"That speech just now was fantastic!"
After the meeting, the players returned to the locker room to prepare for the next day's training, while Gao Shen went back to the coaching office with the staff. Zidane praised Gao Shen's speech enthusiastically.
It wasn't just because it was off-script, but more importantly, the players' reactions had been outstanding.
You could feel it from the look in their eyes.
It was like they had just received a shot of adrenaline.
"It gave me goosebumps."
"To be honest, I've always felt you'd be perfect for multi-level marketing."
"If you switched to motivational speaking or success coaching, I think you'd be huge."
"But honestly, the players' response was really good. Especially with the way things are right now, the team really needed something to lift them."
Everyone chimed in, but overall, they unanimously agreed with Gao Shen's approach.
Real Madrid's morale hadn't just been low in recent years.
It had been completely out of control.
Sometimes the team would be full of confidence, even overconfident, but once faced with a setback, confidence would collapse.
Real Madrid had always oscillated between extremes—overconfidence and a total lack of confidence—without ever achieving balance.
And everyone knew that stability was the hallmark of a great team.
What does stability mean?
It was just like in Gao Shen's previous life. Zidane's Real Madrid could repeatedly come from behind to win under pressure. Why?
Or the second stint of Ancelotti's Real Madrid before Gao Shen transmigrated. They repeatedly won at critical moments. Why?
There's no magic involved.
To put it plainly, when you no longer hold the advantage in physical strength, mental strength becomes your final weapon to defeat the opponent.
If you lack strong self-confidence, if you lose your composure in the face of adversity or critical moments, how can you turn the match around? How can you beat your opponent?
But building confidence takes time.
It's easy to destroy a team's belief. Rebuilding it is extremely difficult.
…
The first coaching staff meeting of the new season was led by assistant coach Carlo.
He began by briefing everyone on the current situation in La Liga and the competition landscape over the past few seasons, coming to a sobering conclusion: to win La Liga, a team basically needs to reach 95 or even 100 points.
What does that mean?
La Liga has 38 rounds. Even if you win every match, that's only 114 points.
To hit 100 points, factoring in a few draws, you can't lose more than two games.
Looking at recent seasons, the league champions usually lose no more than one or two games all year.
Draws must be kept to around five or fewer.
In other words, you need to win over 30 matches.
Winning at least 30 of 38 matches in a season is incredibly difficult.
But that's the reality of La Liga.
Many say La Liga is just a two-horse race between the giants. That's true, but the competition between those two is extremely fierce.
In recent seasons, Real Madrid had a very embarrassing record against Barcelona—zero wins.
At best, a draw.
If this record can't be broken, then winning the title is impossible.
You can't expect to lose only to Barcelona and remain undefeated against every other team, can you?
That's just not realistic. Especially now that Real Madrid is ranked third in their Champions League group, they're certain to be placed in a group of death, which will increase the pressure dramatically.
Still, it's necessary to regroup, build confidence, and get results early in the Champions League.
Gao Shen and his coaching staff were already working on it.
His experience at Manchester City had been an excellent training ground for both him and his staff.
Realistically, if you can handle the Premier League fixture list, then La Liga's is not that difficult.
Especially with a two-week winter break around Christmas, giving the players at least a week to recover.
But not everything was an advantage.
At a club like Real Madrid, almost every player is a core player for their national team. That means the international calendar will exert serious pressure, and the national team games will affect Real Madrid significantly.
The coaching staff had to plan for this, especially for potential injuries and player form fluctuations.
In the new season, Real Madrid would host Valencia at home in the first round of La Liga. That would be their first official match, on August 19.
That meant the entire summer training window was only about one month.
Buenaventura and Pintus had already formulated the team's pre-season plan and season preparation according to the schedule. They had even simulated the players' physical energy consumption based on the calendar and tailored a comprehensive training program.
These were standard procedures.
This season, there would be two El Clásicos. The first would be held at Camp Nou in the seventh round.
That was another disadvantage for Real Madrid.
Because their opponent in round six would be newly promoted Deportivo La Coruña—a team that had always been something of a bogeyman for Real Madrid. Long-time fans would remember that the reason Del Bosque was dismissed was because of the disastrous loss during Real Madrid's centenary celebration—against Deportivo.
Between rounds six and seven was also the second round of the Champions League group stage, adding even more difficulty.
Based on the current outlook, Real Madrid would most likely be drawn into a group of death, meaning every Champions League match would be a battle, putting immense pressure on the squad.
The opening match against Valencia would be a turning point. After the international break in September, the first major test of the season would arrive.
An away match against Sevilla, the Champions League group stage opener, away to Rayo Vallecano, home against Deportivo, the second Champions League match, and then an away trip to Barcelona.
"This stretch of fixtures is critical. Every game will be tough, and we have to play our best, no matter what," Gao Shen said, frowning.
Many assume that outside of the two Spanish giants, all other La Liga teams are weak.
But that's far from true.
If either of the two giants doesn't perform at a high level, they can be upset at any time.
Especially in such a demanding sequence of games, it's very possible to suffer repeated losses.
If they drop points early in the season, it will be a huge blow to morale.
Sometimes, you have to consider both short-term and long-term planning.
Wenger's Arsenal always performed well in the first half of the season, but dropped off in the second.
If Arsenal could have sustained their first-half form in the second half, they wouldn't have gone so many years without a title.
On the flip side, maintaining that level across an entire season requires a high player standard and strong bench depth.
…
The team was being rebuilt, and Gao Shen was new to the role. So it required serious thought on how to break down his tactical philosophy and instill it in the players.
Although Real Madrid's players had great individual ability and high tactical adaptability, that also meant their playing habits were deeply ingrained. Changing them wouldn't be easy.
This time, Gao Shen still intended to use the 4-3-3 formation he had consistently favored in the past.
There was no need to discuss the front three. Based on the current squad, Ronaldo, Benzema, and Di María were undoubtedly the first choices. As long as they were fit, those three would be the regular starters.
But Benzema's heading ability needed serious improvement.
Improving headers wasn't just about practicing heading. It was about strengthening the core muscles in the waist and abdomen.
Enhancing this area would improve jumping ability and aerial strength.
"I've already told Benzema to follow your plan. Drop three kilos and focus on training his core. Don't go easy on him. I want to see him sharp and in form for the new season," Gao Shen instructed.
Buenaventura and Pintus both nodded.
They had worked together for years and understood each other well.
"Morata, Jesé, Vázquez, Isco, Casemiro, Verratti, Carvajal, Varane, and Marcos Alonso—these are the young players we'll focus on this season. I'm very optimistic about their development." Gao Shen named each of them.
Everyone knew this list included players personally selected by Gao Shen, players promoted from the B team, and some already in the first team. All would be important rotation pieces this season.
"Zinedine," Gao Shen called out to Zidane. "After the training camp, you can't just sit around. Spend more time on these guys. Give them some special training."
It was kind of funny, actually.
In Real Madrid's youth academy, Jesé had been the undisputed number one. Morata had always been in his shadow.
But after moving up to the first team, Jesé's smaller build clearly made him unsuitable as a center forward. Gao Shen now saw him as Ronaldo's backup, hoping he could improve and develop into a solid option.
Morata, with his better physicality, was viewed as an all-around center forward.
In fact, in Gao Shen's previous life, Morata became something of a meme for being two-footed.
But truthfully, he was a very capable all-around striker. Otherwise, he wouldn't have played for so many top clubs.
By comparison, Higuaín was more of a pure finisher.
So now, Gao Shen was paying close attention to Morata's development.
One point many overlooked was that Zidane had been excellent at playing with his back to goal.
During Gao Shen's previous tenure at Real Madrid, he had made full use of Zidane's strengths. Now, he hoped Zidane could help develop young attackers like Morata and Jesé.
Hierro wouldn't be idle either. Defensive development for players like Varane, Marcos Alonso, Carvajal, Casemiro, and others would depend on him. Even veterans like Ramos and Pepe needed to learn from the experienced defender to reduce errors.
This was called putting talent to its best use.
Did people really think assistant coaches at Real Madrid were there just to coast?
"I knew you were up to something," Zidane laughed.
Hierro chuckled as well.
Training young talents was no easy job.
For Gao Shen, the immediate priority was to quickly establish a mature and stable tactical system and starting XI. That was the greatest challenge for any rebuilt team.
Especially with the season opener against Valencia being such a tough test—there was no room for mistakes.
Gao Shen and his staff were under enormous pressure.
Thankfully, he and his coaching team were already experienced in this area.
(To be continued.)