"Honestly, Gao, I feel like your taste in players is getting weirder and weirder."
After seeing Giroud off, Carlo chuckled as he spoke.
"What's so strange about it?" Gao Shen laughed as well.
Originally, he had planned to take a nap and then spend some time in the tactical library, reviewing the experiences of Premier League managers. He wanted to learn more about how they handled the demands of the league, especially the grueling Christmas fixture schedule.
This was precisely the kind of knowledge that Gao Shen lacked the most.
But now, thanks to Giroud's unexpected visit, there was no way he could sleep.
"When you signed Suarez, you specifically told Ferrucci to pay extra attention to his mental state, to counsel and guide him more, saying you had a feeling he might bite people when he got nervous. We were all baffled at the time, he just had a pair of cute buck teeth."
Unexpectedly, after just one conversation with Suarez, Ferrucci actually concluded that he did have some minor psychological issues, likely stemming from a difficult childhood. He believed that under high-intensity competition and extreme stress, Suarez might struggle with self-control and could end up biting someone or venting his emotions in other ways.
This wasn't entirely unheard of in professional football. For example, Zidane's infamous headbutt on Materazzi in the World Cup final was also an emotional outburst under pressure.
But no one had expected Gao Shen's prediction to come true, it was almost eerie!
Later, Gao Shen awkwardly explained that it was just a psychological effect. When he was a kid, he had been bitten by someone, which left him traumatized by prominent buck teeth. He had just been fooling himself.
But now, out of nowhere, he had scouted a striker from an obscure second-division team in France and claimed that this player could become a reliable backup forward for Manchester City. It sounded utterly absurd.
And what was even funnier—this guy seemed to be quite a character himself.
The contract wasn't even signed yet, but he was already eager to report to Manchester City.
"You guys just need to understand and get used to it!" Gao Shen said earnestly.
They're all here for my personal charm!
Everyone silently gave him the middle finger in their hearts.
Could you be any more shameless?
But in all fairness, Giroud did seem to have real potential.
"Borrell, I watched some of his previous match footage from his time at Tours. As a striker, his greatest strength is his heading ability, but he's lacking in other areas. So, I need you to design a specialized training program for him—one that enhances his strengths while developing his tactical role."
Borrell nodded. As the team's technical coach and the current technical director of Manchester City's youth academy, this fell right under his expertise.
"Understood. I'll monitor his training closely."
Gao Shen had full confidence in Borrell's abilities.
"And Henderson, he's a local player with solid ability and potential. He's still young and physically strong, but his technique is a bit rough. Work on him and see how much he can improve."
Borrell nodded again.
"This training camp in South Africa is crucial," Gao Shen reminded everyone. "We need to refine a mature and stable tactical system and squad as quickly as possible for the new season—especially the opening match and the early fixtures. This is absolutely critical."
Just as he liked to strike fast at the start of a game, Gao Shen also placed great emphasis on the first match of a new season.
Our team has a fine tradition of treating the first battle with great caution.
If we can secure a strong start, everything else will fall into place much more smoothly.
And for Manchester City, this was especially important right now.
"Don't worry, we know what to do," Carlo reassured him on behalf of the coaching staff.
The others nodded as well.
After three years of working together, they all understood each other well. They knew exactly what Gao Shen was thinking.
…
Giroud's arrival didn't disrupt Manchester City's schedule or plans.
The French striker completed his medical, signed his contract, and had his transfer officially announced on the club's website all within a single afternoon.
Tours quickly finalized the transfer paperwork with Manchester City and sent the necessary documents to UEFA for registration.
The very next morning, Giroud boarded an Etihad Airways charter flight with the team, departing from Manchester Airport for Abu Dhabi.
Upon arrival, Manchester City was accommodated at the luxurious Royal Palace Hotel. The day after, they were invited to Sheikh Mansour's palace, where the club owner hosted a lavish banquet for the first-team players, coaching staff, and key personnel.
As a welcome gift, each attendee received a limited-edition Franck Muller Swiss watch, reportedly worth 200,000 euros.
In just one gathering, Mansour had gifted away tens of millions of euros—an act befitting one of the richest men in the world.
Of course, this extravagant gesture was quickly picked up by media outlets like The Sun, effectively turning it into a global advertisement for Abu Dhabi. In the end, Mansour may not have lost out at all.
After spending two days in Abu Dhabi, Manchester City flew to Cape Town, South Africa, to begin their training camp.
Cape Town's July weather was pleasant, making it an ideal location for training.
Manchester City had booked out the entire Bay Hotel, a seaside resort with only 78 rooms—more than enough for the squad. The hotel was thrilled to host a high-profile club like Manchester City and even offered substantial discounts for the full booking.
Just outside the hotel was a beautiful beach, and the facilities included a private gym, tennis courts, swimming pools, and various fitness amenities.
The most convenient part was that right next to the hotel was a football club's training ground with a large grass pitch, which Manchester City had rented in its entirety.
They ate and stayed at the hotel, and for training, they simply walked out, turned right, and were there—extremely convenient.
Even better, the scenery here was stunning, and the team could organize plenty of recreational activities on the beach to break up the monotony of training.
Buenaventura and Pintus had even planned in advance to use the natural conditions of the beach to enhance the players' physical training. As for traditional seaside activities like beach football, jet skiing, and diving, none of them would be left out.
Gao Shen moved into a single room. He didn't forget to post a few photos on Twitter and also sent some to Su Qing. Looking at them, he couldn't help but feel emotional, when you have money, you really can do whatever you want.
If this had been in Naples, such extravagant spending would have been unimaginable.
During his three years coaching Napoli, Gao Shen had never arranged an out-of-town training camp. Ultimately, it all came down to budget constraints.
On the day they arrived in Cape Town, the team had free time to move around, but only within the beach area outside the hotel, they weren't allowed to go any further.
Starting from the second day, everyone had to focus entirely on training and preparation.
Gao Shen also took the opportunity to meet with Robinho.
…
Gao Shen still remembered when Robinho arrived at Real Madrid, carrying the title of "the next Pelé." He was seen as the future of the club and a prodigy who could rival Messi.
But as time passed, Robinho had long since lost his former glory, while Messi had risen to become a world-class superstar. The gap between them had become insurmountable. Any talk of Robinho challenging Messi now was nothing more than wishful thinking.
That said, he still had the potential to be an excellent winger.
In fact, before moving to Manchester City, Robinho had performed quite well at Real Madrid. Unfortunately, he was used as a bargaining chip in Calderón's pursuit of Cristiano Ronaldo. Feeling disrespected, he forced a move away from the club. However, instead of joining his preferred destination, Chelsea, he unexpectedly landed at Manchester City.
A year ago, when he first joined, Robinho had been full of ambition, and his performances were impressive. But as Manchester City struggled last season, the team's poor results also took a toll on his morale.
So when Gao Shen met Robinho, he immediately saw the loneliness written all over the Brazilian's face.
"I heard that you often take the bus and subway in Manchester?"
His casual opening line caught Robinho off guard, but hearing Gao Shen speak fluent Spanish made him feel a sense of familiarity.
Life at Manchester City had been lonely.
He had even gotten into an argument with Bellamy once because Bellamy was yelling at him, and he couldn't understand a word of it.
"Yeah, it's a way for me to relax," Robinho replied.
"That's nice. Do fans recognize you?" Gao Shen asked with a slight smile.
"Yeah, often, but they don't really bother me."
Gao Shen nodded. "If you get the chance, take me around sometime. I still don't know where the most interesting places in Manchester are."
Robinho smiled and nodded.
Of course, he understood Gao Shen's intention.
With Gao Shen's status, did he really need Robinho to show him around Manchester?
"I actually understand your situation at Manchester City," Gao Shen said.
Back then, Scolari had personally called Robinho and promised him a key role at Chelsea. Chelsea even made an offer to Real Madrid, which led to Robinho publicly falling out with Calderón and Mijatović. He felt humiliated that they had treated him as a mere bargaining chip in their pursuit of Ronaldo.
The negotiations between Chelsea and Real Madrid were practically complete, but then Chelsea made the mistake of selling jerseys with Robinho's name on them before the deal was officially done. This infuriated Real Madrid, who canceled the transfer and sold him to Manchester City instead.
To this day, the exact details of what happened remain unclear.
Perhaps Manchester City had simply offered more money, prompting Real Madrid to backtrack on the deal with Chelsea. Or maybe Calderón and Mijatović were genuinely angered by Chelsea's premature jersey sales and decided to teach them a lesson.
After all, in the end, they neither kept Robinho nor signed Ronaldo, making a complete mess of the situation. The fans were furious, so it wouldn't have been surprising if they had taken out their frustration on Robinho.
"If I had the chance to do it over, I think I'd have handled things differently," Robinho said, his voice tinged with regret.
Gao Shen could hear the remorse in his words.
Maybe he regretted leaving Real Madrid.
Maybe he regretted joining Manchester City.
Or maybe it was a little of both.
Gao Shen's expression suddenly turned serious. "To be honest, Robinho, I'm disappointed to see you like this."
Robinho looked up at the new manager, and in that moment, memories of their time at Real Madrid flashed through his mind.
Back then, when Gao Shen first took over, Robinho and the other Brazilian players had all been under his strict management. Even Roberto Carlos had left Real Madrid earlier than planned because of it.
Gao Shen had been just a rookie coach at the time.
Now, he was a world-class manager.
"I don't want to waste time talking nonsense with you," Gao Shen continued coldly. "You have two options: either stay and fully commit to training and matches, you know my expectations for my players or have your agent find you a new club. If the price is right, I'll let you go."
With that, Gao Shen waved his hand, dismissing him.
(To be continued.)
***
Just created a Discord server, and you're all invited to join.
Whether you want to discuss the books you're reading, get new recommendations, or just chat about great stories, you'll also have direct access to me if you'd like to suggest a ff for me to work on.
Also, created a channel just for football talks and banter, so do join if you don't mind.
And to kick things off, I'll be giving away one month of free Patreon membership to three random members later this week, so you definitely don't want to miss out.
DÎscőrd link: https://discord.gg/UN2j5Cmq