When Li Chuanqi came to the training ground for the third time, Santa Málaga supporters greeted him warmly.
Li Chuanqi has received the same treatment as other team members and is no longer the youngest and dispensable member of the team.
Li Chuanqi responded politely to them, and ran into the stadium as quickly as possible to avoid the eager eyes of "Salesman" Thomas, putting on his football shoes.
"Hey!... Lilia has to work hard, otherwise such a good boyfriend will run away..."
Thomas didn't understand why Li Chuanqi avoided his gaze.
Soon after, the players arrived one after another and Antonio officially started training.
Five days later there will be a life-or-death battle in the second round of the quarter-finals, which will determine whether Santa Malaga can go one step further and enter the semi-finals.
If Santa Malaga can advance to the semi-finals, it will create European football history and create the best result for the lowest level team in the cup.
The 3-2 score in the first round laid a solid foundation for them to advance to the semi-finals, but after all, their opponent was the team currently ranked third in La Liga, and its strength can be imagined.
The first round of the game also made Santa Malaga deeply aware that if it were not for the blessing of the goddess of luck, the opponent would have secured the victory in the first half.
Amid the criticism from the media, there is no doubt that Valencia will try their best in the second round.
So, no one can be sure who will advance in the end.
"Zuculini! Make up the defense!!...Barris Addo is blocking, you have to make up the defense as quickly as possible!"
Li Chuanqi broke through Baris Addo's defense and shot from the penalty area line, breaking the goal guarded by Miguel. Antonio was not satisfied with the defense of the central defender.
While Zucculini indicated that he understood, he muttered: "If I go to cover up the defense, Li will definitely pass the ball to Liag, and then you will accuse me of missing the defense..."
He did not blame Baris Addo for failing to defend Li Chuanqi, because now no one on the team could steal the football from Li Chuanqi in a one-on-one situation.
Even Pablo, who has the best defense, can't do it. At most, it can slow down Li Chuanqi's advancement.
That's all.
"Mine! This ball is mine!"
Pablo immediately took the responsibility on himself: "I didn't retreat fast enough!"
"Hey!...This ball..."
Li Chuanqi succeeded in grabbing a shot in front of the goal. Antonio wanted to blame his back line again, but he couldn't say it, because Li Chuanqi seemed to know in advance where the cross from the wing would land, and quickly penetrated from outside the penalty area to the front spot to complete the goal.
Shoot.
How to prevent this?
“Li’s ability to grab points in front of the goal is getting stronger and stronger!”
"This should be because his sense of smell in front of the door is getting more and more sensitive!"
"No! This is the ability to predict, super strong prediction ability! A unique super premonition ability, the same ability as Inzaghi!"
This goal caused the Santa Malaga supporters sitting in the stands to argue excitedly.
After an hour and a half of training, Antonio gathered the players together for a summary.
After the summary, it was the players' turn to express their opinions, and the defense, which was criticized by Antonio, expressed its own opinions.
Baris Addo said: "I admit that I can't guard Lee, but once Zucculini comes to cover, he will pass the ball to Liag..."
Zuculini nodded and said: "This is one of the difficulties. Many times we don't know what to do."
Miguel said: "Coach, instead of putting your hope on our defense, we should put our hope on the front line. With the golden strike partner of Li and Liag, if he scores one goal, we will score two, and we will win in the end."
It’s still us!”
These words seemed to resonate with the players and they all supported him.
Liage patted his chest with satisfaction, and then put his hand on Li Chuanqi's shoulder: "No problem, the scoring will be on our masters and apprentices! The promotion will be on our masters and apprentices!"
Li Chuanqi turned to look at Liag, who was winking at him. Well, what you said makes sense. Is this the confidence that the Real Madrid youth training camp gave you?
Antonio opened his mouth slightly, not knowing what to say.
Is this crazy confidence?!
Well, based on past game results, that seems to be the case.
However, I always feel like something is wrong...
"However, the two of them have now attracted the attention of various teams. Valencia suffered a loss in the first round. Will they not guard them tightly in the second round?"
Yes, that's it.
Antonio asked his own question.
"Ordinary people can't guard against these two!"
Zucculini, who suffered "abuse" from the master and apprentice, disagreed with the coach.
"Average? Valencia's defense is average? They are the third-ranked defense in La Liga! Without this defense, would Valencia be ranked third?"
Damn it, when did you stop looking down on the top three teams in La Liga?!
"Actually, they are not very powerful."
Miguel immediately expressed his opinion: "They are so powerful, but they scored three goals by this pair of masters and apprentices!"
Liage was deeply convinced and gave a thumbs up to Miguel. Yes, this team is getting more and more promising. Look at this confidence. It is worthy of my influence!
Antonio's eyes widened, damn, can he still lead this team?
It has expanded to this extent!
Pablo said: "Li and Liag are confident and there is nothing wrong with them, but I think what the coach said is correct. We do still have problems in the back line."
The players immediately shut up and began to think seriously about the captain's words.
Miguel nodded and said: "What the captain said makes sense. Our defense does still have problems that need to be solved, especially the frontal protection in front of the penalty area..."
Baris Addo said: "I think I still hesitate sometimes. I should step forward and double-team with the captain to kill the opponent's offense in the cradle."
The mood immediately changed, and the defense began to discuss their areas of improvement.
Antonio breathed a sigh of relief in his heart and finally got back on track.
He has no jealousy or dissatisfaction with Pablo. He understands very well that this team can do without him, but it will be finished without Pablo.
Because it was Pablo who single-handedly pulled this team together, from being weak to being the current hegemon of the D-League.
No one knows how much Pablo paid.
Take Liag, for example. Liag used to play for a D-level team in Madrid.
In a D-League match, Santa Malaga suffered a disastrous defeat, and Liag shined in the game, completing a hat-trick.
After the game, Pablo approached Liag and asked him to join Santa Malaga.
Can the recruitment be successful?
What a joke!
However, what is surprising is that, without knowing what Pablo said, Liag actually came to Malaga from Madrid and joined Santa Malaga.