Five days after Zhao Yang transferred to Espanyol, the 2015-2016 La Liga season kicked off.
This is not a good thing for Zhao Yang. He has only participated in three team trainings and has not participated in any of the five warm-up matches. Head coach Sergio Gonzalez knows very little about him, and I am afraid that he will not participate in any of them.
Don't dare to use him.
Last season, Espanyol performed poorly in the league and ended up ranked tenth. They were a team with no worries about relegation and no hope of European competition.
Precisely because there was no relegation pressure, the Espanyol team performed very well in the Copa del Rey and reached the semi-finals. In the end, they were blocked from the final by Athletic Bilbao.
Otherwise, there will be a Barcelona derby in the Copa del Rey.
But this season the Espanyol team has undergone tremendous changes.
First, Chinese owner Chen Yansheng took control of the Espanyol team and became the team chairman.
The original owner of Espanyol, Galea, was very shameless. Before completing the equity swap with Chen Yansheng, he gave away and sold almost all the main players of Espanyol.
Main goalkeeper Casilla and potential star Vazquez were sold to Real Madrid.
Sergio Garcia, the core of the team, the player with the most goals and the best player in recent seasons, went to West Asia to seek gold.
Uruguayan striker Stuani, the team's second goalscorer, switched to Middlesbrough in the English Championship.
Midfielder Tejela and main defender Moreno moved to PSV, while young striker Tijevi returned to his home team.
If a team loses seven of its absolute main players, it is basically disintegrated.
Chen Yansheng has just joined the Espanyol team. He doesn't know enough about La Liga and the Espanyol team, and he doesn't dare to buy people rashly.
The current transfer and loan players include Real Madrid youngster Asensio, Submarine striker Moreno and Inter Milan goalkeeper Baldi. The free signings include veterans Siani and Perez. These are all decisions made by the original club CEO Guasco.
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The only one who Chen Yansheng had the final say on was Zhao Yang, who was bought from Segunda B St. Andrew's.
Generally speaking, the Espanyol team's strength has dropped a lot this season, and the pressure to avoid relegation has greatly increased.
The pre-season warm-up match also proved this. Including the warm-up match against St. Andrew's, the Espanyol team played a total of six games.
But in these six games, the Espanyol team had five draws and one loss, without winning a single game.
With so many main players gone, it was originally an opportunity for newcomers to take over, but Zhao Yang transferred too late and had no chance to showcase himself.
In addition, Zhao Yang was transferred from Segunda B and has a low background, so he may be ranked at the bottom of the team's playing pecking order.
In fact, the Espanyol team once considered placing Zhao Yang in the second team for training, but they only kept him because Zhao Yang was already 21 years old and a bit old, and the boss Chen Yansheng suggested that Zhao Yang stay in the first team.
Come down.
Espanyol's first La Liga match of the season is at home against Getafe from Madrid.
Getafe ranked 14th last season and barely managed to avoid relegation.
This season they have almost nothing in the transfer market, and their strength has not improved at all compared to last season.
However, due to the decline in Espanyol's strength, relatively speaking, Getafe has the ability to compete with Espanyol.
Zhao Yang originally thought that he would be able to sit on the bench when playing against the weak Getafe team, but in the end, Zhao Yang was not even able to make the squad.
For an unknown player like Zhao Yang, head coach Sergio would naturally have no one to explain to him why he was not included in the squad.
In the end, it was Wang Bin who told Zhao Yang why he didn't play.
The main reason why Sergio did not put Zhao Yang in the big list was that this was the Espanyol's first show of the season and the opponents were evenly matched. Sergio hoped to get a good start, so he did not want to take the risk of using Zhao Yang.
Positive.
The day before the game, Zhao Yang's mobile phone, WeChat, and QQ were once again flooded with messages from relatives, friends, and fans.
Those who didn't know the news asked if Zhao Yang would play tomorrow. Those who knew that Zhao Yang was not in the squad asked why Zhao Yang was not even in the squad.
Zhao Yang was in a bad mood and ignored everyone except a few people he had good relationships with.
The match against Getafe was at 6:30 the next night.
Zhao Yang sat in the stands with several teammates who were also not included in the squad to watch his team's game.
In this game, the Espanyol team deployed a relatively stable 4231 formation.
Goalkeeper Paul; four defenders: Albira, Gonzalez, Anthony, Duterte. Five midfielders: double midfielder Xavi and Victor Sanchez, three midfielders Montanes, Asensio, Seville
; The forward is Ecuadorian Caicedo, a killer who averages 1.2 goals per game.
Sitting on the bench are Burgi, Canas, Gonzalez, Baldi, Al, Moreno and Jordan.
Since a Chinese boss took over the Espanyol team this season and bought Zhao Yang from St. Andrew's, the Espanyol team's status in the eyes of Chinese fans has soared.
Although Zhao Yang did not even make the squad for this game, thousands of Chinese fans still came to support the Espanyol team.
These Chinese fans also made a large banner that read: Zhao Yang, the devil, I am the king of La Liga.
At the beginning of the game, the Espanyol team, playing at home, launched a massive attack, and in the 2nd minute, Seville scored a free kick against Getafe.
This was a fantastic start, and the Spanish fans in the stands cheered, thinking that they were about to get a good start to the new season with a big win.
However, ten minutes later, Getafe regained their composure. They turned away and launched a tidal counterattack against Espanyol.
Getafe plays like a Premier League team, with strong bodies, strong impact, and wide open play. Once they go crazy, it will be difficult to stop them.
The Espanyol team has just undergone a major overhaul. The backbone of the team, Garcia, Casilla, Stuani and others, have all left. The players who started the game are definitely capable, but none of them can stabilize the morale of the team like Garcia.
Under the impact of Getafe, the Espanyol team was forced to retreat step by step. They could only parry and rarely had the chance to attack Getafe's goal.
Getafe continuously attacked Espanyol's goal. Unfortunately, the forward's shooting skills were too poor and he failed to seize the opportunity. He shot all the shots in the first half but failed to score a goal.
Although the team was leading the score, the scene was really ugly, and the Spanish fans were worried. The scene was very dull for a time, and even the applause and cheers were sparse.
At halftime, head coach Sergio got furious and asked the players to work hard and not be beaten by their opponents.
However, at the beginning of the second half, Getafe still pressed the Espanyol team to attack fiercely, and even got a penalty kick opportunity in the 70th minute. However, Getafe's forward was really useless, and the penalty kick actually hit the goal post.
In the end, the Espanyol team, favored by God, defeated Getafe 1:0 at home. However, the fans of the home team were very dissatisfied and believed that such a victory could not be sustained at all. If this continues, the Espanyol team may not be able to maintain relegation this season.