In the locker room during the halftime break, the Sporting de Gijón players were a little frustrated. The first half of the game was coming to an end, and it could even be said that in the last ten seconds, the opponent had pulled a goal back. It was a result that no one could accept.
"Well, don't think about that goal concede. There's nothing we can do about it … "Li Ang comforted them. He was not just comforting his players. He really felt that there was nothing they could do about the goal concede. The opponent's luck at the last minute was simply off the charts.
"Instead of being frustrated over the first half, let's think about how we're going to win the game in the second half!" Li Ang clenched his fist and waved it in front of everyone.
"Pandiani's goal … It was really an accident. Accidents like this always happen on the football field. But in the second half, I hope you can reduce the probability of such an accident to a minimum. If we look at the source of the goal concede, it was not an accident. We pulled back a little too far at the last minute, and let Victor get too close to the penalty area. If we could have suppressed him better, the situation might have been better. "
Modric felt even more guilty after hearing Li Ang's words. He should have been responsible for Victor. If he had decisively intercepted and joined forces with Marcos to stop the opponent, they might have been able to prevent all of this from happening.
"In the first half of the game, Deportivo La Coruna had the initiative. Everyone played hard, but their performance was very good. Our counterattack showed efficiency!" Li Ang glanced at the players and decisively turned the page. He followed up by praising the players, "Two counterattacks and two goals. Such efficiency is worthy of my praise. However, I think it would be better to wait until the end of the game and we win the game before I praise you. Perhaps it would be more perfect."
Hearing the manager's words, the players were in a much better mood. As the manager said, they played hard in the first half of the game. Two counterattacks and two goals were indeed very efficient. The players also felt that they did well, except for the goal concede at the last minute of the first half, which affected their joy.
*****
"Deportivo La Coruna's morale must be high after getting a goal back. At the beginning of the second half, they will launch a fierce attack on our goal. At that time, everyone had to remain vigilant and withstand their attacks. Pepe will continue to restrict Luke, and Grosso will have to pay attention to help Fernando. The captain did a good job defending Pandiani in the first half of the game, and it was hard on him, "Li Ang said. He did not say this to save face for the captain, Fernando Hierro. In fact, Hierro's defense against Pandiani in the first half of the game was indeed very good. The Spanish veteran used his own experience to contend with Pandiani and did not give the opponent too good a chance. The goal concede in the end was really not the fault of the battle. It was indeed impossible for the 36-year-old Hierro to explode and compete with Pandiani at that moment. After all, Hierro was old.
Li Ang's words made Hierro feel a little touched. However, he was a very professional football player. He would not relax his expectations of himself just because the manager was "tolerant" of him.
"It's my responsibility to concede the last goal." Hierro stood up and said, "I won't give them such a chance again. If they think this old man is easy to bully, they are wrong."
The captain's words bravely took the responsibility, although the responsibility should not be borne by him alone. As Li Ang said, the goal concede was, on the one hand, luck, and on the other hand, the whole team shrank too far back in the end. It was the overall responsibility, including his responsibility as the manager.
Hierro's last sentence also amused everyone, and the atmosphere in the locker room was a little better.
Li Ang also nodded secretly. This was the role of such a leader in the team. The experience and standard of the former Real Madrid captain was more than enough to unite and adjust the Sporting de Gijón locker room.
"As I just said, when the second half of the game starts, Deportivo La Coruna will launch a fierce attack. Therefore, during the first 15 minutes of the game, we have to pay attention to defense."
"After 15 minutes of the game, if Deportivo La Coruna cannot score, their morale will be affected. In the next 10 minutes, they will be in a deadlock. At this time, everyone has to pay attention to adjust their rhythm and save their energy. Then, wait until the last 20 minutes to start attacking."
*****
Li Ang knew that in such a big game, it was very tiring to maintain a certain rhythm all the time, because in addition to the physical exhaustion of the players, the mental exhaustion was also not to be underestimated. In the first half, Sporting de Gijón was completely passive. The psychological pressure on the players was great, and the physical exhaustion was also great. This required a good adjustment and allocation of energy in the second half of the game. Otherwise, if there was a problem with their stamina at the last minute of the game, the result would not be optimistic.
In addition, if Deportivo La Coruna continued to maintain a strong offensive, then the physical exhaustion of Deportivo La Coruna would be huge, especially on their right flank. Victor and Pablo constantly pressed to assist, and then they had to run to defend. This kind of physical exhaustion could be imagined. If they continued to maintain this intensity in the second half of the game, then Li Ang would have a lot of things to do.
"Finally, let's talk about offense. Don't forget to counterattack when you're defending, and don't forget to defend when you're attacking. Press the whole game. This is the basic requirement I have for you. Previously, in our tactics, we focused on offense. Everyone did a good job of pressing the whole game. However, in this kind of defensive counterattack, pressing the opponent is just as important. Remember, to be able to cause trouble for the opponent is our goal! "
"When we withstand Deportivo La Coruna's onslaught, they will definitely feel discouraged. Their stamina will also be at a low point. When that time comes … you know what to do, right? "
The players laughed. "Of course!"
"Franck." Li Ang called Ribéry's name. "The last 20 minutes of the game, maybe it's time for you to play."
With Ribéry's charging power, facing Pablo and Victor on the left flank, who were beginning to feel their stamina crisis, was indeed very promising.
Ribéry's eyes lit up, and he nodded hard. "I understand, Coach."
"So, that's it. At the beginning of the second half of the game, we can defend against the opponent's attack. On the one hand, it can raise our morale, and on the other hand, it can severely damage the opponent's morale. Then it will be a stalemate, and finally, it will be time for us to launch a fatal blow to the opponent. This is a process, and everyone needs to learn to adjust themselves and keep up with the rhythm of the game! If you can withstand their fierce attacks at the beginning of the second half, Deportivo La Coruna will definitely be more impatient. At this time, we only need to counterattack once or twice. If we can seize the opportunity, then the victory of the game will basically be ours! "He clenched his fists, his eyes full of confidence.
His mood greatly influenced his players.
*****
In Deportivo La Coruna's locker room. Irueta was also shouting at the top of his lungs to explain the tactics for the second half of the game to the players.
"… We have to strengthen our offense at the beginning of the second half. The quality of our offense in the first half was too low!" Irueta mercilessly criticized the team's performance. "Our offense is like a headless fly, buzzing around. It makes me sick!"
Hearing Irueta's words, some of the players looked up at their manager with unfriendly expressions.
Irueta noticed the players' expressions, and he immediately called them out. "Sergio, do you have anything to say?"
"No." Sergio, who was called out, said with a gloomy face.
Then, Irueta's spearhead was directed at the team's other striker, Luke.
"Luke, did you disappear in the first half of the game? You were completely restrained by the opponent's Brazilian kid. Do you have a way to get rid of him? "
Luke panted heavily, not wanting to respond to the person who was mercilessly criticizing him. He just lowered his head and grunted, indicating that he had no problem.
Irueta glanced at Luke.
"… If you can't do it, I'll replace you." I'll replace you, "Iruetta said sternly with a stern expression.
Luke had no choice but to say, "I can do it, coach." He had only joined the team last season and was not considered a veteran of Super Laco. He could be a little stubborn, but he did not dare to really go against Irueta.
*****
In the seven years that Irueta had been in charge of Deportivo La Coruna, he had brought countless honors to the originally inconspicuous club. Under his transformation, the former mid-tier team had become one of the main emerging forces in La Liga, capable of winning all kinds of championship titles. In the eyes of ordinary people, a meritorious manager like him should have absolute authority in the club. However, the various conflicts that had arisen around him in the past two seasons showed that his authority was gradually diminishing.
In the last season, Irueta had a conflict with some of the veterans in the team over the substitution issue. The attitude of the players was quite tough after the incident, and they did not take the initiative to apologize. Of course, Irueta's authority in Deportivo La Coruna was still very strong. Those players did not apologize, but they did not dare to go further against the manager.
It could be said that now Irueta was using his authority to maintain the control of the team's locker room. However, the conflicts with some players were close to being public. It was fine if the team did well, but once Deportivo La Coruna's results were poor, the balance would be broken.
There was a saying that a fortress collapsed from the inside. This sentence was the most accurate to describe the current Deportivo La Coruna. Deportivo La Coruna seemed to be at the peak of its glory, but the locker room was facing a huge crisis.
PS: Second update, begging for a monthly ticket.
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.
