Chapter 220: Chapter 220: The Achilles' Heel of Naples
"What I want to tell you is that in modern football tactics, when it comes to attack and defense, having one more defender than the attacking players is not always enough to ensure stability. Usually, two extra defenders are needed to make sure the defense holds strong."
"But that's for other teams. For our attacking players in Naples, I don't think two extra defenders are enough. I believe you all have the ability to break through even tougher defenses..."
After the recovery training in the morning, Gao Shen held a summary and analysis meeting for the players.
He conveyed everything he had discussed with the coaching staff, explaining the analysis and tactical insights. At the same time, Gao Shen emphasized his belief in the players. He believed Napoli's offense was extremely powerful, and the individual talent on the team was impressive.
If other teams could handle a three-vs-four attack, then Napoli could manage three-vs-five, or even three-vs-six.
With players like Gervinho, Di Maria, Cavani, Sánchez, and Pelle, Gao Shen felt confident about any combination of his attacking trio. Each of these players had strong individual abilities and complementary traits that worked together perfectly.
The Napoli players admired Gao Shen. At this point, no matter what plan or tactics Gao Shen implemented, they followed him without question. Especially after their 1-2 loss to Roma in the first leg, it felt like all of Italy was celebrating and rooting for their downfall.
It was as if the whole country wanted to see Napoli lose!
However, this only fueled the young players' determination.
Why does everyone think we have to lose?
Why can't a Serie B team beat Roma?
If we can destroy Juventus 5-0, why can't we do the same to Roma?
…
Gao Shen's aim was to fully ignite the players' fighting spirit and belief. He wanted them to have absolute confidence that they could defeat Roma at the Stadio San Paolo. Not only that, but he wanted them to believe they could score three goals against the Roman side.
And, as it turned out, both the coaching staff and the players bought into Gao Shen's plan.
Why? Because the Italian Football Association had issued a notification early that morning: Perrotta was suspended due to yellow card accumulation.
This was a key part of Gao Shen's strategy from the first leg.
In the coming days, Napoli would continue to practice their tactics for the second leg against Roma. Whether it was the attacking patterns up front or the defensive structure in the back, every element of the game would be practiced and fine-tuned.
The defense, in particular, would focus on two critical areas: containing Totti and stopping Mancini.
Gao Shen had already decided that Vidal would start, ensuring that when Totti dropped deep, someone would immediately mark him. This way, the central defenders wouldn't be pulled too far forward, which could open up gaps at the back. The team would drill this repeatedly in training to perfect the execution.
The other focus was on stopping Mancini on Roma's left wing.
While Totti was the core of Roma's attack, Mancini's individual skill on the flank posed a serious threat.
How should this be handled?
Gao Shen couldn't help but miss Arbeloa.
He firmly believed that if Arbeloa were playing, Mancini wouldn't stand a chance. Arbeloa would have neutralized him the entire game.
Why?
Because Mancini could only play with his right foot.
In other words, when playing on the left wing, his right foot was always inside.
Back when Gao Shen was managing Real Madrid, all he needed to do was instruct Arbeloa to focus on Mancini's right foot, and the problem would have been solved. After a little practice in training, Mancini's threat would have been completely neutralized.
But things were different in Napoli.
Garics had struggled against Mancini in the first leg, repeatedly getting beaten in one-on-one situations.
Gao Shen had no choice but to organize special training sessions for Garics, asking right-footed players like Sánchez to mimic Mancini's movements and attack Garics during practice. The goal was to train Garics on how to handle a player like Mancini. At the same time, Rakitic and Vidal were instructed to provide additional support to cover Garics during the game.
The right flank had clearly become the weak link in Napoli's defense.
The gap in individual player quality was too large.
…
The weekend after the first leg against Roma, Napoli hosted Genoa in the 19th round of Serie B.
This was the first Serie B match after the winter break, and Genoa was ranked fifth in the league a strong opponent.
Napoli were still the dominant force in Serie B, but Gao Shen's focus was now entirely on the second leg against Roma. He didn't have the bandwidth to properly prepare for Genoa.
Training sessions were entirely centered around preparing for Roma, and as a result, Napoli's performance against Genoa was underwhelming.
Before the end of the first half, Genoa took the lead with a goal.
It wasn't until the 87th minute of the second half that Hamsik assisted Pellet to score the equalizer, salvaging a 1-1 draw.
…
After their incredible first-half performance in the league, Napoli seemed to be hitting a rough patch. This was their second poor performance in a row, leading to even more speculation and debate among the media and fans.
Many commentators argued that despite Napoli rotating their squad and not fielding their best lineup against Genoa, the drop in performance was evident. This suggested that Gao Shen's team might be hitting a bottleneck.
Genoa's coach, Gasperini, echoed these thoughts after the match. He said that Napoli's success in the first half of the season was due to teams being unfamiliar with their tactics and style of play.
"In fact, this is something many dark horse teams experience," Gasperini noted.
"Once you go through one cycle, and teams get a better understanding of your tactics and style, it becomes much harder to execute your game plan."
Gasperini believed this effect would be especially pronounced in Italian football, where every match is a tactical chess game, and teams prepare specifically to counter each opponent.
In short, he was implying that the rest of Italy had figured out how to counter Gao Shen.
The media took Gasperini's remarks even further, suggesting that Gao Shen's tactical "magic" had run out.
However, Gao Shen didn't respond to these outside opinions.
At the post-match press conference, he simply expressed his satisfaction with the team's performance and didn't engage in any debates. He knew that arguing with the media was pointless.
Napoli's president, De Laurentiis, wasn't as restrained.
Unable to hold back, De Laurentiis publicly defended Gao Shen, stating that the reason Napoli hadn't been at their best against Genoa was because they were focused on preparing for the second leg of the Coppa Italia.
"Everyone can see that our focus is on the upcoming match against Roma. So why can't you see that?" De Laurentiis snapped at reporters.
He reiterated his unwavering support for Gao Shen.
"I know why so many people are rooting against us. They don't want to see Napoli rise again. They don't want to see Napoli return to its former glory. They're afraid, afraid that one day, they'll tremble at Napoli's feet just like before."
"But I'll tell you this: No one can stop the rise of Napoli!"
De Laurentiis' passionate defense sparked another round of media frenzy.
Gao Shen's statement that Napoli would score three goals against Roma was already a bold claim. Now, De Laurentiis had revealed that during the Christmas dinner, Gao Shen had privately told him that he wanted to win the Serie B title and reach the Coppa Italia final, possibly even winning the entire tournament.
"I believe in him, and I know he'll continue to surprise us," De Laurentiis declared.
These words caused an uproar.
It was shocking enough that Gao Shen had claimed Napoli would score three goals against Roma. Now, he was talking about winning the Coppa Italia?
Did he think AC Milan and Inter Milan were just going to roll over?
After all, both Milan clubs were still alive in the Coppa Italia quarterfinals.
Gao Shen had been talking about what he wanted to achieve, setting ambitious goals for his team. But in the eyes of the Italian media and fans, even daring to voice such ambitions was too much.
As a Serie B team, Napoli was expected to stay in their lane.
Perhaps this was what De Laurentiis had meant—reporters from the north and from Rome didn't like seeing Napoli's rise.
…
Unlike Napoli, who had struggled to a 1-1 draw with Genoa, Roma had cruised to a comfortable 2-0 away win against Messina in the 19th round of Serie A. With the victory, Roma solidified their second-place position in the league, just behind Inter Milan.
Roma's place near the top of the Serie A table was well-earned.
After 19 rounds, Inter Milan led with 51 points, a full nine points ahead of Roma. It was already starting to look like Inter had the Scudetto in the bag.
The real suspense lay in whether Inter could win the Coppa Italia and make a deep run in the Champions League, potentially achieving the treble.
As for AC Milan, even without their eight-point penalty, they were only fifth in the league.
Having sold Shevchenko, Ancelotti had finally abandoned the two-striker formation and returned to his favored Christmas tree formation, the 4-3-2-1. The system provided defensive stability, but Milan's attack had become toothless.
After 19 rounds, Milan's goals scored ranked in the lower half of Serie A, but their defense had only conceded one more goal than Inter Milan and Roma. It was clear that their attacking struggles were a serious issue.
Everyone could see that AC Milan's focus this season wasn't on the league but on the Champions League and the Coppa Italia. They were aiming for success in the cup competitions.
Inter Milan also had their sights set on more than just the league. The Nerazzurri had essentially secured the Serie A title and were now eyeing a potential double or even the elusive treble.
Roma, on the other hand, wanted to maintain their second-place finish in Serie A while also making a strong push in the Coppa Italia, their most realistic shot at silverware this season.
After defeating Messina, Spalletti gave an interview to the media, expressing his confidence about the second leg against Napoli.
"We won't give Napoli any chance. We're going to the Stadio San Paolo to win and complete the double over them to secure our place in the semifinals!"
In these high-stakes knockout games, neither side is willing to admit defeat before the final whistle.
Who will have the last laugh? That will be decided on the pitch.
…
While the media frenzy raged on, Gao Shen chose to ignore the noise, focusing entirely on preparing Napoli for the upcoming clash with Roma.
But just one day before the second leg, Gao Shen received an unexpected phone call.
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