Chapter 184: Fighting like crazy

February 2, 2003, Tilburg William II Stadium

When the referee blew the whistle to end the game, Co Adrianse, who was in the coaching booth of the home team, hugged his proud head tightly. The coaches of William II sitting around him were all confused and at a loss, and at the same time, a little relieved.

Yes, they should be relieved, even if the bright red score of 0:6 on the big red scoreboard looks so shocking, but they should all be grateful for the end of the game, because if the referee did not blow the whistle again, they would not know whether Ajax would score more goals.

6:0, this is definitely a bloody massacre that happened in the William II Stadium and in front of all the fans of Tilburg William II, and it was a one-sided massacre. Ajax not only showed its strong offensive power, but also let everyone see the team's stable and solid defensive skills.

In this match, both teams played offensive football. Adrianse's team played at home without any reservations. Ye Qiu's team had been resting for three weeks and constantly improving the team's offensive and defensive systems. Everyone in the team was eager to test the team's training effect through a match.

Since both sides played without reservation, William II should not have no chance.

But William II lost this match completely and was defeated.

Ajax's performance in this match is a vivid proof of the saying that offense is the best defense!

When the game reached the 8th minute, Van der Vaart dribbled the ball on the right and shot after passing the opponent continuously, and penetrated William II's goal. Adrianse was not anxious at all, and kept calling on the players on the sidelines to stay calm and continue to stick to the pre-match tactics.

It is not uncommon to fall behind when playing against Ajax. Even those giants are often suppressed at the beginning, let alone William II?

But when Willem II finally gained a foothold and was about to make some plans, Ibrahimovic scored again in the 18th minute. This goal put Willem II into crisis again and weakened morale.

Ajax played very actively on both sides of the field in this game. Robben and Van der Vaart frequently created threats on both wings. In the 33rd minute, when Willem II had not yet recovered from the previous goal, Ajax took advantage of a corner kick. Lucio headed the ball and Kivu headed the ball into the goal, 3:0.

The first half was spent in the 0:3 deficit. During the halftime break, Adrianse clearly felt the signs of emotional collapse of the players. Almost all Willem II players lost their fighting spirit. They still couldn't figure out why they played so badly in this game.

In the second half, Ajax scored a goal in their first attack. Ibrahimovic took the ball with his back and passed it back to Sneijder, who made a long shot and penetrated the goal of Willem II again.

The crazy Ajax was able to create threats in almost every attack, and the crippled Willem II seemed to be unable to defend no matter how hard he tried, and the ball could hardly pass the midfield. Ajax boldly moved the defense line to Willem II's half, and Mascherano was directly active in the 30-meter area.

In the 67th minute, Ibrahimovic scored the fifth goal of the game, and Huntelaar, who came on as a substitute, scored another goal for the team in the 78th minute, finally locking the score at 6:0!

The fans in the stands of Willem II Stadium looked very angry, and they booed and cursed the team's head coach and players in the stands, suspecting that they did not give their best in the game. Some even held up cards they had written temporarily, asking the players if they had received money and played a fixed match?

The fans' irrational emotional outbursts could not conceal Ajax's near-perfect performance in this game.

Adrianse himself knew very well that the team's strength was not as good as Ajax's, but this was only one aspect. On the other hand, Ye Qiu played the high-position defense plus the ball control tactics in the 30-meter area to the fullest. Mascherano's performance in this game was also very stable, and the Ajax players were also in excellent condition.

It should be said that through the past three weeks of secret training, Ye Qiu finally found the strongest combination in Ajax's midfield.

The players are still Arteta, Mascherano and Sneijder, and the tactics are still 433, but there are some adjustments in the division of labor and running areas, and the players' cooperation and support have improved. For example, Arteta's position is a little further back than before, closer to Mascherano.

Sneijder's position is closer to the middle, which is to ensure the distance and connection between Arteta and Mascherano, and also to provide space for Van der Vaart to cut inside on the right, or Ibrahimovic to retreat.

Did Ajax perform well in this game?

No, not too well!

Adrianse knew very well that if Ajax's operation was not smooth and skillful enough, and the players' cooperation was not a bit unfamiliar, it would not be too much to score 10 goals against Willem II in this game, because they created too many opportunities. The number of shots alone was as many as 32 times, and most of the shooting opportunities were within the 20-meter area. If Ajax seized the opportunity a little higher, how many goals could they score?

Because the midfield was running smoothly, Ye Qiu had enough confidence to boldly push the defense forward and take high-position defense. Because Arteta's position was slightly withdrawn, with Mascherano's protection and assistance, he dared to boldly control the ball and organize within 30 meters, which made William II unable to resist.

Imagine that the ball could not leave William II's half, Ajax kept pressing William II, ground penetration, side breakthrough, 45-degree cross, whatever was threatening... What would the scene be like?

Adrianse himself had a preference for offensive football, so he could see that Ye Qiu's team had been well-matched, especially on the offensive end. After the introduction of Arteta, the offensive potential of the entire team was thoroughly tapped.

The reason why there was no performance in the first half was more due to the lack of defense. During the winter break, Ye Qiu spent three weeks to carve the team's defense. Once the defense was solid, the offensive threat was completely reflected.

Although Adrianse has the typical Dutch pride, he has to admit in his heart that he not only lost this game, but also lost thoroughly, and it is probably difficult for him to have a chance to turn things around.

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Ajax defeated Willem II 6:0 away from home, which made Ajax fans excited as if Christmas was not over yet, and also made the entire Dutch media excited. Some media even joked that Ye Qiu's engagement meant maturity, which also made the young Ajax mature.

William II had only three pitiful shots in the whole game, and none of them were on target. This shows that Ajax is not only excellent in offense, but also very solid in defense. It is really a balance between offense and defense.

But this also puts pressure on many competitors. PSV Eindhoven's performance in this round is also very good, but now it is completely suppressed by Ajax. When Hiddink was interviewed by the media, he had to admit that with the strength shown by Ajax in this game, it is very difficult for PSV Eindhoven to reverse.

Whether it was tactical, to paralyze the opponent, or out of sincerity, at least it made Hiddink, who was so arrogant before the season and seemed to have won the Eredivisie championship, say such a thing. Ye Qiu and Ajax have already won.

But Ye Qiu was not proud of it at all. When he was interviewed by the media, he said that PSV Eindhoven was still the strongest competitor of Ajax to win the Eredivisie championship. Ajax was only 4 points ahead, which was not enough to ensure the championship. Everyone in the team must be modest and play one game at a time.

Three days later, the Dutch Cup's round of 16 knockout match came. Ajax defeated Roda JC 2:0 at home. This time, Ye Qiu boldly used most of the substitute players to play. Huntelaar and Van der Meyde's goals helped the team win and advance.

The next round of the game will be in March, and Ajax's opponent is Groningen.

Returning to the Eredivisie, Ajax welcomed Van Marwijk's Feyenoord at the Arena Stadium.

Ye Qiu can only describe this team, which is known as the mortal enemy of Ajax, in one sentence: sailing against the current, if you don't advance, you will retreat.

Although PSV Eindhoven seems to be frugal in the past two years, it has also added many powerful players, including the Korean double star, Kezman, Hovland, and several other rookies who were abandoned after poor performance. These are all signals that PSV Eindhoven has strengthened its strength.

Not to mention, PSV Eindhoven in 2000 was all-powerful in the Eredivisie, and its own strength was very strong.

In the past few years, except for selling Van Nistelrooy, PSV Eindhoven has not lost much strength, but has steadily improved.

But Feyenoord sells players almost every year, from Kroos to Dudek to Van Gastel and Thomason. When Feyenoord sold these players, the players they introduced did not meet the original expectations. At most, the introduction of Japanese international Shinji Ono improved the midfield.

On the other hand, in order to challenge PSV Eindhoven, Ajax has built a strong lineup of stars. Perhaps many of these stars are not mature enough now, but their strength and talent are beyond doubt. When they are combined into a team, the strength they can exert is amazing enough.

Because he saw through the current situation of Feyenoord's decline in strength, Ye Qiu was not worried about this game. He still adopted the home attack tactics and launched a fierce attack on Feyenoord from the beginning.

Van Marwijk knows Ajax and Ye Qiu inside out. They have been dealing with each other for three or four years. He is very clear about Ajax's tactical characteristics, so he played very steadily at the beginning and defended Ajax's attack, but near the end of the first half, Ajax launched another round of attack and Feyenoord's goal was lost.

In the second half, Ajax defeated Feyenoord 2:0 with Ibrahimovic's goal.

A week later, Ajax welcomed Groningen at home.

Ajax, who had been well rested, scored a goal against Groningen in the first minute at the Arena Stadium with Sneijder's goal. Then, in the 3rd and 9th minutes, Ibrahimovic scored twice to help the team take a 3:0 lead.

In the 12th minute, Robben's goal further expanded the score. In the 25th minute, Ibrahimovic scored a hat trick. At this point, the game had completely lost suspense, and Ajax ended the first half with a 5:0 lead.

In the second half, Yaya Toure, who came on as a substitute, scored another goal, and the final score was locked at 6:0.

At this time, the entire Eredivisie league went crazy, and all competitors could not sit still.

Since the start of the second half, Ajax has played 4 games, scoring a total of 16 goals and conceding no goals. Such an amazing record can almost be said to be a transformation of the entire team. What surprised everyone was that in these four games, the combination of Arteta, Sneijder and Mascherano appeared in three games, including the two 6:0 games.

Everyone began to be surprised by Ajax's performance in the second half, which also attracted the attention of the Champions League opponents. In the match against Groningen, Carlos Queiroz, assistant to Manchester United coach Ferguson, sat in the stands of the Arena Stadium and watched the whole game.

But no one knows whether the Portuguese saw any clues from this game.

Ye Qiu was also not polite to his opponent. When the whole Netherlands was promoting Ajax's amazing performance in the second half, he brought his assistant Roland and appeared at Old Trafford in a low-key manner to watch Manchester United's FA Cup round of 16 knockout match against Arsenal.

The FA Cup match is a decisive one, and the opponent is a deadly enemy like Arsenal. Ye Qiu is not worried that Ferguson will hold back.

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"It's been a long time since I saw Veron!"

Sitting in the stands of Old Trafford, Roland said with a hint of sarcasm while holding Manchester United's starting lineup.

Ye Qiu glanced at the fat Dutchman with a malicious face and couldn't help but grin. Sometimes he would be pissed off by Roland, but sometimes he would also be laughed to death by him, just like now, when he suddenly mentioned Veron for no reason.

The Argentine's situation at Manchester United is really getting worse and worse. In his previous life, many fans thought that he performed poorly at Manchester United, but in fact, it was not. He was never scolded by the Red Devils fans in unison during his two years at Manchester United. At best, only a small number of fans blamed him, and the club's management and head coach never blamed him.

The combination of Manchester United and Veron should have been a perfect match made in heaven, but sometimes the timing was wrong, causing this pair of people to completely become enemies.

Veron's performance in the first half of the Champions League was still good and remarkable, but after the injury, Ferguson adjusted the tactics back to Manchester United's traditional 442, and the same was true in this game against Arsenal.

Sitting in the stands of Old Trafford, Ye Qiu listened to the deafening shouts of the fans after the players entered the stadium. He had to say that the atmosphere of Old Trafford was still good, at least when playing against Arsenal.

And Beckham, he still looked very energetic, and after this game, it is estimated that he will not only have another scar on his eyebrow bone, but his departure will also completely lead to the decline of Manchester United's midfield, and it will not be able to return to its former strength for several years.

Ferguson probably knows what Beckham can do on the right, and he believes that Veron can do it. The Argentine was born as a right midfielder, and letting Veron play on the right can also alleviate the conflict between Veron and Keane and Scholes in the middle. This is why he decided to let Beckham go.

Of course, these decisions were made after the flying shoe incident.

However, Ferguson miscalculated again this time, and the reason was still the same as letting Stam go before.

Selling Stam and Beckham are both right. Ye Qiu always believes that there is no player that cannot be sold in any team, and it is absolutely unacceptable to let the players override the head coach.

But the key is that selling must be done skillfully. Of course, it is not Ferguson's decision to treat Beckham as an item on a supermarket shelf and put a price tag on it for sale, but Ferguson's mistake is that he did not know Veron's wishes in advance.

When selling Beckham was a foregone conclusion, Veron refused to go to the wing and even transferred to Chelsea because of this. This undoubtedly put Manchester United in a very passive position. Ferguson's prestige in Manchester United was too high. He naturally thought that he could convince Veron, but he forgot that Veron was not Beckham.

When Beckham wanted to play in the middle, Ferguson was able to convince him to stay on the right with his prestige, but Veron could not.

Sometimes when thinking about it, Ye Qiu really felt that an overly tough character was ultimately a double-edged sword.

Ferguson is like this, Adrianse is like this, and Van Gaal is like this.

The match between Manchester United and Arsenal ended in 0:2. The two sides played very fiercely, but Manchester United finally lost at home. Even if Ferguson tried his best, he still lost.

Ye Qiu could only smile bitterly. It seems that some things cannot be changed by himself. What is going to happen will still happen.

However, this game is not completely without gains. At least he saw through Manchester United's weakness.

If Arsenal's first goal was a direct free kick, which doesn't explain the problem, then the second goal is definitely the problem of the two central defenders. Two people can't stop Wiltord, and they are facing each other. This can only be said to be the problem of the defensive players themselves.

"Let's go, Roland!" After the whistle sounded at the end of the game, Ye Qiu also felt that there was no need to continue sitting down. Anyway, he couldn't see the flying shoe incident, so it would be better to return to Amsterdam earlier.

The two walked slowly towards the exit of Old Trafford, one in front and one behind.

Just as they approached the exit, someone patted Ye Qiu's shoulder gently from behind.

"It's really you, Mr. Ye Qiu!" The man was full of surprise.