Chapter 734 This is the truth!
"Southampton launched a quick counterattack from the backcourt. Varane's long pass was of very high quality. It all depends on Hazard's stopping of the ball!"
"Beautiful! Hazard made a beautiful lob and barely got past Ramos who was following him."
"Three against two, good opportunity!"
"How will he handle it?"
The emotions of everyone in St. Mary's Stadium were aroused, and countless fans were so nervous that they stood up from their seats, looking at the stadium and Hazard with almost holding their breath.
The Belgian kicked the ball past Ramos. Although the Spanish central defender quickly adjusted his center of gravity and rushed forward again, he was not faster than the agile Hazard.
"Hazard made a diagonal pass to the right, Suarez followed up, received the ball, and dribbled..."
"Nice, dribbled past Pepe, passed to Ibrahimovic, shot, the ball went in!"
Along with the long roar of the live commentator, the entire St. Mary's Stadium burst into deafening cheers, and countless Saints fans rushed out of their seats excitedly, shouting Ibrahimovic's name!
"It was wonderful, this goal by Southampton was wonderful!"
"This continuous cooperation among the three players fully demonstrates the strong individual abilities of the Southampton players!"
"And Varane, this accurate long pass from the backcourt of over 70 meters makes people wonder if he installed a satellite positioning system on the ball? Otherwise, how could he pass it so accurately?"
The big screen in the stadium kept replaying the entire goal-scoring process. Everyone saw with their own eyes how the Southampton players relied on their superior personal abilities to completely fool the two central defenders of Real Madrid.
In that instant, the three players were so calm and rational!
The enthusiasm of the entire St. Mary's Stadium was brought out by Ibrahimovic's goal!
When all the fans in the stadium were shouting the name of the Swedish center, Ibrahimovic hugged his teammates together, but did not rush out of the court to celebrate. Instead, he waved to his teammates, signaling them to go back and prepare.
"Yes, everyone knows that Ibrahimovic is 32 years old after all. It is somewhat beyond his ability to cope with the high-intensity and fierce competition of the Premier League. However, in the Champions League this season, the Swedish center has shown his superb state and spirit of sacrifice and dedication."
"He said before that in his career, when he was doomed to miss major national team tournaments such as the World Cup and the European Championship because of his nationality, what he wanted most was to win a Champions League title."
"And this season is his last chance!"
"So, we can see that he fights very hard in every game in the Champions League!"
"Not only him, we can also look at Kaka, who is also very diligent and performs quite well. Another veteran, Drogba, also had a chance to play in the Champions League group stage and is also full of a strong desire to win."
"We have every reason to believe that with Southampton's performance, they have a chance to win the Champions League!"
While the commentator on the scene was celebrating Southampton's first goal and was happy that the game would probably become exciting because of this goal, Florentino, who was sitting in the presidential stand, had a depressed look on his face.
In terms of investment, Real Madrid is the best in the world.
In terms of lineup, the Galaxy Battleship is definitely the strongest lineup in the world.
Even the head coach Ancelotti is also one of the world's top coaches.
It can be said that all the resources Real Madrid currently possesses are the best and strongest in the world.
But why is it that such a combination cannot form the strongest team in the world?
At least, they were defeated twice by Atletico Madrid in both rounds of the Madrid derby this season, and they didn't gain much advantage against Barcelona. Now, they played so badly against Southampton.
Even if they were eliminated by Southampton, then...
Florentino felt depressed and distressed, but more of it was helpless.
He knew the reason better than anyone else, but he had no way, courage or determination to change it.
Yang Huan had just stood up to applaud and congratulate the players for their wonderful performance. When he sat down, he turned his head and noticed Florentino's depressed expression. He knew what was going on and sighed.
"How can such a good thing happen in this world? Winning the game, winning beautifully, and gathering a bunch of superstars, how can it be so easy?"
Florentino also smiled bitterly, "The most important thing is that we lack the soil that allows players to make mistakes!"
That’s true!
Southampton's current lineup is also star-studded. In terms of lineup strength, let alone in the Premier League, even if it is placed in the European arena, it is definitely enough to control the situation.
But the problem is that Southampton did not spend much money on this, and this group of players also accepted to play under Bielsa's tactics, which allowed the Saints to better integrate this group of stars into a whole.
On the other hand, it is difficult for Real Madrid to do this no matter who the head coach is.
The reason may still lie in the club's management and team building philosophy, which is to put superstars above the team as a whole.
The same Gareth Bale, when he was in Southampton, had to actively participate in the team's frontcourt pressure and on-the-spot counter-attack, but in Real Madrid, it depends on his own mood.
The reason is simple, Southampton will not allow Gareth Bale to override the team as a whole.
Not only the Welsh, even the Swedish center Ibrahimovic, as the team's number one center, cannot surpass head coach Bielsa.
And someone like Hazard.
The Belgian winger was first targeted by Real Madrid. Zidane had solemnly recommended Hazard to Florentino many times, and the media had also reported many times that Real Madrid would sign Hazard in advance.
But in the end, the Belgian moved to Southampton. Why?
Because Real Madrid only wants superstars!
The management of Real Madrid believed that although Hazard had great potential, he was not capable of playing for the Real Madrid first team at the time. Even if he joined the team, he would only waste time on the bench.
So, their choice at the time was to continue observing, even if Hazard was to transfer to Southampton.
As long as the Belgian can become a top superstar, Real Madrid can bring him in no matter how much money it costs if they are willing.
This is Real Madrid’s business strategy!
But they easily forget one thing, that is the risks and costs of transfer!
Hazard came to Southampton as a semi-finished product. It can be said that Southampton created and further cultivated Hazard, so the Saints have a certain favor to him. Moreover, when he came to the Saints, the team used this style of play, and he was used to it, so he will try hard to adapt to Bielsa's tactical style of play.
But if he went to Real Madrid, the situation would be different.
Judging from Hazard's current performance, going to Real Madrid is definitely a move with the value and influence of a superstar. At that time, he and the team behind him will naturally demand superstar treatment.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale don't have to participate in the front-court pressing, so why should I?
They can get such high salaries, why can't I?
Oh, they get special treatment in the team, but I don't? What kind of superstar am I?
So, in the final analysis, the superstar policy is the biggest problem of Real Madrid!
But in other words, will Real Madrid be liberated by abolishing the superstar policy?
From a competitive perspective, this is indeed the case, but from a club management perspective, it is a brainless act of self-destruction, because without superstars, Real Madrid will no longer be Real Madrid!
It can be said that during the years that Florentino was in charge of Real Madrid, when the Real Madrid brand swept the world and became the sports club with the highest brand value in the world, the superstar effect had penetrated into the team's bones.
As for Florentino, don't think he is a fool.
The Zidane and Pavon policy he proposed back then was, to some extent, indeed quite reasonable and had great potential for success, because his policy could not be simply reduced to superstars in the front court and local youth training in the back court.
This is a simplistic one-size-fits-all understanding, not reality, where the specific operations are much more complex.
Or it can be said that in Florentino's plan, it is an organic combination of superstar policy and the overall operation of the team. Zidane represents business, and Pavon represents a channel for talent promotion and training.
But perhaps it was because the plan was a bit too idealistic, or the factions and interest struggles within Real Madrid were too complicated. In short, the plan was ultimately stillborn, and Florentino never mentioned it again after he returned to power.
Not saying it doesn’t mean not doing it.
In fact, Real Madrid has been committed to introducing local players and a group of semi-finished products in the past few years, and has also cultivated first-line stars such as Robinho, Ramos, Marcelo and Di Maria.
This in itself does not constitute a policy failure.
Even looking at Barcelona now, isn’t it also sticking to this route?
So, there is no problem with the route or the direction; the problem lies with the people who are executing it!
Thinking of this, and looking at Florentino's worried expression, Yang Huan felt very sad.
Even the president of Real Madrid was worried about conceding a goal within the first ten minutes of the game. How much pressure must this team be under from top to bottom?
Perhaps, the real problem of Real Madrid lies not in anything else but in the membership system.
This membership system means that the president of Real Madrid has to do everything he can to please members, fans and major interest representatives within the club in order to win votes, so the superstar policy came into being.
The emergence of the superstar policy has further encouraged this impetuous mood and even led to increasingly irrational demands among fans and clubs, further exacerbating and promoting this impetuousness, turning it into a vicious circle.
The result now is that all those who are in this vicious cycle appear to be well-dressed and envied by everyone on the surface, but what is the reality?
Every day, everyone carries an extremely heavy pressure in life, work, competition, and training.
For a team like this, their biggest enemy is no longer their opponents on the court, but their own inner demons.
Therefore, looking back over the past few years, Real Madrid has been prone to some collapse in games, which has also caused many players who had performed quite well in other teams to make a lot of stupid mistakes as soon as they came to Real Madrid, and were denounced as counterfeits by fans and the media.
But when they left Real Madrid, they soon put in amazing performances.
This is probably not without reason!
As if to confirm the thoughts of Yang Huan in the chairman's stands, the Real Madrid players on the field once again made a mistake that should not have happened.
But Southampton caught it again!