Before he became a coach, back when Gao Shen was just a football fan, he used to wonder about something.

  When a pyer trao a new club, do they bring alo trainihods or tactics from their old club? And if they do, could this lead to those secrets being leaked out?

  He thought about this question for a long time, and whearted w in the business world, he realized that he had beehinking it. A lot of the time, certain things 't be learned just by .

  Take Huawei, for example. As a pany, its success is undeniable. Every year, many employees leave Huawei and move to other panies, some even starting their own businesses while trying to emute Huawei's ma model. But even as of 2021 when Gao Shen crossed over to this world Huawei remained unique.

  Why is that?

  Because the things that are easy to copy are usually the least valuable aspects.

  Take Huawei's "996" work culture, for example. Some panies copied the grueling work schedule (w from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., six days a week), but did they copy Huawei's generous saries and bes as well? Or its cutting-edge teology and deep iment in researd development? If a pany only copies the long hours but doesn't offer the high pay, that's not following Huawei's model it's exploitation.

  Simirly, Huawei is heavily in researd development. other panies copy this approach? Yes, they , but in most cases, supanies will fail miserably if they try because they ck Huawei's resources, scale, and culture.

  In the end, Gao Shen realized that success ot be replicated. That's why so many people who leave Huawei to start their owures often don't achieve the same level of success. The same goes for football: the success of a manager ot be replicated by simply copying tactics.

  Guardio came to learn from Gao Shen today. Tomorrow, it could be someone else. And the day after, another coach. Gao Shen weled them all. They could e to observe and learn. They could even watch hooli arraheir training and tactics, as long as they didn't leak information to their oppos.

  But after they learned everything, what would it matter?

  The same tactics, when applied by different pyers, yield differes. For example, could another pyer replicate the crosses Beckham delivered from the right wing? Or could other ter-backs execute the long passes Bonucd David Luiz made for Napoli?

  As for trainihods, they were often piecemeal and situation-depe. Sometimes, Gao Shen would have the team focus on a specific drill because a certain pyer wasn't perf well and needed extra work. There was formu.

  Iy, what others couldn't copy or replicate were the thoughts and strategies in Gao Shen's mind.

  Tactid strategies are part of a broader system that includes pyers, coaches, and training sessions. Even if someone learhese systems, how much could they really implement them? In some cases, copying aeam's style without uanding it deeply could lead to failure.

  And if someone wao learn the inner ws of Gao Shen's mind and tactical brilliance? Well, they'd need a "golden finger" like the one Gao Shen had from the *Tactics Library*, which allowed him to unlock the strategies of the football world's greatest minds.

  In short, while inspiration could be drawn from others, how much you truly learned and mastered depended on you.

  This was why Gao Shen weled Guardio's arrival and shared everything openly.

  Guardio's presence didn't interfere with Napoli's preparations for their uping matches.

  ...

  In military strategy, it's said that "the armies don't move without first gathering intelligence."

  Many people misuand intelligehering, thinking it's just a matter of sending scouts to spy oher team or reading what the opposing coach says in the media, then analyzing the truthfulness of those statements.

  Iy, proper intelligehering and analysis is far more plex.

  Beyond trag the oppo, it involves monit media reports, online discussions, and various sources of o piece together useful information. For example, how did a pyer perform i games? How were they moving? What did the data say about their form?

  And of course, injuries py a major role.

  What has a pyer's agent said retly? What news about a pyer has surfaced, and what has been quietly suppressed through public retions efforts?

  All of this information was gathered, densed into a few pages of a report, and preseo Gao Shen and his coag staff for discussion. The report might only be a few pages long, but it was backed by hours of meticulous researd analysis.

  Fernando Lucas, the head of Gao Shen's intelligence operations, had to sift through all this data to extraly what was relevant and useful. He even offered strategic suggestions based on publitiment, such as what Gao Shen should say or do before a match.

  It was a new and evolving role, but ohat had bee increasingly vital.

  For this reason, Gao Shen trusted no o Fernando Lucas to ma.

  ...

  This time, as Napoli prepared for back-to-back matches against Juventus and Parma, one piece of news particurly caught Gao Shen's attention.

  Juventus had just held a high-level meeting.

  At first ghis didn't seem like a big deal. The press release was filled with official statements and standard corporate jargon, but hiddeh the surface were some telliails.

  "I spoke to a reporter," Lucas began. "When Deschamps left the Juventus headquarters, his face was ashen. He looked extremely displeased, and it was obvious that he was very dissatisfied with how the meeti."

  "Afterward, at the regur press ference, Secco promised that the team would aim to be top of the table by the winter break and deliver its best performances."

  "This implies that Juventus' ma applied signifit pressure on Deschamps during that meeting."

  Lucas smirked and added, "I think you should accept an interview and throw some fuel on the fire."

  Everyone in the room burst out ughing. It was a clever and slightly sinister suggestion.

  But Gao Shen nodded in agreement. All it would take was a few carefully chosen words in an interview to push Juventus' internal tensions further, especially between Deschamps and the board.

  After all, was it Gao Shen's fault that Juventus couldn't haheir internal flicts?

  In the end, the root of the problem y with Juventus themselves they failed to see their true position and didn't have a clear uanding of their own strength.

  Juventus today was a bit like Real Madrid st season: a club with big names and star power, but their true strength…

  "Call the offid schedule a couple of interviews for me," Gao Shen said decisively.

  There were plenty of media outlets cm to interview him, with appois booked months in advance. But now that he o get a message out, he'd invite one or two journalists to interview him right away.

  Lucas eagerly agreed, jotting down a note in his pad so he wouldn't fet.

  In the er, Guardio listened quietly, occasionally taking notes. It was his first time witnessing the role of an intelligenalyst, and he was deeply impressed. He circled the title "Intelligenalyst" in his notebook, feeling it osition worth expl further.

  "For the match against Juventus, let's start Pellè. He knows how to hahis situation," Gao Shen instructed.

  "Got it," Carlo said with a nod.

  "Di María has been perf well tely. He'll start this weekend. Gervinho will py on the right. Wednesday, Gervinho and Sánchez will partner up, with i repg Pellè," Gao Shen tinued, outlining his tactical adjustments.

  Wednesday, Napoli would host Parma in the first leg of the Coppa Italia Round of 16.

  "What about the right-back position?" Carlo asked.

  Napoli's right-back situation roblem.

  Both Jerge Garrid Grava could py on the right, but her were particurly ideal, and they didn't quite meet Gao Shen's high standards.

  For now, though, they would have to do.

  Gao Shen had initially sidered Dario Srna, but the pyer had already moved to Shakhtar Dosk. Shakhtar, backed by wealthy owners, wasn't an easy club to poach pyers from, which expined why a talent like Srna had ransferred to a European giant.

  "Deschamps won't take risks," Gao Sheed. "No matter how much I provoke him in the media, he'll stick to a deferategy. Let's start Grava this weekend and use Garriext Wednesday. Vargas will py on the left."

  Carlo looked at Gao Sheant for a moment before nodding. "Uood. I'll set up the training accly."

  Lucas, looking fused, asked, "If Deschamps won't take any risks, what's the point of riling him up in the media?"

  Gao Shen grinned mischievously. "The point is to add fuel to the fire. Who knows, maybe Deschamps will get sacked."

  Everyone ughed at the pyful cruelty of the tactic.

  In the er, Guardio felt a chill. Isn't this too ing? he thought. If I ever maeam of my own, I'd better keep my distance from Gao Shen. I don't want to be on the receiving end of this.

  ...

  As for the match against Parma, Gao Shen had a clear pn.

  The sed leg wouldn't be until December, so there was still plenty of time, but Napoli had to secure a strong win in the first leg at home.

  "Parma's performahis season has been well below expectations," Lucas pointed out. "They're currently 18th in Serie A, just three points above Ascoli in 19th pce."

  It was almost funny. At the start of the season, Parma had been viewed as a dark horse, But who would have thought that after nine rounds, Parma would find themselves in the relegation zone?

  "In the UEFA Cup, however, Parma has won all three games first beating Rubin Kazan 1-0 over two legs, and theing Denmark's Odense 2-1 away in the first round of Group D. This team is still very strong, so we o stay alert."

  Gao Shen nodded in agreement.

  Many mid-tier teams face this issue: they only sustairong lineup. Their squad depth is too shallow. They perform well when fog on one petition, but ohey enter multiple petitions, they start falling apart.

  Parma seems to have made their choice, sacrifig a bit in the league to focus on European petitions.

  This isn't surprising. Parma's head coach, Pioli, must be quite fident about avoiding relegation; otherwise, how could he afford to take this risk?

  This means the Coppa Italia is also something to keep an eye on.

  "Our advantage is that, sihe league began iember, Parma has been juggling multiple petitions. On top of that, the national team matches iember and October have taken a toll on their pyers' fitness, which gives us an edge," Gao Shen expined.

  "Before fag us in the first leg, they'll py Siena away, and after the Coppa Italia, they'll fater at home. So, I suspect they'll rotate their squad, sidering there's still a sed leg to e," Lucas analyzed.

  That prediade sense and was highly likely.

  "Keep a close wat Parma's situation, but for now, let's focus on Juventus," Gao Shen said with a smile.

  Even though only nine rounds have been pyed, he already had a clear uanding of Serie B's overall petitiveness.

  In fact, he could fidently say that he was no longer satisfied with just winning the Serie B title, as Napoli was now at the top of the table.

  He wao take Napoli even further in the Coppa Italia.

  Call it ambition, or call it insatiable hunger either way, that's what he thought, and that's what he po do.