The El Molinón Stadium was boiling with excitement. Everyone was going crazy because of Juan Arango's goal.
Amid the huge cheers, the referee blew the whistle to signal the end of the game. Sporting de Gijón took down Deportivo La Coruña with a score of 2: 1.
The players were in a frenzy. They threw Arango high into the air.
It was no wonder that they were so excited. Today's game was the first test they had to face on their way to the league title. If there were any mistakes in today's game, it would be a huge blow to the team's morale.
The madness in the stadium reached a new climax after a minute.
The announcer's voice came from the live broadcast. He announced that Barcelona had been forced into a draw by RCD Espanyol in another stadium!
The madness in El Molinón Stadium went up another level.
Although the fans did not think that their team was qualified to compete for the league title, to be able to close in on the leader, Barcelona, and to be able to reduce the gap to only one point was a great inspiration and pride for everyone!
Moreover, at this moment, all the fans had a mysterious feeling in their hearts. They were only one point behind Barcelona! Under such circumstances, was it really impossible for them to aspire to the league title?
Once this thought was formed in his mind, it would never go away.
Sporting de Gijón's players also went crazy. Obviously, the news that Barcelona had been forced into a draw by RCD Espanyol made everyone excited.
*****
"Thank you to RCD Espanyol!" Scotteri muttered to himself.
"We should thank ourselves. We scored at the last minute. We survived!" Banderas said.
Li Ang could not hide the excitement in his eyes. The team had scored a decisive victory in the last minute, and Barcelona had been stopped. It could be said that it was a double blessing.
"I only know that we were lucky to have taken down Deportivo La Coruña. Otherwise, we would be regretting it now," Li Ang said to his two assistants.
The two nodded in deep agreement.
At the post-match press conference, the reporters were full of praise for Arango, who had scored a world-class goal. However, in the end, the focus was still on the league's standings.
Everyone knew that Barcelona had been forced into a draw by RCD Espanyol. Now, Barcelona was only one point ahead of Sporting de Gijón. At this time, even those who did not think that Sporting de Gijón had a chance to compete for the league title had to think about one possibility. Under such circumstances, with Sporting de Gijón 'current state, did they really have no hope of winning the title?
There was no standard answer to this question. The answer was in everyone's heart, in their judgment.
However, most people had to face up to one point: Sporting Gihon had joined the competition for the league title!
It had nothing to do with Sporting de Gijón's words. Because the points situation was obvious.. The only difference was, what did the people of Sporting Gihon think? Did they have the ambition to do something?!
*****
"Sporting de Gijón's goal is to enter next season's UEFA Champions League. Less than two-thirds of the way through the season. This goal still needs to be achieved. "
When asked about the league title again, Li Ang evaded the question, indicating that the team's goal was to be in the top four of the league.
However, even with Li Ang's words, the next day, the Spanish media still made a big deal of the changes in the league title race. This time, the media really saw Sporting de Gijón as a strong contender for the league title.
The most noteworthy thing was that Barcelona really felt the threat from Sporting de Gijón for the first time. It could be said that the people of Catalonia began to really face the threat from Sporting de Gijón for the first time.
"Barcelona Encounters Winter Return": Mundo Deportivo commented that although it was a Barcelona derby, only 50,000 spectators came to Camp Nou to watch the game between Barcelona and RCD Espanyol due to the cold wind and Wednesday's game. In the sudden cold wind, Barcelona was frozen. 0-0! A draw came at the most inappropriate time. Behind Barcelona, Sporting de Gijón finally bared their fangs!
"Now is not the time to blame the opponent": Mundo Deportivo made a rare criticism of Barcelona's manager, Rijkaard. This was mainly directed at what Rijkaard said in an interview after the Barcelona derby game against RCD Espanyol. "They are simply anti-football. All nine players in the game are defending." Rijkaard complained after being forced to a draw by RCD Espanyol at home. In response, Mundo Deportivo sharply criticized that the opponent's tactics should not be blamed. They could only find the reason for not winning the game. If Barcelona did not raise their vigilance, then the Gijon people behind them could turn around at any time.
*****
Sporting de Gijón's sudden emergence and their direct involvement in the La Liga title race caused a heated discussion throughout the Iberian Peninsula.
At present, after the 26th round of La Liga, the La Liga standings were as follows:
Barcelona had 16 wins, 6 draws, and 4 losses, with a total of 54 points, leading the standings.
Sporting de Gijón had 16 wins, 5 draws, and 5 losses, with a total of 53 points, ranking second.
Real Madrid had 15 wins, 2 draws, and 9 losses, with a total of 47 points, ranking third.
Villarreal had 12 wins, 8 draws, and 6 losses, with a total of 44 points, ranking fourth.
Behind Villarreal were Sevilla with 42 points and Real Betis with 41 points.
Therefore, at present, the teams that were truly qualified to participate in the La Liga title race were Barcelona, followed by Sporting de Gijón and Real Madrid, who were chasing behind.
Many of the Spanish football legends also participated in the discussion of the La Liga title race.
*****
On the second day after this round of La Liga, a special golf tournament was held in the beautiful and gentle Mallorca Island. Although it was called a golf tournament, the "participants" were Cruyff, Camacho, Clemente, and Toshack. They were all well-known figures in Spanish football. Taking the opportunity of playing golf, several coaches certainly did not forget to comment on the La Liga title race.
When it came to this year's La Liga title race, several coaches unanimously voted for Barça, including the former Real Madrid manager, Camacho.
"Barça has a clear advantage in the championship race. Real Madrid has a lot of difficulties, not just on the field, "Camacho said. "There are also a lot of problems within the club. The recent conflict between Ronaldo and Luxemburgo is one example."
However, Camacho also reminded people not to forget Sporting de Gijón. "Xihon's performance has shocked me. Manager Li Ang is a genius. His team has surprised everyone. There are still twelve rounds of the league. It's still a long way to go. In terms of the team's foundation, Real Madrid seems to have more chances than Xihon. However, the scary thing is that Sporting de Gijón's current form is too good."
While Cruyff praised Barça, he did not forget to ridicule Real Madrid. Then he commented on the spoiler Sporting de Gijón. "Xihon plays very smart. Li is a manager with a lot of ideas. Sporting de Gijón can play beautifully and play with the flavor of Barcelona. They can also play pragmatically. This kind of team can often go further."
The former Spanish national team manager, Clemente, supported Barcelona to win the title. At the same time, he seemed to look down on Sporting de Gijón. He said, "Sporting de Gijón's good form will not last long. They are not good enough and will soon fall behind."
The last to express his opinion was also the former Real Madrid manager, Toshack, who had led the team to win the league and the Champions League double. However, this time, he said little about Real Madrid and praised Barça. "Barça's overall formation is advanced. It is only natural that they will be the hot favorite in the league," Toshack said. Toshack was also not optimistic about Sporting de Gijón. "If Sporting de Gijón can finish in the top four of the league after the game, it will be a victory." As for Li Ang's goal of being in the top four at the post-match press conference against Deportivo La Coruña, Toshack expressed his appreciation for Li Ang's understanding of the situation.
"These two old guys." Li Ang could not help but curse when he saw the newspaper's description of Clemente and Toshack's words.
He was now accumulating good karma and keeping a low profile. However, it did not mean that he liked being looked down upon.
Of course, compared to Clemente's and Toshack's disdain, Cruyff's appreciation made Li Ang even more vigilant.
As everyone knew, Cruyff was the godfather of Barcelona and had a great influence on Barcelona. If even Cruyff expressed his appreciation and praise for Sporting de Gijón, then one could imagine the Barcelona club's attitude toward Sporting de Gijón now: at the very least, they were more vigilant.
This was not good news for Sporting de Gijón, who wanted to bury their heads in scheming.
*****
After joining Sporting de Gijón, the club helped Juan Arango rent an apartment. It was not a property in a wealthy district, and of course, it was not a slum either. It was a middle-class neighborhood.
Arango's impression of the residents in the neighborhood was that when they saw him, they would either nod or greet him. At most, they would say good morning and so on. It was as plain as water.
This made the Venezuelan, who was worried that he would be harassed, relax, but also feel a little disappointed. This only meant that he was not famous now and was a dispensable character in the team.
This "plain" became different after the game between Sporting de Gijón and Deportivo de La Coruña.
Just after eight o 'clock in the morning, Arango left the house. He was going to drive his used car, which was worth eight thousand euros, to the Maleo training base. As soon as the car left the garage, he saw that the neighbor next door was also going out.
Arango stepped on the brakes and motioned for the other person to go first, but he did not expect the other person to stop directly, roll down the window, and give him a thumbs up. "Well done, man! That ball yesterday was great! "
"Oh, ah, thank you." Arango was stunned for a moment, then responded with a smile.
Then the other person gestured for Arango to go first. The Venezuelan happily honked and drove away.
Driving slowly on the road in the neighborhood, Juan Arango found that everything was different from before. From time to time, people stopped to greet him, give him a thumbs up, and even invite him to a community party …
This young man from Venezuela, who had come to the Iberian Peninsula from the South American continent, had always felt that there was a shadow in his heart. He was a little hesitant about the future. He felt that the haze had disappeared almost overnight, and the bright sunshine had arrived. Everything was so happy, and it made him feel relaxed and happy.
All of this was because of a goal.
The love of the fans was so simple and direct. If your performance was good and you scored a goal, they would like you very much.
*****
Due to the 'delay' on the way, Arango was almost late. By the time he arrived at the Maleo training base, he was five minutes away from being late. This gave Arango a fright. He wondered if he should leave ten minutes earlier in the future.
Before the start of the training, Li Ang glanced at the excited Arango and teased him. "Arango, give me an autograph after the training. You're famous now."
There was a burst of good-natured laughter and the Venezuelan smiled embarrassedly.
At the end of the day's training, the team captain, Hierro, found Arango and handed him a football.
Looking at the football full of his teammates' signatures, Arango was stunned.
"This is?"
"The ball used in yesterday's game." Hierro nodded.
Arango was surprised. After yesterday's game, he was "raised high" by his teammates to celebrate. When he came down screaming, he was a little dizzy. He wanted to look for the game ball as a souvenir, but he couldn't find it. This made Arango a little disappointed.
"The coach specially got it from the referee and asked us to give it to you." Hierro said with a smile, "Then we all signed it. We felt that it was more meaningful."
The Venezuelan looked at the football full of team signatures and his eyes were a little red. He was touched.
*****
After the next day's training, Arango came to Li Ang again with the football full of team signatures.
"You want me to sign it too?" Li Ang was surprised when he heard Arango's request.
"Your signature is the most special souvenir," Arango said very seriously.
Looking at the serious player, Li Ang smiled and took the Parker pen. He wrote his name in Chinese on it.
"This is my Chinese name. It's beautiful, isn't it?" Li Ang said with a smile.
"It's beautiful," Arango said.
Li Ang laughed and then winked. "An autograph in exchange for a goal."
Arango scratched his head and then said, "No problem."
Li Ang smiled and nodded. He did not take it seriously. Goals were not easy to score. He said that to encourage Arango.
*****
A day later, in the 27th round of the La Liga, Sporting de Gijón faced Real Betis in an away game.
Sporting de Gijón defeated Real Betis in an away game with a score of 3: 2.
In the second half, the Venezuelan player, Juan Arango, who came on as a substitute, scored the goal for Sporting de Gijón to equalize the score to 2: 2.
After the goal, the Venezuelan rushed to the sidelines and hugged his coach. He shouted excitedly and proudly, "Coach, I did what I said."
In the next round, Barcelona won 1: 0 Osasuna. Eto 'o saved the club at the crucial moment.
Real Madrid won 1: 1 Valencia. The Galácticos tied at home.
After the 27th round of the league, Barcelona had 57 points, Sporting de Gijón had 56 points and Real Madrid had 48 points.
Sporting de Gijón was one point behind Barcelona and eight points ahead of Real Madrid.
El Mundo Deportivo's headline: Eto 'o saves the club, Gijon continues to chase.
El Mundo Deportivo's headline: Juan Arango saves the club again, beware of Gijon!
Marca's headline: Real Madrid falls behind!
AS's headline was: "Last chance for redemption — in the 28th round of the league tournament, Real Madrid will visit the El Molinón Stadium to face Sporting Gijon. This is the best opportunity for the Galácticos to narrow the gap between them and Sporting Gijon."
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