Under the gaze of all the fans, Zhao Zhao first walked towards the away team's coaching bench.
This time, he had no other thoughts; he simply wanted to politely greet the other party, just as he had seen on TV in his previous life.
However, what happened next was a bit unexpected for him.
When Zhao Zhao said "Hello" to Middlesbrough Coach Karanka, the 43-year-old Spaniard sat there chatting with his assistant, seemingly not hearing Zhao Zhao.
Zhao Zhao thought his voice was too low, so he walked a little closer and extended his hand: "Hello, I am..."
But unexpectedly, this time his words were rudely interrupted by Karanka.
The guy glared fiercely, pointing towards the home team's coaching bench: "I know who you are, a callow youth from China. Your place is over there, please don't come over and bother us!"
Zhao Zhao's expression immediately froze.
At that moment, from the corner of his eye, he could also see Middlesbrough's substitute players and coaches sitting on the chairs nearby, all showing mocking expressions.
Fans in the Stadium of Light stands also noticed this scene.
The fans watched curiously as Zhao Zhao walked to the away team's coaching bench, extended his hand towards the opposing Coach, and then his right hand remained extended in front of him, while the opposing Coach showed no intention of shaking hands and even spat as he spoke to Zhao Zhao.
"Ah, today's match hasn't even started, but it seems there's already a good show to watch."
PPTV was, of course, broadcasting this crucial relegation battle live, and James Jun was still responsible for the commentary.
He also saw the scene appearing in the camera.
"Our Coach Zhao Zhao seems to want to show his politeness, but it's clear he underestimated the special status of a derby match among England teams."
"Facing the Coach of a sworn enemy, Karanka and his players clearly don't want to be friendly and directly refused Zhao Zhao's handshake!"
"This is actually understandable. As Middlesbrough's Coach, Karanka is under immense pressure to avoid relegation, with the constant threat of being sacked. This also forces him to take such a stance to win back the hearts of some local fans."
"Oh, there's one more thing I need to remind everyone. Karanka was a Real Madrid player when he was young, and after he became a Coach, he served as Real Madrid's assistant Coach in 2010, and at that time, the Coach was Mourinho!"
"In the previous Premier League match, both during and after the game, Zhao Zhao thoroughly defeated Mourinho, even causing Mourinho to lose face."
"As a loyal supporter of Mourinho, Karanka might also want to use this method to give Zhao Zhao a warning and get revenge for Mourinho!"
"It's just that, this way, Zhao Zhao is a bit awkward..."
However, Zhao Zhao, who had already reacted, would not be awkward at this moment.
He was immediately furious!
You son of a gun, you don't appreciate my kindness, do you?!
So, Zhao Zhao raised his right hand, which he had extended for a handshake, and directly pointed his index finger at Karanka's nose, loudly retorting with a disdainful tone:
"Who do you think you are?"
"Are you famous for playing football or great at coaching? I don't even know who you are!"
"What about Mourinho? He's so much higher than you, I chatted and laughed with him. No, I even defeated him and made him run away!"
"Seeing you visiting us today, I was giving you some face by coming over to say hello, and you really think you're a big shot, huh?"
"Watch me beat the crap out of you today!"
That's how Zhao Zhao is; he likes to "return courtesy with courtesy."
If you are polite to me, then we'll get along fine.
But if you disrespect me, then I'm sorry!
And like that, Karanka was immediately stunned.
He clearly hadn't expected this callow youth to dare point at his nose and curse him, and even mention Mourinho, the Coach he respected the most.
"You... you piece of crap!" Karanka struggled for a long time before managing to blurt out a sentence.
Foreigners' vocabulary is indeed quite limited, completely not on the same level as Zhao Zhao's.
Zhao Zhao laughed: "Who is the piece of crap cursing?"
Karanka angrily retorted: "The piece of crap is cursing you!"
Then, he quickly realized he had fallen into Zhao Zhao's trap and became even more enraged, like a furious beast about to charge at Zhao Zhao!
Fortunately, he was held back tightly by his quick-witted assistant behind him.
Mutual cursing was acceptable, but if it came to blows, he would definitely not be able to command this match, and might even face additional suspension penalties.
Just like Mourinho in the last match, he merely pushed Zhao Zhao once and was sent to the stands.
Now that the team was at a critical moment for relegation, they couldn't afford to have morale destabilized due to the Coach's impulsiveness.
And Zhao Zhao wasn't afraid at all.
He even rolled up his sleeves, making a gesture as if to fight the other party!
Meanwhile, the Sunderland fans behind the away team's coaching bench also became excited.
Although they couldn't hear what the two Coaches were cursing about, Zhao Zhao's imposing demeanor was clear for all to see.
This was the kind of Coach that matched Sunderland's temperament!
David Moyes's good-natured approach before was truly disheartening to watch!
Against a sworn enemy, you just had to be tough like this!
And the fans immediately gave Zhao Zhao their support.
They all raised their middle fingers at Middlesbrough's coaches and players, and various English curses poured out of their mouths, creating a powerful roar!
However, at this moment, on the home team's coaching bench, Breswell saw the referees from the officiating team jogging towards them, so he quickly rushed over to pull Zhao Zhao back.
As he pulled him, he complained, "What's going on, Boss? Why does this happen every match...?"
Zhao Zhao could only follow Breswell back to his position.
Indeed, it was best to quit while ahead, otherwise, if he were truly sent off, causing the team to lose, it would be a net loss.
Sure enough, the head referee had already gone to the away team's coaching bench to warn Karanka, and then ran to the home team's side, telling Zhao Zhao not to provoke the opponent again, or there would be penalties.
Zhao Zhao nodded nonchalantly, then casually glanced towards the away team's bench, finding Karanka still glaring at him, his fierce expression as if he wanted to devour someone.
"Alright, originally I only wanted to end this match with a normal victory, but now it seems that won't do. You forced my hand!"
Zhao Zhao thought, a slight smile appearing on his face.
In fact, he had already simulated today's match.
However, unlike the match against Manchester United, since his tactics and training level had improved significantly, and he had made more detailed preparations, he only simulated once and won against Middlesbrough, with a score of 2:1.
In other words, Sunderland could actually win against them by playing normally today!
However, this kind of simulated match started from the moment the whistle blew, so Zhao Zhao didn't know that so many unexpected things would happen before the match.
Now, since Karanka and his Middlesbrough were so annoying, a one-goal winning margin was a bit insufficient.
Shouldn't he beat them severely until they were completely crushed?!
Thinking of this, Zhao Zhao activated the system.
He wanted to try a more aggressive approach to see if he could beat the opponent even harder!
"Simulator, activate!"