Li Ang's high-profile announcement that Inter Milan's goal for the new season was to win the Treble at the press conference immediately set the Italian media on fire.
Turin Sport, which was the mouthpiece of Juventus, was extremely sarcastic towards Li Ang. They mocked that this new Treble winning coach had been blinded by his previous results and that they should "solemnly remind" Li Ang that the Serie A was a mini World Cup, the best league on the planet. Don't think that just because you have some achievements in La Liga, you can talk nonsense … The Serie A was still the world of Juventus. As for the UEFA Champions League, Inter Milan actually dared to talk nonsense about winning the UEFA Champions League. That was simply a joke. Well, only the Coppa Italia could be considered for Inter Milan. The newspaper also mocked that Inter Milan had not won the championship for so many years, and now that a China coach had arrived, they were suddenly having ridiculous daydreams.
Corriere dello Sport also followed suit. They expressed that Inter Milan wanted to win the Serie A title, but did they ask for Roma's permission?
Milan Gazzetta dello Sport was relatively milder. They only said that it was a good thing to see Inter Milan's ambition. It would be great if both Milan teams were in the limelight. However, the newspaper also pointed out that Li Ang was a little too arrogant. The Serie A was definitely not as easy as he thought.
*****
Li Ang had signed a contract with Inter Milan, becoming a real famous coach of a powerhouse club!
This news immediately set the domestic sports world on fire.
It wasn't just the sports media. Even some general media outlets placed this news on the front page.
CCTV Sports Channel also broadcasted this news on this day's sports news. CCTV Department 1's News of the World also broadcasted a news report from Italy.
What was most shocking was that on this night, China's longest running television news program, News Couplet, there was also a 15-second report on Li Ang's appointment as Inter Milan's coach.
"Inter Milan, a powerhouse team in Italy's Serie A, held a press conference yesterday at 3: 30 PM local time in Italy. They officially hired the famous China football coach, Mr. Li Ang, as the team's head coach. Both sides signed a two-year contract, and Inter Milan has the priority to renew his contract when it expires. According to the Italian media, Li Ang's annual salary has reached 4.5 million Euros, entering the ranks of the top European coaches. This is the highest salary for a China sports coach in the world. It is also a historic breakthrough for China's footballers to step out of the country and into the world …"
News Couplet's report on Li Ang shocked the domestic sports world once again. Some of the media outlets did some calculations and found that this was the third time Li Ang's name had appeared on News Couplet. Previously, when Li Ang was coaching Sporting de Gijón, he had appeared on News Couplet twice. In the domestic sports world, he was definitely the first person to do so.
Sports News was even more regretful now. If they hadn't offended Li Ang back then, with this media outlet's influence in China, they would have been Li Ang's first choice to work with a sports media outlet instead of a general media outlet like Huiwen Bao. Rumors had it that Huiwen Bao was even planning to start a new sports sub-newspaper. This was all thanks to their collaboration with Li Ang. What a pity. There were no "ifs" in this world, and there was no medicine for regret.
Because of Hua 'er's close relationship with Li Ang, she had become Li Ang's agent in China. Her phone was bombarded by many media outlets. Not only were there European and American media outlets, but there were even more local media outlets in China. They all wanted to know the exact date Li Ang would return to China. This was truly a return to one's home in glory and glory.
*****
After Li Ang signed the contract with Inter Milan, he started to get busy. He didn't have time to return to China in a short period of time.
At Inter Milan's Pinenati training base, Inter Milan's manager's office welcomed a new owner.
Li Ang was writing and drawing at his desk. He was busy. Although it was already the holidays and the players were all on vacation, he had to wait until the team started training for the new season before he could officially meet with his players for the first time.
Li Ang was studying a piece of paper. It was a list of Inter Milan's current players.
Looking at the densely packed names, Li Ang matched these names with his players. In his mind, he began to think and recall these players' appearances, positions on the field, personalities, technical characteristics, and physical conditions.
The computer in the office was also turned on. It was playing some clips of Inter Milan's games from last season. This was provided by the staff of the Inter Milan Football Club. Li Ang's assistant, Banderas, was still dealing with some personal matters in Spain and had not yet come to Milan to meet him. After Banderas learned that Li Ang's new club was Inter Milan, he did not hesitate and agreed to continue to follow Li Ang. Becoming the assistant manager of an Italian powerhouse team was also a dream breakthrough for Banderas.
*****
The list of Inter Milan's players was very large. There were four goalkeepers: Toldo, Fontana, Carlini, and the Brazilian goalkeeper, César, who had returned from a loan this summer.
On the defensive line, there was captain Zanetti, Italian native Materazzi, Colombian defender Córdoba, Argentine defender Burdisso, Serbian and Montenegrin veteran Mihajlović, Italian veteran Favalli, Brazilian veteran Ze Maria, Italian player Pasquale, Paraguayan veteran Gamara, Italian international player Coco, Italian native Potenza, and Inter Milan's own youth development, Delafeore.
In the midfield, there was Argentine star Juan, Serbian and Montenegrin star Stanković, Dutch veteran Davis, nicknamed 'The Beast', Argentine player Cambiasso, Argentine veteran Gigli González, Italian star C. Zanetti, Greek star Karagounis, Turkish star Emre, and Dutch star Van der Meyde.
On the frontline, there was the Brazilian star Adriano, the Nigerian star Martins, the Italian star Vieri, the Uruguayan star Recoba, nicknamed 'Chinese boy', the Argentinian star Cruz, and the Greek star Giotos.
To be honest, when Li Ang received the list of thirty-one players from Inter Milan, he was stunned. He knew that Inter Milan's players were severely redundant, but only at this moment did he understand the extent of this redundancy.
Moreover, to be honest, among the thirty-one players on Inter Milan's list, the ones that really caught his eye could barely make up the starting eleven.
Disregarding everything else, Li Ang was not satisfied with the composition of the thirty-one players. He had always believed that the best composition for a team was to have twenty-seven players. Not only could it ensure the depth of the bench, but it could also create a tense competitive atmosphere within the locker room.
Li Ang sat in his office. He realized that the first thing he wanted to do after taking charge of Inter Milan was not to recruit players, but to reduce players. To put it more bluntly, he wanted to 'clean up' Inter Milan!
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