Starting With Real Madrid

This is a lackluster game!

Real Madrid finally beat Valencia 1-0 with Raul's goal at the Mestalla.

But the whole game was very ugly and nothing exciting.

Aside from Valencia's attack after conceding the ball, both teams played very conservatively for most of the game.

No one made mistakes, and the final result seemed destined to be zero to zero.

Even Real Madrid's mouthpieces, Aspen and Marca, could only highlight the names of Guti and Callejon for their contributions in the game. Guti had a moment of brilliance with a superb long ball, while Callejon's quick sprint and low cross set up the goal.

The media also briefly mentioned that Callejon is a rare player deployed by Gao Shen, adding speed that is rarely seen on Real Madrid's wings.

Despite the win, Gao Shen's overall evaluation was still low.

A significant reason for this was Gao Shen's conservative substitutions after taking the lead.

Valencia coach Flores accused Gao Shen of being overly conservative at the post-match press conference, saying this went against the traditional spirit of Real Madrid. "It feels like he's turning Real Madrid into an Italian team, which is bad," Flores remarked.

Gao Shen did not attend the pre-match and post-match press conferences, but Maqueda, his representative, defended the team's performance, citing the necessity of rotation due to the two-line battle.

"Look at our rotation strength. We played the Atletico Madrid derby last week, reversed Arsenal in London's Highbury Stadium, and now we've played Valencia. Our players are very tired."

"Valencia, on the other hand, played once a week and had time to recharge, but in the game, they did not show any significant advantage, which proves that our tactics and overall performance were successful."

Maqueda also pointed out the tough decisions coaches must make.

"All coaches who lead Real Madrid want to play attractive football and field all the stars to perform their best, but everyone knows this isn't always possible."

"The reality of professional leagues is that many times we have to choose between playing beautifully and winning. So for this game, we're very happy to have secured three points."

"More importantly, we haven't conceded a goal in two consecutive league matches."

Despite Maqueda's explanation, a large part of the media and fans were not convinced.

Purely in terms of excitement, this extremely dull game lacked appeal.

But one has to admire the media's ability to create stories.

The next morning, many Spanish media pointed their criticism at Gao Shen.

From the match against Atletico Madrid to the comeback against Arsenal, and now the 1-0 win over Valencia, despite scoring in all three games, Real Madrid's performance was unsatisfactory, especially in terms of the attacking football expected from the Real Madrid superstars.

Even though they beat Atletico 3-0, it was evident that Real Madrid still relied heavily on defense.

Since Barcelona's away game against Osasuna was scheduled to be played a day later than Real Madrid's, some media continued the debate from the past few days, mocking Gao Shen's challenge to Barcelona as a joke.

Some media even stubbornly stated, "This is Spain, not Italy!"

Implying that Real Madrid's reliance on defense would gain them nothing.

However, a day later, in Osasuna, Barcelona conceded a goal in the first 19 minutes.

This happened due to left-back Sylvinho's foul, which resulted in a free kick for Osasuna. They sent the ball into the penalty area, where Barcelona goalkeeper Valdes fumbled his catch, allowing Osasuna's midfielder Bardo to score.

This mistake was a significant blow to Barcelona.

Osasuna is tough to play against at home, as Real Madrid's midfielder Pablo Garcia, who came from this team, exemplifies with their tenacious style. This style has a significant effect on curbing Barcelona's passing and possession.

Additionally, Barcelona was also impacted by their own two-line battle.

Although Barcelona controlled possession and took the initiative, they couldn't create a threat offensively. Instead, in the 59th minute of the second half, central defender Edmilson committed a foul and was shown a second yellow card, resulting in a red card.

This was a controversial decision, as both Edmilson and the Barcelona players believed Osasuna striker Milosevic had flopped, but regardless, the referee awarded the red card, and Osasuna capitalized with a penalty.

Two to zero.

Although Ronaldinho assisted Larsson for a goal, Barcelona ultimately lost 1-2 to Osasuna, ending their winning streak.

After this match, Barcelona's lead in the La Liga standings shortened from ten points to seven points.

After the game, many media, including Barcelona's mouthpieces, blamed the loss on the referee's poor decisions, particularly Edmilson's red card, which was seen as a critical factor in Barcelona's away defeat.

Additionally, Valdes's poor performance also stood out. This wasn't the first time the Barcelona goalkeeper made such a low-level mistake, and it likely won't be the last.

…

Upon learning that Barcelona lost 1-2 to Osasuna, Gao Shen's first reaction was regret.

"Why is there no Twitter, no Weibo, and no smartphones yet?" Gao Shen lamented.

If it were 2021, he would have immediately taken to social media to mock the reporters who ridiculed him and Real Madrid the previous day.

"Damn, you're too double-standard, aren't you?"

Real Madrid's game against Valencia was indeed ugly, but at least they won and got three points.

What about Barca?

Not only did they lose, but they also lost the game and had two players sent off, yet everyone is making excuses for them.

Is there anyone who bullies people like this?

After reading many newspapers, Gao Shen saw a few fair comments in Aspen and Marca. Alfredo, in his column, said many good things about Gao Shen. Nonetheless, the media's overall tone was infuriating.

It's hard to argue with the uncrowned kings!

Having experienced the convenience of the mobile internet era, Gao Shen missed his Huawei Mate 40 Pro.

He had hoped to use it for a few more years, awaiting the return of the Kirin King, but now, he found himself in the past.

However, he decided that when social platforms like Twitter and Weibo emerge, he would register immediately.

Being famous online isn't bad. If he couldn't become a professional head coach, he could still make a living as an internet celebrity, enjoying a comfortable life.

Thinking about smartphones also reminded Gao Shen of Apple.

He recalled an interesting post on a forum, mentioning that Apple's market value in 2008 was at a low point, but had increased sixty-three times in ten years, a better investment than buying a house.

But this wasn't the most outrageous example.

In Hong Kong, China, Penguin's share price had risen the most, reportedly nearly 200 times by 2014.

After signing a contract with Real Madrid, Gao Shen quickly received his signing bonus of 100,000 euros.

After Real Madrid's tax department helped him avoid taxes reasonably, Gao Shen actually got nearly 90,000 euros.

He immediately registered a stock account, transferred all the money to Hong Kong, China, bought Penguin shares, and waited for them to appreciate.

Reasonable tax avoidance is very common in European football. Even in the coming years, European football will start chasing taxes, mostly targeting famous stars with huge portrait rights income.

People like Gao Shen, who use club finances to avoid taxes reasonably, wouldn't attract much attention.

Besides, with his money, no one would care about him.

…

After the 27th round of the league away to Valencia, Real Madrid had a week before the 28th round against Real Betis at home, giving them precious time to rest.

The morning after playing Valencia, the team organized a recovery training session, and the players' spirit and morale were generally good.

Starting in the afternoon, Gao Shen gave everyone a day off.

Combining work and rest, proper relaxation was necessary.

Zidane reported to the team and went to France for national team training, with a warm-up match scheduled midweek.

Gao Shen could only let him go, as promised to Zidane before.

From the 28th round, it would be another week of double matches, including La Liga and the Champions League quarter-finals, increasing the pressure.

That afternoon, Gao Shen received a call from Carlo.

Buenaventura, whom he had asked Carlo to contact before, finally responded.

The future master of physical training, who had been working in Cadiz for several years without advancing his career, saw Cadiz losing 0-1 to Athletic Bilbao, further increasing the likelihood of relegation.

Buenaventura must have been considering his options.

When Gao Shen and Real Madrid contacted him through Carlo, he was very excited.

But being asked to change jobs mid-season with such urgency naturally raised some doubts.

After learning about the situation from Carlo, Gao Shen didn't hesitate. He booked an early morning flight for the next day. Accompanied by Carlo, he flew directly to Jerez, a city in southern Spain, and then drove to Cadiz.

They arrived in Cadiz around lunchtime.

They had prearranged a meeting and met at a seaside restaurant in downtown Cadiz.

After several twists and turns, Gao Shen finally met the man who was supposed to help Guardiola build the Barcelona dream team in 2008 and follow him throughout.