As a South American head coach with no experience in European football, taking charge of a top club like Barcelona, Martino knows exactly what kind of pressure he will bear.
Even with the support of Messi and the Barcelona management, Martino could still feel various unfavorable situations in the locker room. The most typical one was that the players lacked passion for playing.
This is a very strange feeling.
Barcelona is still invincible on the court and has won nine consecutive victories. It has also performed well in the Champions League and looks unbeatable. There have even been games such as a 7-0 home victory over Levante and a 4-0 away victory over Barcelona.
Such a victory for Lecano.
However, Martino still feels that this Barcelona team plays without passion.
At least, it is completely different from all the teams he has coached before.
how to say?
That's something only a head coach can feel.
It’s just that the players don’t want to play for you!
They are still cooperating with you, still executing your tactics, and still listening to your arrangements and instructions, but you can clearly feel the huge gap between them and you.
They are willing to listen and do it, not because of you as a person, but because you are the head coach of Barcelona.
Some people may think that this is not a good idea?
Just like working for a company, you may not necessarily like this job from the bottom of your heart and like working for this boss, but does this prevent you from doing this job?
Yes, of course, no hindrance.
But this will make your work very mechanical and lack passion.
The sport of football is different from working in a company. Without passion, there will be no creativity.
Although everyone meshes like precision gears, pushing the machine to run smoothly, it can never create surprises. Everything seems to be precision designed.
As the head coach, Martino feels it the most.
Even now, Barcelona players, especially local players, rarely take the initiative to communicate with him.
Everything seemed harmonious, but only Martino himself knew that they were not willing to play for him.
When mobilizing before the game, they will watch him "performing" without any trouble; during halftime, they will examine his adjustments with suspicion; after the game, they will think about it in their hearts.
Let's take a closer look, how much role did the head coach play in today's game?
In fact, many people may have thought about a question in their hearts: How long can he stay at Barcelona?
Two years? One year? Or a few months?
This is a very bad state.
Although from the perspective of outsiders, it is still very beautiful for the time being.
Martino knows this very well, so every decision he makes this season is cautious.
Barcelona players and media were very resistant to his adjustments to Barcelona's traditional ball possession tactics, so he constantly changed and adjusted his ideas, using fine-tuning methods to change Barcelona bit by bit.
He tried to add more changes to Barcelona's passing and possession system.
But he took every step very carefully, fearing that he might accidentally arouse resistance from the players, media and fans.
Outside, he reiterated time and time again that he had no intention of changing Barcelona's tradition. He repeatedly touted Barcelona's passing and possession system because he knew that if he wanted to gain a foothold at Camp Nou, he needed to integrate into Barcelona.
Rather than changing Barcelona.
Integrate first, then try to change
For example, he has always put Messi on the right this season. Why?
As we all know, Barcelona has always emphasized the attack in the middle and the two ribs in the past, but this method has been figured out by the opponents.
In a strong-power dialogue, this tactic without surprise is very fatal.
Martino wanted to try to play more on both wings, but this went against Barcelona's tradition, so he put Messi on the right, so that it would be logical to attack both wings.
This will bring more changes to Barcelona's offense.
If that doesn't work, then go back to the traditional route.
There is an interesting scene that often occurs this season. In the game, Barcelona attacked the wing first, but with little effect, they returned to the traditional passing and controlling style of play, and ended up winning.
As a result, the players, media and fans were all satisfied, because this was a victory for traditional Barcelona football.
Sometimes it's the other way around, which means pushing for something new.
And Cesc Fabregas.
Barcelona has a very special preference for this local player because they have been pursuing Fabregas for a long time and they like this player very much. Messi, Xavi and Iniesta also like Fabregas very much.
Gas.
Therefore, no matter how good Sanchez, Pedro and others were, Martino chose to let Fabregas start.
Why?
Because he needs Fabregas.
In this way, Martino stumbled along the way and brought Barcelona to where it is now.
He also knows that this game against Real Madrid has a very special meaning for him.
Because in the past, Barcelona has never defeated Gao Shen; last season, Barcelona lost to Real Madrid four times.
If he can beat Real Madrid, he may be able to break the ice that separates him from his players.
At the very least, it can carve out a crack.
…
On the evening of October 26, Barcelona’s Camp Nou Stadium.
When Gao Shen shook hands with Martino who came over before the game, he could clearly see that the Argentinian's hair was obviously much grayer than a few months ago.
Being a head coach is a really grueling job and the pressure is extremely high.
Gao Shen is understandable about the current situation of Martino coaching Barcelona.
Even, to a certain extent, this is a tragedy in itself, doomed from the beginning.
If the selection is based on normal logic, Martino has no qualifications or any possibility to coach Barcelona.
The whole world knows how Martino became the head coach of Barcelona, and if he wants to prove his coaching ability, he needs to do more and better and produce more convincing results.
The job of a head coach seems to be very simple, with many assistants and professional people being responsible for professional matters, and that's it, but in fact it is very complicated.
Especially in top clubs like Real Madrid and Barcelona.
Those who can play in this kind of team are all the top stars in the world. Why should they recognize you?
Gao Shen still remembers that in his previous life, he read the autobiography of German player Lahm, which mentioned the difference between Loew and Klinsmann.
The German captain said that after Klinsmann coached Bayern, the only content of training was physical fitness, with very little tactical content, so the players had to hold meetings before the game to discuss how to play the game.
"After only six to eight weeks, the players already understood that Klinsmann could not lead the team."
Why?
After Klinsmann went from being a meritorious head coach of the German national team to being the head coach of Bayern Munich, is there such a big gap?
Because of Loew.
Lahm described Loew as performing like a master tactician in his first training session with the German national team, analyzing each position in great detail.
"Before, no coach has ever told me exactly how a left-back should play."
According to Bisanez, the head of the German coaching training class, the reason why Klinsmann chose Loew as his assistant coach was because the two of them had already started discussing German football when they were in the coaching training class.
reform.
At that time, the three-back style of play was prevalent in Germany, and the libero and sweeper tactics were the traditions of German football.
"But it took Loew two minutes to explain to Klinsmann the advantages of a back four."
This is why, after Klinsmann became the head coach of Germany again, he made Loew serve as his assistant. This is also why Klinsmann's coaching performance plummeted after he came to Bayern Munich from the German national team.
Gao Shen has always known that in the head coaching profession, especially in Europe's top leagues where competition is so fierce, there is no way to be fancy and you must show real strength and standards.
Mr. Nan Guo will not last long in this position.
Even when he coached Real Madrid by chance, it took a lot of effort and the help of the [Tactics Library] to barely gain a foothold.
Later, he relied on his steady and steady achievements to reach where he is today.
But what about Martino?
He almost climbed to the top in one step.
This is very dangerous.
Not only is he in danger, Barcelona is in danger too.
Barcelona looks calm on the surface now, but secretly it is turbulent.
To put it simply, if Barcelona plays well, everything will be quiet for a long time, but once it encounters a tough battle, Barcelona will be finished.
Even Martino has a hard time adjusting.
Because the Barcelona players don't trust him from the bottom of their hearts and are doubting his decision.
This kind of doubt is very deadly on the football field.
Regarding this situation in Barcelona, Gao Shen saw it, Simeone also saw it, and everyone who is familiar with and studied Barcelona can see it. The difference is only when it breaks out.
Therefore, both Gao Shen and Simeone feel that Barcelona has no hope this season.
"Tonight, we have to score first and then step on Martino's head!" Gao Shen said calmly, looking at Martino's lonely back walking back.
It is indeed cruel to do this, but sorry, this is professional football.
From the moment Martino decided to come to Barcelona to drown this muddy water, he was already destined to end up like this.
Shortcuts are not that easy to take.
Especially the shortcut to professional football.
This often comes at a heavy price!
…
Goalkeeper: Valdes.
Defence: Alba, Puyol, Pique and Alves.
Midfield: Busquets is deep, Iniesta and Xavi are in the middle.
Forwards: Neymar, Cesc Fabregas and Messi.
This is Barcelona's starting lineup, and there are almost no surprises.
Real Madrid's starting lineup also didn't have many surprises.
Goalkeeper: Courtois.
Defence: Marcelo, Ramos, Pepe and Carvajal.
Midfield: Xabi Alonso deep, Toni Kroos and Modric in the centre.
Forwards: Cristiano Ronaldo, Benzema and Di Maria.
Both teams played with neat lineups and both showed they attached great importance to this game.
But the difference is that Real Madrid showed more aggressive momentum.
In recent years, Barcelona has always started slowly, trying hard to control the ball.
In Tonight's Camp Nou, Real Madrid gave up the fight for possession of the ball right from the start and directly used a high-position press, even like a wolf pack, forcing Barcelona's penalty area and approaching the goalkeeper.
This caught the Barcelona players off guard.
They didn't expect that Real Madrid would be so determined.
Caught off guard, Valdez made a mistake that shouldn't have happened.
