As a South American head coach with no experience in European football, taking charge of a top club like Barcelona, Martino is well aware of the pressure he will face.
Even with the support of Messi and the Barcelona management, Martino could still feel the unfavorable situation in the dressing room, most notably the players' lack of enthusiasm.
It is a very strange feeling.
Barcelona is still dominant on the pitch, with nine consecutive wins. They have also performed well in the Champions League and seem unstoppable. They even produced results like a 7-0 home win over Levante and a 4-0 away win over Rayo Vallecano.
However, Martino still felt that this Barcelona team played without passion.
At the very least, it is completely different from any team he has coached before.
How to put it?
That is something only a head coach can feel.
It means the players do not want to play for you.
They still cooperate with you, still carry out your tactics, and still listen to your arrangements and instructions, but you can clearly feel the huge gap between you and them.
They are willing to listen and execute, not because of you as a person, but because you are Barcelona's head coach.
Maybe some would think, is this not fine?
It is like working in a company. You do not necessarily have to like the job or the boss from the bottom of your heart, but does that stop you from doing the job?
Yes, of course not.
But it makes your work mechanical and lacking in enthusiasm.
Football is different from working in a company. Without passion, there is no creativity.
Even if everyone meshes together like precise gears, driving the machine smoothly, there are no surprises, and everything feels pre-programmed.
As head coach, Martino feels this most deeply.
Even now, Barcelona's players, especially the local ones, rarely take the initiative to communicate with him.
Everything seems harmonious, but only Martino knows they are not willing to play for him.
During pre-match talks, they watch him "perform" calmly. At half-time, they examine his adjustments with suspicion. After the game, they wonder inwardly how much the head coach actually contributed.
In fact, many may already be thinking in their hearts: how long can he stay at Barcelona?
Two years? One year? A few months?
This is a very bad state.
Although to outsiders, it still looks good for the time being.
Martino understands this very well, so he has made every decision carefully this season.
Barcelona's players and the media resisted his adjustments to the traditional possession style, so he kept tweaking his thinking, changing Barcelona bit by bit through fine-tuning.
He tried to add more variation to Barcelona's passing and possession.
But every step was taken very carefully, for fear of provoking resistance from players, media, and fans.
Publicly, he repeatedly emphasized that he had no intention of changing Barcelona's tradition. He repeatedly praised Barcelona's possession system because he knew that to gain a foothold at Camp Nou, he needed to integrate into Barcelona rather than change Barcelona.
Integrate first, then try to change.
For example, he has consistently used Messi on the right this season. Why?
As we all know, Barcelona have long emphasized central and flank attacks, but this strategy has been figured out by opponents.
In high-profile matchups, a tactic lacking surprise can be deadly.
Martino wanted to attack more down the wings, but this cut against Barcelona's tradition, so he placed Messi on the right. In this way, it became natural to attack both wings.
This would bring more variety to Barcelona's offense.
If it did not work, then they would go back to the traditional route.
An interesting pattern has often occurred this season. In games, Barcelona start by attacking the wings, but after little success, they return to their traditional possession style and end up winning.
So the players, media, and fans were all satisfied because it was a victory for traditional Barcelona football.
Sometimes it works the other way around, which brings forth something new.
And there is Fàbregas.
Barcelona have a special preference for this local player because they pursued him for a long time and like him very much. Messi, Xavi, Iniesta and others also like Fàbregas a lot.
Therefore, regardless of how well Sánchez, Pedro and others played, Martino often chose to start Fàbregas.
Why?
Because he needed Fàbregas.
In this way, Martino stumbled along and brought Barcelona to where they are today.
He also knows that this game against Real Madrid has a very special meaning for him.
Because in the past, Barcelona never beat Gao Shen. Last season, Barcelona lost to Real Madrid four times.
If he can beat Real Madrid, he might be able to break the ice with his players.
At the very least, it could create a crack.
…
On the evening of October 26, at Camp Nou in Barcelona.
When Gao Shen shook hands with Martino before the game, he could clearly see that the Argentine's hair was noticeably grayer than a few months ago.
Being a head coach is exhausting and the pressure is immense.
Gao Shen could understand Martino's current situation as Barcelona's coach.
In fact, to some extent, this is a tragedy, doomed from the beginning.
By normal logic, Martino had neither the qualifications nor the possibility to coach Barcelona.
The whole world knows how he became Barcelona's head coach. If he wants to prove his ability, he needs to do more and do better, producing more convincing results.
A head coach's job sounds simple, with many assistants and professionals handling their specialties, but it is far from simple.
Especially at top clubs like Real Madrid and Barcelona.
Those who play for such teams are top stars. Why would they recognize you?
Gao Shen still remembered that in his previous life he had read Lahm's autobiography, which mentioned the difference between Löw and Klinsmann.
The German captain said that after Klinsmann took over at Bayern, training focused almost entirely on fitness, with very little tactical content. Players had to hold their own meetings before matches to discuss how to play.
"After only six to eight weeks, the players already knew that Klinsmann was not the right coach for the team."
Why?
Was there such a big gap between Klinsmann going from Germany's national team coach to Bayern's head coach?
Because of Löw.
Lahm described Löw as a tactical master from his first session with the national team, giving a very detailed analysis of each position.
"No coach had ever told me how to play left-back before."
According to Bisanz, head of the German coaching program, the reason Klinsmann chose Löw as his assistant was that the two had already begun discussing reforms of German football during the coaching course.
At that time, the back three was popular in Germany, and the libero and sweeper were traditional.
"But it took Löw two minutes to explain to Klinsmann the advantages of a back four."
This is why, after Klinsmann became Germany coach, he appointed Löw as his assistant, and why Klinsmann's performance plummeted after moving from the national team to Bayern.
Gao Shen has always known that in head coaching, especially in the fiercely competitive top European leagues, there can be no bluffing. Real strength and standards must be shown.
Mr. Nan Guo will not last long in this role.
Even when Gao Shen coached Real Madrid by chance, it took a huge effort, and only with the help of the Tactical Library did he manage to gain a foothold.
After that, he relied on steady progress step by step to climb to where he is now.
But what about Martino?
He almost reached the top in one step.
This is very dangerous.
Not only for him, but also for Barcelona.
Barcelona looks calm on the surface, but there are turbulent undercurrents behind the scenes.
Put simply, when Barcelona play well, everything is fine. But once they encounter a tough battle, Barcelona are in trouble.
Even Martino will find it difficult to fix.
Because Barcelona's players do not trust him deep down and doubt his decisions.
This kind of doubt is fatal on the pitch.
Gao Shen saw Barcelona's situation. Simeone saw it. Everyone who knows and studies Barcelona saw it. The only difference is when it will break out.
Therefore, both Gao Shen and Simeone feel Barcelona have no hope this season.
"Tonight, we have to score first and then step on Martino's head," Gao Shen said calmly as he watched Martino's lonely back as he walked away.
It is cruel, but this is professional football.
From the moment Martino decided to come to Barcelona and wade into this mess, this outcome was inevitable.
Shortcuts are not so easy.
Especially in professional football.
They often come at a heavy price.
…
Goalkeeper: Valdés.
Defense: Alba, Puyol, Piqué, and Alves.
Midfield: Busquets dropped deep, with Iniesta and Xavi in the middle.
Forwards: Neymar, Fàbregas, and Messi.
This was Barcelona's starting lineup, with almost no surprises.
There were also few surprises in Real Madrid's starting eleven.
Goalkeeper: Courtois.
Defense: Marcelo, Ramos, Pepe, and Carvajal.
Midfield: Xabi Alonso sat deepest, with Toni Kroos and Modrić in the middle.
Forwards: Ronaldo, Benzema, and Di Maria.
Both teams fielded complete lineups, showing the importance of the game.
But the difference was that Real Madrid showed far more aggressive intent.
In recent years, Barcelona have often started slowly and focused on keeping the ball.
But at Camp Nou tonight, Real Madrid ceded the fight for possession from the start and adopted aggressive high pressing. They even swarmed into Barcelona's penalty area like a pack of wolves, charging straight toward the goalkeeper.
This caught the Barcelona players off guard.
They did not expect Real Madrid to be so determined.
Caught unprepared, Valdés made a mistake that should not have happened.
(To be continued.)