The complexity of the UEFA Cup competition system lies in not only the "false grouping" of the first round draw, but also the need to "inherit" the eliminated teams from the Champions League. In the first round draw, 80 teams included 32 teams that advanced in the second round of qualifying.
, 32 teams that directly qualified for the competition, and 16 teams that were eliminated in the third round of the Champions League qualifying round. After a head-to-head battle, 40 teams were selected to participate in the group stage, with the top 3 in each group totaling 24 teams.
Entering the knockout rounds, plus the 8 third-placed teams in the Champions League group stage, a total of 32 teams participated in the knockout draw. Only then did the strong teams aiming to win the championship begin to enter their roles, and this was already mid-February of the following year.
.
It can be said that the group stage of the UEFA Cup is a small test for Sporting Gijon. There are five teams in each group, and they only need to reach the top three to advance to the knockout rounds.
From eight groups, a total of 24 teams advance, and then the eight third-placed teams in the Champions League group stage are added to form the top 32, which will proceed to the knockout rounds.
The knockout round of the top 32 is the real test for Sporting Gijon.
Therefore, Li Ang now hopes that the team can be divided into a relatively weak group, which can save effort.
***********
September 24, 2004, UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.
The UEFA Cup group stage draw for the 2004/2005 season is underway.
Li Ang sat in his seat, a little distracted.
The head coaches of some teams also look over from time to time. In European football, the appearance of Li Ang, a Chinese, is definitely a shocking new thing. It can be said that among the forty teams in the group stage, there are
There are powerful Bundesliga teams such as Erke 04 and Stuttgart, as well as giants from the Eredivisie and Portuguese Super League such as Feyenoord and Sporting Lisbon. There are also powerful teams from the Premier League, La Liga and Serie A such as Newcastle, Villarreal and Lazio. However, La Liga
Li Ang, the head coach of newly promoted Sporting Gijon, is definitely the most eye-catching one.
Everyone already knows that this Chinese is the head coach of Sporting Gijon, who defeated Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey last season as a Spanish second division team and won the Copa del Rey.
In a European team where Europeans are the absolute majority, the sudden appearance of a Chinese aroused their curiosity, surprise, and of course suspicion, scrutiny and even disdain.
But, no matter what, Li Ang's appearance here is enough to attract the attention of others.
***********
Because Sporting Gijon returned to the European competition after nearly thirty years, their European competition points were almost close to zero. This situation ultimately led to Sporting Gijon being included in the fifth tier.
team, this means that Sporting Gijon's chances of encountering strong opponents are greatly increased.
Li Ang was also helpless. Sporting Gijon was paying off its debt for the past twenty or thirty years of poverty. There was nothing that could be done about it.
The first team to be drawn is the team in the first pot. This has nothing to do with Sporting Gijon for the time being. They can fall into any pot.
Then the fifth team was drawn, and Li Ang immediately became energetic.
Sporting Gijon fell into Group C. Li Ang shook his head. This was not a good sign, because the first team in Group C was Serie A quasi-giant Lazio. At this time, Lazio was not the down-and-out team it would be ten years later.
It is now a quasi-giant club in Serie A and can often reach the top four in Serie A. Although the Serie A league at this time cannot be said to be at its peak, it is also the era of the "Little World Cup".
Feeling someone's gaze, Li Ang looked over and nodded in response, but the other party ignored him and turned his head.
Li Ang touched his nose, he was looked down upon.
***********
That person is Lazio head coach Domenech Caso, well, not the Frenchman Domenech who later became the head coach of the French team. This is an Italian. He used to be the head coach of the Lazio youth team. This summer, Lazio head coach Manchester United
After Cini went to Serie A giant Inter Milan, Lazio has been busy with club financing and registration for the new season. It was not until the end of July in the summer, when Lotito officially took over the club, that the club began its formal coaching process. Zoff,
Caso, Camonesi and others are all popular candidates for the time being, and Lazio, which is short of cash, cannot offer high annual salaries to Zoff or Camonesi who are experienced coaches, so they choose the head coach of the youth team.
Coach Domenech Cassel came to lead the team in Serie A.
If we really count, Domenech Caso's experience in coaching the first team may not be as good as that of Li Ang. Although Li Ang only coached the Spanish second division team Sporting Gijon last season, he is still a first team coach.
Therefore, Li Ang felt unhappy when he saw that he was despised by Ka Suo. I am more qualified than you.
At this time, Li Ang was thinking in his heart that Lazio is undoubtedly one of the strongest teams in the first team and will definitely be difficult to deal with. However, their head coach may be a
Weakness.
Domenech Caso naturally didn't know that he would be regarded as Lazio's weakness by the head coach of the newly promoted La Liga team. He turned to the person next to him and said with a low smile, "I'm lucky, I met a fish belly."
In Caso's mind, it is obvious that he has three points in hand against Sporting Gijon.
"Ha, when the time comes, you can teach the Chinese a lesson and tell them what it's like to play in European competitions." The person next to him, an executive from Lazio Club, also said with a smile.
Caso smiled slightly. He attaches great importance to this opportunity to be promoted from the youth team to the Lazio first team. He is eager to become famous in one battle, lead Lazio to good results and become a famous coach.
***********
Subsequently, the second group of teams was also drawn, and the Belgian giant Club Brugge fell into Group C.
This team is also a regular in the Champions League. Although it is often at the bottom of the Champions League, it is also a seasoned player in the European competition and has good strength.
The third team in Group C is the Austrian giant Rapid Vienna.
The fourth tier team is Eredivisie powerhouse Utrecht.
The draw results are all out. Group C, where Sporting Gijon is located, includes Serie A giant Lazio, Belgian giant Club Brugge, Austrian giant Rapid Vienna and Dutch Eredivisie powerhouse Utrecht.
Li Ang took a deep breath, there was no soft persimmon, and if we really want to talk about which of the five teams in this group is the weakest, it seems to be his Sporting Gijon.
Li Ang could even feel that the head coaches of the other four teams were all looking towards him, and they were all smiling.
This obviously regards Sporting Gijon as the top loser in the group. It is estimated that in their minds, the three points in the game against Sporting Gijon are all planned.
Li Ang frowned slightly, it was not easy for this group to qualify.
However, thinking of the contemptuous looks shown by several other rival coaches towards Sporting Gijon just now, Li Ang touched his chin. Although it felt unpleasant to be despised by his opponents, maybe, this is not a good thing after all.
.
It's just that this feels weird.
***********
Li Ang did not stay in Nyon for a long time. After the draw ceremony, he took a flight back to Spain overnight. The team will have an away game in La Liga two days later. The opponent is Osasuna.
An easy opponent to deal with.
On the plane, Li Ang was taking a nap when he heard a song coming from the headphones of the passenger sitting next to him.
Then he opened his eyes, and what was playing in his headphones was Shakira's latest album, and the song he was playing was the song "Take Me To Your Heart" that he and Shakira sang together.
This is a young girl with average appearance and some small freckles on her face, but she looks a bit cute.
"Did I bother you? I'm so sorry." The girl smiled sheepishly, showing her little fangs.
"Oh, no." Li Ang shook his head and smiled, "Shakira's latest album?"
"Yeah, you also like to listen to Shakira's songs?" the girl said in surprise, "I didn't really like her songs at first, but this album is really good. My favorite is this song "Take Me To Your Heart"
, it sounds so good, it sounds so good.”
The girl obviously has a very outgoing personality. She seems to have someone with the same interests and hobbies in traveling. She is very happy and talks non-stop.
"Well, I like this song very much too." Li Ang nodded, "Shakira sings well."
"I think that guy can sing well, but it's a pity that you can't see his face in the album." The girl was very excited, "But I'm sure he must be a handsome guy. I'm obsessed with him. His
The sound is really good.”
Li Ang touched his nose and heard such praise for himself. Well, it felt good to be in such a strange occasion.
***********
When the plane arrived at Madrid Airport, it was already sunset.
Li Ang took the subway to the Madrid train station. Entertainment news was being played on the mobile TV screen in the subway car.
"Colombian diva Shakira's latest album "Takeme to Your Heart" is selling like hotcakes. It has just been on the market for two days and has sold close to one million copies. The title song of the same name "Take Me To Your Heart" has successfully entered the charts at 0:00 on the 24th Eastern Time in the United States.
No. 10 on the Billboard... Next, I bring you the song "Take Me To Your Heart"..."
Li Ang closed his eyes and hummed this song softly. This song contained his memories of his previous life, and those past loves gently surrounded him, making his heart tremble slightly.
After finishing the song, he opened his eyes, thought for a while, and sent a text message to Shakira, "Congratulations, the album is a hit."
