Starting With Real Madrid

On the evening of August 18th, at the San Paolo Stadium in Naples.

The team's season debut is a Coppa Italia match against Frosinone, an old rival from the C-1 League.

The opponent isn't particularly strong, but they shouldn't be underestimated.

The key is to assess the overall strength of Napoli after investing more than 16 million euros.

This isn't just a question for Napoli fans, but for Italy and even all of Europe.

After leaving the spotlight of La Liga and the Champions League to coach Napoli, a newly promoted Serie B team, Gao Shen made an astonishing choice.

But he did it!

The local media in Naples have likened Gao Shen's move from Real Madrid to Naples to Maradona's transfer from Barcelona. Both are seen as heralding a new era in Naples.

During Maradona's time, Napoli also made significant investments. Now, a new era has begun under Gao Shen. Although Napoli's current investment is far less than during Maradona's era, it is still quite bold.

Now, it's time to deliver the results.

---

De Laurentiis was a bit nervous, pacing back and forth in his office.

The attendance at the San Paolo Stadium tonight was quite impressive, with over 50,000 fans filling the stands, nearly a full house.

For the first round of the Coppa Italia, against an opponent that isn't particularly strong, such a turnout is entirely due to Gao Shen's debut and the club's restructuring and investment this summer.

But the more this was the case, the more anxious De Laurentiis felt.

He had been in the film business, primarily in Hollywood in the United States.

In Hollywood, every movie goes through a strict planning process from its inception. By the time it's released, everyone pretty much knows if it will be a blockbuster, average, or a flop.

But football is different. No one knows the result until the final whistle.

De Laurentiis opened his humidor several times but wasn't interested.

Finally, Marino knocked on his office door from outside.

Seeing the general manager of the club he had just appointed walk in, De Laurentiis immediately asked, "How is it? What did he say?"

"He said he's very confident," Marino replied.

De Laurentiis clicked his tongue, "Confidence isn't enough; he needs to win."

He was making a big gamble now.

More than 16 million euros a huge sum for a Serie B team.

If they don't win, then De Laurentiis will become a laughingstock in Italian football.

"No, I'll ask him myself." De Laurentiis couldn't restrain himself.

Since July 10th, after the team officially started training, De Laurentiis had only been to Fort Volturno once, on the second day of training camp, to meet the players; the rest of the time, he waited.

Sure, he snuck in to watch a game, but what could he say?

The performance was still unsatisfactory, even though they won the match.

Now, he was genuinely worried.

Their opponent is Frosinone, a team from last season's C-1 League. Napoli defeated them 3-1 away and drew 1-1 at home, showing dominant strength and performance.

Although each match is different, if after such a significant investment, they still can't beat them, what would De Laurentiis do? Would he just be laughed to death?

But as he reached the door, De Laurentiis stopped.

He turned to Marino and asked, "Are they on the pitch or in the locker room?"

"They are in the locker room, making final preparations before the game."

De Laurentiis clicked his tongue again and exhaled heavily, "I promised not to enter the locker room without his permission."

Marino stood aside, looking straight ahead without any expression.

"Pierre Paul, when Gao Shen said that, what did you think of his expression? Was he confident, certain of winning, or just somewhat likely to win?"

Marino was taken aback. How could he possibly know that?

But he knew better than to make light of it with De Laurentiis.

After frowning and thinking, he nodded, "I think there's a high probability of winning."

"Rubbish! Gao is the coach of a double-champion team, and we've invested so much. A high probability of winning? Doesn't that mean there's still a small chance of losing?" De Laurentiis felt like he was going crazy.

Marino secretly rejoiced: Boss, nothing is ever 100% certain in football!

But he didn't dare say it.

Some things Gao Shen could say, but if he did, he'd be immediately bombarded.

He knew his boss's temperament well.

Actually, he truly admired Gao Shen and regretted agreeing too quickly to take the job.

Looking back, if he had just played it cool like Gao Shen, maybe the boss wouldn't dare to mess with him so easily.

Fortunately, when the boss wasn't angry, he was still pretty decent.

---

"Do you know who we're facing tonight?"

As Napoli prepared in their locker room, Frosinone's coach, Ivo Jaconi, was loudly addressing his players in their locker room.

"Napoli, last season's nemesis," shouted a player seated in front of his locker.

Jaconi shook his head, "No, not just Napoli, but someone stronger."

"Gao Shen?" another player asked.

"Yes!" Jaconi nodded. "Last season's Real Madrid head coach, La Liga and Champions League double-champion coach, the hottest young coach in European football today!"

When Jaconi said this, he looked directly at his players, making a final rallying cry.

"You all know this, but you also need to know that when he first arrived, he declared he wanted to win Serie B, get promoted to Serie A, and build a strong Serie A team within three years. Who does he think he is?"

"Does he think no one in Serie B can stop him? Does he really think Napoli, under his leadership, is the strongest, and all the other teams are just useless?"

By the end, Jaconi's series of rhetorical questions had stirred his players.

Too disrespectful!

"I can tell you that right now, every team in Serie B wants to beat him, and it would be an honour to do so. And we have the chance to be the first team to officially challenge Gao Shen and his Napoli!"

"We should be proud of this! At the same time, we need to give our best performance in front of Gao Shen and Napoli, and ruthlessly show them that Serie B is not their backyard! That teams in Serie B, especially Frosinone, are not just pushovers!"

"Tell me, are you pushovers?"

"No!!!!" The players stood up, shouting in unison.

"Good! Go out there and prove it to me!"

---

Walking out of the Sao Paulo Stadium, Ivo Jaconi saw Gao Shen smiling.

Gao Shen was waiting for him in the player tunnel.

Jaconi wasn't impressed. He was even slightly repulsed by this incredibly young, double-champion coach.

Not just because of his achievements but also his conduct.

Too arrogant! Too high-profile!

Coming in, he declared himself an enemy of all of Serie B. Does he really think there's no competition here?

Young people being too aggressive it's not a good thing!

Ivo Jaconi was just fifty years old this year, twice Gao Shen's age. He felt he had eaten more plates of pasta than Gao Shen had travelled roads, so he wasn't fond of his style.

Such a character is bound to hit a wall in Italian football!

As they met, Jaconi gave Gao Shen a cold shoulder. He merely shook hands, exchanged a few polite words, and turned back to his team's bench.

---

Gao Shen was puzzled.

How did he offend him?

For no reason, why act like he owes him millions?

Baffling!

"Did you run into a problem?" Carlo asked, smiling.

Gao Shen chuckled, "Did I provoke him?"

"Italy has a conservative atmosphere. When you say you want to win the championship right away, it may be fine from your perspective, but the older generation naturally dislikes it, and you are indeed too young."

Carlo made a valid point.

Typically, coaches shaking hands are men in their forties or fifties. It's rare to see one in his thirties.

Now a 25-year-old young coach shows up, and the key is that he won both La Liga and the Champions League. What do you expect the senior coaches who have been around football their entire lives to think? How are they supposed to handle this?

Not to mention Jaconi; even Carlo had spent months wrestling with himself before finally admitting that Gao Shen indeed surpassed him in many aspects and agreeing to be his assistant.

"Remember what you said earlier about a saying: 'Not being envied is mediocrity.' You have to get used to it!"

After hearing this, Gao Shen felt amused. "My respected Mr. Carlo, are you comforting me? Or praising me?"

"Take it however you want," Carlo chuckled.

Actually, being Gao Shen's assistant coach wasn't bad aside from him being too young, everything else was pretty good, and they worked well together.

Gao Shen smiled, looked up, and searched the chairman's stand, noting there were quite a few people.

Sacchi had said earlier he would come to support him tonight, so Gao Shen made sure he got a ticket.

There were also some players' families, like those of Rakitic and Sanchez, seated in the chairman's stand.

This was the season opener, not just for Gao Shen but also for these young Napoli players a fresh start in Italian football!

Gao Shen exhaled heavily, then turned his head and glanced at Jaconi, who was standing in front of the visiting team's bench. 

Bring it on!

I'm ready!

Not satisfied, huh?

I'll beat you so decisively that there won't be any room for doubt!

Didn't Sacchi say it best?

It's not just about winning, but about winning so convincingly that your opponent has no choice but to respect you. That's real skill that's what greatness is all about!