Because of the World Cup, the major European leagues shortened their schedules.
The Bundesliga was no exception.
The DFB-Pokal semi-final was scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on April 16, exactly one hour earlier than the Spanish Copa del Rey final.
When Real Madrid and Barcelona kicked off at the Mestalla in Valencia, Bayern had already taken a first-half lead at the Allianz Arena in Munich, beating Kaiserslautern 2-0.
In the second half, Bayern defeated Kaiserslautern 5-1 with goals from Thomas Müller, Mandzukic, and Götze, advancing to the DFB-Pokal final. Their opponent would be Klopp's Dortmund.
The Black and Yellows had beaten Wolfsburg 2-0 at home the night before.
As soon as the game at the Allianz Arena ended, Guardiola and his assistants led the Bayern players away. By the time they arrived at the training base on Säbener Straße, the Copa del Rey final in Valencia had also ended.
Real Madrid defeated Barcelona 2-0 with goals from Benzema and Ronaldo.
After dismissing the squad, Guardiola stayed with the core first-team coaching staff to watch the recording together. He began analyzing and studying Real Madrid's lineup in that match.
A week later, Bayern would visit the Bernabéu to face Real Madrid away.
This would be the first leg of the Champions League semi-final.
For both Bayern and Guardiola, it was a high-stakes clash.
The top priority for Bayern was how to break through Real Madrid's defense.
In almost all Champions League knockout ties, playing away means prioritizing attack. Scoring an away goal is the most important task and offers the biggest advantage.
…
"Real Madrid are indeed the strongest team in world football right now, no doubt about it."
After watching the Copa del Rey final, assistant coach Domènec Torrent gave his assessment of Real Madrid's strength.
"If we only look at the post-match result, we could say Barcelona did poorly in many areas. But judging from the pre-match lineup, Martino actually did his best."
"Barcelona are now far behind Real Madrid in terms of strength."
Torrent's conclusion was harsh. Most of those present had been Guardiola's assistants during his Barcelona tenure. They all had deep feelings for the club, so hearing this made them uncomfortable.
But on reflection, it was true.
For two seasons and more than a dozen matches, Real Madrid had remained unbeaten against Barcelona.
Anything can happen in football. People say the ball is round and upsets happen. Yet Real Madrid had beaten Barcelona over ten times in a row. What else was there to say?
It could only mean Real Madrid were genuinely stronger than Barcelona.
More precisely, Real Madrid plus their depth were stronger than Barcelona.
"I agree with Domènec's assessment. Real Madrid are very strong, perhaps the strongest in Europe right now. But their strength is not simply attack, defense, or possession. Their strength lies in versatility."
Analyst Carles Planchart began to break it down.
"In the final, Real Madrid used two or three different tactical setups within 90 minutes. The players adapted extremely well, switched smoothly, and executed at a high level. That is the core competitive edge of this Real Madrid."
"Toni Kroos, Modric, and Xabi Alonso are the core of Real Madrid's entire tactical system. By comparison, Pogba, Verratti, Isco, Illarramendi, and Casemiro are still immature."
Immaturity implies a lack of polish, but it also implies potential.
"Whether at Manchester United or later at Real Madrid, have we ever seen Ronaldo actively track back to defend, even sacrificing himself to create chances for his teammates?"
Planchart's question silenced the room.
What has been the most frequent criticism of Ronaldo since his debut?
Selfish, individualistic, arrogant, and in the early days, flashy and dwelling on the ball.
He has many strengths, but few have praised his sense of collective responsibility.
He used to be the type of star who needed the team built around him.
Yet under Gao Shen, he might not have become a pure team-first player, but at least he now plays with a greater sense of team honor. You can see it in the number of times he has actively defended this season, in how often he has created chances for teammates, and even sacrificed his own shots to open space for others.
This change did not come from Ronaldo alone, but from pressure applied by Gao Shen.
Sometimes professionals are like this. If they follow the right person, the change can be substantial.
…
The assistants spoke one after another, sharing their views on Real Madrid, and the discussion grew more in-depth.
Guardiola mentioned an interesting case, Leeds United.
Under Sarri, Leeds United had made a name in the Premier League with a distinctive tactical style. Both full-backs attacked aggressively, often functioning like wide midfielders or even wingers.
This attracted plenty of attention within the profession, since Sarri is a direct disciple of Gao Shen.
In the last two seasons, with the departures of attacking full-backs like Kurzawa and Clyne, Leeds' full-back profiles shifted somewhat. Bertrand on the left remained energetic, and Trippier on the right was more known for his delivery and defending, yet there were still winger-like attackers such as Cancelo.
From Leeds United's tactical framework, you could see the strong and lasting imprint of that style.
"Last December, after Pochettino was sacked by Espanyol, he moved to Madrid with his family. He became neighbors with Gao Shen and Zidane. He accompanied Gao Shen to Real Madrid training every day. I saw him many times."
Guardiola had been between jobs and had also gone to Madrid to watch Real Madrid's matches and training, so he was familiar with Pochettino and knew how much Gao Shen valued him.
"Many of us feel that some of Gao Shen's ideas at Real Madrid were tested at Leeds United, such as the dual-flank attacks, the midfield personnel structure, and the goalkeeper, who was signed directly from Leeds."
Speaking of goalkeepers, that was also Bayern's biggest weakness.
After failing to sign Neuer, Guardiola made it clear he wanted Bayern to buy German goalkeeper Ter Stegen from Borussia Mönchengladbach. However, during the winter break, Bayern failed to reach an agreement with Gladbach, which led to changes in the plan.
Now Arsenal, Barcelona, and Paris Saint-Germain had joined the chase for Ter Stegen, and the transfer market was heating up.
The young keeper's value had risen from 8 million euros at the start of the season to 12 million during the winter break. With Arsenal, Barcelona, and Paris Saint-Germain involved, Ter Stegen's fee was now approaching 20 million euros.
Bayern were accelerating efforts to sign Ter Stegen before the World Cup to avoid further complications.
But at that moment, this was not Guardiola's main concern.
He held the remote, constantly scrubbing the timeline, and soon stopped at the moment when Neymar used his body to push Carvajal away, with Barcelona close to scoring.
"At the Bernabéu, our job is to score. We must get an away goal first to establish an advantage. The right side, with Di Maria ahead of Carvajal, has many defensive issues, especially in one-on-ones."
The frame froze, clearly showing Carvajal being outmuscled by Neymar, which is a major problem for a defender.
Carvajal had risen quickly and offered strong attacking output. He was a very good full-back, but his defending was indeed weak.
Both Real Madrid full-backs were stronger in attack than defense.
In comparison, Marcelo's defending was actually better, while Carvajal was a bit immature.
This also had to do with age and experience.
Which defender hasn't taken their lumps?
"We should use Ribery to attack their right," Guardiola said firmly.
Ribery on the left and Thomas Müller on the right were Bayern's regular starters.
"What about the midfield?" Torrent asked, concerned.
Against Real Madrid, the midfield is the key.
How to set it up was a big problem.
First, there was Schweinsteiger. He was not the kind of holding midfielder Guardiola relied on. In some respects, his security in receiving and passing under pressure was not on the level of Lahm or Alaba.
This was why Guardiola had often said that selling Toni Kroos to Real Madrid was his biggest regret.
Guardiola often used the pairing of Schweinsteiger and Gallagher, but then midfield protection would be an issue, and the right-side defending would also be a problem.
Another option was to use Schweinsteiger and Khedira as a double pivot, with Vidal ahead. That midfield would be tough enough, but its passing and control would be insufficient.
This was also why many believed Guardiola was struggling to adapt.
He could not run a 4-3-3 like at Barcelona and had to use a double pivot, which was down to squad limitations.
The acclimatization issue came from this.
Originally, if Thiago had not been injured, Bayern could at times play the possession game that satisfied Guardiola, but now there was no way.
"Let me think about it. You all get ready first," Guardiola said with a frown.
He did not have a good plan yet to restrain this powerful Real Madrid.
He knew better than anyone that he and Gao Shen knew each other inside out. He knew what Gao Shen was thinking, and Gao Shen knew what he was thinking. The two would always look to target each other's weaknesses.
From the current standpoint, Gao Shen's Real Madrid had been in his hands for two years, and the squad had been built completely to his specifications, especially the midfield, which was more mature and more fluid than Guardiola's Bayern.
But the Champions League semi-final was set, and Guardiola had to face it head-on.
He suddenly remembered Martino's gambit.
Maybe they should catch the opponent off guard.
(To be continued.)