Super Marshal

August 11, 2007, evening, Sebena training base.

In the club's press conference hall, Gao Han, who appeared at the Sebena press conference for the first time as the head coach of Bayern Munich, announced the roster for the team's home game against Rostock tomorrow in front of many media reporters.

Ribery, Robben, Modric, Lahm, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Hummels, Lucio, Neuer and other players that Gao Han has used are all on the big list without exception. Klose, Aguero, Van Bommel, Marcelo and other players are also among them, which did not surprise the media reporters.

What they want to know more is what specific thoughts Gao Han has about the seven other Bundesliga games that ended an hour ago, and what plans he has for tomorrow's game against Rostock?

The opening game of this Bundesliga season was held yesterday, with defending champion Stuttgart hosting Schalke 04.

The whole game was very intense and played at a fast pace. In this intense and fast-paced game, both teams made a lot of mistakes. In the first half, Schalke had better luck with a kick. The shot struck the Stuttgart defender, changed direction, and resulted in a goal.

But at the beginning of the second half, Stuttgart began to show its strength. The highly praised young player Khedira stepped forward at the critical moment and equalized the score for Stuttgart. Five minutes later, the home team scored another goal to overtake the score.

But in the 76th minute, Croatian teenager Rakitic scored a goal for Schalke 04 and equalized the score.

In the end, the two teams shook hands and drew 2-2.

Regarding this result, Gao Han said that this was a wonderful opening game.

“Both teams performed at a very high level, they were both very good and proved that they have the quality to challenge for the league title, but also reminded us that we must give our best in every game to have a chance to win. .”

In addition to Stuttgart's draw with Schalke, Bochum drew 2-0 with Werder Bremen at home, and Leverkusen drew 0-0 with Cottbus at home. These two draws were a bit surprising, especially Le Leverkusen's draw at home. This one in Wolkusen.

The pharmaceutical company has also invested a lot this season, but judging from the team's performance, the investment does not seem to be translated into the team's competitiveness. Whether it is from the preseason or the first round of the league, Leverkusen has Did not show satisfactory strength.

Hamburg defeated Hannover 96 1-0 in an away game, but after a thrilling relegation last season, Wolfsburg, which has increased its investment this season, lost 1-3 at home to Bielefeld, which was a bit surprising. .

Equally surprising were Dortmund's 1-3 loss to Duisburg, and Frankfurt's 1-0 win over Hertha Berlin. The seven games that have been completed in the first round of the new season can be described as upsets.

Gao Han's evaluation of this is that the overall strength of the Bundesliga is rising.

"We all know that after experiencing the glory at the beginning of the century, the Bundesliga began to sink. There has been no satisfactory performance in the past few years, especially after 2001, there is no longer a team in the Bundesliga. It has entered the semi-finals of the Champions League, and even in the European league standings, the Bundesliga was surpassed by Ligue 1 and became the fifth league in Europe."

What Gao Han said is basically the general consensus in Germany.

The reason why the Bundesliga has declined is inseparable from the bankruptcy of the Kirsch Group, but this is not a reason or excuse for the decline of the league, especially when the Bundesliga has now fallen to the fifth place in Europe.

"But I want to say that in the past few years, the operators of the Bundesliga have completed a transformation very well. They have made considerable improvements in finance. They have become more pragmatic. After the accumulation in the past few years, by this time During this season, I saw statistics from Bild before that the Bundesliga’s transfer investment exceeded 200 million euros, which created a record high in the history of the Bundesliga.”

All the media present were a little funny after hearing this, because out of the investment of more than 200 million euros, Bayern Munich alone reached 120 million euros, accounting for 60%, while the other 17 teams invested The remaining 40%.

Everyone can see that Bayern Munich is a one-man team.

Of course, this is also related to the fact that the Bundesliga giants only finished fourth in the league last season, and the team is in desperate need of reorganization.

The Bundesliga is recovering, which can also be seen from season ticket sales before the season.

So far this season, the 18 Bundesliga teams have sold more than 370,000 season tickets, which is by far the best season ticket sales among all European leagues.

"Mr. Gao Han, I agree with what you said. The Bundesliga is indeed recovering, but I would like to know what role you think Bayern Munich will play in the entire Bundesliga recovery process? Because we know that Bayern Munich is The investment for the season is 120 million euros, accounting for 60% of the total investment in the Bundesliga." A reporter stood up and asked.

"Thank you for your question." Gao Han nodded politely and smiled.

"I want to say that Bayern Munich is the most competitive team in the Bundesliga in Europe. I believe no one will deny this. I think we should play a pioneering role in the entire Bundesliga recovery process. This is also what I think. One of the most important tasks coming to Bayern Munich."

"Bayern Munich's management has great trust in me. They told me that Bayern Munich and even German football as a whole are in urgent need of a dramatic change. I also hope that I can make some contribution to Bayern Munich and German football to the best of my ability."

"As for you saying that Bayern Munich's investment accounts for 60% of the total investment in the Bundesliga, I don't think this is a problem. We have brought the best and most outstanding stars, which has greatly stimulated Bayern Munich's football market and also improved it. I don’t think there’s a problem with the competitiveness of Bundesliga teams in Europe.”

"I would like to say that Bayern Munich's investment is backed by strong enough financial resources."

Anyone familiar with the Bundesliga knows that Bayern Munich's revenue not only leads the Bundesliga, but also does not lose to Manchester United and Real Madrid in European competitions. This is the reason why Bayern Munich dares to invest more than 100 million euros in a season.

As for other Bundesliga teams, I am afraid it will take some time to accumulate.

"But, Mr. Gao Han, I have a question."

"Well, please."

"You said that Bayern Munich should be the forerunner of changes in German football. But based on what we have seen, Bayern Munich has been poaching stars from other German teams in the past few years, from Ballack who has left the team, to Fanby later. Teng, to Podolski, we have hired Klose and Neuer this season, do you think this is reasonable?"

As soon as the reporter finished his question, there was some uproar at the scene.

The talk of Bayern Munich hollowing out the Bundesliga has always existed, and the trend has even intensified this summer.

Gao Han stopped the club's press officer and signaled the scene to quiet down. He believed he could handle such a scene.

"I can answer this question, please sit down first."

After the reporter sat down, Gao Han said calmly: "First of all, I want to say that I don't know whether this is a reasonable phenomenon, but in addition to the Bundesliga, all the top teams in Europe's top leagues are... By doing this, the top four teams in the Premier League, the top three teams in La Liga, and Serie A will also poach players from competitors in domestic leagues."

"But on the other hand, we should look at it this way, why are Bundesliga teams willing to sell their stars to competitors like Bayern Munich? Why would they rather weaken themselves and become stronger rivals before selling players?"

As soon as Gao Han finished speaking, the reporter who just asked the question immediately sneered and shouted, "Of course it's Bayern Munich's shameless poaching."

There was a burst of laughter.

Gao Han couldn't help but smile, but shook his head, "This is obviously unreasonable. You know, Ballack and other players are extremely powerful, and there is no lack of interest from foreign teams. Sometimes, foreign teams, especially some with purchasing power, are interested." Stronger teams are willing to pay higher prices, but why would they want to sell to Bayern Munich?"

The reporter who had just sneered suddenly became speechless and could not answer.

"The reason is simple. They think it is more secure to sell to Bayern Munich because they are a team in the same country."

"First of all, we should make it clear that these selling teams need to sell players to obtain a considerable transfer fee and invest in the transfer market, and we all know that most transfer fees are paid in installments. As far as I know, As you know, in the past, Bundesliga teams often faced a situation when selling players to other leagues, that is, after receiving the first installment, the subsequent installments were repeatedly shelved."

"I heard that the most outrageous case was that the other party sold all the players but did not pay the balance. In the end, they had to file a complaint with UEFA, but the whole process was very troublesome, and even in the end UEFA Even if the federation has made an arbitration, it may not be implemented. I believe this phenomenon is not a special case, right?"

Many reporters present nodded.

The reason why they didn't report these things in the newspapers is because the fans are not interested at all. They only care about how much the player's transfer fee is, and who cares how many installments you pay? Have you received the final payment?

But in European football, disputes over transfer fees have always been the highlight of conflicts between clubs.

Cross-league transactions often involve a lot of troubles due to different laws and rules between countries. This has not changed even now that Europe has established the European Union.

Therefore, many Bundesliga players are more willing to sell players to Bayern Munich out of safety considerations.

As for Bayern Munich's willingness to poach players from their home league, this is normal. This is true for all wealthy teams in the league, because this can avoid the problem of players not adapting and reduce the club's investment risk.

Gao Han's explanation is reasonable and convincing.

In the final analysis, Bayern Munich is just a professional team. We cannot put harsh demands on it just because it is stronger than its competitors in other leagues. That is against the laws of the market.

What's more, Bayern Munich itself is already taking on the task of being a league pioneer.

This is true whether it is changes in technical and tactical play or investment in youth training.

"Mr. Gao Han, I'm from Kicker Magazine."

Gao Han nodded, "Excuse me."

"According to the tradition of the Bundesliga, before the first round of each season, the head coaches of the 18 Bundesliga teams will be asked to make predictions, including the league championship and the performance of the team."

"Well, I've heard of this tradition." The press officer said this just before the press conference.

"To tell you the truth, we have interviewed the coaches of seventeen other teams, and all of them believe that Bayern Munich will win the league championship because you have a net investment of more than 100 million euros in the transfer market. This More than the other seventeen Bundesliga teams combined."

"Yes, you are right, so I feel very honored to have such a lineup. I believe that after investing so much, it is difficult for me to say anything about hitting the top three in the league."

All the reporters present were excited when they heard this.

Gao Han stood up from his seat, placed his hands on the podium, and looked firmly at the media reporters in front of him.

For a moment, the spotlight almost exploded.

"Yes, there is no doubt that we have only one goal, and that is the championship!"

The reporters suddenly became excited.

"Not only the Bundesliga title, but we also want to win the UEFA Cup and all the other titles we can win."

The reporters were even more excited, as if they had been given a shot of blood.

"Next season, we will return to the Champions League. My team and I will make everyone and all opponents completely change the way they look at Bayern Munich and the Bundesliga!"

In an instant, the entire press conference hall was in an uproar!