Benzema had already made a name for himself in La Liga. He was hailed by some media as one of the best players under the age of 18 in La Liga. Benzema's brilliance was also known by his original team, Lyon. Lyon's president, Ola, was furious. He could not understand or accept how such a talented teenager was poached from Lyon.
In the end, it was revealed that Squillani, the director of Lyon's youth player transfer, was responsible for this matter. In a fit of anger, Ola directly fired Squillani.
Lyon's first team manager, Logan, was also very regretful and annoyed about this matter. If he had paid more attention to the situation of this young man in the youth team, perhaps Benzema would not have been stolen by that Chinese man.
That's right, the people of Lyon thought that Benzema, this talented teenager, was stolen by Li Ang. They were very angry about this.
Li Ang could not be bothered with the anger of the people of Lyon. The people of Lyon were blind. Who could they blame? Sporting de Gijón had paid real money to bring in Benzema. This transfer was very standard and formal. There was nothing to say.
*****
Li Ang was very satisfied with Benzema's performance. It was obvious that Benzema cherished the opportunity to be in the starting lineup today.
The game was not over yet. Benzema was even more excited after the goal. His performance in the front field became more and more active and sharp. He used the cooperation with his teammates and his own impact to threaten Racing Santander's goal.
Benzema's efforts paid off.
Towards the end of the game, taking advantage of Racing Santander's large-scale counterattack to equalize the score, he and Ribéry suddenly changed positions. Benzema pulled to the side. He and Ribéry cooperated on the side. After a beautiful breakthrough, they passed the ball, allowing Ribéry, who had inserted into the middle, to find a good opportunity to shoot. He sent the ball into Antetote's goal for the fourth time.
Originally, Alcaraz had made very detailed defensive arrangements in response to Sporting de Gijón's offense, from retreating to relying on offense to suppression. Who would have thought that in today's match, Li Ang would arrange for Benzema to be in the starting lineup. The French youth was too active, and he directly led Sporting de Gijón's offensive players to become more active. Someone that Alcaraz did not pay much attention to had messed up the situation. Furthermore, he had not expected Sporting de Gijón to focus on the flanks in this match. Furthermore, they were so determined and effective that he was caught off guard.
Benzema had an assist and a goal. He also created the corner kick that Grosso scored with a header. During the process of Blanco's goal, Benzema's missed ball was also the highlight.
The Frenchman, who had just turned 17, was Sporting de Gijón's main contributor.
*****
When the referee blew the whistle to signal the end of the match, the people around Li Ang were cheering for the victory of the match. Li Ang, however, was sitting in the technical area. His eyes were fixed on the field, and there seemed to be a glimmer of light in his eyes. Today's match was his first attempt, and the result surprised him. It also made Li Ang feel that he had captured a certain feeling.
He was in a daze until the end of the match. No one knew what Li Ang was thinking at that moment.
It was only when Scottley suddenly touched his arm that he snapped out of his daze.
"It's time to shake hands with Alcaraz." He pointed to the left. Alcaraz had already stood up from his seat in the technical area.
"The match is over?" Li Ang was a little surprised.
"What were you thinking about, Li?" Scottley asked in surprise.
Hearing Scottley's question, Li Ang kept him in suspense. "A little discovery, a little idea. I'll tell you when I get back."
After that, Li Ang stood up and walked over to Alcaraz, ignoring the surprised Scottley.
"I'm sorry, but we won." Li Ang deliberately showed a proud look.
"Didn't anyone tell you that you're asking for a beating?" Alcaraz, the loser, said helplessly and gloomily.
"Is that so?" Li Ang looked innocent and then laughed. "There will be more and more people who want to beat me up. You're now in the lead. Congratulations, man."
Alcaraz was speechless. He shook his head and left the El Molinon Stadium with his players. They had lost the match by a score of 1-4. Alcaraz admitted defeat wholeheartedly. From the selection of the starting players to the tactical choice of the team, he was completely defeated by Li Ang.
*****
The seventeenth round of the league tournament was the last round of the 2004-2005 La Liga season before the winter break. After this round of games, the La Liga clubs would enter the two-week winter break.
After the game against Racing Santander, Li Ang said to his players in the locker room, "According to the usual practice, everyone needs to go back to the hotel together and then have a break tomorrow."
Everyone looked at him expectantly.
"But I can see that everyone can't wait." Li Ang shrugged. "Well, now I announce that the team will have a break. On January 2nd next year, we'll officially gather at ten o 'clock in the morning. Remember this time, I don't want anyone to be late."
"Hooray!"
"Oh yeah!"
There was a burst of cheers in the locker room. They had already ignored the time constraints and warnings of the manager. Now, all they could think about was the break.
"Don't worry, Li. After New Year's Day, I'll call these guys one by one and tell them not to forget the training time," Assistant Manager Scottley said.
Li Ang nodded with satisfaction. With a serious and meticulous assistant manager like Scottley, he could indeed save a lot of trouble.
Li Ang's current coaching staff was relatively reasonable. Assistant Manager Scottley was meticulous and good-tempered. He could very well make up for the areas that Li Ang did not pay attention to in his work. His assistant, Banderas, was a Real Madrid youth coach. He had a solid foundation and could play a certain role in complementing Li Ang tactically.
*****
After three rounds without a win, the manager was released from the ban and returned. They ended the first half of the La Liga season with a big victory of four to one. The players went on holiday with a happy and relaxed mood.
In the first half of the 2004-2005 season, Sporting de Gijón successfully advanced to the knockout stage of the UEFA Europa League by being first in the group.
In the Copa del Rey, Sporting de Gijón, who had implemented a rotation, successfully passed the first round and advanced to the next round.
In the La Liga, Sporting de Gijón's league ranking rose again after a big victory of four to one over Racing Santander in the seventeenth round of the league.
In this round of the league, Barcelona, the leader of the La Liga, defeated the newly promoted Levante with a score of two to one at home. The latter was once regarded as another dark horse besides Sporting de Gijón. However, after an excellent performance in the early part of the season, Levante had lost their dark horse character. They were no different from the traditional image of a newly promoted team.
The second-place team, Sevilla, defeated Real Madrid in an away game with a score of one to zero. It could be considered a small upset.
In addition, Atlético Madrid lost to Real Betis and Valencia defeated RCD Espanyol.
In this way, after the seventeenth round of the league, the La Liga standings had changed a lot.
*****
Barcelona continued to lead the La Liga standings with eleven wins, four draws, and two losses, accumulating 37 points.
Sevilla had nine wins, four draws, and four losses, accumulating 31 points and ranking second.
The defending champion, Valencia, who had a bad start to the season, had improved recently. They had eight wins, five draws, and four losses, accumulating 29 points and ranking third in the La Liga standings.
Sporting de Gijón, who had a crucial victory, had eight wins, four draws, and five losses, accumulating 28 points and ranking fourth in the league.
RCD Espanyol, who had lost in this round of the league, had eight wins, three draws, and six losses, accumulating 27 points and ranking fifth in the league.
Real Betis, who had seven wins, six draws, and four losses, accumulating 27 points and ranking sixth in the La Liga standings.
Real Madrid, who had lost to Sevilla by a score of one to zero, had eight wins, two draws, and seven losses, accumulating 26 points and ranking seventh in the league.
Real Madrid was closely followed by Atlético Madrid, who had seven wins, four draws, and six losses, accumulating 25 points and ranking eighth in the La Liga.
*****
Li Ang returned from the last round of the league before the winter break, and Sporting de Gijón finally won, ending their three-game winless streak and successfully returning to the top four in the league. This should have been the focus of the game after the game, but Li Ang's limelight was stolen after the game, and it was Real Madrid who stole his limelight.
The La Liga powerhouse, Real Madrid, had been defeated by Sevilla by a score of one to zero at home in this round of the league. Real Madrid's pursuit of points had suffered a heavy blow.
After the game, the entire Madrid media was criticizing Real Madrid, criticizing the players, and attacking the team's manager, Luxemburgo.
At this time, for Real Madrid, who had stolen his limelight, Li Ang naturally would not miss the opportunity to add insult to injury.
"I really, really sympathize with him. I've heard before that being the manager of Real Madrid was the easiest. With Ronaldo, Raúl, Zidane, Figo, Beckham, and other big names in Real Madrid, whoever is the manager can lead the team to the top four. But now, I realize my mistake. In fact, it's really difficult to be the manager of Real Madrid. It's a very challenging job. I feel worried when I look at Real Madrid's ranking. It's too difficult, this job is too difficult. I think Luxemburgo is too pitiful … He said that he couldn't even sleep well after becoming the manager of Real Madrid. I completely understand this. I can't sleep well even when I lead Sporting de Gijón, let alone him? It's really a very difficult job … I'm really worried that one morning, I'll see the news saying that the manager of Real Madrid has changed. That would be too regrettable. Of course, the most pitiful ones are the Real Madrid players. Every day when they go home, they have to think about one question. Will the manager of the team change the next day? Will the new manager understand themselves? Will they use themselves? It's really a headache … I really sympathize with them … "
Real Madrid lost all four major titles last season. This season, they were determined to recover their lost ground. However, in just the seventeenth round of the league, Real Madrid had already lost seven matches. They had only won eight matches in the league. Such a record was simply unforgivable for the proud Real Madrid.
If it were any other team, the club would not hesitate to fire their manager with such a record, let alone a powerhouse like Real Madrid. Or maybe the manager of the team, Luxemburgo, would resign because he could not bear the huge pressure.
However, the current situation of Real Madrid was a little delicate. Florentino's Galácticos had entered the last phase. His prestige and power were greatly challenged. Luxemburgo was the manager that he personally appointed. Now, Florentino could only choose to continue to trust Luxemburgo and hope for a miracle. Otherwise, even if he could fire Luxemburgo, it would be very difficult for Florentino to continue to stay in the position of the chairman of Real Madrid.
Now, whether it was Luxemburgo or Florentino, both of them were like ostriches. They were hoping to 'endure' this period of time. Once they endured this period of time, there might be a bright future ahead of them.
*****
Many people in the circle could clearly see the current situation of Real Madrid. However, no one pointed it out. After all, Real Madrid and Florentino were very powerful. Who would want to offend them for no reason? However, Li Ang couldn't care less. He had already formed a grudge with Real Madrid and Florentino. Therefore, he opened his mouth wide and spilled everything he could and couldn't say …
Of course, the most important thing was the benefits. Li Ang had his eyes on Real Madrid. He regarded Li Ang as a potential opponent of the team. This might make people laugh their heads off, but Li Ang really thought so in his heart.
When Luxemberg heard Li Ang's words, his face turned green with anger.
Go f * cking worry, go f * cking pity me, go f * cking worry …
This person was too evil. He was sarcastic and sarcastic. He would use all kinds of methods.
Originally, because of his current record, it was more difficult for Luxemburgo to control the Real Madrid locker room, which was full of star players. Now, Li Ang directly pointed to his head and said, "You can't do it." This had a big impact on Luxemburgo's prestige in the team. Some star players even wondered if the manager was going to be dismissed.
The players also valued the manager's loyalty to the team very much. A manager who could be dismissed at any time would definitely have a significant decrease in his control and authority over the team. This would indirectly weaken Real Madrid's fighting power.
Now, Li Ang's words were obviously trying to divide the cohesion between the Real Madrid manager and the players. This move was really vicious …
To put it more viciously, you could even call Li Ang despicable and shameless. To put it bluntly, Li Ang was simply destroying Luxemburgo's job. It must be known that the Real Madrid manager's salary was among the highest in the world of football. He also had a lot of prestige. It was really the most dazzling job in the coaching industry.
As a peer, it was not right for him to do this. Was it really appropriate to do this? It was not very good.
But Li Ang did not think so. He and Luxemburgo were neither relatives nor friends. Not to mention, they had a lot of old grudges. Since Real Madrid was targeted by him, then he should make a move when it was time. As for Luxemburgo's life and death? What did it have to do with him? What was wrong with digging a hole for others for the benefit of my team? He did not have any psychological burden at all.
PS: A large chapter of more than 4,000 words. Thank you for your support.
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