Valdano agrees with Sacchi's statement.
The Argentine legend also believes that the pursuit of greatness and perfection is the duty of all coaches to football and to human beings.
Although greatness is rare in this world and perfection does not exist at all, this does not prevent people from pursuing them.
Valdano believes that the rules of football are changing, people are changing, everything is changing, but nothing has changed.
"When Ronaldo received the pass, what he thought in his mind was actually no different from Pele, and for the same reason, Pele and Di Stefano were not much different. From this point of view, football has not changed, and the essence of what attracts fans has not changed."
Valdano is very dissatisfied with the football atmosphere in recent years; he believes that fear has pervaded world football.
"Coaches have even gotten to the point where they see the game as an endless stream of dangers. They try to kill all the threats, and then football becomes oppressive, lacking freedom and creativity."
Valdano gave a very realistic example. Capello's AC Milan was more successful and more recent than Sacchi's, but everyone agrees that Sacchi's AC Milan was greater.
Why?
Because whether they admit it or not, people are naturally more inclined to appreciate the Milan of Sacchi.
...
Undoubtedly, the speeches of the two masters were very moving, and they also brought great inspiration to Gao Shen and benefited him a lot.
But he still had some doubts in his heart.
So, he was like a studious student who asked his own questions to two wonderful teachers.
Gao Shen first expressed his opinion that they were all right and very beautiful.
But as a head coach, the general environment of football is like this. The professional league has reached the present, and the benefits are already very amazing, far from being comparable to those in the 1980s and 1990s. Whether it is the team's income, player's salary and bonus, or other aspects, they are all very different from back then.
A ball game can easily involve millions, tens of millions of euros, or even over 100 million. Who can afford to gamble?
If the bet is won, it is a legend, but what if the bet is lost?
What do the management who have invested heavily in it think? What do you think of a player who has worked hard all season? What do fans who have been looking forward to it for years think?
The subtext is actually quite sharp. Sacchi and Valdano are no longer coaches. Of course they can say that, just like Cruyff. He can always criticize the Barcelona coach unscrupulously, but can he do it himself?
Sacchi and Valdano, and even Florentino and Butragueno, admitted that Gao Shen was right.
Worldly people, who can be exempt from the commonplace?
"So, when I choose a team, I must first consider whether I can get the full support of the team. I will inject some of my own idealism when forming the team, and I will try my best to pursue greatness on a higher level, not just wins and losses and championships."
Compared with Sacchi, Valdano is obviously more idealistic, and he believes that he will not easily compromise.
It is estimated that this is also the reason why he does not have much coaching experience.
After all, Valdano has coached three teams: Tenerife, Real Madrid, and Valencia, and what really makes him recognized is the Real Madrid that subverted Cruyff's dream team.
Although Gao Shen asked a sharp question, he also understood why the two seniors said these words to him.
In fact, they are all telling Gao Shen a truth: owning championships and trophies can achieve worldly success, but cannot achieve greatness.
To be able to lead Real Madrid to what it is today at the age of 25, Gao Shen should not just be satisfied with success.
He should try to improve himself and pursue higher-level goals.
That is great!
Gao Shen also noticed that whether it was Sacchi, Valdano, or the previous Ancelotti and Capello, these successful coaches have mentioned a standard for their selection of teams, intentionally or unintentionally.
That is whether you can get the support of the management.
Even, they all listed this as the first element.
Gao Shen pondered deeply from this point and felt its importance more and more.
In many cases, the manager is doomed from the day he chooses the team.
Of course, it is not ruled out that some head coaches still screw things up despite the strong support of the management, which is another matter.
But if the coach wants to succeed, it will not be possible without the support of the management.
This point, Gao Shen remembered.
...
As the dinner progressed, more and more topics were discussed.
There are some things that I can participate in and am interested in, but some topics are highly respected and insensitive.
For example, Valdano, in front of Florentino, unceremoniously pointed out that Galactic Battleship failed because the club was eroded by an increasingly commercial atmosphere.
"Blindly pursuing the club's profit will naturally lead to the loss of some spiritual qualities that belong to the football level."
But Florentino disagrees with this.
He said that Real Madrid's pursuit of profitability and commercial interests is not a big problem because when he took over Real Madrid, the club was heavily indebted.
"From the current point of view, we are the most profitable team in European football. Even if the performance in the last three years is not satisfactory, we can still attract excellent superstars like Samuel and Owen to join us. Suffice it to say that our route is not without merit, and has a lot to offer."
Florentino believes that the Galactic Warship's policy should not be killed with a single stick, but should be viewed dialectically. It has advantages and disadvantages.
"Recently, I have been thinking about a question: is there a possibility for the team to go hand in hand in business and football? Both achieve great success?"
Neither Sacchi nor Valdano and others could answer this question because no one had succeeded before.
But Gao Shen told Florentino with great certainty, "I believe you can make it happen!"
Florentino and everyone present were taken by surprise.
Especially when they saw Gao Shen's resolute statement with no flicker in his eyes, obviously not flattery, but genuine belief, they were all surprised.
"Why?" Butragueno asked curiously.
Gao Shen was a little embarrassed. He couldn't say it, because he was a traveler and knew that in a few years, when Lafayette enters the palace for the second time, he will create a version of Galaxy Battleship 2.0, and under the coaching of Ancelotti, win the tenth Champions League, and Zidane will then lead the team to win three consecutive championships, truly realizing a double harvest of business and football.
"I don't know how to say it." Gao Shen shrugged, but still supported Florentino with great certainty, "but I think business and football are not one or the other, it should be a question of balance, not an either-or-choice question."
After a pause, Gao Shen continued: "I can understand what Jorge said, Real Madrid is a team with the temperament of a king. Before the Galaxy Battleship, although this team also introduced stars, but more focused on cultivating players, later it was more about how to introduce highly popular stars."
"But," Gao Shen's conversation changed, "we can see, like Ramos and Robinho, these players are also brought in at high prices, but they are all young, and over time, they will become stars, even superstars. They will help the team win titles, so I agree with Florentino."
Gao Shen's remarks are a little vague, but in general, it seems to be the same thing, making it difficult for people to argue.
Florentino showed a look of thinking. Obviously, Gao Shen's remarks brought him some fresh stimulation and made him have some ideas.
At Florentino's level, no matter how reasonable outsiders say, they will not change his decision-making. The only person who can really change him is himself.
It's like now, he said, the reason why he hasn't made a statement about whether to participate in the Real Madrid presidential election is because he still has a lot of things to understand, and the choice between business and football is one of the keys.
And no matter how much and how reasonable Gao Shen, Sacchi, Valdano, Butragueno, and others say, in fact, for Florentino, they are only references. He needs to understand, think about, and then make a decision.
It was also tonight that Gao Shen finally understood why Florentino did not participate in this election.
Because he didn't want to understand, didn't figure it out. Before he figured it out, even if he went to run for election, even if he was elected, he would still repeat the way he did in the first phase of Galaxy Battleship. So, what's the point of running for election?
If that path works, he wouldn't have stepped down.
...
This should be the longest dinner that Gao Shen has ever eaten.
From eight o'clock to twelve o'clock, he ate for more than four hours.
They discussed many, many topics, from football tactics to club management, and finally to the current situation at Real Madrid.
Sacchi, Valdano, and Butragueno all gave Gao Shen a lot of valuable opinions. They are all professionals with rich experience in decisive battles and championships. Their opinions and ideas are still worth learning from.
Don't look at Valdano's idealism, and Sacchi also prides himself on being idealistic, but when it comes to the Champions League final, they also agree that Real Madrid should adopt a more pragmatic strategy.
Only when you have an advantage in strength can you be qualified to talk about ideal colors, and that is called romance.
"It is stupid to talk about ideals without strength."
Gao Shen never felt that he was a stupid person, and although he didn't think of himself as particularly smart, he knew better than anyone when to take action.
"I'm a pragmatist. The way to win is the best way."
Gao Shen admitted generously, "I've finally made it to the Champions League final. No matter what, I will never let it slip through my fingers easily. I will do everything to hold it in my hand."
Florentino, Sacchi, and Valdano couldn't help but laugh.
Especially the former president of Real Madrid, who looked at Gao Shen with obvious appreciation.
In this evening's contact, he found that Gao Shen suited his tastes even more than he had thought.