Li Ang had been thinking about the match against the league leader, Levante.
Levante was first in the league, and there were still 12 rounds left. The promotion battle for the Segunda Liga was fierce. Levante was in first place with 62 points, Numancia was in second place with 61 points, and Getafe was in third place with 61 points, followed by Vilva with 58 points, Alavés with 56 points, and Elche with 55 points.
There were three promotion spots for the Segunda Liga, and Levante was only four points ahead of Vilva, who was in fourth place. There were still 12 rounds left, and Levante's promotion could not be said to be assured. Therefore, for Levante, every match was as if they had been injected with chicken blood.
Levante was originally stronger than Sporting de Gijón, and they took the match very seriously. Therefore, it would be very difficult for Sporting de Gijón to win this match on their home ground.
Of course, if Sporting de Gijón really wanted to fight to the death with Levante at home, Li Ang would still cause trouble for Levante.
However, the problem was that three days after the match with Levante, Sporting de Gijón would be hosting the second leg of the Copa del Rey semi-final against Zaragoza at home. With the previous loss at home in the first leg as an example, it was easy to imagine how hard Zaragoza would be in this match. This also meant that the second leg of the semi-final between Sporting de Gijón and Zaragoza would be unusually fierce.
Within four days, two strong opponents, two opponents who would risk their lives in the match, gave Li Ang a headache.
He was very clear about Sporting Gihon's current situation. Even though they had already won three and drawn one in the league tournament, and had defeated Real Zaragoza in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semi-finals with a score of three to one, there were still some unexpected factors, especially in the first leg of the semi-finals against Real Zaragoza. If Real Zaragoza had taken Sporting Gihon seriously from the start, and used all their energy to fight against a La Liga team, it would have been several times more difficult for Sporting Gihon to escape from the Estadio La Romareda unscathed!
Now, Sporting de Gijón had won against Real Zaragoza in an away game, shocking the Spanish football world. This was both a good and a bad thing. Now, they had made a name for themselves. No matter which team met Sporting de Gijón again, they would not use their current ranking in the Segunda División to judge their opponent. In reality, Sporting de Gijón's overall strength was there for all to see. This team currently did not have the ability to win two tough matches in a row.
After hesitating for a long time, Li Ang finally decided to give up on the match with Levante. Originally, with Sporting de Gijón's strength and their mission to avoid relegation, the match with the leading team was not something that they had planned to do.
As long as they could get points in the matches against the mid-tier teams and the other teams that were trying to avoid relegation, then they would strive to win against their direct opponents. This was the proper way to avoid relegation. It was not suitable for them to fight to the death with the top few teams in the league who were clamoring to get into La Liga.
After making the decision in his heart, Li Ang's mood improved. Sometimes, it was not easy to make the decision to let go, but once the decision was made, it would be easier to let go.
In fact, the matter that Li Ang was considering was also being discussed by the Sporting de Gijón media. Mitra, a reporter from the Voice of Sporting de Gijón, expressed his suggestion that they could choose to give up on the match with a team like Levante in his column.
The other Sporting de Gijón media also expressed their approval. They also believed that the key to Sporting de Gijón's survival lay in the matches against their direct opponents, as well as the mid-tier and lower tier teams in the league.
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On the other hand, the Sporting de Gijón Post, which had a grudge against Li Ang, had a bad idea. They kicked up a fuss on the side, saying that since Sporting de Gijón could beat Zaragoza, then it would not be difficult for them to beat Levante.
Li Ang also knew that the Sporting de Gijón Post was kicking up a fuss. This media outlet had bad intentions. They were kidnapping Sporting de Gijón. They could not wait for Li Ang to lose to Levante and be eliminated by Zaragoza. That way, they would be able to hit Li Ang when he was down.
Li Ang was angry. He did not know if the higher-ups of this media outlet had water in their brains. Now that Sporting de Gijón's survival was at stake, the Sporting de Gijón Post actually did not care about the overall situation at all. They only cared about the small grudge between them. They could not wait for Sporting de Gijón's results to be as bad as possible. Such a media outlet, especially a local media outlet in Sporting de Gijón, was simply digging their own graves.
When Li Ang was interviewed by a local TV station in Sporting de Gijón, he was asked by a reporter why the Sporting de Gijón Post suddenly praised the team and said that they could beat Levante. Li Ang replied in a tone full of disdain, "Did the sun rise from the west? They actually support us?"
This sentence made many Sporting de Gijón fans laugh. The fans were not fools. They knew about the grudge between Li Ang and the Sporting de Gijón Post. When Li Ang said this, they knew that the Sporting de Gijón Post was definitely up to no good. Furthermore, the fans were generally calmer. They knew how difficult it was to compete with Levante, a team that was aiming to be promoted. They did not fall for the Sporting de Gijón Post's trick. Other than a few blindly optimistic fans, the majority of the fans were mentally prepared to lose the match between Sporting de Gijón and Levante. There were also many rational fans who expressed their opinion that they could choose to give up on the match with Levante.
This made Li Ang very happy. The fans' eyes were as bright as snow. Of course, Li Ang also knew that this was mainly because Sporting de Gijón's previous results and rankings were too bad, so the fans were more pragmatic. If it was at the beginning of the new season, Sporting de Gijón was also considered to be one of the teams that could be promoted. At that time, the fans would definitely clamor for the team to beat Levante, their "direct promotion opponent." But now, the goal and requirements were naturally different.
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Therefore, even though Li Ang did not say it, the media, fans, and even the players themselves knew. This was a match that he had given up on.
Li Ang did not say it because no manager would say to his players before a match, "Guys, I give up on today's match. You guys do as you see fit. "
On the contrary, Li Ang still attached great importance to this match. He attached great importance to the players who were participating in the match today.
In this match, Li Ang made a large rotation in the starting lineup. Some players who had not had many opportunities to play recently were given the opportunity to play.
During the pre-match tactical drills and training, Li Ang was as attentive and serious as ever.
He used this attitude to tell all the starting players today that he attached great importance to today's match. I attach great importance to your performance. This is a chance for you, the "fringe players," to perform! If your performance is outstanding and brings me a pleasant surprise, then congratulations, I will look at you in a new light! This was not a sarcastic remark. If any player performed well in this match that he had already mentally given up on, he would definitely be very happy.
A manager not only had to be good at using the main players, but also the ability of the manager to deal with the fringe players.
This match was also an excellent opportunity for Li Ang to inspect the "fringe players." He was already paying attention to the composition of the team for the next season. Who could stay and who would be eliminated? These were all questions that needed to be considered. It was impossible to wait until the end of the season to think about these questions. This was the quality of foresight that a manager with systematic planning and ambition must have.
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