Siaking charge of Napoli in June, Gao Shen's life had been moving at a breakneck pace.

  From pyer trao pre-season training, followed by preparations for the Coppa Italia, the schedule had been jam-packed. He hadn't allowed himself a moment's rest, and the stant tensio him on edge.

  It wasn't just Gao Shen who felt the pressure his entire coag staff had been w nonstop.

  However, after Napoli's stunning 5-0 rout of Juventus ihird round of the Coppa Italia, things finally began to slow down.

  With two weeks of iional breaks, Gao Shen and his staff suddenly had time to breathe, reflect, and make adjustments.

  Gao Shen generously grawo secutive days off to himself, the pyers, and the coag staff. Afterward, training resumed at Fort Volturno, where he joihe pyers who hadn't been called up for national duty.

  Most of the time, it was Carlo and the other assistants handling training sessions while Gao Shen supervised.

  To be ho, he felt a bit uneasy with all the suddeime.

  But football was a game of rhythms, dictated by schedules. When things slowed down, he had to adjust too.

  During the break, Gao Shen alsanized a team outing, a day trip around Naples.

  Despite having lived in Naples for almost three months, Gao Shen had barely seey. He had only had a quick look around when signing his tract. He hadn't even visited famous ndmarks like Castel dell'Ovo or Castel Nuovo.

  So, with a wave of his hand, Gao Shen arranged for a professional tuide to lead the team on a day long trip, fully reimbursed by the club.

  …

  Two days after Napoli's triumph over Juventus, the Italian Football Federatiohe draw for the fourth round of the Coppa Italia.

  Sixteen teams remained, but this time, the top eight Serie A teams from st season joihe fray, including A, Inter Min, Roma, Parma, and Palermo.

  The draw was structured so that the teams advang from the third round would fae of the top eight teams from Serie A. This meant Napoli would be fag a top-tier team for sure. If they were unlucky, they could be pitted against Mani's Inter Min or Ai's A, both of which would be daunting oppos.

  Fortunately, Napoli drew Parma.

  In terms of strength, Parma was ranked somewhere in the middle. inally, they had finished 10th, but after the Calciopoli sdal, they were bumped into the top eight. Parma's overall strength didn't pare to powerhouses like Min or Roma, giving Napoli a better ce to advance.

  However, their head coach was Stefano Pioli.

  Pioli was just starting to make a name for himself at this point, having performed well with Modena st season. Expectations were high for him at Parma this year. Later in his career, Pioli would go on to maeams like Lazio, Inter Min, Fiorentina, and even A, proving his coag a. He was definitely a coach to watch out for.

  But after Napoli's anding victory over Juventus, both Gao Shen and his team were fident they could take aep forward. Drawing Parma instead of one of the top Serie A sides was seen as a stroke of luck.

  …

  Meanwhile, Juventus was embroiled in chaos.

  After their humiliating elimination from the Coppa Italia at the hands of Napoli, Juventus faced heavy criticism. The spotlight was on head coach Deschamps, with no one pointing fingers mgressively than Juventus' sp director, Alessio Seco.

  It was a situation that Gao Shen found perplexing.

  After all, losing a game is part of football. It's natural to assign bme, but shouldn't the priority be to maintain team stability and protect both the coad the pyers?

  Instead, Seco had been quick to criticize Deschamps publicly after the match, bming him for poor tactid match ma.

  In response, Deschamps defended himself, g that the team had failed t in the pyers he wahis, he argued, had limited his tactical options and tributed to the defeat in Naples.

  At the same time, Deschamps pointed out that the 5-0 loss was somewhat of a fluke. If they pyed the match again, he doubted Napoli would win so vingly.

  This statement had some merit. Napoli's victory wasn't just about their superiority in quality, but a result of numerous factors ing together in their favor.

  The media interpreted Deschamps' defense as a direct atta Secco's transfer decisions, whily escated the flict. Secco retaliated, and soon Juventus' general manager, Bnc, was dragged into the fray, as he had been the one who recruited Deschamps in the first pce.

  Watg this all unfold, Gao Shen was grateful he hadn't stepped into Juventus' mess. It was being clearer why Deschamps would leave Juventus angrily after returning them to Serie A. The internal flict had been simmering long before the public fallout.

  Of course, many fans and outsiders didn't fully uand the situation. Most didn't have access to the behind the ses details, and without all the information, their perceptions were skewed.

  Regardless, with Juventus now out of the Coppa Italia, if they could focus their efforts on Serie B and resolve their internal issues, it might still turn out to be a blessing in disguise.

  …

  On the first weekend of September, Gao She Naples and headed to Rome.

  He had been invited by the Italian Football Federation to attend a coag summit for Serie A and Serie B managers.

  This gathering, which was held once a year, was attended by famous football legends like Sacchi, as well as current head coaches from Serie A and Serie B. It was an exclusive, industry o, where the head coaches would discuss football matters without the presence of football association officials or media.

  Events like this weren't uo Italy. Simir gatherings took p other leagues, and UEFA and FIFA also hosted their own summits for managers peting in iional tours.

  The summit was set over two days the first day was the mai, while the sed day included breakout sessions for more ih discussions.

  When Gao Shen arrived in Rome, he had some time to spare, so he went sightseeing before heading to the summit venue.

  …

  The summit was held at a five-star hotel in the heart of Rome.

  As soon as Gao Shen walked in, he became the tre of attention.

  "Oh no," Ai joked. "You've already beeopic of versation before you even arrived."

  Ai, along with Sacchi, was one of the few people Gao Shen was close to at the event.

  "Your 5-0 win over Juventus was incredible!" Ai excimed.

  Gao Shen, ever humble, simply smiled and maintained a low profile.

  After all, he was still young ao these gatherings, and most of the attendees were football veterans. Today, he was here to listen and learn.

  "I heard Sacchi is going to give a talk ter," Ai said. "He's been holed up all day preparing."

  Gao Shen ughed. He imagined Sacchi preparing his speech like a writer rushing to meet a deadline, ing out drafts under pressure.

  As they chatted, Gao Shen spotted Deschamps across the room. The French coach aowledged Gao Shen with a polite greeting but quickly moved on to catch up with other friends.

  It was no surprise. Deschamps had just experienced a humiliati, and it would be difficult for him to engage in casual versation with the man who delivered that loss.

  "Secco was really out of lihis time," Ai ented, watg Deschamps from a distance.

  Gao Shen nodded silently.

  After the Calciopoli sdal, most top managers had beeant to take over Juventus. After Gao Sheo Napoli, Juventus had used every e they had to persuade Deschamps to take the job.

  Deschamps agreed, partly because he wao prove himself after previous coag stints, and partly because of his emotional ties to Juventus, having pyed for the club. But now, after just one bad loss, Secco had thrown him uhe bus.

  "It's clear," Ai tinued. "Secco isn't focused on Juventus' success. He just wants to keep his poosition secure."

  This was the real reason Secco had rejected Gao Shen in the first pce.

  In teams where power struggles were rampant, poor performances could always be pinned on the head coach. Even if results didn't improve, the sp director could keep their position, protected by higher-ups. As long as the head coach took the bme, the hierarchy stayed intact.

  "At the end of the day, it's all politics," Gao Shen sighed.

  Ai smiled knowingly. "And the football world is no different."

  They moved on to discussing Parma, Napoli's uping oppo in the fourth round of the Coppa Italia.

  Iingly, several Serie A teams this season had adopted a 4-3-2-1 formation, including Pioli's Parma.

  Why?

  "Because it's safe," Ai expined.

  Serie A had endured a tough season in Europe, with many teams underperf. Even Juventus and A had failed to meet expectations. In respoeams had shifted to more cautious tactics.

  Ai chuckled. "I suppose I'm partly to bme for the trend."

  Gao Shen couldn't help but ugh.