Chapter 81 The Last Afterglow

The strongest is the weakest, Ye Qiu is increasingly agreeing with this view!

The strongest point of Roma's 3412 lineup is the wing. Without the pulling of Cafu, Candela and Delvecchio on the wing to create tactical width, Totti and Batistuta can easily be targeted by the opponent in the middle, especially Cafu on the right. In Capello's tactics, he almost reached the peak of his career.

But because of his trust and reliance on Cafu, Capello was very relieved to hand over the entire right wing to Cafu, and arranged Zebina behind the Brazilian to assist and fill in for him, so that he could safely invest in the attack.

But Zebina is a right center back after all. In addition to helping Cafu position himself, he also has to help Samuel defend Ibrahimovic.

The Swedish center has a staggeringly tall body, but at the same time he has footwork that other high center forwards do not have. The only obvious flaw is that he likes to stick to the ball and play tricks.

It is difficult for any defender to guarantee that he can keep a close eye on such a player in a one-on-one situation, let alone a central defender like Samuel who is 12 cm taller than him. When Ajax gave up on Ibrahimovic to launch a frontal attack and adopted the strategy of retreating to form a wall and kicking high balls from the wing, the Argentine central defender was under tremendous pressure.

If it weren't for Zebina and Zago's assistance, Samuel would have been swallowed by the Swedish center forward!

Because he had to help Samuel, Zebina couldn't be too far away from the Argentine, so when Cafu went forward to participate in the attack, there would be a period of time when the distance between Cafu and Zebina would be very long, which is what fans usually call a loophole.

Ye Qiu discovered this loophole, so he also asked the players to take advantage of it, but they still had to wait.

Because, to take advantage of this period of loophole, it must be just right. The team needs a little luck to steal the ball and make a quick counterattack in the very short period of time when Cafu advanced and Zebina didn't have time to fill in for him.

It can be said that goals on the football field cannot be calculated. There are certain tactical routines and cooperation patterns, but luck is also needed.

It was not until the end of the first half when Roma players began to invest more in offense and became anxious that Ajax waited for such an opportunity.

Cafu dribbled forward, Abidal and Keita teamed up to double-team, and Abidal passed the ball to Keita and then directly passed it to Robben.

Robben got the ball on the left and immediately dribbled the ball to the left like a flash of lightning.

Zebina was on his way to make up for the position. He wanted to get close to Robben as soon as possible to prevent the Dutch winger from speeding up, but unfortunately, because he was far away from Cafu, he could not defend Robben in time.

Once Robben's speed soared on the left, Zebina could not stop him at all.

However, this time, Robben was not able to completely shake off Zebina, who followed closely behind Robben, only one body behind, and because he was standing on the inside, it was difficult for Robben to cut into the penalty area from the left, and finally he chose to cross.

At this moment, there were only Ibrahimovic and Samuel in the penalty area, and Robben kicked a high ball.

Swedes have never liked to use their heads to head the ball, because they like to use their feet, which is a bit like Brazilian players. They usually think that if they can do it with their feet, why do they need to use their heads to do it?

But this time, Ibrahimovic did not hesitate at all. When facing Samuel and Robben's high ball, he chose to use the simplest and most practical way, jumping high and shaking his head to attack the goal.

Many people say that the perfect height difference between male and female lovers is 12 cm, because that can make men look tall and mighty, while women look like little birds. I just don't know if this is appropriate for men and men, but at this moment, when Samuel was blocked behind Ibrahimovic, he really looked like a little bird.

Antonioli made a flying save, but Ibrahimovic's header was in the dead corner, and he was out of reach.

When the ball went into the Roma goal again, all the Roma fans in the stadium became silent.

The entire Olympic Stadium seemed to be completely defeated by Ibrahimovic's goal. They all looked at the stadium blankly, and looked at the group of Ajax players wearing away team jerseys, rushing out of the stadium excitedly, celebrating wildly at the corner flagpole, under their noses.

"2:0, my God, Capello's team fell behind Ajax 0:2 in the first half. What's going on? Is Capello going to give up the UEFA Cup?"

The commentator on the scene lacked the least confidence in his judgment, because from the starting lineup of Roma in this game, Capello had the ambition to show his skills in the UEFA Cup, but they never managed to guide the rhythm of the game to the direction they are best at.

Totti was closely watched, Batistuta was completely blocked by Lucio, the players on the wing could not create threats, Roma's offense was completely deadlocked, and Ajax's high defense compressed Roma's three lines to a level that even Roma's players themselves felt very uncomfortable with.

In other words, from a tactical level, Ajax controlled the game.

The TV live camera swept across Capello's face, which was as stern as a thousand-year-old ice. He put his hands around his chest and seemed to be thinking about something, but from his expression, everyone could easily see his sorrow.

Underestimate Ajax?

No, Capello never underestimates his opponents, but what he didn't expect was that Ajax dared to play their high defense so resolutely away from home, and their targeted defense was also very well done, focusing on the big and letting go of the small, focusing on restricting Totti and Batistuta, which made Roma's offense always in a very awkward state.

Without Totti's organization, Roma's offense was not organized at all.

High defense and midfield pressure are not unfamiliar to Capello, because at the starting point of his career, before he became the head coach of AC Milan, the head coach of the Rossoneri, Sacchi, adopted this style of play, but Sacchi's formation at that time was 442, and now Ye Qiu has changed to 433, which has more changes but also requires higher players.

Even now, many people say that Capello's coaching of AC Milan is based on Sacchi, but Capello himself denies this because he is completely different from Sacchi from the beginning.

Sacchi's favorite style is to regain possession of the ball through high defense and active pressure, while Capello's first thing after losing possession is to retreat. His tactical style and success are more based on absolute control of the two penalty areas, so his AC Milan can score many goals and defend firmly.

It is impossible to say who is better or worse. Sacchi's style of play is sexier, more gorgeous, and more passionate, but this often means more instability. Although Capello's style is dull and even a little boring, he has the calmness that countless teams dream of.

Unexpectedly, after so many years, Capello encountered this kind of team that adopts high defense again, and lost...

So, Capello, who appeared on the live TV camera, finally showed a playful bitter smile.

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The score of 2:0 surprised Ye Qiu, but he also felt it was reasonable.

Capello's coaching style has always been very focused on the wing. Throughout his career, the teams that have achieved brilliant results are basically teams with excellent wing capabilities. This is because Capello is not good at the offensive training of positional warfare. Instead, he uses vertical breakthroughs and tactical width to solve problems in a tense state, which is his strength.

Because he is not good at positional warfare offense, Capello has never been able to use the front midfielder well.

After he entered Rome, Totti has complained about him in the past two years, one of the reasons is Capello's use of him.

The league is different from the cup. The league relies on strength and stability, but the cup relies on targeted tactics and player performance.

One of the important reasons why Capello's team can perform well in the league is that his team has always been very stable and can basically get the points they should get, but in the cup, the opponent will arrange tactics against yours, and Capello's weaknesses will be completely exposed at this time.

Capello was also unlucky, because Ye Qiu remembered that Capello himself was not very satisfied with the Roma team in the 2000/2001 season, so after the end of this season, he introduced Cassano, a player with excellent personal ability. Capello had high hopes for him and believed that his joining could maximize Roma's attack and advancement capabilities in the midfield and frontcourt.

Capello's transformation of Totti is also ongoing. He hopes that Totti can participate in the front line attack more often.

It should be said that Capello has a lot of ideas and thoughts, but unfortunately, after Batistuta performed well in Roma's first season, his state declined rapidly in the second season, which exposed Capello's team's weakness in positional warfare more clearly, and then the decline in the state of Cafu and Candela pushed Roma into the abyss.

In the 2002/03 season, Roma was close to the relegation zone, which was a concentrated manifestation of these problems, and Capello's dream of impacting the Champions League was shattered. Even in the 2003/04 season, Roma performed well again, but Capello had lost confidence and fighting spirit, and finally chose to go to Juventus.

Ye Qiu's deployment of troops in this game was actually aimed at the weaknesses of Roma and Capello. He kept a close eye on Batistuta and Totti, and used high defense to strengthen pressure. These were all important means for Ye Qiu to suppress Roma.

Ajax played better in this game. The atmosphere of the game was always carried out in the rhythm and situation familiar to Ajax. On the other hand, Roma did not like this kind of game environment where they were pressed very tightly.

"We won, Bobby!" Ye Qiu smiled and looked at Bobby Hams.

The fat Dutch old man beside him laughed generously. The 2:0 lead had allowed Ajax to get two crucial away goals, and Ye Qiu could also arrange the defensive counterattack in the second half more calmly.

It should be said that the odds of winning are very high now!

"Zlatan has hit a wall in this game and has learned his lesson. He should not resist the special training given to him by the coaching staff anymore!" Bobby Hams really admires this Swedish center forward. He is tall and strong, and has outstanding footwork. Once such a player is sculpted, his lethality on the court is amazing.

At least, when he gave up the frontal attack, Samuel had no way to deal with him!

Ye Qiu smiled. It was not just Ibrahimovic. Competing with such a strong opponent was a very good training and a huge challenge for all Ajax players. It was of great help to the growth and progress of this group of young players.

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Although Capello made appropriate adjustments during the halftime break and replaced Montella not long after the second half, with three forwards on the field, plus a frequently forward Totti, Roma put all its offensive power on the field.

But Ye Qiu also made decisive adjustments. On the one hand, Keita and Abidal, De Jong and Heitinga who replaced Van der Meyde, these two sets of wing combinations protected the left and right respectively, and Gilberto Silva and Sneijder were in the middle to protect the defense.

This defensive combination strangled Roma's two wing attacks to the maximum extent, and at the same time suppressed Roma's central advancement, making Roma, who was not good at positional warfare, completely shut down. Instead, Ibrahimovic and Robben, two players in front of Ajax, frequently created threatening counterattacks.

However, no one scored any more goals in the second half. In the end, Ajax defeated Serie A powerhouse Roma 2:0 away with two goals in the first half.

When the whistle of the end of the game blew, the Olympic Stadium was filled with boos, and even many extreme fans of Roma attacked several black players in Ajax. This was not the first time.

In this regard, Ye Qiu secretly remembered it and decided to let the club file a complaint with UEFA after the game, and Roma must apologize anyway.

"Hello, Gabriel!"

Ye Qiu smiled and greeted the Argentine center Batistuta who was bowing his head and preparing to walk out of the stadium.

This was a player he admired very much in his previous life. He believed that among the fans of his age in China, most people would not dislike this God of War Batistuta.

Before the game, due to the identities of both parties, he did not choose to get close to him, but after the game, he wanted to get to know him.

Signing or something like that would be too self-depreciating, so he would not do it, just to get to know him and say a few words.

"Hello!" Batistuta nodded to the young Ajax coach. He was really surprised at his youth. If he and his teammates had looked down on Ye Qiu and Ajax before, then the loss of this game was undoubtedly the most painful lesson for them.

"You did a good job in targeted defense, especially the high center back, who is a very troublesome person!" Batistuta had a helpless expression on his face. He was talking about Lucio.

Ye Qiu laughed. In a one-on-one situation, Lucio's ability would never disappoint anyone.

"I hope to have a chance to talk to you. I am your fan and I like watching your games very much!" Ye Qiu said with a smile.

Batistuta was in a very low mood because his team lost and he himself performed terribly, so he barely cheered up, "Thank you, I hope there will be a chance!"

Watching Batistuta's back disappear in the player tunnel, Ye Qiu sighed a little. He was now supported by a desire for the championship. Once Roma won the championship, this fighting spirit began to slacken, and Batistuta's state would decline rapidly at that time. So, this season is the last afterglow of the God of War Batistuta.

But it is regrettable that Ye Qiu played the role of stopping the God of War at this time.

"I guess there should be a lot of Batistuta fans scolding me at this moment in China?" Ye Qiu thought with a bitter smile in his heart, but he would not feel entangled because he has his own dreams and goals.

Although Capello looks fierce and majestic, he is actually a very graceful person.

At least, in this game, his team lost to Ye Qiu's Ajax, but he still took the initiative to come to the coaching bench of the visiting team after the game, shook hands with Ye Qiu, Bobby Hams and other members of the Ajax coaching staff, and talked for a while.

During the conversation, Capello praised Ye Qiu and Ajax more, especially several players in the Ajax team, such as Ibrahimovic, Gilberto Silva and Lucio, as well as the most threatening Robben and Van der Meyde. These players showed their impressive strength in this game.

"You are a young team, but full of vitality and potential. Keep going!" Capello shook hands with Ye Qiu again and gave him his best wishes.

"Thank you, I also firmly believe that you will be able to lead your team to the top of Serie A this season!" Ye Qiu smiled and gave his blessings, and his tone was very confident, which Capello heard was confidence in himself.

After looking at Ye Qiu deeply, Capello smiled faintly, walked back to the coaching seat of the home team, and returned to the locker room with his assistants. This was the first time he laughed from beginning to end, which made Ye Qiu feel that this guy looked serious, but he was quite friendly when he laughed.

The Roma fans in the stands were still attacking the victorious Ajax, as if they were scolding this team for being ignorant of the times and running wild on their own territory. So if they couldn't beat their opponents on the court, they had to completely suppress them in the stands. Drowning these damn Ajax with saliva was also a good choice!

Ye Qiu and the players were well aware of the troubles of Roma fans, so Ye Qiu restrained the players from provoking or fighting back. After all, the game was won, and the rest was left to the club and UEFA to deal with. He led the team back to the locker room through the player passage where debris was falling like snowflakes.