Starting With Real Madrid

The Meazza Stadium, shared by Inter Milan and AC Milan, is owned by the Milan city government. Neither team has their offices here, so the facilities are relatively basic.

After the game and the press conference, Mourinho asked Gao Shen to meet him in a secluded spot within the stadium.

Standing at the top level of the stadium near a guardrail, Gao Shen watched as fans poured out of the exits, spreading across the open spaces around the stadium like waves. The scene was truly spectacular.

Gripping the rail, Gao Shen admired the view, but a strange thought crept into his mind.

What if Mourinho suddenly developed evil intentions and pushed him down?

He quickly chuckled at his own ridiculous idea.

In truth, he was a bit afraid of heights.

The thought crossed his mind again: it's lonely at the top.

...

"What are you doing there, laughing like an idiot?"

Mourinho placed a bottle of wine he'd brought on the ground, opened Gao Shen's wine instead, and poured himself a glass. He swirled the glass slowly, took a sip, clicked his tongue twice, and looked displeased.

"Your wine is cheap and tastes awful," Mourinho declared.

Gao Shen laughed to himself.

He had specifically asked Zidane to pick this wine, and it was the most expensive bottle he had ever purchased. How could it be cheap?

"Maybe everything tastes cheap to you these days. I can understand that," Gao Shen replied with a smirk.

Mourinho didn't seem to care.

At their level, the outcome of a single game didn't weigh too heavily on them. Unless a boundary was crossed, they could still get along just fine.

It was like Ferguson and Wenger, mortal rivals on the pitch, bickering endlessly, but off it? They could still enjoy a drink together.

The same was true for Gao Shen and Mourinho now.

"To be honest, I'm not in such a bad mood. It's just that the wine really is terrible," Mourinho said with a straight face.

From his tone, it seemed like if he couldn't beat Gao Shen on the field, he'd beat him at the bar.

"Why don't you try it for yourself?" Mourinho offered, reaching for the bottle to pour Gao Shen a glass.

Gao Shen quickly declined the "kind gesture."

...

After two glasses of wine, the conversation became more animated.

Gao Shen, naturally talkative, could chat with anyone.

The discussion began with Ferguson, whom Gao Shen admired the most.

Everyone knew Mourinho shared a close relationship with the legendary Manchester United manager.

From there, the topic shifted to the Premier League, Serie A, Napoli, and Inter Milan.

Mourinho opened up about Inter Milan's tactical approach during the match, even admitting that he had made a significant mistake.

"Don't misunderstand me. My tactics were fine. The problem was with the players executing them," Mourinho said bluntly.

He elaborated further, explaining his decision-making process.

From his perspective, it made sense to go head-to-head with Napoli in this match. He wanted to assess his team's capabilities early on.

Was Napoli strong? Judging by their performances in the latter half of last season, yes, they were good. But a new season always brings uncertainty.

Moreover, Inter Milan had significantly strengthened their squad compared to last year.

"I've been thinking about this game ever since I first took over at Inter Milan," Mourinho admitted. "But I didn't expect that in August, three of my center-backs would require surgery at the same time. My hands were tied."

That, however, wasn't the "mistake" he was referring to.

"You mean Mancini Jr.?" Gao Shen guessed.

Mourinho looked surprised. "You know?"

Gao Shen nodded with a faint smile.

The Brazilian player had cost Inter Milan €13 million, a sizable investment.

"He has great individual skills, but how should I put it? Even at Roma, he always focused more on his own game. With Ibrahimovic already in your lineup, adding someone like Mancini, who likes to go solo, and Balotelli struggling on the right flank, it creates a lot of inefficiency upfront," Gao Shen explained.

He spread his hands as if to say, "What can you do?"

That was precisely Inter Milan's issue during this match.

Gao Shen was beginning to understand why Mancini Jr. had excelled at Roma but failed to make an impact at Mourinho's Inter Milan.

It wasn't about his ability; it was that Mourinho couldn't tolerate players with that kind of style.

With Ibrahimovic already operating as a lone wolf, there simply wasn't room for another individualistic player like Mancini Jr. in the attack.

Ibrahimovic couldn't link up play the way Totti had done at Roma.

And as for Quaresma? Only Mourinho himself probably knew why he'd brought him in. Perhaps he believed he could mold Quaresma into something more, or maybe the deal was influenced by the player's agent, Mendes. There could have been other reasons too, big transfers always had layers of complexity.

...

After Gao Shen offered his insights on Mancini Jr., Mourinho seemed to see him in a new light, almost as a kindred spirit.

Perhaps it was because Mourinho knew the media would be ruthless with him after this loss—if not tonight, then certainly tomorrow.

Inter Milan's current roster had no excuse to perform this poorly.

Under Mancini, it was the manager who took the brunt of the blame. Now, it was Mourinho's turn.

But Mourinho was pleased to find someone who understood his situation.

"Let me ask you something personal," Mourinho said, looking directly at Gao Shen.

Gao Shen raised an eyebrow but nodded.

"Why didn't you take the Barcelona job this summer? Was it really because you wanted to leave the opportunity for Guardiola?"

"That's two questions," Gao Shen replied with a grin.

Mourinho scowled.

"Be serious! Let's talk about personal matters!"

Despite his gruff tone, it was clear Mourinho was still grappling with the Barcelona situation.

Barcelona was a sore spot in Mourinho's career.

This also explained why, later on, when he managed Real Madrid, his rivalry with Barcelona became so fierce that it even caused divisions within the Real Madrid locker room.

Sometimes, caring too much about something can lead to obsession.

"There's some truth to it," Gao Shen admitted. "I genuinely think Guardiola is a better fit for Barcelona than I would be. I don't think I could adapt to the team or its culture. At least, I wasn't prepared to follow in Cruyff's footsteps."

Gao Shen's honesty took Mourinho by surprise.

Cruyff had fully integrated himself into Barcelona's culture, marrying a Catalan wife and living in Barcelona to become one of their own.

For outsiders, blending into a foreign club or city often required more than just professional success. It required adapting to the local culture and way of life.

Gao Shen's insight reflected a deep understanding of this dynamic.

Hearing this, Mourinho couldn't help but look at him with admiration.

For someone not even 28 years old, Gao Shen's maturity was remarkable.

Still, there was something almost unnerving about it.

Too mature, almost as if he were a man in his forties trapped in a young body.

...

In many ways, this crushing defeat might not be a bad thing for Mourinho.

It was his first official match as Inter Milan's manager, and this loss exposed the team's flaws, giving him the clarity to make necessary adjustments.

At the very least, it would strengthen his position when dealing with management.

"Look, we lost 0–3 to Napoli. Why don't we invest more and sign better players?"

After all, it was just the Supercoppa.

For Mourinho, the result wouldn't carry much weight.

For Inter Milan, however, the loss stung, especially being defeated 3–0 at the Meazza. It was humiliating.

But that humiliation might ultimately lead the club to back Mourinho even more.

As Gao Shen prepared to leave, he jokingly said, "You really owe me a good meal someday!"

Mourinho chuckled and replied, "I'll treat you when I beat you."

"Oh, I guess that means I'll never get a meal, then," Gao Shen quipped.

The two shook hands, parting with laughter.

Gao Shen realized Mourinho was far less combative in private than he was on the pitch.

Still, behind that façade, he was fiercely competitive and undoubtedly difficult to deal with.

In that sense, Mourinho was very different from someone like Ancelotti.

Ancelotti gave off a warm and approachable vibe, almost like a benevolent uncle. Sometimes, Gao Shen even thought Ancelotti was too agreeable, to the point of lacking his own edge.

Mourinho, on the other hand, was sharp and ambitious, a lot like Gao Shen himself.

Perhaps that was why they could never be close friends.

But it didn't stop them from sharing a drink and having a good conversation.

...

"How was it?"

After Gao Shen left, Mourinho returned to his staff. Boas, curious, asked how the meeting went.

"He's no pushover," Mourinho replied with a frown. "He's a tough opponent. Serie A this season is going to be interesting."

Boas was taken aback. He had only seen Mourinho this serious when discussing legendary managers like Ferguson, Benítez, or Wenger. He hadn't expected Gao Shen to command such respect.

It seemed he had underestimated the young manager.

"We'll have to wait and see," Mourinho added. "Napoli will be fighting on two, maybe even three fronts this season. Things could get messy for them."

Some managers excel with a single competition, but juggling multiple fronts often exposes their limitations.

Take Moyes at Everton, Pellegrini at Villarreal, or even Ancelotti at AC Milan, especially Ancelotti, notorious for his reluctance to rotate players.

What happens when a team doesn't rotate and competes on multiple fronts? Disaster.

Everton, for instance, could fight for a top-four finish in the Premier League on a single front, but when stretched across two competitions, they barely avoided relegation.

Mourinho was eager to see how Gao Shen would handle such challenges with Napoli this season.

"But before that," Mourinho concluded, "we need to meet with Mr. Moratti first."

***

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