When he woke up in the m, Gao She a little sluggish.

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

  It took him the entire night to barely finish reading Hiddink's coag career. But that wasn't enough, he still o go over everything carefully, analyze it, and study it repeatedly. Gao Shen wao piece together Hiddink's approad 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 pnning aion.

  For example, wheook charge of the Russian national team, it was rgely because of Roman Abramovich's influence, but Hiddink had already sulted Advocaat and developed a solid uanding of Russian football before accepting the role.

  The same applied to his current te Chelsea.

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

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

  This was sistent throughout his career, from South Korea to Australia and Russia, with his stint at PSV Eindhoven iween. 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 attad defense.

  In essehe teams he managed alyed with a strong sense of unity, and this quality matched Chelsea's existing strengths perfectly.

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

  In one of the ats from his time coag Russia, Gao Shen noticed something iing.

  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 colborator of Hiddink's. Verheijen had worked with Hiddink during the 1998 World Cup and the 2000 European Championship and had apanied 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 pyers.

  And now, Verheijen was following Hiddink at Chelsea.

  What a ce.

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

  At first ghis might seem like a stretch to ect, 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 crity at all times.

  But the sudden challenge of fag 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 Shehe house with a frown.

  There wasn't much time left to prepare.

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

  Carlo would likely be in a simir state.

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

  The three of them had gotteo 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 py tba's strengths rather than hold back like Scori."

  Scori's issue was his insisten attractive football.

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

  But if Deco pyed alongside three midfielders with Mikel sitting deep, the defeability of the midfield suffered. As a result, Scori often used a four-man midfield. However, this limited his options in attack, f 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 i round of the Champions League group stage as a substitute.

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

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

  A pyer like Drogba shouldn't be judged solely on his goals. To maximize his impact, he o be deployed as a traditional ter 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 wao utilize Drogba to his full potential, he had two options:

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

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

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

  In two-legged knoatches, the home leg was crucial. While the away goals rule was a sideration, seg a strong home result would make the sed 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 sg an away goal.

  The away goals rule enced the visitio py mgressively.

  "We've made some preparations. The main focus will be defending the fnks. Kalou has been i form retly, and with Anelka on the left, we'll o keep a close eye on him," Gao Shen warned.

  Chelsea currently only had two proper wingers: Malouda and Kalou. Scori had been cautious in using Kalou, but if Hiddink wao return to a 4-3-3 formation, Kalou would likely py 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 sarios, Anelka's primary role would still be cutting io score, leaving the majority of the wide py to Kalou.

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

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

  Given this, Gao Shen cluded that if Chelsea wao maximize Drogba's effectiveness, they would o rely on Kalou for width.

  Zidane and Luodded in agreement.

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

  …

  Before heading to London, Napoli still had to face Genoa at home ih round of Serie A.

  It was expected to be a tough match, but it paled in parison to the uping csh with Chelsea.

  Everyone ieam uood 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 coag staff's biggest successes this season was establishing a systematic rotation policy. It ehat all pyers got suffit game time while keeping the team petitive and motivated.

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

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

  Carlo and the others would hahe 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 pyers.

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

  He first approached Vargas, chatting with the Peruvian defender about the uping Champions League csh.

  If Chelsea adopted a 4-4-2 formation and ceded the fnks, Vargas' side would bee a key area for Napoli to attack. versely, if Chelsea went with a 4-3-3 setup and Kalou pyed on the right, Vargas' defensive ability would be vital to taining Drogba.

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

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

  Si was impossible to fully ralize 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 taining Anelka on the opposite fnk.

  , Gao Shen approached Bonucci.

  Among Napoli's defenders, Bonucci was sidered the weak link when it came t Drogba.

  Bonucci excelled in a team-oriented defensive system but wasn't particurly strong in one-ouations.

  Therefao Shen wao hear Bonucci's thoughts on how to defend against Drogba.

  Many times, listening to a pyer's perspective could provide valuable insight for crafting tactid strategies.

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

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

  David Luiz, oher hand, had great physical attributes and a better uanding with Bonucci. He also had more experien Serie A, having faced top-level forwards numerous times.

  But David Luiz's biggest fw was his impulsiveness. He roo 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 wao hear the Brazilian's thoughts and ideas on marking Drogba while also him advid encement.

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