Chapter 13 Atletico Madrid is lost!
Even though he was already sitting in Xiao Hill's car, Yang Hao's mind was still full of the conversation he had just had with Kiko.
He originally thought that Kiko was here to confront him.
What he didn't expect was that the Atletico Madrid center forward came to express his feelings to him.
"Please believe me, I will never become like you and become a nuisance to the team!"
When hearing this, Yang Hao was deeply shocked.
It's not just the words themselves, but the tone and expression when Kiko said it, all of which represent his mood at the moment, as well as this sentence and the weight of this club in his mind.
Kiko said he was well aware of his problem.
He had said similar things to Antic before, but Antic felt that the team needed him really now.
It's not just his performance on the court, but also his influence on the fans, the players and in the locker room.
So, even though Kiko's performance on the court is not as good as before, Antic still lets him play game after game.
And they played the whole game.
Yang Hao cannot judge whether Antic's decision was right or wrong, because the result of the game has already given the answer.
Even though it is cruel.
Since Kiko has revealed his true feelings, Yang Hao cannot hide them, otherwise he will appear narrow-minded.
So he told Kiko all his thoughts and ideas very frankly.
He insisted that the team needed to adjust its tactical play, especially to strengthen its defense. The 4231 formation could activate Belleron and maximize the team's defensive level.
But in this case, between Kiko and Hasselbaink, Yang Hao would not choose Kiko.
At that moment, Yang Hao clearly felt that the light in Kiko's eyes was rapidly dimming, and was replaced by dejection.
His era is over !
But he soon cheered up and said that he could accept the coach's arrangement as long as it was good for the team.
"You do n't put me on the roster."
Yang Hao has always felt that professional football is a world of fame and fortune full of interests and calculations.
But Kiko's move today really made him feel subverted.
The reason why football is fascinating is that behind the interests and calculations, there are moving and sincere emotions hidden.
Yang Hao told Kiko that he is still very important to the team, not only in the locker room, not only as a substitute, but also because of one person, "a player I am very, very optimistic about."
"Who?" Kiko asked.
"Fernando Torres."
"It's him." Kiko smiled. He knew Torres and was very familiar with him.
Yang Hao hopes that Kiko can play a greater role and lead Torres and others.
Given Torres' current age and strength, regardless of whether Atletico Madrid can avoid relegation this season, he will not be Yang Hao's first choice next season because he is still young.
But Torres will be the focus of Yang Hao's training.
"Believe me, stay here and continue to play your role, and you will soon see an Atletico Madrid team that is stronger than ever before!"
Yang Hao was extremely confident when he made this promise.
…
"Just now, I saw Kiko coming out of your office. How was your conversation?"
Little Hill asked with concern while driving.
Kiko is still very influential in the hearts of Atletico Madrid fans.
Yang Hao recounted the conversation just now in general terms, and Xiao Xi'er was also very touched.
"Kiko is from Cadiz, but the Atletico spirit is in his blood, in his life."
Yang Hao smiled, but suddenly, a doubt came to his mind. "What exactly is this Atletico Madrid spirit you keep talking about?"
He knows that this is a football culture and a football spirit.
But what is it that can make Kiko make such a choice?
Xiao Xier sighed and smiled bitterly, "It doesn't matter anymore. Not many people care about this anymore."
"Why?" Yang Hao asked.
"I don't know. I haven't studied it, but I feel like the whole world has suddenly become so hectic since I don't know when. Everyone is busy and stressed out. No one has become patient anymore and can't calm down."
Yang Hao rarely heard such thoughtful words from Xiao Xi'er.
"I remember when I was in school, there were about the same number of Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid fans in my class. We would often get together and fight outside the school to support our teams."
When talking about the great achievements of the past, little Hill had a proud smile on his face.
"But now , when I visited a primary school, I found that in a class of 20 or 30 people, I might not even find one Atletico Madrid fan. Many people have changed."
"I asked those kids, I said, why do you like Real Madrid?"
"The most common answer they gave was because Real Madrid wins so often, followed by stars like Raul, Redondo, Suker and Mijatovic."
"It's the same with young fans and media reporters. They only focus on big teams like Real Madrid and Barcelona."
Yang Hao is not a local, so he cannot understand Xiao Xi'er's complicated feelings, but he can see the trend clearly.
Times have changed!
The pace of life is getting faster and faster. Everyone puts their time and energy into work, family and other aspects. No one is willing to spend too much emotion and feelings on football.
Despite this, they are still willing to pay for tickets and sit in front of the TV on time to watch the live broadcast.
So, it became as Van Gaal said, football became an entertainment, a show.
Everyone walks into the stadium or sits in front of the TV to watch a game just to enjoy the pleasure brought by that short time of venting. Although it is short, it is enough.
It is not particularly obvious now, but with the advent of the Internet and globalization in the next few years, this trend will become more thorough and the fan base will become more diverse.
This is the trend. You either change yourself and cater to it, or you will not keep up with the times and be eliminated!
"You know, many fans misunderstood that we and Athletic Bilbao both wear red and white striped shirts, and they thought that Athletic Bilbao was imitating us, but it's actually the opposite."
"on the contrary?"
"Yes, Atletico Madrid was originally the Madrid branch of Athletic Bilbao. They were the second football club established in Spain. Because they were in the north, they were the first to be exposed to football culture from Britain."
Yang Hao really didn't know about this relationship.
"The first one we used was the Athletic Club crest, which was a fusion of the Athletic Club and Vizcaya shields, with the bridge and joust of St. Anthony, the wolf totem of the powerful Haro family, the tree of Guernica, and the cross of St. Andrew."
"It was more than a decade after our founding that we got our own crest: the red and white stripes, representing our bedsheet army, the seven stars from the flag of the Autonomous Community of Madrid, and a bear reaching out to a strawberry tree, representing the city of Madrid."
"Just like the Bilbao region rebelled against the capital, Atlético Madrid has also inherited this spirit of resistance. From the moment we were founded, we have been fighting against all inequalities and authority. We will never compromise and will always fight to the last moment!"
"If Real Madrid represents nobility and royal power, then Atletico Madrid represents all the insignificant ordinary people in this city."
"So, in our Atletico Madrid values, we have represented hard work, humility, sacrifice and tenacity over the past 100 years, as well as resistance to another football giant in the city of Madrid, Real Madrid!"
Yang Hao listened quietly, and suddenly he began to understand Hill's complicated feelings towards Atletico Madrid.
The Atletico Madrid values that he had been instilled with since he was a child collapsed.
He has always believed that Atletico represents the general public in Madrid and all ordinary people, but he suddenly realizes that these people no longer need them to represent them.
Not only that, they also turned around and supported Real Madrid, the powerful force that Atletico Madrid was born to rebel against.
The Hill family has no money to compete with Real Madrid and is emotionally broken, so Hill Jr. wants to sell the team.
And his father, Hill Sr., is still fighting.
After knowing that Hill had various problems, even corruption and illegal activities, Atletico Madrid's die-hard fans still insisted that this was a form of suppression of Atletico Madrid by the powerful.
Is there such a factor?
In fact, it may not be impossible.
The court ruled that Hill was not guilty of corruption and tax evasion, which undoubtedly further strengthened the thinking of Atletico Madrid fans.
But what if he is not guilty?
There are fewer and fewer like-minded people around, especially the younger generation. It is difficult to find an Atletico Madrid fan. This is the reason for Hill's panic and the root cause of Atletico Madrid's decline.
In the future, how and with what identity will Atletico Madrid take root in this city?
I guess everyone doesn’t know and is very confused.
So, Atletico Madrid is lost!
Yang Hao suddenly thought of Atletico Madrid's parent team, Athletic Bilbao.
Many people say that the Basque Lions are a very unique team. Everyone who has coached this team can feel their unique football culture.
Perhaps, this is what it means.
It’s just that Athletic Bilbao is luckier than Atletico Madrid. They are not in the capital and don’t have a rival like Real Madrid.
But even so, Athletic Bilbao still persisted and only used Basque players.
Some people say that this is a backward and self-isolating decision, but isn’t it also a protection of the club’s football culture and values?
"Let's work hard together!" Yang Hao suddenly said to Xiao Xi'er.
He had a smile on his face.
Xiao Xi'er frowned at first, but soon relaxed and laughed along with Yang Hao.
"Yeah, let's work together!"
Yang Hao must work hard to gain a firm foothold in the Atletico Madrid coaching position, and strive to become a qualified, or even excellent, Atletico Madrid head coach, leading the team to conquer the world on the football field.
And Hill will have to carry his doubts and anxiety with him, and try to find a new path for Atletico Madrid, and re-imprint the spiritual imprint of Atletico Madrid in this city and among these fans, especially the younger generation.
At this moment, they were truly like-minded.
