"In the first leg, did ye for Perrotta to get that yellow card?"

  Spalletti's words, sharp as a bde, came dangerously close to Gao Shen's throat. In that split sed, tless thoughts raced through Gao Shen's mind. He analyzed the situation from all angles and explored every possible response. Finally, he fshed a fident smile at Spalletti.

  This was a loaded question.

  Gao Shen's initial impulse was to deny everything: "I didn't, stop making things up."

  But such a denial would sound weak and unving.

  So, how should he answer?

  He dissected Spalletti's question to its core: why alletti even asking this?

  The truth was, Spalletti was seeking soce.

  He wanted a reason to believe and for the world to believe that Roma lost because they were missing their key midfielder, Perrotta. Without him, Roma's midfield crumbled, leading to their catastrophic defeat.

  In this way, Roma's humiliation wouldn't seem quite so devastating.

  Spalletti would still face criticism, but the blow would be softened. People might even sympathize with him.

  After all, it was true that Roma's lineup had fws, and the Coppa Italia's rule about suspensions after two yellow cards was unfair.

  Spalletti could fort himself by saying, "I didn't lose to Gao Shen, I didn't lose to Napoli, I lost to a yellow card!"

  But what about Gao Shen?

  If the Italian media tched onto this, Gao Shen would be painted as a vilin a devious tacti who maniputed the rules. spiracy theories would run rampant, and his victory would be tainted.

  That was uable.

  As a fident, optimistid realistic young man of the new era, Gao Shen wasn't about to give Spalletti that ce. Instead, he smiled fidently.

  "With or without Perrotta's yellow card, the result would've been the same," Gao Shen said with a casual ugh.

  Theurned and walked away.

  Behind him, Spalletti felt a hundredfold sting, as if the blood had drained from his face. He nearly colpsed on the spot.

  After the game, Gao Shen celebrated with his pyers at the Stadio San Paolo.

  Club President De Laurentiis and General Manager Marino also desded from the stands to gratute the team on their moal victory.

  They showered the pyers with encement and praise.

  For a Serie B team to reach the Coppa Italia semifinals was truly remarkable.

  And sidering Napoli was currently first in Serie B, this aplishment was even more impressive.

  De Laurentiis said many hings, but something seemed off to Gao Shen.

  Why was the boss's voice so hoarse?

  Could it be that he had gotten too excited during the game, shouting himself hoarse as the team kept sg?

  As for Marino, he looked defted, like a dried-out sprout. He smiled, but it was forced, as if he had just been hit by a hurrie.

  Something was definitely strange!

  But Gao Shen didn't dwell on it, fog instead on his team.

  Administrative matters weren't his .

  While Napoli celebrated, news of their 6-0 thrashing of Roma spread like wildfire, shaking Italian and European football alike even before the final whistle had blown.

  From the media to the fans, from bookmakers to rival teams, no one could believe Roma had been humiliated so thhly. They had been utterly dismantled.

  How could this be possible?

  Roma was the sed-best team in Serie A! Even Inter Min, the top team, couldn't beat them 6-0. How did a Serie B team like Napoli mahis?

  At first, people thought the news was fake.

  It had to be fake!

  But as more reports firmed the result, the shock turo disbelief.

  Italian football was in an uproar.

  Napoli beats Roma 6-0?!

  Are you sure the score wasn't reversed?

  This was a matchup between a Serie B team and one of the stroeams in Serie A!

  But as more detailed reports came out, everyone began to uand what had happened during the matd they were even more stunned.

  Roma had been thhly dominated, with almost no ability to fight back. While they did create a few dangerous moments, they couldn't score. Meanwhile, Napoli had taken nearly 12 shots on target, and sg six goals didn't seem like an exaggeration.

  One fan posted online: "Is Roma's defense made of paper?"

  Yes, was it paper?

  How else could they have colpsed like that?

  Roma was sed in Serie A, with a defense equal to Inter Min's. A team like that couldn't possibly have such a weak defense.

  So, if their defense wasn't made of paper, what happened? Did Roma just not try hard enough?

  That didn't make seher.

  Looking at the starting lineups, Roma fielded all their key pyers. Except for Perrotta, who was suspended, every starter was there especially their bae.

  So, why did they lose so badly?

  Match-fixing!

  It had to be match-fixing!

  Otherwise, how could Roma have lost so embarrassingly?

  This theory quickly gaira online and resonated with viewers who had watched the live broadcast and sports highlights afterward.

  It was the only expnation that made sense for such a shog result.

  Yet, amidst all the spiracy theories, no one was willing to admit the most obvious truth: Napoli had pyed exceptionally well.

  As the most vocal advocate fao Shen, Arrigo Sacchi made sure to call Gao Shen after the game and then rushed back to his hotel to write.

  That very night, his article ublished on Gazzetta dello Sport's official website.

  In his matalysis, Sacchi once again praised Napoli's advaactical py, calling the game a perfect representation of modern football.

  "Napoli's potential is enormous, but in terms of immediate strength, both offensively and defensively, they're still behind Roma especially their right side, which remains a gring weakness. This is Napoli's biggest for the future."

  However, Sacchi argued that the reason for such a lopsided scoreline was Napoli's tactical brilliahey pletely domihe midfield, which allowed them to dismantle Roma's attad defense.

  "Napoli's pressing and terattacks were devastating. Every turnover was followed by an attack that Roma simply couldn't handle. Meanwhile, Roma's disjointed py meant that their only real threats came from le shots, g any effective offerategy."

  Sacchi cluded that this was a tactical victory fao Shen.

  "Despite being outmatched in terms of overall strength and ing off a 1-2 loss in the first leg, Gao Shen engineered a stunning 6-0 win that has sent shockwaves through Italian and European football."

  Sacchi called for Italian football to study this game carefully, emphasizing that it held valuable lessons.

  "A Serie B team, 6-0, crushing one of Serie A's top teams this is nothing short of a miracle!"

  ...

  Sacchi's n sparked widespread debate, primarily tered on advaactid strategies.

  As more time passed, more details about the match emerged.

  At the post-match press ference, Roma coach Spalletti, visibly disappointed, admitted that his team had been overwhelmed by an "alien attack."

  "We pletely lost trol of the game," Spalletti said. "We were forced to py by Napoli's rules. We couldablish any rhythm or impose our own ideas. Every time we tried to attack, it felt like we were just giving Napoli more ces to score."

  Spalletti refrained from mentionita's yellow card, likely because Gao Shen had already dismissed it as irrelevant. Bringing it up again would've been embarrassing.

  However, Spalletti did cede that Roma lost the midfield battle.

  "Napoli's midfield looked like it was made up of only three pyers, but iy, it was five or even six at times. The two wingers often dropped back, and even the left-back would push into the midfield."

  Spalletti aowledged that Napoli pyed fluid, dynamic football, with pyers stantly switg positions.

  "Usually, when pyers leave their designated areas, the formation bees disanized, but Napoli mao stay cohesive throughout."

  In Spalletti's vieoli ying a whole new brand of football, seamlessly bining offense and defense.

  This only highlighted Roma's inadequacies that night. If Napoli wasn't strong, then what did that say about Roma, who lost 0-6?

  Spalletti's post-matents stirred much discussion.

  Previously, when Napoli had beaten Juventus, Parma, and Ascoli, many doubted the team's abilities, dismissing them as merely a side that could py attag football. Critics asked, " they really keep this up against stroeams?"

  But this time was different. Napoli hadn't just beaten ahey had crushed Roma, a team sed in Serie A, a team on par with Inter Min.

  And they didn't just beat them they sughtered them, 6-0!

  What kind of statement does that make?

  Suddenly, all doubts were silenced.

  Because, faced with such a decisive scorelihere was no questioning Napoli's legitimacy. The real question was now about the strength of Serie A itself.

  What Sacchi said could be dismissed as fanboy praise, but what about Spalletti's post-matents? Could anyone ighose?

  For the first time, Italian football from the media to the fans had to aowledge that Napoli had won vingly.

  But there was still resistance.

  Was there really no one in Italian football who could stop Gao Shen and his Napoli?

  Were they truly going to sit bad watch as a 26-year year-old young man, with a team of pyers mostly around 20 years old, domihe so-called "small World Cup" and dismantled all the proud pilrs of Italian football?

  Could this really be happening?

  Napoli's stunning 6-0 victory over Roma was not just a win. It was a statement. It was a decration that the ndscape of Italian football was shifting dramatically.

  And leading the charge was Gao Shen, the young coach who had taken a team from Serie B and turhem into giant killers, defying all expectations.

  The Italian football world was now left with only one question:

  Who could stop Napoli and their fearless young coach?