Heavy news from the soccer world as Li Ang officially steps into the Shanghai Harbor camp.
On the night of March 14th, Shanghai Seaport officially announced that Li Ang, Du Jia and Abraham Halek had joined the team. In just two hours, this transfer news quickly climbed to the top of the microblogging hot search list.
International player Li Ang, the most highly regarded star among the new recruits, joined Shanghai Seaport with the glory of the Chinese Super League title and the status of an international player. In his conversation with Li Ang, the raging news reporter naturally couldn't get around the unexpected exit of his former owner Jiangsu Suning, who chose to join the seaport in large part because of the club's stability.
"Before you win the title, you have to beat Shanghai."
On the day of the interview with Li Ang, the Chinese Super League season was about to start with two weeks to go.
Shanghai Harbour is methodically preparing for the match, with daily training at 11 a.m. on time, with players mostly arriving at the base around 9:30 a.m. for breakfast and then individual warm-ups.
Li Ang, as a newcomer to the team, interacted cordially with the team manager, team doctor and teammates with a smile on his face, not feeling unfamiliar with the new environment.
In a conversation with a raging news reporter, the conversation naturally began with last year's league championship.
Before the start of the 2020 season, no one expected Jiangsu Suning to win the league title, and even Li Ang himself didn't have that confidence before the game.
"From the moment we entered the group of title contenders against Chongqing, head coach Olaroyo created a relaxed atmosphere and we were in a good frame of mind, both the local players and the foreigners. Olaroyo didn't explicitly say we were going to win the title, but he conveyed a sense of 'we can contend'."
What really made Li Ang feel that he had a chance to compete for the title was the semi-final with Shanghai Hong Kong, and he lamented, "Shanghai Hong Kong is stronger than Suning, and in the past Suning always lost more than they won. After the tough win over Shanghai Hong Kong, we started to believe that we have a chance to win the title, after all, there are only the last two matches left, so we must put up a fight."
Due to the accumulation of yellow card suspension, the second round of the final match with Evergrande, Li Ang could not play, he sat in the stands to watch the whole game. He said it was more tense than he was playing on the field, "I felt it was not safe when the first goal was scored at the end of the first half, after all, Evergrande's strength is still strong. By the time Teixeira scored the second goal, plus an extra man, the mood relaxed a little."
When the heavy gold medal hung around his neck, Li Ang realized its weight. He lamented that Jiangsu is not as developed as many soccer provinces, and this championship is really not easy.
"It's very significant, you could say it's a milestone, and the championship is a very important reward for those of us who have worked hard for Jiangsu soccer, and for us players."
For an individual, there is no more satisfying ending than for a native of Jiangsu to help Jiangsu win the title, "It's a very proud thing for a native of Jiangsu to help Jiangsu win the title. In fact, I personally thought about it, may be easier to win the championship in other teams, but in the Jiangsu team to play more comfortable, more atmosphere." Li Ang told raging news reporter.
"The issue of Suning's unpaid wages was never considered."
Compared to the hard-earned nature of this championship, the sudden disappearance of Jiangsu Football Club is doubly regrettable.
In this regard, Li Ang also has some feelings, "Maybe the future do not know how long it will take to get such a title again."
In fact, during the course of the season, the news about the Suning team's salary arrears was an open secret, but the players didn't really take it seriously, "What is owed to us will be given, so there was no negative mentality in the game. There are not many chances to win a championship in your career, we didn't even think about it and it didn't affect the team."
Until the end of the league, more negative rumors began to appear, the players can only wait for news at home, but we also did not expect the current situation to occur ...... until the Spring Festival, Jiangsu team still did not focus on the preparation of the new season plan, the players only gradually realized that perhaps the separation has been inevitable.
Many had prepared their farewell speeches in advance, and the feelings of local man Li Ang were perhaps unlike any other player.
"At the age of thirteen, accompanied by my father, I entered the ranks of the Provincial Football Association. I spent the most important stage of enlightenment during the seven years at the base, and although I didn't compete for honors and got into a lot of trouble, they still nurtured me as their own child. Thank you Jiangsu for training me!"
"Stepped into the pro game for the first time in 2014 and will never forget it. Experienced 211 matches and had the honor of getting two championship trophies with my brothers and team! I sincerely thank Jiangsu fans for their support, forgiveness and companionship. Jiangsu is my root and my home. Best wishes to Jiangsu soccer and to my teammates and staff who have fought with one heart. The green mountains will never change, the green water will always flow, and the friendship will always exist!"
"This is my handwriting, in fact, wrote a lot of content, and then cut down some of their own." Talking about these written goodbyes, Leon's tone, a little low.
"One more league title with Harbor."
Leaving his hometown for Shanghai, which is not far away, the new life is exciting and more reassuring for Li Ang.
"It was a pretty quick adjustment, my teammates were better to communicate with and the head coach's tactics were able to be adapted for me."
Also born in 1993, Li Ang and Fu Huan, Yang Shiyuan and others have participated in two National Games, only compared to the Shanghai team once into the top eight, once the results of the championship compared to the results of the Jiangsu team where Li Ang is not good, but this does not prevent the establishment of friendship between this group of people of the same age.
Coupled with national teammates such as Stanley Wang and Yan Junling, Li Ang admits - there is no problem integrating into the harbor.
In order to welcome several new players to join the harbour before the whole team also carried out a reunion, together to the Bund a net red restaurant dinner, the players took a group photo, everyone also sent a circle of friends, Li Ang also especially mentioned the new captain Oscar in training and the game to help him a lot.
Interestingly, Li Ang joined the seaport, the earliest is "teammates announced" - Oscar in the club before the official announcement of the first two people posted a photo on social media, "Hello, little friend. "
"The club is very professional, stable and also has ambitious ambitions and goals." Li Ang, who came to Harbour with the Chinese Super League title, hopes to reach the peak of the league again with his new owners, "I hope to win another title in these two years, there are so many good players in the team, and we are all in the most mature period of our careers at our age, so I think these two years are very good opportunities."
Li Ang made special mention of the club's many young players, one detail was that he accurately called out the names of many of the young players, "Xiao Jia (Bo Diem), Chen Chunxin, Nie Meng, (Zhang) Huachen, they are all very characteristic young players, I hope that they can make rapid progress and play as soon as possible, and together we can contribute to the team."
"You have to be nice to your family."
Perhaps the only difference between the days in Shanghai and Nanjing for Leon is that there isn't a home here for a while.
Because he is destined to go through the tournament system of the league and the national team's intercontinental matches this year, Li Ang feels that renting a room may not be cost-effective, and he chooses to live in a hotel. His wife is pregnant with their second child, and prenatal checkups have to take place in Nanjing, so it's not convenient for him to come to Shanghai during this time, and Li Ang can only return to Nanjing on his own when he has time.
Local reporters in Jiangsu who are familiar with Li Ang revealed that Li Ang is very emotional and treats his family well.
"That has to be good for the family." Li Ang said this slightly coy, just kicking the task force started in 2014, Li Ang received his parents in Xuzhou home to Nanjing. Now his parents and in-laws live in a neighborhood, which makes it easy to take care of each other.
"They have a very clear division of labor; my mother-in-law takes the kids to bed at night, my mom goes in the morning and picks up the big baby out to play, and then the noon meal is eaten here at my mom's place." Speaking to the raging news reporter about his family, Li Ang was happy.
"There is no need to mobilize to serve your country."
Aside from having to represent Seaport in the Chinese Super League, perhaps even more important for Li Ang this year is the national team competition.
Previously, under the two foreign coaches Pelan and Lippi, Li Ang had a hard time getting a chance. However, the current national football coach Li Tie trusted Li Ang so much that he became a regular player in the national team's lineup from the East Asian Cup at the end of 2019, and then throughout the entire 2020 season, Li Ang didn't miss the national team's training.
With the World Qualifying 40 coming up and Zhang Linpeng and Jiang Guangtai both now facing injuries, Li Ang is at the front of the national team's center back starting order.
"In terms of what I want for myself now, I'm very clear. I don't know about others, my own requirement is that the national team task is probably a bit heavier now. I think it should be on top of the league to go and do better in the national team games."
Li Ang's statement, to some extent, with the previous Harbor Club chairman Zhang Min "national team tasks this year is better than the club" statement is consistent.
From the situation of the former warm-up matches, Li Ang basically occupies the main left center back position in the three center backs, and has played such a system in Jiangsu Ola Royu before.
"In the national soccer team is to do your best to play the game, listen to the coach, prepare yourself as well as anytime you are ready to play, contribute to the team, and play with all your strength if you can play."
Li Ang also remembers when he was a child playing football, many of the slogans on the wall are for the country, "in the Jiangsu All-China Games team, we live in the first floor dormitory, dormitory inside the TV, only the end of the corridor conference room has a TV, generally also not allowed to see, only no game breaks can occasionally watch, I remember one year the World Cup we climbed up late at night to gather around the I still remember the World Cup one year we got up late at night and gathered in front of the TV to watch the game together."
Obviously, as a professional player, and who does not want to play a World Cup, "the spirit of playing for the country, do not need to mobilize." Li Ang said to the raging news reporter.
