The Road To Fame
The contract period is until May 31st, which is typical for most season contracts. Due to the World Cup in Germany, both La Liga and the Champions League this season will conclude in mid-May.
After thorough calculations, the salary offered by Real Madrid for about two months is 200,000 euros after tax, which exceeds Gao Shen's previous expectations. According to the current exchange rate between the euro and the renminbi, 200,000 euros is roughly equivalent to 2 million yuan. Earning 2 million yuan in two months is a very lucrative contract no matter how you look at it.
What really surprised Gao Shen was the bonus structure. The signing fee is 100,000 euros, which he can receive upon signing the contract. This is also a reward for leading the team to the quarter-finals of the Champions League and defeating Atletico Madrid in the derby.
Next is the performance-related bonus. Currently, Real Madrid ranks second in the league, and the contract is quite generous. If the team maintains this ranking at the end of the season, Gao Shen will receive an additional 300,000 euros. If the team manages to overtake Barcelona and win the La Liga title, the bonus will reach 1 million euros.
In the Champions League, Real Madrid eliminated Arsenal and reached the quarter-finals. The draw has not yet taken place, but according to the contract, if Real Madrid advances to the semi-finals, Gao Shen will receive another 500,000 euros. If they reach the final, he will get an additional 1 million euros. Winning the championship would earn him a further 2 million euros.
When Gao Shen saw this contract, his first reaction was disbelief, thinking it was too high, not too low. He glanced at Butragueno, wanting to confirm if there was something more to it.
But soon, he understood why. In fact, this contract is just good, not exceptional. The median annual salary of head coaches of the 20 teams in La Liga is about 800,000 to 1 million euros. Gao Shen's salary can't compare to the top coaches.
Reports suggest that Real Madrid is in contact with Juventus coach Capello, and the annual salary for Capello's team is 7.5 million euros, which is the value of a top world coach. Gao Shen is seen as a temporary solution, as everyone knows it's almost impossible for him to stay after this season.
For two months, 200,000 euros is quite generous. As for the bonus, maintaining second place in the league brings only 300,000 euros, which is also very challenging, let alone overtaking Barcelona.
Winning the 1 million euros league championship bonus seems almost impossible. The same is true for the Champions League. Each step forward increases the difficulty. In the quarter-finals, no matter who they face, the opponent's strength will not be much inferior to Arsenal, and it might even be tougher.
Therefore, the bonus is like a company's business commission: the more profit you make for the company, the more they reward you with a small portion. The 2 million euros prize for winning the Champions League seems almost like a joke.
Who would believe that this current Real Madrid team could reach the Champions League final and win the title? Gao Shen never set himself such long-term and unattainable goals; he prefers to be realistic.
...
"Is there any problem with the contract?" Butragueno noticed Gao Shen's surprise and asked.
Florentino had asked Redondo to call him, saying the contract for Gao Shen could be as generous as possible, so Butragueno decided to increase Gao Shen's salary slightly. Could it be that he was still dissatisfied?
Gao Shen shook his head and said, "No, I just think the treatment is a little too good."
After speaking, Gao Shen laughed.
Butragueno saw that Gao Shen seemed sincere and laughed, "Actually, many of us appreciate what you have done with the team in the past ten days and are curious about what you can bring to this team next."
"Work hard, Gao. Many of us hope that after this season, you can stay at Real Madrid."
Gao Shen smiled and nodded, but he felt bitter inside.
Damn, isn't this the kind of motivational talk I usually give others?
To stay at Real Madrid, one must perform well and gain recognition, but the question is, if you perform well and gain recognition, who would want to stay at Real Madrid?
Gao Shen is self-aware; this season's turmoil at Real Madrid, combined with the changes brought by his time travel and special abilities, allowed him to become the head coach of Real Madrid. Otherwise, with his background, how could he possibly become Real Madrid's head coach?
No matter how well he performs now, after this season, Real Madrid will definitely want to hire a renowned coach.
Besides, coaching Real Madrid is thankless. The locker room is full of conflicts, the club has high demands, the fans are picky, the public opinion environment is unfriendly, and the chairman isn't a good person. No matter how you look at it, it's not suitable for a rookie like Gao Shen.
For him, the best development is to gain recognition at Real Madrid and then carefully select a team with less pressure to coach as a stepping stone.
As for becoming Real Madrid's head coach, even if he wants to be the head coach in the future, he would need to become famous first and then stage a triumphant return.
In the short term, it's obviously unrealistic.
...
When Gao Shen left the Bernabeu, he was already the official head coach of Real Madrid. Of course, the contract was only initially signed but had legal effect.
As soon as Gao Shen left, he called Fernando Lucas and told him to meet at his home. Then, he called Carlo to inform him about hiring Buenaventura, which Butragueno had approved.
After making two phone calls, Gao Shen took a taxi back to the Odalesa area.
Back at his rental, he entered the tactical library to study the game against Valencia.
For this match, Real Madrid needed to rotate the squad.
Zidane, Beckham, Elgra, and even Raul and Gravesen had expended a lot of energy in the midweek game, and these players are getting older, making it hard for them to play on the weekend.
This is a common trait among professional players. Older players have rich experience but declining physical function and slower recovery speed, while younger players have better physical condition and faster recovery speed. The true golden age of professional players often comes when their physical condition and experience achieve a perfect balance.
But most of these Real Madrid players have passed that stage.
From Ranieri in the 1990s to Cooper and Benitez later, Valencia has always been one of the best defensive teams in La Liga. So far this season, they have only conceded 21 goals in 26 matches, making them the best defensive team in La Liga.
Their 37 goals rank third in La Liga, behind Barcelona and Real Madrid. The Bat Legion deserves to be third in the league.
From Real Madrid's perspective, Valencia's defense is strong, but their offense is relatively mediocre. Half of their 37 goals came from David Villa, who cost Valencia 10 million euros.
However, the good news is that Vicente, known as the strongest left winger in Europe, was injured in the 20th round against Real Betis and will likely miss the rest of the season.
As for David Silva, the midfielder Gao Shen admires most, he is still training at Celta Vigo.
If nothing goes wrong, Valencia will still adopt a 4-2-3 formation, making it a tough match.
The problem Gao Shen faces now is that the team must rotate, but Real Madrid's rotation may not be strong enough to hold off Valencia away.
...
While studying how to counter Valencia in the tactical library, Fernando Lucas brought two dinners and came over.
This guy has been visiting Gao Shen frequently, almost treating it as his home.
Gao Shen told him about the plan to send him for training at the club's expense. Lucas was very surprised and looked at Gao Shen in disbelief.
"What? You don't want to go?" Gao Shen was a bit surprised.
"No, of course not. I just didn't expect you to give me such an opportunity." Lucas was delighted.
"What's the big deal?" Gao Shen was pleased with Lucas's response. "You studied economics and are naturally good with data. Studying data analysis will be more effective for you. More importantly, this represents the future of professional football."
"Are you sure?"
"Let me put it this way: in the future, every team will have at least two or three data and video analysts as standard. Even in the coaching teams of all top-level coaches, having a familiar analyst will be standard. What do you think?"
Gao Shen said this so seriously that Lucas believed him. As Gao Shen said, he was giving Lucas a bright and lofty future.
This moved Lucas greatly.
"Don't worry, I'll seize this opportunity. When you become a world-famous coach, I'll be your analyst." Lucas couldn't help but imagine the future.
Gao Shen laughed and shook his head, thinking, young man, it's easy to dream big.
Is it that easy to become a world-famous coach?
Benitez, for example, after leaving Real Madrid's second team, was silent and struggled for many years before making a breakthrough at Tenerife and then Valencia.
Even someone as talented as Guardiola took many years of preparation and training after retirement, gradually rising through the ranks before becoming a successful coach.
There's also the legendary Nagelsmann in German football. Despite his young appearance, he had many years of experience in football. After retiring, he gradually moved up from youth teams, eventually gaining experience at Hoffenheim and RB Leipzig before coaching Bayern Munich and beginning to touch the threshold of world-class coaching.
Gao Shen is only 25 years old. Becoming Real Madrid's coach by accident is a high starting point, however the foundation is still very fragile. From both a professional and a football perspective, this is extremely precarious. Therefore, Gao Shen has a clear understanding of his career and a long-term plan. Even with his exceptional abilities and tactical knowledge, he still needs to take things step by step to solidify his foundation. Otherwise, if he's not careful, he may end up returning to China to speculate in real estate."
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