Starting With Real Madrid

When Gao Shen woke up, he felt refreshed.

Every time he spent a night in the tactical library, he would wake up feeling energized and clear-headed.

It allowed him to start each new day in peak condition.

Pulling back the curtains, he saw the bright sunlight streaming through the window. The weather was perfect.

Having grown up in southern China, he had struggled to adjust to the gloomy British weather while studying at Loughborough University. That was why, when he had the chance to intern, he had chosen Madrid, where the sun was almost always shining.

Later, he moved to Italy, where the climate suited him better.

Standing in front of the bathroom mirror, he splashed cold water on his face. The icy shock sent a shiver down his spine, waking him up completely.

As he stared at his wet reflection, a thought suddenly struck him.

He remembered what he had looked like when he first arrived in this timeline.

Back then, he never could have imagined reaching this point.

His only focus at the time had been surviving at Real Madrid, figuring out a way to hold onto his job.

Now, survival was no longer the goal. His ambitions had grown far beyond that.

He had figured it out.

Ferguson had told him this. Mourinho had said it too. Even Su Qing had advised him.

He clenched his fists and stared at himself in the mirror.

"Take down Ferguson. Reach the final!"

At that moment, he felt like a warrior setting out to slay a demon.

---

That morning, everyone at the club noticed something different about Gao Shen.

For the past few days, he had seemed tense and preoccupied. But today, he was back to his old self—calm, confident, and full of energy.

Like Naples itself, he was radiating sunshine and vitality.

Zidane and Lucas picked up on the shift almost immediately.

Carlo and the others noticed it when they arrived at Castel Volturno.

Everyone was relieved.

This was the Gao Shen they knew.

---

Each morning, the coaching staff gathered early for a meeting to go over the day's training schedule and key points of focus.

As usual, Carlo chaired the meeting.

Gao Shen usually didn't participate in training sessions himself.

But today, as soon as everyone had arrived, he walked straight up to the front of the room.

He had something to say.

Looking at his staff, he felt a deep sense of camaraderie.

Every one of them was an expert in their field.

Carlo had coached Real Madrid and was more than capable of managing any top club.

Fernando Lucas was arguably the best analyst in Europe.

Zidane—a legendary footballer, a soon-to-be coaching icon.

Maurizio Sarri—a tactical genius, though still waiting for a permanent contract.

Buenaventura, Pintus, Borrell, Lopis—all of them elite in their respective fields.

After three years together, they had become a well-oiled machine.

Gao Shen took a deep breath.

"First things first, forget the first leg. We need to focus entirely on Old Trafford next week."

He turned to Lucas.

"The analysis team needs to prepare a detailed report as soon as possible. We need to break everything down and analyze it thoroughly. Also, I want scouts closely monitoring Manchester United's every move."

Lucas nodded in acknowledgment.

"The first leg ended 1-1 at home. That means we have no choice, we must score in the second leg."

"With that in mind, I want to have one-on-one meetings with every player over the next two days. I want to hear their thoughts."

"But before that, I want to hear from you all. Are you confident about the second leg? What tactics do you think we should use? Do we attack? Do we defend? We need to be very careful in our approach."

If they attacked, they risked being caught on the counterattack.

With Rooney, Ronaldo, Berbatov, and Tevez, Manchester United's counter was one of the deadliest in Europe.

If they pushed forward recklessly, they could leave themselves exposed.

On the other hand, Napoli's passing and movement were among the best in Europe.

But United's defense was also formidable.

Gao Shen had always believed that the best way to understand an opponent was to listen to the players who had actually faced them on the pitch.

If they focused on defense, they still had to find a way to score goals.

---

In Gao Shen's staff, each coach had their own personality and approach.

Carlo was naturally cautious.

He always thought about how things could go wrong first, before considering victory.

That had always been his style. Identify weaknesses, then reinforce them.

"We need to defend well at Old Trafford," Carlo said. "But I do think we should start with an aggressive approach. We need to take the initiative and try to score early. If we can't, then we fall back and focus on staying compact."

"At home, we didn't play to our strengths," he added bluntly. "We were solid, but we let chances slip away."

Gao Shen nodded.

He had already admitted that the first-leg result was on him.

Zidane, in contrast, was balanced and pragmatic.

He believed that after drawing 1-1 away, Ferguson would expect Napoli to attack at Old Trafford.

"I actually think our first-leg tactics could work well again in the second leg," Zidane said. "I rewatched the match, we handled Rooney and Carrick very well."

Gao Shen shook his head.

"Ferguson will have learned from the first leg. I think he'll start Berbatov this time."

"Will Wes Brown be available?" Zidane asked Lucas.

Lucas shook his head. "No signs of a return yet."

Brown had been Manchester United's first-choice right-back last season.

He had performed well and was reliable defensively.

"If Wes Brown can't return, what about Manchester United's right flank?" Zidane asked. "We should let Di María stay on the left and keep attacking O'Shea. If we keep pressing him, United will struggle to cope."

Everyone nodded.

Cristiano Ronaldo rarely tracked back beyond the halfway line. Regardless of where Ferguson positioned him, he always drifted forward during matches, his focus was on scoring goals.

This was why some critics, including Ferguson himself, felt he was somewhat one-dimensional.

"Let's go with a 4-2-3-1." Gao Shen suddenly declared.

The room fell silent.

"Berbatov up front. Rooney can play on either the left or right. The other two in the attacking trio should be Tevez and Park Ji-sung, while Ronaldo plays centrally, roaming behind Berbatov. We can even have Berbatov drop deep while Ronaldo makes runs beyond him on the counterattack."

Everyone quickly understood what Gao Shen meant, this was a variation of a system United had used before.

Over the past three seasons, Ferguson's Manchester United had been one of the strongest and most consistent teams in Europe, constantly evolving tactically.

In Gao Shen's previous life, Guardiola had defeated Ferguson by using an elite possession-based system, combined with the brilliance of Messi and Iniesta.

But Napoli wasn't Barcelona, they needed a different approach.

"If we play 4-2-3-1, we'll likely control the midfield," Sarri pointed out. "That could be a major advantage."

"Exactly," Gao Shen agreed. "With Berbatov and Ronaldo both operating centrally, neither of them will track back. Can Carrick and Fletcher alone hold the midfield?"

Carlo frowned. "That's risky. If we push too far forward, we'll be exposed to counterattacks."

Tactical setups always involved trade-offs.

There was no such thing as a perfect strategy.

If you focused on attacking, your defense would suffer. If you reinforced one side, the other would become vulnerable.

That was the reality of football.

"If we press high, how long can we sustain it with our current fitness levels?" Gao Shen asked Buenaventura and Pintus.

Previously, he had felt that aggressive pressing was too risky.

But now, he realized that every choice carried risks.

Manchester United were an exceptional team with elite players. No matter how Napoli played, Ferguson would find a way to create chances.

No team could be completely flawless when facing a side of this caliber.

"United's tempo is fast, and their attacks are physically demanding," Buenaventura responded. "If we go all out, we can probably maintain high-intensity pressing for around 70 minutes."

Pintus thought for a moment and agreed. "Yes, 70 minutes at most."

That was actually quite good.

The Premier League was notorious for its physical demands, high tempo, constant duels, and relentless pressing. Even top teams struggled to maintain intensity for an entire match.

In Gao Shen's previous life, Klopp's Dortmund could only sustain their high-pressing game for about 60 minutes against Premier League teams like Arsenal.

This was an option worth considering.

In those first 60-70 minutes, Napoli needed to take control and capitalize on their dominance.

One goal might not be enough.

The ideal scenario was to score first, overturn the aggregate score, then drop deeper and force United to push forward, opening up space for counterattacks.

But Ferguson was no fool.

He wouldn't allow the match to follow Napoli's script.

And what if, in the attacking phase, United struck first?

What if they countered and scored before Napoli?

That was a question without an easy answer.

This was the Champions League semifinals, every match was worth tens of millions of euros.

If it were simple, it wouldn't be one of the highest levels of football.

This was the biggest stage in the world.

"Alright, everyone, think it over carefully," Gao Shen said. "I'll do the same. In the meantime, I'll talk to the players individually. I need to hear their thoughts on the first leg, especially their impressions of United's players."

If the squad lacked confidence, the tactics needed to account for that.

If they were confident, Gao Shen could afford to take a more aggressive approach.

At the end of the day, no matter how perfect the strategy, the players were the ones who had to execute it.

They were the ones on the pitch.

So Gao Shen needed to craft a plan that fit them.

***

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