The next morning, the sun was shining brightly, and there was the smell of the ocean in the air.
Li Ang was having breakfast. Alice's door was closed. The girl hadn't gotten up yet. As a Mathlete, even a beautiful female Mathlete, staying up late at night seemed to be a common thing for her.
The sports news was playing on the television.
The news was broadcasting a Segunda División match from the previous night. Sporting de Gijón had defeated Tarragona 0-3 in their home ground.
Tarragona was an old Segunda División team. They were strong and had always been seen by the media in Gijón as Sporting de Gijón's direct opponent for promotion to La Liga this season.
Sporting de Gijón had not been in good form recently. They had not won for many rounds in the league. This time, they faced Tarragona. Sporting de Gijón was ranked 11th in the league, while Tarragona was ranked 7th. Although there was a difference of four places between the two teams, the difference was only two points. This was a good opportunity for Sporting de Gijón to win and overtake their opponents in the standings.
However … Sporting de Gijón lost. What was even more unexpected was that Sporting de Gijón had lost so miserably!
0-3 loss!
A crushing defeat!
And it was at Sporting de Gijón's home ground.
"0-3, this is really a crushing defeat! It's as if Gijón has encountered a devastating typhoon! " The commentator in charge of the game, Dagestino, commented after the game.
In the news, the anchor was also mercilessly pointing the finger at Sporting de Gijón's First Team Manager, Lacideria.
"0-3, a crushing defeat at the feet of Tarragona. Sporting de Gijón has now slipped to 12th place. They are now 15 points behind Elche in the league's third place. It will be very difficult for them to catch up. With Sporting de Gijón's current situation, their chances of falling into the relegation zone are higher than their chances of promotion!"
*****
On the TV screen, the Segunda División standings had just ended. Sporting de Gijón was in twelfth place with 29 points, only seven points higher than Granada in the relegation zone!
The host said that Sporting de Gijón had a higher chance of being relegated than being promoted. Although this was an exaggeration, it also showed the dire situation that Sporting de Gijón was in.
Li Ang had not been paying attention to the First Team's situation. He felt that it had nothing to do with him for the time being.
Looking at the Segunda Liga standings on the big news, Li Ang was shocked. How could the First Team's situation be so bad? He still remembered that when he first came to Xi Hong, the First Team was ranked tenth. However, they were only seven points away from Elche, who was ranked third. They still had hope of competing for a promotion spot.
Now, when he paid attention to the news of the First Team again, the team was already ranked in the middle to the bottom of the league. They might even fall into the relegation zone, let alone La Liga.
"I'm sure Sporting de Gijón's head coach, Mr. Rashidria, is also very interested. What's waiting for him a week after the game — a typhoon warning! If he can't lead the team out of its decline as soon as possible, his future at Sporting de Gijón will be bleak. "
Li Ang turned off the television and picked up a few newspapers by the door. These newspapers were all paid for by the club. They were a basic benefit for the team's coaches.
He casually flipped through them.
"Sporting de Gijón with no fighting spirit!"
"Sporting de Gijón with a crushing defeat!"
"Rashidria is helpless!"
"0: 3!"
From the start of the post-match press conference, the local media in Xi Hong pointed their spears at the team's head coach, Rashidria.
Everything about Rashidria in this game became the target of the media's criticism: the starting lineup, the substitutes' lineup, the on-the-spot command, the substitution scheduling, the midfield adjustment … In short, the head coach's results in this game, no, in this recent period of time, were simply terrible. After a winter break, Sporting de Gijón's situation did not improve. Instead, it continued to slide into the abyss.
Li Ang looked at the half-bald middle-aged man in the photo with a gloomy face. He was besieged by reporters and looked a little flustered and exasperated.
Bro, your glabella is dark. Li Ang mocked his unlucky colleague in the photo.
He shook his head, got up, took his things, and prepared to go to work.
*****
At the Mario training base, Li Ang called Juan - Carlos over.
"I just talked to my sister on the phone." Carlos was the first to speak.
Li Ang shook his head and smiled. This kid, he was trying to warn him. What he meant was that he had been in contact with his sister, Alice, and warned Li Ang not to do anything inappropriate to his sister.
"Have you seen the game video I gave you?" Li Ang ignored the kid and asked directly.
Li Ang arranged for assistant coach Fernandez to collect some game videos. After editing them, he gave them to Carlos for the kid to ponder and learn.
These were all videos of AC Milan's Italian star player, Gattuso.
The development template that Li Ang set for Carlos at this stage was based on Gattuso.
A strong physique, excellent running ability, the combination of [Ball Snatching], [Defensive Positioning], and [Determination] attributes that were above average. In addition to his own careful guidance, Li Ang did not believe that he could not cultivate a Gattuso like Xi Hong.
"I saw it." Carlos nodded and said, his eyes shining.
"What do you think?" Li Ang asked. "I'm referring to your evaluation of that Italian."
"Awesome," Carlos said. "He's the ruler of the midfield!"
Uh! Li Ang was stunned. He did not expect Carlos to use the word "ruler" to describe Gattuso. Shouldn't he be a sweeper?
Well, anyway, from Carlos' tone, it seemed that he admired Gattuso a lot. That was enough.
"Very good." Li Ang nodded. "That Italian is the one you have to learn from. Ponder it well and use your brain more." Li Ang pointed to his head.
"I know." Carlos nodded. As long as it did not involve his sister, he now maintained respect for Li Ang in other matters.
"There's one thing you have to pay attention to." Li Ang suddenly remembered something and reminded him. "Gattuso's style is fierce, but he's not a dirty footballer! You have to pay attention to this. "
He really had to remind him first. He was really worried that Carlos had not learned anything else but Gattuso's fierce style. There was only a fine line between a fierce style and a dirty style. It was very easy to cross that line.
Gattuso's style was fierce and fierce on the field. He was also known as the "Butcher". However, Gattuso was not a dirty footballer. His movements may be big and look fierce, but they were not aimed at the players. In the football world, no one had ever been hurt by Gattuso's malicious tackle.
That was why Li Ang gave Carlos a special reminder.
"I understand." Carlos nodded. "I will seriously study it and ponder it."
Carlos faced Li Ang with respect. However, he was not a person who would say many words of gratitude. Still, he knew that Li Ang had put in a lot of effort for him. The manager did not give up on him because of his weakness in headers. Instead, he had created a new position for him. Then, he had prepared a video of the match for him. He had pointed out the target and direction for him to learn from, giving him a more concrete direction to work towards.
For a child from the slums who was almost unable to continue playing football, this kindness was akin to giving him a new lease on life!
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