"Hey, Gao!"
"Hello, Gao, nice to meet you!"
"Oh God, I finally see you again, Gao!"
"Hey, you, I missed you so much, Gao!"
As soon as Gao Shen appeared at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco, he immediately drew attention and became the focus of the room.
Although Gao Shen had often been in the news worldwide in recent months, apart from the World Cup opening match and final, he rarely attended public events. This was his first time at an occasion like today.
Even with European football's elite, star players, and UEFA officials gathered, Gao Shen was still the center of attention.
Leeds United's delegation accompanying him to Monaco was sizeable.
He was joined by CEO Fernando Lucas and technical director Borrell, as well as Leeds United's global ambassador and former captain Lucas Radebe, along with five or six club staff.
Lucas Radebe attended because Leeds United's Amazon Stadium would host this season's Champions League final, and traditionally the final venue recommends an ambassador to serve as a draw guest.
For example, when the Champions League final was held at Sporting Lisbon's Estadio da Luz, Figo served as the venue's ambassador.
Radebe is South African, but he played for Leeds United for many years and was beloved by fans during the club's years in the lower leagues. He has also served as the club's ambassador in recent years.
He is devoted to charity, and Leeds United has supported him. They have even been commended by the United Nations, which greatly enhanced the club's image.
So Lucas Radebe was a worthy choice to represent the Champions League final host.
In addition, representatives from the British government and the Leeds City Council came with the group, mainly to liaise with UEFA.
Hosting the Champions League final is not only a matter for Leeds United, but a major event for Leeds and even the British government.
If nothing else, the final would bring hundreds of millions of pounds in direct and indirect economic benefits to Leeds and the UK.
It would also enhance the international reputation and image of the city.
Leeds needed to prepare in terms of infrastructure. For example, the influx of more than 60,000 fans would challenge the city's hotel, catering, and service sectors.
…
Gao Shen's reputation and status in European football are exceptional. His leading the group to Monaco also showed due respect to UEFA.
What Gao Shen did not expect was that former Real Madrid superstar Kaka had also come to Monaco.
He was invited as a draw guest.
When he saw Gao Shen, Kaka gave him a warm hug.
Although his Real Madrid career had not been a success, Gao Shen had given him a dignified exit, and Kaka remained grateful.
"Let me be clear first. When you draw later, be gentle. We at Leeds United have a weak foundation and cannot take any hits," Gao Shen joked.
Kaka laughed. "Boss, do you think anyone would believe me if I said that now?"
Although he left Real Madrid years ago, Kaka still called Gao Shen "Boss," as if he still played for him. It was an unforgettable memory for both.
"Besides, I checked the coefficients. You are in the first pot. You will face a strong team no matter what, right?" Kaka said helplessly.
Gao Shen could only shrug and spread his hands.
The facts were hard to argue.
Looking at UEFA coefficients over the past five years, Leeds United had indeed performed well in Europe. Whether in the Europa League previously or the Champions League since, their results were strong, so they had accumulated a solid coefficient.
But that alone did not qualify them as a seeded team.
Since UEFA reformed the Champions League seeding in 2014, league champions like Leeds United automatically get a top seed.
That made the second pot very strong.
The draw situation for Premier League teams was not optimistic.
For example, Manchester City and Manchester United were also in the second pot, and Liverpool were even in the third, which showed how fierce the second pot was.
In recent years, Guardiola's Manchester City had been the most consistent side in both the Premier League and Europe.
So many said that, as in the past two seasons, whoever drew a Premier League team would land in the group of death.
…
After meeting Kaka, Gao Shen ran into Ferguson, and the two chatted for a while.
As soon as he left, he was greeted by José Sánchez and Beckham.
The two have always had a good relationship.
José Sánchez facilitated Beckham's transfer from Manchester United to Real Madrid.
This time, Beckham attended with his wife Victoria mainly because he would receive UEFA's President's Award. In addition to UEFA President Ceferin, Ferguson would also present the award.
"I was just talking about you with the old man," Gao Shen said, giving Beckham a warm hug, then greeting Victoria politely.
To be honest, Beckham's wife was very thin, the kind of thin that did not look healthy.
"Thank you, Gao," Beckham said gratefully.
"It was nothing. I just bought him dinner," Gao Shen laughed.
When UEFA decided to give this year's President's Award to Beckham, Beckham expressed his hope that Ferguson would present it. It had special meaning for him.
At first, Ferguson refused. UEFA tried many times to persuade him, to no avail. Later, Beckham and Ceferin contacted Gao Shen, because everyone knew Gao Shen lived close to Ferguson and they were on good terms.
Gao Shen could not refuse, so he invited Ferguson to dinner. The talk was straightforward, about an old man and his pride. Even Beckham had given ground, so why keep up appearances?
As they talked, Ferguson relented.
Especially after Beckham called him personally, he accepted UEFA's invitation.
Of course, all of this happened behind the scenes, and no outsiders knew except those involved.
All people would see was Ferguson personally attending and presenting the award to Beckham, which would be cited as a fine story.
In fact, Beckham also helped Gao Shen.
For example, Beckham helped arrange Leeds United's U.S. training camp in Miami this summer.
When Beckham moved from Real Madrid to MLS, it seemed like he had ruined his career, but in reality, he struck gold in the United States.
Ironically, it was Victoria who pushed Beckham to go to the U.S., yet she did not enjoy a revival in her career. Instead, she met repeated setbacks, which held Beckham back.
After José Sánchez finished chatting with Beckham and Gao Shen, he led Gao Shen to a quiet corner.
"Florentino asked me to tell you he hopes you can visit Madrid more often when you have time. You are still the president's advisor at Real Madrid," José Sánchez relayed.
"Brother, I do not get paid."
"If you want it, I will have finance wire it immediately," José Sánchez said excitedly.
He had that authority.
Even if Florentino, the board, and the fans knew, they would probably be delighted.
Why?
If you take Real Madrid's money, you have to work for Real Madrid, right?
"Do I owe you a hundred or two hundred thousand?" Gao Shen shot back.
"Okay, okay, I know you are the rich one now," José Sánchez surrendered.
After the joke, the Real Madrid CEO sighed.
"From the outside it may not look like much, but we can feel problems in the dressing room. The players are very resistant to Benítez's tactics and style."
Gao Shen had suspected as much, but still feigned surprise. "Why?"
José Sánchez pointed at him in mock anger. "Stop pretending. I do not believe you cannot see it. You are just playing dumb. Do you have to be so sensitive with me?"
Gao Shen smiled wryly. "Then how should I put it? Just say it outright?"
José Sánchez was speechless.
He had been the one to insist on hiring Benítez, so Gao Shen really could not say much.
"I discussed it with the technical team then, but we were too idealistic. Reality is more complicated, especially with the players. After six straight titles, many things have changed."
Gao Shen disagreed. "If nothing had changed, we would not have won six in a row."
It was a complementary process.
Real Madrid managed six straight because of resilience.
That resilience was born from the pride of every player in the squad.
Without that spirit, what would they use to fight their opponents and persist to the end?
It is like how many people think Ronaldo is too arrogant.
So what?
Without that arrogance, could Ronaldo have come this far?
You cannot accept his arrogance when he is dominant, then criticize or ridicule it when he is older and declining.
It is not Ronaldo who has changed, it is the fans.
Fans love the dominant Ronaldo, but dislike the older Ronaldo who remains proud.
The same is true at Real Madrid now.
The players have not actually changed much. It is normal for them to be proud. Without that pride, where would Real Madrid's dominance come from?
But Benítez's pride is no less than the players'. The problem is, where does his pride come from when facing Real Madrid's players who have won six straight Champions League titles and five straight La Liga titles?
The players do not even need to say much. They just have to ask him, "How many Champions Leagues have you won? How many La Liga titles? How many trophies?"
Why is what you say right? Why should we trust you and follow you?
Head coach?
These days there are plenty of famous head coaches with poor coaching.
This is Real Madrid's biggest and most serious problem now.
The more Benítez wants to prove himself, the more he insists on his tactics. The more he insists, the more he clashes with the players. The more he clashes, the more they resist. The more they resist, the harder it is to implement his tactics, the worse the team performs, and the more Benítez feels the need to prove himself.
It is a vicious cycle.
In fact, all non-superstar managers who coach top clubs encounter such problems.
Was it not the same when Gao Shen first coached Real Madrid?
(To be continued.)
◇◇◇
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)