The team disbanded at Valdebebas that night after the match against Athletic Bilbao.
As a wealthy club, almost all of Real Madrid's players have international duty. Even some who would not make the 18-man roster were approved by Gao Shen to leave the team early.
For every player who left, including the 18 who played against Athletic Bilbao, Gao Shen had only one request.
Do not get injured.
Last season, Real Madrid suffered heavily during international breaks. If Marcelo had not been injured, Real Madrid would not have lost the La Liga title to Barcelona. Therefore, Gao Shen's instructions were very clear, asking all players to protect themselves.
Before that, Gao Shen had also called the national team coaches one by one. The Real Madrid coaching staff would keep in touch with the players and the national team coaches at all times, closely monitoring every move of the Real Madrid players.
Since these are World Cup qualifiers, Gao Shen could not ask national team coaches to accommodate the club. After all, they also face performance pressure, and Real Madrid players are basically the backbone of their national teams.
Therefore, there was very little Real Madrid could do, and they could only try their best to handle logistics.
For example, chartering a plane for the South American internationals was not a problem.
Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Atlético Madrid chartered a plane together, which had become routine.
After the players disbanded and reported to their national teams, Gao Shen could not sit idle either, so he flew to Nyon, Switzerland the next day.
…
Gao Shen had even forgotten what happened the last time he attended the UEFA Elite Coaches Summit.
He did not want to participate this year because he was too busy and had too many things to do. There was also a very important matter waiting for him at Leeds United. How could he have time to attend?
But there was no way around it. Platini and Infantino kept inviting him. They even arranged for Ferguson to host the meeting, and it was a permanent position, the European Coach Ambassador.
A new official always has things to do when he takes office, so the old knight naturally wanted Gao Shen to give him face. How could he not go?
Ferguson said that if Gao Shen did not attend, he would go to Madrid.
However, it was worth mentioning that many of those present were old acquaintances.
Guardiola, Mourinho, Klopp, Ancelotti, Wenger, Sarri, Allegri, Simeone, Martino...
In short, all the world-famous coaches from top teams were there.
What surprised Gao Shen was that Pochettino was also there.
When the two met, Pochettino looked quite embarrassed, especially when he noticed Gao Shen's inquiring look.
This kind of thing is hard to ask.
Gao Shen could not ask him, why are you here too?
Wouldn't that be a slap in the face?
What, not qualified to be here?
"It was a special invitation from Sir Alex Ferguson," Pochettino explained.
Gao Shen nodded and suddenly understood.
This could be considered Ferguson giving him face. After all, everyone knew that Pochettino had been strongly recommended by Gao Shen to coach Leeds United.
"I called you at the last minute the day before yesterday. I wanted to call yesterday, but Miss Su said you were busy and did not want to bother you with such a small matter, so..." Pochettino explained.
"It is okay. This is a very good opportunity. Communicating with them more will be good for you."
Pochettino nodded. He thought so too.
But unexpectedly, Gao Shen's tone suddenly changed.
"But I have to remind you, Mauricio, some people only speak for their own ears. Do not take them seriously. No matter how many reasons and excuses a loser makes, they are useless. There is nothing worth learning from them."
"Not to mention those who have retired. They have left the front line and their words are of no reference value. You do not even need to listen. Let it go in one ear and out the other. It is a waste of time to pay any more attention."
Pochettino was a little surprised. Why did it suddenly become so blunt?
Looking around, he suddenly noticed two people coming up behind.
Wasn't it Ferguson and Wenger?
Even though these two old men fought each other in the Premier League, they actually have a good relationship in private.
Especially now that Ferguson has retired, the two are as close as honey.
At this moment, they both stood behind, listening with smiles.
Pochettino immediately forced a bitter smile and quickly nudged the boss next to him, signaling him to stop talking because someone had heard.
Gao Shen did not care. He had seen them long ago and said it on purpose.
"Do not be nervous, your boss is blaming me." Ferguson sounded magnanimous.
How could he not be generous?
Today he was the host.
He was also a UEFA coach ambassador.
"How would I dare? You represent me now." In the end, Gao Shen could not help laughing.
Ferguson remained calm and collected. "I am just a retired old man trying to make some money to support myself. Do you understand?"
Gao Shen said "oh", then looked at Wenger and laughed, "Professor, we have been looking forward to you coming back." After that, he walked up and hugged Wenger exaggeratedly.
Wenger's expression was rich.
He wanted to crush this brat, but he had to force a smile.
Gao Shen was not only referring to the UEFA Elite Coaches Summit, but also to the Champions League.
Everyone knows that, generally speaking, only coaches who participate in the Champions League are invited to the Elite Coaches Summit.
Like Pochettino, whose Leeds United were playing in the Europa League, he should not have received an invitation. But Ferguson made an exception and invited him, which was a favor to Gao Shen.
In the past few years, Arsenal had not participated in the Champions League, so Wenger naturally did not attend the summit.
Ferguson and Pochettino were laughing hard, but Wenger wore a bitter face and did not dare say a word.
…
Everything before the meeting was just teasing and jokes. When the meeting actually started, everyone became more serious, because all speeches and proposals would be recorded.
There were quite a few major topics, some of which had been discussed for years.
For example, UEFA President Platini proposed that football should learn from ice hockey rules. If a player commits a serious foul, more severe than a yellow card but less than a red, he could be sent off for a period of time.
This proposal was interesting. It had been proposed last year, but it was not very feasible.
This year, the UEFA president brought it up again and provided a practical plan for discussion.
As a result, almost no one agreed.
Another topic was canceling Champions League seedings.
This is an old topic.
The current group-stage pots are based on UEFA club coefficients. The Europa League also counts toward coefficients, so teams that do well there rise quickly.
But there can also be another situation, namely teams with strong squads whose coefficients are not ideal for various reasons, so they end up in lower pots.
For example, Manchester City before Gao Shen, Dortmund and Paris Saint-Germain now, and Real Madrid last season.
This is troublesome, because these teams are strong, yet they are placed in Pots 3 or 4. What can others do?
Who can put up with a group of death every now and then?
Many people proposed that league champions and defending champions should automatically be top seeds.
But such reforms are sure to face opposition.
For example, Benfica and Porto would not agree.
Why?
Based on the current rankings, these two Portuguese clubs can easily make it into Pot 2, and even Pot 1 this season.
Is this not great?
Everyone knows that if you are a top seed, your chances of getting through the group stage increase greatly, especially if you get a favorable draw. Then you are almost guaranteed to qualify.
Is this about qualification?
No, it is about money.
Tens of millions of euros.
So this still needs further discussion.
Of course, the Elite Coaches Summit has never been a decision-making meeting. It is more for UEFA to hear opinions and suggestions from top coaches in the Champions League.
But this year there was a new topic, player transfer fees.
Of course, no one would debate specific fees, but rather use the discussion to talk about club finances.
Teams like Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain, and Monaco are frightening.
The transfer window had closed.
According to current UEFA statistics, two teams invested more than 200 million euros in the transfer market this summer, both from Ligue 1, namely Paris Saint-Germain and Monaco.
Among them, Paris Saint-Germain spent more than Monaco, the latter just over 200 million.
This made them stand out.
Most of the remaining teams were around 100 million euros.
But one thing was worth noting, a total of seven teams invested over 100 million this summer, including Real Madrid and Arsenal. The Gunners mainly brought in Icardi and also reinforced several other positions.
Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League also invested heavily. They finished fifth last season and want to push for the Champions League.
This is normal.
If a team like Tottenham wants to enter the Champions League places, it often needs to work harder and increase investment.
So Tottenham also invested over 100 million this summer, but after deducting income from players such as Dzeko, their net spend was not outrageous.
In Serie A, Napoli also invested over 100 million, mainly because of the signings of Higuaín and Allan.
By contrast, Barcelona only brought in Neymar, and Neymar's transfer fee has always been questioned.
Manchester United only spent 34 million euros. This is no longer about whether there is money to invest, but about the management's operational ability.
It is obvious that the Red Devils' squad urgently needs fresh blood, yet Manchester United did not act, which surprised many.
In terms of total league investment, the Premier League spent the most, exceeding 750 million euros, nearly double La Liga, which ranked second with 380 million.
However, the Premier League's transfer income was also high, reaching 500 million, of which 300 million was contributed by Leeds United.
Of course, no one would discuss how Leeds United made money in front of Gao Shen and Pochettino. People were more concerned that player transfer values had risen significantly compared to before, and overall wages were also increasing.
Many believed the money-burning craze in European football had intensified.
In the harsh environment of the financial crisis, transfer spending and player salaries kept rising. This is abnormal and UEFA needs to step in to curb the trend.
At the same time, attention must be paid to the financial situations of clubs such as Paris Saint-Germain and Monaco, otherwise it would be unfair to other teams that are working hard within their means.
Gao Shen did not express an opinion, because he knew no one would listen even if he spoke.
Reality will be even more cruel.
Because in the future, there will be more and more teams like Paris Saint-Germain, Monaco, and Manchester City, especially in the Premier League.
That was a crazy era, when any young player could easily be valued at over 100 million yuan.
If I told you this now, who would believe it?
(To be continued.)
***
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