Starting With Real Madrid

Gao Shen's guess was soon confirmed.

The next morning, major newspapers in Spain and even Europe broke the news of Real Madrid's coaching change.

The top club Real Madrid fired the interim coach Carlo, who had performed well, and hired a 25-year-old intern as the head coach. This is an unbelievable event in the football world.

Who is Gao Shen?

Not only is the mainstream media in Europe unaware of him, but even in Spain, and among Real Madrid's own mouthpieces Aspen and Marca, it is difficult to find specific information. All they know is that he is 25 years old, graduated from Loughborough University with a major in sports, and has been interning at Real Madrid for seven months.

Media and fans around the world were stunned!

Is it crazy for Real Madrid to use a 25-year-old fresh graduate as the head coach?

This sounds like a plot that wouldn't even be believable in an online novel, right?

AS reported that this was the most appalling farce in Real Madrid's history!

At the beginning of the century, former Barcelona president Gaspart, who served as Nunes' vice-president for many years, was hailed as the best vice-president in history, but became known as the worst chairman ever. Aspen believes that Martin will become a disgrace in Real Madrid's history, just like Gaspart!

Marca reported the inside story, suggesting that Martin's move was a continuation of the club's internal conflicts. Even though Florentino had left, the contradictions he left behind are still disrupting Real Madrid.

"Martin fired Carlo at this time for only one real purpose, and that was to bring back his good friend Vicente del Bosque!"

Marca reported that Florentino could not tolerate del Bosque at Real Madrid. Everyone knows that del Bosque was expelled from Real Madrid by Florentino. Now, Martin wants to bring his good friend back, and this will not be supported by Florentino under any circumstances.

"So, he orchestrated such a farce!"

In an interview with Marca, a core member of Real Madrid's board of directors, the famous Madrid lawyer Ramon Calderon, publicly accused Martin of making this decision, calling it an insult to Real Madrid's tradition.

"The board will never sit idly by. We will investigate and discuss this decision."

Club legend Mijatovic also said in an interview that this was a ridiculous decision.

"As one of the world's top clubs, choosing a head coach is never an issue. Almost all the coaches in the world would be crazy for this position, but our new chairman has made the worst choice, which is very disappointing."

"Who is Gao Shen? Did anyone know him before yesterday? It's ridiculous, isn't it?"

According to media reports, there are even Real Madrid fans planning to organize protests at Valdebebas and the Bernabeu Stadium, demanding an explanation for the appointment from the new president.

There are even conspiracy theories suggesting that Martin wanted this kind of reaction.

...

...

When Gao Shen bought breakfast, he picked up two newspapers, Aspen and Marca.

He read most of the comments and gained a basic understanding of the situation.

Especially after seeing Calderon's statement on behalf of the board, he found that the situation became more and more interesting.

Before crossing over, as a fan, he always thought that Calderon had risen suddenly, but now he found out that he is actually a big player.

Martin is probably very depressed now, wondering why he made such a decision at that time, right?

However, for Gao Shen, the current situation has not changed much. The media ignored him as a nobody and focused most of their criticism on Martin.

But the more this happens, the more Martin will support Gao Shen.

Could Martin possibly stand up and tell everyone that he chose Gao Shen only because he was so clever?

No, if he did that, he would indeed be laughable.

Now he must defend his decision, claim to support Gao Shen publicly, and even show increasing trust in Gao Shen. Only in this way can he convince everyone that this was not a farce, but a well-considered decision.

Only in this way can he restore the image of the new chairman to the greatest extent.

Next, it's up to Gao Shen.

In five days, in the twenty-sixth round of La Liga, Real Madrid will face Atlético Madrid at home. This city derby will be a big test. If he passes the test, he can breathe a sigh of relief. But if he fails, the new chairman will likely express regret, apologize for his misplaced trust, and might even step on him one more time.

Isn't this how all leaders, both ancient and modern, domestic and foreign, operate?

…

Just when Gao Shen finished his breakfast and was on his way to Valdebebas, he suddenly received an unfamiliar phone call.

After answering, it turned out to be Raul calling.

He was still having a headache last night about how to contact Raul, but he did not expect Raul to reach out to him first.

Gao Shen began to believe that he really seemed to be the hero of an online novel.

The reason for Raul's call was that the new chairman Martin decided to hold a press conference at the Bernabeu in the morning, with both Gao Shen and captain Raul attending, apparently to show the unity of the new Real Madrid to the outside world.

The morning training session had to be temporarily handed over to assistant coach Maquida. He used to be a Real Madrid player and later became an assistant coach for Carlo. In terms of qualifications, after Carlo was fired, Maqueda should have been the acting head coach.

About ten minutes later, Gao Shen rode his bicycle to Valdebebas, where Raul was already waiting for him in the parking lot.

"You don't look like you're worried at all."

Raul drove away from Valdebebas. From time to time, he glanced sideways at Gao Shen in the passenger seat and found that his face was as normal and calm as ever, which surprised him. Why didn't he notice such a person in the first-team coaching staff before?

"It's useless to worry; all of this is out of my control," Gao Shen sighed, "feeling very wronged."

Raul was silent, nodding imperceptibly.

Yesterday, Carlo called him, Guti, and some other close people. He heard that after Gao Shen left Valdebebas, he went directly to Carlo's house. Although Carlo didn't see him, he helped Gao Shen clarify over the phone.

Speaking of which, in this matter, Gao Shen was also an innocent victim, caught in an inexplicable disaster.

God knows what the new chairman wants to do?

"I was thinking, if they announced later that I was fired, I would be relieved." Gao Shen pretended to be free and easy with a smile.

Raul turned his head to the side again, glanced at Gao Shen, looked back, and revealed a helpless wry smile.

How can things in this world be so easy?

"Mr. Carlo often mentions you in front of me." Gao Shen suddenly changed the subject.

"Really?" Raul smiled lightly.

"He feels very sorry. If so many superstars hadn't been introduced back then, how exciting would the combination of you and Morientes have been?" Gao Shen said with longing.

Morientes, the high center of Real Madrid's youth training, was known as Raul's golden partner at the beginning of the century. But with the superstar strategy, Morientes lost his position in Real Madrid, and he even eliminated Real Madrid in the Champions League once, which countless Real Madrid fans regretted.

Raul's face changed slightly, but he didn't speak.

Gao Shen didn't seem to care but had been secretly watching Raul's expression.

Not enough, need to add more fuel to the fire.

"Last summer, Carlo left a high center for Castilla, called Alvaro Negredo, 20 years old. Like Morientes, he is also 1.86 meters tall, very strong, and has very similar characteristics. He is very capable but has never had the opportunity to appear in the first team."

Raul finally showed a hint of regret and sighed, "Our youth team is not lacking in talent, but there is no path for promotion to the first team."

"Who said it wasn't?" Gao Shen immediately followed Raul's words. "Mr. Carlo promoted Soldado and a few others to the first team. He has been looking for opportunities to promote more young talents to the first team, but he has never been able to. Our first team environment…"

He hesitated to speak, but Raul's expression changed obviously.

"We've had so many youth players join other La Liga teams, even strong teams like Valencia and Sevilla, and they've all become stable starters. But in our own first team, they can't get any playtime, and we end up spending so much money to bring in superstars, filling the locker room with smoke."

After complaining, Raul let out another long sigh.

Everyone knows the conflict between the local players and the superstars in the locker room.

"Who said it wasn't?" Gao Shen echoed Raul's sentiment. "Mr. Carlo told me that he felt that many youth team players have the ability to play in the first team if given appropriate tactics. I'm thinking, in this situation, what the team needs to rely on is not fame, but whether the player is willing to do his best for the team."

"If everyone is calculating in their hearts and can't work together, what use is their fame and strength? It's better to choose players who are willing to give their all and are trustworthy. Even if they're less famous and not as strong, with our strength, we're still competitive in La Liga and the Champions League."

At this point, Raul stopped at a traffic light. He turned his head to look at Gao Shen in disbelief, but found that Gao Shen's expression was earnest, which rekindled a long-extinguished hope in his heart.

Do ordinary players have to play worse than superstars?

Since Hierro left the team in 2003, which central defender at Real Madrid has compared to him?

Makelele, Solari, McManaman, and a group of lesser-known but superior players left the team one after another, and superstars came in one after another, but Real Madrid's overall performance got worse.

Does Raul not understand these things?

No, he understands, but he can't do anything about it.

Even though he is the captain of the team.

The light turned green, Raul lightly stepped on the accelerator, and the Audi slowly moved forward.

Not far away, the outline of the Bernabeu Stadium could be vaguely seen.

"All the coaches understand what you said, but no one dares to do it, including Carlo," Raul said helplessly.

Humans are all about seeking advantages and avoiding disadvantages.

Everyone can say the right things, but doing them is different.

"Then let me do it!" Gao Shen said firmly.

"You?"

"Yes, I have nothing to worry about. This head coach position was handed to me for no reason and I could be fired at any time, so there is nothing to lose. I will go back and promote all the young players who have performed well in the youth team. They'll train with the first team, and whoever does well in training will play in the derby this weekend."

Raul's hand gripping the steering wheel visibly trembled, causing him to instinctively slam on the brakes.

Are young people really this reckless?