In Gao Shen's previous life, many Ronaldo fans liked to argue about who had more talent, Ronaldo or Messi.
He did not understand what there was to argue about.
Wasn't it obvious that Messi was more talented and technically superior?
Ronaldo, with less innate talent than Messi, was able to compete with the Argentine genius for so many years. That is the most commendable and respectable thing about Ronaldo. Why can't some of his fans see it and admit it?
Throughout football history, how many people are as obsessive as Ronaldo, almost to the point of self-abuse?
How many can maintain Ronaldo's level of self-discipline for decades?
The answer is none.
Therefore, over the years, when Gao Shen trained players, he never used Ronaldo's self-discipline and diligence as a benchmark, because he, like Messi, is the kid from someone else's family.
But with your own players, you have to supervise them strictly.
Di María undoubtedly belongs to this category.
Work harder and your level goes up. Slack off and it drops.
Gao Shen not only set a target for Di María, he also raised the bar for him in training, including finishing work and a series of other areas.
The day after the match against Manchester United, Gao Shen again took time for a long talk with Di María.
Starting from the doubts raised by outside media and fans, the staff stoked Di María's fire, then combined it with his own situation, offered targeted strategies, and even encouragement, which finally made the Argentine feel there was great potential to tap.
So Di María naturally agreed to Gao Shen's demands and worked very hard in training.
He even gritted his teeth and stuck with gym work, which he usually resisted the most.
…
Three days later, in La Liga Round 8, Real Madrid visited Levante.
After facing Atletico Madrid and Manchester United back to back, Gao Shen made extensive rotations.
As a result, the first half ended 0-0, with neither side scoring.
Real Madrid's performance dipped noticeably, and their attack lacked bite.
In the 60th minute, Gao Shen brought on Di María.
With his first touch, Di María produced a lovely pass on the right, winning a corner near the byline.
He took it himself, played it quickly, and delivered it accurately to the back post. Ramos finished from close range to give Real Madrid the lead, 1-0.
Just four minutes later, Real Madrid attacked again. Di María's shot from the right hit the side netting, missing a good chance.
But in the 70th minute, Di María won the ball high up the pitch and released a pass. Benzema laid it back, the Argentine winger burst into the area from the right and squared it. Marcelo arrived at the back post for an easy finish, 2-0.
Within ten minutes of coming on, the Argentine created two goals for Real Madrid.
After that, Di María kept creating chances and had shots, but failed to score.
Until the 90th minute, Varane played a wonderful pass, and Morata, on as a substitute, finished low to make it 3-0. In stoppage time, Modrić threaded a superb pass, Di María took a sharp touch on the right side of the box and curled a left-footed shot into Levante's net to make it 4-0.
In the end, Real Madrid beat Levante 4-0 away.
Since Barcelona came from behind to beat Valladolid 4-1 at home with a brace from Sánchez and a goal from Neymar, Real Madrid and Barcelona remained level on points, both maintaining eight wins from eight.
Real Madrid temporarily led La Liga on goal difference.
Atletico Madrid beat Celta Vigo 2-1 thanks to a brace from Diego Costa.
…
After the Levante match, although Di María came off the bench and was not named Man of the Match, he was in fact Real Madrid's best performer and the most threatening player on the pitch.
Major media outlets in Spain and across Europe praised Di María's performance.
In particular, his consecutive goals and assists drew high praise.
The Argentine's displays were world-class both against Manchester United and in this match against Levante.
Gao Shen was generous in his praise, believing the Argentine had been excellent, but he also insisted Di María could go further, especially in his goal output.
"He can be even hungrier."
Di María also made a rare statement, saying he was very happy to hear the head coach's assessment and hoped to meet his expectations.
"I will work harder and try not to let our boss down."
After the Levante match, La Liga paused again for two weeks of international fixtures.
Facing the test of the FIFA virus again, Gao Shen had to be even more cautious.
Especially for Real Madrid's players, after a series of intensive schedules, everyone's physical condition was not what it was at the start of the season. Matches were more draining and injury risk was higher.
The coaching staff maintained close contact with the various national teams, and logistics were handled perfectly, striving to ensure the players went safely and returned intact.
After Levante, Real Madrid also had two days off.
Gao Shen took time from his busy schedule to travel north to the UK.
…
The nickname of infrastructure maniac may not be especially prominent yet, but the capabilities of construction companies are obvious to all.
When Gao Shen arrived at the construction site of the new training base in the city center, he was moved by the bustling scene.
Over the past six months, the framework of the base had basically been completed, the office building was topped out, and the suspended bridge connecting the functional areas had also been finished. Progress was even ahead of schedule.
According to preliminary estimates, the training base would be almost ready for use after the end of this season, and Leeds United would then begin preparations to move in.
As for Leeds United's administrative offices, an earlier move was not ruled out.
Accompanied by Fernando Lucas, Borrell and others, as well as the head of the engineering team, Gao Shen and Su Qing inspected the site and were very satisfied with the quality, materials, and workmanship.
According to the project lead, they were building Leeds United's training base with the determination to create a benchmark project, striving for excellence and meticulous detail.
The roof of Leeds United's indoor pitch uses a single-layer ETFE membrane, the same material that Norman Foster designed for the new stadium roof. This project was handed to a domestic company that had participated in projects such as the Water Cube and has extensive experience.
It is just that the materials used by Leeds United this time had higher requirements, since they had to account for the grass's lighting conditions and so on.
Gao Shen had a meal with the team, mainly to discuss project progress and some matters, and to look ahead to potential cooperation on the new stadium project.
The project budget for the new training base, including the municipal park, is only about £80 million in total, but the total budget for Leeds United's new stadium site is conservatively estimated to be more than ten times that of the training base.
This is already a truly large project.
Of course, such a major engineering project cannot be agreed upon with just a few words or a few meals, nor can it be settled privately between Leeds United and Chinese companies. It still requires communication and negotiation at government level between the two countries.
There are also bids from Chinese companies.
After lunch, Gao Shen's group went to the hotel to rest for a while, then went to Elland Road for a meeting.
Lucas reported on the latest sponsorship progress, mainly the signing of two deals in Asia, but what really caught Gao Shen's attention was that Leeds United were in contact with three American companies.
One is a well-known insurance company, and the other two are internet companies, YouTube and Amazon.
"Are these two companies interested in naming our new stadium?" Gao Shen was really surprised.
"In recent years, YouTube has opened a dedicated sports section, especially for football, and has invested heavily. Amazon also values sports resources. I have also heard that Facebook plans to enter the sports industry," Lucas explained.
Gao Shen was not surprised.
He still remembered that before he transmigrated in his previous life, he had heard that YouTube, Amazon, and Facebook were all competing for sports broadcasting rights and resources to seize market share.
There was also a report at the time saying this was because sports programming has greater user stickiness.
Everyone knows internet companies attach great importance to user stickiness, and YouTube, Amazon, and Facebook are no exception.
The biggest difference between Leeds United and other European teams is that Leeds are absolute internet celebrities and have achieved quite good results.
For example, in this Premier League season, Leeds are still fifth after selling €300 million worth of players.
In the just-concluded Round 7 of the Premier League, Leeds beat Swansea 2-0, moving up a place in the table, even one spot above Tottenham Hotspur.
Manchester United had just suffered a heavy defeat at the Bernabéu, but returned to the league and narrowly beat Sunderland 2-1 away, moving up to ninth.
With the powerful combination of an internet celebrity brand, a strong Premier League team, and a world-class designer like Norman Foster, it is not surprising that the new stadium has attracted interest from internet companies such as YouTube and Amazon that value sports resources.
"We are only in initial contact and nothing is decided yet, but they are indeed interested. We are also considering our targets. If we can sign this sponsorship, it will be a huge boost for us."
Lucas smiled and analyzed, "Furthermore, for internet companies, this sponsorship fee is nothing. Compared to their sky-high annual marketing budgets and promotion costs, it is a drop in the bucket."
Gao Shen understood what Lucas meant. If they could really reach an agreement, that would be best.
But how easy is that?
Compared with top teams such as Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea, and even Real Madrid, Leeds United's biggest advantages now are their internet celebrity brand, online marketing capability, and the new stadium.
The old stadium is a burden, but Leeds are different. With a new stadium, everything starts afresh, which benefits sponsors.
For example, Bayern's Allianz Arena and Arsenal's Emirates Stadium are already tightly bound together and are mentioned all the time.
(To be continued.)