Madness

Win or lose!

Compared with Real Madrid's triumphant return under the world's attention, Barcelona's return from Bilbao was full of bleakness, and both the media and fans took a low-key approach.

The next day, the major media in Catalonia were reporting the news of Real Madrid's reversal of the championship. This was the most interesting news today. At the same time, many media, including the Daily Sports and World Sports, were reflecting on Barcelona's loss of the championship.

Many media believe that Rijkaard's final round, against Athletic Bilbao, had problems with the formation of troops.

After Xavi came back from injury, he played consecutive games, and his performance was also remarkable. Why couldn't he play?

At the critical moment, Real Madrid showed the determination and courage to win the championship, while Rijkaard's formation was full of cowardice and hesitation. This is what the media and fans believe is the key to Barcelona losing the championship.

The media was full of accusations against Rijkaard, but also against Ronaldinho and Eto'o.

Eto'o hasn't scored in several games, Ronaldinho's recent performance has not been very good, and both seem to be contained, which is not a good sign.

Especially for the upcoming Champions League final.

With the question raised by the World Sports News: "We have sent all the champagne to celebrate the championship to Paris. If we can't win the championship, what will happen to the bottle of champagne?"

Even the Daily Sports News, with a slower tone, believes that the team should reflect on the problem of losing the league championship.

From a ten-point lead to the final three-point reversal to win the championship, this proves that Barcelona must have problems. So, where is the problem? How to solve it?

There are also media reports that during the halftime of the game against Athletic Bilbao, head coach Rijkaard and assistant coach Ten cate had a heated spat on the sidelines, which led to Ten Cate staying on the field throughout the halftime break without returning to the locker room, which is unusual.

Many people know that Ten cate is going to leave at the end of this season, but at this critical moment, two people who should have cooperated sincerely had such a fierce conflict, which has to be worrying.

And all, the spear points to Rijkaard.

Why?

Rijkaard did not make any excuses from beginning to end, and he did not even give interviews to media reporters.

In the morning, after training sessions, he shut himself in his office.

And last night, he didn't sleep all night.

It can be seen from the bloodshot eyes in his eyes.

Very tired, he wanted to sleep, but... couldn't sleep.

...

The award ceremony at the Bernabeu was being broadcast live on TV.

Rijkaard slumped expressionlessly on the sofa, watching silently.

The championship trophy that appeared on the TV screen should have belonged to him and Barcelona.

The award ceremony was supposed to be held at the Camp Nou, but now, all is gone.

Even his right-hand man had to leave him.

He actually regretted being angry with Ten Cate because for many things, based on the cooperative relationship between the two, he couldn't tell the reason at all, such as Tenkat's bombardment of Roselle.

It was true that Rijkaard did not agree to this matter, but Rijkaard was still very happy when Ten Cate bombarded Roselle, because he had already seen Roselle as uncomfortable and wanted to teach him a lesson for a long time.

But Ten Cate did this, and it did cause a lot of trouble.

Fortunately, Roselle left later.

There are also things like Tenkat's overriding, which is too much, but it is also Rijkaard's tacit approval.

It's just that sometimes, Rijkaard also thinks that Ten Cate manages more than his head coach, and even sometimes, even his head coach needs to manage and interfere.

This is how the contradiction arises.

Rijkaard regretted it a little, but he wouldn't apologize, much less admit he was wrong.

On the TV, Real Madrid's players were celebrating with the La Liga trophy in their arms, and the scene was very lively.

Rijkaard's eyes were very astringent. I don't know if it was because of sadness or because he didn't sleep last night. Anyway, his eyes were very astringent and uncomfortable, but his heart was on fire.

He doesn't care what others say, but he knows in his heart that he personally sent away the La Liga champion that should belong to Barcelona!

If it weren't for him, this championship must belong to Barcelona!

Now, he knows why Ten cate insists that they must win La Liga.

Because after winning La Liga, Real Madrid's morale was boosted, and Barcelona was hit hard.

It's not that Rijkaard didn't think about this, but at the time he felt that his team was unlikely to lose the championship, so he didn't pay much attention to it. But now, the championship is really lost, and the consequences are really coming to light.

How to do?

From last night's San Mames Stadium to today's Gamper Sports City, Barcelona is waiting for Rijkaard to give an answer.

Ten cate, the guy who is always in the limelight and makes up his mind, has asked for leave today.

Even without Rijkaard's approval.

What to do next, Rijkaard can only decide for himself.

...

Just after the lunch break, when the coaching staff of Barcelona came to the office, they saw Rijkaard appearing in front of everyone with a pair of big panda eyes. His eyes were bloodshot, and his curly hair seemed to have suddenly turned a lot whiter.

Yes, despite his dark skin, he was very visible.

This startled everyone.

"A special training session is scheduled this afternoon."

Rijkaard's voice was a little hoarse, I don't know if it was caused by getting angry or being too dry.

"Let both Messi and Xavi participate in the training of the main team."

Barcelona's coaches were taken aback. Is this to make them all start?

Messi has just come back from injury and hasn't played a game yet. Can he do it?

But before the coaching staff asked questions, Rijkaard had pointed to one of the assistants, "You go to the team doctor to talk about Messi's situation, you tell him, I need Messi to play this Champions League final for me!"

Rijkaard's tone was not a consultation, but an order.

"Also, our next training should focus on strengthening the attack. I will destroy Real Madrid at the Stade de France!"

After speaking, Rijkaard turned and left.

Everyone in the coach's office was dumbfounded, unable to believe what they were seeing.

Is this the suave Rijkaard they were familiar with?

God, is he being driven crazy by pressure?

When facing Athletic Bilbao, the lineup was conservative, which caused the team to fail. Now, in the Champions League final against Real Madrid, does he want to fight?

Isn't this going from one extreme to the other?

Shouldn't he be discouraged at this time?

Everyone looked at each other in dismay, but suddenly found that the person who always raised a bar with Rijkaard on weekdays, and even dared to fight in front of the gong, has asked for leave today.

How to do?

Everyone you look at me, I look at you, and finally came to a result.

Just do it!

We are all just coaches.

...

No one knows what is going on in Barcelona's Gamper Sports City.

It was as if no one knew what training Real Madrid's Valdebebas was doing.

Everything is kept secret from the outside world.

The two teams only had a two-day rest after returning to the team after playing the final round of La Liga away.

The Champions League final was on Wednesday night, and Real Madrid had finished their training session on Tuesday morning before taking a chartered flight to Paris after lunch, all in a hotel on the outskirts of Paris.

Real Madrid has a dedicated scout to track Barcelona's every move.

Opponents arrived at Charles de Gaulle airport a little later than Real Madrid, after which they headed straight to their hotel in Versailles.

Both teams have made the same choice, which is to keep training where they are as much as possible.

This is not surprising, because in Paris, countless cameras are aimed at the two teams. This kind of training cannot have any effect. It is better to stay at the training base and close it.

According to information obtained by Real Madrid's scouts, Barcelona focused on shooting and set-piece tactics in the last two days of training.

There is also another noteworthy place, that is, after Barcelona's defeat in Bilbao, Rijkaard arranged Messi into the main team in the training session on the second day of returning to Gamper Sports City.

Messi has been training with the main team ever since.

This is also a very clear signal.

Barcelona are likely to start Messi.

When Gao Shen got the news, his whole head hurt.

Ronaldinho, Eto'o, and Messi, can such a trident be blocked?

Another point is that Gao Shen can conclude that Rijkaard will definitely adopt more aggressive tactics.

The reason is also very simple. He broke down in La Liga and must face Real Madrid with a more aggressive momentum. He may even attack first to score goals, and then make up for the loss in La Liga.

In this way, it is understandable that he gambled heavily on Messi.

In midfield, Deco's partner is either Xavi or Iniesta.

Of course, Gao Shen has not been idle these two days. He has been adjusting the team's defense, especially against Barcelona's offense.

In the face of such a Barcelona, there is not much that Gao Shen can do, but he can only defend.

After the team arrived in Paris, they took a lunch break at the hotel and then went to the Stade de France to familiarize themselves with the venue according to UEFA's arrangement. This was also Real Madrid's last official training session before the game the following night.

The training was still led by Maqueda and Buenaventura, with Gao Shen mostly observing from the sidelines.

Given the presence of many media reporters and fans, it was a public training session with no secrets.

Real Madrid practiced some regular set-pieces and shooting drills.

What was particularly noticeable was Gao Shen's special arrangement for penalty kick training.

This caught the media's attention.

It was easy to interpret that Gao Shen's intention might be to play defensively and potentially drag the game into a penalty shootout.

With Barcelona likely dominating possession and attacking, Real Madrid's focus on defense and the possibility of a penalty shootout after a draw seemed plausible.

Especially considering that under Gao Shen's leadership, Real Madrid had become known for their conservative and one-to-zero approach.