Chapter 260: The Great Demon King VS god's Illegitimate Son

Gao Shen felt like he was currently in the phase of a "Cannibal Demon King marching toward Grasse." That much was clear from the Italian media's coverage following Napoli's victory over Pisa.

There wasn't much in-depth analysis of the match itself. Instead, most of the headlines were exaggerating a sense of panic and suspense, portraying Gao Shen as a monstrous figure who had landed in Serie A to wreak havoc.

An 8-0 thrashing of Cesena followed by a 3-0 win against Pisa meant that Napoli had captured the attention of many ahead of the season. The team was gaining a lot of recognition, even receiving praise from some of the more respected voices in Italian football.

Sacchi, in his column, highlighted how important Gao Shen's adjustments were in the second half against Pisa. He also noted the impressive depth of Napoli's bench.

"I got to know Callejon during my time as technical director at Real Madrid, and I've heard of Parejo's reputation. Both players were top prospects at Real Madrid's youth academy, and under Gao Shen, they played an excellent match," Sacchi commented.

The legendary coach was particularly impressed by Parejo's lofted pass that led to one of the goals.

"It was a pass full of imagination and showcased a different style for Napoli's attack, one that adds a new layer of creativity to the team," Sacchi observed.

He credited Gao Shen for bringing more creativity to Napoli's offensive play, especially through players like Parejo.

However, most of the Italian media continued to push the narrative of "The Fear of Gao Shen," with some even likening him to the Voldemort of Italian football—"He Who Must Not Be Named."

"Their styles are similarly aggressive, relying on overwhelming power to subdue their opponents quickly," one publication compared.

This narrative, in a way, admitted that Gao Shen was challenging the long-standing tactical doctrines of Italian football and shaking the confidence of the nation's footballing identity.

The panic being stoked by the media stemmed from one question: What happens to Italian football when its most cherished tactics start to show signs of becoming outdated?

Gao Shen was an outsider, a foreigner who didn't care about preserving Italian football's traditions. His focus was purely on leading Napoli to success, no matter the cost. If it meant tearing down the current system, so be it.

Could the Italians reconcile with that?

The Gazzetta dello Sport argued that even if Gao Shen's Napoli were to succeed, it would be of little benefit to Italian football because Napoli was an international team.

"Every league is rooted in its country's culture, and so is Serie A. This is something that neither Gao Shen nor Napoli truly understand," the newspaper insisted.

But Sacchi disagreed in his column. While he acknowledged that both Gao Shen and Napoli were indeed international in nature, he pointed out that the same could be said of Juventus, AC Milan, and Inter.

"What this situation actually reveals is the underlying issues within the Italian youth academy system, and it's unfair to blame a young coach and a young team for that."

Sacchi saw Gao Shen and Napoli as a window through which the Italian football community could glimpse the future of European football.

"I've always advocated for change, and what I want to stress is that Gao Shen and Napoli represent a glimpse into the evolving trends of modern football. They're showing us the way forward," Sacchi wrote.

He concluded that the media was demonizing Gao Shen and Napoli because the team simply wasn't strong enough yet.

"The truth is, if Napoli were truly dominant, there wouldn't be this kind of fear."

Sacchi's statement hit the nail on the head.

Gao Shen was looking forward to the day when, in his words, "His Majesty the Great Demon King would arrive to conquer all of Paris." It was bound to be an interesting spectacle.

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While the media outside was busy stirring up controversy, the atmosphere at Fort Volturno was different. Napoli's schedule was packed, with double fixtures every week keeping everyone on their toes.

After the match against Pisa, the team returned to Naples immediately and resumed training the next morning. There was little time to prepare for the next game against Cagliari, and even less for specialized training sessions.

Following a recovery session, the coaching staff gathered in the office to prepare for the upcoming clash with Cagliari, a team that had barely escaped relegation last season. They had finished just one point above the drop zone, yet their roster was not without talent especially considering that David Suazo, who had been their top player, had moved to Inter Milan for a significant fee this summer.

Cagliari's head coach was Marco Giampaolo, a man who had just turned forty.

Gao Shen's most vivid memory of him was as the future AC Milan coach, though Giampaolo's track record wasn't particularly impressive.

However, what the general public saw was often just the tip of the iceberg. Anyone capable of coaching a club like AC Milan clearly had more to them than met the eye.

Giampaolo's career trajectory was indeed unique. He had never been an accomplished player and retired at the age of thirty. He then worked his way up in teams like Pescara and Treviso, usually serving as an assistant coach.

Interestingly, for various reasons, he struggled to obtain his coaching license for quite some time.

In 2003, Giampaolo took on the assistant coach role at Ascoli under Argentine head coach Aldo Ammazzalorso. But when the head coach left, Giampaolo was promoted to head coach—at least unofficially. Because he still lacked a coaching certificate, Ascoli's official head coach was scout Massimo Silva, while Giampaolo did all the actual coaching.

Despite the unconventional arrangement, Giampaolo led Ascoli to an impressive seventh-place finish in Serie B in his first season. When several Serie B teams struggled with financial difficulties and registration issues, Ascoli ended up being promoted to Serie A through a series of fortunate circumstances that seemed almost too good to be true.

It was as if fate or perhaps even divine intervention was determined to see Ascoli in Serie A. The series of events was so improbable that even the most imaginative football novelists would hesitate to write such a story.

But fate didn't stop there. Ascoli managed to secure a respectable 12th place finish in Serie A that season, defying all expectations. Giampaolo's reputation soared, and he was eventually hired by Cagliari.

However, Cagliari's management was fickle, and after a string of poor results, Giampaolo was fired in December only to be rehired by February, leading the team to avoid relegation.

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Giampaolo's career was indeed a curious one. It was hard not to wonder whether he was, as some joked, god's illegitimate son.

However, despite his ups and downs, Giampaolo clearly had the skills to coach at a high level. Leading Ascoli to 12th in Serie A was no small feat.

Last season, Cagliari had only managed to score 35 goals, the fewest in the league, but they were solid defensively, conceding just 46 goals, the eighth-best record in Serie A.

Thirteen of those goals were conceded during the eight games coached by Franco Colomba, who briefly replaced Giampaolo. If one disregarded those eight matches, Cagliari's defense under Giampaolo was one of the most formidable in the league.

This season, with Suazo and a few other attackers gone, Cagliari had brought in younger players like Larrivey, Matri, and Acquafresca, shifting to a different offensive style. Despite the changes, the team's focus remained on defense.

The backline was unchanged from last season, and they added two experienced midfielders: Fini, who arrived on a free transfer from relegated Ascoli, and Foggia, who was on loan from Lazio. Both players were familiar to Giampaolo from his time at Ascoli.

It was evident that Cagliari was looking to make a statement this season, and it was almost certain that they would employ a defensive strategy against Napoli.

Therefore, the key to Napoli's victory would be finding a way to break down Cagliari's defense.