In the 27th round of the 20032004 Segunda División season, Sporting de Gijón's opponent was Salamanca. The opponent was currently ranked in the middle of the league, so there was not much danger of relegation and basically no hope of promotion. Such an opponent was an opponent that Sporting de Gijón liked to face. However, for the media, other than the fact that this game was Li Ang's first league game in charge of Sporting de Gijón, it seemed to lack some hype.
However, before the game, Sporting de Gijón announced that Michael Pihra would stay in the team and sign a one-year contract extension. This quickly became the focus of the media's attention.
Most of the local media in Gijón held a welcoming attitude towards this, and they applauded the team's decision.
The title of the Voice of Gijón was very emotional: "Michael's Dream and Persistence, the Love of Football!" The newspaper praised the team for keeping Michael, saying that Sporting de Gijón was a very humane football club and was proud of Sporting de Gijón.
The Sporting Gihon fans were also very happy. They welcomed the club's decision with both hands raised. Li Ang, who decided to give McGuire a chance and informed the team to renew McGuire's contract, won the fans' hearts even more.
Of course, there were also discordant voices. The Gijón Post, which had been "banned" by Li Ang, criticized and questioned Li Ang's decision, saying that Michael Pihra's ability was too far from the requirements of the First Team. Li Ang's move was completely for show, to please the fans, and completely disregarded the fact that Michael's ability was low. This was disrespectful to the other players of the team, and also not prudent in the team's journey to avoid relegation.
Li Ang did not care about the Gijón Post's words at all. This media outlet had long been at odds with him, not to mention that he was
Speaking ill of them.
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In fact, the local media in Gijón were happy that Michael Pihra stayed in the team and cheered that Michael's persistence had paid off. At the same time, they were also worried about Michael Pihra's ability. After all, everyone knew Michael's ability, and even his performance in the amateur league could not be said to be outstanding. However, due to their support for Michael Pihra, and due to the enthusiastic reaction of the fans, most of the local media in Gijón were talking about dreams and love. They were sensational, and did not mention the contribution that Michael Pihra could make to the team after renewing his contract with the team. From this, it could be seen that these media outlets were deliberately avoiding this issue, and they were not optimistic about how Michael Pihra could help the team. The biggest possibility was that at the last moment of a game, Li would replace Michael with Michael Pihra to fulfill the veteran's wish to represent Sporting at the El Molino stadium.
Li Ang was well aware of the attitude of the local media in Gijón, but he did not say anything. After all, these media outlets were not clear about Michael Pihra's "hidden ability." It was not bad that they could provide limited support and sensationalize from the sidelines. At the very least, they did not cause trouble.
What surprised Li Ang was the attitude of some of the other media outlets in Spain.
Sporting de Gijón's contract renewal with Michael Pihra was such a small matter, but it attracted the attention of some of the major media outlets in Spain.
It was very simple. This was the first player to renew his contract with the team after Li Ang took charge of Sporting de Gijón. In addition, some media outlets also found out that Michael Pihra had almost been terminated by the team, and before he came to Sporting de Gijón, he had been playing for an amateur team and had no experience of playing for the first team of a professional team at all.
Although Michael Pihra's inspirational story was very moving, the media, who had always been unhappy with Li Ang, naturally ignored this story. These media outlets made a lot of noise about it. Many media outlets questioned Li Ang's judgment of people, and at the same time questioned Michael Pihra's ability. All this was because Sporting de Gijón's official announcement had said, "The team's manager, Li Ang, believes that Michael Pihra will be an important part of the team."
It was this very ordinary, very formulaic sentence that was immediately seized upon by these media outlets. They made a lot of noise, questioning Li Ang's agreement to let Michael Pihra, who had almost been terminated, stay on the team, and instigated the team to renew Michael Pihra's contract. At the same time, they also questioned Michael Pihra's ability.
Marca's reporter, Phelps, did his best to ridicule Michael Pihra in his own column. In the end, he mockingly asserted in the report, "A 16-year-old who did not get a professional contract with Sporting de Gijón. A 16-year-old who had to mix in a low-level league because of his lack of talent. Today, at the age of 35, he can only play for an amateur team. Michael Pihra, who was only able to enter Sporting de Gijón's first team because he was pitied, is like a mascot of the team. Being terminated should be the best outcome, but now he is regarded as an important player of Sporting de Gijón by Li Ang? This world must be crazy! "
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Sporting de Gijón defeated Aravés in the last game of the Copa del Rey. Li Ang led the team miraculously into the Copa del Rey semi-finals. This made those who were waiting to see Li Ang make a fool of themselves mute. They even had to praise Li Ang against their will, which made them somewhat unwilling. Now that Michael Pihra's matter had come out, it could be considered a good opportunity for them. How could they let it go so easily?
"… If the love for the team is moved and needs to take in an amateur player, then all the professional teams in Spain will be overcrowded! For a professional team, a player with low ability who can't provide help to the team should not be there! Football games are not tender and emotional dramas. Obviously, China's attempt to use an amateur player to bribe the fans is childish and an irresponsible attitude towards the team. "
"According to our understanding. When Michael Pihra was under the previous manager, Lacidera, he was notified that his contract had been terminated. Now, the China man has stopped the termination of his contract. What is he trying to prove? Sorry, if he wants to prove that he is better than his predecessor by using an amateur player, then obviously, he has made the wrong decision. Mr. Li Ang, do you still need an amateur player? I can provide you with a hundred dozen of such players here. "
"The Spanish Serie C team that Michael Pihra used to play for, Lonilangés, told people the reason why they terminated the player's contract ten years ago: he was a very, very bad player. Lonilangés was the only professional team that Michael Pihra used to play for. Now, such a low-ability amateur player that even a Serie C team can't tolerate is being treated as a treasure by Sporting de Gijón? Is the China man, Li Ang, trying to attract attention in another way? "
Even Sporting de Gijón's vice-chairman, Mr. Beretta, came out to make his presence known. The vice-chairman, who did not get along with Li Ang, said in an interview, "From an emotional point of view, it's understandable that the team kept Michael, but we can't act based on emotion. The team is facing a crisis now. What we need is players who can provide help to the team. I really can't understand that some important players have been abandoned, and an amateur player has been given a chance …"
This person was very bad. He used the matter of Juan and David Lago, who were put into the cold palace by Li Ang, to insinuate that there was a problem with Li Ang's selection of players.
Juan, who was completely put into the cold palace, seemed to see a chance to turn things around. He jumped out and said, "I'm now dreaming of playing games. I'm eager to contribute to the team. I can't imagine that a player like Michael can get a chance, but I'm ignored."
"Are you expressing your dissatisfaction with Li Ang's selection of players?" The reporter asked excitedly.
"Yes!" No one knew who gave Juan the courage, but this guy actually directly shed all pretense of cordiality.
Juan jumped out, but the other unlucky guy who was abandoned, David Lago, kept silent …
In this way, in the midst of all the commotion, noise, and chaos, the day of the match between Sporting de Gijón and their league rival, Salamanca, arrived on March 7, 2004.
Author's Note: Author's Note: Author's Note: 33.
Looking at the monthly votes list, he wanted to cry but had no tears. Half a month of hard work and explosiveness was ruined because of an illness. A writer really couldn't afford to be sick. However, it was useless to be anxious. His body now felt like it was useless. The more anxious he was, the slower it would recover.
Thank you for your continuous support. Seeing that everyone is still voting and donating support, he was very touched.
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