Sporting de Gijón started training for the new season, which was a big event in the port city.
A large number of fans flooded into the Maleo training ground. The league tournament had ended more than a month ago, but for these fans, it felt like half a century had passed. They could not wait for the new season to start.
Mitra, a reporter from the Voice of Gijón, reported in detail on the first day of Sporting de Gijón's training in his column. As expected, the former Real Madrid captain, Fernando Hierro, became the most popular player among the fans. Although the former Spanish national team captain had been away from the mainstream European leagues for a year, he still had a huge influence.
In addition, Mitra also told a short story about the French lad named Franck Ribéry. Because of his "fierce and terrifying" appearance, he caused a small misunderstanding when he came to the Maleo training ground.
Of course, Mitra told it as a short story. In the report, he also mentioned that the Sporting de Gijón manager, Mr. Li Ang, thought highly of Ribéry. "We have all seen the magic of Manager Li Ang. He has a good eye for people. I believe he will not let us down this time. At the very least, I am looking forward to the performance of this lad from the lower leagues in France …"
The Voice of Gijón used a photo of the entire Gijón team gathered. Manager Li Ang stood in the middle, with the players behind him. The summer transfer period was more than halfway. Some players left and some came. There were fewer familiar faces and more unfamiliar faces. Sporting de Gijón's fans felt a little unfamiliar with the current team. However, as long as they saw the Chinese man standing in the middle of the team, they felt a lot more at ease.
*****
A day later, Ivanovic, accompanied by his family, arrived at Gijón.
Li Ang also finally met the young Ivanovic, the future Chelsea full back. He was still a little green, but despite the long journey, the lad was still very excited and energetic.
There were no problems with Ivanovic's physical examination.
Subsequently, Sporting de Gijón and Ivanovic officially signed a five-year contract. Ivanovic's annual salary was 200,000 euros. In the future, his salary would be increased according to the player's performance.
A five-year contract was the longest contract allowed by FIFA. It could be said that this was the club's best way to guarantee the club's benefits.
Among the players brought in by Li Ang, except for the veteran Hierro, who signed a one-year contract and had the priority to renew his contract for one year, the other players basically signed for four or five years.
These were all players that Li Ang had high hopes for. In his blueprint for building the team, he had to do his best to ensure the stability of the team.
Then, Sporting de Gijón's official website announced that Ivanovic had joined the club. They announced that the team had acquired the young Serbian defender from OFK Belgrade for 400,000 Euros.
Some people came and some left.
Sporting de Gijón's midfielder, the Spanish local player, Albarro, finally chose to leave. The main player in the first half of the last season basically did not get many opportunities to play after Li Ang took charge of the team. With Li Ang's large-scale recruitment, he also understood that he did not have a good future in Sporting Gijón, so he simply chose to leave.
Although Albarro was not valued by Li Ang, the player still did not lack in the transfer market. In the end, La Liga's newly promoted team, Numancia, acquired the Sporting de Gijón midfielder for 500,000 Euros.
Albarro's free kick ability was good. Numancia was a team that was very good at using set piece tactics, which was why they were willing to pay 500,000 Euros to bring in Albarro.
*****
Sporting de Gijón's fans were not surprised by Albarro's departure. Everyone knew that the player was not valued by Li Ang. However, the departure of another player shocked the fans.
Assistant manager Scott Ryan and the team captain, Miguel Cobas, did not make any progress.
Miguel Cobas insisted on a salary of one million Euros and did not relax.
This made Li Ang unhappy.
What made Li Ang even more intolerable was that Miguel Cobas's agent, Nigel Rodwell Welch, found Li Ang and asked Li Ang to ensure that his employer, Miguel Cobas, retained the captain's armband.
Li Ang did not know if it was the agent, Rodwell Welch's idea or Miguel Cobas', but it was something he could not tolerate. It was a provocation to his authority as a manager.
"Mr. Rodwell Welch, should I give up the manager's position to you?" Li Ang said coldly.
Rodwell Welch heard the sarcasm in his words and said unhappily, but he did not dare to fall out with Li Ang. "Mr. Li Ang, you must be joking. I'm just an agent."
"Since you know that you're just an agent." Li Ang said coldly, "Then you should know your duty. Don't tell my team what to do."
These words made Rodwell Welch extremely angry. "Mr. Li Ang, I'm not your player. Please watch your words. Also, although Cobas is your player now, who can say what will happen in the future?"
Both sides parted on bad terms.
*****
People always speculated about things with the greatest malice. Li Ang began to wonder if Miguel Cobas was using this method to threaten him by leaving the team.
For a manager, this situation was intolerable, not to mention that Li Ang pursued absolute control of the team.
In fact, from the moment Nigel Rodwell Welch came to him, Miguel Cobas's future was doomed.
Li Ang then found the assistant manager, Scott Teri, and asked him to handle the transfer of Miguel Cobas. He decided to purge Miguel Cobas. In Li Ang's view, Miguel Cobas was already an unstable factor in the team.
Scott Teri was a little surprised. After all, Miguel Cobas was the team captain and was more influential among the fans. However, he still respected Li Ang's decision.
Although it was a purge, Li Ang did not intend to sell the player. Miguel Cobas was the team's main force. It could even be said that he was the team's offensive core for a time. He contributed to the team's promotion. Such a player was still relatively popular in the transfer market.
Almost at the same time, Miguel Cobas also received a notice that he was on the club's transfer list. This news shocked the player. He did not expect that he would cause such a scene.
In addition to being shocked, Miguel Cobas was also angry. He felt that the club did not respect him, a major contributor to the team's promotion.
However, after the anger, Miguel Cobas was helpless. He knew that Li Ang had absolute control over the team. This person had decided to purge him. He had no choice but to leave and find a new place to go.
Miguel Cobas's transfer was very quick. This player did not have to worry about no one wanting him.
Getafe, who was eliminated by Sporting de Gijón in the promotion playoff final, took a fancy to Miguel Cobas. They favored the ability of Sporting de Gijón's captain. In the end, with a bid of three million euros, they defeated other opponents and got the Spanish local player.
On July 20, Sporting de Gijón's official website announced that Miguel Cobas was officially transferred to the Segunda División team Getafe for three million euros.
PS: First update to make up for yesterday's loss.
Last night's game … Let's not talk about it. Other than the result, everything was fine.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
