"Guardiola truly lives up to the name of genius!"
From the Presidential Tribune at the Bernabéu Stadium, Valdano watched the situation on the pitch stabilize and shook his head with a sigh.
Ancelotti was undoubtedly one of the top coaches in the world. From pre-match preparations to arranging the lineup, Ancelotti had clearly outdone Guardiola by a notch. In their respective starting tactics, Guardiola had obviously made a serious mistake.
It could be said that conceding two goals right after kickoff was the result of Guardiola's mistake.
Of course, it would be irresponsible to pin all the blame for those two goals on Guardiola, because mistakes on a football pitch were always accompanied by problems on the players' part. Valdes, for example, had never been reliable. Barcelona had always been searching for a more suitable goalkeeper. The whole world knew that.
But when they conceded the first goal, Guardiola hadn't panicked. He hadn't adjusted. When they conceded the second, he still hadn't acted or changed his earlier judgment. The result was that Messi led Barcelona in a counterattack and scored a goal.
At 2–1, the match was full of suspense again.
It was under these circumstances that Guardiola chose to make adjustments.
As a world-class superstar in his day, Guardiola clearly understood the mindset and emotional changes of players on the pitch better than anyone. He was constantly giving his players confidence.
Now, after the adjustments, Barcelona had steadied themselves and begun to control possession.
"After that first half, he seems to have repeatedly considered and studied everything. You can see his progress in this match alone. That's a terrifying thing." Valdano spoke with admiration.
Florentino naturally understood how outstanding and great Guardiola was, but that wasn't good news for Real Madrid.
"But Jorge, people outside have always believed that