This was the real battle.
If Sporting de Gijón beat Cadiz in the last round of the league tournament, they would be able to suppress their opponents and qualify for the promotion playoffs.
Li Ang felt that this was a good situation and was very satisfied.
He did not need to think about anything else. He did not need to think about Huelva's match situation. As long as they beat Cadiz and won this match, everything would be OK!
He had been studying Cadiz and his opponent for more than half a month! Ever since he saw the hope of promotion, Li Ang saw Cadiz as his biggest opponent in the promotion playoffs.
Two weeks ago, Cadiz's sixth-place ranking was still very stable. At that time, although Sporting de Gijón was a threat to them in theory, in reality, the threat was not great. However, in the past half a month, Cadiz had continuously lost points. Now that they were facing the pressure of a decisive battle with Sporting de Gijón, their morale must have been affected.
On the other hand, Sporting Gijon's morale was high. The players were the most direct participants in all the changes that had taken place. They had clearly seen the process that had taken place step by step. From the theoretical tiny hope of promotion to the present, there was real hope now. As long as they won this match, they would qualify for the promotion play-offs!
This psychological change, this step-by-step effort, the process of gradually opening the door of hope was a great stimulation and a great boost to the morale of the entire Sporting de Gijón team.
In addition, Sporting de Gijón was playing at home in the last round, which was also good news.
The media was also paying attention to the battle between Sporting de Gijón and Cadiz for the promotion playoffs.
The media was amazed by Sporting de Gijón's performance as they fought their way from the relegation zone to the promotion zone.
The media in Gijón were cheering for Sporting de Gijón. They began to imagine the scene of the team defeating Cadiz at home and obtaining the last promotion playoff spot.
Some of the other media in Spain were also more optimistic about Sporting Gihon. After all, Sporting Gihon had not lost in the league since the 27th round of the league tournament. If they were to include the process of winning the Copa del Rey, to be exact, they had not lost in two competitions since the 27th round of the league tournament.
Looking at Sporting de Gijón's record, they had eliminated Real Zaragoza in the Copa del Rey, defeated Real Madrid in the final, and defeated Levante and other top three teams in the league.
Sporting de Gijón was in top form, and they were not careless in this tough battle. In this match, Sporting de Gijón would qualify for the play-offs if they won against Cadiz. Sporting de Gijón seemed to be strong enough in this kind of direct confrontation. This was the reason why the media thought highly of Sporting de Gijón.
Of course, there were also some media who thought highly of Cadiz. Their reason was simple. Although Cadiz had not been in top form recently, they only needed a draw in this match to ensure that they would remain in the top six of the league and qualify for the play-offs. With Cadiz's strength, there was a lot of room to maneuver and hope for a draw.
*****
Founded in 1910, Cadiz Football Club was not old in La Liga, but they had spent very little time in the top league. In the history of the team, they had only stayed in La Liga for 11 years, and their most recent appearance in La Liga was in the 92-93 season. The team's best position in La Liga was 12th in the 87-88 season.
Cadiz Football Club was full of local rookies, cheap South American foreign players, and outdated veterans. This was a typical characteristic of an old La Liga team.
Three days before the final match of the league against Sporting de Gijón, Cadiz Football Club's manager, Steglunburg, expressed his determination to protect his team's qualification for the play-offs in an interview with the media.
"It has been 11 years since we last played in La Liga. The whole city is extremely eager to breathe the air of La Liga again. Sporting de Gijón's performance is indeed surprising, but it is clear that we are the team that is more qualified to go to La Liga. "
Li Ang quickly responded to Steglunburg's words. "If I were the manager of Cadiz, and we were in a good situation, but our opponents kept chasing after us, and we had to fight in the final round of the league, I would have taken the blame and resigned a long time ago." His words were full of contempt and sarcasm for Steglunburg's manager.
This could be regarded as a blatant sarcasm and attack.
According to the media, Cadiz Football Club's manager, Steglunburg, was furious. It was said that on Cadiz's training ground, 'the Andalusian manager's roar could be heard from miles away.'
One day before the game, Li Ang spoke again.
When he was interviewed by Spain's national channel 5, he had a serious look on his face. "Obviously, Cadiz only needs a draw to be satisfied. I can already imagine that our opponents will place a bus in front of their goal. It will be very difficult to face a team with eleven defenders, but we are prepared for the difficulty of the game …"
"Cadiz may be very utilitarian and play ugly, conservative football, but they have the right. I don't want to say anything more. We will have our own countermeasures."
Li Ang began to wildly criticize their opponent, Cadiz, the day before the game. He criticized their opponent's conservative tactics and criticized their opponent's tactics for being ugly …
This also caused an uproar in the media, as well as the anger of the people of Cadiz.
Generally speaking, it was only after the end of the game that the manager would criticize the tactics of their opponents. Now, the game had not even started yet, and Li Ang was already so noisy and attacking. It was really a bit too much.
Some media also pointed out that Li Ang was trying to provoke Cadiz Football Club's manager, Steglunburg. This was because Li Ang and Sporting de Gijón were very worried that Cadiz would play conservatively in this game. This was because Cadiz only needed a draw. Once Cadiz defended to the death, it would be very difficult for Sporting de Gijón to break through their tight defense.
Cadiz's media also suggested to their team that they should do as Sporting de Gijón's China manager said. They should "put a bus" and let the people of Gijón cry.
Sporting de Gijón's manager, Martin Skrtel, did not understand Li Ang's approach. Why did he say these words before the game? If the opponent was not provoked and really "put a bus", then Sporting de Gijón would be in trouble.
Li Ang's response to this was that he was bored and wanted to cause trouble for the people of Cadiz …
One day later, on June 19, 2004, the last round of the 20032004 Segunda División season. The day of the game finally arrived.
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