Starting With Real Madrid

Gao Shen never dreamed that his ordinary life would be completely changed by a sudden crossing.

He couldn't have imagined that this inexplicable journey would make him the head coach of the European giant Real Madrid.

At the beginning of 2006, Real Madrid was in the most turbulent period of the past decade.

On the morning of February 28, after firing head coach Luxemburgo and technical director Sacchi in quick succession, Real Madrid's performance still did not improve. Under intense internal and external pressure, Chairman Florentino took the blame and resigned.

As was customary, the first vice-chairman, Martín, took over.

In the afternoon, the new chairman, Martín, visited the Valdebebas training base. To everyone's shock, he resolutely fired acting head coach Carlo, and pointed to an inconspicuous intern in Carlo's coaching staff.

"What is your name?"

"Gao Shen."

"Profound? Good name, what we need most now is to score!"

With just three sentences, Gao Shen became the new coach of Real Madrid.

Everyone thought the famous Madrid tycoon had gone mad after becoming president of Real Madrid.

Martín left, and the fired Carlo left as well, leaving Valdebebas in chaos.

For the first time, everyone noticed this rookie intern who had only been with Carlo for half a year and was admired by him. Many people's impression of him was that his name was pronounced the same as the Spanish word for "goal" (gol), but they never thought he would become Real Madrid's coach.

Before the coaching staff and staff could react, the players were the first to attack.

What team is Real Madrid?

The greatest club of the 20th century as selected by FIFA, and in the new century, they had won two Champions League titles. The team included Ronaldo, Zidane, Beckham, Owen, Raul, Carlos, Casillas, and a host of the world's top superstars, making it arguably the most powerful team in the world.

Letting a rookie who just graduated and obtained his coaching certificate coach Real Madrid, a team full of superstars?

Isn't this crazy?

All the players glared at Gao Shen, none of them could accept this outcome.

None of this had anything to do with Gao Shen's will, but when he was pushed out, he had to bear this anger.

"You go to the Bernabéu to resign now, or don't blame us for being rude!" Brazilian left-back Carlos approached Gao Shen, gritted his teeth, shouted angrily, and left the training ground without looking back.

He was one of the team captains and had the authority to issue such a threat.

The others also left one after another, leaving only Gao Shen standing alone on the empty training ground, looking so lonely and helpless.

...

...

In the coach's rest area in the locker room, Gao Shen turned on the faucet, and water immediately spouted out.

Reaching out, he splashed the cold water onto his face. The cold sensation spread all over his body, shocking him awake from the initial shock of his time travel.

Gao Shen raised his head and looked at his wet face in the mirror, exactly the same as before his time travel, which made him reveal a helpless, wry smile.

He never thought that the standard trope of being the chosen one in online novels would actually happen to him.

But that didn't make sense.

Because he had never thought of time traveling, nor had he done any preparatory work like the heroes in online novels, who would check a lot of information and prepare thoroughly before traveling back in time to succeed.

But what about him?

Not to mention being unprepared, he was immediately put in a dire situation. This didn't look like the script of an overpowered protagonist.

"Is it because I cursed the national football team last night?" Gao Shen muttered to himself.

Last night, he had watched a World Cup qualifier involving the national football team.

Sure enough! Cherish life and stay away from the national team!

What should he do now?

…

"Gao, have you really become the head coach of Real Madrid?"

As Gao Shen was talking to himself in the mirror, a young Spanish man about his age rushed in from outside.

His name was Fernando Lucas, a native of Madrid and Gao Shen's only friend at the moment.

In Lucas's words, three generations of his family were die-hard Real Madrid fans. He was registered as a member on the first day he was born. However, he secretly took a coaching course by himself and, after graduating, became an intern coach in Real Madrid's youth training camp.

He once told Gao Shen that his biggest wish was to coach Real Madrid.

Unexpectedly, he was still far from achieving his wish, but Gao Shen had already fulfilled it.

"Is Martín crazy? Did he lose his mind? How could he let you be the coach of Real Madrid?" Lucas was full of surprise.

Gao Shen silently looked at the familiar yet unfamiliar "friend" in front of him with a "what do you think" expression.

"No, that's not right. Martín has been the first vice-chairman for several years, and he is also a real estate tycoon in Madrid. He runs several companies in Spain. He is definitely not a lunatic, nor is he brainless..." Speaking of which, Lucas snorted again, "But why did he choose you to be the Real Madrid coach?"

Speaking of which, he carefully looked at Gao Shen in front of him. After getting along for more than half a year, he didn't think there was anything special about Gao Shen. Except for being handsome, he was like him, a rookie who just graduated?

"Maybe, he thinks I have the potential to become a famous coach," Gao Shen said lightly.

"You? Famous coach?" Lucas couldn't help laughing out loud. "Don't make fun of me! Although you graduated from Loughborough University, a famous sports school, your coaching resume is less than seven months of internship. You're even younger than some of the superstars on the team. You're going to teach them to play football?"

Gao Shen also thought that this was indeed a very funny thing.

"I heard that the superstars have already spoken, and they want you to resign immediately. I think you should do it. Don't get involved in the disputes of the first team. Come back to the youth team to continue the internship. Maybe in the future, there will be a chance to become a regular and lead Real Madrid's youth team for a few years. With enough experience, you could go out and coach alone."

This was a very mature and prudent suggestion, and it was also the path most people took on the road to coaching.

Even if some famous stars became coaches after retirement, they usually followed this route.

"What if I refuse?" Gao Shen suddenly asked.

Lucas opened his eyes wide and looked at Gao Shen in disbelief. He felt that today's Gao Shen was very different.

"Refuse? You know how many newspapers, media, and fans will attack you when those superstars make a phone call? If they protest at the Bernabéu tomorrow, the board will be shaken. Do you think the new chairman will change his mind? Even Florentino was forced to resign by them. Do you think they will listen to you?"

Speaking of this, Lucas stepped forward and stared at Gao Shen with sincerity, "Gao, we are friends. I know that being the head coach of Real Madrid is the most attractive position in the world, but it doesn't belong to us, at least not now."

Gao Shen didn't say much from beginning to end, but since he entered the door, he had been observing Fernando Lucas. He had now confirmed that Lucas was indeed a true friend, or at least someone who genuinely cared about him.

Before crossing, Gao Shen had spent many years in a large domestic company, accustomed to seeing various intrigues and power struggles. He knew how rare it was to have a friend who sincerely cared in an environment like Real Madrid.

But an opportunity had arisen, and he had to seize it.

The crossing not only made him the head coach of Real Madrid, but also gave him a gift.

There was a mysterious place hidden in the deepest part of his mind. Whenever his mind moved, it would clearly emerge.

It was a door.

Whenever Gao Shen subconsciously wanted to push it open to see what was hidden behind it, a reminder would always appear in his mind: "The tactical library has been activated and will open in 24 hours."

If there were no accidents, this should be the welfare cheat of the traveler.

As the name suggested, the tactical library must be related to the reserve of tactical knowledge, which was exactly what Gao Shen currently lacked, making him feel more confident.

Although he had lived well before the crossing, the whole trajectory of his life could be described as bland and unremarkable. Suddenly, he crossed over and became the head coach of the world-renowned Real Madrid. With a golden finger, although the situation seemed worrying, it might not be without the opportunity to shine.

Besides, he came from 2021 and had more football knowledge of the next fifteen years than anyone else here. He knew better than anyone which players in the current Real Madrid team would become future stars, which ones were already declining, which ones were worthy of being reused, and which ones should be eliminated. He also knew the general trend of future tactics.

If he had such a huge advantage and didn't dare to give it a try, then Gao Shen really deserved to be mediocre all his life.

Stepping back ten thousand steps, this was coaching Real Madrid! What a golden opportunity!

Even if he really failed in the end, then he would be the former Real Madrid coach. With this identity, was he afraid of not being able to get along? If it didn't work out, he was proficient in both English and Spanish, so couldn't he return home and still do well?

Fortune favors the bold!

Everyone wanted to live a bright life, but where in the world could.