As he grew older and gained more coaching experience, Gao Shen's understanding of world football became more thorough. He gradually changed many of his ideas from his youth, even some naive perceptions.
For example, he once thought that everything he did would change world football.
To some extent, it has.
But from another perspective, it has not.
Take national teams as an example. The strong remain strong, and the weak remain weak.
Whether Italy or the Netherlands miss the World Cup is not determined by some higher will.
Even though Leeds United had produced two central defenders for the Netherlands, Van Dijk and De Ligt, it still could not change the situation.
Speaking of which, Leeds United had now become a major supplier of international players.
In the current England squad, Alexander-Arnold, Harry Kane, Vardy, Rashford, Dele Alli, Grealish, and Kalvin Phillips were all Leeds United players, the most of any Premier League club contributing to England.
This did not include players already sold, such as Stones, Maguire, Trippier, and Sterling.
Leeds United's academy had supplied half of England's national team, with many starters coming from the club.
This drew unanimous praise and recognition from the British media.
In every country, fans have a simple sense of local identity.
Premier League fans naturally want to see more English players. In the past, Manchester United and Liverpool did it best. In recent years, Leeds United had led the way.
Previously, the English FA had awarded several major honors specifically for Leeds United's youth system, recognizing the club's contributions over the past few years, especially the sweeping youth development reforms that began in 2012, with Leeds United as a flagship example.
Of course, there were dissenting voices.
Some media accused Leeds United of taking credit for others' work, since many of their players came from other Premier League academies.
When Gao Shen and Borrell were at Manchester City, they had helped City recruit young talents. After Borrell joined Leeds United, he poached from City and other academies, leading to Leeds' dominance at youth level.
The senior team had just won the Premier League, while the youth team had secured a domestic three-peat.
In the UEFA Youth League, Leeds United were already two-time champions.
It could be said that the club had achieved exceptional results in youth development in recent years.
This further proved the effectiveness of Leeds United's youth methodology department and the academy reforms promoted by Gao Shen in recent years, and it reinforced the authority of the Sports Technology Innovation Seminar.
…
Beyond England, France was also heavily represented by Leeds United.
Benjamin Mendy at Manchester City, plus Pogba, Kante, Mbappé, Dembélé, Martial, Kurzawa, and Rabiot, who played for Real Madrid, were all internationals Leeds United had contributed to the French national team in recent years.
However, not many remained at the club now, with only Kante, Mbappé, and Dembélé still there.
The next wave would arrive in two or three years, with the midfielders Tchouaméni and Camavinga.
In Portugal's national team, Leeds United also had many internationals, such as Ruben Dias, Bruno Fernandes, and Bernardo Silva, all of whom had shone in the Premier League last season.
The most surprising selection was veteran José Fonte. This central defender was a true treasure at Leeds United.
João Félix had made several appearances last season and performed very well. He was rumored to be selected, but it ultimately did not happen.
He was still too young.
There were also some advanced variables that did not exist in his previous life.
For example, Uruguay's young Federico Valverde, who had just turned 20. He performed well in the Premier League last season, played many matches, was recognized by the national team, and took part in this World Cup.
In Gao Shen's memory, Valverde had not participated in this World Cup.
There was also Brazilian midfielder Fabinho, who originally would not have gone to this World Cup. But his outstanding performances at Leeds United earned him a spot, competing with Casemiro and Fernandinho.
In truth, Fabinho was quite unfortunate. The Brazilian midfield pool was overflowing with talent.
Another notable reform at this World Cup was the use of VAR, which would gradually be applied to other leagues and competitions.
It was a fresh attempt, and many would need time to adapt, so penalties and set pieces would increase accordingly.
In his previous life, Gao Shen, as a fan, had been slow to realize it, but now he knew that long before the World Cup, FIFA had already invited many renowned coaches, including him, for discussions, and a consensus had basically been reached.
This World Cup was a period of adaptation and an inevitable step.
In addition, FIFA had begun discussing five substitutions.
In fact, the debate on increasing substitutions had been ongoing for a long time.
Many fans still remembered Marc-Vivien Foé, who collapsed during a match and never got up again. It was a tragedy for football.
Since then, the issue of reducing players' burden had been discussed repeatedly.
As a world-renowned coach, Gao Shen had participated in countless such discussions, and the topic came up almost every year.
There were two ways to reduce the burden. One was to reduce the number of matches.
The media and fans loved to talk about it, for instance, scrapping a domestic cup in the Premier League. But in reality, that was almost impossible.
There were too many interests involved. Would the FA agree to fewer cup games?
The rules were set by the FA. Why should the FA sacrifice its interests for the Premier League?
Therefore, many outside discussions seemed unrealistic to those within the game.
In fact, the number of competitions was not decreasing but increasing.
The FIFA Club World Cup, among others, and even more national team events would be added in the future.
In the end, players, who were supposed to be protected, had no say in these decisions.
Since cutting games was not feasible, the alternative was to change the rules and increase substitutions.
The proposal to raise substitutions from 3 to 5 had become increasingly mature.
Gao Shen had already told Lucas, Borrell, Pochettino, and others that Leeds United must prepare in advance, especially in squad depth.
As substitutions increased, the demands on the bench would grow.
Consider Klopp's teams, previously nicknamed "the 60-minute team" due to their energy levels. With five substitutions, they would likely be at least an 80-minute team, or even sustain intensity for the full 90.
But the bench had to be strong. If both teams made the same number of changes but the opponent had five high-quality substitutes and you did not, you were in trouble.
This might be less critical in international football, but it was hugely important in club competition.
Gao Shen had always believed this would be a major shift.
It would affect not only players, but also coaches' tactics and lineups, and clubs' recruitment and squad-building.
…
Gao Shen took his wife and child to Russia for the World Cup, but he was frustrated to discover an awkward truth.
Su Qing and Gaoming were thoroughly enjoying the spectacle, but he himself was bored.
It was not that the matches were dull. As a head coach, whenever he saw how certain managers deployed their lineups and used their players, he could not help putting himself in their shoes, which drove him mad.
For example, Germany using Kimmich as a right back, Portugal playing Bernardo Silva as a winger, and Spain not even taking Morata.
By the way, Real Madrid's head coach had not yet been officially announced, so Spain's coach was still Lopetegui.
What frustrated Gao Shen most was Belgium.
The lineup was stacked, the players were excellent, they had everything, yet they still failed to integrate the squad to achieve the multiplier effect he mentioned earlier. As a result, Belgium's play was hard to describe.
Then there was France, also very strong, but Deschamps was far too cautious.
However, while lying low, France made steady progress, and Mbappé broke out.
The 19-year-old French winger became the most dazzling star of the World Cup in Russia.
It was a pity that England could not beat Croatia in the semi-final. The problem was the same as Gao Shen's earlier evaluation of Pochettino's Leeds United, too much brute force and not enough finesse.
England were young and energetic but lacked midfield control.
Gao Shen had always believed in one principle. Whoever controlled the midfield controlled the world.
This was what he had emphasized to Pochettino before.
When he left Real Madrid, he repeatedly told Florentino that the midfield must not be changed.
At the time, he had said, "I cannot imagine which coach would be foolish enough to change Real Madrid's midfield. As long as the midfield remains intact, no matter what changes happen up front, they will still be the best team."
But both Leeds United and England lacked midfield control, creativity, and rhythm changes.
So in the semi-final, England stunned Croatia early, but Croatia quickly adapted to England's playing style and attacks, settled down, and overpowered them in the second half.
The biggest gap between the two sides was in midfield.
In that scenario, England could not find a second solution and were doomed.
Many felt sorry for England, but Gao Shen thought Croatia's victory was normal.
This old monster Modric was becoming more frightening with age.
After the match, Gao Shen went to the Croatian dressing room to congratulate them, and Modric and his teammates welcomed him warmly.
"Boss, I'm so glad you came to watch my game!" Modric was exhausted, but he smiled brightly.
Gao Shen felt a sudden pang in his heart, but he hid it by giving Modric a playful shove and scolding with a smile, "Don't try that on me, kid."
Modric seemed to understand and just laughed.
"Given your situation, the final against France will be tough. Come on!" Gao Shen encouraged him.
In truth, you did not even need to watch the final to guess it. With France so cautious, Croatia would have few chances.
But that was football. You only knew your true chances after playing.
The key was to perform on the day.
What made Gao Shen laugh and cry was that after asking Modric for his shirt, little Gaoming was not shy at all. He went around asking the entire Croatian team for autographs, which made the dressing room burst into laughter.
This was his greatest joy at the World Cup. Wherever he went, he chased shirts, autographs, and photos.
God knows who he learned it from.
What Gao Shen did not expect was that after watching the Croatia vs England semi-final, he stayed in Moscow with his family, waiting for the final, when his phone suddenly rang.
Caller ID: Mbappé.
(To be continued.)