Starting from playing as a defensive midfielder for Real Madrid

The turmoil in public opinion outside seemed to have nothing to do with Li Ang in late September.

Especially after learning from the coaching staff in advance that he would not start the fifth round of La Liga against Levante.

Li Ang blocked all interference signals from the outside world and simply stayed in the Valdebebas training base all day long.

Whenever I have the opportunity, I will look for my teammates to "test" my recent extra training results.

Mourinho is even more distressed.

He asked Li Ang to rotate because he wanted him to take a break from the recent intensive schedule and frequent additional training, so as not to cause problems with his body.

But Li Ang was not willing to go home and stay for a long time.

In the words of the staff at the training base, Li Ang is now close to living directly in the player dormitory of the training base.

Hmm. Well, that's really just a little bit close.

Because Li Ang really brought all the suitcases here before.

If Karanka hadn't tried his best to stop him, maybe Li Ang would have just lived a regular life of "training ground" - "base canteen" - "base dormitory".

Never underestimate the determination of a liver man who has no physical worries.

Li Ang really thought it would be good to live directly in the training base.

He doesn't have to cook for himself. He can see the training ground just two steps after he gets up. Even dirty clothes are changed by staff to help him wash them.

Life in the base may be boring in the eyes of other players, but in Li Ang's eyes, it is an ideal lifestyle that can save him a lot of time for training.

At least during this "special training" period in which he was determined to improve his hard skills as much as possible, this kind of life was what he wanted most.

But Karanka was really scared and refused to let him live in the training base.

How can you not be afraid of this?

There is no need for Mourinho to explain. As soon as Karanka receives a call from the physical coach who "supervises" Leon, he will immediately rush to the training base as soon as possible.

He was afraid that one day if he didn't keep an eye on Li Ang, this stubborn child would train him to something bad.

Li Ang himself had a problem, so he could grit his teeth and hold on in the extreme training mode.

After all, there is no muscle soreness or physical exhaustion that cannot be cured by a single physical recovery potion.

He is not stupid. If the effects of the intermediate and advanced physical recovery potions are not up to his expectations, he will not train so hard.

But the coaching staff doesn’t know.

If Mourinho and Karanka hadn't seen that every physical examination report of Leon showed that everything was normal, they would have forced him to stop training.

But now, even if he has not reached the stage of using coercive measures, being watched for additional training is a constraint that Li Ang cannot escape.

On the evening of the 24th, after finally completing the last set of short passing exercises with Karanka's "accompaniment", Li Ang went to the physical therapy room obediently.

An hour later, he underwent a comprehensive examination by the team doctor. After the examination was completed and the team doctor gave Karanka a preliminary nod, the Real Madrid assistant coach felt relieved and breathed a sigh of relief.

"What day is it today?"

After Karanka made a routine reporting call to Mourinho, he suddenly asked Li Ang, who was rubbing his calf.

"ah?"

Li Ang was stunned subconsciously, but then he touched the back of his neck and smiled sheepishly.

"Hey kid, you are not allowed to come to the training base tomorrow. José said, no matter whether you stay at home or go out to meet friends tomorrow, whatever you do, you are not allowed to come to the training base again."

Li Ang was a little surprised when he heard this.

"Aren't we going to Valencia tomorrow morning? Don't we need to gather at the training base first?"

Tomorrow night Real Madrid will play against Levante in the fifth round of La Liga. Although Li Ang did not start the game, he was still selected for the 18-man roster, so he is very surprised now.

"Give you a day off! You can sleep in tomorrow, have a good meal when you get up, and shave your beard by the way! You know how to practice extra every day. You remember that you have to compete tomorrow but don't remember what day it is today. Oh, God."

Karanka laughed and covered his forehead, and then patted Leon's head distressedly.

"You are a professional player, not a professional machine. How can you only know how to train but not enjoy life? Is it really that important to you to have an absolute main position?"

Li Ang pursed his lips lightly, didn't say anything more, and just nodded.

Karanka was really at his wits end now. Knowing that he still couldn't persuade Li Ang, he could only force Li Ang to have a good rest tomorrow.

"Save some energy. Although you can't play in this league, do you still want to give up the opportunity to others in the Champions League on the 28th?"

Karanka's words quickly pulled Leon out of his brief "loss".

"Coach, you mean?"

"Well, I didn't say anything, and you don't say anything to others. Go back and have a good rest for a day, and have enough energy to participate in the training the day after tomorrow, okay?"

"knew!"

Li Ang got the answer he wanted most, and then trotted towards the parking lot after Karanka waved goodbye with "disgusting".

But there was a glimmer of light in the head coach's office that he had never noticed.

Mourinho, whom he wanted to thank most at the moment, watched him drive away with a smile.

"You deserve it, little lion."

Three days later, on September 27, Mourinho attended the pre-match press conference for the second round of the Champions League group stage against Auxerre.

In the fifth round of La Liga with Levante on the 25th, Real Madrid ultimately failed to score a goal to break the deadlock in the away game and shook hands with Levante 0-0.

But Mourinho, whose winning streak was ended, didn't seem too upset.

At the end of that league game, he looked calm in front of the live camera, and now he also looks calm when participating in the pre-match press conference of the Champions League.

Naturally, the media will not let the news go unnoticed.

Firstly, a certain attacking midfielder used by Mourinho in the starting lineup performed mediocrely in the battle against Levante.

Secondly, Real Madrid, whose winning streak in the league has been ended, is now being narrowed to just one point by Barcelona, ​​which has started the season with four wins and one loss.

Tricky questions surrounding these two incidents were thrown to Mourinho by reporters one after another.

But the madman spread his hands and fought back with full firepower.

"I don't understand, are we losing now? Why does it seem to you that Real Madrid has fallen behind when we get a draw in the league?"

"There are many reasons for the draw, but I don't want to go into details today. This is the pre-match press conference for the Champions League. Do you need me to teach you how to ask questions?"

"I know what you want to ask, sir, you want to get some bad comments from me about certain players, but I can only tell you that I am very satisfied with our current first-team players, every one of them, I Very satisfied! ”

"Auxerre is not what you call a soft persimmon. They were third in Ligue 1 last season. They are undoubtedly a strong team. We must be more vigilant to play against them."

During the conversational exchange, Mourinho clicked on the last reporter, and the other reporter was unambiguous and got straight to the point.

"Will Li Ang, who performed well in the last round of the league, appear in the starting eleven of this round of the Champions League? We have all seen that he has been selected for the 18-man roster again."

Mourinho raised an eyebrow, and then answered uncharacteristically simply.

"Yes, he will start!"

The reporters at the scene were in an uproar, and the reporter who asked the question became even more excited.

In Mourinho's last answer, they got a very topical news material!

After Mourinho finished answering, he stood up and left the press conference.

He actually didn't finish what he said, but now he could only hide those "truthful words" in his own heart.

"As long as he doesn't leave, he will be a starter in Real Madrid's Champions League games."