On the 12th of June 2004, the whole world's attention was focused on Porto, Portugal.
On this day, the UEFA European Championship officially began. Portugal, led by the world champion Scolari, was in Group A with Greece, Spain, and Russia.
On this day, in the Velodrome of Porto, Portugal lost to Greece by a score of 1-2 in the opening match. A 19-year-old boy named Cristiano Ronaldo scored a goal to save face for the hosts in the 93rd minute.
On this day, in the Iberian Peninsula, the 41st round of the 20032004 Segunda División season, which was also the penultimate round of the league, officially began at 7: 15 pm local time in Spain.
In this round of the league, Sporting de Gijón went to challenge Tarragona in an away game.
Cadiz, on the other hand, welcomed Huelva in their home game …
In the next round of the league, Sporting de Gijón welcomed Cadiz in their home game!
Before the start of the season, no one would have thought that the last two rounds of the league, especially this round of the league, would be so ingenious. Cadiz and Huelva, who both had 70 points, would face each other directly, and behind them would be Sporting de Gijón, who were only three points behind them.
It could be said that regardless of the result of the match between Cadiz and Huelva, for Sporting de Gijón, it would be an opportunity to close the gap between them and at least one of the two teams.
If both teams tied, then Sporting de Gijón would only be one point behind these two teams. There was still one more round of the league, and Sporting de Gijón's opponent was Cadiz. This match would determine life and death. Sporting de Gijón had to win against Cadiz.
If Cadiz won, then Sporting de Gijón's points would catch up to Huelva. However, Huelva had the advantage in terms of winning and losing between the two teams. Then, in the last round of the league, if Huelva lost, then Sporting de Gijón only needed a draw to be sure of entering the top six. However, if Huelva did not lose, then Sporting de Gijón had to win against Cadiz.
If Huelva won this round of the league tournament, it would be even simpler. Sporting de Gijón had to beat Cadiz in the final round of the league tournament!
This was the condition that the Sporting Gijón media had calculated for Sporting de Gijón to enter the promotion playoffs before the match. Then, the Gijón people realized that no matter how they calculated, they had to face Cadiz in the last round of the league. They had to win against their direct competitor!
Of course, before that, they had to win the match against Tarragona!
This was the prerequisite for them to have any hope of winning the final battle.
*****
Sporting de Gijón had to win the match against Tarragona!
Li Ang sat in the coach's seat. He looked a little nervous.
The match was in its final stages. Sporting de Gijón was leading Tarragona 1-0. Juan and Mata scored a golden goal on the counterattack, giving Sporting de Gijón the lead.
At this time, the match was coming to an end. Sporting de Gijón was in a passive position on the field.
Tarragona, who had already avoided relegation and had no hope of promotion at the same time, played very casually. Instead, they gained the upper hand in the final moments of the match. Sporting de Gijón, on the other hand, was too nervous.
That's right, he was too nervous.
Li Ang could see the current predicament of the team. With a score of 1-0, Sporting de Gijón appeared to be timid in the final moments of the match. They did not dare to attack, afraid of the opponent's counterattack. If they only defended to the death, they were worried that the opponent would score a goal. That would be terrible.
Then, Li Ang immediately made adjustments. Following his hand gesture, the whole team defended to the death! He had to make adjustments immediately and unify the team's tactical thinking.
In the final moments of the match, Li Ang still chose to be conservative. He did not dare to take risks.
Tarragona played very casually. Their striker, Granillo, was very fast and was good at counterattacking. If the opponent caught a counterattack and a sneak attack succeeded, Li Ang would have no place to cry.
He did not dare to take risks. He chose to be conservative. Li Ang was gambling. He was betting that the opponent would not be able to break through Sporting de Gijón's defensive line in the last five or six minutes!
In the stands, the fans of the home team, Tarragona, cheered loudly. Their team had no desires now. The fans were in a good mood, very relaxed, and more energetic. For them, losing the match was acceptable. However, if they could stop Sporting de Gijón, who wanted to break into La Liga, they would also be happy. They could not be promoted, but they could stop them. They would also be very happy to play together in La Liga next season.
*****
"Granillo shoots! Carlos blocks with his body! "
"Tarragona's shot is coming again! They hit high! "
"Sporting de Gijón looks like they can lose the ball at any time, but they are very tenacious," said Dagestino.
That's right, tenacious.
Every player in Sporting de Gijón became a defender. All the players knew the importance of this match for the team!
They were really risking their lives to fight!
They were blocking the bullet holes!
Li Ang felt his heartbeat accelerate. He even felt like he was suffocating. Tarragona's every attack made him feel like he couldn't breathe.
He was really afraid that the opponent would suddenly score. For him and Sporting de Gijón, this would definitely be a blow on the level of a nuclear explosion!
The situation that Li Ang was worried about did not happen. Tarragona did not score in the end.
In the end, Sporting de Gijón defeated Tarragona by 1: 0 in the away game.
For this match, most Sporting de Gijón fans were unable to go to the away game. They stayed in Gijón, at home, and in the bars to watch the match. In the final moments of the match, seeing Sporting de Gijón in such a passive state, as if the team could lose the ball at any time, all the Gijón people's hearts were in their mouths. No one dared to make a noise in the bars. It could even be said that the entire city was terrifyingly quiet!
When the referee blew the whistle to end the match, Sporting de Gijón won the match by a narrow margin of 1: 0, the entire city was in jubilation!
*****
Almost at the same time, on the other field, the match between Cadiz and Huelva also ended.
1:1！！
Cadiz and Huelva played to a draw!
In this way, with only one round left in the league, the fifth-placed Huelva and sixth-placed Cadiz had 71 points. Sporting de Gijón was close behind with 70 points.
If Sporting de Gijón wanted to reach the top six in the league, they had to squeeze out either Huelva or Cadiz.
Sporting de Gijón and Huelva were at a disadvantage.
Therefore, in this round of the league, Huelva and Cadiz played to a draw of 0: 0. This also meant that in the last round of the league, Sporting de Gijón really had to fight to the death with Cadiz. They had to win against Cadiz!
In the last round of the league, if Sporting de Gijón tied with Cadiz, then even if Huelva lost this round, Sporting de Gijón would still have the same 71 points as Huelva. However, Sporting de Gijón was at a disadvantage in the comparison of the two teams' results. This also meant that Huelva would still be in the promotion playoffs.
A draw was out of the question, and a loss was even more out of the question.
Therefore, in the forty-second round of the Segunda División, the final match of the league:
Sporting de Gijón's home game against Cadiz. They had to win!
If they wanted to live, they had to win!
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