Starting With Real Madrid

"Did you all watch the Milan derby last night?" Gao Shen asked with deep concern during the first coaching meeting of the morning at Valdebebas.

He was sitting on an office chair, gently turning from side to side, looking a little distressed. His idea had been stolen!

The members of Real Madrid's coaching staff had long known about Gao Shen's plan to attack AC Milan as soon as the game began. This required the team to have good physical fitness and be able to support the team's frontcourt pressing. Buenaventura had been focusing on this project for a while.

But no one expected that Mancini, without warning, would change the formation and adopt the same tactical style as Lyon. What's worse, Inter Milan played the same way as Lyon, pressing and attacking intensely.

This was very interesting. Lyon and Inter Milan adopted similar tactics with great results, suppressing AC Milan's offense. However, their own offenses were not very effective. What about Real Madrid?

Ancelotti had been played like this by two teams for three consecutive games. Would he make targeted adjustments?

"I'm very puzzled," Buenaventura said, looking at Gao Shen. "It stands to reason that this derby wasn't that important, but Ancelotti still played his main lineup."

"I assessed AC Milan's situation last night. I dare say they were very exhausted. This will definitely affect their midweek Champions League match, so I don't understand why Ancelotti did this."

Gao Shen and the others nodded. If it was a Scudetto title race, it would be understandable. But for a game that could at best decide participation in the Champions League qualifiers, was it worth it?

"Maybe it's really for the city derby?" Maqueda guessed.

"In the first derby between the two sides, AC Milan lost 2-3 to Inter Milan. Ancelotti might want revenge and doesn't want to waste time playing the two Champions League qualifiers next season. It is understandable."

Many people nodded in agreement. Gao Shen smiled slightly. "Then he either underestimates us and thinks he can easily defeat us, or he doesn't want to fight with us in the first round and concentrates all his efforts on the second leg at home."

There were only these two explanations. Otherwise, why fight Inter Milan to the death before the first round of the Champions League semi-final?

"Actually, AC Milan did this last season," Lucas said.

Gao Shen looked at Lucas, nodding slightly, encouraging him to continue. These were all in his early morning report.

"If everyone remembers, in the Champions League semi-final last season, AC Milan insisted on a two-line battle. They were the leaders of Serie A and beat PSV Eindhoven 2-0 in the first leg. They almost lost the second leg. If it wasn't for Kaka assisting Ambrosini in stoppage time, AC Milan wouldn't have reached the final, and there would be no Istanbul miracle. Three days after losing to PSV, they lost 1-0 to Juventus at San Siro, gave up the league lead, and ended up empty-handed."

Lucas's point was clear: Ancelotti had a criminal record in this regard. He always wanted too much and ended up with nothing. If he won, he'd be a legend, but the price of losing was high, and everyone would criticize him for it.

Ancelotti had used the 4-3-2-1 Christmas tree formation back then, with almost the same lineup as later. Ironically, Ancelotti would win the Champions League with the criticized 4-3-2-1 formation the following season. But right now, he was still playing with two strikers.

AC Milan made obvious adjustments for this game. For instance, Inzaghi was replaced by Gilardino, who could run more, creating pressing in the frontcourt. The midfield was more compact, focusing on the middle, effectively curbing Inter Milan's attacks.

Lyon and Inter Milan were weak offensive teams, but Real Madrid was different.

"AC Milan's ball possession rate reached 60% in this derby, but I made statistics. Many of their possessions were from the backcourt, making their offense lack threat and speed. At the Bernabeu, we should stick to our previous plan: rush to get the lead in the first leg, and then play defensive counterattacks away from home," Lucas suggested.

The first leg of the semi-final was at the Bernabeu, with Real Madrid playing home first. Gao Shen had always wanted to attack at home. Now, the showdown between Ancelotti and Mancini made him speculate. Ancelotti, a famous old fox, surely anticipated Gao Shen's tactics.

Judging by his strategy against Mancini, Ancelotti was familiar with 4-2-3-1. Liverpool played 4-2-3-1 during the Istanbul miracle. Gao Shen had seen Benitez's memory of this game in the tactical library. His substitutions were a bit lucky, and the halftime tales of AC Milan celebrating were media misinformation. AC Milan players just felt victory was in hand with a three-goal lead.

This miracle had a lot of luck, and Benitez took advantage of it. Interestingly, Benitez's Liverpool were also weak in attack.

Gao Shen wondered if Ancelotti did this on purpose. Confident in his defense, he allowed pressing and sought stability, counterattacking whenever possible. Given AC Milan's age, they couldn't sustain a fast pace, which suited them.

Liverpool, Lyon, and Inter Milan all struggled similarly against AC Milan.

Of course, the risk was if AC Milan's defense was broken. It would be disastrous.

This strategy resembled Capello's Juventus.

Suddenly, Gao Shen looked at Buenaventura. "Lorenzo, if Ronaldo starts, do you think he can last the first half?"

Buenaventura and others were stunned. Start Ronaldo? He also started against Real Sociedad, but the intensity differed from a Champions League semi-final. The 4-2-3-1 forward center needed to suppress the opponent's center-backs, a task Negredo usually handled, which was exhausting. Ronaldo couldn't achieve this effect but had strong personal ability and high scoring efficiency, boosting Real Madrid's attack.

"For this game, we've been preparing for over a week. The players' physical fitness and state have been adjusted. Changing our minds now would only cause chaos, so..." Gao Shen paused, staring at the assistants. "We stick to the original plan and attack after the opening."

Changing tactics on the spot is risky due to insufficient preparation. Sometimes, instead of defeating the opponent, you defeat yourself.

"Negredo or Ronaldo?" Buenaventura asked.

Gao Shen was a little embarrassed. "I'll think about it."

The morning training was still focused on recovery and adjustment after playing Getafe. As usual, Gao Shen watched Buenaventura's performance. Everyone admired Buenaventura's ability because the team's physical condition and performance had visibly improved. Training levels and game abilities were also improving.

However, the training intensity was high, and everyone was pushing their limits. But they persisted because they saw hope. Ronaldo had been working hard since his conversation with Gao Shen, even in the gym, which he hated. His overall mental outlook and game state had improved significantly. Everyone felt it, including Gao Shen.