On the afternoon of September 14, 2010, when Mourinho participated in the pre-match press conference of the first round of the Champions League group stage of the new season of Real Madrid, he "generously" released the 18-man starting squad.

Because Albiol is still recovering from injury, Pepe has just returned from injury, and to be on the safe side, Mourinho has also put Garay, who has not yet been used in the league, into the squad this time.

This was the only thing that surprised the reporters on the spot.

The other Real Madrid first-team players who were selected for the Champions League squad were basically the same as the Western media speculated before the game.

Aside from Ronaldo, Di Maria, Alonso, Ramos and other stars who are almost certain to start.

The most important thing for the reporters to confirm is whether Leon, who has been given ample opportunities in the league recently, will continue to start.

No way, after the two league games, Li Ang's has indeed become the traffic password in the Spanish football world recently.

In the words of the fans.

When you see a player who has a sunny and handsome face like Kaka, but actually does Gattuso-style hard work, can play at Real Madrid at the age of 19, and plays quite well.

It's hard not to be curious and interested in him.

Even if Real Madrid's official push has already released Leon's growth experience and the results of his matches in Real Madrid's youth teams at all levels.

But fans from all walks of life are still not satisfied.

They are eager to see something different from Leon, an emerging "alternative genius".

Therefore, reporters also asked Mourinho all kinds of questions about Leon as much as possible in the pre-match press conference.

Mourinho flashed his trademark smile and answered the same sentence to the reporters.

"No comment."

This is what Mourinho himself and Leon means personally.

Real Madrid naturally respects the opinions of the players in this regard.

Leon didn't want to deal with the media too soon, and Mourinho didn't like the media's focus on disturbing the private lives of his players.

On this point, Mourinho and Leon once again tacitly agreed.

So no matter how the reporters tried to knock on the side, Mourinho smiled and rejected one question after another related to Leon.

Until, a Chinese reporter raised his hand and was qualified to ask questions.

"Mr. Mourinho, what is the current role of Leon in the Real Madrid first team? What is your opinion or evaluation of his future development? Do you think Leon has a chance to earn a regular place at Real Madrid in the future? ”

The reporter, who hung a social worker card from a newspaper in China, asked three questions in one breath.

Mourinho hesitated for a moment, and finally didn't know whether it was for Leon's sake, or slowly answered these three questions that were easy to cause controversy in public opinion.

"You can actually see that Leon is still a defender in midfield, and he needs to take on more defensive responsibilities to block opponents' advances at the back. What do I think of his development... I think there's a lot of room for improvement, he's a good learner, he's smart and always wants to learn more from the game and in training. As for the question you asked at the end, maybe you should interview Leon in person in the future, he is a confident young man, from me, you may not get the answer you want, but from him you can. ”

Mourinho's answer was fine, and he made a humorous joke at the end.

But to his and many reporters' surprises, the Chinese reporter who asked the question did not look very happy in the end.

Instead, he pursed his lips and smiled a little awkwardly and sat back.

Mourinho felt a little strange, but such a small episode was fleeting.

He quickly forgot about it after finishing his work at the pre-match press conference.

Push back a few hours.

When the major sports forums in China updated the information of Real Madrid's press conference before the Champions League match.

Fans in China were not united in their happiness with Leon's inclusion in Real Madrid's starting squad and Mourinho's praise for Leon.

They quickly split into several camps as they did some time ago when they learned that Li Ang was playing for the first team of Real Madrid, and launched a fierce "confrontation".

And everything has to be traced back to the scarf dynamic that Li Ang posted in February this year.

"There are many people who are innocent, whether they are victims or back-offbiters, they may be people who take care of the overall situation, even if they are disgusting, they want to sew up and continue to drive this rotten boat, but for me, the saddest thing is that these innocent people far underestimate the greed and shamelessness of those 'high positions'! If the real revival of the sport at home requires someone to pay for it with a sufficiently tragic sacrifice, then I am willing to pay that price today! ”

This seemingly foggy scarf dynamic didn't attract too much attention at the time.

But the day after Li Ang sent this scarf, a reporter broke the news that Li Ang resolutely refused the call up of the national team and was unwilling to come back to play the East Asian Cup held in Tokyo at that time, and the domestic public opinion exploded!

As the only young player in China to receive youth training at Real Madrid at that time, Li Ang also joined the Huaguo national youth team early.

is not only the captain of the national youth team, but also a future star who has high hopes from fans across the country.

Li Ang has unsurprisingly become the top of the hearts of domestic fans, and I don't know how many people are looking forward to him being promoted to the first team of Huaguo in adulthood and helping the Huaguo team successfully reach the World Cup finals again.

But all these good hopes were completely shattered on February 1, 2010.

After Li Ang sent out the strong and resolute scarf dynamics, he directly announced his permanent withdrawal from the national teams at all levels in China!

There is no reason, no more detailed explanation, and a cold announcement completely cut off the possibility between Li Ang and the Huaguo national team.

In those days, domestic sports reporters broke all kinds of news.

Some people say that Li Ang played a big name, and after being reprimanded by the team leader, he directly chose to quit the national youth team in a fit of anger.

Some people say that some of the national youth coaches asked for benefits from Li Ang's teammate and friend, and Li Ang made a big fuss after he found out.

There is also a rumor that Li Ang was directly asked for an "appearance fee" by a manager of the Football Association who has the right to be elected.

Li Ang scolded the other party on the spot, so he was fired.

Under all the opinions, no one knows why Li Ang chose such a violent way to announce that he would never play for the Chinese national team again.

At that time, only a small number of fans clearly expressed their understanding of Leon.

Most fans can't understand and approve of Leon's withdrawal from the national team.

So the title of "traitor" was gradually deducted on Li Ang's head.

Even later, Leon went on loan to Real Betis, and there are still many Chinese fans who feel "uneasy".

They just don't want to bless Leon, who will be playing out at Real Betis.

Similarly.

Even now, more and more Chinese fans have softened their attitude towards Li Ang because he has established himself in the first team of Real Madrid.

But there are still a group of heartbroken fans who can't "forgive".

The more popular Li Ang is in Spanish football, the more controversial it will be in China, but Li Ang does not say anything, and the senior management of the Football Association has always been silent.

As a result, a foggy "official announcement of retirement incident" has become a sad story for countless Chinese fans.

As for Li Ang, who has crossed back from more than ten years later, he has hesitated, struggled, and joined without hesitation, and now he is completely desperate to quit.

The knife didn't fall on him, but he couldn't turn a blind eye to what happened to his teammates.

So he chose the hardest way to break up.

This is a story that was destined to be tragic from the beginning.

Because Li Ang, who has no ties and interests with domestic football, does not need to compromise.

If he does not compromise, he is destined to have a serious conflict with some fools sooner or later.

If he doesn't bow his head, he will naturally end up being ostracized and expelled.

But as Leon himself put it.

If there is a real revival of domestic football, someone needs to pay for it with a sufficiently tragic sacrifice.

Then he is willing to pay that price.

He doesn't look back.

I don't regret it either.