"Boss."
When Gao Shen walked out of the coaches' office and headed toward his own, Ramos, who had been waiting at the door for a long time, lowered his head and called out softly, looking almost afraid to be seen.
Gao Shen glanced at him, then walked straight into his office.
"Come in."
The moment Ramos heard this, he secretly grinned, quickly followed inside, and even closed the door behind him with a playful smile.
"Boss, why don't you just scold me or beat me up?"
Gao Shen, sitting behind his desk, almost laughed out loud when he heard that.
Sometimes, you had to admit, Ramos was a shameless rascal.
His personality was popular, though.
Inside the Real Madrid dressing room, his reputation was excellent.
Not only did the local Spanish players follow his lead, even Cristiano Ronaldo and others held a good impression of him.
But he was also far too restless, too impulsive.
"Tell me, what do you want?" Gao Shen asked with a stern face.
In truth, he already knew what Ramos was up to.
"What else could it be?" Ramos replied without shame, pulling out a chair and sitting directly opposite Gao Shen. The look on his face said it all.
Taking advantage of the situation, as always.
"Boss, look, our team is in a critical moment now. The schedule is tight. I heard you'll need heavy rotation against Barcelona this weekend. We're short on manpower. As a teammate, I feel responsible at a time like this."
After saying that, Ramos put on an innocent smile and looked at Gao Shen.
"Aren't you suspended?"
"Yes, I'm suspended for the league match against Barcelona this weekend. But in the Champions League… hey, boss, that's an internal suspension," Ramos reminded him.
Internal bans, after all, were just a matter of the coach's word.
If Gao Shen wanted, who would dare to object?
"So what you mean is, you want me to go back on my word and change the punishment?" Gao Shen shot back.
Ramos quickly waved his hands. "No, no, not that. I've thought about it. I'll write a self-criticism, really sincere, full of emotion, and apologize to the whole team. Since the squad is short right now, boss, maybe you could just…"
His meaning was clear. He wanted Gao Shen to use the situation as an excuse to lift his ban.
Gao Shen chuckled inwardly.
This kid was cunning and sharp.
But the problem with people like him was obvious: impatient, careless, lacking calm.
"It seems you still don't understand your problem," Gao Shen sighed.
Ramos froze. Something wasn't right. The conversation was going off track.
"Boss, I do understand. Really. I swear I won't make the same mistake again."
He sounded almost desperate.
Gao Shen shook his head. "A promise? Your promises mean nothing. Haven't you promised me enough already? Do you want me to list them out one by one?"
Ramos fell silent. He knew his track record was bad.
"Sergio, let me ask you. How do you think we beat Barcelona?" Gao Shen suddenly changed the subject.
Sitting across from him, Ramos felt Gao Shen's eyes. He knew the boss wasn't angry now, just serious. He stopped smiling and thought carefully.
"Teamwork, solid defense, quicker transitions… and sharp counterattacks."
Gao Shen nodded. "Good. But you've missed the most important point."
Ramos frowned, convinced he hadn't missed anything.
"Precision and efficiency," Gao Shen revealed.
Ramos began to understand.
In three matches against Barcelona this season, they had nearly 70% possession, while Madrid had only about 30%. Yet in that 30%, Madrid created more dangerous chances. That wasn't luck.
Precision and efficiency.
Those were the keys. They made Madrid's defense stronger, their transitions faster, and their counterattacks deadlier. Barcelona could hardly cope.
Without those two elements, Madrid would have posed no real threat.
But Gao Shen wasn't just talking about El Clásico. He was talking about the wider trend in European football.
Nowadays, every team emphasized possession. Defenders who could pass were increasingly valuable.
Just like Koulibaly at Leeds United in the Premier League, already catching the eye of top clubs.
Why the emphasis on ball-playing defenders?
Simple. Because pressing had improved.
The difference between having a center-back who could pass and one who couldn't was massive.
Under pressure, a defender who could stay calm and pick the right pass gave the team control and tactical freedom.
But if a defender lacked composure or passing quality, mistakes under pressure were inevitable, and the whole defensive system collapsed.
That was Koulibaly's current weakness at Leeds: easily distracted, unfocused, impatient.
But at 22, he had room to improve. His flaws didn't outweigh his strengths. He was still one of the best young defenders in Europe.
And Ramos?
He was nearly 27.
At 22, impatience could be forgiven. At 27, it was different.
In football, strength is limited by the weakest link.
One reckless, unreliable center-back could ruin everything.
…
Ramos knew this conversation was coming when he asked to meet Gao Shen. He had braced himself.
But the result was better than expected.
Gao Shen told him clearly he wasn't giving up on him. He just wanted him to calm down, reflect, and adapt.
For example, Gao Shen had asked his technical staff to prepare a detailed report on Ramos' defending.
Many people wouldn't believe it, but whether it was Ramos or Pepe, their fouls and cards came largely from Madrid's poor defensive system.
For teams like Madrid and Barcelona, with strong attacks but weaker defenses, the defenders were always under immense pressure.
Why didn't Puyol and Piqué have the same problems?
Think carefully. In Puyol's early years, when Barcelona was struggling, wasn't he similar to Ramos?
What changed was not the player, but Barcelona's system.
Their pressing, possession, and midfield protection relieved the defense. From Rijkaard to Guardiola, Barcelona always had outstanding holding midfielders.
Real Madrid did not.
Since Makelele left, Madrid never had a true world-class defensive midfielder. Lass Diarra and Mahamadou Diarra had spells of form, but never lasted.
Without midfield protection, defenders were constantly exposed one-on-one.
So from Woodgate, Samuel, Cannavaro, to Pepe and Ramos, it wasn't that Madrid's defenders were bad.
It was the system.
Ramos' personal weakness was clear: not tall enough, not strong enough. Against big strikers or nimble forwards, he struggled, often forced into fouls.
Pepe was physically dominant, but still collected plenty of cards.
It was a product of Madrid's system as much as the players.
A center-back didn't need to dribble, but if he couldn't defend cleanly, he was criticized for being dirty.
Still, Ramos was a top defender.
And a top defender didn't mean a perfect one.
There had never been a perfect center-back, not even Stam or Nesta.
Even the elegant Nesta had his share of rash moments. Fans just remembered the graceful ones.
…
"You've seen it yourself. Since I took over, our defensive system is tighter. Our center-backs rarely face attackers one-on-one, even against Barcelona," Gao Shen said confidently.
Ramos admitted it. "I know, boss. We've even said privately that you value defense more than any Madrid coach before."
"This is the foundation. Modern football is brutally realistic," Gao Shen replied with a smile, ignoring the flattery.
"What I want to tell you is this. Before, you had to defend recklessly because you were exposed. But now, you don't. Our defense relies on the team. You must adapt to my rhythm, my system, and change your thinking."
"What I need now is precision and efficiency. I don't need your risky tricks. The risk is too high. If you did that in a key match, what then? What should I do?"
Ramos was convinced.
The detailed report showed how much Gao Shen valued him. The analysis hit the heart of the problem.
Since joining Madrid in 2005, Ramos had always played with fear. As the last barrier, he believed he had to stop attackers at all costs, even if it meant a red card.
That mindset had become deeply ingrained.
Without Gao Shen's guidance, he would never have broken it.
Now he finally understood.
And he knew what he had to do.
(To be continued.)
Wow, I just wanted to end this with a note from the heart. This work holds a special place for me. I started it because there were hardly any good football fics out there, and most of the ones I found ended up unfinished or abandoned. I promised myself back then that I would complete this book because I genuinely enjoy reading it.
So here's my heartfelt thanks to all my supporters who have been with me since day one. I see you, and I'm grateful you're still here. To all my newer supporters as well, thank you so much. Without you guys, I wouldn't be here.
So cheers to Super Chapter 1000! With this milestone, we're slowly approaching the end of SWR, less than 400 chapters left. I'll try to release as many as possible each day so we can eventually move on.
Thank you again for all your support. Have a wonderful day!