"Cheers!"
In a newly opened Chinese restaurant near the Four Towers business district in Madrid, Real Madrid's players, coaching staff, and key staff mbers gathered together, each holding up a glass of water.
Strong arms were raised high, looking like a dense forest.
Gao Shen was the king of this forest!
The team had earned great recognition after overturning Levante 4-1 away.
But Gao Shen was still not satisfied with the team's performance because there were still many details that were not handled well.
However, he was generous in praising the midfield and the right flank.
After the recovery training session in the morning, there was another review eting.
Since there was a week's break between the eleventh and twelfth rounds of the league, Gao Shen gave everyone a day off.
But that evening, Gao Shen treated the entire team to dinner.
The reason was: "I heard there's a new Chinese restaurant in Madrid that's really good. Let's go and try it together."
Although it was voluntary, everyone showed up.
This also reflected Gao Shen's current status in the Real Madrid dressing room.
After everyone clinked their glasses, they sat back down, but Gao Shen remained standing, holding his glass of water.
"Originally, I shouldn't be saying anything at a ti like this, but..."
Gao Shen grinned, "It just feels incomplete if I don't say a few words."
Everyone burst out laughing.
"I just want to say one thing: eat well and rest well. Next week is a decisive battle. I hope every one of you gives your all and beats Dortmund!"
"I am very confident and I firmly believe that we will make it to the Champions League knockout stage next year!"
Gao Shen's words were full of strength and confidence, and everyone could feel his ambition and determination.
Then, they all stood up and raised their glasses again.
"Cheers, boss!" Ramos shouted.
"Cheers to reaching the Champions League knockout stage!"
"Cheers!"
"We vow to make it to the knockout stage!"
"Well said!"
Everyone shouted out their determination.
This was not said to Gao Shen, but more like a way to fire themselves up.
Every player who could join Real Madrid was not ordinary. They were all proud. For several years in a row, they had been knocked out in the group stage. This had been a huge humiliation for them.
If they fail to advance again this year, won't they beco a laughingstock again?
That is sothing they cannot tolerate!
Gao Shen went back to the table where the coaching staff sat and found that Carlo, Zidane, and the others were all in high spirits as well. He raised his glass to them and drank again.
Who says it's just water? But at this mont, it felt stronger than alcohol.
"Thank you all for your hard work in the coming period. When the team qualifies for the knockout stage, I will make sure you get the credit!" Gao Shen said loudly.
Everyone cheered and joined in noisily.
Needless to say, the core coaching staff were Gao Shen's right-hand n and his trusted people. As for the other staff, they were Real Madrid employees who genuinely needed Gao Shen's praise.
Christmas was coming soon, and at the very least, it was good to earn a little extra holiday bonus.
Next, although Real Madrid would play two consecutive ho gas, Athletic Bilbao and Dortmund would not be easy opponents.
Both matches would be very tough.
More importantly, over the next few days, Real Madrid's coaching staff needed to quickly solve the problems exposed in recent matches.
Only by doing that could the team face Dortmund in the best possible condition.
In this ho ga against the Yellow Wall, Real Madrid had to win by at least two goals.
This was no small challenge.
…
It was not yet the final mont, so the dia could not pronounce a death sentence on Gao Shen and Real Madrid.
Although their outlook was unanimously pessimistic, even AS editor-in-chief Alfredo and others did not dare to guarantee whether the team could qualify, which left the voices supporting Gao Shen very weak.
But they still had no real way to deal with Gao Shen.
At best, they could only hype up various stories.
For example, so dia accused Gao Shen of being distracted by Leeds United while coaching Real Madrid.
The reason was that in September and October, during Real Madrid's break, Gao Shen had gone to the UK to inspect Leeds United.
As a result, this Premier League team had been performing very well this season, while Real Madrid was struggling badly.
"If he had put the sa energy he spent on Leeds United into Real Madrid, then Real Madrid wouldn't be in such a poor state now, not even able to qualify from the group stage!"
"Gao Shen must take full responsibility for this!"
Various dia outlets began to stir up this topic.
There was no other reason. They just wanted attention.
Gao Shen, Real Madrid, and Leeds United. These three nas were very popular right now.
Needless to say, Leeds United was the biggest dark horse in the Premier League this season.
How surprising was it?
After eleven rounds of the league, they were still fourth in the Premier League table.
This young team was determined to break into the top four.
Before the international break in October, they were ranked fourth. Everyone thought it was just luck, since Leeds United had not faced many strong opponents at that ti.
Of course, their win over Liverpool in the first round was attributed to the Reds performing poorly this season.
In round eight of the Premier League, Leeds United lost 1-2 at ho to Manchester City. Everyone thought Leeds United's good fortune was about to run out.
Although so dia called it an honorable defeat, losing at ho to Manchester City was still not a good sign.
A week later, Leeds United lost 1-2 away at Newcastle's St. Jas' Park, suffering back-to-back defeats, which made things look even worse.
Their league position dropped quickly, falling directly to seventh. The situation looked dangerous, and so dia began to hype that Leeds United was about to collapse.
But right after that, Leeds United beat West Bromwich Albion 2-0 at ho and then won 2-1 away at Wigan Athletic. Although the matches were tense, they still secured six points.
After two consecutive losses, they bounced back with two consecutive wins. After all the ups and downs, they climbed back to fourth in the league.
Manchester City and Manchester United were tied for first, Chelsea was third, and Leeds United was fourth.
Behind them were Everton, Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham United, Arsenal...
People began to realize that these two newly promoted teams this season were extraordinary.
One was in fourth place, the other in seventh. It was incredible.
It was precisely because of Leeds United's impressive performance that this young Premier League team beca a sensation, and many of its players attracted attention.
Players like their top scorer Icardi, midfield core Pogba, main center-back Koulibaly, and others had all drawn interest from major clubs.
Real Madrid's poor Champions League results, contrasted with Leeds United's excellent form, naturally gave the dia sothing to hype.
Gao Shen understood exactly what was going on, but he made no effort to clarify anything publicly.
As he had said to Butragueño, whatever he said now would be aningless. Before Real Madrid qualified from the group stage, no one needed his explanations.
What Real Madrid fans wanted was for the team to advance from the group stage!
…
Leeds United's performance this season was indeed unexpected.
Not just for the dia and fans, but even for Gao Shen himself.
He was the one who designed Leeds United's tactical system, but he truly did not expect this group of young White Rose players to perform so well this season.
The most impressive aspect was the left-wing attack carefully crafted by Gao Shen, Borrell, and Sarri, which beca Leeds United's main weapon for scoring and winning.
Coutinho, Pogba, and Kurzawa were Leeds United's best perforrs. Along with Koulibaly and Icardi, they had been the team's standouts this season.
Since he only had one day off, Gao Shen could not travel to the UK, but he still made video calls with Lucas, Borrell, and Sarri to get the latest updates.
The team was in excellent condition and seed to be improving steadily.
Gao Shen told them this was a very positive sign and proved that Leeds United's success was well-deserved.
The next step was to stabilize their style of play and continue to improve and strengthen it.
Even if so players were sold in the future, as long as the tactical system was complete, the team only needed to recruit the right replacents, and their results would not be greatly affected.
Lucas reported on the progress of negotiations with a Chinese construction contractor, saying things were going very smoothly and both sides were in complete agreent.
If the training base project was contracted to a Chinese construction company, the budget could be controlled within 70 million pounds, which was a significant amount for Leeds United.
Since Leeds United had previously promised certain commitnts to the Leeds City Council, including the charitable foundation, the council had now given them the green light to choose a Chinese contractor, though there were still details to finalize.
For example, the Leeds City Council would require them to hire a certain number of local employees and set a minimum wage for all project workers, among other terms.
Currently, Leeds United was working with the Chinese construction company. Both sides planned to draft a detailed plan before negotiating with the council.
Su Qing had been managing this project remotely for a while. She had previously been responsible for negotiations with the Leeds City Council and was very familiar with such matters, which was also her specialty.
Based on current progress, construction was expected to begin in the middle of next year, leaving more than half a year for preparation and an estimated one-year construction period.
In other words, Leeds United should be able to move into their new training base in 2014.
Both Lucas and Borrell assured Gao Shen that everything at Leeds United was going smoothly and that there was no need for him to worry.
"On the contrary, things have been noisy for you lately in the dia. Are you doing alright?" Lucas asked with concern.
Borrell was equally worried.
In the past, they had been a team fighting side by side with Gao Shen, but now, they could only watch from afar.
"What could possibly happen? You all know that as long as we win on the pitch, my words beco law, and even my farts sll good. Those who curse the most now are the first to change their tone."
Gao Shen sneered. He had long seen through the nature of these paparazzi.
Or rather, do they even have any morals?
"Dortmund is not easy to handle. Klopp has studied you very thoroughly," Lucas reminded him.
Gao Shen's smile was calm and confident.
"I have always been imitated but never surpassed!"
"Just wait and see!"
(To be continued.)
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