super storm

Chapter 220 We Need Yang Yang! [Fifth update of vomiting blood, 1.5 words, please subscribe monthly pass]

After the seventh round of the Eredivisie, PSV Eindhoven and Feyenoord tied for the top spot with [-] points, ranking the top two respectively.

Utrecht followed with four points, followed by Alkmaar with [-] and Waiters with [-].

Then there are six teams with ten points, Wahlwijk, Nijmegen, Roda JC, Heerenveen, Willem II and Breda.

Ajax only scored nine points, just right at No.12.

Two consecutive defeats in the Champions League group stage, and only nine points in the seven rounds of the Eredivisie. Such a report card can indeed be said to be very bleak.

Not only the domestic media in the Netherlands are raging, but even Ajax fans are furious, thinking that Ronald Koeman has lost his aggressiveness in the new season, otherwise the team would not have played like this at all.

But Van Gaal obviously didn't see it that way.

"Part of the reason for the team's sluggish performance is of course its own problems. After losing five core players in a row, it is difficult for the newly introduced players to immediately display their competitiveness. It is natural for the team's competitiveness to weaken."

Speaking of this, Van Gaal changed the subject, "But at the same time, it should also be seen that the schedule is indeed not good for Ajax."

"Needless to say in the Eredivisie, Heerenveen has always been a pain point for Ajax. It is not unacceptable to lose [-]-[-] against Feyenoord away. As for our away game against Alkmaar..."

Although Van Gaal didn't say it, everyone knows that Alkmaar is not a weak team.

Under the guidance of Co Adrianse, Alkmaar is a strong Eredivisie team with good strength. After Van Gaal took over, he adjusted the team to a certain extent. This will naturally cause some turmoil, which is why they lost to PSV Eindhoven [-]-[-].

Of course, another very important reason is that Eindhoven is really too strong.

"In the past few games, the loss of points that should not be counted was the second half against Den Haag, but at that time it was somewhat affected by the national team's game. Although it was disappointing, there was nothing unacceptable."

Van Gaal's analysis has reached this point, and the situation is already relatively clear.

Ajax must have problems in the new season, but the problems are definitely not as big as seen in the standings.

"The two-game losing streak in the UEFA Champions League can only be said to be a matter of drawing lots. Although Ajax is the defending champion, they were placed in the third pot and were drawn to Juventus and Bayern Munich. How can there be any way to do this? And they have encountered these two giants in the first two games. It is normal to lose [-]-[-] at home to Juventus. Losing [-]-[-] to Bayern Munich in an away game is somewhat collapsed."

Listening to Van Gaal's eloquence, Ronald Koeman kept nodding, "The main reason is that the players are under too much pressure. Ma Kai scored goals one after another, and we were eager to attack, which made the already weak defense even more fragile."

"I also watched that game. Ma Kai's condition is indeed very good. He scored a hat-trick and added an assist, but the most important thing is that the problem of defending the high center was fully exposed."

Roy Mackay is 1.8 meters tall and is a typical Dutch high center forward with excellent scoring ability.

Ajax has always been a central defender with a strong ability to play the ball. Heitinga and Vermaelen this season are both of this type, while Vlaar is a little immature. He failed to guard against Ma Kai in that game.

"This is the price of youth." Van Gaal sighed softly.

Ronald Koeman also felt very helpless. The team played like this. In any case, he, the head coach, has an unshirkable responsibility, and the accusations against him by the media and fans are taken for granted.

"I now regret that I shouldn't let Yang Yang go back to play in the Asian Youth Championship." Ronald Koeman sighed, "That kind of competition has no training value for him. As long as I persisted and let the club communicate with the Chinese Football Association, I will definitely be able to keep him."

After a pause, Ronald Koeman shook his head regretfully and sighed: "But at the time, I thought that the team started off well and should be able to handle it, but I didn't expect..."

When some players are around, you will not feel his importance. Only when he is gone, you will find that you really cannot do without him.

Van Gaal nodded slightly, "In a team, the importance of some players is clearly visible, and some players are relatively low-key, hardworking, and seem to be replaceable, but when you really lose him, you will find that he is actually the most irreplaceable one."

Yang Yang's stats in the first three rounds were not bad, but the team was stumbling at that time, which made his role not fully recognized. But now, after Yang Yang is gone, everyone suddenly realizes that the gap is so big.

With Yang Yang, Ajax scored seven points in the first three rounds, on par with PSV and Feyenoord.

But without Yang Yang, Ajax only scored two points in the next four rounds, while Eindhoven and Feyenoord won four consecutive victories, and one of them was a strong dialogue between Feyenoord and Ajax at home.

Van Gaal sighed softly, "Take your time, the most important thing now is to decompress. For you, the two-week national team competition can be said to be life-saving. You can take a short breath and regroup."

After two weeks, Yang Yang should also return to the team.

It is also interesting to say that the four dark polo teams that reached the semi-finals of the Champions League last season did not perform well this season.

Best of all is Monaco, who are third in Ligue [-], just two points behind leaders Lille and Lyon.

This has a lot to do with Deschamps' relatively complete lineup.

Porto in the Portuguese Super League is also ranked third in the league, but it is four points behind Benfica. This is quite an unsatisfactory result for Porto, which has always regarded the Portuguese Super League championship as a bag.

La Coruña in La Liga is not much better than Ajax. After six rounds, Super Deportivo only ranked No.11 and only scored eight points. Such a report card is comparable to Ajax's situation in the Eredivisie.

Moreover, unlike Ajax's loss of five core players, Super Depor did not lose core players this summer. Instead, it introduced many players, and Irueta's coaching has also begun to be questioned.

In the UEFA Champions League last season, Ajax had the most limelight and the most serious loss of players. So far this season, their results are also the worst.

"The most important thing now is to stabilize the team's lineup and framework as soon as possible, and re-establish the backbone." Van Gaal suggested.

How could Ronald Koeman not know?
The core of the team is not who the head coach says it is. On the one hand, it depends on the player's strength and performance on the field, and on the other hand, it depends on his popularity and status in the locker room.

It's like being the captain of a team. If no one listens to you, the captain's armband will be given to you, that is, the shell commander.

Now Ajax is indeed in an embarrassing stage of replacing the old and the new. Ibrahimovic and Van der Vaart left the team, but the new core of the team has not been established.

Heitinga is the backbone of the team's defense, but he is too rash and not stable enough; Needless to say, De Jong is very brave, but he is not the core material for playing; Sneijder is very suitable, with superb skills and personal ability.

However, Sneijder's character is too low-key and boring, and he is not the very hardworking, hungry and aggressive type. Such a player will not make a fuss about leaving the team, but it is also difficult to lead the team.

Pienaar's playing style is soft, Wesley Songk's performance has been good and bad, Maxwell can be considered, but he is a good guy, he has never seen him offend anyone, and he is similar to Sneijder, not brave enough.

Ronald Koeman also considered a lot, and finally handed over the captain's armband to Garasek, who was unable to play many times.

Calculating and calculating, the team is old and young, and Garasek is the most suitable candidate, but this veteran is gradually at a disadvantage in the competition with De Jong, and his future appearances will only become less and less.

It is not that the coaching staff has not considered Yang Yang. After all, he has performed very well in the first three rounds and the European Super Cup. Although he is usually low-key, he is diligent.

But Yang Yang is not a member of the Ajax youth academy, and he has only been in the team for a year, and he has only been in the first team for half a year. His performance is really good, but the problem is that he only turns up at the end of October. At this age and experience, can he control the locker room?
How could Van Gaal not know Ronald Koeman's difficulties at this moment?

But as the head coach of Ajax, he has to take on this difficulty and solve it.

It is difficult for any team without a soul and a leader to turn around in adversity.

It is true for a game, and it is true for a season.

…………

…………

When the news of Ajax's [-]-[-] draw by AZ Alkmaar in the away game came back to China, the head coach of the national team, Ali Han, also returned to Beijing and came to the headquarters of the Football Association.

Downstairs, facing the media reporters who had been waiting here, Alihan made no secret of the conflict between himself and the Chinese coaching staff.

"I know that many people think that I should respect the opinions of the Chinese coaching staff, but the question is, if we have different opinions, who should we listen to?"

"I am the head coach of the national team. If I listened to them, why didn't the Football Association invite them to be the head coach?"

Alihan also said that these are just differences in business and ideas, not as bad and conspiracy theories as rumored by the outside world. The coaching staff still communicate with each other. He criticized some media for exaggerating the facts.

"Before the key match of the Asian Cup, your so-called authoritative media single-handedly concocted the false news that seven international footballers went out to fight their teeth in violation of the regulations, which caused collective diarrhea and incited fans' emotions. This seriously affected the team's internal unity and preparations. I really can't believe everything you reported. You said he said it, but I don't believe it unless I hear it with my own ears."

For the upcoming Kuwait game, Alihan said that the team is determined to win.

"At the very least, we need to get a draw in the away game, so as to ensure that we advance ahead of schedule, so I just came here today."

When Alihan said this, he was very solemn and said every word: "We need Yang Yang!"

(End of this chapter)