Michael Pihra had a good personality. He was warm and cheerful, and he got along well with everyone. Plus, he kept a low profile. Everyone liked this veteran. On the bus, everyone comforted Michael and told him to ignore the media's nonsense. Michael thanked everyone for their concern. Looking at the scenery outside the window, the 35-year-old veteran was a little absent-minded. Was his first professional match at Sporting de Gijón coming soon?
Salamanca was a beautiful city. It was built by the ancient Romans as a transit station on the "Silver Route". Since then, the city had prospered. In 1218, the University of Salamanca, the oldest in Spain, was built. It later became one of the few universities in Europe, along with Bologna, Paris, and Oxford. The band Tuna used to praise the school days, saying that Salamanca was a city of young people.
This ancient city was now exuding the vitality of young people.
This was Salamanca's home stadium, the Hermandique Stadium. The match had not yet started, but the whole stadium was already full of people.
*****
The closed door could not block out the loud singing from the stands outside. Salamanca was not worried about being relegated, and there was no hope for promotion. On the contrary, the fans were very satisfied. There was no pressure, and they were enjoying the match.
Compared to the hustle and bustle of the Hermandique Stadium, the visiting team's locker room was a little quiet.
Assistant manager Jesús? Scottley was announcing the starting lineup for the match. According to the order, starting from the goalkeeper to the front of the field.
"José Valencia, Alegre, Peter Isma, Macri Yago, Dorado, Marcos, Juan Carlos, Anders Samuels, Miguel Cubas, Matt Bilic, and …"
Scottley glanced at the man sitting in the chair with his head down and read out the name. "David Reuben!"
Reuben sat in the chair with his head down, looking listless. Then he heard Scottley read out the last name, "David Reuben!"
He looked up abruptly. He was quite surprised that he was in the starting lineup.
But on second thought, he understood. Juan Mata, who was supposed to continue to be in the starting lineup, was groggy after the noon break. After the team doctor checked, he found that Mata had a high fever. In this state, he could not play. In addition, Pablo Barez was suspended for the game due to the accumulation of yellow cards, and the other striker who came with the team to the away game was the veteran Michael Pihra. He could not be in the starting lineup either. In this case, the only one who could be in the starting lineup was David Reuben.
Li Ang was expressionless. He was quite depressed. Mata, that kid, unexpectedly had a high fever before the game. This kid was afraid that he would not be able to play, so he tried to hide his illness. However, the careful team doctor, Mr. Rotaro, noticed something was wrong and exposed him. Li Ang "severely criticized" little Mata. Then, he had a headache about who would be the starting lineup partner with Matt Bilic. His headache was not about who to choose, but because there was only one choice. Michael Pihra could only be a surprise player. He did not meet the physical and mental requirements of a starting lineup. So, his only choice left was David Reuben.
This was a player that Li Ang did not like very much. Reuben's [Shooting] was 60, [Technique] was 65, [Agility] was 75, and [Speed] was 75. These were all not bad. However, this player's [Jump] was only 30, [Strength] was only 45, and [Spirit] was only 35, and [Courage] was only 35, and [Willpower] was only 40. To put it bluntly, this player was not a player that could be relied on in crucial moments.
However, in the face of such an unexpected situation, Li Ang could only use Reuben. This suddenly disrupted his tactical deployment, and at the same time, it cast a shadow over the game.
*****
After announcing the starting lineup. The locker room was filled with the sound of everyone's discussion.
Li Ang knocked on the tactical board, indicating that he had something to say.
When the locker room was quiet again, Li Ang said loudly, "To be honest, when I saw that a team like Salamanca's ranking was so much higher than ours, I was surprised, and then I felt ashamed! I don't know what you're thinking, but I'm ashamed that we're being suppressed by such a team. Does anyone feel that it is acceptable for Salamanca to be ranked above us? Raise your hands! "Li Ang waved his arms. Of course, no one raised their hands.
"Very well, it seems that you think so too." Li Ang was not asking and answering his own questions. He was using such words to influence the players and instill his emotions into the players. He believed that as long as these players had a little bit of courage, they would resonate to a certain extent.
Salamanca? Other than being famous for tourism, did they have football? Such a team was actually above Sporting de Gijón. If it had been when Sporting de Gijón had been utterly defeated, the players might have accepted their fate. However, they had just won against Aravés, and now that they looked at Salamanca, who was ranked much higher than them, they felt uncomfortable.
"Twenty-six rounds of games. In the last three months, we have not won in the league. This is really unimaginable." He waved his arms. "I don't like to lose. I like to win. I believe that we have a common language on this point. Does anyone have any objections?"
Naturally, no one jumped out to say anything against it.
"Very well! It seems that you don't want to lose again! " Li Ang nodded, put down his arms, and then glanced at everyone. "We performed very well in the game against Aravés, but from today onwards, forget Aravés. Don't think about the Copa del Rey anymore. Our battles in the league tournament are more brutal. What I need are fighters who go all out, players who work hard and fight hard on the field. Everyone, cheer up. I want to see players who can wind up, everyone! I will watch your performance from the sidelines. "Li Ang made a wind-up action, and everyone suddenly felt their backs tighten.
"My principle of using people is that if you perform well, you will be in the starting lineup. If you don't perform well, you will be a substitute. As for the problem with the attitude in the game …" Li Ang did not say what would happen to the players who had a problem with the attitude in the game. He did not need to say much. Juan and David Lago were examples.
Li Ang had to issue threats and harsh words. He noticed that some of the players seemed to be a little arrogant. The aftereffects of the three-nil victory over Aravés had appeared. Some of the players were arrogant and thought that they should have defeated Aravés, who was ranked fourth in the league tournament. Then, defeating the desireless Salamanca did not seem to be a problem.
Li Ang really wanted to slap the players who had such thoughts. They had not won for three months. What was there to be proud of?
Therefore, he had to give some players a warning signal.
"I only have one request for this game, and that is to win!" Li Ang finally said. "I won't accept any other result except for this result!" Li Ang looked at the players and said with a murderous look.
PS: Asking for a monthly ticket.
The day after tomorrow. Let's see if we can return bravely the day after tomorrow.
Looking at the dismal results and seeing the monthly ticket being eroded all the way, it was really unbearable.
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