The next day, Sporting Gijón's newspapers were full of reports about the game.
Sporting Gijón's media and fans were very worried after losing the Supercopa de España and losing two games in a row at the start of the season. After the joy of returning to La Liga, they began to worry about the team's prospects for the new season. They did not want the team to return to Segunda División with their tails between their legs after one season.
The four to one victory against the Czech team, Olomouc, could be said to be a timely rain. The team achieved their first victory of the new season, and the pressure on them was reduced a little.
Especially in this game, the three new players, Diego Milito, Modric, and Dinatale, were at full strength. Ribéry, who had been criticized before, seemed to have suddenly become enlightened and contributed two assists in the game. In short, such a victory, whether in terms of the process or the result, was very good.
The reporter of the Voice of Gijón, Mitra, also stood up at the right time to sing praises for Li Ang. "… I always have confidence in Manager Li Ang. His vision is unquestionable. For those who doubt the team's summer transfer window, I believe that the next thing to do is to cheer for the players' excellent performance … Sporting de Gijón's poor start is directly related to the changes in the team's lineup and the lack of running-in. I believe that as the league goes on, Manager Li Ang will not let us down."
As Li Ang's loyal "partner," the Voice of Gijón was regarded by some as Li Ang's absolute supporter and mouthpiece. The reporter, Mitra, was regarded as Li Ang's loyal lackey. This person was always flattering and praising Li Ang. In the eyes of the media who hated Li Ang, this media was simply too unscrupulous. It was simply licking Li Ang's boots.
The Voice of Gijón did not care about the criticism and complaints of its peers. The other media were just sour grapes because they did not even have the qualifications to lick Li Ang's boots. They had now tasted the benefits of supporting Li Ang. The Voice of Gijón was the only media designated by Li Ang to work with. This alone was enough to expand their market share by a lot. One must know that in this city, Li Ang's influence was huge. They praised Li Ang and the team, and the fans liked it very much.
*****
Seeing the benefits brought by the Voice of Gijón's actions, the other media in Gijón did not stay idle.
The Gijón Express even dedicated two pages to praise Sporting de Gijón's signings this summer.
They praised the players brought in by Li Ang, and even seemed a little mushy.
But the truth was that the players brought in by Li Ang all performed well.
Needless to say, Diego Milito had scored a goal in the previous game against Valencia. It was one of the few highlights of Sporting de Gijón's Supercopa de España. In this game, Milito made it very difficult for the Czech who marked him, and he successfully scored a goal. Milito also contributed to Olomouc's own goal.
The 25-year-old Argentine striker, who was worth 1.5 million euros, was now beginning to show his strength. In time, he would integrate better into the team and become a reliable weapon in Sporting de Gijón's frontline.
Di Natale's backheel shot allowed people to see the creativity of the Italian, who was about to turn 27 years old. Such a goal, such a player with such characteristics, was deeply loved by the Spanish fans who worshipped the artistic style of football.
Grosso was also a new player. The left-back's performance was not as eye-catching as his Italian compatriot, but it was also very important. Perhaps he was still adapting to the style of Spanish football, or perhaps it was the arrangement of manager Li Ang. The tall Grosso's range of assists was not large, but his defense was very experienced and did not give the opponent any chances.
Albertini was needless to say. The former AC Milan star player was Sporting de Gijón's midfield metronome. With him on the field, Sporting de Gijón's offense began to improve. After the football passed through the feet of the veteran Milan player, it immediately became clear.
The center-back partners, Hierro and Pepe, were still getting used to each other and needed to strengthen their tacit understanding. However, Pepe's performance was good. His header ability was good, and he did not give the opponent any chances for a high ball in the game. Moreover, Pepe's tackling was more accurate. Although it was a little rough at times, the importance of bringing in Hierro came out at this time. With the experienced Hierro by the side to help fill in the gaps, this center-back combination was more reliable.
*****
In addition, Franck Ribéry, who was brought in from a low-level league in France, played more alone in the first few games. However, his characteristics were still relatively clear. He was very sharp in breaking through from the side. In this game, it was unknown what manager Li Ang did, but he was able to change Ribéry's style of play and start to pass the ball. The substitute came on and had two assists. His performance was very good.
Modric, who came on as a substitute, played by the book. He scored with a long shot, which was also unforgettable.
As for the substitute, the Serbian Ivanovic, he did not make people's eyes light up. This was also because he did not play much.
The other players, such as the substitute goalkeeper, Handanovic, and the 16-year-old child, Benzema, were temporarily ignored by the media. One was because of the special nature of the goalkeeper position, and the other was because they were too young.
In short, Li Ang's recruitment, which was previously criticized by the media, immediately shut up because of a victory. Instead, they gave all kinds of praise. Almost overnight, Li Ang's magical 'eye for people' magic returned …
*****
After the game against Olomouc, Li Ang gave the whole team half a day off. However, he did not have time to rest. He needed to immediately get to work to prepare for the third round of the league in three days.
In the third round of the La Liga, Sporting de Gijón would be playing against Real Zaragoza.
This was a tough nut to crack!
Zaragoza had a grudge against Sporting de Gijón. To be exact, they had an old grudge with Li Ang's Sporting de Gijón. In the last season's Copa del Rey, Zaragoza had met Sporting de Gijón in the semifinals. At that time, everyone thought that Zaragoza would easily eliminate Sporting de Gijón and then meet Real Madrid in the final at the Bernabéu. However, Zaragoza fell at the feet of Sporting de Gijón in a humiliating manner!
That's right, it was humiliating. The people of Zaragoza thought that it was humiliating to be eliminated by a Segunda División team like Sporting de Gijón. At that time, Zaragoza had been ridiculed by the Spanish media.
Later, when Real Madrid lost to Sporting de Gijón in the final of the Copa del Rey, the media began to ridicule Real Madrid. At that time, Zaragoza received less ridicule. After all, compared to Zaragoza, Real Madrid losing to Sporting de Gijón in the final on their home ground was the biggest surprise.
Even so, the people of Zaragoza still could not forget the humiliation of being eliminated by Sporting de Gijón.
After the new season's La Liga schedule was released, the people of Zaragoza were looking forward to the game against Sporting de Gijón.
They wanted to get back at them.
*****
As the match approached, the media in Saragossa was filled with voices of revenge.
Previously, when Sporting de Gijón had lost two games in a row in the league, the media of Zaragoza had not been idle. They had been jumping around and adding insult to injury, making fun of the newly promoted team, Sporting de Gijón.
Sporting de Gijón's poor start gave the people of Zaragoza a reason to defend themselves. They had been eliminated by Sporting de Gijón last season, and it was a complete accident. Now, they wanted to wash away the humiliation brought about by this accident.
The media of Zaragoza even called for Zaragoza to win the game against Sporting de Gijón by more than five goals to nil. They wanted to give Sporting de Gijón a crushing defeat in order to wash away the humiliation. Even Mallorca could beat Sporting de Gijón by two goals to nil. How difficult would it be for Zaragoza to beat Sporting de Gijón by more than five goals?!
The media, called La Libertad de Zaragoza, even listed many reasons to prove that it was possible to beat Sporting de Gijón.
First of all, Sporting de Gijón was in trouble. This could be seen from their four consecutive defeats at the start of the season.
Second, the skill of the Chinese coach was limited. After half a season, the mysterious veil on the Chinese man had been removed. He only had a few tricks up his sleeves. This person was not to be feared.
Third, the young men of Zaragoza were eager for revenge. The players were in good condition, their morale was high, and their morale was high.
Fourth, if Zaragoza beat Sporting de Gijón, then the Chinese man, Li Ang, who had lost three games in a row at the start of the league, would have an even harder time. If things went wrong, he might even be fired. This would be very satisfying.
La Libertad de Zaragoza also made it clear that many of the Zaragoza players agreed with this fourth point. They rubbed their palms together and planned to personally send Sporting de Gijón's manager on his last journey to get revenge. After Zaragoza was eliminated from the Copa del Rey by Sporting de Gijón last season, Zaragoza's manager was fired. Although the manager took the blame, it was still a great humiliation to the players and the club.
They wanted revenge. What could be better than giving Sporting de Gijón a crushing defeat and making the Chinese man lose his job?!
*****
On September 19, 2004, Li Ang led the team to Zaragoza to prepare for the away game in the third round of the league.
In the hotel where they were staying, the assistant manager, Scott Tri, was assigning rooms.
Li Ang was busy talking to Alice on the phone.
After a while, Scott Tri came back with a newspaper in his hand. He wanted to say something, but stopped.
Li Ang hurriedly said goodbye to Alice and asked, "What's wrong?"
"Li, look at this." Scott Tri handed the newspaper to Li Ang angrily.
"What?" Li Ang took it. It was a local newspaper in Zaragoza. On the front page, there was a bold headline: Kick the Chinese's ass!
There was a cartoon below that, and the words "Get out of class" were written on it. More importantly, the cartoon was of a sallow and emaciated Qing Dynasty man with a long braid kneeling in front of a big-nosed European.
At that moment, the assistant manager, Banderas, ran in with a thick stack of newspapers in his hand. "This is too much. This is too much. They actually put newspapers like this in every room."
Li Ang was stunned. Then, he understood that the other side was deliberately provoking him. Because they were not sure which room he would be staying in, they simply put such humiliating newspapers in all the rooms booked by Sporting de Gijón.
Li Ang stared at the newspaper in his hand. He stared at the ugly cartoon. His face was extremely gloomy. There was a strong fire burning in his chest.
He was enraged.
PS: Weakly begging for a monthly ticket.
Go to the gym, then come back and continue to write.
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