"Barcelona!"
When the guest drawing lots held up the slip of paper taken from the ball during the live TV broadcast, Gao Shen and the others at the Leeds United AXA Centre all laughed together.
They really knew how to draw Barcelona.
From the very beginning, Gao Shen's record against Barcelona had always been outstanding. Even when facing peak Barcelona under Guardiola, Gao Shen was able to lead Napoli and Manchester City to victory.
Later, Leeds United continued this fine tradition and maintained a clear advantage against Barcelona.
Of course, from a technical and tactical perspective, this was partially due to a clash of styles.
Barcelona's greatest strength lies in their possession-based system. Whether it was teams coached by Gao Shen or Leeds United, their tactics were always highly disciplined, especially with their high pressing that gave Barcelona very few chances.
Even someone as individually brilliant as Messi could be limited through collective tactics.
In such a scenario, Barcelona posed very little threat.
As Gao Shen had always emphasized, playing conservatively against Barcelona was equivalent to slow suicide.
In La Liga, both Real Madrid and Villarreal dared to push forward and attack Barcelona.
Over the years, Barcelona's defeats generally followed this pattern.
The same applied to Leeds United now.
A tight defensive structure, excellent pressing and pressure, and strong collective teamwork and tactical discipline were the biggest threats to Barcelona.
So, after drawing Barcelona, Gao Shen and the others actually felt much more relaxed.
...
"Are you confident?" Gao Shen asked Pochettino.
It was break time now, and the Argentine head coach was watching the draw live with Gao Shen and the others.
Pochettino nodded firmly. "Barcelona's performance this season hasn't been ideal. Although they've brought in midfielders like Arthur and Frenkie de Jong, their overall passing and possession play is still very different from what it used to be."
Gao Shen nodded in agreement, acknowledging Pochettino's insight.
"There are two key points, Messi and Busquets," Gao Shen reminded him.
For many years, Gao Shen had said that Barcelona's greatest strength was their possession system, and their greatest weakness was also their possession system.
It was considered their strength because it guaranteed Barcelona's minimum standard: stability.
Barcelona had managed to remain competitive in the league because they were consistent and strong as a team.
But in the more targeted Champions League, especially in knockout rounds, this wasn't enough.
Stability could also be seen as mediocrity, lacking surprise elements.
Why was Busquets being questioned?
Because he was too steady.
Back when Guardiola let Yaya Toure go, it was because Toure wasn't steady enough.
Why were players like Messi and Iniesta so important to Barcelona?
Because within a team and a single tactical system, playing safe alone wasn't enough.
When Barcelona's system guaranteed possession and allowed them to pass smoothly, someone had to step up with a sudden pass, sudden dribble, or sudden threat.
That role was typically taken by Iniesta and Messi.
As Gao Shen said back when he coached Real Madrid, when evaluating a midfield trio, if two of the players were like Modric, the midfield would lack stability. If two were like Kroos, it would be very stable but lack creativity. Neither would be ideal.
The best combination was Kroos and Modric, a classic pairing.
Similarly, Barcelona now played a very stable and predictable style. But once Messi was neutralized, their attack became much less threatening, operating only within a fixed rhythm.
"To be honest, it's going to be very hard for us to beat Manchester City in the league right now," Pochettino sighed.
Leeds United were second in the Premier League, close behind Manchester City. But the problem was, Guardiola's team was just too stable. As Gao Shen had said, they were so stable it was frustrating.
In this situation, Leeds United had to make trade-offs and prioritize accordingly.
They had done well in the FA Cup, progressing steadily. Now that they were facing Barcelona in the Champions League quarterfinals, Pochettino had even higher ambitions. Although the team's initial goal was only to reach the Round of 16, making the quarterfinals was already impressive.
But who would complain about exceeding expectations?
"How's the team's physical condition?" Gao Shen asked with concern.
Pochettino thought for a moment, then laughed. "With a bit of rotation, we'll definitely be able to contain those old men at Camp Nou in the first leg."
Barcelona's current squad was indeed aging, with players like Messi, Alba, Busquets, Pique, Aguero, and Vidal all over 30.
They were simply not physically competitive.
In contrast, Leeds United had done a great job rejuvenating the squad this season. The players executed tactics well, and the young players had shown excellent performances and rapid development.
That's the talent gap.
Players with outstanding potential like Vinicius, Rodrygo, Enzo Fernandez, and Valverde could make great strides if given opportunities and trust.
After a full season, Leeds United's players had truly blossomed.
Three players in particular had surprised Gao Shen.
One was Gvardiol.
This Croatian center-back had improved significantly since making several substitute appearances. His growth was so rapid it left Saliba in an awkward position within the team.
Remember, this center-back was only 18 years old.
But Gvardiol's talent was obvious. Just watching one of his matches left a deep impression, and his improvement in each game was impossible to overlook.
Then there was Enzo Fernandez, who was a bit unique.
At first, Gao Shen thought he was a Mascherano type, but later realized he wasn't. Yet he wasn't exactly like Gago either.
In short, he was very well-rounded, strong both offensively and defensively, with rare talent and potential in both areas.
That was extremely rare.
Lastly, there was Alvarez, nicknamed "Little Spider."
You could tell a lot about his playing style just from the nickname.
This Argentine forward wasn't tall, but he had great coverage on the pitch and an aggressive pressing style in the attacking third.
The funniest thing?
His ability to play with his back to goal was excellent.
Despite being only 1.7 meters tall, he often received and passed the ball with his back to goal, just like Messi playing center forward. It looked awkward, but it was deeply impressive.
What surprised Gao Shen even more was that all three players had been discovered by Leeds United's technical team through the scouting system. He had nothing to do with it.
He didn't even know these three players.
At least, not when he time-traveled back in 2021.
This also demonstrated the strength of Leeds United's scouting network.
When such a group of talented young players gathered at Leeds United, and when the team adopted aggressive pressing and tackling tactics, Gao Shen couldn't help but look forward to what they could achieve.
"Then let's prepare to conquer Camp Nou!" Gao Shen said with a smile.
Pochettino was full of confidence too.
"Barcelona's biggest problem now is that their midfield lacks the passing control and running ability it once had, which has greatly weakened their overall control."
Back when Xavi and Iniesta were still around, Barcelona lacked athleticism but had excellent ball control, so their overall grip on the game was still strong.
Now, even their control had dropped significantly.
Borrell laughed. "Didn't the Spanish media joke that Barcelona's tactics could be summed up in nine words: defend the goal, defend the counterattack, and pass to Messi!"
Everyone burst out laughing.
This had become Barcelona's current motto.
These nine words exposed their current issues.
Their tactical ideas lacked creativity, and their obsession with possession was too rigid. So it wasn't hard to cut off their passing lanes and disrupt their rhythm.
"We need to send in fast players in attack and play a fast-paced game against Barcelona!" Gao Shen offered his advice.
"Barcelona's midfield and defense are easily disconnected now, so we need to ramp up the pressure, break through them directly, and once we win the ball, launch immediate counterattacks into their defense."
"Vinicius, Haaland, and Sancho can break through their defense and deliver a fatal blow!"
By the end, Gao Shen clenched his fists.
This scenario was very likely. Even at Camp Nou, Barcelona didn't have as much dominance in big matches as they used to, and their weaknesses were clear.
In the knockout stage, what really gets tested is how many weaknesses a team has.
Barcelona had too many.
"Then I'll head back and get started," Pochettino said, clearly eager.
After winning both the Champions League and Premier League last season, he had gotten a taste of glory. Now, he wanted to win another Champions League title.
At the beginning of the season, he hadn't dared think about it. But as the players developed, as team cohesion grew, and as performances improved, his confidence had grown.
At the very least, Leeds United now had a real chance to beat Barcelona.
And once they reached the semifinals, who could say they didn't have a chance?
There's a saying about the Champions League, isn't there?
Once you make the final four, any team can become the champion.
Currently, Real Madrid had the best odds this season. PSG were also doing well. Leeds United had a shot, and so did Manchester City and Bayern.
So no matter what, Leeds United had to give it everything they had.
"Tell the lads I'll be at Camp Nou to oversee the battle!" Gao Shen shouted with a grin as he watched Pochettino stand up.
"I'll go too," Lucas said.
"Me too," Borrell echoed.
The three leaders of Leeds United were all filled with confidence for their trip to Camp Nou.
(To be continued.)