The game had already started, and Li Ang stood on the sidelines. His heart was surging.
Through the Copa del Rey to qualify for the UEFA Europa League next season was the most important part of Li Ang's plan to improve his and the team's reputation in a short period of time, and then build the team he had in mind.
Li Ang had a team building plan in mind. He was ambitious. No one knew the future direction of football better than he did. For example, which players were unknown now and would become famous in the future, which players would be shining stars in the future? This allowed him to strike first and gain the upper hand. He also knew the development trajectory of many players. He knew when to buy the most cost-effective and when to make the most profitable move.
Moreover, he also had the system and the Eye of Talent Scout. He had a lofty aspiration in his chest and a lofty ambition to look down on the world!
However, there was a prerequisite, and that was that Sporting de Gijón had to improve as soon as possible, make a name for themselves as soon as possible, and increase their reputation!
Otherwise, even if he valued a player and knew that the player would have considerable achievements in the future, it would be difficult to poach him. A Segunda División team was not attractive. Sporting de Gijón's past glory, the glory of being the "King of the North," was almost unattractive to the current players.
Sporting de Gijón had no chance of being promoted to La Liga this season. Their current task was to avoid relegation and stay in Segunda División. Then, the only way to increase the team's reputation and expand their influence and attractiveness was to reach the Copa del Rey final and qualify for the UEFA Europa League next season!
When he was a fan, Li Ang did not care about the UEFA Europa League at all. The fans only cared about the Champions League. No one cared about the UEFA Europa League at all. In Li Ang's eyes, the UEFA Europa League was a subsidiary of the Champions League. It was a competition of little value.
However, as a manager now, Li Ang's perception was completely different. The UEFA Europa League was an opportunity for the small and medium-sized teams to show their faces. Without the UEFA Europa League, the small and medium-sized teams would not have a day to shine!
Even though Sporting Gihon was still a Segunda División team, they would still be able to increase their influence in the transfer market. Their status would be raised immediately. After all, they had the right to enter the European competition!
Therefore, getting into the Copa del Rey final was not only because of Li Ang's inner obsession, not only because he wanted to take revenge on Real Madrid in the Bernabéu team, but also because he wanted to let Venita, the young general manager who knew nothing about football, prove that the charm of football was to make the impossible possible. It was also because it was more related to his construction and plans for the team!
Therefore, they could not afford to lose this Copa del Rey semi-final match against Zaragoza!
*****
"Li Ang looks very steady," Liu Jianhong said.
"Very stylish!" Duan Xuan praised.
In the program, a group of people were in the stands. Their gazes were more focused on Li Ang, who was in the technical area of the home team.
Li Ang was still wearing a black suit with a white shirt inside. He did not wear a tie, which made people overlook his youth to a certain extent.
At this moment, there was a huge uproar in the stands.
Duan Xuan and the others hurriedly turned their heads to look. They saw Villa pass the ball to Moreno, who dribbled the ball into the penalty area and then fell to the ground after contact with Marcos.
"Dive!" The Sporting de Gijón fans roared loudly. This gave Duan Xuan and the others a big fright.
Li Ang also jumped up. He roared angrily on the sidelines because he saw the referee on duty, Ribeiro, take out a card from his pocket. It was red!
A player diving would at most get a yellow card. Therefore, this red card could not be for Moreno. Since there were many red cards for Moreno, then there was only one result: the referee, Ribeiro, did not think it was a dive. He thought that Marcos had fouled!
"Bastard! That guy dived! Dived! "Li Ang waved his fists and roared.
Li Ang's anger and roar did not affect the referee's decision. The referee, Ribeiro, ignored the protests of the Sporting de Gijón players. He showed the red card to Marcos and awarded a penalty kick!
The Zaragoza players excitedly hugged each other in celebration.
The game had only started for five minutes, and they had already been given the chance for a penalty kick. More importantly, the opponent had a player sent off. They would have one more player to play in the remaining time of the game!
Most importantly, the player sent off was Marcos. After the first round of the game between the two sides, the Zaragoza people were certainly aware of the importance of this seemingly inconspicuous player, Marcos. This Sporting de Gijón player, nicknamed 'Little Makelele,' was the biggest barrier for Sporting de Gijón's midfield defense. He was a wall that hindered Zaragoza's offense!
Now that this wall was going to be torn down, did this mean that their path to Sporting de Gijón's goal would be unimpeded?
This was the biggest reason for the Zaragoza people's excitement.
*****
And Li Ang's anger was precisely because of this. He was most aware of the importance of Marcos in his team's defensive tactics! Now that Marcos had been sent off, the biggest barrier for Sporting de Gijón's midfield was gone!
Moreover, Li Ang clearly saw that Marcos did not touch Moreno. This guy took the initiative to hang his leg on Marcos's foot and then fell to the ground! This was a f * cking standard dive!
'Is the referee blind?!'
"That guy dived! And my player was sent off! "Li Ang was furious.
When Li Ang angrily protested to the fourth official, Zaragoza's manager, Victor Fernandez, also came up to join in the fun. He said to Li Ang sarcastically, "Mr. Li Ang, your player committed a foul. This is a fact. Please don't be unreasonable!"
'Unreasonable?!'
I'm f * cking unreasonable!
At this moment, Fernandez's triumphant smile was so hateful in Li Ang's eyes.
Li Ang was angry. He stared at the other party with his eyes wide open. "You old bastard …" He suppressed his anger. He almost could not help but punch the old bastard. He did not do so. If he did, he would definitely be sent to the stands, and what awaited him was a long suspension period!
Before the first round of the game between the two sides, Li Ang learned about Fernandez's achievements in his coaching career at Zaragoza and had a certain respect for this man. However, at the press conference before the first round of the game, Li Ang saw the proud Fernandez. He had a bad impression of this man.
Especially after the game, Fernandez could not afford to lose. He also criticized Li Ang's conservative tactics, which made Li Ang look down on him even more.
And at this moment, seeing Fernandez's triumphant look, he did not have a good impression of this man. La Liga's famous general? Bah!
The fourth official saw that the two managers of the two teams were at daggers drawn. It looked like they were going to stage a full-on fight. He had to warn both sides with a dark face, "Behave yourselves. Go back to your coach's area! If you don't cooperate, I don't mind letting the referee send you to the stands! Go back, go back! "
He waved his hand.
Zaragoza's manager, Fernandez, held his head high, like a victorious rooster. Then, he walked back in large strides.
Li Ang looked fiercely at Fernandez's proud back. He glared at the fourth official. "Regarding this penalty, we will not let it go. We will appeal after the game!"
"That's your right!" The fourth official sneered.
Li Ang was really angry. Appeal! Appeal! He even regretted saying this sentence now. It made him feel even more humiliated. Only the weak would appeal, and what was the use of appealing?
*****
Li Ang returned to the technical area in anger. On the way back, he happened to see the team's captain, Miguel Cobbs, being given a yellow card by the referee, Ribeiro, for protesting the referee's decision.
This caused the Sporting de Gijón players to be even more dissatisfied.
"Go back, all of you! Shut up, don't argue with the judge! "Li Ang shouted. Although he was very unhappy, he had to control his emotions, and he had to let the players control their emotions.
The captain on the field, Miguel Cobbs, was experienced. After he was booked, he realized that today's referee seemed to be deliberately targeting Sporting de Gijón. He began to restrain his raging teammates.
Li Ang returned to the technical area. Assistant manager, Scott Terry, came over and said worriedly, "Li, the situation is not good!"
Li Ang did not speak. He had prepared for this game for a long time, considered many details, and thought that he had thought it through very thoroughly. However, he had forgotten one important thing: he had overlooked the referee's factor!
Li Ang looked at the substitutes' bench. Marcos had been sent off, and he was considering whether to make an adjustment.
However, Li Ang's gaze stopped on the substitute goalkeeper, Robert, and an idea popped up in his mind!
He remembered very clearly that Robert's one-on-one attribute was as high as 75!
He was an expert at saving penalties!
Should he replace the starting goalkeeper, Valencia, with Robert?
However, he was hesitant. Robert's attribute for saving penalties was high, but it did not mean that he would be able to save the penalty.
Moreover, at this time, it was not appropriate to replace the starting goalkeeper just because of a guess. The game had only been going on for five minutes, and Valencia was not injured.
However, when he thought of the red card plus penalty, and Fernandez's smug look, Li Ang was furious.
"Marcos has been sent off. Our defensive line is in danger!" Scott Terry said worriedly.
The assistant manager's words gave Li Ang a flash of inspiration. He immediately gritted his teeth and made a decision!
PS: First update.
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