In the 30th round of La Liga, Barcelona challenged Malaga away.
Although Barcelona had excellent luck in the draw of the Champions League quarter-finals and drew Benfica, the weakest team in the Portuguese Super League, Rijkaard still did not dare to be careless and made a large rotation in the game against Malaga.
Ronaldinho, Deco, Xavi, Puyol and others rested and played almost as a substitute lineup against Malaga.
Among the regular starting players, only Eto'o and Giuly, who became the main player after Messi was scrapped for the season, started.
But what is unexpected is that Barcelona encountered a tenacious sniper attack from Malaga at the Rose Garden Stadium.
Losing Ronaldinho, Xavi, Deco and Iniesta, Barcelona's frontcourt offense seriously lacks creativity and relies more on the cooperation between Eto'o, Larsson and Giuly.
Create opportunities.
But it was difficult to break down Malaga's defense.
Giuly was very active on the right and completely dominated Barcelona's offense.
In stoppage time, it was Giuly who created a free kick on the right, Larsson headed the ball over, and Eto'o followed up and scored in front of the goal.
However, Malaga players protested against Larsson for a handball foul during the aerial challenge, which caused a strong reaction at the scene.
The referee ruled that the goal was invalid on the court, but the slow-motion replay of the live TV footage showed that Larsson did not commit a handball foul. This was an obvious misjudgment.
There was no goal scored in the first half, and after changing sides in the second half, Barcelona's offense still failed to improve.
What is puzzling is that Rijkaard replaced the most active Giuly in the 60th minute.
Although it didn't take long for Iniesta to come on as a substitute, and Barcelona's midfield organization improved, but in the end they were unable to score Malaga's goal again, and the two sides shook hands with each other at 0-0.
Twenty-two shots were taken, ten were on target, and not a single goal was scored. Barcelona returned from the Rose Garden in despair.
…
Real Madrid's game is one day later than Barcelona's.
Gao Shen and the coaching staff all watched the live broadcast of Barcelona's game in Valdebebas. The result was zero to zero, which no one expected, because Malaga currently ranks at the bottom of La Liga, and relegation is basically a certainty.
The top of La Liga tied with the bottom of La Liga, which is an upset no matter how you look at it.
In fact, Rijkaard dared to make such a strong rotation because he thought he could easily win Malaga, but who would have thought that the Rose Garden Stadium would be so difficult to defeat.
The upset was caused by many factors, including the referee's misjudgment, but this cannot be changed.
The actual situation now is that Barcelona has lost points again.
After watching the live broadcast, the coach's office was very quiet.
Gao Shen was thinking about a question, a very tempting question.
Should we take the opportunity to shorten the points gap?
According to Gao Shen's original plan, the home game against Deportivo La Coruna on the weekend will also require a large rotation. The purpose is also very simple, which is to better prepare to go to Turin to challenge Juventus next Wednesday.
Just look at their lineup and think about Capello's style to see how difficult Capello's team is.
Not to mention the current Real Madrid, which is old, weak, sick and disabled, even Real Madrid at its peak back then would have been a bit wary of Juventus. Gao Shen had to recharge his batteries and go all out.
But now Barcelona is tied.
What does this mean?
After Barcelona drew with Malaga, their points lead with Real Madrid increased to eight points, but Real Madrid had one game less.
If Real Madrid can defeat Deportivo La Coruna at home tomorrow night, the points gap will be shortened to five points.
The shortening from ten points to five points will give Real Madrid more confidence and fighting spirit for next weekend's El Clasico.
But this will inevitably affect the Champions League next Wednesday.
Rijkaard chose to rotate significantly when facing Benfica, but Gao Shen faced Capello's Juventus.
The Champions League is very tempting, but the league is also very tempting.
"What do you think?" Gao Shen asked.
Everyone knew what Gao Shen was asking.
"There is a chance, but... it's too risky." Maqueda said cautiously.
Gao Shen didn't make a sound, but nodded encouragingly, indicating for him to continue.
"We all know how strong Juventus is, and this team is very stable. Even if we gather all the elites and go to the Alpi Stadium in the best condition, we may not be able to take advantage. If we are distracted from the league again
,I am afraid……"
Everyone nodded.
As a time traveler, Gao Shen knew in his heart that Serie A was about to encounter the Calciopoli scandal, followed by a rapid decline.
But before Calciopoli, how strong Serie A was is difficult for latecomers to understand and appreciate.
Especially Capello's Juventus are too strong.
Almost every position is filled with the best players in the world. With such a lineup, coupled with Capello who is as stable as an old dog, you can imagine how difficult it is for Juventus to play.
"That's true, but now Barcelona has made a mistake again. The opportunity is right in front of us. Don't we want it?" Lucas put forward a different opinion.
He now understands Gao Shen's style of doing things. As long as Gao Shen proposes a discussion, everyone will express their opinions together.
"We have worked hard to chase Barcelona. Now we bite the bullet and strive to win Deportivo La Coruña in the league. The points gap will be shortened. In the Champions League, we will hold on in the away game and return to home to decide the winner."
As soon as Lucas finished speaking, Maqueda said: "This is too risky, and it is an ideal state, but in fact, we may not be able to leave Turin with our whole body. Once we lose the ball, Capello's team will be
He won't give us any chance."
Capello believes in the one-to-zero doctrine, which, as the name suggests, means scoring one more goal than the opponent.
From this point, it is not difficult to see how good the team he coached was defensively.
Of course, Gao Shen has also been nicknamed Capello II recently because his Real Madrid are also playing one to zero and are very conservative.
"I still stick to my opinion. It's the 30th round now and the league is about to end. If we can't shorten the gap as soon as possible, we will be under increasing pressure and we will have to give up the league in the end. But the Champions League..."
Lucas didn't finish his words, but the meaning was very clear: Real Madrid's situation in the Champions League is not much better than in La Liga.
Gao Shen knows Lucas well, he wants to give it a try and feels that the team can create opportunities in La Liga and the Champions League at the same time.
Maqueda's idea also makes sense, because after playing Deportivo, he will play Juventus in the middle of the week and Barcelona on the weekend, three games in a row. The pressure is not ordinary, even for a team like Barcelona.
Teams in 2008 couldn't do it, so Rijkaard had to be rotated so that Malaga could take advantage of him.
The original strategy of the Real Madrid coaching staff was to compete against Juventus and Barcelona.
Gao Shen turned to look at Buenaventura, "Lorenzo, what do you think?"
Buenaventura just arrived at the team not long ago, but he has been highly regarded by senior officials. He has been entrusted with important responsibilities since he arrived. His opinions must be listened to in every game, and now is no exception.
"Both opinions are reasonable. It just depends on whether you want to be aggressive or more cautious."
After a pause, Buenaventura looked at the people around him and suggested: "Actually, several Brazilian players in the team are in good health and have good physical fitness. Is it okay..."
"It's not the time yet, let's not discuss this matter." Gao Shen interrupted Buenaventura without waiting for him to finish.
Buenaventura was stunned for a moment, not expecting Gao Shen to be so determined.
Looking at other people, I suddenly understood why no one mentioned this opinion.
"That's it for the time being. Everyone will think about it carefully, and I will think about it carefully. Let's talk about it tomorrow morning."
In fact, Gao Shen also knows in his heart that several people from the Brazilian Gang will be a great help now.
Ronaldo, Baptista, Carlos, Robinho and Cicinho, if these five players can participate in the game, it will be of great help to Real Madrid.
But he can't just focus on the immediate situation, but must consider the overall situation.
During the time he took over Real Madrid, he has been suppressing the Brazilian gang, just to make them submissive and obedient.
As long as they are submissive and obedient, then they will be able to use them smoothly, they will obey the team's overall tactical discipline, and they will work hard on the court. Only then will Real Madrid be able to cooperate as a whole.
Now, the time is not yet ripe, especially if Gao Shen takes the initiative to let the Brazilian gang appear, then the Brazilian gang will have to be more arrogant in the future? Then everything Gao Shen has done before has been in vain?
Judging from Ronaldo's statement, he could hardly bear it anymore, just a little bit.
These Brazilian players definitely want to participate in the World Cup in Germany, and they will definitely give in.
It's not worthwhile to give up now.
…
After leaving Valdebebas, Gao Shen returned to the Odaleza district on his bicycle.
Along the way, he was weighing and considering this matter.
In fact, this is never about right or wrong, but about trade-offs and trade-offs.
In the field of professional competition, if you win, your farts will taste good, and whatever you do is right. If you lose, no matter how justified the reasons are, they are all excuses.
This is especially true for head coaches.
Therefore, some people say that the head coach is the riskiest profession in European football, and the risk is higher than that of the players.
At the very least, if the team's performance is poor, the first step is to take action against the head coach, not the players.
Gao Shen returned home, freshened up, lay down on the bed, and went directly to the tactical library.
During this time, he spent time in the library whenever he had time, continuing to study Benitez's books, while also reading the works of other people, such as Ferguson, Wenger, Ranieri, etc.
Before each game, he will also carefully read the opponent's head coach's books to understand the opponent's tactical concepts, game ideas and some command styles, which is of great benefit to him.
It can be said that Real Madrid's consecutive victories in the past period are inseparable from Gao Shen's improvement in the library.
In recent days, Gao Shen has been reading the books of Juventus's two previous coaches, Lippi and Capello, looking for ways to deal with Juventus.
The books written by these two tactical masters can be described as profound and profound, especially the understanding and practice of some tactical theories, which fascinated Gao Shen. It not only gave him a deeper understanding of Italian football, but also gave him a deeper understanding of Italian football.
The essence of football tactics has been further understood.
