The st time Gao Shen visited Bara, he was warmly hosted by Guardio. This time, it was Guardio, along with Txiki Begiristain and Ferran Soriano, who traveled all the way to the capital to meet him.

  The meeting pce was a famous roast duck restaurant, one of the most well-known ary brands iy.

  On Su Qing's reendation, Gao Shen chose a branch reputed to have the best fvor.

  Fuardio, Begiristain, and Soriano, it was their first time in a, and everythi unfamiliar to them.

  Gao Shen reserved a private dining room and ordered a variety of signature dishes to let his guests experiehentic ese cuisine.

  Although the three Bar?a representatives came with serious matters on their minds, the delicious food quickly lifted their spirits, and they couldn't help but rex and enjoy the meal.

  It wasn't until they had nearly finished eating that Guardio finally brought up the purpose of their visit.

  ---

  "Gao, do you remember what I suggested to you st time?" Guardio asked, breaking the ice.

  "What suggestion?" Gao Shen asked, feigning ignorance.

  Guardio smiled knowingly. "I suggested that you e to Bara as the head coach, and I'd serve as your assistant. Remember now?"

  Gao Shen nodded. "I remember, but I also told you back then that it wasn't something I was sidering."

  "Well, it's time to resider," Guardio said early.

  Gao Shen remained silent.

  Seeing an opening, Begiristain jumped in. "Pep mentiohat you once shared an idea with him about how to shape Bara's future."

  Gao Shen turo Guardio with a mock look of reproach. His expression seemed to say, Why did you tell them what I told you in fidence?

  Guardio, grinning sheepishly, raised his hands in mock surrender.

  "I've discussed it with our teical team," Begiristain tinued, "and the idea you proposed is very intriguing. You suggested leveraging Bara's youth academy pyers to fully embrace our strengths in passing and possession football, correct? That cept aligns perfectly with Bar?a's philosophy."

  Begiristain then shifted to a serious tone. "For years, we've faced one recurring issue: an imbaween offense and defense. During Rijkaard's tehere were glimpses of effective high-pressing tactics, but the team couldn't sustaihe reasons are plex, partly down to the pyers, partly down to the coag, and other factors as well."

  "But after watg Napoli, we've been w: what if we could transpnt yh-pressing and positional py to Bara, bining it with our traditional strengths in passing and possession? What would that look like?"

  Begiristain's question cut straight to the heart of the matter.

  "It would usher in a new era," Gao Shen answered fidently.

  The bold statement lit up the faces of Begiristain, Guardio, and Soriano.

  "Do you think it's really achievable?" Begiristain pressed.

  "Absolutely," Gao Shen replied without hesitation.

  He then began eborating, trag the history and evolution of football tactics from Vic Bugham to Rinus Michels, Johan Cruyff, Louis van Gaal, and Rijkaard.

  Gao Shen id out the progression of Dutch football and Bara's tactical systems with astonishing crity, leaving Begiristain and Soriano stunned. Guardio, who was already familiar with much of this history, nodded along with a knowing smile.

  It wasn't just the depth of Gao Shen's uanding, it was the way he ected the dots, presenting the lineage of ideas and their tactical implications in such a coherent manner.

  Even someone like Johan Cruyff might not have been able to articute Bara's tactical DNA as prehensively as Gao Shen just had.

  Gao Shen's point was simple: every period of success for Bara or Dutch football, for that matter had cided with an improvement in defensive anization, particurly through high pressing and intense off-the-ball work.

  Now, with modern football evolving further due to ges in offside rules and officiating, teical pyers were gaining even more freedom and space to operate.

  "In the past, defensive midfielders like Makelele, Essien, Gattuso, or Mascherano were critical. But now, pyers like Biglia and Rakitic two teically gifted midfielders, thrive in modern systems, as long as there's a well-aeam press to support them."

  "Systematic high pressing," Gao Shen tinued, "is the most advaactical approa football today. If Bara establishes such a system and ehe pyers sustain the required physical effort, then defensively, they won't be inferior to anyone. And when you bihat with your traditional strengths in passing and possession, the results will be extraordinary."

  Gao Shen's expnation was cise yet deeply pelling.

  Begiristain, while still processing everything, was visibly excited. He g Guardio and Soriano, and it was clear they felt the same.

  This was why Guardio had been so insistent on reending Gao Shen.

  Here was someone who uood Bara better than most people within the club itself. Someoh a bold, forward-thinking vision for the future.

  "Gao," Begiristain said, uo tain his enthusiasm, "we want you to bee Bara's head coach!"

  Guardio and Soriano both smiled expetly, waiting fao Shen's response.

  Having listeo Gao Shen's thoughts, it seemed obvious to them that he was deeply ied in the project.

  But to their surprise, Gao Shen shook his head.

  "I'm not the right person for Bara," he said.

  "What?" Begiristain was stunned.

  Guardio and Soriano looked equally fused.

  "No, you're the perfect fit," Begiristain insisted. "I promise you."

  Gao Shen sighed and began expining.

  "There are three reasons. First, as you all know, I 't leave Napoli. This is a team I've spent two years building from the ground up. Every pyer was carefully selected and developed by me. I've poured my heart into this project, and I believe this team go even further. I'm not ready to walk away from that."

  "Sed, I'm a former Real Madrid coach. Although I had my disagreements with the club's previous ma, I still have deep ties to Madrid. I have many friends there, and who knows? One day, I might return to coach them again. It wouldn't feel right for me to take charge of Bara uhose circumstances."

  Gao Shen paused, his tone being even more sincere. "And third, this is the most important reason, I believe there's someone who's better suited for Bara than I am. In fact, I thihe perfect coach for this club. When it es to coag Bara, I'm not as good as him."

  The room fell silent.

  "Who could possibly be a better fit than you?" Begiristain finally asked.

  "Pep," Gao Shen said, looking directly at Guardio.

  Both Begiristain and Soriano turo Guardio in shock, while the man himself was pletely dumbfounded.

  "Me?" Guardio stammered.

  "Exactly," Gao Shen replied.

  Guardio shook his head in disbelief. "Gao, this isn't what we talked about. You were supposed to e to Bara, and I was supposed to assist you…"

  "Do you want to be an assistant forever?" Gao Shen interrupted.

  Guardio eechless.

  Of course, he didn't want that.

  "If you don't, then why dey the iable? This is your ce," Gao Shen tinued.

  "You oold me my eye for talent was excellent, both for pyers and coaches. Now, I'm telling you that you, Pep Guardio, are the best didate to coach Bara. I believe in you, and I'm fident the world will be amazed by what you achieve."

  Begiristain and Soriano exged gnces. Slowly, they began to uand Gao Shen's perspective.

  He wasn't refusing Bara for himself. He was refusing because he truly believed Guardio was the better choice.

  "Gao, you're serious about this?" Begiristain asked.

  "Absolutely," Gao Shen affirmed. "Pep is my best friend. I've worked closely with him, and I know his potential better than arust me—he's the right man for Bara."

  "Then you won't resider?" Begiristain pressed.

  "I'm sorry," Gao Shen said with a small smile. "But I'm fident that Pep is the right person for the job."

  Begiristain, Guardio, and Soriano were left in awe.

  Gao Shen had made his decision. He wasn't going to be Bara's king.

  But he was more than willing to be the man who ed Guardio.

  Junkdog