Today, Gao Shen is already widely regarded as a world-class manager—a gold-medal coach with two Champions League titles, and a legendary figure ranked alongside the likes of Ferguson, Wenger, Mourinho, and Ancelotti by countless fans.
But in his heart, there are two senior managers who hold a particularly special place.
One of them, of course, is Ferguson.
The influence of the Manchester United godfather on Gao Shen was deep and far-reaching. Gao Shen always felt as though he bore Ferguson's imprint.
Because of this, that 8-0 away victory over Manchester United held a special kind of thrill for him.
It felt like he had personally dismantled the very giant he once idolized—an indescribably satisfying experience!
The other was Benítez.
Back when Gao Shen had just traveled through time and taken charge of Real Madrid, the very first thing he did was to implement Benítez's 4-2-3-1 system. At the time, that tactic brought much-needed stability to Real Madrid.
In order to build a solid double-pivot, Gao Shen personally promoted De la Red from the youth team to pair with Gravesen, forming a midfield shield to protect the defense.
Facts proved that Gao Shen's decision back then was correct. Relying on this tactical setup, Real Madrid not only staged a comeback against Barcelona, but also won both La Liga and the Champions League.
From that moment on, Gao Shen found his own way forward.
Times have changed, and Gao Shen no longer uses the 4-2-3-1 formation, but he still remembers everything he experienced at Real Madrid as if it happened yesterday.
In 2008, when De la Red collapsed on the pitch, Gao Shen flew to Madrid to visit him.
According to what he remembered from his past life, De la Red would retire in 2010. When that time came, Gao Shen planned to invite him to join his coaching staff, repaying the bond they had formed back then.
Later, when Gao Shen first took over Napoli, he continued using the 4-2-3-1 formation, so much so that many people called him "Benítez II" at the time.
This shows just how much influence Benítez had on Gao Shen.
Whether in his past life or this one, the Liverpool manager has always been a highly successful, world-renowned coach in Gao Shen's mind—even though Benítez later struggled at several clubs.
Especially after gaining experience as a manager and witnessing countless collapses in European football, Gao Shen understood more clearly why the head coach is considered the most dangerous job in the sport.
It's fair to say that every manager's success hinges on the right timing, environment, and people.
And sometimes, it just comes down to luck.
When Benítez left Liverpool, it was understandable. Selling Xabi Alonso and bringing in Aquilani was a mistake. In addition, Liverpool had long failed to address their squad's weaknesses. As manager, Benítez couldn't escape blame, and his dismissal was inevitable.
But taking over Inter Milan was clearly not a wise move.
On one hand, after reaching their peak, Inter's squad was aging. On the other, they were unwilling to sell key stars in their prime to raise funds for a rebuild and Moratti didn't have the money to keep investing.
Under those conditions, anyone taking over Inter was set up for failure.
As for his time at Real Madrid—well, that was even more interesting.
If you closely compare Benítez's and Zidane's tactical styles, you'll find many similarities.
So why did Benítez fail and Zidane succeed?
Because Zidane was Zidane!
The answer really is that blunt and simple.
It's easy for casual fans to overlook the work Benítez did just because Zidane was successful.
Just like many Chelsea fans remember Mourinho's glory but forget the foundations laid during Ranieri's tenure.
Let's not forget—Ranieri's Chelsea was already a Champions League top-four team.
Professional football is often cold, ruthless, and result-driven.
But as someone within the profession, Gao Shen knows better than anyone that failure is the norm in football management, success is rare.
Because he understands this reality, Gao Shen still looks forward to his clash with Benítez.
…
After twelve rounds, the league paused once again for the international break—two weeks of national team fixtures.
Today's Manchester City is wealthier, with better player welfare and superior logistical support.
For instance, during each international break, the club charters a private jet to bring its South American players back to Manchester.
Of course, City shares the cost with other top Premier League clubs.
Even so, it's a significant expense and one that many clubs are still unwilling to pay.
Over these two weeks, Gao Shen monitored the national team matches of his players, trained those who stayed behind at Carrington, and spent time studying and collecting intelligence on Liverpool.
In the end, the match preparation materials for this game against Liverpool amounted to nearly 200 pages, stacked high on Gao Shen's desk. Next, he and his coaching team would further analyze, screen, and condense the reports.
What would eventually be handed to each player was, at most, a single A4 sheet.
This was the most important task of the Lucas analysis team before the match.
Often, giving players too much information or too many reference points can easily lead to confusion.
So, at most, each player receives just one sheet of paper, sometimes only half.
This required Gao Shen, along with the coaching staff and analysis team, to carry out extremely detailed preparation and filtering before the match, while also formulating a tactical plan to counter Liverpool as early as possible.
Liverpool's situation had been somewhat chaotic recently, as they began to suffer a string of injuries.
"At the moment, it's confirmed that Torres will be out, and both wingers Riera and Benayoun may also miss the game. However, centre-back Daniel Agger will return from suspension, and Gerrard is expected to come back from injury," Lucas reported, outlining Liverpool's mixed situation.
The absence of Torres would deal a heavy blow to Liverpool's attacking power. Benayoun had also been one of the team's best-performing wingers this season. However, the returns of Agger and Gerrard would significantly bolster Liverpool's defense and midfield.
It was easy to imagine that Benítez was both frustrated and relieved.
Manchester City weren't necessarily in a better position.
On the one hand, their South American internationals had to endure long-distance travel. On the other hand, as the team's performances continued to improve, more players had become national team regulars, with growing responsibilities for their countries. Representing their nation was an obligation none could avoid.
On this, Gao Shen had no way of intervening.
So, the only thing he could do was try to beat the opponent through tactical and technical superiority.
…
"Tomorrow, after the players return, we'll conduct special set-piece attack training."
Gao Shen laid out the assignments for the coaching staff.
Brian Kidd, Carlo, Surrey, and the others all took careful notes of the detailed instructions.
"In the past few years under Benítez, Liverpool have consistently used zonal marking in set-piece defense. This once made them the Premier League team with the fewest goals conceded from set pieces, it was very successful. But now, its weaknesses are gradually being exposed."
In fact, Liverpool's set-piece defense had long been a subject of controversy.
Zonal marking required each player to guard a specific area during set pieces, rather than marking a specific opponent.
The clear advantage of this system was that players with the best defensive attributes remained in the most dangerous zones.
The other common system was man-to-man marking.
As the name suggests, man-to-man meant each defender was tasked with marking a specific player—tracking their movements tightly to ensure they didn't escape unmarked.
Both systems had their strengths and flaws.
The issue with man-to-man marking was that a team's strongest defender could be dragged away from a dangerous area by an opponent, leaving space exposed for others to exploit.
The problem with zonal marking was that gaps naturally formed between the zones. Especially when defending second balls or flick-ons, the vulnerabilities became much more pronounced.
Some might ask, since both systems have shortcomings, can't we combine their advantages?
The answer: yes.
That's what zone-based hybrid marking is for.
But even this system isn't perfect. It also has its flaws, especially when it comes to switching responsibilities in the constantly changing flow of a match, which presents a significant challenge.
In truth, the distinction between zonal and man-to-man marking has blurred over time.
Every team now uses a hybrid form of set-piece defending. But when a goal is conceded, media and fans still rush to find faults or assign blame.
However, one issue was clearly visible: Liverpool's current defense lacks adequate protection in the three most critical areas, this was their greatest weakness when defending set pieces.
These three areas were: the near post, the center of the six-yard box, and the players positioned between those two areas.
Gao Shen specifically instructed Lucas to compile footage of all of Liverpool's set-piece defenses from the past two seasons, including this season, to review and analyze with the entire coaching staff. They would document and break down Liverpool's habits and weak points in set-piece situations.
Gao Shen was placing great importance on the upcoming battle at Anfield, and was fully prepared for a hard-fought contest.
No one knew Biglia's strength better than he did, so he was also well aware of how formidable a midfield anchored by Biglia, Mascherano, and Gerrard could be.
In terms of overall strength, this version of Liverpool was far stronger than the one Gao Shen had known in his past life.
Even with Manchester City's potent attacking power, they might struggle to break down Liverpool's defense at Anfield.
The absence of Torres would weaken Liverpool's attacking transitions, especially their direct threat on the counter but their defensive solidity would remain a major challenge.
Gao Shen believed that set pieces could very well become the decisive factor that determined the outcome of the match.
(To be continued.)
***
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