After returning to Madrid from Istanbul, Real Madrid's preparations immediately shifted to the upcoming city derby in the 26th round of La Liga.
Whenever there are two matches in a week, especially after a long midweek away trip like this one, the Real Madrid coaching staff is extremely busy, and Gao Shen works late into the night.
When he got home, the children and the elderly were already asleep, and only his wife Su Qing was waiting for him.
Gao Shen and Su Qing felt at ease with little Gao Ming being looked after by his mother and mother-in-law.
The master bedroom in Gao Shen's house is a large suite. When he came out after a hot shower, he saw Su Qing still working on something in the study.
This is her habit of working remotely after giving birth.
Unless something is urgent, she leaves it for the evening and tries to spend more time with the child during the day.
Besides, if it really is urgent, doesn't Leeds still have Fernando Lucas?
"How is it? Have you made all the contacts?" Gao Shen walked over and sat on the lazy sofa next to her. He was so tired he did not want to get up.
"Almost. The contract with Adidas is basically settled. They asked for a commitment on future sales cooperation. We have already confirmed it with Fanatics. There are basically no problems," Su Qing replied while typing.
As long as the contract details are finalized, this cooperation will enter the fast lane.
As for domestic OEM factories, Su Qing went back to China during the Spring Festival and personally contacted many qualified companies. After multiple rounds of screening, she finally chose a well-known domestic OEM factory as a partner.
It can be said the entire production and sales chain has been opened up. The rest depends on results.
"We still have to pay attention to quality. This is a long-term business." Gao Shen had great confidence in Su Qing's ability, but he could not help reminding her.
Su Qing looked up and smiled at him. "Got it, Boss."
After a pause, she continued, "Next month, Fernando Lucas will lead a team on a tour of the Middle East, Asia, and North America."
"Any progress?" Gao Shen became interested.
Leeds United is short of money everywhere right now.
Of course, this shortage is not immediate, but a foreseeable one.
According to the total budget provided by Norman Foster, the total investment for the new stadium and surrounding commercial projects is about 1 billion pounds. What does that mean?
Currently, Leeds United has not even sold the stadium naming rights, but many companies are interested in the commercial projects, including leading British companies, France's largest commercial real estate giant, and even the Australian mall giant Westfield has expressed interest in cooperating with Leeds United.
But unfortunately, this project has to be put at the end for now.
According to Leeds United's plan, the stadium must be built first, then Elland Road will be demolished, and then the commercial projects will be built. It is estimated this will take until around 2020.
Of course, do not think that is too long.
For these giant companies, a six to seven-year timeline is very normal.
For example, Westfield's shopping center in west London took the Westfield Group five years from land purchase to opening.
When it opened in 2008, it coincided with the subprime mortgage crisis and the European debt crisis, and everyone was pessimistic about Europe's largest shopping mall, thinking it would not make money.
But more than five years later, it has become a London landmark, and phase two is being planned.
In this respect, Westfield Group has extensive operational experience.
Of course, the British commercial real estate company ndsec is also impressive. Trinity Street in central Leeds is their masterpiece. Since opening, it has always been Leeds's brightest calling card. They often develop major UK commercial real estate projects, and their strength is considerable.
The French Unibé & Rodenco consortium is the largest commercial real estate company in Europe. Formed by the merger of France's Unibé and the Netherlands' Rodenco, they have long wanted to enter the UK market.
Projects like Leeds United are extremely attractive to these commercial real estate companies.
The reason is simple. Football stadiums naturally attract crowds.
Many people later summarized a key factor in the success of Westfield's west London center, namely that a vast number of fans heading to the London Bowl passed through this mall.
Just like the commercial corner of Real Madrid's Bernabéu, rental income is also very high, for the same reason.
This is why these potential commercial real estate firms are interested in Leeds United's new stadium plans.
But for now, there is no definite outcome.
…
"I met with Casillas today and talked for a while."
Gao Shen was completely sprawled out, staring at the ceiling.
"How is he now? Is it serious?" Su Qing asked.
She actually had a good impression of Casillas.
"The back injury is an old problem. He will be out for at least a month. He will miss the second leg. He has no energy at all."
Su Qing could fully understand.
He would miss the second leg. Once Courtois performed well, by the time Casillas returned and needed to regain form, it would likely be difficult for him to start again.
It is inevitable for the in-form player to displace the returning one.
Especially in the Champions League knockout stage, the further you go, the less risk you can take.
Of course, if he were lucky and Courtois also got injured, then...
But Gao Shen faced a dilemma.
"You have done plenty for him lately. That is already good," Su Qing said.
Casillas caused a lot of controversy because of his girlfriend and was benched by Mourinho for a season. After Gao Shen took over, he set up a rotation between him and Courtois, one playing the cups and the other the league. This drew dissatisfaction from many Real Madrid fans. If Real Madrid had not later won the Champions League, the doubts around Casillas would have been even stronger.
But even so, many still accuse Casillas of being a locker-room tyrant, saying he squeezed Courtois's room for growth. Some tabloids even spread rumors from time to time that Casillas was suppressing Courtois and Ramos.
Gao Shen always stood up to support Casillas.
From Hierro to Raúl to Casillas, every Real Madrid captain has been called a "locker-room tyrant."
It is entirely foreseeable that Ramos will be labeled the same.
Ultimately, it is not that their captaincy is bad, it is that they are getting old.
Professional football is very cruel and depends on strength.
If you have the ability, even your shortcomings are tolerated. If you do not, no one supports you no matter how right you are.
But the contradiction is that every person struggles to accept aging. The stronger someone is inside, the harder it is to accept.
This is also why almost all superstars see their reputations decline as they age.
There are very few as smart as Zidane.
But as head coach, Gao Shen has to face this and manage these relationships well.
Take Casillas. He has good standing in the dressing room, but how to handle his case is a problem.
Because there are veterans like Xabi Alonso in the team.
Besides, who does not grow old?
Right now, the players are watching how Gao Shen handles Casillas, and they will use this to judge how he will deal with them in the future.
This seems simple, but it has far-reaching implications.
"From the current perspective, Courtois's rise is unstoppable. This Belgian goalkeeper is just too strong."
Gao Shen's personal impression of Courtois is not necessarily great. Although the scandals from his previous life did not happen this time, Gao Shen still does not feel much about him. But strong is strong, no doubt.
Moreover, Courtois truly respects Gao Shen and even regards him as a mentor.
In this situation, Courtois cannot be held back any longer.
It is impossible that once Casillas recovers, Courtois is immediately benched despite performing well in the Champions League.
This is unrealistic.
The later the stage and the more crucial the match, the harder it is to make changes.
If you really change it, would it not be like that scene from a certain mean little chubby comedian?
"Here I come to win a prize? I am heading to the final."
"Here to receive the award? Oh my God, who arranged this?"
Su Qing also noticed her husband's distress. In fact, Gao Shen is facing a common problem worldwide.
Not only teams and clubs, but all companies encounter these problems, and they are very hard to handle.
"You are only dealing with Casillas now. What about the future?" Su Qing teased.
With Real Madrid's current age structure, in a few years many players will be of similar age. By then, there will be more of these issues. When they come in groups, how do you deal with them?
Is this not the situation Barcelona is in now?
Xavi, Puyol, Valdés, Abidal, Alves, and even Iniesta, this group is all in their thirties, which means Barcelona is facing several Casillas-like situations.
Didn't Guardiola see this early and wisely leave?
Gao Shen nodded. "So I have to be smarter. When the time is right, I have to leave quickly. I would rather fire Real Madrid than let Real Madrid fire me."
At the end, Gao Shen could not help laughing.
This may sound heartless, but the truth is cruel.
Ask yourself, if this Real Madrid starts to decline, and Gao Shen continues but results are poor, will he be sacked?
The answer is obvious, he will be dismissed.
But the manner of departure might not be ugly. It could be through friendly negotiation.
Yet Gao Shen is a man of pride. He will not allow himself to reach that point, so he will leave early.
This has nothing to do with emotion, it is more a self-protection mechanism for a head coach.
(To be continued.)