Capítulo 236: Chapter 236: I Want a Double Crown!
De Laurentiis had not only heard about Gao Shen's brilliance, but he had experienced it firsthand.
It was like when he first found Gao Shen. His initial plan was to trick the young coach, but somehow, the tables had turned, and now, he felt like the one being tricked. A year later, he realized Gao Shen had outsmarted him completely.
This made De Laurentiis stay on high alert.
On the afternoon after the team disbanded, Gao Shen came to the club office for a meeting. De Laurentiis repeatedly reminded himself to remain calm and rational, no matter what Gao Shen said. He couldn't allow himself to be manipulated again.
He even harbored plans to reverse the situation perhaps trick Gao Shen into signing a new contract that removed the 20% player share clause. De Laurentiis felt that he had already lost too much money, and he needed to stop the bleeding fast.
Of course, he wouldn't let Gao Shen suffer either.
To ensure this, he had even contacted the bank, preparing a loan to buy out Gao Shen's share. The team had performed exceptionally well, and the longer they waited, the more they would have to pay.
This was something that De Laurentiis and Marino had been plotting for the past six months.
The two had carefully thought through every possible way to convince Gao Shen and prepared for how he might react. They considered every angle and were ready to strike with one decisive blow, offering him generous terms and conditions.
After all, they still needed Gao Shen to lead the team into Serie A and beyond.
But, as soon as Gao Shen entered the conference room, he completely disrupted their plans. Without any pleasantries or regard for their "script," he dropped a bomb on them that left both De Laurentiis and Marino reeling.
"Hey, do you want to win the Serie A championship?" Gao Shen asked bluntly, his gaze fixed firmly on De Laurentiis.
Both De Laurentiis and Marino were taken aback, momentarily speechless.
That wasn't how this conversation was supposed to go.
Weren't they supposed to stick to the script?
Respect the screenwriter, man!
But the way Gao Shen asked, with such seriousness and intensity, immediately struck a chord with De Laurentiis. Serie A champion? Who wouldn't want that?
De Laurentiis, however, wasn't easily swayed. He had been through his fair share of challenges in his career. He'd seen the most beautiful women, the biggest stars, the most famous directors, and even dealt with millionaires. He had seen it all.
He wasn't going to be fooled by a few words.
Even if Gao Shen had managed to say exactly what was on his mind, he wasn't going to fall for it so easily.
But just as De Laurentiis was about to push aside the excitement welling up inside him, Gao Shen pulled a thick document out of his bag and placed it in front of them.
"This is the strategic plan I've been working on for the past six months," Gao Shen explained. "It clearly lays out my thoughts and ideas for next season in Serie A and why I believe we can aim for the Serie A championship."
With that, Gao Shen slid the document across the table toward De Laurentiis and Marino.
The two looked at each other, feeling utterly blindsided. What just happened?
They had crafted a detailed plan, a perfect script, but now everything was falling apart.
But, despite their initial hesitation, their curiosity got the better of them. They reached out for the document.
It felt like Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden they knew they shouldn't, but they couldn't resist the temptation.
"Fine, let's take a look," they thought. "If it's not convincing, we'll just shut it down and move on."
However, as they began reading through the document, their expressions quickly shifted from skepticism to astonishment.
The document was filled with detailed information analyzing every Serie A team for the upcoming season, compiling intelligence reports on their potential tactics, and predicting how their strengths and weaknesses might change. But what shocked De Laurentiis and Marino the most was the section on Napoli itself.
Gao Shen had clearly outlined the advantages and disadvantages of Napoli compared to the top teams in Serie A, including the Milan giants, Roma, and Juventus. He had meticulously broken down how Napoli could exploit each team's weaknesses, as well as the areas where Napoli needed to improve.
Everything was discussed in such precise detail.
The word professional was the first thing that came to De Laurentiis and Marino's minds.
In the world of professional football, they had seen countless managers, but none of them had ever presented such a comprehensive pre-season assessment and strategy.
Marino even began to wonder if Gao Shen was really just a football coach. Was he secretly an executive at some major international corporation? When had anyone in professional football ever written a plan this thorough?
Usually, when a coach applied for a job, they just spoke about their ideas in broad terms. If they even provided a written plan, that was already impressive.
But this?
This was unheard of.
And the more they read, the more they began to believe that what Gao Shen had written could actually become a reality.
Napoli might really have what it takes to win the Serie A championship!
That thought, once planted, began to take root in their minds, like the forbidden apple in the Garden of Eden.
Soon, De Laurentiis and Marino found themselves completely engrossed, their imaginations running wild with possibilities.
De Laurentiis tried to stay rational. His mind told him to hold off, to stick to the plan and recover the player shares, but his heart kept pulling him toward the dream of winning the Serie A title.
For a brief moment, the old man felt like he was being torn apart by his own conflicting desires.
Finally, De Laurentiis took a deep breath, pushing away all the distractions in his mind. He fixed his gaze on Gao Shen, who sat confidently across from him.
"Alright, tell me," De Laurentiis said, his voice steady. "What kind of support do you need?"
Gao Shen smiled inwardly, knowing that he had just won the first battle.
He had never underestimated De Laurentiis. The man wasn't just some greedy businessman like Martin or Calderón. De Laurentiis was sharp and ambitious a man with vision.
That's why Gao Shen had chosen to join Napoli in the first place.
He knew that De Laurentiis and Marino had been plotting to buy out his player shares, a plan Marino had hinted at several times. The terms they offered were generous, but Gao Shen had refused.
Because in Gao Shen's eyes, those terms still undervalued the future.
So, instead of arguing over the 20% share, Gao Shen offered them a bigger vision a shot at the Serie A championship. He told them, "Think bigger!"
Why focus on this small slice of pie when he could lead them to the throne of Serie A champions? The value of the players would skyrocket, and everyone would make far more money than they ever could by negotiating over his current shares.
If that couldn't convince De Laurentiis, then Gao Shen had misjudged him.
But now, seeing De Laurentiis ask for specifics, Gao Shen knew he had made the right call.
"A starting right-back, a creative midfielder, and a backup winger. Also, we need to strengthen the bench as much as possible because we'll be competing on two fronts next season."
Gao Shen's words were clear. He wasn't just aiming for the Serie A title, he was also going after the Coppa Italia.
De Laurentiis raised his eyebrows in surprise, then broke into a grin.
What an ambitious young man.
Wherever Gao Shen had fallen, he was determined to rise from there again.
"I like this attitude," De Laurentiis said, laughing. "According to our previous agreement, we'll invest 30 million euros over the next two seasons, and you have full discretion on how to use it. If that's not enough, let me know."
With a wave of his hand, De Laurentiis made his decision.
This was the kind of boldness and vision he appreciated.
But Marino, sitting beside him, grew anxious. He tugged at De Laurentiis' sleeve, reminding him of their original plan.
"Boss, weren't we supposed to renegotiate his shares? What about the buyout?"
Why were they now giving more money to Gao Shen instead?
Had the entire plan been thrown out the window?
After a few more tugs, De Laurentiis turned to Marino, glaring in frustration.
"You short-sighted fool!" his eyes seemed to say.
"We're talking about winning the Serie A and the Coppa Italia here, and you're still worried about pocket change?"
"Do you even realize what winning the Serie A title means?"
"It would be like the days of Maradona all over again! We'd be heroes in this city!"
Marino, nearly in tears, couldn't understand how everything had flipped so quickly.
Just moments ago, De Laurentiis had told him to stay rational, to avoid getting caught up in the heat of the moment.
Now, it was as if he was the only one staying rational, while everyone else was chasing dreams of glory.
For the right-back, Gao Shen had two potential candidates in mind.
One was Pablo Zabaleta, an Argentine player from Espanyol. But there were challenges with signing him Napoli already had several South American players. When national team duty called, they'd be traveling long distances, which would be a disadvantage for Napoli.
Moreover, having too many South American players could cause issues in the dressing room.
Additionally, under the leadership of Valverde this season, Espanyol had reached the UEFA Cup final, although they lost to Sevilla in the end. Zabaleta had been a key player for Espanyol, making it difficult to convince him to move to Napoli.
Why would he want to leave a team competing in European competitions to join a newly promoted side like Napoli? It would require a significant investment, and frankly, Napoli couldn't afford to spend recklessly.
That wasn't how Gao Shen operated, and it wasn't how De Laurentiis managed the club either. They weren't a financial powerhouse capable of splurging on star players. De Laurentiis, despite his boldness, was still very careful with the club's finances. Even Marino couldn't meddle much with the budget.
Therefore, going after a big name like Zabaleta or a similarly famous player like Luka Modrić or Darijo Srna would be a waste of resources.
Napoli wasn't a club of unlimited funds, and everyone in the room knew it.
De Laurentiis wasn't a fool, either. He wasn't going to let Gao Shen waste money, leaving behind a financial mess.
The Italian businessman had always kept strict control over the club's finances, with even Marino having little sway in these matters.
Thus, pursuing high-profile players like Zabaleta, Modrić, or Srna wasn't realistic for Napoli, at least not at this stage.
But if Napoli could indeed win the Serie A championship in the upcoming season, everything would change.
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