In Beijing.
In the chief editor's office at the headquarters of Daily Sports, Zhang Zegang, the chief editor of Daily Sports, had a gloomy look on his face.
There were three newspapers on his desk. One of them was their own newspaper from a few days ago. It was the article that Gao Bo had written about Li Ang and called him a liar.
The other two were from Huiwen Bao. One of them was the article praising Li Ang's excellent coaching skills in Spain, which had appeared almost at the same time as Daily Sports' criticism of Li Ang as a liar. The other one was the one that had just appeared in Huiwen Bao's newspaper today, titled "China's Young Marshal Shocks Spain."
Daily Sports had also noticed Huiwen Bao's article praising Li Ang, which was the exact opposite of theirs. They were surprised at first, then they were amused. In their opinion, this comprehensive, large-scale media outlet's article must be fake and fabricated. Later, Zhang Zegang called Gao Bo and asked him about it. Gao Bo swore that Li Ang was a liar.
Zhang Zegang believed his capable subordinate's words. He even mocked Huiwen Bao during the regular meeting, saying that Huiwen Bao was digging their own grave by creating such fake news in order to enter the sports media industry.
However, today, when a staff member hurriedly brought the latest Huiwen Bao article, titled "China's Young Marshal Shocks Spain," to Zhang Zegang, he was first surprised, then puzzled, and felt that it was unbelievable. Could Huiwen Bao really be so crazy as to continuously create fake news in order to please the public?!
Zhang Zegang thought about it and shook his head. He believed that Huiwen Bao would not dare to do so. This newspaper was a major national media outlet. If they were really so bold as to use fake news to create a serial report, then once exposed, it would be a major incident! It would greatly affect the media outlet's reputation.
Therefore, logic told him that Huiwen Bao's report was credible.
If the report in Huiwen Daily was credible, it would mean that Li Ang was not a scammer. It would mean that he was doing a good job as Sporting de Gijón's manager. At the very least, he was not doing too badly.
If that was the case, then another question arose. Then, what was with the article that Gao Bo wrote criticizing Li Ang as a liar?!
That guy had sworn to him that the report was true!
Zhang Zegang didn't think that this subordinate would have the guts to lie to him under his questioning!
However, if what Guo Gaobo said was true, how could he explain the report in Huiwen Bao?
*****
The problem now was obvious. Their Daily Sporting World and Huiwen Daily reports had to be wrong at least one of them!
"Have you contacted Gao Bo?" Zhang Zegang asked angrily. He called Gao Bo's phone, but it was turned off. He had to ask his subordinates to keep contacting him. Now, only Gao Bo, who was far away in Spain, could explain what had happened.
"No." The person in charge of the Spanish football column in Daily Sporting World wiped the sweat from his forehead and answered. He was cursing Gao Bo in his heart. This bastard, he couldn't contact him at the crucial moment.
"Then what are you waiting for? Keep calling and contacting him," Zhang Zegang said angrily.
At this moment, a staff member came in and looked at Zhang Zegang. He was hesitant and wanted to say something, but stopped.
"If you have something to say, say it," Zhang Zegang said coldly.
"President Zhang, we have accessed the official website of the Spanish Football Federation …" the staff member said carefully.
"Hmm?" Zhang Zegang frowned.
"We have the results of last night's Copa del Rey semi-final," the staff member said.
"What did you find? Say it! Why are you hemming and hawing? "Zhang Zegang said unhappily.
"In the semi-final between Sporting de Gijón and Zaragoza, Sporting de Gijón did beat Zaragoza 3-1 in the away game!" The staff member was shocked and finished the sentence in one breath.
"What?" Zhang Zegang was shocked and took the piece of paper from the staff member's hand. This was the information about the results of the Copa del Rey semi-final downloaded from the official website of the Spanish Football Federation.
When he saw that it was written Zaragoza 1-3 Sporting de Gijón, Zhang Zegang's face turned green!
*****
Li Ang was Sporting de Gijón's manager. This was a fact without a doubt. In the previous report, Gao Bo wrote that Sporting de Gijón was indeed a relegation team in Segunda División and had no foresight to be deceived by a swindler from China and let such a person take the position of manager. Therefore, Li Ang was Sporting de Gijón's manager. There was no doubt about this.
Then, as Sporting de Gijón's manager, Li Ang led Sporting de Gijón to a 3-1 away victory over La Liga powerhouse Zaragoza. What did this mean?!
As the head of the professional sports media, Zhang Zegang's professional knowledge was good. He knew Zaragoza's strength and also knew that this team had just tied with Real Madrid and had eliminated Barcelona in the Copa del Rey promotion journey. Therefore, he knew the strength of this team.
In that case, Li Ang's Sporting Gihon team had defeated Zaragoza in an away match with a score of 3-1. This was a truly incredible victory!
Although he didn't know Li Ang's tactical response and the effects of substitutions in this game, it was all about the results. A relegation team in Segunda División being able to defeat La Liga powerhouse Zaragoza in an away game was Li Ang's result! It was a solid result!
Then, the argument that Li Ang was a swindler was self-defeating. Have you ever seen a swindler who led a relegation team in Segunda División and a tactical team in La Liga?! Don't be ridiculous!
Moreover, Zhang Zegang had read the latest report in Huiwen Daily, "China's Young Commander Shocks Spain" more than once. This domineering and detailed report on the match between Sporting de Gijón and Zaragoza. Li Ang's tactical response and the miracle of Li Ang's substitutions were all full of praise!
Therefore, at this moment, even though Zhang Zegang didn't want to believe it, the truth was getting closer. Li Ang was not a swindler. Not only was he not a swindler, but if Huiwen Daily's report on the match was true, his coaching skills could be said to be quite high.
What did this mean?!
It meant that Daily Sports' report that Li Ang was a swindler was fake news. It was wrong!
With Daily Sports' strong market share in the country, their report was still on the front page. It was believed that at least tens of millions of people in the country had seen this report!
A fake news report on the front page, wantonly attacking a China coach who had an outstanding performance in Spanish football, Zhang Zegang was well aware of the negative impact of this!
China's football now had players playing in the five major European leagues. However, there was no precedent of a coach in European football. Now, there was a China coach who was coaching a team in Segunda División. He was the head coach and had led the team to the semifinals of the Copa del Rey. He had even defeated the La Liga powerhouse Zaragoza in the first leg of the semifinals. It was very likely that the team would reach the finals of the Copa del Rey!
That was the finals of the Copa del Rey!
Just based on his current results, if everything was true, then this Li Ang was enough to cause a sensation among the fans and media in the country. And for such a character, Daily Sports had actually blasted him as a swindler!
What a ridiculous thing this was!
It was a huge mistake!
*****
"No way!" Zhang Zegang now placed all his hopes on Gao Bo. He hoped that guy would tell him that Li Ang was a swindler and provide evidence!
Even though Zhang Zegang knew that this idea was unrealistic because he could already figure out the truth based on the evidence in his hands, this was a life-saving straw for Zhang Zegang.
"Have you contacted Gao Bo yet?" Zhang Zegang roared.
PS: Third Update, Guaranteed Minimum 2.
Continue to ask for guaranteed monthly votes. I am getting further and further away from the third place in the category. I sincerely request everyone's support.
Everyone can add me on WeChat. My WeChat ID is Love77xjh. My username is Young Seven.
My WeChat public account is woaizhutou7. My username is Zhu Tou Seven Talks About Football.
Everyone can follow my public account. Zhu Tou will write some small articles about this book, football, European football, and the national football team's matches.
The national team's away game is 2-3 against South Korea. I don't want to say anything like 'glorious defeat'. I really don't like the phrase 'glorious defeat'!
The two minutes of the national team's outburst could not cover up the problems that were exposed throughout the entire match. But what I want to say is, if we were able to show our bravery in a 0-3 situation, why couldn't we have performed better with the determination to die in the beginning?!
No matter what, the bravery and fighting at the end of the match gave me hope.
Fight without end! Not for anything else, but because your name is China's national team! Your jersey represents this country's football!
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