In the m, Castel Volturno resumed winter break training.

  After st year's success, Bueura and Pintus had carefully anized a small wiraining camp for the team. The aim was to build up the pyers' fitness levels during the winter break, ensuring they ehe sed half of the season in optimal dition.

  Everyone khat the sed half of the season would be intense, with all petitioering their crucial stages. It would be a grueli for Naples.

  But something strange was happening in Castel Volturno.

  Head coach Gao Shen, as usual, stood on the sidelines . He didn't participate directly in training and never hid the fact that he wasn't involved in those details. He even joked before, "If the head coach did everything, wouldn't that leave everyone else unemployed?"

  However, today, there was something different about him.

  During a break, the pyers, though exhausted, whispered among themselves, exging curious gnces.

  Meanwhile, Carlo, Zidane, and other members of the coag staff gathered together.

  "Zinedine, has something happeo him?" Carlo asked with .

  The others also showed signs of unease.

  "You've noticed it too?" Zidane, always thoughtful, nodded. "I've been w about it si night. He feels different, but I 't quite put my finger on what's ged."

  Zidane scratched his head, perplexed.

  "Where did he g the vacation?" Carlo asked.

  All eyes turo Zidane, but the Fren looked as fused as anyone else.

  "I don't know. As soon as we got the holiday, I went back to Spain. Did he go anywhere?"

  No one could ahey all felt that something was off, but none of them could pinpoily what.

  "Hey, Fernando, e here," Carlo called out to Fernando Lucas, who assing by.

  "What's up?" Lucas asked, amused by their expressions.

  Zidane wasted no time. "Fernando, have you noticed Gao Shen ag a bit strahese past two days?"

  Lucas chuckled. "You're just notig now?"

  The group was stunned. Lucas had figured it out before them?

  "I asked him about it st night. Look at his expression, he used to be so stoid cool, but now he smiles from time to time. There's only one expnation," Lucas said fidently.

  "In love!" Zidane guessed immediately.

  "Bingo!" Lucas gririumphantly. "I'm telling you, I've got an eye for these things. It's 100% certain, he fell in love during the Christmas break."

  "Great news!" Carlo cpped his hands, clearly delighted. He had long thought that Gao Shen needed a retionship.

  Think about it: a man in his twenties handsome, wealthy, famous, iial would he really ck admirers?

  As Lucas said, Gao Shen only o crook his finger, and women, especially the Italiaies, would line up for him.

  But it wasn't normal for someone like him to immerse himself in football all day long.

  "By the way, Fernando, who's the lucky one?" Carlo asked eagerly.

  "I asked, but he just smiled and wouldn't say. But judging by his enthusiasm, I'd bet it's Mourinho imes out of ten."

  "What?!" Everyone was dumbfounded.

  Mourinho?

  Him and Mourinho…?

  "No, no, not Mourinho! I mean Zidane. No, wait, I mean that girl he's been gaming with…" Lucas stammered, but before he could finish, Zidane pounced on him.

  "Don't lump me in with Mourinho, you idiot!" Zidane yelled, pretending to throttle Lucas.

  The entire group burst into ughter.

  They khat Gao Shen had been gaming with a girl for about two years, but he had kept her identity a secret. If their retionship had finally progressed, it would indeed be wonderful news.

  Carlo, the eldest among them, articurly pleased.

  "It's a good thing he's in love," Carlo said. "While we're his assistants at work, we're also his friends. Let's help him out and give him time and space. It's not easy to have a retionship in our profession."

  The others nodded in agreement.

  Who would deny it?

  From the outside, pyers and coaches seemed gmorous making money, gaining fame. But how many uood the sacrifices behind it all?

  Every pyer iop leagues had been the best among their peers since childhood. How many billions of people were filtered out to form the rosters of the Premier League, Serie A, La Liga, and other top leagues?

  It wasn't easy.

  And even for those who made it, how many bore scars, both physical aal? How many relied on medication to stay healthy? How many endured sleepless nights due to overwhelming stress?

  Why do team doctors always carry sleeping pills during trips? Because during away games, many 't sleep at all.

  This wasn't just true for pyers but for coaches as well.

  And then there was the family aspect.

  People see pyers traveling with their families and think it's idyllic. But behind the ses?

  When Gerrard pyed an away game, his home was broken into by armed burgrs while his wife and children were alone inside. How terrifying was that?

  During training camps and tours, pyers are away from home for weeks, sometimes months.

  When they're gone, who takes care of the kids? Who handles school pickups, illnesses, ing parents?

  And as much money as footballers and coaches make, it's not as limitless as fans imagine.

  Real Madrid's Galácticos seemed rger than life, but how many of them, aside from Zidane and Ronaldo, weren't simply living paycheck to payche their club tracts?

  ---

  Most of the ercial sponsorship tracts for stars like Raul and Figo were obtaihrough Real Madrid's ma and adjustments. When it came to ercial value, after Figo joined Bara, he barely had any. Apart from a bank endorsement he secured early on, his ercial worth was negligible.

  This was even truer for many others.

  Mature pyers uand the importance of iing the mohey earn during their careers to prepare for life after retirement. Immature pyers squaheir earnings and end up penniless when their pying days are over.

  There are tless such cases. Even some legendary stars, ear gmorous to the public, are drowning i behind the ses.

  Of course, some stories are simply media exaggerations.

  Take Pirlo, for example. He was rumored to be a "super-rich sed-geion" heir.

  But what's the truth?

  His family's steel trading pany only operated in a small town, and its highest recorded turnover was a little over €70 million. And what was the profit?

  €150,000.

  Pirlo could earn more just by showing up at a and standing on stage!

  Some people might find this surprising, especially when paring it to the wealth of basketball stars who domihe rich lists.

  But this perception is a result of the information age.

  People see Beckham making €20 million annually from endorsements alone and assume that Figo, even if less marketable, must be earning at least half of that. Surely, he'd be making at least €5 million in endorsements, right?

  But they fail to realize that ercial value doesn't correte directly with ability, performance, or rankings.

  Beckham may domihe ercial se, but Figo might not eve a fra of the pie.

  This is called "wiakes all."

  During Real Madrid's Galácticos era, looking only at the ercial earnings of Zidane, Ronaldo, and Beckham was misleading. Together, their individual values far surpassed the biotal of the rest of the squad.

  This dynami't uo oeam; it applies to the entire football world.

  Making money has never been easy not for anyone, in any industry, anywhere in the world.

  Football stars enjoy immense fame and status, attrag tless women looking to make a name for themselves and scammers hoping to take advantage of them.

  Carlo was absolutely right: in this industry, it's incredibly difficult to maintain a healthy retionship.

  This holds true for both pyers and head coaches.

  ---

  Gao Shen, unaware of what his assistants were discussing, was lost in his own thoughts.

  As usual, he paid little attention to the specifics of training, delegating those responsibilities to his staff. His role was to oversee the big picture.

  Currently, Napoli's tactical framework was stable. Whether using a 4-3-3 or a 4-2-3-1 formation, the team executed both systems smoothly, and the pyers adapted well.

  However, as the seasressed, Gao Shen found himself refleg deeply oeam's performance. Despite their stability, he felt there were areas where they could still improve.

  For instance, goalkeeper Handanovic had adjusted his style to fit the team's needs but still had room frowth. Simirly, striker Edinson i sometimes struggled to link up with the wingers or midfielders, creating occasional disects in attack.

  Of course, both pyers were excellent in their ht and weren't oints in the squad. They brought their own urengths to the table.

  But from a more ambitious perspective, Gao Shen couldn't help but wonder: what if they had a goalkeeper like Manuel Neuer or Mardré ter Stegen, with exceptional footwork? Or what if they repced i with a forward who had superior teical ability and individual brilliance?

  In that case, Napoli's overall level could undoubtedly reaew heights.

  For now, though, such ges were unrealistic.

  Napoli's financial situation made it difficult to demand mao Shen couldn't just approach De Laurentiis and suggest selling Handanovic to buy Neuer.

  It wasn't practical, nor was it his style to be so capricious.

  After all, Napoli wasn't a wealthy club. Unlike Pep Guardio, who once sed Samuel Eto'o and a signifit sum of money for Ztan Ibrahimovic, Gao Shen didn't have that kind of freedom.

  Still, he sidered these possibilities as avenues for personal growth challenges he could tackle if he ever managed a stroeam iure.

  For now, his focus remained on leading Napoli as effectively as possible and pushing the team further.

  ***

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