"What? Zidane is leaving?"

On the morning of the second day after defeating Real Madrid, Gao Han was shocked when he heard Cantalero's report in his office.

He had no idea about this, and no one informed him.

"What's going on?" Gao Han asked with concern as he looked at Armando Marcos and Cantalero sitting in front of him.

Of course, he would not doubt his two right-hand assistants. Zidane was about to leave the team, which was definitely not because of internal conflicts.

"He told me about this matter in advance not long ago, and he felt too tired."

Cantalero's words made Gao Han silent.

The head coach is indeed a very tiring job, and not anything can stand it, especially Zidane, who is in charge of Chinatown and successfully defending the Champions League championship, and has become the target of public criticism and the pressure is greater than that of other teams.

"In recent years, the momentum of tactical upgrades in European football has been obvious. Many of our games have not been easy, and the counterattack tactics of many giant teams have made it increasingly difficult for us to deal with. Zidane often suffers from insomnia."

Chinatown's results this season are indeed very impressive. The strong dialogue in the league ended with a complete victory. The UEFA Champions League was also unstoppable. The King's Cup reached the final. The opponent was Sevilla, and the possibility of winning the championship was still very high.

But behind this brilliant report card, Zidane and the coaching staff racked their brains and worked day and night.

Gao Han could imagine how much Zidane paid for it.

"Just because of this?" Gao Han asked again, and he vaguely noticed something.

"Of course it's not all." Cantalero nodded, "Maclale is going to go out to coach alone. Many Ligue 1 teams have invited him to go over and leave after the end of this season. Real Madrid's Florentino has been pursuing Zidane. Zidane can't stand the mercy, but he said he plans to take a year off."

It is natural to take a year off and then return to take over Real Madrid after a year.

After hiring Ancelotti to coach, although the results were not much improved, Florentino was not very satisfied with Ancelotti, which is normal. Inviting Zidane to return to the Bernabeu to coach is the best choice no matter which angle it is.

As for Zidane, he is a nostalgic person, he will definitely not want to see that the position of President Florentino is out of stock and returns to the Bernabeu to repay Florentino's kindness for his gratitude back then. This is not surprising.

"I originally planned to discuss with you before, but the Chinese national team you coached was facing a major competition at that time, and I felt that I could handle it, so I didn't tell you so that you wouldn't be distracted." Cantalero explained.

This is very consistent with Cantalero's style, and he has always known Gao Han best.

After coaching this season, Zidane is leaving, and neither Gao Han nor Chinatown will force him to stay.

After coaching in Chinatown for three years, it was normal for Zidane to leave the team at this time.

"In addition to the change of coaching staff, our team may also need to go through a restructuring." Cantalero said with a serious face.

Gao Han frowned, "What do you say?"

"As I said just now, in the past period of time, we have become the target of European football. It is so successful and dazzling. The most important thing is that our overall strength is indeed stronger than other giant teams. In addition, our tactical system has been passed down over the years, which has created our strong competitiveness."

Currently, the group of players in Chinatown are selected and introduced by Gao Han one by one, and each one is examined by the sharp eyes. It is no exaggeration to say that with the current lineup configuration of Chinatown, it is the most luxurious and top-notch in European football.

"For the past three years, Zidane has been a big boss in the locker room. The way he gets along with the players is to lead the big brother. He always stands up for the players, and the players obey him. But now he wants to leave. Unless we invite the top coach, no matter who takes over, it will probably not go smoothly."

"What's more, we must be aware that since the beginning of this season, some signs have gradually appeared in the team, and many players have begun to feel slack. Now the team is going to attack the La Liga championship. This situation is not obvious, but once they win the La Liga championship, the result that follows..."

There will be a trough after the peak, and players cannot always remain hungry for victory. This is human nature.

So transfers are needed, metabolism is needed, and fresh blood is injected to stimulate the team's internal competition.

Chinatown has always done a good job in this regard, but the restructuring that Cantalero mentioned this time is obviously more dynamic.

"Not only that, the salary structure pressure our team is facing now is also very high. The salaries of players outside are rising steadily, and many wealthy teams offer annual salaries more attractive than us. We cannot satisfy all players' desire to increase their salary, and it is impossible to retain so many people."

After all, the transfer market in European football has been too crazy in the past two or three years.

Needless to say, the price of players has skyrocketed. The most terrifying thing is that the annual salary continues to rise.

Previously, after Neymar switched to Real Madrid from Paris Saint-Germain, in addition to winning a record transfer fee, his annual salary also reached 20 million euros. However, it is reported that he has just joined for a year and he has to raise his salary again, this time at least 30 million euros.

Messi will also increase again. His current contract is 23 million euros, but it will increase to 40 million euros in one go, which will surpass Cristiano Ronaldo and become the highest-paid player in the world.

Hazard had previously renewed his contract and signed 10 million euros, but after helping Chinatown successfully defend the Champions League, Hazard won his first career in January and the first FIFA Golden Ball Award in Chinatown's history. The contract renewal was once again put on the agenda, which may be an astronomical figure this time.

In addition to Hazard, other players in the team are also going to renew their contracts. For example, Pogba has performed very well this season. It has been rumored that some giant teams are willing to offer him an annual salary of 15 million euros, which is impossible for Chinatown to get.

"Amando, what do you think?" Gao Han looked at Armando Marcos.

The general manager of Chinatown also showed a bitter look. He knew the contribution and role of superstars to the team, but he was also very clear that endless salary increases would put a heavy burden on the team.

Transfer fees are just a one-time transaction, but annual salary is a long-term pressure.

"In recent years, the global economy has been in a recession, major economies have launched quantitative easing policies, and various hot money insurance funds have poured into European football, resulting in a very obvious bubble in the transfer market, but I don't think this situation is benign and sustainable."

Gao Han understood what Armando Marcos meant.

There is a saying that is right, only when the tide is low will you know who is swimming naked.

It's time for the tide now, and the situation is very good, and no one will have the slightest sense of crisis.

"I think the strength of the restructuring depends on the technical department's confidence in the thickness of our bench, and we need to carefully evaluate the gains and losses."

Armando Marcos's words are very consistent with his position and also reminded Gao Han that the bench players on the team are not bad.

Hesse, Jesus, Martial, Dembele, Mbappe, Kingsley Koman, Kovacic, Asensio, Sebalos, Bellerin... and four players from China, Yang Xin, Zhao Jun, Wang Lei and Gao Ren.

As long as they are given enough training opportunities, within three years, these players will become great and will definitely support the world of Chinatown.

What's more, after Gao Han's active efforts, Spain and China have basically agreed that in the future, Chinese players will not occupy foreign aid places in the Spanish league.

Restructuring the team's lineup and selling a group of stars can not only bring a large amount of transfer income, but also significantly reduce the team's salary, and leave more opportunities for the young players in the team. No one knows the potential of these young players in the team better than Gao Han. As long as it is cultivated properly, within three years, an unstoppable China City will be created.

Is it worth it to calculate the gains and losses of profits, and earning hundreds of millions in three years?

"Zidane is leaving, is there a suitable candidate?" Gao Han looked at Cantalero again.

The technical director nodded slightly, "Of course the most suitable one is Guardiola, but he is at Manchester City and cannot leave in a short period of time. I have a pretty good candidate, but he lacks experience in coaching a strong team in the first-tier team."

"Who?" Gao Han asked with concern.

"Valverde."

Gao Han suddenly realized and nodded.

Valverde is the current head coach of Athletic Bilbao. He has a rich coaching experience. He has coached Athletic Bilbao, Espanyol, Olympiacos, Villarrel, and Valencia. He has coached at Athletic Bilbao in the past three years.

And everyone knows that the coaches who coach Athletic Bilbao are often good at cultivating young players.

Now it seems that Cantalero's technical team has a high evaluation of Valverde.

"Our head coaches often do not have the experience of coaching strong teams." Gao Han smiled faintly.

Two different team formation models are generally popular in European football. One is based on theory and the other is based on resources. The former mainly requires a mature technical and tactical style, and then invest and sign up around this style. The most typical one is Barcelona, ​​while the latter has no fixed style. Different head coaches may even bring different styles, mainly to collect the most dazzling stars in the world and polish the best teams in the world.

It is hard to say the advantages and disadvantages of these two teaming models. The theory is the main focus on the same line. The investment is relatively small and the risks are relatively small, but it is easy to be self-consistent. However, it is mainly based on resource investment, the style changes too much, the investment is also large, and the risks are very high.

Chinatown has always followed the theory-oriented approach. After all, it is a team with youth training as the core. However, Chinatown does not build a team with a certain tactical style or a certain head coach as the core, but more of a technical team led by Gao Han and Cantalero as the core.

For example, in the past few years, the technical team has been studying the technical and tactical evolution of Chinatown and the development trend of European football, and providing theoretical guidance for the coaching team and youth training echelon. Now that Zidane wants to leave and the team needs to reorganize, the technical team needs to derive the technical and tactical development trends in the next few years, determine the list of players who stay and leave the team, and select the appropriate head coach based on the technical and tactical style.

So, theoretically, it doesn’t matter even if the head coach doesn’t have much experience, because Chinatown has a complete set of mature teams.

Zidane took over Chinatown as the rookie coach and achieved great success in his first season. This is the source.

Gao Han still has a deep impression of Valverde. He once considered him when he was choosing a coach three years ago. The defense mainly focuses on high-level pressing and oppression, and pays attention to width and contact when attacking. He is good at making trouble on the rib impact, and the rhythm is faster and simpler.

It should be said that Valverde's coaching characteristics are very consistent with the requirements of Chinatown.
Chapter completed!