Gao Shen never believed in his luck because he had never experienced good luck.
But I have to say that at least my luck this time was not too bad.
Of course, it's not that good either.
The team in the first pot was drawn by Manchester United, the team in the third pot was drawn by Bayer Leverkusen, and the team in the fourth pot was drawn by Belgium's Anderlecht. This fortune can only be regarded as average.
Logically speaking, the overall strength of these four teams in the Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga and Belgium is relatively strong among all groups.
But you can’t look at everything this way.
From Real Madrid's point of view, be it Anderlecht or even Leverkusen, Real Madrid are actually sure to beat their opponents.
Manchester United, Leverkusen and Anderlecht are all in Western Europe, which makes it very convenient for Real Madrid to play away games.
If you are drawn to Greece, Turkey, or even Russia and Ukraine, traveling long distances to away games, especially in December and February in the ice and snow, would be really fatal.
In contrast, Gao Shen is actually more willing to meet opponents like Leverkusen and Anderlecht.
Therefore, Gao Shen is quite satisfied with this lottery.
But Ferguson was a little depressed.
Among the eight teams in the second tier, only Manchester City is a Premier League team. In one of the seven choices, Manchester United was even drawn against Real Madrid. What else could Ferguson say?
When the lottery ceremony was over, Ferguson felt depressed when he saw Gao Shen smiling.
"Old Sir, I need to remind Moyes later that the competition for second place in this group is quite fierce!"
Ferguson was choked and speechless.
But after careful consideration, Gao Shen is right.
In terms of strength, Real Madrid is certainly in the first place.
God knows why, given Real Madrid's strength, they were ranked in the second tier?
This is the defending champion!
If we are second in the group, Manchester United, Leverkusen and Anderlecht really all have a chance, it's just a matter of probability.
Seeing Gao Shen leave with satisfaction, Ferguson felt secretly angry.
Laugh, just laugh as much as you want!
I'll let Moyes kill you Leeds United later. Let's see if you can still laugh at that time!
Labor and management can't do anything to take advantage of Real Madrid, but why can't they kill you, Leeds United?
…
Of course, Gao Shen didn't know what Ferguson was secretly planning in his mind. In fact, even if he knew, he wouldn't be afraid.
In a profound concept, Pochettino and his team should undergo more tests and baptisms from strong teams, so that the strength they hone can be real and have weight.
Therefore, if Ferguson really wanted Manchester United to "torture" Leeds United, Gao Shen would probably support it with both hands raised.
Regarding this draw, after Gao Shen was interviewed by media reporters, he first expressed with confidence that he was satisfied with the result of this draw and firmly believed that the team could qualify from the group stage.
Of course, no one would believe that Real Madrid, coached by Gao Shen, would not even make it out of the group stage.
The Real Madrid of today is no longer the Real Madrid of the past.
But Gao Shen also changed the topic and reminded Real Madrid players that they must be more vigilant.
"Manchester United, Leverkusen and Anderlecht are all strong teams with considerable strength and experience in European competitions. This requires us to be at our best in every game.
Just give your best to compete.”
"Only in this way can we ensure that the group will qualify."
Gao Shen also said that these three teams all have a chance to qualify. If Real Madrid wants to get the right to qualify, they must go all out.
Not only Gao Shen, but Valdano and Butragueno also expressed their opinions cautiously. On the contrary, it was Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese was full of confidence and said that Real Madrid would definitely qualify for the group and qualify first in the group.
"We have only one goal, and that is the Triple Crown!"
Ronaldo's statement can also be regarded as a profound response to the head coach.
Moreover, after winning the UEFA Player of the Year Award, the Portuguese has a more ambitious goal.
That’s the FIFA Ballon d’Or!
This requires him to continue to maintain a high level of performance and offensive output in the next few months.
…
After finishing things at the Grimaldi Conference Center, Gao Shen, Butragueno, Valdano and others attended the UEFA dinner, and then drove non-stop to Nice, and then took the last evening bus from Nice.
Plane to Frankfurt, Germany.
It took nearly five hours to fly from Nice to Frankfurt, Germany, and then to Prague, the Czech Republic.
After arriving in Prague, the driver who picked us up was already waiting here. When we arrived at the hotel, it was already dawn.
It was the European Super Cup tonight, so Gao Shen had to go and get some rest first.
I slept until almost noon, when I was woken up by Carlo's phone call.
After washing up and eating something, Gao Shen went straight to the conference room.
At this time, the players were already waiting in the conference room.
Cristiano Ronaldo, who flew over at the same time as Gao Shen, was already looking at the head coach in high spirits. Gao Shen was so energetic that he had to say with emotion, it's great to be young!
Cristiano Ronaldo is not only young, but also strong. Even if he hasn't slept all night, he is still full of energy.
But it doesn't work for Gao Shen, especially after the age of thirty, the energy is really not as good as before.
This is a regular meeting before the game, mainly to discuss tactics for facing Chelsea tonight.
One thing is certain, Mourinho's team will adopt defensive counterattack tactics. This is their consistent characteristic, but it is also their advantage.
Especially this summer, after signing Koulibaly at a high price, he was reused by Mourinho.
But Gao Shen still believes that Chelsea's problems are still serious.
For example, the center position and the defensive midfielder position.
Needless to say about the center, after Drogba left and Chelsea signed Torres from Liverpool at a high price, the Spaniard did not perform very well, which made it difficult for Mourinho's team to score the opponent's goal.
The difficulty of scoring goals is a big problem faced by Mourinho's Chelsea.
The problem with the lower back is not small either.
"If I guessed correctly, it should still be a double midfielder combination of Ramirez and Lampard, but neither of them is stable enough."
Neither Lampard nor Ramirez actually lacks the ability to hold a firm position in the midfield. Strictly speaking, they are not defensive midfielders.
Mikel has a big problem, but at least he is a defensive midfielder.
Romeu was introduced from Barcelona before, but he was not kicked out.
If Gao Shen remembers correctly, Chelsea's defensive midfielder in his previous life had to wait until Matic was signed back from the Portuguese Super League at a high price.
But now, Matic is still in the Portuguese Super League.
Moreover, as the value of players has increased this summer, Matic's current value is definitely more expensive than in his previous life.
In response to Chelsea's problem, Gao Shen's strategy is to make full use of the instability of Chelsea's double midfielders, and to pull out two central defenders at the front of the penalty area, and then use their speed to hit behind and destroy Chelsea's defense in one fell swoop. .
"Mourinho's team has always been known for its defensive ability, so we must be fully mentally prepared. This will not be an easy game. Chelsea is an iron army and a tough nut to crack. This will It’s a very difficult game.”
"In fact, maybe even if we try our best, we can only create one chance!"
"So, we must try to seize every opportunity!"
Gao Shen's words are by no means alarmist.
Mourinho's ability to coach offense has never been great.
At least in Gao Shen's opinion, it was really average. He would even take a dig at Mourinho in private. The Portuguese madman was always very unconvinced.
But Gao Shen will not doubt Mourinho's ability to coach defense and the playing style of the team he brings out, let alone despise it.
This is a very tenacious iron army!
After Gao Shen finished speaking, he realized that he might have spoken too seriously, so he immediately clapped his hands vigorously and smiled at the players.
"This is the second championship trophy we are striving for this season. We are definitely determined to win it, but..."
Gao Shen tried his best to use a very relaxed tone to face his players.
"We don't need to put any pressure. To be honest, Chelsea's defense is really good and will definitely create some threats for us, but I still have great confidence in you."
"As long as we perform normally, I believe there will be no big problem, so there is no need for everyone to think too much."
…
The meeting ended in a lively atmosphere where Gao Shen pretended to be relaxed, but it is impossible to say that the players did not pay attention to it.
After the meeting, Gao Shen had another meeting with the coaching staff, mainly to study the current situation of the team, focusing on the physical condition of the players.
Having just finished playing against Barcelona at Camp Nou, and now facing Chelsea again, both games were tough battles, and Gao Shen had to make some adjustments.
If we continue to use large-scale rotation, it will probably be more difficult for young players.
What Gao Shen means is that the focus is still on starting with the main players and then making adjustments in local positions.
After all, it was only two days in total from Camp Nou to Prague. This was really stressful for the Real Madrid players and the physical exertion was also very high.
At this time, appropriate rotation is also necessary.
If the rotation is too strong, it will affect the team's combat effectiveness. If the rotation is too small, it will also affect the team's combat effectiveness.
It's up to Gao Shen to decide how to balance the trade-offs here.
Many fans sometimes criticize the rotation of the team's head coach, but as everyone knows, this rotation is really not an easy task, and there are too many details that need to be weighed and considered.
After basically finalizing the starting lineup, Gao Shen still needs to communicate with the players one by one.
It is necessary to explain to the players who are on the roster but not included in the starting lineup, and at the same time tell them what to pay attention to when sitting on the bench during the game; at the same time, it is also necessary to communicate with the players who are in the starting lineup and explain themselves to the players who have entered the starting lineup. Their tactical requirements are reiterated one-on-one to make sure they understand and implement them.
When everything is done, it's time to set off for the Eden Garden Stadium.
It was also at this time that Butragueno and Valdano showed up.
The two guys fell asleep after arriving in Prague and didn't get up until now.
"I'm not going to be a head coach anymore. I'm going to apply to be the vice chairman, head of the public relations department, and technical director. You both are screwing me!"
So damn annoying!
Being so envied and jealous by Gao Shen, Valdano and Butragueno felt quite proud and couldn't stop laughing.
