When the referee blew for full time, Gao Shen had already turned and walked toward the visiting team's bench.
3-0.
That was the final score at the Bernabéu tonight.
Real Madrid beat Bayern Munich 3-0 at home.
The entire Bernabéu was filled with joy. More than 80,000 fans, along with players and staff inside and outside the stadium, were celebrating in high spirits.
Everyone knew that this result basically meant Real Madrid had one foot in the Estádio da Luz in Lisbon.
"Hey, buddy."
Gao Shen walked up to Guardiola, reached out for a handshake, then leaned in to hug his old friend.
Guardiola was not in great spirits, but he pulled himself together and congratulated Gao Shen.
He had lost convincingly.
Gao Shen then shook hands with Torrent, Planchat, and the others behind Guardiola, all familiar faces.
The whole world knew Gao Shen and Guardiola had an extraordinary relationship.
When he turned back to Guardiola, he found the Bayern coach looking dejected and helpless.
"Don't be like this, brother, cheer up." Gao Shen patted his shoulder, trying to console him.
Guardiola gave a wry smile and shook his head. "Your comfort is perfectly timed."
Gao Shen heard the helplessness in his voice.
Thinking about it, after beating him 3-0, then telling him to cheer up, it did sound a bit odd.
"You can't blame me for this. Honestly, I didn't expect that first half," Gao Shen defended himself.
"Me neither," Guardiola sighed.
Who would have thought?
"I thought about it later and realized you were too impatient. You pushed too hard for an away goal and could not sustain the tempo," Gao Shen said.
It was obvious Guardiola wanted an away goal, which led to Bayern's more aggressive setup from the start, especially in midfield.
"As for Rafinha, he can get forward, but he cannot get back in time. In heavyweight matches, if you face a team with a strong left wing, you will suffer," Gao Shen analyzed.
In truth, Bayern had not dominated Dortmund either.
"I wanted to keep the ball in midfield," Guardiola explained.
To control the midfield, Lahm had to move inside, but that left only Rafinha on the right.
Against weaker teams, Lahm could help in midfield and still protect the right.
But Real Madrid were strong and countered quickly, leaving little time to react. Before Lahm could cover, the issue on the right was already exposed.
"This brings us to another problem. I have told you many times, you are too idealistic," Gao Shen said frankly.
There was nothing to hide between them. They knew each other inside out.
Guardiola's idealism showed in his determination to win, and to win his way.
That has a consequence. His tactics are predictable.
For instance, everyone knows he will try to play possession football.
He was also constrained by Bayern's squad, which made it tough. In Gao Shen's previous life, when Guardiola coached Manchester City, he swung to the other extreme.
He knew opponents could predict his style. While keeping his core philosophy, he made tactical tweaks to keep opponents guessing and to attack their weaknesses.
The whole world knows that Champions League final where he was slammed by countless fans.
In a game like tonight, away to Real Madrid at the Bernabéu, using a midfield of Götze, Schweinsteiger, and Lahm was very risky.
But Guardiola insisted on taking that risk.
If you take risks, you accept the consequences.
If you win, you are a visionary. If you lose, you are stubborn.
This world is realistic. No one pays for someone else's beliefs.
Even Bayern's dressing room and board might have opinions.
But does Guardiola care?
Gao Shen felt he probably did not.
Everyone has their own personality and values, and they make different choices faced with the same problem.
That is what people mean by different strokes for different folks.
It is what makes the world interesting.
For someone like Guardiola, coaching is certainly about results, money, fame, and fortune, but first and foremost it is about his footballing philosophy.
So he could not bring himself to play a defensive counter like Gao Shen.
When Bayern chose Guardiola, they knew who he was and what he would do.
There is no right or wrong in that, and it deserves respect.
…
He could not remember where he had seen this question.
In the last second of the NBA Finals, a team is down one. The player takes the last shot. As the ball flies toward the basket, is that head coach good or bad?
This applies not just to basketball, but to football too.
A match is made up of countless details. Any detail, even the tiniest, can change the outcome. It is an extremely complex and meticulous system.
But fans and media judge a coach or a player with a simple standard.
The winner takes all.
To quote a big guy, once you are in this business, you have to accept the consequences.
Half of Guardiola's huge salary is for being criticized.
As for Bayern right now, there are many issues.
Center backs, midfielders, goalkeepers, even forwards.
Mandzukic is not the type of center forward Guardiola appreciates, and there is no one in midfield to share Ribéry's burden.
He had pinned hopes on Götze, but it later became clear Götze could not become a Messi, nor an Iniesta. His profile is different.
Among the defensive playmakers, Schweinsteiger has issues, and with Lahm in midfield, the right side has problems.
If it were Gao Shen, he would not adopt a Barcelona-style possession game with this squad, because the personnel do not fit.
On the other hand, would Gao Shen play like Heynckes?
Absolutely not.
If Bayern under Gao Shen played the same football as Heynckes, that would be a failure for Gao Shen.
This is not about success or failure, but the dignity and pride of a top coach.
If Gao Shen thinks that way, how could Guardiola accept it?
If it were Gao Shen, he would not have taken Bayern to begin with. Even if he had, after Heynckes won the double and reached a Champions League final, he would have confronted the board to keep Heynckes.
But Guardiola chose to accept it, based on his considerations and those of Bayern's hierarchy.
So, many things are decided from the start.
…
"How is he?"
When Gao Shen returned to the home dugout, Zidane asked with concern.
Although Zidane is a Real Madrid legend and Guardiola a Barcelona icon, the two had mutual respect.
"He is fine. He will hold up. So let's finish them off in the next leg at the Allianz Arena."
Zidane, Hierro, and the others could only smile wryly.
Mate, are you really good friends?
"The trend in European football has become clearer in recent years. For teams that play possession football, they must have players who can raise the tempo. And not just one, otherwise they will be neutralized too easily."
At Barcelona, Messi and Iniesta, or even Sánchez and Agüero, could do it.
They could suddenly accelerate the game within a possession setup.
Some relied on individual ability, some on technical traits, but they all achieved the tactical aim.
Right now, only Ribéry has that ability at Bayern. So once Ribéry is contained, their possession becomes a monotonous rhythm.
Because they cannot speed up.
In recent years, defensive structures have become more precise. Constant recycling and back passes struggle to break lines, especially in Champions League knockout ties.
Therefore, for Bayern now, the top four is their ceiling.
In other words, Guardiola's tactics plus Bayern's current squad can take them to the semifinals, at best.
"Given Guardiola's character, he will definitely go all out to attack and score at home. He will not compromise."
Gao Shen said this with a helpless smile.
Zidane and Hierro felt the same.
Everyone knew that after a 3-0 defeat at the Bernabéu in the first leg, if Bayern kept taking the initiative at the Allianz Arena, what would happen?
Real Madrid would give Bayern no chance. This experienced team would sit solidly in a compact block and counter, perhaps even more resolute than in the first leg, with sharper and deadlier breaks.
The outcome was almost predictable.
The only questions were how determined Guardiola would be, and how many goals Real Madrid would score.
Gao Shen could foresee that after the match, or even already, criticism of Guardiola would flood the internet and TV.
That was expected.
But he still believed Guardiola would attack in the second leg.
This is the essential difference between them.
Therefore, he could never coach a Barcelona like Guardiola's, a team of idealists. Likewise, Guardiola could never coach a pragmatic Real Madrid, or the Napoli and Manchester City that came before.
They are on completely different paths.
But in the end, they share the same goal.
Champions.
(To be continued.)
◇◇◇
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)