Chapter 68 I just want a Champions League!
With the national derby coming up this weekend, Gao Shen once again decided to cancel the holiday.
Not only this week, but the team will not take a holiday after playing against Barcelona next week because they have to prepare for the game against Juventus.
It’s strange to say, Real Madrid’s stars used to hate this kind of “overtime” the most, but now they don’t have a single complaint. After hearing Maqueda’s notice, everyone just nodded and agreed, and no one raised any objections.
Is this domesticated?
Having played for Real Madrid for many years, Carlos understands the team and his teammates. He feels that it is not about domestication, but rather that everyone is pursuing a goal.
champion!
This is not an easy task for any team, even during the Galacticos' heyday.
But it is particularly difficult for Real Madrid now.
It is precisely because of this, because they have not won even a single championship for nearly three years, that everyone in Real Madrid is eager for the championship, especially Zidane who is about to retire, and Beckham who has not won a championship since joining Real Madrid.
The holiday was cancelled and the players stayed in Valdebebas for a lunch break.
Brazilian players have their own customary place, which is a converted indoor football field.
Since Real Madrid moved into Valdebebas, Brazilian players have "occupied" this place.
I still remember that during the period when the atmosphere in the locker room was the most harmonious, local players such as Raul often organized to come here to play indoor football games with Brazilian players. Zidane, Beckham and others also participated frequently.
But gradually, I don’t know when it started, Raul and others stopped coming, and Zidane, Beckham and others also came less often.
This is still the territory of the Brazilian players, but there are only a few of them left.
…
Ronaldo walked over from the coach's office and asked the Brazilian players who had been waiting there to stand up.
"How is it?" Robinho asked anxiously.
They all knew that Ronaldo was going to talk to the head coach, and they were all waiting for the result.
If they can get the chance to participate in the competition again by surrendering their heads, they don't mind.
Because the World Cup is coming!
Robinho, Baptista and Cicinho are all participating in the World Cup for the first time. Brazil national team coach Pereira has said in the media more than once that Brazilian players must participate in more games to maintain their form.
They are different from Carlos.
There are not many left-footed players in the Brazilian national team, and Carlos is the best choice.
Only now have the media started paying attention to Felipe Luis of Real Madrid, but it is still too early for him to challenge Carlos' position.
But they are all marginal international players and may be replaced at any time and anywhere.
Ronaldo talked with Gao Shen for a full hour, covering a lot of topics and being very frank with each other, but he did not get the results he expected.
The alien briefly recounted his conversation with Gao Shen, but he did not intend to tell his teammates many of the details, because there were many things he could not say in front of these people.
For example, he promised Gao Shen that if Raul, Zidane and Beckham could do it, he could do it too.
At least, he would try his best to do so.
This was actually lowering his posture very low, and he would never say these words in front of Carlos and others. He believed that Gao Shen was not a gossipy person and would not say these words in front of outsiders.
"So what did he say in the end?" Baptista asked with concern.
The other three, including Carlos, all looked at Ronaldo.
"He told me to train well and he would consider it."
After hearing this, Baptista and others were all disappointed.
Ronaldo has already come to the door on his own initiative, but Gao Shen still refuses to give a definite answer?
"I see, he never thought about giving us a chance from the beginning to the end. He is only thinking about those guys in Spain. That's what he cares about most. He is just perfunctorily trying to please you." Carlos was angry again.
Almost every time when the word "high depth" is mentioned, he gets angry and loses his temper.
Even when Ronaldo took the initiative to meet with Gao Shen this time, he strongly opposed it.
Everyone understood this because Carlos' position in the national team was relatively secure. In addition, he had criticized Gao Shen many times in the media and had even asked Gao Shen to get out in person. It could be said that he and Gao Shen had the deepest grudge.
But Gao Shen’s reply was indeed a bit perfunctory.
"Ronnie, don't believe him. Just do as I say and invite a few media outlets and let's come forward together. I don't believe that he can continue to ignore our existence." Carlos said angrily.
As soon as the Brazilian left-back finished speaking, he found that Ronnie was not interested. Looking around, Robinho, Baptista and Cicinho were also not very enthusiastic, which made him a little annoyed.
"Do you still believe in him?"
No one answered Carlos.
Whether they like it or not, Gao Shen will be the head coach of Real Madrid until the end of this season.
The fact that he led the team to reverse Arsenal and led Real Madrid to shorten the points gap with Barcelona is enough for him to stay until the end of this season and even leave with dignity.
If they still want to play, they can only seek help from Gao Shen.
Put pressure?
If it worked, would they still be sitting on the bench now?
Gao Shen would rather use young players from the second team and play the ugliest football than give them even one minute of playing time. How much determination does it take?
"I believe him!" Ronaldo suddenly said.
Everyone was stunned.
Ronaldo looked directly at his teammates in the club and the national team, his eyes showing determination, as if he had just made a major decision and an important resolution.
"If I take a gamble and win a decent game, it will be worth it. If I can win a league title or a Champions League, I will make a fortune." Ronaldo said at the end with a smile.
After making the decision, he felt relieved.
Over the past month, or even over the past few years, the heavy stone weighing on his heart seemed to have become much lighter.
Gao Shen is right, times have changed!
Greece can win the European Cup, Porto can win the Champions League, and they can even make a comeback after falling behind 0-3 in the Champions League final. In the past two or three years, so many magical and incredible things have happened.
The entire football world has changed dramatically.
But he, Ronaldo, is old!
Although only twenty-nine, he is really old.
He wants nothing else now but a Champions League title!
…
… …
Gao Shen himself felt that his reply to Ronaldo was a bit perfunctory.
But he had no choice.
He told Ronaldo bluntly that he could not lie and would not promise things he could not do or had not yet decided on.
So, he asked Ronaldo to concentrate on training and he would consider and arrange it.
First, he needs to talk to Raul, Guti, Ramos and others.
These players are now the core fighting force of Real Madrid, and they were supported by Gao Shen. However, they have prejudices against Brazilian players and Ronaldo, and Gao Shen needs time to communicate with them.
If things really come to the point where you have to choose between the two, then Gao Shen actually has no choice.
Of course, if the local gang really did this, Gao Shen would not be polite anymore.
Since he can support the local gangs, he can also suppress them.
Of course, this is a situation that we have no choice but to do.
Secondly, Gao Shen also needs to consider how to use Ronaldo.
The Brazilian's situation is there. His strengths and weaknesses are quite extreme. Even if he is willing to run and press, how long can his physical strength last? After running so much, can he still score goals? Can he still create threats?
How to use it well is also a problem.
Finally, Gao Shen also considered the chain reaction.
Once Ronaldo comes on the field, the Brazilian gang will definitely be re-employed, which will greatly improve the overall strength of the team, but the communication and coordination within the locker room will also become very complicated.
Cicinho and Arbeloa, Baptista and Zidane, Guti, Robinho against Raul, Cassano and Callejon, as well as some young players in the second team, these are all problems.
This is what Carlo said, Real Madrid’s most difficult crisis now.
…
…
The afternoon training session is still mainly focused on recovery and adjustment, and Buenaventura is still in charge.
Gao Shen continued to play the role of a bystander, but before the end of the training, Lucas brought him a piece of news that a scout had just sent from Barcelona.
Puyol participated in joint training and there is a high probability that he will play.
This is actually not surprising. Gao Shen has always suspected that Rijkaard kept Puyol in the bench against Benfica so that he could conserve his energy to face Real Madrid in the national derby.
However, if Puyol really starts, it will be a big challenge for Real Madrid.
Barcelona's tactics were to control the ball, press forward as a whole, and press hard in the midfield and frontcourt. Although the intensity was not as outrageous as Guardiola's Dream Team III later, this resulted in a large number of gaps behind them.
Puyol is not tall, but he is very fast and has strong tracking ability, which makes his role in Barcelona's defense very obvious.
Just as Gao Shen has always emphasized, Ramos' mobility is indispensable to Real Madrid's defense, and the same is true for Puyol.
When playing against Barcelona away, Gao Shen actually didn't dare to press forward.
The reason is very simple. If Real Madrid press forward, before they can break Barcelona's goal, their own goal will be shot into a sieve by Ronaldinho, Eto'o, Giuly and Larsson. Deco and Iniesta's passing ability is not fake.
This is just like when Mourinho first coached Real Madrid and was beaten 0-5 as a guest at Camp Nou. In the final analysis, Mourinho wanted to go head-to-head with Barcelona.
If you fight to the death with Barcelona without sufficient strength, you will be courting death.
Mourinho suffered a miserable defeat in his national derby debut, but later became pragmatic and adopted a defensive counterattack tactic, which improved the results against Barcelona.
The same is true of Gao Shen’s current situation.
Even though the defenses of Real Madrid and Barcelona are similar, and even in recent times, Real Madrid's defense is slightly better than Barcelona's, the team's frontcourt is far less strong than Barcelona's, and it is also their territory.
In this situation, only a fool would go head-to-head with Barcelona.
Gao Shen is not a fool, and he refuses to be a fool.
After reading the scout's report, he stayed on the training ground until the team's training was over and everyone was preparing to return to the locker room. Then he called out to Raul.
