Super Marshal

The next morning, Gao Han welcomed Guardiola at the Chinatown Youth Training Center.

Traveling with Barcelona's new coach was a middle-aged man in a white shirt who looked quite strong and was probably in his mid-thirties. He seemed a little excited when he saw the cold weather.

"Ha, Pep, welcome to Chinatown."

Gao Han stood up and shook hands with Guardiola politely, and Guardiola also took the initiative to introduce his companion.

"Are you Mauricio Pochettino?"

Gao Han was a little surprised. He turned around and looked at the resume material he placed next to the sofa. The photo above was of an Argentinian with long flowing hair, but the man in front of him was a handsome guy with short hair. The gap was too big. Already?

"That's a photo before I retired. You know, we all like long hair." Pochettino explained awkwardly.

Argentinian players like to grow their hair long, which seems to have a long history. Even now, many young Argentine players still have long flowing hair in order to chase their idols.

how to say?

Pochettino looks a bit sloppy with long hair, but after cutting his hair short, he looks like a handsome uncle.

Fortunately, Gao Han was interested in this person, not the photo on his resume.

"Come, sit down." Gao Han asked them to sit down, "Why did you come together?"

Guardiola and Pochettino looked at each other and couldn't help laughing.

Barcelona and Espanyol are rivals in the same city. They play for these two teams respectively and compete with each other on the court. Naturally, they are familiar with each other. Guardiola called Gao Han last night and said he wanted to visit today. At that time, Gao Han also called Pochettino and invited him for an interview.

As a result, the two met on the train by chance.

It is also interesting to say that Pochettino has played for Espanyol for many years, but in the past few years when Gao Han was coaching Atletico Madrid, he happened to transfer to Paris Saint-Germain in Ligue 1. After Gao Han left Atletico Madrid, he Just after returning to Spain, the two of them happened to be separated again by coincidence.

The three of them all felt funny when they talked about this incident.

"To be honest, I don't know why you would recommend me to be the head coach of Barcelona."

After the joke, Guardiola looked at Gao Han seriously. This is one of the head coaches he admires most in his life.

Pochettino didn't understand what was going on and was surprised.

I had heard that Barcelona was pursuing Gao Han before, but I didn't expect that it was Gao Han who recommended Guardiola to Barcelona's coaching position. If this spread, it would definitely be a big news.

"No reason, I just think you will do a good job." Gao Han smiled.

Guardiola had a don't tease me expression, "Please, you know, I'm not ready at all."

"Then when do you think you will be ready?" Gao Han asked with a smile.

Guardiola was suddenly speechless, and he didn't know very well.

"The job of head coach is indeed very important. For some people, they may not be able to do this job for the rest of their lives, but for some people, they can do it without any effort, and in my opinion , you belong to the latter."

Guardiola couldn't help but feel a little moved. This was Gao Han's highest praise for him.

"Perhaps, maybe you haven't noticed it yourself, but I feel it deeply. From the time you played football, you have been a player who is diligent in thinking. You are always thinking about why, how, and how this happened. How to change things, in the eyes of many players, this is simply a fuss, but it is the most important quality of a head coach."

"This is the case when you are a player, and it is still the same when you are a coach or assistant. You like to get to the bottom of things and want to make things clear when you encounter them. You have extremely high requirements for yourself, and at the same time you can Communicate clearly what you want to others, and I think you're ready."

Guardiola was stunned when he heard this. He didn't expect that Gao Han had been paying attention to him.

Even Pochettino on the side couldn't help but feel a little moved, thinking about himself, is he like Guardiola?

"Originally, my advice to you was to start with the second team, familiarize yourself with the environment of coaching alone, and adapt to the change of status. But as you know what happened later, Barcelona needed a head coach, and they came You came to me, but I think you are more suitable, so I recommend you.”

"But I don't have much confidence." Guardiola was helpless.

This will definitely be a new challenge for him.

When playing football, he can be confident because he has played football for decades. Barcelona has had high hopes for him since his debut. He only needs to follow the head coach's arrangements.

Later, he became Gao Han's assistant. He didn't need to do anything, he just had to follow Gao Han's arrangements and wishes.

But now, he has to coach alone, and he is still coaching Barcelona. He has to be responsible not only to the management, but also to the players, and to all Barcelona fans.

This was an unprecedented challenge for him.

"Listen to me, Pep." Gao Han smiled reassuringly at Guardiola, "Actually, coaching a wealthy team is not as difficult as you think. Do you know why?"

Neither Guardiola nor Pochettino understood what was going on and looked at Gao Han intently.

"In coaching a wealthy team, the key factor that determines your success or failure is not whether you have outstanding tactical qualities, because that is secondary, but your management ability and coordination and communication skills are the most important."

This is actually not difficult to understand.

Just like a team like Barcelona, ​​every player selected is the best in the world, and there is absolutely no problem with the overall strength. No matter who the head coach is, as long as these players can do their best to play for him, then Barcelona's results It will definitely not be bad, and there is even a good chance of winning the championship.

But what determines whether these players are willing to give their all to a head coach is not the head coach's tactical literacy, but the management ability, coordination and communication skills, and the head coach's personal charisma.

Just take Rijkaard, is he very capable?

With or without Tenkat, there are two completely different Rijkaards.

why?

Because Rijkaard's football ability is not necessarily very good, and he is not even strong in team management, but he has a proud resume and background. He has been the idol of many current players since childhood. Live the scene.

As for Tenkat, there is no doubt that he is very capable in football and has excellent management skills, but without the banner of Rijkaard, who will listen to him? Who knows what Tenkat is?

Of course, this is only part of it.

Who is the head coach also determines how much support the club management has.

If it is Rijkaard, he can ask Barcelona to introduce Eto'o, Ronaldinho and Deco to him, but if it is Tenkat, let alone these three superstars, the transfer price may exceed 20 million euros. You have to calculate your membership fees carefully and think about it for a long time.

Gao Han's coaching resume is also the best proof. He climbed all the way up from the bottom in Atletico Madrid, which is not only proof of continuous power and support from the club, so that later on, whether in Atletico Madrid, Chelsea, Inter Milan or Today's Bayern Munich can buy almost anyone he wants.

How important is it that the head coach can build the team he wants as he pleases?

In European football, there are many head coaches who have achieved very good results in coaching middle and lower-tier teams, but after switching to wealthy teams, they suffered a disastrous defeat like Waterloo. What is the reason?

It's definitely not that he has poor football abilities, but that he didn't fully understand the biggest difference between coaching a wealthy club and coaching a mid-to-lower team. In other words, he figured it out, but he failed to adjust his role well.

If you want to coach a mid- to lower-tier team and achieve results, your football ability is crucial.

But if you want to achieve results when coaching a wealthy team, your football skills are only secondary.

Guardiola's situation is very similar to Rijkaard's. He has an extremely proud background and can gain the recognition and support of fans and management without any effort.

As for his lack of football, does that matter?

He can definitely look for a few coaches with excellent professional abilities in this area to be his assistants, right?

Just like Gao Han, his physical training is far inferior to Buenaventura, but what does it matter?

"Pep, believe me, you can do it."

Gao Han's encouragement finally plucked up the courage for Guardiola.

The person he admired most was Gao Han. Since Gao Han said he could do it, there was no reason for him not to give it a try.

"When Emery went to coach alone, I gave him a message. Now, I also send this message to you."

Guardiola nodded solemnly, and Pochettino next to him listened attentively.

"Professional football is an intertwined fame and fortune fair, in which the different interests and needs of all parties are intertwined. The position of the head coach is the center point and the link most prone to conflicts."

"As a head coach, we must always remain clear-headed and rational. We must always keep in mind what we want and what we pursue. Only in this way can we face intricate entanglements of interests and deal with various problems. , we can do it with ease.”

"To sum it up, in four words, never forget your original intention."

Guardiola and Pochettino both nodded seriously.

If Guardiola was still worried about gains and losses before coming, now he is starting to feel a little more confident.

As for Pochettino, it was as if he had re-recognized Gao Han. He felt that the Gao Han in front of him completely overturned the impression of Gao Han he had learned from newspapers in the past.

He even thought of his most respected teacher, Bielsa.

The Argentinian madman is such a person, and he has always practiced his beliefs and never compromised.

Gao Han was not a long-winded person. After making it clear to Guardiola, he immediately turned to look at Pochettino.

When he saw Pochettino's resume yesterday, he scanned it with a keen eye. This is a head coach with extraordinary potential. What's even more rare is that many of Pochettino's ideas are very similar to his own.

After all, he is Bielsa’s disciple!

"Mauricio, I saw the resume you submitted before. You retired last year and later took the coaching certificate."

"Yes." Pochettino replied seriously, "I am still studying and preparing to take the most advanced coaching certificate."

Only with the highest level of coaching certificate can he be qualified to coach La Liga teams.

"But I'm very surprised. Since you coach the Spanish youth team and women's football team, why do you want to coach our Chinatown team?" Gao Han asked with interest.