During the winter break, news about Real Madrid and Mourinho continued to ferment, and public opinion showed no signs of stopping.
However, for Real Madrid, everything was arranged step by step.
As soon as Mourinho left, Real Madrid's major stars all reposted the news and sent their blessings to Mourinho.
Although there had been conflicts and disagreements before.
But with Mourinho's departure, everything was settled, and the necessary pleasantries still had to be performed.
When Mourinho left, he took his coaching team with him, and Faria and others also left en masse.
Only Pintus, the physical coach, remained.
Strictly speaking, Pintus was not a member of Mourinho's team; he was part of a coaching staff.
Furthermore, Pintus's ability had received unanimous praise from Real Madrid, so even if Mourinho left, Pintus could still serve as the physical coach and hold an important position in the new coaching staff.
Leidep once again served as Real Madrid's interim Head Coach, and at the same time, he appointed Zidane as his assistant.
Of course, many people knew that Leidep was also a transitional coach this time.
As for Real Madrid's true coaching candidate, it has not yet been announced.
However, the media was also speculating, and some had guessed Ancelotti, but there was no definite news yet.
Suker ended his vacation and went to Paris for promotional work.
Gisele Bündchen took Sukic back to Spain; she would stay for two more days and then leave to continue her career.
Suker did not express anything about this.
Paris, the Capital of France, Times Center Square.
Suker, wearing a loose white sleeveless shirt, sturdy denim shorts, a backward hip-hop hat, and sunglasses, entered the commercial vehicle surrounded by security personnel.
"It's finally over!"
Suker took off his hat and couldn't help but exhale.
His activities in Paris were mainly by invitation, and the inviting organizer happened to be 'France Football,' as the founding organization of the Ballon d'Or, Suker couldn't refuse.
Although it wasn't very suitable financially, Suker still came!
After a day of activities, Suker had given enough face, and the next few days were his personal time.
"Let's go, let's go see the old man!"
Suker said to Zorancic in the driver's seat.
The latter immediately started the vehicle and drove into the streets of Paris.
His visit to Paris this time, besides accepting the invitation from France Football, was also to persuade Ancelotti again.
Mourinho had already left.
Suker confirmed that Ancelotti was the most suitable person to take over Real Madrid next.
Moreover, Real Madrid also had this intention, but Ancelotti was still very hesitant, so he needed Suker to talk to him.
The car quickly drove out of the city, away from the tall buildings and noisy roads, and everything around became quiet.
After driving along the suburban road for a while, the vehicle finally stopped in front of a villa.
At the entrance of the villa, there was a mailbox.
Below the mailbox was a string of empty bottles, probably milk bottles.
Looking inside the villa, the path leading to the courtyard was covered with scattered leaves.
The surrounding lawn was also messy, as if it hadn't been mowed for a long time.
Ancelotti was not a meticulous person in his daily life.
He used to have his wife help him clean up, but after his divorce in 2010, the old man returned to the life of a single dog.
And as a single man, almost all his energy was put into the club, so he invested very little in his personal life, and his home naturally became messy.
Suker stood at the door and pressed the doorbell.
After a moment, Ancelotti walked out of the villa, jogging all the way to the door, he laughed and stretched out his hands, ready to embrace.
Suker moved back slightly, his nose twitching, smelling an unpleasant odor.
It was a mixture of middle-aged man's smoke, alcohol, and body odor.
Seeing Suker's disgusted expression, Ancelotti was also a little embarrassed; he sniffed left and right and chuckled, "It does have some smell, but you shouldn't mind, come on! Kid!"
Suker reluctantly leaned in for a hug.
"You really should wash up, or find a woman."
Suker patted Ancelotti's belly, which had gotten fatter: "I guess you order takeout every day, right?"
Ancelotti shrugged: "I don't have time to cook myself."
After that, he turned sideways and invited Suker to come in.
The two walked into the room, which was also very messy.
There were some beer bottles on the coffee table, it seemed to have been tidied up a bit, and two large black plastic bags at the door were full, but it was still very cluttered.
As Suker entered the room, the most striking thing was the photos on the wall.
From left to right, they were team photos of the teams Ancelotti had coached: Reggiana, Parma, Juventus, AC Milan, Chelsea, and Paris Saint-Germain.
Suker came to the Milan team photo, looking up at it.
This photo was taken in 2005.
At that time, Milan included Shevchenko, Maldini, Gattuso, Nesta, Pirlo, Stam, Seedorf, Inzaghi, and others.
And Suker and Kaka lay on the left and right sides, just guarding their first League Championship trophy.
His younger self in the photo was very green, and his smile at that time was the purest, a genuine happiness from the heart.
This was also Suker's first top League Championship.
Most of these people have retired, and only Suker and Kaka are still active in the top League.
The former little rookie has now entered his own era, starting to be the boss himself.
"Seeing your old self, feeling a bit emotional?" Ancelotti suddenly appeared behind Suker, smiling as he spoke.
Suker turned his head: "There's nothing to be emotional about."
Ancelotti smiled; he was used to Suker's awkward personality.
This was a competitive young man who would never show his vulnerable side.
"Come! Have some hot coffee!"
Ancelotti invited Suker to sit down.
Suker had barely sat down when Ancelotti directly said, "Is this again about me coaching Real Madrid?"
Suker looked up at the old man, then lowered his head and took a sip of coffee: "Why don't you want to come?"
"Many factors, I guess." Ancelotti shrugged: "Mainly, it's boring!"
"Boring?" Suker was puzzled: "This is better than being suppressed by the lineup at Paris Saint-Germain, right?"
Although Ancelotti had extremely strong tactical command ability.
However, the current lineup of Paris Saint-Germain prevented him from fully utilizing these tactical abilities.
Furthermore, this old man's tactical standards were very high, and he demanded even higher quality from players.
Paris Saint-Germain's personnel configuration was not low, but it still couldn't fully digest Ancelotti's tactical intentions.
"Actually, we're not that bad." Ancelotti sighed: "Paris Saint-Germain trusts me, so I can't just give up like this!"
"But the gap in the lineup prevents the tactical performance from being fully realized." Suker said, "I've watched Paris Saint-Germain's matches, and some of your new tactics are very creative, but honestly, Paris Saint-Germain can't digest them, and they can't even play with that feeling at all!"
Ancelotti looked up at Suker: "We are still in the process of adapting!"
"Yes! Adaptation is necessary, but your tactics have very high demands on the midfield and forward lines!"
Suker continued: "I won't say anything else, but at least at Real Madrid, you won't have to worry about the quality of the forward line, at least you can trust me, if you are willing to come to Real Madrid, you can even make me play in the midfield!"
Ancelotti couldn't help but smile: "You trust me that much?"
Suker said seriously: "At least, so far, I haven't seen a better coach than you!"
Flattery always works!
Suker's words were indeed very well received by Ancelotti.
"Actually, I've also thought about coaching Real Madrid, but I don't know what I can bring to you." After a pause, Ancelotti sighed, "Moreover, the pressure Real Madrid puts on me is too great; Real Madrid will not be satisfied with just a League Championship, the Champions League, or even more honors!"
"Especially after Mourinho won the sextuple, their ambition will swell even more, and although I am confident in myself, I don't know how to do even better!"
Suker: "Continuous championships! You can bring continuous championships to Real Madrid, and I am deeply convinced of that."
Ancelotti sighed and suddenly changed the subject: "How is Kaka doing?"
Suker grinned, realizing he still hadn't convinced him.
"He's already had the surgery and is recuperating. He should be able to return to the team next season!"
Suker glanced at Ancelotti: "If you didn't come, Kaka might really have been driven out by Real Madrid."
"It's normal for players to be cleaned out by the team if they're not in form!"
Ancelotti shook his head.
Business is business, and personal is personal; he understood that clearly.
Even though Kaka was a player he had discovered and nurtured.
But if Kaka's condition was indeed very poor, he wouldn't protect him.
"Alright, don't say any more about this. I'll consider it again," Ancelotti intended to end the conversation.
With that, Ancelotti stood up: "Have you eaten? Shall I make you something to eat?"
Suker looked at Ancelotti and reluctantly got up: "I'll do it!"
Rely on Ancelotti to cook?
He was practically as useless in life skills as Kaka.
Suker asked Zorancic to go to the supermarket to buy some ingredients, and then began to prepare an Italian main meal.
Pasta, pizza, and other dishes.
Ancelotti was Italian, and he loved to eat these things.
Crunch!
Crunch!
Suker stood in front of a hot pot, holding both ends of the pasta with his hands, crunching and breaking it.
Even though he didn't break it completely, it still made Ancelotti uncomfortable to watch.
"Are you getting revenge on me?" Ancelotti said with a bitter smile.
Suker shook his head: "No, it's chewier this way!"
Ancelotti: "That's the first time I've heard that!"
After making a simple dinner, Suker and Ancelotti ate together.
During this time, the two didn't continue to discuss the issue of coaching Real Madrid, but rather reminisced.
Many interesting stories from their time at Milan made them laugh heartily.
"After that match, Filippo told me that he had already given up competing with you for a starting position. He just hoped you wouldn't steal the number 9 jersey!" Ancelotti said with a smile: "You, in just half a season, successfully replaced Shevchenko's position."
Suker: "I always played with Shevchenko, and I was constantly observing. I assisted him on many goals and understood his runs and technical characteristics, so it was easy to imitate."
"It was the same with Ronaldo later; he also provided you with a lot of help."
Suker nodded in agreement.
"By the way," Ancelotti suddenly asked: "In Kaka's early days at Real Madrid, you played with a dual-core tactic, didn't you?"
Suker nodded: "That's right."
In the late stages of Milan, Ancelotti tried to make Suker and Kaka coexist, but it didn't succeed. Until he transferred, the dual-core tactic of Suker and Kaka had not been implemented.
It wasn't until Suker obtained Kaka's consciousness in the World Cup that it finally came to fruition!
"But why didn't you continue to play that way?" Ancelotti asked: "If the coexistence problem was solved, the attacking power should be very strong."
Suker sighed: "For many reasons!"
"The first point is a tactical issue. Mourinho wanted me to be a pure attacker. He wouldn't allow me to drop back too much, which made it difficult to combine more with Kaka!"
"The second point was Kaka's transformation issue. His transformation was still towards a defensive midfielder, and at that time, Kaka's body was indeed struggling. If he continued to play that way, he would eventually waste his form and certainly wouldn't have lasted until now!"
"The third point was that we desperately needed results at the time, so we had no choice but to switch to Mourinho's tactical system!"
Ancelotti nodded: "Mourinho's defensive counter-attack is simple and direct. If he hadn't been overly greedy, he would have created more glory at Real Madrid."
"Not necessarily!"
Suker shook his head: "At the very least, this season, fans have a lot of opinions about Mourinho."
Hearing this, Ancelotti immediately understood.
"They want entertainment?"
Human desires are endless.
When there are no championships, they crave championships!
Once they have championships, they want entertainment!
But how many teams can encompass both entertainment and championships?
Utilitarian football is good for winning championships because it's realistic enough; it truly pushes the competitive aspect to its extreme.
But other tactics carry more of a hint of pleasing the audience.
However, beautiful football also has its unique charm.
Just like Arsenal, even though Wenger didn't win many decent championships in his later years, his popularity remained very high.
Because they played beautifully.
They played fluidly.
"Wanting to play beautifully and still get results, that's not an easy thing," Ancelotti said.
Suker: "Is it challenging? Come to Real Madrid!"
Ancelotti smiled: "I said I'd consider it, but I can't give you an answer now!"
Suker shook his head: "Alright, it seems we can only let the matches do the talking."
The Champions League Round of 16 was coincidentally Real Madrid against Paris Saint-Germain.
"Are you leaving?" Seeing Suker get up, Ancelotti couldn't help but ask.
Suker turned his head: "Why would I stay? I can't convince you anyway right now."
Ancelotti shrugged.
Suker waved, said goodbye, and left.
Arriving at the door, Suker got into the car.
"The old man has loosened up!" Suker couldn't help but show a smile on his face.
Ancelotti's attitude was not as firm as before.
It seemed that Real Madrid's 'seduction' through the media and various means had taken effect.
Considering it, that's a good thing!
Once he considers it, it means there's a chance to achieve the goal.
For Real Madrid, they still needed to redouble their efforts in the second half of the season, and thoroughly beat Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League to make Ancelotti fully recognize reality.
Suker quickly got in touch with Florentino, and they discussed the issue of Ancelotti.
Listening to Suker's narration, Florentino also smiled.
Evidently, Ancelotti saying 'consider' meant that he was indeed wavering.
This was already significant progress!
"You've worked hard, having to make a special trip to France!" Florentino said with a smile.
"You're welcome," Suker said: "This is also for myself. Our goals are consistent, so I'm willing to help with this!"
Florentino nodded with a smile and asked: "When are you coming back?"
"I'll be back tomorrow."
Suker planned to return to Spain tomorrow to prepare for the second half of the season.
Returning early was also for some training.
After all, flexibility training couldn't be interrupted. Once it was, Suker's barely maintained balance would be broken.
Currently, Suker had reduced strength training and increased flexibility training to enhance his agility.
Although his performance in duels would decline, retaining his versatility was already enough.
The next day, in the afternoon, Suker arrived at his villa in Madrid.
Gisele Bündchen had already left, and Sukic was staying at home under the supervision of bodyguards.
After Suker returned home, he first went to see Kaka.
His post-operative recovery was very good, and the doctor also said that his recovery was quite ideal.
Although he couldn't fully return to his previous state, he could minimize the decline in his condition to the greatest extent.
This was considered a blessing in disguise.
However, the extent to which Kaka's condition could reach still remained to be seen.
After all, while optimistic now, it was ultimately just data on paper.
His physical condition after surgery and changes in his mindset would all affect his match performance.
For example, many players who undergo surgery due to injuries become afraid of physical contact, afraid of re-injuring the injured part, and thus start avoiding challenges, and their play is no longer as tough as before.
Therefore, for Kaka, not only his body but also his mindset needed to be prepared.
On January 2nd, Real Madrid began preparations a week early.
After the winter break, the entire club underwent a transformation.
Under the leadership of the new coaching staff, Real Madrid's players began preparations for the second half of the season.
The preparation for the second half of the season also started with Pintus's physical training.
However, unlike the summer training camp, winter training focused on maintenance.