Starting With Real Madrid

"Tonight is the night when his true strength is revealed!"

As Ferguson stood before the home team's coaching bench, watching Di Maria assist Sanchez for a goal against Manchester United, he let out a deep sigh. His face, usually stoic, was now marked with solemnity.

In the first leg, Gao Shen's tactics and performance had left Ferguson somewhat disappointed.

Based on his understanding, that had not been Gao Shen's true level. After the match, he'd even had some words with him.

It turned out that Gao Shen was a fan of Ferguson. That revelation had made him feel somewhat pressured.

So, Ferguson had offered a few pieces of advice.

At that time, Ferguson believed he was well-positioned to take on this challenge, to return to Old Trafford and help the young coach, his underestimation was evident.

But, damn, how wrong he had been!

Ferguson realized his mistake right after the opening whistle.

Napoli's opening play was clearly intended to attack, something Gao Shen hadn't done in the first leg.

That didn't make sense.

Napoli's strength lay in their attack.

Ferguson had expected Gao Shen to stay defensive, so he attacked early, trying to disrupt Napoli's plan.

But to his surprise, Gao Shen adapted quickly, abandoning his initial strategy and shifting to a more defensive posture just over a minute into the game.

That might sound simple, a quick change of plans but it was anything but.

Anyone who's ever managed a team knows how difficult it is to adjust on the fly, especially when you do it so decisively and quickly.

It's one thing to read your opponent's tactics; it's another to overturn your own strategy less than two minutes after the start of the match.

The true challenge came after the decision was made: rallying the players and getting them to quickly adjust without breaking formation.

That required absolute authority. It also meant the players must have complete faith in their coach's leadership.

Without that confidence, players would begin to doubt, which would lead to inconsistency and errors.

That's why Ferguson once spoke about his early mistake of making substitutions too soon when coaching at St. Mirren, a lesson he had learned the hard way.

Since then, he preferred to make adjustments later, focusing more on player roles and positioning rather than drastic changes.

But Gao Shen had done it.

Napoli had shifted their formation just minutes into the game. Their defense was still solid, the adjustments had been seamless, and they forced Manchester United to make mistakes, culminating in a brilliant counterattack that resulted in a goal.

This was Gao Shen's true level, his Napoli was showing their class.

Ferguson had seen Gao Shen yelling instructions to his players, but he couldn't make out the words clearly. Still, he could guess the intent.

He immediately signaled for Carrick to take control of the game's tempo and asked the players to settle, not rush forward.

At this point, emotions could easily become chaotic. If United pressed too hard without control, Napoli's counterattacks would continue to threaten them, potentially leading to another goal.

Ferguson also called out to Cristiano Ronaldo, urging him to calm down, he had been too eager, taking too many shots.

This was a recurring issue with Ronaldo, his impatience.

When anxious, Ronaldo tended to waste opportunities by rushing his actions.

When the match resumed, Ferguson remained on the sidelines, giving more guidance, shouting out reminders for the players to stay focused.

Soon, Manchester United regained composure.

And everyone noticed: after the game resumed, Napoli stayed alert, continuing to hold their ground, waiting for Manchester United to come to them.

"This kid is crafty!" Ferguson muttered with a smile.

But fortunately, he wasn't foolish.

He had adjusted too.

"The players in Napoli are all good. Di Maria, Sanchez, solid performers. And then there's Rakitic..."

The more Ferguson observed, the more impressed he became.

The counterattack that had resulted in the goal came from Rakitic, who had blocked Ronaldo's pass on his retreat, preventing Fletcher from making any progress.

Ferguson couldn't help but appreciate Gao Shen's insight in recognizing and utilizing his players so effectively. He even admired the coach's understanding of the game.

Not just Ferguson—Mourinho, Wenger, and almost everyone in the football world that Ferguson knew, all found Gao Shen's vision to be remarkable. Many even admired it greatly.

There was even a saying in the football world: Anything produced by Gao Shen must be a masterpiece!

However, after praising Gao Shen's skill, Ferguson soon found himself feeling the kind of frustration Mourinho had often described.

Despite Manchester United stabilizing, Napoli didn't push forward.

Instead, they stayed within their half, waiting, ready to defend and counter from the edge of their 30-meter area.

Ferguson's eyes shifted toward the visitors' bench.

He couldn't be sure, but it felt as if Gao Shen's gaze met his.

And there it was, the grin. A challenging, almost playful expression as if to say:

"You're Welcome to attack!"

Gao Shen's strategy was straightforward.

Napoli had the lead, there was no need to engage in an all-out battle with Manchester United.

They couldn't afford to be too conservative, but there was no reason to be overly aggressive either.

Time was now working in Napoli's favor. They could afford to be patient, waiting for Manchester United to take the initiative.

After all, this was Old Trafford, the pressure was on Ferguson's side.

Ferguson had considered pushing forward, but United had problems.

Their attack lacked an explosive presence on the wings.

Neither Rooney nor Park Ji-sung were the type of players who could break down a well-organized defense from wide areas.

Nani, who had that ability, was sitting on the bench. But it was still the first half too early for a substitution.

Meanwhile, the midfield was struggling to link play.

Anderson was supposed to limit Thiago Motta, but the Brazilian's positional awareness was exceptional. Having come through Barcelona's La Masia, he was well-versed in controlling space from a deep midfield role.

He never held onto the ball for long, always moving into pockets of space to keep possession flowing.

As a result, Anderson could only disrupt him at best not stop him.

In contrast, Rakitic was successfully neutralizing Carrick.

The more Ferguson watched the Croatian, the more impressed he became.

Rakitic wasn't just technically gifted he had a strong work rate and was a box-to-box presence.

He was like an upgraded version of Fletcher, better technique, more intelligence in movement.

With Carrick unable to dictate the tempo, United's midfield collapsed.

And when their midfield failed, so did their attacking structure.

Normally, with Carrick in rhythm, United had a clear attacking direction.

But now?

With the midfield out of sync, United's attacks lacked clarity.

By the time the ball reached the final third, no one was sure whether to push through the wings or the center.

Adding to the problem, Rooney—their primary link-up player was being shut down.

That left Ronaldo, who had dropped deep to carry the ball forward himself.

But Napoli's defensive triangle—Thiago Motta, David Luiz, and Bonucci locked down the center.

And with Ronaldo's dribbling ability not as sharp as before, his drives into the box lacked real threat.

At the start of the match, Ronaldo had been lively.

But as Napoli settled into their defensive shape, he became increasingly frustrated.

And frustration made him reckless.

The entire game stalled into a stalemate.

Gao Shen walked back toward the Napoli technical area.

Carlo handed him a water bottle, which he quickly downed in large gulps.

Despite Manchester's cold weather, Gao Shen was sweating.

The pressure, the tension, the constant movement, and the shouting, it was exhausting.

"We need to find a way to score another goal." His voice was calm but resolute.

Zidane and Carlo nodded.

Right now, Napoli led 2-1 on aggregate, with one away goal.

But so did Manchester United.

If United scored, the aggregate would be tied at 1-1 over both legs, with both teams having the same number of away goals.

That meant extra time.

And if the score remained tied after extra time, penalty kicks would decide it.

But if Napoli scored again, everything would change.

With two away goals, Napoli would take control.

There would be no extra time, United would have to score three goals to go through.

That's why Gao Shen was determined, they needed to find another goal.

If Napoli could strike again, it would drain United's morale.

"Ferguson will definitely adjust at halftime," Zidane pointed out.

"It's best to go for it in the first half."

Gao Shen nodded.

Despite what Ferguson told the media about making late substitutions, that was just for show.

It was no different from an autobiography, embellished stories.

The real reason he didn't always sub early was because he usually controlled the game.

But this time?

Napoli had control.

Given United's struggles, Ferguson would be forced to make changes at halftime.

No one knew what adjustments Ferguson would make.

Would he change the formation? Switch tactics? Throw in a wildcard?

With Ferguson, you could never be sure.

So the best strategy was to strike again before halftime.

Gao Shen checked the clock.

Thirty minutes had passed.

That meant there were fifteen minutes left in the first half.

"We'll go for it in the last ten minutes." His voice was firm.

"Even if we don't score, we need to end the half attacking set the tone for the second half."

That meant pushing forward around the 37th or 38th minute, including stoppage time.

Of course, if the situation shifted, he could abandon the plan.

But based on how things were going, he didn't believe Ferguson could change much before halftime.

In the first leg, aside from Berbatov's assist to Ronaldo, United hadn't created many threats.

This time, it was the same story.

With the decision made, Carlo, Zidane, Lucas, and the rest of the staff began preparing.

They analyzed:

Which areas to attack?

Who to target in United's defense?

How had United's players held up physically?

Every detail mattered in executing the attack.

But before they could act.

Manchester United suddenly launched a quick counterattack.

***

Bonus chp