Chapter 202 Wolf Nature

Camp Nou, the palace of Barcelona, ​​is the last bastion in the hearts of fans even in the most disastrous moments of the team, especially in the Champions League, where Camp Nou has never been conquered this season.

This also gave Barcelona fans enough confidence and confidence, making them feel that no matter how good Ajax is, they have to keep their tails tucked in at Camp Nou and be low-key.

The start of the game seemed to confirm the speculation of Barcelona fans. The home team started smoothly because Ajax adopted a more risky high-position defense and wanted to engage in more midfield and frontcourt entanglements with Barcelona. However, in the league, Barcelona has suffered from Valencia's high-position defense and suffered a defeat at Camp Nou. Antić learned from experience this time.

This time, Barcelona's tactics are 442, with Bonano as the goalkeeper, Gabri, Rezig, De Boer and Puyol as the back line, Overmars, Seydou Keita, Xavi and Mendieta as the midfielders, and Kluivert and Saviola as the double forwards.

Ajax adjusted the team's starting lineup in this game, changing from the original 433 to 4231 tactics.

The goalkeeper is Van der Sar, the back line is Abidal, Kivu, Lucio and Maicon, the double defensive midfielders are Yaya Toure and Mascherano, the three players in the front court are Arteta, Sneijder and Van der Vaart, and the single striker is Ibrahimovic.

Arteta played on the left side, and his speed is not slow, but he, Sneijder and Van der Vaart are all players with strong organization. It is indeed surprising to arrange these three players behind Ibrahimovic at the same time. The only one with relatively strong attacking ability in the front court is Van der Vaart.

Of course, to some extent, Ajax is still 433, but Sneijder's position is more forward, and Arteta replaced Robben in the starting lineup, so the overall tactics have not changed much.

At the beginning of the game, Ajax still pushed the defense forward, and it seemed that they were still adhering to the high-position defense strategy they had pursued in the past three years. Barcelona's start was not conservative at all. The two sides started a bloody hand-to-hand fight, and no one held back.

This surprised many people, because they thought that Ajax, who was playing away, should adopt a more prudent strategy, but they didn't expect Ye Qiu to be so radical. Is he really so confident in his attack?

When Ibrahimovic stood in front of De Boer and Rezig, everyone knew where Ye Qiu's confidence came from.

But it was Barcelona who scored the first goal.

Kluivert pulled to the left and cooperated with Overmars in a two-on-one match, successfully breaking through Maicon's defense. After that, Kluivert's pass helped Saviola break through Lucio and Kivu's defense. The Argentine teenager shot low and scored at the first time. He was the first to break Ajax's goal just 9 minutes into the game.

But Ajax was not polite either. In the 16th minute, Frank de Boer could not stop Ibrahimovic, the powerful Swedish center forward. Ibrahimovic forced his way through De Boer and Rezig, and his powerful shot was saved by Bonano. Van der Vaart made a supplementary shot and scored, 1:1.

After equalizing the score, Barcelona, ​​who played at home, seemed more anxious. They could not let Ajax defend and press in their own half, so they began to launch a fierce attack on Ajax's defense.

But Ajax's strategy in this game was a bit strange. Arteta, Sneijder and Van der Vaart were in the front, and Yaya Toure was in the back. There were four ball-carrying points in the midfield. In addition, Ajax pushed the defense forward and increased the density of the midfield by compressing three lines.

As the density increases, Barcelona's individual technical advantages are weakened, and Ajax does not seem to be very eager to score goals, but more wants to compete with Barcelona for the ball and possession.

"In the past, Ajax has always given people the impression that it is a team that does not insist on competing for possession time. Ye Qiu even said that effective possession rate is what Ajax pursues, but in this game, Ajax seems to be obsessed with the pursuit of possession, with many back passes in the midfield and backcourt, and Arteta and Van der Vaart have many possession opportunities on both wings."

This is indeed a very puzzling scene, because Ajax from the Netherlands actually controls the ball in front of Barcelona in La Liga? Isn't this showing off in front of Guan Gong?

But Ye Qiu doesn't seem to care at all. Instead, he frequently adjusts and strives to maintain the team's possession time while maintaining forward pressure, and Barcelona seems to know very well that its weakness is in the back line.

It should be said that in front of Ibrahimovic, any Barcelona player is far less tall than Ibrahimovic, especially the entire Barcelona defense line. Is there anyone over 1.8 meters tall?

The tallest is Frank de Boer, who is exactly 1.79 meters tall, Gabri is 1.74 meters tall, Reiziger is 1.78 meters tall, and Puyol is also only 1.78 meters tall. Frank de Boer, the tallest among these people, can barely reach Ibrahimovic's shoulders when standing in front of Ibrahimovic, because the Swede is 1.95 meters tall.

Throwing Ibrahimovic into Barcelona's defense line, he stands out from the crowd, and the effect is very obvious.

And everyone knows that keeping a close eye on Ibrahimovic is equivalent to restraining half of Ajax's offensive threat, because a large part of Ajax's offensive system is completed around Ibrahimovic's running and coordination.

That being said, it may not be possible, but that is another matter. At least not long after scoring the goal, Ibrahimovic created a goal for Ajax to equalize the score, which shocked everyone in Barcelona.

Since Ibrahimovic cannot be restricted physically, the only thing to do is to cut off the pass to Ibrahimovic. Without the ball at his feet, the threat of the Swedish center forward will naturally be greatly reduced, so Barcelona actively started the ball-grabbing game, while Ajax seemed to have become a La Liga team, playing the ball-control game over there.

In fact, Antic also knew very well that it was difficult for his players to restrict Ibrahimovic because they lacked the minimum height and were at a disadvantage in physical confrontation, which made Barcelona very passive.

However, as a Dutch team, Ajax could not catch up with Barcelona in terms of ball control. In the 38th minute, there was a pass error. Barcelona successfully counterattacked. After Kluivert broke through the Ajax defense, he was quickly blocked by the chasing players, but the ball fell at the feet of Seydou Keita.

The Mali midfielder was not polite to his old club at all. He directly swung his left foot and shot a long shot. The ball went into the net.

After surpassing the score again, Barcelona was very excited. All the Barcelona fans in the Camp Nou were crazy. They all felt that as long as they continued to go this way in this game, Barcelona would definitely win.

But strangely, Ajax did not show any impatience. Instead, they still competed with Barcelona for possession of the ball in an orderly manner. But this time they were somewhat conservative and strengthened their defense. They successfully dragged the score of 2:1 to the halftime break, which made Seydou Keita very puzzled.

He knew Ye Qiu very well. Having played under Ye Qiu for two years, he knew very well what kind of temper and personality his former mentor had. Ye Qiu would never allow his team to control the ball so slowly. Ajax's advantage was attack, which was a fast and sharp attack. But why did it change now?

But this was only Seydou Keita's own worry. He had no basis. Moreover, there were many problems within Barcelona now. If he said it out, Antic might not believe it. Maybe others would think that he was deliberately hitting the team's high morale after taking the lead. But after entering the locker room, seeing his teammates panting, Seydou Keita's worries were even greater.

You know, after taking over the team, Antic performed well, and a very important part of the reason was that the lineup was stable and there were few rotations. He trusted the current group of people. Riquelme, Rochemback and other players could only be substitutes, but in this case, physical fitness was a big problem.

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“Well done, guys!”

Contrary to what everyone expected, Ajax, who fell behind in the first half, should cry in the locker room. After Ye Qiu walked into the locker room, he smiled happily because he was very satisfied with the result of the first half, 1:2, only one goal behind.

To be honest, with a center forward like Ibrahimovic and the overall tactical strength of Ajax, Ye Qiu was not afraid of Barcelona at all, and he knew very well that Barcelona could get to this point, and the luck of the draw was very important.

In the two rounds of group matches, Barcelona did not play easily in the first round. The reason why they performed well in the second round was due to defense. Moreover, Barcelona did not encounter too strong teams from beginning to end. Later, they met Arsenal in the knockout round. These two rounds of games were also very difficult. Targeted defense also became the guarantee for Barcelona to advance.

Looking at the Champions League and La Liga this season, Barcelona almost had no way to deal with a center forward. From Makay of Deportivo La Coruna to Kovacevic of Real Sociedad, they all performed very well and eye-catchingly when facing Barcelona.

Therefore, from the beginning of this game, Ye Qiu's strategy was not to defend or fight for possession of the ball, but to take a strategic approach to attack Barcelona. The strategy he formulated for the team was to fight Barcelona for physical consumption in the first half.

From this point, it is not difficult to see that Ye Qiu arranged Yaya Toure to start. The Ivorian was very active in the midfield and covered a wide area. In addition, the team's high defense compressed three lines, making Yaya Toure's destructive power very large.

Why did Ajax want to seize the ball?

Because without possession of the ball, Barcelona would not feel safe, especially in the face of Ajax's high defense.

What to do if there is no sense of security?

It's very simple, grab it!

Get the possession back!

This is easy to say, but the two forwards in Barcelona's frontcourt did not actively participate in defense. Overmars was also old-fashioned and was not active in defense. The more defensive midfielders were Seydou Keita, Xavi and Mendieta. Among them, Seydou Keita had the best physical fitness, but because of the lack of enthusiasm of his teammates, they had to invest more in the game and consume more.

Consumption was Ye Qiu's main purpose in the first half, and attacking was Ye Qiu's tactic in the second half!

"Arjan, are you ready?" Ye Qiu turned around and looked at Robben.

The Dutch Peter Pan stood up under the gaze of his teammates, nodded and said: "Ready, head."

Ye Qiu smiled at Robben, walked up to Arteta again, and patted Arteta on the shoulder, "You did a great job in the first half, Mikel, but we need to attack in the second half."

As early as before the game, Ye Qiu had told Mikel about his arrangements and asked for his opinion through a private communication. The Spaniard must have been a little unhappy, because he had long thought about playing in his own team. He showed off his strength in front of his hometown elders, but Ye Qiu promised to let him play the whole game and start in the second round at Arena Stadium.

Arteta was very convinced of Ye Qiu, so he couldn't resist Ye Qiu's arrangement and could only nod in agreement.

"Okay, everyone, please listen to me!" After appeasing Arteta, Ye Qiu clapped his hands vigorously, attracting everyone's attention, "We played too gracefully in the first half. "Well, that's not good, because we have never been a polite group of people, and we can't do anything too polite."

Ye Qiu deliberately said this in a rogue manner, making the players burst into laughter.

"We are a group of wolves, a group of vicious wolves who have never eaten meat in their lives. Now the meat is right in front of us. We can smell the smell of meat, so we are going to grab it. If anyone stands in front of us, we will grab it. Tear him apart!"

Ye Qiu's words made all the players feel excited, because they all knew that the food the head coach said was the Champions League trophy. As long as they defeated Barcelona, ​​they would have a chance to reach the finals and win the Champions League.

That is something that countless professional players would never dare to imagine in their lifetimes. Even among their group, two or three years ago, would they dare to imagine it? They didn't even dare to expect to play in the Champions League, but now, they have to fight for the Champions League championship. What an honor this is, and what a pride it is!

No mobilization is needed, no passionate speeches are needed, just tell them that the championship is within reach, and they will be full of power!

"I still don't like you who are too polite! Go onto the court and use our strength to tear our opponents apart. Let me see how much you desire the championship and let your opponents feel how hungry you are. How powerful it is!”

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Robben's appearance attracted a lot of attention. Even Antic was a little puzzled. Ye Qiu actually made another substitution during the half-time break. And with Robben's appearance, Ajax naturally returned to the game. Come to the 433 tactics that I am familiar with.

You know, as Ajax has become famous in European competitions in recent years, many people have given Ye Qiu the nickname "Magician", believing that he has the ability to turn stone into gold and can often create magic in the game. Such clever moves can reverse the team's strength, and many times they make bold substitutions during halftime to change the situation.

Therefore, Antic's bold substitution of Ye Qiu in the midfield, replacing Arteta with stronger organizational skills and better ball control, replaced Robben with stronger assault ability and better offensive ability. What does this mean? What kind of signal?

Soon, Antic discovered that he no longer needed to guess. Ajax's offense was very obvious.

At the beginning of the second half, Ajax got a chance. Yaya Toure intercepted the ball from Xavi's foot and passed it to Sneijder. The latter didn't wait for Seydou Keita to get close and kicked the ball straight. The ball was passed to Ibrahimovic's feet. The Swedish center used his body to block Frank De Boer from the top of the penalty area, then turned around and volleyed hard.

The shot was too direct and Bonano stood still and saved the ball.

Ajax's offense had no effect, and Barcelona's counterattack ended with Kluivert. Lucio headed the ball back to Kluivert and gave it to Mascherano, the Argentine midfielder. It was assigned to Abidal on the left, and the Frenchman passed the ball through and passed it to Robben's feet.

After Robben got the ball, he quickly moved forward along the left. Mendieta was already behind him. In front of him, only Puyol was left. Xavi and Seydou Keita were both moving towards him. He retreated and prepared to actively protect the defense, but Robben was faster and immediately met Puyol one-on-one.

As he has gradually gained a foothold in Barcelona over the past few years, Puyol is no longer the rookie he was in the UEFA Cup final two years ago. He has accumulated rich experience in the game. This time he is very focused on Ronaldo. Ben, he knows very well the Dutch's most deadly weapon, sudden changes in speed and direction!

Robben's dribbling is very regular. Anyone can clearly see it with just one look. The distance of each step is the same and the points of each step are very close. Anyone can easily identify him. Where the next step will be, when to step over, and when to step on are all very regular.

Puyol also became familiar with Robben's pace and length immediately, and kept adapting to Robben's dribbling rules in his mind. When he felt that he had no escape, he could only choose to follow Robben. In a head-to-head encounter, he anticipated Robben's next move, guessed where his ball would be, and then blocked his position in advance just when Robben was about to make a move.

This is the knowledge of blocking position. If you cannot guess the opponent's move point and hastily block the position, you will only become a wooden stake for your opponent to go around at will. Puyol now has a very high understanding of his own blocking position. of confidence.

But just as he blocked the position, Robben, who had been paying attention to him, also changed. Just as he was about to take the step, Robben suddenly changed his pace half a step ahead, from dribbling forward to suddenly dribbling inside.

This change just allowed Puyol to block the position, and he couldn't adjust in an instant, and he just followed the dribble, cut inside and suddenly burst out his sprint speed, passing Puyol.

The Spanish right back is indeed very strong, but in a one-on-one against Robben, he is still a little helpless!

Play the wolf in your heart and smash the monthly ticket to death, brothers! ! !