"Edinson."

  At halftime, with Napoli leading Juventus 2-0, Gao Shen stopped i at the tunrahe Uruguayan striker was eager to warm up for the sed half, but Gao Shen had other pns in mind.

  "Boss," i said, ing over to Gao Shen, his posture respectful as always.

  "I've got a task for you," Gao Shen said, looking around before speaking in a low voice.

  "You said it," i replied, clearly excited.

  "Warm up well during halftime. Be ready for anything in the sed half. When Juventus makes a substitution, yoing in."

  i blinked, puzzled. What did Juventus making a substitution have to do with him?

  Seeing i's fusion, Gao Shen clicked his tongue in monoyahis is a knoatch, Edinson."

  The realization hit i all at once.

  In a single-elimination game, Juventus would have no choice but to un all-out atta the sed half if they wao survive. Deschamps wouldn't have any other option.

  And when Juventus pushed forward, Napoli would o adjust particurly by bringing on i to shore up the terattack.

  "I got it!" i said, his excitement doubling.

  "Good, go on then!" Gao Shen smiled, watg i rush to the field to warm up, his energy tagious.

  Gao Shen sighed as i dashed away. Being a coach was no easy task these days. You didn't just have to beat your oppos on the field you also had to keep your own pyers happy. It was exhausting.

  …

  Ihe home team's locker room, the atmosphere was electriapoli's 2-0 lead had everyone buzzing.

  After all, they were leading Juventus a symbol of northern dominan Italian football. For a southern team like Napoli, this was no small feat.

  "Everyone did a fantastic job in the first half!"

  Gao Sheered the locker room, immediately praising his pyers.

  "David, you pletely froze out Bodinov in the first half. You barely made any mistakes. Great job!" Gao Shen gave David Luiz a thumbs-up.

  The young Brazilian grinned from ear to ear, clearly thrilled to receive praise from his head coach.

  But then, Gao Shen's tone ged. "But I do have one question. After we scored our sed goal and everyone was celebrating, why did I get the feeling that you were involved in some sort of spiracy? Care to expin what exactly you were doing during the celebration?"

  The locker room erupted in ughter. All eyes turo David Luiz, who looked as if he'd been caught red-handed.

  He shook his head, feigning desperation, and mouthed, I was wrong, boss!

  It was a lighthearted moment, a joke at the expense of the Brazilian defender, but it worked. Humor, especially from a coach, always hit harder and was fuhan expected. It also reinforced Gao Shen's rapport with the team.

  "Now, Graziano," Gao Shen tiurning his attention to Pelle, "you were the best pyer in the first half. Even though the goals were scored by Kuasi and Alexis, you were the architect. So, for me, you're the MVP of the first half."

  The room filled with appuse, everyone aowledging Pelle's hard work.

  "Alright, listen up," Gao Shen said, bringing the room's focus back to the sed half. "We're leading Juventus 2-0, and I'm incredibly proud of your performance. But I want to remind you: this game is far from over. Juventus won't just roll over and give up. They're going to e at us hard in the sed half."

  At this, the atmosphere in the locker room shifted from celebratory to serious.

  "I've experienced Juventus' resilience firsthand. It was st season, in the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals. Capello's team threw everything at us, pressing us relentlessly. The pressure was immense."

  As Gao Shen spoke, his eyes sed the room, making sure every pyer uood.

  "I want you all to be ready for this. The sed half will be tougher than the first. But I expect you to step up to be even more focused, even more itted, and even more effit. you do that?"

  "Yes!" the pyers responded in unison.

  …

  The sed half started, and the game unfolded much like it had in the first half.

  Juventus struggled to create any meaningful attacks, with Bodinov isoted up front and uo break free from the defensive shackles of David Luiz and Bonucci. Meanwhile, Napoli's high pressing tiheir pyers showing no signs of fatigue as they relentlessly pressured Juventus' defense.

  After fifteen minutes, Deschamps finally made a move.

  He repced Giannichedda with Paraguayan forward Tomas Guzman, and sed Bojinov for Del Piero.

  It was a clear signal: Juventus were going for it. They were pulling out all the stops to mount a eback.

  Bodinov had pyed for over an hour, managing just one le shot. It was clear that Juventus needed something different up front.

  But it was also a testament to David Luiz and Bonucci's excellent defending. Bodinov had been pletely ralized.

  Upon seeing Juventus' substitution, Gao Shen made his own adjustment, bringing i on for Pelle.

  As Pelle left the field, the fans at the San Paolo Stadium rose to their feet, giving him a standing ovation. Though he hadn't scored, his role in both of Napoli's goals was undeniable. His performance had left a sting impression.

  "Under Gao Shen's guidance, Pelle has improved signifitly," the entators noted.

  "It's clear that Gao Shen has a gift for developing young pyers," they tinued. "Napoli's squad is full of young talent pyers like David Luiz, Hamsik, Gervinho, and Sanchez and their collective performaonight is a testament to Gao Shen's coag prowess."

  "With Napoli perf at this level, it's not hard to imagihem making it to Serie A season. Gao Shen's goal of building a strong Serie A team within three years seems entirely achievable."

  "This might just be one of the most exg stories in Italian football i years."

  …

  While the crowd was enjoying the game, Deschamps was feeling the pressure.

  He could see through Gao Shen's pn.

  Gao Shen wasn't ied in a full-on offensive showdown. No, he was setting up Napoli to punish Juventus on the ter.

  "Such a sly little fox," Deschamps muttered to himself.

  Many had thought Gao Shen would e to Napoli as an idealist, eager to build a team in his image. And in many ways, Gao Shen had done just that. But he was no starry-eyed dreamer.

  He ractical idealist.

  And practical idealists were far more dangerous.

  Deschamps had seen it before. Look at Rijkaard, for example. The Bara coach had once been a romantic idealist, but when he embraced pragmatism, his team became formidable.

  Gao Shen's move t on i was a clear message to Deschamps: *Go ahead, attack us, and I'll hit you on the ter.*

  But at this stage, Deschamps had no choice. He had to attack.

  …

  As the sed half unfolded, Juventus pushed forward, looking for a way bato the game.

  However, the moment they itted more pyers forward, their defense began to falter.

  Napoli were ready.

  Juventus' attempts to break through the right side of Napoli's defeargeting fullback Geie Garics were quickly snuffed out. Nedved and Del Piero tried their best, but they just couldn't get past Napoli's bae.

  Then, when Del Piero received a pass from Zai, David Luiz stepped in, stealing the ball with a perfectly timed challenge. Without missing a beat, David Luiz unched a long pass to the right wing, where Sanchez was waiting.

  Sanchez sprinted forward, taking on Barzaretti. The Juventus left-back struggled to keep up with Sanchez's blistering pace.

  In the middle, i and Gervinho sprioward the goal, with i charging ahead like a battering ram, f Chiellini into a difficult position.

  Sanchez surged into the penalty area, cutting inside just as Barzaretti made a desperate sliding tackle. But Sanchez saw it ing. He he ball past Barzaretti, caught up to it, and whipped a low cross toward the six-yard box.

  i, using his body to shield the ball from Chiellini, lunged forward, sliding in just ahead of Buffon.

  His outstretched foot met the ball, sending it into the back of the .

  As i and Chiellini both tumbled to the ground, the referee blew his whistle, signaling a valid goal.

  "3-0!"