Starting With Real Madrid

Strictly speaking, the Coppa Italia doesn't hold much allure for a team like Roma.

This was evident in their home attendance...

The Stadio Olimpico, with a capacity of 80,000, only had a little over 17,000 people in attendance.

But even so, those 17,000 fans still generated an impressive amount of noise and atmosphere.

Especially after Roma took the lead in the match.

...

In Roma's lineup: Doni was in goal, with a backline of Tonetto, Chivu, Mexes, and Panucci. De Rossi anchored the midfield, supported by Mancini, Pizarro, Perrotta, and Taddei. Up front, their main striker was Totti.

This was Roma's regular starting lineup for the season, which clearly showed Spalletti's intent.

Napoli stuck to their usual 4-2-3-1 formation.

Handanovic was in goal, with a backline of Vargas, Cannavaro Jr., David Luiz, and Garics. The double pivots in midfield were Biglia and Dalabona, with Gervinho, Hamsik, and Sánchez playing ahead of them, and Cavani up top as the lone striker.

Rakitic, who had picked up a yellow card against Parma and was suspended, was replaced by Dalabona in the starting lineup.

Playing away against another Serie A powerhouse, Napoli approached the game cautiously and avoided taking too many risks early on.

Gao Shen's strategy focused on maintaining stability, controlling possession and the tempo, and letting Roma make their moves. Napoli's plan was to quickly launch sharp counterattacks after winning the ball.

The players followed Gao Shen's tactical instructions well, but mistakes still happened.

The first error came in the 19th minute.

Dalabona hesitated too long with the ball, allowing Perrotta to press him and win the ball.

After stealing it, Roma swiftly launched a counterattack, sending a through ball behind David Luiz. Mancini left Garics in his dust, making a diagonal run, collecting the ball, and scoring the opener for Roma with a cool finish.

After conceding, Gao Shen immediately made adjustments, trying to stabilize the situation. Near the end of the first half, Napoli managed to create a few promising chances but failed to find the back of the net.

When the second half began, Napoli came out with a more aggressive approach, pressing Roma for a while. However, their attacks lacked organization, and they couldn't convert their chances. Instead, in the 67th minute, Roma struck again on the counter.

Mancini once again found himself one-on-one with Garics on the left flank. This time, he dribbled past the Napoli right-back, cut diagonally into the penalty area, and set up Totti to score Roma's second goal.

2-0!

Roma were in control at home.

Spalletti even raised his fists in triumph on the touchline, confident that his side had the match in the bag.

The entire Stadio Olimpico roared with cheers from the Roma supporters.

...

Gao Shen stood still in front of Napoli's technical area, motionless.

Behind him, the abuse and taunts from Roma fans echoed continuously.

"Kid, have you stopped nursing yet?"

"Are you going to cry for your mama?"

"Remember, you're just a bunch of newly-promoted Serie B players!"

"Cry if you want, we're all watching!"

Gao Shen understood every word. Some were more vicious than others, and a few even crossed the line into racial discrimination.

But this was the norm in Italy, especially in a city like Rome.

Gao Shen wasn't the only target; Napoli's players often faced similar treatment when playing away from home. Gervinho, for instance, had also endured his share of abuse.

That was just the environment in Italian football.

What really bothered Gao Shen, though, was the match itself.

Napoli weren't playing badly. The tactics the coaching staff had laid out were executed, but the end product was lacking.

And the team's right flank had been completely exposed by Roma.

"Garics is having a rough night," Carlo sighed, shaking his head.

Gao Shen nodded in agreement.

It's normal for players to have ups and downs, but Garics was making far too many mistakes tonight, and they were costly.

Take the second goal, for instance. He shouldn't have lunged in on Mancini; instead, he should have tried to force him wide. He had a positional advantage, but he made a reckless decision, allowing Mancini to blow past him.

Mancini is right-footed, so forcing him onto his left foot would have severely limited his options.

Sometimes, it's these small mental lapses from players that make all the difference, and as a coach, there's only so much you can do.

"The fans in Rome have probably been holding in their frustration for a while," Carlo said, hearing the crowd's jeers.

Gao Shen chuckled, "You should say Italian fans in general have been holding it in."

Carlo paused, then couldn't help but smile in agreement.

Who could deny it?

Despite the Calciopoli scandal, Italy had just won the World Cup, and their fans were still proud of their country's football, especially their tactical prowess.

Isn't there a saying that Italian coaches are all tacticians?

Italy is considered the land of tactics.

But suddenly, someone comes along, uncovers their flaws, and declares that Italian football is actually behind the times even their beloved tactics are outdated.

What do you think happens next?

It's obvious: the person who exposes these weaknesses will be torn apart by the furious masses.

That was the situation Gao Shen found himself in.

Outside of Napoli's fanbase, there were probably few Italians who actually liked Gao Shen or respected him.

He was too young, and he challenged the traditional image of what a head coach should be in Italy.

More importantly, ever since arriving in Naples, Gao Shen had barely encountered any opposition he couldn't overcome.

Deschamps' Juventus had lost twice to him—one of those a 5-0 humiliation. Ulivieri, highly respected in Italian coaching circles, had also lost badly to him. Pioli? He not only lost but got sacked afterward...

In short, Gao Shen came to Italy and swept aside some of the country's most respected teams and coaches, leaving them powerless against him.

Even Sacchi had gone on record saying Italian football should learn from Gao Shen.

But why?

Why should the reigning World Cup champions have to learn from a young coach from a footballing backwater, a country that couldn't even qualify for the World Cup?

The Italian coaches didn't like him this was a matter of professional pride.

And after the media covered the drama from the Roma coaching summit and stirred up the story, it created an even bigger uproar across Italy.

Italian fans had had enough.

Spalletti defeating Gao Shen? Naturally, that would earn him praise from Roma fans.

Like what was happening right now.

...

"What now?" Carlo asked, feeling a bit lost.

Down 0-2, Napoli weren't playing well and didn't have much fight left in them.

After a brief moment of thought, Gao Shen made a decision. "Tell Vidal to warm up."

Carlo was surprised but nodded nonetheless.

Soon, Vidal finished warming up and approached Gao Shen.

"Boss?"

Gao Shen motioned for him to come closer. Once Vidal was near, Gao Shen pointed toward the pitch.

"See that number 20?"

Vidal nodded. "Perrotta."

"And number 16?"

"De Rossi."

"They both have yellow cards. Your job is to make sure one of them picks up another."

Vidal didn't hesitate or ask questions. He nodded confidently. "Got it. Leave it to me."

...

Gao Shen knew the game was slipping out of Napoli's hands.

The best he could hope for was to score an away goal or prepare for the second leg.

Perrotta had picked up a yellow card in the previous round. Under the Coppa Italia rules, accumulating two yellow cards would result in a suspension.

Cannavaro had faced that situation earlier, and tonight, Rakitic was missing because of the same rule.

So, Gao Shen's plan was simple: get either Perrotta or De Rossi suspended.

Of course, Totti would have been the ideal target, but that was unrealistic.

It was likely that only one of the two could be taken out. Spalletti wasn't a fool. Once one of them got another card, he'd undoubtedly sub the other out immediately. At that point, Napoli could mount a more organized attack and aim for an away goal.

Sneaky, right?

But that's professional football!

...

Vidal came on to replace Dalabona.

Dalabona's performance had been lackluster, but Gao Shen knew the player had done his best.

In fact, many of Napoli's players who had remained with the club since last summer found it difficult to meet Gao Shen's demands.

All of them had improved significantly under his training, with even the veterans seeing noticeable improvements in their fitness levels.

But still, some of them simply didn't meet Gao Shen's standards.

Take the team captain, Montervino, for example. He barely got any playing time.

There was just a gap in quality.

Vidal, on the other hand, despite originally being a center-back, had an aggressive playing style. But as a South American, he also knew how to be sneaky with his fouls, often making clever, subtle moves.

Within ten minutes of being on the field, Vidal got involved in a counter-pressing situation after Napoli lost possession. He went in hard on Perrotta, winning the ball but also sliding into the Roma midfielder and sending him to the ground.

The action wasn't dirty, nor was there any intent to injure anyone, but it effectively destroyed a Roma counterattack.

Vidal walked over to help the player up, but after Perrotta stood up, he gave Vidal a light push to the chest, trying to get him to back off.

Unexpectedly, Vidal stumbled backward a couple of steps and fell straight to the ground.

Referee Luca Banti immediately blew his whistle, ran over, and showed Perrotta a yellow card.

The Roma midfielder was visibly frustrated, complaining that Vidal's challenge had been a bit rough, but the referee signaled that it hadn't been a foul.

Roma's head coach, Luciano Spalletti, standing on the sidelines, looked out at the field, then glanced over at Gao Shen in front of the visiting team's dugout. He seemed to be wondering if there was some connection between the two.

Why did it seem like Vidal's attempt to pull someone up looked like a clever dive?

But when he looked at Gao Shen again, he saw that the coach's face was calm neither surprised nor pleased as if he didn't care much about the yellow card. Spalletti was once again confused by Gao Shen's composed and gentlemanly demeanor.

Did I misunderstand him?

Was this really just a coincidence?

After thinking it over, Spalletti decided to make a substitution.

He replaced De Rossi with the young Aquilani.

This was a tactical substitution.

The main reason was that De Rossi had already received a yellow card earlier in the match, and if he picked up another, he'd be suspended.

This Coppa Italia rule of suspension after two yellow cards is really absurd.

In front of the visiting team's dugout, after seeing Roma make a substitution, Gao Shen decided to follow suit.