Gao Shen received a call from Florentino while he was having lunch.
He stepped away and talked for about half an hour. When he came back, his expression was complicated, which caught the attention of his wife, Su Qing. She asked with concern, "What's wrong? What happened?"
"Benítez has been sacked," Gao Shen replied calmly.
"He's been sacked? When did that happen?" Su Qing was very surprised.
"Just now. I guess the press conference hasn't even ended yet." Gao Shen smiled, his emotions mixed. "Florentino called to tell me personally."
Su Qing immediately understood. "What does he mean by that?"
"He didn't say anything specific. He just asked about my current situation and whether I'd thought about coaching again."
"So what did you say..."
"I told him I haven't rested enough yet, so I'm not considering it for now," Gao Shen said instinctively.
That was exactly how he responded to Florentino earlier, almost without hesitation.
He felt that his answer was quite firm.
Su Qing nodded and didn't press further.
In fact, no matter what decision Gao Shen made, she would support him.
To her, nothing was more important than her husband and their family.
This was also why, when Gao Shen needed her, she chose to give up her career in China, followed him abroad, took over a football club she knew nothing about, and quietly managed his investment business behind the scenes.
With his current wealth, even if he never coached again, they could still live a worry-free life.
If he chose to return to coaching, there would only be one reason—because he truly loved football and coaching. Otherwise, he wouldn't subject himself to such hardship.
Su Qing realized that Gao Shen was someone who couldn't truly walk away from football.
It was like how he often went to watch Leeds United games or matches of other teams. Sometimes he'd get very angry, unable to keep himself out of it, always imagining what he would've done in those situations.
How could she describe it?
It was like when Su Qing was learning to drive, and the instructor sat beside her, looking extremely nervous and easily irritated.
Gao Shen would make a comeback sooner or later.
Su Qing believed this firmly.
Whether it would be at Real Madrid or not, she didn't know.
...
"Real Madrid's current problems are very complicated, and the main issue is the coaching change."
As Gao Shen sat back down to eat, he unconsciously began talking about Real Madrid again.
"Benítez is a very stubborn person. He's deeply confident in the methods that once brought him success. He even once said that if you gave him 11 robots that could perfectly execute his tactics, he could win every match."
At this point, Gao Shen paused and changed direction. "But the problem is, no such robots exist in the world."
Back then, Benítez did another bizarre thing. When he was coaching Liverpool, he changed the starting lineup for more than 20 consecutive games, which was extremely unconventional.
Generally speaking, a head coach relies on the inertia of winning.
When you've carefully crafted a lineup that keeps winning, you won't change it easily. Even if you rotate players, you usually stick to the same framework. But Benítez's method was truly unorthodox.
When the team is winning, everything's fine. But once the results go south and coaching performance declines, that kind of behavior becomes a liability.
It's the same for everyone.
Just like Gao Shen, didn't he also face plenty of criticism during his final year at Real Madrid?
"A manager like Benítez can't handle Real Madrid's current midfield. But I said before, as long as the midfield structure stays intact, Real Madrid will remain one of the strongest teams in Europe. Now, Benítez has completely dismantled that."
As Gao Shen had said before, Real Madrid's players are like top-quality ingredients, but not every chef can turn them into Michelin three-star dishes.
Benítez may have once been capable of cooking at that level, but now, he clearly can't.
Midfielders like Modrić, Toni Kroos, Pogba, and Verratti have all been run into the ground by him. What else is there to say?
Naturally, he had to go.
"Who's going to replace Benítez?" Su Qing asked with concern.
She had been living in Madrid for the past few years. Because of her high status, she attended almost every home game of Real Madrid. She had developed a connection with the club and naturally cared.
"I don't know. It could be Lopetegui, Solari, Guti, or even Ancelotti. Who knows?" Gao Shen gave a bitter smile.
Given Real Madrid's current situation, it's hard to say if anyone could make this team successful.
Among those options, Gao Shen was most optimistic about Ancelotti. At least he had real coaching ability. Although Lopetegui often promoted himself as Gao Shen's disciple, to be honest, his coaching skills were mediocre.
Solari and Guti weren't strong enough yet either.
But the question was, would Ancelotti even be willing to take over?
After his failure at Bayern Munich, Ancelotti's situation wasn't looking good. If he failed again, he might lose his reputation as a top coach. In the future, he might only be able to manage second-tier teams in the top four leagues, just like Benítez.
Not just Ancelotti, even Mourinho was in a similar situation now.
In Gao Shen's previous life, after Mourinho was dismissed from Manchester United, he could only go to Tottenham and then Roma.
After Van Gaal was sacked by Barcelona, he stayed with Alkmaar for several years. It was thanks to his success there that he got the Bayern job, and later, because of his impressive work with the Dutch national team, he got the Manchester United job.
As coaches age, they often struggle to keep up with the evolving tactics and pace of European football.
New talent is always emerging, and each generation has its leaders.
That's just how things are.
...
"Honestly, I've always been curious. Why are so many star players and top coaches drawn to Real Madrid?"
As they ate, Su Qing asked the question with great interest.
Gao Shen paused mid-bite, then smiled. "Remember, I once told you that Real Madrid is like a scumbag."
"Yeah."
"Star players and famous coaches all want to conquer this scumbag and make him fall at their feet."
"I get that," Su Qing nodded. She had heard this before from Gao Shen. "But what's Real Madrid's foundation for that confidence? I've always felt they're different from other top European clubs."
"You're right."
Gao Shen paused, thought for a moment, then began to explain.
As we all know, the first football association in the world was the English Football Association, founded in 1863. That's why other countries' football governing bodies are called Football Associations, but England's is just "The Football Association."
In 1886, the four associations of England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland formed the International Football Association Board, or IFAB, to establish common rules for matches and competitions in the UK.
In 1904, seven countries including France, the Netherlands, Spain, and Belgium jointly planned and founded FIFA. They directly adopted the rules set by IFAB and promoted them globally.
To this day, any rule changes in football must be approved by a vote of the IFAB.
Among the seven founding members of FIFA, one stood out—Spain.
The Royal Spanish Football Federation was founded in 1909 and officially joined FIFA in 1913.
Before that, Spain's football scene was chaotic. Most clubs had their own local football associations. For example, Barcelona had its own in Catalonia.
The predecessor of Real Madrid was the Madrid Football Team, and they established the Madrid Football Association in the capital. Although Atlético Madrid also existed, at that time, they had not yet split from Athletic Bilbao. So, Real Madrid was the representative club of the Spanish capital and acted as Spain's representative in FIFA.
In other words, Real Madrid was among the seven founding members of FIFA. That kind of legacy is unmatched in modern football.
And that was only the beginning.
In the 1950s, as football rapidly developed globally, many realized that it would be exciting to see top clubs from different European countries compete. The idea for a European Club Cup was born.
But FIFA had no interest. UEFA even opposed it and reaffirmed at its Executive Committee meeting that it would not cooperate with any non-national team competitions.
Not only that, UEFA also planned a competing tournament based on cities rather than clubs, aiming to completely exclude clubs.
At that time, clubs like Real Madrid, Anderlecht, and Rapid Vienna were actively involved in planning the Champions League and gained the support of television broadcasters.
Only when everything was ready did UEFA change its stance and decide to take over the competition, naming it the European Champion Clubs' Cup.
What we now call the Champions League.
From this, we can see why top European clubs have long resisted UEFA and even tried to push UEFA out of the Champions League or establish their own Super League.
Whether it was the founding of FIFA, the creation of the Champions League, or winning five consecutive European Cups, Real Madrid played an irreplaceable role.
That's why Real Madrid stands apart from all other European clubs.
"To some extent, calling Real Madrid the top football club in the world is no exaggeration. Its historical heritage and contributions to major football events are unmatched."
Gao Shen used clear, logical language to sum up Real Madrid's legacy.
"But we all know that historical heritage alone isn't enough. Professional football is ever-changing. Countless clubs with rich traditions have faded into obscurity. That Real Madrid is still at the top today is thanks to Florentino."
(To be continued.)