Starting With Real Madrid

Real Madrid finally defeated Deportivo 2-0 at home, avenging their loss in the first round of the season.

Not only that, after winning this game, Real Madrid managed to close the points gap with Barcelona to just five points.

This is no longer an insurmountable gap.

Since Gao Shen took over Real Madrid, the team has stumbled, but it has now won five consecutive victories.

More importantly, in the past four La Liga rounds, Real Madrid has not conceded a single goal.

Such a performance is quite amazing, even by the standards of a top team, not to mention the miraculous comeback at Highbury.

Alfredo, the editor-in-chief of *Aspen*, said in his column that Gao Shen is gradually earning the trust of everyone.

De La Morena also revealed in his program that he is rethinking the correctness of Gao Shen's appointment as Real Madrid coach.

Real Madrid captain Raul said that the team's training level has significantly improved compared to the past, and the team's condition is also recovering rapidly.

"My teammates and I are confident that we will get back to our best form before the national derby. We will win at Camp Nou to further narrow the points gap."

De la Morena revealed that if Real Madrid can beat Barcelona at Camp Nou, the points difference will be reduced to two, putting all the pressure on Barcelona.

From a ten-point lead to being chased down to only two points, Barcelona's psychological pressure can be imagined.

At that time, if Barcelona makes a mistake in any game, Real Madrid would overtake them.

De la Morena said that under Gao Shen's coaching, Real Madrid is very stable, with solid defense, stable game processes, and few mistakes, which is reassuring.

"The only flaw is that Real Madrid is not attacking enough!"

But it was this flaw that sparked a wave of criticism and accusations from the Spanish media after the victory over Deportivo.

Many media believe that Real Madrid should have won a big victory at the Bernabeu but were too conservative.

Whether it was the steady defensive tactics in the second half or the three substitution adjustments, they were all for defense, and Deportivo almost scored, which was completely different from the opening game.

Some media believe that under Gao Shen, Real Madrid has lost the smooth offensive cooperation of the past. Even if they won two goals against Deportivo, one was an own goal and the other was a set-piece play. There was no sign of the exciting attacking football of the past.

Not only the media, but many fans were also dissatisfied with the team's performance, thinking it was too conservative.

Real Madrid board member and famous Madrid lawyer Calderon said in an interview with the media after the game that although the team won, it lost the tradition and elegance of Real Madrid.

"What we saw in this game was not Real Madrid, but an ordinary team that is no different from others."

Calderon said the board of directors is not satisfied with Real Madrid's recent performance. Although the management has renewed the contract with Gao Shen, it will only last until the end of the season. The management is looking for a more suitable head coach.

"We are a unique team. It's not enough to just win games; we have to please the fans."

Calderon revealed that Real Madrid's management has basically shortlisted seven coaches: Ancelotti, Mourinho, Capello, Benitez, Wenger, Eriksen, and Lippi.

"From a coaching style perspective, we prefer Ancelotti and Wenger, but this requires good communication with AC Milan and Arsenal. However, we believe that these two managers will also be interested in coaching Real Madrid."

After Calderon's interview, *Marca* revealed that AC Milan had actually given Ancelotti the green light to coach Real Madrid, which was confirmed by *Gazzetta dello Sport*, indicating that the two sides were very close.

"When Ancelotti joins Real Madrid, the first thing he will do is bring his two favorite players, Pirlo and Kaka, to Real Madrid!"

While one side of the media was reporting this, *Aspen* revealed that under pressure from the board of directors, Real Madrid will restart the presidential election this summer. Chairman Martin is planning to use the return of Bosque and Hierro to boost his presidential campaign.

*Aspen* also revealed that former Real Madrid president Florentino did not rule out the possibility of re-running.

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Fiat Training Center, Turin, Italy.

Juventus coach Capello was browsing the latest newspapers, but he was not surprised by the strange events happening in Madrid, Spain.

"Italo, do you know? On this planet, there should be only one team that would retaliate against its coach with news of a coaching change after five consecutive victories," Capello sneered, finding it incomprehensible.

Assistant coach Italo Gabbiati understood Capello's thoughts, as he had experienced the same when coaching Real Madrid.

Even in recent years, Real Madrid has always had a tradition of firing champion coaches.

Moreover, that young man named Gao Shen hasn't even won a championship yet.

"The membership system is like this, the election system, everything is for votes, and only by catering to the fans as much as possible can we win votes. Ordinary fans are often emotional and idealistic. They not only want to win but also want to win beautifully. However, they never consider if their team has such strength," Gabbiati sneered.

Capello shook his head, "No, they have considered it, and the conclusion should be affirmative."

Gabbiati was stunned for a moment, then laughed.

Isn't it true?

What level of superstars are Ronaldo and Zidane?

Raul, Beckham, Carlos, Casillas, Guti...

Even if Figo is gone, Real Madrid is still full of superstars.

Would such a team be weak?

Back then, when Capello was coaching Real Madrid, he won the league championship but was fired because he didn't play well enough.

His successor Heynckes even led the team to the Champions League, but what happened?

Wasn't he also dismissed?

Bosque, the most successful firefighting coach in Real Madrid's history, won a championship every year and was still fired.

What other team in the world would like Real Madrid to scramble for famous coaches from all over the world?

"Italo, do you know?" Capello suddenly laughed out loud, "I feel that Real Madrid is like a scumbag who always gives up, and in his eyes, we are all love-struck fools. He hooks his finger, and we hurry to get close. What kind of psychology is this?"

Gabbiati didn't laugh because he knew that Capello was laughing at himself.

Real Madrid had indeed contacted Capello, and he was really tempted, but Juventus management promised that the front trident would definitely stay after the end of this season. Thus, Capello had already committed to another three years at Juventus.

But when faced with Real Madrid's beckoning, he was indeed tempted.

"Don't talk about that." Capello waved his hand, "Have the scouting department send over the video of Real Madrid's game against Deportivo. This young Chinese boy still has something to lead the team to five consecutive victories."

Gabbiati also picked up his mood, nodded, and said, "Real Madrid's defense has indeed improved significantly compared to before. However, in the game against Deportivo, many main players played, and it likely took a toll."

"How is Real Madrid's recent physical fitness? What is the training level?" Capello asked with concern.

Gabbiati shook his head, "From the perspective of the game, it seems to be better than before, but recently, there has been much less news from the Real Madrid training base than before, and the control is stricter, which is probably the doing of the Chinese boy."

"This kid is quite capable," Capello praised with a smile.

In the past, Real Madrid's information was really easy to get. You didn't even need to arrange for someone to spy; you could see it directly in the newspapers. Real Madrid was like an open book, available for everyone to read.

But now it's different; at least they're covered up.

"I guess his plan is to keep a draw on the road and go all out when he returns home," Gabbiati guessed.

Capello nodded, "The plan is solid: playing Deportivo on the weekend, facing us away midweek, visiting Camp Nou on the weekend, playing the second leg with us midweek next week, and playing against Real Sociedad the following weekend. Five tough matches, so it's unrealistic to expect to win them all."

Gabbiati agreed, "Young people are energetic, but sometimes they have unrealistic fantasies."

"Then at the Alp Stadium, let's bring him back to reality," Capello said fiercely.

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Gao Shen saw the newspaper early in the morning, including Calderon's interview and other media reports.

There may be some truth to it.

It's no secret that Real Madrid wants to choose a coach for the long term. Even Gao Shen himself felt that after this season, it might be time to step down from Real Madrid's coaching position.

He was just curious. Under his butterfly effect, could Calderon actually counterattack and become the president of Real Madrid?

There is no doubt that Real Madrid is the most unique team in world football.

Whether it's a superstar or a famous coach, they all take pride in joining Real Madrid.

But unfortunately, Gao Shen doesn't like being a lapdog.

So, these external reports are of no use to him.

This stint with Real Madrid feels more like a one-night stand—each taking what they need. As for the future, there may be none.

After playing Deportivo, his focus was on the game against Juventus.

No team is perfect, and Juventus is no exception.

This team's lineup seems strong, but behind the strength, there are often weaknesses and deficiencies.

In his memory, Juventus did not reach the Champions League semi-finals this season but lost to Arsenal.

If I remember correctly, in the first round at Highbury Stadium, Juventus paid a heavy price with two goals conceded and two red cards, losing their chance for promotion. They then drew 0-0 with Arsenal at home, failing to advance.

It shows that this Juventus team is not as strong as it appears on the surface.

So, what is their problem?

Gao Shen had a faint feeling that identifying this would be the key for Real Madrid to defeat Juventus and secure promotion.