The King of Spain, Juan Carlos, presented the championship gold medal to the Sporting de Gijón team.
His Majesty the King seemed to be very interested in the young lad with the same name in the Sporting de Gijón team.
His Majesty the King hugged Carlos, encouraged the young player, and kissed Carlos on the cheek. Carlos, who was full of killing intent on the field, actually blushed, which made His Majesty the King laugh.
The last to receive the gold medal was Li Ang. The King of Spain shook hands with the Chinese manager.
"Li! Your coaching talent and leadership skills amaze me. You have made history. Congratulations, Treble Champion Manager. "
"Thank you, Your Majesty the King."
Li Ang shook hands with Juan Carlos I and let him put on the gold medal.
Finally, it was time to award the championship trophy.
Sporting de Gijón's captain, Fernando Hierro, took the championship trophy from the old King's hands and raised it high. The entire Mestalla Stadium cheered, fireworks bloomed in the night sky, and ribbons danced in the air.
On June 12, 2005, Sporting de Gijón, coached by Li Ang, won the Copa del Rey at Sporting de Gijón's Mestalla Stadium. They successfully won the Treble and became the first team in Spanish football history to win the Treble.
The Mestalla Stadium belonged to Sporting de Gijón at this time.
The players ran wildly on the field, holding the trophy one round, two rounds, three rounds around the field. They rushed to kiss and hug the trophy. Everyone felt like they were in a dream. They were still a Segunda División team last season. They were a newly promoted team in La Liga. Now, they were the UEFA Europa League champions, La Liga champions, and Copa del Rey champions. It was the Treble!
Everyone's face was full of excitement and pride.
The players were also interviewed by the media. They were proud and excited. The Gijón media was also very excited. They said that it was the most glorious day in the history of the northern port city. They said that it was the beginning of the Gijón football dynasty.
The players gathered together, jumping and jumping, holding hands, and shouting "Gijón", "Gijón" together.
*****
About twenty minutes later, the players returned to the Mestalla Stadium locker room with their gold medals and trophies.
While the players were celebrating on the field, Li Ang returned to the locker room a few minutes early. He stood at the door and hugged every player who came in.
This surprised the players. The coach seemed a little different today. Although the coach was very happy when they won the previous two championships, he did not do this. Moreover, at the end of the game, the coach rushed onto the field and hugged everyone. Now, he did it again.
However, no one expected it to be a farewell hug. They thought the coach was too excited after winning the Triple Crown.
After everyone came in, Li Ang stood in front while his assistant, Banderas, closed the door of the changing room.
The players were still in a state of excitement. Most of them were busy picking up their mobile phones to make calls and share the joy of winning the championship with their relatives, friends, and loved ones. Some people were still making a fuss. Ribéry and Mata were running around with champagne bottles and sneaking up on their teammates.
Looking at the lively celebration and the players enjoying the joy of winning the championship, Li Ang pursed his lips and felt even more sad. This was really not a good time to say goodbye.
However, this was the final time to say goodbye. After playing this Copa del Rey game, Sporting de Gijón's season would be completely over. The team would be disbanded. After a hard season, the players could finally rest. They were going on vacation to accompany their families and enjoy their vacation.
Li Ang finally clapped his hands to attract everyone's attention. He opened his mouth and said, "Guys, I have something to announce. I know this is not a good time to say it, but this is the last chance. After today, I'm afraid I won't have time to say goodbye to all of you …"
The changing room was in a mess. At first, no one paid much attention to what the coach said. However, as Li Ang said the third sentence, the noise in the changing room began to quiet down. Even the players who were on the phone looked at their coach in surprise. Some of them simply hung up.
What did the coach just say? Last chance? Say goodbye?! What did this mean?! What happened?!
*****
"I have something to announce to all of you. I planned to tell everyone before, but I was worried that it would affect the preparation for the game, so I didn't say it."
"As everyone knows, I still have a one-year contract with the club. Under the current circumstances, the club has no intention of renewing my contract. I also don't intend to continue fulfilling the contract for the next year." Li Ang spread his hands. "A peaceful breakup. That's what I mean."
Everyone looked at their manager. When they heard this, they were stunned. The entire changing room fell into a strange silence.
They couldn't believe their ears. What did they just hear? The coach said a 'peaceful breakup' with the club?!
"I'm proud! I'm proud of all of you! This period of time working with all of you is destined to be the most important time of my life! We'll bear the pressure and failure together. We won't be discouraged. We'll move forward together, work hard together, win together, and walk from victory to victory! " Li Ang looked at the stunned players and felt bitter. "We're now treble winners! I'm proud. I'm proud of all of you. I'm also proud of the years we worked hard together! At this time of celebration, I'm sorry to talk about this topic. I'm really sorry … "
Li Ang could not go on. He paused. He looked at the players, and the players looked at him.
Li Ang only felt that his chest was extremely stuffy. It was uncomfortable, uncomfortable, uncomfortable!
This was his team. This was the team that he built single-handedly. This was his blood, sweat, and tears.
Now, he really couldn't bear to turn around and leave.
All good things must come to an end. At this time, it might be appropriate to say goodbye to the players and leave at the last moment. He was almost certain that the treble might be the highest honor for this team. With the conflict of ideas between him and the club's owner, even if he stayed at Sporting Gihon, it was unlikely that Sporting Gihon's results in the following seasons would be better than this season. Real Madrid and Barcelona would not give Sporting de Gijón any more chances. Due to the limited funds, Sporting de Gijón's lineup was thin. It would be difficult for them to have a big breakthrough in the next season's UEFA Champions League.
After all, it was conceivable that when Sporting de Gijón's results fluctuated in the future, there would be some players who would want to leave. At that time, Li Ang would inevitably be unhappy with the players. This was almost certain.
Since that was the case, it was best to leave at the happiest time of the banquet and leave behind the best memories for each other. It was also the best time to say goodbye.
Let's part on good terms!
*****
"Coach, which team are you going to?" The goalkeeper, Valencia, asked.
"It hasn't been decided yet. However, there are indeed teams that have invited me. I'm still thinking about it." Li Ang did not tell the truth. He did not want to give his players the feeling that he had already found a new club. He did not admit that he was lying. After all, he did not sign a contract with Inter Milan. They did reach a consensus in the last two days.
"Boss, why? Can you not leave? " The one who spoke was Javier Blanco. He and a few players promoted from the B Team respected and admired Li Ang the most. Li Ang said that he wanted to leave. For these youngsters, it was no different from a bolt from the blue. They could not imagine what Sporting de Gijón would be like without a boss.
"We have different philosophies." Li Ang decided to explain. He was also defending the club's top management. He did not want the players to blame the old Arango. The most important reason he did this was that Li Ang did not want to see Sporting de Gijón in turmoil. He did not want the whole team to be in a state of disunity and panic after he left. This was the last effort he could do for Sporting de Gijón.
"Mr. Arango and I have some differences regarding the future of the team." Li Ang said, "Both of us are worried that such differences will expand in the future and affect the development of the team. So, after we communicated, we chose to break up peacefully. There was no quarrel, a peaceful breakup. That is indeed the case. There is no doubt about Mr. President's love for the team. Well …"
Li Ang suddenly could not go on because he found that the players could not listen to what he said. Obviously, everyone was shocked by the fact that he was leaving.
Li Ang shut up and did not speak anymore. He was extremely irritated. Since he was leaving, he should not think so much. What did Xi Hong's future have to do with him? He was depressed and irritated.
"I want to thank everyone. Thank you all for ending our work together with the Treble. This is the best parting gift." Li Ang was expressionless. "Well, I'm going to attend the press conference. I'm sorry to disturb everyone's celebration. Thank you everyone."
Having said that, Li Ang did not give the other players time to react. He opened the door and walked out. Then he closed the door behind him. He strode away and did not look back. The door behind him closed, as if it had also closed his memories and years here.
*****
At the press conference, the reporters had been waiting anxiously for a long time.
The Real Betis manager, Ferrell, was already at the scene. He was asked a few questions by the reporters, and then no one asked any more questions. Losers always lacked attention.
Ferrell sat in his seat. Li Ang had not arrived yet, and the atmosphere was a little awkward. He really wanted to leave.
Li Ang came in and took the initiative to shake hands with Ferrell. This made Ferrell feel a bit better.
Li Ang sat down and the reporters immediately raised their hands. They could not wait to ask questions.
Li Ang pulled the microphone in front of him and said directly, "I know you have a lot of questions, but before that, I have something to announce."
Without waiting for the reporters to express their views and questions, Li Ang continued, "I still have a one-year contract with Sporting de Gijón. However, after communicating with Mr. Manuel Arango, we chose to part ways amicably. I don't need to continue to perform the next year of the contract, and the club will not renew my contract. After today's game, I will step down as the manager of Sporting de Gijón. Well, that's it. You can continue to ask questions. "
The scene was quiet at first, then there was an uproar. Everyone raised their hands. They had too many questions to ask.
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