"Wele to San Paolo, Mr. Castori!"
Before the match, at the entrance of the pyer tunnel, Gao Shen approached Castori with a friendly smile, extending his hand in a polite gesture. The Italian coach, known for his fiery personality, barely aowledged him.
They shook hands briefly, and without exging any words, they returo their respective benches.
Gao Shen couldn't help but feel fused. The man was in his fifties why such a bad temper?
No wonder he's been stu the lower leagues his whole life!
Still, it was amusing. Castori had collected championship trophies from every Italian league except for Serie A.
Did the niame "Champion Collector" sound like a pliment or an insult to him?
"If someone called me that, I'd punch them right in the face," Gao Shen said with a determione.
What kind of baded pliment was that?
"Who do you want to hit? That old man?" Lucas asked, not catg the sarcasm. "e on, he's in his fifties. Hitting him would make you look like the bad guy."
Gao She speechless. How could you reason with someone like this?
"I want to hit you!" Gao Shen joked, pretending to be angry.
Lucas's smile froze. "Why me?"
"Do I need a reason? Or should I let you choose a date before I start?"
They both ended up ughiily.
Today definitely seemed like a good day.
A perfect day to beat someone!
---
Whether it was luck or fate, Napoli's debut in the Coppa Italia this season was once again at home.
The Stadio San Paolo acked to the brim with fans. Napoli's supporters had always been passionate, and after the team's Serie B triumph st season, their pride had only grown. Now, the fans were eagerly anticipating their team's leap into Serie A.
Despite the atmosphere, Gao Shen wasn't taking any ces with the lineup.
He started Handanovi goal, with Vargas, David Luiz, avaro, and Lichtsteiner f the back four. In midfield, Biglia and Rakitichored the team, while Hamsik, Di Maria, and Sanchez formed an attag trio behind i as the loriker.
This lineup was likely going to be Gao Shen's preferred starting eleven for the season.
The only area of uainty was the ter-back pairing. Last season, Gao Shen had experimented with David Luiz and Bonucci, with Luiz pressing forward while Bonucci sat back. Both were excellent passers, especially with long balls, and had worked well together in several games.
However, for this match, Gao Shen opted to py it safe by starting avaro.
In his mind, it was only a matter of time before Bonucci took over from avaro. The le passing ability of both ter-backs was too valuable to ignore.
Unlike Napoli, a and Castori opted for an old-school formation with three at the back.
While the three-back system had been popur in Italy at the turn of the tury, it was now outdated.
This was 2007!
Castori deployed a 3-6-1 formation, crowding the midfield.
It reminded Gao Shen of the tactics used by some amateur teams ba the day relying on defense and gesting the ter of the pitch.
"Authentic grassroots football," uttered with a wry smile.
Who would py with three ter-backs in modern football?
"Today, if we don't destroy them, I'd feel like we've let their coach off too easily," Gao Shen chuckled.
Napoli's strength y on the wings.
Did Castori really think that losing Gervinho meant Napoli had no more firepower on the fnks?
---
That being said, a's defense was solidly anized.
Despite the three ter-backs, the two wide midfielders dropped deep to create a five-man bae when needed.
Napoli opehe game with their signature high pressing and fast tempo, but a, well-prepared for the onsught, stayed pa defehey cleared the ball quickly without trying to hold possession, fog entirely on proteg their goal.
As a result, Napoli struggled to create any meaningful ces in the opening ten minutes.
After all, it was the season's first official match, and the team was still finding their rhythm.
After the initial burst, Napoli settled down, trolling possession and patiently probing a's defense.
Fifteen minutes into the match, Gao Shen made some adjustments. He signaled Di Maria and Sao push higher and pin a's bae even deeper, f them further back.
At the same time, the full-backs Vargas and Lichtsteiner were given the green light to bomb forward and provide additional width.
Hamsik dropped slightly deeper to form a more pact midfield triangle, giving the team a 4-3-3 shape on the field.
Just five minutes after the adjustments, Napoli found their breakthrough.
Sanchez received the ball on the right from Rakitic. After failing to beat his marker, he cut inside and passed across the top of the box.
i, using his body to shield the defender, trolled the ball with his right foot, shifted it slightly to the side, and unleashed a thunderous strike from outside the penalty area.
The shot was hit with tremendous power and accuracy, giving the a goalkeeper, Berti, no ce as it rocketed into the .
1-0!
The eadio San Paolo erupted in celebration.
On the sidelines, Gao Shen pumped his fist in the air, appuding i for the brilliant strike.
"Well done, Edinson!" Gao Shen shouted.
i turned around, raised his fists toward his coach, as if to say, How's that, boss? Keep the praise ing!
---
After taking the lead, a looked uled.
Napoli seized the momentum and unched wave after wave of attacks, but Castori, to his credit, made some tactical adjustments to steady his team.
However, ih minute, Napoli's left fnk came alive.
Vargas overpped Di Maria, and the two bio break down a's defense. Di Maria, uo find space to shoot, cut the ball back to i, who was once again holding up py with his back to goal.
With no room to turn, i id the ball off to the onrushing Hamsik.
The Slovakian midfielder met the pass with a first-time strike, sending the ball low into the bottht er of the goal.
2-0!
---
The first half ended with Napoli holding a fortable two-goal lead.
In the locker room, Gao Shen expressed satisfa with the team's performa highlighted areas for improvement, particurly the e between the wide pyers and the tral midfield.
"Keep pushing in the sed half. Let's start this season with a strong statement!"
"e on!"
The pyers responded enthusiastically to Gao Shen's rallying cry.
As the sed half began, the match tinued in the same one-sided manner.
By this point, ust have realized that this Napoli team was strohan the one he had faced st season.
Though the pyers were rgely the same, the growth they had undergone during the summer, bined with the interaining, had elevated their game. They were quicker, sharper, and more cohesive.
Ten minutes into the sed half, Napoli earned a free kick from the left wing after a driving run from Di Maria. avaro rose highest to meet the delivery, heading the ball powerfully into the .
3-0!
Just mier, Sanchez, cutting in from the right, was tackled aggressively by a's Brazilian midfielder, Luís Sacilotto, just outside the penalty area.
The crowd at the San Paolo erupted into boos, and Gao Shen, on the sideline, looked furious.
The referee wasted no time in showing Sacilotto a straight red card.
Castori lost his temper on the sideline, hurling abuse at the referee, Napoli, and possibly even his own pyers.
Luckily for Napoli, Sanchez wasn't seriously hurt. He got back to his feet quickly, showing no signs of injury.
Still, Gao Shen wasn't going to let this slide.
How dare they try to injure one of his pyers?
Gao Shen waved his hand toward the field.
"Keep attag! Attack harder!" he shouted.
"I want moals! No mercy!"
On the opposing bench, Castori turo look at Gao Shen and saw the fire in his eyes.
The veteran coach could sehat the situation was about to spiral out of trol.
Feeling the mounting pressure, Castori urged his team to sit even deeper and defend with everything they had.
But less than ten mier, Napoli broke through again.
Sanchez, who had provided the earlier assist, received the ball from Hamsik, made a darting run into the box, and calmly slotted the ball into the near er.
4-0!
The Chilean winger sprioward the er fg in celebration, soon joined by his ecstatic teammates.
The match wasn't over yet, and the massacre tinued.
