At the post-match press conference, Li Ang brought along the veteran, Macquarie Pihra.
When the Sporting de Gijón manager appeared with his favorite player, the reporters at the scene stood up and applauded.
This was a joint applause for Li Ang and Michael Pihra.
Sporting de Gijón had won under extremely difficult circumstances. Now, they had 68 points. After Barcelona lost to Real Madrid in this round, they still had 66 points. Now, Sporting de Gijón had surpassed Barcelona by two points. They were the league leaders.
As the manager of Sporting de Gijón, Li Ang could be said to have single-handedly created this legendary dark horse. He was the creator of Sporting de Gijón's current miraculous results. He deserved the applause.
As for Michael Pihra, a veteran who had played amateur football all his life, a veteran who had barely been given a chance to play this season, when the team was in a huge predicament, he was called upon to turn the tide. His two goals, each more spectacular than the last, helped Sporting de Gijón to score two goals in a row and turn the tables to win this crucial game! Michael Pihra was also worthy of the applause.
*****
The entire press conference had become a compliment tea party for Sporting de Gijón. Although the opponent of this game was only a team that had avoided relegation and Sporting de Gijón had won with such difficulty, success or failure depended on the hero. Now that Sporting de Gijón was the league leader, the media could not praise them too much.
"Mr. Li Ang, Sporting de Gijón is now the league leader. There are still seven rounds of the league. If Sporting de Gijón continues to be in this state, they have a good chance of winning the league title." A reporter raised such a question.
Everyone at the scene stared at Li Ang. They wanted to hear what the China manager would say. In the previous interview, Li Ang had refused to talk about the championship, saying that Barcelona was the team with the best chance of winning the championship. Sporting de Gijón was too young and not strong enough.
Now, Sporting de Gijón had reached the top. What would the China manager say?
"You said it yourself. We can only hope to win the championship if we continue to be in this state," Li Ang said with a smile.
All of a sudden, the entire press conference exploded.
Although Li Ang's words had some restrictions, this answer was the first time that Li Ang had clearly expressed his agreement with Sporting de Gijón's chances of winning the championship.
"Manager Li Ang, you mean that Sporting de Gijón's goal is to win the championship, right?" A local media reporter in Gijón asked excitedly.
"No matter if it's a person or a team, there must always be a goal and a dream." Li Ang said, "We are now the leaders of the league. I am proud of my team and players. At the same time, I think that since we have done so well, why can't we do better?"
What did he mean by better? Of course, it was the championship trophy!
In front of the media, Li Ang showed the world for the first time that Sporting de Gijón coveted the championship title!
With the end of the game, the fact that Sporting de Gijón had reached the top of the La Liga standings, especially when Sporting de Gijón's manager, Li Ang, expressed his desire to win the championship for the first time in the post-game press conference. This caused a storm in the Iberian Peninsula.
*****
"El Pais" commented: If you asked before the start of the season who could still occupy the first place in La Liga after the end of the thirty-first round of the league, the answer would be Real Madrid, Barcelona, or even Valencia and Deportivo La Coruña. But who would have thought that after Barcelona lost the El Clásico, Sporting de Gijón would actually reach the top of the La Liga standings after defeating Albacete with a score of two to one in this round! China's manager, Li Ang's team, stood at the top of La Liga. A newly promoted team leading the La Liga standings in April was something that had never happened before in the century-long history of La Liga. This was not April Fool's Day. An incredible scene was happening …
"El Mundo" commented: Michael Pihra, a thirty-six-year-old veteran who started out as an amateur player, stood up when his beloved team needed a hero the most. His two wonderful goals turned the tables for the team to win. The Albachetes were on the verge of a victory, but McGurr made their efforts fruitless. Manager Li Ang promoted this veteran amateur player last season and gave him his trust by renewing his contract. This is the most heartwarming story in Gijón. Now, this veteran player has repaid his beloved team and manager. Michael is a hero, and Manager Li Ang is an extraordinary leader …
"Marca" commented sourly: Li Ang was once again blessed by luck. The thirty-six-year-old Michael Pihra's heaven-defying performance allowed Sporting de Gijón to win a crucial victory. This veteran player's performance was a miracle … Now Sporting de Gijón is the league leader. They are two points ahead of Barcelona. "
"ABC" praised Sporting de Gijón and Li Ang: April 7 will most likely go down in the annals of Spanish sports. The newly promoted team Sporting de Gijón is at the top of the La Liga standings. They are two points ahead of Barcelona! The great story of Michael Pihra, an amateur player who became a hero and saved his beloved team, is on display. The Chinese manager, Li Ang, has led Sporting de Gijón to a shocking achievement. There are still seven rounds to the end of the season, and the title is still unknown. However, this Chinese manager's achievement is enough to go down in the history of La Liga … After the game, Manager Li Ang expressed to everyone his team's desire for the league title. This is shocking, but not surprising. Sporting de Gijón is already first in the league. Why can't they become the league champions? Now, Barcelona might really be worried …
*****
The Catalan media and Barcelona's mouthpiece, El Mundo Deportivo, warned Barcelona angrily, "It's time to wake up, Rijkaard and Barcelona's star players. The league title is not locked in the safe. In fact, we are now second in the league. If we don't seize the opportunity, we will be punished."
The opportunity referred to by "Rijkaard" was obviously the 32nd round of the La Liga in a week's time. In this game, Barcelona will be a guest at the El Molinón Stadium against Sporting de Gijón. This is a real game where Mars collides with Earth.
Barcelona's other mouthpiece, "Mundo Deportivo", was cheering for Barcelona. "Li Ang said that their goal is the title. Barcelona's superstars, we should do something to tell this shameless guy that the title belongs to Barcelona!"
Ever since Li Ang's feud, the relationship between Mundo Deportivo and Li Ang had been quite tense. Almost every issue of the newspaper was "nitpicking" and trying to find trouble with Li Ang.
To some extent, the words of "Rijkaard" and "Mundo Deportivo" also represented the thoughts of the Barcelona people. They were a little uneasy about Sporting de Gijón surpassing them in the standings. Then they were angry. They felt offended by being overtaken by a newly promoted team. In the end, the Barcelona people were more confident about the league title. They did not panic. They generally believed that their team could teach Sporting de Gijón a lesson in the next round of the league.
*****
Sporting de Gijón's ascension to the throne of La Liga not only made the Spanish media extremely noisy, but also caused a heated discussion in other mainstream European media.
France's "L 'Equipe" commented, "Amazing game, amazing veteran, amazing manager. China's manager, Li Ang, has created a huge suspense about the La Liga title. "
Britain's "Daily Mirror" reported, "Something incredible is happening in the Iberian Peninsula. A newly promoted team has become the top team in La Liga." This British media praised Li Ang. In order to let the British understand what Li Ang's feat in La Liga meant, they even compared Li Ang to the Four Miracles of British sports history. "If Sporting de Gijón can finally win La Liga, then this China manager's achievements will be no less than the legendary manager Brian Clough's great achievements at Derby County (197172 Premier League title) and Nottingham Forest (197778 Premier League title and two UEFA Champions League titles). And compared to Li Ang, Sri Lanka's victory in the 1996 Cricket World Cup and the success of Billy Beane's Oakland Athletics baseball team will all pale in comparison. It has to be mentioned that if Li Ang, as a China manager, can do it (leading Sporting de Gijón to the title), it will be even more miraculous. "
Britain's "Guardian" commented, "Now the whole of Spanish football is shaken because of this China man and his Sporting de Gijón. In this round of the league, Real Madrid defeated Barcelona 4-2 and won the El Clásico. They are very happy, but they soon found that the headlines have changed … Suppressing Spain's two traditional powerhouses to reach the top, this is really incredible."
The "Sun" introduced the achievements of this newly promoted La Liga team led by Li Ang. After a few words of praise for Li Ang, they put more praise on Michael Pihra. The comeback of this amateur veteran was even more eye-catching and amazing in the eyes of the newspaper.
What happened in the Iberian Peninsula even attracted the attention of the Russians. Russia's Sports Express said, "A China manager has set off an earthquake in Spanish football."
ESPN commented, "Barcelona is playing with fire. They may have thought that the league title was in the bag, but now they have lost their leading position. Manager Li Ang's team has let everyone know what an incredible dark horse they are."
BBC's focus seemed to be quite thought-provoking. "Sporting de Gijón has reached the top of the La Liga. Their manager, Li Ang, has expressed his desire for the league title for the first time. There are still seven rounds of the La Liga, and there is still a lot of uncertainty about who the league title will belong to. However, there is no doubt that regardless of whether Sporting de Gijón can win the title, Manager Li Ang, the young manager of China's rising Spanish football, will attract the attention of European football. Perhaps some of the European powerhouses who are considering changing managers are already considering this young manager of China."
*****
BBC may have just used a humorous or speculative tone to speak. Perhaps the media did not expect that they were right.
At the Pinenati base, Inter Milan's chairman, Massimo Moratti, had just had a closed-door meeting with the club's top management.
In this meeting, Massimo Moratti publicly expressed his admiration for the Sporting de Gijón's manager, Li Ang, to the club's top management for the first time.
Previously, although Oriali and Blanca both knew of Massimo Moratti's admiration for Li Ang, that was only in private. This time, Massimo Moratti held a meeting to discuss this matter in such a serious manner that everyone understood that Massimo Moratti was serious.
Inter Milan's chairman, Facchetti, was not very supportive of Massimo Moratti's desire to change managers.
This was very interesting. Previously, Massimo Moratti had taken a liking to Mancini and invited him to coach, but Facchetti did not agree. Later, it was Massimo Moratti who personally persuaded Facchetti to support Mancini's coaching.
Now, Massimo Moratti wanted to change managers, and Facchetti once again expressed his disapproval. Facchetti was worried that the team's frequent changes of managers would cause greater turmoil. He felt that they should be more patient with Mancini and give him another year.
In addition to worrying that the team's frequent changes of managers would cause unrest in Inter Milan, Facchetti's reason for voting against it was also because he was unfamiliar with Li Ang. He could not understand why Massimo Moratti would favor a Chinese manager so much. This was inconceivable to Facchetti.
This was not because Facchetti was disgusted with Li Ang. It was mainly because he lacked understanding. For an old man like Facchetti, any matter or person that he did not understand was uncontrollable, unknown, and risky. He would subconsciously avoid and oppose it.
Massimo Moratti valued Facchetti's opinion very much. He needed the support of this president.
Just like how Massimo Moratti had personally lobbied Facchetti to support Mancini, this time, Massimo Moratti lobbied Facchetti again.
*****
At this moment, Facchetti was wearing reading glasses and reading a newspaper. The newspaper was given to him by Massimo Moratti. It was the latest Milan Sport.
Because Albertini played for Sporting de Gijón, in addition to the Italian players such as Di Natale, Grosso, and Chiesa played for Sporting de Gijón, Milan Sport was the first Italian media to pay attention to Li Ang and Sporting de Gijón.
Then, Milan Sport was surprised by Sporting de Gijón's outstanding performance. They were shocked by the storm that this dark horse of La Liga had caused in Spanish football.
Sporting de Gijón's ascension to the top of La Liga at the end of this round of La Liga had, without exception, attracted the attention and heated discussion of Milan Sport once again.
Facchetti was reading a commentary report on Li Ang and Sporting de Gijón in Milan Sport.
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