Gao Shen was absolutely right.
This nightmare for the players lasted an entire week. And before they had time to adapt, the intensity increased again in the second week.
The players were in agony.
As the second week progressed, the focus shifted more towards technical and tactical drills.
Gao Shen also gained a clearer understanding of each player's role.
For example, Robben was firmly positioned on the right wing. Borrell worked with him individually, fine-tuning his cutting inside from the flank, focusing on small details, technical refinements, and timing.
Suarez was locked in as the center forward. However, his versatility was invaluable, he could drift wide, drop deep, and adapt to different roles seamlessly. That level of adaptability was rare.
For now, Manchester City's attacking lineup was mostly settled, but Gao Shen planned to rotate positions frequently. Suarez's flexibility would be key to that strategy.
The left-wing position, however, remained undecided.
Robinho and Hazard both struggled with fitness, but to everyone's surprise, neither fell behind in training. Even during the punishing post-session long-distance runs, they pushed through.
One day, Hazard collapsed from exhaustion during a long run. Gao Shen took a picture of him and posted it on Twitter—not to humiliate him, but to praise his hard work. He even tagged Hazard's girlfriend, Natacha.
The next morning, Hazard showed up to training full of energy, more motivated than ever.
With his competition working so hard, Robinho felt the pressure, both from the coaching staff and from within the squad. Naturally, he refused to be outdone. The two of them even started hitting the gym, working on their strength and conditioning.
Robben, too, was spending extra time in the gym, focused on building muscle to avoid injuries.
In this regard, Gao Shen's coaching staff had extensive experience and an impressive track record.
Take Thiago Motta, for example. At Barcelona, injuries plagued his career. But after working with Gao Shen's highly skilled staff at Napoli, he had remained injury-free. Last season, he played nearly every Champions League match. That gave Robben hope.
This surge of dedication from key players inspired the entire squad.
The training camp in Cape Town grew increasingly intense, with the competitive spirit burning brighter by the day.
Off the pitch, the club organized various activities to keep the players engaged.
They even had a half-day off on the weekend, allowing the squad to go diving.
False Bay in Cape Town is one of the world's premier diving destinations. The players covered their own expenses and enjoyed a breathtaking underwater adventure.
…
As head coach, Gao Shen delegated most of the hands-on training to his coaching staff, overseeing sessions from the sidelines.
His primary responsibility? Talking.
The players had heard about Gao Shen's unique habit from the media before. But experiencing it firsthand was something else entirely, especially given the diverse mix of nationalities and languages within the squad.
Take Suarez, for example. He didn't speak English, so Gao Shen communicated with him in Spanish.
Then there was Neuer. The German keeper spoke fluent German, but his English was also quite good.
Gao Shen, however, didn't speak German. That didn't stop them from communicating in English. In fact, the "studious" Gao Shen even started learning German from Neuer, just in case he ever managed a Bundesliga team in the future.
The biggest challenge was Giroud. He only spoke French and knew no English at all.
Yet somehow, Gao Shen managed to communicate with him using gestures and body language. Not just basic signals—full, detailed instructions.
It left the entire squad in awe.
By the second week, Giroud barely needed words. A single shout or hand movement from Gao Shen was enough for him to understand.
The efficiency was unbelievable.
Lucas, the team analyst, joked, "Now you all see, his talking ability far surpasses his coaching ability!"
The squad burst into laughter.
Jokes aside, communication was critical.
That's why a translator and an English teacher traveled with the team.
Gao Shen made it mandatory for all players to learn basic English for training sessions and matches. On the pitch, in the locker room, and during training, English was the only language allowed.
To achieve full squad unity, players with weak English skills had to attend language classes in their free time.
Gao Shen also encouraged the English-speaking players to help their teammates adapt.
…
After two grueling weeks in South Africa, Manchester City finally played their first pre-season friendly, the opening match of the Vodacom Cup Invitational Tournament.
Their opponent? The Orlando Pirates.
However, Manchester City didn't look like a Premier League team.
They didn't look like a strong team at all.
The pace was sluggish. Their movements were heavy. The entire squad seemed lethargic.
The fans and media covering the match were deeply disappointed.
Even worse, several big-name stars, Robben, Rakitic, and David Luiz—weren't in the lineup.
Starting XI:
Goalkeeper: Given
Defenders: Bridge, Gary Cahill, Micah Richards, Trippier
Midfielders: De Jong (holding), Ireland, Henderson (advanced roles)
Forwards: Adam Lallana, Giroud, Sturridge
To make matters worse, Gao Shen kept these players on the pitch for over an hour before making substitutions.
One notable change was Gareth Bale replacing Bridge—slotting into his natural position at left-back.
This was an experiment by Gao Shen, testing Bale's capabilities in his original role.
In Gao Shen's eyes, Gareth Bale was like a powerful dragon-slaying sword, he needed space to sprint. The best way to utilize him was to position him deeper on the pitch, allowing him to make sudden forward runs, using his speed and physicality to break through defenses and even create goal-scoring opportunities.
The most classic example was his famous performance against Maicon.
In contrast, Bale's technical ability, particularly his close ball control was not as refined, making him less suited for an advanced role. That's why his most natural positions remained left-back or left-midfield. Even playing on the right wasn't ideal.
Of course, it wasn't that he couldn't play there—it all depended on how he was used.
With Bale's speed, power, and stamina, once he started charging forward, he was nearly unstoppable.
This was precisely what set him apart from his close friend, Theo Walcott.
Walcott made a name for himself earlier, but physically, he was nowhere near Bale's level. That difference ultimately played a huge role in the disparity between their careers.
So, Gao Shen was still studying how to best utilize Bale.
The same applied to other players. He took the time to analyze each one individually, listening to their thoughts and preferences before making decisions.
But none of this could overshadow one undeniable fact, Gao Shen lost his first warm-up match as Manchester City's manager, against a South African team.
The media pounced on it immediately.
The Sun wasted no time, placing the story on their front page.
Even though the scoreline was only a 1-2 loss, they labeled it a "crushing defeat," emphasizing Manchester City's lackluster performance.
"Gao Shen and his squad, assembled with over €200 million, just lost to the Orlando Pirates in Cape Town, South Africa."
"The entire Orlando Pirates squad isn't even worth €10 million combined."
The Sun declared that Gao Shen's "magical aura" had disappeared.
Other British outlets quickly followed up with similar reports.
Since the match wasn't broadcast live and South Africa was far from England, most journalists weren't even present. Their articles were based on second-hand accounts, all echoing the same narrative, Manchester City looked sluggish, lacked cohesion, and their defeat to a South African team was a disgrace for the Premier League.
"A team like this thinks they can win the Premier League?"
"If Manchester City wins the title, it'll be the biggest joke in Premier League history!"
Adding fuel to the fire, Liverpool legend Alan Hansen—who once infamously mocked Ferguson for relying on young players—took the opportunity to rip into Manchester City on his show.
"Gao Shen and Manchester City will never succeed with this group of unmotivated mercenaries!"
He even predicted that the €200 million transfer splurge would turn into a massive burden, claiming that no team in English football history had ever spent so lavishly in such a reckless manner.
"Mark my words—this season will be Gao Shen's Waterloo!"
Gao Shen was baffled by the public reaction.
Did these people even know which players started the game? Did they have any idea what Manchester City's training schedule looked like?
At the very least, couldn't they ask around in Italy?
If Gao Shen's record in competitive matches was that of a world-class manager, then his record in pre-season friendlies was closer to that of a lower-league coach.
As Zidane once joked, "Gao Shen is just too pretentious!"
He always used warm-up matches for experiments, testing different players, trying out tactics, and assessing squad depth.
That meant the teams he coached often performed terribly in friendlies. But once the real competition began, everything would change.
Maybe the British press knew this but chose to ignore it.
At the moment, bashing Manchester City was the "politically correct" thing to do in England.
The club simply didn't have enough fans to defend them. Even in Manchester, United supporters vastly outnumbered City fans.
Just look at how many people took to the streets to celebrate when each club won a title—there was no comparison.
For the media, criticizing Manchester City sold more papers.
Praising them? That was too niche, there just wasn't a big enough audience for it.
So after one pre-season loss, the media tore Manchester City apart.
Gao Shen wasn't hit as hard after all, his reputation was already well-established but he still faced skepticism.
Fortunately, in their second pre-season match, Manchester City secured a narrow 1-0 victory over the Kaizer Chiefs.
Yet, the criticism didn't stop.
This time, the complaint was "the win wasn't convincing enough."
A classic case of people forgetting past struggles as soon as things slightly improve.
(To be continued.)
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