The atmosphere in Ajax's locker room was very gloomy.
Ibu was sitting in a corner with only his underwear on, leaning against the wall with a blank expression. He was surrounded by Nesta, Maldini, and Gattuso, and he could not unleash even ten percent of his strength even if he had all kinds of martial arts.
This would be a huge blow to his confidence.
But maybe after some time, he would be able to pull himself together and continue to embark on his dream of becoming the world's best center forward.
Snede punched the wardrobe when he returned to the locker room. Van Der Vaart took off his jersey and sat in front of the wardrobe. The proud captain lowered his arrogant head and stared at his feet so that no one could see his expression.
Qin Xiong was also in a bad mood. Nothing could be worse than losing a game.
Especially when this kind of negative mood was contagious. Ajax did not have the high spirits of winning in the league in the past half a month. Their expressions and state were as if they had just attended the funeral of a family member …
The veteran Litmanen sat on the bench for 90 minutes. He brought new news at this time, trying to cheer up the young and psychologically fragile team.
"It's not over yet!"
His voice was powerful and resonant, attracting everyone's attention. But his teammates stared at the veteran, who was actually on the periphery of the team, with some indifference in their eyes.
Litmanen could only encourage his teammates as much as he could. He walked to the middle of the locker room and said seriously, "In the other game in the same group, Celta and Club Brugge tied. Now, we are five points behind Brugge and four points behind AC Milan. There are still two games left. Our journey in the Champions League this season is not over yet!"
Maxwell, Grygera, Eskuder, Heitinga, and the others straightened up and pulled themselves together a little.
Two games.
Ajax and AC Milan played two games back to back. Ajax was killed twice, and AC Milan took all six points. This was the worst situation.
And the other two opponents in the same group.
Club Brugge and Celta.
They played two games to a draw.
This was simply a lose-lose situation for both sides!
It was conceivable that even if they won a match against each other, both teams would get three points, which would be one point more than two points.
In that case, Bruges would have 6 points more than Ajax. As long as they could get a draw, they would be able to advance.
And Selta would surpass Ajax with 4 points!
However, these two teams had drawn two matches, allowing AC Milan and Ajax to reap the benefits in a sense.
Litmanin looked around at each of his teammates with a calm gaze and said, "Now we shouldn't be discouraged, depressed, disappointed, and unable to recover from this setback! If you have to do this, please wait until we are completely eliminated and have lost all hope of advancing to the knockout stage. At that time, we will have plenty of time to cry. Let's face our current situation rationally. For the next two rounds, our opponents are the same as AC Milan. The only difference is whether we play first or later, home or away. AC Milan is the strongest. As long as they win a match, they will definitely advance. And our next match is against Celta, so we must win! In the same round, Club Brugge will play against AC Milan at home. I don't believe that AC Milan will accept the result of being double-killed by Club Brugge. I believe that the defending champions will not be willing to play a life-or-death match in the last round. Even if Club Brugge does not lose at home and gets a draw, they will only have 9 points. As long as we win against Celta in the next round, we will have 6 points! In the last round, we will play against Club Brugge at home. If we beat them, we will have the same points as Club Brugge. Then, in terms of the overall score, we will have the advantage and advance! "
Litmanin's analysis was clear and logical.
Anyone who understood the situation of the group and the future schedule could make such an analysis.
But this was not a situation that would absolutely happen.
Not to mention that Ajax must win both matches, they also had to hope that AC Milan would not lose in the away game. After all, fate was not in their own hands.
Some of the teammates were encouraged by Litmanin and perked up.
But for Qin Xiong, Snede, Van Der Vaart, and Ibrahimovic, these four players, there was no change in their expressions.
They would not be in a better mood because they heard Litmanin's analysis.
Perhaps, Litmanen was really old.
What came out of his mouth was reality. Yes, it was very realistic.
He could not understand the disappointment of the proud geniuses at this moment. The main point might not have much to do with whether they could advance to the knockout stage of the Champions League. Yes, that was a realistic consideration of the future.
But at this moment, the haze in their hearts stemmed from failure!
Being double-killed by AC Milan in two rounds, they could not lift their heads!
If they had considered reality from the beginning, their thinking would have been very utilitarian.
Then, they might not have fought for victory!
Why would they fantasize about victory when their opponent was so strong?
180 minutes of defending to the death. It did not matter how ugly the situation was. They would have set up an iron bucket formation to defend to the death!
And then?
Ajax might also get two draws and have 5 points, while AC Milan would only have 3 points.
But that would only mean that they did not lose!
They, whose hearts were higher than the sky, wanted to win!
A football game should be about the pursuit of victory!
Their ambition was to conquer!
Therefore, Litmanin's words might be able to inspire some teammates, but they could not touch Qin Xiong's ears.
Walking to the bathroom to take a shower, he quickly changed into casual clothes. Qin Xiong took his newly bought leisure bag and left the locker room.
The game was played at night. When Qin Xiong returned to Wardle Street, it was already close to midnight. He had some supper with Freddy and went back to the apartment to sleep.
The next day, the First Team had the morning off.
Qin Xiong maintained a calm expression since the morning practice. He was recalling the game.
The details of the 70-minute game filled his mind and replayed repeatedly.
How did they lose?
Comain's tactical loss to Ancelotti was a factor, which also reflected the strength and status of the two teams in European football.
AC Milan was stronger than Ajax.
From the coach to the players.
Until noon, Qin Xiong was still often in a state of contemplation. He looked like a thinker, sitting outside the restaurant in a daze, but outsiders did not know that his brain was undergoing a violent brainstorm.
Every opponent, every teammate, and himself, how to break the enemy, how to improve, how to make himself stronger?
Freddy looked worried when he saw Qin Xiong in this state. Even though he had always been by Qin Xiong's side, perhaps because they were too familiar with each other, Qin Xiong could guess what he was going to say the moment he opened his mouth. Thus, Freddy tactfully skipped the old-fashioned encouragement.
Freddy was worried that Qin Xiong was too immersed in his own world of thoughts. He could guess that Qin Xiong was recalling the game, but that was too mentally taxing and too easy to make Qin Xiong go back to his childhood state of isolation, which was not good.
At this time, he needed something from the outside world to distract Qin Xiong's attention, so that he could remove the heaviness in his heart and his obsession with thinking.
Just as Freddy was distressed, someone sat down in the seat opposite Qin Xiong. When Freddy saw that person, his eyebrows immediately relaxed. He smiled at the person and then got up to leave, leaving the young man and woman alone.
Sitting opposite Qin Xiong was Sylvia. She knew that Qin Xiong would secretly stare at her when he sat outside the restaurant at the outdoor tables and chairs.
Perhaps she was used to being stared at by the opposite sex, Sylvia did not feel that Qin Xiong was rude. After all, from the day they met, Qin Xiong had always been very gentlemanly.
Today, Qin Xiong did not secretly stare at her, not even once.
She felt strange at the bottom of her heart. Instead, she would look at Qin Xiong more often.
She knew the result of last night's game at home. According to her understanding of the football circle, at this time, most of the players should be drinking all night or using other means to vent.
It was rare to see someone like Qin Xiong who was meditating like a sculpture for a long time.
Qin Xiong did not notice that Sylvia was sitting in front of him. His eyes were lowered, and his right hand was stirring a cup of coffee with a small spoon. The coffee had already turned cold, and he had been stirring it for almost half an hour.
It was as if he and Sylvia were in a different dimension. The two of them were less than two meters apart, but Qin Xiong did not seem to notice her existence.
This state made Sylvia close her eyes and smile. Unfortunately, Qin Xiong missed her gentle smile.
Sylvia had to take away Qin Xiong's coffee, which made Qin Xiong "wake up" from his contemplation.
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