After passing through the long and narrow player tunnel, we came to the exit that suddenly opened up.
The roaring sounds coming from the stadium are getting stronger and stronger, especially the moment they walk out of the tunnel, they are like a tidal wave, rushing towards us.
Gao Shen has long been accustomed to this kind of atmosphere at Intihad Stadium.
Since he coached Manchester City, Intihad's football market has always been very good, and every game in the league is full.
After reaching the Champions League this season, the attendance rate is also the same.
This is partly because of Manchester City's results, but more importantly because of the team's beautiful playing style.
In European football, professional leagues are just a show.
Facts have proved that even Italians who value defense very much like the offensive storm set off by Gao Shen.
Standing at the entrance of the players' tunnel, Gao Shen first looked at the home team's coaching bench. Carlo, Brian Kidd and others were busy preparing. He then looked at the visiting team's coaching bench and easily saw Mourinho.
figure.
He smiled and walked over.
"Hey, Jose, welcome to Intihad!" Gao Shen smiled and extended his hand.
Mourinho also smiled and shook hands with Gao Shen, "You may not be able to laugh anymore later."
Don't look at the heated verbal sparring between the two in the media before the game, but they are actually pretty good in private.
Of course, coaching different teams must be somewhat competitive.
Especially in this current atmosphere, it would be absolutely false to say that Mourinho did not want to get rid of Gao Shen.
The same goes for Gao Shen.
"You are so adventurous and radical tonight, are you really so confident?"
Gao Shen was talking about Mourinho's lineup.
Goalkeeper: Casillas.
Defence: Marcelo, Ramos, Carvalho and Arbeloa.
Midfielder: Xabi Alonso and Khedira trail behind, in front are Di Maria, No. 23 and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Forward: Adebayor.
This lineup is not beyond Gao Shen's expectations, but it is indeed a bit radical.
Mourinho did not answer the profound question and just smiled.
"I originally thought you would use three midfielders."
That is in line with Mourinho's character.
The Portuguese madman is actually not good at attacking, nor is he good at controlling the flow. He is good at defensive counterattacks.
Everyone has their own unique way of being good at it, so it is indeed a bit surprising that he put together such a lineup.
To put it bluntly, facing a La Liga team that is weaker than Real Madrid, this method may still work, but in a strong dialogue, playing this way is tantamount to taking a risk.
"I heard someone say that you have commented on Real Madrid before and thought that the tenth position is no longer suitable for the current trend of European football, but I don't think so. There is no such thing as outdated tactics, and there is no absolute good or bad. But tonight
, we just want to prove this!”
Gao Shen understood that Mourinho was secretly competing with him.
In fact, it is quite normal, and it will be the same for everyone.
Coaching Real Madrid is regarded by Mourinho as the pinnacle of his life. This is like a man who tried every possible means and pursued hard to finally catch up with a goddess. However, after only two days of dating, he discovered that the goddess used him as a backup, but he actually loved her.
It's someone else.
I would like to ask, will this man be convinced by this "other"?
The point is, this drama is repeated over and over again.
From Barcelona to Inter Milan to Real Madrid, no matter how good-tempered a person is, they will probably not feel comfortable.
Therefore, Mourinho is somewhat angry now.
"Then, I wish you good luck!" Gao Shen stretched out his hand again.
Mourinho shook hands with Gao Shen again, and the two went back.
Looking at Gao Shen's leaving figure, Mourinho's eyes were full of complex expressions, but he soon became firm again.
He must win this battle tonight!
…
"They are going to get serious tonight!"
Returning to the home team's coaching bench, Gao Shen turned around again, glanced at the visiting team's coaching bench, and found that Mourinho was nervously shouting to the players on the field, apparently making final targeted adjustments.
At the moment, both teams have already set up their positions in their respective halves.
Manchester City's lineup is still four, three, and three.
Goalkeeper: Neuer.
Defense: Felipe, David Luiz, Kompany and Zabaleta.
Midfield: Javi Martinez deep, David Silva and Rakitic in the centre.
Forwards: Robinho, Suarez and Robben.
Gao Shen finally chose Robinho, who was eager to fight, mainly because he believed what Robben said before.
Players like them will all want to fight Real Madrid, so they will have unprecedented motivation to play.
What surprised Gao Shen was that it turned out that David Silva was also a star abandoned by Real Madrid.
He comes from the Canary Islands, where young people are all Real Madrid fans, so like many others, when he grew up, he went to the Real Madrid youth training camp to accept selection. As a result, Real Madrid thought that he was too thin and was not selected.
he.
Unexpectedly, he was kicked out in Valencia.
Of course, Gao Shen would not think that this was the so-called Alliance of Outcasts, or the Avengers, or something like that. These were just rumors from the media. The truth is that Real Madrid's youth academy selects and eliminates too many players every year.
Not only the youth academy, but also the first team.
Perhaps it should be said that if we really want to dig deeper, almost every player is involved to some extent with major giants.
For example, Cristiano Ronaldo, Gao Shen has read his autobiography. When he was at Sporting Lisbon, he had contact with basically all the giants in Europe, and several teams even came close to signing him, including Barcelona.
The same is true for Belgians like Hazard.
In professional football, whether it is big or small, the relationship is naturally inextricably linked.
"Let them all pay attention and stabilize themselves after the game starts." Gao Shen turned around and looked at the court and reminded.
…
The TV live broadcast switched to a shot overlooking the entire field, and you could see Adebayor and player No. 23 preparing to kick off in the center circle.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Di Maria are on the right and left respectively.
On the outside of the center circle are Xavi Alonso and Khedira, and behind them is Real Madrid's defense.
"This is Real Madrid's lineup and formation tonight."
"Manchester City responded with 433."
"This is a matchup between the two most valuable teams of all time on the planet."
"Real Madrid has invested more than 400 million euros in total in the past two seasons, and Manchester City has also invested more than 400 million euros in the past three seasons. Both are incredibly high prices."
"Now, these two teams meet in the group stages of the Champions League."
"This is Manchester City's head coach Gao Shen. Standing on the sidelines and directing the game is his personal characteristic."
"This is Mourinho, the head coach of Real Madrid. He looks very calm, sitting in the visiting team's dugout, waiting for kick-off."
With a crisp whistle and cheers from all Manchester City fans, the game officially kicked off.
Adebayor kicked the ball to No. 23, and the German midfielder immediately passed the ball back.
Manchester City's trident crossed the center line immediately and headed towards Real Madrid's half.
Xabi Alonso stopped the ball and turned sideways, passed the ball to the right, and handed it to Arbeloa who came forward, but Robinho quickly rushed in front of Arbeloa.
When two former Real Madrid teammates met for the first time, Arbeloa immediately distributed the ball to the right wing and handed it to Ronaldo.
The Portuguese retreated, and after receiving the ball, Felipe was behind him. Before he could turn around, he saw Robinho rushing over quickly and made a tackle on the ground, shoveling the ball out of bounds.
Also knocked down Ronaldo.
…
"Hey Robinho!"
Gao Shen watched from the sidelines and shook his head and shouted loudly.
But Robinho was a little far away from him on the left, so he immediately called Rakitic.
"Yin Wan, tell me if he acts recklessly again, I will replace him now!"
Rakitic immediately raised his hand towards Gao Shen to indicate that he heard it.
Taking advantage of Ronaldo's opportunity to sit on the sidelines, Rakitic quickly ran over, held Robinho's head forcefully, and spoke loudly to him, probably conveying a profound message.
"Damn it!" Gao Shen cursed angrily.
The tackle just now was a bit big.
"He was also very depressed." Carlo smiled bitterly and shook his head.
Why did Robinho leave Real Madrid and join Manchester City in the first place?
The main reason is that Real Madrid wanted to use Robinho as a transfer to introduce Ronaldo, but Robinho refused.
In the end, Ronaldo did not bring in Ronaldo, and Robinho made a fuss about leaving the team. Luiz Scolari happened to be coaching Chelsea, so he wanted to bring in Robinho. As a result, Robinho came to Manchester City during the talks.
It is not difficult to understand why Robinho couldn't help but take action when he saw Ronaldo.
"I've told him many times, and he promised me." Gao Shen was also a little angry.
Before the game, he was worried about this happening.
On the court, Robinho seemed to be aware of his own problem, and immediately raised his hand towards Gao Shen from a distance, feeling a bit like admitting his mistake, which made Gao Shen feel relieved.
Damn it, I don’t even think about it, your little arms and legs pissed off the CEO, so I’ll just fuck you!
…
Real Madrid quickly took a free kick and wanted to send it directly into Manchester City's penalty area to find Adebayor.
However, Togo's center was blocked by David Luiz. Goalkeeper Neuer abandoned the goal and got the ball near the penalty area. He quickly threw the ball to Kompany.
"Steady!" Gao Shen shouted from the sidelines.
Manchester City's players also knew the coach's instructions and immediately slowed down the pace in the backcourt and passed them back and forth.
Seizing an opportunity, Kompany sent a long pass directly behind Real Madrid's defense.
Suarez moved forward quickly, but Ramos took a step ahead and headed the ball to clear the ball.
Real Madrid's defense retreated very quickly, especially Ramos, who was very mobile.
But the ball is still in Manchester City's court.
This is the benefit of having the ability to control the ball in the midfield.
Real Madrid tried to apply pressure in the midfield. Cristiano Ronaldo, Adebayor and Di Maria all actively pressed and pressed, but the positions of Xavi Martinez, David Silva and Rakitic were very flexible, especially
It was when Manchester City had the ball.
Gao Shen was always observing Real Madrid's movements attentively from the sidelines, especially the performance of the players.
Several players indeed performed very actively, which allowed Real Madrid's midfield and frontcourt pressure to achieve good results after the opening.
