Chapter 6 A glimmer of hope
"Isn't that right?"
Clement Balavid was the first to raise an objection.
"Mr. Yang, you don't seem particularly familiar with La Liga. Even in the two seasons when there were 22 teams, relegation was generally avoided with around 40 points. Did you miscalculate?"
Everyone present immediately looked at Yang Hao, especially Xiao Xi'er, who looked a little nervous.
If even this is wrong, how can it be convincing?
Yang Hao smiled and nodded, "Yes, that's right. Last season, we only needed 37 points to avoid relegation."
"Then why did you say you wanted 44-46 points?" Clement Balaverde himself was a little surprised.
Yang Hao replied calmly: "After 32 rounds last season, Extremadura, ranked 18th, had 31 points, and Villarreal, ranked 17th, had 32 points."
"So far this season, after 32 league matches, Oviedo, in 18th place, has 34 points, while Real Betis, in 17th place, has 36 points, which is 3-4 points more than before."
"But please don't forget, there are still 20 teams. Last season there were four relegation spots, and this season there are three."
In the mid-1990s, La Liga underwent a reform. In the 95/96 and 96/97 seasons, there were 22 teams in both seasons, but in the 97/98 season, it returned to 20 teams.
This has led to changes in the teams' promotion and relegation places.
Before the 98/99 season, La Liga had four relegation spots, but this season it has returned to three.
In this way, the overall environment for relegation will be different.
Last season, Alaves scored 40 points, which allowed them to rank 16th and successfully avoid relegation.
But the situation this season is even more severe. The 17th-placed team cannot get 44 points and it is estimated that it will be difficult to successfully avoid relegation.
There is actually not much secret here. It’s just that people don’t pay much attention to the points gap and past comparisons on weekdays. It’s more of a vague impression, which led to Clement Balaverde’s rebuttal.
After Yang Hao's explanation, everyone immediately understood.
After 32 rounds, teams in the same position have significantly more points this season than last season.
Another reason for this is that the points of the teams at the top are not as high as last season.
For example, after 32 rounds of games last season, the leader Barcelona had 66 points, but this season's leader Deportivo La Coruna only had 61 points.
There is also Real Madrid, which ranked fourth after 32 rounds last season with 56 points. It was also fourth at the same time this season, with only 53 points.
The teams at the top have fewer points because they were sniped and lost more points, which means that the mid- and lower-level teams have scored more points, the league competition has become more intense, and the situation has become more chaotic.
Therefore, Yang Hao was not wrong. If they wanted to avoid relegation, they had to get at least 44 points.
Little Hill looked around at everyone and found that they were all speechless. He felt happy immediately and looked at Yang Hao with more confidence. He had always been convinced by Yang Hao's analysis and eloquence.
But Yang Hao didn't pay attention to these, he continued his analysis.
"In the next six league games, we will face Malaga at home, Valencia away, Barcelona at home, Oviedo away, Sevilla at home, and Real Mallorca away."
"In these six games, Oviedo and Sevilla are both our direct rivals for relegation . Sevilla, the newly promoted team, has already been relegated. If we want to avoid relegation, we must pull Oviedo down."
"We must not make the same mistakes as in Round 27 in these two games ."
In the 27th round, Atletico Madrid played against Real Betis at home. It was Antic's first game as Atletico Madrid coach.
At that time, Atletico Madrid was ranked 17th and Real Betis was ranked 16th. Antić faced Hiddink, a relegation battle between two famous coaches. In the end, Atletico Madrid failed to beat Real Betis at home.
Playing at home against a direct opponent fighting for relegation, failing to get 3 points was a complete defeat for Atletico Madrid.
Relegation is like a life-and-death battle. If you want to survive, you have to step on others.
Of the remaining four opponents, Malaga is now ranked 11th, Valencia is ranked 5th, and Barcelona is ranked 2nd, and Van Gaal's team is still making a final counterattack for the league championship.
Barcelona is only 5 points away from the leader Deportivo La Coruna, so there is still a chance.
Finally, there is Real Mallorca, currently ranked 8th.
It can be said that the situation that Atletico Madrid will face next is extremely dangerous, with a cliff behind them.
This is actually the reason why Clement Balaverde and others oppose the change of coach.
No matter what, Antic is a famous coach with rich experience. In such a serious situation, instead of using him, he uses a 25-year-old rookie. Isn't this outrageous?
Yang Hao had studied Atletico Madrid's history in his previous life. Antic's team was defeated miserably. From the 33rd round to the 37th round, they did not win a single game. They even suffered a crushing defeat to Barcelona at home and to Valencia away, and were relegated two rounds in advance.
But what’s interesting is that after being relegated, Antic was sacked. In the last round of the league after the coaching change, they defeated Real Mallorca away from home. The head coach at that time was Zambrano, the second team coach who had just refused to assist Yang Hao.
Of course, this can also be understood as a consolation prize given to Atletico Madrid by Real Mallorca, which had no desire at the time.
But now that he is here and has become the head coach of Atletico Madrid, he will never let the tragedy happen again.
"What I want to say is that every game that comes next will be a decisive battle for us and will determine whether we can continue to stay in La Liga next season."
When Yang Hao said this, he looked around at everyone with a serious expression.
"I know that many people don't believe me in their hearts, which is normal, but what I want to say is that whether you accept it or not, I am now the head coach of Atletico Madrid. This is an unchangeable fact. Let us put aside all doubts and prejudices for the time being, work together and play well in every game that comes next."
"I will use the team's next performance to prove my strength and value!"
…
After Yang Hao, Old Hill also said a few words, which basically meant that he supported Yang Hao.
At the same time, he also asked everyone in the club to support Yang Hao.
This is the management's decision and everyone must obey it.
Old Hill has a very high prestige in the club. Since he said so, then it’s settled.
After the meeting, Yang Hao also borrowed a small meeting room in the club. Accompanied by Hill Jr. and Paul Futre, he communicated with Tony Munoz and Aguilera, mainly to understand the current situation in the team's locker room.
The situation is very bad.
Wage arrears is one aspect, but the main issue is that the team has been in such a mess over the past period of time that everyone has lost confidence.
Many people have already contacted the team in advance.
For example, Solari's brother-in-law Redondo plays for the city's arch-rival Real Madrid. He has decided to move to Real Madrid after the end of this season.
This Argentine winger is still very capable.
In Yang Hao's previous life, he also had a place in the Real Madrid team, which was full of stars.
But he probably didn't expect that he would go to his brother-in-law now, but as soon as he went there, Redondo was sold to AC Milan by Florentino, and the Argentine midfield king fell.
This summer, Real Madrid signed three top La Liga defensive midfielders at once, namely Makelele, Flavio and Celades . In the end, only Makelele played well.
The same is true for Hasselbaink. His agent has been actively working on his behalf and he may choose to return to the Premier League, but Eindhoven is also said to be interested in him.
"PSV Eindhoven is thinking too much. Even if we are relegated, they can't afford Hasselbaink." Little Hill said harshly.
As long as the player is still under contract and there is no downgrade or termination clause in the contract, there will be no fire sale.
"Now, everyone's mind is no longer on training and competition. They have lost confidence in this season and are only thinking about escaping quickly. They are unwilling to follow the team to play in the Western Second Division, including many local players."
Tony Munoz's face was filled with grief when he said this.
He was the hero of the team's double championship, and Atletico Madrid was so proud at that time.
Who would have thought that the Bed Sheet Army would be on the verge of relegation.
If Yang Hao remembered correctly, in his previous life, after Atletico Madrid was relegated, the only ones willing to stay and follow the team to compete in the Spanish Second Division were the two captains in front of him and a very small number of players such as Kiko.
But after Kiko was seriously injured, his form was gone and he couldn't get it back.
Tony Munoz is also old and his condition has also declined significantly.
In 2000, it was difficult for professional players to maintain their form after they turned 30.
After all, the current level of scientific training is still relatively backward and is far from being as advanced as it will be in ten or twenty years.
The only one he could still rely on was Aguilera.
Yang Hao had no choice. The only thing he could do now was to hope that the two captains would play a role in the locker room and actively call on the players to regain their fighting spirit and strive to give their best performance in the last six games and the King's Cup on Wednesday.
Tony Munoz and Aguilera were both surprised to hear this.
The relegation situation is already so serious, and you still want to play in the King's Cup?
You know, our opponent in the King's Cup is Barcelona!
Van Gaal's Barcelona!
Now the second-ranked team in La Liga.
Are you sure you want to fight Barcelona to the death at this time?
Yang Hao gave a very decisive and unquestionable answer.
"Yes, we must not only give our all, but also win this game!"
"Why?" Tony Munoz was confused.
Yang Hao smiled confidently at his captain, "Because we need confidence."
This simple sentence left everyone stunned.
confidence.
At this time, confidence is more precious than gold for a team like Atletico Madrid .
Even Antic is playing badly and there is nothing he can do about the team.
But in the world of football, confidence is not something that can be gained easily, nor can it be obtained by simply shouting a few slogans or giving yourself a shot of encouragement.
Both players and teams need to gain confidence through games and victories.
If they give up the Copa del Rey semi-finals in order to avoid relegation, they won’t have to play the remaining six league games.
When the team was eliminated from the King's Cup, relegation was already declared a failure.
Therefore, this game must not only be played, but also won!
"The current situation is extremely difficult and dire, but the more so, the more I need your help and support."
Yang Hao looked at the two captains and spoke sincerely.
"Only if we work together can we have a chance to fight our way out and create a glimmer of hope!"
