"A few months ago, I said that as long as Real Madrid's midfield structure remains unchanged, this lineup can at least maintain the bottom line."
Gao Shen and Jose Sanchez stood in the corner of the conference center. Gao Shen still insisted on his original point of view.
"I still say this now. I watched several Real Madrid games this season, and the biggest problem is still in the midfield. If the midfield is not organized, then all efforts will be in vain."
"He who controls the midfield controls the world. This saying still rings true today."
Jose Sanchez looked helpless. This was a sentence that sounded simple but was extremely difficult to execute. In fact, throughout the entire world of football, there are only a handful of head coaches who can truly master it.
"Benítez also tried playing 4-3-3..."
Jose Sanchez was interrupted halfway through by Gao Shen.
"It's not a formation problem. In fact, last season, and even a few years ago, there were many games where Ronaldo and Di Maria played deeper. We even used a 4-1-4-1 formation, but our entire midfield was well organized, and there were no problems in attack or defense."
Real Madrid's CEO was a capable business operator. In fact, he could be said to be the best business operator in European football, but when it came to football itself, he really wasn't as skilled.
Of course, that was normal. No one in this world is omnipotent.
Just like Gao Shen, he still hadn't figured out what financial methods Su Qing and Jiang Lijuan used to transfer so much money from Leeds United every year.
They had explained it, and Su Qing even analyzed it patiently, but Gao Shen still couldn't understand.
Later, he gave up trying to figure it out.
Jose Sanchez's football insight was not even as good as Florentino's.
"Then how do we solve this problem?" Jose Sanchez asked helplessly.
Gao Shen smiled bitterly and shook his head. "It's not easy. To be honest, Rafa never listens to my advice. He even deliberately goes against me. This approach won't work."
Everyone has their own dignity and territory they want to protect.
Coaching Real Madrid is very important to Benítez, but precisely because of that, he won't allow others to interfere in his domain.
Especially when that person is very capable.
That's a big taboo.
Gao Shen was subtly reminding Jose Sanchez of this.
"Taking over Real Madrid's burden at this time is very difficult. It's hard for anyone to handle it well, so you should give him more patience and support. Isn't his current performance still decent?" Gao Shen asked.
Jose Sanchez smiled wryly.
Yes, it was decent, but it depended on who the opponent was.
In the first official match of the new season, Real Madrid lost the European Super Cup. In the past five years, Real Madrid had won that trophy every year. Now that they had lost it, the fans were unhappy.
After three rounds in the league, Real Madrid was ranked third, two points behind Barcelona and level on points with Celta Vigo.
That still looked fine on paper.
But the problem was, you couldn't compare it that way.
Because last season, Real Madrid were double champions, the overlords of both La Liga and the Champions League.
Let's be honest, which Real Madrid fan would be satisfied with this start to the season?
Especially after losing the European Super Cup.
They did win the Spanish Super Cup against Sevilla, but even that match had been dangerously close.
"To be honest, Gao, I won't hide it from you, I'm quite worried right now." Jose Sanchez looked a little panicked.
"You know, when you were coaching, I always felt confident, but now I don't. Even though we just lost a Super Cup, looking at the way the game went, I really feel nervous, like..."
Jose Sanchez paused, searching for the right words. "Like those years when we were constantly knocked out in the round of 16, just like Manchester United in recent years."
"Not really." Gao Shen smiled, trying to reassure him.
With Real Madrid's current squad, it would be quite disastrous to be eliminated in the round of 16.
"No, no, Gao, I'm not as optimistic as you. Our office is in Valdebebas, so we see things up close."
After the renovation of the Bernabéu Stadium began, the club's offices were moved to the new building in Valdebebas.
"In the seventh round, we'll face Atletico Madrid at home, and in the tenth round, Barcelona away. These two games are crucial, but I really have no confidence now."
Gao Shen looked at Jose Sanchez seriously.
Benítez was promoted by Real Madrid's CEO, and logically, he should be the one who supports him the most. But now he looked flustered and lacking in confidence.
That was very concerning.
Outsiders couldn't possibly know what was going on inside Real Madrid, especially within the locker room.
But as the club's CEO, Jose Sanchez clearly knew more than most.
All that could be said was that the internal situation at Real Madrid was worse than it appeared from the outside.
In fact, locker room management had always been Benítez's biggest weakness.
Over the years, regardless of the team he coached, his relationship with big-name players had always been problematic.
After winning six consecutive Champions League titles, Real Madrid now had top stars in every position.
That was a major challenge.
But Gao Shen really didn't know what to say.
Just as he was about to offer some advice to Jose Sanchez and tell him to have more faith in Benítez, the award ceremony and group stage draw began.
…
The first event was the Chairman's Special Award.
This award had a special meaning. Ferguson and UEFA President Ceferin jointly presented it to Beckham.
The audience gave thunderous applause, and the atmosphere at this season's award and draw ceremony reached its peak.
Especially when Beckham and Ferguson exchanged a polite hug, the crowd erupted again.
Master and apprentice, mentor and protégé, their relationship had always been complicated.
After that, the Champions League group stage draw began, interspersed with the presentation of awards.
In addition to the most prestigious Best Player award, UEFA also presented positional awards.
According to UEFA regulations, the eight seeded teams in this season's Champions League consisted of the previous season's Champions League winners, Europa League winners, and the champions of the highest-ranked leagues. Therefore, Leeds United qualified as a seeded team and were placed in Group B.
However, this also came with risk, as the second and third pot teams were all strong.
After the seeded teams were drawn, the Best Goalkeeper award was announced. It went to Real Madrid's Courtois, who beat Alisson and Navas.
Alisson had helped Leeds United perform exceptionally in the Champions League knockout stage and reach the final, while Navas had been outstanding for Paris Saint-Germain.
When the second pot was drawn, Leeds United got Barcelona from La Liga.
That was one of the strongest teams in the second tier.
However, it didn't really matter. They were bound to face a tough opponent anyway.
Gao Shen could only joke from his seat that Kaka's hands must not have been washed clean.
After the second pot, the Best Defender award was announced.
All three nominees were from Real Madrid: Ramos, Marcelo, and Varane. In the end, Ramos won.
One key reason Varane was shortlisted ahead of Van Dijk was his strong World Cup performance, where he helped France win the title.
But given Real Madrid's six consecutive Champions League victories, Ramos's win came as no surprise.
Following a short performance, the draw for the third pot began.
This was what Leeds United cared about most.
But now, the third pot teams were all strong as well. In the end, Dutch champions PSV Eindhoven were drawn into the group with Leeds United and Barcelona.
Gao Shen, Fernando Lucas, Borrell, and the others exchanged helpless smiles.
There was really nothing they could do.
It seemed Gao Shen had never drawn a favorable group.
What was worse, the final team drawn into their group was Inter Milan.
Although Inter's overall strength was not what it used to be, wasn't this a bit too much?
It was hard to believe the Nerazzurri had fallen to the fourth pot.
But based on their European results in recent years, that was indeed the case.
Gao Shen was speechless about the result.
Leeds United, Barcelona, PSV Eindhoven, and Inter Milan. This was definitely the group of death.
Of course, the other groups weren't much easier either.
After UEFA's reform of the seeded team allocation, new situations had arisen. Teams from leagues like the Russian Premier League, such as Lokomotiv Moscow, could now qualify as seeded teams due to their league and European performance.
As a result, the second pot was filled with strong teams from the Premier League, La Liga, and other top leagues.
This made the Champions League group stage fiercer than ever, and death groups became common.
What's more, European football was filled with strong contenders. Paris Saint-Germain, Marseille, Benfica, Porto, Shakhtar Donetsk, Ajax, PSV, and Monaco were all capable sides.
During the draw, the Best Midfielder award went to Modric, which was well deserved.
Cristiano Ronaldo beat Messi to win the Best Forward award.
It was worth noting that Ronaldo did not attend the event tonight, likely because he already knew who would win the European Best Player award.
In the end, Modric won the top honor.
This was widely expected.
Gao Shen had already known that Modric had a very good chance of winning, and Real Madrid had actively promoted him for the award.
The Croatian midfielder was practically guaranteed the trophy.
When UEFA President Ceferin called Gao Shen to invite him to present the award, Gao Shen was certain.
Finally, Gao Shen presented Modric with the European Best Player award, often seen as the indicator for the World Footballer of the Year and the Ballon d'Or.
Modric hugged him excitedly and expressed his respect for Gao Shen in his acceptance speech.
The Croatian said there were two people who inspired him the most in his life. One was his father, who always encouraged him to fight for his dreams and never give up.
"The other is our boss, Gao Shen, who helped me become the best player in the world!"
Then, amid thunderous applause, Modric turned and hugged Gao Shen again, sharing the honor with him.
(To be continued.)