Starting With Real Madrid

After finishing the morning training session, Lucas Biglia took a shower and changed into fresh clothes in the locker room. He greeted his teammates before leaving and made his way straight to the coach's office.

When he reached Gao Shen's office, he noticed the door was closed, so he stepped forward and knocked lightly.

"Come in," came a deep voice from within.

Biglia glanced around, then opened the door and entered.

The coach's office was bright and simple, furnished with a desk and chair, a cabinet for files, a sofa, and most strikingly, a large Sony TV hanging on the wall.

Initially, some media outlets had accused Gao Shen of using the club's funds for personal indulgence because of this TV. When he requested it from Marino, he claimed it was for watching games, but people later noticed he often used it for gaming.

He had joked, saying, "It's productivity before you buy it, but iQiyi after you buy it."

iQIYI?

The Inter Milan players didn't understand, but the combination of a big Sony TV and a Sony game console? That, they got—it was cool!

"Close the door," Gao Shen said as he glanced over at Biglia, urging him to shut it with an almost conspiratorial urgency, as though worried someone might see them.

Biglia chuckled, closed the door obediently, and walked over to sit next to Gao Shen, watching him play a game.

In reality, Gao Shen was far from being a skilled football player, but in the virtual world, he had led Napoli to invincibility—a reputation everyone on the team acknowledged.

Biglia also played video games occasionally, but he wasn't very good at them.

Right now, he was sitting next to Gao Shen, watching him control a virtual Napoli team to take on Inter Milan. The Argentine found himself growing excited, especially when he noticed that Gao Shen had included him in the lineup. His mind started to race with thoughts was this some sort of hint?

"Another day, I'm going to tell the game developers that they seriously underestimated Biglia's stats," Gao Shen remarked, still focused on the game.

Biglia looked at him, puzzled.

"Your passing is rated way too low, and your tackling too," Gao Shen said, turning briefly to grin at him.

Biglia wasn't quite sure how to respond.

Just then, Gao Shen suddenly grew animated. "Watch this long pass I'm about to make."

He controlled Biglia's character, who received the ball from a teammate and sent a long pass forward. Cavani used his body to block Cordoba, heading the ball down to Hamsik, who took a direct shot.

Goal!

"Beautiful!" Biglia cheered, laughing.

"Even with lower stats, you're still effective," Gao Shen praised.

It was only a game, but Biglia still felt a burst of pride at the compliment.

…

After finishing the game, Gao Shen turned it off and poured a glass of water for Biglia.

It was only now that Biglia noticed there was music playing softly in the office, which had been drowned out by the game sounds earlier.

"Boss, whose music is this?" Biglia asked as he sipped his water.

"It's by a Chinese singer, Jay Chou. The song's called In the Name of the Father, a tribute to The Godfather."

Biglia nodded thoughtfully.

Listening to In the Name of the Father in Naples felt rather fitting, especially with the city's associations with the mafia.

Gao Shen silently drank his tea, letting Biglia take in the song.

"This singer is really talented. If you like it, I can share all his songs with you," Gao Shen said, seizing the opportunity to introduce a bit of Chinese culture.

Last Christmas, Gao Shen had sent each player a personal gift with a Chinese touch, handpicked by Su Qing in China. Meanwhile, the club's official gift was a high-end set of Apple earbuds and headphones for everyone.

So lately, during Napoli's games, nearly every player could be seen wearing the same headphones.

And Gao Shen had taken every chance he could to introduce Chinese music to them.

…

When Gao Shen talked to his players, he liked to start with small talk before gradually guiding the conversation toward the topics he wanted to discuss.

In the past couple of days, he had been chatting with five or six players each day, which required him to know each player's temperament, family background, preferences, and current form. He also had to keep each conversation brief.

Fortunately, while Gao Shen might not claim to be the highest-level tactician, he prided himself on his skill in chatting with players, especially with his knack for delivering compliments.

As he guided the conversation, Gao Shen eventually shifted the focus to the upcoming match.

He first asked Biglia about the recent Liverpool-Inter Milan game, which he had specifically asked Lucas to study closely. He'd also instructed him to watch highlights of Inter's games against Sampdoria and Roma, all of which were intense midfield battles. Today, Gao Shen intended to "test" Biglia on his homework.

Biglia answered Gao Shen's questions calmly, demonstrating that he had done his research thoroughly. He seemed well-informed on the finer details of the matches, especially when it came to Mascherano.

Few people knew that Biglia and Mascherano were actually close friends. Biglia was also a former teammate of Messi's, having won the World Youth Championship with him.

In Gao Shen's view, both Biglia and Mascherano were versatile midfielders who could contribute to both offense and defense. Mascherano might be stronger defensively, but Biglia had the edge in passing and playmaking.

As far back as his time at Real Madrid, Gao Shen had advocated for the 4-2-3-1 formation, calling it a highly adaptable system.

It could be used for defensive counter-attacks, high pressing, short-passing play, or wide play.

In essence, if the right players were available, it could handle anything.

Over the years, some of the most iconic midfield partnerships had come from 4-2-3-1 setups.

For instance, Valencia's Baraja and Albelda, or Liverpool's Mascherano and Xabi Alonso.

Upon closer inspection, you'd notice a commonality: these iconic midfield duos typically consisted of players who could handle both offense and defense. Purely defensive players like Mohamed Sissoko, by contrast, didn't fit as well.

Mascherano? He was never purely a defensive player; in fact, his passing and organizational skills were quite good.

Since last season, Gao Shen had been working to transform Biglia and Rakitic into a dynamic midfield duo, though he had initially received some criticism for Biglia's positioning.

But sometimes, things just work out in unexpected ways.

This season, Gao Shen realized that Biglia had improved his sense of positioning, his tackling skills were solid, and his organization, distribution, and long-passing were all reliable. Meanwhile, Rakitic contributed more through his running, coverage, and link-up play.

To put it simply, Biglia was like a more defensive version of Pirlo, while Rakitic was a versatile all-rounder.

But there was one issue.

Biglia had a calm and reserved personality, but he lacked the presence of a true leader.

This was something Gao Shen had long wanted to help him develop.

Lucas once created a data analysis for Gao Shen, showing that Biglia's passing accuracy and volume were almost on par with Xabi Alonso's—Biglia's passing accuracy was 88%, compared to Xabi Alonso's 89%.

In terms of chances and key passes created, Biglia even slightly outperformed Xabi Alonso, averaging 0.3 more per game.

On defense, Xabi Alonso excelled at interceptions, while Biglia was better at tackles, but Biglia's biggest weakness was aerial duels, where he was no match for Xabi Alonso.

From these stats, it was clear that Biglia was a capable "metronome" in midfield, excelling in organization and distribution. However, his physical limitations hindered him in aerial and physical duels.

Napoli's double-pivot midfielders were both runners and passers, a unique approach compared to other teams.

…

During the conversation, Gao Shen mainly guided Biglia to express his own thoughts.

For instance, why was Liverpool able to dominate Inter Milan so comprehensively despite their poor form?

Clearly, the presence of Mascherano, Lucas Leiva, and Gerrard was crucial.

So, what exactly were they doing?

And why, even with such dominance, did they fail to create more scoring chances and goals?

Gao Shen first asked "why" questions, leading Biglia to think and analyze independently. Then, he asked him, "If it were you, what would you do?"; "If our team wants to achieve Liverpool's tactical results, what challenges do you think we'd face?"…

Gao Shen listened carefully to Biglia's responses, occasionally posing new questions, which made Biglia feel that every word he said mattered. This encouraged him to share his thoughts more openly.

Many of Biglia's ideas were, in fact, suggestions Gao Shen subtly planted in his mind, but by letting Biglia voice them himself, he made the player feel a sense of ownership over them.

Finally, Gao Shen asked the question he was most interested in.

"If we want to achieve what you described against Inter Milan, what do you need from me?" Gao Shen asked this very carefully.

Biglia took a deep breath, now fully understanding.

Not only did he know what he needed to do, but he also understood what Gao Shen wanted him to do. He nodded resolutely, saying, "Boss, I think you've prepared us well enough. Don't worry, I won't disappoint you in this game!"

"No, no, no, Lucas, I have to correct you on one thing," Gao Shen shook his head firmly.

Biglia looked at him, slightly taken aback. Had he said something wrong?

"From the day you joined my team, you have never disappointed me. I believe in you more than anyone else, and I know that this time will be no different," Gao Shen said with a confident smile.

Biglia nodded, feeling a surge of emotion.

At just 22 years old, he once envied players like Mascherano, who had made their mark in top European leagues at a young age. But now, he felt he was no less than anyone, and his team was on the verge of a Serie A title challenge.

He believed that, under Gao Shen's leadership, Napoli's ambitions would extend far beyond just the Serie A championship.

"Boss, in this match, we will definitely take down Inter Milan at home and claim the top spot in Serie A for the third time!" Biglia declared passionately before he left.

Gao Shen was very satisfied with his response.

A man should be tough and resolute when it matters most!

***

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