"Mourinho is being too aggressive tonight."
At the Etihad Stadium, Zidane and Valdano were seated in the stands as Real Madrid's representatives, hosted by Manchester City.
Everyone knew the two were close friends and served as the club president's advisors and Real Madrid's technical directors.
Valdano frowned slightly upon seeing Real Madrid's tactics at the start of the match.
Truthfully, he had never liked Mourinho—neither his personality nor his football philosophy.
But there had been no other choice. After Gao Shen rejected Real Madrid and Ancelotti continued at Chelsea, Mourinho had been the only candidate who met the club's expectations. He was Florentino's pick. Who could say no?
"I imagine he's feeling the pressure," Zidane said with a bitter smile.
Gao Shen was the white moonlight in the hearts of Real Madrid fans. Every coach who came after would inevitably be compared to him.
And that was a nightmare for any manager.
In just four years, from 2006 until now, Gao Shen had won league titles in three of the top European leagues, plus two Champions League titles.
Forget everything else. Just looking at that record, who else in the football world could match it?
"Of course he's under pressure. Florentino called him personally. But more than that, he desperately wants to beat Gao Shen, and it's made him anxious." Valdano shook his head with a deep sigh. "Gao Shen is absolutely right. Just look at what's happening on the pitch…"
Real Madrid's players were working hard, running constantly. Adebayor, Ronaldo, Di María, even Özil—they were all active. Yet Manchester City's passing still looked smooth and controlled.
City's possession and ball movement were clearly different from Barcelona's. For example, they played far more vertical passes.
Early in the match, Kompany had sent a long ball that almost led to an offside break.
You would rarely see that kind of ball from Barcelona.
"Our players are trying hard, but the opponent's football is clearly superior. Look at how City move. Their players are constantly in motion, while ours are largely fixed in place…"
The difference was especially evident in midfield.
Javi Martinez, David Silva, and Rakitic kept rotating, sometimes pressing high, sometimes dropping deep. They were fluid, unpredictable.
Even David Luiz and Kompany would carry the ball out from defense.
Whenever one of the center backs pushed forward, Javi Martinez would drop in to maintain the structure.
Sometimes, when both full-backs advanced, the Spanish midfielder would fall into the back line to form a temporary back three.
Gao Shen had done the same thing back at Napoli. Thiago Motta had risen to fame in this role and had eventually been brought back to Barcelona because of it.
"You know what? It feels like the football we're playing isn't even from the same era," Valdano muttered, visibly worried.
No one understood the true stakes of this match better than he did.
Was this a Champions League group-stage match?
Yes. But also, no.
This was more than a duel between Mourinho and Gao Shen. It was a battle between Gao Shen and Florentino.
Gao Shen had long stated that bringing in traditional playmakers like Kaka and Özil didn't align with modern European football trends.
But Florentino ignored that advice and signed Kaka anyway.
What happened?
Real Madrid failed to progress past the Champions League round of 16 last season. Kaka returned injured from the World Cup in South Africa, which shocked both Valdano and Zidane.
Gao Shen had been right.
Florentino—and Real Madrid—had been wrong.
But would the president admit that?
If Gao Shen had joined this summer, maybe Florentino would have listened to him. But since he didn't, the club brought in Özil and Khedira and seemed to double down on proving their path was also viable.
Then fate put Real Madrid and Manchester City in the same group.
Professional football was brutally realistic. The outcome would be settled on the pitch.
Everyone knew the best way to handle teams like Manchester City or Barcelona was to stay compact and sit deep, then hit on the counter.
But Mourinho chose to press high.
Whether that was due to Florentino's phone call or Mourinho's own ambition was hard to say.
But it was clearly a risky decision.
Just then, Real Madrid created a chance.
After intercepting the ball in midfield, they launched a quick counter. Özil pushed the ball to the right. Ronaldo received it, faced Felipe, executed a few feints, then accelerated to the byline and whipped in a low cross.
Neuer rushed out, made a full stretch, and caught the ball before Adebayor could get there.
But the Togolese striker collided into Neuer, who fell hard in the box and stayed down.
The entire Etihad booed loudly, but the referee didn't produce a card.
"We can still score. If we do and take the lead, the match will be much easier," Zidane said with a hint of regret. If that chance had gone in, it would've changed everything.
Valdano nodded. "Let's hope so."
But he remained uneasy.
No one knew Gao Shen's coaching prowess better than him.
…
As the match progressed, the clock ticked past the ten-minute mark.
Neither side had created any real scoring chances.
At this level, a single mistake could be fatal.
Gao Shen noticed Real Madrid's key weakness: Özil was running a lot, but not actually defending.
What did that mean?
Take the ninth minute, for example.
Javi Martinez dropped deep to receive the ball. Ronaldo, Adebayor, and Özil all surrounded him.
But when Javi turned to his right, Özil just stood still. He didn't close down or block the angle.
So Javi Martinez calmly passed to Kompany in space.
This was exactly why Gao Shen didn't trust Özil.
He might position himself well, but his defensive effort was always half-hearted.
"Ivan, tell David to drift wider when he receives the ball. Let's stretch their defense. We'll attack from the flanks. Got it?"
During a throw-in break, Gao Shen called Rakitic over and gave him the instructions.
Rakitic nodded and ran back to relay the message.
Play resumed.
Gao Shen had made this adjustment after analyzing Real Madrid's shape.
Ronaldo often drifted central.
That wasn't his fault. Early in the match, seeing both Ronaldo and Di María in good form, Gao Shen had told his full-backs to tuck inside. Felipe in particular was instructed to hold the inside lane, giving Ronaldo space on the outside.
Why?
Because Gao Shen knew Ronaldo didn't want to be a mere provider.
Sure enough, after several runs down the wing, Ronaldo began drifting inside.
In the 16th minute, Javi Martinez played a long pass forward. Ramos won the aerial duel and headed it away.
Xabi Alonso met the clearance and nodded it forward to Ronaldo, who was in space.
The Portuguese star brought it down, accelerated with the ball, and Adebayor peeled wide to his right, waving for it.
Ronaldo spotted him and tried a through ball, but Felipe read it and intercepted.
Real Madrid lost possession, and everyone quickly switched back to defense.
David Silva picked up the ball and pushed forward, looking to spark an attack down the left.
Robinho received the pass on the flank and tried to take on Arbeloa, but the right-back stayed with him and forced him to stop, turn, and pass backward to Felipe.
From there, it went to Silva, then back to Javi Martinez to reset.
Rakitic dropped deep to collect, turned, and found Zabaleta on the right, then sprinted into open space to get the return pass and immediately sent it to Robben.
Robben took the ball with his back to goal, Marcelo behind him. He couldn't turn and instead rolled it back to Rakitic.
Di María closed him down quickly, but Rakitic passed before he could get there, playing it to Zabaleta again and calling out, "Twelve o'clock!"
Zabaleta had advanced close to Real Madrid's back line. Marcelo stood in front of him, wary of a direct run to the byline, but this left a gap behind.
Hearing Rakitic's cue, Zabaleta glanced up and spotted Robben already making a run. Without hesitation, he chipped the ball forward.
The ball floated just over Marcelo's head and landed behind him in the corner of the penalty area.
As the ball was played, Robben hit top speed, blew past Xabi Alonso, and got behind Marcelo. He controlled the ball and burst into the right side of the box.
No offside.
Robben immediately saw Casillas rushing out.
But instead of blasting it, Robben feinted, planted his foot, and chipped a looping shot with his left.
The ball sailed just over Casillas, dropping softly toward the open net.
Robben didn't even wait to see it cross the line. He had already wheeled away, sprinting to the corner flag with arms wide, face ecstatic.
Real Madrid's defenders were all out of position. No one could stop it.
The ball dropped just inside the goal line.
Robben reached the sideline, arms spread, screaming toward the fans.
He had finally scored against Real Madrid!
(To be continued.)