XI'AN, China, April 28 (Xinhua) -- Chinese second-tier football club Shaanxi Chang'an Athletic secured its first victory of the 2021 season with a wonderful goal by Raoul Loe, his first since joining the club.
After the goal, Raoul saluted head coach Oscar Cespedes Cabeza and ran wildly to embrace him.
"I want to dedicate the victory to all the fans of Shaanxi and to my father who passed away five days ago," Oscar said after the game.
After that, the fan discussion forum switched from a carnival of victory to a salute to Oscar.
Oscar's father, 76, played professionally in Spain's Segunda division. He was also Oscar's first tutor on the football field.
"The first game of the club is very important to me. My father had passed away and I couldn't do much more. And because of the epidemic, if I went back, I would have to call the first crucial game remotely," said the head coach in a media release, "So I didn't even mention it to anyone in the preparation phase of the game."
Oscar, 42, is a former midfielder at La Masia in Spain. He retired in 2014 and joined Qingdao Huanghai in 2016 as the youth training director. In January 2021, he was appointed as the head coach of Shaanxi Chang'an Athletic.