Ramos' internal suspension could not be hidden at all.
No matter how hard they tried to cover it up, once Gao Shen announced the 18-man squad for the Nou Camp and everyone noticed that vice-captain Ramos was not included, the truth was obvious.
Yellow card suspensions in the Copa del Rey and La Liga are counted together, but red card suspensions are served separately.
In other words, the red card Ramos received in the league meant he would be suspended for the next round of La Liga, but it would not affect the Copa del Rey semi-final.
Yet, when Gao Shen needed players, he still excluded Ramos from the squad. The meaning was clear.
Although Ramos was only vice-captain of Real Madrid, everyone knew he was the future captain of both Real Madrid and the Spanish national team. Gao Shen's decision to ban him still caused quite a stir.
Many tabloids even claimed this incident could rival Mourinho's infamous benching of Casillas last season.
But in reality, it did not create too much turmoil.
Even Casillas himself told the media this was nothing serious. "We had rules in the dressing room. He made a mistake, so he accepts the punishment. That's all."
Ramos also refused to make a fuss about it publicly. He admitted his mistake and stressed that he hoped it would not affect the team's performance, especially in the Copa del Rey and the Champions League.
"I hope that even without me, the team can still defeat strong opponents in the next matches."
He repeated several times that he was ready to answer the call at any time and stand with the team.
Ramos even said he would travel with the squad for the away game.
From his words, it was clear he still believed in his own importance and hoped the coach might reconsider.
But Ramos' name was not on the list of players travelling to the Nou Camp.
Gao Shen's stance was firm.
…
In the first leg at the Bernabéu, Barcelona had suffered a humiliating 0-4 defeat. Back at the Nou Camp, they still did not give up hope.
As soon as the whistle blew, Barcelona, who kicked off, launched a fierce attack on Real Madrid.
Within 33 seconds, Sánchez cut in from the left half-space and unleashed the first shot of the game.
Real Madrid stuck to the same tactics as the first leg, keeping their lines compact.
Gao Shen deployed Varane and Pepe at centre-back, with Carvajal and Arbeloa as full-backs.
The midfield iron triangle consisted of Xabi Alonso sitting deep, with Kroos and Modric ahead of him.
Up front were Ronaldo, Higuaín and Di María.
Real Madrid's defensive approach was once again to narrow the space, compress the lines, and focus on the key points.
They tightened the three lines, set their defensive line near the halfway line, gave up pressing Barcelona's centre-backs, concentrated on blocking Busquets, and squeezed Barcelona's midfield.
It was essentially the same setup as the first leg.
Barcelona clearly recognised this too.
Acting head coach Jordi Roura adjusted by pushing his centre-backs higher to join in the build-up and attack, with Busquets dropping deeper into the back line when needed.
Barcelona's first shot came from exactly this change, when Puyol carried the ball forward and launched a long pass.
It was a relatively fresh variation.
But after several attempts, Barcelona gradually reverted to their old habits.
In the opening ten minutes, Barcelona had already taken four shots, showing an aggressive intent. Real Madrid?
Not a single attempt.
The whole team had been pinned deep in their own half.
But gradually, an interesting pattern emerged.
Barcelona's attack looked lively, their ball movement sharp, and the tempo high. Yet, their chances carried little genuine threat.
At the Bernabéu, their problem was that the ball rarely reached the forwards. Tonight, that problem was solved.
The forwards — Sánchez, Messi and Pedro — were all getting touches.
But the end product?
Still toothless.
Or rather, it looked dangerous, but wasn't truly threatening.
…
"Do you know why I dared to suspend Ramos?"
Gao Shen asked Zidane and Hierro on the bench.
Both assistants shook their heads.
"Because against Barcelona, what matters is collective defence, not the individual ability of one player. Ramos is important, but not indispensable."
His words sounded strange, but Zidane and Hierro understood.
To beat Barcelona, you relied on organisation and discipline, not one man's talent.
Ramos had great qualities, but Varane wasn't lacking either.
In fact, the young Frenchman had been improving with every game, looking more and more like a true leader.
"Barcelona's success came from their possession system. Now, their downfall is because of that same system." Gao Shen analysed calmly.
"Look at our setup. Four defenders, three midfielders. Compact lines, covering the centre and flanks well. Normally, in this situation, teams would go wide, open up the wings, and then cut back inside."
"But Barcelona? Every time they reach the final third, they still insist on going through the half-spaces and the middle."
"This team has lost its wing play. Even full-backs like Alves and Alba just charge into the box."
It was a crucial point.
Not using wingers had been Guardiola's deliberate choice when tailoring Barcelona's system.
In Rijkaard's era, they had traditional wide players, like Giuly.
Back then, Ronaldinho would cut in from the left, link with Eto'o and Giuly, and create combinations that were difficult to stop.
But now?
Cutting inside from the left, cutting inside from the right, always cutting inside.
Long balls? Forget it. Too risky, too inefficient.
Barcelona had become addicted to intricate short combinations to break through compact defences. It was their strength.
But this also made defending them easier.
At the Bernabéu, they had been destroyed by Madrid.
In the Champions League, at the San Siro, they were held to a 0-0 draw by AC Milan.
Now, with Madrid under pressure from a brutal schedule, Barcelona were also suffering.
"In football, there has never been an invincible tactic or system. The only constant is change. If you don't change, you will be eliminated."
Zidane and Hierro both nodded.
This applied not just to Barcelona, but to every team.
After reaching the peak, you had to dare to evolve. Staying still meant decline.
It sounded simple, but in practice it was brutally hard.
If you didn't change yourself, sooner or later someone would force you to.
Maybe in a year, maybe in two. But it would come.
And the process would be painful, just like Barcelona now.
Suddenly, it seemed as if every team in Europe could take on Barcelona without fear.
Because everyone now knew how to deal with them.
And Gao Shen had been the key catalyst.
He was the gravedigger of Barcelona's tactical system.
…
Real Madrid had survived the opening storm, holding Barcelona at bay.
Gao Shen waited patiently for his moment.
On the surface, Barcelona were in control.
But in the 31st minute, it changed.
Sánchez's ball was blocked by Carvajal and rolled out for a throw-in.
Alba rushed to take it quickly, but his pass was intercepted right on the edge of the Madrid penalty area.
Barcelona tried to counterpress immediately, but Real Madrid's midfield strung together quick passes.
Modric recycled it, slipped it right to Carvajal, and the right-back instantly launched a ball down the touchline.
Ronaldo burst in behind at full speed, latching onto Carvajal's pass.
Madrid's front three had switched positions again.
Ronaldo drove forward into space toward the Barcelona box.
Puyol chased hard, trying to close him down.
But the benefit of the switch showed.
Di María usually played on the right, where Puyol was accustomed to defending him. But now, Ronaldo — right-footed — was running into that channel, and Puyol's positioning worked against him.
As Ronaldo reached the edge of the box on the right, he slowed, waiting for teammates. Puyol recovered his position inside.
Then, in an instant, Ronaldo exploded again, feinting inside, showing his left. Puyol bit, but the Portuguese shifted right, pushing the ball to the byline with his stronger foot and bursting past him.
Even the experienced Puyol couldn't adjust, Ronaldo was through.
He stormed into the right corner of the six-yard box and whipped a low ball across goal.
It was perfectly placed, too far from Valdés to claim, but driven hard across the face of goal.
Higuaín darted in front of Piqué and poked it home.
At the back post, Di María threw his arms up in frustration, pointing at himself as if to say, "I was in a better spot, mate!"
But Higuaín didn't care. He wheeled away, sprinting to the corner flag to celebrate wildly.
Only then did the Camp Nou gasp in shock.
Madrid's counterattack had been too fast.
So fast that even the fans in the stands hadn't processed it before the ball was already in the net.
(To be continued.)
***
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