"This is trouble."

  After hearing the hat Hiddink had repced Scori as Chelsea's head coach, Gao Shen's immediate rea was a headache.

  He stood up from his desk, walked to the window, and gazed at the sprawling golf course in the distance, deep in thought. His mind raced. The situation was plicated, and the headache felt real.

  Zidane, Carlo, and Lucas sat around his office, all sharing the same heavy mood. None of them looked optimistic.

  "Is Hiddink really that good?" Lucas asked, puzzled.

  Carlo and Zidane didn't answer, but their expressions said enough. Like Gao Shen, they were clearly worried about Hiddink.

  Chelsea's sudden ge in ma had put Napoli in an uedly passive position.

  Acc to Gao Shen's memories from his previous life, Scori should have been sacked in early February, with assistant coach Wilkins stepping in for one or two games before Hiddink officially took charge.

  Because of this, Gao Shen had been preparing to face Scori's Chelsea in the Champions League knockout stage.

  But memories could be unreliable. After all, this happened so many years ago, and there was no way for him to verify every detail now.

  The issue was that Scori and Hiddink were pletely different types of managers.

  Most people's stro impression of Scori was the 2002 World Cup, when Brazil won the championship. Watg the "3R" bination—Ronaldo, Rivaldo, and Ronaldinho—storm through oppos with unstoppable fave the illusion that Scori was an adventurous coach, even a tactical innovator.

  But was that really true?

  Before the World Cup, Scori's Brazilian team was heavily criticized. If not for Ronaldo's sudden resurgend the magic of the 3R bination, Sight have gone down as one of the worst coaches in Brazil's history.

  Even with the 3R attack up front, Scori insisted on using two defensive midfielders—Gilberto Silva and Kleberson—throughout the tour.

  So, rather thaing the World Cup victory to Scori's brillia might be more accurate to say that the 3R bination carried him to success.

  Of course, Scori wasn't without merit. He was undeniably a world-css coach. But his coag style leaned heavily toward servatism.

  In the Premier League, there was a on saying: Scori's tactics were predictable, with no real surprises. And he wasn't known for his attag systems—he was even less innovative than Mourinho in that regard.

  But how did Chelsea start so well under Scori?

  Because he had meticulously prepared an offensive system before taking over. In the early stages, when oppos hadn't yet adapted, Chelsea's py looked impressive. bined with an easy run of fixtures, they appeared dominant.

  As the seasressed, however, oppos figured out Scori's tactics. Ohey adjusted their own strategies, Chelsea faltered. Scori failed to evolve his approach, which was his greatest weakness.

  This highlighted the key differeween coag a national team and a club.

  In national team ma, time is limited. Pyers arrive on short notice, train briefly, and leave after matches. This forces coaches to simplify tactics—quid direct solutions are prioritized over plex strategies. Stability is paramount, with small adjustments made for each oppo.

  If oppos cracked the system, it usually didn't matter; by the time they did, the tour was over.

  But at the club level, things were different.

  Club managers faced a long, grueling season. Oppos had more resources, scouting them daily over months. A strategy that worked today might fail tomorrow once oppos devised ters. If a manager didn't adapt, they would iably drop points.

  Moreover, national team pyers peted for pride and honor. This minimized internal flicts. In trast, club football involved bonuses, appearance fees, and personal is, making flicts far more frequent and plex.

  There was even a rumor in the football world that Scori had taken the Chelsea job because the money was too good to refuse.

  In Brazil, coag saries were low, and even as the national team manager, Scori didn't earn much. His time with Pal had been slightly better, but nothing pared to Chelsea's offer: an annual sary of ￡5 millioedly, this exceeded his total earnings from his previous two decades of coag.

  On top of that, when he was sacked, Chelsea paid him another ￡7.5 million in pensation.

  While this might sound like spiracy theorizing, the financial motivation couldn't be ignored.

  Abramovich's demand was clear: he wanted Scori to transform Chelsea and make them py attractive football.

  ---

  "Hiddink and Scori are two pletely different coaches. For ohing, he's Dutch," Gao Shen finally said, answering Lucas's question.

  "Some people like to say Hiddink is just lucky. For example, when he coached Russia, Advocaat had already developed a talented geion at Zenit. Hiddink simply beed from that foundation.

  "But luly takes you so far. If someone succeeds sistently, it's not just luck."

  Zidane, Carlo, and Lucas all nodded in agreement.

  "Hiddink's ability to use pyers is remarkable. His style is hard to define because he's extremely pragmatic. He'll do whatever it takes to win. He's not servative; in fact, he's known for taking risks at critical moments and making them work."

  Gao Shen paused, recalling one of Hiddink's most famous decisions:

  In the 2008 European Championship, Russian star Arshavin was suspended for the first two group-stage matches due to a red card.

  For a team like Russia, this was a massive gamble. With only three group matches, a pyer unavaible for two could be dead weight, especially with limited squad spots in iional tours.

  Yet Hiddink insisted on taking Arshavin, and whear finally pyed, he became the standout performer of the tour.

  "That's Hiddink for you," Gao Shen tinued. "You predict what Sight do, but Hiddink? He's much harder to figure out. Now that he's repced Scori, we have no idea what tactics or style Chelsea will use."

  "More importantly," Gao Shen added, "Hiddink is a master at motivating pyers. Chelsea's squad has world-css talent, but they've been underperf. With Hiddink taking over, their morale will recover quickly."

  Zidane, Carlo, and Lucas exged looks, each silently aowledging the difficulty of the situation.

  Hiddink's reputation spoke for itself. He had success with both national teams and clubs, leading Real Madrid to a title and PSV Eindhoven to the Champions League semi-finals. He wasn't an easy oppo.

  Even Gao Shehat relying on past experiences from his previous life ointless. This was a new situation. Chelsea now faapoli, and Hiddink's tactics would undoubtedly target Gao Shen's team directly.

  But ohing wouldn't ge: Chelsea's strengths and weaknesses were defined by their roster.

  ---

  "Fernando," Gao Shen said, stopping in front of his assistants and addressing Lucas.

  Lucas looked up, waiting for instrus.

  "Chelsea still has one more Premier League game before the Champions League. Assign our people to scout it closely. I want every detail—what tactics they use, how they py, everything. And dig up as much as you about what's happening inside and outside Chelsea during this period. I want every piece of information, down to how many times Hiddink visits the restroom each day."

  Lucas couldn't help but smirk at the st part, though he quickly posed himself. The tension in the room alpable.

  "Uood. I'll ha immediately."

  "One more thing," Gao Shen added after a pause. "Essien has been rec from his cruciate ligament injury for a while now. He should be close to returning. Keep a close eye on him. If he's back before we face Chelsea, we o be prepared."

  "Got it."

  "And Drogba…" Gao Shen muttered, suddenly spping his forehead in frustration.

  The room went silent. Zidane, Carlo, and Lucas all uood his rea.

  Drogba was a nightmare for defenders. Arsenal's Senderos had been so tormented by him that he never recovered his fidence.

  When Drogba was in form, he was unstoppable. Even if Napoli used two defeo mark him, it might not be enough.

  "I suspect Chelsea's defense is still fragile. They'll rely heavily on their midfield to cover those weaknesses, while their attack will ter around Drogba."

  The problem, Gao Shen thought grimly, was that Drogba alone could wreak havoc. Even with Bonucd David Luiz in the bae, handling Drogba would be a moal task.

  The Ivorian striker was truly terrifying.

  "I'll think it over. We need a strategy to ralize Drogba. Hiddink won't make the same mistake as Scori in uimating him."

  In the Champions League, every advatered.