In the chairman's box at the Hermandik Stadium, the visiting Sporting de Gijón president, Manuel Arango, was talking to the home team's Salamanca president, Hidalgo.
This game was the first league game after Li Ang took over the team, and the team had just eliminated the "mighty" Aravés in the Copa del Rey. This made the old Arango look forward to the game between the team and Salamanca, so he came to watch the game in the away game.
As usual, when the visiting team's chairman came to watch the game, the home team's chairman had to receive and accompany him.
Although the two of them seemed to be chatting happily, the old Arango's heart was filled with anger.
When the two men shook hands, the Salamanca president, Mr. Hidalgo, spoke with an arrogant tone. He was obviously proud that his team's ranking was much higher than the "old Segunda División powerhouse" Sporting de Gijón. Looking at the team that was struggling in the relegation zone before the season, for the Segunda División veteran, Salamanca, who always had average results, there was an inexplicable sense of satisfaction.
"I've already discussed with Ronaldo. We're going to do a big job next season. If the team can be promoted to La Liga next season, Ronaldo will buy the team's shares again," Mr. Hidalgo said proudly.
That's right, the Ronaldo this gentleman was talking about was Ronaldo, the Brazilian striker of Real Madrid. Ronaldo and Hidalgo were very good friends. It was said that the two men knew each other when Ronaldo was still playing for Barcelona. His friendship with Ronaldo also made Hidalgo very happy, and he would show it off from time to time.
And Ronaldo was indeed a good friend. When he learned that Salamanca lacked a striker, he introduced his good friend Kaka to join Salamanca during the winter break last year (this Kaka was not Kaka, he just had the same name as AC Milan's Kaka).
Later, after Ronaldo learned that Salamanca's financial situation was not good, he said that he wanted to buy Salamanca's shares. This was not just talk. In December last year, Ronaldo bought 60,000 euros of Salamanca's shares. Although the money was not much, it was a show of support. Ronaldo was indeed a good friend.
Therefore, at this moment, in the face of Sporting de Gijón, whose results were terrible and whose financial situation was worse than Salamanca's, Mr. Hidalgo felt very good and began to boast.
Hidalgo, the chairman of Sporting de Gijón, had a faint smile on his face as he listened to the words of Hidalgo, the chairman of Salamanca. From time to time, he would say something against his will, but the anger in his heart was boiling.
Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!
Li!
I must win this match!
He absolutely, absolutely could not lose to this smug fellow in front of him!
*****
Salamanca's manager, Charles, was chatting with his assistant manager, Canterbury. Then he saw Sporting de Gijón's starting lineup. When he saw that their starting strikers were Matt Bilic and David Reuben, a pair of strikers who had never played together before, he laughed.
According to his understanding, Matt Bilic had only made six appearances for Sporting de Gijón this season and had not scored a single goal. Reuben had made fifteen appearances for Sporting de Gijón and had only scored two goals. These two had never played together before. So what were the Chinese thinking, letting these two play together in the front line?!
This was not right. According to Salamanca's staff's "investigation," Sporting de Gijón's starting strikers should not be this pair.
"We just received news that Juan Mata has a high fever," Canterbury said.
"That's good news." Charles smiled. Charles was more vigilant about Mata, the little guy who had scored twice in the game against Alavés. He was naturally happy to hear that the 16-year-old had missed the game because of a fever.
"So, this is an accident. According to the people we sent to observe Sporting de Gijón's training, Reuben should not be a player that the Chinese people like," Canterbury said. "This should disrupt Sporting de Gijón's deployment."
Who said that Salamanca had no desires? Who said that Salamanca would be easier to deal with in this game? From the fact that Salamanca had sent people to Gijón to "investigate" Sporting de Gijón's training, it could be seen that this team was ambitious for this game.
And all this was because Salamanca's chairman, Mr. Hidalgo, had given the team an order to beat Sporting de Gijón!
The chairman seemed to be very interested in beating a drowning dog, especially a dog that had been more successful than his team in the past and was now in dire straits.
This was a very strange mentality.
*****
In Sporting de Gijón's technical area, Li Ang was also chatting with his assistant manager, Scott Tri.
"Li, do you know?" Scott Tri said, "The Spanish Football Federation has punished Olić."
Olić was the manager of Alavés. He slapped the reporter from the Gijón Post, Basitladi, at the post-match press conference of the Copa del Rey against Sporting de Gijón. For a manager, such behavior was bound to be severely punished by the Spanish Football Federation.
Of course, this matter was quite interesting. Olić was extremely upset because Alavés had been eliminated by Sporting de Gijón. He also misunderstood the reporter from the Gijón Post, Basitladi, so he slapped him. The latter, on the other hand, was angered by Li Ang's "ban" of his media. He was jumping up and down, so he was misunderstood by Olić and was slapped. If one really wanted to dig deeper into this matter, it was closely related to Li Ang.
"How was he punished?" Li Ang asked with interest.
"He was suspended for eight games and fined two thousand euros," Scott Tri said.
Heavy punishment! Li Ang sucked in a breath of cold air. This was indeed a heavy punishment. Not to mention the fine, the eight-game suspension was definitely a heavy punishment for Olić and Alavés. Alavés were doing their best to compete for the promotion to La Liga. At this time, the manager was suspended for eight games. This was definitely a head-on blow.
"The Alavés club has announced the dismissal of Olić." Scott Tri continued to break the news.
Li Ang was even more surprised. Was the class dismissed?
It couldn't be. Although the manager was suspended and could not direct the game from the sidelines, the manager could still enter the locker room during the tactical arrangements and training before the game, as well as during the halftime break of the game. He could still influence the game. This was much better than firing the manager and finding someone else to take over. Why would Alavés choose to fire the manager, which was the worst way to deal with it?
"Alavés have a thorn in their heart," Scott Tri said.
These words were very profound, but Li Ang understood immediately.
The Alavés wanted to make a difference in the Copa del Rey. According to the match schedule, if Alavés beat Sporting de Gijón, they would have to face Real Zaragoza in the semi-finals. This would avoid the super powerhouse Real Madrid. Although Zaragoza was also very strong, Alavés, as the runner-up of the UEFA Europa League two seasons ago, still had a certain strength and confidence to fight with Zaragoza. If they could eliminate Zaragoza and advance to the Copa del Rey final, then Alavés would qualify for the UEFA Europa League next season!
Thinking back to two years ago, Alavés and Liverpool in the UEFA Europa League final, which was a soul-stirring 4-5 game, the Alavés were not reconciled. This game was a thorn in their heart, and they longed to return to the European arena again, longing to regain their reputation!
Therefore, Alavés valued the Copa del Rey very much. Under such circumstances, the team had a 4-1 lead at home in the first leg, but they were unexpectedly defeated by Sporting de Gijón, a "relegation team," and were eliminated with a humiliating score of 0-3. Furthermore, they were defeated by a rookie manager from China. This directly caused an internal shock in the Alavés club!
The real reason for Olić's dismissal was because he lost to Li Ang, and because of the crushing defeat in the Copa del Rey!
"Hey, Li. I have good news for you, "Scott Tri said." Some media outlets have given you a new nickname. "
"What?" Li Ang asked subconsciously. He looked at the field. At this time, the game had already begun.
"Fellow killer!" Scott Tri said, holding back his laughter.
PS: This chapter is a huge reward for reader Zhang 23323.
Thank you for your support. I know that everyone has done their best. Thank you, thank you.
Heartbreak, monthly votes stolen, full attendance not guaranteed.
Rest for another day, no matter what the situation is, and it will explode back. I'm so anxious that I can't even recuperate.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
