Li Ang decisively rejected Laporta and Barcelona's invitation. He was a very rational and calm person. He knew very well what he needed.
He longed for glory and the feeling of being in control.
Barcelona, with its complicated environment, was obviously not a good place to go.
Li Ang thought that after he rejected Laporta over the phone, Barcelona would stop there and the matter would not spread.
He also did not expect the matter to be exposed by the media. Now, almost the whole world knew about it.
This made Li Ang very unhappy because he had a guess that Barcelona deliberately leaked the matter.
Li Ang could guess why Barcelona did this. Obviously, his rejection did not make Laporta completely give up. Although Li Ang's words might make Laporta worry about Li Ang's tough personality, Laporta, who was now in constant trouble and being questioned, really needed Li Ang's influence to restore his image and consolidate his position. After weighing the pros and cons, the Barcelona chairman still wanted to invite Li Ang to coach Barcelona. That was why there was such a thing. This was using the media to pressure and hype up the situation. It would also create distrust between Li Ang and Inter Milan. Barcelona would then have an opportunity to take advantage of it.
If it were someone else, they might be affected by the media's public opinion and even be pushed by the media's public opinion trend. However, Li Ang was not a person who would be affected by public opinion. As an experienced veteran of fighting with the media, he was not afraid of this at all.
On the contrary, Laporta's approach would make Li Ang unhappy.
*****
The day before Inter Milan's home game against Livorno in the 23rd round of Serie A, Inter Milan's boss, Massimo Moratti, came to the Pinenati training base to visit the team.
Inter Milan was playing at home for the match against Livorno. However, it was clear that Moratti did not need to come to the training ground to cheer for an opponent like Livorno. His purpose for coming to the Pininati training ground was obvious.
Moratti and Li Ang had a meeting at the Pininati training base. It was clear that the Inter Milan chairman was sensitive to the media hype that Li Ang had received an invitation from Barcelona. Li Ang was the manager of Inter Milan and could even be said to be the soul of the team. This Inter Milan team was built by Li Ang. After so many years of wasted time in Inter Milan, Moratti was well aware of the value of the success that Li Ang had led Inter Milan over the past few years. He was also well aware of the importance of Li Ang to Inter Milan.
Now, Barcelona actually wanted to poach Li Ang. This was like poaching the pillar of Inter Milan. It would be strange if Moratti was not angry.
"In the past few days, I've received a lot of calls from reporters asking if you're going to leave Inter Milan … What's going on with Barcelona?" Moratti asked. The two of them chatted as they walked. He had a good relationship with Li Ang. In addition to their working relationship, they also had a good personal relationship. Therefore, he did not beat around the bush.
Li Ang smiled and told Moratti that Barcelona had contacted him and sent him an invitation.
"Laporta called me and invited me to coach Barcelona." Li Ang took the cigar that Moratti handed over. He glanced at it and said in surprise, "Romeo One?"
Romeo One was a very popular brand in Europe. It was said to be the favorite brand of Cuban cigars of the former British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill.
"I won't forget you. I've prepared some for you. I've asked someone to send it to your office," Moratti said with a smile.
Moratti was a heavy smoker. He knew that Li Ang sometimes smoked when he was thinking about problems. Therefore, he would also think of Li Ang when he had good cigarettes.
*****
"Then I won't stand on ceremony." Li Ang laughed, but he did not light it. He only needed tobacco when he was thinking about problems. He did not smoke during normal times. Li Ang continued, "I directly rejected Laporta's invitation. I thought this matter was over, but I didn't expect the media to start hyping it up."
After hearing that Li Ang had directly rejected Barcelona, Moratti was very happy. He did not care about the media's hype. He only cared about Li Ang's attitude.
Moratti did not think that Li Ang was giving him a perfunctory response. He had a good relationship with Li Ang and knew Li Ang's personality. If Li Ang really wanted to leave Inter Milan, he would definitely say it directly and would not beat around the bush.
"Then I'm relieved. I haven't been sleeping well for the past few days, "Moratti said.
Although Moratti's words were a little exaggerated, Li Ang understood that the president wanted to express that he valued him. He felt very comfortable when he heard it.
"Inter Milan and I still have a lot of championship trophies waiting for us," Li Ang said with a smile.
Moratti laughed and was in a good mood. Although he also knew that Li Ang could not stay at Inter Milan forever, the two sides were still in the honeymoon period. They had a good cooperation and could talk about the future later.
One day later, in the 23rd round of the 20072008 Serie A season, Inter Milan defeated Livorno 2-0 at home with goals from Cassano, who had recovered from his injury, and Adriano. Inter Milan had won 23 consecutive matches since the start of the Serie A season and was looking down on the Apennines.
After the match, Li Ang made it clear in the post-match press conference that he was happy working at Inter Milan. He would not go anywhere and would continue to stay at Inter Milan.
Inter Milan's president, Moratti, also made a solemn statement in an interview with the media. "Mr. Li Ang is the coach of Inter Milan. He is and will be. He loves this team deeply and we love him deeply. This is a happy marriage with a long-term love."
Li Ang and Moratti made clear their statements one after another. Although some media insisted that this was just Inter Milan's formal statement, it was certainly not the case. Maybe Barcelona was already working hard and was close to getting Li Ang. However, for Li Ang, he could not control what the media said, just as the media could not control his mouth. Li Ang did not pay attention to the noise of the media. He focused all his attention on the upcoming match.
*****
The 20072008 UEFA Champions League quarterfinals was about to ignite. Inter Milan's opponent in the quarterfinals was the English Premier League powerhouse, Liverpool. The first leg of the match between the two sides was at Liverpool's Anfield Stadium. Inter Milan was playing as an away team.
Inter Milan's entire team was ready to depart for Liverpool. This match was particularly eye-catching.
The most eye-catching match was the showdown between the managers of the two teams.
The manager of Inter Milan was Li Ang. He had a UEFA Champions League title, a UEFA Europa League trophy, a La Liga trophy, two Serie A trophies, a Copa del Rey trophy, and two Coppa Italia trophies.
The manager of Liverpool was Rafael Benítez. He was also a manager who had won a La Liga title. He also had a UEFA Champions League trophy in his hands. Both of them were recognized as master tacticians. This match was also regarded as a showdown between two top European championship managers and two top tacticians.
Similar to Li Ang's very inspirational successful experience, Benítez's success was also very legendary.
Rafael Benítez was born in Madrid, Spain, in 1960. Benítez seemed to be born to be a coach. He stepped into the coaching position at the age of 26. After coaching small teams such as Valladolid and Tenerife, Benítez became the manager of Valencia in the summer of 2001. Valencia had previously broken into the Champions League final two years in a row under the coaching of the Argentinian Cooper. To be able to take over such a team with unlimited potential was both an opportunity and a challenge for Benítez, who was unknown at the time.
Benítez seized the opportunity. In the first season of coaching the "Bat Corps," he led the team to snatch the La Liga title from Barça and Barça. In the 2003-2004 season, he won the Double of La Liga and the UEFA Europa League. His success at Valencia earned Benítez the favor of many powerhouses. In the 2004-2005 season, Benítez entered the Premier League and took over the reins of Liverpool from Houllier.
The 2004-2005 season was a very interesting season in the Premier League. The defending champion, Arsenal, did not lose a game last season and extended their unbeaten streak to 49 games in the new season. It was Manchester United that broke the golden record of the gunners. The Red Devils got Rooney, who became famous at a young age, and a Portuguese player named "Ronaldo" on the team was growing rapidly. But the biggest surprise was Chelsea. The arrival of the new Champions League champion manager, Mourinho, transformed Chelsea from a "neurotic" team of young masters into a ferocious team of tigers and wolves. The Blues finally won the league title with a record 95 points. Compared to these three powerhouses, Liverpool's strength was much inferior. At the end of the season, the Reds only ranked fifth in the league, even behind their city rival, Everton, which made Benítez a lot of doubt.
In the Champions League, Liverpool was also stumbling. In the last round of the group stage, Liverpool faced Olympiacos at home. Previously, because of a 1-0 defeat in Greece, the Reds had to win this game to advance from the group stage. As a result, with a heroic performance at the last minute, Liverpool reversed the opponent 3-1 and narrowly advanced to the top 16 as second in the group.
No one would have thought that the thrilling advancement in the group stage would be the beginning of a miracle. Since then, Liverpool, who had narrowly escaped death, was unstoppable. After defeating several strong opponents in a row, they charged into the Champions League final in one fell swoop!
On May 25, 2005, the Champions League final began in Istanbul. Liverpool's opponent was AC Milan. AC Milan's status at that time was a bit similar to Li Ang's Inter Milan. They were the most terrifying powerhouse team in Europe.
The Rossoneri had superstars such as Shevchenko, Kaka, and Pirlo. Their Champions League performance was quite good and they won the title in the 2002-03 season. Liverpool's European performance after the magical "Quintuple" season (2000-01 season) had been lackluster. The last time they won the Champions League was 21 years ago. Therefore, almost no one was optimistic about them in this game.
Sure enough. In the first half, Milan took a 3-0 lead with Maldini's fastest goal in the history of the Champions League final and Hernan Crespo's brace.
Everyone knew what it meant to be trailing by three goals in the first half, not to mention in the final. No one thought Liverpool would make a comeback.
However, Benítez did not give up. He decided to bring on the German midfielder, Hamann. Because Benítez realized that Kaka's activity was the main reason for Liverpool's overall passivity in the midfield, and Hamann's appearance would contain Kaka on the defensive end and completely free Gerrard at the same time. However, in this way, the team needed to withdraw a defender. But Benítez was willing to take a gamble, and he had to take a gamble.
As it turned out, this substitution was the turning point of the game. After Hamann's appearance, Liverpool gradually could compete with Milan in the midfield, and the first goal came quickly: in the 54th minute, Riise passed, Gerrard plugged in to the penalty area and scored with a header. 1-3! And the image of the Reds captain raising his arms and cheering after the goal became a classic in the Champions League.
Two minutes later, Hamann passed the ball, and the substitute Czech veteran, Smicer, shot from outside the penalty area. The ball flew past Dida's hand and into the net. 2-3!
After another four minutes, Gerrard was tripped by Gattuso in the penalty area. A penalty kick! Although Alonso's shot was saved by Dida, he quickly shot the ball into the top of the goal. 3-3! In this way, in just six minutes, Liverpool scored three goals in a row and completed an almost impossible task. The scales of victory had quietly tilted at this moment.
After that, both sides had no achievements, and the game entered a penalty shootout. At this time, Dudek stood up, and the Polish veteran goalkeeper's "lap dance" on the goal line became Milan's nightmare. In fact, if Dudek had not blocked Shevchenko's two consecutive close-range attacks towards the end of overtime, the Reds might not have waited until the penalty shootout.
With Shevchenko's weak penalty kick saved by Dudek, the Ataturk Stadium boiled over. Liverpool miraculously staged a big comeback and reached the top of Europe in an incredible way! This game was later known as the "Miracle of Istanbul" and would forever be recorded in the history of the Champions League!
This was Liverpool's fifth Champions League trophy in team history. More importantly, it allowed the Reds, who were in a slump at that time, to return to the center of the European stage and become a respected powerhouse team again. And Benítez also stepped into the ranks of the world's top managers with this title.
*****
Not to mention how Benítez's Liverpool performed in the Premier League, in the cup competitions, especially in the UEFA Champions League, Benítez's team performed very well. Benítez was also known as a cup expert.
In the 2004-05 Champions League 14 finals, Liverpool, who was short of players at that time, challenged Serie A's Juventus in an away game. Taking into account the "Old Lady's" powerful attacks in the middle, Benítez, who was familiar with the 4-3-1 system, unexpectedly chose to change the formation to three center backs. In order to numb the opponent, he asked the team to stand in the 4-3-1 formation at the start of the game, and then quietly change to the 3-5-1 formation a few minutes later. As a result, the Reds, who won the first leg (2-1), successfully forced the opponent to a 0-0 draw in the away game and took a solid step to create a miracle.
In the 2006-07 Champions League 18 finals, Liverpool faced the defending champion Barcelona, who had two superstars, Ronaldinho and Messi. In order to limit Messi, who was powerful when he cut inside, Benítez decided to arrange for the Spanish right back, Arbeloa, who had just joined the team in the winter, to play on the left wing. As a result, under Arbeloa's marking, Messi did nothing throughout the game. Liverpool eventually overturned Barça 2-1 in the away game, giving the giant Catalonia a rare taste of defeat at the Camp Nou. And Benítez's use of the left-back could be called a stroke of genius.
It could be said that although Liverpool ranked fourth in the Premier League, 16 points behind the leader, Arsenal, in the UEFA Champions League, it was impossible to use the league's record to overpower Liverpool.
Therefore, Inter Milan, who qualified first in the group, met Liverpool in the first round of the knockout stage. Many people thought that Inter Milan's luck was not good. Of course, this did not mean that they thought Inter Milan was not as good as Liverpool, but that Liverpool was a tough nut to crack.
In addition, Liverpool under Benítez's management was determined, tenacious, and resilient. It was a "tough nut to crack" that no team was willing to face. In the 2005-06 FA Cup final, Liverpool met West Ham United. In the game, the Reds were behind 0-2 and 2-3, but Gerrard scored a long shot to equalize the score in stoppage time. In the end, the Reds defeated the "Hammers" in a penalty shootout to win the championship. This game was still talked about by many people.
At this time, Benítez's Liverpool had a central axis that the whole of Europe was envious of: the goalkeeper was the Spanish goalkeeper, Reina; in the center back position, the team's veteran for many years, Carragher, was an experienced player. Whether it was Agger or Skrtel, who joined this winter, they were all trustworthy star players; in the midfield, Gerrard, Alonso, and the Argentinian iron waist, Javier Mascherano, complemented each other. They were the best midfield "iron triangle" in Europe; in the forward line, Torres was at the peak of his career. At the same time, several role players also had distinct characteristics: the diligent Kuyt, the excellent footwork Aurelio, the versatile Arbeloa … At least from the lineup, many media thought that the Reds had the strength to win the title and establish a dynasty.
Inter Milan, on the other hand, had star players such as Adriano, Diego Milito, Modric, Mata, Carlos, Chivu, Samuels, Evra, Mai Kong, Zanetti and César, as well as Decaux, a champion player who had just joined the team. They were very strong.
Of course, there was also the showdown between the two managers.
Therefore, the meeting between Benítez's Liverpool and Li Ang's Inter Milan, two master tacticians and top championship managers, attracted a lot of attention.
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