---

  With the brewing of the Calciopoli sdal, Juventus, at the ter of this storm, became the focus of worldwide attention. In an effort to mitigate the ive impa the club as soon as possible, the Fiat Group the powerful sortium bag Juventus made swift decisions. Chairman Stevens, General Manager Luoggi, Vice Chairman Roberto Bettega, and CEO Antonio Giraudo were all forced to step down.

  The top tier of the Bianeri's ma was pletely purged, and the entire leadership team was dismantled and rebuilt from the ground up.

  Following a shareholders' vote, the owner of a major supermarket , Giovanni Cobolli Gigli, was elected as the new chairman of Juventus. Jean-Cude Bnc, a former editor of L'Equipe who had been involved with the Tour de France anizing ittee, ointed as the new general manager. Alessio Secco, the club's former press officer, became the sp director.

  Gigli, Bnd Secco quickly emerged as the hree Giants" of Juventus following the reanization, taking over the reins of the club.

  While the whole world believed that this sudden telephone sdal had caught Serie A and Juventus off guard, only those within the anizatiohat this storm had beely brewing for many years.

  Bn particur, was acutely aware of this fact.

  ---

  As everyone knows, the true trol of Juventus rests with the Fiat sortium, and the Agnelli family is its major shareholder. But in 2003 and 2004, the deaths of brianni Agnelli and Umberto Agnelli caused signifit turmoil within the Fiat sortium. As a result, John Elkann and Ferrari CEO Luca di Montezemolo took over as the new leaders of the sortium.

  One winter night in 2004, John Elka Jean-Cude Bn Paris, France, and formally invited him to join the ma team at Juventus. At the time, Bnc was surprised.

  "You already have Moggi and Giraudo, who have both achieved outstanding success. Why do you need me?" Bnc had asked.

  He clearly remembered John Elkann's response: "No, we're looking to get them out."

  At first, Bnc thought this was merely a power struggle within Juventus—a fairly on occurrence amoe clubs. He joined Juventus ma, prepared to take over the Bianeri whenever necessary.

  But gradually, he realized that the situation was far more plicated.

  It wasn't until retly, when the sdal could no longer be kept under s, that John Elkann informed him that ba 2004, he had received inside informatiover sources about impending iigations into Moggi and Giraudo's viotions.

  After two years of careful preparation, the world was finally hit by the bombshell that was the 2006 Calciopoli sdal.

  The Old Guard of Juventus fell, and the New Guard emerged.

  John Elkann's pn had rgely succeeded, but there were ued deviations.

  For example, he had promised Bnc the position of chairman at Juventus, but instead, Gigli from a supermarket had taken that role.

  Additionally, the possibility of Juventus being relegated was not something they had anticipated.

  More crucially, the new head of the Fiat sortium, Montezemolo, had instructed Juventus to abandon any appeals, accept the penalties, and focus on damage trol to minimize the losses for the sortium.

  But regardless of the circumstahe first task fag the new Juventus leadership trio was figuring out how to up this mess.

  ---

  Meetings had bee a daily occurre Juventus sihe Calciopoli sdal broke out. There were small meetings every three days and rger ones every five days.

  The club's administration was in plete disarray, stantly undergoing reanization, while the football team itself was mired in even more turmoil.

  Many people, including head coach Fabio Capello, made it clear that they would not follow the team to Serie B. They were top-tier professionals, world-css stars, and renowned coaches. After such a heavy blow, would they be able to make a ebabsp;

  In such a situation, only the pyers who truly loved the club would choose to stay.

  It was rumored that Capello was already very close to Real Madrid presidential didate Ramón Calderón. Everyone khat Calderón was now a strong tender for the presidency, as the current president, Fernando Martín, had been pletely abandoned by Real Madrid fans.

  Calderón's running mate, Predrag Mijatovi?, had been Capello's favorite pyer when he coached at Real Madrid. If Calderón were elected, his first a would undoubtedly be t Capello to the Bernabéu, fulfilling all the fans' demands.

  Real Madrid fans, didn't you appreciate Gao Shen?

  You say Gao Shen is a version 2.0 of Capello? Fine, I will bring the inal Capello!

  If Capello were to leave, who would dare to take over Juventus, a club relegated to Serie B?

  Over the past few weeks, Bnd Secco had tacted numerous high-profile coaches, but all had deed, politely or otherwise.

  No one wao get involved in Juventus's troubled waters at this time.

  Initially, they sought didates worthy of a giant club, but they were disappointed. Gradually, they lowered their requirements, but still failed to find a suitable coach. When didates heard it was Juventus, they invariably deed politely.

  Even when Bnc used his personal es to reach out to Didier Deschamps, a former Juventus legend, the Fren hesitated, saying he o think more befoing silent.

  Clearly, no one wao take the risk.

  After tinuous narrowing down, redug didates, and exhausting all other options, they finally focused oher surprising name: Gao Shen!

  ---

  "I don't think he's a suitable didate," Secco was the first to objebsp;

  Bnc wasn't surprised; in fact, this was within his expectations. "Tell me why," he asked.

  "I don't deny that he's the hottest mahis summer. He led Real Madrid to a double, and his results are truly impressive. But, as far as I know, his demands are also among the most stri. He even wants to be involved in the club's transfer dealings and tract renewals," Secco replied.

  After a brief pause, Secco asked Bnc, "Do you think it's appropriate for a young man of only twenty-five years to have so much power? Even if we both think it's fine, what about the higher-ups?"

  As he spoke, Secco pointed upward, referring to the Fiat sortium.

  "From his te Real Madrid, he's proven to be a very thoughtful, philosophical man, young and full of energy. His tactical ideas have even been unanimously praised by Sacchi, Valdano, Bebauer, Ptini, and others," Bnc argued.

  "I asked Zidao find out more about him, and Zidane had nothing but praise fao Shen. He believes that Gao She act like a twenty-five-year-old; his duct is very mature, stable, and banced."

  "Trust me, Alessio, if he manage Real Madrid's locker room, he mahe locker room of any team in the world. And as for his teical and tactical level, the La Liga and Champions League titles speak for themselves."

  "Of course, I admit you're right," Seodded but then shifted his tone. "However, this doesn't mean we have to give him authority over transfers and traegotiations."

  Bnodded. "That part is iable. He doesn't want to be fully responsible for transfers or tract renewals but wants a say. He wants the club t in the pyers he desires. I think this is reasonable."

  Secco scoffed. "I don't see it that way. If it were Marcello Lippi, I would have no problem, but Gao Shen? He is not qualified!"

  With that, Secco stood up and walked out of the room.

  Bnc watched him leave, sighing inwardly.

  He wasn't surprised by Secco's firm opposition. After all, Secco was the sp director.

  Everyone khat Chairman Cobolli Gigli was mostly a figurehead; General Manager Bnc was in charge of the club's operations and petitive matters, while the sp director was responsible for more specific football-reted tasks, such as transfer dealings, iations, and pyer tract renewals all responsibilities that fell under Secco's purview.

  If they agreed to Gao Shen's demands, wouldn't that weaken Secco's power?

  Moreover, Secco's argument was valid. Gao Shen had never had such authority before.

  Who could guarahere wouldn't be any issues?

  Even if they only gave him advisory power, with the club handling the specific operations, who could ehe pyers he reended would succeed? And what if there were hidden agendas?

  The bung gate sdal in the Premier League had served as a warning to all clubs across all leagues.

  But Bnc still wao meet Gao Shen.

  Whether it was from his former colleagues at L'Equipe, or from French friends like Zidane and Ptini, or from respected figures like Sacchi, Capello, and others everyone spoke highly of Gao Shen.

  Bnc had heard that Gao Shen was in tact with many teams, but most of those discussions remaientative, with clubs wary of his demands for trol over team-building and transfer policy.

  However, Bnew that Gao Shen had made his stance very clear: he was not willing to promise on his requirements.

  Gao Shen wao build a team acc to his own vision, not simply act as a caretaker for someone else's ambitions.

  Bhat meeting Gao Shen in person was necessary to truly uand if he was worth the risk that Juventus might take a risk that could either help the club rise from the ashes or further plicate its future.

  ---

  Meanwhile, in Southern Italy, Naples...

  In a quieter part of the try, far from the chaos in Turin, a different kind of hope was rising.

  A small crowd of local journalists gathered at the newly renovated headquarters of S.S.apoli, eager to withe modest but momentous occasion.

  After a brief unveiling ceremony, Aurelio De Laurentiis, the club's passionate chairman, stood proudly in front of the newly dispyed sign. For the past two years, it had only read "Napoli Soccer," the stripped-down name for a team that had been mired in the lower leagues. But now, the sign finally bore the club's full, historiame once again: Società Sportiva Calapoli.

  De Laurentiis could hardly tain his excitement.

  "It took us two years, but we have finally recimed our identity!" he decred to the small crowd. "We are no longer just Napoli Soccer. We are S.S.apoli once again a hat has been synonymous with passion, grit, and the beautiful game in Italy and around the world!"

  Napoli's ret history had been turbulent, to say the least. The club had been relegated from Serie A in 2001, and by 2004, it decred bankruptcy, buried under debts totaling 70 million euros. The club was forcibly relegated to Serie C, the third tier of Italian football.

  Almost everything the club owned was seized by the gover and put up for au, from stadium equipment to office furniture. Napoli was stripped of its assets, its status, and, most painfully, its dignity.

  But Aurelio De Laurentiis, a renowned film producer with deep roots in Naples, stepped in to buy the club, promising t it back to its flory. In two years, he led the team from Serie C to Serie B, giving hope back to a city that had not seen its beloved team iop flight for half a decade.

  Now, standing before the sign that read "S.S.apoli," De Laurentiis felt a surge of pride.

  "We have worked hard for this day," he tinued, addressing the reporters and fans present. "The he spirit, and the pride of Napoli are back where they belong. But this is just the beginning."

  The chairman's ambitious goals were clear: he wanted Napoli to bee a powerhouse again, not just in Italy but in Europe.

  "Naples deserves a fresh, hopeful start!" he shouted, almost like a battle cry. "I want the name of Napoli to echh Italy, Europe, and the entire football world!"

  The small crowd erupted in cheers.

  But De Laurentiis khat talk alone wouldn't bring success. As would.

  Now, with Napoli ba Serie B and the new season approag, the step was to find the right person to guide the team forward someone who could rebuild the squad, inspire the pyers, aore Napoli to its flory.