How to deal with Barça

Every time Gao Shen came over for dinner, Carlo would ask his wife to carefully prepare a meal.

Just like last time, Gao Shen went to the city to buy a bottle of good wine as a gift.

Initially, the three of them gathered in the courtyard for dinner, but Mrs. Carlo quickly excused herself, leaving Carlo to slowly drink the wine that Gao Shen had brought, while Gao Shen sat aside and drank boiled water to accompany him.

Carlo watched Gao Shen drink water every few minutes, shook his head, and sighed, "Your biggest weakness is that you don't drink."

Gao Shen laughed and didn't say much, simply refilling Carlo's wine glass.

Actually, there were many things that Gao Shen couldn't tell Carlo now.

It wasn't just because Carlo wasn't a Real Madrid employee. Even with Maqueda and Lucas, Gao Shen had many secrets he couldn't share, and these secrets were only increasing.

For instance, today's conversations with Ronaldo, Raul, and Ramos were impossible to share.

Thinking about it, Gao Shen was really curious how Mourinho managed to keep so many secrets with such a big mouth. How did he not accidentally let something slip?

...

"I heard two female fans blocked you this morning, asking for autographs?" Carlo suddenly asked with a smile.

Gao Shen smiled slightly, nodded, and briefly explained what had happened in the morning.

This was the first time he had been stopped by Real Madrid fans for autographs, especially female fans, so he felt quite proud.

"Pretty?" Carlo asked playfully.

"They're okay," Gao Shen replied, not thinking much of it.

"Doesn't seem like they suit your taste," Carlo observed.

Gao Shen smiled and didn't respond, which was as good as an admission.

"At twenty-five, it's time to find a girlfriend."

Gao Shen chuckled, "Just take care of yourself, don't worry about me."

Carlo laughed out loud. "It's clear from the newspapers these past few days. The fans can see what you've done at Real Madrid. Although the media is still reluctant to admit it, many fans know the truth."

In fact, the media's impression of Gao Shen was quite contradictory. On the one hand, they disliked him because he refused to participate in press conferences before and after games, which was a direct challenge to them. But on the other hand, Gao Shen's results spoke for themselves.

Some media outlets emphasized the difficulties and chaos at Real Madrid, highlighting how hard it was to achieve such results and crediting Gao Shen for adopting appropriate tactics. Others continued to criticize him.

It may seem contradictory, but it wasn't. The writers of both types of reports could be in the same newsroom, with desks next to each other, having agreed on their approach.

No matter what, it showed that Gao Shen was gaining more recognition.

"You are indeed better than me, more courageous, and more skilled, especially in team management," Carlo admitted after two glasses of wine.

"Actually, you taught me well," Gao Shen replied, filling Carlo's glass and smiling.

"Don't flatter me. I don't know how to do half of what you do. How could I have taught you?"

Gao Shen smiled but didn't know how to respond.

"You know, if it were me, I don't think I'd dare to fight on two fronts like you. It's too risky. One slip and you could end up with nothing," Carlo sighed, seemingly lamenting his own conservativeness and Gao Shen's boldness.

"I just think that when given an opportunity, we should seize it. Life is full of regrets; we should try to have one less," Gao Shen said.

What he didn't mention was that he was a transmigrator.

He always felt that since God gave him the chance to travel through time and become the head coach of Real Madrid, he should take the gamble.

If he didn't dare to take risks, he would be wasting this opportunity.

"Well said!" Carlo praised with a smile. "But it takes courage."

"Enough talk. Let's have a toast to your victory in Barcelona!"

Gao Shen picked up his glass of boiled water, clinked it with Carlo's, and drank it down.

He understood Carlo's feelings. The better he led the team and performed, the more it might depress Carlo, but Carlo couldn't say anything.

Sometimes, that's just how things are.

Since Gao Shen proposed Carlo return to the Bernabeu and Carlo didn't give a clear answer, Gao Shen stopped mentioning it. He knew it wasn't the right time. Bringing it up now would only result in rejection.

As long as he remained at Real Madrid, Carlo wouldn't return.

...

...

Returning to his rental house from Carlo's place, Gao Shen pondered their conversation.

For Barcelona, Carlo's strategy aligned with Gao Shen's: Real Madrid could only focus on defense; attacking would be suicidal.

But how to defend?

Carlo didn't have a precise defensive strategy but highlighted the threats: Ronaldinho, Eto'o, Deco, Iniesta, and Barcelona's attacking full-backs.

As for how to defend against them, Carlo didn't have a clear answer, so Gao Shen had to figure it out himself.

After returning to his rented house, Gao Shen took a shower, hid under the covers, and went straight to the tactical library.

He not only read Rijkaard's book but also studied one by Ten Cate, Barcelona's chief assistant coach.

Ten Cate's name wasn't widely known yet, but after he left Barcelona and their performance plummeted, people began to recognize his contributions. Some even claimed that while Rijkaard was the head coach, Ten Cate was the real architect of the team.

Whether these claims were true or not, Ten Cate's contributions were undeniable.

Gao Shen read Ten Cate's book thoroughly, especially the parts about Barcelona in the past three years. He found some interesting insights.

In Rijkaard's first season, despite having Ronaldinho, Barcelona performed poorly initially. After signing Davids during the winter break, Barcelona surged, eventually finishing second in La Liga.

Many fans credited Davids for this resurgence, but Ten Cate's book revealed a different story.

Before Davids joined, Rijkaard had been adjusting Barcelona's tactics but hadn't found the right fit, especially in midfield. Cocu and Xavi were under too much pressure.

Davids's arrival allowed Xavi to push forward while Cocu stayed back, forming an inverted triangle in midfield. Davids's tireless running and pressing relieved Xavi's pressure, revitalizing Barcelona's midfield.

This became evident when Ten Cate publicly criticized vice-chairman Rosell for letting Davids go, leading to Barcelona signing the versatile midfielder Deco.

Deco, a midfield commander at Porto, became a dual-core with Xavi at Barcelona. His arrival solidified Barcelona's running and pressing style.

Interestingly, Ten Cate didn't like Eto'o and preferred Kluivert, whom he thought was the ideal center for Barcelona's 4-3-3 formation. Eto'o, in Ten Cate's view, wasn't a qualified center because he couldn't connect the flanks or hold the ball in the frontcourt.

In a similar vein, Guardiola later traded Eto'o plus a hefty fee for Ibrahimovic, who, despite adaptation issues, fit Ten Cate's vision of a strong, technical center better than Kluivert.

Ten Cate believed Eto'o's inability to connect the wings forced Barcelona to rely more on Ronaldinho and Messi cutting in.

With Messi now seriously injured, Ronaldinho had to shoulder even more responsibility.

Realizing this, Gao Shen felt his luck was indeed good.

Even though Messi's injury occurred before he transmigrated, it seemed to favor him.

He had found a way to counter Barcelona.