It was still the press conference hall at the Bernabéu, but the atmosphere was completely different from just over a month ago.
The room was packed. More than a hundred reporters from dia outlets across the world based in Madrid were in attendance, along with many representatives from Real Madrid's local fan clubs, all seated inside the hall.
Real Madrid TV staff were positioned further back, setting up caras and directing them at the podium, preparing for a global live broadcast. This had been Gao Shen's special request.
He couldn't afford to spend most of his energy dealing with these trivial matters. Otherwise, he would have no ti to focus on his work as head coach.
He wanted to address everything in one go and create a more relaxed dia environnt for himself and the team.
The reporters present also sensed Real Madrid's seriousness and began to speculate.
So were even a little excited. Was Gao Shen angry?
Good! Anger ant headlines!
Just think about what Mourinho used to do when he was mad.
If Gao Shen lost his temper, it would be huge news and would dominate headlines for a month.
Even better if he said sothing inappropriate or made a mistake—then the dia would hit the jackpot!
So were already fantasizing about Gao Shen storming in angrily and demanding an explanation while they quietly stirred the pot, trying to provoke him and push him over the edge.
Just as the group of reporters reached this collective "understanding," Gao Shen entered the room accompanied by the club's PR director, Butragueño.
To everyone's surprise, he wore a calm and friendly smile. He had two bottles of water in his hands and raised one in greeting to the dia and fans. There was no sign of anger at all.
He's pretending! He's definitely pretending!
This guy is famous for his poker face!
Let's wait and see if he slips up!
With knowing glances exchanged among the reporters, Gao Shen pulled out the chair in the center of the podium and sat down.
"Actually, I've been wanting to sit down and have a proper chat with you all for a while. The last press conference was too formal. That's not really my style," Gao Shen said with a smile.
Everyone in the room, even those with less-than-good intentions, couldn't help but laugh.
It was widely known that Gao Shen had a reputation for being an excellent talker.
It was said that he could sit on stage and speak with reporters for hours without a script or repeating himself, while even the most jaded dia mbers listened with interest and refused to leave.
The reporters looked at each other, still unsure what Gao Shen was planning.
The Real Madrid fan representatives in the audience were thrilled. They were eager to get close to him and hear what he had to say.
Gao Shen unscrewed a bottle of water and took a sip, giving off the impression that he was ready for a long conversation.
"Where should I start? Well, let's go back to when I first took over the team."
From there, he briefly recapped what had happened in the month since he took charge. Most of it had already been reported by the dia following the team, but he also shared so previously undisclosed details.
For instance, before the previous press conference, Gao Shen had already spoken to almost every Real Madrid player, and those conversations went very smoothly.
He also revealed that training intensity since he took over had been very high. Within just two weeks, nearly every player was exhausted.
Especially when he ntioned that even fitness freak Cristiano Ronaldo had "cursed" Pintus after a long-distance run in training, the crowd burst into laughter. Beneath the humor, though, they could sense the sheer intensity of the sessions.
In the end, Gao Shen expressed satisfaction with the team's progress over the past month.
"If the full score is 10, I'd personally give the team an 8."
Everyone understood that this ant Gao Shen was quite pleased with the team's efforts.
Why only 8?
Gao Shen explained that two players had participated in the Olympics and only returned after the US tour, so many of the team's tactical ideas hadn't been fully tested yet.
The other point was, as he joked, that he was afraid the team would beco too full of themselves.
Gao Shen also ntioned that the coaching staff had done extensive planning even before the pre-season began. As soon as the La Liga schedule was released, they began preparing a detailed season strategy.
"The players are working very hard, but so of my thods and those of my assistants are different from what they're used to. They need ti to adjust."
"For example, we may be doing the sa slalom training, but we'll tweak certain variables, raise the intensity and pressure, and the players need to adapt. That's normal."
"My training philosophy is simple—I want players to be fully focused, 100 percent engaged in training, and then carry that focus into matchdays."
"I'm very pleased to see every player showing such a positive attitude. That's a rare thing."
Gao Shen then addressed the recent warm-up matches with the sa openness and honesty, once again sharing his views on them.
"I feel I've done a terrible job in this regard. I've even dragged the team down because of it."
"Whether in Italy or England, everyone knows I don't take warm-up matches seriously. So they never pay attention to my pre-season results. Frankly, my friendly match record is worse than so lower-league teams."
"One reporter once told that among themselves, they joked that I've never won a friendly but never lost a competitive match."
Gao Shen laughed. "That's a bit of an exaggeration. I've won friendlies and lost official matches. But I think that comnt does sum up my attitude towards warm-up matches."
"But I failed to give a heads-up to my Spanish dia friends, so maybe nobody here knew. That led to unrealistic expectations for my warm-up matches. Everyone hoped we'd play every ga like a Champions League final. So here, I sincerely apologize to the dia for letting you down!"
The room fell silent.
A slap in the face!
If he had gone head-to-head with the dia, they could've responded. But this apology put them on the spot.
Because wasn't this just saying—they didn't do their howork?
From Serie A to the Premier League, Gao Shen's friendly results had been consistently poor. It had been six years. Didn't they know?
And if they did, why report it this way?
Many Real Madrid fans in the room applauded. They'd long been fed up with the dia.
Besides a few reputable outlets like Marca, AS, El País, and ABC, many others present were from dia with agendas—including Catalan outlets.
Of course, the Catalan press was openly hoping Real Madrid and Gao Shen would collapse.
"At this point, I also want to say sothing from the heart to our Real Madrid fans here, and to all those who may be watching now or in the future."
Gao Shen paused, took another sip of water, then looked directly at the cara.
"I know you're all full of expectations for and this Real Madrid team in the new season. On behalf of the coaching staff and players, I sincerely thank you. But sotis, I hope you can relax a little."
"Professional football moves fast, and the dia environnt is overwhelming. It's easy for fans to experience huge emotional swings over the smallest fluctuations."
"When we win, we feel invincible. When we lose, it's like the sky is falling. Today's news overturns yesterday's conclusions, and tomorrow's news overturns today's…"
"Often, the news isn't even verified. If a rumor is loud enough, people believe it and change their views accordingly."
"Many fans think that shows how inford and sharp they are, how they can follow the team's situation and form their own opinions."
"But I believe that actually reflects a very fragile, insecure mindset."
Gao Shen's tone was calm, without any criticism.
"It shows up in daily life too. One ga, a player plays well and he's hailed as a genius. Next ga, he's average, and suddenly he's worthless."
"When we're doing well, we think we can conquer Europe, the world. When we struggle, panic sets in, and people act like we have no hope."
"I won't claim that my assistants, my players, or I won't make mistakes. That's impossible. We all make mistakes. But I don't believe that one mistake, or even one bad ga, determines the fate of a whole league campaign or season."
"Even if we lose the Champions League final, does that an we've failed?"
"I want to tell Real Madrid fans—I've always believed you are the most knowledgeable fans in the world. That's what makes proud to be the head coach of Real Madrid. I welco you to continue following, supporting, and even criticizing the team."
"But I sincerely hope we can approach this long season with more composure and confidence. Let's leave behind the fragile, defeatist ntality."
"Because we are Real Madrid. We are the most successful football club in the world!"
"For over a century, we've faced setbacks, obstacles, and failures. But we've never lost our confidence. We've always had unwavering belief."
"We are the best team!"
"I know we haven't won any titles in the past few years. But I ask you to wait until the end of this season and look back on everything we've done."
"I guarantee—we will win a title this season!"
"I love pressure. I welco challenges. I believe this team has the strength and confidence to win. Whether it's La Liga or the Champions League, those are our targets, and we will fight for them with everything we have."
"Lastly, I'm setting a flag here."
"If I don't win La Liga or the Champions League, I'll resign!"
The entire press hall erupted.
Even Butragueño, seated beside Gao Shen, was stunned. He stared at Gao Shen in disbelief.
This guy is crazy!
I never approved that!
(To be continued.)
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