That night, Li Ang was moved. This was the second time he had been moved by the fans since he came to Europe, which was far away from his hometown.
Bader Kurey called him and only said that he wanted to treat him to a drink. He said that he wanted to treat him to a drink as a fan, not as a taxi driver. Li Ang hesitated for a moment and agreed.
Then, he went to the Northern Bar, the biggest base of the Gihon fans. The fans gave him a big surprise.
Li Ang was very happy, very happy, and very moved.
He did not remember how much he drank. He drank with the fans, put his arm around their shoulders, and played arm wrestling and other activities.
He even hugged and danced with a burly man.
The strong man's name was Harvey Gradello. Yes, he was the guy who had made a bet with him before. Later, he became a fan and became Li Ang's fan. However, he was unwilling to admit it because of his pride. This time, it could be said that they had really buried the hatchet.
It could also be said that Harvey Gradello and the fans had become Li Ang's most hardcore supporters in the whole city from this day on.
The fan group of Harvey Gradello and Bader Kurey was one of the most hardcore fan groups of Sporting de Gijón. Today, besides them, the others who gathered in the Northern Bar were also this hardcore fan group. They were also known as radical fans. There were about a thousand of them, but they were Sporting de Gijón's most hardcore fans. They had long occupied the south stands of the El Molinon stadium. The banners and flags flying high above the stadium were their symbols.
Radical fans were not the same as football hooligans, but these people were more fanatical than ordinary fans. In their lives, football was even more important than anything else.
It could be said that Li Ang and Harvey Gradello had become friends after a fight. Now, with such a miraculous victory that could be recorded in the history of Sporting de Gijón, he was accepted and recognized by these fans. These people became his supporters, which was very helpful for Li Ang.
With the support of the club's chairman, the players were slowly beginning to accept him, and now with the support of the most hardcore fan group, Li Ang's coaching career at Sporting de Gijón had just begun, but he already had a very good foundation.
Of course, he also knew that the fans supported him because he brought victory to the team and let the fans see hope. One day, when he led the team to a bad result, the fans would also boo him.
But, was this not a normal thing?
Moreover, Li Ang was very confident about his future at Sporting de Gijón.
He believed that if he led the team to continue to move forward, the people who liked him and supported him would only support him even more!
The fans were the most simple, they were the most straightforward. If you could bring them victory and happiness, they would support you unconditionally, cheer for you, and cheer for you.
Li Ang enjoyed this feeling and cherished it.
*****
It was not just the northern bar.
That night, in bars big and small in Sporting de Gijón, there were long-lost songs and laughter.
In the past three months, Sporting de Gijón had not tasted a victory, and the business of the bars was obviously greatly affected.
The fans were depressed and aggrieved.
And such a beautiful comeback victory over Aravis, the most "hated" by the fans, the emotions that had been suppressed for three months broke out, and almost all the bars were full.
The bar owners were overjoyed and happy. They were now grateful to Li Ang, grateful to the Chinese coach for leading the team to such a great victory.
They hoped so much that Sporting de Gijón could continue to win.
But many people felt that this was an extravagant hope.
It could be said that it was a miracle that they could beat Aravis 3-0 in this game and advance to the top four of the Copa del Rey. The reason why a miracle was a miracle was that it was very difficult to replicate.
Moreover, with Sporting de Gijón's current situation in the league, it was too difficult to continue to win and win to their heart's content.
But at least, through this game, in the hearts of the Sporting de Gijón fans, they saw a glimmer of hope. This was the first time they saw the hope of avoiding relegation.
It was impossible for a relegation team to keep winning. The relegation battle was cruel. They needed a game, a game to fight, and a draw was crucial. When two relegation teams met, it was even more tragic. As for meeting a team at the top of the league, even if they lost, it was not a big deal. Taking points from a strong team was not the established goal of a relegation team.
This was good. As long as there was hope of avoiding relegation, the market for the team's football would be hot, and there would be more and more fans coming to the bar to watch the game and come to the bar after the game.
They did not expect Li Ang to lead the team to win continuously. They just wanted to see Li Ang lead the team forward on the road to avoiding relegation and see the hope of avoiding relegation. That was enough.
The fans were easily satisfied.
That night, Sporting de Gijón did not sleep. Many fans partied until late into the night.
*****
In all the sports newspapers published the next day, the Copa del Rey game between Sporting de Gijón and Aravis occupied an important section.
The other three knockout games were between the teams of La Liga. However, the most eye-catching and magnificent was the contest between the two Segunda División teams, Sporting de Gijón and Aravis.
"This is El Molinón!" This was the unified title of many of the local media in Sporting de Gijón. They used Li Ang's words before the start of the game as a statement. A sense of pride and pride overflowed from his words and expressions.
As for the photos to be distributed, there were various choices. Some photos were distributed of Li Ang being thrown up by the players to celebrate after the game. Some photos were distributed of Li Ang's handsome pose after he scored the goal and somersaulted to celebrate landing on the ground. There were also photos of his "calm and unhurried" smile before the game started.
In short, many of the media chose the manager's photos to use, which was very impressive. Generally speaking, the media would choose the player's image as the photo to accompany the photo.
"Sporting de Gijón, ranked 18th in Segunda División, will face Aravis, ranked fourth in Segunda División, in the second leg of the Copa del Rey. In the first leg of the game between the two sides, Sporting de Gijón lost 1-4. And three days ago, they suffered a crushing 6-0 defeat at the feet of Aravis at home in the league!" This was a common paragraph that many media outlets used before introducing the game. Only with a comparison would people feel more shocked about the game.
"Sporting de Gijón played a different kind of football in this game. It was different from their previous games this season. Even the first and second half of this game were completely different!"
"Sporting de Gijón in the first half of the game was not likable. It made people feel hopeless. They completely retreated and did not have any aggressiveness. They only fought to not concede the goal. They did it."
"From the first second of the second half of the game, Sporting de Gijón surprised everyone. Their China manager, Li Ang, made a substitution in the midfield. He brought on the 17-year-old Javier Blanco. This substitution set off a wave of Sporting de Gijón's counterattack. They scored two goals in eight minutes. Javier assisted Mata twice in a row. Obviously, this was a tactic that had been planned for a long time. This China manager let us see the cunning of his tactics! He caught Aravis off guard! "
"The last goal was even more wonderful. Juan Carlos, who also came on as a substitute in the second half of the game, became the winner of the game. This 16-year-old kid's performance on the defensive side of the field was amazing. And the last goal was a quick counterattack launched after he stole the ball from the backfield. Mata's shot was blocked by a pillar. The end of the attack was also unexpectedly by Carlos. He ran from the backfield to the front field. At the most appropriate time, he appeared in the most appropriate position and scored! It was officially announced that Aravis had been eliminated! "
"At the end of the game, four of the eleven players on the field were from Team B. Li Ang, the China man who caused a lot of controversy and criticism before the game, made everyone sit up and take notice of him. His tactics, his substitution, he led a group of kids like this and made the strong Aravis suffer in El Molinon!"
"Of course, there was also the controversial China manager. This night belonged to him. He made the whole of El Molinon boil. And his celebration after the team scored the third goal made us realize how different he was. He was controversial. Some people said he was arrogant, some said he was a 'tyrant', some said he was crazy. But now, this game, this night belonged to him. He made the whole of Sporting de Gijón boil!"
"Now, I think it is necessary to introduce the new manager of Sporting de Gijón to everyone. He is only 27 years old and from China … Ang Li! According to China's custom, it would be more accurate to call him 'Li Ang.' It is this new manager who has never coached a first team team in a professional league. This controversial China man who was questioned and thought to be arrogant led Sporting de Gijón to complete a super comeback. Now, they are in the semi-finals of this season's Copa del Rey! "
These were the media that praised him. More than half of them were local media in Sporting de Gijón, and the rest were media from all over Spain. Li Ang, as a China man, was coaching a Segunda División team. This was already big news. Coupled with the hype before the game, it had already attracted a lot of attention. Now that he had led the team to a miraculous comeback into the semi-finals, the media was even more excited.
Even the major Spanish media, which had a deep grudge with Li Ang, had to praise Li Ang a little when they introduced the game. Of course, they did not forget to continue to criticize and attack. The focus of their criticism was Li Ang's arrogance. They also pointed out that this was just a game and a special case. This meant that they would wait and see!
For example, La Repubblica reported this: The arrogant Chinese man, Li Ang, led the team to a shocking victory. This was a very perfect debut … However, we have to warn the Chinese that the Segunda División battle is much more tragic than the Copa del Rey. We will wait and see if he can continue his good luck.
To be able to let Marca, Mundo Deportivo, and La Repubblica be so aggrieved and praised, but they were not willing to accept it. They did not forget to throw shade, dig a hole, and wait to add insult to injury. Li Ang could be said to be the first person in Spanish football in recent years!
There was no doubt that Li Ang was really popular this time.
Compared to the last time he led the B team to a 5-0 victory over Rayo Vallecano, it was a few times more popular. After all, that was only a Segunda División game. This game was different. It was a Copa del Rey quarterfinal game in the middle of the week. There were no other games in the middle of the week, only the Copa del Rey game. Therefore, the coverage was huge.
Now, more than half of the media in all of Spain had his picture.
This China man, overnight, let the whole of Spain know his name.
PS: Guaranteed first update, posted an hour late, sorry.
Continue to ask for monthly votes, the situation is critical.
In the early hours of the morning, I was writing but fell asleep on the table … This is my Chinese Valentine's Day.
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