"In the second leg of the UEFA Champions League 1/8 finals, Chelsea defeated Barcelona 4-2 at home and advanced with a total score of 5-4..."
As the news said, Chelsea was eliminated from the Champions League. After scoring two goals at home and away, the leader of La Liga fell at the feet of Chelsea. At Stamford Bridge, Barcelona conceded three goals in 19 minutes.
, eliminated by Mourinho's team.
From the bottom of his heart, Li Ang is unwilling to see Barcelona eliminated from the Champions League. This does not cause him to support La Liga, but because if Barcelona remains in the Champions League, two-front operations will inevitably distract Barcelona. However, now
, Barcelona was eliminated from the Champions League. In addition, in the Copa del Rey, Barcelona was also eliminated early, which means that Barcelona can concentrate on dealing with the league later. This is not good news for Sporting Gijon. You know
, Sporting Gijon is still competing on three fronts: Copa del Rey, UEFA Cup and La Liga. Its strength is far inferior to its opponents, and fighting on three fronts, Sporting Gijon's situation is not optimistic.
Barcelona is out of the Champions League. Now, in La Liga, only Real Madrid is left in the Champions League, which is about to face the second round of the knockout round. Just one day later, the second leg of the Champions League 1/8 finals started at the Alpi Stadium.
, Juventus defeated Real Madrid 2-0 in overtime at home and advanced with a total score of 2-1. Real Madrid, the only team in La Liga, also fell to the top 16 again. So far, all La Liga teams have been eliminated.
They all lost in away games, one heroic and the other tragic. With the elimination of Barcelona and Real Madrid, the La Liga team's Champions League road has come to an end this season. Since the 1992/1993 season, La Liga teams have not missed the Champions League (
Champions League) quarter-final feast. In other words, the La Liga team created the worst record in the Champions League in 12 years. This also caused an uproar throughout the Iberian Peninsula.
"AS" reporter Garcia's view is that the "annihilation" of La Liga teams is related to the Champions League last season's restructuring of the top 16 teams to directly enter the knockout rounds. As we all know, although the Spanish national team has never lacked star players, in Europe and
However, there are few outstanding results in the World Series. Therefore, the country’s media came to the conclusion that the game that Spanish players are least suitable to play in is the knockout round. This statement has a certain truth. Since the Champions League adopted the top 8 knockout system in the 1994/1995 season,
, La Liga teams ushered in the "spring" in the Champions League.
He also cited some examples in the article: Real Madrid in the 1995/1996 season entered the quarter-finals, Atletico Madrid in the 1996/1997 season entered the quarter-finals, Real Madrid won the championship in the 1997/1998 season, Real Madrid in the 1998/1999 season entered the quarter-finals, 1999/
In the 2000 season, Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Valencia reached the semi-finals together, and the final was staged in La Liga. In the 2000/2001 season, Real Madrid and Valencia reached the semi-finals together. In the 2001/2002 season, Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Valencia reached the semi-finals. Real Madrid won the championship in 2002.
/In the 2003 season, Real Madrid and Barcelona reached the quarterfinals. However, since the top 16 group stage was canceled in the 2003/2004 season, Real Madrid was eliminated in the quarterfinals. This year, no La Liga team has entered the quarterfinals.
Li Ang scoffed at Garcia's statement. In fact, Garcia's statement was too far-fetched. Even if there is a top 16 group stage, you will still have to face the knockout rounds after entering the quarterfinals. This was exactly the strength of La Liga teams in the past two years.
Real Madrid eliminated Bayern, Manchester United, and Juventus; Valencia eliminated Arsenal and Lazio; Deportivo eliminated Juventus and AC Milan; there are countless such examples. Leaving aside the national team, there is a saying that La Liga teams are not good at knockout rounds.
It's untenable. It just adds a knockout round and the contingency of the game increases. For La Liga teams that advocate offense, this is fatal.
In fact, the dissatisfaction of La Liga teams in the Champions League only started last season. Real Madrid and Deportivo were eliminated by their opponents despite good conditions. There were also unexpected factors. This season, Barcelona's rise once made La Liga see
Hope, but the downturn of Valencia and Deportivo has made La Liga less of the advantage of collective seeding in the past.
Barcelona's defeat was a failure, this is the reaction of the Catalan media; Real Madrid's tragic death, this is the confession of the Madrid media. Two great teams dedicated two classic games to fans around the world and then had the same "
"Death", the opponents they faced were Chelsea and Juventus, the two league leaders in the Premier League and Serie A, so their departure was not unfair.
***********
Li Ang disagreed with the Spanish media's complaints. You know, although all La Liga teams were eliminated in the Champions League, there are still three teams in La Liga in the UEFA Cup, Sporting Gijon and Villarreal.
Yal, as well as Sevilla, occupy three seats in the top 16, which can be regarded as a relatively outstanding result.
Subsequently, when being interviewed by the media, Li Ang made a clear statement, hoping that the Spanish media and Spanish football would pay more attention to the UEFA Cup and provide support to Sporting Gijon and other three teams.
"The standard for evaluating the level of a league must also consider the level of the overall team. The UEFA Cup is also a test room. In the early 1990s, Serie A was recognized as the world's number one league. While the great powers were going crazy in the Champions League, mid-level teams were competing in the Champions League.
They also competed for supremacy in the UEFA Cup. The seven sisters of Serie A were also strong players in Europe. The winning of Inter Milan and Parma in the UEFA Cup illustrates this point. We must note that in UEFA's league ranking points, consider
Not only the results of teams participating in the Champions League, but also the results of teams participating in the UEFA Cup. Data show that the reason why La Liga currently leads the UEFA league rankings is that the biggest contribution does not come from Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Valencia.
They are not giants, but mid-level teams. They are also an important force in supporting a league. All La Liga teams have competed in the Champions League this year, but it is fashionable to say that La Liga teams have sunk and that La Liga is no longer competitive.
morning."
Spaniards love to hear what Li Ang said. After all the La Liga teams were eliminated from the Champions League, the Spaniards were very unhappy about the fact that La Liga was not as noisy as the Premier League and Serie A. Li Ang's words undoubtedly made them very happy.
:Yes, we still have the UEFA Cup.
Then, these Spanish media and some people in the football world immediately felt that the Chinese head coach of Sporting Gijon was good. He came out to support La Liga at the critical moment, which was reliable.
Li Ang did not expect that what he said would actually arouse the favor of many Spaniards. He really did not mean to please anyone by saying those words. He had only one purpose, to tell the Spanish Football Association and remind them that,
Sporting Gijon is working hard to earn points for La Liga in the UEFA Cup. The implicit meaning is that they hope that the Spanish Football Federation can take care of it within the scope allowed by the rules. At the worst, if they don't take care of it, don't be bullied.
This is not an aimless move by Li Ang. Giant clubs like Real Madrid and Barcelona have a huge influence on Spanish football. If he wants to steal food from their mouths, Li Ang has to concentrate all his energy and take all factors into consideration, including all factors.
It is also necessary to strive for the possible opportunity for the team to obtain fair competition. At the very least, when it comes to referee enforcement issues in La Liga, we should try our best to avoid suffering any disadvantages.
Only children who can shout will be loved. Sporting Gijon is a grassroots team. If you don't shout and take credit, no one will care about you.
***********
There was no wind, and some dark clouds hung ostentatiously in the sky.
"It's going to rain," Banderas said.
"Remind them to bring long spike shoes." Li Ang said.
They will play Austria's Rapid Vienna at home in this evening's game. This is the first leg of the UEFA Cup quarter-finals.
Just looking at the weather, it is very likely to rain during the evening game, and it may even rain heavily. This is not good news for Sporting Gijon, who likes to attack on the ground.
After the afternoon training, the players go back to the locker room and tidy up. Then the whole team will gather and go to the hotel together to have dinner, take a short rest, and then prepare to go to the stadium to prepare for the game.
Li Ang glanced at the club president, Manuel Arango, who was standing by the training ground. The chairman came specially to watch the team train this afternoon, but now that the training is over, the old Arango has not left yet.
"Can we have a few words alone, Leon?" Manuel Arango walked up to Leon and extended an invitation to him to talk.
Seeing this, Banderas and Scotteri both wisely said goodbye and left.
***********
During the winter transfer, Li Ang almost threatened to resign before resolutely resisting the old Arango's plan to sell Ribery and several other players in exchange for money. In fact, if Li Ang hadn't been vigilant, it was very likely that Mr. Chairman
Ribery has been traded, and he plans to do a 'kill it first and then play it later'. Maybe the team owner thinks that the entire team belongs to him and he has the right to do so. This move will not anger Li Ang, but in fact, this is
Li Ang regarded this as something intolerable, and the relationship between the two deteriorated sharply.
Since then, the two people have had no separate and formal communication.
Leon and Manuel Arango, two people who originally cooperated very harmoniously, both knew that that incident had created a rift between the two people, and it was a deep rift. As long as there is a rift, there will be no
It may be restored to its original state.
The other party was Mr. Chairman, and he took the initiative to talk. Li Ang couldn't find a reason to refuse, so he nodded.
The two people walked along the asphalt road of the training base. The palm trees on both sides of the road were listless.
"To be honest, the team's current performance surprises me. I really didn't expect that our current ranking is so high and we are so close to Barcelona." Manuel Arango first found a topic.
"This is the result of the joint efforts of the whole team." Li Ang's words are not modest. Yes, as the head coach, he leads the team to the current results. He takes the most credit, but this is different from the players on the court.
His efforts are also inseparable. After all, no matter how good the head coach is, he can't play football in person. The whole Sporting Gijon team is extremely convinced and respects Li Ang. It can be said that the three armies work hard and work together.
"Do we really have hope for the league championship?" The topic naturally turned to the competition for the league championship. Li Ang has been "building up his character" when facing the media, so old Arango also wanted to
You need to know what Li Ang is really thinking in his heart.
"Now that we have reached this position, we have to fight for it." Li Ang said, "Otherwise, we will be unwilling to give up."
This is also what he said sincerely. Seeing that the league championship is right in front of him, since there is hope of snatching food from Barcelona, he is really unwilling not to fight for it.
***********
"Haha, the most correct thing I did was to invite you to coach." Manuel Arango laughed and said, "You were really embarrassed at the time. If you hadn't come to Gijon, you might have returned to China.
Alright."
Li Ang glanced at old Arango, what does this mean? It implies that I want to repay my kindness?!
"Yes, I want to thank Gijon for this stage." Li Ang smiled slightly, "We went from being a relegation team in La Liga to directly being promoted to La Liga. Now we have achieved the current results as a promoted team. I did not expect that this stage would be so bright.
.”
Manuel Arango stared at Li Ang: Is this showing off? Is this saying that you have done a great job and don’t owe anything?!
The fact is that two people who have already had a rift in their relationship will become extremely sensitive, all because they already lack trust in each other.
"I know there is a saying in China that calls for seeking common ground while reserving differences, and everything must be moved forward. I am looking forward to it..."
"Mr. Chairman, are you dissatisfied with my work?" Li Ang suddenly asked.
Old Arango didn't expect that Li Ang would interrupt him, which made his face change and he became angry.
"Of course not." Mr. Chairman gritted his teeth and said.
"Then it's okay." Li Ang said with a smile, "Everything is normal with the team."
***********
Manuel Arango stared at the road ahead, seeming to make up his mind, then stopped and looked at Li Ang with a bad expression on his face, "Li, you understand what I mean!"
"I don't understand." Li Ang shook his head. He was a little troubled. Do we have to break up? Can't we wait until the end of the season to talk about it?
"Don't forget, I am the owner of this team and I have absolute dominance here." Old Arango roared angrily.
Not far away, Scott Rui, who was walking over and preparing to call Li Ang to get on the bus, looked at this scene in horror. His expression changed continuously. Although he could not hear clearly what the two people said, he could tell that something happened.
had a quarrel.
Scott Rui turned around and left, and at the same time told others not to go over and disturb the meeting between the chairman and the team coach. Fortunately, he heard it. If others heard the fierce quarrel between the chairman and Li Ang, it would definitely be a disaster.
Cause civil unrest.
Li Ang grinned and finally spoke his mind. He worked hard for Sporting Gijon and tried every means to build the team. With almost no transfer funds, he was able to build the current team with Ribery.
He himself felt that he was so amazing that he even thought to himself that Gijon should give him a tree.
The bronze statue has been destroyed. Now, all this is because of Mr. Chairman’s words, which makes my heart feel cold.
Seeing Li Ang's silence, perhaps knowing that what he said was too much, old Arango said, "I know you are dissatisfied with me, Li Ang, but don't forget, I am the owner of this team, so please stand by
Please understand me from my standpoint..."
***********
Li Ang didn't speak, just looked at the old Arango quietly, thinking about the close cooperation between the two people before, and imagining the grand future of Sporting Gijon together, the pride and joy of the team being promoted back to La Liga and winning the King's Cup.
Unfortunately, no one expected that the honeymoon period would pass so quickly. Li Ang could almost foresee that in the future, the team he had worked so hard for might face the possibility of being sent to the transfer market at any time. If he could stop it once, how could he stop it three times?
?Four times? Nine times? Ten times? To put it bluntly, old Arango is the boss. Who can stop him from doing what he really wants to do? Does he use the threat of resignation every time to stop it? This is really ironic.
Li Ang even suspected that the chairman now looks at outstanding players as if he were looking at checks.
Any ambition or ambition to regain glory is unreliable.
It is too difficult for a small football club like Sporting Gijon to develop. First of all, the owners of small football clubs must withstand the temptation, have a determined attitude towards development, and have healthy finances. Unfortunately, these
Sporting Gijon doesn't have either.
"Mr. Chairman, please believe in my professional ethics." Li Ang said in a very serious tone, "As long as I am still the head coach of Sporting Gijon, I will do my best to work!"
After saying this, Li Ang pointed to Scott Rui at the far end, "The team is still waiting for me. I'll take my leave first, Mr. Chairman." After saying this, Li Ang turned around and left, unilaterally ending his relationship with Manchester City.
This conversation with Nuer Arango.
Looking at Li Ang's back, Manuel Arango gasped for breath. He was so angry that this man dared to leave like this, that he dared to leave him directly.
That’s not true!
It's so disrespectful to him.
Then he recalled that since the two people worked together, it seemed that the Chinese had always had such a tough style.
Once people are dominated by emotions, they will only recall bad things. At this time, old Arango selectively forgot the achievements and glory that Li Ang brought to Sporting Gijon, forgot the King's Cup championship trophy, and forgot the upgrade.
Credit, forgetting the team's current extraordinary results.
