Chapter 171 Conquer Them!

Although Mascherano said he was ready, Ye Qiu still did not put him in the starting lineup, and he did not even appear in the match against Zwolle. Instead, Maduro appeared in the starting lineup.

Goalkeeper Van der Sar, the back line is Abidal, Kivu, Kolo Toure and Heitinga, the midfield is Arteta, Maduro and Yaya Toure, and the front trident is Robben, Huntelaar and Van der Meyde.

In the end, with two goals from Huntelaar and Kivu, Ajax defeated Zwolle 2:0 at home.

With four consecutive victories, Ajax's start is indeed very eye-catching, but in this round, PSV Eindhoven defeated Waalwijk 4:0, and Feyenoord defeated Twente 5:1 away, which overshadowed Ajax.

Especially, Kezman of PSV Eindhoven scored a hat trick in the match against Valverde, which made Kezman surpass Ibrahimovic and become the leader of the Eredivisie scorer list.

Hiddink's offense is more built around Kezman, or partnered with Hesselink or Bruggink, all of which are high-speed combinations. Such routines are still very popular in the Netherlands. After all, PSV Eindhoven has a huge advantage in overall strength.

With the high center forward as the tactical fulcrum, plus speed players such as Kezman and Rommedal to support on the side, and Van Bommel and Vogel in the midfield, PSV Eindhoven's midfield combination is very strong and difficult to handle.

But sometimes, you can be invincible in the Netherlands, but it may not be the case in the European arena.

It was the same Philips Stadium, the same lineup, the same tactics, but Hiddink's team had just defeated Valverde 4:0, but three days later, they were defeated 0:4 by Arsenal. Gilberto Silva, the Brazilian midfielder who had just transferred from Ajax to Arsenal this season, scored the first goal for Arsenal.

After this game, the whole Netherlands had to reflect on it. Everyone had to start accepting a cruel reality, that is, the Eredivisie has been left further and further behind by the five major European leagues, and even the Portuguese Super League has begun to overwhelm the Eredivisie.

Many Dutch football professionals have begun to analyze what exactly caused the Eredivisie teams to lack combat effectiveness in the European arena? What caused Ajax's strong rise in the European arena in recent years?

Cruyff specifically mentioned this in his column. He believed that the most important credit for Ajax's rise came from their head coach, Ye Qiu.

"Football is always developing, constantly improving, self-improving, self-renewing. Only by constantly improving can we ensure that we always stand at the forefront."

"Dutch football once stood at the top of the world football. We have a football system that we are proud of. We have all-out attack and defense, which is hailed as the greatest change in football history. We have a group of epoch-making superstars. We have conquered countless fans all over the world."

"But all this is over. People can't live in the memory of the past forever!"

"Recently I met Mr. Michel van Praag. He told me that Ye Qiu, this stubborn and persistent Chinese, is the most critical soul for Ajax to get to where it is today. Three years ago, a gamble between him and Westerhof not only changed Ye Qiu himself, but also completely changed Ajax."

"Ye Qiu advocates the integration of offense and defense, emphasizes overall teamwork, and improves control over the game. I think these It is worth pondering for other Dutch head coaches, because many people are still stuck in the glorious days of the past. "

"Just like Hiddink of PSV Eindhoven, when more and more teams began to change the double striker combination, or even gave up the double striker and adopted a single striker tactic, he raised the banner of the high-speed double striker combination, and he did not see that Liverpool, which performed well last season, started this season with 3 wins and 3 draws, and two of the wins were very thrilling and embarrassing. "

"In these 6 games, Owen scored 1 goal and Heskey 0. Most of the 13 goals scored by the team came from the midfield, and the defenders scored 2 goals. I wonder if this can bring more warnings to PSV Eindhoven? "

"In his column, Cruyff criticized Hiddink's PSV Eindhoven without scruples, believing that this team will lack the most basic combat effectiveness in the European arena and cannot make any achievements, because Hiddink's tactics are still at the national team level.

"If we simply look at the trend of leading tactical thinking, club competitions have completely surpassed national team competitions such as the World Cup and the European Cup, because the advantage of club competitions lies in transfers. They can rely on the transfer market as a platform to introduce suitable players to make up for the team's own shortcomings and better reflect the head coach's tactical thinking, but this is not the case with national teams."

"In the past few years, there have been many teams with outstanding performance in the European arena, such as the star-studded Real Madrid, the iron-blooded and invincible Bayern Munich, or Manchester United. They are all very good, but fundamentally speaking, they all lack the reform to lead the trend of tactical thinking."

"But we saw this in Ye Qiu's Ajax. It's no secret that he is the most creative head coach I have seen in the past three years. Even AC Milan's Ancelotti is not as good as him. So I am very optimistic about Ye Qiu's Ajax. I firmly believe that they can beat AC Milan at the San Siro Stadium."

Cruyff's praise was considered exaggerated by many people. The purpose was to boost the morale of Ajax in Italy, but many professionals also believed that Ajax was indeed the only team that was eye-catching in the European arena in the past two or three years.

In terms of player strength alone, Ajax is far from the strongest, not even the top, because this group of rookies with an average age of only about 20 are still in the stage of rapid improvement, but they can become the nightmare of all the giants in the European arena, relying on their own strong and complete tactical system.

However, compared to Cruyff's partiality to Ajax, someone in Serie A immediately refuted Cruyff's words, believing that AC Milan played at home and Ancelotti's team had been strengthened this season, and would definitely be able to beat Ajax at the San Siro Stadium.

"Perhaps Cruyff has been away from professional football for too long, and his thoughts are still stuck in the past. He even spends more time on other aspects instead of continuing to pay attention to football, so he doesn't know that AC Milan has the most luxurious player lineup in Serie A and even European football, while Ajax has what?"

Even in this game, at the San Siro Stadium, when the on-site commentator analyzed the starting lineups of the two teams, he still couldn't figure it out.

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“Ancelotti attaches great importance to this game and sent out all the main players. Goalkeeper Dida, the back line is Kaladze, Maldini, Nesta and Simic, the midfield is Seedorf, Pirlo and Gattuso, Rivaldo and Rui Costa are forward, and Inzaghi plays as a single striker.”

“AC Milan has been in excellent form recently. First, they defeated Modena 3:0 away from home with Inzaghi's double and right back Simic's goal. Then they defeated Perugia 3:0 at San Siro Stadium with Maldini, Inzaghi and Seedorf's goals. They are currently at the top of the Serie A standings.”

AC Milan also played very well in the Serie A this season, with two consecutive wins, 6 goals and 0 goals conceded. This can be said to be a dream start. The 4321 tactics created by Ancelotti also fully demonstrated the strong offensive ability. In the case of Shevchenko's injury, Inzaghi scored 3 goals in two games and was in a very hot state.

"Ajax's starting lineup for this game has been adjusted. The goalkeeper is Van der Sar, the back line is Abidal, Kivu, Lucio and Maicon, the midfield is Arteta, Mascherano and Sneijder, and the front trident is Robben, Ibrahimovic and Van der Vaart."

"Because the main midfielder De Jong is injured and absent, and the midfielder Maduro who replaced De Jong in the last game performed mediocrely, Ye Qiu chose the 18-year-old Argentine teenager, Javier Mascherano, to start this game. This player has not played a formal game for Ajax yet. This is his first debut in the new season."

When the commentator said this, he smiled, and the TV also heard the deafening momentum from the San Siro Stadium. "Many professionals believe that the key to this game lies in Ajax's back."

"One of the important reasons why Ajax was able to win one after another last season is that they have a strong back The defensive midfielder was in the middle of the field, and Gilberto Silva was in the middle and back field. However, after this player transferred to Arsenal, De Jong took the main position. Although the team won one after another, De Jong's performance did not convince everyone. "

"In this game, De Jong was injured, and the defensive midfielder position is bound to become Ajax's weak point. Can Mascherano, a young player who is only 18 years old, withstand the pressure from tens of thousands of fans at the San Siro Stadium? "

"Of course, relatively speaking, the offense that Ajax relied on last season has not only been retained this season, but has also been strengthened to a certain extent. This will be a test for AC Milan's defense line, which is not strong to begin with. After all, Ajax's offense is a headache for Juventus. "

When the commentator on the scene analyzed the advantages and disadvantages of the two teams, Ye Qiu and Ancelotti were also in their respective locker rooms, facing their players, analyzing the advantages and disadvantages of their opponents, and also emphasizing their own tactics in this game.

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“They like to control the ball!”

Ye Qiu looked at the group in front of him, all of whom looked up at his players, and talked about his impression of AC Milan.

Pirlo, who is a front midfielder, plus a classic front midfielder Rui Costa, Gattuso, a troublemaker in the midfield, and Seedorf, who can do anything, would believe that such a midfield combination does not control the ball?

“As I said at the tactical preparation meeting before the game, all tactics boil down to one sentence, not to make the opponent feel comfortable, and AC Milan’s favorite is undoubtedly to use their midfield to control the ball, create an advantage, and continuously supply ammunition to the players in front.”

“Remember what I said? The opponent’s strongest link is often the weakest link!”

Ye Qiu has studied and pondered this sentence for four years. Even now, he still regards this sentence as a wise saying.

"AC Milan likes to control the ball, relying on Pirlo and Rui Costa, so they like slow rhythm, slow control of the ball, and slow passing, because this can ensure their control of the ball, and even from this, they often enter the game rhythm slowly, because they have to adapt to the opponent's defensive strength."

Looking at the current situation, including the warm-up matches, AC Milan has also had many problems, including weak defense, incompatibility of the two forwards Inzaghi and Shevchenko, and slow entry into the game.

How slow? They always play badly at the beginning, sometimes more than ten minutes, sometimes half an hour, and sometimes even in the second half, which is determined by their tactical style and personnel configuration.

"We can't let them control the rhythm, so from the beginning of the game, we have to attack and catch them off guard, increase the speed of the ball, and always run at a fast pace. This is our best weapon. Can we do it?" Ye Qiu asked.

Seeing the head coach paying attention to him, Ibrahimovic nodded, "Don't worry, boss, I'm going to kill Nesta!"

That arrogant look seemed to mean that after killing Nesta, who is known as the world's top central defender, it means that he can become the world's number one center forward.

"It's not enough to have only the middle, the two sides must also put pressure on them. Kaladze on the left will be given to Rafael, and Simic on the right will be given to Arjan. I believe you all know these two opponents very well, swallow them up for me!"

Before the game, every player had already got the technical characteristics of the AC Milan players in this game, and they were all familiar with them.

"Pass me a few at the beginning, so that I can get to know Simic!" Robben said eagerly.

The Eredivisie can no longer satisfy this Dutch flying hero. He is now most excited about playing in the Champions League.

In Ye Qiu's tactical analysis, Robben's speed advantage is very obvious when he meets Simic, which is why Robben said this.

"Midfield is very important. Gattuso covers a wide area. We can't fight him directly. We need to pass the ball more. Sneijder must keep a close eye on Pirlo and put pressure on him. It is best to block him directly. If not, you must stick to him. Do you understand?"

"I understand, boss!" Sneijder nodded.

"Seedorf is also very important to AC Milan's midfield. Rafael should support Maicon appropriately, especially when Seedorf is in a position. You must keep a close eye on him and not relax at all."

Van der Vaart nodded. His task in this game is to kill Kaladze and block Seedorf, but he is not alone. There is also Maicon in a forward position. However, the Brazilian must also pay attention to his compatriot Rivaldo.

"Javier has a heavy task in this game!" Ye Qiu looked at Mascherano.

As the team's defensive midfielder, no matter which game, the task will be quite heavy, because almost the most important defensive task in the midfield will fall on him, so Ye Qiu left it to the end.

"I have analyzed it for you before. Rivaldo's position is on the left. He often pulls to the side to get the ball, while Rui Costa must ensure his distance from Rivaldo and Inzaghi. Therefore, Mascherano's task is to protect the defense line and find ways to make Rui Costa disappear."

This task is indeed a bit heavy, because the challenges faced are all brought by the best stars in the world.

Rivaldo, Rui Costa and Seedorf are all stars with excellent skills and strong personal abilities. Facing one, many defenders will be a little overwhelmed. Facing two, they are already overwhelmed, but now they have to face three...

"Don't worry, you are not fighting alone!" Ye Qiu patted Mascherano on the shoulder encouragingly.

It is impossible for one person to cover the entire area from left to right in front of the defense line, so Abidal on the left side pays more attention to defense to relieve Mascherano's pressure, and Arteta will also retreat appropriately to help Mascherano and share the pressure of the Argentine.

After explaining all the tasks, Ye Qiu was silent for a while, and scanned all the players in the locker room. His eyes showed trust, dependence, and common progress and retreat.

As the head coach of the team, if he wants to win the game, he must rely on and depend on the players, and as a player, if he wants to win the game, he must also rely on the head coach's strategic planning and targeted tactics. The two are inseparable.

"This is our first Champions League match of the new season, and it is also the opening match of this super death group."

"There is a saying that is right, a good start is half the success. A good opening match is crucial to the trend of our entire group. I want to remind everyone that we don't want to be second in the group. We either don't fight or we fight. We will always fight for the best and do the best!"

"I want to be first in the group. I want all of us to hold our heads high and stand out from this so-called super death group proudly as the first in the group. Winning this game is the first step towards our success!"

All the players were infected by Ye Qiu's words and the fighting spirit of the head coach.

"Forget everything we achieved last year, because that's in the past. If we want to reach the semi-finals again and make all those giants fall at our feet again, we must show our strength and fighting spirit again and conquer them with one game after another!"

Speaking of this, Ye Qiu pointed to the door of the locker room.

"Outside is San Siro, the sacred temple that countless Rossoneri fans cannot defeat. Today, you and I will use this game to defeat AC Milan and conquer all the fans here."

"Their boos, curses, and humiliations are our best driving force!"

"The louder they boo and the more rude they curse, the more fighting spirit we have. We are going to use this game to completely destroy this group of giants who think they are superior and trample them under our feet!"