The team had a break this morning. The players could rest, reunite with their families, and go out to have fun. However, the manager did not rest. In fact, the manager could be said to be working all year round. During the league tournament, the manager had to be busy every day. He had to formulate suitable tactics for the team's next game and the game after that. He had to deal with the various problems that the team encountered. Even after the season ended, the manager had to sum up the experience and lessons of this season, formulate a plan for the next season, and run around busy with the recruitment of the team. Therefore, the effort behind a successful manager was unimaginable to outsiders. This did not include the huge pressure that the manager had to face.
The victory in the Copa del Rey against Aravés became history after the game.
The fans and media could continue to be happy and talk about it. The players could also continue to be happy. However, Li Ang could not. He had to start working.
In fact, perhaps others did not know, but Li Ang was the clearest about the current situation. The game with Aravés was a special case. There were too many factors that contributed to the reversal of the game and the elimination of the opponent. Li Ang's deceptive tactics caught the opponent off guard. In addition, Aravés did not know that Li Ang had sent Javier Blanco on the field. This gave them a greater opportunity to suddenly exert their strength. The last goal also caught the opponent off guard. The Aravés did not expect Sporting de Gijón to still want to score at that time.
Aravés did indeed underestimate their opponent. They underestimated their opponent too much.
There were many factors that contributed to this major victory.
However, for example, after this game, if Aravés were to play against Sporting de Gijón again, the opponent would definitely pay attention to Sporting de Gijón from the beginning. In this case, Sporting de Gijón would most likely lose!
Sporting de Gijón's situation did improve after Li Ang took over. However, it was definitely not to the extent that they could defeat Aravés, who were in fourth place in the league.
The current situation was that the tactic used in the match against Sporting de Gijón could not be used in the following matches. The tactic was successful because of its element of surprise. Without this element of surprise, it could not be used effectively.
Therefore, what Li Ang needed to do now was to improve the strength of the team as soon as possible. They still needed to rely on their strength in the later matches. They needed to really fight and play! This was a head-on clash! You have to increase your strength and suppress your opponent in all aspects. Only then can you ensure a greater degree of victory.
Sporting de Gijón's next opponent was Salamanca. This was also the first league match after Li Ang took over the team, and it was crucial for the team's survival.
The Segunda División match between Li Ang's Sporting de Gijón and Salamanca, which had already been unveiled, would be Li Ang's true journey to avoid relegation.
*****
At noon, Li Ang set off for the Maleo training base.
On the way to the training ground, he bumped into some of his colleagues from the club.
When these people saw Li Ang, they took the initiative to greet him in a friendly manner, smiling as a greeting.
Li Ang also smiled and nodded in response.
On the First Team's training ground, he began to be welcomed by everyone, just like when he was in Team B. At that time, after he led the team to a 5-0 victory over Rayo Vallecano, he had completely won the hearts of Team B. The staff at the youth training base had also become unusually enthusiastic towards him.
Just like now, when Li Ang first arrived at the First Team three days ago, some people were indifferent to him, and some were only polite to him as colleagues. Now, these people were smiling at him and expressing their goodwill.
On the football field, winning was the only way to win respect!
"Hi, Li." Assistant Manager Martin Skrtel was already waiting on the sidelines. He gave Li Ang a big hug.
It was obvious that Skrtel was still excited about yesterday's match.
"There are a lot of fans today," Li Ang said.
Many fans had already gathered on the sidelines of the First Team's training ground. They were all there to watch the team's training.
In European football clubs, training sessions were generally open to the public, allowing fans to watch from the sidelines. This not only helped to build a closer relationship with the fans, but also allowed the fans to help "supervise" the players' training. Who had a good training attitude, who had a bad training attitude, the fans would react without the manager having to say anything.
This was also part of the culture of European football. The foundation of European football was in the community, and the children in the community were their blood transfusion bank. Adults often brought their children to watch the matches. Perhaps one of these children would appear on the training ground in the future, wearing the team's uniform and fighting for their hometown team. This was a virtuous cycle, a very healthy operating model.
On one side of the training ground, there was a large green field. The fans brought their families here to watch the team's training. They brought some snacks and drinks, and there were all kinds of sunshades scattered on the grass. This was simply an outing.
*****
"Yes, we won yesterday. The fans are very happy. They haven't been so happy for a long time," Skrtel said. "We thank you on behalf of them."
"You are also a member of the coaching team. You also have a part to play in the victory." Li Ang said with a smile. He looked at the players who had already begun their warm-up training. "Is anyone late?"
"Everyone is here except for McGuire," Skrtel said.
"McGuire?" Li Ang was puzzled. He thought about it. There was indeed such a name on the team's list, but he had never seen this player. He thought that the staff had made a mistake in the player's information and included the name of a team that had left the team.
"McGuire Pihra. He has been doing recovery training by himself, so you haven't seen him," Skrtel said with a nod. Scottley nodded and said, "Before you came to the team, Rashidria had already informed McGuire of the termination of his contract. It was only because he was dismissed that this matter was temporarily delayed."
"Terminate the contract? What's going on? "Li Ang asked.
"McGuire's form this season has been very bad. After this injury …" Skrtel said, "He is already thirty-five years old."
Li Ang nodded. He understood. A thirty-five-year-old veteran with a serious decline in form and a serious injury could not meet the team's requirements. The team was now peacefully parting with the player. The player could retire or find another team. This was a relatively gentle solution. Although it sounded a little cruel, this was professional football. The survival of the fittest was the rule.
"Everyone is very sorry about McGuire," Skrtel said. "His dream was to play for Sporting de Gijón."
Huh? Li Ang was surprised. Listening to what he said, McGuire Pihra had never played for the team in a game. There was a story behind this.
Li Ang glanced at the players. They were now doing their routine warm-up before training. He did not need to pay much attention to anything.
"What's going on? Tell me about it. "Li Ang asked with interest.
This was a very heartwarming story. It was a very inspirational story, but it was also a sad story.
When McGuire Pihra was very young, he entered the Sporting de Gijón youth team and trained at Maleo. However, the child did not have much talent. Although he worked very hard, he did not meet the team's requirements at the age of sixteen. He was not able to get his first professional contract and could only leave the team.
After that, McGuire Pihra went to many clubs. Only one of them was a Spanish Serie C team. However, he only stayed for half a year before his contract was terminated again. After that, McGuire Pihra spent his entire career playing for amateur teams. He was a very hardworking player. Even in an amateur team, he did not relax his demands. He always had a dream. One day, he would be able to return to Sporting de Gijón, to his mother team, to his favorite place. For him, to be able to wear Sporting de Gijón's jersey and play a game at El Molinon Stadium, he would die without regrets.
However, for a player who was abandoned at a young age because of his low talent and had been playing in the amateur league all this time, it was simply a fantasy.
A season ago, in the middle of the previous season, the team's manager, Heratsous, heard about McGuire's story from somewhere. He was very touched and signed the 35-year-old veteran in hopes of fulfilling McGuire's long-cherished wish.
This incident caused quite a stir in Sporting de Gijón at that time. Almost all the Sporting de Gijón fans knew about McGuire's story. They were all happy with the club's signing and hoped that McGuire could fulfill his long-cherished wish. This was the sentiment of the simple fans. McGuire's wish was their wish too. Every Sporting de Gijón fan had a childhood dream of playing for the team and playing at El Molinon Stadium.
However, it was clear that McGuire's ability was indeed very poor. He was indeed unable to meet the requirements of the First Team. At this time, the manager of the team who signed McGuire, Heratsous, was dismissed and the new manager, Rashidria, took over. This guy, who was hailed by the Sporting de Gijón fans as the worst manager, completely threw McGuire into the cold palace as soon as he took over. He completely looked down on this weak veteran. What a joke. The team was not a charity hall. How could any random person be in the First Team? In Rashidria's opinion, this kind of character was one of the reasons why his predecessor, Heratsous, was dismissed due to poor results.
Just like that, McGuire Pihra was completely thrown into the cold palace. However, the veteran did not give up under such circumstances. He persisted in training and trained hard in hopes of improving himself and moving Rashidria.
This 35-year-old veteran was racing against time and fighting against fate. He firmly believed that he could move the manager and give him a chance to play, even if it was just for a minute!
However, Rashidria did not even give Mughal that one minute.
This was also one of the reasons why Rashidria was hated by the Sporting de Gijón fans. His' destruction 'of McGuire's dream had hurt the hearts of many Sporting de Gijón fans.
Maguire persisted in his training and never gave up. However, fate once again tormented this veteran. He was injured during one of his training sessions. This time, Rashidria had completely forgotten about Maguire.
Moreover, just before the end of the training session, Rashidria sent someone to inform McGuire that the team wanted to terminate his contract.
Although the two sides had not officially terminated the contract, Rashidria had already informed McGuire Pihra that he did not need to come to the training ground.
This was also the reason why Li Ang had never met this veteran.
This was McGuire Pihra's story.
A warm story, a heartfelt story, an inspirational story, but also a sad and cruel story.
After listening to this story, Li Ang fell silent.
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