Li Ang saw Mata in Spain's U19 starting lineup, while Carlos sat on the substitutes' bench. In addition, Sporting de Gijón's substitute goalkeeper, Roberto, was not on the squad list for the match.
Li Ang was not surprised. It was not the first time Mata had been selected for Spain's youth team. Previously, when he was in Real Madrid's U17 echelon, he had been selected for Spain's U17 national team. Therefore, it was normal for Mata to be in the starting lineup.
It was the first time that Carlos and Roberto had been selected for Spain's national youth team. One was on the substitutes' bench, and the other was not on the squad list for the match. This was also normal.
Spain's U19 national youth team manager, Petrogi, arranged for Mata to play in the attacking midfielder position. This piqued Li Ang's interest. He could take this opportunity to observe Mata's performance in the attacking midfielder position.
After the match began, Mata, who appeared in the attacking midfielder position, did not seem to be used to it. He would subconsciously move closer to the right flank.
"This is a habit that I developed when I played for Sporting de Gijón."
Li Ang pondered. In this season, Li Ang let Mata withdraw from the forward line and play as an attacking midfielder.
*****
This was a tactical position that Li Ang tailor-made for Mata. In fact, in today's football world, there was no such thing as an attacking midfielder for the time being. Therefore, Li Ang was the first person to eat crabs and create this new football concept.
In the attacking midfielder position, when Di Natale withdrew to receive the ball, it attracted the attention of the opponent's defensive line. It also meant that there was an opening for Mata's excellent ability to plug in. In addition, Mata's agile style of play also ensured that he could contend with fierce opponents near the sidelines. Once he encountered resistance, he could also change the team's offensive rhythm through a roundabout and sideways movement. These characteristics were the most perfect requirements that Li Ang had for Mata. Although Mata was still far from these requirements, Li Ang had confidence in Mata. This was a player who really used his brain to play football. He had an extraordinary rhythm on the field. He passed and received the ball reasonably and always tried to use the most reasonable way to handle the ball.
In particular, when Li Ang arranged for Mata to appear on the right flank, he could fully utilize Mata's advantage in cutting inside.
Li Ang believed that in time, as more and more games were played, Mata would become more and more familiar with the position of attacking midfielder. He would be able to have a deeper understanding of the tactical role of this position. The concept of attacking midfielder was also destined to cause a sensation in the football world. Now, all he had to do was wait. He had to wait for the day when it would blossom and bear fruit.
It was precisely because he was clear about Mata's characteristics that Li Ang finally decided to tailor the attacking midfielder position for Mata. He did not let Mata play as an attacking midfielder.
Therefore, when he saw that Petrogi had arranged for Mata to play as an attacking midfielder, he was curious and doubtful.
Sure enough, Mata's performance in the attacking midfielder position was not good. Of course, it could not be said that he was terrible. It was just that the Mata, who was brilliant on the right flank of Sporting de Gijón, had become somewhat mediocre.
*****
In the first half of the game, the Spain U19 National Team and the Germany U19 National Team played to a 0-0 score.
Not long after the start of the second half, David Silva sent a wonderful pass. Li Ang's proud disciple from Real Madrid, Callejón, successfully reversed the offside position and scored with a low shot. He broke through the goal guarded by the Germany U19 National Team goalkeeper, Neuer.
Li Ang also cheered in front of the television for this goal.
Silva's pass was quite exquisite, and Callejón's positioning was also very smart.
Li Ang was a little envious at this time. He had tried to recruit Silva from Valencia, but Sporting de Gijón had only revealed this idea and was sternly rejected by Valencia. They regarded Silva as a treasure.
After the Spain U19 National Team took a 1-0 lead, the Germany team began to explode with great energy. The young Germanic tank rumbled and began to bombard the Spain team's gate.
Under such circumstances, Li Ang saw Carlos on the substitutes' bench begin to warm up.
Li Ang nodded. In his opinion, Petrogi's choice to consider sending Carlos at this time was incomparably correct. It could be said that Carlos's playing style was very different from the traditional Spanish players. His footwork was more average, but his ability to sweep the midfield could be said to be unmatched by the other players in the current Spain National Youth Team.
When the team's rear defensive line was facing great pressure, sending Carlos was a very correct choice. Carlos was like a meat grinder, and could make the tough Germanic tank suffer.
Two minutes later, Carlos came on as a substitute.
The camera focused on the young man who was born in the slums of Madrid, who was kicked out by Getafe, and who was discovered by Li Ang. He was brought to Sporting de Gijón and trained by himself.
Carlos took a deep breath, drew a cross on his chest, and then strode onto the field.
"Beep, beep, beep!" Li Ang's cell phone rang. He picked it up and saw that it was a text message from Alice. "Juan is playing. I'm so happy."
Li Ang could already imagine Alice's red eyes in front of the television. She must be wiping her tears again. For this pair of siblings who were born in the slums and depended on each other for survival, the younger brother making a name for himself was the happiest thing for the older sister.
"Be proud of this kid. He works very hard!" Li Ang replied.
*****
He continued to watch the game. After Carlos came on, sure enough, with Carlos sweeping the midfield, the German team's offense was curbed, and the danger in front of the Spanish goal was alleviated.
Li Ang nodded. He had an intuition that Spain's U19 national youth team manager, Petro Logi, had carefully studied Sporting de Gijón's games because he saw that Petro Logi's use of Carlos was similar to his use of Carlos at Sporting de Gijón.
After thinking about it carefully, Li Ang understood a little. It should be like this. Carlos's playing style and Sporting de Gijón's "Little Gattuso" could be said to be a very unique player in Spanish football. Since Petro Logi had recruited Carlos, then he must consider the use of Carlos. Whether such a player could integrate into the Spanish team, which paid attention to smooth coordination, was a problem!
And if he wanted to solve this problem, it was obvious that there was a ready-made model, and that was to watch Sporting de Gijón's games and see how Li Ang solved it. Sporting de Gijón's recent games were not only winning, but they also played more beautifully. This was obviously very worth studying.
Li Ang nodded. Manager Petro Logi was a very pragmatic and courageous person. If it were other more stubborn and conservative Spaniards, they might even look down on Carlos's playing style and scoff at Carlos's characteristics.
Interestingly, after Carlos came on, it was unknown whether it was because the two of them had better coordination at Sporting de Gijón, or because Carlos was holding the fort in the midfield, which made Mata feel at ease. Mata's performance also began to improve.
This made Li Ang very happy. His player performed well, which naturally made him satisfied.
At this moment, Mata dribbled the ball and broke through. He pulled the ball past someone and bypassed the blocker. Then, the blocker was very tenacious and did not give up. He caught up from the side behind.
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