Starting With Real Madrid

The league system in European football is like a pyramid.

The giants are at the top of the pyramid, followed by mid-level teams from the five major leagues, then the giants of second-tier leagues such as the Dutch Eredivisie and the Portuguese Primeira Liga, and further down are the lower-tier teams of the five major leagues.

This is a competitive system where big fish eat small fish, and small fish eat shrimp.

In the entire pyramid system, a newly promoted Serie B team is actually a non-mainstream role. Even with the once-glorious brand of Napoli, they still lack competitiveness.

Napoli at this time was like a start-up company. Players wanting to join would be nervous, fearing that the company owner might run off and leave them with unpaid salaries.

But suddenly, a CEO of a top company in the industry arrived out of the blue, declaring that he would build it into one of the most competitive teams in the industry within three years. This immediately sparked fierce controversy.

The Italian media took the lead in attacking.

In Italy, the media is either sitting in the position of the Three Giants in the North or in the city of Rome. For Naples further south, they see it as a backwater full of bumpkins, hillbillies, and savages they utterly despise.

Suddenly one day, this so-called "savage" proclaimed, "I also want to live in the biggest house, eat the best food, and sleep with the most beautiful women…" How could these gentlemen possibly believe it? Would they give up their positions?

If they let you sleep with the beauties, then what would be left for them?

Besides their own biases, another critical reason is that the Italian media has been yearning for attention for a long time.

Watching their British and Spanish counterparts stir up traffic with various stories, generating great noise and rising sales, the Italian media has long been envious, eager for a star to drive their own traffic.

Now, finally, a huge scandal like Calciopoli came along. While it was a devastating blow to the foundation of Italian football, for the media, this wave of traffic was just perfect. And now, another double champion from La Liga and the Champions League has arrived!

The key is that Juventus, one of Italy's Northern Giants, was the first to extend an olive branch to this double-champion coach. They offered the house, the food, and the women with both hands, but the coach remained unmoved and resolutely chose the "savages" of the south.

What a great spirit this is!

F

As a result, all major Italian media rushed forward, as if saying, "I would be sorry to you if I didn't spray you to death."

But the fact is, the Italian media is not strong, at least compared to the Spanish media, and they are far behind the British media, the ancestors of the paparazzi.

The main issue is that their approach is too uniform.

However, it is understandable. They have never played this game before. With time, I believe they will soon upgrade their skills.

...

Upon learning that Gao Shen signed for Napoli, Juventus General Manager Blanc expressed regret in an interview with *La Gazzetta dello Sport*.

"Yes, we were in contact with Gao Shen. I think he is a coach who can bring significant changes to a team. But unfortunately, we couldn't agree on some details, which is very regrettable for me."

However, Blanc graciously stated that he was very much looking forward to seeing Gao Shen coaching in Napoli.

As for Gao Shen declaring that Napoli's goal is the Serie B championship, Blanc said it's good to have ambition.

"Hope is always good, but he has just arrived in Italy. Maybe he doesn't know the football here. Serie B is not as easy as he might think."

Juventus Sporting Director Alessio Secco was more direct.

As a former press officer, he revealed through his media reporter friends that the biggest disagreement between Juventus and Gao Shen was over transfer rights.

This was something Juventus would never allow.

Secco believes that choosing to coach Napoli was a very foolish decision.

"I can't believe that a coach who just led Real Madrid to a La Liga and Champions League double would choose to coach a newly promoted Serie B team. I wouldn't use words like 'self-destructive' to describe him, but I can't understand this behavior."

"Perhaps, it's because Napoli offered more money!"

Secco's remarks carried another hidden meaning: that the double crown achievement Gao Shen earned was not deserved.

As for Gao Shen's claim that he wanted to compete for the Serie B championship and lead the team to Serie A, Secco was dismissive.

"This is not something a sane person would say. I think he must be crazy now. He originally wanted to coach a giant like Juventus, but he had to settle for coaching a newly promoted team like Napoli. He couldn't handle it."

"I don't think anyone would believe what he's saying."

As soon as Secco's remarks came out, they caused a huge stir in Italy.

So it turns out that Gao Shen really was in contact with Juventus.

Did he really end up choosing Napoli after being frustrated in his attempt to coach Juventus?

In response, Napoli President De Laurentiis accepted an interview with the media that afternoon and publicly lambasted Secco for not telling the truth.

"The fact is that our first meeting with Gao was in China, when he had no real contact with Juventus. I don't know where Secco got his information from or how many times he's got it, but he's clearly mistaken."

"Also, the salary we offered was not high, maybe even lower than Juventus' intended offer, but Gao still chose Napoli without hesitation. Why? Because we gave him enough freedom and space."

"I am a filmmaker. I know the importance of a director, and I respect professionals. Of course, as an investor, I will express my opinion, but I will not easily interfere with the director's decisions and professionalism. But Secco clearly does not."

"Oh, by the way, what is his major? Press officer? PR? Sports? Or something that shouldn't be spoken about?"

"What? Should I say it? No, no, I'm not that kind of person. I will never tell you how Secco became the sporting director of Juventus. I won't say a word, even if you kill me."

This round of De Laurentiis' bombardment immediately caused a frenzy in the media.

Damn, that's too fierce, isn't it?

What do you mean, there's an inside story?

...

When Gao Shen saw this report from De Laurentiis, he and Lucas were at a hotel in Basel, Switzerland.

The news had quickly spread all over the world through the internet.

Before the league even started, Napoli and Juventus had already started a war, and the new season's Serie B was heating up even before the first match.

"Our sneaky boss is quite protective," Lucas said with a smile, almost shouting, "The German is mighty!"

He had long been disgusted with Juventus' Secco.

Now, De Laurentiis did not hesitate to offend a domestic giant like Juventus, standing up to defend Gao Shen. If nothing else, just for this, De Laurentiis did a very good job.

Gao Shen nodded slightly. This was De Laurentiis' character.

But if, in the future, he doesn't like you anymore, he would scold you just like he did with Secco.

Therefore, a boss with this character can share hardships but not wealth.

Of course, his partnership with De Laurentiis will remain strong until there is genuine success in Napoli.

The premise is that he has to lead the team and demonstrate quality that satisfies everyone.

...

The Swiss Super League is only considered a third-tier league in European football. As the strong teams in the Swiss Super League, Zurich and Grasshoppers are both regular participants in European competitions, but they have always been overlooked and have no real presence.

There's no helping it. The Swiss Super League only has ten teams, the number of fans is limited, and naturally, competitiveness doesn't increase.

But last season, Basel, the runner-up in the Swiss Super League, performed well in the UEFA Cup, reaching the quarter-finals before losing to Middlesbrough in the Premier League.

Of course, this isn't much to brag about since the UEFA Cup's influence isn't that great.

As the head coach who won La Liga and the Champions League, when Gao Shen called Basel's general manager, Bernhard Heusler, the latter was shocked and honored. He never expected that Gao Shen would suddenly visit.

Even when Gao Shen took Lucas and took a taxi to the Basel office, Heusler accompanied Basel Chairman Gisela Oeri and several club executives to welcome him.

Like many others, everyone in Basel was surprised at Gao Shen's first impression.

"I heard that Mr. Gao won the La Liga and the Champions League at a very young age, but I didn't expect him to be this young!" Chairman Oeri laughed.

She is only in her fifties, but interestingly, she is German.

She isn't very experienced, but she knows influential people. For instance, she once had a chat with Beckenbauer. Now that the World Cup is being held in Germany, Beckenbauer invited her to watch it there.

Having coached Real Madrid before, Gao Shen had been dealing with the top figures in European football. Basel is a small team, and it all sounds a bit surreal.

The opening conversation went well, and Gao Shen didn't want to delay too much his time was still very precious so he got straight to the point.

"The main reason I came here is to get to know a player from your team.

Everyone was shocked.

If Gao Shen could come in person, then this person must be extraordinary, not just anyone.

But after hearing this, Hessler immediately shook his head and smiled bitterly.

"To be honest, Mr. Gao, Matías Delgado has already signed with Turkey's Beşiktaş. You're one step too late."

Gao Shen was stunned.

Matías Delgado is Basel's top scorer, an Argentine with Italian citizenship. Last season, he scored 18 goals and provided 11 assists in 33 Swiss Super League games. In addition, he scored seven goals and provided two assists in twelve UEFA Cup games.

Such a record might seem unremarkable in the era of Cristiano Ronaldo and wealthy club owners, but in 2006, it was exceptional. The key point is that he has Italian citizenship and is considered an EU player, so his value is naturally higher.

What's more striking is that he's only twenty-two years old!

Considering his age, ability, and nationality, Delgado is undoubtedly a prime asset, making him the star of the Basel team. Not many teams from Europe's top five leagues approached him, but those who did were seriously interested.

After understanding this, Gao Shen smiled bitterly and shook his head.

"You misunderstood, I'm not here for Matías Delgado."