The Godfather of Football

Ridley Scott's Gladiator is a movie that Ye Qiu likes very much.

The scene where the protagonist Maximus rode a warhorse in the Colosseum, wearing armor, and received cheers and applause from all the Roman subjects, once made Ye Qiu excited. He even had a desire to enjoy the same treatment as Maximus and let the whole city of Rome cheer for him.

But what's interesting is that when he really arrived in Rome for the first time in his life, the people here gave him endless boos and waves of sarcasm, which made him lose the pride of the gladiators in the Colosseum.

When thinking of this, Ye Qiu, who was sitting in the coaching booth of the visiting team in the Olympic Stadium in Rome, shook his head helplessly.

"What's the matter?" Bobby Hams saw him grinning and shaking his head, feeling a little strange.

Ye Qiu chuckled, "Nothing, just thinking, making these fans hate me should be a kind of pride!"

This is a bit like if I can't be famous for a long time, then I will be infamous for a long time.

Bobby Hams couldn't guess what Ye Qiu was thinking, but he couldn't help but smile, because away games are like this.

Capello fielded Roma's strongest lineup in this game, because they still have to fight for the championship in Serie A, so they want to use the home game to solve the battle directly, so there is no reservation in the deployment of troops.

The goalkeeper is Antonioli, the back line is Zago, Samuel and Zebina, the midfield is Candela, Zanetti, Tommasi and Cafu, the front midfielder is Totti, the double forwards are Delvecchio and Batistuta, and the formation is 3412.

Ye Qiu has always believed that Capello truly established his status as a world-class coach during his time in Rome, especially when he won the championship in the 00/01 season. His use and control of the team's tactics completely sublimated his coaching ability. It's just a pity that his Roma has never been able to prove itself in the European arena.

Among the three defenders, Samuel is behind, Zago and Zebina are on the left and right sides, and when defending, Candela on the left can retreat, Zebina returns to the right back, and Delvecchio on the front line will be pulled to the left side, and the tactical formation immediately becomes 442.

Delvecchio's running ability is excellent, and he serves the team more silently, but his tactical role is very large. Capello's use of the front line combination, whether it is Batistuta or Montella, they are all rotated, and the real core is Delvecchio, because this is a player with a huge tactical role.

Ye Qiu still arranged the 433 formation that Ajax usually uses in this game. The goalkeeper is Grimm, the back line is Abidal, Kivu, Lucio and Heitinga, the midfield is Keita, Gilberto Silva and Sneijder, and the trident is Robben, Ibrahimovic and Van der Meyde, which is also the best lineup of Ajax in recent years.

Ye Qiu has a very high opinion of Capello's Roma. Capello's ability to train defense is second to none in the world. Whether in Roma, Juventus, or Real Madrid, the defense he has built can benefit the team for many years. The current Roma defense system is also the same.

But Roma's solid defense is based on the premise that their three defenders and one of the midfielders basically will not overwhelm the midfield. Before Emerson was injured, Tommasi stayed at the end, and after Emerson was injured, the central midfielder became Zanetti, and Tommasi did what Gattuso did in AC Milan, running all over the field.

On the offensive end, Roma adopted a typical left-defense-right-attack strategy. Candela and Delvecchio on the left, the latter being a striker, basically did all the work on the left, even retreating to be a full-back, while Cafu was the only one on the right.

Ye Qiu made targeted arrangements for this game. Abidal moved forward to watch Cafu, while Kivu, Lucio and Heitinga were responsible for the defense on the back line. Gilberto Silva's main responsibility was to limit Totti.

Keita and Sneijder also had an important responsibility, which was to ensure that there was someone who could cut off Totti's back pass at any time, and the Roman prince's back pass was usually to find Zanetti or Candela who was lagging behind, and then reorganized the ball.

Capello was a master at training defense, and although he was not bad at training offense, he could not say that he was very good.

His transformation of Roma's offense is more of a strategy that relies on the individual performance of the stars. Basically, Totti is free to organize and launch the offense, which makes Roma's performance in the offensive battle not ideal, but the defensive counterattack is very good, because whether it is Samuel, Zago or Zanetti, they all have a good long pass.

Therefore, another offensive point of Roma is to counterattack directly to Batistuta after stealing the ball.

Ye Qiu also made targeted arrangements. He asked Lucio to be responsible for watching Batistuta, and Kivu and Heitinga assisted from the side.

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It has been almost half a year since he joined Ajax. Lucio has also begun to get used to life in Amsterdam, the atmosphere of playing in Ajax, and Ye Qiu's almost harsh tactical requirements for him.

He is not stupid. He can see that Ye Qiu is harsh on him in order to help him improve.

Before every game, he, like other teammates, would get a document about the next opponent from Ye Qiu. When Lucio found out that he was going to face the world's top center forward Batistuta this time, he didn't panic at all, but felt that his whole body was burning, as if even his blood was boiling.

He is Brazilian and doesn't like Argentines by nature, but he knows Batistuta's strength, but he is not afraid.

"You only have one task in this game, to block Batistuta, and you don't have to worry about the rest!"

This is what Ye Qiu said when he assigned him the task.

When he watched TV and read newspapers before, he had a feeling that Batistuta was very tall, but when he stood in the stadium and looked at Batistuta in front of him, wearing the red wolf Roma team jersey, he felt that the Argentine center was not as tall as he imagined.

It seems... a little shorter than me!

But with the referee's whistle, Lucio quickly gathered his mind and stared at Batistuta intently.

Ye Qiu repeatedly emphasized the two opponents in the locker room, one is Batistuta and the other is Totti. He believes that as long as these two players are strangled, Roma's offensive threat can be weakened by at least two-thirds.

But unlike the cooperation and coordination of the three midfielders to suppress Totti, Batistuta was handed over to Lucio.

This is a heavy trust. Ye Qiu is equivalent to placing the hopes of everyone in Ajax on him.

Roma's first attack was launched by Cafu, the captain of the Brazilian national team, on the right side, where they are best. He dribbled the ball from the right side and relied on his experience to deceive Abidal and passed the ball to the middle.

Lucio blocked Batistuta with his body. He could feel the pressure from behind. The Argentine center was confronting him, and the Roma fans in the stands were shouting Batistuta's name.

The ball was not fast. After all, this was Cafu's first cross in this game, and he didn't feel it more or less.

Lucio opened his hands slightly, blocking Batistuta behind him. He judged the ball's fall, suddenly rushed forward, jumped high, and headed Cafu's cross in advance.

Hush~~

"That damn Brazilian!"

The Roma fans in the stands immediately booed enthusiastically, because they wanted to see Batistuta GOAL!

Lucio smiled slightly, and didn't take it to heart. He turned around and continued to look at Batistuta. The Argentine center also noticed this strong Brazilian center back. In his impression, Brazil had never heard of such a beast-level center back before.

Lucio?

Batistuta remembered this Brazilian in his heart, but he didn't think the other party was so powerful. Instead, he was sighing about his age. If he was a few years younger, he could knock this damn Brazilian away, but now...

Roma took advantage of its home advantage and launched a round of attack on Ajax at the beginning, so it quickly reorganized an offensive.

The cooperation between Totti and Tommasi fooled Sneijder. The Dutch midfielder was young and inexperienced, and easily lost his position. Heitinga had to move forward, but Totti passed the ball to the left and handed it to Candela, the French left-back who came in from behind.

Candela is very strong, and he is a match for Lizarazu. It's a pity that the latter is the French starter, but Candela can shine whenever he has the chance, so when Totti's ball was passed in front of him, the Frenchman directly passed it to the penalty area at a 45-degree angle.

This is Candela's characteristic, because he is not good at dribbling and speed, so he is not like Cafu who fights alone on the wing. He relies more on cooperation and sudden cuts. He is a right-footed player, but he plays on the left.

Candela's diagonal pass was very sudden, which scared everyone on the Ajax defense.

Batistuta also rushed in quickly from outside the penalty area, facing the goal at a 45-degree angle on the left side of the goal, and got the ball!

Everyone's heart jumped at this moment, because Batistuta is very lethal in this 45-degree area.

"Roma once again enters the Ajax penalty area, Batistuta takes the ball, Bati..." The commentator on the scene shouted the call of Batistuta's goal in advance when he saw Batistuta swing his left foot, deliberately splitting BATIGOAL into two halves and pulling a very long sound.

Many Roma fans at the scene even left their seats excitedly, because in their opinion, as long as Batistuta kicks, the ball is basically there.

But just when all the Romans were ready to celebrate, they saw Lucio suddenly rush out like a heavy armored vehicle. Facing Batistuta who had already kicked, he had no other choice, without the slightest hesitation, and fell to the ground to slide and block.

Batistuta shot hard, and everyone at the scene could hear the muffled sound of the foot and the ball touching, but immediately afterwards, there was another very close muffled sound, which was the sound of the ball hitting Lucio's outstretched leg and bouncing out.

Wow!!

The Romans were shocked, but soon booed Lucio.

Ye Qiu applauded Lucio's performance on the sidelines. Many people said that Lucio was reckless and impetuous. Ye Qiu did not deny this. The Brazilian central defender did have many problems, but he had a very outstanding advantage, which was one-on-one fighting.

In the Eredivisie, Lucio completed an average of 13 tackles per game, with a success rate of 77.2%. This is a very good result, especially as he gradually integrates into Ajax's overall defensive system. , which will allow him to play an increasingly critical role in this system in the future.

Ye Qiu knew Lucio very well. If he was allowed to stay in his position and watch Batistuta, with his current strength, he would probably suffer a loss. It would be better to give him freedom and let him watch Batistuta. Use his one-on-one ability.

Lucio's performance really did not disappoint Ye Qiu!

"This kid is the Optimus Prime of the defense. If he can improve his tactics and defense, he will be a top central defender!" Bobby Harms really admires Ye Qiu's vision now. Indescribable.

Previously, Ye Qiu's introduction of Huntelaar and Abidal had surprised everyone. However, the performance of the two players was convincing and recognized by everyone. But who would have thought that Ye Qiu would become the first team player? , immediately carried out drastic reforms to the team and introduced a group of newcomers with no experience.

This group of newcomers does have no experience in European leagues, but the problem is that each of these players has very outstanding personal abilities, and after being tempered and accumulated in the game in the past few months at Ajax, , their progress is very obvious.

It's like Robben on the left. He didn't need to adapt at all in Ajax. He showed amazing strength as soon as he came out. Whether it is speed or technique, it is reminiscent of Overmars and Kejian back then. Tower, Gilberto Silva, these players have shown gratifying signs of strength and progress.

After several months of league play, many fans have gradually accepted Ajax's improvement in strength after the reorganization. At least Ajax is now ranked third in the Eredivisie, and the strength shown is also These are recognitions that satisfy fans, and more importantly, Ajax is the Eredivisie's youngest team in terms of average age.

In other words, Ye Qiu's team is a team full of hope!

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Some people may say that Lucio's performance in this game was amazing.

But only a professional knows it. This is because he has been given the opportunity to use his best skills, and that is freedom!

Ye Qiu even allowed him to rush out of the penalty area and go to a place about 30 meters away from the goal to grab the ball from Totti's feet.

Of course, Lucio performed brilliantly, but the hidden dangers were also great, but Ye Qiu arranged for Heitinga and Kifu to block positions behind him at any time, plus Gilberto, who could retreat at any time to help the defense line? Silva, this can ensure the stability of the defense line to the greatest extent.

Facing an aggressive Lucio, Batistuta had no choice. During a one-on-one competition with Lucio, Lucio took the lead in grabbing the point and shook his head to make a clearance. However, after landing, he found that the ball was not passed. Not far away, Delvecchio rushed over to grab the ball again. He rushed over immediately, raised his right foot fiercely, and cleared the ball with a big kick.

Delvecchio was dumbfounded, while Batistuta had a wry smile on his face. This Brazilian has a very mad dog spirit.

But the referee pulled the hot-headed Brazilian aside and warned him loudly, because his action just now was very dangerous. If Delvecchio hadn't stopped his body in time, even the Roma forward might have been beaten by Lu. Theo kicked him out of the Olympic Stadium. Although this guy was running for the ball, he should be warned for his dangerous actions.

Lucio's outstanding performance disrupted Roma's offense.

The ball cannot be passed to Batistuta's feet. No matter how active Cafu is on the right, he cannot create a threat. He can only let the ball move more in the midfield, especially at Totti's feet.

But Totti's performance in this game was not so much sluggish as being completely suppressed by Ajax's midfield.

Emerson is the midfielder that Capello has high hopes for. He hoped that Emerson and Totti could form a midfield duo. The two would work in tandem to build Roma's midfield line, but no one expected it. , Emerson fell into a serious injury after arriving in Rome.

Today, Totti can only face engineers like Tomasi and Zanetti. In addition, he encounters high-level defense and is very good at suppressing the Ajax defensive system of the traditional No. 10 organizer. This makes Totti Hitting the wall everywhere, falling into siege frequently, there is a great regret that it is difficult to sing alone.

Once Totti and Batistuta were locked up, it was useless for Delvecchio and Cafu to be active on the two wings, because once they broke into Ajax's 30-meter area from the wings, Heitinga and Abidal both prioritized recovery, blocking their routes into the penalty area and forcing them to be unable to complete the transition from the wing to the center.

Once the ball cannot reach the center, how can it create a threat?

Time passed by one minute and one second. Roma's attack, which started after the opening, quickly hit the wall and the offensive gradually stopped. However, Ajax, who was playing away from home, after going on the defensive in the opening stage, waited until Roma started. After consciously relaxing, Ye Qiu waved his hand from the sidelines. All Ajax players knew that it was their turn to take the stage.

Beginning to strengthen their offense, Ajax gradually showed a strategy of approaching step by step, using Lucio's ups and downs and the active pressure and pressing of the midfielders and frontcourt players to press Roma's defense forward step by step, forcing Serie A The strong teams had to start pulling back the three lines.

The situation on the field suddenly turned around. The initiative that Roma had seized after the opening gradually returned to Ajax. Ye Qiu pushed all three players on the front line forward, especially targeting the shortcomings of the three defenders in wing defense, and launched a round of counterattack.