Despite losing the game, Li Shiguang, in a good mood, still brought Sun Jihai to the post-match press conference. The reporters were also perceptive, knowing that Leeds United had basically conceded the game to Manchester United, so their questions mainly revolved around the two points: the return of Sun Jihai from injury and whether Leeds United had any transfer plans for the upcoming winter break.
"Ji Hai, congratulations on your return from injury. You started and played the full match today. How are you feeling now? How much of your form have you recovered?"
Wow! A Chinese journalist? That's a rare sight!
Hearing that the language being spoken was not their native language, which they didn't hear often, before Sun Jihai could answer, Li Shiguang was the first to look up and glance at the logo on the reporter's chest.
Sports Weekly? That's a major media outlet in China!
"Thank you, Mr. Yu." Sun Jihai clearly recognized the Chinese reporter who stood up to ask the question. "I actually feel okay. My condition is definitely not 100% recovered yet, but I want to thank the coach for giving me the opportunity to play. I believe it won't be long before I can regain my pre-injury competitive form!"
After receiving Sun Jihai's reply, the reporter then looked at Li Shiguang: "Mr. Li, hello, I am Yu Tian, a reporter from China's Sports Weekly."
"Hello, Mr. Yu."
Are you satisfied with Sun Jihai's performance in this match? How long do you think it will take for him to break into Leeds United's starting lineup?
Li Shiguang was not annoyed by the question, which was clearly tinged with personal agenda.
Sometimes he could understand these Chinese reporters. After all, there are only a handful of players who can play in Europe, and Sun Jihai is probably one of the best-developed players among them. If they could get some nice things out of Li Shiguang, it might take up a whole page when it gets back to China!
He smiled and looked at Yu Tian in front of him: "I am quite satisfied with Ji Hai's performance today. He showed a pretty good competitive state right after his comeback. Of course, this is also closely related to his meticulous training attitude after participating in the team's joint training during this period!"
"As for when he will be able to start, I can't guarantee that! There is a great and healthy competitive atmosphere in Leeds United, and my principle for selecting players has always been to let the strongest players play!"
"However, since we're on the topic, I'd like to ask Mr. Yu for a favor. If you have the opportunity, could you please convey to your country's Football Association that for some unimportant matches, it would be best not to recall overseas players. Even if they are recalled, I hope they can reasonably arrange their playing time based on the players' physical condition, OK?"
Hahahahahahahahahaha...
When Li Shiguang said the last part, he switched to English, which immediately drew laughter from the reporters present. The reason why Sun Jihai was seriously injured was well known in England, after all, he had previously criticized the Chinese Football Association in an interview for not caring about the players' physical condition when using them.
Yu Tian nodded with an awkward and helpless smile and sat back down. He knew better than anyone what kind of idiot his own football association was; for their own futures, these people wouldn't care about the players' lives...
····
It's already the end of January, and the transfer windows for the major leagues will close in a few days.
When the winter transfer window first opened, Leeds United and Real Madrid were undoubtedly the two most talked-about clubs, especially Real Madrid. After announcing the purchase of Maicon, they also spent 13 million euros to bring in Gonzalo Higuain, who was not yet 20 years old, from River Plate.
In fact, at the beginning of last year, Ron had submitted a scouting report on Higuain to Li Shiguang. However, at that time, Leeds United had a wealth of talent in their forward line. If they bought Higuain, he would likely not be able to play as a starter for a long time. After careful consideration, Li Shiguang gave up on bringing in the young Higuain. However, history did not change because of his appearance.
Higuain finally made his move to Europe at the end of the year, and his destination was still Real Madrid!
When Li Shiguang saw this news, he knew that since Higuain had arrived, some people would also be destined to be abandoned by Capello.
Sure enough, just when everyone thought this winter transfer window would end so uneventfully.
On January 30th, AC Milan dropped the final bombshell of the transfer window!
Around 10 a.m., they updated their official website with a player recruitment announcement.
Following friendly negotiations with Real Madrid and the player himself, FIFA World Player of the Year and Ballon d'Or winner Ronaldo Nazario has joined AC Milan for €7.5 million!
From the moment AC Milan's official website updated, in just over two hours, the message reached Li Shiguang, who was having lunch in the cafeteria after finishing his morning training session.
Simeone, sitting opposite Li Shiguang, had a habit of browsing Twitter while eating. When he saw the news of Ronaldo's transfer to AC Milan, he could hardly believe his eyes. He turned his computer screen towards Li Shiguang, pointed at Ronaldo's smiling face on the webpage, and shouted, "Holy crap! Boss, Ronaldo is back in Italy! And he's going to AC Milan!"
"Um."
Li Shiguang did not show the surprised expression Simone had imagined. Instead, he simply agreed in a calm tone, turned the computer screen back, and continued to eat the steak on his plate.
Simeone scratched his head, scrolled down the webpage, and said with a hint of emotion, "Damn, only 7.5 million euros, what a bargain! I should have bought him for Leeds United! He's been in pretty good form this season, he's already scored 14 goals."
"Pfft... Hahahaha!" This sentence completely amused Li Shiguang. He put down his knife and fork and stared seriously at Simeone. "Diego, if Ronaldo is in such good form, why did Real Madrid sell him? Calderon and Capello are not fools. You know they sold 'The Phenomenon'!"
"this....."
"Diego, you've been my assistant for almost two years now. Sooner or later you'll become the head coach of a team. I'm here to test you today. You have two minutes to think and tell me why Real Madrid sold Ronaldo..."
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