Super Marshal

January 31, 2001, morning.

In the departure hall of the T3 area of ​​Madrid Capital Airport, crowds are surging.

Different from the T1 area, which is dominated by international long-distance flights, the T2 area and T3 area are mainly domestic and European short-distance routes, especially the T3 area, so most of the passengers travel lightly.

Like other passengers, Atlético de Madrid and a group of more than 20 people sat in the lobby and waited patiently.

Occasionally, one or two fans will come over and ask for autographs from their favorite stars, and the players are also satisfied.

These are club rules.

Gao Han was sitting in the front row, reading a briefing of the competition in his hand.

Because of the live TV broadcast, the first round match between Barcelona and the Espanyol was a day earlier than the other three games.

In the away game, Barcelona defeated the Spaniard 2-1 and won the derby victory.

Judging from the score, the Spaniard is probably hopeless.

At least, it is not so difficult to reverse Barcelona at the Nou Camp.

This season, Barcelona's performance in La Liga is not satisfactory. After 20 rounds, they are currently ranked third in La Liga, only one point behind second-placed Deportivo La Coruña, but as many as eight points behind top-ranked Real Madrid.

And everyone knows that Barcelona has only one opponent, and that is Real Madrid.

Especially after the Portuguese Luis Figo switched to Real Madrid.

Not only in La Liga, but even in the UEFA Champions League, Barcelona was eliminated in the first round of the group stage and was forced to play in the UEFA Cup.

Such a result is absolutely unacceptable for Barcelona, ​​which is ambitious and wants to compete against the Galacticos.

For coach Ferrer, half of his foot has already stepped off the cliff. If he wants to keep his coaching position, the league must continue to maintain the pressure on Real Madrid. Both the Copa del Rey and the UEFA Cup are aspirational.

There is no champion Barcelona coach, only get out of class!

The other three games of the Copa del Rey knockout round will start at the same time today. The live broadcast is the match between Zaragoza and Racing Santander, and Real Mallorca led by coach Aragones will play against Granada. The game was also not broadcast live.

According to Gao Han’s initial estimate, apart from Barcelona’s high probability of advancing, Zaragoza has the upper hand. It shouldn’t be a big problem to beat Racing Santander. Real Mallorca’s luck in the draw is the best, and there is no problem in advancing. .

If Atletico Madrid can beat Celta Vigo and enter the semi-finals, the opponent will be Real Mallorca of Aragones.

And Barcelona will face Zaragoza.

Of course, this is guesswork. The game is changing rapidly and upsets come and go, so it is impossible to predict accurately.

Thinking of this, Gao Han let out a heavy breath.

If it was Atlético Madrid a year ago, they would still have to fight against several other teams, but now...

But if you think about it the other way around, if the Sheets were still the giants of La Liga a year ago, Gao Han would never have a chance.

So, things in this world are so strange.

When Gao Han smiled wryly, the team leader Carlos Pena walked over quickly.

"Unfortunately, there are no tickets for the business class, so we can only arrange some people to go to the economy class."

The players seem to be used to it.

The first-team away trips are usually by plane, going back and forth on the day of the game. This kind of thing must happen often.

"How many tickets are there for business class?" Gao Han asked.

Carlos Pena smiled at him, "Three tickets from you, Cantarero and Garcia will be deducted, and there are still fifteen tickets."

The roster for the away game is 18 people, that is to say, there are three players who have to fly economy class.

According to the team's past practice, the substitute players must go to the economy class.

"In this way, Carlos, all three of our coaching staff will go to the economy class, and all eighteen players will go to the business class."

"What?" Carlos Pena was taken aback, "How is this possible?"

Generally speaking, the head coach and the core coaching staff must fly in business class.

How can there be a reason in the world that players fly business class, but the head coach flies economy class?

"It's okay, business class is more comfortable, players can rest better, they are the club's most valuable asset, we don't care, it doesn't matter where we sit." Gao Han smiled.

"But..." Carlos Pena still disagreed.

Will this damage the authority of the head coach?

"It's decided like this." Gao Han made a decision directly.

The players have been listening to it all the time, and they also feel in their hearts that this is not quite right.

You know, the head coach is the manager of the team, and it is customary to fly business class.

How can there be any reason why players fly business class and the head coach goes to fly economy class?

"Boss, I'm going to take the economy class." Torres Huo stood up and volunteered.

"Let me go, boss, I'll give you the place!" Villa also stood up.

"I'm new here. In terms of qualifications, I should go." Harvey Alonso also said with a smile.

"If you want to talk about the order of joining the team, I am the latest, so I will go." Pablo Ibanez also stood up.

"Let me go, I'm small, and I'm just as comfortable flying economy class." Antonio Lopez also suggested.

The captain of the team, the veteran Juan Aguilera, took a deep look at these young players promoted from the second team, and could feel their admiration and love for Gao Han.

It's not just a difference between business class and economy class, nor is it a question of comfort.

Thinking of this, Aguilera also stood up, "I am the captain, I will set an example, and I will fly in economy class."

Even Aguilera expressed his position, and players such as Kiko, Hugo Leal, Ibić also followed suit, and each of them began to rush to go to the economy class and let Gao Han go to the business class.

Carlos Pena, the team leader, was a little dumbfounded. What is the situation?

Isn't everyone unwilling to fly economy class on weekdays? Why is everyone rushing to go now?

Now, even a blind person can see that Gao Han's prestige in the team is rising rapidly.

Not only young generals such as Torres and Villa are grateful to him, but even old courtiers such as Aguilera obey him. Otherwise, how could this happen?

Back then, when Zambrano and Marcos Alonso led the team, the players went to the economy class. It was hard work, and the fools volunteered to grab it.

Gao Han was amused, and thought to himself, could it be that he often wears that provocative uniform, so his personal charm is overwhelming?

There are so many people robbing even an economy class?

But this matter is not negotiable!

"Okay, okay, don't join in the fun, you all go to the business class for me!" Gao Han said loudly.

"Your duty is to play football, and my duty is to help you play football better, so this matter is not negotiable!"

After finishing speaking, Gao Han waved his hand and signaled everyone to start packing their things and prepare to board the plane.

The players stared blankly at the young head coach, but their hearts were turbulent.

For a long time, the relationship between the head coach and the players has been that of the manager and the managed.

Even the big-name stars have to obey the management and arrangements of the head coach.

This is why there is a practice for head coaches to take business class first.

But Gao Han said that his duty as the head coach is to help them play better.

Not to lead, not to command, but to help.

It's just a difference in vocabulary, but it pulls the original upper and lower levels to an equal position.

From this sentence, they felt a respect!

Carlos Pena has been the team leader of Atletico Madrid for many years. He has experienced the peak of the double crown during the Antić period, and he has also experienced the darkness of the last two years. He has seen all kinds of stars, assisted famous coaches and rookies.

However, someone like Gao Han is unique!

Perhaps, this may be because he is young, lacks prestige, and lacks qualifications, or because of the unique situation of Atletico Madrid's first team, for example, the main players are young players, but the substitutes are all veterans...

However, it is quite rare for him to be able to say that and persist in doing so.

Look at the eyes and reactions of the players, the military spirit is available!

…………

…………

"Victor, I just received some good news."

At Celta Sports City in Vigo, the assistant knocked on the door of head coach Victor Fernandez.

"What good news?"

"A journalist close to us revealed that Atlético Madrid's players had a falling out at the airport."

"Falling out?" Victor Fernandez was taken aback for a moment, and then he was surprised, "Really? Why?"

The battle is imminent, if the opponent collapses without a fight, isn't it a big advantage?

"I heard it's because of the air ticket."

"Oh?"

"Atlético de Madrid advanced to the quarterfinals. No one expected it. They suddenly advanced and wanted to buy air tickets. It turned out that there were not enough business class tickets, so we could only arrange some people to fly economy class."

Victor Fernandez nodded, this is normal.

"Well, what then?"

"Then, I heard that there was a quarrel. The head coach and the coaching staff wanted to fly business class, but they quarreled over who was going to fly economy class."

After a pause, the assistant coach said with a smile: "The reporter is not clear about the specific details. They are quite far away. They just saw the players stand up and fight one by one. It seems quite fierce. Everyone in the airport I see."

"Haha, great, great!"

Victor Fernandez couldn't suppress the ecstasy in his heart, "Atletico Madrid finally showed some improvement, but they are fighting among themselves because of such a trivial matter. This is simply God's help!"

"Who said no?" The assistant coach was also very happy.

Celta's recent situation is not ideal. Although Berizzo and Caceres have cooperated before and have a good relationship with each other, so cooperation is not a problem, but after all, they are newcomers, and there must be some problems with other players.

On the other hand, Atletico Madrid reversed Rayo Vallecano 3-0 and defeated Levante 5-0. After the coaching change, the morale was like a rainbow, which put a lot of psychological pressure on Celta.

But now, they actually risked their own lives and fought among themselves over a plane ticket. It's really...

"Infighting is good. They are fighting among themselves now. The players will inevitably participate in the afternoon game with emotions. At that time, the overall combat effectiveness of the team will definitely be greatly reduced, and the morale will definitely not last long."

When Victor Fernandez said this, there was a hint of longing in his eyes.

"I want a battle to determine the outcome!"

The assistant coach also thought it was a good idea.

Celta has a heavy task this season. Although their ranking in La Liga is not ideal, they performed very well in the UEFA Cup and entered the quarterfinals of the Copa del Rey.

Therefore, if Atletico Madrid can be killed in the first round, it will save a lot of effort.

"Then I'll go and convey it to the players."

Victor Fernandez nodded, and after watching the assistant close the door and leave, he smiled again.

What is the name of the head coach of Atletico Madrid, what is Gao, oh, yes, Gao Han.

You are really my lucky star!