Starting With Real Madrid

No one could have predicted that a meal originally intended to persuade Gao Shen to coach Barcelona would instead turn into a situation where Gao Shen fervently recommended Guardiola for the job.

What's more surprising was how convincing his arguments were, so well-reasoned and compelling that the more Gao Shen spoke, the more Begiristain and Soriano found themselves emotionally moved, even distressed by how on point his analysis was.

If Sacchi was considered the number one talent in football tactics, then Gao Shen had just established himself as another unrivaled genius in football management.

Of course, the meal went on harmoniously, filled with laughter and camaraderie, and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves thoroughly.

Yet, as Gao Shen dropped the three men off at their hotel, it dawned on them that the initial purpose of their trip to convince him to take the reins at Barcelona had failed.

At that moment, Begiristain turned to Guardiola with renewed interest.

"Pep, would you be willing to draft a plan for the team?" Begiristain asked, his tone encouraging.

As a former teammate from Barcelona's Dream Team, Begiristain shared a longstanding bond with Guardiola. The idea of Guardiola taking over as head coach wasn't just exciting to him professionally; it was personally gratifying. After all, Gao Shen's glowing endorsement had further piqued his curiosity.

If Guardiola had held back during the earlier conversation with Gao Shen, such hesitation now felt unwarranted. With Gao Shen pushing so strongly in his favor, any more reluctance would come across as insincere.

"I'll write one overnight and have it ready for you tomorrow," Guardiola said with newfound confidence.

---

After dropping the trio off at the hotel, Gao Shen called a car and headed home.

Though he had listed three reasons for declining Barcelona's offer, there was a fourth and arguably the most crucial one that he had kept to himself.

He didn't believe he could stay at Barcelona for very long.

Drawing on his knowledge of football history, Gao Shen foresaw the challenges ahead. Should he take the Barcelona job now, next year's presidential election would likely result in Laporta being ousted by the long-planned coup of Rosell. Once Rosell came into power, Gao Shen, as Laporta's chosen coach, would undoubtedly be in an untenable position.

Even Guardiola, a Barcelona legend who led the team to a treble in his debut season, had been marginalized under Rosell.

As for Soriano, Barcelona's vice president of finance, and Begiristain, the technical director, both of them were destined to leave for Manchester City in the future. When that time came, what hope would there be for Gao Shen, an outsider, to survive in Barcelona's political minefield?

The answer was clear.

If Gao Shen achieved great results in his first season, Rosell might hesitate to dismiss him outright but would likely use various tactics to curb his influence. Under such restrictions, how could Gao Shen maintain the level of success expected of Barcelona?

And if he failed to deliver results, his downfall would be swift and brutal.

It was precisely for this reason that Gao Shen had no intention of stepping into Barcelona's murky waters.

There was nothing to gain and everything to lose.

---

As night settled in Beijing, morning broke in Italy.

In Naples, De Laurentiis and Marino were growing increasingly anxious after hearing reports that Inter Milan and Barcelona had both approached Gao Shen in China.

Despite Gao Shen's actions suggesting he intended to stay, such as his involvement in selling Domic and Garics while signing Benatia his reluctance to finalize a contract renewal left them on edge.

Eventually, De Laurentiis's patience wore thin, and he instructed Marino to call Gao Shen directly.

Coincidentally, when Marino's call came through, Gao Shen had just gotten out of the car in his apartment complex.

"Marino, I was just about to call you," Gao Shen greeted with a cheerful tone.

Marino, however, couldn't help but panic, misinterpreting Gao Shen's upbeat attitude as a precursor to bad news.

"Wh… what's going on?" Marino stammered, his voice heavy with unease.

"Shouldn't I be the one asking you that?" Gao Shen replied, sounding amused by Marino's unusual tone.

"Uh… nothing, nothing at all," Marino answered awkwardly.

Unaware of Marino's nervousness, Gao Shen began discussing plans for the team's preseason preparations. His tone was casual, completely devoid of any hint that he might leave, which finally allowed Marino to breathe a sigh of relief.

"Gao, let's put those matters aside for now. We need to handle something more pressing first," Marino said, regaining some composure.

"What's that?"

"Your contract renewal."

"Are you afraid I'll run off?" Gao Shen teased, chuckling lightly.

Marino forced a laugh, though inwardly he wanted to say: Gao Shen, you have no idea just how sought-after you are right now!

"I'll head back in a few days. Then we can sit down, hash everything out, and get it done properly," Gao Shen reassured him.

Hearing this, Marino nodded quickly, relieved that they were finally making progress on the contract front.

In truth, the new contract had been ready for a while, but Gao Shen had delayed the negotiations, citing various reasons. During the season, he claimed he was too busy to discuss it, and after the season ended, he went on vacation, leaving the matter in limbo.

Now, however, Gao Shen felt it was time to settle things.

---

"Why are you back so late?"

The moment Gao Shen stepped into the house, Su Qing stood up from the sofa, her gaze filled with concern.

Although the TV was playing the evening news, it was clear she hadn't been paying attention. She must have been waiting for him, alert to every sound coming from the door.

"I ran into an old friend, and we ended up chatting longer than expected," Gao Shen explained with a smile.

He couldn't help but feel a little triumphant, especially after his glowing recommendation of Guardiola earlier that evening. The look of gratitude Guardiola had given him as they parted was still fresh in his mind.

Reflecting on how he had helped Guardiola while simultaneously paving the way for his own future plans, Gao Shen felt an indescribable sense of satisfaction.

Now that he had given Guardiola a push, all that remained was to turn his attention to Zidane.

But thinking about Zidane left Gao Shen feeling a bit exasperated.

Has that guy finally gotten his coaching license? he wondered.

As talented as Zidane was as a player, why did it seem like he was dragging his feet when it came to becoming a coach?

Sitting down on the sofa, Gao Shen gave Su Qing a brief rundown of the night's events. Of course, he avoided mentioning his private calculations, instead presenting himself as someone full of conviction and clarity.

"So, your next goal is to lead Napoli to success in the Champions League?" Su Qing asked, summarizing his intentions.

"That's right." Gao Shen nodded. He then elaborated on the challenges Napoli would face, particularly in the group stage, where they were guaranteed to land in the so-called "Group of Death." The only variable was how difficult it would be.

"If anything, I think it's the other teams who should be worried," Su Qing said lightly. "With Napoli as strong as they are in the fourth seed, no one's going to want to face you."

Her words were music to Gao Shen's ears, and he nodded with a smile.

"Still, we need to stay realistic. The goal is to qualify from the group stage. Once we're in the knockout rounds, we'll take it one game at a time," he said.

Su Qing agreed, sensing that Gao Shen had matured. His confidence now came with a sense of balance assertive when necessary but grounded and strategic.

"This will probably be my last year in Naples," Gao Shen said after a moment of reflection.

"Why?" Su Qing asked, puzzled.

Gao Shen smiled faintly. "De Laurentiis has already invested so much money. To be honest, I don't think I can ask for more."

He then explained that while De Laurentiis wasn't a billionaire like Abramovich, he had still been funding the club out of his own pocket. Even the €2 million spent on Maggio was a substantial sum in the football world.

Despite what fans might think accustomed to hearing about transfers costing tens or even hundreds of millions of euros—€2 million was no small figure for most clubs. For De Laurentiis, it was a significant outlay.

"Eventually, he's going to want to cash out. He's not the type to pour endless money into a club. And when that time comes, Napoli's performance will drop, and the team will start selling players to stay afloat. When the supermarket opens, the giants will come running. That'll be my cue to leave," Gao Shen concluded.

He glanced at Su Qing. "After all, I'm not Ferguson."

---

"Remember how, back in school, we'd all memorize famous quotes to use in essays? Every time we had an assignment, we'd compare who had used the best one?" Gao Shen asked with a nostalgic grin.

Su Qing nodded, a little shyly.

"Well, isn't now the perfect time for you to hit me with one of those quotes for encouragement?" he teased.

Caught off guard, Su Qing hesitated. Wasn't that something they only did for essays or graduation notes?

But seeing Gao Shen's expectant look, she thought for a moment and finally said, "In front of God and the world, the strong always have the right to implement their will."

Gao Shen frowned. "Wait, is that supposed to be a compliment for me?"

Wasn't that something Napoleon once said?

Su Qing blushed, feeling slightly embarrassed.

"The class geniuses from our school sometimes got their quotes a bit wrong," Gao Shen joked with a grin.

Realizing her first choice hadn't landed well, Su Qing cleared her throat and tried again. "Then how about this: 'A gentleman strives for self-improvement.'"

"Hmm, a little cliché, don't you think?" Gao Shen said, feigning disdain.

Su Qing shot him a glare, clearly annoyed, and stood up. "Fine, make do with those two!" she said, turning toward the bedroom.

As she walked away, Gao Shen smiled and leaned back on the sofa, a sense of warmth filling him.

A little while later, a message popped up in his social media inbox.

"Do what you're supposed to do, and let the results speak for themselves," it read.

Gao Shen smiled and typed back, "Thank you."

A moment later, the reply came: "You're welcome."

***

Checkout my new books:

☆DC: Tyrant

☆ASOIAF/GOT: The King On The Wall

☆Ethan's Fantasy-Drift

Check them out so you can vote for anyone you enjoy before the poll ends.

For every 500 PS = 1 extra chapter. Support me on patreon to read 45+ advanced chapters: patreon.com/Blownleaves.