Today, Gao Shen is already widely regarded as a world-class manager—a gold-dal coach with two Champions League titles, and a legendary figure ranked alongside the likes of Ferguson, Wenger, Mourinho, and Ancelotti by countless fans.
But in his heart, there are two senior managers who hold a particularly special place.
One of them, of course, is Ferguson.
The influence of the Manchester United godfather on Gao Shen was deep and far-reaching. Gao Shen always felt as though he bore Ferguson's imprint.
Because of this, that 8-0 away victory over Manchester United held a special kind of thrill for him.
It felt like he had personally dismantled the very giant he once idolized—an indescribably satisfying experience!
The other was Benítez.
Back when Gao Shen had just traveled through ti and taken charge of Real Madrid, the very first thing he did was to implent Benítez's 4-2-3-1 system. At the ti, that tactic brought much-needed stability to Real Madrid.
In order to build a solid double-pivot, Gao Shen personally promoted De la Red from the youth team to pair with Gravesen, forming a midfield shield to protect the defense.
Facts proved that Gao Shen's decision back then was correct. Relying on this tactical setup, Real Madrid not only staged a coback against Barcelona, but also won both La Liga and the Champions League.
From that mont on, Gao Shen found his own way forward.
Tis have changed, and Gao Shen no longer uses the 4-2-3-1 formation, but he still rembers everything he experienced at Real Madrid as if it happened yesterday.
In 2008, when De la Red collapsed on the pitch, Gao Shen flew to Madrid to visit him.
According to what he rembered from his past life, De la Red would retire in 2010. When that ti ca, Gao Shen planned to invite him to join his coaching staff, repaying the bond they had ford back then.
Later, when Gao Shen first took over Napoli, he continued using the 4-2-3-1 formation, so much so that many people called him "Benítez II" at the ti.
This shows just how much influence Benítez had on Gao Shen.
Whether in his past life or this one, the Liverpool manager has always been a highly successful, world-renowned coach in Gao Shen's mind—even though Benítez later struggled at several clubs.
Especially after gaining experience as a manager and witnessing countless collapses in European football, Gao Shen understood more clearly why the head coach is considered the most dangerous job in the sport.
It's fair to say that every manager's success hinges on the right timing, environnt, and people.
And sotis, it just cos down to luck.
When Benítez left Liverpool, it was understandable. Selling Xabi Alonso and bringing in Aquilani was a mistake. In addition, Liverpool had long failed to address their squad's weaknesses. As manager, Benítez couldn't escape bla, and his dismissal was inevitable.
But taking over Inter Milan was clearly not a wise move.
On one hand, after reaching their peak, Inter's squad was aging. On the other, they were unwilling to sell key stars in their pri to raise funds for a rebuild and Moratti didn't have the money to keep investing.
Under those conditions, anyone taking over Inter was set up for failure.
As for his ti at Real Madrid—well, that was even more interesting.
If you closely compare Benítez's and Zidane's tactical styles, you'll find many similarities.
So why did Benítez fail and Zidane succeed?
Because Zidane was Zidane!
The answer really is that blunt and simple.
It's easy for casual fans to overlook the work Benítez did just because Zidane was successful.
Just like many Chelsea fans rember Mourinho's glory but forget the foundations laid during Ranieri's tenure.
Let's not forget—Ranieri's Chelsea was already a Champions League top-four team.
Professional football is often cold, ruthless, and result-driven.
But as soone within the profession, Gao Shen knows better than anyone that failure is the norm in football managent, success is rare.
Because he understands this reality, Gao Shen still looks forward to his clash with Benítez.
…
After twelve rounds, the league paused once again for the international break—two weeks of national team fixtures.
Today's Manchester City is wealthier, with better player welfare and superior logistical support.
For instance, during each international break, the club charters a private jet to bring its South Arican players back to Manchester.
Of course, City shares the cost with other top Premier League clubs.
Even so, it's a significant expense and one that many clubs are still unwilling to pay.
Over these two weeks, Gao Shen monitored the national team matches of his players, trained those who stayed behind at Carrington, and spent ti studying and collecting intelligence on Liverpool.
In the end, the match preparation materials for this ga against Liverpool amounted to nearly 200 pages, stacked high on Gao Shen's desk. Next, he and his coaching team would further analyze, screen, and condense the reports.
What would eventually be handed to each player was, at most, a single A4 sheet.
This was the most important task of the Lucas analysis team before the match.
Often, giving players too much information or too many reference points can easily lead to confusion.
So, at most, each player receives just one sheet of paper, sotis only half.
This required Gao Shen, along with the coaching staff and analysis team, to carry out extrely detailed preparation and filtering before the match, while also formulating a tactical plan to counter Liverpool as early as possible.
Liverpool's situation had been sowhat chaotic recently, as they began to suffer a string of injuries.
"At the mont, it's confird that Torres will be out, and both wingers Riera and Benayoun may also miss the ga. However, centre-back Daniel Agger will return from suspension, and Gerrard is expected to co back from injury," Lucas reported, outlining Liverpool's mixed situation.
The absence of Torres would deal a heavy blow to Liverpool's attacking power. Benayoun had also been one of the team's best-performing wingers this season. However, the returns of Agger and Gerrard would significantly bolster Liverpool's defense and midfield.
It was easy to imagine that Benítez was both frustrated and relieved.
Manchester City weren't necessarily in a better position.
On the one hand, their South Arican internationals had to endure long-distance travel. On the other hand, as the team's performances continued to improve, more players had beco national team regulars, with growing responsibilities for their countries. Representing their nation was an obligation none could avoid.
On this, Gao Shen had no way of intervening.
So, the only thing he could do was try to beat the opponent through tactical and technical superiority.
…
"Tomorrow, after the players return, we'll conduct special set-piece attack training."
Gao Shen laid out the assignnts for the coaching staff.
Brian Kidd, Carlo, Surrey, and the others all took careful notes of the detailed instructions.
"In the past few years under Benítez, Liverpool have consistently used zonal marking in set-piece defense. This once made them the Premier League team with the fewest goals conceded from set pieces, it was very successful. But now, its weaknesses are gradually being exposed."
In fact, Liverpool's set-piece defense had long been a subject of controversy.
Zonal marking required each player to guard a specific area during set pieces, rather than marking a specific opponent.
The clear advantage of this system was that players with the best defensive attributes remained in the most dangerous zones.
The other common system was man-to-man marking.
As the na suggests, man-to-man ant each defender was tasked with marking a specific player—tracking their movents tightly to ensure they didn't escape unmarked.
Both systems had their strengths and flaws.
The issue with man-to-man marking was that a team's strongest defender could be dragged away from a dangerous area by an opponent, leaving space exposed for others to exploit.
The problem with zonal marking was that gaps naturally ford between the zones. Especially when defending second balls or flick-ons, the vulnerabilities beca much more pronounced.
So might ask, since both systems have shortcomings, can't we combine their advantages?
The answer: yes.
That's what zone-based hybrid marking is for.
But even this system isn't perfect. It also has its flaws, especially when it cos to switching responsibilities in the constantly changing flow of a match, which presents a significant challenge.
In truth, the distinction between zonal and man-to-man marking has blurred over ti.
Every team now uses a hybrid form of set-piece defending. But when a goal is conceded, dia and fans still rush to find faults or assign bla.
However, one issue was clearly visible: Liverpool's current defense lacks adequate protection in the three most critical areas, this was their greatest weakness when defending set pieces.
These three areas were: the near post, the center of the six-yard box, and the players positioned between those two areas.
Gao Shen specifically instructed Lucas to compile footage of all of Liverpool's set-piece defenses from the past two seasons, including this season, to review and analyze with the entire coaching staff. They would docunt and break down Liverpool's habits and weak points in set-piece situations.
Gao Shen was placing great importance on the upcoming battle at Anfield, and was fully prepared for a hard-fought contest.
No one knew Biglia's strength better than he did, so he was also well aware of how formidable a midfield anchored by Biglia, Mascherano, and Gerrard could be.
In terms of overall strength, this version of Liverpool was far stronger than the one Gao Shen had known in his past life.
Even with Manchester City's potent attacking power, they might struggle to break down Liverpool's defense at Anfield.
The absence of Torres would weaken Liverpool's attacking transitions, especially their direct threat on the counter but their defensive solidity would remain a major challenge.
Gao Shen believed that set pieces could very well beco the decisive factor that determined the outco of the match.
(To be continued.)
***
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