"Come on, Gao, you're being too rough tonight!"
When the game was over, Gao Shen and Lippi, two of the world's top coaches, stood on the sidelines shaking hands and hugging each other. The Italian shook his head with a bitter smile, clearly feeling very frustrated with the final result.
8-0!
This was the highest single-game score in the history of the Club World Cup.
There was no doubt this match completely exposed the nature of the Club World Cup.
It was considered the world championship only because it was endorsed by FIFA, but this could not change the fact that it lacked real quality.
For fans who watched carefully, it was obvious that Real Madrid had actually held back.
Especially after leading 6-0, Real Madrid really eased off.
In the second half, they started playing relaxed football, focusing on passing and controlling possession.
The Yangcheng players tried desperately to win the ball back, but they simply couldn't.
Later, Real Madrid made substitutions, but Hese and Pogba, who had just come on, showed no mercy. Each took a shot straight at goal, pushing the scoreline to 8-0.
"Just laugh secretly!" Gao Shen replied unhappily.
If he hadn't shouted from the sidelines for his players to ease up, the score could have hit double digits in minutes, completely humiliating Lippi and Yangcheng.
Lippi smiled awkwardly and explained about the two reporters.
It was all the fault of the belt boss!
Why imitate Abramovich for no reason?
Did he really think he could win the championship by bringing so many reporters to follow the team?
The result was not a championship, but rather angering Gao Shen and getting the team branded as a disgrace to the Club World Cup.
Hearing Lippi's sigh, Gao Shen also understood it wasn't easy for him.
But wasn't this expected?
Lippi received such a huge salary, and more than half of it was to make up for the frustrations he endured.
If he didn't want it, he didn't have to do the job.
"Our kind of money-driven football will eventually kill itself," Gao Shen sighed.
Lippi nodded. "Who said it isn't true?"
The overall environment of this league seemed vibrant, but what was the reality?
Inside, it was completely hollow, like a castle in the air, a mirage.
"There's nothing wrong with money-driven football. The mistake was that they released the water before even digging the ditches in the fields."
"This metaphor is very vivid, and that is the biggest problem now," Lippi smiled bitterly.
Is money-driven football wrong?
Actually, not really.
Professional football is brutally realistic, very realistic, and the approach is extremely simple.
In one word, burning money!
Which team achieves success without spending money?
Real Madrid doesn't burn money? AC Milan and Juventus don't burn money? Bayern Munich doesn't burn money? Barcelona doesn't burn money?
They all burn money!
Even Napoli, coached by Gao Shen, relied on a group of young players to compete, but didn't it still depend on De Laurentiis's continuous investment for three years?
That was the essence.
But why can European leagues burn money while domestic leagues can't?
Because burning money is also a skill!
As Gao Shen said, burning money is like opening the floodgates to release water. If you haven't even dug ditches in your fields and you just open the gates, what happens?
Naturally, it floods the entire land!
Gao Shen always felt people like the belt boss were very smart in business, but they didn't understand football.
Or rather, they understood football but were unwilling to follow its development laws.
Simply put, they were too eager to see results, chasing quick success and instant benefits.
Don't be fooled by appearances, professional football is an industry.
What is industry?
Industry is a complete system that functions, where every part can profit from it.
Take the European leagues as an example.
Everyone only sees the top league, but that is just the tip of the iceberg.
The real foundation lies beneath.
With the massive annual broadcasting revenues of the Premier League, why does it still allocate huge amounts to support the Championship and lower divisions, to support relegated teams, communities, and youth academies?
Do those capitalists really have such conscience?
Of course not!
At the Premier League owners' summit, if the rules allowed, they would just split the money among themselves.
Wouldn't it be better to buy two more superstars?
So why divide it?
Because the rules and system make them realize that the foundation of the Premier League lies there!
Without lower leagues, communities, and youth training, the Premier League is just a castle in the air that could collapse at any moment.
Does European football restrict money-driven spending?
Restricted, but not really restricted.
The so-called restriction is the financial fair play rule, meaning clubs must live within their means and pursue sustainable growth. Is that wrong?
What about no restrictions?
As long as you stay within the rules, you can burn as much money as you want, no one can stop you.
So how much did Manchester City spend? How much did Chelsea spend? How much did Paris Saint-Germain and Monaco spend?
And how much did giants like Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, and Manchester United spend?
If you want to be competitive, how can you not spend money?
To put it bluntly, burning money is competing for the best talent.
It is normal to spend money, and foolish not to when you have it.
So what's the difference if all football is money-driven?
The difference is that European leagues are industries with complete systems and divisions of labor. The money spent by the giants flows down, step by step, eventually reaching youth academies.
Every club and every part of the chain benefits.
Only when they can profit are people motivated to engage and develop the industry. Otherwise, expecting them to keep going out of pure passion is impossible and unrealistic.
By investing money, they play better, more exciting matches, sell higher-priced broadcast rights worldwide, secure more sponsorships, and earn higher profits.
This creates a positive business cycle from top to bottom.
That's why in recent years, more wealthy owners have entered European leagues, and globalization of European football has accelerated. The more developed leagues, such as the Premier League, globalized even faster.
But what about China?
By spending money at the top, what can you gain?
It's just relying on real estate and other industries.
And after that?
Nothing.
That is a very serious and fatal problem.
If an industry keeps burning money without profit, without a positive cycle, how long can it survive? Does it even have a future?
In Gao Shen's previous life, when the real estate market collapsed, countless domestic clubs folded.
The money-driven football vanished like the wind, leaving nothing but ruins.
That was what Gao Shen meant: sooner or later, it will destroy itself.
The harder you play, the faster and worse you die.
…
"Rather than continuing this money game and indulging ourselves, I'd rather be the one to strip away this last fig leaf."
Gao Shen spoke firmly and decisively.
He believed this was the responsibility he had to bear now.
If even he wasn't willing to say it or do it, who else could be relied on?
"Maybe it's cruel and hurtful, but if it forces them to reflect, and even diverts a little more funding into youth training or the basics, then it's worth it."
Lippi agreed with Gao Shen's approach and admired it greatly.
He never hid the fact that he was there for the money, but after hearing Gao Shen's words, he felt that even when making money, it had to be done with integrity. He could not simply follow the crowd and live a mediocre life.
That would be an insult to his own wisdom.
After the match, during media interviews, both Gao Shen and Lippi clearly pointed out the huge gap in strength between the two teams. Gao Shen bluntly stated that it was an all-round gap that could not be closed in 20 years.
No matter how much money was spent, it would be useless. The key was grassroots youth training, consolidating the foundation step by step, and progressing steadily. That was the true law of football.
Lippi also emphasized the importance of youth training and developing young players and coaches.
But who knew if anyone would really listen?
…
Real Madrid's 8-0 victory over Guangzhou Evergrande shocked everyone.
Not because Real Madrid won, but because they won by such a huge margin.
But the other semifinal was a true upset.
The host league champions, Morocco's Raja Casablanca, unexpectedly defeated Brazil's Copa Libertadores champions Atlético Mineiro 3-1 to reach the final.
If the Real Madrid game revealed structural problems, the Raja Casablanca match only fueled more conspiracy theories.
From the Toyota Cup to the Club World Cup, the tournament had always been the exclusive stage of European and South American champions.
But now, Atlético Mineiro had been eliminated, which was difficult to understand.
Still, with the competition at this stage, it had to continue.
The biggest regret was that Brazilian legend Ronaldinho was playing for Atlético Mineiro. Everyone had hoped to see Real Madrid face Ronaldinho, but...
After Atlético Mineiro's early exit, the final held little suspense.
Three days after defeating Guangzhou Evergrande, Real Madrid faced Raja Casablanca in the final.
Unlike their dominant semifinal, this match was tougher. Real Madrid even faced several dangerous moments, nearly conceding to Raja Casablanca's counterattacks.
But in the end, Real Madrid won 3-0 with Ronaldo's brace and Di María's goal, lifting the Club World Cup trophy.
Ronaldo was named the best player of the final.
After winning the title, Gao Shen praised FIFA and the Club World Cup.
This time, his praise was genuine, because he felt FIFA had finally done something right.
Morocco, the host nation, was very close to Spain.
If the tournament had been held in the Middle East or Japan, that would have been exhausting.
Imagine traveling so far just to play two games like this. Wouldn't that drive Gao Shen crazy?
But what caught Gao Shen's attention was that after the final, he did not see the two reporters from the earlier press conference. He didn't know if they had been sent home early.
(To be continued.)
***
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