It's a Big Win
Amidst the cheers of over 50,000 Napoli fans, referee Bettany's whistle blew, officially kicking off the new season debut for Gao Shen and Napoli.
As Frosinone's centre-forward Maggiotta kicked the ball to his teammate Dinardo, Napoli's front line, ready and raring to go, quickly surged into Frosinone's half, pressing deep into their territory.
Leading the charge was the tall and powerful Edinson Cavani.
The Uruguayan centre-forward sprinted forward like a heavy tank, sweeping away everything in his path with a strong gust of momentum, forcing Frosinone's players to pass the ball back repeatedly in an attempt to evade the intense pressing.
On the left flank was Gervinho, an African player with dark skin and a bizarre, wild hairstyle that made him look quite intimidating; on the right was Chilean youngster Alexis Sanchez, sporting a short buzz cut, lean but exuding fierce determination.
The three attacking players in Napoli's front line all had one thing in common: speed.
From the stands, the fans could see what looked like three blue arrows shooting straight into Frosinone's defensive lines.
Following closely behind the three arrows was Marek Hamsik, the young player who had just transferred from Brescia this season. He kept pace with them and drove deep into Frosinone's territory.
The Napoli fans in the stands were ecstatic.
They were going full throttle right from the start!
The fans erupted into even more passionate and louder cheers.
On the pitch, Napoli's entire formation surged forward rapidly.
As Cavani charged towards the edge of Frosinone's penalty area and saw the opponent pass the ball back to their goalkeeper, Sapino, he immediately dashed towards the box, closing in on the keeper.
At this moment, the last player in Napoli's defense, Paolo Cannavaro, had already crossed the halfway line.
Sapino didn't wait for Cavani to approach. He immediately kicked the ball long, sending it towards the centre line.
Bonucci, partnering with Paolo Cannavaro, leapt up, outmuscled Maggiotta, and headed the ball back.
Biglia was waiting for the ball and quickly passed it to the left.
Vargas swiftly advanced along the left wing, sprinting with the ball. Without waiting for the defense to settle, he passed it to Gervinho ahead of him and continued his run forward.
Gervinho tried to cut diagonally into the penalty area but couldn't make it through, so he passed the ball back to the left wing, where Vargas was waiting.
The Peruvian full-back controlled the ball and then crossed it with his left foot.
Cavani, who had just exited the penalty area, quickly turned around and charged towards the goal like a tank. He outmuscled the opposing centre-back and headed the ball towards the goal.
The ball flew over the crossbar and narrowly missed.
However, this sudden attack completely ignited the passion of the crowd in the San Paolo stadium.
The fans began shouting with all their might.
...
Jaconi was stunned on the sidelines.
Fast!
So fast!
From just a moment ago, in a span of little over 20 seconds, Napoli had already managed their first shot on goal.
Especially after Bonucci won the header, Biglia seemed to be waiting there. Vargas pushed forward with the ball and combined with Gervinho everything happened in the blink of an eye.
Frosinone's defense couldn't cope!
In fact, they didn't even have time to react!
God, was what just happened even real?
Jaconi considered himself a veteran of the lower leagues, but he had never seen football played like this.
It reminded him of Zeman, the attacking madman who had a brief stint with Lecce last season.
Could it be that this young Napoli coach is a disciple of Zeman?
That's a guy who goes all-out on attack!
But soon, Jaconi realized that Gao Shen was not Zeman.
Although Zeman's teams loved to attack, committed large numbers of players forward, and pushed their defense line high, they always fell back quickly to stabilize their defensive positions once they transitioned to defense.
Yet, Zeman's defense remained a mess.
That's why some say that Zeman treats football like a gamble, always trying to score more goals than his opponent.
Gao Shen was clearly different.
Napoli also employed high pressing, but their overall formation was very compact. It appeared like a 4-2-3-1, but the wingers played more like advanced forwards, closer to the centre, resembling Zeman's 4-3-3.
But there was a clear difference: Napoli's four lines from front to back covered a distance of just 25 to 30 meters.
Jaconi had been in the Italian league for years, and he knew this much: Gao Shen had adopted Sacchi's philosophy of compressing the effective playing area, which made it easier to create numerical superiority in specific areas.
Another significant difference was Gao Shen's emphasis on high pressing in the front third, executed with great intensity and commitment.
Napoli were faster overall, and they played with sharpness and precision.
Whether it was pressing immediately after losing the ball or counter-attacking quickly when regaining possession, Napoli did everything at breakneck speed.
As a result, Frosinone couldn't even mount a single attack in the first five minutes of the game.
On the other hand, Napoli launched attack after attack, playing with great vigour.
In the sixth minute, Gervinho, still on the left, received the ball and made a forceful breakthrough towards the left side of the penalty area, sending in a cross.
Cavani, with his back to the goal, knocked the ball back. Hamsik ran in, controlled it inside the penalty area, and followed up with a shot.
The ball flew straight to the bottom right corner of the net.
"GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!"
Frosinone's defense only lasted six minutes before it crumbled!
...
"Yes!"
On the sideline, Gao Shen clenched his right fist and roared.
The entire stadium erupted with cheers from the Napoli fans.
After scoring the goal, Hamsik dashed out to celebrate excitedly.
It was only the second goal of his career.
His first goal came in the Coppa Italia last season when he scored for Brescia against AC Milan.
That goal had made him famous, and now, this goal marked a new beginning in his career.
He rushed to the sidelines, turned around, and celebrated with high-fives and hugs from his teammates. He did not forget to look towards the home team's bench, where Gao Shen gave him a thumbs-up from afar.
"Nice job, Marek!" Gao Shen shouted loudly.
The whole stadium was alive with cheers.
Most fans didn't even know Hamsik's name because they were unfamiliar with the player, but that didn't stop them from feeling thrilled and excited.
Scoring in six minutes, especially after a wave of attacks at the start what is this?
...
Jaconi was genuinely anxious.
He walked to the sidelines and loudly reminded his players to stay focused, stay alert, and avoid making mistakes.
Napoli's tactics were obviously different from last season, especially with their high pressing and aggressive style, which was too much for Frosinone to handle.
"Everyone stay sharp, be careful, and don't make mistakes!" Jaconi shouted.
This was the first game of the new season!
If they were humiliated with a heavy defeat in this game, how could they continue in the new season?
Damn, he had been misled by the media.
Didn't they say that Gao Shen was a fluke?
That his record at Real Madrid was all smoke and mirrors?
Why did his team look so formidable? How had he trained them to play like this?
Big miscalculation!
...
The game resumed.
Frosinone's players were disheartened to find that Napoli wasn't giving them any time to adjust.
When they kicked off again, Napoli pressed hard just like before, pinning them down in their 30-meter area.
Faced with such relentless high pressing, Frosinone's players were left scrambling.
After just five passes, Cavani intercepted the ball.
After stealing it, the Uruguayan forward sent a beautiful pass behind him. Gervinho, like a black bolt of lightning, darted forward, controlled the ball, went one-on-one with the goalkeeper, and then…
There was no "then"!
Gervinho shot the ball straight into the goalkeeper's arms.
Everyone was stunned.
You charged in so beautifully just now, then took the shot, and… why did you deflate like that?
Faced with Cavani's bewildered look, Gervinho simply shrugged with an innocent expression.
I'm a wing playmaker, and you want me to shoot? Isn't that embarrassing me?
...
Gao Shen also smacked his forehead hard on the sidelines.
Gervinho had no idea how many chances he had squandered. In the Napoli dressing room, this seemed to be a running joke.
This guy is really useful strong, fast, good footwork, great at dribbling but his finishing is just terrible.
Di Maria was also good, but he was still a bit too thin.
The midfield combination of Biglia and Rakitic seemed to be set. Barring any surprises, they would be the main duo for the new season.
Gao Shen originally wanted to buy Modric, but the Croatian midfielder played for domestic giants Dinamo Zagreb and was a World Cup international. His value was at least eight figures, beyond Napoli's current budget.
On the left, Vargas was sharp in attack and solid in defense. On the right, Austrian player György Garics was steady and reliable.
After more than a month of preparation and fine-tuning, Gao Shen had essentially settled on his starting lineup.
The next phase was to further hone the team's tactics, unlock the players' full potential, and develop their chemistry. Of course, none of this could be achieved overnight.
But Gao Shen wasn't too concerned Serie B would serve as a profound training ground for the team.
In reality, he never really considered teams like Frosinone as serious threats. With Napoli's current lineup and their advanced tactical system, if they couldn't comfortably beat Frosinone, there would be no way they could hope to build a competitive Serie A team within three years.
And sure enough, just a few minutes into the game, Napoli's offense was back on the attack.
Sanchez, stationed on the right wing, received a pass from Rakitic, cut inside with the ball, and then delivered it to Cavani. The Uruguayan striker controlled the ball, turned, and unleashed a powerful long-range shot from the top of the arc, sending it past Frosinone's goalkeeper once again.
In just thirteen minutes, Napoli were already 2-0 up.
It was clear they were setting the rhythm for a decisive victory!
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