Li Ang was extremely depressed.
Then he received a call from Alice. The older sister was obviously very worried about her younger brother.
Li Ang could only comfort Alice. He told Alice that Carlos had done a good job and that he was a good example of team spirit. A player who stood up for his teammates was a good player. A player who made a move when he needed to make a move was a player with guts.
"I know, you're being sarcastic." The worried Alice was also amused and said.
"It's not all sarcastic." Li Ang thought carefully. "Although from a rational point of view, I want to criticize Juan for not being calm, from an emotional point of view, Mata was maliciously fouled by the opponent. If he did not do anything, I would be very angry!"
"It sounds very contradictory." Alice said.
"Rationality and emotion are always contradictory." Li Ang said with a smile. "Don't worry, it's fine."
"Is it really fine?"
"What can happen? At worst, he'll be suspended. That's at the level of the national youth team. It won't affect the club. If there's really a problem, Mata is injured. That's the thing that's giving me a headache. That kid is stronger than a bull. It's fine. "Li Ang said unhappily.
"Then I'm relieved." Alice breathed a sigh of relief.
After hanging up the call with Alice, Li Ang lit a cigarette and then called the team doctor, Mr. Rotalo, to keep in touch with the Spain U19 national youth team and keep track of Mata's injury.
After that, Li Ang sat on the sofa and fell into deep thought.
He began to think about the team's tasks for the next month.
*****
October 17th, the seventh round of the La Liga. Sporting de Gijón would challenge Deportivo La Coruña in an away game.
October 21st, the 20042005 UEFA Europa League group stage matches would begin. Sporting de Gijón would host FC Utrecht in the first round of the group stage.
On October 24th, in the eighth round of the La Liga, Sporting de Gijón would welcome Real Betis at home.
On the 27th of October, in the first round of the Copa del Rey, Sporting de Gijón would welcome Elche from the Spanish second division at home.
On the 31st of October, in the ninth round of the La Liga, Sporting de Gijón faced another strong opponent. They would be visiting Bernabéu and their opponent was Real Madrid, Galácticos!
In less than half a month, Sporting de Gijón would play five matches. It could be said that the competition was very intense.
Not only that, but Sporting de Gijón's opponents were also unprecedentedly strong.
Their opponent in the seventh round was Deportivo La Coruna, a very strong opponent.
Before the 1990s, Deportivo La Coruña wasn't very famous, but it returned to the first division in 1991. Ever since they returned to La Liga, they had created enormous pressure for Barcelona, Real Madrid, and other big-name teams every season. The rise of Deportivo La Coruña was due to the Brazilian star. In the past six or seven years since Bebeto joined, nearly 20 Brazilian players had played for Deportivo La Coruña. In the 19992000 season of La Liga, Deportivo La Coruña suddenly emerged as a new force, overpowering Barcelona and Real Madrid to become the league champions. This might have marked the beginning of a new golden era for Deportivo La Coruña.
At the beginning of the 21st century, Deportivo La Coruña broke the La Liga tradition of Barcelona and Real Madrid competing for the league title, and won the La Liga title in the following year. Since then, Deportivo La Coruña had begun to perform in the highest level of European club competitions, and the peak of Super Laco had arrived once again. This included the most incredible comeback in the history of the UEFA Champions League. After losing the first leg 1-4 at San Siro, Deportivo La Coruña defeated the defending champion AC Milan 4-0 at Riazo in the second leg. Ever since they returned to La Liga, Deportivo La Coruña had created enormous pressure for Barcelona, Real Madrid, and other big-name teams every season. However, perhaps due to inexperience and lack of maturity, the team, which had been longing for the La Liga title for a long time, would often slip up at the last moment, leaving the fans helpless. However, Deportivo La Coruña's rise was very popular in Spain, because its rise raised the Spanish football from the top three to the top four. Since then, it had also received the title of "Super Laco."
*****
Li Ang had studied Deportivo La Coruña before, and he found a very interesting situation in several major European leagues. Deportivo La Coruña, population 230,000; Palma, population 180,000; Bayer Leverkusen, population 160,000; Lens, population 40,000 … Since the end of the 1980s, these four small European cities had become the focus of the world because of football. Perhaps it was a coincidence, but it was enough to create an era that belonged to the small cities. In 1988, Ludoiro took over Laco, Carmonde took over Bayer Leverkusen, and Mahler took over Lens. A year later, Tanji's Parmalat became the sponsor of Palma. No one would have thought that the four major European leagues in the 1990s would be stolen by these insignificant small cities.
These four teams became disruptors in the four major leagues, and even threatened the status of the powerhouses at one point.
In La Liga, other than Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Valencia, Li Ang was most wary of Deportivo La Coruña. He was even more wary of Deportivo La Coruña than he was of Valencia, because if Deportivo La Coruña went crazy, they would destroy anyone in their path. The reverse elimination of AC Milan in the previous season was an example.
Therefore, after the league break on the day of the national team match, Li Ang's Sporting de Gijón's first game was to go to the Riazo Stadium to challenge Super Laco. This game was a severe test for Sporting de Gijón.
Then, their first opponent in the UEFA Europa League group stage was Utrecht. Although Utrecht was not particularly strong, Utrecht was an experienced team in the UEFA Europa League. Although Sporting de Gijón was playing at home, they still could not let their guard down.
In the eighth round of the league, their home game was against Real Betis. Although Real Betis was currently ranked lower than Sporting de Gijón in the league standings, only ranked 12th, Li Ang knew how crazy Real Betis was this season. This team was this season's big dark horse. According to the original history, Real Betis was ranked fourth in the league and qualified for the Champions League!
Therefore, Sporting de Gijón had to be extra cautious in the game against Real Betis.
Then, it was the first round of the Copa del Rey against Elche. This game might be the easiest of the five games in the past two weeks.
*****
Finally, on the last day of October, in the ninth round of the La Liga, Sporting de Gijón went to Bernabéu to play Galácticos Real Madrid in an away game!
There was no doubt about the importance of this game, and it was easy to imagine how difficult it would be. With the grudge between Real Madrid and Sporting de Gijón last season, Sporting de Gijón's visit to Bernabéu this time was much more dangerous than last season's Copa del Rey final!
In less than half a month, there were five games and four tough battles. It could be said to be a real devil's schedule.
PS: An attempt to prevent piracy has been made.
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