Gao She like he was currently in the phase of a "ibal Demon King marg trasse." That much was clear from the Italian media's ce following Napoli's victory over Pisa.

  There wasn't mu-depth analysis of the match itself. Instead, most of the headlines were exaggerating a sense of panid suspense, portraying Gao Shen as a monstrous figure who had nded in Serie A to wreak havobsp;

  An 8-0 thrashing of a followed by a 3-0 win against Pisa meant that Napoli had captured the attention of many ahead of the season. The team was gaining a lot nition, even receiving praise from some of the more respected voices in Italian football.

  Sacchi, in his n, highlighted how important Gao Shen's adjustments were in the sed half against Pisa. He also he impressive depth of Napoli's bench.

  "I got to know Callejon during my time as teical director at Real Madrid, and I've heard of Parejo's reputation. Both pyers were top prospects at Real Madrid's youth academy, and under Gao Shen, they pyed an excellent match," Sacchi ented.

  The legendary coach articurly impressed by Parejo's lofted pass that led to one of the goals.

  "It ass full of imagination and showcased a different style for Napoli's attack, ohat adds a new yer of creativity to the team," Sacchi observed.

  He credited Gao Shen fing more creativity to Napoli's offensive py, especially through pyers like Parejo.

  However, most of the Italian media tio push the narrative of "The Fear of Gao Shen," with some even likening him to the Voldemort of Italian football—"He Who Must Not Be Named."

  "Their styles are simirly aggressive, relying on overwhelming power to subdue their oppos quickly," one publication pared.

  This narrative, in a way, admitted that Gao Shen was challenging the long-standing tactical does of Italian football and shaking the fidence of the nation's footballing identity.

  The panic being stoked by the media stemmed from one question: What happens to Italian football when its most cherished tactics start to show signs of being outdated?

  Gao Shen was an outsider, a fner who didn't care about preserving Italian football's traditions. His focus urely on leading Napoli to success, no matter the cost. If it meant tearing down the current system, so be it.

  Could the Italians recile with that?

  The Gazzetta dello Sport argued that even if Gao Shen's Napoli were to succeed, it would be of little be to Italian football because Napoli was an iional team.

  "Every league is rooted in its try's culture, and so is Serie A. This is something that her Gao Shen nor Napoli truly uand," the neer insisted.

  But Sacchi disagreed in his n. While he aowledged that both Gao Shen and Napoli were indeed iional in nature, he pointed out that the same could be said of Juventus, A, and Inter.

  "What this situation actually reveals is the underlying issues withialian youth academy system, and it's unfair to bme a young coad a young team for that."

  Sacchi saw Gao Shen and Napoli as a window through which the Italian football unity could glimpse the future of European football.

  "I've always advocated for ge, and what I want to stress is that Gao Shen and Napoli represent a glimpse into the evolving trends of modern football. They're showing us the way forward," Sacchi wrote.

  He cluded that the media was demonizing Gao Shen and Napoli because the team simply wasn't strong enough yet.

  "The truth is, if Napoli were truly dominant, there wouldn't be this kind of fear."

  Sacchi's statement hit the nail on the head.

  Gao Shen was looking forward to the day when, in his words, "His Majesty the Great Demon King would arrive to quer all of Paris." It was bound to be an iing spectacle.

  ---

  While the media outside was busy stirring up troversy, the atmosphere at Fort Volturno was different. Napoli's schedule acked, with double fixtures every week keeping everyone ooes.

  After the match against Pisa, the team returo Naples immediately and resumed training the m. There was little time to prepare for the game against Cagliari, and even less for specialized training sessions.

  Following a recovery session, the coag staff gathered in the office to prepare for the uping csh with Cagliari, a team that had barely escaped relegation st season. They had finished just one point above the drop zone, yet their roster was not without talent especially sidering that David Suazo, who had beeop pyer, had moved to Inter Min for a signifit fee this summer.

  Cagliari's head coach was Marco Giampaolo, a man who had just turned forty.

  Gao Shen's most vivid memory of him was as the future A coach, though Giampaolo's track record wasn't particurly impressive.

  However, what the general public saw was often just the tip of the iceberg. Anyone capable of coag a club like A clearly had more to them thahe eye.

  Giampaolo's career trajectory was indeed unique. He had never been an aplished pyer aired at the age of thirty. He then worked his in teams like Pescara and Treviso, usually serving as an assistant coach.

  Iingly, for various reasons, he struggled to obtain his coag lise for quite some time.

  In 2003, Giampaolo took on the assistant coach role at Ascoli under Argentine head coach Aldo Ammazzalorso. But when the head coach left, Giampaolo romoted to head coach—at least unofficially. Because he still cked a coag certificate, Ascoli's official head coach was sassimo Silva, while Giampaolo did all the actual coag.

  Despite the unventional arra, Giampaolo led Ascoli to an impressive seventh-pce finish in Serie B in his first season. When several Serie B teams struggled with financial difficulties aration issues, Ascoli ended up being promoted to Serie A through a series of fortunate circumstahat seemed almost too good to be true.

  It was as if fate or perhaps even diviervention was determio see Ascoli in Serie A. The series of events was so improbable that even the most imaginative football s would hesitate to write such a story.

  But fate didn't stop there. Asao secure a respectable 12th pce finish in Serie A that season, defying all expectations. Giampaolo's reputation soared, and he was eventually hired by Cagliari.

  However, Cagliari's ma was fickle, and after a string of poor results, Giampaolo was fired in December only to be rehired by February, leading the team to avation.

  ---

  Giampaolo's career was indeed a curious o was hard not to wonder whether he was, as some joked, god's illegitimate son.

  However, despite his ups and downs, Giampaolo clearly had the skills to coach at a high level. Leading Ascoli to 12th in Serie A was no small feat.

  Last season, Cagliari had only mao score 35 goals, the fewest in the league, but they were solid defensively, g just 46 goals, the eighth-best record in Serie A.

  Thirteen of those goals were ceded during the eight games coached by Franba, who briefly repced Giampaolo. If one disregarded those eight matches, Cagliari's defense under Giampaolo was one of the most formidable in the league.

  This season, with Suazo and a few other attackers gone, Cagliari had brought in younger pyers like Larrivey, Matri, and Acquafresca, shifting to a different offeyle. Despite the ges, the team's focus remained on defense.

  The bae was unged from st season, and they added two experienced midfielders: Fini, who arrived on a free transfer frated Ascoli, and Foggia, who was on loan from Lazio. Both pyers were familiar to Giampaolo from his time at Ascoli.

  It was evident that Cagliari was looking to make a statement this season, and it was almost certain that they would employ a deferategy against Napoli.

  Therefore, the key to Napoli's victory would be finding a way to break down Cagliari's defense.