The game against Sevilla had just ended, and the media immediately turned their attention to the upcoming Catalan derby.
This is Zhao Yang's first Catalunya Derby. The Chinese media and fans are looking forward to this game. Everyone hopes to see the wonderful performances of Zhao Yang and Messi, and even calls this game
Known as the "Battle of the Football Kings".
The famous Chinese media "Sports Weekly" pointed out that the Catalan derby has become the hottest topic in Chinese football, even surpassing the national derby between Real Madrid and Barcelona.
"Football News" believes that the game between Barcelona and Espanyol is the national derby in the minds of Chinese fans. The contest between Messi and Zhao Yang has become the "battle of the century" in the eyes of Chinese fans. There is no doubt that this game
It will set a viewership record.
Penguin Sports Europe reporter Zhang Haoyu said: "The average search volume of Catalunya Derby on Penguin News is 100 million times, which is more than twice the search volume of Spanish El Clasico. Before, I only had to write about Real Madrid and Barcelona.
articles. Now I almost only pay attention to Zhao Yang and the Spaniard."
Sina Sports even more exaggeratedly stated that this is Zhao Yang's first big test, and it is also a battle for who is the "Catalan Football King". Regardless of the outcome, this game will definitely go down in the history of football.
The Spanish media could not have imagined that a Catalan derby involving Chinese players would attract such high attention.
Not only the Chinese media, but also the Spanish media before the game also took advantage of Zhao Yang's popularity. Before the game, the Catalan media "World Sports" warmed up the Catalan derby on the front page, and appeared with Messi on the front page.
The picture on the front page is of Zhao Yang, with the text "Crazy Catalan derby, Messi vs Zhao Yang!"
Real Madrid's mouthpiece "Marca" published the title "Zhao Yang Phenomenon" and lamented Zhao Yang's amazing influence. "Since joining Espanyol, Zhao Yang's every move in La Liga has attracted millions of attention.
Now the Catalan derby has even surpassed the El Clasico. It’s unbelievable.”
"AS" even lowered its status and reproduced the Chinese media's poster before the Catalan Derby. In the past, this was the favorite thing of the Chinese media.
Of course, there are also those who throw cold water. For example, the Korean media in Asia said sourly that Zhao Yang is the pride of Chinese fans, but he is not yet comparable to Messi. He is still on the road. The excessive pursuit of Chinese media will only make him
Zhao Yang was under greater pressure.
The Japanese media agree with some of the praise from Chinese media and fans. Zhao Yang's performance this season is extremely amazing. However, the Japanese media believe that Zhao Yang is not qualified to be compared with Messi. Even at the Asian level, Zhao Yang wants to be the No. 1 brother.
It also requires at least three seasons of outstanding performance, rather than a flash in the pan.
The match between Espanyol and Barcelona will definitely be less of a war of words.
Hundreds of years of grudges, the hatred is getting deeper and deeper, and war of words is the repertoire before the game.
War of words here is no longer just psychological warfare, it has become more of a psychological vent.
The leader of every war of words is Pique, and this time is no exception.
Pique's "quick talk" made him almost a "traffic" star off the court, and he was also given the nickname "Big Mouth Pique" by fans and the media.
On the eve of the Catalunya Derby, Pique participated in a local talk show in Barcelona. During the show, Pique satirized the Spaniard, a cross-city rival, from three aspects: team players, fan groups and the club.
First of all, regarding Zhao Yang, Pique said: Zhao Yang is a player with some strength and has scored so many goals, but who hasn’t had a lucky season yet? We can’t compare him with Messi. This is very unfair to him.
Fair and disrespectful to Messi.
As for Asensio, Pique said Marco will leave Espanyol next season.
Secondly, Pique used the words "no bottom line" to describe the fans of Espanyol.
Finally, when the host changed the topic in the show and said: Let’s talk about money, can the money you earn buy a city or something?
Pique replied: I'm sure it may not be higher than the salary of the entire Espanyol team, but it must be more than the Espanyol club's budget this year.
Pique's words were so offensive that they aroused strong reactions from Espanyol fans and the club, and even La Liga president Tebas had to express his stance.
Tebas used "naughty" to describe Pique's remarks this time, and tactfully warned Pique to respect the facts and his Derby opponents.
Tebas said it in a nonchalant way, and his intention to favor Barcelona and Pique was obvious.
The Espanyol club was very dissatisfied and the official responded quickly. Club Vice Chairman Ponte said: "As a player, Pique sometimes incites fans to quarrel instead of promoting the sport. I don't want to pay attention to his remarks.
Don't take it seriously, he will say something clever another day. If he wants to make a joke this time, and some people are willing to laugh, then let them laugh."
At the same time, the Spanish official Twitter also updated a picture, which means that the real value of the club cannot be measured by money.
Raul Tamudo, the top scorer in Espanyol history who just retired, expressed his opinion directly on social media: "The more Barcelona players howl crazily, the more it proves our success. Espanyol is on the right path.
Come on Zhao Yang! I believe you will shut them up with goals."
As the current Spaniard's number one star and responsible for traffic, Zhao Yang of course has to come out to challenge.
When interviewed by reporters, Zhao Yang said: "Pique is right, I can't compare with Messi. Messi has already made great achievements. I don't want to compare with Messi, and the Spaniard doesn't want to compare with Barcelona."
More than the championship, I just want the fans to know who is the boss of Catalonia."
No one knows whether Zhao Yang expressed his own feelings in these words, but they definitely expressed the feelings of Spanish fans and Chinese fans.
After Zhao Yang posted this sentence on his Weibo and Twitter, it was immediately reposted by millions of fans. Many Spanish fans even made a banner in advance, which read: We are Catalonia.
Ronnie's boss.
Asensio, the core midfielder of the Spanish, is a member of the Real Madrid youth training. However, he and the Spanish have the same position in attacking Barcelona. He retorted to Pique and said: "I don't need Pique to make the decision for me whether to return to Real Madrid or not. He
It’s better to prepare well for the game, we will definitely give him an unforgettable Catalan derby on Saturday.”
Messi on Barcelona's side is a very humble person. He doesn't like wars of words, but at this time, it's impossible for him not to participate.
In an interview, Messi said: "The derby is definitely different. No one wants to lose the derby, and we can't lose at the Nou Camp. Zhao Yang is a very good player, and his shooting skills and passing skills are very good."
Excellent, I am very grateful for his evaluation of me, he will become a great star."