Chapter 90: If you have the guts, go and curse Gao Shen!
From the post-match press conference, we can see the contradictory feelings of the Spanish media and Real Madrid fans towards Gao Shen.
On the one hand, since Gao Shen took over the team, the results have been soaring and the team has won victory after victory, whether it is the reversal of Arsenal, the away victory over Barcelona, or the elimination of Juventus in two rounds, or even the narrowing of the gap in the standings, these are all real results.
If you pick any one of these results and put it in other leagues or other teams, fans will talk about it with relish.
But Gao Shen is coaching Real Madrid, the greatest club in the 20th century.
Real Madrid, coached by Gao Shen, played too conservatively. Not only did they score few goals, but the games were generally dull. Many games even made people sleepy and they couldn't get excited at all.
Is this still the Real Madrid that fans and the media are familiar with?
But the crux of the contradiction lies in the fact that both the media and the fans themselves know the answer.
After so much turmoil and so many games this season, they all know clearly that Real Madrid's current strength is no longer the galactic battleship that was invincible in European football during its peak period.
The Galacticos were on the verge of sinking a long time ago, and Figo was sold to Inter Milan.
Therefore, the media and fans are aware of the current situation of the team, and they also know that Gao Shen’s approach is a wise choice, but they just cannot accept it and cannot help but want to curse.
Because this is not the Real Madrid they wanted and expected.
Are they scolding Gao Shen?
No, they were scolding the cruel reality.
The unfortunate Maqueda did not receive the applause and flowers he expected at the press conference. Instead, he was speechless by the angry media. In particular, a well-known Madrid media outlet stood up and pointed at Maqueda's nose and shouted: "We don't want to see you, call out Gao Shen!"
At that moment, Maqueda's heart was broken.
I'm just an unlucky tool, why do you have to make things difficult for me?
If you have the guts, go ahead and curse me!
…
The next day, a very interesting scene appeared again in major Spanish media.
A war of words has once again broken out between those who support Gao Shen's reports and comments and those who criticize Gao Shen's reports and comments.
Those who support Gao Shen, led by Alfredo, believe that Gao Shen's performance in Real Madrid is satisfactory enough. Given the current situation of Real Madrid, being able to reach the semi-finals of the Champions League is already a rare achievement.
Alfredo even questioned in his column, "I don't know, given the team's current situation, how can they ask a head coach who takes over midway to bring the team back to the top?"
"Even when they talked about Bosque, who they talked about so much, took over the team in 2000, didn't he win the Champions League by relying on the five-back defensive counterattack?"
But skeptics believe that Gao Shen’s biggest problem is that he is extremely conservative.
From the battle at the Bernabeu, especially around the 80th minute, it is not difficult to see that Real Madrid has the strength and ability to threaten Juventus, but Gao Shen has been focusing on defense from beginning to end and is unwilling to invest troops on the offensive end.
As for the goal that was carefully designed by Gao Shen, they believed that it was an accidental mistake by Juventus.
"Juventus's mistake led to Real Madrid's goal, but if Juventus hadn't made this mistake, would Gao Shen have tied Capello 0-0 and ended up in overtime and a penalty shootout?"
“This should be a high probability event!”
Skeptics believe that Real Madrid has the ability to control the game, fight for control, and actively create more scoring opportunities, but Gao Shen rejected this possibility. He blindly took a conservative attitude, with solid defense, waiting for the opponent's mistakes.
"It was an ugly victory!"
Not only the media is divided into two camps, but even Real Madrid's celebrities are also divided into two camps.
For example, Real Madrid star Mijatovic said in an interview with the media that Real Madrid's promotion is certainly gratifying, but the team's playing style is indeed disappointing, "We could have played better and more aggressively."
Bosque, who is also a former head coach of Real Madrid and was once considered a candidate for Real Madrid's head coach, rarely accepted media interviews. He said that Gao Shen's coaching at Real Madrid left a deep impression on people.
"I don't think the outside world's evaluation of him is fair, because he has done a good enough job, but he still suffers too much criticism and many people ignore his contribution to the team."
Bosque believes that he has never thought that the two Real Madrid teams in 2000 and 2002 won the Champions League relying on their stars.
"I can't define who I relied on to win my first Champions League at Real Madrid. Savio? Redondo? Raul? Morientes? Elguera or someone else? I can also tell everyone very confidently that my second Champions League at Real Madrid was definitely not just due to Zidane and Figo."
But Bosque said this is the current situation of Real Madrid.
More and more media and fans are chasing Real Madrid because of the stars, not the team itself. They only pay attention to the stars and completely ignore the contributions of others, even the head coach to the team.
"I have heard people say more than once that Real Madrid, with all its superstars, is becoming a team that can only play at the opening ceremony and disappear at the closing ceremony. This is abnormal. Now, our young head coach is trying to bring the team to the closing ceremony. As a result, the media and fans who claim to support and love Real Madrid are blaming him."
“I can’t understand this phenomenon, but I have to stand up and speak my mind.”
Bosque has clearly stood up and expressed his support for Gao Shen.
Former Real Madrid head coach Camacho also stood up to support Bosque's statement, believing that Gao Shen's claim was correct.
The current Manchester United assistant coach and former Real Madrid coach Queiroz also said in an interview with the British media that everything Gao Shen encountered was something he had experienced when he was at Real Madrid, and it was a nightmare .
Even Arsenal head coach Wenger, who was recently eliminated from the Champions League by Real Madrid, spoke up for Gao Shen in London, saying that the media was too harsh on Gao Shen. "With the current lineup and age structure of Real Madrid, it is almost impossible to play well and win the game."
Wenger even joked that "Gao Shen should be a little regretful now, he should have let Real Madrid fall in the round of 16."
I have to say that what Wenger said is also true.
The consecutive victories made many people become unrealistic and forget what the situation of Real Madrid was like before Gao Shen took over. They also forgot how the Real Madrid, which they talked about as full of superstars, was ruthlessly humiliated by Arsenal at home.
This is called forgetting the pain once the wound has healed.
…
Unlike the polarized public opinion in Spain, the media in Europe, especially in Italy, is very unified.
That is, the sophisticated Real Madrid completed two excellent duels, not only shutting out Capello's Juventus, but also eliminating the Zebras from the Champions League through a carefully designed goal.
Authoritative media including L'Equipe and Bild all spoke highly of Real Madrid.
But all the media have criticized Capello's Juventus, mainly criticizing Juventus's management philosophy and Capello's use of troops .
Turin Sports Daily identified Capello and Ibrahimovic as the two main culprits for the team's defeat.
There is no need to mention Capello, his conservatism in the two rounds was criticized harshly.
Although Juventus is invincible in Serie A, it has been eliminated in the quarterfinals of the Champions League. With such a lineup, this should never happen. The Zebras are fully capable of winning the Champions League.
But Capello's conservatism ruined Juventus' good situation.
Ibrahimovic's biggest problem is that he did not meet the expectations of the outside world, especially at the Bernabeu, where he only had one shot in the entire game. This is definitely not the performance that Juventus's leading striker should have, and he does not deserve the fans' praise and expectations of him.
"If his feet were half as strong as his mouth, he would have scored against Real Madrid long ago," Turin Sports Daily mocked.
L'Equipe took a broader perspective, believing that the two-round match between Juventus and Real Madrid fully demonstrated that the current Serie A league urgently needs a tactical innovation.
L'Equipe believes that Juventus' 4-4-2 formation seems to have no competitiveness against Real Madrid's 4-2-3-1 formation.
"After losing to Liverpool in a 4-2-3-1 situation last season, Capello's team was defeated by a 4-2-3-1 situation again this season. This is by no means a coincidence."
L'Equipe believes that Gao Shen's team has obvious weaknesses and shortcomings, that is, the players' lack of running ability. They are unable to run over a large area and press high like Liverpool, but their defense is still very tightly organized.
"Capello said in the post-match press conference that Juventus was eliminated because of the loss of midfield, and Capello believed that the loss of midfield was caused by the team's lineup because he did not have a Zidane."
"I have to say that Capello's complaint is justified. Juventus has not introduced a high-level creative midfielder since Zidane left, so he was forced to let Nedved appear in the middle, which led to the left side being empty."
"This is not a new situation, but the overall philosophy of Juventus. As a European giant, Juventus has a very good record in Serie A, but in the Champions League, they have only won two Champions League titles, but have five runner-ups."
L'Equipe gave a set of data that Juventus has participated in the Champions League final a total of seven times. In the history of the Champions League, this data is second only to Real Madrid's twelve times and AC Milan's ten times, and is tied with Bayern Munich.
Bayern won four Champions League titles.
L'Equipe said that Juventus' problem is that the team plays too conservatively and needs a revolutionary tactical innovation to inject fresh genes into the team, allowing it to be reborn and keep up with today's tactical trends.
As for Real Madrid's strong performance, L'Equipe believes that they will be the biggest surprise and unexpected event in European football this season.
"When he first took office, no one in the world believed that he could lead the team out of trouble, but now, he has surprised everyone. Even when facing world-class coaches like Wenger and Capello, he can still hold his own. This is the most surprising thing."
"He deserves more respect and recognition!"
