September 19, 2004, the third round of La Liga, Sporting de Gijón's away game against Real Zaragoza.
Real Zaragoza's home stadium, La Romareda Stadium.
In the home team's locker room.
Li Ang explained his tactical deployment for the last time, and then he looked at the time on his watch.
"Finally, let's talk about something that might not be related to the game." Li Ang looked at his players.
"The words in the newspaper, some of the things that happened, I believe many people know." Li Ang's face was gloomy. "I don't want to say too much. I only have one request for this game, and that is to win the game!"
"Score goals! Score goals as much as possible! "
"Maybe some people will think that the one who was humiliated is me, the manager, and it has nothing to do with him. If anyone has such thoughts, step forward."
Naturally, no fool would step forward. Everyone could see that the manager was unusually angry.
*****
"The boss is furious," Mata said softly to Carlos.
"Mata, what are you talking about?" Li Ang immediately noticed Mata.
"Boss, I said, we have to teach the Zaragoza people a lesson," Mata said quickly.
Li Ang ignored Mata. His expression was ferocious. "I believe that some of you here already know what kind of person I am, but some of you still don't."
"You are my players. If anyone of you is bullied, what will I do? I will open my mouth and scold people. I will roll up my sleeves and fight for no other reason than that you are my players. You are my people! As for whether I am bragging or not, you can ask around. "
"Boss, we believe that you are such a person!" Javier Blanco suddenly stood up. When he was in the B team, Li Ang dared to stand up for the players and face the radical fans, which explained everything.
Li Ang nodded and motioned for Blanco to sit down.
"I said this to make you understand that we are a team! If one suffers, all suffers. If one prospers, all prospers! You are my players. No matter what happens, I will support you! At the same time, someone is provoking your manager. What should you do? " Li Ang gritted his teeth and shouted. In fact, as a manager, although he had been attacked and humiliated by the opposing fans, it did not seem appropriate for him to encourage the whole team to fight like this. However, Li Ang did so. He felt that he was not wrong. He saw himself and the players as a whole. If one fell, all would suffer. If one rose or fell, all would rise or fall together!
Among the players, those who had been promoted with the team last season were also filled with righteous indignation. Li Ang was a coach they respected, especially Carlos, Mata, Marcos, Blanco, and other direct subordinates that Li Ang had brought from Team B. They were even more united against a common enemy!
As for the new players such as Di Natale, Milito, and Grosso, Li Ang was the coach who brought them to La Liga. It could be said that they owed him a debt of gratitude. When the manager was humiliated, they naturally could not remain indifferent. Moreover, they felt that the Saragossa had gone too far.
*****
Li Ang used such a straightforward statement and reason to call on the whole team to avenge him!
At the same time, he also realized that this was an opportunity to strengthen the collectivism education of the whole team and instill the idea of "if one fell, all would rise or fall together." At the same time, when the manager was humiliated, he encouraged the players to fight. This would not hinder his prestige. On the contrary, to a certain extent, it would strengthen the relationship between the players and the manager!
The team's captain, Fernando Hierro, and the team's vice-captain, Demetrio Albertini, the two veterans, looked at their teammates who had been provoked by the manager's words and looked at each other. They could feel that the coach was really angry.
The two old star players shook their heads at the provocation and almost racist insults of the Saragossa people. They were extremely disgusted by such behavior.
Grudges on the football field should be settled on the football field. It was a disgrace to mix in such nonsense!
At this time, the assistant manager, Scott Terry, came over to remind them that it was time to play.
Li Ang slammed his fist on the table. "Until the whistle blows at the end of the game, the attack will not stop! I need to score goals, I need a big victory, more goals! "
"Since they want a war, I'll give them a war!" He roared through gritted teeth.
*****
In the players' tunnel at La Romareda Stadium.
The players from both sides were divided into two teams, waiting to enter the stadium.
Sporting de Gijón's captain, Fernando Hierro, stood at the front of the line. To his right was the first player in Saragossa's line, their team captain, Savio. The two former Real Madrid stars were the captains of the two teams on the field. They were also the main attraction of today's game.
"Fernando, how are you doing in Gijón?" The thirty-year-old Savio greeted the thirty-six-year-old captain, Hierro.
"Not bad." Hierro patted Savio's shoulder.
Savio glanced at the other Sporting de Gijón players. He was a little surprised to see everyone's serious and even angry expressions. It was reasonable to say that last season, Saragossa was eliminated by Sporting de Gijón in the Copa del Rey. If there was anger and revenge, it should be Saragossa. Why were the people of Gijón so angry?
"We will do our best in today's game." Hierro suddenly said to Savio with a serious face.
Savio glanced at Hierro, who was no longer smiling and had an extremely serious expression. He was shocked.
He was thinking, what on earth had provoked these people of Gijón?!
Then, when the players from both sides lined up and entered the stadium, Saragossa's captain, Savio, understood the reason for all this.
La Romareda Stadium, which could hold 34596 people, was full. The stands were full of people.
In the center of the stands, there was a huge caricature that was so conspicuous.
It was a huge caricature. The caricature was of a sallow and emaciated Chinese with a long braid from the Qing Dynasty. He was kneeling in front of an arrogant westerner!
Considering that Sporting de Gijón's manager was Chinese, the meaning of this extremely humiliating caricature was self-evident.
Saragossa's captain, Savio, had a serious expression. He was worried inside. He knew that this was the reason for Sporting de Gijón's anger!
Li Ang stood in the technical area on the sidelines. His gaze was fixed on the humiliating caricature. It was different from what he saw in the newspapers. This huge caricature was more visually impactful. It also made him even angrier. It made him hate them to the bone!
"Motherf * ckers! You've pissed me off! "
*****
The camera first focused on the humbling caricature in the stands.
Then, the camera zoomed in on Li Ang. The Sporting de Gijón manager's ferocious facial expression was faithfully presented to all the viewers in front of the TV.
The two scenes explained everything.
"This is a disgrace. A disgrace to Spanish football!" The commentator, Dagestino, said, "In La Liga, there are actually fans using such humiliating and discriminatory behavior to humiliate the opponent's manager. This is beyond the scope of football!"
"We can see that Manager Li Ang's expression is very ugly. He must be in great pain right now!" González said. "Maybe the Saragossa people are still dissatisfied with being eliminated by Sporting de Gijón last season. However, that's within the scope of football. It's a matter on the football field. They lost to Sporting de Gijón on the field. If they blame the opponent's manager for such a failure, and they attack and discriminate against the opponent's manager, then it's simply an unimaginable nightmare and disgrace!"
In front of the TV, the Sporting de Gijón fans who saw this scene were stunned and then angry.
Li Ang was the hero of the team's promotion. He was the manager that the fans respected and loved. They could not accept that he was being humiliated like this!
The scene in the stands was destined to become a controversial topic after the game. However, it had already begun.
*****
Li Ang lined up in a 4-4-1 formation today. The goalkeeper was the veteran Valencia, the left back was the Italian Grosso, the center back was the partner of Pepe and the veteran Hierro, and he still used the main player from last season, Dorado, as the right back.
In the midfield, Albertini's injury proved not to be too big of a problem. Therefore, he formed a double defensive midfielder with Carlos in the starting lineup. Ribéry appeared in the position of the left midfielder.
In the front line, Li Ang used Milito as the arrowhead. However, behind Milito was Di Natale, whose task was to support Milito.
It was worth mentioning that Mata's position today was also something that Li Ang had been practicing during training. However, today's game was the first time that Mata had taken on such an important position and role.
In Sporting de Gijón's midfield, Albertini was a metronome. His role was to manage the game. Therefore, Sporting de Gijón's midfield lacked a real organizer, or it could be understood as the lack of an attacking midfielder.
These players in the Sporting de Gijón team did not have a true attacking midfielder. Mata was not one, and neither was Modric.
Li Ang had been thinking about how to use the existing player configuration to solve the problem of the organizer.
Finally, he thought of the original timeline. Later, Manchester City's Silva and Chelsea's Mata respectively led the development of football in the English Premier League.
That was the use and development of the attacking midfielder's skills.
Attacking midfielder, as the name implied, combined the playing style and characteristics of the side midfielders and attacking midfielders. They broke through the limitations of the two's standing position and range of movement on the field. They used their own good passing, control, and dribbling ability to wander in the front field. This type of player often combined the brain of a midfield commander and the dribbling skills of a flanker. This was the fundamental reason why attacking midfielders could change the game in a smaller range and space.
There was such a group of players: They were short, but had the ability to dominate the game while talking and laughing; they were thin and weak, but their moves were unparalleled in the world; they did not look amazing, but were good at waiting for the opportunity to deliver a fatal blow; they were never the focus of the spotlight, but the real key to victory for their team.
For a long time, people had an illusion that a thin but skillful midfielder was synonymous with flashy but impractical. However, the emergence of attacking midfielders changed all of this.
Of course, so far, discrimination against thin players was a common view in La Liga. Mata's outstanding performance at Sporting de Gijón made the little guy famous, but it did not really attract the attention of the powerhouses because they were worried about Mata's thin body.
At this time, no one had realized the role that Li Ang let Mata play in today's position, which was called the side attacking midfielder position, and the far-reaching impact it had in the football world.
PS: Looking for information on Zaragoza for a few hours. In the end, I would like to thank my book friend Dema Emperor for his help.
Looking for information in competitive novels is the most painful. The information in 2004 is really driving people crazy. Because it has been too long, a lot of information that used to be available on the Internet is now gone.
Today, there is an update.
On the 27th, which is Sunday, yes, tomorrow, there will be a surprise.
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