"When did I offend him?"

  Even as Gao Shen walked out of the venue, he still couldn't figure it out.

  During his time as Real Madrid's head coach, he had never even ied with Schuster. So where was this hostility ing from? Schuster acted as though they had some deep personal feud. The whole situation was baffling.

  "Did you steal his girlfriend or something?" Mourinho suddenly blurted out.

  The e Gao Shen and the others stunned.

  "What the hell is wrong with you? Did you not learn your lesson after the beating you took at the Super Bowl?" Gao Shen shot back, gring at Mourinho as though ready to settle things with a fight.

  Ai, uo bear Mourinho's antics, stepped in. "José, what kind of nonsense is that? Schuster's what, fifty? And Gao Shen's only twe. What's he going to do with Schuster's girlfriend? Think before you speak."

  Hearing that, Gao Shen nodded in agreement. "Exactly! Now that's a reasoake."

  But no one expected what came . Ai patted Gao Shen on the shoulder in a fatherly manner and added with a serious tone, "Still, Gao, ime you go out looking, stieone your own age. Women in their fifties aren't right for you."

  Gao Shen nearly spat blood.

  The others, meanwhile, were ughing so hard they were bent over, leaving nearby onlookers puzzled as to what could possibly be so funny.

  Why did these Serie A coaches always seem se?

  "Gao, did you really offend Schuster?" Guardio asked, grinning.

  Gao Shen sighed. "What offense? Some people just 't handle losing mo cards. If UEFA hadn't covered the airfare, I'd bet they'd have had to walk bain."

  At that, Guardio finally pieced things together.

  It wasn't surprising. If one person ed out the table in a card game, of course, it would stir rese.

  "You've got no room to talk. We agreed to py until m, and then you're the one who called it quits at three!" Ai said, still bitter.

  For a card addict like him, it was unbearable to have the game cut shao Shen's excuse had been, "Pying cards is a teical skill, but we're men, not maes. We 't guarantee you'll always have enough fun."

  Listen to that. Is that something a person would say?

  As the joking tinued, Guardio began to see the broader picture.

  "Schuster's been under a lot of pressure at Real Madrid tely," Guardio expined. "Even though they won the league st season, as soon as they lose a game, the media brings up your name and calls for a coag ge. And holy, Napoli's rise st season… it was just too much."

  It was true. A newly promoted team winning the Serie A title? That had never happened before. Not just in Italy, but across Europe's top four leagues since Kaisersutern's victory in 1998. And even Kaisersutern's achievement wasn't as remarkable as Napoli's back-to-back championships.

  Gao Shen had led Napoli to secutive titles as a newly promoted team, and at just 27 years old, he had bee the you Serie A champion manager in history.

  On top of that, he had also won league titles in two different tries, an achievement so rare it was nearly unheard of.

  In today's i age, where information spread like wildfire, Gao Shen's achievements—and Napoli's stained unpreted attention. As an "i celebrity coach," Gao Shen had bee the face of football's new media ndscape.

  Even Guardio had to admit: Napoli had bee too popur.

  "Schuster's always been like this," Ai added. "Back when he yer, he was known for being temperamental, outspoken, and difficult to deal with. That hasn't ged. And like Pep said, even though you haven't ied with him, he's probably been jealous of you for a while."

  Ai smiled knowingly. "Just accept it."

  Gao Shen chuckled wryly. Was this what they called being caught in the crossfire?

  "In our line of work, it's impossible to make everyone happy," Mourinho chimed in. "Even if you lose every game, people will still pin it's not enough. So don't worry about offending anyone."

  He spoke from experience. Mourinho had offended tless people over the years, yet here he was, still thriving, still making millions, still one of the most famous coaches in the world.

  Guardio noticed Gao Shen's sly smile and grew curious.

  "What are you scheming now?" he asked.

  Gao Shen feigned innoce. "Do I look like the kind of person who schemes?"

  Without hesitation, Guardio replied, "Yes."

  Gao Shen didn't seem offended. He smiled and turo Mourinho. "José, your daughter's a teenager nht?"

  "Yeah, she's eleven," Mourinho replied absentmindedly, unaware of where this was going.

  Guardio, however, had caught on. His head snapped up, and he desperately tried to stifle his ughter as he quied his pace, distang himself from what was about to happen.

  Gao Shen gave Mourinho a serious nod. "Not bad. I'll wait a few years, then find myself a girlfriend."

  With that, he hurried to catch up with Guardio, leaving Mourinho standing there, fused.

  "What does that mean?" Mourinho muttered, trying to make sense of the cryptic remark.

  Spalletti, who had been quiet until now, finally lost it. "He means he's pnning to wait until your daughter grows up before chasing after her!" he said, ughing so hard he nearly doubled over.

  Mourinho's face darkened instantly.

  "That little punk! Is he out of his mind?"

  "Hey, Gao Shen! Don't you ru back here!"

  "Oh, e on, José. Let's talk about the dowry first!" Ai added, ever the instigator.

  "Shut up!" Mourinho s him. "She's still a child!"

  ---

  The cost of Gao Shen's wit ending the rest of the trip from Geo Min dodging Mourinho.

  The Puese coach's eyes were practically throwing daggers at him, as if he wao carve him into pieces.

  After arriving in Min, Gao Shen po return to Naples directly, but Ai wouldn't let him go. The "card addict" dragged him off for anht of games, insisting they finish what they started.

  As pensation, Ai provided dinner.

  It turned out, though, that while Ai was ing in many ways, his card skills left much to be desired. By the end of the night, Gao Shen, Mourinho, and Spalletti all left with small profits, while Ai took the brunt of the losses.

  The sight of the usually cheerful Ai nearly fuming with frustration riceless.

  "Damn it! I fed you, booked your hotel rooms, and you still ed me out! Is there no justi this world?" he grumbled as the others walked away ughing.

  ---

  Ba Naples, Gao She straight to Castel Volturno to oversee training.

  With most of the squad off on iional duty, those who remained were either not selected or had retly returned from the Olympics. This included eight pyers who were not currently in their national teams, giving them time to prepare for Napoli's uping Champions League debut.

  For many pyers, it would be their first time peting on Europe's gra stage.

  Siurning from Nyon, Gao Shen had been unusually focused on training and preparation. So much so that he even postpotending the Italian Football Association's coag summit.

  Despite receiving multiple invitations and even a personal request from the association's president to give a keynote speech—Gao Shen deed, g his workload.

  His sole foow was Napoli.

  When asked about his dedication, Gao Shen's response was always the same: he wao perform well in the Champions League, particurly in the opening match against Real Madrid.

  This season, Gao Shen had implemented signifit tactical upgrades.

  He introduced advanced positional ges, requiring pyers to run more, move dynamically, and actively support one another in passing and receiving the ball. Most importantly, he emphasized speeding up transitioween offense and defense, aiming to maximize offensive efficy with fewer passes.

  When it came to Real Madrid, Gao Shen was fident there were few people in the world who uood the club better than he did.

  Since Capello's time, Real Madrid had emphasized structured, cohesive football. But under Schuster, that foundation had begun to crumble. The team's overall py had bee disanized, and tactically, Schuster had shown little innovation.

  This season, Real Madrid's struggles were clear. They'd lost their league opener 2-1 to Deportivo La Coru?a—a shadow of its former self and still couldn't secure a win.

  Schuster's pressure was uandable, but Gao Shen wasn't about to sympathize.

  Handling that pressure art of being a Real Madrid coach. Every manager in the club's history had faced relentless criticism, and Gao Shen had been no exception during his time there.

  Back then, they ridiculed him mercilessly. Now, just two years ter, those same people missed him.

  But Schuster? He was trying to use Gao Shen as a stepping stone.

  If this had happeo someone else, they might have chosen to e, but Gao Shen wasn't that kind of person. What made it even more critical was that Napoli's first Champions League match was against Real Madrid.

  Schuster wao win, but Gao Shen had no iion of losing. Especially after everything that happened, Gao Shehe o vent his frustration. The best way to do that was to teach Schuster a lesson, knock him doeg, and show him he had nht to be sant.

  This is precisely why Gao Shen pced so much importan the team's training and preparation.

  He was determio ensure Napoli would arrive at the Bernabéu in their best form and with their stro lineup!

  ***

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