Spaniards have a peculiar schedule.

  Lunchtime is at three iernoon, and dinner isn't until nine in the evening, or even ter, sometimes past midnight.

  The end of the derby match cided with the busiest time ireets and alleys of Madrid. The ey was filled with vibrant and bustling ses. Who would have thought that behind such prosperity, a severe eic crisis was lurking?

  The subprime me crisis was looming, followed by the Europea crisis, and Spain would bee one of the five "PIGS" tries in Europe.

  At that time, would these people still be as carefree and indulgent as they were now?

  Gao Shen didn't have time to delve into all this. After leading the team back to Valdebebas, he rode his bicycle back to the Odalysa area.

  Along the way, he entered many fans. Some were singing and dang in joy. It was obvious they were Real Madrid fans. Some were sitting by the roadside drinking...

  In truth, Gao Shen couldn't fully grasp the local faions about the derby. He only khat this game was crucial to him, but it had already passed, and every uping game would be more important than the previous one.

  That's enough!

  ...

  Walking through the familiar streets and alleys, he soon arrived at Carlo's house.

  It was easy to spot because there was a badly worn basketball hoop on the fen front of their house.

  Who would have thought that the son of a football coach would be a basketball fan?

  Fortunately, Real Madrid also had a basketball team, so father and son had some on ground.

  Gao Shen rang the doorbell, and Mrs. Carroll came out to help him open the door.

  "Good evening, Mrs. Carroll," Gao Sheed politely.

  Mrs. Carroll was also in a good mood. She smiled and him, pointing to the small yard behind her. "He's waiting for you over there."

  Entering the yard, Gao Shen spotted Carlo waving to him not far away. In front of him was a small square table with several dishes, a few bottles of wine, and a thermos.

  "I know you don't drink, so I made a pot of water for you," Carlo said, standing up and motioning fao Shen to sit across from him.

  Gao Shen thanked him quickly and poured himself a gss of cool water.

  "You're quite iing. You don't drink, smoke, gamble, or have any bad habits at all. What's the fun in living such a life?" Carlo asked jokingly, looking at Gao Shen with a pyful expression.

  Gao Shen recalled an impression that this wasn't the first time Carlo had teased him like this.

  Previously, he would expin solemnly that his parents had been strict with him since childhood, banning all bad habits at home and school. But now...

  "A man should always be strict with himself," Gao Shen replied with a smile, choosing not to eborate further.

  Carlo chuckled and cpped his hands. "Exactly, that's the way!"

  Their banter lightehe mood and opened up the versation.

  "Sir, I'm really gd you could make it to the Bero watch the game tonight," Gao Shen said gratefully.

  Carlo waved it off. "I was going to use the ticket you gave me to get in, but I bumped into Florentino."

  "Florentino?" Gao Shen was surprised. "He's back?"

  Carlo nodded. "I'm not privy to much, you know. Even though Florentino has only been in charge of Real Madrid for just over five years, his influen this club runs deep. There isn't a departmehat doesn't have his people, and even Martin wouldn't dare to openly oppose him."

  High and profound uanding.

  It was often said that Florentinned in order to reposition himself.

  bining this with his deep uanding of the present situation, Florentino, Martin, and even first vice-chairman Tapias and others seemed aligned on the surface, but iy, internal flicts existed, giving Calderon an opportunity to exploit.

  Florentino probably didn't anticipate that his inal 90% certainty would be Calderon the opportunist.

  Only then did he have a profound experience. In the 2006 Real Madrid presidential ele, Calderon asded to the throh Mijatovic.

  The retionships were too intricate, entangled in tless vested is.

  Carlo wasn't here to infao Shen about these things; he simply reyed what he had heard in the inner circles, such as Di Stefano, Valdano, and Butragueno's assessments of Gao Shen, along with his own observations oter.

  Overall, Gao Shen had delivered a fwless performan the derby.

  But even so, Martin was still relut to ao Shen a formal coag tract.

  "You must uand, Marti support you or trust you. On the trary, he's been waiting for you to slip up," Carlo cautioned.

  Gao Shen trusted pletely. If Carlo said this, it mearuly heard such ses.

  Of course, Martin need not fear being exposed to this; his position was too lofty.

  "In that case, he's mistaken. I won't let him down!" Gao Shen asserted firmly.

  Carlo furrowed his brows. He noticed that Gao Shen was uedly stubborn and assertive, a stark trast to his previous impression of him—it was as though he were a different person.

  "Haven't you seen it yet? Beating Atletico at home wasn't a true challenge. Now you'll face Arsenal under Wenger. Do you realize? Arsenal have kept six sheets so far this season in the Champions League. If you mao keep a sheet at Highbury Stadium, you could equal or even surpass A's record for the lo sheet streak in Champions League history."

  "And at Highbury Stadium, Arsenal have gone uen i secutive Champions League matches. The st time they lost was in the quarter-finals in 2004, a 1-2 defeat at home to Ranieri's Chelsea after a 1-1 draw. The Gunners have only ceded three goals in those eight uen matches."

  Carlo's statistics were meticulous and accurate, highlighting Arsenal's formidable strength.

  In his deep recolle, Arsenal had even reached the Champions League final that season, narrowly losing to Rijkaard's Bara.

  Gao Shen remained silent as Carlo tinued. He shook his head and sighed, his toinged with .

  "Do you know why everyone pces such importan finishing first in the Champions League group stage?" Carlo asked.

  Gao Shen pondered for a moment before replying cautiously, "To avoid fag the group leaders from roups?"

  He wasirely certain if this was the answer Carlo sought; it was on knowledge.

  "That's part of it, but more importantly, finishing first in the group means you py the sed leg of the round of 16 away first. Many think this means a favorable schedule, but that's only one side of it. The crucial reason is that, historically in the Champions League knockout stages, almost no team has mao e bad overturn a deficit after losing at home."

  Gao Shen suddenly grasped what Carlo was trying to vey; indeed, nothing in football happens without reason.

  Football was the world's most intricate and captivating sport, as well as the most thought-provoking and challenging.

  "Now you uand that beating Arsenal away, statistically speaking, means the ces of a eback are close to zero. Unless you create a miracle!"

  Carlo's iion wasn't to undermine Gao Shen's fidence, but to sel caution.

  Even if Gao Shen did manage a miracle a Arsenal, what then?

  After Arsenal, they would face crucial league matches against sed and third-pced teams, culminating in a decisive csh at Mestal Stadium against Valencia.

  From Atletiadrid to Arsenal to Valencia—three secutive games of critical importance. Could Real Madrid ha? Could Gao Shen manage?

  Not to mention the looming Champions League quarter-finals and the formidable Bara.

  With Real Madrid's current squad, how could they sustain such morale?

  Gao Shen remained mostly silent, sensing Carlo's and kindness. Ultimately, one misstep could tarnish his reputation and jeopardize his future. The risks were immense.

  But for him, this was a rare opportunity.

  "Mr. Carroll," Gao Shen exhaled softly, his voice calm yet resolute. "I remember you oold me that the basketball hoop outside beloo your son, correct?"

  Carlo was uain where Gao Shen was going with this, but he nodded heless.

  "You wanted your son to py football, and you've trained him in football since he was young. Yet, he prefers basketball. You were frustrated for a while, and it caused flict between you until one day he stood before you, looked up, and boldly decred he wao try out for the basketball team."

  Carlo stared at Gao Shen bnkly, unsure of his point.

  "Today, I thank you for sharing that story with me. But I still say this: I want to try!"

  Gao Shen locked eyes with Carlo, his gaze unwavering aermined, devoid of aation.

  "I uand from every angle—enviro, strength, probability, and various data analyses—that our ces of overturning Arsenal away are minimal. I don't deny that. However, I also believe that football matches are never decided by probabilities alone. Even bookmakers only provide rough estimates; ued outes do happen."

  "I'm still young. I may not know how to calcute risks and rewards, but I do know that if I don't try today, I'll have regrets. I'll regret it iure, and I don't want that!"