As expected, things wely as pnned. During the recovery training session the m, the young Napoli pyers were like they had been ied with adrenaline.

  This sudden shift in energy did not escape Guardio's notice, and he looked at Gao Shen with a newfound respect…

  No wohese young pyers were pletely in the palm of Gao Shen's hand, this teique…

  Gao Shen raised his eyebrows and looked at Guardio pyfully, as if to say: vinced?

  Guardio smiled wryly, admitti: "I'm done! Really impressed!"

  Gao Shen remained as calm as ever, watg Bueura oversee the recovery training from the sidelines.

  Ba his Real Madrid days, his team had already beed from this recovery training. And given that Napoli's squad was even youhe results were eveer than those at Real Madrid.

  After the session, Gao Shen gathered the pyers oraining field to deliver a brief speech. He touched on the current situation of the team and the skepticism surrounding Napoli from the outside world, encing his pyers to put in eveer performances.

  "Let's make sure everyone who doubts us shuts up!"

  Gao Shen's words clearly fired up the pyers even more.

  Youth is filled with passion, after all!

  But youth also es with its own challenges while it's easy to get excited, that excitement fade just as quickly.

  That's why Gao Shen had to keep pushing and maintaining trol from the sidelines.

  …

  Weekend, the fifteenth round of Serie B.

  Napoli pyed away against a. With two goals from i in the first half and another from Hamsik in the sed half, Napoli secured a 3-0 win, tinuing to lead the Serie B standings.

  Juventus, meanwhile, beat Verona 1-0 at home.

  …

  A week ter, in the sixteenth round of Serie B:

  Juventus tiheir home streak by defeating a 2-1.

  However, the Bianeri's offensive issues remained, and Deschamps once again publicly urged the club t in an attag midfielder and a speedy forward during the wiransfer window.

  Whether Secco would grant his request, though, remaio be seen.

  Back at home, Napoli managed a narrow 1-0 victory amidst relentless attacks.

  Mantova, the visiting team, deployed a defensive "park-the-bus" strategy at Stadio San Paolo, making it difficult for Napoli to break through.

  It turns out that lying ft and defending indeed be a powerful on.

  …

  With Christmas fast approag, Serie B saw a midweek round of games.

  In the seveh round, Napoli pyed at home and earned a 3-1 win over Brescia.

  The only downside was the partnership between Bonucd David Luiz, whice again allowed a goal. This left Gao Shen w if he should just kick these twue" defenders out of the lineup.

  Juventus also secured a 1-0 away win against Bologna.

  After this round, the Italian Football Federatiohe draw for the fifth round of the Coppa Italia in Rome.

  Unfortunately for Napoli, they were drawn against AS Roma the "Giallorossi."

  Roma, having just advao the Champions League round of 16, were certainly a formidable oppo.

  Gao Shen immediately instructed Lucas and the club's scoutiment to begin preparations for Roma.

  Luckily, both legs of the Coppa Italia match would take pce after the winter break, giving Gao Shen ample time to prepare.

  …

  December 22, the eighteenth round of Serie B.

  This was also the final match before the winter break.

  Napoli pyed away against Modena.

  Perhaps with the holidays in mind, Napoli's performance was ckluster.

  The defense was retively solid, but the attack was iive.

  The game ended in a 0-0 draw.

  tally, Juventus also stumbled in their match, drawing 2-2 at home against Arezzo.

  With that, all the pre-Christmas games came to an end.

  After 18 rounds of Serie B, Napoli had an impressive record of 16 wins, 1 draw, and 1 loss, standing atop the Serie B table with 49 points and seg the title of "half-season champion" ahead of time.

  Juventus followed closely behind in sed pce with 13 wins, 4 draws, and 1 loss. Their only loss was to Napoli. Despite a nine-poiion from their earlier sdal, they still had 34 points.

  Even with the points penalty, Juventus remained in sed pce.

  Behind them, Rimini and Piaza were tied for third with 33 points.

  Further down, Genoa and Bologna had 32 points, while Mantova had 30 points.

  From the standings, it was clear that Napoli erf exceptionally well. Only Juventus seemed to have the strength to pete with them, while the other Serie B teams were noticeably weaker.

  …

  After the eighteenth round, the team returo Naples.

  The day, as arranged by the club, the team visited hospitals, nursing homes, and kindergartens iy and surrounding areas. This gave the pyers an opportunity to feel the support of the local fans.

  This was a routi in Naples, especially with Christmas around the er.

  In the evening, club president De Laurentiis hosted a ba a hotel near Stadio San Paolo, inviting the coag staff and club employees to express his gratitude for their tributions to the team over the past few months.

  During the Christmas dinner, De Laurentiis once again reaffirmed the club's unwavering support fao Shen.

  "I won't say much more. Just remember that our top priority is to support the team, so you focus oches without any worries. That's the club's job!"

  De Laurentiis was clearly pleased with the team's performan the first half of the season, and he also stood behind Gao Shen's earlier decration about trying to win the Coppa Italia.

  "The st time we won the Coppa Italia was in 1987, when Maradona was still with our team."

  Having a club with such a storied history has its perks. Mentioning past glories always fill people with pride, as was the case with De Laurentiis at that moment.

  When Maradona's name was mentioned, everyone present couldn't help but show admiration some even in awe.

  Maradona was a legendary figure, no question about it!

  Especially for the South Ameri pyers ieam, they practically worshipped Maradona.

  "If we make it to the Coppa Italia final, I'll invite Diego to watch the game." De Laurentiis added, painting a big dream for the pyers.

  Although the ht not have been too realistic, the pyers responded enthusiastically heless.

  Afterward, general manager Marino gave a speech, primarily to expieam's reward system for the season.

  This was something Gao Shen had specifically requested.

  Clear rewards and punishments were essential.

  If a pyer performed well, they deserved to be rewarded. If the team wanted eveer performances, bonuses were a must.

  Even though Napoli was a Serie B team, its earnings this season were likely better than half the teams in Serie A.

  For ohe home attendance alone was something other teams couldn't match.

  This only underscored the importance of the local city.

  This is the foundation of European professional clubs.

  Marino's bonus structure was quite generous, especially the promotion bonus, which was very sihe pyers' reas were far more enthusiastid excited than when De Laurentiis spoke.

  After all, wasn't football all about making mo the end of the day?

  Once De Laurentiis and Marino had finished, it was time fao Shen to speak.

  In truth, he unicated with the pyers daily, so he had a clear idea of what was on their minds.

  Wheepped up, he didn't say much. Instead, he signaled for Lucas t something in.

  Lucas ehe room pushing a cart filled with gifts, immediately sparking curiosity among the pyers, who scrambled to stand a a closer look.

  "I told everyone before that if we were iop three by the halfoint of the season, I'd get you all new phones. But unfortunately, Steve Jobs' development process couldn't keep up with how fast we've been winning," Gao Shen joked, refereng Apple's founder.

  Many of the tech-savvy pyers quickly caught nizing the mention of Apple and ughing at the joke.

  De Laurentiis, Marino, and a few others, however, seemed slightly fused.

  De Laurentiis knew about Jobs as the former head of Pixar, but how did this ect to football?

  "To keep yetting bored over Christmas and causing trouble, the club has purchased the test PS3 game soles and games for you. Py to your heart's tent, and feel free to challenge me anytime," Gao Shen said fidently.

  When it came to football, Gao Shen knew he couldn't match these pyers. But video games? He was certain he could beat them all!

  Inwardly, Gao Shen had a moment of realization.

  Twitter, Weibo, and simir ptforms… why haven't they unched yet?

  Ohey did, he could post his victories online. Imagine challenging Ronaldo, Zidane, or Beckham, crushing them one by one in games, and posting the results online. He'd bee a massive celebrity!

  Once he became a top-tier i personality, the money would e rolling in. Just posting a single Weibo or Tweet could bring in huge profits.

  This was Napoli's Christmas gift to the pyers.

  Each pyer received a PS3 and the test games that had just been released in November.

  Pyers like avaro, who were a bit older, might not have been as excited. But the younger ones, like Di Maria and Pelle, had ao these gifts. Especially since Gao Shen had already bought two soles for the team's recreation room, specifically for them to py.

  Now, with each pyer getting their own, and it being the test model, they rushed forward eagerly, helping themselves without hesitation.

  This sight made De Laurentiis, Marino, Carlo, Bueura, and even Guardio realize something: Gao Shen truly uood the minds of these young pyers.

  Otherwise, why would these young people be so devoted to him?

  There's no denying the geion gap, whether you want to admit it or not.

  Take Carlo, Bueura, or even Guardio, for example they all had great retionships with the pyers, but there was still a sense of distance, a certain level of formality. It wasn't the same as the bond Gao Shen had with them.

  With Gao Shen, it was different. He was more than just their coach he was their friend.