This round's defeat has put Leeds United in the spotlight, and Li Shiguang's almost conceding lineup has been heavily criticized by various media outlets. Even the Yorkshire Post, Leeds United's mouthpiece, couldn't find a good angle to defend Li Shiguang.
Conversely, Mourinho spoke up for Li Shiguang in his post-match interview. Of course, the Special One's main purpose was to criticize the FA: "From a manager's perspective, I can understand Li's lineup today. In four days, they will play in the League Cup quarter-finals, where they are still quite competitive. If they want to win the League Cup, they must make some sacrifices. So I must appeal to the FA again: can you please adjust the schedule? Look at all of Europe, only the English league doesn't have a winter break! Is that reasonable?!"
However, Li Shiguang and his team, who returned to Leeds overnight after the match, were not affected by the public opinion. Because the next day was New Year's Day, even though they had to play a League Cup match on Wednesday, Li Shiguang still gave the club's staff and players a day off so that they could spend time with their families during the New Year's Day holiday.
The arrival of the New Year's Day holiday also marks the official opening of the Premier League's winter transfer window.
Since the transfer fee paid by Liverpool has not yet arrived, and Rivaldo and Camoranesi are both on holiday and have not yet reported to Leeds, there was no activity on Leeds United's official website on New Year's Day, which disappointed fans who were hoping for Leeds United to make moves on the first day of the winter transfer window.
However, on the 2nd, Leeds United's official website was updated, and two personnel changes attracted the attention of fans.
"Welcome Diego Simeone to Leeds United as assistant coach of the first team, effective January 1, 2006."
"Welcome Thomas Tuchel to Leeds United as Director of Academy and Head Coach of the U19 Team, effective July 1, 2006."
After meeting with Tuchel in Germany, Li Shiguang kept in touch with him, calling him from time to time to ask about his recent situation and discuss tactics. As the two became more and more familiar, after the last match between Leeds United and Arsenal, Tuchel finally made up his mind and accepted Li Shiguang's invitation. However, due to contractual reasons, he will not be able to report to Leeds United until the end of this season.
As for Simone, Li Shiguang's appearance completely changed his original life trajectory.
Simeone was originally supposed to play until this year before retiring, and then return to Europe in 2011 to take up the reins of the Rojiblancos.
However, Li Shiguang's strong invitation gave him a new idea as he was nearing retirement. After careful consideration, Simeone chose to announce his retirement after the Argentine Primera División Apertura ended and then accepted Li Shiguang's invitation.
Interestingly, Li Shiguang's initial plan was to choose one of the two, but unexpectedly, both of them accepted his invitation. So after some consideration, he decided to bring Simonsi to the first team as his assistant coach, while letting Tuchel take full charge of the youth team.
For Leeds United fans, Tuchel may not be a familiar name, but Simeone's name is a household name in England.
Argentina and England already have irreconcilable conflicts due to some off-field reasons, and when these conflicts are transferred to the football field, it naturally makes the matches between the two teams full of tension.
Back in 1986, Maradona's "Hand of God" and his dribble past five players had devastated England. In the 1998 World Cup, the two teams met again in the knockout stage. Simeone's foul sent the young Beckham to the brink of defeat. A reckless retaliatory foul resulted in a straight red card for Simeone, and England were subsequently eliminated in a penalty shootout against Argentina. This match not only made Beckham a public enemy in England, but Simeone, who caused Beckham's red card, also became one of the most hated Argentine players among English fans.
So less than an hour after the announcement, Leeds United's official website was flooded with criticism. First, some local fans criticized Li Shih's move on the website, using the same old tactics, saying that he was still an Easterner in English clothes who couldn't understand the English people's hatred for Simeone, and that he dared to hire him as an assistant coach at Leeds United. As the news spread, more and more fans from other clubs flocked to Leeds United's official website and began leaving messages to rant and rave about Li Shih.
Besides these cynical England fans, media outlets that have been monitoring the official websites of various clubs for the past two days have also caught wind of the situation. Those who are nearby have gathered at the entrance of Thorpe Arch, hoping to interview Li Shiguang in person, while many more reporters are sitting in front of their computers, refreshing the webpage every minute, wanting to see how Leeds United will respond to this wave of public opinion.
But Li Shiguang was not as flustered as everyone imagined. He didn't even know that his personnel appointments would cause such a big discussion and criticism.
Because he brought Lina to the airport early this morning to pick up Simone.
Simone said he had never encountered anything like it before, and that Li Shiguang's enthusiasm when they first met even made this tough guy a little flustered.
After getting into the car, the two sat together in the back. Seeing that Simone was still a little reserved, Li Shiguang took the initiative to start a conversation: "Diego, have you been to England before?"
From the moment he met Li Shiguang, Simeone had been secretly observing his new boss. He simply couldn't understand why Li Shiguang had such high hopes for him, especially since becoming a football coach was indeed part of his future career plan, given that he was still a player nearing retirement when he received the call from Leeds United.
"Diego?" Seeing that Simone didn't react for a while, Li Shiguang turned his head and looked at him in confusion.
Li Shiguang's voice rang in his ears again, and Simeone realized that his boss was asking him a question, so he quickly replied, "I've been here before, Mr. Li. I've played a few away games here before, but I usually left right after the game and never stayed in England for long."
"Diego, don't be so polite. You can call me 'Li' or 'Boss.' We'll probably be the people who spend the most time together at work from now on, and I don't want to hear you address me with such a formal title every day."
After chatting for a while, Simone gradually relaxed, feeling Li Shiguang's enthusiasm. When they were almost at Thorpe Arch, he finally asked the question that had been bothering him.
"Boss, I remember our first conversation was half a year ago, and I initially declined your invitation. I'd like to ask, with so many outstanding assistant coaches in Europe, why did you choose me, who had already returned to South America?"
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