Not only at home, but also in Barcelona, when walking on the street, people often recognize him and point at him behind him, saying that he is the Chinese who scored twice against Real Madrid.
During training, there were fans who came specifically for him, but most of them were Chinese students from other places and tourists.
Even though he had just entered the industry, Zhao Yang understood that this reputation was illusory. If he could not continue to perform well in the future, this reputation would soon disappear.
Just like King Dong back then.
In the fourth round, Espanyol's opponent was Real Sociedad.
Real Sociedad is also known as the Royal Triad in China because of their tough and rough playing style.
Real Sociedad ranked 12th last season, which was worse than Espanyol and barely qualified for relegation.
In the first three rounds of this season, Real Sociedad performed very poorly, with two draws and one loss, and only two points. They were on the same table as Espanyol, who had two losses and one win. They were fighting for relegation this season.
Although they are all from the royal family and have a good relationship, when it comes to relegation, no one will show mercy to their opponents.
Last season, Espanyol and Real Sociedad each scored three points at their home stadium, which was considered a great joy.
The Espanyol team has suffered serious blood loss this season. Zhao Yang can only be regarded as a blind box. He still doesn’t know what will happen next. The package introduction of Moreno and Perez from Villarreal and the loan of Baldi from the international team are definitely useless.
In addition to the fact that Real Sociedad loaned last season's parallel import king Finnboasson to Greece, only one more main player Eruston left the team. In terms of signings, they spent 7.2 million euros to buy the efficient killer Jonatas and rented the Portuguese international Flynn.
Wing Bruma and Porto central defender Diego Reyes, the lineup strength has been significantly improved.
In terms of coaching, head coach Moyes took over from Arrasate as the firefighting coach last season and successfully led the team to avoid relegation and bounce back to the mid-table ranking. He also defeated Barcelona. His coaching ability and experience are better than Sergio.
Fortunately, Real Sociedad is a club that likes to rob the rich and give to the poor. Last season, it defeated Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Atletico Madrid. However, in a close contest that should have become an important source of points, the winning rate barely exceeded 10%, which was the highest in La Liga.
Poor.
Judging from the first three rounds of competition, Real Sociedad no longer seems to be robbing the rich, but it is still helping the poor.
In the away game against Real Sociedad, Zhao Yang can basically be sure that he will play, but whether he will be the main player or a substitute, Zhao Yang is not sure.
In this week's training, head coach Sergio increased the running-in between Zhao Yang and the main lineup, but he also spent a lot of time with the substitutes.
Sergio attaches great importance to Zhao Yang, but is not close to him and basically does not communicate with him in private.
On Saturday, before the Espanyol team went to the Anoeta Stadium, the home ground of Real Sociedad, head coach Sergio announced the squad for the fourth round match, and Zhao Yang appeared on the list as expected.
Perhaps out of an intention to fight violence with violence, Zhao Yang's only friend in the team, Diop, also entered the squad again.
The team came to San Sebadian, stayed at the hotel they booked, and went to the Anoeta Stadium in the evening to adapt to the venue.
Zhao Yang is still full of expectations for the Anoeta Stadium, and he hopes he can sign here.
Real Sociedad was founded at about the same time as Espanyol, but from a record perspective, Real Sociedad is better than Espanyol. Not only did they win two championships, they also set a record of 38 unbeaten games in La Liga.
How could such a stadium not have a ball?
However, after walking into the stadium, there was no prompt sound in my mind, which also meant that there was no ball in the Anoeta Stadium and I could not sign in.
Zhao Yang was a little depressed.
After the adaptive training, when we returned to the hotel, head coach Sergio called Zhao Yang to his room.
Zhao Yang felt nervous, not knowing whether Sergio was here to tell him whether he would be the starter or the substitute.
Sergio pulled up a chair for Zhao Yang to sit down and asked Zhao Yang: "How do you feel about the recent training? Do you cooperate well with your teammates?"
Zhao Yang said: "The training is not bad, the cooperation is much better than before."
Sergio nodded and said: "You came too late, and it will take time to cooperate. Have you seen the video that Antonio gave you? What are your thoughts?"
Zhao Yang said: "I have studied the video that coach Antonio gave me. I think Real Sociedad is not easy to play. Their playing style is somewhat similar to that of the Spanish Third Division. They are simple, rough and powerful."
Sergio nodded, understanding that Zhao Yang must have really watched the video. He coughed and continued to Zhao Yang: "You performed very well in the last game and helped the team relieve the pressure. Originally, this match with the Royals
You should start the Sociedad game, but the coaching staff found that your physical fitness is still a little weak. You can fully play your role as a substitute. In addition, Real Madrid Sociedad plays very fiercely. The coaching staff believes that they should use up their physical fitness first.
and fighting spirit, and then you go up to attack? What do you think?"
Zhao Yang was a little disappointed when he heard that he could not start. After all, starting the game is also an honor, which represents the main position. Now it seems that the head coach Sergio does not have that much trust in him.
"I obey everything the coaching staff arranges." Zhao Yang tried his best to smile.
Sergio was very happy. He was a little afraid that Zhao Yang would do something wrong again, such as finding an agent to put pressure on the team.
"Okay, it's good if you understand. It's not like the substitutes can't contribute. Just like in the last game, go back and have a good rest. We have to play tomorrow."
Zhao Yang said goodbye to Sergio and went back to his room.
As soon as he arrived in the room, Diop, who lived with him, asked Zhao Yang, "Why is the coach looking for you? Are you going to start?"
Zhao Yang smiled bitterly and said: "Starting? You are overthinking, you should be a substitute."
Diop said in surprise: "No, you performed so well in the last game."
Zhao Yang said: "Why did I lie to you? I will know tomorrow."
Diop said happily: "It's best if we appear together tomorrow, you attack and I defend, the effect will definitely be very good."
Zhao Yang said: "Why are you thinking so much? Maybe we won't even have a chance to play."
Diop said sadly: "You will definitely appear, I can't say."
Zhao Yang said: "Don't think so much, won't we know tomorrow? Go to sleep."
The next morning, at the press conference, Espanyol head coach Sergio announced the starting lineup for the game against Real Sociedad, and Zhao Yang did not appear in it.
Zhou Xing, a Chinese reporter who attended the press conference, questioned Sergio on the spot, which made Sergio very unhappy. He rebuked Zhou Xing and said, "It is my right to decide which player will start.
It is necessary to explain to the outside world that Zhao Yang is an excellent player, and the coaching staff has its own considerations for using him. I hope not to ask such questions next time, otherwise, I will refuse to answer your questions."