Starting With Real Madrid

"You are still hasty."

In the stands of Camp Nou, Barcelona vice-chairman Alfonso Goal smiled at Butragueno, the vice-president of Real Madrid who led the team to Barcelona, with a somewhat condescending tone.

He was referring to Real Madrid's decision to appoint Gao Shen as head coach. After all, using a twenty-five-year-old rookie as the head coach seemed like an absolutely ridiculous scandal.

President Laporta was also sitting beside Butragueno, "watching" the game with a smile. After hearing Goal's words, the smile on his face grew even wider.

In the past few years, Real Madrid had been pressing Barcelona, and Florentino was a person with influence in both political and business circles. Even when Laporta met him, he would inevitably feel inferior. But now, they could hold their heads high and criticize Real Madrid face to face, and Real Madrid couldn't refute it.

Butragueno was very depressed, but he really couldn't argue back.

On the field, Barcelona was stronger, and Real Madrid was forced to passively defend. Off the field, in the past two or three seasons, Barcelona had risen strongly, while the superstar-studded Real Madrid had begun to decline.

Especially this season, Barcelona superstar Ronaldinho led the team at the Bernabeu and received warm applause from the Bernabeu fans after beating Real Madrid 3-0. This was a shame for the Real Madrid management.

The situation was against them, and Butragueno felt helpless about it.

"Speaking of which, we really have to thank you." Echebarria, sitting on the other side of Laporta, laughed.

"Ronaldinho and Deco were both given up by you, otherwise it would have been difficult for us to grab them, not to mention Eto'o, who was sold to us by you."

Echebarria is not only a member of the Barcelona presidium but also Laporta's brother-in-law. He was the person in charge of Barcelona's negotiation with Real Madrid about the transfer of Eto'o. He is a powerful figure in the Barcelona management.

Eto'o was in Real Madrid's youth training but didn't get a chance in the star-studded Real Madrid, so he was sent to Real Mallorca. Under the training of Aragones, he made great progress and was favored by Barcelona.

According to the contract, Mallorca and Real Madrid each held half the ownership of Eto'o. If Barcelona wanted to buy Eto'o, they had to get the half owned by Real Madrid, which was considered an almost impossible transaction at the time.

But who would have thought that Real Madrid finally agreed?

The reason was simple: Real Madrid wanted Michael Owen.

Sometimes things in the world are truly amazing.

Real Madrid had Zidane, so they didn't need Deco, and Deco's straightforward playing style didn't fit Real Madrid's definition of a star; between Beckham and Ronaldinho, Real Madrid chose the higher commercial value, at that time, the more prominent Beckham, not the less attractive Ronaldinho, which was understandable.

Going back to the Michael Owen and Eto'o deal, the same logic applied.

And who would have thought that these three players would create Barcelona's glory in the past two or three years?

Butragueno always kept a smile on his face and maintained his demeanor, but internally, he was already cursing, though there was nothing he could do.

Who made the two teams mortal enemies?

"The score is still zero to zero. It's hard to say who will win or lose," Butragueno said lightly.

"That's right," Laporta nodded in agreement, but then added, "I have a hunch that Eto'o will score tonight."

Goal and Echebarria agreed, because Eto'o had a nickname: Real Madrid killer.

What did that mean?

He had scored in all of the last three games against Real Madrid.

Not only that, but since leaving Real Madrid in 2000, he had scored a total of ten goals against them, including seven league goals, two Copa del Rey goals, and one Super Cup goal.

Seven of those goals were scored for Mallorca, and three for Barcelona.

This showed how deep Eto'o's resentment towards Real Madrid ran.

Butragueno was sitting in the stands at Camp Nou, surrounded by Barcelona's management and guests. Hearing them all talk as if they had already won, the Real Madrid vice-chairman felt full of shame, but he couldn't do anything about it.

Gao, you must fight for us!

...

...

Ronaldinho once again dribbled the ball inside the left side of the penalty area and took a long shot before Delared could block it.

But this shot was very hasty, and the timing and angle were not well-adjusted, so it flew high.

This was his second shot in three minutes.

Just before that, Gravesson had pulled Deco down 25 meters from the outside of the penalty area, giving Barcelona a free kick. Ronaldinho took the penalty, but it was slightly higher than the goal.

Both shots failed to target the goal and failed to pose a threat.

And now, the first half had reached the 42-minute mark.

Rijkaard had specially put on his black suit and a red tie tonight. This was his lucky outfit, but Barcelona's luck didn't seem particularly good.

The best chance in the entire first half was Eto'o's single-handed shot at the start, but he didn't score.

After that, it was difficult for Barcelona to get a better chance.

They had a lot of momentum but few real threats, mostly relying on long-range shots.

"This guy is still quite strong. No wonder he managed to reverse Arsenal and draw Juventus away," Ten Cate said, mainly praising Real Madrid's defense.

"This kind of overall compact defense is very characteristic, but it is also a great test for the players. To be honest, I really did not expect him to get Beckham and Raul to both return to the penalty area and for Zidane to chase back to the goal!"

Ten Cate had also been a head coach in the Eredivisie before becoming an assistant for Rijkaard, so he knew that even the best tactics needed to be executed by the players to be effective. The real test was often how to deal with the players, not the tactics themselves.

In this respect, Gao Shen really excelled.

On the field, after Real Madrid stole the ball in midfield, Zidane got the ball near the midline and made a long pass to Negredo.

Real Madrid's center took on Oleguer and quickly moved forward towards the right side of the penalty area. He used his body to hold off Oleguer and stopped the ball, nudging it forward.

This scene had occurred many times throughout the first half, but Real Madrid continued to enjoy it.

"He is trying to wear out our two central defenders now. We must be ready to bring on Thiago Motta during the half-time break, and he must be available at any time in the second half," Rijkaard said, frowning.

This was what he and Ten Cate had specially prepared for Ronaldo.

Thiago Motta was taller than Oleguer and had similar physical conditions, but as a Brazilian player, he was more flexible, played well in the midfield, and was good with his feet. Plus, he was a left-footed player.

Both Rijkaard and Ten Cate believed that the partnership of Thiago Motta and Puyol could contain Ronaldo.

As soon as Real Madrid made a substitution, Barcelona would follow suit.

...

...

The first half ended with two long shots from Barcelona.

First, Van Bronckhorst made a shot from the left nearly 30 meters away, then Ronaldinho's cross found Van Bommel, who took a long shot, but both attempts went high.

The referee Brewer blew the whistle for the end of the first half, but no one had managed to score.

However, whether it was the match itself or the statistics, Barcelona had an overwhelming advantage.

Just talking about the number of passes, Deco alone had 54 passes, including 6 key passes, 5 tackles, and 2 interceptions. These stats were enough to make him the standout player on the field.

On Real Madrid's side, Zidane had the most passes, only 18 times, and Negredo had a mere 5 passes.

In other words, Real Madrid was basically on the defensive for the entire first half.

The data might not reflect everything, but it was enough to show Real Madrid's absolute disadvantage on the field.

Generally speaking, such statistics usually indicated a big defeat or even a professional team thrashing an amateur team.

But when Gao Shen saw the data, he didn't react at all.

Because he felt that he was too weak.

In 2006, this was a very common phenomenon. The passing statistics of Barcelona were already very high, especially those of Deco, Iniesta, and Ronaldinho.

For example, Eto'o had only 16 passes, Larsson had 15, and Van Bommel had only 10.

It should be said that this was the mainstream of football at that time.

However, after Guardiola led the rise of the third Barcelona Dream Team, the phenomenon of more than 100 passes in a single game, and the proliferation of passing lines throughout the game really came into people's view. From then on, more and more teams attached great importance to passing, and passing data improved by leaps and bounds.

To a certain extent, Barcelona's style of play was really a dimensional reduction attack against the current mainstream style of play.

The number of passes in a single game skyrocketed so much that it was conceivable that the subversion of the football game was absolutely revolutionary.

It was a pity that the current Real Madrid couldn't play that kind of football.

Even, apart from Barcelona, it was very difficult for any team to play such football.

Even if Gao Shen thought about it, he couldn't put together such a lineup now. 

Modric, Xavi Alonso, Toni Kroos, David Silva... This batch of outstanding passers is still too young.

Or it should be said that their later career peaks were also affected by the subversion of the Dream Team, and even cultivated by Guardiola himself.

So, after seeing the football of the Dream 3 team and looking at the current Barcelona Dream 2 team, how could Gao Shen be surprised?

...

"How is it? Can you hold on any longer?"

This was one of the most frequently asked questions after Gao Shen entered the locker room.

The general answer given by players was: yes.

Including Raul, Negredo, and Zidane.

Beckham, known for being a good runner, was even more alright.

Later, Gao Shen praised Ramos by name and encouraged Elguera.

Although there was a fatal error in the opening more than two minutes, Elguera did a good job for most of the time.

In such an important battle, Gao Shen could only give encouragement, not discourage the enthusiasm of the players.

And Gravessen, De La Red, Felipe, and Abeloa were all doing well.

Real Madrid's defense was getting stronger and stronger, but there was little investment on the offensive end.

"In the second half, we still have to continue to be on the defensive. We must guard our goal and wait for the opportunity."

Gao Shen clenched his hands tightly and said through gritted teeth.

The time has not come, we have to wait!