When a person has no money, they have to live frugally.
When a football club runs out of money, it also has to tighten its belt.
The principle is the same: focus on cost-effectiveness and practice thrift.
But Moratti refused to do so.
There are many high-paid players at Inter Milan, but the club's financial strength cannot keep up. The team's competitiveness cannot improve either, leaving Inter Milan in a very awkward situation.
They call it a high-input, high-output model, but there is no money to sustain it.
It could be described as a cost-effective, low-to-medium risk approach, but in reality, it completely lacks cost-effectiveness.
The simplest example: should Ibrahimovic be sold?
There are a number of redundant veterans in the squad—should they be cleared out?
You're already so poor, why not increase revenue and cut expenses?
Put nicely, Moratti calls this sentimentality. Put bluntly, it is being overly concerned with saving face and unwilling to make the tough decisions.
A heart higher than the sky, but a life as thin as paper.
The true cost-effective approach is what Napoli is doing.
Regardless of the proceeds from selling players in the past two years, Napoli is the only club in Serie A currently turning a profit.
Yes, Napoli is profitable!
Why?
It's simple. They sell when they should sell.
They buy at good prices, and when they sell, they push the price as high as possible. Their players' wages are low, the financial pressure is light, and naturally, the club makes a profit.
What's that? You still want to win the championship while playing the cost-effective game?
That depends on luck!
If you're fortunate, the players hit good form and achieve solid results, maybe you'll have a chance at the league title or the Champions League. But most of the time, you are just playing it safe, buying low, selling high, and progressing steadily.
Of course, you could also learn from Juventus. After accumulating a certain amount of wealth, they began to push forward aggressively.
With a bit of luck, a bicycle can become a motorcycle.
But the premise is that you must first accumulate wealth.
Juventus reached the Champions League final twice in three years without winning the trophy, but they built up considerable strength and financial power, which is why they are ambitious about breaking into the top tier.
But what about Inter Milan?
Right now, they don't even have a complete commercial structure. The club loses 70 to 80 million euros every year, and Moratti has already lost the financial backing of his family. How can you play this game under these conditions?
…
Although Gao Shen spoke very tactfully, Little Moratti fully understood what he meant.
This game is no longer playable.
If Inter Milan can truly make up its mind this summer to clear out the squad, reorganize, streamline the lineup, and adopt a cost-effective approach, Gao Shen believes they will suffer some short-term pain but will recover and come back stronger.
But now, Inter Milan cannot avoid long-term suffering.
Gao Shen's words hit the nail on the head. Angelo Moratti felt helpless after hearing them.
After all, he had no other choice but to come to Gao Shen for advice.
But with Gao Shen's current status, it is basically impossible for him to take over such a mess like Inter Milan, and Inter Milan can't afford Gao Shen's staggering annual salary either.
According to Gao Shen's suggestion, Inter Milan still needs to act quickly, starting the cleanup and restructuring as soon as possible.
"If you keep hesitating like this, in two years you might not even qualify for the Champions League!" Gao Shen warned.
"Is the situation really that bad?" Little Moratti was shocked.
He wondered whether Gao Shen was deliberately trying to scare him.
"Do the math yourself," Gao Shen said. "Look at Italy's current performance in Europe. The Bundesliga is chasing closely behind. If you're not careful, the Bundesliga could overtake Serie A at any time. Once that happens, Serie A will be down to only three Champions League spots."
"Right now, AC Milan and Napoli are doing well. Juventus has just restructured its management, with Andrea Agnelli returning to take charge. They will increase investment. If Juventus makes a comeback or Roma rises again, do you think Inter Milan can hold on to a top-three spot?"
Little Moratti was speechless.
The allocation of Champions League places for the major European leagues is based on UEFA coefficients, calculated from European competition points.
The top three leagues in the rankings get four Champions League spots. The fourth-ranked league only gets three.
If Serie A really gets overtaken by the Bundesliga, they will have to give up one spot to Germany.
When that happens, Inter Milan's situation will be even worse than it is now.
"You don't have much time left. Hurry up!" Gao Shen urged.
With that, he picked up the white porcelain coffee cup and took a sip of the black coffee. The bitterness made him frown slightly, but he still politely nodded to Little Moratti and turned to leave.
Little Moratti was left sitting there alone. No one knew what was going through his mind.
…
Gao Shen actually still has feelings for Inter Milan.
Of course, his favorite club is Real Madrid. But he also has a fondness for Inter Milan, AC Milan, Bayern Munich, Manchester United…
In fact, he likes them all.
Because he loves football.
If Inter Milan were not in Serie A but in the Premier League, he might really consider working with the Moratti family.
For example, becoming a consultant and even investing money to hold shares in the club.
He believes that Moratti would be very interested.
But Inter Milan is in Serie A.
There are too many restrictions in Serie A. It is simply not a game that experts can afford to play.
With Inter Milan's current situation, even 100 million euros would only be enough to cover the club's losses for a single year. What impact could that possibly have?
On top of that, the decline of Serie A is already inevitable.
Once Serie A's Champions League quota is reduced, it will be extremely difficult to get it back.
In fact, many fans probably haven't noticed a very interesting phenomenon.
In the past, present, and foreseeable future, La Liga has always stood out, relying on Real Madrid and Barcelona, plus emerging teams like Sevilla and Atletico Madrid, to rack up plenty of European points with their strong performances in the Champions League and Europa League.
The Bundesliga is also poised for a major comeback in the next few years. First, they will overtake Serie A, and then challenge the Premier League.
Gao Shen vaguely remembers that around 2016, the Bundesliga ranked second in the UEFA coefficients.
The Premier League was third but very close to Serie A in fourth.
Because the European competition points are calculated based on results from the past five years, Serie A had done relatively well in the years before 2016. With the rise of teams like Juventus and Napoli, there was even a moment where they looked like they might surpass the Premier League.
But soon after, the Premier League rose sharply.
Teams like Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur, and Manchester City began performing at a high level in the Champions League.
If UEFA coefficients are seen as a kind of war, then this is also a very exciting battlefield.
There is fierce competition between clubs within each league, but there is also intense rivalry between the leagues across Europe.
After all, a Champions League spot is extremely valuable.
…
Manchester City defeated Inter Milan 3-1 away.
Almost at the same time, Real Madrid drew 1-1 with Schalke 04 at home.
Raul returned to the Bernabeu as an opponent for the first time and scored against his former teammate Casillas.
The former Real Madrid captain did not celebrate after scoring. The Bernabeu fans gave him a warm round of applause.
As a result, the group stage situation became very complicated.
Currently, Manchester City is the only team standing out with three consecutive wins.
Next is Real Madrid with four points, Schalke 04 with two points, and Inter Milan at the bottom with only one point.
Any of these three teams still has a chance to finish second in the group.
Manchester City seems to have secured the top spot, but they cannot afford to be careless.
No one knows what kind of determination these three teams might show when they are fighting for survival.
However, Gao Shen didn't have the energy to worry about this for now.
After returning to Manchester from Milan, he immediately led the team into intensive preparations for the ninth round of the Premier League.
Their next opponent: Arsenal!
Wenger's team has shown clear improvement recently, especially after their home win over Birmingham.
On one hand, Arsenal's problems are still there and quite serious. Otherwise, why would they need to stage comebacks so often?
But on the other hand, the Gunners' progress is also obvious to everyone.
In Gao Shen's view, whether it's as a direct opponent on the pitch or as a future competitor in the league standings, there is no reason to let Arsenal gain momentum.
The best strategy is to defeat them decisively at home and push Wenger's team back down again.
This is the cruelty of professional football.
…
As the new season progressed, especially after returning from Milan, Gao Shen clearly felt that the competition within his team was becoming fiercer.
Although he maintained control and the dressing room remained harmonious, every player was competing intensely.
There are only eleven positions on the pitch. Excluding Neuer, whose starting position is secure, there are only ten spots left—but each position has at least two strong competitors.
Take the left wing for example. Gareth Bale shone brightly in the match against Inter Milan. Can Hazard, Robinho, and Sturridge feel at ease?
Van Persie is scoring goals steadily in the league, while Suarez is performing well in the Champions League. Do you think they aren't competing against each other?
The right wing is similar. Robben's position seems stable, but he still faces competition.
There's also the battle between Yaya Toure and Javi Martinez, as well as Rakitic and the others.
This was all intentional on Gao Shen's part.
Whether it's as big as a country or as small as a football team, competition is necessary.
Only competition can drive progress.
At Manchester City today, whether on the training ground or in matches, every player gives their all, full of hunger and ambition like wolves and tigers. No one wants to waste an opportunity to prove themselves.
Gao Shen loves this atmosphere.
Because every time his players step onto the field, they give their best.
It reminds him of his previous life managing a team. Back then, everyone worked hard, stayed late, and always completed the tasks he assigned—often exceeding expectations.
As the head coach, what Gao Shen needs to do now is maintain this atmosphere and keep the intensity of the locker room competition at just the right level.
If the intensity crosses the line, it could easily lead to disputes and conflicts, which would harm the unity of the team.
Managing this balance is the coach's responsibility.
In this regard, whether in his past life or in this one, whether at Real Madrid, Napoli, or now at Manchester City, Gao Shen has always been confident.
Now, all that's left is to see how the players perform against Arsenal on the pitch.
After some time, Gao Shen also began thinking about another major event in his life.
(To be continued.)
***
For every 200 PS = 1 extra chapter. Support me on patreon to read 30+ advanced chapters: patreon.com/Blownleaves.