Chương 256: Chapter 256: How Cruel!

Gao Shen was a smooth operator, not rigid in the least, and always adaptable based on the situation. This was a survival instinct he had honed during his previous life working in the business world.

Deep down, he knew clearly who was genuine and who was fake. But one thing was for sure: nobody could cross his bottom line.

There's a saying, "If you treat me well, I'll return the favor tenfold." Gao Shen lived by that motto. He was friendly, willing to cooperate with others, and even make money together.

But the moment someone crossed his bottom line or disrespected him, he wouldn't hesitate to flip the table.

Whether in business or on the football pitch, having no bottom line and being overly accommodating was the same as showing weakness and inviting exploitation.

Unfortunately for Cesena, they crossed that line today.

Even at the last moments of the game, Gao Shen encouraged his team to keep attacking.

At this point, the score was already 7-0.

It was a massacre.

But Gao Shen didn't relent. He demanded his team continue attacking, showing no mercy to Cesena or their coach, Castori.

The reason? Cesena had attempted to injure one of his players. This was something Gao Shen could never tolerate.

Whether the intent was malicious or not didn't matter. What mattered was that it crossed a line for Gao Shen.

And now, the only way to extinguish his anger was to bury them under an avalanche of goals.

Cesena was down to ten men, and no matter how much they tried to pull back defensively, they simply couldn't hold out.

In the 75th minute, Gao Shen made another adjustment, sending in Pelle to pair up with Cavani as a second center forward. Both big men rooted themselves in Cesena's penalty area, looking to cause havoc.

But even that wasn't enough for Gao Shen.

Towards the end of the game, he pushed David Luiz forward, essentially turning him into a makeshift striker.

By now, Castori was on the verge of collapse.

He couldn't understand what kind of grudge Gao Shen held against him to unleash this kind of punishment.

Wasn't 7-0 enough?

Gao Shen's fury was palpable, and the Napoli players could feel it. They continued to attack with relentless intensity.

In the second minute of stoppage time, Lichtsteiner made a surging run down the right flank and whipped in a cross. David Luiz, positioned in the penalty area, rose high and powered a header into the back of the net.

8-0!

The Stadio San Paolo erupted in cheers once again.

As the ball hit the net, the referee blew the final whistle. Cesena barely had time to restart the match before the game was over.

The original stoppage time was set at three minutes, but the referee, sensing the futility of extending the match, ended it a minute early. He likely feared that with one more minute, Cesena might concede yet another goal.

The Serie B team was already broken, and with one less player, they were completely dismantled. Losing even more goals would have been inevitable.

As the whistle blew, Gao Shen exhaled a deep breath, his anger finally subsiding.

Behind him, his assistants stood silently.

They had known Gao Shen for quite some time, but they had never seen him so ruthless, so violent. He had completely crushed Cesena, leaving no room for mercy.

But they all knew why.

Gao Shen had been irritated even before the match started, and the red card incident had sent him over the edge.

After taking another deep breath, Gao Shen turned around and smiled at his assistants.

"What a great game!" he said.

Carlo, Buenaventura, and the others all laughed, though the image of Gao Shen's merciless demeanor earlier was still fresh in their minds.

How cruel!

On the opposite side, Cesena's coach Castori stood frozen in disbelief.

He had lost games before, but never this badly.

Before the match, his goal had been to keep a clean sheet and hold off Napoli's attack. But instead, he was dealt a humiliating blow a massacre that he could never have imagined.

At this point, he was beyond tears.

---

Napoli's 8-0 slaughter of Cesena in the first round of the Coppa Italia sent shockwaves through Italian football.

The only other team to come close to such a scoreline was Rimini, who thrashed Frosinone 6-0.

It was ironic for Frosinone, who had been eliminated by Napoli in the first round last season, only to suffer a similar fate at the hands of Rimini this year.

While the rest of Europe didn't pay much attention to Napoli's rout, the match caused quite a stir in Italy.

A Serie A team demolishing a Serie B side 8-0 wasn't unheard of, but Napoli's obliteration of Cesena was particularly noteworthy given the context.

Before the Coppa Italia draw, Napoli had lodged a formal protest with the Italian Football Federation, arguing that the cup format was unfair to them. As Serie B champions, they shouldn't have had to participate in the first two rounds of the cup.

As mentioned before, the Coppa Italia format often changed, and this season was no different.

The 2007 edition of the Coppa Italia marked its 60th anniversary, and as such, the tournament was given national attention. The final would be held at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, and the competition format was altered to increase suspense.

The biggest change was that the final would now be a single match rather than a two-legged affair.

But the changes didn't stop there.

This season, the competition started with 22 Serie B teams and two Serie A teams, split into 12 groups. But which two Serie A teams?

Naturally, the two teams were chosen from the three newly promoted sides Napoli, Juventus, and Genoa.

Originally, as Serie B champions, Napoli should have started from the third round, with Juventus and Genoa playing in the first round.

But there was a catch.

Juventus had already committed to playing in the TIM Trophy, a traditional pre-season tournament featuring Juventus, Inter Milan, and AC Milan. The tournament clashed with the first round of the Coppa Italia.

What happened next was a backroom deal between Juventus and the Italian Football Federation. Juventus negotiated to be excused from the first round of the Coppa Italia, and Napoli were forced to take their place.

The Italian Football Federation agreed to this without hesitation.

The whole thing was kept under wraps until the day before the Coppa Italia draw, when Napoli were informed that they would have to play in the first round, alongside Genoa.

Napoli's owner, De Laurentiis, was furious, and general manager Marino personally traveled to the federation's headquarters in Rome to protest.

But nothing came of it.

Napoli had no choice but to play two extra rounds, and with the condensed schedule, it meant double match weeks for the team.

Gao Shen had grudgingly accepted the situation, but Cesena's dirty play during the match reignited his anger.

He had already been upset, and now he was livid.

---

After the game, Gao Shen faced the media.

He didn't hold back, accusing Cesena's players of deliberately playing rough and attempting to injure his players. He argued that the red card wasn't just deserved it was lenient.

Gao Shen also called on the Italian Football Federation to improve refereeing standards and protect players more effectively, warning that allowing dangerous tackles would only harm the appeal of Italian football in the long run.

Coincidentally, Cesena's coach Castori, who had just been on the receiving end of an 8-0 thrashing, was equally unhappy.

In his post-match interview, Castori labeled Gao Shen's behavior as unnecessarily aggressive.

He claimed that the red card was a mistake, insisting that his player hadn't intended to harm anyone. According to him, the tackle on Sanchez had been controlled, and didn't warrant a sending-off.

Castori even suggested that Napoli's players were guilty of simulation, arguing that Sanchez had gone down too easily, fooling the referee into showing the red card.

Gao Shen wasted no time responding.

"Maybe he's too old, his eyesight isn't what it used to be. But don't worry, we have cameras at the Stadio San Paolo. We can help him review what happened."

Gao Shen didn't mince words. He even added a subtle jab, questioning why Napoli had to participate in the first two rounds of the competition, implying that Cesena wasn't even a worthy opponent.

Castori was embarrassed and angered, but the local media rallied to his defense.

"I'm just stating facts. I don't know why the young coach in Naples is so agitated. As I've said before, he's aggressive and lacks gentlemanly conduct. But I won't stoop to his level," Castori said.

Gao Shen was amused.

"I'd like to know how exactly he plans not to care about me. Will he resign from Cesena and take over another team that made it to the second round?"

"No, no, that's not right. He'll probably be fired before that happens."

---

The back-and-forth between the two coaches quickly became the talk of the Italian media.

Predictably, most of the Italian press sided with Castori, painting Gao Shen as an overly aggressive, brash young coach.

"He can win on the pitch, but he hasn't learned how to win over hearts," wrote La Repubblica.

"He should strive to be more humble and likable," commented Tuttosport.

"He's undoubtedly a coach with great potential, but he needs time to mature. Right now, he's still going through his rebellious phase," analyzed Gazzetta dello Sport.

Even Arrigo Sacchi, a respected figure in Italian football, weighed in on the situation in his column. He acknowledged that Gao Shen's anger was justified, especially given the rough foul on Sanchez. "There's no doubt that the foul was serious, and the red card was completely deserved."

However, Sacchi also offered some advice for the young coach. "While Gao Shen's passion is commendable, he should focus more on letting the team's performances speak for themselves. You can't convince everyone with words, but you can silence them with results."

Sacchi's advice was simple: keep winning. When you win enough, no one can question you.

Gao Shen took Sacchi's words to heart. There was no point in engaging in a war of words with the Italian media or with Castori. The best way to shut everyone up was to keep winning, to keep piling up victories until his critics had no choice but to acknowledge his success.

---

Gao Shen decided to stop responding to the media after that.

He was still full of resentment toward the Italian Football Federation and the way they handled the Coppa Italia situation. To Gao Shen, the Italian federation felt no different from the bureaucratic inefficiency he had seen back in China. But instead of wasting more energy fighting them in the media, Gao Shen resolved to follow Sacchi's advice.

His plan was simple: win.

He would win, and he would keep winning, until every doubter had no choice but to admit that he was right.

He wanted to see the day when the Italian press, and all of Italy, would have no choice but to acknowledge what Napoli had achieved.

Dissatisfied? I'll beat you on the pitch.

His mind was clear now.

Napoli's 8-0 victory over Cesena was just the beginning. The season was long, and there were many challenges ahead. But Gao Shen knew what he had to do.

And he wasn't going to stop until Napoli stood at the top of Serie A.