If August meant a dark start for Chinatown, the September changes gave the team hope, but the crushing blow in October put the southern suburbs of Madrid in crisis again.

Four league games, three consecutive defeats, and if it weren't for the last-minute defeat to Espanyol, Chinatown's morale would have hit rock bottom.

Finally finished La Liga, entered November, the team immediately ushered in the fourth round of the Champions League group stage, the opponent is the strongest in the group, Porto, the game is held at the Brogue Stadium, this is a rare opportunity for China City, if they can win Porto, it will undoubtedly lay the foundation of the group stage.

There is no doubt that Porto will also give their all to fight for the right to qualify from the group.

It's a game that no one can afford to lose!

The slump since the start of the season has left morale in Chinatown's squad unsatisfactory, and even in training, manager Mauricio Pochettino has felt it vividly, and he knows exactly why the morale of his players is sluggish.

At the end of the day, no one wants to lose and accept defeat.

After 11 rounds of La Liga, China City scored 16 points and ranked eighth in La Liga, this report card is indeed not too bad for China City, but just last season, when the team played 11 rounds, it was still leading La Liga, and the difference was too big.

What is wrong with the team, and how can it be solved?

This has become a mystery that has plagued the whole team.

Manager Mauricio Pochettino is also very unhappy with the current state of the team, and he has also rotated and adjusted the squad.

For example, he tried to start Isco, who had repeatedly performed well after coming on as a substitute, but as a result, Isco's performance after the start was sluggish, far less impressive than when he came on the bench.

He played in the middle with Kevin De Bruyne, and the effect was more mediocre.

In the midfield position, Ilia Ramendi also began to gradually rotate Marcos Senna, and his performance was decent.

Pochettino also tried to adjust his tactics, playing 4231, and also allowed Aubameyang and Pelle to form a double striker, and Hazard returned to play in midfield, but the effect was not satisfactory.

He knew that his team was having a problem, and he vaguely knew what the problem might be, but he just didn't have time to stop and take a good look at his thoughts, just like he did during the pre-season training camp, slowly preparing, adjusting and trying different tactical routines.

The hectic schedule was like a whip, constantly whipping him on the body, so that he had to drag the crappy carriage of Chinatown and continue to walk, without turning back.

Fortunately, the management has always been resolute in their support for him, and not long ago, general manager Armando Marcos reiterated in an interview with the media after a meeting with Chinese companies that Chinatown will continue to unconditionally support coach Mauricio Pochettino.

'It's normal for the team to have some ups and downs, and we believe that whatever the problems come along, we can overcome them. ”

The strong support from the management has allowed Pochettino not to worry about his position crisis, but in the face of the current situation of the team, he is also a little at a loss.

He needs more time.

But what he lacks most now is time.

This couldn't help but remind him of what Gao Han had said to him.

"The most terrible opponent for a manager is not the opponent on the pitch, but the pressure that comes from all sides. ”

Pochettino now understands the truth of this sentence.

Chinatown's first season in La Liga was a promotion horse, and as long as the relegation was successful, everyone was happy, even the media and fans were very satisfied, not to mention that they were later ranked tenth, and Pochettino became famous in one fell swoop.

The second season was a dark horse, after continuing the excellent performance of the previous season, the start was very good, and won the best start of the league in one fell swoop, leading the La Liga standings, and was once the most powerful contender for the title, although the second half was a bit of a loss, but in the end it also retained the fourth place in the league and reached the Champions League.

This list of achievements is equally impressive and impeccable.

But after two seasons of outstanding performances, Chinatown has been in a slump this season.

Michu, James Rodriguez, Alderweireld and Otamendi, Chinatown sold the entire central axis in one summer, plus the veteran Marcos Senna is dying, Ilia Ramendi has to stand up, the whole central axis has been replaced, which is too big a blow to Chinatown.

The team's strength has fluctuated, the results have fluctuated, and this season's long-term hovering in the eighties and nineties has also dropped significantly, so the pressure from all sides began to pour in on Pochettino, engulfing him in the middle and sometimes even taking him breathless.

Perhaps, Mr. Gao Han can help me find the answer.

Pochettino thought to himself, because he knew that Gao Han had already booked his ticket to Madrid in advance.

According to the time, he should be seen after the morning training session.

…………

…………

When Pochettino walked out of the training pitch at the end of the training session, it was not the expected high cold that he was waiting for, but the technical director Cantarero, who had obviously been waiting outside for some time, but Pochettino had not noticed.

"Hello, Carlos. Pochettino squeezed out a smile and said hello.

"Hello, Mauricio. Cantarero greeted him with a smile.

His smile is natural, at the very least, much more pleasing than Pochettino's.

"How...... Are you alone?" Pochettino asked curiously.

He originally thought that he would be able to see Gao Han, which they had agreed before, and at noon they would study the current situation of the team and how to solve the problem together.

"Gao Han temporarily informed me just now, saying that he had encountered something and had no way to come. ”

"Really?" Pochettino was a little disappointed.

"He asked me to relay two words to you. ”

Pochettino nodded, "You say." ”

"The first sentence is spoken in his capacity as the owner of the club, he said that he and the management will continue to support you unconditionally in coaching at the club, and I hope that you will not have any pressure, and that the management will absolutely trust your coaching ability and believe that you will be able to find a proper solution to any problem you encounter. ”

Pochettino understood the weight of Gao Han's words.

With Gao Han's daughter-in-law character, being able to say this kind of thing, as long as Chinatown is not relegated this season, it will not affect Pochettino's position, which is definitely the greatest trust and support for Pochettino.

In the second sentence, he said it as a senior. ”

Pochettino nodded solemnly and listened intently.

"He said, you're the manager!"

A simple sentence made Pochettino suddenly raise his head and look at Cantarero with wide eyes.

The technical director's eyes were firm, looking directly at Pochettino without flinching.

"Here are some of my own words, I have worked with Gao Han for ten years, I have watched him grow from a nobody to the top head coach in the world, I have witnessed him encounter countless difficult problems, and I have watched him rack his brains and think hard to solve them. ”

"Sometimes I think, how hard is this job to be a manager? Guardiola has only been in office for a few years, his hair is gray, Mourinho's hair is also white, you look at Gao Han, people in their thirties, do they also have white hair?"

Pochettino listened in amazement, he understood what Gao Han and Cantarero meant.

"We are a very young team, the history of the club is very young, the squad is very young, the manager is very young, so we have to work together and improve together. ”

"The problems you have encountered now, Gao Han has encountered them, Mourinho has encountered them, Pep Guardiola and Ferguson and others have encountered them, and you will encounter them now, and you will encounter them in the future, you can't rely on others, you are the manager of the team, you should take this responsibility, you should find the answer yourself, to find a proper solution to the problem. ”

Pochettino asked himself if Gao Han had really helped him a lot since he took charge of Chinatown, sometimes even flying to Madrid overnight and back early the next morning, when he was Bayern Munich and Manchester City, and when he was at Paris Saint-Germain.

He learned a lot from Gao Han, but this also caused him to rely on Gao Han a little, and asked him for advice whenever he encountered a problem, but he became inert and was too lazy to think and find answers.

"Everyone said that Gao Han sees people very accurately, but none of the players he likes are mediocre, but none of the assistants and managers he has selected have not succeeded, such as Unai Emery, Pep Guardiola, Julen Lopetegui, Simeone, Jurgen Klopp, Tuchel...... And you. ”

"I believe you know better than anyone how profound this Chinatown is to Gao Han, how much he values this team, but he did not choose to coach himself, but handed him over to you, he trusts you more than anyone else, he almost entrusts his most precious thing to you, it can be seen that he is more optimistic about you than anyone else. ”

"So, if you doubt your own abilities, then you are doubting Gao Han's eyes, understand?"

When Pochettino heard this, he was suddenly impressed by the technical director in front of him, and even he began to understand a little why Gao Han chose him as the technical director of Chinatown.

"Thank you for the reminder, Carlos. Pochettino nodded heavily, "I see, please help me thank Mr. Gao Han, and thank you." ”

"You're welcome. Cantarero smiled and nodded.

Watching Pochettino go upstairs, Cantarero let out a soft breath.

What he just said was not lying to Pochettino, but every word was sincere, he was just glad for one thing, that is, Gao Han began to learn to be a qualified manager.

In fact, he originally decided to wait for Gao Han to come, and then persuade him, after all, as the owner of the club, too much interference in competitive affairs, some irregularities, which will lead to chaos in the management of the team, and even affect the authority of the head coach.

How good was the mentor-apprentice relationship between Van Gaal and Koeman?

Both of them are working at Ajax, one as the technical director and the other as the head coach, which should have been a match made in heaven, but the result was that because Van Gaal interfered too much in the team's affairs, Koeman was able to accept it humbly at first, but as time went by, the contradictions between the two became more and more obvious, and finally even out of control, and the master and apprentice broke up.

Therefore, whether it is from the aspect of team management or from the prevention of hidden dangers, Gao Han should not interfere too much in the team's competitive affairs, but should fully trust Pochettino and the coaching staff, otherwise, after a long time, there will be problems.

Cantarero was very happy and glad that Gao Han himself realized the problem and canceled the ticket to Madrid.

Both he and Gao Han have full confidence in Pochettino and trust that Pochettino and his coaching staff will be able to find a proper solution to the problem.

If Pochettino's maturity and progress are sacrificed for a season's results, it is also quite a good deal.

After all, Pochettino is only thirty-nine years old.

(End of chapter)