章節 293: Chapter 293: Kleptocrat Gao Shen

With their three-goal advantage, Napoli once again topped the Serie A standings, leaving the Italian media in a conflicted and uncomfortable position.

On one hand, there was no denying that Napoli had been the most captivating team in Serie A this season. Their draw against Inter Milan on the road, followed by their decisive victory over Roma, had everyone talking.

Since the infamous "Calciopoli" match-fixing scandal, Inter Milan had dominated Serie A, yet they struggled to make an impact in the Champions League. Italian fans felt a strange mix of admiration and frustration for their league's top team.

But now, Napoli was challenging that status quo.

Seeing Inter Milan dethroned and Napoli taking the lead was something the media and fans were excited about. After all, it made Serie A more competitive, adding intrigue to the league's storyline, which benefited everyone involved.

Yet at the same time, there was resistance. They didn't want to cheer for Napoli, especially not for Gao Shen.

From the moment Gao Shen set foot in Naples, he had boldly proclaimed that he would shake up Serie A and Italian football.

Was there ever a coach as audacious as Gao Shen? A newcomer in Serie A, coaching a recently promoted team from Serie B, who declared he was aiming for the league title?

Looking back at the history of world football, no one else had dared to be so brazen.

If he had failed and Napoli had floundered, he would have been an object of ridicule, dismissed as a fool. But instead, here he was, topping the Serie A standings for the second time this season.

Eight rounds into the season, and Napoli was at the top once more, demonstrating undeniable strength.

In both the Inter Milan and Roma games, Gao Shen had shown tactical brilliance, matching or even surpassing renowned Serie A coaches like Mancini and Spalletti. Napoli had displayed impressive team cohesion and strength.

Under these circumstances, Napoli's place at the top of Serie A was well-deserved.

But the Italian media found themselves in a dilemma.

To praise Gao Shen and his team would be an implicit admission that Italian football was lagging behind.

On the other hand, ignoring Napoli's success would make it difficult to explain why they were leading the Serie A standings.

Caught in this bind, the Italian media reluctantly reported Napoli's 4-0 away victory over Roma, acknowledging that from a tactical standpoint, a player performance perspective, and even in overall strength, Napoli had soundly defeated Roma, and Gao Shen had outsmarted Spalletti.

In the post-match press conference, Roma's head coach Spalletti admitted he had miscalculated.

"Gao Shen introduced a midfield strategy we weren't prepared for. The referee's officiating was problematic. He showed too much leniency towards the visiting team. I admit that we made mistakes from the start, but I think…"

Spalletti pointed a finger at Napoli's two midfielders, Vidal and Nainggolan, accusing them of playing dirty and committing numerous fouls without being properly penalized. He argued that their repeated fouls, which went unpunished by the referee, gave Napoli an unfair advantage.

"The two early goals we conceded decided the match, but no one can feel good about winning like that!"

Spalletti's comments subtly blamed Napoli's aggressive midfield duo for the loss.

This gave the Italian media the angle they needed, and they jumped on it. La Repubblica even accused Gao Shen on their front page, claiming he had used dirty tactics to "steal" the Serie A top spot, an unconvincing way to win.

"After eight rounds, it has become clear that Gao Shen's approach is not about advanced football philosophy, but rather about a destructive form of play," they wrote.

La Repubblica declared that with such an approach, Napoli was destined not to win the league title.

Meanwhile, Turin's Gazzetta dello Sport began stirring up the hype for the upcoming Napoli vs. Juventus game, claiming that the referees were aiding Napoli, and that without such help, Napoli should have received a red card for their fouls during the match.

"But it's clear that young referee Tagliavento struggled to control the game and didn't have the toughness to penalize Napoli properly," they wrote.

Gazzetta dello Sport predicted that Napoli's position at the top was undeserved and wouldn't last.

Their own coverage, however, was contradictory.

On the front page, they questioned Napoli's right to the top spot and criticized the rough play. But on page two, they featured a column by Arrigo Sacchi, who had a very different take.

As Italy's legendary coach, Sacchi praised Napoli's performance in recent games against top teams like Inter Milan, Roma, and Juventus.

"In fact, as early as the beginning of the season, Gao Shen told me they had a full-season fitness strategy, with training plans tailored to match schedules to keep the team at peak performance," Sacchi wrote.

"In these last three games, despite the strain from national team duties, Napoli's players have maintained excellent form."

"In contrast, Inter Milan struggled to create any effective attacks against Reggina after the two-week international break. It was disappointing to watch."

Sacchi also criticized Mancini's conservative substitution choices, suggesting that Inter Milan, as the most powerful team in Italy, should have played more assertively.

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With Napoli back on top, most of the Italian media avoided mentioning anything else, focusing their criticisms on Napoli's midfield tactics.

They were essentially painting Gao Shen as a kleptocrat, like the infamous tyrant Dong Zhuo.

Despite the rational voice of Sacchi, it didn't seem to sway public opinion, at least, not in the media and among certain fans.

After reading the coverage, Gao Shen noticed that Sacchi hadn't fully expressed his views. During a private call, Sacchi told Gao Shen he wished he could share more specific insights but didn't want to create unnecessary conflicts with his fellow Italians.

But Gao Shen wasn't bothered. If anything, he found it amusing that the media's portrayal of him as a villain was becoming increasingly vivid.

So, Gao Shen took to Twitter, a platform he'd joined not long ago, and publicly tagged several Italian and European news outlets and journalists he followed.

He accused the Italian media of blatant double standards.

For instance, La Repubblica claimed Napoli played too aggressively, but Gao Shen pointed out that Roma had committed 18 fouls compared to Napoli's 11.

Roma had three yellow cards, while Napoli had only one.

Looking at the numbers, who was really playing rough?

Napoli's pass completion rate was 84.8%, despite having Vidal and Nainggolan, two tough midfielders. Roma? Only 77.9%.

As for shots, Napoli took 23, compared to Roma's 12.

Gao Shen asked La Repubblica on Twitter: Who played more aggressively?

Then, he turned his attention to Turin Sports.

They had accused Napoli of being overly physical, suggesting Napoli should have been penalized more harshly.

Gao Shen posted the detailed stats from Juventus's recent 1-0 win over Genoa: 23 fouls, five yellow cards, and one red card for Juventus, with a pass completion rate of only 71.6%, and just twelve shots on goal.

Gao Shen asked Turin Sports: Who's really playing rough? Napoli or Juventus?

"At least, we didn't get a red card, did we?"

In just two days, Gao Shen's tweets calling out the Italian media for their bias ignited an online frenzy. He accused the media of framing him and his team as "kleptocrats" who stole their place at the top of Serie A, while celebrating that he and his players had "chosen their own path" to get there.

"But they should be disappointed," he concluded, "because we're the leaders now!"

Instead of engaging in traditional media rebuttals, Gao Shen had opened a new front, battling with the Italian media on Twitter. His online fight quickly captured the attention of internet users worldwide. European fans and others from around the globe found it both fresh and entertaining, especially seeing Gao Shen take on the entire Italian media establishment.

Major European media outlets and websites picked up on Gao Shen's Twitter posts, covering his bold statements, which only boosted his popularity.

Gao Shen became one of the first coaches to "fight the media" online, and his following skyrocketed.

Not long after Twitter launched, its global user base was still below a million. Gao Shen, one of its earliest users, was now leading a Serie A team with high visibility and high controversy, drawing attention from all directions.

When he took aim at the Italian media, Twitter recognized the potential for a viral moment, and a massive internet storm ensued.

First, the news of Gao Shen's Twitter battle with the Italian media spread rapidly across the internet, attracting fans and onlookers who loved drama and controversy.

The "War Between Gao Shen and the Italian Media" quickly became a trending topic online.

In the middle of all this, Twitter's executive reached out privately to Gao Shen, asking for contact information and suggesting they work together, hinting that Twitter would fully support his path to becoming a major internet personality.

With an opportunity to call out double standards in the Italian media and gain a wider platform, Gao Shen wasn't about to refuse.

He immediately ramped up his posts, turning on the full power of his online presence.

Within days, his follower count soared, making him the most-followed celebrity on Twitter, surpassing even NBA star Shaquille O'Neal. Football, after all, is the world's number one sport.

Whether in the real world or online, this "war" left the Italian media battered. But even as they faced backlash, they experienced skyrocketing traffic, with increased newspaper sales and online views