Gao Shen was able to use Buenaventura so much just because of his recommendation was enough to prove how important he was in Gao Shen's mind. How could Carlo not be moved?
Gao Shen really wanted to take this opportunity to persuade him to return to Valdebebas, but this kind of thing cannot be rushed. If Carlo refuses, then let alone inviting him again, it would be awkward to even meet him in the future.
Let’s first improve the team’s training level as well as the players’ physical and physical fitness.
