There's an old saying in football: the oute of a game is decided the moment you step onto the pitch.

  Many people don't uand why this is true.

  But that's simply how it is.

  Take Napoli, for example. The issues the team faces aren't really down to the pyers, and even the coag staff 't be entirely bmed.

  Imagihe league as a high-speed train, with each game like a stop along its journey. Each stop has a fixed arrival time, a fixed departure time, and the train speeds off toward the destination, with barely any margin for error in the schedule. The petition is fierce, and every detail is meticulously timed.

  So here's the question:

  What if, at the very first station, the train is deyed by just one minute? What happens then?

  The answer is simple: each subsequent stop will also be deyed.

  Now, what if there are deys at multiple stations?

  The deys pile up, aually, the train is seriously off-schedule.

  The same principle applies to the league. Over a full season, success isn't only about the strength of the team or the quality of the coag staff. It's also about problem-solving effid adaptability.

  When too many issues go unresolved in the relentless pace of a league, they snowball into far more severe, even catastrophisequences over time.

  Just look at A this season.

  Who would have believed that st year's Champions League winners are now sitting in ninth p Serie A, flirting with the relegation zone?

  Is Ai inpetent?

  Of course not.

  But sihe start of the season, A has faced mounting problems. Ai mao solve some, but others required more time. And in a league, time is the ohing you don't have. Some issues may not be solvable at all within the season's schedule straints.

  And so, A finds itself in this predit.

  Napoli's situation is somewhat simir, albeit with a different trajectory—starting high, but then gradually sliding down.

  Things took a sharp turn in November. After three straight months of pyers leaving for national team duty, a host of new issues erupted in hese unresolved problems derailed the entire season pn, leaving the team's form in a dismal state.

  Some might wonder, why is Inter Min so sistent?

  The answer is straightforward: pared to other Serie A teams, Inter's squad is much stronger, with greater depth and more resilieo setbacks.

  ---

  Gao Shen was deeply dissatisfied with Napoli's performan November and December.

  But he never expressed his displeasure publicly, or even in the locker room.

  Only among the coag staff did Gao Sheion, more than ohat he believed there were issues with the team's training, particurly in terms of fitness and ditioning.

  Bueura, the fitness coach, had joined Gao Shen's team back during his time at Real Madrid. His capabilities had been impressive, and he tio perform well after following Gao Shen to Italy. Last season, he had been instrumental to Napoli's success.

  However, this season had seen some major setbacks. It wouldn't be fair to call it a plete failure, but there were definitely signifit issues.

  The first three "big games" had been the dividing line. Gao Shen had been pleased with the team's performance before that, but afterward, it was difficult for him to be satisfied.

  Of course, Gao Shen's standards had also risen.

  "From the perspective of a newly promoted team, I 't demand too much more from you," he told his staff. "But let me ask you this are you really satisfied with being just a newly promoted team?"

  The question struck a chord. Several of his core staff members found themselves at a loss for words.

  Who wouldn't want more?

  Napoli was currently sed in the Serie A standings. Although the gap wasn't huge, they were among the top teams.

  Genoa, another newly promoted team, was still fighting to avation.

  And while Juventus was teically a newly promoted team, nobody viewed the Biahat way, not with their €50-60 million summer iment and a roster featuring a Ballon d'Or winner and world-css talents.

  In some ways, Juventus's performahis season was worse than Napoli's, and both Ranieri and Secco were under eveer pressure. There were even rumors iurin Sports Daily that Juventus executives were sidering repg Secco.

  Such is the brutal reality of professional football.

  "We definitely have problems with our training," Gao Shen said. "We didn't put enough thought into the season pn, and we deviated during execution. Now, with the issues piling up, we've veered signifitly off course. But the winter break is our best ce to correct it."

  "And Fernando," he added, pointing directly at Lucas. "Your analysis team has serious problems too."

  "I've always been a strong supporter of your analysis team. I've given you funding, equipment, and people. But your results are still far from meeting my expectations. Over the winter break, I need a solution from you."

  Lucas opened his mouth, ready to respond, but Gao Shen cut him off.

  "I don't want excuses or reasons. Just answer me this: you do it?"

  Lucas frowned, gritted his teeth, and replied, "With our current manpower and budget, there's no way."

  "'t do it?" Gao Shen's voice rose, his hand almost smming down oable.

  Marino, who was attending the meeting as Gao Shen's guest, was startled, fearing Gao Shen might fire Lucas in a fit of anger. He quickly stepped in, smiling and trying to defuse the situation. "Let's discuss this. Fernando, if your analysis team is fag challenges, just let us know."

  "Yes, tell us," Gao Shen said, gesturing for Lucas to tinue.

  Lucas, clearly prepared for this moment, stood up and began, "There are only three of us. We have to trad analyze both our own training and study the oppos. Marino, I'll be blunt—his requirements are extreme."

  "You know what he wants us to do?" Lucas asked, clearly frustrated. "Not only analyze ourselves, which is tough enough, but he also wants us to analyze every detail about our oppos, down to an insane level of precision."

  "He wants us to predict the oppo's physical performao break everything down, and give him a detailed report. That means predig their starting lineup, bench pyers, each pyer's running distance, sprint distanumber of sprints, moments they'll likely fatigue, substitution timings, post-substitution tactics, and how the ges in tactics will affect their stamina…"

  Lucas looked around, his frustration evident. "You don't uand, do you? That's fine. He wants us to tell him what the oppo might do in the match. Based on that predi, he divides the game into phases aargeted tactics for each phase, like what we did against Juventus at home."

  "Marino, you calcute how much work that requires?"

  Having said this, Lucas took a long, exhausted breath.

  Marino was dumbfounded. He prided himself on being open-minded aive to neroaches, but the level of detail Gao Shen was demanding was unheard of.

  "Is all of this… even possible?" Marino asked, turning to Gao Shen.

  "If he 't do it, then we'll find someone who !" Gao Shen said, resolute.

  "Who 't do it? Who 't do it?" Lucas fired back, clearly irritated. "The problem is, we don't have enough people or funding. It's just the three of us, yet you expect us to work like maes, 24/7?"

  Marino finally grasped the root of the issue. Gao Shen's demands were far too high for such a small team with limited resources.

  Bueura, the fitness coach, stood up in support of Lucas. "I agree with Fernando."

  "The truth is, a lot of these things are achievable. But we need more staff and more funding to do it."

  Bueura paused, then shifted the versation. "I admit, we've had serious problems with our fitness regimen this season. I agree with Gao Shen's idea to adopt a more focused approach, where we prepare specifically for each oppo rather than a one-size-fits-all seasonal strategy."

  "But that would require signifitly more work and iment, possibly even the creation of new positions. Without those iments, our current staff simply 't keep up."

  Marino erplexed. He scratched his bald head, recalling what Lucas had mentioned. Gao Shen wanted a highly detailed analysis of each oppo, down to every position…

  It clicked.

  The analysis team provides the predis, which the coag staff uses to develop strategies. The fitness coaches then adjust training regimens based on these predis, preparing the Napoli pyers to outst and outrun their oppos in every game.

  It wouldn't be perfect, but if they could achieve this in the majority of matches…

  A light bulb went off.

  "So that's what you were pnning all along?" Marino finally realized, looking at Gao Shen with newfound uanding. He chuckled, as if to say: You sly fox, you were leading me right into this.

  Gao Shen didn't say much, only smiling.

  He wasn't hiding his iions.

  This was a btant spiracy.

  A big, shiny vision that he id out in front of everyone, asking them one simple question: Do you want a slice?

  ******

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