The Godfather of Football

"Damn Dutch, you're dead!"

"Little brat, have you been weaned?"

"Go back to Amsterdam, your mother is calling you home for dinner!"

...

The game hasn't started yet, but the stands of San Siro Stadium have become very lively.

AC Milan fans, like all home team fans, are using all kinds of methods to stimulate the visiting players. In their words, the most important contribution of fans to be the best 12 is to take all means in the stands to make the opponents feel uncomfortable and even lose control of their emotions.

The 22 players of the two teams are scattered on both sides of the court, and they are all waiting for the referee's whistle.

The boos and curses that surged from the stands of the entire San Siro Stadium were obviously directed at the Ajax players on the field, so the AC Milan players looked more relaxed, while the Ajax players were a bit like facing a great enemy.

"These bastards, I really want to slap them!" Ibrahimovic angrily swept towards the stands. His impression of this group of fans was obviously very bad, and he even hated them, because they had been cursing and booing from the moment the Ajax players came on the field, and anyone who heard them would be angry.

"That's not easy?" Robben grinned at Ibrahimovic.

"The boss just said, try the left first!" Sneijder walked over slowly and said.

Van der Vaart nodded to indicate that he heard it, and stayed in the center circle, ready to kick off with Ibrahimovic, while Robben walked to the left, because AC Milan did not have a right winger, so he was like standing opposite Croatian defender Dario Simic.

Dario Simic, in the Ajax scout system and Ye Qiu's comments, this player is considered to be underestimated. His frontal defensive ability is actually very strong, and Simic's famous position is central defender, but Ancelotti wants to transform him into a right back.

Of course, there is nothing wrong with making such a choice, because AC Milan's right side is indeed short of people, but the problem is that Simic's position as a full-back easily exposes his shortcomings in speed and attack.

The middle is different from the wing. When playing as a defender in the middle, because there are midfielders in front to protect him, he generally will not encounter a situation where the opponent uses speed to force a breakthrough, because as long as the defensive depth is kept tight enough, the opponent's speed cannot be brought into play, but it is different on the wing, where one-on-one can be created anytime and anywhere.

Simic has chased back and turned around, but his speed is relatively average, and his support for the attack is also very small. It is difficult to play on the wing, but in the middle, his performance is very good.

Robben walked to the left and looked at the Croatian who was wearing a No. 14 jersey, a headband on his head, and had long hair not far away. He grinned and nodded slightly at him. The Croatian also nodded politely in return, but his attention never left Robben.

In Simic's mind, Robben is definitely a dangerous element. Ajax's strongest attack is the two wing attacks, so before this game, Ancelotti focused on arranging targeted defense on the wing.

According to Ancelotti, as long as Ajax's wing cannot be played, the offensive threat will be cut in half.

Seeing Robben jumping lightly in front of his center line, shaking his hands constantly, looking like he was warming up, Simic couldn't help but look at the center circle, and saw that the referee's whistle was already in his mouth, and soon a crisp whistle was issued to start the game.

As soon as the whistle sounded, Simic immediately shifted his attention to the left, but his first reaction was surprise, because almost at the moment the whistle sounded, Robben rushed from the center line to AC Milan's defense area like an arrow, and was approaching at a very fast speed.

Simic was slightly stunned, and immediately locked the target again, but this time Robben had already rushed in front of him.

Turning around and chasing Robben to the baseline, this was Simic's first reaction, because he had no idea what the opponent was planning, nor did he know whether Ajax's midfielders and backcourt players could really pass the ball to Robben's feet.

But experience told him that he had to do this, otherwise, once the ball was really passed, it would be a fatal threat.

At this time, Robben's speed had already rushed up, Simic's speed was not as fast as Robben, and with the turn, he was soon thrown out by Robben, but he was always chasing him.

Sometimes, fans are often easily misled.

On the football field, speed is actually a very empty definition. If it is simply calculated in seconds, the speed difference of 1 second is already very amazing, but on the football field, 1 second is just a matter of a moment.

According to the data from FM Football Manager, Robben's speed and explosiveness are at least 18, or even 19, while Simic's speed should be around 12. But in fact, when the two rushed to the baseline at the same time, although one was in front and the other was behind, they were only one body length apart. As long as Robben slowed down a little, Simic would catch up immediately.

So, to some extent, speed can't help players beat opponents on the football field. The key is how to use the little time gained by speed, even if it's only a few tenths of a second.

Robben rushed forward quickly. After Arteta got the ball behind him, he made a long pass and hung the ball behind AC Milan's defense line. When the ball came, the Dutchman looked up at the ball's direction, predicted the landing point, and used his advantage of rushing in front to stand at the landing point in advance and kick it.

The ball was kicked by Robben's left foot and bounced up again, but this time it was not to the bottom line, but to the opposite direction.

Simic was startled by Robben's sudden stop and lob. He forced to brake suddenly and stabilized his body. He wanted to follow Robben desperately, but just after he stopped the sudden brake and finally stabilized his pace, Robben kicked the ball to the bottom line again, and then quickly chased after him.

At this moment, Simic could only watch helplessly and desperately as the Dutchman passed by him.

Sudden stop and acceleration, seemingly a simple action, a skill that anyone can do, but Robben used it to perfection.

After Robben caught up with the ball again, he made a direct cross. Ibrahimovic in the middle quickly followed up and grabbed the point in the direct competition with Nesta, but due to Nesta's interference, he failed to hit the ball in the right place and it went off the mark.

The AC Milan fans in the entire San Siro Stadium were shocked by Ajax's threatening attack less than 30 seconds after the start. Even the players on the field might be afraid because the speed was too fast!

"Ajax gave AC Milan a head start right after the start. In less than 30 seconds, they got a very threatening shot opportunity in front of the goal, but Nesta's pursuit was very accurate this time, forcing Ibrahimovic to barely kick the ball. The ball was slightly off the bottom line, but this shot was enough to wake up AC Milan!"

Seeing that the attack was not working, the Ajax players walked back and waited for Dida to kick the goal kick, but they focused on arranging the defense in the middle circle, obviously continuing their high-position defense strategy.

Seeing Robben again, Simic was really a little shocked. He had thought Robben would be very fast before, but he never thought he would be so fast, especially at such a fast speed, his ability to control the ball and his own rhythm, just now he was almost knocked down by the Dutchman.

Thinking of this, Simic looked at Robben with a little fear in his eyes, but more of caution.

…………

…………

Every team has its own unique style, and each style has its own habitual game rhythm.

Some like to be fast, because the advantage of being fast is that it is impactful, but the disadvantage is that it is not easy to control, because everything is the same, the control is weak when it is fast, just like Ajax last season, the attack is fast and impactful enough, but there is no control, it is easy to lose control and consume physical energy too quickly.

AC Milan has four No. 10 players, Pirlo, Rui Costa, Seedorf and Rivaldo. Many fans and professionals call this the most creative midfield in Europe, and the most luxurious artistic midfield. But to make this midfield work better, it is necessary to control the rhythm in a relatively slow range.

This AC Milan is not strong, because it is too slow. Ancelotti himself knows this very well, so he later took Rivaldo and Rui Costa and chose Kaka. To some extent, this is a compromise of Ancelotti on the rhythm, because any team is the same, and needs a combination of fast and slow.

When controlling the ball, play the advantages of Pirlo and Seedorf, the rhythm is relatively slow, find a loophole, and directly give it to Kaka, who plays his speed advantage and changes the rhythm of the entire midfield from slow to fast suddenly, catching the opponent off guard.

The more he understood and studied football tactics, the more Ye Qiu admired the knowledge of his ancestors, because he really found that everything in the world, if it wanted to develop and progress, could not be separated from the doctrine of the mean.

Football tactics are like a person walking, attacking is the left half of the body, defending is the right half of the body, controlling the ball is the left half of the body, controlling the space is the right half of the body, fast pace is the left half of the body, slow pace is the right half of the body...

If a person is too inclined to the left or too inclined to the right when walking, it is easy to fall.

So, how to walk?

One step left foot, one step right foot, one left hand, one right hand, so that the whole person always stays in a centered posture.

This is the doctrine of the mean!

It is also the balance of football tactics!

With the joining of Arteta this season, as the cooperation between the Spaniard and Sneijder becomes more and more skilled, Ye Qiu's tactical thinking has been played more thoroughly, especially in rhythm control and sudden changes in rhythm and changing offensive direction.

When Ajax attacked the left wing continuously after the opening, Robben kept wreaking havoc in Simic's defense zone, pulling the entire defensive focus of AC Milan to the left wing, Arteta made a cross pass, Sneijder kicked the ball before Pirlo, and passed it diagonally to the right. Van der Vaart got the ball and shook off Karaze and cut inside.

Maldini rushed out immediately, blocked Van der Vaart, and pressed the Dutchman closely, but Van der Vaart was faster and more flexible, and he controlled the ball skillfully, and forced half a body to stand out and then passed the ball to the back post.

This time, Ibrahimovic did not waste his teammates' pass. He got ahead of Nesta and poked the ball into the goal guarded by Arrival, opening the scoring for Ajax.

"GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!"

Ibrahimovic quickly rushed out of the AC Milan penalty area, opened his arms unscrupulously, and celebrated his first goal in the Champions League this season in front of tens of thousands of Rossoneri fans at the San Siro Stadium. At this time, the on-site commentator also gave a cheer full of surprise.

"When AC Milan was struggling to defend Ajax's attack from the left, Ajax suddenly launched an attack from the right. Van der Vaart dribbled the ball from the right and cut inside, breaking through Marty. Ni, assisted Ibrahimovic to score the opening goal!”

"A very, very sudden goal. The process was very simple, without any cumbersome or complicated coordination, but it caught AC Milan by surprise. 1:0, Ajax took the lead in the away game!"

After Ibrahimovic rushed out of the penalty area and out of the stadium, he rushed directly to the sidelines, raised his index finger towards the fans in the stands of San Siro Stadium, and put it to his mouth. This was a move that made them all shut up. His actions were full of provocation.

Unsurprisingly, the Swede's action immediately received revenge from tens of thousands of AC Milan fans from the San Siro Stadium. They all booed Ibrahimovic and Ajax players in a manner that looked like It's like I wish I could drown all the Ajax boys in their saliva.

Ye Qiu watched from the sidelines and shook his head, "When will this kid learn to be less arrogant, then he will truly mature!"

"Is the unassuming Ibrahimovic still Ibrahimovic?" Bobby Harms asked with a smile.

Ye Qiu was stunned for a moment, then laughed out loud. Ibrahimovic, who had no personality, was indeed no longer Ibrahimovic.

Sometimes, Ye Qiu also feels that his arrival has changed Ibrahimovic a lot.

In the Swedish center's previous life, just after joining Ajax, he encountered the betrayal of his trusted agent, Haas Borg, who he once regarded as his father-like elder, but in the end he discovered that he had always been They were all using and betraying him.

Understanding a person should not just be based on his behavior and behavior, but should truly understand his heart and his past. After all, different growth experiences will shape different personalities, and it is impossible for everyone to be the same good gentleman.

Ibrahimovic grew up with his parents divorced, and finally met Haas Borg, a man who was very kind to him and who also had many of his father's shadows on him, but he never expected the final outcome. But it was like this, which had a huge impact on him. I believe it was also because of this incident that his subsequent career became completely extreme.

Perhaps, from that time on, football to him was just money and interests. Whoever invested emotions would lose.

But Ibrahimovic was obviously different in this life. He met Ye Qiu.

Although I rarely hear nice words about Ye Qiu from his mouth, everyone can see that this arrogant and proud Swede will not obey anyone but Ye Qiu, so what does Ye Qiu want him to do? , he just went and did it without a single complaint.

Of course, this is also due to the way Ye Qiu treated him. He was soft when he should be soft and hard when he should be hard, making this Swedish boy obedient. Otherwise, who could make him treat him like this in more than two years? Develop your shooting skills?

Ye Qiu was very satisfied with being able to score the first goal against AC Milan in the away game, but he was not surprised at all because this was part of his tactical arrangement. To score first was the goal he had set before the game, so After scoring the goal, the team still followed the tactics drawn up before the game.

Ajax did not conservatively retreat after taking the lead. On the contrary, they still adopted a high defensive strategy and launched fierce pressure and pressure on AC Milan's midfield and frontcourt. AC Milan could only maintain a stable defense. Sometimes, more counterattack tactics are adopted.

In the 23rd minute, Pirlo launched a long pass from the backcourt and accurately found Inzaghi who had pulled to the right to get the ball. But just after Inzaghi stopped the ball, he saw Brazilian central defender Luci Ou quickly rushed out of the penalty area, fell to the ground with a sliding tackle, and destroyed the ball out of the baseline.

There was a burst of boos from the audience, obviously dissatisfied with Lucio's fierce tackle, but the referee thought it was a reasonable defense and gave AC Milan a corner kick without a foul.

Rivaldo took a corner kick, Kivu headed in close to clear the ball, and Sneijder got the ball and kicked it directly.

The ball quickly fell along an arc to the left. Robben was ready to go this time. He rushed forward like a bolt of lightning. After stopping the ball steadily, he continued to drive along the left.

AC Milan's defense is constantly retreating. Ibrahimovic, Van der Vaart, Arteta and other Ajax players are also rushing forward quickly, ready to meet Robben anytime and anywhere, especially Ibrahimovic. Brahimovic immediately attracted the attention of Nesta and Maldini as soon as he rushed into the penalty area.

The tall Swede was very intimidating in the penalty area. In this critical moment of rapid counterattack, even experienced stars like Nesta and Maldini could not think more, so when they saw that Robben did not choose to cross to Ibrahimovic, but rubbed a high ball to the back post, they were immediately shocked.

But just when they were stunned and wanted to save the situation, Lucio, who ran all the way from the backcourt to the frontcourt, jumped high, met Robben's rubbed ball, and hit the ball heavily. After falling to the ground, it bounced and hit Dida's goal, 2:0!

At this moment, the entire San Siro Stadium was completely silent. All AC Milan fans even forgot to boo and curse, and just stared at all this in amazement, unbelievable.

In just 23 minutes, Ajax led by 2 goals. How to play such a game?