February 20th, around 9 a.m.
Li Shiguang led the entire Leeds United team to land at Lyon-Saint-Exupéry Airport.
Just as he stepped out of the airport and finished signing autographs for a few Leeds United fans who had arrived in Lyon early to cheer on their team, a barrage of cameras and microphones appeared in front of Li Shiguang.
"Mr. Li... Mr. Li... Tomorrow is the first leg of the Champions League Round of 16. What are your thoughts on the recent online analysis of Leeds United's poor form?"
"Mr. Li, I am a reporter from France Football. Lyon's head coach, Houllier, said in an interview that he has found a way to deal with Leeds United. Could you please respond to that?"
"Li, Lyon has achieved an unbeaten record of three wins and one draw in their last four Ligue 1 matches, while Leeds United has been defeated or held to a draw by teams ranked lower in the league recently. Most fans who favored Leeds United before the match have now turned to favor Lyon. What are your thoughts on this?"
Li Shiguang originally didn't want to pay attention to these reporters.
However, the last question made him stop in his tracks. He glared at the reporter who had asked the question, pointed to the fans who were celebrating after receiving autographs from him and Adriano, and said in a deep voice, "Sir, your question disgusts me! If they were Leeds United fans, they wouldn't switch their support to another team just because the team hasn't won two games! These people you're talking about aren't fans, they're gamblers!"
"But....."
“There’s no ‘buts’.” Li Shiguang abruptly waved his hand, interrupting the reporter’s excuses. “I wasn’t planning on giving an interview, but since we’ve stopped, I’ll say a few more words so you won’t say that English teams lack fighting spirit! I’ll answer all the questions at once. Leeds United came to France with only one goal: to qualify for the Champions League quarterfinals.”
Seeing that Li Shiguang was finally willing to speak.
Reporters who were already familiar with Li Shiguang's "troll" nature were all delighted, and unconsciously took two more steps forward, raising their microphones even higher.
"Mr. Li, if I may be so bold, you just said that Leeds United's goal in coming to France is to qualify for the Champions League quarterfinals. However, the Champions League knockout stage is a series of matches..."
"Don't I know it's a series?"
Before the reporter could finish speaking, Li Shiguang rudely interrupted him.
Li Shiguang knew better than anyone what these reporters wanted. The reason they were looking for loopholes in his words was simply to get more sensational news.
Faced with these troublemaking reporters.
Anyway, it's not English media.
Li Shiguang didn't mind being even more aggressive, a disdainful and arrogant sneer curling at the corner of his mouth: "Although it's a series, I've made my words very clear. Leeds United came here for only one purpose: to qualify for the next round. Is that so hard to understand?"
Hiss!!!
As soon as Li Shiguang finished speaking, a collective gasp rippled through the crowd, clearly audible even in the somewhat noisy airport.
That's fucking disrespectful of me!
Most of these are now French media outlets, including some local Lyon media, and these people certainly support Lyon unconditionally.
Li Shiguang's words, which could be described as utterly disrespectful to Lyon, immediately aroused public outrage!
In the two-legged match, the first leg is about to kick off with Leeds United playing away. The manager then publicly stated in front of the media that he wanted to finish the game in this leg, even though Leeds United has been in very poor form recently.
You're fucking arrogant!
After the initial surprise.
Finally, a reporter couldn't hold back any longer. The reporter from France Football frowned and looked at Li Shiguang: "Mr. Li, don't you think your answer was a bit inappropriate? A two-legged match, trying to finish the game in just one leg? Can we interpret that as you not thinking much of Lyon?"
"I don't mean to look down on Lyon. Lyon is a great football club, and Houllier is one of the coaches I admire." Li Shiguang innocently spread his hands. "But this is a game, gentlemen. The key factors in deciding the outcome are the performance on the field and the team's strength! And I have full confidence in my team. I believe they have the ability to accomplish the work of two legs in one leg, that's all!"
Li Shiguang's statement is indeed correct.
On paper, Leeds United are stronger than Lyon. After the draw, the entire European football community, including the media, fans, and betting companies, believed that Leeds United had a much higher chance of advancing to the quarterfinals than Lyon.
If it weren't for the record of one loss and one draw in these two league rounds, the reporters who wanted to interview Li Shiguang at the airport today would definitely not have asked these questions!
"But Leeds United's form..."
"Form can be adjusted! Before coming to Lyon, we had already won a match in the FA Cup!"
Seeing that reporters behind him still wanted to ask questions, Li Shiguang, who was already a little impatient, frowned.
Simone, who was standing next to him, also noticed Li Shiguang's appearance.
He walked over and stood in front of Li Shiguang with his arms outstretched, saying, "Alright, alright, we're in a hurry to get to the hotel. The players are already waiting on the bus. If you have any questions, Mr. Li will answer them at the pre-match press conference!"
····
Li Shiguang was interviewed at St. Anheuser-Busch Airport in the morning.
afternoon.
The official Twitter accounts of major French media outlets have compiled brief summaries of Li Shiguang's remarks during interviews.
French media outlets naturally wouldn't speak up for Leeds United and Lee Shih-shih.
L'Équipe, one of the world's most influential and Europe's most authoritative sports daily newspapers, even directly stated on Twitter that Li Shiguang was too arrogant, making the bold statement that he would end the series in one leg when public opinion already considered the match between Leeds United and Lyon to be evenly matched.
"...Although Lee claims Leeds United has emerged from its slump, we all know that their FA Cup opponent, Huddersfield Town, is only a team in the lower leagues of England. Such a victory is not convincing! Anyone who understands football knows that when a team is in a slump, the manager's stubbornness and a victory against a much stronger opponent are not enough to save the team. Leeds United currently perfectly fits both of these conditions! In our view, Lee's arrogance stems more from his personality and blind self-confidence, and the price... could very well be that Leeds United, under his leadership, will be eliminated by Lyon and plunge into the abyss!!!"
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