Starting With Real Madrid

After leaving the hotel where De Laurentiis was staying, Gao Shen took a taxi and returned to the hotel he had booked in advance.

After checking in, he went into his room, took a shower, and changed his clothes. Then, Gao Shen made a phone call to Sacchi, who was far away in Italy.

Since their last meeting at a dinner in Florentino, this senior figure had been in frequent contact with Gao Shen. After Gao Shen resigned from Real Madrid, Sacchi immediately stood up to speak for him. Gao Shen was still grateful for that.

This time, Naples had approached him, and it was also through Sacchi's connections. Thus, it was only right for Gao Shen to inform him.

Upon hearing that De Laurentiis of Naples had rushed to the capital to meet with Gao Shen, Sacchi laughed heartily on the phone.

"I heard earlier that this guy's style of behavior is very decisive; he takes action as soon as he gets an idea," Sacchi remarked.

However, Sacchi also revealed some additional information to Gao Shen.

De Laurentiis actually doesn't actually have much money. He's far from being as wealthy as the big spenders behind Juventus, AC Milan, or Inter Milan. Even compared to Sensi of Roma or Cragnotti of Lazio, he's not as rich.

The reason he took over Naples was partly out of affection and partly due to investment considerations.

Gao Shen also found this understandable. People are always driven by self-interest.

Fans are often emotional, accustomed to acting on their feelings, but they rarely consider that emotions are the most unreliable things in the world because they are fickle.

Today, you might like something, but tomorrow you might not.

However, interests are different. Whether you like something or not is irrelevant; what matters is whether there is a benefit.

This is likely the biggest conflict between fans and club managers.

Since the discussion had turned to Roma and Lazio, Gao Shen recalled what De Laurentiis had said about wanting to make Naples the most formidable opponent to the three northern giants.

"If I remember correctly, both Sensi of Roma and Cragnotti of Lazio thought the same back in the day. What's the reason for that?" Gao Shen asked curiously.

Sacchi smiled and explained.

Simply put, it's the region.

The economic gap between northern and southern Italy is very large. The capital is Rome in the south, but the economy has always been dominated by the north. Even many people around the world mistakenly think that Milan is the capital of Italy.

"You might not be able to feel that sentiment when you were growing up, but in the 1980s, there was no Internet, no globalization, and even live TV broadcasts weren't that developed. For a team to grow, it had to be rooted in the local market, which meant ticket revenue."

"In those days, fans' feelings were often vented through the team. In the same city, two different teams represented different classes fighting on the football field. In the same country, two different teams represented different nationalities and regions. On the pitch, it was a matter of life and death—this is what a derby was about."

"In any case, in terms of economy, politics, and every other aspect, the North has a stronger voice in Italy. This is also true in football. The three northern giants have always been the most powerful teams in Italian football."

"Back then, it was Roma and Lazio; now, it's Naples. As a southern team, being rooted in the local market naturally means they must respond to the sentiments of southern fans. Inevitably, they must challenge the three giants in the north."

Gao Shen understood Sacchi's point.

Around the turn of the century, Roma and Lazio in the south were making significant investments. They brought in many world-class stars, even managing to suppress the three northern giants for a time.

But unfortunately, the Roman duo eventually became too weak to continue competing with the three northern giants in terms of financial resources.

Ultimately, they hadn't found a sustainable development path.

In professional football, to continue growing, a club must generate income.

From this perspective, Florentino was actually right.

If a club cannot generate income, there is no foundation for sustainable development. Even if it rises to the top, it will be challenging to sustain over the long term.

As for the emotions Sacchi talked about, with the development of the Bosman Act, the growth of live TV, and the advent of the Internet and globalization, such sentiments have weakened, and the barriers have long been broken.

To put it bluntly, most fans are laymen; they all like strong teams and victories.

There are few such sentiments, the most famous being the "Derby of the Century" between Real Madrid and Barcelona.

But while the barriers are broken, tradition shapes each team very differently.

For example, in Serie A, the temperament of the three teams in the north and the teams in the south are completely different.

"I once told you that whether it's as large as a country or a city, or as small as a team or a person, they all have their unique character and temperament," Sacchi continued. "You've coached in Spain, so you certainly know that the temperament of the teams in the north of Spain is very different from those in Madrid, Catalonia, and the south."

Gao Shen agreed. Even northern teams such as Athletic Bilbao, Sporting Santander, Osasuna, and Real Sociedad may not seem strong, but they have always been a nightmare for strong teams. Playing away against a northern team is too difficult.

It's hard to describe the feeling in detail. It seems like these teams are always very motivated when they face strong teams like Real Madrid and Barcelona, especially when playing at their home grounds.

"Similarly, in Italy, the character and temperament of southern teams are entirely different from those of northern teams. Even among the southern teams, Napoli, Roma, and Lazio have distinctly different characters and temperaments. Nevertheless, they all have a sense of destiny to fight against the northern giants."

"I have talked to many people, and we all feel that the reason why Maradona joined Napoli and succeeded there—and is still praised by the people of Naples today is that his temperament and personality fit well with the city."

When Sacchi said this, he made his point clear.

"So, when you choose a team, you should also consider this aspect whether the team's culture, temperament, and character align with yours."

Gao Shen understood Sacchi's advice.

There are many such examples where a head coach's failure was almost certain from the moment they signed their coaching contract.

Gao Shen also paid more attention to this issue.

This is the reason why he is not particularly interested in Naples. Although he knows this team has a promising future and its owner is willing to invest, even if he doesn't have much money, Gao Shen is still worried.

Sacchi understood Gao Shen's concern but recalled another interesting point.

"De Laurentiis isn't that simple. I've heard some things about him. He seems a bit outrageous, but there are many mysteries, like their current head coach, Reja."

Gao Shen had looked into the head coach of Napoli, but there wasn't much information available.

Before his rebirth, when he was following Napoli, Reja was no longer the coach.

"It's normal that you don't know much about Reja, but he is quite famous in Italian football. He has a wealth of coaching experience. For example, he coached Vicenza, who got promoted to Serie A in 1999 but failed to prevent the team from being relegated."

"After Vicenza's relegation, he continued to lead the team in Serie B and successfully returned to Serie A but was soon fired for poor performance. Then he had short stints at Genoa and Catania until the end of the season when he took over Cagliari midway and led the team to Serie A. But something interesting happened."

Before Reja took over Cagliari, the team's head coach was the Italian coach Ventura.

Gao Shen remembered the name. As Lippi once said, "The best head coach in Italy is in Turin, and his name is Ventura."

He was also the veteran coach who later became the head coach of the Italian national team.

Ventura led Cagliari for two consecutive seasons and failed to gain promotion. Therefore, in the second season, he was fired midway, and Reja took his place in November 2003.

Interestingly, after being unemployed for half a year, as a renowned coach, Ventura somehow got lured by De Laurentiis, who had just reorganized Napoli, to coach a third-division league team. This was quite surprising in Italian football circles at the time.

To make matters worse, Ventura failed to make an impact in Napoli and was fired after just 19 games.

Meanwhile, after Reja took over Cagliari, he washed away the gloom of Ventura's tenure and led them straight to Serie A.

A peculiar thing happened next. After De Laurentiis fired Ventura, he turned around and invited Reja to Napoli to take over Ventura's coaching position, where he has remained until now.

This maneuver was simply incredible!

Sacchi joked that many people in Italian football say that De Laurentiis' mouth can perform magic.

Gao Shen was also surprised, but after thinking it over, it seemed to make sense.

Mazzarri, Benitez, Ancelotti, Sarri…

What the heck!

He didn't know this before, but it's truly shocking when you think about it.

De Laurentiis is indeed a master at harvesting talented coaches!

If you really think about it, what's so special about this Naples owner?

At least Abramovich could still make money and continue to pay high salaries after firing you. What does De Laurentiis have?

His investment in Napoli is also very cost-effective and doesn't seem like that of a local tycoon.

Why are all these famous coaches flocking to him?

Is it a trick?

Gao Shen thought about it carefully and felt that when he met De Laurentiis and Marino earlier, they didn't seem like swindlers.

Sacchi wasn't intimately familiar with De Laurentiis either, so he couldn't confirm anything for certain.

"Anyway, just be careful and don't get tricked," Sacchi advised.

Gao Shen quickly agreed.

Next, Sacchi asked about Gao Shen's plans with concern.

Gao Shen explained that after meeting De Laurentiis, he planned to return to Madrid to handle some personal matters. He also intended to meet with Blanco from Juventus to assess the situation there.

The Real Madrid presidential election was approaching, and Gao Shen was also curious to see if Calderon could win again.