The next morning, Gao Han welcomed Pep Guardiola at the Chinatown Youth Training Center. Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info

Accompanying the new Barcelona coach was a middle-aged man in a white shirt, who looked quite strong, and was about thirty-five or sixteen years old, who seemed a little excited when he saw Gao Han.

"Ha, Pep, welcome to Chinatown. ”

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

"You're Mauricio Pochettino?"

Gao Han was a little surprised, turned his head to look at the resume material he put on the edge of the sofa, the photo on it was an Argentine with long flowing hair, but the one in front of him was a handsome guy with short hair, this gap is too big, right?

"That's a picture of me before I retired, you know, we both like to have long hair. Pochettino explained with some embarrassment.

Argentine players like to have long hair, which seems to have a long history, and even now, many young Argentine players still wear long flowing hair in order to chase their idols.

How so?

Pochettino, with his long hair, looks a little scruffy, 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. Gao Han beckoned them to sit down, "Why did you come together?"

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

Barcelona and Espanyol are bitter rivals in the same city, the two play for these two teams respectively, and they have competed on the pitch, so they are naturally no strangers, and Guardiola called Gao Han last night and said that he wanted to visit today, and Gao Han also called Pochettino and invited him to come for an interview.

As a result, the two met on the train by such a coincidence.

It is also quite interesting to say that Pochettino has played for Espanyol for many years, but in the past few years when Gao Han coached Atletico Madrid, he happened to transfer to Paris Saint-Germain in Ligue 1, and after Gao Han left Atletico Madrid, he returned to Spain, and the two coincidentally staggered.

The three of them also felt a burst of amuse when they talked about it.

"To be honest, I don't know why you recommended me as head coach of Barcelona. ”

After the joke, Guardiola looked at Gao Han seriously, one of the managers he admired the most in his life.

Pochettino was unaware of what he was talking about, and he was amazed.

I had heard that Barcelona was pursuing the cold before, but I didn't expect that it was the cold who recommended Guardiola to the position of Barcelona coach, and if this spread, it would definitely be big news.

"There's no why, just feel like you're going to do a good job. Gao Han smiled.

Pep Guardiola had a look on his face, "Please, you know, I'm not ready at all." ”

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

Pep Guardiola was speechless, and he himself was not very clear.

'It's a really important job as a manager, and for some people, you can't do it for the rest of your life, but for some people, he can do it without breaking a sweat, and in my opinion, you belong to the latter category. ”

Guardiola couldn't help but be a little moved, this is Gao Han's highest praise for him.

"Perhaps, maybe you didn't notice it yourself, but I feel it very deeply, since you played football, you have been a diligent thinker, you are thinking all the time about why, thinking about how this is happening, thinking about how to change, this is in the eyes of many players, it is simply a mediocre nuisance, but it is the most important quality of a manager. ”

'It's like that when you're a player, as a coach, when you're an assistant, you like to get to the bottom of things, you want to figure things out, you have a lot of expectations for yourself, and at the same time you can clearly communicate what you want to others, I think you're ready. ”

Guardiola was stunned when he heard it, and he didn't expect that Gao Han had been paying attention to him all along.

Even Pochettino, who was on the side, couldn't help but be a little moved, reflecting on himself, is he also like Guardiola?

"Originally, my advice to you was to start with the second team, get familiar with the environment of individual coaching, and adapt to the change of identity, but then you know what happened, Barcelona needed a manager, and they came to me, but I thought you were more suitable, so I recommended you. ”

"But I'm not sure. "Guardiola is a little helpless.

It's definitely going to be a new challenge for him.

When he plays, he can be confident, because he has been playing football for decades, and he has been expected by Barcelona from the moment he debuted, and he just needs to follow the manager's instructions.

Later, he became Gao Han's assistant, and he didn't need to do anything, as long as he carried it out according to Gao Han's arrangement and wishes.

But now, he has to coach alone, and he is also in charge of Barcelona, and he is responsible for the management, for the players, and for all the Barcelona fans.

This is an unprecedented challenge for him.

"Listen to me, Pep. Gao Han smiled at Guardiola soothingly, "Actually, coaching a big team is really not as difficult as you think, do you know why?"

Pep Guardiola and Pochettino were both confused, watching the cold intently.

"When you coach a big team, the key factor in your success or failure is not whether you have outstanding tactical skills, because that is secondary, but your management skills and communication skills are the most important. ”

It's not hard to understand.

Just like a team like Barcelona, every player is selected as 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 this group of players can do their best to play for him, then Barcelona's results will definitely not be bad, and even have a good chance of winning the championship.

But what determines whether these players are willing to do their best for a manager is not the manager's tactical quality, but the managerial ability, coordination and communication skills, and the manager's personal charm.

Let's just talk about Rijkaard, is he very capable?

With or without Ten Carter, those are two very different Rijkaard.

Why?

Because Rijkaard's football ability is not necessarily very good, and even the team management is not very strong, but he has a proud resume, he is the idol of many current players from childhood to adulthood, and he can control the scene.

As for Tenkaert, there is no doubt that he must be very good at football and excellent management, but without Rijkaard's banner, who listens to him? Who knows what the hell is Tenkaert?

Of course, that's only part of the story.

Who is the manager also determines the level of support from the club's management.

If it is Rijkaard, he can ask Barcelona to bring in Eto'o, Ronaldinho and Deco for him, but if it is Ten Carter, let alone these three superstars, I am afraid that the transfer fee of more than 20 million euros will have to be carefully calculated and pondered for a long time.

Gao Han's coaching resume is also the best proof, he climbed all the way up from the bottom of Atletico Madrid, is not a proof of continuous acquisition of power and club support, so that later, whether it is in Atletico Madrid, Chelsea, Inter Milan or now Bayern Munich, he can buy whoever he wants.

How important is it to be able to give the manager the freedom to build a team that he wants?

In European football, there are many managers who have done well in the middle and lower reaches of the team, but after switching to the big teams, they suffered a Waterloo-like defeat, what is the reason?

It's definitely not that he can't do it in football, but he doesn't fully understand the biggest difference between coaching a big club and coaching a middle and lower team, or rather, he has figured it out, but he hasn't been able to adjust his role well.

When you want to coach a mid-to-lower team, you need to be able to do so.

can coach a big team, and if you want to produce results, the business ability in football is only secondary.

Pep Guardiola's situation is very similar to Rijkaard's, he has an extremely proud background and can easily gain the recognition and support of fans and management.

As for his lack of football, does that matter?

He could have looked for a few coaches who were very good at this aspect to be his assistants, could he?

It's like Gao Han, and his physical training is far inferior to Buenaventura, but what does it matter?

"Pep, trust me, you can do it. ”

Gao Han's encouragement finally made Guardiola pluck up courage.

The person he admires the most is Gao Han, since Gao Han said that he can do it, then there is no reason for him not to give it a try.

"I gave Unai Emery a quote when he went to coach alone, and now I'm giving it to you as well. ”

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

"Professional football is a dog-toothed vanity fair, in which the different interests of all parties are intertwined, and the position of the head coach is the central point and the most likely link. ”

"As a manager, we have to be sober and rational at all times, we always remember what we want and what we are after, and only then can we be comfortable in the face of intricate entanglements of interests and dealing with all kinds of problems. ”

To sum up, four words, do not forget the original intention. ”

Both Pep Guardiola and Pochettino nodded seriously.

If before he came, Pep Guardiola was still suffering from gains and losses, now he is starting to have a bit of confidence.

As for Pochettino, it was as if he had re-acquainted himself with the high cold, and felt that the high cold in front of him completely subverted the impression of the high cold he had learned from the newspaper in the past.

He even thought of his most respected teacher, Bielsa.

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

Gao Han is not a verbose person either, and after making it clear to Guardiola, he immediately turned his head to look at Pochettino.

When he saw Pochettino's resume yesterday, he scanned it with a keen eye, a manager with extraordinary potential, and what is even more rare is that Pochettino's philosophy is very similar to his own.

It's Belsa's disciple after all!

"Mauricio, I read the resume you submitted before, you retired last year and then went to take the coaching certificate. ”

"Yes. Pochettino replied with a serious expression, "I'm still studying for the highest level of coaching certificate. ”

Only with the highest level of coaching certificate will he be qualified to coach a La Liga team.

"But I'm curious, since you're coaching Espanyol's youth and women's teams, why would you want to coach our Chinatown team?" asked Gao Han with interest.