The day before the game against Alaves, Leon had a conversation with his Dutch youngster David Jeffrey.
Jeffrey seemed a little embarrassed when facing Li Ang. The child seemed to be afraid that Li Ang would blame him for his 'rebellion'.
"Boss, I like Gijon and I like playing football under your hands," Jeffrey said.
Li Ang didn't speak, tapped his fingers on the table, and said in his mind, 'The next thing is - but'...
"But playing for a club like Porto is an opportunity for me." Jeffrey paused and said, "Mr. Adrianse is a very famous coach in the Netherlands, and he appreciates me very much...
"
***********
Li Ang stared at Jeffrey, which made the Dutch teenager a little flustered.
"David, have you thought it through?" Li Ang finally asked.
"Coach, I -" Jeffrey looked at the head coach, his eyes a little dodgy, "I have thought about it carefully, I want to go to a higher stage."
"Yes." Li Ang nodded, "Then, I can give you an answer now."
Under Jeffrey's worried eyes, Li Ang said, "I will not set up obstacles to your transfer, but I must ensure that the club gets the benefits it deserves from this transfer. Do you understand?"
Jeffrey nodded.
"So, I will tell Porto that I do not agree with your transfer." Li Ang said slowly, "And on your side, you can express to Porto your wish to go there, while ensuring the interests of the club.
, I believe your wishes will come true, David."
Jeffrey nodded vigorously, "I know what to do, boss."
Although he is only eighteen years old, Jeffrey is not a fool who doesn't understand anything. He understands Li Ang's method, which is to use him as a bargaining chip to negotiate with Porto. Jeffrey has no objection to this and is willing to
In cooperation, his feelings for Sporting Gijon are not deep, but the Dutch boy is very grateful to Li Ang for his kindness, and if possible, he is willing to help Li Ang.
"Go ahead, don't tell anyone about this matter," Li Ang said. He didn't want this matter to upset the morale of the army.
Jeffrey nodded.
"David, perform well." Li Ang finally patted Jeffrey on the shoulder, "Let the people of Porto see your performance. The team needs your help to enter La Liga."
Hearing what Li Ang said, Jeffrey's eyes lit up. He thought the coach would be very angry, but he didn't expect the coach to be so reasonable and encourage him. This made the Dutch boy feel warm in his heart.
***********
After Jeffrey left, Leon sat on the seat and smoked.
He thought he would be very angry, but at this moment, he was not that angry. Yes, Jeffrey was favored by a wealthy family like Porto. This little guy was tempted. Isn't this a normal thing?
!
As for the next three games, Li Ang will not abandon Jeffrey for this reason. On the contrary, he will continue to let Jeffrey start, and he hopes that Jeffrey's performance will become better and better. In this case, the Dutch teenager
The importance in the mind of Porto coach Adriance is getting higher and higher, so that Liang can make a profit from this transfer.
Therefore, Li Ang's encouragement to Jeffrey just now was indeed sincere, and it moved the little guy very much.
After finishing the conversation with the head coach, Jeffrey went back to his room to call his father, Petelt Jeffrey.
"Dad, the boss is talking to me." Jeffrey said.
"What did you say?" Mr. Jeffrey asked eagerly.
"I said what you taught me, and the boss is not angry."
"Then what did Mr. Li Ang say?"
Jeffrey recounted his conversation with the head coach.
After hearing what his son said, Mr. Jeffrey was very happy. Leon did not deliberately make things difficult and expressed his willingness to let him go. He did not seem to be angry and encouraged his son. He was really a good coach.
"Very good, son, just do what coach Li Ang said." Mr. Jeffrey said, since Li Ang did not delay his son's future, then he was not willing to be a bad person.
"Well, I know." After hanging up the phone, Jeffrey couldn't be happy. He didn't know whether he was right or wrong to leave Gijon. From the bottom of his heart, he really didn't want to leave Gijon. He wanted to
Playing football for the boss. However, his family kept persuading him to go to Porto. Faced with the invitation of the new European champions, Jeffrey finally got moved under the constant persuasion of his family. After all, he was only an 18-year-old boy.
Children and family members have a huge impact.
***********
During the training on the second day, Li Ang focused on observing Jeffrey. There was nothing unusual about the Dutch teenager's performance. It could even be said that he was more serious and hardworking. This also reassured Li Ang a lot.
The second leg of the promotion play-off semi-final between Sporting Gijon and Alaves was played that evening at the Mendizorosa Stadium, home of Alaves.
For this second round match, the entire city of Alaves was filled with an almost tragic mood.
After three seasons away from La Liga, Alaves is extremely eager to return to the La Liga stage.
Reaching the promotion play-offs this season has made Alaves extremely optimistic, and they maintain great confidence in the possibility of returning to La Liga.
Especially when facing this season's old rival Sporting Gijon in the semi-finals of the promotion play-offs. Although Sporting Gijon had eliminated Alaves in the Copa del Rey, Alaves was still determined to get past Sporting Gijon and enter.
There are great expectations for reaching the promotion play-off finals.
The disastrous 7-0 defeat in the first round away game was something that neither Alaves nor anyone expected. For them, this can be said to be a bolt from the blue.
After the first leg of the game, the whole city was in pain.
Everyone knows that with the score of 0-7 in the first round, it is impossible for Alaves to comeback in the second round. Therefore, in the second round of the game, Alaves's media tried their best to exaggerate the tragedy. They called on the football team to
The team fights for honor.
Alaves preaches fighting for honor, while Li Ang tells the players to try to avoid cards and injuries. They can now consider advancing to the play-off finals.
In this game, Li Ang carried out a certain degree of rotation. Mata, Marcos, and McGuer Pihra, as well as central defender Isma, were all sitting in the stands and were not even included in the game squad.
.
Originally, Li Ang planned to let Juan Carlos rest, but seeing this kid's calf-like energy and considering that Marcos had been hidden by him, Carlos' interception in the midfield was even more critical.
I gave up the idea of letting Carlos rest. Anyway, this guy's physical fitness is amazing and his body is extremely strong, so there is almost no need to worry about getting injured.
***********
In the end, in the second leg of the promotion play-off semi-final against Alaves, Sporting Gijon, which had rotated, lost 1-2 away from home.
Although they lost, Sporting Gijon still advanced to the finals of the promotion play-offs with a disparity of 8 to 2 on aggregate.
Li Ang was satisfied with the score and the course of the game, because Jeffrey performed well in the game. Sporting Gijon's goal was scored by Jeffrey after quickly coming in from the wing.
Li Ang believes that Porto will definitely pay attention to this game, and Jeffrey's outstanding performance will definitely be noticed by Adriance.
It is worth mentioning that the defeat in this game was also congratulations to Li Ang’s coaching Sporting Gijon, as the team’s first defeat in all competitions.
However, no one at Sporting Gijon took this defeat seriously, and even the fans did not take it to heart. Everyone understood that Sporting Gijon did not try their best in this game.
For Li Ang, this 'planned' loss is not a bad thing. The team has never lost, and the media will inevitably hype up how many games it has been undefeated. If this kind of hype continues to accumulate,
, even if it spreads to the next season, it will become an invisible pressure on the team.
When losing is acceptable, losing such a game is acceptable.
After passing the hurdle of Alaves, the whole Gijon is extremely excited. They have reached the promotion play-off final. They only need to fight for two more games. After passing this final hurdle, they can return to La Liga!
La Liga, that stage they miss so much and long for!
ps: Second update, guaranteed 2. (To be continued.)
