"Cough!"

  With a sigh, Gao Shen patted the club's young press officer on the shoulder.

  The puy had done his best.

  It wasn't that the press officer cked ability; the real issue was that the opposition didn't py by the rules.

  Gao Shen had e to realize that the Italian media seemed dead set on casting him as a vilin. They were determio exaggerate and twist his words to stir up troversy, further intensifying the situation.

  For instance, when Gao Shen said that Ventura had won many championships, it was a factual statemeura indeed had a long list of titles. But how did the media spin it?

  They framed Gao Shen's ent as a sneer, implying that Ventura's championships were insignifit pared to Gao Shen's own La Liga, Champions League, and Serie B titles.

  Some publications even fabricated quotes, attributing words to Gao Shen like, "I won the Serie B st season, did you?"

  How could that not provoke backsh?

  Another example was when Gao Shen said that Ventura had extensive coag experiehe media interpreted this as mockery, insinuating that Ventura's long career was full of failures, with few aplishments to show for it.

  Even Gao Shen's pliment about Ventura's performa season with Verona, stating that Ventura had earned respect for keeping the team in Serie B, was twisted into a slight. They highlighted that leading a team to avation was the peak of Ventura's coag career, while Gao Shen had won the league title in the same petition.

  No matter what Gao Shen said, the media distorted his words into something else, turning every pliment into sarcasm.

  At this point, all Gao Shen could do was sigh. He felt like an uneducated man trying to navigate a world where the rules were written by others.

  The media truly were masters of manipution.

  ---

  Iy, Gao Shen wasn't all that ed about Ventura and Pisa.

  From what he remembered, Pisa wasly a powerhouse. I years, they hadn't even been close to Serie A, which meant their strength likely wasn't suffit for a promotion push.

  Of course, Gao Shen couldn't be sure whether his presen this world had already caused some ges, but based on the scouti from Lucas and his analysis team, Pisa wasn't particurly threatening.

  Ventura's side primarily pyed a 4-4-2 formation, though during attacks, the wingers would push higher up the pitch. If anyone had seeure Italian national team under Ventura, they would find this setup familiar; it was essentially a 4-2-4 formation with aggressive wing py.

  In their previous victory over Brescia, Alessio Cerci had been a game-ger, ing off the bench to help turch around. It was almost certain that he would start against Napoli, and Gao Shen knew he o keep an eye on Cerci.

  Ventura's teams were known for their crosses from wide areas, so Napoli had to make some defensive adjustments accly.

  However, rotation was necessary for this match sinapoli had their Serie A debut just around the er. It was crucial to win that game, especially si was a home fixture.

  Therefore, some key pyers would o rest in this Coppa Italia game. Otherwise, the pyers would end up pying three matches within a week—a workload that was hardly sustainable.

  Not to mention, the third round of the Coppa Italia would take p the middle of week, followed by the sed round of Serie A that weekend.

  The packed schedule was nothing short of a nightmare.

  Bme the Italian Football Federation and Juventus!

  ---

  While the pyers were resting and enjoying their free time, some pying games, others watg movies or chatting Gao Shen and his coag staff were busy analyzing Pisa's tactid Ventura's coag style.

  As they reviewed their notes, a otioed in the recreation room.

  "Are you kiddihis is absurd!" shouted David Luiz, who had been browsing the test news online.

  "What's going on?" asked Handanovic, who was nearby.

  "Look at this," David Luiz said, gesturing to the puter s. "They've pletely twisted the boss's words. It's like they're trying to start a fight on purpose."

  His voice was loud enough to draw the attention of everyone in the room. Soon, a crowd of pyers gathered around the monitor, reading the news articles in disbelief.

  The pyers had been aware that Gao Shen would be doing a pre-match press ference. Many of them had even joked about how it robably the most diplomatic they had ever seen him behave, with every word sounding polite arained. Yet, the media had taken those remarks and spun them into somethiirely different.

  As the pyers read through the ce, they became increasingly ed.

  "These journalists are unbelievable! Anything for a headline, I guess," one pyer said.

  "This is exactly why you 't py h the media. They're out to get us," added another.

  "It's like they've got something against us against Napoli and the boss."

  "Of course they do," a teammate chimed in. "If we do well, the big clubs won't look so mighty anymore. They don't want us to succeed."

  "Just look at our average age. We're the youeam in Serie A and probably all of Italy. If we actually perform well, those so-called big teams will have no excuse."

  The pyers tio vent their frustrations, with more and more of them joining the discussion. Even those who had been pying games or watg movies gathered around, each of them looking increasingly annoyed.

  Captain Montevino observed the se and couldn't help but feel a sense of pride.

  Gao Shen clearly had the full support of his squad. The pyers genuinely respected him and wouldn't stand idly by while he was misrepresented by the media.

  "Alright, enough," Montevino said, raising his voice to get their attention. "We've known the media's bias against us for a while now. This isn't new."

  His words calmed the pyers down, if only a little.

  "Exactly," he tinued. "Our coach is young, already a double champion at Real Madrid, and stantly in the spotlight. The Italian media loves to ride on his fame for clicks and sales."

  As the room quieted, David Luiz voiced what mahinking. "But it's getting worse. They're not even hiding it anymore."

  "Yeah, it's like they don't care if people see through their bias," another pyer added.

  "Talking about journalistic ethics with these guys is like talking to a brick wall," a teammate replied.

  "There should be a limit to how far they go," someone else said.

  "Ha! If you think the media has limits, you're just fooling yourself," came the response.

  Montevino stepped in again. "Listen, guys, all this arguing won't ge anything."

  Silence fell over the room.

  He was right. What could they do?

  "If you really want to help the boss, there's a simple way," Montevino said, looking each pyer in the eye. "Just go out there, py better than ever, and crush whoever stands in our way. Let our performances speak for themselves."

  The pyers nodded in agreement.

  Most of them were in their early twenties, full of youthful energy and idealism. They looked up to Gao Shen not just as a coach, but as a mentor and a leader. The thought of him being treated unfairly made their blood boil.

  The solution was clear.

  They were going to take out their frustrations och.

  ---

  With the pre-match drama surrounding the media's ce, Gao She slightly awkward when he finally met Ventura before the game.

  The experiealian coach was clearly not thrilled to see him either. A man of siderable pride, Ventura had likely been swayed by the media's portrayal of Gao Shen as a disrespectful upstart.

  The two exged a quick handshake before heading back to their respective benches.

  As expected, Ventura set up his Pisa team in a 4-4-2 formation, with the wingers pushing higher up the pitch when attag. Alessio Cerci was iarting on the right fnk, tasked with exploiting the wide areas.

  Gao Shen immediately called over Dossena, instrug him to be vigint in his defeies, especially against Cerci. He also reminded both Dossena and Lichtsteio be mindful of crosses, while Bonucd David Luiz were told to stay alert in the ter.

  For this match, Gao Shen opted for a 4-3-3 formation. Thiago Motta pyed as the holding midfielder, with Biglia and Vidal ahead of him. Up front, Callejon, Pelle, aens formed the attag trio.

  ---

  Ventura's tactical expertise was evident from the start.

  Despite being the away team, Napoli tried to impose their usual high-pressing, fast-paced style. But Pisa's defense held firm, their formation well-anized and pact. The pyers worked tirelessly to close down space, with the forwards dropping back to support the midfield.

  For the first half, Napoli struggled to break through. The rotation in the lineup meant that the team's rhythm was a bit off, aura's side made the most of it, keeping the score at 0-0.

  Gao Shen shook his head and chuckled as the halftime whistle blew.

  From the other bench, Ventura noticed Gao Shen's rea and grinned.

  "I told you," he said to his assistant. "Napoli's not as unstoppable as everyohinks. Keep the liight, stay disciplined, and they don't have many answers."

  The veteran coach had one more trick up his sleeve.

  If the game remained scoreless in the sed half, he po unleash a surprise tactic to catapoli off guard.