There's a saying: "If you do not accumute small steps, you will not be able to reach a thousand miles; if you do not accumute small streams, you will not be able to form a river or sea."

  Gao Shen had heard this phrase since he was young and uood the cept of "progress through accumution."

  At the time, everyone around him, his parents, his teachers told him that accumution came from hard work. As a child, it sounded simple enough. But one day, while speaking with a professor in college, he was struck by something his professor said: "Progress es from accumution, and accumution es from hard work, but hard work does not necessarily equal progress."

  It seemed easy to grasp on the surface, but after Gao Shen graduated and stepped into the real world, he realized that "hard work" itself was a heavy burden. Once you're dealing with family responsibilities, performandicators, deadlines, a, hard work bees a y rather than a path tress. Often, the harder you try under pressure, the further away true progress seems.

  There was a time when he asked himself why he, like many others, bought into the culture of w incessantly, often known as the "996" schedule—w from 9 AM to 9 PM, six days a week.

  A senior in his previous job shared an iing example with him: the famous "Skinner's Pigeon Box" experiment ducted by psychologist B.F. Skinner.

  In this experime pigeons were pced in separate boxes. At random intervals, food was dropped into each box. After a few days, six of the pigeons developed peculiar habits. One might stantly turn in circles, while anht keep peg at a er of the box. Each pigeon had created its own ritual, believing that a specific a would cause the food to appear again.

  They had bee superstitious, associating their random behaviors with food rewards, just as people in the workpce often superstitiously believe in grinding away, in hopes of "success" falling into their p.

  …

  After crossing over and being the head coach of Real Madrid, Gao Shen advocated for a different approach: humanized ma. He focused on a stifically structured training regimen. Each session was y minutes—matg the duration of a football matd aligned with reized best practices in European football.

  He desighese y-minute sessions to be intense and effit, ensuring pyers remained focused throughout. He disced additional training afterward and frequently gave pyers rest days, even allowing them some free time the night before matches.

  These principles were inspired by other renowned coaches like Ferguson, Wenger, and Ai. Gao Shen knew what to do, but he wasn't fully aware of the reasoning behind it.

  Then, in his time with Napoli, Gao Shen sulted a realian sports psychologist, who introduced him to the "3F Rule," a framework proposed by two Ameri psychologists. The 3Fs stand for Focus, Feedback, and Fix-It Improvements.

  With this new uanding, Gao Shen refined his approach. Each training session maintairict focus for y minutes, after which pyers were free to unwind. At the end of each session, the analysis team provided each pyer with a detailed report, listing any issues observed during training. From there, the coag staff would work with the pyers individually to correct these problems.

  Napoli followed this regimen throughout the season. Even during the team's slump iwo months leading up to the winter break, they had mao secure sed p Serie A. Gao Shen remained itted to this structured approach, bringing in Pintus over the winter break to help strehe pyers physically alongside Bueura.

  …

  During the winter break, the Napoli squad endured a grueling period of intense "devil training."

  To be ho, both the pyers and coag staff, including Gao Shen himself, were apprehehey didn't know if the results would validate the effort until they faced real matches.

  Then came the packed schedule of Serie A and Coppa Italia fixtures. For two secutive weeks, the team pyed double matches, rotating stantly. Every pyer ushed to their limits.

  As for the immediate results of the devil training? There were no clear, miraculous ges. At best, the pyers seemed to show a slight improvement in fitness and endurance, but that was about it.

  After a tough game against Udihe team finally had a week-long break. Gao Shen grahe pyers two full days off—one on Sunday and another on Wednesday. This was a luxury in professional football, but it was clear that they he rest.

  When the pyers returo Castel Volturno on Thursday, the difference was immediately apparent. The coag staff could see it in their energy levels, irics recorded by the team doctors, and in the way they traihe atmosphere at the training ground was lively; the pyers were sharp and focused. From time to time, their outstanding pys would spark cheers from their teammates.

  Gao Shen stood by the side, quietly, a sense of satisfa swelling within him. He could feel it, the energy in his pyers had returhey had grown stronger from the challehey had endured.

  He knew, without a doubt, that bringing in Pintus had been the right call. The decision to double down on fitness roving its worth. Gao Shen was fident now that, within the hree weeks, the team would be in peak dition to take on Inter Min at home.

  …

  After training, Gao Shen approached Pintus aended a hand. "Thank you, Antonio!"

  Pintus, who had also noticed the transformation in the pyers, beamed with pride. "Thank you, Gao. You gave me the opportunity to prove myself. I'm pleased with what we've achieved, but we have to keep pushing forward."

  The rest of the coag staff nodded in agreement, feeling reassured by Pintus' fidence.

  Gao Shen the over to thank Bueura for his hard work. Despite the team's earlier struggles, he aowledged Bueura's dedication. This experience had only made them stronger, and Gao Shen believed that Bueura would tio improve.

  As the saying goes, "A hero is only as good as his three allies."

  Gao Shehat the journey ahead would be challenging, and these trusted members of his coag staff would be his greatest assets.

  "I'm feeling more fident than ever," Gao Shen decred to the team. "Our battle with Inter has just begun!"

  …

  The twenty-sed round of Serie A saw Roma winning 2-0 at home against Reggina, briefly overtaking Napoli iandings. A also beat Siena 1-0, showing a marked improvement sincelotti's mid-season adjustments.

  Juventus, feeling the pressure, fought hard in an away game against Udihey ceded early, but mao turn the game around with goals from Camoranesi and Iaquinta, winning 2-1.

  Inter Min, meanwhile, faced ia and secured a 2-0 victory with goals from Cambiasso and Suazo.

  …

  Napoli's oppo for this round was Sampdoria.

  Walter Mazzarri's team was known for its tenacity, particurly at home, where they were a formidable force. Pying in his signature 3-5-2 formation, Mazzarri fielded Cassano and Bellucci up front and unched a fierce offensive against Napoli from the start.

  Within two minutes, Sampdoria nearly scored, with Bellucci setting up Macheda for a powerful strike that forced a brilliant save from Handanovic. Five mier, Macheda tried again with a long shot, but it sailed just wide.

  On the sidelines, Gao Shen watched Macheda's performance closely. He admired the right-sided pyer's ability to cover the entire fnk on his own. In Mazzarri's 3-5-2, Macheda was both an attag threat and a defensive asset, embodying the spirit of a plete pyer. Gao Shen was even more determi him to Napoli in the summer tthen the right wing.

  After weathering the initial onsught, Napoli found their rhythm and started tering. Ih mihey won a er, and Bonucci capitalized on it with a t header into the top left er. One-nil, Napoli!

  The goal only fueled Sampdoria's aggression. They pressed harder, but Napoli's defense held firm. Di Maria struck the post in a swift terattack, and ih minute, Hamsik unleashed a le shot that found the back of the , doubling the lead to 2-0.

  In the sed half, Sampdoria tio press forward. Ih minute, Napoli's terattack caught them off-guard. Di Maria's py in the front diverted the defenders, leaving Lichtsteiner unmarked. He surged into the penalty area and fired a rocket with his right foot, sealing the game at 3-0.

  The matded with a decisive win for Napoli. Sampdoria's relentless attacks couldn't break through, and Gao Shen's team had defended brilliantly while exploiting every opportunity to ter.

  More importantly, Napoli's performan the field showcased a team that had emerged from its slump.

  Napoli had returo form, just in time to chase down Inter Min.