The Spaniard's opponent in the sixth round is Deportivo La Coruna, currently ranked seventh.
Deportivo was once a powerful team that cannot be ignored in La Liga and even European football.
They won one La Liga championship in the 1999-2000 season. At the beginning of this century, Deportivo occupied the top three in the league standings for five consecutive seasons and reached the top four of the Champions League.
However, Deportivo is called Super Deportivo, not because of this achievement, but because of the miracles they created.
In 1988, Lendoiro, who had just been elected president of Deportivo FC, said, "We want to win the championship." Most people thought it was a joke, "Londoiro's dream is good, but it is just a dream after all."
It’s just a dream.”
However, ten years later, the famous coach Irueta led Deportivo to advance in La Liga, and finally defeated Real Madrid and Barcelona with 69 points, winning the La Liga championship for the first time in history.
In 2002, Deportivo ruined Real Madrid's centenary celebrations in the Copa del Rey at the Santiago Bernabeu.
In 2001, in the 55th minute of the game, Paris Saint-Germain was still leading 3-0. Then Pandiani's hat-trick brought Depor back to life, and finally 4-3 created the earliest version of the Riazor Miracle.
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In the 2003-04 season, when the Champions League quarter-finals lost 1-4 to AC Milan in the first round, Depor used a magical 4-0 to create a miracle in Riazor in the second round. Milan at its peak became Depor's historic record.
The backdrop for reaching the semi-finals of the Champions League.
In addition, Super Depor defeated Red Devils and Manchester United in the Champions League in the 2001-02 season. Also serving as cannon fodder was Arsene Wenger's 49-match undefeated Arsenal team.
Rummenigge, chairman of Bayern's board of directors, once ridiculed Deportivo: "They should stay in the small fishing port of Galicia", and then Deportivo completed a double kill against the Southern King.
However, the wind is always blown away by the rain and wind.
Deportivo is now a relegation team.
Last season, Deportivo only narrowly escaped death in the final round, eventually ranking 16th.
Espanyol and Deportivo also have a connection. Deportivo's only championship was won after defeating Espanyol.
However, this season, both Deportivo La Coruna and Espanyol performed well in the league, with one ranking sixth and the other ranking seventh.
The coaches of both teams are also famous players, and both took office last season.
It is worth mentioning that Espanyol head coach Sergio is also a famous player in Deportivo, having played for Deportivo for 8 years.
Depor coach Victor Sanchez is younger, only 39 years old, and very handsome. He can be said to be the most handsome coach in La Liga.
Before the game, Deportivo coach Victor Sanchez said that the Espanyol team has greatly improved this season. They have two talented players, Zhao Yang and Asensio, while Deportivo does not have a star, team core, or goalkeeper.
Fabricio has another knee injury. This game will be difficult because at critical moments, the stars can determine the outcome of the game.
Sergio naturally would not take the compliments of his opponents seriously. He said that Deportivo is a great team and always performs magically at the Riazor Stadium. At present, they are the best team outside the top three of the Western Premier League.
A difficult team to play against, and the Spaniards will be prepared for tough games.
The match between Espanyol and Deportivo will be held on September 27 at 10 pm.
This day is the Mid-Autumn Festival in China.
In the morning, Zhao Yang and the team arrived at La Coruna, a small fishing port in the Galician Autonomous Region.
At the airport exit, Zhao Yang was warmly welcomed by Espanyol fans, most of whom were Chinese fans.
"Zhao Yang, happy Mid-Autumn Festival!"
"Zhao Yang, this is the mooncake I brought you."
"Zhao Yang, I give you flowers. You must score a goal."
…
Zhao Yang was flattered by the fans' enthusiasm. While accepting the gift from the fans, he waved and greeted the fans.
Not only fans came to pick him up, but also many reporters.
They were sandwiched among the fans and kept taking photos of Zhao Yang and asking him questions.
Zhao Yang wanted to answer the reporter's question, but when he saw his teammates and coaches waiting for him, he had no choice but to wave his hands at the reporter apologetically, push aside the crowd, and get on the pick-up bus with his teammates and rush to the hotel.
In the conference hall of the hotel, Sergio very considerately took Zhao Yang to attend the pre-match press conference.
At the press conference, Sergio expressed his views on reporters' questions.
Regarding the starting lineup that reporters and fans are concerned about, Sergio said it is not yet time to announce it, but the personnel are basically determined.
Coming to the city where he has played for eight years, Sergio relaxed a lot. He smiled and said to reporters, I know you want to ask whether Zhao Yang will start. I can tell you that Zhao Yang will start tonight.
Sergio also talked about the fact that he once played for Deportivo La Coruna. He said that this is just an ordinary league and it will not be any different because he once played for Deportivo La Coruna.
Sergio also regards Deportivo La Coruna as his relegation opponent. He said that the first task of the Spaniard this season is to avoid relegation. Only by getting the points for relegation can we hope for more. And Deportivo is the relegation opponent of the Spaniard.
, playing against Deportivo is equivalent to a 6-point game, and the Spaniards will definitely attach great importance to it.
In terms of playing style, Sergio said that Deportivo is a team that is good at attacking, and the Espanyol must defend well in order to win the final victory.
He simply asked head coach Sergio a few questions, and then the reporter couldn't wait to ask Zhao Yang.
A Spanish reporter asked: After playing three La Liga games, what do you think is the difference between La Liga and La Liga?"
Zhao Yang replied: "The difference is that La Liga has a very high technical and tactical level, a fast pace, and the players have strong personal abilities."
The Spanish reporter asked again: "Are there any similarities?
Zhao Yang smiled and said: "The same thing is that I can score goals."
The reporters all laughed.
A Chinese reporter asked: "You have scored 5 goals now. Does this give you greater confidence in establishing yourself in La Liga?"
Zhao Yang said: "Yes. I hope I can score every game. My confidence is so high now."
The Chinese reporter asked again: "How many goals do you think you can score this season?"
Zhao Yang said: "Originally my goal was to score 5 goals, but now that I have completed the task, I hope to score 15."
A reporter from "AS" asked: "Which position on the field do you like best?"
Zhao Yang thought for a while and said: "Let's think about the attacking midfielder. This position is more flexible, but it's okay to play other positions."
The reporter from China then asked: "So many fans like you and want to watch your game. Do you feel any pressure?"
Zhao Yang said: "Both the media and fans have high expectations for me. Since Chinese fans have not joined the five major leagues for a long time, there will definitely be pressure. But I will try my best to turn the pressure into motivation and not let the fans down."
Regarding whether he will score in this game, Zhao Yang said: "This is not important. Compared with me scoring and the team losing, I would rather not score and the team winning. Of course, I like it best if I score."
The ball, the team won.”
Sergio saw that reporters kept asking questions without any intention of stopping, so he ended the press conference on the pretext that Zhao Yang needed a rest.