Since I started coaching Real Madrid, the era belonging to Real Madrid has arrived.
When Real Madrid defeated Chelsea 1-0 at the Eden Stadium in Prague, Czech Republic, winning the second European Super Cup in the club's history, the news spread rapidly and caused a huge response around the world.
Today's Real Madrid is showing increasingly aggressive and powerful performances.
First, they defeated Barcelona over two legs to win the Spanish Super Cup. Now they have beaten Chelsea to win the European Super Cup, which has given headaches to all of Real Madrid's competitors.
In the Spanish capital Madrid, countless Real Madrid fans took to the streets to celebrate all night long.
By winning this trophy, Real Madrid has undoubtedly taken a step closer to a great revival.
All Real Madrid fans now have no doubt that Gao Shen can lead Real Madrid to glory.
Major media outlets in Spain, across Europe, and around the world gave overwhelming praise to Real Madrid, and spoke highly of the team's sophisticated lineup and in-game management.
As Chelsea manager Mourinho said after the match, "Real Madrid has a better squad than us."
What he meant was actually an acknowledgment of Gao Shen's in-game adjustments.
In contrast, Chelsea's substitutions did not have the desired effect.
Even Özil, who was brought in by Mourinho for a huge fee, did not perform well at Chelsea.
In the words of Martin Samuel, a well-known Daily Mail journalist, this type of midfielder is not naturally suited to Chelsea.
Real Madrid stayed in Prague overnight and took a chartered flight back to Madrid the next morning.
Enthusiastic Real Madrid fans came to the airport to welcome the players, and they ended up blocking the team bus, looking extremely excited.
To be honest, I've been using it recently to keep up with the latest updates. It has a variety of reading voices and works on both Android and Apple devices.
Butragueño has always enjoyed extremely high popularity and prestige among Real Madrid fans. He went over to calm the fans in person and finally persuaded them to make way, though they still followed the team bus all the way.
This time, Real Madrid did not go directly to the Bernabéu, but went to Valdebebas.
The day after tomorrow is the match against Athletic Bilbao. The team cannot be given time off yet. Before the third round of La Liga, Real Madrid will hold a simple trophy presentation ceremony.
At that time, Athletic Bilbao will also line up on the pitch to salute Real Madrid.
This is not something Real Madrid demands, it is a common practice.
Back then, Mourinho and Barcelona had a fierce dispute over whether to form a guard of honor.
…
After returning to Madrid, Gao Shen and the team focused on recovery and adjustments.
This continuous, intensive schedule, especially the high-intensity matches, is a serious test for Real Madrid.
Especially for the head coach.
Gao Shen must have complete control of the team, knowing every detail, to better deploy his squad and cope with such a tight schedule.
For example, in the match against Athletic Bilbao, Gao Shen once again used Isco, who was in good form.
One important reason why Gao Shen did not use Isco in the previous match against Chelsea was that he felt it would be difficult for Isco to perform well against Chelsea.
But against Athletic Bilbao, Gao Shen changed the formation.
It was adjusted from the original 4-3-3 to 4-2-3-1.
Illarramendi and Verratti partnered as the double pivot, Morata, Benzema, and Jesé formed the front trident, and Isco played as the central number ten in front of them.
In addition, the two full-backs Marcelo and Carvajal, who did not play in Prague, also started.
Except for Varane, Gao Shen replaced the other ten players, including the goalkeeper.
There was really no other way.
They played in Prague on August 30, returned to Madrid on the morning of the 31st, had recovery training in the afternoon, recovery again on the 1st, and a match on the afternoon of the 2nd.
Especially players like Cristiano Ronaldo, Di María, and Modric, who all played in the second leg of the Spanish Super Cup, then played again within four days against Barcelona and Chelsea.
Tell me, who can handle that?
Therefore, Gao Shen could only make a large-scale rotation.
Because Real Madrid's match was postponed, the third round of La Liga had already been played.
Barcelona made it three wins out of three with a narrow 3-2 away victory over Valencia thanks to a Messi hat-trick.
Atlético Madrid and Villarreal also achieved three consecutive wins.
Because Messi scored a hat-trick, Ronaldo became restless and asked Gao Shen for playing time, but Gao Shen sternly refused.
Are you kidding me?
Do you really think you are made of iron and cannot get injured?
After being scolded by Gao Shen, Ronaldo had no choice but to obey.
But Gao Shen promised that he would give him more playing time in the future.
"As long as you are in good enough form, you do not need to worry about being unable to compete with Messi."
The absence of many key players made everyone quite worried about Real Madrid's match.
Moreover, during this period, Real Madrid had been winning despite the tight schedule.
Although the process had its ups and downs, the final results were always good.
What about this time?
After kickoff, Real Madrid launched a fierce attack on Athletic Bilbao.
In the 16th minute, Benzema dropped deep to receive the ball, then turned and slipped a pass to the onrushing Isco. He brought it down with his chest and finished low to score, opening the scoring for Real Madrid.
1-0.
The link-up between these two players opened the door to victory for Real Madrid.
After that, Athletic Bilbao caused a lot of problems for Real Madrid.
The current head coach of the Basque Lions is no longer Bielsa, but Valverde, the future Barcelona coach, yet the Basque Lions still play very aggressively.
Both sides engaged in a fierce battle.
But in stoppage time, Morata drove down the left, drew a foul from Athletic Bilbao, and won a free kick.
Verratti took it, Benzema ghosted into the middle and headed into the net unmarked.
2-0.
At the start of the second half, Real Madrid sprang a quick counterattack.
Morata drove down the left, evaded a defender, and cut inside diagonally into the box. When he could have shot, he chose to square it to the better-positioned Jesé.
Ungarded, Jesé cushioned the ball to the right of the penalty spot and finished easily.
3-0.
Afterwards, Real Madrid and Athletic Bilbao continued to go back and forth.
After 70 minutes, a long pass from Illarramendi was sent to the left side of the penalty area.
Benzema brought it down with his back to goal and, while being double-teamed, laid the ball back to the top of the D. Isco arrived, controlled it, and struck in one motion, once again beating the Basque Lions' defense.
4-0.
The entire Bernabéu was overjoyed.
No one expected Real Madrid to achieve such a big score with such a strong rotation.
Especially against Athletic Bilbao.
…
Real Madrid defeated Athletic Bilbao 4-0 at home and once again received a standing ovation.
When their rivals were all winning, Real Madrid managed to withstand the pressure and defeat Athletic Bilbao, which greatly boosted the confidence of Real Madrid fans and made the pro-Real Madrid media exclaim.
The era of Real Madrid has come.
SER Radio's star host De la Morena is an Atlético Madrid fan to the core, but he still praised Real Madrid's performance on his post-match program, saying he could not help but be impressed by the level of this Real Madrid team.
"This Real Madrid is completely different from the previous Real Madrid. It is younger, more energetic, and plays with more imagination."
"So far, we can clearly see that after last season's training and development, these young Real Madrid players have shown very good performances."
"Isco has been excellent so far this season and scored twice in this round."
"It is worth noting that Gao Shen's use of him has been changing, from right winger to left winger, and now to attacking midfielder. His position keeps changing, but in fact his role has not changed. He is free to operate in any position."
"Verratti, Morata, Jesé, Marcos Alonso, Nacho, Carvajal, Varane, and even the new signing Pogba, this group of young Real Madrid players have all delivered amazing performances."
"This makes us all look forward to it. With the stars who won the Champions League last season and the rapidly growing young players, to what heights can Real Madrid reach?"
"Gao Shen said he was going to win the treble this season and take all the trophies. To be honest, I did not quite believe it at first."
"But now, with both the Spanish Super Cup and the European Super Cup already in hand, who would dare say it is impossible?"
De la Morena believes that many sophisticated decisions often carry some profound meaning, though not understood at the time.
For example, last season's signings, as well as the promotion and reuse of young players.
A year has passed, and now looking back, everyone will find that Real Madrid has been completely renewed.
It is completely different from the Real Madrid that was falling apart when Gao Shen took over.
This Real Madrid team does not lack individual ability, nor imagination and creativity. At the same time, they play with great cohesion, and their technical and tactical characteristics are very comprehensive.
"This is a team that looks like a champion."
"To this day, I do not even doubt that Gao Shen's team can achieve the goals he sets."
"At the same time, I am even more looking forward to seeing how far this team can go and what its limits are."
De la Morena believes that given the current situation in La Liga, it will be very difficult for Barcelona and Atlético Madrid to snipe Real Madrid. The key lies in who makes mistakes earlier and falls behind faster.
The season is long, and no one can predict that.
Especially with the upcoming international break.
"Last season, the absences of Marcelo and Arbeloa caused huge losses for Real Madrid and had a huge impact."
"As a wealthy club with many internationals, Real Madrid must be extremely cautious during every international break."
De la Morena believes that regardless, the current Real Madrid is truly mature and has shown amazing fighting power. It is the number one favorite not only in La Liga but also in the Champions League.
In any title race, Real Madrid is an unavoidable name.
"Perhaps the only thing that can stop Gao Shen and Real Madrid now is the schedule and time."
(To be continued.)