Starting With Real Madrid

Humans are truly a very special kind of animal.

Before Su Qing resigned and came to the UK, Gao Shen had imagined countless possibilities about what her arrival might change in his work and life.

But later, he realized that nothing really changed at all.

Isn't that funny?

Before getting married, the two of them would lie in bed, imagining what their married life would be like…

After deciding to have children, they would start wondering if they'd still be able to go out and have fun afterward.

Like, could they still travel to Northern Europe during the holidays?

But the most ridiculous thing about life is that it always manages to surprise you.

After Su Qing arrived in the UK, Gao Shen's work and life didn't change in the slightest. On the contrary, everything went even more smoothly.

He could focus on his work every day without distractions.

Even after getting married, their lives remained much the same. Even when Gao Shen took over Leeds United, Su Qing handled everything with ease. When problems arose, she usually only needed him to make the final decision.

They each kept busy with their own tasks and led fulfilling lives, but their relationship never became one where they were just two strangers sharing a roof. On the contrary, they often called each other to ask when the other would be home and whether they should go pick them up.

No matter how late it got, whenever Gao Shen came home, Su Qing was always waiting for him.

Even if he was returning from an away game in the middle of the night, she'd keep the lights on.

She never admitted she was waiting. She always said she was just afraid of burglars.

Even though Cheshire is a wealthy area, it's not exactly safe.

Especially for someone like Gao Shen, who's offended so many Manchester United fans. If he ran into a burglar who happened to be a United fan, that could get messy.

But maybe because Gao Shen did a good job with the house's security, they hadn't run into any problems yet.

Before deciding to have a child, they worried about whether it would bring changes to their lives.

But after making the decision, they found out the biggest change was realizing that you don't get what you want just because you say you want it.

It's been over a month, and there's still no sign of anything.

It wasn't easy to ask others about something like this, so Su Qing took it upon herself to study all kinds of obscure pregnancy-related medical knowledge.

Gao Shen even felt that she could probably pass the obstetrician and gynecologist licensing exam.

But that's just how life goes.

Especially during the most difficult period of Gao Shen's time coaching at Manchester City, coming home every day to hear her talk about those strange medical terms became one of the few joys in his life.

Only then did he finally understand something: no matter how smart a woman is, she can become a bit silly when preparing for pregnancy.

Some say that marriage is the grave of love.

From the outside, it looks like a sea of flowers, but inside it's falling apart.

But Gao Shen's experience wasn't like that. He felt that marriage was more like a treasure chest.

There were always unexpected surprises and gains waiting to be discovered.

Gao Shen always believed that a woman as smart and beautiful as Su Qing could live a good life no matter who she was with—even if she hadn't met him.

But Su Qing held his hand tightly, looked at him seriously, and said, "I never think about anyone else. I only think about us."

You and me. After marriage, we become us.

This was probably the most plain yet most touching love confession Gao Shen had ever heard.

That's just how Su Qing is.

Plain, like water.

Many people are drawn in by her looks and temperament, but what truly captivated Gao Shen was the person she was inside.

When he was with her, time always flew by.

No matter how much trouble or pressure he faced outside, no matter how chaotic the world was, being with her always brought peace.

He didn't need to think about anything. He didn't need to do anything. He could fully relax.

So much so that on the morning of the last day of their vacation, while Gao Shen was eating breakfast across from Su Qing, he suddenly froze, remembering something.

...

"What's wrong?" Su Qing saw the change in his expression and asked with concern.

Gao Shen put down his glass of milk, frowned, and thought hard for a while. "Did we break Capello's unbeaten record with AC Milan?"

The moment he asked, Su Qing went completely blank.

The air around them seemed to freeze.

A few seconds later, the beauty across from him suddenly burst into laughter, blooming like a flower.

"What are you laughing at?" Gao Shen was puzzled.

"Nothing." But Su Qing just laughed even harder.

Gao Shen was completely confused. The more he thought about it, the more something felt off—he couldn't remember the last time they lost a game.

"So the media really misunderstood you," Su Qing said with a teasing smile.

"What do you mean?"

"Didn't a reporter ask you this in January?"

"Did they?" Gao Shen really didn't remember.

"That's what you answered at the time too. You said, 'Did we? I didn't notice. I'll go back and check.'" Su Qing mimicked his serious tone and expression perfectly.

"Everyone thought you were just playing dumb, and the media reported it multiple times."

"So we broke it in early January?"

"Of course. He only had 58 games. You've already passed 60," Su Qing replied.

"Didn't Capello congratulate you in the media? You forgot that too?"

"I really didn't notice," Gao Shen said with a bitter smile.

That stretch was incredibly hectic.

A match every three days, all against strong opponents—who had time to worry about something like a record?

Gao Shen's head was full of games, opponents, training… How could he even think about breaking records?

Besides, what's the point?

The media covered it for a bit, then it quieted down. They probably won't bring it up again until Manchester City loses.

That's all there is to it.

"I really didn't notice. I've been so blank lately. Just now while eating, I suddenly remembered. I calculated that we've played over 60 games. I'll need to check the exact number, but that's what I was wondering about."

Gao Shen smiled bitterly. If the media caught wind of this, they'd definitely think he was just pretending to be modest, but he genuinely forgot.

Since Christmas, he hadn't even kept up the habit of reading newspapers.

There were just too many things and too many problems every day. He simply didn't have the time.

"Forget it, it's not a big deal," Su Qing said with a smile. "Here, eat more. Don't leave anything behind."

She scooped up the remaining preserved egg and lean pork congee, emptied the bottom of the pot, and put it all into his big bowl.

"Oh, right. How have things been going recently?" Gao Shen asked with concern.

He really hadn't checked in with Leeds United in a while.

"We're playing our 31st match tonight, away to Coventry," Su Qing said lightly.

"After the winter break, our performance dipped a lot. Especially in January, we had five winless matches in a row, including two straight losses. We dropped quite a few points, but we're slowly getting back on track now and making adjustments."

Gao Shen nodded. "It's normal. He's inexperienced."

Sarri must've been mentally prepared. After all, he'd been Gao Shen's assistant for three years and had worked in the Premier League for two seasons. He should be familiar with the Christmas and winter schedule.

But being an assistant and being the head coach are two very different roles.

The most direct difference is that one has to bear the pressure directly, while the other doesn't.

Naturally, that changes how decisions are made.

"We're still at the top of the table, but we haven't been able to widen the gap, which is a bit of a shame."

Gao Shen understood very well that if they could've pulled ahead during this period, it would've crushed the competition.

But now, with the title race so close, their rivals would stay hungry.

"Our biggest challengers right now are West Ham United, Birmingham, and Cardiff. The gap between us and them isn't very large. With 16 rounds left, everything's still up in the air."

"Sarri's rotation policy earlier on wasn't very effective. That was a major reason why we struggled during the winter break. He's working hard to fix it now."

Back at the start of the season, Gao Shen had reminded Sarri that with 46 rounds in the Championship plus two cup competitions, the schedule was far too intense. It was impossible for everyone to play every match. Rotation was a must.

But once the league began, Sarri's main squad performed so smoothly that he didn't stick firmly to the rotation plan.

As a result, issues cropped up around Christmas and the winter break.

"What about Southampton?" Gao Shen asked with curiosity.

If he remembered right, Southampton were supposed to get promoted this season, but Su Qing hadn't mentioned them at all, which seemed odd.

"The Saints are currently fifth, nine points behind us. They're in a similar position to Blackpool, Reading, and Hull City. The team to really watch out for is Reading."

"They struggled early on, sitting in the lower-mid table, but they didn't change the head coach. After December, Brian McDermott made some adjustments, and the team entered a strong comeback phase. Now they've climbed to sixth."

Gao Shen nodded. If he remembered correctly, Reading went on to win the Championship and get promoted to the Premier League that season.

"Keep an eye on them. They should have a fairly mature squad by now and could be a real threat going forward," Gao Shen warned.

In lower-tier leagues like the Championship, competition between teams often comes down to the overall setup.

That's why an excellent head coach can be a real game-changer in these leagues.

Everyone knows that teams at this level don't have many standout stars, so the importance of team coordination is even greater.

In fact, this doesn't just apply to lower leagues. Mid- and lower-tier clubs in top leagues are the same.

That's why smaller teams often better showcase a head coach's tactical skills and coaching ability.

But once these coaches move to bigger clubs, especially top clubs, many start to struggle. Why?

Because what big clubs demand from their head coaches goes beyond tactics and training.

In fact, those skills often take a backseat.

With large coaching teams assisting in every area, the head coach doesn't need to do everything themselves.

Take Ferguson, for example. These days, he barely runs training sessions. He doesn't even handle tactics for many games, leaving it all to his assistants. He just oversees the big picture.

"How's Sarri's mindset these days?" Gao Shen asked with concern.

"I just saw him the day before yesterday. He seems fine."

"That's good." Gao Shen felt reassured.

He trusted Sarri's professional ability. As long as his mindset remained stable, there shouldn't be any major issues.

A season is long, with countless matches. Ups and downs are perfectly normal. The most important thing is the head coach's mentality.

(To be continued.)

***

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