The news from Poland was bad.
Marcelo was diagnosed with a metatarsal fracture and was immediately brought back to Madrid by Real Madrid's medical staff for a more detailed examination.
It was basically confirmed that Marcelo would miss all the remaining matches in 2012.
Both the Brazilian national team and Real Madrid announced the news on their official websites as soon as possible.
Real Madrid's medical team also contacted Van Dijk, a renowned doctor in Amsterdam, Netherlands, and immediately communicated with him.
The surgical plan given by Van Dijk was to make a seven to eight centimeter incision on the instep of Marcelo's right foot and implant a titanium screw in the broken bone to help fix it and accelerate healing.
Even so, the surgery cannot be performed before the 20th, and he is expected to be out for at least three months.
This is still an optimistic assessment. Considering the fracture and the long period of absence, the impact will be even greater.
This is definitely very bad news for Real Madrid, because Marcelo will miss all the games this year.
The only good news is that if Real Madrid can qualify from the group stage, Marcelo should be able to make it back in time for the knockout rounds.
Another piece of bad news is that Real Madrid made an inquiry about Bayern's left-back David Alaba, but Bayern rejected it without hesitation and reiterated that Alaba is not for sale.
Valdano even had someone investigate and found out that even if Real Madrid offered a transfer fee of 20 million euros, it would not be enough to convince Bayern.
Not to mention, Alaba will not take part in the remaining four Champions League group matches.
Of course, according to UEFA's latest rules, even if Alaba had already played in the Champions League, he could theoretically play in the Champions League for Real Madrid after the winter transfer window, but that depends on Bayern being eliminated in the group stage.
But everyone knows that this possibility is almost zero.
The actual relaxation of registration restrictions will only come in 2018. At that time, UEFA will revise the player registration mechanism. Even if a player has participated in the Champions League group stage, he can still be registered by another team for the Champions League knockout stage.
For now, the old rules still apply.
Real Madrid is unlikely to spend a large sum of money on a player who cannot play in the Champions League during the winter.
So, for the time being, the matter with Alaba has to be put aside.
…
After finishing the examination with Marcelo, Gao Shen made a point to talk with the Brazilian.
The main topic was still about the injury and the rehabilitation plan after surgery.
Gao Shen repeatedly emphasized to Marcelo that he still has an important position in his plans, and he hoped that Marcelo could maintain a good attitude, cooperate with the doctors and the coaching staff, and recover as soon as possible.
"The team still needs you very much!"
Gao Shen expressed his confidence in qualifying from the Champions League group stage.
"Don't worry, no matter how big the difficulties are, I am very confident that I can lead the team to qualify from the group. When the time comes, I hope you can return in time to help the team in the knockout rounds!"
"You are very important to us. Please don't let me down, Marcelo!"
After receiving such affirmation from Gao Shen, Marcelo said he was very touched and promised to work hard to live up to the expectations of the head coach. He would never slack off even during his recovery period.
"Very good. I and everyone else will be waiting for your return!"
From their conversation, Gao Shen could feel that Marcelo's mood was good.
This has a lot to do with the traditionally positive and optimistic attitude of Brazilians.
But after talking with Marcelo, Gao Shen immediately met with Marcos Alonso, Nacho, and Vazquez.
In Gao Shen's plan, the best candidate to replace Marcelo is Arbeloa, but he is currently with the national team.
Marcos Alonso is an option at left-back, Nacho is a versatile player who can also play at left-back, and as for Vazquez, this winger is sharp on the flanks, both offensively and defensively, and can also try to play as a full-back.
When meeting Marcos Alonso, Gao Shen put special emphasis on improving his own abilities as quickly as possible, especially during Marcelo's absence. He hoped that Marcos Alonso could perform better and more consistently.
"I believe you can do it."
"I see the potential of an excellent left-back in you, but this requires you to work harder and perform better. Come on!"
As for Nacho, Gao Shen still positions him as a versatile player. He hopes that this 22-year-old academy product can actively express himself and strive to adapt to multiple positions.
He promised that he would try to give him more playing time and opportunities.
In the following days, Gao Shen focused on the training of these players, especially Marcos Alonso and Nacho. Hierro even personally served as a special training coach, conducting specific sessions for these two defenders.
But unpleasant events kept happening one after another.
…
In the following match between Spain and France, in the 50th minute, Arbeloa was injured during a challenge and was helped off the pitch by the team doctor.
This made Gao Shen and others, who were watching the live broadcast of the match, worried. Hierro immediately called the national team.
But before the end of the game, French striker Benzema was also injured. He limped off with a pained expression, and the situation looked quite bad.
This made Gao Shen even more upset.
The FIFA virus broke out all of a sudden!
Situations like this are by no means uncommon and occur quite frequently.
But unfortunately, Real Madrid is about to enter a crucial period in the Champions League group stage. If several key players are injured at this time, it will be devastating.
Zidane also called the French national team immediately to ask about Benzema's condition.
Soon, the news came back.
There was good news and bad news. The bad news was that Arbeloa's injury was confirmed after the game. He had suffered a muscle tear and is expected to be out for at least three weeks.
The good news was that Benzema's injury was not serious. It was an old problem. He felt some discomfort during the game, but it improved after resting. He still needs to return to the club for a detailed examination, but there should be no major issues.
After Marcelo's injury, Arbeloa was now also out. Both starting full-backs were injured. What should Gao Shen do?
Fortunately, Gao Shen had sold Coentrao this summer. Otherwise, the situation would be even worse.
The Portuguese left-back has not played much since joining Chelsea and has been injured frequently. He was injured again during the last two weeks of international matches.
If he were still at Real Madrid, Gao Shen could almost form a complete set of full-backs out with injuries.
When a player is injured while on national team duty, FIFA will also "compensate" Real Madrid according to the player's salary. For example, Marcelo's current post-tax salary is 2.3 million euros, which is 6,300 euros per day. FIFA will pay his wages during the recovery period.
However, FIFA does not take responsibility for any losses caused to the club due to player injuries.
This is also the main source of conflict between clubs and national teams.
Otherwise, why would Wenger make sarcastic remarks?
…
After the team regrouped, Gao Shen gave a routine interview to a reporter from AS. He said that the injuries to several players had indeed affected the team's lineup.
"We need to make more adjustments and even try some decisions that we were reluctant to try in the past."
Gao Shen admitted that the team has encountered difficulties, but he still believes that if everyone works together, Real Madrid can overcome the current crisis.
"We also have a group of outstanding young players, such as Marcos Alonso, Nacho, Carvajal, and even Vazquez, who can all play in defense. I think these young guys are trustworthy and can help the team."
A reporter from AS asked, using young players in the Copa del Rey is normal, and using young players in La Liga is understandable, but in the Champions League group stage, facing strong opponents like Manchester City, Real Madrid still has to rely on young players. Couldn't this be too risky?
Gao Shen firmly confirmed it.
"I know Manchester City very well. They are the strongest team in European football at the moment. If possible, I would prefer to use all the main players, but unfortunately, we have two or three key players injured."
"It is indeed a heavy responsibility for young players to participate in such an important match, but this is the best option available now."
Gao Shen reiterated that he believes Real Madrid's young players can overcome the difficulties the team is currently facing.
Just one day before the team was to face Celta Vigo, Marcelo, accompanied by the team doctor, left for Amsterdam, Netherlands, to prepare for his surgery.
Gao Shen wished Marcelo a successful surgery during the interview.
…
On October 20, in the eighth round of La Liga, Real Madrid faced Celta Vigo at the Bernabeu.
Affected by the injuries, Gao Shen had to field a backline of Marcos Alonso, Pepe, Ramos, and Carvajal. The midfield was also adjusted, with Kaka and Verratti replacing Toni Kroos and Modric.
Up front, Ronaldo, Morata, and Vazquez led the attack.
There was no other choice.
Gao Shen had to save energy for the Champions League home match against Manchester City three days later.
If all the main players played against Celta Vigo, how would they fight Manchester City in midweek?
After kickoff, Real Madrid launched a wave of attacks with great efficiency, especially in the 11th minute, when Kaka made a solo run and passed. Morata dribbled past Celta Vigo goalkeeper Alvarez in the box and scored the first goal for Real Madrid.
But after adjusting, Celta Vigo began to counterattack.
In the 38th minute, Verratti made a brilliant pass. Ronaldo controlled the ball on the left side of the box, cut inside, and fired a right-footed shot to score again.
2-0!
In the second half, Real Madrid slowed down a bit. Celta Vigo also understood that Real Madrid was trying to conserve energy for the Champions League, so they pressed harder and even managed to pin Real Madrid back for a while.
Among them, the young South Korean player Park Ju-young had a very good scoring opportunity, but his header was miraculously saved by Courtois.
Just three minutes later, Higuaín, who had come on as a substitute, received a long pass from Ramos in the backfield, beat the offside trap, and scored one-on-one, making it 3-0 for Real Madrid!
This score remained until the end of the match.
Real Madrid defeated Celta Vigo 3-0 at home.
But everyone is still pessimistic about Real Madrid's crucial battle against Manchester City in the Champions League group stage on Wednesday.
Anyone can see that Real Madrid, severely affected by the international break, managed a perfect score against Celta Vigo, but the performance was not ideal.
In this condition, how will they fight Manchester City?
(To be continued.)