"Did you see that? Our oppos are ughing at us!"

  In the locker room, Gao Shen held up the starting lineup in his hand and shouted at the pyers standing before him.

  "Here, at our own Stadium, they've goh a mgressive lihan they used at the Olympic Stadium. They don't take us seriously at all. They look down on us from the bottom of their hearts, thinking we're just a newly-promoted Serie B team!"

  As soon as the pyers heard this, the atmosphere in the room became charged. Everyo up straight, their bodies tensing with indignation.

  At the same time, Lucas stood behind Gao Shen, diligently anizing the tactical board and ying out Roma's starting lineup for the night.

  In goal was Doni, the back line sisted of Too, Chivu, Mexès, and Panucci. In midfield, De Rossi anchored the team with Mani, Vu?ini?, Pizarro, and Taddei in front of him, and Totti leading the attack.

  "If my guess is right, they'll adjust during the matd pull Pizarro back," Gao Shen expined as he moved the number representing Pizarro on the board, positioning Vu?ini? just behind Totti. The formation resembled a 4-2-3-1 on paper.

  But, as Gao Shen knew, actual pyer positioning was fluid. Coaches would often make adjustments on the fly, depending on how the matfolded.

  "And you know what? I'm furious!" Gao Shen pounded his chest as he spoke.

  "We've worked our asses off sihe start of this season. The results we've achieved och speak for themselves. Every single one of you has made Naples proud, and you've made me proud, but I'm sure you've noticed there are still so many people who just 't accept it. They 't accept our success. It's not just doubt, it's plete denial."

  The Napoli pyers grew more and more animated.

  As Gao Shen said, the attitude of the outside world toward Napoli had been nothing short of harsh retly. When Napoli won, it was as if a camity had struck the football world. But when they lost, it felt like a holiday for everyone else, like the entire try popped champago celebrate.

  Why? Why was this happening?

  "We're a newly-promoted Serie B team, and everyone expects us to know our pce."

  "But what does that even mean?"

  "'Know your pce' means they think we should lose to Serie A teams. That we're the underdogs and should lose to the giants. That we're young and should bow down to the superstars, the veterans, the ones everyone idolizes!"

  "But why? Why should t that?"

  "Football is about defying the odds, about doing the impossible."

  "So, why 't we a newly-promoted team, a young team achieve something great?"

  By now, the room was buzzing with energy. The young pyers were fired up, some of them even standing from their seats, fists ched.

  "Tonight, at the San Paolo Stadium, we're going to make ourselves heard! We're going to show them who we are! And we're going to send a message to everyoo hell with all of you!"

  Gao Shen's voice cresdoed, practically shouting by the end, and the pyers echoed his energy, their own roars filling the room.

  But Gao Shen wasn't finished.

  He raised his hands, signaling for silence, and when the room quieted down, he spoke again, his voice low and serious.

  "Tonight, I will be on the sidelines, fighting alongside you. I will be watg every one of you, every move you make."

  "I want you to remember everything we've prepared for tonight. Every pn, every instru, every detail. Remember the injustice you feel in your hearts right now, and the fire burning in your chest."

  "Go out there and unleash it!"

  With that, Gao Shen stepped aside, motioning toward the locker room door. It was time to take the field.

  …

  Napoli lost the toss.

  avaro Jr. failed to win the advaotti, having wooss, gave up the right to kick off and instead opted to switch sides. Napoli would start the match fag into the sun, giving Roma the advantage early on.

  Arturo Vidal, who had been handed a vital role in tonight's match, jogged into position alongside his teammates. He would be pying in the defensive midfield, just ahead of avaro Jr. and David Luiz, with Biglia and Rakiti front of him.

  His job was simple: domihe midfield.

  Vidal was tasked with winning every loose ball that came into his area. More importantly, he was to shut down Totti whehe Roma captain dropped deeper to receive the ball. At the same time, Biglia and Rakitic were responsible for supp the midfield and closing off the spa the fnks. But Vidal's job was the most critical.

  Sihe first leg against Roma, Gao Shen had worked closely with Vidal, preparing him for this match. They had spent hours watg game footage together, disseg Roma's pystyle and how Vidal could disrupt it.

  But they had talked about more than just football. Vidal had opened up about his childhood dream of owning a farm or winery, a dream inspired by the lush vineyards around Chile's capital.

  Gao Shen hadn't ughed at Vidal's dream. In fact, he had fully embraced it.

  "That's a fantastic idea, Arturo!" Gao Shen had said, his enthusiasm catg Vidal off guard. "I'm serious. If you ever decide to do it, t me in!"

  Vidal had beeical at first.

  "Is that really possible?" he had asked.

  "Of course it is!" Gao Shen had replied, even more excited than Vidal himself. "Chile's cherries and wines are in demand all over the world. There's huge potential there!"

  And that's when Gao Shen had id out the pn that had Vidal's head spinning.

  "You buy a farm. Start growing cherries, maybe some grapes. Set up a winery, and then you export all over the world and a."

  "a?" Vidal had asked, fused.

  "Yes, a! There's 1.4 billion people there, Arturo. In a few years, a's going to have one of the fastest-growing eies in the world. The demand for cherries and wine will be astronomical. Think about how huge that market is!"

  Vidal had stared at Gao Shen, struggling to prehend the numbers. 1.4 billion people? That was more than a huimes the popution of Chile.

  "You're serious?"

  "Dead serious," Gao Shen had said. "And here's the best part. Chile is in the southern hemisphere, right? So, when it's winter in a, it's summer in Chile. That means when cherries go out of season in a, you'll be the only one supplying them. You could domihe market."

  Vidal had been speechless.

  "Trust me, Arturo. This is a on-a-lifetime opportunity. We o move fast if we want to get in on it."

  From that moment, Vidal had been hooked. Even his teammates, like Sanchez and Vargas, had started showing i in the idea.

  Vargas had chimed in during one of their versations, "We've got blueberries and avocados in Peru. Do you hose in too?"

  "Absolutely," Gao Shen had said, already envisioning the possibilities. "We'll take them all. Wheime es, t me in."

  But Gao Shen had also made ohing clear: they had to focus on football first.

  "Right now, let's focus on pying well. You'll get your annual sary and your bonuses, and then we i in the farms. After you retire, you sit bad watch the profits roll in."

  The idea of being a wealthy ndowner, sipping wine and ting money, had left Vidal and his teammates more motivated than ever.

  And now, standing och at the San Paolo Stadium, Vidal could feel the weight of that dream pushing him forward.

  It wasn't just about football anymore. It was about seg his future.

  "e o's go!" Vidal shouted, g his fists and yelling to his teammates as they took their positions on the field.

  His sudden outburst caught some of the Napoli pyers by surprise, but they quickly rallied behind him, shouting their own encement.

  Ahead of them, i kicked off, sending the ball to Sanchez, who quickly passed it back to the defenders.

  Roma pressed high, trying to for error. Napoli attempted a long pass out from the back, but Chivu intercepted it easily. Roma immediately unched an attack.

  The ball was worked forward quickly. Totti dropped deep to receive the ball, but as soon as he did, he felt someoightly marking him.

  "Farm... winery... ndowner..." he vaguely heard someotering behind him.

  Totti was momentarily fused.

  What the hell?

  But before he could process what was happening, the ball was gone. He had been dispossessed by a sudden and forceful challenge.

  "Get up the pitch! Attack!" Vidal roared as he charged forward with the ball.

  Totti, still lying on the ground, looked up in shock.

  Is this guy s?