Starting With Real Madrid

What? Pioli is out of a job?!

After the game, Gao Shen went to the visiting team's locker room to celebrate with his players and then attended the post-match press conference. Before he even sat down, he heard the shocking news.

Though he had joked before that Pioli was the kind of coach who would be dismissed mid-season, it was only December wasn't this too early?

Then again, it wasn't too surprising for a coach to lose his job. . .

Parma's strength was undeniable; they had won four consecutive matches in the UEFA Cup, so they weren't a weak team by any means. However, the fact that they were struggling in Serie A was indisputable. Sitting in the relegation zone, there were certainly issues within the team. At least when Pioli was juggling multiple competitions, there were bound to be problems with how he managed his squad.

Still, the timing and manner of his dismissal were a bit harsh.

Gao Shen couldn't help but ponder. He had just knocked Parma out of the Coppa Italia with a 4-0 victory, and Pioli was fired right after. Would Pioli hold a grudge against him for starting his career as a "midway coach"?

When Pioli eventually coaches AC Milan, would people say: "Pioli? Oh, I remember! The coach who got beaten by Gao Shen so badly that he lost his job!"

Damn, that would be quite a legacy.

Even though Gao Shen was secretly amused, he maintained a calm demeanor and even genuinely defended Pioli.

Gao Shen said that Pioli was a very capable coach and that Parma should have given him more trust and support.

"Of course, I don't deny that Parma has problems right now, but I believe Pioli could have solved them."

Gao Shen also hinted that Parma's core issues didn't lie with Pioli. After all, when he took over, the team was already in a tough spot. As head coach, Pioli had limited control over certain things.

The implication? Pioli was being scapegoated.

And this wasn't just Gao Shen's opinion many agreed.

Everyone knew about Parma's lackluster summer transfer window. Who didn't know what had gone wrong?

If Parma's transfers had been solid, would Cannavaro and Marchionne have opted to play in Serie B instead of the UEFA Cup?

Would they have gone crazy?

But there was no escaping the fact that head coaches are often blamed for a team's failures.

The problem was, this dismissal wasn't handled with much dignity.

Gao Shen sympathized with Pioli, believing that Parma's management could have handled it better.

Being dismissed? Sure, that comes with the job. You agree to the role knowing that if things don't go well, you'll eventually be let go.

But could they have done it more decently? Maybe tomorrow or the day after?

Did they really have to be so impatient?

…

After speaking up for Pioli, Gao Shen refocused the discussion on Napoli.

He expressed satisfaction with both the result and the process of the game, saying it was flawless.

"The players executed the tactics we set up before the game to perfection."

Reaching the quarter-finals of the Coppa Italia is no easy task for a Serie B team.

Though there were still four games left, it seemed likely that Napoli would be the only Serie B team to advance to the quarter-finals of the Coppa Italia, and Gao Shen was very proud of that.

"I want to say that my players deserve this honor; they've performed exceptionally well!"

As for the team's future goals, Gao Shen said there weren't any specific requirements.

Napoli was already content with reaching the quarter-finals of the Coppa Italia. From here, the team would try to advance further, but no specific targets had been set, as that wouldn't be realistic.

"I'll say this: tonight's game gave us all a huge boost in confidence."

"Before tonight, many of our key victories were at home, and there were doubts from outsiders about our ability. But tonight, at the Stadio Ennio Tardini, we proved our strength with a win."

"This will make us even more confident! We now believe we can defeat any future opponents!"

"Where do you want to take this team?"

"Haha, I haven't thought that far ahead yet. Does winning the championship count? The Coppa Italia championship?"

Gao Shen asked this in a joking tone, but the press conference room immediately fell silent.

Champion?

The Coppa Italia champion?

A Serie B team aiming to win the Coppa Italia? Were they serious?

Gao Shen, sitting on the stage, observed the reactions in the room. Having achieved his desired effect, he ended the press conference in a timely manner.

…

The next day, Italian media outlets exploded with coverage of the Coppa Italia fourth-round matches.

Particularly, the headlines focused on how Gao Shen led Napoli to a 2-0 victory over Parma, both home and away, securing their place in the next round.

Most notably, Gao Shen had boldly proclaimed after the match that he wanted to win the championship.

"We have the confidence to defeat all future opponents!"

"I want the Coppa Italia title!"

The media, of course, didn't report Gao Shen's entire speech only two sentences were highlighted.

The first sentence, "We have the confidence to defeat all future opponents," came across as arrogant and provocative, as though he were challenging all the top Italian teams.

The second sentence, "I want the Coppa Italia title," revealed his ambitions, directly targeting the championship.

If a strong Serie A team had said this, it wouldn't have caused a stir. But Gao Shen was coaching a newly-promoted Serie B team! Wasn't this just a joke?

When Napoli entered the Italian football scene as an unexpected contender, the mainstream Italian media didn't take kindly to it.

In the words of De Laurentiis, the media in northern Italy and Rome had a poor opinion of Naples.

Especially after Napoli's 5-0 demolition of Juventus, the media in Turin and Milan went into a frenzy.

How could this be allowed?

Napoli was like an outsider crashing into their party. Despite being praised in some circles, they were also heavily criticized.

For conservative Italians, Gao Shen and Napoli's rise made them uncomfortable.

Earlier in the season, when Napoli defeated Bologna, many media outlets criticized Gao Shen for not showing respect to Ulivieri, Bologna's coach.

Gao Shen was baffled by this. Ulivieri might be the mentor to many Italian coaches, but not to him. Why should he have to show special respect? Besides, all he did was win. Was that really so disrespectful?

If Ulivieri's students were everywhere in Italian football, should no one ever dare to challenge him in the future?

But based on the underlying sentiment from the Italian media, it seemed local coaches could win, but foreign coaches couldn't.

This gave Gao Shen quite a headache.

Now, after Napoli eliminated Parma and Pioli was sacked, some of the blame was indirectly placed on Gao Shen.

Why?

Because you beat Parma so badly! That's why Pioli lost his job!

As for the fact that Gao Shen defended Pioli in the press conference? The media conveniently ignored that.

Additionally, they criticized Gao Shen for his bold claims about defeating all future opponents and winning the Coppa Italia, saying he was too arrogant.

"As a newly-promoted Serie B team, reaching the quarter-finals of the Coppa Italia is indeed impressive. But Gao Shen needs to stay grounded and understand that the remaining teams are the strongest in Italian football."

Some TV pundits even directly criticized Gao Shen during broadcasts.

"Arrogant! Does he really think there's no one left in Italian football?"

Overnight, the media went wild!

…

"Don't let their harsh criticism fool you. If I lose my job, they'll be the ones crying the hardest," Gao Shen said with a wry smile as he skimmed through the latest headlines.

Apart from a few small local papers in Naples, like La Repubblica, major sports outlets such as Gazzetta dello Sport and Tuttosport all condemned Gao Shen's comments, calling them inappropriate.

Faced with the avalanche of criticism, Gao Shen reflected briefly, but ultimately didn't think he'd said anything wrong.

This was a classic media trick.

They take things out of context, cherry-pick a few of your words, and accuse you based on that.

The frustrating part? You can't deny it because, technically, you did say those things.

"But why do I feel like you knew this was going to happen?" Guardiola teased.

Even though he hadn't known Gao Shen for long, Pep had a strong sense that Gao Shen wouldn't make such a mistake by accident.

Was he really just having fun?

Lucas, who was standing nearby, almost burst out laughing, making Guardiola even more confused.

"Pep, he did it on purpose."

"On purpose?" Guardiola asked, surprised but quickly realizing it made sense.

"The media wants to use him for sales and hype. Gao Shen wants to use the media to motivate his players. He's intentionally setting a higher target for the team!" Lucas chuckled.

His admiration for Gao Shen continued to grow.

Not only was Gao Shen tactically brilliant, but his skill in dealing with the media was also top-notch.

Gao Shen smiled, saying nothing. He had indeed planned it this way.

Setting goals for the team had to be realistic, but just out of reach like hanging a carrot in front of a donkey, making them believe they could grab it if they kept moving forward. This was the best form of motivation.

Napoli's squad was full of players in their early twenties, the prime age for rapid improvement.

To put it bluntly, they needed to be pushed to their limits, squeezing out every last bit of potential.

And what were young players afraid of?

Who cared if they faced strong Serie A teams?

They weren't scared of anything!

So what if they're top Serie A teams?

We'll take them all down!

You look down on Napoli, huh?

We'll show you we're stronger than all of you!

Under this kind of mindset, Gao Shen told his players that Napoli could defeat any opponent and even aimed straight for the Coppa Italia title.

The media's skepticism? Gao Shen had anticipated that long ago.

No problem. If they didn't question him, that would be the real issue.

Who would believe a Serie B team could win the Coppa Italia?

Up against European giants like Milan and Roma could Napoli really beat them?

Gao Shen wanted the doubt. In fact, the more they questioned him, the happier he was.

Could these young Napoli players ignore the outside doubts?

The louder the noise, the more motivated the young team would become.

Who wasn't like that in their youth?

As for how far Napoli could go, who knew?

Anyone who has been in the professional world understands this: A leader who doesn't dare to boast a little isn't much of a leader.

The key isn't just boasting, but whether you can actually turn those boasts into reality.