Super Marshal

If August meant a bad start for Chinatown, the adjustments in September brought hope to the team, but the tragic blow in October put this team in the southern suburbs of Madrid into crisis again.

Four rounds of the league, three consecutive defeats, if not for the last-minute defeat of the Spanish, Chinatown's morale would have hit rock bottom.

After finally finishing La Liga and entering November, the team immediately ushered in the fourth round of the Champions League group stage. The opponent was Porto, the strongest team in the group. The game was held at the Block Stadium. This pair of Chinese teams This is a rare opportunity for City. If they can win Porto, it will undoubtedly set the stage for the group stage.

There is no doubt that Porto will also go all out to fight for the right to qualify from the group.

This is a game that no one can afford to lose!

The sluggish start of the season has left the Chinatown team with unsatisfactory morale. Even in training, head coach Pochettino felt it vividly. He also clearly knew why the players' morale was low.

After all, no one wants to lose or accept failure.

After eleven rounds of La Liga, Chinatown scored 16 points, ranking eighth in La Liga. This report card is indeed not too bad for Chinatown, but just last season, the team played In the eleventh round, they were still leading La Liga, and the gap was really too big.

What exactly is the team's problem? How should the problem be solved?

This has become a mystery that plagues the team.

Head coach Pochettino is also very dissatisfied with the current situation of the team, and he has also made rotations and adjustments to the lineup.

For example, Isco, who often performed well after coming off the bench, was tried to start. However, after starting, Isco's performance was sluggish, far less impressive than when he came off the bench.

He used De Bruyne to play in the middle, and the effect was relatively average.

In the midfielder position, Illarramendi also began to gradually replace Marcos Senna, and his performance was quite satisfactory.

Pochettino also tried to adjust his tactics, playing 4-2-3-1, and also used Aubameyang and Pelle to form a double forward, and Hazard came back to play as an attacking midfielder, but the results were not ideal.

He knew that his team had encountered a problem, and he vaguely knew what the problem was, but he just didn't have time to stop and think through his thoughts, just like he did during the pre-season training, slowly preparing for the game, adjusting and trying different things. tactics.

The busy schedule was like a whip that kept beating on him, forcing him to drag this crappy carriage in Chinatown and keep moving forward without looking back.

Fortunately, the management has always firmly expressed its support for him. Not long ago, general manager Armando Marcos reiterated in an interview with the media after a meeting with a Chinese company that Chinatown will continue to unconditionally support coach Pochettino. .

"It is normal for the team's performance to have ups and downs. We believe that no matter what difficulties we encounter, we can overcome them."

The support from the management means that Pochettino does not have to worry about his coaching crisis, but faced with the current complicated situation of the team, he is still a little unable to start.

He needs more time.

But what he lacks most now is time.

This reminded him of something Gao Han once said to him.

"The most terrifying opponent for a head coach is not the opponent on the court, but the pressure coming from all directions."

Pochettino now deeply understands the true meaning of this sentence.

Chinatown was a newly promoted team in its first season in La Liga. As long as they succeeded in relegation, everyone was happy, even the media and fans were very satisfied. What's more, they were ranked tenth, and Pochettino became famous in one fell swoop.

The second season was a dark horse. After continuing the outstanding performance of the previous season, he started very well and won the best start in the league in one fell swoop. He led the La Liga standings and was once the most powerful contender for the championship. Although in the second half Cheng was somewhat eclipsed, but eventually managed to secure fourth place in the league and reach the Champions League.

This report card is also eye-catching and impeccable.

But after two seasons of outstanding performance, Chinatown has experienced a downturn this season.

Michu, James Rodriguez, Alderweireld and Otamendi, Chinatown sold out the entire central axis in one summer, plus veteran Marcos Senna is getting old, Yili Alamendi must be lifted up, and the entire central axis must be replaced. This will have a huge impact on Chinatown.

The team's strength has fluctuated, and its results have fluctuated. This season, it has been hovering in the eighth or ninth place for a long time, and its performance has also declined very obviously. As a result, pressure from all directions began to pour in towards Pochettino, dragging him down. In it, it sometimes took his breath away.

Perhaps Mr. Gao Han can help me find the answer.

Pochettino thought to himself, because he knew that Gao Han had already booked a flight to Madrid today in advance.

According to the time, you should be able to see him after the morning training session.

…………

…………

When the training session ended and Pochettino walked out of the training ground, what was waiting for him was not the cold weather he expected, but technical director Cantarero. He had obviously been waiting outside for some time, but Pochettino never paid attention.

"Hello, Carlos." Pochettino said hello with a smile.

"Hello, Mauricio." Cantarero greeted him with a smile.

His smile is natural, at least, much more pleasing to the eye than Pochettino.

"Why...are you alone?" Pochettino asked strangely.

He originally thought he could see Gao Han. They had made an appointment before. They would study the current situation of the team and how to solve the problem together at noon.

"Gao Han notified me just now that something happened to him and he couldn't come."

"Really?" Pochettino was a little disappointed.

"He asked me to convey two sentences to you."

Pochettino nodded, "You say."

"The first sentence was spoken as the owner of the club. He said that he and the management will continue to unconditionally support your coaching at the club. I hope you will not feel any pressure. The management absolutely trusts your coaching ability and believes No matter what problem you encounter, you can always find a solution.”

Pochettino understands the weight of Gao Han's words.

With Gao Han's character of making promises, being able to say this, as long as Chinatown is not relegated this season, it will not affect Pochettino's coaching position. This is definitely the greatest trust and support for Pochettino.

"The second sentence, he said it as a senior."

Pochettino nodded solemnly and listened carefully.

"He said, you are the head coach!"

A simple sentence, but Pochettino suddenly raised his head and looked at Cantarero with wide eyes.

The technical director's eyes were firm, looking directly at Pochettino without any fear.

"The following are some of my own words. I have worked with Gao Han for ten years. I have watched him grow from an unknown person to the top head coach in the world. I have witnessed him encounter countless thorny problems, and I have witnessed him with my own eyes. Watch him rack his brains and think of ways to solve it.”

"Sometimes I wonder, how hard is it to be a head coach? Guardiola has only been here for a few years, and his hair is already white. Mourinho's hair is also white. Look at Gao Han. , do people in their thirties also have gray hair?”

Pochettino listened blankly, and he understood what Gao Han and Cantarero meant.

"We in Chinatown are a very young team. The history of the club is very young, the team lineup is very young, and the head coach is also very young, so we have to work together and make progress together."

"The difficulties you are encountering now have been encountered by Gao Han, Mourinho, Guardiola and Ferguson, and you will encounter them now and will also encounter them in the future. Relying on others is No, you are the head coach of the team, and you should shoulder this responsibility. It is up to you to find the answer and find a proper solution to the problem."

Pochettino asked himself, Gao Han has indeed helped him a lot since he coached Chinatown. Sometimes he even flew to Madrid overnight and flew back early the next morning. This was the case when he played with Bayern Munich and Manchester City. It was still the same when I was at Paris Saint-Germain.

He learned a lot from Gao Han, but this also caused him to be somewhat dependent on Gao Han. He asked him for advice whenever he encountered a problem. Instead, he became inert and lazy to think and find answers.

"Everyone says that Gao Han is very accurate in judging people. None of the players he likes is mediocre, and none of the assistants and coaches he selects are unsuccessful, such as Emery, Guardiola, Los Angeles. Petrgui, Simeone, Klopp, Tuchel... and you."

"I believe you know better than anyone how much Chinatown means to Gao Han and how much he values ​​this team, but he did not choose to coach it himself, but handed it over to you. He is more important than anyone else. Everyone has to trust you. He has almost entrusted his most precious possessions to you. It can be seen that he values ​​you more than anyone else."

"So, if you doubt your own ability, then you are doubting Gao Han's vision, do you understand?"

When Pochettino heard this, he suddenly looked at the technical director in front of him with admiration. He even began to understand why Gao Han chose him as the technical director of China Town.

"Thank you for the reminder, Carlos." Pochettino nodded heavily, "I understand, please help me thank Mr. Gao Han, and thank you too."

"You're welcome." Cantarero smiled and nodded.

Watching Pochettino go upstairs, Cantarero let out a gentle breath.

What he just said was not a lie to coax Pochettino, but every word was sincere. He was just thankful for one thing, that is, Gao Han began to learn to become a qualified manager.

In fact, he originally decided to wait for Gao Han to come and persuade him. After all, as the owner of the club, it is somewhat unruly to interfere too much in competitive affairs. This will lead to chaos in the team's management and even make the head coach's Authority is affected.

How good was the mentor-apprentice relationship between Van Gaal and Koeman back then?

Both of them work at Ajax, one as technical director and the other as head coach. It should have been a perfect match, but it turned out that Van Gaal interfered too much in team affairs. At first, Koeman was able to accept it humbly, but as time went on, , the contradiction between the two became more and more obvious, and in the end it even got out of hand, and the master and apprentice broke up.

Therefore, whether in terms of team management or preventing hidden dangers before they occur, Gao Han should not interfere too much in the team's competitive affairs, but should fully trust Pochettino and the coaching staff. Otherwise, over time, something will happen. questionable.

Cantarero was very happy and fortunate that Gao Han realized the problem and canceled the ticket to Madrid.

Both he and Gao Han have full confidence and trust in Pochettino, believing that Pochettino and his coaching staff will be able to find a proper solution to the problem.

If one sacrifices one season's performance in exchange for Pochettino's maturity and progress, it would be quite a bargain.

After all, Pochettino is only thirty-nine years old.