On the morning of the final day, there was the last routine tactical meeting, and Gao Shen made the last deployment before the game.
The players were a little surprised by the head coach's outspokenness, but they all waited patiently.
They all know that Gao Shen never fights an uncertain battle.
Just because you don’t know, doesn’t mean you don’t have a way to deal with it.
"The key lies in Messi and the midfielder. I think it's basically those two situations."
Gao Shen gestured with his right hand, "Either Messi plays on the right, or Messi plays in the middle."
For these two situations, Gao Shen has repeatedly conducted deductions and deployed targeted tactical arrangements in the tactics class over the past few days, and all the players are basically aware of them.
"As we said before, if Messi plays on the right, our left back position must pay attention to Alves's back penetration. This is very dangerous."
Manchester City has Gareth Bale on the left. This player is extremely fast, but the problem is that Barcelona will also insist on attacking.
"If Messi plays in the middle, then we will adjust the targeted defense appropriately. We must pay close attention to Javi Martinez. And Rakitic, your position is also very critical."
The two players whose names were called nodded to show that they understood.
When Gao Shen said this, he reached out and scratched his forehead, "Others, there is basically nothing to say. We will just make targeted changes to whatever tactics the opponent adopts as we deployed before."
"If it starts, let's grab a wave." When Gao Shen said this, he couldn't help but laugh.
"To be honest, when we play passing and controlling the ball, we will definitely not be able to beat Barcelona. Those guys have been playing together for so many years since they were young. Their tacit understanding, style, technical characteristics, etc. are not what we can match. This is
Their advantages.”
"We also have our advantages, so it's not that if we give up possession of the ball, we will lose. On the contrary, if we blindly compete with our opponents for possession of the ball, wouldn't we use our shortcomings to attack the opponent's advantage?
?”
Gao Shen has his own tactical philosophy, but he will never be blind.
He's not that stupid to compete with Barcelona for possession of the ball.
How to play this game, how to defend Messi, how to suppress Barcelona's possession of the ball, these are all clearly planned by Gao Shen in the preparations before the game.
On the final day, many things don’t need to be said.
"The last and most important thing."
Gao Shen's tone began to become serious.
"I know that you must be a little nervous now, but I tell you that the Champions League final is not only a test of the players' abilities and the team's skills and tactics, but also a test of the players' psychological quality."
"Only a team composed of players with the strongest hearts can win in this contest of the strongest."
"Obviously, Barcelona has more experience, but we are not inferior, and I believe you are ready."
"The more powerful a person is, the more he must know how to relax at such a critical moment."
"Later, everyone will go spend time with their families, relax and have a good rest. We will meet again at noon."
"Tonight, at the Wembley Stadium we are familiar with, we will use the method we are familiar with and good at to defeat Barcelona and get the championship back. Tomorrow everyone will happily celebrate the Triple Crown, then collect the bonus and bring the wife.
Children, or girlfriends, take a nice long vacation."
Gao Shen deliberately said it very lightly, hoping that everyone could relax physically and mentally and not be too stressed.
"Boss, what should I do if I don't have a girlfriend? Does the club control distribution?" David Luiz raised his hand and stood up and asked.
Suddenly, the whole audience burst into laughter.
"I heard that the aunt who washes dishes in our outsourced restaurant at the stadium has just divorced. How about you think about it?"
The players were all applauded and booed one after another.
David Luiz waved his hand quickly, how could he dare to answer?
But the atmosphere at the scene became lively.
Then some players asked about Gao Shen's wedding, and said that they would try their best to win the Champions League and give Gao Shen a congratulatory gift.
"You are forcing me to treat, right?" Gao Shen scolded with a smile.
After everyone stopped laughing, Gao Shen explained that he had not yet decided when to hold the wedding because he would be very busy next time.
Manchester City players also know about his acquisition of Leeds United, and naturally understand why he is busy.
"If I hold a wedding, it should be small-scale and held in China. But please don't worry, I will definitely treat guests when I return to Europe. As for the gifts, I collected them in advance!"
When you reach the advanced level, you don't need to make a fuss. On the contrary, the more low-key the better.
why?
Because once he makes a grand event, he will invite a lot of guests.
Although he has only been in Europe for five or six years, he started in a wealthy team like Real Madrid and has made many friends and acquaintances. If he really wants to do something big, he will not invite anyone.
That is a very, very headache.
Instead of doing this, it is better to do it on a small scale and donate all the money saved to charity.
Su Qing's thoughts were the same as Gao Shen's. She came from a ministry background and was not very fond of big things.
If you want to invite some friends or acquaintances, then make an appointment to have a meal in private after the wedding.
Isn’t this more meaningful than doing something big?
…
The schedule for the Champions League final day is very tight.
It can even be accurate to the minute.
After the lunch break, everyone was busy preparing for the finals.
When the time came, the team got on the bus and headed to Wembley Stadium.
At this time, the streets and alleys of London were filled with the atmosphere of the Champions League final, and fans of both teams could be seen everywhere.
Wearing their own jerseys, they gathered in groups, some even held flags high, shouted uniform slogans, and marched toward Wembley Stadium in a mighty manner.
When they saw the Manchester City bus, the Manchester City fans cheered wildly, while the Barcelona fans attacked unscrupulously.
If by chance, fans from both sides meet, then the police will be dispatched to maintain order.
Manchester City lives closer to Wembley Stadium than Barcelona, but arrived a little later.
As soon as I got off the bus and entered the players' tunnel, I immediately came to the scene early to talk to the organizers and UEFA handover staff to explain some precautions, mainly the locker rooms and training venues of both sides, as well as the location of the final.
some processes.
Gao Shen has long been familiar with this, and it is basically the same.
The biggest difference is that the location of the locker rooms and the layout of the player tunnels in each stadium are different.
But Wembley Stadium is very familiar to Manchester City.
Gao Shen met Guardiola who was on the phone in the tunnel.
"Hey, Pep!"
"Good afternoon, Gao!"
Guardiola greeted him with a smile.
Rakitic, David Luiz and other acquaintances also greeted Guardiola one after another.
Regardless of the fact that the two teams are fighting to the death on the court, Guardiola may even put pressure on the referee to protest the foul of a certain player, but these are all matters on the court. Off the court, they are basically still friends.
Of course, it cannot be ruled out that sometimes anger really gets the better of you and harms your harmony.
But this rarely happens, and even if it does happen, it is quickly reconciled off the court.
To put it bluntly, a football match is just a show!
"Wow, I see you didn't sleep last night." Gao Shen laughed.
Guardiola was too angry to speak, "I was about to go to bed, but after seeing your tweet, I couldn't fall asleep again."
Gao Shen definitely doesn’t believe this.
Guardiola is such a troubled person that he must have stayed up late last night.
"Don't think too much, just let go and be mentally prepared." Gao Shen said with a confident expression.
Guardiola was not happy to hear this.
Why do you feel like you are destined to lose?
But soon, he realized the problem.
"Forget it, I won't talk nonsense with you, and you will just play tricks on me all day long."
After saying that, Guardiola waved his hand and left.
"Tell me, you are obviously a Virgo, but why do you think his perfectionism complex is worse than yours?" Carlo looked at Guardiola's leaving back and asked with a smile.
Gao Shen shook his head and laughed.
This is actually a bit like a matryoshka doll.
I predicted your tactics...
I predicted your prediction...
I predicted that you would predict my prediction...
I predict...
Sometimes, it really is unsolvable.
Guardiola is a bit of an overachiever, but his advanced skills are different. He is an excellent academic who was trained in nine years of compulsory education. He is not interested in such things as being an overachiever.
When he was answering questions in school, he had already been beaten with a bull's horn N times. Why not run away now?
Facts have proved that Guardiola lacked nine years of compulsory education.
"He should be sent to elementary school and reformed!" Gao Shen smiled and walked into the locker room himself.
Carlo was a little confused.
What does it mean?
You are now several decades old, but you still go back to primary school?
…
There is actually not much suspense about the starting lineups of both teams.
Barcelona's starting lineup is:
Goalkeeper: Valdes.
Defence: Vargas, Pique, Thiago Motta and Alves.
Midfielder: Iniesta, Busquets and Xavi.
Forwards: Sanchez, Aguero and Messi.
This can almost be said to be the most luxurious lineup in the world, and there are players such as Villa, Bojan, Puyol, Seydou Keita and others sitting on the bench. It can be said that it is full of talents.
Manchester City is no less generous here.
Goalkeeper: Neuer.
Defence: Felipe, David Luiz, Kompany and Lichtsteiner.
Midfielder: David Silva, Javi Martinez and Rakitic.
Forwards: Gareth Bale, Suarez and Robben.
Manchester City also has famous players such as Robin van Persie, Hazard, Yaya Toure and others on the bench, who are equally talented.
Both teams used their main players, and there were no injuries or absences, which made this final full of highlights.
Especially profound.
He previously coached Real Madrid and Napoli, reached the Champions League finals twice, and won the Champions League both times. The success rate in the finals was 100%, especially two years ago, when he led Napoli to defeat Barcelona 4-0.
Now, Barcelona is ambitious to defend its title, and Gao Shen has become the target of Guardiola's revenge.
Having reached the Champions League finals for three consecutive years shows Barcelona's strength.
But Gao Shen and his Manchester City should not be underestimated either.
