SWR: Chapter 1049/1050

Chapter 1049: Winning the Championship and Recruiting Players

There is a very ceremonial process to winning the championship at Wembley Stadium, which is climbing the winners' steps.

This is a staircase leading to the royal box, which is also the podium. It has a history of nearly a hundred years.

Previously, the winners' steps at the old Wembley Stadium only had 39 steps, but after the renovation, they were extended to 107 steps.

Follow this narrow staircase all the way up to the back of the stadium's secondary stands, turn onto a steel staircase and continue climbing, enjoying the cheers from the surrounding fans and supporters in the stands the entire way.

This is a great honor for any player and any team.

Especially when walking out of the steel stairs and entering the royal box, they are firmly locked on by the live camera, not only appearing in front of all the fans in the stadium, but also broadcast live to fans all over the world.

This is not the first time Gao Shen has climbed the winners' steps. The last time was when he represented Manchester City.

He still remembered that he was also walking at the end of the team.

As he walked out of the royal box, he saw arms reaching out toward him, so many that he couldn't even tell whose they were.

There was no choice but to shake hands with them one by one.

After entering the royal box, the guests were all political and business celebrities from the European football world.

For example, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Spanish King Juan Carlos and the Prime Minister, as well as British royal family members Prince William and Kate Middleton, and the British Prime Minister.

Gao Shen smiled and shook hands with them one by one.

But Juan Carlos seemed particularly excited and leaned over to hug Gao Shen.

"Well done, Gao!"

Gao Shen smiled and thanked him, but in his heart he wanted to say, Brother, your seat should have been mine.

Platini and Infantino stood side by side, with Infantino handing the championship medals to Platini, who then placed them around the players' necks.

They would give everyone a polite hug and congratulate them.

When they reached Gao Shen, the two seemed particularly enthusiastic.

Whether it was Infantino or Platini, they both took Gao Shen's hands very warmly and praised him with all kinds of words, just to make sure he felt their admiration.

Five Champions League titles, this is unprecedented in the history of the competition.

More importantly, he seems to have considerable potential and can go further.

Gao Shen chatted with them politely, but he didn't take them seriously in his heart.

To be honest, he now has a very important voice in European football.

To a certain extent, even if Gao Shen publicly scolded them, the two of them would have to bear it with a smile on their faces.

Of course, if Gao Shen violated the rules, they could punish him, but that was another matter.

This is mainly because Gao Shen is the most successful head coach in the history of the Champions League. To a certain extent, Gao Shen's prestige also represents the prestige of the Champions League and UEFA.

They are a community of interests.

Even UEFA's interests have to be upheld by Gao Shen.

It is like FIFA always bringing up Pelé.

Why?

That is a golden signboard.

In the end, Casillas and Ramos lifted the Big Ear Cup together.

Everyone in Real Madrid cheered wildly.

This is the most glorious moment in their careers and also a peak in their careers.

In fact, if they don't work harder next time, this may very well be their peak.

Gao Shen stood at the very edge, looking at his players with a smile.

The last part of the ceremony was that Real Madrid players brought the championship trophy to the stands where the fans were and interacted with them.

Every time the players lifted the trophy high, the fans would cheer in unison in a deafening manner.

…

From the locker room at Wembley Stadium to the team's hotel, everyone at Real Madrid was celebrating wildly.

Especially after returning to the hotel, Gao Shen gave the players an hour off, and they all ran to their relatives and friends to celebrate.

Gao Shen didn't have time for this.

Because Real Madrid's president, board leaders, technical director Valdano and others had all returned to the hotel.

The players were dismissed and given holiday only after meeting with the management.

Florentino announced that the team's championship bonus would be distributed on time tomorrow. At the same time, the club had also prepared a grand championship parade, where they would parade around Madrid with the Champions League and Copa del Rey trophies.

It could be seen from this arrangement that the club actually knew deep down that the chances of winning La Liga were slim.

In the last two rounds, Barcelona would basically not miss.

Of course, it was not ruled out that Real Madrid could get lucky.

But for Gao Shen, it would be better not to win the league that way.

If you want to take it, you must take it openly.

Just as he told Heynckes, next season, he wanted to win the treble.

After seeing the players off, Florentino, Valdano and core members of the board sat down in the hotel café to discuss the team's recruitment plan for the summer.

Higuain, Kaka and Albiol all wanted to leave, and Gao Shen had given the green light, so the next step was to recruit new players.

As for central defenders, there were really not many who met Gao Shen's requirements in the current transfer market.

For example, Gao Shen required that a central defender should not be too slow and should have excellent passing ability.

This was a mandatory requirement.

Why?

Because of Real Madrid's tactics.

If Real Madrid were a low-block defensive team, then it wouldn't matter if the central defender was a bit slower.

But Real Madrid is a high-pressing team, even an offensive team that uses the full-backs as wingers. It is common for the central defender to move to the wing. If the central defender is too slow and has poor passing ability, it would be a huge problem.

At the moment, the most suitable candidate in the transfer market was Koulibaly from Leeds United.

But this central defender was too popular now.

Manchester United were watching, Chelsea were watching, Bayern Munich were watching, Paris Saint-Germain and Monaco were all watching.

If Real Madrid intervened, the price would definitely not be low.

But the problem was that Real Madrid were looking for a fourth central defender.

Ramos, Pepe and Varane were all trustworthy. Spending such a high price to bring in a fourth option was not cost-effective, so Real Madrid would wait and see.

"We have already released the news that we are also interested in Koulibaly," Butragueno chuckled.

Gao Shen was a little surprised, but then he laughed.

Was this Real Madrid building hype for Koulibaly?

Of course, the advantage would definitely be for Leeds United.

"If there is no suitable candidate, I think it's better to just leave it as it is. We still have Nacho, who can also play as a central defender, either on the left or the right," said Gao Shen.

That's the benefit of being versatile.

To be honest, instead of spending a lot of money to buy a player who may not play many games throughout the season, it would be better to use Nacho, which would save a lot of trouble.

This is a trade-off between input and output.

"For midfield, we have considered Gundogan, Paul Pogba, Thiago and Pjanic. We have basically locked Paul Pogba as our first target."

This was Zidane's strong recommendation, and Gao Shen also had a very high opinion of Paul Pogba.

The whole world knew that it was Gao Shen who personally persuaded Ferguson to sign Paul Pogba to Manchester United.

The transfer fee was only £1.5 million, but that was mainly because Paul Pogba only had one year left on his contract with Manchester United.

Everyone knew that with just one year left on his contract, there wasn't much value, and at that time Gao Shen persuaded Pogba to join Leeds United.

The players he carefully selected never went wrong, and Pogba's performance at Leeds United was obvious to all. His potential was extraordinary, and Zidane also highly praised him.

His current market value in Germany's transfer market was as high as 30 million euros, which showed how highly the outside world regarded Leeds United's midfield core.

The key was that he was only 20 years old and had a bright future.

"But signing Pogba is also very difficult. Paris Saint-Germain is in need of high-level local players and has also set its sights on Pogba. Manchester United, Chelsea and Monaco are also watching him."

At this point, Valdano gave Gao Shen a wry smile. "But the most troublesome thing is Leeds United. Fernando Lucas told me very clearly that they won't discuss it until the end of the World Youth Championship."

Everyone immediately looked at Gao Shen.

"This has nothing to do with me," Gao Shen quickly shook his head and denied it three times in a row.

"However, Lucas still remembers the old times and he promised to give priority to us at Real Madrid," Valdano said.

Although there was priority, the transfer fee would definitely not be low.

If Paris Saint-Germain really intended to raise the price, the transfer fee would be staggering.

Of course, even now, it was definitely not low.

The valuation in the transfer market was 30 million euros. That price would never convince Leeds United to let him go.

The Times estimated it at at least 40 million euros.

If all parties were very optimistic and joined the competition, it was likely to be even higher.

Was there any way around this?

There was only one talented midfielder like Pogba in the world.

However, there was another one at Leeds United, Kondogbia. His value was slightly lower than Pogba and his performance was also very good, but his profile was not as big. His current valuation was around 20 million euros.

The two were also the core midfielders of the French national youth team.

Recently, Leeds United signed a French midfielder named Rabiot from Manchester City's youth academy. Many people said his characteristics were somewhat similar to Pogba and Kondogbia, which seemed like preparation for the future.

Buy low and sell high, Leeds United were getting better and better at this business.

But Real Madrid didn't care.

For Real Madrid, what they wanted were stars, top stars.

Money?

It is important, but also unimportant.

"Leave this matter to Jose and Jorge. You two will be responsible for negotiating it." Florentino made the decision with a wave of his hand.

Jose Sanchez was a good negotiator and Valdano was a technical director, so the two of them were a perfect match.

Gao Shen remained silent from beginning to end. The only attitude he expressed was that Pogba was really quite good.

"How is Dzeko? Did you convey what I said to you before? What did he say?" Gao Shen asked with concern.

Valdano had met secretly with Dzeko and his agent that afternoon.

Gao Shen had asked Valdano to convey a lot of words, including his positioning of Dzeko, and revealed his idea of helping Dzeko complete his transformation. He believed that Dzeko could become a high-level, world-class center forward.

(To be continued.)

Chapter 1050: Lock on the Target and Talk

In European football, almost all experienced head coaches will take the team's strengths into consideration when forming a lineup and developing tactics. These are usually what many call the core players.

Why?

Because only in this way can you break through the opponent's defense.

Over the past decade, the defensive tactics of world football have undergone tremendous changes. The scenes where players could score goals purely through individual ability have become less and less common, almost extinct.

Teamwork has become the mainstream.

The reason a strong team is strong is because it always has a few killer moves that the opponent cannot defend against.

What do we mean by undefendable?

For example, can Messi's dribbling breakthroughs be defended against without fouling?

For example, when Robben cuts in from the right, can he be stopped one-on-one?

These are very specific cases, and extremely rare.

But on the tactical level, Real Madrid has such an unstoppable killer weapon, one that has been proven time and time again.

That weapon is the long pass.

Including Xabi Alonso's long diagonal passes, as well as Kroos and Di Maria's long balls from both wings.

These are all legitimate attacking methods that are very difficult for opponents to defend against.

If opponents spread out their defense to guard against these long passes, Real Madrid can use the individual ability of their players to break through on one side, or even on both wings.

If opponents concentrate their defense on the ball side, Real Madrid's long pass can immediately catch them off guard.

How to stop it?

In the end, they can only drop everyone back, pack the penalty area, and set up an iron bucket defense.

But very few teams are willing to do that, and even then, it may not work.

This is the killer move Gao Shen developed for Real Madrid.

Barcelona also has its trump card, such as their near-perfect passing and possession.

What was Chelsea's strength during Mourinho's first spell?

Robben and Duff could be counted as one in terms of speed, but over the years, Drogba was the most important.

Do you see?

A trump card means I can run faster than you, jump higher than you, be stronger than you, and have better skills than you.

These are things the opponent cannot defend against no matter how hard they try.

When a head coach builds tactics and the lineup, he does it around that strength.

What impressed Gao Shen the most in his previous life was Manchester United signing Di Maria from Real Madrid for a huge fee, and then buying Pogba back from Juventus for another massive fee.

Both were players with exceptional individual ability, absolute strengths.

Logically, players bought for such high fees should become the core of the team, yet surprisingly, Manchester United did not build around them.

If Van Gaal's obsession with tactics and his neglect of players explains why Di Maria was wasted under him, then what about Pogba? Why didn't Manchester United make proper use of such a star brought in at such a price?

Don't talk about incompatibility or not fitting the system.

Seriously, for top stars like Ronaldo, Messi, or Robben, as long as the team is willing to adapt tactically to their characteristics, none of them would fail.

Do you really think the club is blind?

Or that all the owners are just being fooled?

Spend so much money on a flop?

When a star of that level fails to perform, it is always a tactical problem.

Although players like Torres, Shevchenko, or Kaka also had physical issues, tactical problems accounted for most of their decline.

Building tactics around the team's strength is the golden rule for unleashing maximum power.

Real Madrid's strongest point right now is Ronaldo.

Many fans think Ronaldo is like a black hole, drawing everything around him, with everyone required to play for him and help him score.

This is not wrong, because it is part of the team's tactics.

So why Ronaldo?

Why not Benzema? Why not Di Maria? Why not Kaka, or anyone else?

Because only Ronaldo and Messi can score so many goals and maintain such a high peak consistently over a long time.

If it were anyone else, who could do it?

Whether in his past life or this one, Gao Shen has always felt that Ronaldo and Messi were underestimated.

To evaluate superstars at their level, you have to extend the timeline.

Perhaps ten years later, when we no longer have Ronaldo or Messi, we will look back and realize how lucky we were.

Without new breakthroughs in football or science, these two might be the absolute limit of human players.

…

To maximize Ronaldo's role, you need a center forward like Benzema beside him.

He can finish, pass, hold up the ball, and move intelligently.

Higuain's finishing efficiency is very strong, but his ball control and hold-up play are still inferior to Benzema.

In this case, Gao Shen can only choose Benzema.

Dzeko is different from Benzema. He is taller, moves slower, and is not as quick, but his footwork is similar. Both are very good, and he has excellent passing and link-up play.

Interestingly, although Dzeko looks tall and strong, when he was at Wolfsburg he was not a traditional number nine, but more like a second striker.

After moving to Tottenham Hotspur, he once put up eye-catching numbers in the Premier League. Everyone thought Spurs had picked up a bargain, but gradually, Dzeko's weaknesses were exposed.

As a second striker, he struggled against the tough central defenders in the Premier League.

That was why Tottenham later brought in Adebayor.

With Adebayor's arrival, Dzeko gradually lost his place and his value declined.

Currently, Tottenham's asking price for Dzeko is 25 million euros.

Dzeko and his agent's meeting with Valdano went smoothly, and both were interested in joining Real Madrid.

After hearing what Gao Shen asked Valdano to convey, Dzeko was satisfied with Gao Shen's evaluation and role for him.

"He feels that your positioning and assessment of him are quite accurate. He has indeed changed a lot since coming to the Premier League, especially in physical battles."

Gao Shen nodded. "Then let's talk to Tottenham."

Bayern's Mandzukic was also under consideration, but Dzeko had better footwork and stronger passing ability.

Mandzukic's biggest strength was his incredible work rate.

If it came down to choosing between the two, Gao Shen would still prefer Dzeko.

Valdano understood.

In this way, Real Madrid's transfer targets for this summer were locked.

Dzeko from Tottenham Hotspur, Pogba from Leeds United, Illarramendi from Real Sociedad.

And of course, there was also David Alaba from Bayern Munich, someone Gao Shen could not forget.

But for now, this left-back would be difficult to move for, so Real Madrid could only wait for the right opportunity.

As for sales, Kaka would leave on a free transfer, Higuain could fetch a good price, and Albiol's value was not high.

From the current outlook, Real Madrid was expected to invest close to or even over 100 million euros.

…

After returning to Madrid from London, the club organized a massive parade around the city.

This was also Real Madrid's consistent tradition.

Since winning five consecutive European Cups, the Champions League had become even more important than La Liga to Real Madrid.

Tens of thousands of fans took to the streets, not only from Madrid, but also surrounding regions, and even many who traveled from afar, all celebrating Real Madrid's two trophies.

The double was like timely rain after a long drought for Real Madrid, who had gone years without silverware.

There were even fans holding giant photos of Gao Shen, marching behind the team bus.

The team eventually arrived at the Bernabéu.

Gao Shen and the players entered the stadium with the trophy to meet all the Real Madrid fans who had gathered. They promised to fight until the end and go all out for the treble.

Gao Shen also promised the fans that next season Real Madrid would be even stronger than now.

"No matter what the final result in La Liga this season is, we have only one goal next season, and that is the championship!"

"All the championships!"

The loud chants shook the entire Bernabéu and even the whole of Madrid.

Countless fans shouted Gao Shen's name.

Everyone knew it was his arrival that had led Real Madrid out of darkness and into light.

Now, he was leading them step by step back to glory.

The Spanish media also spoke highly of Real Madrid's season. Not only because Gao Shen fulfilled his promise by winning the Champions League, but more importantly because of the progress and momentum Real Madrid showed.

From being questioned at the start, to improving steadily, to now lifting the Champions League, all of it reflected Real Madrid's astonishing progress.

Even more incredible was the difficulty of their journey.

As Alfredo, the editor-in-chief of AS, described it, this was a hellish road.

In the group of death, every opponent was last season's champion. In the knockouts, every opponent was this season's league champion. Every step forward was extremely difficult.

But in the end, Gao Shen and his team withstood the pressure and lifted the Champions League.

Even in the final, winning 3-0 was absolute dominance.

Tell me, is there any performance more convincing than Real Madrid's?

Spanish media generally believed that even if Real Madrid failed to win La Liga, in terms of prestige and value, they had already surpassed Barcelona.

Because this season, Real Madrid faced Barcelona four times and won all four, which was an astonishing record.

"This should be the best single-season record against Barcelona in Real Madrid's history." Alfredo did not hesitate to praise, believing Gao Shen had created history.

The Spanish media believed Real Madrid had outperformed Barcelona and deserved La Liga.

But the Catalan media insisted Barcelona was making its final push.

"No matter what, Barcelona will hold on to this one-point lead and win La Liga!"

(To be continued.)