Starting With Real Madrid

The so-called winter break doesn't actually mean that the team gets to rest during this time.

Although Serie A isn't like the Premier League, which has an intense and packed schedule around Christmas, after Christmas, teams still start organizing training camps. Given limited financial resources, Napoli chose to remain in Volturno.

During the training camp, Gao Shen and his assistants were studying and discussing their upcoming match against Roma every day.

Roma's head coach, Luciano Spalletti, had adopted the so-called "wolf pack" tactic for his team.

In fact, every team's tactics have certain inheritances.

Take Real Madrid, for example. The Real Madrid team coached by Capello still carried deep imprints from the system that Gao Shen had built, so many people criticized Capello, claiming that he hadn't escaped Gao Shen's shadow and didn't show the strength of a world-class coach.

But they failed to consider that the players were largely the same. The team had achieved great success under Gao Shen, and their individual abilities and technical characteristics had been maximized.

After Capello took over from Gao Shen, he had to incorporate those strengths and advantages. How much could the tactics really change?

The biggest difference between Gao Shen's tenure at Napoli and other managers is that he completely overturned the framework of the entire team and started from scratch, creating a team entirely of his own design.

It's easy to imagine that when Gao Shen eventually leaves Napoli, his successor will remain in his shadow because they will inherit his "legacy," and the club won't allow them to dismantle and rebuild everything from scratch.

Similarly, there is a certain logic that can be followed when studying Roma's tactical evolution.

When Capello was coaching Roma, he led them to a Serie A title. Many fans still praise Capello's Roma, believing that the team played with a proactive style, unlike his usual defensive approach.

In reality, if you study it deeply, it's still very much Capello.

Why?

At Capello's peak, Roma employed a 3-5-2 formation. At that time, three central defenders were still popular in Serie A.

The system featured three central defenders, four midfielders, Totti in the playmaker role, and two strikers up front Batistuta being the main striker, with Montella, Cassano, or Delvecchio rotating in.

Capello's style of play at the time was somewhat similar to a Christmas tree 4-3-2-1, where the team balanced offense and defense.

The attacking trio would push forward, while the seven players in the back provided defensive stability. Candela and Cafu were fullbacks who often operated as midfielders.

Even Roma's current winger, Mancini, started as a fullback and came in to replace Cafu. He eventually became an offensive winger.

This clearly shows that Capello's tactics were primarily defense-oriented.

And in Capello's system, one player was crucial Totti.

The reason why Ancelotti's Christmas tree formation worked was because of Pirlo's long passes and the connections between Seedorf and Kaka. For Roma, it was Totti who played that pivotal role.

Capello's tactical system brought out the best in Totti's abilities, and those years marked the peak of Totti's career.

After Capello left, no matter how Roma's tactics evolved or were adjusted, one thing remained constant Totti.

After Spalletti took over Roma, the team's organization and tactics continued to revolve around Totti.

Totti is Roma's core strength, their ace. Who would be foolish enough to discard their ace at the start of the game?

Spalletti's Roma faced a different situation compared to Capello's Roma they didn't have a top-class striker anymore.

Batistuta, Montella, Cassano, and Delvecchio were all gone.

Club president Franco Sensi was no longer willing to spend big like he did at the turn of the century, making it difficult for Roma to sign high-level strikers.

So, what did Spalletti do?

He adjusted the team's tactics and pushed Totti further forward.

Totti is incredibly versatile.

The attack still revolved around him. When he dropped deeper, the midfielders behind him would push forward. When he moved to the flanks, the wingers would make diagonal runs behind him, creating a system that appeared striker-less but, in reality, allowed anyone to become the forward a wolf pack tactic.

The key to this tactic was that the players had to be able to run.

Players like Vucinic, Taddei, and Mancini all attacked by supporting Totti.

Roma's fast-paced movement and off-the-ball runs created more attacking opportunities.

At its core, though, it all revolved around Totti.

...

"Away at Roma, we need to keep Totti under control. We can't let him have free rein," Gao Shen said, rubbing his hands in the coach's office.

This year, winter in Italy was particularly cold. Even with the heating on in the office, the cold air seemed to seep up from the floor, causing everyone to shiver.

Gao Shen was doing alright, but the older members of the staff, like Carlo and Buenaventura, were wrapped up tightly.

"We can't rely on man-to-man marking. That won't suit our overall tactical system. We need to maintain our integrity as a team and create a 'cage' for Totti, trapping him within it," Gao Shen explained.

As he made a grasping motion with his hand, he noticed that his fingers were a little stiff from the cold.

In reality, Gao Shen rarely assigns individual man-marking roles during matches, preferring to rely on team tactics.

For example, back when he was at Real Madrid, when they faced Barcelona and defended against Ronaldinho, although Arbeloa was tasked with marking him, it was primarily because he was in the right position. The team's overall defensive system was the key.

Against Totti, Gao Shen intended to employ a similar strategy.

Man-marking has its advantages, but it can also disrupt the team's defensive structure.

Whether it's necessary depends on the coach's decision.

In Roma's case, Gao Shen felt that assigning a player to mark Totti directly would be problematic.

"I think we'll have an advantage with our passing and possession. We can exploit that and force Roma to come out and play," Guardiola suggested.

"Exactly!" Gao Shen pointed at Guardiola, praising him for being on the same page.

When it comes to "wolf pack" tactics, it sounds nice, but if you think about it critically, it's just non-stop running and pressing essentially, full-field chaos.

As the name suggests, Roma isn't a very solid team.

De Rossi is still somewhat inconsistent, and the partnership between Chivu and Mexes in defense isn't particularly strong. In this case, if Napoli can control possession not to the level of Barcelona's mastery, but just enough to dictate the rhythm Roma will be in trouble.

"It's all up to you," Gao Shen said with a smile, looking at Borrell.

Borrell, one of Gao Shen's assistants, was exceptionally capable, and Gao Shen had complete trust in him.

"Don't worry, I'll take care of it," Borrell chuckled.

Guardiola watched in admiration.

Since arriving in Naples, Guardiola had noticed that Gao Shen had surrounded himself with an exceptional group of assistants.

Carlo, for example, was more than capable of managing a team on his own. Buenaventura, meanwhile, was one of the best physical trainers in European football. Lucas had a keen sense for numbers and data analysis. Borrell was great at training players in technical skills, ball control, and even defense.

And Llopis, the goalkeeper coach, was certainly no slouch either.

After joining Gao Shen's coaching staff, Guardiola was amazed at Gao Shen's ability to scout not just players but also assistants.

Each assistant was highly competent.

Take Borrell, for example. Guardiola couldn't understand why a coach of his caliber wasn't more prominent in Barcelona. Why wasn't anyone utilizing his talent?

In the end, Guardiola realized it was simply the nature of working for a giant club.

From Van Gaal to Rijkaard, every head coach had their own set of assistants. Barcelona itself had many homegrown coaches, all lined up waiting for their opportunities.

Just like this time, after Ten Cate left, Rijkaard needed an assistant. The first person Barcelona thought of was Guardiola. Why? Because he was a Barcelona legend.

After finishing last season empty-handed, if Guardiola returned, it would help ease the pressure on the management. Fans, being emotional, preferred to see the club treating their legendary players well.

After Guardiola declined, Barcelona chose Neskens instead. And what happened?

Now, Barcelona's dressing room was in chaos.

Sometimes, big clubs like Barcelona and Real Madrid implode due to internal conflict.

The result of this hierarchical system is that talented individuals like Borrell are forced to leave and find opportunities elsewhere.

...

After finalizing their tactics against Roma, Napoli's machine started to roar back into life.

On one hand, the team used the winter break to recharge, rebuild their energy for the second half of the season, and improve the players' fitness, aiming to perform better as the season progressed.

On the other hand, they began preparing to face Roma. Besides the points discussed in the coaching meeting, Gao Shen also emphasized the need to shore up Napoli's right flank, which had become their Achilles' heel.

Everyone knew that Napoli's left wing was the main attacking force. The combination of Gervinho and Vargas on the left had become Napoli's most potent attacking weapon this season, but the right wing was proving to be problematic.

Garrick and Grava weren't ideal, which made it difficult for Sánchez to reach his full potential.

Starting with Juventus, almost every team facing Napoli had begun targeting their right flank.

What made things worse was that Roma's left side was particularly strong. Players like Mancini and Vucinic were adept at attacking down that flank.

At the same time, Gao Shen was reading Spalletti's book in the tactical library, as well as Ferguson's book.

Why?

He remembered that in this season's Champions League knockout stage, Manchester United had reversed Roma with a stunning scoreline, playing an unforgettable match.

Gao Shen wanted to know: How had Ferguson's Manchester United managed to neutralize Spalletti's Roma?

...

On January 10, the second half of Napoli's season officially kicked off.

The team, which had been preparing for a long time, set out on the morning of match day, heading to Rome, 200 kilometers away.

Gao Shen and his squad were ready to take on the Red Wolves at the Olympic Stadium.