Starting With Real Madrid

Returning to Naples from Rome, the first thing Gao Shen did was rush to the club's headquarters in Naples. He headed straight into Marino's office and laid out his concerns about the situation in Rome, urging him to keep a close eye on the players' movements, particularly emphasizing the importance of monitoring the agents.

Gao Shen had an easy rapport with the players, largely because, unlike the older coaches in their 40s, 50s, or 60s, he was closer to the players in age. However, the challenge was that Napoli's bargaining power was still quite limited at this stage. Even if they were promoted to Serie A next season, if Premier League or La Liga clubs came calling, it would be tough for the players to resist the allure, especially the Premier League.

The Premier League's lucrative broadcasting revenue model meant that even teams near relegation, or those recently demoted to the Championship, earned more than most Serie A clubs. This gave them the financial muscle to make enticing transfer offers. In contrast, Napoli and Serie A clubs were at a serious disadvantage in this regard.

"We need to carefully manage this situation. I don't want to see the players we've worked so hard to develop get poached by other teams before they can truly contribute," Gao Shen expressed, voicing his biggest concern.

Selling players? Gao Shen wasn't fundamentally opposed to it.

After all, Napoli had never positioned itself as a football giant, and selling players was inevitable at some point. In fact, Gao Shen even had a vested interest in Napoli selling players. With his 20% commission clause, every high-priced sale would mean more money in his pocket. In some ways, he would be one of the biggest beneficiaries.

But money, as much as Gao Shen liked it, wasn't his only priority. What he wanted more right now were results. If the players Napoli had developed were snatched away just as they were about to hit their stride, how could the team ever achieve the kind of success he envisioned?

Marino, after hearing Gao Shen's thoughts, also appeared deeply troubled. He knew this was indeed a major issue.

During his time at Udinese, Marino had followed a simple philosophy: "If you can pay, I'll even sell you my underwear." But Napoli was different.

When De Laurentiis hired Gao Shen, the idea was to build a strong Serie A team with ambitions of competing in the Champions League. Napoli's ambitions were clearly higher than Udinese's.

"I'll deal with this immediately and come up with a plan. By the time we're ready to renew contracts, we'll have everything under control. Don't worry," Marino reassured.

Gao Shen nodded. This matter wasn't within his direct purview, but he would continue to keep an eye on it.

"We're not that broke now, are we?" Gao Shen asked offhandedly.

"We're not exactly swimming in cash either. We're just getting by with a tight budget," Marino replied with a laugh.

Gao Shen raised an eyebrow, giving Marino a knowing look that said: Don't try to fool me, I'm not buying it.

Marino suddenly felt exposed, as if Gao Shen could see right through him.

Although Gao Shen was the team's head coach, there were many things he wasn't privy to, and the club certainly didn't want him knowing everything like the details of certain player transfers. Gao Shen, for example, had always assumed Karayo was wholly owned by Napoli, but after the transfer, he found out that wasn't the case.

At one point, Serie A club Lazio had expressed interest in Karayo. Pescara offered to sell 50% of Karayo's rights for 1.5 million euros, but Lazio hesitated. In the end, Napoli managed to purchase half-ownership for a cheaper price of 1.35 million euros. A year and a half later, Napoli sold Karayo for 3.2 million euros. In essence, Napoli made a 250,000 euro profit on Karayo, essentially covering his wages and bonuses for the time he was at the club.

It was a shrewd piece of business, and Gao Shen couldn't help but admire the way De Laurentiis and Marino handled it. While De Laurentiis appeared carefree and casual on the surface, he was sharp and cunning when it came to business.

Gao Shen's visit to Marino was also a subtle reminder to De Laurentiis, through Marino: Remember our agreement don't sell players easily before we've achieved results.

Of course, De Laurentiis wasn't foolish. If the team started delivering results, the value of the players would increase, and it would make more sense to sell them later at a higher price. Unless a player became impossible to keep, their interests wouldn't clash with Gao Shen's.

...

"I heard that over the past two seasons, the club's annual broadcasting revenue was about 1.6 million euros. This season, that figure has skyrocketed to nearly 10 million euros. That was a recent development, right?" Gao Shen asked with a smile, looking at Marino.

Gao Shen had his own channels for gathering information. His assistant, Lucas, was getting better at intelligence work, and Gao Shen also had media contacts and friends feeding him reliable information.

Marino was surprised but didn't deny it.

That amount of broadcasting revenue was unparalleled in Serie B, with the exception of Juventus.

"And I've heard Lete's sponsorship deal for this season is worth 2 million euros. Between broadcasting rights and sponsorships, the club's income should be around 10 million euros. It doesn't sound like the club is struggling financially," Gao Shen said, making it clear to Marino that he was well-informed.

In addition to sponsorship, Lete had the chest advertisement on the team's kit, justifying the 2 million euro sponsorship fee. The improved broadcasting rights deal was also thanks to Napoli's excellent performance in the Coppa Italia, which allowed De Laurentiis and Marino to secure favorable terms.

What Gao Shen wasn't fully aware of, however, was that over 20 companies were already vying for the Serie A chest advertisement for next season. The sponsorship fee was expected to more than double, and even then, competition would be fierce.

Matchday revenue, another major source of income, had always been a strong point for Napoli. During their two years in the third tier, Napoli averaged 31,550 fans per game, an attendance figure that only the Milan clubs, the Rome clubs, and Fiorentina could match Juventus couldn't even come close.

This season, the team had three sold-out Coppa Italia games, and demand for Serie B tickets was through the roof. Every home game sold out well in advance, further boosting the club's coffers.

Even with Napoli's high attendance, it wasn't just a matter of packing the stadium. Ticket prices were comparable to Juventus's, making Napoli the only Serie B team to achieve this level of financial success.

Market research suggested that if Napoli were promoted to Serie A next season, their ticket prices could surpass those of Roma and Lazio, putting them on par with AC Milan and Inter.

Napoli, as the largest city in southern Italy, had more than enough of a fanbase to support this one club. De Laurentiis, with his extensive Hollywood connections and business acumen, knew exactly how to play the game.

Marino understood that Gao Shen was giving him a clear message. Rising from his seat, he looked directly at the young coach.

"Rest assured, Gao. I promise you, my boss and I will strictly adhere to our agreement. If we do decide to sell a player, you'll be informed well in advance so you can plan accordingly. As for the players' treatment, we'll work within reasonable limits. You have nothing to worry about."

De Laurentiis was currently out of the country, handling some matters in the United States, but he had left clear instructions before his departure.

Marino knew that Gao Shen was the cornerstone of Napoli's current success, and under no circumstances could they afford to mistreat him.

This man was their golden goose, and they had to treat him with utmost care.

...

After his meeting with the management, Gao Shen had no more concerns.

As Ancelotti had pointed out, for the time being, no one was likely to make a serious move against Napoli.

If something did happen, it would probably be in the winter transfer window or next summer.

For now, the team was safe.

Over the next few days, Gao Shen continued his daily routine at the training center in Fort Volturno. Whenever he had some free time, he would chat with the young stars, not just to build rapport but also to gather material for his future autobiography a potential retirement income stream.

In training, since Pelle had missed the Italian National Youth Team's matches, Gao Shen had him stay behind to continue working. He focused on training Pelle to become a more effective target man, further tapping into his potential. The results were promising, and Pelle's improvement was noticeable.

However, during this two-week international break, Gao Shen realized he had made a critical oversight.

He had underestimated the toll of international duty.

The problem was the constant traveling, especially for the South American players, who had to fly long distances for national team duty. This was a major drain on their energy, even though they were still young.

This would undoubtedly impact their performance in the league immediately following the international break.

And this weekend, Napoli was set to play their Serie B debut at home.

When this hit Gao Shen, he couldn't help but feel a bit downcast. He had planned for so much, but he had missed this one crucial detail.

Even the most astute coach can miss something important.

He had never faced this issue before as a fan, nor did it come up while playing Football Manager. And during his brief time managing Real Madrid, only Zidane had gone on international duty. As a result, Gao Shen had never really considered this problem.

Gao Shen immediately discussed the first round with the coaching staff.

The opponent is Treviso, a team relegated from Serie A last season, and they are quite strong. Although Napoli is playing at home, they need to pay careful attention, especially given the influence of numerous South American internationals...

Fortunately, they are all players from the National Youth Team. After the game, they all returned to Naples early. The problem wasn't particularly significant. Gao Shen asked Buenaventura to take charge and work on adjusting and restoring their physical fitness.

In any case, the first game of Serie B must be a success!