Starting With Real Madrid

In professional football, it's a simple hierarchy: the big clubs devour the small ones, the small clubs devour the minnows, and so on. It's a food chain.

After sensing the subtle interest from Ancelotti, Gao Shen felt a chill down his spin, because it seemed the seasoned manager had something up his sleeve.

Napoli was not a giant club, and once one of their players performed well, it would be hard for the club to keep them, especially when the team's overall performance hadn't yet stabilized. If a giant team came calling, it would be difficult to hold on to their best players.

That's why Napoli absolutely had to push for promotion to Serie A this season. It was the best way to keep the players they had worked so hard to develop.

The same principle applied to businesses. When a company is in rapid growth, it's important to keep the core team together. But as soon as the company peaks or, worse, starts to decline those same core members will often jump ship to further their careers elsewhere.

Despite De Laurentiis and others hyping up the rivalry between the North and the South of Italy, to the players, the top teams were always the ones to aspire to especially after Juventus' fall into Serie B. Teams like AC Milan and Inter Milan were still the top dogs in Serie A.

From what Ancelotti had hinted, it was clear that Milan's aging squad wasn't by design but by necessity. The club didn't have the financial resources to compete with the wealthier teams in Europe for top stars, leaving them to rely on their veteran players.

Although teams like Udinese were focusing on developing young players, even their best talents were often poached by wealthier clubs, forcing Milan and others to settle for a more cost effective way of team-building.

This talent drain had led to a lack of new stars in Serie A. While other leagues were developing their next generation of players, Italy had fallen behind.

Over the years, the last youth star from Italy to make a huge splash was Cassano. After that, who else? Italy hadn't produced another player of his caliber in a long time.

It wasn't just the local Italian talent pool that had dried up. Even foreign signings from Europe and beyond had slowed down. In recent years, Italy had done a poor job of nurturing young talent.

Now, with teams like Udinese even acquiring clubs in Spain and England, Italian football was changing, and in this environment, the sudden rise of Napoli a team full of young players in their twenties was akin to throwing a lamb into a den of hungry wolves.

Could Napoli survive?

…

"Don't touch my players," Gao Shen warned, raising his hands in mock surrender.

Ancelotti burst into laughter. "What are you talking about? It's still early for that."

Gao Shen had to admit he was right, but he still couldn't shake off the feeling of impending doom.

The real threat would come after Napoli had played a few more games. Serie A clubs were probably watching Napoli closely, waiting for the players to develop before swooping in.

The worst part was that Serie A clubs weren't exactly wealthy right now. With many of them cash-strapped, they would be more likely to take advantage of Napoli's rising stars.

But Ancelotti wasn't wrong about one thing: Serie A clubs were broke. Would they even have the money to lure players away from Naples?

The real danger, Gao Shen realized, wasn't from within Italy it was from the rich clubs in the Premier League and La Liga.

He made a mental note to remind De Laurentiis and Marino to be cautious. The last thing they needed was for Napoli to nurture young players only for bigger clubs to snatch them away.

No one wanted to spend all that time and energy cultivating talent, only for someone else to reap the rewards. That would be tragic.

Ancelotti noticed Gao Shen's shifting expressions, his curiosity piqued.

"Aren't you worried?" Ancelotti asked.

Gao Shen chuckled. "What do I have to worry about with you guys? You're all broke! How are you going to poach anyone?"

Ancelotti couldn't contain his laughter. It was true everyone knew Serie A clubs were strapped for cash.

If they weren't struggling financially, would they still be fielding teams full of aging veterans?

…

The event was a private gathering for managers and coaches. It was a place to relax, exchange ideas, and, most importantly, not take things too seriously.

In that sense, it was no different from a group of office workers gathering for a smoke break, complaining about their bosses, and venting frustrations about work.

But things took a more serious turn when the speeches began.

Gao Shen had followed Ancelotti into the conference room, grateful for the introductions he was getting. Ancelotti, ever the mentor, took him under his wing, even introducing him to Marcello Lippi, the legendary coach who had just led Italy to World Cup glory.

Seeing Lippi up close, Gao Shen could barely contain his excitement. He felt like he should have gifted him a yacht or something, just to show his respect.

Of course, Lippi was still riding high from his World Cup victory and had no idea what lay in store for him in the future.

But what really shocked Gao Shen was Sacchi's speech.

Several other speeches had been somewhat underwhelming either too vague or too detailed. But when Sacchi took the stage and introduced his topic, Gao Shen nearly fell out of his seat.

Sacchi was going to discuss Real Madrid and Napoli under Gao Shen's management!

As soon as Sacchi mentioned this, all eyes turned to Gao Shen, and he felt like he was under a spotlight. He almost wanted to crawl under the table and hide.

This wasn't Sacchi trying to create headlines. He genuinely wanted to discuss and analyze how Gao Shen had managed Real Madrid and Napoli. But still, it felt like Sacchi had put a target on his back.

Gao Shen thought to himself, "Sacchi, you're killing me here."

He had come to the conference to learn and keep a low profile, not to be the center of attention.

But Sacchi was dead serious. He wanted to use Gao Shen's coaching methods as an example for others to learn from. He wasn't just talking about Real Madrid and Napoli; he was comparing them to teams like Rijkaard's Barcelona, Ancelotti's Milan, and Benitez's Liverpool.

Sacchi's main point was that Italian football had become too conservative. It had gone from being a tactical pioneer to a stagnant, outdated system.

Italian football needed to change, and it needed to change fast. The sport was evolving, and Italy was falling behind other leagues, especially in terms of playing style and tactics.

"We are falling behind rapidly," Sacchi declared. "And it's happening across the board from youth development to the top leagues."

Sacchi then turned to Gao Shen as an example of how to evolve.

In just a few months at Napoli, Gao Shen had shown what could be done with a fresh approach. Sacchi praised the young coach's ability to bring out the best in his players and implement a fast, aggressive playing style.

Everyone turned their attention to Gao Shen again.

This wasn't a casual compliment or a nod of approval. Sacchi was holding Gao Shen up as a model for others to follow.

Sacchi's message was clear: learn from Gao Shen!

Gao Shen, for his part, wanted to disappear under the table. On one hand, he was flattered and grateful for Sacchi's praise. But on the other hand, he knew that this kind of attention could put a target on his back.

Italian football was filled with seasoned managers, some of whom might not take kindly to being told to learn from a 25-year-old.

Being praised like this was both an honor and a burden.

…

"I have to ask," Ancelotti said with a grin, "how much did you pay Sacchi to say all that?"

Gao Shen shook his head, laughing. "Too much, apparently. He has placed me in an awkward spot."

Ancelotti chuckled, but he understood. Sacchi wasn't just praising Gao Shen; he was trying to inspire change. But changing Italian football wasn't something that could happen overnight.

The Italian economy had been struggling, and that had trickled down to the clubs. Youth development was lagging behind, and clubs were less willing to take risks.

Still, Sacchi's message was clear. The old ways of Italian football weren't working anymore.

It reminded Gao Shen of a scene from Interstellar, where one character explains how the land used to be fertile but no longer could sustain life.

"We used to have fertile ground, Donald. It can't support us anymore."

…

Sacchi's speech, for all the praise it heaped on Gao Shen, wasn't just about him. It was a call to arms for all the managers present.

Afterward, several coaches approached Gao Shen to discuss his tactics and strategies. They were genuinely interested in how he had developed Napoli and what he thought the future of football might look like.

Some were skeptical, but many were open to learning from him.

Gao Shen explained his views on ball control, high pressing, and how football was shifting towards more dynamic, high-energy styles of play. He believed that in the future, football would become even faster and more focused on technique.

Many of the coaches were intrigued by his ideas, but they also acknowledged how difficult it would be to implement such tactics in their own teams.

In reality, most managers were constrained by the teams they had and the budgets they were given. Few had the luxury of building a team from scratch the way Gao Shen had.