SWR: Chapter 694/695

Chapter 694: Iron Tree Blossoms

No one expected that this season's Champions League would produce such a major upset in the group stage.

Inter Milan was all but knocked out, and Real Madrid had also been eliminated.

This immediately triggered heated debate across the world.

In the Group of Death, Inter Milan was in Pot 1, Real Madrid in Pot 2, Schalke 04 in Pot 3, and Manchester City in Pot 4. But after five rounds of group matches, everyone was shocked to find that the group standings had been completely reversed from their UEFA coefficient rankings.

Manchester City now sat at the top of the group and had already qualified as group winners with a clear lead.

And now, the two top-seeded teams had been eliminated before the final round even began.

Many Spanish media outlets, including Marca and AS, criticized Mourinho's team selection and tactical decisions, believing that Real Madrid should have performed better in their home match against Manchester City.

Marca believed that Mourinho had ambitions of competing on both fronts—La Liga and the Champions League—but Real Madrid's squad was not deep enough to support a two-pronged campaign, which led to their elimination in Europe.

From the current standings, Manchester City and Schalke 04 were on track to qualify from the Group of Death.

This shocked the media and fans worldwide.

If Manchester City's massive investment over the past three seasons had significantly strengthened the team, then why did Real Madrid, which had spent just as heavily, crash out in the group stage?

Arrigo Sacchi analyzed the situation in his column, stating that Mourinho had not adapted well to the environment at Real Madrid.

The legendary Italian coach pointed out that when Mourinho coached Porto, Chelsea, and Inter Milan, he heavily emphasized defense, particularly pressing. However, though the philosophy was consistent, the implementation varied significantly.

"In the three clubs before Real Madrid, Mourinho almost never took the initiative to press high. But at Real Madrid, he wanted to play a more modern style and keep pace with the tactical revolution sparked by Gao Shen. So we've seen him start focusing on ball possession, compressing his lines into 25 to 30 meters."

"The more notable shift is that his teams have started to press higher up the pitch."

Sacchi saw this as a sign that Mourinho was genuinely trying to evolve. Of course, this also had to do with Real Madrid's squad makeup and the club's environment, but Mourinho's own desire to improve was key.

"To coach in a top European league, you have to improve every single day. Otherwise, you'll fall behind."

However, this pursuit of evolution inevitably brought new problems.

For example, Mourinho soon found that once he started pressing high, his previously reliable defense began to show cracks. So he began searching for a new balance between pressing and solidity.

Regarding the match against Manchester City, Sacchi felt Mourinho's tactical deployment perfectly reflected this dilemma.

He wanted to win. He tried hard to win. But he lacked confidence in his defense.

This hesitation prevented him from fully committing to attack, keeping him cautious and conservative throughout.

"This can lead to a strange outcome: when facing a weaker team with limited attacking threat, Mourinho's teams often play well and look exciting."

"But when up against teams of equal or slightly stronger strength, he becomes anxious and overly cautious."

Sacchi believed this was natural, but it was something Mourinho had to overcome and resolve.

As for Real Madrid, the biggest issue remained the midfield.

"I watched both matches against Manchester City. When Mourinho wants to initiate a high press, the commitment of the front line is critical. But not all of Real Madrid's attacking players were willing to engage fully, and that was a major problem."

…

At the post-match press conference, Gao Shen also defended Mourinho, saying that the club should give him more time. "I believe Mourinho will be able to build a competitive Real Madrid."

But just after he said this, a Spanish journalist called out, "We hope it's you who will lead Real Madrid! Lead us out of this mess and break the damn curse!"

The press room erupted in an uproar.

This moment quickly spread around the world and became a hot topic among fans and media alike.

Everyone knew Real Madrid had long been pursuing Gao Shen, but this was the first time a journalist had said it so bluntly to his face.

Although Gao Shen refused to comment on the statement, it sparked a massive reaction among Real Madrid supporters.

Many fans flooded Gao Shen's Twitter, reminiscing about the glorious past.

Even King Juan Carlos of Spain made a public statement to the media, declaring that Gao Shen was the head coach who best matched Real Madrid's ideals.

"After the match, I met Florentino outside the box and told him clearly, we must bring Gao Shen back. He is the best coach in the world and the most suitable for Real Madrid."

"I can't reveal exactly what he said to me, but I believe Gao Shen will come back."

"Gao Shen told me that Madrid is his home!"

This left Gao Shen speechless.

While it was true that he saw Madrid as his second home, had he really said that to Juan Carlos?

Damn, this old man was too sly!

You promised me the throne and haven't delivered. Now you're spreading fake quotes about me?

If you weren't the king, and I wasn't afraid of getting into trouble, I'd have given you a beating already, believe it or not?

…

Though the Champions League group stage had become the hottest topic in football, Gao Shen quickly put it behind him.

For Manchester City, the group stage was already settled and no longer mattered.

After returning to the UK, Gao Shen immediately resumed preparations for the upcoming match against Stoke City.

It was the fifteenth round of the Premier League.

Stoke City at home was a notoriously difficult opponent.

Liverpool lost here, and both Manchester United and Tottenham had to fight hard to get anything at the Britannia Stadium.

Gao Shen rotated the squad for this away fixture and faced fierce resistance from Stoke.

The two teams were deadlocked until the second half. Ultimately, thanks to goals from Zabaleta and Suarez, Manchester City scored twice in ten minutes and took all three points.

…

A week later came the 16th round of the Premier League.

Manchester City hosted Bolton at the Etihad.

After getting some rest, Manchester City played with high intensity and rhythm in this match.

Just 24 minutes into the first half, David Silva delivered a corner that Kompany headed into the net.

Twenty minutes later, right before halftime, Robben assisted Suarez to double the lead.

In the 58th minute of the second half, David Silva set up Suarez again, who scored his second goal, extending the scoreline to 3-0.

No one expected that Gareth Bale would assist Javi Martinez for a goal in the 78th minute.

An iron tree blooms!

Who would've thought Javi Martinez would get on the scoresheet?

Five minutes later, David Silva recorded another assist, this time setting up Van Persie for a goal.

In the end, Manchester City defeated Bolton 5-0 at home in a resounding victory.

…

After the Bolton match, Manchester City welcomed Schalke 04 to the Etihad.

Both teams had already qualified for the knockout stage, so the result of this match had no real significance. It wouldn't even affect who finished top of the group.

So, in a relaxed mood, Gao Shen and Magath shook hands and made peace.

In the other match, Real Madrid visited Inter Milan and drew 2-2.

In the end, the Group of Death concluded with Manchester City and Schalke 04 advancing, Real Madrid dropping into the Europa League, and Inter Milan eliminated.

This result stunned the football world.

Who would have believed that Real Madrid, after spending 400 to 500 million euros in just two years, would fail to even make it out of the group?

…

That weekend, in the 17th round of the Premier League, Manchester City traveled south to London to face West Ham United away.

This season, West Ham were managed by former Chelsea boss Avram Grant, who had replaced Mourinho and led Chelsea to a Champions League final. After several moves, he was now at the helm of West Ham.

Unfortunately, West Ham were bottom of the Premier League at the time.

Before the match, Grant tried to lift his players' morale and pledged to give Manchester City a real fight at home.

But in truth, when the match began, West Ham still relied on deep defending and counterattacks.

Their defense couldn't withstand Manchester City's onslaught. Just three minutes in, Yaya Toure struck from outside the box to open the scoring.

In the second half, another long shot from Yaya Toure forced a save from Robert Green, but the goalkeeper failed to hold it, and Suarez pounced on the rebound.

Eight minutes later, Robben scored again to make it 3-0.

At that point, West Ham had completely collapsed.

In the dying minutes, Van Persie added another to seal the win.

Four-nil. Manchester City claimed another dominant win, delivering excellent attacking football.

…

A week later, Manchester City faced Everton in their final game before Christmas.

David Moyes' team had been struggling recently and were sitting 15th in the league, just four points above the relegation zone.

Facing Manchester City away from home, Moyes tried to catch them off guard with an aggressive start. But in the third minute, a long shot from Rakitic deflected off Jagielka and flew into the net past Tim Howard.

Suarez and Leighton Baines scored soon after, making it 3-0 before halftime, effectively killing off the match.

But the biggest surprise came after the break, when Nigerian striker Anichebe picked up two yellow cards in five minutes and was sent off.

That was only the 60th minute.

With half an hour still to play, Manchester City launched wave after wave of attacks. Everton held on tightly, but eventually lost 6-0.

Manchester City thrashed Everton and collected another three points, setting the tone for a busy Christmas and winter schedule.

UEFA also held the draw for the Champions League round of 16 at its headquarters.

(To be continued.)

Chapter 695: Champions League Summit

Christmas was approaching, but there was still plenty to be done.

In Europe, Christmas is like the Spring Festival in China.

After the final round of matches before Christmas, Manchester City shifted their focus to light daily training, as the club had arranged several events—some of which were annual traditions, such as visiting local communities, children's hospitals in Manchester and surrounding areas, and schools with a large number of fans.

These were yearly routines for European clubs.

All first-team players would be divided into groups and sent to different destinations.

But this year was different from previous years.

Manchester City was now the reigning Premier League champion. Since winning the title, the club's standards in many areas had risen.

For instance, starting this year, a well-known British charity reached out to Manchester City, hoping to collaborate.

This was actually a very meaningful initiative, and it helped enhance the club's image and standing.

They organized a charity dinner in Manchester, inviting political and business figures from all walks of life. Manchester City, naturally, would be the main guests, and media outlets would be present to film and promote the event.

There would also be a charity auction, participation voluntary.

Gao Shen attended the dinner with the Manchester City team, all dressed formally. There, he reunited with his old favorite, David Beckham.

It had been a long time since they had last seen each other, and both were delighted to catch up.

Gao Shen congratulated Beckham on receiving the BBC Lifetime Achievement Award in London.

Although the award wasn't particularly authoritative, it carried significant influence, enough to reaffirm Beckham's stature in British football and boost his popularity across the UK once again.

Beckham also congratulated Gao Shen. Under his leadership, Manchester City had won multiple Premier League awards and the league title. Now, they were favorites again this season and contenders for the Champions League as well.

Just two days earlier, during the UEFA Champions League round of 16 draw, Manchester City had been paired with Ligue 1 side Lyon.

"You know, Lyon has always been a difficult opponent for Real Madrid," Beckham said sympathetically.

Over the years, Real Madrid had suffered repeatedly at Lyon's hands.

Gao Shen smiled. He felt it was a good draw.

His hard work in winning the group had finally paid off.

"Planning to return to Europe to play again?" Gao Shen asked.

Beckham nodded. "I've always kept in touch. You know I've still got a lot left in me."

Sometimes, Gao Shen wondered if Beckham ever regretted moving to Major League Soccer.

Perhaps occasionally, but not most of the time.

From a purely footballing perspective, it may have been a poor decision. But in terms of his life, it was a huge success. Who could say for sure what was right or wrong?

"By the way, are you interested in any of the items tonight?" Beckham asked, gesturing toward the charity auction stage.

The items up for auction were all donated by celebrities, with all proceeds going to charity.

They were mostly personal trinkets. Beckham had donated one of his own paintings.

God knows when Beckham, who was so good at football, learned to paint.

Previously, a charity organization had also approached Gao Shen, hoping he would contribute a Chinese calligraphy piece. But Gao Shen knew his calligraphy wasn't presentable.

If anyone had practiced calligraphy from childhood, it was Su Qing.

His fiancée's handwriting was genuinely excellent. In the past, many families in their community would ask her to write Spring Festival couplets.

She even bought a book of couplet samples and copied them each time, making her very popular in the neighborhood.

"I like that puzzle," Gao Shen said, pointing at one of the oil painting puzzles on display.

This puzzle was created by a couple of well-known avant-garde artists. It had been disassembled, and the scrambled version was shown in a frame. To reveal the original image, you had to piece the puzzle together.

Gao Shen remembered that Su Qing liked doing these kinds of things in her free time.

"Good luck, then!" Beckham laughed.

…

The atmosphere at the charity auction was cheerful and relaxed. Everyone participated with a playful attitude.

For example, Beckham's painting sold for 15,000 pounds.

But Gao Shen didn't believe it was a carefully crafted masterpiece. Beckham probably just doodled something. It didn't have the "abstract artistic value" the host claimed.

Was Beckham secretly a painting genius who had been overshadowed by football?

No one was eager to buy the puzzle. Most of the wealthy guests didn't have the patience to complete a one-meter-tall jigsaw. It would be a huge waste of time.

So Gao Shen easily bought it at the starting price of 2,000 pounds.

Afterwards, the artist couple came over to chat and thanked him for purchasing their work. They also exchanged contact details and expressed interest in staying in touch.

Gao Shen, now one of the most famous figures in the UK—if not Europe—wasn't known for his looks, but for his achievements. This made him even more widely respected.

Of course, Gao Shen also did his part by promoting the event. He sent out several tweets that night, fully supporting the charity.

Sure enough, the next day, Beckham's painting and the puzzle Gao Shen had bought became hot topics in the media. The artist couple also gained significant exposure and fame.

After the publicity, a collector even expressed interest in buying Gao Shen's puzzle at double the price.

Even Gao Shen didn't quite understand. Were all artworks hyped up like this?

Wasn't it just a little too profitable?

…

Manchester City's off-pitch activities didn't stop after the auction.

The annual Christmas dinner was held at Carrington.

Last season, the team had finished the second half with a perfect record. This year, they had drawn just one match so far, a very impressive achievement. So the club put extra effort into preparing this year's event, giving it a theme: "Christmas Funny Party."

What did that mean?

It meant everyone could dress however they liked. They could wear outfits they would never dare to try on a normal day, including cross-dressing. The club even hired professionals to help with costumes. Carrington was decorated with a quirky and festive vibe that matched the theme.

Not to mention, the club invested quite a bit of money into the event.

With professionals assisting and the players being mostly young men, everyone went all out to be as outrageous as possible.

So Super Mario, Cyclops, Captain Jack, Harry Potter... those were nothing. Some came dressed as Avatars, and others as horror movie villains...

Gao Shen didn't even realize when the players had secretly made a private bet. The result was that Yaya Toure had to show up in a maid outfit, which stunned everyone and created the biggest reaction of the night.

Even the women at the party screamed and cheered for Yaya Toure's look.

Gao Shen himself was assigned a role. He originally intended to dress like Xu Wenqiang from The Bund, but those rascals made him wear a sexy pink scarf and big yellow glasses, giving him a ridiculous appearance with huge, exaggerated eyes.

None of the other coaches or management escaped unscathed. They were all targets of playful sabotage.

The funniest of all was Brian Kidd, a man in his sixties, wearing a thin white pajama set. One could only imagine the scene.

Despite all the absurdity, the atmosphere was incredibly lively.

Mubarak showed up dressed as Santa Claus. On behalf of the club's board, he handed out red envelopes to each player and coach. He also passed along encouragement from Sheikh Mansour, expressing hope that the team would retain the Premier League title and make a breakthrough in the Champions League.

As per tradition, Gao Shen also gave every player and staff member a carefully chosen gift. All the items were Chinese in style, prepared by Su Qing in China and shipped over to the UK.

Gao Shen then went on stage to thank the players, coaching staff, and management. He also expressed his strong belief that with Manchester City's strength, they could achieve great things in the Champions League.

"After six group-stage matches, I believe everyone now has a preliminary understanding of the Champions League."

"Of course, I must remind everyone that the knockout rounds will be even more brutal, more intense, and more stressful than the group stage. But after playing through the group, I believe you all know what to expect."

"We are not just a dark horse or a first-time participant in the Champions League. On the contrary, we have the strength to shock the world!"

"Achieving this goal is not easy. It requires each one of us to work together and stay absolutely focused!"

"I believe that as long as we fight hard in every match, we'll have the chance to stand at the summit of the Champions League!"

The entire room was buzzing with excitement.

Even though everyone was dressed in costumes, the sincerity in Gao Shen's speech lit a fire in their eyes.

After all, which professional player doesn't dream of winning the Champions League?

Gao Shen came to Manchester City to win the Champions League. The players joined the club not just for the money, but also for that same dream. Mubarak and the club's top brass wanted it even more.

Having already claimed the Premier League title, Manchester City wanted not just domestic success, but European glory.

No one knew how far they could go, but that didn't stop Gao Shen from proclaiming the goal loud and clear.

As someone once said: if you don't even dare to set a goal, how will you ever achieve anything?

Judging by the players' reactions, Gao Shen knew they all shared the same goal.

At the very least, Manchester City still had strong cohesion.

Their goal was clear.

But Gao Shen still had another matter to focus on.

Lucas had been extremely busy for the past two months. During the two-day Christmas break, Gao Shen finally found time to sit down with him and discuss the latest updates.

(To be continued.)