Barcelona and Manchester United both reached the Champions League final, and this year's Champions League final was held at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid.
Then, Gao Shen encountered a very interesting thing.
He actually received four invitations and finals tickets at the same time.
Guardiola sent him a ticket, saying he hoped Gao Shen could come to watch his final.
"Last season was an accident. We will never lose again this season!" Guardiola said confidently on the phone.
His next-door neighbor Ferguson also sent an invitation letter. The reason was that last season he used Gao Shen's tickets and he just returned the favor this season. Moreover, the old Scottish man even said arrogantly, "Hey, I've reached the Champions League final again."
."
Gao Shen curled his lips and cursed the old man's performance. He didn't know that he thought he had already won the third Champions League.
I really want to say: You can’t beat Barcelona.
But in the end, Gao Shen still didn't throw away the bucket of cold water.
If he had said this to Ferguson before the game, he would have no doubt that the old Scottish man would be so angry that he would vomit blood. Then Gao Shen would become the first culprit in history to make the head coach of the Champions League final so angry that he vomited blood and be unable to lead the team to participate in the game.
.
Well, we can't be so cheap on Ferguson!
At least, you can't give him such an excuse.
The other two invitations came from Real Madrid Chairman Florentino and UEFA.
Needless to say, UEFA, as Gao Shen is one of the most popular coaches in world football, it is natural for him to receive an invitation from UEFA. Whether he goes or not depends on his mood.
As for Florentino, the final will be held at the Bernabeu, so it is normal for him to invite Gao Shen to attend.
Moreover, for the sake of privacy, Florentino will be arranged in his VIP box.
I have to say that Florentino is still very sincere.
Gao Shen had rejected him once before through Zidane and Valdano, but this invitation was not for official business, but out of personal friendship. If Gao Shen still refused, he would be more or less rejected from thousands of miles away.
.
If he really wanted to do this, he and Florentino might not even be friends.
After thinking of this, Gao Shen had already made a decision.
…
After finishing his business in Manchester, Gao Shen made an appointment with the coaching staff and made a special call to Mubarak and others to ask them if they were willing to go south to Madrid to watch the game live.
But Mubarak politely declined.
"If we can reach the Champions League final in the future, I will definitely go!"
"Not only me, but Mr. Mansour also said that he will definitely come to the scene in person."
Gao Shen doesn't force others to do anything, anyway, he invites the management more to express his attitude.
He just accepted a friend's invitation to go to the Champions League final to watch a football match.
In the end, Gao Shen took the coaching staff, as well as Brian Kidd and Brian Marwood, and traveled south from Manchester to Madrid.
Upon arriving at the first stop in Madrid, Gao Shen led everyone to the Juan Casa Barbecue Restaurant.
He couldn't help it, he had been away for too long, and he really missed the barbecue here.
Not only him, but also Carlo, Lucas and others, there is no one who does not miss him.
Brian Kidd and Marwood, who were trying it for the first time, also ate it happily. They were very happy.
Since Gao Shen and his party arrived in Madrid one day in advance, they booked a hotel in advance.
But for Carlo, Lucas and other Madrid people, there is no need at all.
That evening, Valdano, Zidane and Butragueno came to the hotel to visit and brought greetings from Florentino.
At the same time, Real Madrid's current predicament was also mentioned.
"Our season has been a joke."
There was no one else present, only Gao Shen, but he was not considered an outsider, so Butragueño couldn't help but express his feelings.
One of the important reasons for betting on many superstars last summer was that the Champions League final would be held at the Bernabeu.
Florentino wanted to win the second Champions League in his tenure, so he tried his best to recruit a superstar lineup, but failed miserably.
Not only were they twice beaten by Barcelona in the league, they were eliminated by amateur teams in the Copa del Rey, and they still stopped in the top 16 in the Champions League, which in itself was extremely embarrassing for Real Madrid.
But what's even more terrible is that of the two teams participating in the Champions League final, Barcelona is Real Madrid's archrival, and Manchester United's Sneijder is Real Madrid's abandoned player. The Dutch midfielder has long publicly stated that he wants to prove it at the Bernabeu.
Own.
Obviously, he is still dissatisfied with the way he left Real Madrid.
It can be said that no matter who wins the championship, Real Madrid will be in a very embarrassing situation.
Gao Shen could only smile bitterly at this.
In his previous life, the teams that originally participated in this Champions League final were Bayern Munich led by Robben and Inter Milan led by Sneijder. But who would have thought that now Robben is in Manchester City and Bayern Munich failed to reach the final.
Sneijder reached the final, but he was not at Inter Milan, but at Manchester United in the Premier League.
On the contrary, Guardiola's Barcelona once again reached the Champions League final due to Inter Milan's failure to reach the semi-finals, the loss of the Champions League last season, and changes in the team's recruitment.
If the final in the previous life was not very harmful and extremely insulting to Real Madrid, then this current Champions League final is extremely damaging and extremely insulting to Real Madrid.
"Don't pay too much attention to these things." Gao Shen comforted, "With Real Madrid's current card and lineup, as long as they stabilize the midfield, I believe all problems will be solved. The Champions League top 16 is not difficult."
Real Madrid still played well in the group stage, but was restrained by the targeted tactics of French Ligue 1 Lyon in the knockout rounds.
"By the way, we will be in the fourth gear next season." Gao Shen suddenly thought of this serious problem.
When he was coaching Napoli, he was drawn against Real Madrid.
Valdano, Zidane and Butragueno looked at each other and smiled bitterly.
If we are really so unlucky, we have no choice but to accept our fate.
It's impossible for God to push Gao Shen to be on the opposite side of Real Madrid again and again, right?
…
Gao Shen did not pay too much attention to this Champions League final.
In his opinion, Manchester United's strength makes it difficult to challenge Barcelona.
If nothing else, the midfield of Xavi, Iniesta and Busquets will make Manchester United very passive. The trident of Sanchez, Messi and Eto'o, plus the two of Alves and Vargas.
A side road...
Gao Shen can't figure out how Manchester United can defend it?
The strategy that Ferguson came up with was quite bold, which was to attack at the beginning, trying to use the attack at the beginning to disrupt Barcelona's deployment and the rhythm of the game. This did have a certain effect and created two dangerous situations.
But soon, Barcelona used Sanchez's goal to tell Manchester United that the gap in strength was too great.
After that, Barcelona completely controlled the scene and situation, while Manchester United was passively beaten.
The situation was completely controlled by Guardiola's team.
Gao Shen was watching the game in the VIP box. He was very familiar with both sides.
Needless to say about Manchester United, at Barcelona, Sanchez and Vargas are both his former players, Thiago Motta is also sitting on the bench, and Guardiola is his former right-hand man.
Speaking of which, Thiago Motta performed very well after joining Barcelona, but he played more of a rotational midfielder and central defender. Obviously, it is still difficult to shake Busquets' main position.
This made Gao Shen feel a little unwilling in his heart.
"You think, if I make an offer for Thiago Motta, will Barcelona sell him?" Gao Shen asked on a whim.
He now needs to find a replacement, or a competitor, for Javi Martinez.
Carlo and Lucas looked at each other, each showing a wry smile.
Gao Shen still misses Thiago Motta.
What you can't get is the best.
Just like Luka Modric of Tottenham Hotspur, Gao Shen has always been thinking about him.
In fact, Rakitic is good enough, but he cannot stop Gao Shen from pursuing Modric.
Unfortunately, I was rejected by Tottenham again.
In the current European football world, it is really difficult to find a suitable and reliable player at the fourth position.
Therefore, it is normal for Gao Shen to want to poach Thiago Motta.
That is to say, in Barcelona, if it were any other team, players like Thiago Motta should be the unbeatable main force, but in Barcelona, the presence of Busquets makes Thiago Motta difficult to shake.
Unfortunately, the Brazilian defensive midfielder came from Barcelona's youth training and has feelings for this team.
Guardiola is actually quite good to Thiago Motta, because Motta has played a lot this season, mainly rotating the roles of midfielder and central defender. He and Busquets are the ones Barcelona won La Liga this season.
And the hero who reached the Champions League final.
"I'm afraid it's unrealistic." Lucas shook his head and said, "Pep still attaches great importance to him."
After thinking about it for a while, Gao Shen also felt that it was unlikely.
…
Manchester United's opening attack failed to work, and instead Barcelona scored a goal.
Subsequently, Guardiola's team organized and penetrated slowly, eroding Manchester United's defensive front step by step.
Ferguson's team really couldn't come up with a very effective method in front of Barcelona's passing and controlling system. They could only rely on active running and pressing. However, Barcelona's passing and controlling system was too fast and skillful, causing Manchester United to simply grab the ball.
Can't get the ball.
Messi and Iniesta also scored a goal each later.
In the end, Manchester United lost to Barcelona 3-0 in the Champions League final.
After winning the La Liga and Copa del Rey doubles last season, Barcelona once again won the La Liga and Champions League doubles this season, with a higher gold content than last season.
Guardiola also seemed extremely excited because he finally won a Champions League.
This is the championship he dreams of!
After losing 0-4 to the sophisticated Naples in the final of last season, he once fell into hesitation and self-doubt. Fortunately, he finally came out and showed more maturity in coaching this season.
To a certain extent, last season's defeat in the Champions League final was a help to Guardiola.
At least, it will take his coaching level to the next level.
Gao Shen looked down at the excited Guardiola in the VIP box. He was very happy for his friend, but at the same time he was also reminding himself secretly.
