Starting With Real Madrid

When he woke up in the morning, Gao Shen felt a little sluggish.

He had spent the entire night in the tactical library poring over Hiddink's books. From tactical philosophies to training habits and locker room management techniques, he read as much as he could find about the Dutch coach.

It took him the entire night to barely finish reading Hiddink's coaching career. But that wasn't enough, he still needed to go over everything carefully, analyze it, and study it repeatedly. Gao Shen wanted to piece together Hiddink's approach and evaluate the tactical choices the veteran coach might make this time.

From Hiddink's writings, Gao Shen realized that every time the coach took over a team, he did so with a clear purpose.

To the outside world, Hiddink seemed incredibly lucky, but his success was often the result of meticulous planning and selection.

For example, when he took charge of the Russian national team, it was largely because of Roman Abramovich's influence, but Hiddink had already consulted Advocaat and developed a solid understanding of Russian football before accepting the role.

The same applied to his current tenure at Chelsea.

Hiddink's methods were unconventional, but there was always a traceable logic behind them.

For example, every team he coached demonstrated remarkable stamina and exceptional running ability.

This was consistent throughout his career, from South Korea to Australia and Russia, with his stint at PSV Eindhoven in between. Chelsea was no exception.

Since Mourinho's time at Chelsea, the team had excelled in terms of running and physicality.

Additionally, as a Dutch coach, Hiddink emphasized a cohesive style of attack and defense.

In essence, the teams he managed always played with a strong sense of unity, and this quality matched Chelsea's existing strengths perfectly.

With these foundations, combined with Hiddink's motivational skills and tactical acumen, his teams often performed exceptionally well.

In one of the accounts from his time coaching Russia, Gao Shen noticed something interesting.

Before the European Championship, Hiddink arranged for a two-week physical training camp. The training was overseen by Raymond Verheijen, a Dutch sports physiologist who had been a long-time collaborator of Hiddink's. Verheijen had worked with Hiddink during the 1998 World Cup and the 2000 European Championship and had accompanied him to South Korea in 2001.

Later, Verheijen worked for the Dutch Football Association, Feyenoord, and other teams. Before the 2008 European Championship, Hiddink brought him to Russia, where he helped improve the already impressive stamina of the Russian players.

And now, Verheijen was following Hiddink at Chelsea.

What a coincidence.

There were exactly two weeks between Hiddink taking over Chelsea and the first leg of the Champions League Round of 16.

At first glance, this might seem like a stretch to connect, but Gao Shen couldn't help but wonder if it was deliberate.

Often, it's these seemingly trivial details that determine success or failure.

…

Since acquiring the tactical library, Gao Shen never worried about not getting enough sleep.

It seemed to be the key to his ability to stay sharp and maintain clarity at all times.

But the sudden challenge of facing Hiddink still left him feeling immense pressure. When he woke up, his body wasn't physically tired, but mentally, he was far from his best.

After washing up, Gao Shen left the house with a frown.

There wasn't much time left to prepare.

Zidane and Lucas had stayed over at his place the night before. Both of them had worked tirelessly through the night, and their bloodshot eyes betrayed their lack of sleep.

Carlo would likely be in a similar state.

As an older man, he was even more prone to overthinking and insomnia than Gao Shen.

The three of them had gotten used to having breakfast at the club's restaurant in Castel Volturno, so they drove out together after freshening up.

"My initial thoughts are that if we try to focus entirely on stopping Drogba, we probably won't be able to pull it off," Gao Shen said after the car left the Bay Area.

"If I were Hiddink, I'd play to Drogba's strengths rather than hold back like Scolari."

Scolari's issue was his insistence on attractive football.

To achieve that, he needed creativity in midfield, which led him to rely heavily on Deco.

But if Deco played alongside three midfielders with Mikel sitting deep, the defensive stability of the midfield suffered. As a result, Scolari often used a four-man midfield. However, this limited his options in attack, forcing him to choose between Drogba and Anelka most of the time, he went with Anelka.

So far, Drogba had only scored one goal in the Premier League this season and had added another in the last round of the Champions League group stage as a substitute.

In other words, the Ivorian striker had just two goals to his name this season.

Naturally, Drogba wasn't happy with Scolari's decisions.

A player like Drogba shouldn't be judged solely on his goals. To maximize his impact, he needed to be deployed as a traditional center forward with support from wingers on both sides.

However, this meant removing Deco from the midfield.

At its core, it was all about making choices.

If Hiddink wanted to utilize Drogba to his full potential, he had two options:

1. Use a 4-3-3 formation with a single striker and bench Deco.

2. Play a 4-4-2 formation but sacrifice width on the wings.

At home, Gao Shen thought it was unlikely that Hiddink would opt for a 4-4-2 setup. That would be too conservative.

In two-legged knockout matches, the home leg was crucial. While the away goals rule was a consideration, securing a strong home result would make the second leg much easier for a coach like Hiddink.

For Napoli, the strategy was clear.

In the away leg, they had to aim for at least a draw or even an upset victory while scoring an away goal.

The away goals rule encouraged the visiting team to play more aggressively.

"We've made some preparations. The main focus will be defending the flanks. Kalou has been in great form recently, and with Anelka on the left, we'll need to keep a close eye on him," Gao Shen warned.

Chelsea currently only had two proper wingers: Malouda and Kalou. Scolari had been cautious in using Kalou, but if Hiddink wanted to return to a 4-3-3 formation, Kalou would likely play on the right with Anelka on the left.

Chelsea had experimented with Anelka on the wings several times this season, but the results weren't great.

In such scenarios, Anelka's primary role would still be cutting inside to score, leaving the majority of the wide play to Kalou.

Of course, it was also possible that Malouda would start on the left while Anelka played on the right.

But Malouda wasn't the same player he had been in Ligue 1, and his performances had dipped significantly.

Given this, Gao Shen concluded that if Chelsea wanted to maximize Drogba's effectiveness, they would need to rely on Kalou for width.

Zidane and Lucas nodded in agreement.

These plans would be handed over to the coaching staff, especially Carlo, with Zidane and Lucas assisting him.

…

Before heading to London, Napoli still had to face Genoa at home in the 25th round of Serie A.

It was expected to be a tough match, but it paled in comparison to the upcoming clash with Chelsea.

Everyone in the team understood that there would be rotation for this game.

However, rotation didn't mean Napoli would take the match lightly.

One of Gao Shen and his coaching staff's biggest successes this season was establishing a systematic rotation policy. It ensured that all players got sufficient game time while keeping the team competitive and motivated.

In short, the rotation system erased the clear line between starters and substitutes.

As always, Gao Shen left the training session to his assistants while he observed from the sidelines.

Carlo and the others would handle the drills and make adjustments based on Gao Shen's requests. However, the tactical preparations for Chelsea were postponed for a couple more days.

After training, Gao Shen made his usual rounds to talk with individual players.

This time, though, he focused on players who were particularly crucial to the match against Chelsea.

He first approached Vargas, chatting with the Peruvian defender about the upcoming Champions League clash.

If Chelsea adopted a 4-4-2 formation and ceded the flanks, Vargas' side would become a key area for Napoli to attack. Conversely, if Chelsea went with a 4-3-3 setup and Kalou played on the right, Vargas' defensive ability would be vital to containing Drogba.

As Gao Shen had pointed out before, players like Drogba couldn't be stopped easily, even with two center-backs marking him.

And once the match started, there would also be Anelka to deal with.

Since it was impossible to fully neutralize Drogba, Gao Shen's focus was on limiting the number of touches he received in dangerous areas.

After Vargas, Gao Shen sought out Lichtsteiner, who would be responsible for containing Anelka on the opposite flank.

Next, Gao Shen approached Bonucci.

Among Napoli's defenders, Bonucci was considered the weak link when it came to marking Drogba.

Bonucci excelled in a team-oriented defensive system but wasn't particularly strong in one-on-one situations.

Therefore, Gao Shen wanted to hear Bonucci's thoughts on how to defend against Drogba.

Many times, listening to a player's perspective could provide valuable insight for crafting tactics and strategies.

If Napoli had a standout defender capable of taking on Drogba, it would undoubtedly be Benatia.

However, Gao Shen was hesitant to assign him such an important task in this crucial game.

David Luiz, on the other hand, had great physical attributes and a better understanding with Bonucci. He also had more experience in Serie A, having faced top-level forwards numerous times.

But David Luiz's biggest flaw was his impulsiveness. He was prone to losing focus and making rash decisions.

In high-stakes matches like this, even minor weaknesses could be magnified under pressure.

After speaking with Bonucci, Gao Shen called David Luiz over as well.

He wanted to hear the Brazilian's thoughts and ideas on marking Drogba while also offering him advice and encouragement.

The more critical the match, the more important it was to maintain focus, stay alert, and suppress any unnecessary aggression.

***

For every 200 PS = 1 extra chapter. Support me on patreon to read 50+ advanced chapters: patreon.com/Blownleaves.