Sporting Gijon lost to Atletico Madrid 0-2 in the Copa del Rey semi-finals.
In the subsequent league match, they only defeated Levante 1-0.
These two games exposed the biggest dilemma facing Sporting Gijon: insufficient bench depth, and under multi-line operations, the team began to have a staffing crisis.
This also gave Barcelona people hope. "World Sports News" cheered for Barcelona. The newspaper believed that the season has entered the final sprint stage. Sporting Gijon, which is fighting on multiple fronts, is actually at the end of its strength. Barcelona's player strength and
The depth of the bench is much greater than that of Sporting Gijon. Under such circumstances, Sporting Gijon is bound to be blocked and make mistakes. This is Barcelona's opportunity to make a comeback.
Another Catalan media, Daily Sports, cited the judgment of Basquets, a well-known local kinesiology expert in Barcelona. The expert studied the recent games of Sporting Gijon and said that the players of Sporting Gijon have obviously improved their physical fitness.
Problem, the running distance of the players has also dropped, and the final conclusion is that Sporting Gijon has encountered a major physical and employment crisis, and this team may only need one defeat to collapse.
At the Malayo training base, Li Ang is communicating with the team's doctor.
"How is the situation?" Li Ang asked.
Team doctor Mr. Rotalo held a stack of papers in his hand. These were reports on the physical condition of the players. In the Copa del Rey semi-final with Atletico Madrid, Liang made a substantial rotation of the team, and then in the league match with Levante
, Li Ang also rotated some positions to allow some players who were extremely tired mentally and physically to rest. Then he asked the team doctor to conduct a physical examination on the players.
"It's not optimistic." Lotaro said, and then seeing Li Ang's gloomy face, he quickly added, "However, what I said is an ideal situation. Judging from the current report results, it is still good."
Li Ang's face turned gloomy. He knew that Lotaro was a guy who pursued perfection. I'm afraid that in Lotaro's eyes, only running around like a calf would be considered a good result.
"Are those unpleasant-smelling black potions really so effective?" Lotaro then chased after Li Ang and asked.
That's right, if it's just rotation, the players' physical condition won't improve too quickly. Another factor is that Li Ang bought a batch of traditional Chinese medicine from a traditional Chinese medicine store in Madrid, which can improve the players' physical condition.
, he personally prepared the medicine and ordered the players to drink it.
Smelling the dark, unpleasant-smelling potion, most of the players frowned and did not dare to drink it. Carlos was the bachelor who went straight up and drank the whole bowl without blinking.
As for the potion, it’s good if someone takes the lead. Later, Ribery also drank the potion, but the way the Frenchman held his nose and drank the potion, coupled with the scars on his face, the picture was really beautiful.
At that time, when I heard that Li Ang was going to boil medicine for the players to drink, team doctor Lotaro strongly opposed it. He even suspected that Li Ang was planning to use stimulants for the players. Li Ang had to explain again and again that the ingredients of these traditional Chinese medicines were normal.
It will definitely not violate the doping regulations. Li Ang is not confused and will not touch the red line of doping. The prescription he prepared for the players is relatively mild and he only thought of it after racking his brains.
Just to avoid getting into trouble with doping.
Now, judging from the physical examination of the players, it still has a certain effect.
"Of course, in fact, in China, we have been drinking this potion to treat diseases and improve immunity since ancient times." Li Ang replied.
"That's really painful." Lotaro looked horrified. He simply couldn't imagine how he could drink something so unpleasant. However, he had to admit that this kind of witchcraft from the East was still very effective.
***********
The media in Catalonia are all badmouthing Sporting Gijon, as if this team is like a castle made of sand that may collapse at any time.
Two days later, Sporting Gijon welcomed the Russian Super League giant CSKA Moscow at home.
This is the first leg of the UEFA Cup semi-finals in the 2004/2005 season.
According to "Daily Sports", this game will likely cause Sporting Gijon to encounter great trouble and further worsen Sporting Gijon's physical crisis. Even if they barely win this game, the extremely tired Sporting Gijon will be in great trouble.
Hong Jing Jing will also be greatly affected in the weekend's league games.
Other media in Barcelona are also clamoring, saying frankly that they hope CSKA Moscow can cause maximum trouble to Sporting Gijon.
In this regard, Li Ang sarcastically said before the game that Barcelona is petty, "In fact, Sporting Gijon is currently the only surviving team in the European competition. We are now fighting for the honor of Spanish football. Under such circumstances, Barcelona
Those words of people are really inappropriate, but it’s no wonder that the league championship is their only hope now..."
Li Ang's words made Barcelona people itch with hatred, but they couldn't refute anything. After all, Li Ang was right. Sporting Gijon, as the only Spanish team currently surviving in the European war, is fighting for the honor of Spanish football.
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You can curse and pray in private that Sporting Gijon will be in trouble, but please don't say it out loud.
Barcelona people all hope that Sporting Gijon will encounter big trouble in this game, but the result of the game surprised everyone. Sporting Gijon defeated CSKA Moscow 3-0 at home. In the two-leg semi-finals, Sporting Gijon defeated CSKA Moscow 3-0.
Sporting Gijon has taken the lead. In the words of the Spanish media, Sporting Gijon has one foot in the finals of this season's UEFA Cup.
It’s not surprising that Sporting Gijon won. With the strength shown by this team, it’s not surprising that it won against CSKA Moscow. However, what everyone didn’t expect was that Sporting Gijon won relatively easily. The team was on top
Diego Milito and Grosso scored in the first half of the game, firmly controlling the game in their own hands. In the second half, Di Natale's goal helped the team seal the victory.
After the game, the Spanish media also praised Sporting Gijon and did not hesitate to praise it. Real Madrid and Barcelona have already been eliminated from the European Champions Cup, all Spanish clubs have been eliminated from the European Champions Cup, and only Sporting Gijon is the only one in the UEFA Cup.
As a team, every time Sporting Gijon wins a game and every step forward, they are earning points for La Liga.
After the game, even FC Barcelona sent a "congratulatory message" to Sporting Gijon on its official website to express its congratulations, and wished Sporting Gijon in advance to reach the UEFA Cup final, not to let down the important task of La Liga, and to have the last laugh.
hypocritically!
Liang cursed. Before the game, he was sarcastic and mocking the Barcelona people for being petty and ignoring the overall situation. After the game, the Barcelona people turned against the generals. This was to create public opinion and force Sporting Gijon to focus more on the European war.
, they know that Sporting Gijon’s lineup is thin, and if they put more energy into the UEFA Cup, the league will inevitably be affected.
This is indeed a hypocritical trick, but the Barcelona people don't know that Li Ang is very greedy in his heart. The UEFA Cup championship trophy is already within his goal, and the UEFA Cup will not be given up. So
, only then would Li Ang sneer at Barcelona's tricks.
***********
In the thirty-fourth round of the league, Barcelona played in front of Sporting Gijon, and they welcomed Albacete at their home stadium, Camp Nou.
In the end, with goals from Ronaldinho and Deco, Barcelona won 2-0 at home.
After winning the game, Barcelona held their breath and waited to see Sporting Gijon's game. They were eager to see Sporting Gijon blocked, and believed it was very possible for two reasons: Sporting Gijon played midweek
After the UEFA Cup match, his physical condition is worrying. In addition, Sporting Gijon will be away at the Estadio da Estadio this round. The opponent is Villarreal. Currently, Villarreal ranks fifth in the league.
One point behind Sevilla in fourth place in the league, the team nicknamed the 'Yellow Submarine' has to fight to qualify for the European Champions League next season, which is a tough situation.
One day later, after Sporting Gijon's away game against Villarreal, at the post-match press conference, Li Ang flew into a rage and fired angrily.
"All the pigeons in Labrador Square saw the goal go in. Only the referee didn't see it. Are they short-sighted? Far-sighted? Or are they too poor to afford glasses? I suggest that the referee's benefits and treatment must be too high.
It’s so pitiful!” Li Ang sneered.
The reason that made him so angry was that Sporting Gijon was held to a 1-1 draw by Villarreal in the away game. There was a huge controversy in this game. At the 89th minute of the game, Sporting Gijon
Player Franck Ribery's shot was saved by the Villarreal goalkeeper and then blocked by defender Peña. The Sporting Gijon players raised their hands to indicate that Peña had handballed the ball and blocked the football with their hands.
However, Kuasti, the referee of this match, remained unmoved, his expression as serious as a rock.
The slow motion shows that Peña did hit the football from the goal line with his hands. This is an unmistakable foul action of penalty kick and red card!
No wonder Li Ang is so angry. Sporting Gijon could have won the away game with this penalty kick, but now they only got a draw, which also makes Sporting Gijon only three points ahead of Barcelona in the standings!
Five points and three points are completely different concepts. In the case of five points, it means that Sporting Gijon has room and room for mistakes. Even if it loses a game, it can still continue to lead Barcelona. However, in the case of three points
, Sporting Gijon has little room for error.
***********
The referee Cuasti's controversial enforcement of the game caused a huge discussion after the game. The Spanish media generally believed that Sporting Gijon suffered a loss and believed that the referee missed the penalty kick. They expressed their disapproval of Li Ang's decision.
I understand the anger after the game. After all, this controversial penalty may affect Sporting Gijon's championship.
Only the Catalan media said covertly that the referee's penalty is the only standard on the field. Even if the penalty is occasionally controversial, it is still part of the football game. The coach should learn to adapt instead of making noises without grace.
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This caused great dissatisfaction from Leon. When he was interviewed by Spain's National Channel 3, he spoke fiercely, "As a profiteer, those words (from the Barcelona people) are really disgusting, and they took advantage of them.
To come out and say something like this, tsk tsk, if it was Barcelona who suffered the loss, they would definitely be furious, and maybe the whole Spanish football world would be shaken. Of course, it is impossible for them to suffer such a loss!"
The most direct response to Li Ang's remarks was that the Spanish Football Federation sent a letter to Sporting Gijon, asking Li Ang to explain whether his remarks were inappropriate, groundless accusations and malicious speculations about the referee's law enforcement.
At this moment, Li Ang's old rivals and old grievances, the people of Madrid, stood up. The Madrid media rarely stood on Li Ang's side, questioning the referee Cuasti's fear of awarding a penalty kick at the critical moment precisely because he was afraid of suffering.
The pressure was on, and I was afraid that if I misjudged a penalty kick, I would be criticized and criticized by the Barcelona people. Therefore, I would rather let the Gijon people suffer than dare to award a penalty kick.
"Marca" directly raised a question mark. Is it because the Spanish Football Association does not want a grassroots team to win the championship? So, is there a penalty that is beneficial to Barcelona?
Leon and "Marca" have an old grudge, and they have fought many times. However, this time, he wants to give "Marca" a thumbs up. There are some things that he is inappropriate to say as the head coach of Sporting Gijon, but,
Madrid people can do it. As a Madrid person, it is common to criticize Barcelona. It is also common to be dissatisfied and criticize the Football Association because Barcelona has made profits. There is nothing wrong with that!
Now, with the remarks of "Marca" coming out, Li Ang only hopes to put pressure on the Spanish Football Federation to some extent so that Sporting Gijon can no longer suffer due to the referee's enforcement. He does not expect his own
The team benefits from the referee's enforcement, and it would be good if it does not suffer a loss. Take the missed penalty kick in the game with Villarreal as an example. As the Barcelona's archrival from Madrid said, the referee
At that time, I was scared and didn’t dare to call a penalty kick! If Barcelona got a penalty kick at the last moment, do you think the referee would dare to call it? Even if it was a suspected penalty kick, he would definitely call it! Of course, Barcelona would be awarded a penalty kick at the last moment.
If it were Real Madrid, the situation would be the same. Rich clubs are always taken care of, not only in La Liga, but also in the Premier League, Bundesliga and Serie A.
***********
Three days later, in the second leg of the 2004/2005 UEFA Cup semi-finals, Sporting Gijon lost to CSKA Moscow 1-2 in an away game. In the end, they still advanced to this season's UEFA Europa League with a total score of 4-2.
Cup final!
Three days later, the 35th round of La Liga in the 2004/2005 season:
Barcelona beat Valencia 2-0 away.
Real Madrid beat Racing Santander 5-0 at home.
Sporting Gijon beat Real Sociedad 2-0 at home.
With three rounds left in the league, Real Madrid is nine points behind Sporting Gijon. Taking into account the relationship between the two sides, Real Madrid has completely missed the league championship.
Sporting Gijon continues to lead Barcelona by three points!
Three days later, in the second leg of the Spanish Copa del Rey semi-finals, Sporting Gijon welcomed Atletico Madrid at home. In the 90-minute match, they defeated Atletico Madrid 2-0 and tied the total score to 2-0.
Second, in overtime, neither side scored a goal. In the final penalty shootout, Sporting Gijon won 4-2, successfully eliminated Atletico Madrid, and advanced to the finals of the 2004/2005 Copa del Rey!
Copa del Rey of Spain!
UEFA Cup!
La Liga Championship Trophy!
In May 2004, Sporting Gijon finally completed the final piece of the puzzle to sprint towards the Triple Crown...
