ioli is out of a job?!

  After the game, Gao Sheo the visiting team's locker room to celebrate with his pyers and then attehe post-match press ference. Before he even sat down, he heard the shog news.

  Though he had joked before that Pioli was the kind of coach who would be dismissed mid-season, it was only December wasn't this too early?

  Then again, it wasn't too surprising for a coach to lose his job. . .

  Parma's strength was undeniable; they had won four secutive matches in the UEFA Cup, so they weren't a weak team by any means. However, the fact that they were struggling in Serie A was indisputable. Sitting in the relegation zohere were certainly issues withieam. At least when Pioli was juggling multiple petitions, there were bound to be problems with how he managed his squad.

  Still, the timing and manner of his dismissal were a bit harsh.

  Gao Shen couldn't help but ponder. He had just knocked Parma out of the Coppa Italia with a 4-0 victory, and Pioli was fired right after. Would Pioli hold a grudge against him for starting his career as a "midway coach"?

  When Pioli eventually coaches A, would people say: "Pioli? Oh, I remember! The coach who got beaten by Gao Shen so badly that he lost his job!"

  Damn, that would be quite a legacy.

  Even though Gao Shen was secretly amused, he maintained a calm demeanor and even genuinely defended Pioli.

  Gao Shen said that Pioli was a very capable coad that Parma should have given him more trust and support.

  "Of course, I don't deny that Parma has problems right now, but I believe Pioli could have solved them."

  Gao Shen also hihat Parma's core issues didn't lie with Pioli. After all, wheook over, the team was already in a tough spot. As head coach, Pioli had limited trol over certain things.

  The implication? Pioli was being scapegoated.

  And this wasn't just Gao Shen's opinion many agreed.

  Everyone knew about Parma's ckluster summer transfer window. Who didn't know what had gone wrong?

  If Parma's transfers had been solid, would avaro and Marne have opted to py in Serie B instead of the UEFA Cup?

  Would they have gone crazy?

  But there was no esg the fact that head coaches are often bmed for a team's failures.

  The problem was, this dismissal wasn't handled with much dignity.

  Gao Shen sympathized with Pioli, believing that Parma's ma could have ha better.

  Being dismissed? Sure, that es with the job. You agree to the role knowing that if things don't go well, you'll eventually be let go.

  But could they have do more detly? Maybe tomorrow or the day after?

  Did they really have to be so impatient?

  …

  After speaking up for Pioli, Gao Shen refocused the discussion on Napoli.

  He expressed satisfa with both the result and the process of the game, saying it was fwless.

  "The pyers executed the tactics we set up before the game to perfe."

  Reag the quarter-finals of the Coppa Italia is no easy task for a Serie B team.

  Though there were still fames left, it seemed likely that Napoli would be the only Serie B team to advao the quarter-finals of the Coppa Italia, and Gao Shen was very proud of that.

  "I want to say that my pyers deserve this honor; they've performed exceptionally well!"

  As for the team's future goals, Gao Shen said there weren't any specific requirements.

  Napoli was already tent with reag the quarter-finals of the Coppa Italia. From here, the team would try to advance further, but no specific targets had bee, as that wouldn't be realistic.

  "I'll say this: tonight's game gave us all a huge boost in fidence."

  "Before tonight, many of our key victories were at home, and there were doubts from outsiders about our ability. But tonight, at the Stadio Ennio Tardini, we proved our strength with a win."

  "This will make us even more fident! We now believe we defeat any future oppos!"

  "Where do you want to take this team?"

  "Haha, I haven't thought that far ahead yet. Does winning the championship t? The Coppa Italia championship?"

  Gao Shen asked this in a joking tone, but the press feren immediately fell silent.

  Champion?

  The Coppa Italia champion?

  A Serie B team aiming to win the Coppa Italia? Were they serious?

  Gao Shen, sitting oage, observed the reas in the room. Having achieved his desired effect, he ehe press feren a timely manner.

  …

  The day, Italian media outlets exploded with ce of the Coppa Italia fourth-round matches.

  Particurly, the headlines focused on how Gao Shen led Napoli to a 2-0 victory over Parma, both home and away, seg their p the round.

  Most notably, Gao Shen had boldly procimed after the match that he wao win the championship.

  "We have the fideo defeat all future oppos!"

  "I want the Coppa Italia title!"

  The media, of course, didn't repao Sheire speely two sentences were highlighted.

  The first sentence, "We have the fideo defeat all future oppos," came across as arrogant and provocative, as though he were challenging all the top Italian teams.

  The sed sentence, "I want the Coppa Italia title," revealed his ambitions, directly targeting the championship.

  If a strong Serie A team had said this, it wouldn't have caused a stir. But Gao Shen was coag a newly-promoted Serie B team! Wasn't this just a joke?

  When Napoli ehe Italian football se as an ued tehe mainstream Italian media didn't take kindly to it.

  In the words of De Laurentiis, the media in northern Italy and Rome had a poor opinion of Naples.

  Especially after Napoli's 5-0 demolition of Juventus, the media in Turin and Mi into a frenzy.

  How could this be allowed?

  Napoli was like an outsider crashing into their party. Despite being praised in some circles, they were also heavily criticized.

  For servative Italians, Gao Shen and Napoli's rise made them unfortable.

  Earlier in the season, when Napoli defeated Bologna, many media outlets criticized Gao Shen for not showing respect to Ulivieri, Bologna's coach.

  Gao Shen was baffled by this. Ulivieri might be the mentor to many Italian coaches, but not to him. Why should he have to show special respect? Besides, all he did was win. Was that really so disrespectful?

  If Ulivieri's students were everywhere in Italian football, should no one ever dare to challenge him iure?

  But based on the underlyiiment from the Italian media, it seemed local coaches could win, but fn coaches couldn't.

  This gave Gao Shen quite a headache.

  Now, after Napoli eliminated Parma and Pioli was sacked, some of the bme was ily pced on Gao Shen.

  Why?

  Because you beat Parma so badly! That's why Pioli lost his job!

  As for the fact that Gao Shen defended Pioli in the press ferehe media vely ighat.

  Additionally, they criticized Gao Shen for his bold cims about defeating all future oppos and winning the Coppa Italia, saying he was tant.

  "As a newly-promoted Serie B team, reag the quarter-finals of the Coppa Italia is indeed impressive. But Gao Sheo stay grounded and uand that the remaining teams are the stro in Italian football."

  Some TV pundits even directly criticized Gao Shen during broadcasts.

  "Arrogant! Does he really think there's no o in Italian football?"

  ht, the media went wild!

  …

  "Don't let their harsh criticism fool you. If I lose my job, they'll be the ones g the hardest," Gao Shen said with a wry smile as he skimmed through the test headlines.

  Apart from a few small local papers in Naples, like La Repubblica, major sports outlets such as Gazzetta dello Sport and Tuttosport all ned Gao Shen's ents, calling them inappropriate.

  Faced with the avanche of criticism, Gao Shen reflected briefly, but ultimately didn't think he'd said anything wrong.

  This was a cssic media trick.

  They take things out of text, cherry-pick a few of your words, and accuse you based on that.

  The frustrating part? You 't deny it because, teically, you did say those things.

  "But why do I feel like you khis was going to happen?" Guardio teased.

  Even though he hadn't known Gao Shen for long, Pep had a strong sehat Gao Shen wouldn't make such a mistake by act.

  Was he really just having fun?

  Lucas, who was standing nearby, almost burst out ughing, making Guardio even more fused.

  "Pep, he did it on purpose."

  "On purpose?" Guardio asked, surprised but quickly realizing it made sense.

  "The media wants to use him for sales and hype. Gao Shen wants to use the media to motivate his pyers. He's iionally setting a higher target for the team!" Lucas chuckled.

  His admiration fao Shen tio grow.

  Not only was Gao Shen tactically brilliant, but his skill in dealing with the media was also top-notch.

  Gao Shen smiled, saying nothing. He had indeed p this way.

  Setting goals for the team had to be realistic, but just out of reach like hanging a carrot in front of a donkey, making them believe they could grab it if they kept moving forward. This was the best form of motivation.

  Napoli's squad was full of pyers in their early twehe prime age for rapid improvement.

  To put it bluntly, they o be pushed to their limits, squeezing out every st bit of potential.

  And what were young pyers afraid of?

  Who cared if they faced strong Serie A teams?

  They weren't scared of anything!

  So what if they're top Serie A teams?

  We'll take them all down!

  You look down on Napoli, huh?

  We'll show you we're strohan all of you!

  Uhis kind of mi, Gao Shen told his pyers that Napoli could defeat any oppo and even aimed straight for the Coppa Italia title.

  The media's skepticism? Gao Shen had anticipated that long ago.

  No problem. If they didn't question him, that would be the real issue.

  Who would believe a Serie B team could win the Coppa Italia?

  Up against European giants like Min and Roma could Napoli really beat them?

  Gao Shen wahe doubt. In fact, the more they questioned him, the happier he was.

  Could these young Napoli pyers ighe outside doubts?

  The louder the he more motivated the young team would bee.

  Who wasn't like that in their youth?

  As for how far Napoli could go, who knew?

  Anyone who has been in the professional world uands this: A leader who doesn't dare to boast a little isn't much of a leader.

  The key isn't just boasting, but whether you actually turn those boasts into reality.