On the evening of January 30, Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.
When Gao Shen walked into the stadium from the home team tunnel, the entire Bernabeu's 80,000 Real Madrid fans burst into deafening cheers.
Everyone is shouting Gao Shen's name crazily, letting the whole world feel his status and influence in Real Madrid.
Gao Shen was very familiar with all this and felt very proud. He raised his hand to greet the Real Madrid fans present.
As the home team coach, Gao Shen walked to the away team's coaching bench, shook hands and hugged Jordi Luela, Barcelona's assistant coach and acting head coach.
Not only that, Gao Shen also stood on the sidelines with Lula and asked about Vilanova's situation with concern.
Just a few days before this game, Barcelona coach Vilanova's condition worsened and he was hospitalized again, saying that he would need another operation.
Although they are competitors, Gao Shen immediately sent his blessings. Not only did he send condolences on Twitter, but he also called Vilanova and now routinely asks about the situation.
Although, he knew in his heart that Vilanova was in far worse danger.
In fact, everyone had vaguely guessed it, but no one wanted to say anything.
Lula expressed his gratitude to Gao Shen on behalf of Vilanova.
After the two chatted, Gao Shen returned to the home team's coaching bench.
This scene was also captured by the fans, media, and live broadcast footage.
…
"He is really completely different from Mourinho."
Jose Sanchez was sitting in the presidential stand and couldn't help but exclaimed when he heard the cheers and applause of Real Madrid fans.
Although it is his first season at Real Madrid, Gao Shen's commercial value has already emerged. Especially after the operation of Real Madrid's commercial platform, many sponsors have come to ask for cooperation with Gao Shen.
Real Madrid also got a share of these cooperations and made a lot of money.
What's more, Gao Shen's image is really good.
Although some of his actions often cause controversy, his personal image and behavior are more accepted by fans and media around the world, and he is not as sharp as Mourinho.
Florentino nodded with a smile. He had always believed that bringing Gao Shen back to Real Madrid would be his most successful deal.
"Although it's a bit..." Florentino hesitated, obviously having difficulty saying it, "But Vilanova's absence will have a big impact on Barcelona. We should be more confident, right?"
Valdano and Butragueno both nodded in agreement.
In the eyes of many people, the head coach only seems to be responsible for presiding over training, studying the opponents and formation before the game, standing on the sidelines and shouting a few times during the game, and actually implementing it into the game does not seem to be indispensable.
But this is actually a slight on the role of the head coach.
Many people are familiar with it. After Mourinho was suspended by a red card, he would specifically choose to be in the stands and tell his players where he was. They could see him at any time when they raised their heads and pass through
Various communication devices such as mobile phones can remotely control the team.
This is definitely not to gain a sense of presence, nor is it as simple as commanding on the spot.
More importantly, I want to tell the players that I am here!
Many people can't understand why they do this.
Or, change to an environment that is easier to put yourself in and understand.
Just like a self-study class, many students will be in two learning states whether the teacher is there or not; and it is like being in an office, and the employees will be in two different working states whether the boss is there or not.
So does the head coach.
Whether you are a [manager] in the Premier League or a [coach] in continental Europe, in fact, the head coach still plays a role similar to a project manager, taking over everything, so if you lose, you have to take the blame.
Shirk responsibility.
Therefore, the relationship between the head coach and the players is actually not just a simple cooperation, but a kind of obedience.
Listen to me, work hard for me, and believe that I can lead the team to victory...
This is generally such a relationship.
Therefore, in Gao Shen's previous life, when problems arose within the Real Madrid locker room and Mourinho announced the ban on Casillas, it caused an uproar because this relationship broke down.
Barcelona's current situation is rather special. The relationship has not broken down, but the head coach is temporarily unable to perform his duties. Instead, he appoints assistants to perform his duties. The players are also very obedient, but this kind of obedience is obviously not the kind of obedience to the head coach.
This can easily cause problems.
Of course, Barcelona is very strong. Even without a head coach, they can still defeat most teams.
But unfortunately, Real Madrid is not the majority of teams.
"I heard before that Gao Shen carefully prepared this game, but he was still regretting that Vilanova was not here." Butragueno said with a smile.
Florentino felt relieved, "Yes, if Vilanova is not here, winning is incomplete."
Everyone around him also smiled.
As an opponent, what Real Madrid wants to do most now is to defeat Barcelona.
In the past few years, Real Madrid has been too useless and wronged!
…
In tonight's game, both sides basically used their main players.
Real Madrid is playing 433.
Goalkeeper: Casillas.
Defence: Arbeloa, Pepe, Varane and Carvajal.
Midfield: Xabi Alonso deep, Toni Kroos and Modric in the centre.
Forwards: Cristiano Ronaldo, Benzema and Di Maria.
Casillas has always been the main player in cup competitions, whether it is the Copa del Rey or the Champions League, while Courtois has always been the main player in the league. The two divide the work and work well together.
On the defense line, Marcelo is sitting in the stands tonight. He has been allowed to conduct recovery training, but Gao Shen did not arrange Marcos Alonso or Nacho tonight, but used veteran Arbeloa.
First release.
This is also a move for Barcelona.
Barcelona is also playing 433.
Goalkeeper: Valdes.
Defence: Alba, Puyol, Pique and Alves.
Midfield: Busquets plays deep, and Iniesta partners with Xavi in the midfield.
Forwards: Sanchez, Messi and Aguero.
Between Aguero, Sanchez and Messi, players often cross and change positions.
But Barcelona has a characteristic, that is, they rarely make crosses from the bottom, and more often cut inside. Therefore, it will be more convenient for the full-backs to use Arbeloa to mark Aguero and Messi.
Real Madrid's captain's armband was on Pepe's arm, but when the guy guessed the side, he gave Barcelona the right to kick off.
Messi and Aguero stood in the center circle. After hearing the referee's whistle, they immediately passed the ball back, directly to the back line of defense, and handed it to Pique.
But Real Madrid's front three immediately pounced on Barcelona's defense.
Benzema took the lead all the way, approaching Pique and Puyol.
Pique retreated to the top of the penalty area and passed the ball back to goalkeeper Valdes.
Valdes stopped the ball at the front of the small penalty area. At this time, Barcelona's typical pattern appeared.
The two central defenders Pique and Puyol spread out, one at the front of the penalty area and the other to the side of the penalty area. In addition, Busquets immediately retreated from the front, forming a classic layout in front of Barcelona's goal.
Now Pique is closest, he is on the left side of the penalty area, Puyol is on the right side of the top of the arc in the penalty area, Busquets retreats to the left side of the top of the penalty area, the four people form an irregular quadrilateral, but the defense
It's hard for players to limit.
Therefore, Benzema did not force Pique or Puyol, but followed Busquets.
If they really want to make great efforts to grab Pique and Puyol, Real Madrid needs to invest more troops, but at this time, Barcelona will often directly play in the midfield and behind, which is very dangerous.
After Valdes took a look at the situation, he kicked the ball to Pique, who stopped the ball and moved forward. At this time, Benzema pushed towards Pique, but he was also far outside the penalty area, which was just symbolic.
Press.
Pique passed the ball to Puyol, who was surrounded by nobody.
After Puyol stopped the ball, he sped up and tried to move forward, but Real Madrid's defense quickly adjusted.
Benzema retreated a bit, still pinching Busquets. Cristiano Ronaldo followed Alves on the right, Di Maria followed Alba on the left, and Modric pushed forward.
Seeing Real Madrid's defensive formation switching quickly, Puyol stopped suddenly, grabbed the ball, and passed it crosswise to Pique on the left side of the top of the arc in the penalty area, while Xavi retreated very far back to receive the ball.
But at this time, Benzema and Modric both followed Busquets back.
It was obvious that Real Madrid didn't care at all about Barcelona's control of the ball and back-footing in the back line, and they didn't intend to steal this area. Even when Xavi retreated to support, Real Madrid didn't intend to follow. The key point was to pinch Busquets.
Also, keep the overall formation compact and orderly.
Xavi stopped the ball and turned around, leading the ball forward. Barcelona's overall formation slowly moved forward, while Real Madrid slowly retreated.
At this moment, Aguero suddenly retreated from the front and ran to the area between Ronaldo, Toni Kroos and Benzema to receive the ball.
Di Maria immediately reminded Toni Kroos, and the German midfielder followed immediately.
Before Aguero could stop the ball passed by Xavi, Toni Kroos was already behind him. Before Aguero could stop the ball, he pushed it forward with his body and stabbed it with his foot.
The Argentinian forward desperately wanted to hold Toni Kroos, but the German midfielder was tall and had long legs. Although Aguero has excellent physical fitness and good back-up ability, the height gap is there. It is natural.
Disadvantages.
Toni Kroos is not an artistic young man. This guy is from Germany. Everyone knows that the Germans’ physical confrontations are never limited. Therefore, when Toni Kroos withstood Aguero, he keenly seized the opportunity.
The moment Aguero failed to stop the ball, he suddenly stabbed the ball back from behind.
The ball seemed to have been passed back to Barcelona's defense, but Xavi, who was originally at that position, had already moved forward. Alves ran over to catch the ball immediately, but Ronaldo was faster and suddenly took the ball with a lunge.
Before Alves, he moved the ball forward and sprinted forward with the ball in his stride.
In the blink of an eye, Cristiano Ronaldo had already charged forward with the ball, approaching the left corner of Barcelona's goal.
Pique came over immediately, stood up, and tackled the ball decisively. However, Ronaldo reacted faster and directly kicked the ball into the penalty area, hoping to pass the ball.
But Pique's body hit Ronaldo's leg, and the Portuguese winger fell into Barcelona's penalty area.
