Gao Shen directly left the problem of center forward to Valdano.
Anyway, his most important task now is to lead the team well, and the issue of signings can be put aside for the time being.
The day after Real Madrid played Juventus, the other two teams in the Champions League semi-finals were also announced.
The two teams in last season's Champions League finals, Bayern Munich and Manchester City, both advanced.
As a result, the Champions League semi-finals formed a very interesting pattern.
La Liga, Premier League, Bundesliga and Ligue 1 each have one team promoted.
Here, Real Madrid's promotion is quite surprising. After all, Galacticos has been in the group stage in the past few years and has not advanced to the quarterfinals for several years.
Now, Gao Shen has led this team to break through the group stage and even break through to the quarterfinals and enter the semifinals. This is already Real Madrid's best result since 2006.
But meeting Paris Saint-Germain also made everyone have more hopes for Real Madrid.
Ancelotti is also a famous coach in the Champions League and has very good results in cup competitions.
More importantly, Paris' lineup is truly luxurious.
Ibrahimovic, Cavani, Pastore, Matuidi, Benatia and Thiago Silva…
Continuous large investments have made Paris' lineup luxurious.
Of course there are weaknesses. After all, a super lineup cannot be formed overnight, but its strength cannot be underestimated.
Eliminating Barcelona and reaching the Champions League semi-finals is the best proof.
But an interesting situation also emerged.
That is, Real Madrid's Champions League journey this season is very bumpy.
Needless to say, the super death group in the group stage includes the defending champions of the Premier League, Bundesliga and Portuguese Super League.
After entering the knockout rounds, Real Madrid met the leader of the Premier League, the leader of Serie A, and now the leader of Ligue 1.
Even French newspaper L'Equipe believes that Real Madrid's Champions League experience this season is unprecedented, and the gold content is definitely the highest in history, but the challenge is also the greatest.
Especially Paris Saint-Germain facing Ancelotti.
Who is Ancelotti?
A ruthless player who can score a goal-to-zero against Juventus in the Champions League final; a pragmatist who can tie Barcelona 2-2 at Camp Nou; and he is also the top coach among the current Champions League coaches, second only to Gao Shen.
The Spanish media also reminded Gao Shen that Paris Saint-Germain must not be underestimated, not only the defense, but also the frontcourt offensive combination of Ibrahimovic, Cavani and Pastore.
It's not easy to have ruthless players like Lucas Moura and Lavezzi sitting on the bench.
Of course, Gao Shen is also aware of the difficulties of Paris Saint-Germain, especially after watching the two rounds of matches between Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona, he has a better understanding of Paris Saint-Germain's defense and their offense.
Ancelotti's two-center tactic is also really troublesome. Ibrahimovic and Cavani are both ruthless characters who will make the center defender lose his head.
Pepe is actually okay, but Varane is young and immature, and Ramos has always had a headache with such a high forward.
Therefore, Real Madrid's defense will also be a big test by then.
…
Three days after Real Madrid played Juventus away from home, they ushered in the 30th round of La Liga and challenged Athletic Bilbao away.
There is nothing much to say about the game itself.
Since Real Madrid will have a week's rest after playing the Basque Lions, the team will still play with the main lineup, but Gao Shen chose Higuain instead of Benzema at the center position.
In fact, Real Madrid has not yet made a decision whether to let Higuain go.
If the Argentine striker really wants to leave the team, then Real Madrid must sign a center who can replace him.
Otherwise, Gao Shen will still ask Real Madrid to do their best to keep Higuain.
Of course, if Higuain has decided to leave, that would be another matter.
Based on the length of the player's current contract with Real Madrid, Higuain should not be in trouble.
But the strong-willed melon is not sweet. Both Gao Shen and Real Madrid tend to see if there is a suitable candidate.
At the San Mames Stadium, Real Madrid scored just over a minute into the game with a direct free kick from Cristiano Ronaldo.
In the 28th minute, Di Maria made a pass from the left, and Higuain shot in front of the goal, making it 2-0.
After changing sides in the second half, Xavi Alonso passed a free kick and Ronaldo hit the goal with a header.
In the end, Real Madrid defeated Athletic Bilbao 3-0 in the away game.
Gao Shen met Llorente in the tunnel after the game as he came down from the court. He specifically called out to the Basque Lion, mainly to find out about his situation with Juventus.
Llorente was obviously surprised. Combined with the news that Arsenal, Napoli and other teams were interested in Higuain, he immediately understood the meaning of the advanced inquiry.
But he immediately told Gao Shen with great disappointment that he had signed a contract with Juventus.
Just in January.
After finishing this season at Athletic Bilbao, he will move to Juventus on a free transfer.
This disappointed Gao Shen, but he still wished Llorente a good performance at Juventus.
Llorente was equally disappointed, saying Real Madrid's invitation came too late.
As a Spaniard, between Juventus and Real Madrid, he would choose Real Madrid without hesitation, but now that he has signed a contract with Juventus, there is no way to change it.
"I hope I can play under you if I have the opportunity in the future." Llorente said with longing.
In today's European football, everyone knows that players who can be selected by senior players basically represent a meteoric rise.
If nothing else, his ability to train players is extraordinary.
But as a professional player, now that he has signed with Juventus, he cannot go back on his words.
…
After returning to Madrid from the away game, the team ushered in a week of rest.
Gao Shen gave the team a day off, but he and the coaching staff did not take a day off. They were still studying Paris Saint-Germain, especially Ancelotti's defensive formation, in Valdebebas.
The 4312 formation invests a lot of troops on the defensive end, especially in the middle.
The 4312 and 4321 Christmas tree formations have some similarities, but they also have the same problem, which is tearing.
The offense in front and the defense behind were torn apart.
Barcelona did a good job in the first round against Paris Saint-Germain. They successfully pressed through the midfield and frontcourt, splitting Paris Saint-Germain's lineup into two, preventing them from connecting from end to end.
But Barcelona's own problems were also exposed in the final stage of the game, that is, the players' physical fitness and running ability declined. As a result, in the final stage of the game, they could no longer suppress Paris Saint-Germain, and their weak defense was defeated by Paris Saint-Germain's two teams.
A super center seized the opportunity and scored two goals.
The 2-2 draw at Camp Nou in the first round almost sealed the situation.
The second round is more like an extension of the first round.
When Barcelona must score at the Parc des Princes, and when Messi is injured and absent, Barcelona really has no good solution.
Gao Shen's proposition is very clear.
"We must learn from Barcelona's strengths, tear apart Paris' offense and defense, disconnect them from the front and backcourt, suppress them to the maximum extent, weaken the threat of the two super centers, and reduce their chances of getting the ball."
"But we have to avoid Barcelona's problems, and at the same time we don't want to learn from Barcelona."
As Gao Shen said before, Barcelona's problem is that their offense basically focuses on the middle and flanks, completely losing wing attack, or in other words, Barcelona's wingers can't attack at all.
Even when Alves and Alba advanced forward, they basically used the ribs and rarely made crosses.
This is determined by Barcelona's lineup and tactics.
But Real Madrid is different. What Real Madrid is best at is the wing.
This leads to Real Madrid having to adopt a completely different tactical style from Barcelona.
The first leg was held at the Parc des Princes in Paris.
Since the knockout rounds, Real Madrid has always played a home-before-home schedule, but after entering the semi-finals this time, Real Madrid finally ushered in a favorable schedule of playing first before home.
Gao Shen wants to score a goal in the away game!
"As long as we get away goals, Paris will lose their composure and won't be able to defend any longer!"
Gao Shen's idea is correct, but the key is how to score goals?
Or even, how to score first?
…
A week later, La Liga ushered in the 32nd round, with Real Madrid facing Real Betis at the Bernabeu.
Gao Shen played in a rotating lineup, but Real Madrid still had the advantage at the Bernabeu.
Real Betis was in trouble and struggling from the beginning, but Real Madrid still created threats again and again.
At the end of the 37th minute, Ronaldo passed two players in a row and scored with his left foot, opening the scoring for Real Madrid.
Before the end of the first half, Kaká received a pass from Higuain in the penalty area and got a solo opportunity to score another victory for the team.
After changing sides in the second half, Higuain also scored a goal.
In stoppage time, Real Madrid scored the fourth goal by Higuain.
In the end, Real Madrid defeated Real Betis 4-0 at home and won another victory.
After Real Madrid defeated Real Betis, Barcelona's match against Levante kicked off at Barcelona's Camp Nou.
In this game, Barcelona, playing at home, encountered Levante's tenacious sniper attack.
In the previous 80 minutes, Barcelona had no way to defeat Levante.
After Messi missed the game due to injury, Barcelona's offense seemed to have lost its sharpness.
But in the 88th minute, David Villa created a penalty kick and took it personally, breaking the deadlock for Barcelona.
1-0, Barcelona defeated Levante at home and scored precious three points.
After this battle, Barcelona's penalty kick was controversial. After all, in the final stage, it was a penalty kick when it could not score for a long time.
With this penalty, Barcelona scored three points and maintained a one-point lead over Real Madrid.
This also makes La Liga this season even more suspenseful.
With six rounds left in the league, Barcelona seems to be showing signs of decline.
But Real Madrid is not without suspense.
Fighting on multiple fronts, Real Madrid was forced to be distracted and at the same time fell one point behind Barcelona. The initiative was in Barcelona's hands.
More importantly, the return of Vilanova and Abidal has boosted Barcelona's morale. After being eliminated from the Champions League, Barcelona currently only needs to focus on the league, which is undoubtedly a major benefit.
And Gao Shen doesn't have much energy to be distracted by Barcelona.
He was more concerned about his upcoming trip to Paris.
