Football: The immortal legend on the green field

De Jong stood there with his hands on his hips, watching silently as his opponent celebrated their victory in his home stadium. It was a really uncomfortable feeling... Litmanen came up to comfort De Jong. He was the captain and he had to fulfill his responsibilities as captain even when the team lost.

De Jong tilted his head and whispered to Litmanen: "I'm fine, go check on Huntelaar, that little guy is crying like a tearful man."

Litmanen walked away with a wry smile. The young and energetic Huntelaar would never have thought before the game that the powerful Ajax would lose, and part of the reason for the loss was related to himself. Before this game, privately, he had a lot of opinions about Van Basten. He thought that with his ability, he should be worthy of a starter for the Dutch team. Forget about Van Nistelrooy, he is the king of the small penalty area, but what is Van Persie? Whether in Arsenal or Ajax, he has scored very few goals. Why is he always surpassed?

As the saying goes, the greater the hope, the greater the disappointment. He was in a very bad mood. This was probably the worst defeat he had ever encountered since he moved from the youth team to the adult team. In the competition with Shen Bin, he was also at a disadvantage. Although no one blamed him, he knelt on the ground and cried bitterly when the final whistle sounded.

After Van der Vaart left, De Jong, as the soul of the field, had been in the professional career for several years. What kind of scenes had he not seen? In last year's European Championship, he was sent off with a red card after two minutes of playing. This was the worst thing that could happen to him. What he cares about most now is the opponent's No. 6 - Shen Bin.

Since this season, there has been a trend of defensive midfielders in European football. In the Champions League, all teams with defensive midfielders as the core have achieved good results.

Barcelona's double defensive midfielders Deco and Iniesta, AC Milan's Pirlo, Arsenal's Vieira and Fabregas, Liverpool's Mascherano, in the Champions League group stage that just ended last week, these four teams with organization positioned back to the defensive midfielder all advanced as the first in the group. Instead, Manchester United, Inter Milan, and Bayern Munich, which held on to the old tradition, were eliminated. Even Real Madrid, which was stacked with stars, did not have the fate of packing up and going home.

No one is a fool. Now defensive midfielders with organizational skills have become sought-after by giants. De Jong knows that he is not that kind of material. He can be like Deco of Barcelona or Vieira of Arsenal, but he does not have the ability to be Iniesta and Fabregas, let alone a master-level defensive midfielder like Piero and Mascherano who are both offensive and defensive. He can only be a purely defensive defensive midfielder.

So he has always wanted to find another suitable partner. However, it is not easy for Ajax to buy Shen Bin. It is no longer a rumor in European football that Manchester United wants to recruit Shen Bin to Old Trafford.

But the fact is, according to gossip, Shen Bin had a rift with Manchester United's star player Rooney at the Golden Boy Award ceremony. Rooney even said privately, "Either he or I, or I or he," putting pressure on the club.

Real Madrid, which is interested in Shen Bin, seems to have been boycotted by fans. This is exactly the opportunity for Ajax. Head coach Koeman has even asked the club's top management to actively arrange the transfer of the Chinese "magician" this summer. This game may have stimulated him even more deeply!

With the same height as him, amazing explosive power, excellent ability to grab points, excellent footwork, comprehensive shooting skills, and unparalleled overall view, De Jong couldn't think of anyone more suitable to partner with him than Shen Bin.

If the two of them join forces, together with Deng Zhuoxiang and Huntelaar, two killers with completely different styles on the left and right, and both wings fly together, they will have no rivals in the Netherlands. No, maybe they can dominate Europe and win the Champions League.

De Jong was shocked by his own thoughts. The coach and the club would take care of such matters. All he had to do was to try to give Shen Bin a good impression.

Shen Bin had just broken free from the "warm hug" of his teammates when he was pulled by De Jong: "Uh..." De Jong lowered his head and thought about how to start his speech, "I know they compare you and me." When he said this, his eyes turned to the reporters in the stadium, "Reporters always want to create some attractive gimmicks for a game." De Jong shrank his head and took off his Eindhoven jersey, "But what I want to say is: we are two kinds of midfielders with very different styles. You are like Iniesta, and I am more like Deco. You did a good job! I lost... You deserved to win this game!" He handed the jersey to Shen Bin.

This was the second time that the opponent took the initiative to exchange jerseys with him. Shen Bin was no longer as awkward and embarrassed as the first time, and he also took off his jersey. Although the game was fierce, the performance of the players on both sides was still very friendly.

In the press conference after the game, Koeman admitted his failure and apologized to Ajax fans. At the same time, he did not think that losing to Haarlem could be considered an upset.

"If we had faced Haarlem last year, it would have been a huge upset, but now, they (Haarlem) can no longer be regarded as a second-tier team."

"Neeskens is my predecessor. He has an unparalleled eye for talented players. Just like he recommended me and Van Basten to Mr. Michels ten years ago, he can always find the difference between some talented players and ordinary players."

"He leads Haarlem with a group of talented young players. No one can underestimate them. PSV Eindhoven lost to them, but we are still no match for them. This is not the end of the world. It's good that Ajax has nothing to lose this season."

"We can rebuild our team two months in advance and prepare to stand up again next season." A reporter said afterwards that when Koeman said this, his expression was calm, but his tone still revealed a hint of bitterness. "

When a reporter asked what he thought about the strengths and weaknesses of the three Dutch wingers, Huntelaar, Reuben and Gural, Koeman said: "At this stage, the three of them are at the same level. Reuben lost, Huntelaar also lost, but it was not Gural who won. The reason why Gural seems to be better is that there is a giant standing behind Gural. No matter which player, as long as he is in the same team with Shen Bin, he will perform beyond his own level. This is why Gural performed better..."

What Koeman said is a bit absolute. The truth is not as simple as he said.

For four consecutive games, both the coach and players of Haarlem have been very tense. The next league game is on Sunday night, and the opponent is Maastricht, which is currently last in the points table. This is a small town in the south less than 20 kilometers away from Amsterdam. The coaching staff decided to give the players a day off. The tension cannot be too high, as it will easily make the players feel war-weary.

Even during the break, Shen Bin couldn't get any free time. Neeskens called Shen Bin to his office for a long talk. As for the content, outsiders didn't know. But in the league on May 5, something different happened in Haarlem Athletic.

The holiday is over and the team is back in training mode.

After all, we are still in the league period. A short break is fine, but we can't stay on standby for a long time.

The training camp is still mainly focused on various tactical adjustments, supplemented by small-scale passing and receiving coordination.

Neeskens' suspension has ended and he is back to full health. He stood on the sidelines and watched Brewer lead the team in training.

Brewer has reduced his training volume relatively, as Harlem Athletic will have three games in seven days three days later.

Unlike the previous two weeks, cup matches and league matches will be held alternately, and the FA Cup final against Utrecht will not be staged until June 6, a week before the end of the league.

On the day before yesterday when Haarlem eliminated Ajax, Utrecht also defeated the stronger team, 1:0 overturning Feyenoord, who is currently second in the standings of the First Division, and had a peak showdown with Haarlem in the FA Cup. The cup final between two second-division teams broke the record since the inception of the Dutch Cup.

Even in the whole of Europe, this situation has basically never happened before, which has attracted the attention of mainstream media throughout Europe.