Chapter 65 The Biggest Variable
Gao Shen was really prepared to be scolded and even condemned by the whole of Spain.
From the moment he decided to defend the 0-0 scoreline away from home, he was ready.
But what he didn't expect was that he didn't get the punishment he "expected".
In other words, the media and fans' criticism of him was far less intense than he expected.
A 0-0 draw with Juventus away from home, everyone who is familiar with and understands football knows what a difficult score this is, but for Real Madrid fans and the Spanish media, the profound conservatism is unacceptable to them.
This was the case with the previous one-to-zero score, but now, they actually adopted a polarized attitude towards Real Madrid's 0-to-0 away game.
For example, in AS, led by the column of editor-in-chief Alfredo, Gao Shen and Real Madrid's performance in Turin were highly praised, and it was believed that Real Madrid's ability to escape unscathed from the away game during this devilish schedule was already a remarkable achievement.
"Since Gao Shen took over as Real Madrid coach, we have seen many things in this atypical Real Madrid team that we have never seen before, such as cohesion, unity, and the courage to fight to the very last minute."
Alfredo was obviously afraid that Gao Shen would be criticized by all, so he defended Gao Shen in his column, saying that Gao Shen was not conservative. For example, his start at Highbury Stadium showed amazing courage, determination and determination.
"Without his persistence, it would have been difficult for Real Madrid to score the first goal at Highbury, and there would have been no miraculous reversal afterwards."
Alfredo said that as a Real Madrid fan for decades, he is very clear about the current problems of the team, including aging, unbalanced lineup structure, and obvious shortcomings of the team, which will put them at a great disadvantage both in the Champions League and in strong dialogues.
How can Real Madrid play against a strong team like Juventus away from home?
Alfredo even believes that given Real Madrid's current situation, facing Capello's Juventus, even if any other famous coach in the world were to replace them, it would be difficult to do better than Gao Shen.
The comments from the editor-in-chief of AS can be said to be extremely high praise for Gao Shen, even directly comparing him with world-famous coaches.
But also in AS, there was another report that questioned Gao Shen and his Real Madrid.
Skeptics believe that Real Madrid's advantage lies in technology and ball possession, but Gao Shen did not show enough courage to face Juventus directly, which led to Real Madrid being restricted on the field and forced to engage in hand-to-hand combat with Juventus.
"It turns out that Real Madrid is at an absolute disadvantage in terms of physical confrontation and high ball competition. Ramos and Woodgate are like children in front of Trezeguet and Ibrahimovic. They can't be stopped at all."
When they were at a disadvantage physically and their overall tactics were inferior to their opponents, Real Madrid should have played to the strengths of a Spanish team and used their sophisticated techniques and passing and ball control advantages to pull and consume Juventus, rather than passively defending.
"It was clear from the start that he didn't want to win in Turin, he just wanted to keep the score at 0-0."
Skeptics believe that the game shows that Juventus also has its own problems and Real Madrid is not without chances.
If Real Madrid could show more courage to attack in the game and at least get an away goal, it would be a huge advantage.
Skeptics said that the conservative Gao Shen made Real Madrid petty, without the elegance and splendor of the past, and also lost the most charming offensive storm, and even became completely devoid of creativity, making everyone feel unfamiliar.
Spain's gold medal host De La Morena has a relatively neutral attitude in his show.
On the one hand, he agreed with the doubters' point of view that Gao Shen had never thought about winning away from home from the beginning, so his starting point was conservative, which made Real Madrid play very embarrassingly in Turin and even completely lost its advantage.
But on the other hand, he also understood and approved of Gao Shen's approach.
"Many doubters only know how to type and write. They always think that players should have unlimited energy on the court, but they never pay attention to the fact that players are not supermen."
De La Morena explained in the program that physical fitness is the basis of football games. Without physical fitness, everything is just a negotiation.
But physical energy is not like a battery. Players will not stop moving until it is consumed to zero. Before that, players can continue to play their roles. However, as the physical energy is consumed, when it reaches a certain threshold, the players' technical movements will become distorted and mistakes will easily occur.
Facing a team like Juventus, both technique and ball control require a lot of running, which requires physical support.
"Gao Shen must have conducted a comprehensive assessment of the team's physical fitness. Last week, we fought against Deportivo La Coruna and snatched three points. This time when we visited Turin, he must have thought about scoring away goals, but he must have assessed the benefits and risks."
De La Morena believes that with Real Madrid's current lineup, physical fitness and condition, it is too difficult and risky to break Juventus' goal in Turin without conceding a goal to the Zebras.
"Many people think, it's a draw, so why not try to get a one-to-one?"
"But the reality is that Real Madrid is distracted by the offense and their defense is no longer focused. The final result may be 1-2 or even 0-2, which will be quite difficult for the second leg."
"Everyone knows that once Capello is given a one-goal advantage, it will be extremely difficult to catch up with him."
However, De La Morena also concluded that since they maintained the 0-0 scoreline in the first leg, Gao Shen would definitely consider scoring a goal in the second leg.
The hidden danger is that Real Madrid will have to play another national derby in the middle of the two rounds of the game.
"This is Real Madrid's devilish schedule!"
…
…
He returned to Madrid from Turin overnight. After the team was disbanded and returned home, Gao Shen fell asleep and went into the tactical library to review the gains and losses of the game.
This is actually a very good habit.
Whether it is studying or working, now as a head coach, reviewing every day is really beneficial.
This is also a way of self-improvement.
The next morning, Gao Shen went out to buy breakfast and bought a few newspapers.
He was really surprised by the reaction of the media and fans.
At least, there was no unanimous attack and accusation in the newspapers. Media such as AS, Marca and El País contained both support and approval of Gao Shen's remarks and also accusations and doubts about him.
This made Gao Shen feel quite comfortable.
At least, it is no longer all criticism and accusations like before.
However, he vaguely felt that this was also related to Barcelona's performance.
In the away game against Benfica in the Portuguese Super League, Barcelona also failed to score a goal and eventually drew with Benfica 0-0.
My goodness, Real Madrid was facing Juventus. Barcelona, known as the strongest team among the top eight in the Champions League, faced the weakest Benfica, and the score was zero to zero.
Then tell me, can you only criticize Real Madrid and not Barcelona?
Even the most shameless uncrowned king wouldn't do such a thing, right?
Gao Shen doesn't care whether Barcelona can advance, because in his opinion, there is no suspense about Barcelona's advancement. He only cares whether Rijkaard will hold back in this game?
It’s only because I didn’t do enough homework before traveling through time. Unlike those guys who had prepared long ago to be the male protagonist of a time-travel novel, they even remembered the game clearly. Gao Shen doesn’t understand it at all now. Did Rijkaard hold back?
Barcelona also has a problem now, which is injuries.
Messi and Xavi were both absent for a long time, two central defenders Edmilson and Marcos were both injured and absent, Puyol was also absent due to injury, resulting in the match against Benfica, Rijkaard even arranged Van Bommel as a central defender.
There was news before that Puyol could catch up with the match against Benfica, but he was not even included in the roster. Did Rijkaard deliberately keep him to play in La Liga?
After all, the Champions League consists of two rounds, and it will not be difficult for Barcelona to defeat Benfica when they return to Camp Nou.
…
Gao Shen analyzed the situation while reading the newspaper and ate his breakfast in a hurry.
Just as I finished packing and was about to go to work, my cell phone rang.
Carlo called him to congratulate him on a good result in Turin last night.
"I read the morning newspaper, and more and more people are recognizing you," Carlo said calmly.
Gao Shen, who was listening on the phone, detected something strange. He was afraid that Carlo's mood at this moment was far from as calm and composed as his tone indicated. After all, the more people recognized Gao Shen, the lower their evaluation of Carlo as their predecessor would be.
With the same lineup, Gao Shen faced an even worse environment than Carlo, but he still led the team to achieve such results. What about Carlo?
Gao Shen didn't know how to respond, so he immediately changed the subject and threw his own question aside.
"It's possible." Carlo agreed with Gao Shen's judgment. "Barcelona likes to control the ball and attack from a high position. There are a lot of gaps in the back line. Puyol's presence is the biggest supplement to the back line. Rijkaard may let him concentrate on preparing for the national derby."
Since the games of Real Madrid and Barcelona were played at the same time, Carlo did not watch the game between Barcelona and Benfica, so he said that the specific situation could only be known by watching the game video.
"Let me watch . Come to my house for dinner in the evening and we'll have a good chat." Carlo said with a smile.
He is unemployed at home now and has a lot of free time.
Gao Shen certainly would not refuse a free adviser, and then he told him about Zidane and Beckham coming to his room before the game.
"What are you going to do with Ronaldo and the Brazilian players?" Carlo asked with concern.
This should be the biggest variable in the Real Madrid locker room right now.
If handled well, Real Madrid's strength can be taken to a higher level, but if handled poorly, it will be really dangerous.
The World Cup only comes once every four years. How many four-year periods can a player have in his career?
If Gao Shen continues to maintain a tough attitude, there is no guarantee that the Brazilian gang will not directly overturn the table. If that happens, can the team still concentrate on preparing for the game?
Gao Shen also knows this clearly, so he is also troubled by it.
There is a saying that is true: war is the continuation of politics.
If we apply this sentence to football, it means: the game is nothing more than a presentation of results.
So there is another saying on the football field: the moment the players step onto the field, the outcome is already decided.
"I'll think about it again. Let's meet first and hear what he has to say."
