Chapter 79: Real Madrid can’t succeed!
The public opinion field in La Liga has changed!
This was Gao Shen’s biggest feeling after Real Madrid defeated Barcelona 1-0 away.
The team returned to Madrid from Barcelona overnight. Thousands of fans went to the airport to greet them. There were also many media outlets and even a TV station broadcasting the match live .
The entire Capital Airport was surrounded by crowds of people, and Real Madrid was treated like a triumphant expeditionary force.
Real Madrid's superstars were of course the most popular among the fans at the scene, but what Gao Shen did not expect was that there were people shouting his name at the scene, and it sounded like they were all female fans' voices, which greatly satisfied Gao Shen's self-esteem.
This is great about football, the female fans are passionate!
It's a pity that there were too many people at the scene and Gao Shen couldn't tell where the shouting came from. Otherwise, he wouldn't mind satisfying the fans' requests for taking photos, getting autographs, etc.
After defeating Barcelona away from home, Real Madrid were hailed as heroes by the fans and the media. Everyone in the team was in a happy mood and they walked as if with the wind. When passing by the fans, they could hear the fans' loud shouts from time to time.
And this is just the beginning.
…
The next day, media close to Real Madrid, led by AS and Marca, concentrated all their firepower on Barcelona's position at the same time.
Especially for Gao Shen's challenge statement after the game, asking Barcelona to run faster, both the media close to Real Madrid and Real Madrid fans responded very enthusiastically, believing that this is the courage and determination that the Real Madrid head coach should have.
Having narrowed the gap from ten points to two, Real Madrid should have persevered and reversed Barcelona.
If this really happens, it will become the most classic season in Real Madrid's history.
Alfredo, editor-in-chief of AS, once again praised Gao Shen in his column, believing that under Gao Shen's coaching, Real Madrid adopted a more pragmatic and targeted tactical style, helping the team to win consecutive victories in the past period of time.
"This battle at Camp Nou has completely sounded the clarion call for Real Madrid's counterattack!"
"We have every reason to expect that in the next seven league games, Real Madrid will continue to build on their momentum and continue to win, while Barcelona will find it difficult to maintain their two-point advantage after losing points in a row."
"As Gao Shen said in the post-match press conference, Real Madrid does not need to consider the opponent, but only needs to do its best and strive to win every game, and the pressure will naturally fall on the opponent."
"In the current situation, especially after the battle at Camp Nou, Barcelona's morale is greatly reduced and they will definitely make mistakes!"
"And this will be Real Madrid's chance!"
Marca also wrote an article in response to Gao Shen's call, believing that Real Madrid under Gao Shen's coaching played with bloodiness and courage rarely seen in Real Madrid in recent years, and the team's defense has become increasingly solid.
Whether it was the previous away game against Juventus in Turin, or the current away game against Barcelona at Camp Nou, Real Madrid relied on tenacious defense to defend their goal, which was very rare in the past.
"More importantly, in these two games, Real Madrid showed a very united atmosphere, especially in Camp Nou. After Ronaldo scored, Guti, Ramos and even Casillas all rushed over to celebrate with the Brazilian. Raul and Zidane on the bench also congratulated Ronaldo from afar."
Marca believes that the change in the atmosphere in Real Madrid's locker room, especially the reconciliation between the local gang and the Brazilian gang, is due to the effective control of the Real Madrid locker room by head coach Gao Shen.
"In just one month, he has completely taken control of the locker room and has received the respect and support of the vast majority of players. This is very rare and incredible."
Marca stated that they have inside information in Valdebebas. Although the specific situation is difficult to know, one thing that is clear is that Gao Shen has the support of almost all the superstars in the locker room.
"More than half a month ago, Gao Shen was determined to improve Real Madrid's training level, focusing on strengthening the players' physical confrontation and physical training. In the last two games, we can see obvious changes."
According to Marca's analysis, in the first match against Arsenal, Real Madrid was completely not on the same level as their opponent, whether in terms of physical confrontation or stamina. It would be considered lucky if they only lost one goal at home.
When they arrived at Highbury Stadium, the gap between Real Madrid and their opponents was still very obvious. In the end, they relied on tenacious defense to create a miracle away from home, reversed Arsenal and advanced.
"After these two games, the most criticized thing about Real Madrid is the players' physical confrontation and stamina, which reflects that Real Madrid's training level is very low."
"But in the two games against Juventus and Barcelona, Real Madrid players have improved visibly in terms of physical confrontation and stamina. Even in the final stages of the game, Guti lost a head-on duel with Puyol, but Puyol also fell to the ground and was injured."
Marca concluded that the game is just a result, behind it is the comprehensive reflection of the team's many aspects such as locker room management and daily training, and the ability to beat Barcelona away from home further reflects the reborn transformation of Real Madrid under Gao Shen's coaching.
…
Unlike the media close to Real Madrid who were madly praising Real Madrid and Kobe, the Catalan media close to Barcelona expressed their dissatisfaction with the game.
Mundo Deportivo believes that Real Madrid stole a victory from Camp Nou in a very bad way that stifled football creativity, and there is nothing to be proud of.
"Once upon a time, Real Madrid played exciting and offensive football, but now they have become ugly and extremely conservative."
There were only a pitiful six shots in the entire game, which was absolutely embarrassing.
In response to Gao Shen's provocative statement at the post-match press conference, Daily Sports said that Barcelona would not give Real Madrid such an opportunity because Barcelona has the ability and confidence to win all the next seven games.
"In comparison, Real Madrid's opponents are obviously stronger, and their Champions League opponents are also stronger."
Barcelona's opponent is Benfica, while Real Madrid's opponent is Juventus.
Judging from the schedule, Barcelona does have the advantage.
Cruyff also commented in his column in the newspaper. He first criticized Rijkaard's deployment of the troops, believing that his on-the-spot command during the game was not decisive enough, that he did not take risks when he should have, and that his substitutions in the second half backfired on him.
"After Giuly replaced Van Bommel, Barcelona advocated attacking and adopted a 4-4-2 double striker tactic. But at this time, Real Madrid made a substitution, replacing Raul with Ronaldo, changing the formation to 4-3-1-2, which was a bit troublesome."
"Rijkaard obviously thinks that Oleger is at a disadvantage in terms of turning and flexibility, so he wants to use Thiago Motta to defend Ronaldo. In fact, this is also what Barcelona trained before the game, but the question is, who should be replaced?"
"Based on comprehensive considerations, Belletti should be replaced and Oleguer should play on the right, because Belletti has started many games in a row and has consumed a lot of physical energy. But if this is the case, the right-wing attack created by Giuly just now will be ruined. Rijkaard is obviously unwilling to make such a decision that changes overnight."
"So, he replaced Oleguer and kept the captain Puyol, who had just returned from injury, on the field. But it was obvious that Puyol's condition was not very good in the second half of the game, and Thiago Motta was a midfielder after all and was not used to the central defender position, which led to the team's fatal mistake in the end."
Cruyff refused to say that it was the sophisticated and tit-for-tat substitutions that thwarted Rijkaard's adjustments. He said that it was Rijkaard who was not decisive enough and lacked courage.
However, at the end of the column, Cruyff still expressed optimism about Barcelona's prospects.
The godfather of Barcelona said that no matter against Benfica or Real Madrid, zero goals showed that there were some problems in Barcelona's offense. He believed that the team should play more aggressively, more directly and more threateningly.
"I even think that our team can pass the ball directly near the opponent's back line, because such a pass is very threatening and can easily cause the opponent's players to make mistakes, and this is our opportunity to attack."
Cruyff believes that Barcelona has such players, such as Ronaldinho and Iniesta, who have such strength, which can make the team play more offensively.
"Finally, and most importantly, I think Rijkaard should let his team forget Real Madrid and this defeat. Although it is difficult, it must be done."
"In the league, Barcelona has a two-point advantage. As long as Barcelona does not make any mistakes, the championship will definitely belong to Barcelona. Real Madrid has no chance at all."
Cruyff also mentioned Gao Shen. He believed that Gao Shen brought about earth-shaking changes after coaching Real Madrid, which was worthy of recognition, but his football style destined him to not last long in Real Madrid.
"His coaching style is not Real Madrid at all!"
As for Gao Shen's provocative statement after the game, Cruyff believed that it was a psychological warfare.
"This is also the reason why I hope Rijkaard and Barcelona players will ignore Real Madrid. Paying too much attention to the opponent will make them lose themselves and bring more unnecessary psychological pressure."
"I hope Rijkaard and his players know that in the history of La Liga, the greatest comeback miracle was created by us, Barcelona, and in the history of La Liga, no team has ever been able to come back and win the championship after falling behind by ten points."
"There is no way Real Madrid will be successful this season!"
…
It is really rare to see the two major media camps in Spain opening fire on each other.
In contrast, the more objective European media generally praised Real Madrid. After all, it was an away game, they were behind in the score, and they were not as strong as their opponents, but they won the victory with difficulty. Such a Real Madrid is more worthy of admiration.
However, all major authoritative media basically believe that it will be very difficult for Real Madrid to reverse Barcelona.
This not only requires Real Madrid to maintain its excellent form, but also depends on whether Barcelona makes mistakes .
More importantly, Real Madrid will have to focus on the Champions League, especially against Juventus.
Since March, the continuous tough battles have been a huge drain and test for Real Madrid.
But as L'Equipe said, "When Real Madrid went from being ten points behind to only two points behind and beat Barcelona at Camp Nou, everything is possible in front of such a tenacious team."
"No one knows what will happen in the future, but this season's La Liga is destined to become a classic!"
