As the saying goes: When you're famous, you're bound to attract gossip.
The best head coach in the world is about to take over at Real Madrid, naturally drawing intense attention from fans and media worldwide.
After the turmoil of last season and all the infighting in the Real Madrid locker room, the public is both curious and concerned about what lies ahead this season.
What everyone is most focused on is how Gao Shen will handle Casillas—and how he'll manage his relationship with Ronaldo.
Needless to say, the former is Real Madrid's biggest headache right now.
After selling Coentrão and Carvalho.
Everyone is wondering—does Gao Shen intend to start by dealing with Ronaldo?
It's not unusual for a new leader to make bold moves upon taking charge, and Gao Shen seems to be using Ronaldo as an example to establish his authority.
At such a sensitive time, Ronaldo's agent Mendes suddenly spoke out, saying that Ronaldo was reconsidering his future at Real Madrid. This was clearly provocative, but both Ronaldo and the club stayed silent and didn't respond.
To the media and fans, the whole situation is a mess. Nothing makes sense.
Even within Real Madrid, no one is quite sure how to position Ronaldo.
On one side is a world-class coach. On the other, the club's biggest superstar. That alone is the biggest looming crisis Real Madrid faces this season.
But since Cheshire, Gao Shen's attitude toward Ronaldo has always been ambiguous.
Now, even after arriving in Madrid, he still hasn't mentioned Ronaldo.
"I'll handle this matter."
Since Valdano brought it up, Gao Shen had to show a clear stance—he didn't want the club to interfere.
"The timing's not right. I'm not ready to meet him yet. Neither is he. Let's wait."
Valdano and the others fell into deep thought.
Gao Shen's words had deeper meaning.
He wants to be fully prepared before facing Ronaldo.
What does that mean?
If you think about it carefully, it's not hard to see—he's been laying the groundwork.
Courtois, Marcos Alonso, Modrić, Toni Kroos, Verratti, Casemiro… all these new players were handpicked by Gao Shen. Even Isco, who was recommended by Hierro, is someone who will likely side with Gao Shen.
These new arrivals, from any perspective, will be inclined to support Gao Shen.
In the original locker room, Gao Shen already had talks with Ramos. Arbeloa and Granero were his original favorites. Now he's also promoted Carvajal, Nacho, Jesé, Morata, Joselu, and Vázquez.
With this setup, Gao Shen now has the strongest backing in the dressing room.
If things get out of hand and he's forced to take extreme measures, he could even sell players who don't support him—including Ronaldo!
But Gao Shen never handles things in such a reckless way. That kind of scorched-earth approach only hurts both sides.
What he wants is to gradually unite more people.
In the words of our great leader: Make ourselves stronger, and make the enemy weaker.
"So what you mean is..."
"I have an appointment with Xabi Alonso and Benzema this afternoon. We'll talk it out slowly," Gao Shen said with a smile.
Everyone immediately understood—everything was unfolding according to his plan.
"I understand. If you need anything, just give me a call. We'll fully support you," said Valdano.
Zidane and Carlo were already in the loop, but Hierro looked a bit surprised.
Clearly, the former Real Madrid captain also realized that while Gao Shen seemed calm, he was quietly taking control of the locker room.
If he really wanted to bring everyone together, then whether it was Casillas or Ronaldo—if they didn't fall in line, they could leave!
From now on, there can only be one boss in the Real Madrid dressing room!
And that's Gao Shen!
…
Xabi Alonso hadn't expected Gao Shen to call him out so quickly.
He'd just returned from national team duty and hadn't even had time to rest before receiving Gao Shen's call.
On the phone, Gao Shen was polite and simply asked if he had time for dinner.
But who is Xabi Alonso?
A smart man who would rather go read in the stands after a match—he knew perfectly well that during such a sensitive period, you show up whether you have time or not. Anyone who doesn't come would be a fool.
The Spanish midfielder not only rushed back to Madrid immediately, but also thoughtfully brought a gift from his hometown. At noon, he arrived on time at the hotel room, where the meal was already delivered straight to Gao Shen's suite.
Gao Shen had also prepared a gift and the meeting had a great atmosphere from the start.
They began by chatting about the European Championship.
Gao Shen was very impressed with Xabi Alonso's performance in the Euros. In the quarterfinals, it was Alonso's two goals that helped Spain beat France 2-0.
Xabi Alonso was named to the tournament's Best XI and was one of the standout midfielders of the competition.
But Gao Shen didn't invite him to talk about accolades—he wanted to talk tactics.
In the Euros, Spain had used a false nine system and deployed two holding midfielders—Busquets and Xabi Alonso.
"To be honest, I have a good relationship with Del Bosque, and we often discuss tactics, but I don't entirely agree with his approach. I think he's too conservative," Gao Shen said bluntly.
He felt that Del Bosque's methods didn't align with his own tactical philosophy.
He then elaborated.
Using two defensive midfielders meant Iniesta and David Silva were pushed wide and played more between the lines. This created a lack of a consistent support point around Xavi.
As a result, Spain ended up making too many lateral passes.
Gao Shen believed that after pulling and shifting the defense with passes and movement, the team should look to play penetrating balls quickly to create more danger.
Xabi Alonso agreed with Gao Shen. In fact, there's no right or wrong—it's all about trade-offs.
But he brought up something many people had overlooked: the wings.
"If you look at the passing data carefully, you'll see our full-backs were extremely dangerous in attack and pushed very high."
"If I remember correctly, Arbeloa might've been the most-fouled player at the tournament."
"Among the top ten, there were only two full-backs: Arbeloa and Alba. Arbeloa ranked first, Alba tenth. The rest were mostly attacking players or playmakers, like Pirlo." Gao Shen nodded, affirming Alonso's point.
Xabi Alonso was a bit surprised. He'd heard that Gao Shen valued data analysis, but he hadn't expected him to be this detailed and sharp with subtle data.
It left the Spanish midfielder both impressed and respectful.
"But there's another key stat—the passing stats."
"I know what you're getting at," Gao Shen said.
In terms of passing, Xavi, Alonso, Busquets, Alba, and others all had high numbers and excellent success rates. Xavi completed 620 passes with an 86% success rate. Alonso had 584 passes at 84%. Busquets and Alba had similar stats.
Iniesta played further up the pitch and mainly operated in the final third. His passing success rate was just 75%.
Among defenders, Alba stood out, no need to mention that. Ramos completed 441 passes at an 86% rate. It showed how solid Real Madrid's center-back was at distributing the ball.
Barcelona's Piqué made 385 passes with a 79% success rate—clearly below Ramos.
The two had similar defensive stats.
Arbeloa made 427 passes at 79%, comparable to Piqué.
"So, in the final, when Italy pressed us in the first half, we didn't really dominate possession. And internally, we had a few discussions—especially after last season's Champions League final. I think the coaching staff was worried."
"Xavi and Iniesta's mobility has declined. They can't press high like before. If we play a single pivot, the defensive structure might collapse—especially with Piqué and Arbeloa."
Once Xabi Alonso laid it out, Gao Shen immediately understood.
The Spanish national team must've had a lot of internal discussion and even simulations.
Following that logic, there was another glaring problem—the absence of a proper center forward.
It's a fundamental issue that affects everything.
Building off that, Gao Shen began to share his own ideas.
In his system, both full-backs would push high to join the attack, while the No. 4 (defensive midfielder) would drop deep. If necessary, the two center-backs would shift to cover the flanks, and the No. 4 would slot in centrally.
"That's going to ask a lot from the two central midfielders," Xabi Alonso understood immediately.
This setup wasn't exactly new for those familiar with modern football. It was just an evolved version of existing concepts.
Or you could say it was a more aggressive step forward.
The full-backs would become the real width and engine of the attack.
And this would happen on both flanks at the same time.
Looking back at the Euros, Spain had experimented with a similar approach—using Busquets to drop and Alonso to move up to support Xavi.
A team like Spain, which lacked elite wingers and center forwards, still managed to attack effectively. If Real Madrid had top-class wingers and a true No. 9, wouldn't that system thrive?
But as Alonso pointed out, the system places heavy demands on the two central midfielders.
"Boss, do you think Toni Kroos, Modrić, and Verratti can pull it off?" Xabi Alonso asked carefully.
"I believe they can," Gao Shen replied with a smile.
And at the same time, he was subtly asking—can you handle it?
"I have no problem!" Xabi Alonso thought it over and answered without hesitation.
Gao Shen smiled and clapped his hands.
It really was a pleasure dealing with smart people—no need to over-explain.
And Xabi Alonso was clearly someone with a sharp tactical mind.
"Believe me, Xabi, you'll be an excellent head coach in the future," Gao Shen said.
Xabi Alonso was delighted to hear that—it aligned with his own long-term goals.
"I hope to learn more from you."
"Then I wish us a great partnership."
With that, Gao Shen extended his hand.
Xabi Alonso quickly shook it.
The two men exchanged a look and smiled.
There was no need to say more—everything was already understood.
(To be continued.)
***
For every 200 PS = 1 extra chapter. Support me on P/treon to read 30+ advanced chapters: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves
(Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)