At the post-match press ference, Gao Shen expressed that he was very satisfied with his team's performance.

  He aowledged that Roma was a formidable oppo, both in Serie A and the Champions League. For a young team like Napoli to py against such a powerful side on the road, Gao Shehere were many positives.

  "The important thing isn't the result of this match, but rather that the pyers executed the game pn as I asked. That's what makes me fident about our ces in the sed leg."

  As for what exactly gave him that fidence, Gao Shen didn't eborate.

  Naturally, the media wasn't going to let him off so easily.

  Gao Shen had bee the hottest topi Italian football. Whether the media criticized or praised him, it was impossible to ighe fact that he drew attention. Major outlets like Gazzetta dello Sport might scold him one day and then praise him the .

  It's undeniable: talking about Gao Shen sold neers, drove clicks, and attracted attention.

  And Gao She.

  In fact, he didn't mind.

  When the media focused on him, it took a lot of the pressure off the Napoli pyers. If the team lost, as they did tonight, the Italian media would tear into Gao Shen the day. The pyers would rgely escape the harsh criticism.

  What did it matter if they criticized Gao Shen? How harshly could they even criticize him?

  After all, in football, it's the results och that speak the loudest.

  As one humorous entator once said: "Half the money Gao Shen earns is because he's stantly getting scolded."

  …

  Napoli actually did a good job taining Totti tonight, aside from the goal they ceded.

  However, the media and the fans don't care about the little details. All they see is that Totti scored, so in their eyes, he had a great game.

  It's the same story with someone like Ronaldo at Real Madrid. It doesn't matter if he's quiet for 90 minutes if he scores, he's the hero.

  For professional coaches, that kind of thinking be a nightmare.

  Totti did tribute more than just the goal, but his overall performance was below par, and that was rgely due to Napoli's defense.

  But Gao Shen wasn't about to say that publicly. Instead, he praised Totti effusively, calling him Roma's biggest threat and someone he admired greatly.

  He even threw in pliments for Mani, who was undoubtedly Roma's standout pyer. With a goal and an assist, Mani had a signifit impact, which was also due to Napoli's struggles on the right side of defense.

  This roblem Gao Shehey had to address.

  When Napoli loses, reporters never miss the ce to grill Gao Shen. They use every tri the book, trying to get him to slip up and say something troversial.

  Gao Shen was well aware of their tactics.

  "The 2-1 loss is our first defeat in the Coppa Italia, and it's definitely worth refleg on. However, I remain fident that we overturn this result at the Stadio San Paolo and advao the round."

  "What? You wao predict the score?"

  "I 't do that. I'm not a magi, and I 't predict what tactics the opposition will use, but…"

  Gao Shen paused. Over the st six months, the Italian media had gotteo his style and knew something bold was ing.

  "I'm fident that we will score at least three goals at home!"

  As soon as he said that, the room erupted.

  The reporters had been waiting for something like this, but even so, they were stunned.

  Three goals?

  Napoli had only mao score on the 88th minute against Roma on the road, and now Gao Shen romising three goals iurn leg?

  Did he think Roma were just going to roll over?

  But after delivering his bold statement, Gao Shen waved goodbye to the reporters ahe room, leaving the press in a frenzy of specution and chatter.

  He'd certainly set the tone for a fiery sed leg.

  …

  "What? Three goals? Is he crazy?"

  Back at the Stadio Olimpico, Spalletti was briefed on Gao Shen's ents shortly after the press ferended. When he heard that Gao Shen had promised to score three goals against Roma in Naples, his initial rea was disbelief. Then, he burst into ughter.

  "This kid has guts, I'll give him that. Three goals against us?" Spalletti smirked.

  "He's probably just pying to the media," Roma's press officer suggested.

  The press officer had been paying close attention to Gao Shen's words throughout the press ference. He had to admit, Gao Shen, with his youth and good looks, was something of an anomaly in Italian football ma.

  Italy is famous for produg handsome men, and even in the coag ranks, legends like Lippi and Capello had been quite dashing in their younger days. But now they were aging, and their charm had faded.

  Gao Shen, at just 25, was still in his prime, and he knew how to py the media.

  "From what we saw tonight, Napoli's attack isn't that impressive. In Serie A, their offense would barely be mid-table. Not bad for a newly-promoted Serie B side," Spalletti said, rubbing his bald head and smiling. "But we are Roma!"

  "I agree. Maybe he's feeling overfident after beating a few weaker teams," the press officer added with a ugh.

  Of course, Juventus wasly a "weaker team," but with their relegation, the perception of them had ged.

  As for Parma and Ascoli? They were at the bottom of Serie A and hardly posed the same threat as a team like Roma.

  "Do you think he's really pnning to go all-out in the sed leg?" the press officer asked, slightly ed.

  Gao Shen had developed a reputation for bag up some of his boldest cims, though he'd had his share of bluffs too.

  Tonight, for example, Gao Shen had talked about winning the away leg or at least f a draw, but that hadn't materialized.

  So, in a sense, head coaches often say things they don't fully mean.

  "He'll definitely attack, but whether he goes all-out remains to be seen. Besides, if Napoli were truly pnning an all-out attack, would Gao Shen annou a week in advance?"

  That was a good point.

  "Plus, Gao Shen has more immediate s," Spalletti added with a chuckle.

  He respected Gao Shen's talent, but the young coach had stirred up a lot of trouble with his brashness. Even though Sacchi supported him, others in Italian football weren't afraid to go after him.

  There's a saying that goes: *If you want to wear the , you must bear its weight.*

  Gao Shen had bee the ultimate disruptor in Italian football, but now he had to prove he could hahe pressure.

  You may be dominating Serie B, but that's just the appetizer!

  …

  As expected, the day the Italian media went wild.

  With Napoli's loss, the ealian football media celebrated.

  Rome was never really adored by the northern Italian media, but on this day, it felt like they had been transformed into national heroes for standing up to Gao Shen, the fn disruptor.

  Papers heaped praise on Roma, using every supertive in the book to describe their performance.

  And to be fair, Roma's performance was backed up by the stats.

  At the Stadio Olimpico, Roma's offensive numbers were signifitly better than Napoli's. Mani had wreaked havoc down the left fnk, repeatedly exploiting Napoli's defensive frailties. Unsurprisingly, he was he man of the match.

  Oher hand, Napoli had lost their invincible aura that they had shown against teams like Parma, Ascoli, and even Juventus. Roma had stifled their attack, and their defensive pses were gring.

  Several high-profile mistakes had led to the two goals Napoli ceded.

  In La Repubblica, a entatued that if Roma had been more ical, Napoli might have ceded foals.

  But as with all data, the interpretation varies.

  In his n, Sacchi offered a different perspective. While he aowledged the stats, he argued that it wasn't necessarily Roma's wastefulhat limited the scoreline, but rather Napoli's ability to defensively tain their ces.

  "Look at the data from two different angles, and you arrive at two pletely different clusions," Sacchi wrote.

  So, who was right?

  They both were!

  In the end, the only result that mattered was the one on the scoreboard.

  Roma won, and Napoli lost. That was the bottom line, and as far as the media was ed, it meant Roma had performed better end of discussion.

  While the Italian media generally believed Roma had one foot in the semifinals, Sacchi wasn't vinced. He argued that Napoli's away goal gave them a lifeline, and the real battle was yet to e.

  "From the 80th minute onward, it was clear that Gao Shen ushing to score an away goal."

  "I know him. He doesn't do anything without a reason. He has a pn in mind."

  "A 2-1 home victory isn't enough to guarantee Roma's adva. It gives them a slight advantage, but with Napoli having an away goal and pying the sed leg at home, anything could happen."

  "I'm very optimistic about Gao Shen's ces of pulling off a eback!"

  But Sacchi's words didn't resonate mu Italy's emotional football climate.

  As Spalletti had said, Gao Shen had attracted too much attention. Outside of Napoli, there were few who liked him. Everyone was eager to see him fail.

  Because if Gao She winning, it would mean he was right.

  Isn't Italian football really outdated?

  So, no matter what, Gao Shen must lose!