After completing the final round of La Liga and lifting the league trophy, Gao Shen gave his players another day off.
But neither he nor his coaching staff took any rest.
In recent weeks, the Real Madrid staff had been working relentlessly, busier than ever.
Carlos Vargas was responsible for compiling and analyzing statistical data for both Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid. Buenaventura and Pintus focused on player conditioning and recovery. Carlo was in charge of designing and fine-tuning the training plans.
As the team's head coach, Gao Shen concentrated on the most important task: figuring out how to defeat Atletico Madrid.
That was his entire focus.
During this period, all sorts of rumors circulated, including claims that Simeone was highly superstitious.
But none of that distracted Gao Shen.
Every day, he thought about one thing: how to beat Atletico Madrid.
This was a match where no one could be completely confident of victory.
The uncertainty stemmed from one reason—Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid knew each other too well.
That familiarity made defeating the opponent a huge tactical challenge for any coach.
It wasn't just Gao Shen. Simeone was certainly facing the same problem.
This was, after all, the Champions League final.
The match with the highest technical and tactical standard in world football, even higher than a World Cup final.
…
After three weeks of adjustments, Real Madrid's players had recovered well.
They were now ready to begin their final push toward the Champions League final.
Everyone knew their role, every staff member had done their preparation, but the tactical direction would ultimately come from Gao Shen.
Over the past few days, multiple meetings had been held. Gao Shen had gathered the coaching team's reports and opinions, gaining a complete understanding of the situation. Now, he needed to deliver a concrete plan.
One of Gao Shen's habits was to dissect everything down to its core.
He asked all his coaches to write down what they believed were the strengths and weaknesses of both Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid. Then, he compiled all the information together and cross-analyzed it.
Finally, after stripping away all the layers, he came to one conclusion.
"Our last and most important advantage is our physical strength!"
That was Real Madrid's final trump card. When every tactical option had been countered, fitness remained their one clear advantage.
Why?
Because Real Madrid possessed superior technical skill and individual quality. If Atletico wanted to compete on equal terms, they would have to expend far more energy to make up for that gap.
Gao Shen emphasized that the goal was not to engage in tight defense. Rather, no matter how Real Madrid played or lined up, they needed to continually drain Atletico's energy.
As the match progressed, that advantage would only grow stronger.
But there was one key condition—Atletico must not be allowed to score first.
"Atletico's strongest tactical features come down to three things," Gao Shen explained. "First, their full-pitch pressing, which is their defining trait. Second, their localized cutting. They use player movement to create numerical superiority in specific zones, cutting off passing lanes and breaking their opponent's structure."
"For example, against Barcelona, they used this to perfection. They completely cut off Barcelona's passing rhythm, forcing them to play long balls. It showed how uncomfortable Barcelona were in that match."
"Ground passing doesn't work against Atletico. The risk of losing the ball is too high, and once they win possession, they immediately unleash their third weapon—a lightning-fast counterattack."
"With Diego Costa as their striker, Atletico launch direct and ruthless transitions."
These three tactical principles had made Simeone's team nearly unbeatable in La Liga and Europe that season, earning them a league runner-up finish and a place in the Champions League final.
But this style came with one glaring weakness—it required enormous physical effort.
Atletico's players had to run continuously, pressing and covering space, which made fatigue a real problem as matches wore on.
That brought Gao Shen back to his earlier point: Real Madrid's biggest advantage was physical fitness.
"Atletico are masters of full-pitch pressing," Gao Shen continued. "According to Carlos's data, the area where they most frequently win possession is between the halfway line and 30 meters from their goal."
Gao Shen chuckled. "That happens to overlap with our own favorite area."
Real Madrid's preferred pressing zone was also in that region.
Gao Shen liked to "retract the fist before striking," meaning he preferred to draw the opponent in before launching forward. This approach maximized the speed and attacking power of players like Ronaldo, Benzema, and Di Maria, while also making full use of the long-passing ability of Kroos, Xabi Alonso, Modric, Ramos, and Pepe.
Real Madrid's style had proven effective time and again. Even when facing Barcelona or Bayern, they often appeared to play defensively or conservatively, but in truth, that was the best way to unleash their devastating counterattack.
"Atletico will definitely set up their defense to counter our usual tactics," Gao Shen said. "They'll look to cut off the connection between our front three and midfield, breaking our rhythm and isolating our forwards."
"Their midfield and defense are extremely disciplined and compact. They'll use this to disrupt our buildup, preventing the front three from receiving the ball. Without service, they can't pose a threat."
"So what should we do?"
The room fell silent. Everyone began thinking carefully.
It wasn't a matter of if Atletico would do it—they absolutely would. The question was how effective they would be, and for how long.
Gao Shen needed a strategy to counter Atletico's localized pressing and cutting.
But even elite teams like Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain had failed to solve that problem.
So what could Real Madrid do differently?
"Modric should drive forward, with Di Maria, Benzema, and even Ronaldo rotating deeper to support. We must stretch the width as much as possible, while Marcelo and Carvajal push up aggressively," Zidane suggested.
The idea was sound, but Gao Shen shook his head.
"Simeone won't give our full-backs freedom. He'll definitely assign players to suppress Marcelo and Carvajal. I can guarantee that."
If he didn't, his team would have already been eliminated before reaching this stage.
Real Madrid's full-backs were among their most dangerous attacking outlets. Simeone would not ignore them.
Zidane nodded, then added, "Then we should use long passes. We have Kroos's precision."
Gao Shen smiled and gave Zidane a thumbs-up.
"Exactly. We have accurate long-ball distributors—Kroos, Xabi Alonso, and Ramos—all capable of sweeping cross-field passes, diagonal balls, and long deliveries over the top."
After this discussion, everyone suddenly realized that Real Madrid actually had more offensive weapons and tactical flexibility than Atletico Madrid.
Atletico's greatest strength was defense and counterattack, while Real Madrid's arsenal was far more diverse.
"Remember the plan I discussed earlier with Xabi Alonso, Modric, and Kroos?" Gao Shen asked.
Carlo immediately understood. "You mean, 'If the enemy advances, I advance; if the enemy retreats, I control'?"
Gao Shen nodded, smiling.
"Yes. That's the Eight-Character Mantra I've used against Atletico before. It wasn't perfect back then, but the principle was correct. When the enemy advances, we advance—attacking the space behind them. When they retreat, we control the ball—using our passing dominance to wear them down."
Everyone's eyes lit up.
It was a simple yet brilliant concept.
In theory, this strategy was lethal against Atletico Madrid. Whether they advanced or retreated, Real Madrid would have the upper hand.
"I think we should make some refinements," Gao Shen continued. "When Atletico press high, we can use long passes to switch play quickly to their weak side or behind their defense. Even if it doesn't lead directly to a chance, it will force them to drop back."
"When Atletico retreat, we control possession and stretch their defensive shape, making them chase the ball and drain their energy. That's where our advantage lies."
"I understand," Zidane and the others nodded.
Gao Shen had used a similar approach before, but this version was more complete, more precise.
"We can also use Isco and Pogba as surprise weapons. Both are excellent at carrying the ball forward. They can ensure the link between midfield and attack stays intact and help us transition smoothly."
In this way, Atletico's strongest tactics could be neutralized—or even rendered useless—against Real Madrid.
And when everyone thought about it carefully, they realized why Real Madrid could execute such a plan: their exceptional squad depth and variety of player profiles allowed Gao Shen to construct highly flexible tactical systems.
After Gao Shen's explanation, the coaching staff clearly understood the direction of their preparation.
Having worked with Gao Shen for years, they quickly divided tasks, planned targeted tactical drills, and began implementing detailed training schedules for the final.
Once the tactical framework was established, Gao Shen's role shifted to supervision—overseeing execution and making real-time adjustments.
Soon, the Real Madrid coaching team was working at full intensity once again.
(To be continued.)
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