As the saying goes, before the soldiers and horses move, the food and fodder should go first. This is the truth.
As the general manager of Naples, Marino has always attached great importance to logistical work, and he will do his best to satisfy any requests made by senior officials and the team.
Especially in national team games.
Last season, Naples suffered losses in the national team competition, which affected the team's performance. Although Gao Shen did not take issue with this, De Laurentiis and Marino both reviewed themselves and tried their best to make up for their shortcomings.
Now, Naples is sprinting on all fronts, and logistics support is the top priority.
De Laurentiis even personally issued a death order, requiring Marino to ensure logistics no matter what.
This time at the end of March, Marino personally took charge of the national team competition, which shows that he attaches great importance to it.
The day after playing AC Milan, Gao Shen came to the Sao Paulo Stadium to learn about the specific situation in person.
…
"As for the national team, you called me and I communicated with you personally. I also called the Football Association. They all understand that our current competition is very tense, so we will try our best to provide convenience during the competition."
In the office, Marino personally introduced his work progress to Gao Shen and De Laurentiis.
"But to be honest, this may be difficult, because now is a critical period for South America to compete for qualification for the World Cup in South Africa. Their qualifying schedule is very tight, and the pressure on the national teams of various countries is also great, so..."
To put it bluntly, Naples has the pressure of club competitions, and the national team has the pressure of competing in the World Cup.
Imagine if traditional strong teams like Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay were unable to participate in the World Cup, how much trouble would this cause in their countries?
"Tell me about your arrangements." Gao Shen nodded.
"My colleagues and I calculated the schedule of the South American World Cup qualifiers. This time they mainly have two games, on March 28th and 29th, and the second game is on April 1st and 2nd.
.”
"And our 30th round of Serie A is on the evening of April 5th."
Gao Shen knows these things without looking at them, because this is what gives him a headache.
"Our national players in South America are mainly Peru, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil. Putting aside the first game, we focus on the second game. Peru will play against Brazil in Porto Alegre, Brazil, and Argentina will play against San Quesadilla in Bolivia.
Russ and Uruguay went to Santiago, Chile.”
"We also specifically contacted local scouts and insiders in South America. At the same time, we also contacted the airlines. After many negotiations and communications, we decided to set the meeting point in South America in Buei.
North Aires.”
"After all the international players have finished playing the game, they can take the nearest flight directly from the competition venue and fly to Buenos Aires. Our preliminary estimate is that they can assemble and complete it at noon in about three days. Of course, during this process, the players may be
There’s no way to rest.”
"We spent hundreds of thousands of euros to charter a plane. After picking up the players, we flew directly from Buenos Aires to Rome. The flight took more than ten hours. We expected to arrive in Rome in the early morning of the 4th, or in the morning at the latest.
"
Gao Shen frowned when he heard this.
He could feel that there were many problems connected with each other.
The ideal situation is to complete the assembly at noon on three days, but in fact, it may not be possible.
For example, players may not be able to rush directly to the airport after playing a game. What if the national team is delayed by something?
Even if I rush to the airport, will my flight be delayed?
In fact, the possibility of the latter is very high.
In the past two years, Serie A teams have basically established a certain pattern in picking up and transporting South American and African international players. Generally speaking, various clubs cooperate and everyone pools money together to help the international players return to Europe as soon as possible.
To be honest, as long as I return to Europe, everything will be convenient.
This time, Naples mainly considered the players' rest and adjustments, with the purpose of ensuring that the team can return to Naples on the 4th. As for the game heading north to challenge Sampdoria on the 5th, Gao Shen actually didn't care much.
He still has a five-point lead, which Napoli can afford to squander.
The key is that he needs to get his players to adjust as soon as possible and be in their best condition to face Arsenal.
However, the Serie A charter flight had to stop in Madrid for various reasons, so Naples could not accept it and would rather pay a higher price to charter a plane of their own and fly directly from Argentina to Rome.
Speaking of which, it may only be a few or ten hours, but for professional players, these few more hours of rest and adjustment time are crucial.
Gao Shen also understood that Marino really tried his best.
Looking at the entire human society, football is nothing at all.
It is impossible for airlines to specifically accommodate football clubs. Otherwise, wouldn't society be in chaos?
Even the international players of each club must abide by the laws, regulations and entry-exit requirements of each country. Therefore, almost every national team match, the itinerary of the international players will be affected due to issues with their IDs.
Every national team match is actually a test for the club’s logistical work.
"Tell me about London." Gao Shen said.
Marino looked at De Laurentiis, who nodded.
"I've been to the hotel you mentioned before and personally inspected the site. It's really good. It's a bit over the budget, but it's still within the acceptable range, so I decided on the hotel." Marino said with a smile. .
The hotel recommended by Gao Shen was where he stayed when he led Real Madrid on an expedition to London. He was quite satisfied with it, so he suggested that Marino go and have a look, and the general manager of Naples went to investigate in person.
In terms of logistical support, established giants such as Real Madrid often play away games and are still very capable.
Gao Shen doesn't know much about others, but Marino's ability to do things is quite reliable and he is conscientious in his duties.
Of course, De Laurentiis is also very cooperative now.
Just kidding, the team is now in the quarterfinals of the Champions League!
When they were drawn into the group of death, he and Marino really thought about giving up. After all, it wasn't worth taking the chance.
After reaching the Champions League knockout rounds, they are already satisfied.
Who would have thought that the team led by Gao Shen also eliminated Chelsea and reached the quarterfinals unexpectedly.
What's this?
Results! Real results!
Behind the results, Naples' players are performing better and better.
The better a player performs, the higher his worth will be, and the more confidence Napoli will have when negotiating.
If a year ago, De Laurentiis would still feel sorry for the 20% share he gave to Gao Shen, but now, he no longer thinks so at all.
Why?
Because the value of Naples players is already too high.
Not to mention others, Cavani was the top scorer in Serie A last season and his performance this season has been quite impressive. The current transfer market valuation is 30 million euros, but he is only 22 years old.
Want to buy a 22-year-old Serie A top scorer for 30 million euros?
What are you dreaming about in Spring and Autumn Period?
Thiago Motta is also very popular right now. Inter Milan wants him, Barcelona also wants him, and there is even news that Real Madrid also wants him, and some other giants are very interested in him.
According to preliminary estimates, there is no way to take him away without 20 to 30 million euros.
If Naples really continues to play like this and can reach the semi-finals, if it goes against the grain and reaches the final, even...
De Laurentiis and Marino simply couldn't imagine what that would be like. The value of Naples players would definitely skyrocket.
When that time comes, it will certainly make them heartbroken that Gao Shen will take away 20%, but Naples will earn more.
Anyway, De Laurentiis is numb now.
If Gao Shen changes his mind now and nods to agree to stay, he will immediately renew his contract, and everything about his annual salary will be easy to negotiate.
No way, it’s too profitable!
Therefore, Gao Shen is now using the team's outstanding results to firmly tie De Laurentiis and Marino to his own chariot, keeping each other's interests aligned.
…
"Gao, tell us thoroughly, how confident are you in this quarterfinals knockout round?" Marino asked with concern.
Gao Shen looked at the general manager, and then at De Laurentiis who was standing aside, especially the latter, who almost pricked up his ears. He knew something in his heart, and probably De Laurentiis wanted to know more.
When it comes to curiosity, President Naples is obviously more curious.
"Frankly speaking, if both teams perform normally, I am at least 60% sure."
"Sixty percent?" De Laurentiis was a little surprised, "Sixty percent is enough!"
He originally thought that Gao Shen would be at most half against half, or even four against six. Unexpectedly, Gao Shen would be six against four, which was far beyond his expectation.
"Are you really so confident?" Marino, on the other hand, was a little worried.
"If you say Arsenal is a strong team, it is indeed quite strong, but if you say it is weak, it is also quite weak." Gao Shen turned on the Tai Chi mode, and Che Lunluo spoke in turn.
But if you think about it carefully, it makes sense.
Although many fans have ridiculed Arsenal for being a four-man madman, talking about International Arsenal Day, temperature difference signings, Champions League players, the best team, etc., some people also joked: I am the captain, don’t betray me...
How do you say something?
Oh, there are a lot of jokes in the world, but Arsenal has eight of them.
But in fact, if you think about it carefully, you will understand that this means that they still have expectations for the gunman.
Having expectations proves that in their eyes, Arsenal is still a strong team, even in the Champions League.
This is just like Gao Shen scolding the national football team. He curses every time after watching the game. Why next time I watch the national football team again, I am such a dog... Anyway, I am so angry that I can say all kinds of harsh words.
But what’s the result?
I scold because I still have expectations in my heart.
When you get to the point where no one even scolds you, then you really have given up!
As for Gao Shen, there is nothing to look forward to now, because he is probably the first person at home and abroad to criticize the national football team for time travel.
More importantly, Gao Shen has his own things to be busy with and has to worry about, so how can he have any leisure time?
Gao Shen already had preliminary ideas on how to deal with Arsenal, so he dared to shout those words.
This is not only to boost Napoli's own morale, but also to suppress Arsenal's spirit.
