soccer king

The Dutch media did not criticize Ajax excessively in the battle report comments released the next day, and even many ball critics praised Ajax's performance.

At least from the scene, Ajax and Arsenal are evenly divided, no one has an absolute advantage, and Ajax's youth cannot be ignored, and it is commendable to be able to equalize the score in a difficult situation behind.

Starting from this day, the whole Ajax team started a new training and running-in of the technical and tactical system.

Pienaar was removed from the main lineup, which does not mean that he was abandoned, but that the team really couldn't put a fifth offensive player in the frontcourt. Of course, when facing weaker opponents, Pienaar would Returning to the main lineup, now, he will become a substitute for the offensive players in the frontcourt except Ibrahimovic.

The premise of Qin Xiong's position is that he can offload 80% of the defensive tasks. Behind him, there are Garasek and De Jong escorting him. This further improves his requirements, because the closer he is to the front midfielder area , the more difficult it will be for him to organize an attack, because it is very close to the opponent's dense defensive area.

Due to Ajax's huge lead in the league, when they come to the key battle of the Champions League knockout round, they can adjust their physical fitness more loosely.

In the game of Utrecht as a guest on the weekend, Koeman put most of the main players on the bench, allowing them to relieve the fatigue of the midweek Champions League battle.

Ajax failed to win Utrecht and was tied 1:1 by their opponents away.

This should have given PSV Eindhoven another chance to shorten the gap in the league, but unexpectedly, after losing in Heerenveen in the previous round, PSV Eindhoven actually lost to Roda JC at home in the 23rd round. Suffered two consecutive losses, 12 points behind Ajax!

"International Football" released a special report after the 23rd round of the Eredivisie. The title is: Congratulations to Ajax for winning the league championship this season!

This is a satirical headline for PSV Eindhoven, which slams Guus Hiddink's team for not seizing their chances. They were able to close the gap with Ajax to 6 points in the two league rounds, but it turned out to be With 12 points, with 11 rounds left in the league, PSV Eindhoven made the Eredivisie lose suspense.

It is impossible to ask Ajax to underestimate the enemy and keep losing points. They can only blame PSV Eindhoven for not seizing the opportunity.

Ajax's training is step-by-step, entering March, in a league game before going to England, Koeman offered a brand new 433 lineup.

Ajax's opponent is not strong, it is Waalwijk, although it is a guest game, but Ajax still locked the victory in the first 60 minutes.

Qin Xiong scored twice in the game, center Zlatan Ibrahimovic sacrificed himself and was willing to make a wedding dress for him in order to practice how to play against Arsenal.

Ajax returned home with a 4-0 victory, and then the whole team was ready to go, and boarded the plane to London, England two days later.

On the evening of March 3th, Ajax arrived in London!

Carrying a travel bag and getting off the plane, breathing the humid air in England, Qin Xiong tidied up the baseball cap on his head. It was given to him by Georgia. He thought it looked good, so he also put it on when traveling .

Ajax went to the hotel in the city to stay in a low-key manner, and the players consciously rested in the room.

The day before the game, I went to Highbury to step on the field for training.

Highbury is not big, at least the unique shape of the stadium in England makes the interior of the stadium look compact, and their fans stand is always very close to the sideline of the stadium.

This will make the cheering momentum of fanatical fans more clearly transmitted to the players' ears, and maximize the home momentum.

Highbury’s turf is slightly wider, but it’s not much worse than Ajax’s home court. Arsenal pays attention to counterattacks from the side, and the combination of passing and cutting from the side. The width of the field is very important. Sometimes don’t look at it. It's only two or three meters wider than ordinary courts, but the effect on the court is quite different.

The pre-match adaptive training was over, and Ajax arrived in England without causing any ripples.

Even at the press conference before the game, the coaches of the two teams spoke in a low-key manner and did not create any hot topics.

In the calm preparations and anticipation, Arsenal and Ajax met again at Highbury!

Koeman once again emphasized the game mentality in the pre-match locker room.

The score is 1:1.

Ajax is at a disadvantage.

In this context, players are even more required to remain calm and stabilize their mentality.

When Qin Xiong and his teammates lined up to enter the arena, he seemed to have stepped into a different world.

England's unique fan culture renders the entire stadium as an alternative battlefield.

The loud and clear singing echoed in the stadium, which was shocking and exciting.

Singing loudly, praising the team, cheering for the team, the scenery is unique.

Even though Ajax fans follow the team unswervingly and silently support the team, but there are cultural differences, it is difficult to achieve such a spectacular cheering scene as the English team.

"In the second round of the UEFA Champions League 1/8 final, Arsenal played against Ajax at home. The current total score is 1:1. Arsenal, which has the advantage of away goals, returns to the home court. The probability of promotion is significantly higher than that of Ajax. The "Daily Mail" made a prediction that the probability of Ajax advancing to the quarter-finals does not exceed 8%, although it is certain that Fleet Street is confident that Arsenal will advance to the quarter-finals. , and expanded the unbeaten league games this season to 20 games. They are definitely opponents that make European powerhouses very afraid. Obviously not the same.

Let's take a look at today's double-starter starting lineup.

Arsenal has not changed from the previous start, still 442.

Goalkeeper: Lehmann.

Defenders: Lauren, Campbell, Toure, Ashley Cole.

Midfield: Ljungberg, Silva, Vieira, Pires.

Forwards: Bergkamp, ​​Henry.

Ajax has a starting change from the previous game, but the formation has not changed, still 433.

Goalkeeper: Robinte.

Defenders: Grigera, Heitinga, Escuder, Maxwell.

Midfielders: De Jong, Galasek, Qin Xiong.

Forwards: van der Vaart, Ibrahimovic, Sneijder.

Well, the game will start soon, let us wait and see, after 90 minutes or 120 minutes, which team will reach the top 8 of this season's Champions League! "

Wenger, who was standing on the sidelines, frowned slightly when he saw Ajax's starting lineup.

Ajax must score at Highbury if they want to progress, must!

But compared to the previous start, Ajax today followed the adjusted formation in the second half of the previous game.

It obviously didn't look like a strong attacking force by including Pienaar in the starting lineup, but Ajax did just that.

Wenger was a little confused.

But he let go of his worries and regained his confidence.

He firmly believes that Ajax will take the initiative to attack in order to score goals. As long as they attack, Arsenal's counterattack will have more room to play, and there must be more opportunities created!

From the beginning, Ajax played extremely conservative and steady.

Qin Xiong usually passes the ball in a formulaic way in the midfield. In away games, the team needs more time to enter the game state.

Even if Arsenal sits at home, they are not aggressive. Sometimes they are not like the Premier League teams. There is reason to suppress passion.

I don’t know if it’s the 1:1 score that makes Arsenal feel that they have a chance to win. In the opening stage of their home game, they didn’t want to take advantage of the more familiar stadium, the pressure from the cheering fans at home to put pressure on their opponents, and enter the game state faster, waiting for work. Waiting for the advantages to launch a blitzkrieg, they are as conservative as Ajax, focusing on controlling the ball, and will never attack rashly without a good opportunity.

This is actually related to Ajax's defensive system in this game.

Henry, Bergkamp, ​​Pires, Ljungberg.

If there is no player in the midfield.

Ajax has four defenders and double defensive midfielders, and Qin Xiong divides the opponent's front and rear courts in front of the double defensive midfielders when defending. Ajax cuts the opponent's offensive formation with a 7-man pyramid system, and the defense is very tight. .