The day before the game against Alavés, Li Ang had a conversation with his young Dutch player, David Jeffrey.
Jeffrey seemed a little nervous when he faced Li Ang. The kid seemed to be afraid that Li Ang would blame him for his "betrayal."
"Boss, I like Gihon. I like to play under you," Jeffrey said.
Li Ang did not speak. He tapped his fingers on the table and said in his heart, "Next should be — but …"
"But playing for a club like FC Porto is an opportunity for me." Jeffrey paused and said, "Mr. Adrianse is a famous coach in the Netherlands. He admires me very much …"
*****
Li Ang stared at Jeffrey, which made the young Dutch player a little flustered.
"David, have you thought it through?" Li Ang finally asked.
"Coach, I —" Jeffrey looked at the manager and his eyes were a little evasive. "I've thought it through. I want to go to a higher stage."
"Well." Li Ang nodded. "Then, I can give you an answer now."
Under Jeffrey's somewhat worried gaze, Li Ang said, "I won't set obstacles to your transfer, but you must ensure that the club gets the benefits it deserves in this transfer. Do you understand?"
Jeffrey nodded.
"So, I'll say to FC Porto that I don't agree with your transfer." Li Ang said slowly, "And on your side, you can express your wish to go there to FC Porto. In the case of ensuring the club's interests, I believe your wish will be met, David."
Jeffrey nodded hard. "I know what to do, boss."
Although he was only eighteen years old, Jeffrey was not a fool who did not know anything. He understood Li Ang's means. He was using him as a bargaining chip to negotiate with FC Porto. In this regard, Jeffrey had no objection and was willing to cooperate. His feelings for Sporting de Gijón were not deep, but the Dutch boy was very grateful for Li Ang's recognition of his talent. If possible, he was willing to help Li Ang.
"Go, don't tell anyone about this." Li Ang said. He did not want this to affect the morale of the team.
Jeffrey nodded.
"David, perform well." Li Ang finally patted Jeffrey on the shoulder. "Show the people of FC Porto your performance. The team needs your help to break into La Liga."
Jeffrey's eyes lit up when he heard Li Ang say this. He thought that the coach would be very angry, but he did not expect the coach to be so reasonable and encourage him. This warmed the Dutch boy's heart.
*****
After Jeffrey left, Li Li Ang sat sat in his seat and smoked.
He thought that he would be very angry, but at this moment, he was not that angry. Yes, Jeffrey was favored by a powerhouse like FC Porto. This little guy was tempted. Was this not a normal thing?!
As for the next three games, Li Ang would not give up on Jeffrey because of this reason. On the contrary, he would continue to let Jeffrey start, and he hoped that Jeffrey's performance would become better and better. This way, the importance of the Dutch youngster in the eyes of FC Porto's manager, Ke Adrianse, would increase. This way, Li Ang would be able to profit from this transfer.
Therefore, Li Ang's encouragement of Jeffrey was really sincere, and it moved the little guy.
After ending the conversation with the manager, Jeffery returned to his room and called his father, Petre Jeffery.
"Dad, the boss wants to talk to me." Jeffrey said.
"What did you say?" Mr. Jeffrey asked anxiously.
"I said what you taught me. The boss wasn't angry."
"Then what did Mr. Li Ang say?"
Jeffrey told him about his conversation with the manager.
Hearing his son's words, Mr. Jeffrey was very happy. Li Ang did not deliberately make things difficult and expressed his willingness to let him go. He did not seem angry and even encouraged his son. What a good manager.
"Very good, son. Just do as Manager Li Ang said," Mr. Jeffrey said. Since Li Ang did not hinder his son's future, he did not want to be the bad guy.
"Yes, I know." After hanging up the phone, Jeffrey was not happy. He did not know whether it was right or wrong for him to leave Sporting Gihon. From the bottom of his heart, he really did not want to leave Sporting Gihon. He wanted to play under the boss. However, his family had been persuading him to go to FC Porto. In the face of the invitation of the new European champion, Jeffrey was finally moved by his family's constant persuasion. After all, he was only an 18-year-old child. The influence of his family was huge.
*****
During the second day of training, Li Ang focused on observing Jeffrey. There was nothing unusual about the performance of the young Dutch player. It could even be said that he was more serious and hardworking. This also made Li Ang feel a lot more relieved.
The second leg of the promotion playoff semi-final between Sporting de Gijón and Aravis was played that night at Aravis' home stadium, the Mendizo Rosa Stadium.
For the second leg of the game, the whole city of Aravis was filled with a tragic mood.
After leaving La Liga for three seasons, Aravis was very eager to return to the stage of La Liga.
Reaching the promotion playoffs this season made Aravis extremely optimistic. They maintained great confidence in the possibility of returning to La Liga.
Especially in the promotion playoff semi-final against this season's old rival Sporting de Gijón. Although Sporting de Gijón had eliminated Aravis in the Copa del Rey, Aravis was still very much looking forward to passing Sporting de Gijón and entering the promotion playoff final.
Aravis had not expected the 0: 7 defeat in the away game in the first leg. It could be said to be a bolt from the blue for them.
After the first leg of the game, the whole city was in pain.
Everyone knew that with the 0: 7 score in the first leg, Aravis could not make a comeback in the second leg. Therefore, in the second leg of the game, Aravis' media did their best to exaggerate the sadness. They called on the team to fight for honor.
Aravis preached to fight for honor, and Li Ang told the players to try to avoid getting a card and avoid injury. They could now consider the promotion to the finals of the playoffs.
In this game, Li Ang rotated to a certain extent. Mata, Marcos, Maikel Pihra, and the center back Isma were all sitting in the stands. They were not even on the game roster.
Li Ang had originally planned to let Juan and Carlos rest, but seeing the kid's calf-like energy and considering that Marcos had been frozen by him, Carlos's interception in the midfield was more crucial. He gave up the idea of letting Carlos rest. Anyway, the guy's fitness was surprisingly good and his physique was incomparably strong. There was almost no need to worry about him getting injured.
*****
In the end, in the second leg of the promotion playoff semi-final against Aravis, Sporting de Gijón, who had rotated, lost 1: 2 in the away game.
Although they lost, Sporting de Gijón still advanced to the promotion playoff final with a total score of 8: 2.
Li Ang was satisfied with the score and the process of the game because Jeffrey's performance in the game was good. Sporting de Gijón's goal was assisted by Jeffrey after he quickly plugged in from the side.
Li Ang believed that FC Porto would definitely pay attention to the game. Jeffrey's excellent performance would definitely be noticed by Adriança.
It was worth mentioning that the loss of the game was also the first defeat of Sporting de Gijón that Li Ang coached.
However, Sporting de Gijón did not care about the loss. Even the fans did not take it to heart. Everyone knew that Sporting de Gijón did not try their best in the game.
And for Li Ang, this' planned 'loss was not necessarily a bad thing. The team had not lost, and the media was bound to hype up how many games they had not lost. This kind of hype, if accumulated and even spread to the next season, would become an invisible pressure on the team.
In a situation where it was acceptable to lose a game, it was acceptable to lose such a game.
After passing the hurdle of Aravis, the whole of Sporting de Gijón was extremely excited. They had advanced to the promotion playoff final. They only needed to fight for two more games to pass this last hurdle and they would be able to fight their way back to La Liga!
La Liga, the stage that they missed dearly and longed for!
PS: Second update, guaranteed at least 2.
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
