Bab 522: Falling apart
Of course, Rosell knew what Guardiola wanted to discuss at this time. The rumors circulating in the public domain about his dislike for Spanish coaches who rose to prominence during Laporta's tenure were completely unfounded.
In fact, he greatly admired Guardiola, a Catalan native, whose tactical arrangements and coaching abilities were perfectly suited to Barcelona's current situation, and the team's achievements were remarkable.
If it weren't for the formidable Real Madrid and Wang Feng, Barcelona would surely have reached its peak under his guidance. This is also why, after several disappointing seasons, Rosell always staunchly supported Guardiola.
But no one expected the Galacticos to be so dominant, without making any mistakes for five whole years. All their problems erupted at once and were heading in an uncontrollable direction. Guardiola couldn't hold on any longer, and he himself might be on thin ice.
Slapping his cheeks to shake himself out of his reverie, Rosell knew he had to pull himself together as long as he was in his position. There were many things to do next. It seemed unlikely for them to win the league and the Champions League, but they still had the Copa del Rey at least.
First, he needed to promote the significance of the Copa del Rey in the media. The Catalonia region had inherent conflicts with the monarchy, so winning the Copa del Rey would be a form of defiance and a boost to morale.
Secondly, they needed to organize a grand celebration for winning the cup. It would not only rally the fans but also boost the team's morale. Barcelona desperately needed a celebration at this time.
Lastly, the most important thing was to find a successor to the head coach. There probably wouldn't be any top coaches willing to come to Catalonia to clean up the mess. They could only consider promoting the assistant coach Vilanova for now and then gradually look for a replacement.
Of course, significant signings in the summer transfer window were essential. This directly affected whether Rosell could continue to lead the club. He had to give the fans and members enough confidence.
Thinking about this, he immediately notified the senior management to hold a meeting to formulate a restructuring plan for the team. If necessary, relevant information could be leaked to the media in advance to stabilize the situation.
Barcelona's 1-5 defeat to Real Madrid at Camp Nou quickly swept through the entire European football scene, leaving everyone in shock. What happened to the cosmic Barcelona, which was on par with the Galacticos?
Sky Sports England described it as a "brutal massacre," stating that the Catalan team showed no fighting spirit or desire to win from start to finish.
"It's Wang Feng who is full of fighting spirit. He led the Galacticos to play an exhilarating game, contributing four goals alone, making this series completely devoid of suspense."
"From the course of the game, Real Madrid's advancement to the next round is already set in stone. Barcelona has no foundation or possibility of a comeback."
"A 5-1 scoreline is the most disparate margin in a Champions League semi-final since the restructuring, and it's hard to imagine it happening between Real Madrid and Barcelona, especially at Camp Nou."
Kicker, a German publication, analyzed the match data in detail. They pointed out that despite Barcelona's proud possession rate of 62%, much of it was ineffective, frequently involving cornering at midfield without penetration.
"It's easy to deduce from this that throughout the game, Real Madrid created 19 shots, 10 of which were on target, scoring five goals, while Barcelona only had six shots, three of which were on target, resulting in one goal."
"High possession rates don't necessarily translate into scoring opportunities. The failure of the Catalan team reveals to us that possession-based football is not about keeping the ball at your feet but decisively sending it forward, into the danger zone."
In addition, they also compared the performances of the two teams' key players, Wang Feng and Messi. It goes without saying for the Chinese superstar, who had nine shots and scored four goals, while the Argentine only managed three shots and one goal.
"Messi seems to still be immersed in the shadow of defeat from a few days ago, lacking the agile dribbling and breakthroughs, and making frequent mistakes when facing defenders."
This was an old problem for the Argentine star. Whenever he faced unfavorable situations, he easily became despondent. Although he had matured a lot through the beatings in recent years, compared to Wang Feng, he was still very immature.
L'Équipe, a French newspaper, believed that the Galacticos currently seemed unstoppable, with an epic fifth consecutive Champions League achievement within reach.
In the other Champions League semi-final, Manchester United defeated Schalke 04 2-0. It was expected that the Red Devils would be Real Madrid's opponents in the Champions League final.
"This season, Ronaldo's performance has been explosive. He has scored 34 goals in the league so far, second only to Wang Feng's 48. He has also contributed nine goals in the Champions League, ranking third in the top scorer list."
"However, in recent years, the encounters between the two sides have always ended in Real Madrid's victory. Moreover, Manchester United has hardly shown any outstanding performances along the way, narrowly defeating Marseille and Chelsea, and facing a relatively weak Schalke 04 in the semi-finals."
Therefore, L'Équipe believed that it would be very difficult for the Red Devils to defeat the Galacticos, and Ronaldo's Champions League dream might once again be shattered, while Wang Feng would continue to dominate European football.
Spain's domestic media presented a stark contrast. The Real Madrid-affiliated Marca and AS naturally lavished praise and congratulations, while Catalonia newspapers expressed strong disappointment with the team's performance.
Sport Daily believed that experiencing such a shameful defeat, Barcelona once again completely lost to Real Madrid, and all their efforts throughout the season amounted to nothing.
"Head coach Guardiola must take responsibility for this. He couldn't even make effective tactical adjustments. Since he took over, the team has never truly defeated the Galacticos."
They believed that allowing Guardiola to continue coaching the team would be extremely unwise, and the club's senior management must find a more famous and capable head coach as soon as possible.
Mundo Deportivo revealed that the day after the humiliating defeat, Guardiola had a long discussion with Rosell in his office. Although the specific content was unknown, Guardiola did not attend the club's meeting held afterward, and instead, assistant coach Vilanova was present.
This caused a stir, and everyone speculated about Guardiola's future. The club quickly issued a statement, stating that Guardiola would no longer continue as Barcelona's head coach after the end of the season.
At the same time, they also expressed that they would invest hundreds of millions of euros in the club's signings and restructuring in the summer, stating that the team would definitely learn from past failures and deliver satisfactory results in the next season.
Just like during the Rijkaard era, Guardiola's Barcelona once again fell apart, and they both crumbled at the hands of the same person, the Chinese superstar Wang Feng!
Cruyff, in his column, no longer blindly criticized Guardiola but objectively assessed his coaching. "Although still young, Guardiola's coaching of the team is very sophisticated, establishing a relatively complete possession system."
He believed that Barcelona being able to keep up with and even lead against Real Madrid under the strong pressure was a remarkable achievement, but not being able to win the championship was the biggest shortcoming.
"I don't think Vilanova can do better than him. We need someone with more coaching experience, especially someone who can deal with Wang Feng."
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