Chapter 67 The other side of Ronaldo
In fact, Gao Shen is a fan of Ronaldo, and a very die-hard one.
At his age, it is not an exaggeration to say that he grew up watching Ronaldo play football.
But sometimes, things in the world are just so interesting.
Who could have thought that he would travel through time by accident and become Ronaldo's head coach?
What's even more outrageous is that after becoming the head coach of Real Madrid, instead of taking advantage of the fans and making good use of Ronaldo, he directly suppressed him and put him on the bench. Up to now, a month has passed, and he has not even been included in the big list.
While pouring water from the water dispenser, Gao Shen thought to himself and felt a little unworthy of being a Ronaldo fan.
At least, he was embarrassed to mention it.
…
The hardware and software facilities in the Real Madrid head coach's office are just great.
The decoration is very high-end. The sofas, desks and other items are obviously high-end products. Even the computers seem to have high configurations. You can definitely open the largest database when playing Football Manager without any pressure.
Many thoughts flashed through Gao Shen's mind, some of which even he found funny.
After pouring the water, I turned around and walked back to the sofa, and found Ronaldo sitting opposite him with his hands in front of him, fingers intertwined. He looked a little nervous, or rather, a little uneasy.
Gao Shen was a little confused, but after thinking about it carefully, he understood.
What kind of personality does Ronaldo have?
Many people's impression of him is that he is honest and cheerful, with his signature buck teeth showing when he smiles, and he is the kind of person who really enjoys football.
That is certainly true, but it is only part of what Ronaldo does on the football field.
To be more precise, it is the part after you get excited while playing football.
Ordinary people cannot imagine what Ronaldo has experienced throughout his career. For many people, every serious injury he suffered is unimaginable, and some may even be impossible to overcome in their lifetime.
But he overcame it, and always made a comeback.
Football has made him gain a lot, but also lost a lot.
From childhood to adulthood, he has been a child of destiny, a genius recognized by the whole world, and pampered by everyone. Therefore, he is very willful and needs to be coaxed, cared for, and indulged by others.
He once stood at the pinnacle of world football. He was an active king who was compared with Pele and Maradona, but he was so fragile. From the eve of the French World Cup final to several serious injuries after joining Inter Milan, he fell rapidly from the peak.
Many people think that the Korea-Japan World Cup brought him to the peak of his football career, which is true, but his professional career was bleak and all his honors were won with the support of the Brazilian national team.
When he joined Real Madrid, he wanted to prove himself, but who could have imagined that after winning a league title, Real Madrid's superstar strategy would fall into a bottomless abyss, various problems emerged one after another, and all developments were far less than he expected.
At the beginning, there were more and more doubts about him from the outside world. Gradually, his teammates around him also began to doubt him. In the end, even he began to doubt himself. Was he not as strong and good as he imagined?
The more he tried to prove himself, the worse things became.
Finally, he began to become sensitive, complicated, and anxious.
His willfulness prevented him from working with strong head coaches like Cooper and Luxemburg. His sensitivity and anxiety made him doubt himself and lose confidence. His age and injuries also made his body go downhill.
All of these things come together to become the Ronaldo of today.
…
The office door is closed.
There were only two people inside.
What Gao Shen saw was an anxious and unconfident Ronaldo.
He has never had the same personality as Carlos. Even if he sometimes says something in the media, it is actually more like a kind of protection for himself, or a helpless struggle against reality, or escape.
For example, he is addicted to nightclubs and women. Isn't this very similar to some students who don't like to go to classes and are addicted to computers and online games?
Gao Shen was really surprised. He had thought many times about what it would be like when he met Ronaldo and how they should talk. He had thought that Ronaldo was proud and willful, and he had also thought that Ronaldo threatened and intimidated him, but he had never thought that Ronaldo would show such a vulnerable side in front of him.
He is a genius!
But genius is always fragile!
Gao Shen gently placed the water cup in front of Ronaldo and sat down next to him. He saw that Ronaldo had his head down and didn't seem to be ready to speak, or he didn't know what to say, and he sighed in his heart.
"Actually, I've wanted to have a good talk with you for a long time, but I've never found a suitable opportunity." Gao Shen started the conversation.
This was a bit perfunctory.
Ronaldo raised his head and glanced at Gao Shen, "Really?"
Gao Shen nodded, "I have always believed that you should be the most important person on the team."
Ronaldo looked at Gao Shen silently, probably unable to tell whether what Gao Shen said was true or false.
Because since Gao Shen took office, he has never been included in the big list.
"You know, football is a team game consisting of eleven people. If we want to win a game, many times we don't choose the best and most important eleven players, but the most suitable eleven players. Through tactics and overall cooperation, we can maximize the overall strength. Do you understand what I mean?"
Ronaldo understood that profound means being the strongest and most important does not mean being the most suitable.
"Have you watched all the games since I took over?" Gao Shen suddenly asked.
Ronaldo was stunned for a moment, then nodded, "I come to the home games and watch the live broadcasts of the away games as well."
"How do you feel?" Gao Shen asked again with a smile.
“The whole thing is stronger than before.”
"Have you ever thought about why?"
Ronaldo nodded silently but said nothing.
He thought about it , so he was sitting here.
"In fact, I feel that the team's strength has not been fully released. We still have considerable potential that has not been tapped. For example, you, Carlos, Robinho, Baptista and Cicinho are all very outstanding players. You all have strong personal abilities and can provide great help to the team."
Gao Shen changed the subject, "Maybe you think what I said is a bit false, but think about it, if you were standing on our front line yesterday in Turin when Juventus was pressing forward and attacking crazily, do you think Capello would dare to do that?"
"If Robinho could play at Highbury and use his dribbling and breakthrough advantages when we were suppressing Arsenal's attack at the beginning, how much of a threat would that pose to Arsenal's defense?"
Ronaldo looked at Gao Shen, and suddenly he understood that Gao Shen did not not understand them or knew them, but that he did not need to.
He had thought about these questions himself, that is, if he replaced Negredo in the starting lineup, he might be able to seize some opportunities and score some goals, but he would never be able to run and press over a large area like Negredo, nor would he be able to engage in so much physical confrontation with the opponent's central defender and consume the opponent's physical energy.
The same goes for Robinho. He can't actively retreat to the front of his own penalty area when defending, or take the initiative to participate in counter-attacks when losing the ball like Raul and Beckham. This is not the style of Brazilian players.
But this is what Gao Shen wanted.
In other words, this is the new trend in European football in the past two or three years.
Even in Barcelona, which is known as the strongest team in Europe, apart from Ronaldinho, there are Eto'o, the genius Messi, Giuly, Deco, Xavi, Iniesta... Which of these players is not providing a lot of running coverage and pressing pressure?
Real Madrid's superstars are all old.
In the past, they all wanted to rest on their laurels, playing football leisurely, earning high annual salaries, and winning championships by the way, but now, such good days are no longer there.
Zidane, Raul, Beckham, these superstars are fighting in every game, and Ronaldo can see it.
…
Gao Shen didn't say anything more, but waited silently for Ronaldo to take the initiative to say something.
He has made his attitude clear, and I believe Ronaldo must understand what he means.
The key is, is Ronaldo willing?
The office was silent for nearly two minutes before Ronaldo raised his head again, looked directly at Gao Shen, and asked, "Do you think we can win the championship? La Liga or the Champions League, either one will do."
Gao Shen sighed and shook his head, "Who knows?"
After a pause, he continued: "In La Liga, we were ten points behind Barcelona before, but now we have only five points left. If we can beat our opponent at Camp Nou, we can narrow the gap to two points, but you know how difficult it is. If we lose, we will be eight points behind."
"There is also the Champions League. Our opponent is Juventus, one of the strongest, most balanced and comprehensive teams in European football. Capello is also one of the best coaches in the world. Tell me, facing such a team, who dares to say that they will win?"
"The quarterfinals are so difficult, what about the semifinals? What about the finals?"
The Champions League is never an easy thing.
Every step is a huge test for the team's overall strength and for every individual on the team.
Even if Real Madrid draws 0-0 with Juventus away from home, will they definitely win when they return to the Bernabeu?
Gao Shen did find a fatal loophole of Juventus, but the question is, will Real Madrid be able to exploit it? Even if they exploit it, will they be able to score a goal?
Don’t forget, Juventus also has the greatest super goalkeeper in the history of world football, Buffon!
There is no such thing as "absolute" on the football field.
"Ronnie." Gao Shen saw that Ronaldo fell into silence again, and he decided to break the silence.
"As your fan, I am very much looking forward to seeing your performance on the pitch. As the head coach of the team, I can also tell you with certainty that Real Madrid needs you, but..."
Gao Shen suddenly changed the topic, stared at Ronaldo with his eyes, and his tone became extremely firm.
"Real Madrid needs more cohesion, more unity, and more unity!"
