Chapter 121: The New Season Begins

Li Qingshan said that Atletico Madrid wants to fight for the championship, and no one thinks this is arrogant, Atletico Madrid even won the Champions League last season, and this season's recruitment seems to be quite smooth, if Atletico Madrid shows weakness at this time, there will be a ghost.

When the pre-match press conference on the day before the new season ended, an explosive news broke out in Spanish football, shaking the entire European football world - Zidane replaced Carlo Ancelotti as the head coach of Real Madrid for the new season!

Ancelotti got out of class after the end of last season's Champions League final, many media made predictions, lost the Champions League final, and the league was also pressed behind Atletico Madrid and Barcelona, but won the Copa del Rey, which is not enough for Real Madrid.

And before the start of the new season, Florentino did not start a change of coach, which seems to indicate that the Real Madrid president is still patient with Ancelotti, at least let him finish the season and see how it goes.

And now it seems that it was in the Super Cup, at the home of Real Madrid, that Real Madrid almost lost to Atletico Madrid, lost to their sworn enemies on their home turf, and lost without temper. The Super Cup is not a major trophy, and it stands to reason that even if Real Madrid do not win the pre-season trophy, it will not have any impact on the new season. But the 3-0 score obviously made both Real Madrid fans and the president of Real Madrid completely disappointed with Ancelotti.

In the second leg of the Super Cup, Ancelotti sat on the bench with a blank face, and it was Zinedine Zidane, who used to be low-key, to direct the game in his place. This is already very obvious. Carlo Ancelotti's days at Real Madrid are not far off.

Carlo Ancelotti's departure was expected by the media and fans, but Zinedine Zidane's direct ascent to Real Madrid's head coach surprised everyone.

This is not a title such as "interim manager", and the text on Real Madrid's official website is very clear: Zinedine Yazd Zidane becomes the official head coach of Real Madrid!

A rookie coach with no previous first-team coaching experience directly took the helm of Real Madrid, the galaxy battleship, and I have to say that Florentino's decision is very bold......... as well as adventure.

Admittedly, Zidane's playing career is very fantastic, and no matter what organization chooses what "Greatest Footballer" or the like, Zidane will always be in the top 10, no surprise. This is a player with a great resume, but just because you're good as a player doesn't mean you're good as a coach. Many great players have not had a successful career as a coach after retiring.

The most obvious example is the Argentine football champion Maradona.

Maradona's playing career is undoubted, he is one of the greatest players in history. However, when he coached the Argentine national team, he almost ruined his entire reputation.......

In November 2008, the Argentine Football Federation announced their national hero, Maradona, who had zero successful coaching experience, became the head coach of the national team, but on July 28, 2010, Maradona stepped down, after one year and seven months! He is the shortest-serving head coach of the Argentine national team since 1979.

The 0-4 defeat to Germany in the World Cup was the fuse for Lao Ma's dismissal, but in fact, the criticism of him in Argentina has been continuous, and Lao Ma doesn't seem to see any tactics at all, especially in the use of Messi, although Messi is called "Maradona's successor", but he is not Maradona after all, but Lao Ma obviously regards Messi as Maradona.

In the group stage against the weak Nigeria, South Korea, and Greece, he let Messi keep holding the ball to break through the arrangement, of course, there is no problem, Argentina also won all three games and successfully advanced to the knockout round, and Argentina also crushed the opponent when facing Mexico.

But in the face of the strong German team, Messi's breakthrough is not so good. The score of 4-0 also caused a national uproar in Argentina, losing to Germany and missing the semi-finals. Lao Ma also left class in disgrace...........

Of course, it's not without rookie coaches who have managed giants to succeed.

Pep Guardiola also didn't have much experience before taking over the first team at Barcelona, but it is clear what Pep Guardiola's Barcelona have achieved.

But overall, the media still think that Florentino's direct promotion of Zidane to Real Madrid manager is still a very risky move.

For Atletico Madrid, they don't care about the news of Real Madrid's change of manager. All of their energy is now on their first-round opponents, Vallecano.

If you don't pay much attention to La Liga fans, it is estimated that you will feel very unfamiliar with the name of Vallecano, which is a team with a very low sense of presence.

But this team is also a team from the city of Madrid. So in a way, the match between Atletico Madrid and Vallecano is also a city derby.

The team started low and went high last season, and coach Jermez's coaching philosophy and personality are very distinct, with a high defensive and possession-oriented style of play that make their games very enjoyable, and their excellent performance in the second half of the league last season has also made this small La Liga team a target for other teams. This summer transfer window, they have already had eight of last season's absolute mainstays bought by other teams. Although they have also added a number of players in the attacking line, it is still unclear how much they can do with this new lineup.

Despite playing away from home, Atletico Madrid's players are very relaxed - they even won the Champions League last season, will they still worry about capsizing in such a small ditch?

The players seemed relaxed, but the coaches were still meticulous in their work.

Simeone, of course, could feel the team's underdogness, but he didn't comment on it. It's not a good feeling, but it's not inevitable to say that the team is bursting with confidence.

The opponents are weak, and the difference in quality between the two sides can make Simeone tolerate this sentiment of the Atletico players. And in his opinion, the team's relaxed atmosphere may also be conducive to the team's performance on the field. If he takes this seriously, maybe he will put the players on the pitch with pressure, which will not be good for the team's state.

The players warmed up at Vallecano's home stadium, Evacuas Vallecano, under the supervision of assistant coach Juan Bistano, while Simeone was alone in the dressing room writing and drawing on the tactical board.

Simeone has a large coaching team, and in addition to his main assistant Juan Bistaño, he has a four-member medical team, tactical analysts, goalkeeper coaches, scouting team, and more. This is also the characteristic of a new generation of coaches like him, with a more detailed and professional division of labor.

When the players returned to the locker room after warming up, Simeone had to tell the players some precautions. After that, it's all up to the players to figure it out.

There are many players who have their own habits before playing games.

For example, Cork, who is a devout Catholic, will seize the time to pray at this time. Li Qingshan also has his own pre-game habits, he will always remove the laces of his shoes and tie them again.......

In the past, when Diego Costa was around, Shengshi Beauty always occupied the mirror in the dressing room and smeared half a bottle of hairspray on his head. Diego Costa left the team this season, and the Atletico players thought that they would never see their heads in front of the mirror again, but they didn't expect a different person standing in front of the mirror this season - Griezmann.

Griezmann fiddled with his long blonde hair in the mirror until he applied the last trace of hairspray and looked at himself in front of the mirror with satisfaction.

Li Qingshan sat on the seat diagonally behind the mirror, and after fastening the laces of his sneakers, he stood up and jumped to feel the feeling of his feet.

Compared with Griezmann's carefully cleaned hairstyle, Li Qingshan's head is much simpler, with round hair.

Griezmann still sees Li Qingshan as his rival.

Hmph, a turtle with no sense of fashion at all.

Griezmann, who felt that he had won the game in terms of hairstyle, was very satisfied........

"Alright, guys, it's time to play!"

Juan Bistano clapped his palms and shouted.

The Atletico players quickly stopped their movements and got up and rushed out the door.

Li Qingshan got up and passed past Griezmann, who was still making a final effort in the mirror, and rubbed his hair with a big hand that was puzzled.

"Anthony, what are you doing, ready to play!"

With that, Li Qingshan walked out of the locker room.

Griezmann was left looking in the mirror at his messy hair........ I want to cry without tears.