Referee Tagliavento finally blew the final whistle.

  The moment the young Italian referee let go of the silver whistle, he felt utterly drained.

  This was the first time he had experienced such a game.

  He couldn't help but worry: would he be branded a traitor by his fellow Italians after this match?

  Because, throughout the game, it seemed as though he was helping Italy's publiemy, Gao Shen.

  The game had been decided well over an hour before it ended.

  Napoli scored two goals within the first ten minutes, and then added another just before halftime with a brilliant terattack. After switg sides for the sed half, they ed again ih minute, seg a 4-0 lead.

  From there, Napoli pyed a steady game, while Roma seemed to fall apart.

  Gao Shen didn't make any substitutions until the 75th minute.

  Everyohought the match was over at that point, but to everyone's surprise, the substitute pyers for Naphe attack, unleashing a fresh wave of aggression on Roma. Spalletti had no choice but to use his st substitution, bringing oeran Panucci to stabilize things.

  Parejo, Callejon, aens Napoli's three young substitutes made a deep impression.

  Parejo, in particur, had several dangerous passes.

  Pellè had one shot that hit the post, aens had a golden opportunity ihe box but shogly missed wide...

  If those two shots had gone in, it would've been a 6-0 rout.

  In the end, the game finished 4-0, with Roma soundly defeated!

  At the final whistle, the only sounds eg around the stadium were the cheers of the Napoli fans.

  Gao Shen and his coag staff celebrated the victory from the visitors' bench, while the pyers rushed off the field to join the coaches, reveling ihree points they had secured.

  This vieant a lot for Napoli.

  "Now we're in the eighth round of Serie A, with Napoli pying the first game of this round. Tonight, Inter Min will py away against Reggina, and it's shaping up to be a highly anticipated match."

  "Especially after Napoli's 4-0 away victory over Roma, the pressure will be on Inter Min."

  "Before today, Napoli and Inter Min were level on points with the same goal difference, with Iopping the standings only by alphabetical order. But now, with Napoli's decisive 4-0 win over Roma, if Inter Min fails to beat Reggina, Mani's team will lose their lead in the league."

  "The pressure is definitely on Inter now."

  "Keep in mind, as a club full of iional stars, Inter Min has more pyers affected by national team duties than Napoli. They also have several South Ameri iionals, which makes tonight's match against Reggina more challenging."

  "Of course, Napoli's 4-0 victory over Roma is undeniably the standout result of this round, and it might even shift the trajectory of Serie A this season."

  "Especially for Roma. If Spalletti's team 't regain their form at home and address their weakheir hopes of tending for the league title will bee increasingly unlikely."

  "With this performanapoli has proven that they have the strength to challenge for the Serie A title!"

  "Gao Shen is delivering on the promise he made to the world when he arrived in Naples over a year ago!"

  ---

  "Hahaha, did you see that? Did you see that?"

  After the game, Napoli's owner De Laurentiis couldn't help but stand up proudly, pointing at the Napoli pyers celebrating on the field, ughing with delight.

  "Back then, everyohought I was crazy, that Gao Shen ing to Naples was doomed to fail. Everyohought that his goal of building a strong Serie A team within three years was just a dream. But now, look at us!"

  Rosel Sensi and Bruno ti from Roma looked utterly dejected.

  They, too, had doubted Gao Shen from the beginning, and even until retly, they hadn't truly believed in his potential.

  But now, they had to admit that Napoli indeed had the strength to challenge for the Serie A title.

  Maybe in terms of raw strength, they were still behind Inter Min, but they had araordinarily clever and resourceful coach.

  Yes, Gao Shen is undeniably a genius!

  How else could you expin a 27-year-old anding a team with the posure and iy of a seasoned master, exeg tactics that even maeran coaches struggle with?

  Just look at this game from the pre-match psychological tactics, to the strategic setup, to the in-game adjustments...

  This didn't seem like the work of a 27-year-old in only his sed full season of coag.

  Bruno ti, who had coached Roma himself, knew firsthand the difficulty of managing a team.

  It recisely this experiehat made him realize just how impressive Gao Shen's achievements were.

  De Laurentiis might not be the most charming owner, but he had every reason to be smug.

  After all, he had been ughed at for his decision t Gao Shen to Naples.

  "In this game, we only lost a single goal och," Bruno ti said with a sigh.

  De Laurentiis, Marino, and even Sensi looked surprised.

  What did he mean by that? Wasn't the score 4-0?

  After a long sigh, ti shook his head and crified, "But we lost three or even six goals from the bench."

  Everyone was taken aback.

  This was a victory led by the head coach a triumph fao Shen!

  "I'm certain that before the game, Gao Shen wasn't thinking about how many goals they would win by. He probably just wao secure a win, and any additional goals were a bonus. But we handed him su easy start."

  In the end, ti couldn't tinue.

  Roma's shaky start gave Gao Shen the perfect opportunity to push forward, resulting in an onsught that led to foals.

  What else could he say?

  Even the goals Napoli scored on the field were enough to shame Roma.

  Roma was the sed-best team in Serie A st season, while Napoli was a newly promoted side.

  For the league runner-up to be defeated so decisively by a newly promoted team was nothing short of humiliating.

  And as Roma's teical director, Bruno ti couldn't escape responsibility!

  "If the media and fans demand atability after this, I'm willing to take responsibility," Bruno ti said with resignation.

  Hearing this, Rosel Sensi panicked. "Don't say that, Bruno. Now's not the time to assign bme!"

  Bruno ti was one of the core pilrs supp Roma, and she couldn't let him resign.

  Meanwhile, De Laurentiis and Mari a rush of pride upon hearing ti's words.

  Gao Shen was being a force to be reed with!

  In the past, their victories led to the downfall of opposing managers. Now, even Roma's teical director felt pelled to take responsibility!

  What a feat!

  If this trend tinued, perhaps even the owners of other clubs would be forced to resider their roles.

  Well, if something so meaningful were to happen, how could De Laurentiis not be involved?

  ---

  When De Laurentiis and Mariered the Napoli locker room, they could hear Gao Shen praising the pyers.

  The pyers clearly loved their coach, ughing and joking with him.

  At times, De Laurentiis wondered what kind of magic Gao Shen had used on these pyers.

  How did he get eae of them to be so loyal to him?

  He had seen many leaders whreat at motivating others, but Gao Shen was on another level.

  De Laurentiis and Marino initially thought Gao Shen would with a few quick words of praise, but to their surprise, he kept talking for a solid ten minutes, sh the pyers with pliments without repeating himself. Even De Laurentiis and Marino, eavesdropping outside the door, were captivated.

  With such eloque ity that Gao Shen was a coach.

  He'd be perfect for sales!

  Finally, Gao Shen finished praising the pyers and had to leave for the post-game press ference. He said his goodbyes to the pyers and, upon stepping out, noticed De Laurentiis and Marino at the door.

  "Hey, what brings you here?" Gao Shen asked, a little surprised.

  Caught up in the moment earlier, he hadn't noticed anyone listening in.

  "Oh, just came by to celebrate the team's big win and che the pyers," De Laurentiis replied with a grin.

  Gao Shen nodded, signaling to his assistant Carlo with a subtle wink. Carlo nodded back, signaling that he'd keep an eye on the owner and prevent him from causing trouble.

  Reassured, Gao Shen said goodbye to De Laurentiis and headed to the press ference.

  Once Gao Shen was gone, De Laurentiis straightened his suit and took a moment to gather his thoughts, determio inspire the pyers as much as Gao Shen had.

  Clearing his throat with a dramatic cough, he ehe locker room with Carlo by his side.

  But the sight that greeted him was disappointing.

  The Napoli pyers, who had been ughing and cheering with Gao Shen, were now busy pag up their belongings.

  It felt like they had all entered a state of calm after Gao Shen's pep talk.

  This left De Laurentiis at a loss for words.

  When the pyers noticed the owner and the general mahey greeted them politely, but there was ement, which made De Laurentiis feel defted.

  What was going on?

  Is Gao Shen some kind of entiy that makes everyohrilled, while I'm just chopped liver?

  He's their leader, sure, but I'm their big boss!

  Couldn't they at least pretend to care a little?

  Carlo also noticed the awkward atmosphere and coughed a few times, stepping forward to say a few words to the pyers. He remihem that the boss had e down personally to visit, encing them to show a little more enthusiasm. He even joked, telling one pyer to at least put on some shorts before fag the boss with his bare backside.

  This seemed to liven up the locker room a bit, with pyers straightening up, giving a bit more attention to their surroundings, and putting on a sembnce of respect for the owner. De Laurentiis finally saw his ce to speak.

  But by then, he was also out of the heady excitement he'd felt just moments earlier. The rousing speech he had prepared outside the door was now slipping away, repced by simple words of gratutions. He managed a few pliments, praised their performance, and then, with a forced smile, made his way out of the locker room.

  As soon as he stepped outside, his smile faded.

  Is this really his team?

  No, this is Gao Shen's team!