The Godfather of Greenery

Chapter 64 The Perfect Midfielder
On August 2000, 8, the first game of the Amsterdam Cup Invitational was held at the Arenal Stadium in Amsterdam.

Hosts Ajax take on Serie A champions Lazio.

Ajax has been very depressed in the past two warm-up matches.

The game against Anderlecht reversed the opponent. Although the scene was terrible, at least it was a win. It can challenge the Werder Bremen game. The away game lost 0:2 to the opponent, but Aja Ajax encountered a burst of doubts, because the team's performance did not improve much, which made Ajax feel depressed.

Among them, Ibrahimovic is the most depressed, because he did not play in two games.

In Ajax's first team, there are two players who missed both games, one is Gilberto Silva, but he is injured, and the other is Zlatan Ibrahimovic Ye Qiu didn't let him go, which made Ibrahimovic very depressed.

But what made him even more depressed was that in the third warm-up match against Lazio, Ye Qiu let him play, but he met Nesta.

The team was at a disadvantage in terms of strength, so after the opening, Ajax was more inclined to defend, while Lazio launched an attack mainly against the guest, and the first threatening attack of the home team appeared in the 7th minute. After breaking through Pancaro, the ball passed behind the opponent's defense line, and Ibrahimovic followed all the way from behind.

Although Ibrahimovic is tall and his explosive power is not outstanding, it is not too bad, and his speed is not bad, and the kick given by Robben is obviously on the left side of the small penalty area. As long as he inserts it, he can basically Got a chance.

But the problem is that Nesta seems to have judged Ibrahimovic's running in advance, and he just stopped in front of him, using his body to limit his speed, so that he could not insert into the left side of the small penalty area in time to respond. In the end, he could only Watching the ball go out of the baseline.

The Swede was so depressed that he wished he could just push Nesta from behind.

The second direct dialogue between the two appeared in the 13th minute, when Ajax fought back again.

Sneijder distributed the ball to the left, and Robben quickly inserted from the left, and after getting the ball, he was destroyed by Pancaro's ferocious tackle.

After Ibrahimovic got the ball, he wanted to control the ball, but at this time, Nesta suddenly appeared in front of him. While Ibrahimovic was dribbling the ball, he decisively seized the opportunity, poked the ball with his foot, and directly passed the ball. It was stabbed, which once again destroyed an attack by Ajax, and at the same time made the Swede return without success once again.

Ibrahimovic is not the only one who is depressed about Nesta.

Arjen Robben dribbled the ball for offside once, and it was clear that Pancaro had already passed, but Nesta suddenly inserted into the right side to help defend, blocked Robben with his body, broke the ball with his foot, turned around calmly, and passed again. The ball was given to Stankovic, and the whole process was indescribably chic and calm, which made everyone feel Nesta's personal ability.

Immediately afterwards, van der Vaart dribbled the ball inward and made a through pass. Ibrahimovic originally wanted to use his body to support Nesta, but he did not expect that the Italian central defender chose to go around the front to defend and intercepted the pass to Ibrahimovic in advance. ball at the foot.

This series of blows made the Swede look extremely depressed, but Ye Qiu, who was on the sidelines, laughed uncontrollably.

"I'm afraid this kid will meet a strong opponent!" Bobby Harms said with a smile.

Ibrahimovic seems to be a boy who has never seen the world. The opponents he met in the past were basically in Sweden. After coming to Ajax, he encountered a series of blows. First, he met Lucy. Defenders like Ao and Abidal who are not afraid of his body, at the same time met Robben, van der Vaart and a group of players who are not inferior to him in terms of technical and personal abilities.

This time, he directly faced the leading central defender in Serie A, and he was afraid that he would suffer.

"Did you do it on purpose?" Bobby Harms looked at Ye Qiu with a malicious look on his face.

In the first two games, Ibrahimovic was deliberately tormented, which made him feel stuck. Now that he is on the field, Ibrahimovic is naturally trying to show his strength, but he has met such a strong opponent as Nesta. It must have been a series of blows.

"This kid has the strength, not to mention the skills, the talent is very good, the key is here!" Ye Qiu pointed to the melon in his head. He felt that the biggest problem with Ibrahimovic was still his mentality and mentality. temper.

If you want Ibrahimovic to learn how to work with a team, it is best for him to understand that relying on individual recklessness will not work, he needs the support of his teammates, and at the same time stimulate his fighting spirit, let him see Clearly, what kind of level is the world's leading player.

"Aren't you afraid that this dose will come too fast?" Bobby Harms asked with a smile.

Ye Qiu smiled slightly, "It depends on the person, I think his psychological ability to withstand pressure is not too low!"

When he said this, Ye Qiu turned around and looked at Van Basten, "Marco, after you go back, make a technical evaluation and analysis report based on his performance in the game, and you will take the lead. Dig out all his problems!"

Van Basten smiled and nodded in agreement. He has rich experience in scoring goals, but as a coach, it is very new for him to instruct others how to score goals and move positions, but it is not difficult for him.

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When Ibrahimovic met Nesta and was at a loss, Lazio's offense met Ajax's defense and was also at a loss.

The Serie A champions have been training for a period of time, but it is obvious that they have not adjusted to the level suitable for the game, especially on the offensive end. As good as ever, the newly joined Crespo just couldn't get the ball into Ajax's goal.

Gilberto Silva performed very well in the position of the defensive midfielder. He does not have a lot of vertical movement, but he does a good job in lateral movement, especially the protection of the defensive line, the coverage and defense of the area, He did all of these very well.

What is even more rare is that Gilberto Silva is a Brazilian player after all. His basic technical ability is not weak, and he has a certain ability to play the ball. Can firmly control the area 30 to 18 meters in front of the goal, which is the so-called frontier of the penalty area.

"This Brazilian is really a wall!" Bobby Harms has a pair of eagle eyes, and he can see Ajax's defense at once. The reason why Lazio's offense can be frozen is that Lazio is not in good condition. In addition, another important aspect is Gilberto Silva's protection of the defense.

Lucio still frequently left his position, and Maicon often stepped in to participate in the attack. The two Brazilians have not formed a good enough tacit understanding with each other, but Gilberto Silva's presence in the midfielder position , but their recklessness has never been taken advantage of by the other party.

"This is a hidden danger!" Blind himself was a defender, and he immediately saw the problem of coordination in the defense.

Ye Qiu also understood, "Lucio and Maicon both belong to the kind of players with a strong ability to get in behind. The advancing ability of the defender, while contributing a lot to the offense, often represents a huge hidden danger."

"Coordinate the division of labor on the back line, avoid two people entering at the same time to participate in the attack, use the running ability of the midfielder and Gilberto Silva's positioning and defensive ability, this should be able to avoid the defender's penetration to the greatest extent. The problem exposed by the attack, you are right?" Bobby Harms was rich in experience, so he could see Ye Qiu's plan at once.

Ye Qiu smiled. He was recently studying a book by Ferguson called "Looking at the Midfield Configuration of Modern Football", which included Ferguson's understanding of the role of the midfield in modern football, as well as the targeted functional configuration.

First of all, there must be players who can pass the ball, distribute the ball and transfer. There must also be players who can drive the ball forward to create a deep attack. At the same time, there must be space to use, especially when the ball advances to 32 meters. Ability, and there must be someone who can protect the line of defense and firmly control the front of the penalty area.

Look at the set of Manchester United's golden midfielder in 99, Beckham moved in a wide range and advanced in depth; Giggs advanced with the ball in depth, played a wide attack, and created width; The last pass; and Keane's protection of the defense and the ability to dispatch the ball.

These four people formed the Manchester United midfielder, plus Ferguson used 442 to allocate a reasonable running distance for each of them, coupled with the tacit cooperation and support, this made Manchester United's black wind and double evil on the front line at that time You only need to run to the neutral to respond, and someone behind you will naturally pass the ball to them and create opportunities.

As the defensive side, facing such a combination of routines, it can be said that it is impossible to defend against.

Ye Qiu also took a special look at the midfield configuration of AC Milan when they won the Champions League in 07, Gattuso's area coverage and defensive coverage. This guy's running ability is against the sky, and it is not as good as many fans imagined. As stupid as he is; Pirlo is responsible for wide-range passing and advancing scheduling, so he always stands relatively late.

Kaka has assumed two responsibilities, one is to advance with the ball, and the other is to insert the back within 32 meters.

Seedorf is responsible for the distribution of ball rights, but he can play a huge role in the team's offensive and defensive transition.

In addition, like Liverpool's midfielder and Barcelona's midfielder, in fact, almost all midfielders are arranged around a set of authority configurations.

In other words, different teams, different player configurations, to put it bluntly, the power configuration is always the same.

Ye Qiu had already fully considered this point when signing in.

Gilberto Silva's ability to protect and intercept the front of the penalty area, as well as the defender's help to fill in after the forward penetration; Yaya Toure or Keita's ability to cover a wide range of press and distribute the ball, and their Possesses a good ability to attack from the back; Sneijder's ability to dispatch the ball and send the ball in depth, as well as his ability to attack from the back of 32 meters.

As for the advancement of the ball, Robben's personal dribbling on the left for one-on-one breakthroughs, Maicon's back dribbling and advancing with the ball on the right, and even central defender Lucio's 10-meter advancing ability after taking the ball can all be used. Help Ajax advance the ball effectively.

From this point of view, when Ye Qiu formed the team, he had clearly given up on Kaka, because Kaka's role in the current Ajax team had been replaced by other players. A Kaka, but turned into a bad thing.

Of course, this is only a theoretically perfect midfield configuration, but there are still many things that affect the operation of a midfield, such as the degree of tacit cooperation of players, the orderliness of players' running, and the awareness of maintaining an appropriate distance between each other etc.

"I need more time!" Ye Qiu said with a smile.

He has enough confidence in his own staffing, and more needs to be refined and improved on some details, such as Robben's sense of cooperation, such as Ibrahimovic's details and playing habits, etc. , These are time to carve.

Yaya Toure is currently playing as a midfielder with a tendency to attack, but his running ability is very good, he has plenty of stamina, and he is a little younger. On the contrary, Keita has rich professional experience, and he was also a member of the 1999 World Youth Championship. The best players are those typical box-to-box all-around players.

Therefore, after a period of investigation and game observation, Ye Qiu has initially worked out the team's main lineup.

The goalkeeper must be the veteran Grimm, because there is no more suitable candidate at present.

Abidal does his part on the left side of the defense line, Kivu and Lucio form the defense line, and the right side is handed over to the more aggressive Maicon. Heitinga, Kolo Touré, De Jong and Maduro are all suitable substitute player.

The midfielders are Sneijder, Gilberto Silva and Keita. The striker's trident is Robben and van der Vaart occupying the left and right sides respectively, Huntelaar and Ibrahimovic Sitting in the middle of the town, it depends on the situation.

For Ye Qiu's lineup and tactical arrangement, Bobby Hams and others all understand and support them. Even experienced Bobby Hams feels that Ye Qiu's lineup arrangement, tactics There is no problem with the layout, and it can even be said to be very exciting.

But in the field of football, many times, the fans and the media will ignore the intentions of your head coach. The only thing they care about is whether the game is won and whether there are stars in the team.

Ye Qiu was better. Van Prager personally gave guarantee and support, so he could slowly start his own layout.

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The game against Lazio ended up being 0:0, with neither side scoring a goal.

This also fully demonstrated Ye Qiu's improvement in the team's defensive transformation. Although many problems were still exposed in the game, at least the team withstood Lazio's offensive pressure very well.

On the contrary, on the offensive end of the team, Ibrahimovic was so abused by Nesta that he couldn't find his way throughout the game. He was stared at by Nesta and disappeared throughout the game. 1 shot, this is definitely a painful blow to the Swedish center who was ambitious before the game and wanted to flex his muscles.

After the game, Ye Qiu praised the team's performance and believed that the players' performance was worthy of recognition.

"I understand that a lot of people want the team to win every game, hope we can beat every opponent, and I hope so too, but we are a young, newly reorganized team, and I I hope everyone can give us more patience and confidence."

"I am confident that in the next two months, we will work together and show a strong enough strength!"

Ye Qiu's answer in the interview with reporters after the game was obviously not satisfactory, because most of the outsiders were full of doubts about Ye Qiu's inexperience and Ajax's youthfulness, but Gilberto? The performance of several young players such as Erva, Arjen Robben, van der Vaart, Abidal and Kivu has all won recognition.

Especially in the game against Lazio, Gilberto Silva's performance in the midfield was very stable, which made people shine.

However, Ibrahimovic, who was introduced by the team at a high price this season, performed very badly. After the game, he was selected as the worst player in the game. It is simply impossible to take on the heavy responsibility of Ajax's striker attacking the city.

But fans have always paid less attention to Ajax than Barcelona.

The match between Barcelona and Arsenal made the Arenaa stadium full. In comparison, Ajax only got half of the attendance when they made their home debut.

However, the La Liga giants were not ambiguous, defeating Arsenal 2:1.

But Arsene Wenger's side quickly took all their anger out on Ajax.

Robben, who has performed well recently, is restricted by Lauren on the right of Arsenal on the left, Van der Vaart on the right is marked by Dixon, Ibrahimovic and Huntelaar who came off the bench He was guarded by Keown and Tony Adams without any temper at all, and even Ajax's midfielder was suppressed by the gunners led by Vieira.

Henry and Bergkamp's forward line took advantage of two mistakes in Ajax's defense and pierced Ajax's goal twice, helping Arsenal beat the host Ajax 2-0.

As a result, all four games were over.

Barcelona has 4 points for one win and one draw, but because they scored 3 goals in a 3:5 draw against Lazio, they scored 9 points.

Arsenal scored 1 points with 3 win and 6 goals, ranking second.

Lazio scored 2 points with 3 draws and 5 goals. Ajax scored 1 draw and 1 loss without scoring, and finally scored 1 point, ranking at the bottom of the group. .

If you simply look at the relationship between victory and defeat, Ajax's performance is not too bad, at least they are evenly matched against Lazio, and against a strong team like Arsenal, the strength and scene are very passive, but this can be regarded as Play normally.

But the problem is, judging from the standings, Ajax really lost too badly, especially for not scoring any goals, which caused Ye Qiu's team to be criticized by some Ajax fans, thinking that Ye Qiu The most important reason why the team's offense is weak is the blind purge after he took office.

What's more, after the Amsterdam Cup, Ajax and Barcelona played a warm-up match. As a result, the home team lost 0:3 to Barcelona at the Arena Stadium.

The then Barcelona coach Ferrer said in an interview after the game, "This is not a very valuable warm-up match, because there is a huge gap in strength between us and our opponents, but we still go all out. This keeps us unbeaten in pre-season preparations and gives us confidence in the new season."

Obviously, in his eyes, there is no Ajax at all.

(End of this chapter)