Sometimes, Gao Shen felt that there really seemed to be a hand pulling everything in the world.
It was like meeting Valencia in the quarter-finals of the Copa del Rey. It happened to be the 20th round of the league. Real Madrid challenged Valencia away, and then played three games with Valencia in one go, one home and two away.
In the Copa del Rey semi-finals, the situation was still similar.
This time Real Madrid drew Barcelona.
Yes, two teams aiming for the championship met in the semi-finals.
The other matchup is Atletico Madrid vs. Sevilla.
In fact, no matter which angle you look at it, if you reach the semi-finals, whether it is Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, or Sevilla, it will be very difficult, and you must be mentally prepared for a hard battle.
But what’s interesting is that the two legs of the Copa del Rey semi-finals are on January 30 and February 26 respectively. Real Madrid’s schedule is home first, then away, but on February 13, Real Madrid will sit at the Bernabeu to welcome the Champions League Ten
Manchester United, the opponent in the first leg of the top six knockout round, will be a guest at Old Trafford on March 5.
The most terrible thing is that on March 2, Real Madrid will face Barcelona at home in the 26th round of La Liga.
Before the first leg against Manchester United, Real Madrid will play Sevilla, and before the second leg of the Copa del Rey against Barcelona, they will go to the Riazor Stadium to challenge Deportivo La Coruña in the league.
Such intensive strong dialogues are concentrated in the same period of time, which is a huge test for any team.
When the draw results came out, the live commentator on Spanish national television listed Real Madrid's schedule and believed that it was definitely a devilishly intensive schedule, especially from mid-February to March.
Especially at the last moment, playing Barcelona twice and Manchester United once in a week, two of which are away games, is a nightmare for any team.
De La Morena, the golden host of Radio Ser, tweeted immediately after the lottery results came out.
"Gao Shen said that this season's La Liga schedule is unfavorable to Real Madrid, and it's not without reason."
Aspen editor-in-chief Alfredo also immediately commented online, "Real Madrid, which has just adjusted, once again faces a devilish schedule, and the road ahead for senior coaching is full of thorns."
…
Valdebebas, northeast of Madrid.
Gao Shen and his assistants also watched the live broadcast of the draw and knew the results immediately, and also updated the schedule immediately.
Everyone fell silent.
Some people may think that the Real Madrid media is talking nonsense.
Real Madrid wants to play in the Champions League, doesn’t Barcelona also want to play in the Champions League?
As for the opponent, Real Madrid was not good enough. They were placed in the group of death. They only qualified second in the group and narrowly qualified. In the end, they met the stronger Manchester United. What's the problem?
Barcelona also met AC Milan, but they didn't say anything.
This is certainly true.
When it comes to the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey and the knockout round of the Champions League round of 16, it is natural to encounter strong teams.
But in terms of schedule, Barcelona did take advantage of it.
The simplest thing is that Barcelona's game against AC Milan is a week later than Real Madrid.
In other words, there is no such devilish schedule as Real Madrid, where they encounter strong dialogues in just one week.
The first-leg match was on February 20, perfectly offset by the second-leg match against Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey; the second-leg match was played on March 12, perfectly offset by the two Copa del Rey and league games against Real Madrid.
With this kind of schedule, Barcelona can be said to have taken advantage. They have plenty of time to slowly prepare for the strong dialogue.
But what about Real Madrid?
Continuous strong conversations in a short period of time put a lot of pressure on both the coach and the players.
Of course, it is unreasonable to say that UEFA and the Spanish Football Federation are deliberately trying to kill Real Madrid.
The most we can say is that Real Madrid's luck is really bad.
…
Pochettino is sitting in the outermost position.
As a La Liga head coach, he knows very well that this devilish schedule is a huge test for any team, and the most serious problem is preparation.
There is already a serious lack of preparation time for double matches a week. All time is basically spent on recovery and adjustment. There is no need to think too much about targeted training. If you can spare a class, it will be a big deal.
But in a strong dialogue, facing strong teams like Manchester United and Barcelona, one lesson is simply not enough.
This is the biggest test for the head coach.
We asked ourselves, if it were us, Pochettino wouldn't dare to imagine it, and he would even be a little at a loss.
If you are coaching the Espanyol team, it is actually quite simple, just give up one or two fronts.
But Real Madrid can't.
Real Madrid is currently 4 points behind Barcelona in the league and must compete for the Copa del Rey and Champions League.
In this case, all the pressure falls on Gao Shen.
The team lineup is like this, what do you do?
Pochettino himself is also wondering, what should he do if he comes to coach?
Not only him, but everyone in the audience, whether it is the core coaching staff, ordinary coaches, or those coaches who are following him, are all looking at him now, and they obviously don't know what to do.
There are so many clues, but the key is still deep.
…
It's nothing too advanced. Let Carlos Vargas first make a chart of all the schedules, according to time, from top to bottom, and the number of days between each game, so that it can be seen at a glance.
"For us, Manchester United is still too far away. We will not think about him for the time being. The top priority now is the home game against Barcelona, which is only a week away."
After a pause, Gao Shen shook his head, "No, strictly speaking, there are only six days, and there is a league game in between."
The opponent is Getafe, the opponent in the 21st round of La Liga.
After playing at Getafe, it was really tight to recover and adjust without time.
"Old rules, Lorenzo, Antonio, you two control the physical fitness and the status of the players. I have to make rotations, and the intensity is not small, otherwise, I will not survive this schedule."
Buenaventura and Pintus nodded.
The two have worked together for many years and know exactly what Gao Shen requires and how to do it.
"Before playing against Barcelona, give me two training sessions for targeted training." Gao Shen looked at Carlo.
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The whole world knows that Gao Shen himself never presides over the training, it is Carlo who does the training, but Gao Shen has the final say on how to train and arrange it, and Carlo is like Gao Shen's executor.
Carlo got together with several coaches and studied for a while, obviously studying the schedule and training schedule, because in this intensive schedule, time is really precious, and every training session is crucial.
.
"Two training sessions cannot be combined. One before the game against Getafe, and another after the game." Carlo gave his own plan, which was obviously put together in a hurry.
Gao Shen thought for a moment and nodded in agreement.
"Okay, the matter is settled like this." Gao Shen made the decision on the spot, very decisively.
"Everyone, during the next period of time, the schedule will be very tight and the competition pressure will be very high. This requires us all to work together as one."
"I still say what I said, we are Real Madrid. In our dictionary, the word fear has never been used, and we have never been afraid of any opponent or any challenge."
"We have survived such a terrible schedule in the Champions League's Group of Death, so are we still afraid of this kind of schedule?"
Gao Shen's words made everyone present feel confident.
"Both Barcelona and Manchester United are not terrible. I believe that as long as we do our job well and adjust the team's condition, there will be no difficulty that can stump us. No opponent is invincible. of."
"The schedule is very difficult, but I am confident!"
Gao Shen's words received a round of applause from the audience.
Obviously, everyone present admired him.
Because he is profound.
…
After the meeting with the coaching staff, Gao Shen returned to his office to prepare.
Before the afternoon training session started, Gao Shen entered the players' locker room early.
Captain Casillas has summoned everyone, including Marcelo, who is injured and has not participated in training yet.
"Carlos has posted the latest schedule on the wall. I believe everyone has seen it and knows the challenges we will face next."
The players nodded one after another, and everyone looked embarrassed.
This schedule is really difficult!
Gao Shen shook his head and laughed, "To be honest, I think this lottery is pretty good."
Everyone was surprised.
They were drawn to Barcelona, not bad?
"If I play against Simeone's Atletico Madrid, I might still have a headache, but when it comes to Barcelona, I don't know if you have heard that I have a nickname..."
Everyone is confused. What other nickname does Gao Shen have?
"Basak Star!"
Gao Shen's words first made everyone laugh.
"Really, I have never lost when playing against Barcelona, and this time is no exception. The same is true against Manchester United. I also gave Manchester United the worst score in history at Old Trafford."
Gao Shen spoke in a relaxed and carefree manner, and everyone listened very interestingly, but if you look carefully, you will know how dangerous and difficult the process is.
If Barcelona and Manchester United were so easy to play, would they still be the current Barcelona and Manchester United?
But Gao Shen's words undoubtedly gave everyone confidence.
"I still say the same thing, you trust me, listen to my command, and I will lead you to defeat your opponent."
"Whether it's Barcelona, Manchester United, or other teams, there's nothing to worry about. We are stronger than all our opponents!"
"I said this before the Champions League group stage. You may still be dubious, but in the end we qualified. Now I say it again, you, Real Madrid players, you are the strongest in European football!"
"You have the ability to defeat any opponent, no matter who it is!"
"So now, you don't have to think about anything, you don't have to say anything. When it's time to eat, when it's time to sleep, when it's time to train, when it's time to compete, just compete. Do your best to finish everything to the end, and leave the rest to me.
.”
"Then, when you look back in mid-March..."
Gao Shen raised his right hand in the air very gracefully, "... Devil's schedule, cut it!"
The players also applauded and seemed much more confident.
In the face of this difficult devil's schedule, confidence is more precious than gold!
This is the profound meaning that Pochettino experienced after following Gao Shen.
