"After two years of fiuning, Napoli's tactical system has matured."

  While the leadership of Napoli met to pn their future, Inter Min's coag staff was busy devising a strategy to defeat Napoli in the Coppa Italia final.

  This was Roberto Mani's final mat charge of Inter Min, and it was one he desperately wao win.

  Serie A was already lost irretrievably so and Mani couldn't afford to end the season without at least salvaging the Coppa Italia.

  Assistant coach Sinisa Mihajlovic had also decided to leave Mani's staff at the end of the season to pursue his own head coag opportunities. Having spent many years in Italian football, Mihajlovic had a wide work, and clubs were already showing i in him.

  Mihajlovic aowledged the quality of Gao Shen's work at Napoli. Over two seasons, Gao Shen had built a team with a mature tactical system, ohat operated at peak physical fitness and executed his vision with precision.

  "It's fair to say that with this season's performances, Gao Shen has truly stepped into the ranks of Europe's elite managers," Mihajlovic remarked.

  His assessment was met with agreement. Even Mani nodded, albeit relutly.

  He couldn't deny that he had misjudged Gao Shen in the past. He had uimated him, dismissing him as a mere upstart. But now, Gao Shen had proven himself a worthy peer.

  However, Mani's position was plicated. Despite his domestic success, his ck ress in the Champions League over several seasons had kept him from breaking into the upper echelon of European coaches, where the likes of Carlo Ai resided.

  In trast, Gao Shen's trajectory seemed brighter. He was only 27 years old, represented a modern, progressive approach to tactics, and had the popurity and credibility to attract a major club willing to gamble on him. Most importantly, Gao Shen already had a Champions League and a La Liga title to his name, achievements that set him apart from Mani and elevated him beyond many so-called "first-tier" managers.

  For all is and purposes, Gao Shen had already established himself as a Champions League-winning manager, a distinani could only dream of.

  …

  Mani had faced Gao Shen three times thus far.

  In their first meeting, Mani's Inter Min had delivered a prehensive victory. It was a tactical mastercss that validated Mani's fide the time.

  The sed enter was a different story. Inter pyed at home and Mani approached the match with fidence, but as the game unfolded, it became clear that victory would not e easily. Inter scraped by but came close to losing.

  By the third meeting at Napoli's Stadio San Paolo Inter suffered a humiliati. It wasn't just a loss; it was a dismantling.

  Observers hat these three matches showcased the evolution of Gao Shen and Napoli. Mani, however, felt nothing but frustration.

  In the first match, Inter's superiority in squad strength was overwhelming. Napoli had no ce.

  By the seatch, that gap had narrowed signifitly, and by the third, Napoli had overtaken Iactically and physically.

  Everyone khat Napoli's strength stemmed from their midfield. If you couldn't domihem there, at the very least, you couldn't afford to be overrun.

  It was the perfect demonstration of the saying: "trol the midfield, trol the game."

  Yet, all of Mani's previous attempts to ralize Napoli's midfield had failed. The question now was: What could he do differently?

  …

  "I want to py a 4-5-1," Mani said.

  The room fell silent as the coag staff exged incredulous looks.

  A defensive 4-5-1? Against Napoli?

  Sinisa Mihajlovic opened his mouth, hesitating for a moment before deg against saying anything. He uood Mani better than anyone else. He could sense Mani's frustration and desperation.

  Not long ago, Mani was sidered the rising star of Italian football. As one of the leaders of a new geion of managers, he had been brimming with fidend pride. Back then, Napoli was barely a blip on his radar.

  Even as Napoli climbed to the top of the table, Mani dismissed them as insignifit. To him, Gao Shen and his pyers posed hreat to Inter Min's dominance.

  But that crushi at the Stadio San Paolo had shattered more than just Inter's lead iandings, it had broken Mani's fidence.

  "We o shore up the midfield. If we 't stabilize that area, our defense won't stand a ce against Napoli's attack. Especially with Burdisso and Chivu as our ter-back pairing," Mani expined, his voice tinged with bitterness.

  Materazzi was injured. Samuel and Cordoba were out for the season. The remaining defenders—Rivas, Chivu, and Burdisso—had gring weaknesses. And against a forward like i, who thrived in aerial duels and physical battles, this was a major problem.

  "What about the midfield personnel for a defensive terattack?" Mihajlovic asked tentatively.

  "We'll put Suazo up front. His pace is crucial for ters," Mani replied curtly.

  The omission of Ibrahimovic was gring. Clearly, Mani was unwilling to rely on him for this match.

  Cruz was suspended due to yellow card accumution, leaving Mani with three options for the tral striker role: Suazo, Balotelli, and Crespo.

  "For the midfield five, we use Cesar or Sori on the left, Vieira, Stankovid Zai in the ter, and Balotelli on the right."

  Figo, once a stalwart, was now too old to be a reliable option.

  Balotelli, at just 17 years old, had shown promise throughout the season, but entrusting him with such a critical role was a gamble.

  Mani's iions were clear. He wao protect the defense, absorb pressure, and rely on terattacks for sg opportuhe wingers—Balotelli and Cesar or Sori—would be tasked with driving the ball forward during transitions.

  But this strategy had its fws.

  Napoli's full-backs were formidable. Vargas, in just his first season, had established himself as Serie A's top left-back. Lichtsteiner, after adapting to Italian football, was now a for the right, strong in both attad defense.

  Could Inter's makeshift lineup withstand such a challenge?

  "We don't have much of a choice," Mani admitted with a note of frustration, sensing the doubts in the room. "Our squad is stretched thin. What else we do?"

  He wasn't wrong. Despite Inter Min's reputation for having a deep squad, many of their pyers were veterans well past their prime.

  The forward line, for example, looked impressive on paper: Ibrahimovic, Cruz, Suazo, Crespo. But these pyers were all specialists in sg; none of them tributed much to the midfield or could link py effectively.

  i, oher hand, was a relentless workhorse who chased oppos from one end of the pitch to the other. He embodied the spirit of Napoli's high-iy style. It wasn't just his goals that made him the league's top scorer, it was the sheer volume of apoli created under Gao Shen's system.

  Even Pellè, another forward in Napoli's rotation, had a clear tactical role that fit seamlessly into the team's structure.

  Who in Inter's lineup could replicate the impact of i or Pellè? Ibrahimovic? Perhaps, but only if he felt like it.

  "Balotelli is the only pyer in our squad who carry the ball forward. Am I wrong?" Mani asked rhetorically, sileng the room.

  No one could argue otherwise. Who else could do it? Figo? He was no longer up to the task.

  The only alternative was to push Mai higher up the pitch, but that would leave the right fnk defensively vulnerable. And against Napoli's lethal left-wing options—Di Maria, Callejoens—such a move would be suicidal.

  Everyone in the room uood Mani's predit. Inter Min's squad may have looked impressive from the outside, but internally, it was riddled with weaknesses.

  The truth was, Inter should have repced Mani months ago. The writing had been on the wall siheir disastrous 5-0 loss earlier in the season. By now, the team's issues had snowballed into a crisis.

  This final against Napoli felt more like a formality. The oute seemed iable.

  Unless Napoli somehow sabotaged themselves, there was no logical reason why they would lose.

  Even Inter's ma seemed resigo defeat. Moratti had reportedly told Mani that it wouldn't matter if he fielded youth pyers for the final.

  In essehe result was already decided before the match began.

  Word had even spread that after the Coppa Italia final, Inter Min po tact Gao Shen and invite him to take over at the San Siro.

  It seemed like a fone clusion. After all, Napoli, for all their brilliance, cked the financial muscle to pete at the highest level in the Champions League.