As Gao Shen chatted with Guardio, Lucas finished his phone call and walked back with a broad smile on his face.

  Seeing Lucas's expression, Gao Shen couldn't help but ask, "What's going on?"

  "You're right, Pioli is an ho man," Lucas replied with a ugh.

  Stefano Pioli, currently the head coach of Parma, had spent most of his career coag youth teams. He had a det run st season in Serie B with Modena, nearly getting the team promoted to Serie A.

  Due to his solid performance, Pioli was recruited by Parma to coach their Serie A team ahem in the UEFA Cup.

  But why did Gao Shen call him an ho man?

  The answer was simple: Pioli had taken on a thankless job managing Parma this season, which was like falling into a pit. Even the best coach would struggle to make things work at the club.

  This had bee increasingly clear as the seasressed.

  Do you knoarma's goal for this season was?

  Despite peting in the UEFA Cup, their public goal was relegation survival. Yes, that's right staying out ation was their primary objective.

  Many people were shocked. How could a club pying in European petition aim to avation? It didn't make se first.

  But a look at Parma's summer transfer window expined everything.

  Their main goalkeeper Frey was sold to Fiorentina, Bonera went to A, Simplicio and Breso both joined Palermo, and their primary ter-back avaro now pys under Gao Shen at Napoli.

  Even Mar for Juventus.

  So, it wasn't hard to uand why pyers like Fabio avaro's younger brother, Paolo, preferred a move to Serie B with Napoli rather than stay at Parma. The team was a sinking ship, stripped of most of its quality pyers.

  The few signings Parma made were mostly free transfers, like Kutuzov and Paci. It was clear they were looking for budget options and were prepared for a tough season.

  In this text, fighting relegation wasn't just a possibility; it was a grim reality.

  ...

  "I've asked around, and Parma's main objective is indeed very pragmatic: survive in Serie A and go as far as possible in the UEFA Cup," Lucas said.

  From the start of the season, Pioli's Parma had focused more on the UEFA Cup than Serie A. This was evident in their domestic league struggles.

  "Just today, Parma pyed away at Messina and drew 2-2. They were leading by two goals but then ceded twice to let Messina equalize. What's more, they used tini and Paci as their mairal defenders," Lucas tinued.

  "Kutuzov, Morfeo, and Budan, the core of their attag lineup, also pyed full minutes."

  Hearing this, Gao Shen couldn't help but chuckle, "He really is an ho maelling us straight that he doesn't pn to go all out in the Coppa Italia."

  Guardio ughed too, seeing the humor iuation.

  "It's probably because he has no choice. Parma's stu the relegation zone, and they're fag Inter Mi weekend. Losing that match would drop them even further dowable. Pioli 't afford to take risks," Guardio added.

  Sometimes, a head coach simply doesn't have any good options.

  ...

  Why did Gao Shen call Pioli an ho man?

  Because befao Shen crossed over to this life, Pioli was coag A.

  Pioli's early career was far from smooth. In the 12 years before taking over at Min, he had coached ten different teams. During that time, he was sacked five times and forced tn once, earning him the reputation of a "mid-table coach" someone who ed long at any club.

  Rossoneri fans even ed a term for his type: the "caretaker coach."

  But uedly, Pioli found great success at A, ging the perception people had of him. He went from being seen as an unlucky, unremarkable coach to a beloved figure who revived Min.

  In other words, Pioli had always been a capable coach, but his hoy and humility ofteo him being taken advantage of or uimated.

  He had the unfortue of being an ho man in a world that often rewards the ing.

  And that's why Gao Shen said that Pioli is too ho.

  If Gao Shen or other "clever" coaches were in Pioli's shoes, they would never have taken the Parma job, especially knowing it was such a mess. They would have waited for a better opportunity rather than ruin their reputati to rescue a sinking ship.

  But Pioli was different. His siy and professionalism often worked against him.

  ...

  "Who's your arget?" Lucas asked with a curious grin.

  Both Lucas and Guardio could tell that Gao Shen to something mischievous. The pyful smile on his face said it all.

  Feigning a serious expression, Gao Shen replied, "What are you talking about? Do I look like someone who would harm others?"

  her Luuardio answered, but the look on their faces said enough.

  Yes, you absolutely do.

  Gao Shen ughed, "Pep, be careful around Lucas. He'll corrupt you!"

  Ohey had fialking about Parma's dition, Gao She reassured.

  It was clear that Pioli had no iion of throwing everything into the Coppa Italia csh against Napoli. His team had already exhausted itself over the weekend, and the match against Inter loomed rge.

  For Parma, the best possible result would be a draw at San Paolo, allowing them to go all out iur home.

  But Gao Shen wasn't going to let that happen.

  Would Pioli dare to attack?

  Gao Shen seriously doubted it. Pioli was too cautious, too defensive by nature.

  "Starting tomorrow, we focus on attack!"

  ...

  Parma's situation was less than ideal, but their performances in the UEFA Cup had been endable, leading many to believe that they could give Napoli a tough game.

  The Italian media, in particur, were leaning towards Parma's ces. Despite Napoli's solid victory over Ascoli, many pundits argued that Parma was a different caliber of oppo.

  But in the midst of all the media chatter, Gao Shen kly what he was doing.

  When interviewed by loaples media, Gao Shen heaped praise on Pioli's Parma, initiating what Lucas referred to as Operation Embarrassment.

  Gao Shen praised Parma's three-game winning streak in the UEFA Cup, emphasizing how petitive they were in European football. He painted a picture of Parma as a formidable oppo with the skills and quality to take on anyone.

  "If I were Pioli, I'd be too embarrassed to py defensive terattacks after hearing what you said!" Lucas remarked with a ugh.

  "You're basically telling them how amazing they are and daring them to py attag football," Guardio added.

  It was a clever psychological trick. Gao Shehat if he publicly praised Parma as a top-css team, it would put pressure on Pioli not to py defensively, even though that arma's best ce of seg a result.

  Gao Shen didn't stop there. He made sure to emphasize that Napoli would **not** ge their aggressive, attag approach, even against a team as formidable as Parma.

  "Yes, Parma is very petitive in Europe, but we are not afraid of such oppos," Gao Shen told reporters. "We hope Parma e to San Paolo and py a very attag game, so ut on a great show for the fans."

  In other words, he was daring Parma to open up and attaapoli, knowing full well that this would be to his advantage.

  ...

  In the lead-up to the game, Gao Shen prepared his team with utmost caution, having learned his lesson from the Juventus match. While he inteo stick to his usual attag style, he also made sure his team was well-prepared for every possible sario.

  He believed that Parma, with a weakened lineup and a rotation-heavy squad, would resort to defeactid terattacks.

  And just as Gao Shen had anticipated, when he received Parma's starting lineup on match day, he immediately burst into ughter.

  "They're using the 4-3-2-1 Christmas tree formation!"

  Pioli had doly what Gao Shen expected.

  "He really is such a good man!" Gao Shen excimed in front of his coag staff.

  "I like him!"

  The room filled with ughter.

  "Okay, let's get ready to attack!"