When King Juan Carlos I of Spain stepped into the VIP box, the entire Bernabéu Stadium was already filled with noise.
Seventy-six thousand Real Madrid fans gathered inside, creating a wave of sound.
Juan Carlos walked to the stand, looked at the familiar stadium, and nodded with satisfaction.
As a Real Madrid fan, he has always enjoyed the atmosphere at the Bernabéu.
"Welcome to the Bernabéu, Your Majesty the King."
Florentino's voice came from the doorway.
The Real Madrid president walked in with a big smile, followed by his close assistant Manuel Redondo and the club's vice president, Butragueño. These two are Florentino's most trusted aides.
"How are the preparations for tonight, Florentino?" Juan Carlos asked with concern as he shook Florentino's hand.
He was extremely anxious about tonight's match.
If they lose this game, the consequences will be serious.
"I am worried too, but I have confidence in Gao Shen," Florentino said with a smile.
Juan Carlos thought for a moment and nodded.
That was true.
In a game like this, all you can do is trust the head coach and the players.
To be honest, in matches of this level, whoever is timid loses.
If you want to win, you need strength, but you also need courage.
"How are you going to play tonight?" Juan Carlos asked curiously.
Florentino looked at Redondo and Butragueño. The three of them laughed and shook their heads.
"We don't know."
"You don't know?"
"You know Gao Shen well. He hasn't revealed a single thing before the game."
Juan Carlos seemed a little proud of this.
"The beauty of football is that you never know what will happen before the game starts," Juan Carlos said with a smile, waving his hand.
Florentino also laughed. "No, Your Majesty, that's not quite right."
"Oh?" Juan Carlos was a bit surprised.
Did he say something wrong?
What was wrong?
"The most special thing about Coach Gao Shen is that his baseline is so high that he eliminates risks as much as possible."
Juan Carlos laughed again.
Who could deny it?
Why is a world-class coach a world-class coach?
Many people do not understand.
Is it because they always have strong squads?
Not necessarily.
Take Del Bosque for example. When he coached Real Madrid, he won two Champions League titles. Isn't that impressive?
But after he was dismissed from Real Madrid, why did he never coach another top club?
Is it because he was a great tactician?
That's not entirely true either.
Many managers at smaller clubs are also very capable.
Some people will give all kinds of explanations, but none of them are complete.
The biggest advantage of a coach like Gao Shen is that he not only has a very high ceiling, but also a very high floor.
Take Del Bosque as an example. His ceiling was a Champions League title. But what was his floor?
He managed to lose to Deportivo La Coruña at the Bernabéu, in front of the whole world, during Real Madrid's 100th-anniversary celebration that had been prepared for so long.
What does this show?
It proves that as a coach, Del Bosque's floor was actually very low.
This was also shown later during his time coaching Galatasaray in Turkey.
If a coach has a higher floor, at least he would not lose such a game. A draw would be acceptable. Losing like that was a complete failure.
For a top-level head coach, what people talk about most with Gao Shen is precisely this: his floor is very high.
He could even be considered the head coach with the highest floor among all managers in world football.
If you do not believe it, just look at his coaching record.
From Real Madrid to Napoli to Manchester City, and now back to Real Madrid, what is his lowest point?
Even in his very first season coaching Napoli, he was able to thrash Roma in the Coppa Italia, win promotion in half a season, spend the other half building his team, and then, as a newly promoted team, win Serie A in his second season.
This is what a high floor looks like.
In the world of football, who else besides Gao Shen has such a high baseline?
"Don't worry, he never disappoints," Florentino said with a smile.
But until the result of the game is known, there is no point saying anything.
There was still a trace of worry in Florentino's eyes.
…
Players from both teams came out of the tunnel, led by English referee Webb.
After Gao Shen came out, instead of heading straight to the home team's bench, he walked over to the visiting team's bench, greeted Klopp and his assistants, shook hands, exchanged a few words, and wished them well before returning.
On the way back to the home bench, Gao Shen glanced up into the stands.
The families of the players and coaching staff were seated there, and he quickly spotted Su Qing, his mother, and his mother-in-law.
In fact, Gao Shen never wanted Su Qing to attend the match in person. After all, with her being pregnant, it was inconvenient and could easily be too exciting for her.
But since she wanted to come, Gao Shen could not refuse her, so he had to agree.
As for the players' families, Gao Shen welcomed them. Whenever a player asked him for tickets, he would give them more.
Anyone who has been out in the real world understands one thing: what drives a person to work hard and fight hard is not just the goal ahead but also the fear of losing what they already have.
It is like how people avoid breaking the law. Not because they do not have ambitions.
There is that famous saying:
If capital gains 50 percent profit, it will take risks.
If it gains 100 percent, it will trample on all human laws.
If it gains 300 percent, it will commit any crime, even at the risk of the gallows.
Human nature and capital are the same.
The reason people do not do these things is that they know if they break the law, they will not only fail to gain anything but will also lose what they already have, such as freedom, reputation, and status.
Now, Gao Shen hopes that the presence of family members will give the players more encouragement and motivation.
No one wants to lose face in front of their loved ones, children, relatives, and friends. Everyone wants to maintain their image.
This is the deeper purpose.
…
Goalkeeper: Weidenfeller.
Defense: Schmelzer, Hummels, Subotic, and Piszczek.
Midfield: Sven Bender and Gündogan as double pivots, with Grosskreutz, Götze, and Reus ahead.
Forward: Lewandowski.
This was the starting lineup that Dortmund used at the Bernabéu tonight.
There were no surprises in Klopp's lineup. Everything was within Real Madrid's expectations.
"Are you sure they will come out to attack?" Carlo was still a bit nervous.
He has always been very cautious.
Gao Shen nodded confidently. "I know Klopp. He won't play conservatively. Dortmund's best football is not conservative. So even if they know what we are going to do, they will still press high."
After pausing for a moment, Gao Shen turned to Carlo with a confident smile.
"This is what Dortmund are best at, their strongest weapon. Do you think they will put that away?"
The Hornets have never been a conservative team, and high pressing is their trademark.
The stronger the opponent, the more important it is to play the way you know best.
An upset victory?
That can only be achieved using your own strengths.
If they try to be conservative instead, that is not a surprise. That is suicide.
Just like a certain troubled emperor in Gao Shen's previous life.
"I also agree with Gao's judgment. Dortmund will press high to win the ball." Zidane's opinion matched Gao Shen's.
In fact, Gao Shen and Zidane had always been in sync during the tactical preparation meetings before the game.
"I hope Dortmund slow things down. Then we will give them the ball and just defend," Gao Shen said with a smile.
Defensive counterattack is also Real Madrid's strong suit.
After two years of Mourinho's coaching, Real Madrid has become very good at playing on the counter.
Gao Shen also used defensive counterattacks against Barcelona in previous matches.
If Dortmund do not press high, Gao Shen will gladly hand them the ball.
He really wanted to see whether Dortmund could control possession.
And when Real Madrid switch to defensive counterattacks, can the Hornets handle it?
"You know what, Gao? I just realized something," Hierro said with a grin.
"What?"
"When a person can completely let go and be shameless, he becomes truly invincible!"
Carlo and Zidane burst out laughing.
Gao Shen was also amused. He pointed at Hierro and said, "I'll take that as a compliment."
Good, are you teasing me?
Just wait.
I will deal with you sooner or later!
…
Compared to Dortmund, Real Madrid made a few adjustments to their starting lineup.
Goalkeeper: Iker Casillas.
Defense: Nacho, Ramos, Pepe, and Carvajal.
Midfield: Xabi Alonso sitting deep, with Toni Kroos and Modric ahead.
Forwards: Ronaldo, Benzema, and Di Maria.
Except for Nacho, this starting lineup was the same as in the match against Athletic Bilbao three days ago, where Real Madrid won 5-0.
This made many people curious about Real Madrid's tactics for this game.
The biggest surprise was Nacho starting instead of Marcos Alonso.
Marcos Alonso had been specifically brought in by Gao Shen and attracted a lot of attention, but his lack of speed had led to criticism from outside, with some saying this was just a case of promoting a homegrown player.
Using Nacho in this game surprised many.
Real Madrid fans at the Bernabéu applauded warmly for their academy graduate.
When the players of both teams lined up and took their positions, preparing for kickoff, the Bernabéu fans were already impatient, shouting for their team to attack and score goals.
Only with more goals could Real Madrid secure qualification.
Lewandowski and Götze stood over the ball in the center circle, while Real Madrid waited, ready.
As soon as Webb blew the whistle, Lewandowski tapped the ball to Götze. As Götze passed the ball back to the defense, Real Madrid's front three charged forward toward Dortmund's backline.
At that moment, Klopp on the sideline felt a sense of relief.
"I guessed right. They're going to attack after all!"
"This is how well I know them!"
(To be continued.)