Chapter 64: I am not from Xiamen University!
If anyone analyses the Turin match, they will definitely regard the appearance of Sarajeta as a watershed.
Before this, Juventus was still in a lukewarm stalemate with Real Madrid, and Capello's team still focused on stability.
But after first replacing Mutu and then Sarayeta, Juventus piled up three 1.9-meter-tall center forwards in the frontcourt. The deterrent effect was really not something that ordinary teams could withstand.
As a result, Real Madrid was forced to switch to tight defense, but the midfield and frontcourt still suppressed Juventus' midfield and backcourt passes.
Especially the players' running is obviously more than before.
There is no way around it. No one can stand three center forwards standing in the penalty area.
Since they can't get the high point, they can only try to reduce Juventus's high passes, which requires players in the midfield and frontcourt to engage in pressing and oppression, while also trying to shrink the defensive formation as much as possible.
Gao Shen was cursing while arranging adjustments for the team, but even so, he still couldn't stop Juventus.
First, Ibrahimovic made a sudden shot from outside the penalty area, and after the ball bounced off the ground, it was directly saved by Casillas; then Zambrotta made a long diagonal pass into the penalty area, Trezeguet headed the ball back, and Nedved appeared at the top of the penalty area and volleyed directly, which was saved by Casillas. The subsequent corner kick also created a chaos, but fortunately no goal was scored.
Ibrahimovic also pulled to the left side, stopped the ball, and passed it to Chiellini who came from behind. The latter made a cross into the penalty area, but Sarayeta was unable to make a shot due to the interference of Woodgate and the ball went directly out of the baseline.
Just three minutes later, Juventus had the most threatening chance of the game.
Nedved appeared in the middle, received the pass from Mutu, and made a lob pass into the penalty area. Ramos headed the ball despite the interference of Trezeguet.
The ball fell directly into the penalty area. Trezeguet himself was caught off guard and was a beat slow when he made his run. Casillas, who decisively left the goal, punched the ball out with one punch, and he almost had a chance to shoot.
For a moment, Juventus pressed forward in a big way, suppressing and besieging Real Madrid.
Gao Shen made continuous substitutions, all to strengthen the team's defense, vowing to maintain the score of zero to zero.
After 80 minutes, the game was still one-sided.
But as the game progressed, Gao Shen gradually realized that Juventus players also had physical problems.
Despite Juventus's strong lineup, they were eliminated in the quarterfinals last season and had a bumpy performance in the Champions League round of 16 this season, losing 2-3 away in the first leg and 2-1 at home in the second leg, which was also a rather dangerous win.
The main reason is that many of Juventus' players are relatively old.
For example, Cannavaro, Thuram and Nedved, all three of them are Juventus's main players, but they are all over 30 years old, especially Nedved. In the past year, his declining form has been very obvious.
Moreover, the problems of Juventus and Real Madrid are actually very similar. Both have main lineups full of superstars, but the bench lineups are relatively weak. In order to ensure the team's performance and stability, Capello does not rotate the players much. Therefore, after entering March, many players in the team also had problems with their physical fitness and their performance declined.
This is revealed eighty minutes in.
…
…
Gao Shen has been on edge since Sarayeta came on the court.
Capello is truly worthy of being one of the world's top coaches. He went straight to the point as soon as he made his move. He was certain that Real Madrid would not fight to the death with them, so he directly put in three center forwards. With Mutu included, there were a total of four forwards, who suppressed Real Madrid.
Gao Shen also made substitutions one after another, constantly calling on the players to hold on.
Every attack from Juventus made him nervous for a while.
Only now did he truly understand why Ferguson had a pacemaker installed in him.
These days, head coaches play with heartbeats.
It was not until the early 80th minute that Real Madrid launched a counterattack after Juventus had been unable to attack for a long time. Although they failed to create a threat, they did manage to get a shot, which eased the team's defensive pressure.
In addition, the physical fitness of the Zebra players declined and the offensive rhythm began to gradually slow down.
In the 85th minute, Gao Shen turned his head and saw Capello shaking his head in front of the coaching bench.
I secretly breathed a sigh of relief, I finally held on!
Facts have also proved that although Juventus still had offensives afterwards, they failed to create any threats.
The two sides finally shook hands and made peace with the score 0-0.
When the whistle sounded at the end of the game, Gao Shen really felt like all the strength had been drained from his body.
Damn, this ups and downs of the game are so tiring!
Even now, he could still feel his legs trembling slightly.
Just now, for a moment, he suspected that he was going to faint.
But soon, his heart was filled with ecstasy, and his blood gradually began to rush, flowing quickly throughout his body.
Finally, Gao Shen clenched his fists and cheered, "Wow!"
Whether a 0-0 draw in an away game is a good score is a matter of opinion.
But for Gao Shen and Real Madrid, this score is really good.
More importantly, this game gave Gao Shen a deeper understanding of both Juventus and Real Madrid.
All of Real Madrid's players are top professional players with extremely high tactical qualities. When they obey the head coach's arrangements and work together to play the game, they can really do very well, even with close to zero mistakes.
In fact, apart from Ramos's header, Real Madrid did not make any major mistakes throughout the game.
"Zero to zero, you're probably going to be scolded when you go back." Lucas said with a wry smile.
Gao Shen shook his head indifferently, "Let them curse all you want, we just need to beat Juventus in the next round ."
"Found a solution?" Lucas was very surprised and full of joy.
Gao Shen smiled and nodded without saying much. Just then the players walked off the court and he immediately went to greet them.
Real Madrid's players have tried their best, and many of them walked with heavy steps.
Fortunately, the arrival of Buenaventura during this period has improved the team's training level. After more than a week of training, Real Madrid players have recovered a lot. Otherwise, they would definitely not be able to hold on tonight.
Even if they don't collapse, their technical movements will definitely go awry and mistakes will occur.
“Well done!”
"Thanks for your hard work!"
“You tried your best!”
"Leave the rest to me!"
Gao Shen stood on the sidelines and hugged the players as they walked off the court one by one, not caring at all that they were soaked in sweat.
Every time a player passes by Gao Shen, he will give them a big hug and offer encouragement and affirmation.
When Beckham passed by Gao Shen, he pointed to the score on the scoreboard and said, "You are going to be scolded to death." After saying that, the Englishman himself laughed happily, with pride and satisfaction on his face.
He knew very early on that Gao Shen's goal for this game was zero to zero.
It was a pretty good score, but the process was a bit ugly.
"Don't worry, once we qualify for the semi-finals, no matter how harshly they curse at us now, we'll have to pay them back."
Beckham and the Real Madrid players around him were visibly stunned for a moment and all turned to look at Gao Shen.
Gao Shen nodded heavily, "Let's talk about it when we get back!"
Everyone looked at each other, and they all noticed the surprise in each other's eyes.
This is going to be interesting!
…
After sending the players away, Gao Shen waited for Capello.
The Italian wears a pair of glasses and looks gentle, but he just replaced two forwards in succession, especially Sarayeta, who was so ruthless and bloody.
"In the future, if someone says that I am conservative, I will definitely tell him that compared with the young coach of Real Madrid, I play offensive football." Capello raised the corner of his mouth. This should be his joking expression.
"Whether it's offensive football or not will be decided in the second round." Gao Shen said confidently.
"I'm curious." Capello still looked calm, with a wise expression that saw through all illusions, "How can you be so sure that you can win the second round?"
Gao Shen chuckled, "Because I'm the hero of the novel."
Capello was stunned for a moment, and finally couldn't help laughing.
"Because I found your loophole!" Gao Shen's expression changed and he said seriously.
Capello's expression first became serious, his eyes like lightning, staring at Gao Shen, then he shook his head, "Are you kidding me?"
"You don't really think that you are perfect without any flaws, do you?"
"of course not."
"That's it. When we return to the Bernabeu, I will definitely score against you!" Gao Shen said with great confidence.
Capello has experienced too many ups and downs in his life. If he said that he was cheated, especially by a 25-year-old young man, he would be laughed at.
If Gao Shen had said this before the game, Capello would have sneered and pointed at him and said: I am not from Xiamen University!
But now, he had some doubts.
Capello certainly knows that his team is not perfect and that there are many problems with it, but Capello doesn't know which problem Gao Shen will focus on, and it may even be a loophole that he has not discovered before.
The person who knows you best is often your opponent.
…
"Have you really found Juventus' loophole?"
When Gao Shen returned to the players' locker room, Lucas followed him and asked curiously.
"Yes." Gao Shen replied.
"Then why did you tell him? Isn't this a clear reminder to him?" Lucas was very depressed.
He felt that Gao Shen handled the matter too amateurishly. Couldn't he just swallow his anger?
Gao Shen laughed, "So what if I tell him? Guess what he is thinking now?"
Capello is a very rational person. Of course, this is a nice way of putting it. To put it bluntly, he is conservative and risk-averse. He likes to calculate everything clearly and nip all risks in the bud.
There are actually quite a few such head coaches, such as Guardiola, Mourinho and Benítez, who are essentially all of these.
Gao Shen just told him that he must score against Juventus at the Bernabeu. Capello would try every possible means to figure out what loopholes Gao Shen had discovered and he would do his best to remedy them.
When visiting the Bernabeu, given Capello's character, he will not put himself in the position of a gambler from the beginning, he will play it safe.
And this is what Gao Shen wanted him to do.
Only in this way will Juventus's loopholes be exposed.
