Thank you to "kylz" for the tip!
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If one was too focused on one thing, it was easy to neglect other things.
Qin Xiong had always been in this state before. For example, when he was painting, he was completely immersed in his own world.
On the way to the Ajax training ground, he had become very familiar with this road in the past two months. His pace was neither slow nor fast. He was clearly thinking about something, but he still instinctively kept a distance from the passers-by. When he passed by them, he moved to avoid them.
The late autumn wind made people full of energy. Qin Xiong subconsciously felt that someone was quickly walking up behind him, so he took the initiative to move a step to the side of the sidewalk to open a path for the person behind him to pass.
His action made Sylvia, who was jogging up behind him, not know whether to laugh or cry.
She ran to Qin Xiong's side, then slowed down and walked side by side with him with a smile on her face.
After the two of them walked side by side for three steps, Qin Xiong stopped and turned his head to look. He was surprised to see Sylvia holding a breakfast bag in her hand.
She also finally stopped and looked at Qin Xiong. She raised her hand and handed the breakfast to him. She smiled and said, "Don't you want to eat breakfast?"
Qin Xiong then realized that he had forgotten to eat breakfast after waking up. He was too focused on thinking about things.
Reaching out to take the breakfast in the paper bag that Sylvia handed over, Qin Xiong said gratefully and apologetically, "Sorry, my old habit is acting up again. Someone has reminded me many times, but I just can't change it."
Sylvia stared into his eyes and asked, "Are you still unhappy because of the loss?"
Qin Xiong immediately waved his hand and said with a smile, "No, of course not. I'm thinking about something that makes me excited. Erm, something about football."
Sylvia nodded and did not ask any more questions. She waved goodbye to him and turned to leave.
Qin Xiong stood in the same place and stared at her departing figure. Then he looked down at the packed breakfast in his hand. His heart suddenly felt warm. A wonderful feeling that had never appeared before fermented in the bottom of his heart. It was an indescribable feeling.
She disappeared at the corner of the street. Qin Xiong also turned around and continued on his way to the club.
Then he continued to think.
Before the age of 18, Qin Xiong had received more than 10 years of football training, but in terms of skills and tactics, it was only basic training.
When it came to the real situation of Europe's top football players, Qin Xiong was like a blind man groping for an elephant under the guidance of his coach before the age of 18.
After coming to Ajax, Qin Xiong was given a pair of "eyes" under the coach's training, especially under the influence of Louis Van Gaal's professional knowledge. He began to truly see the panoramic view of this elephant. Because of this, there were a lot of things that triggered his thinking. In layman's terms, it was an eye-opener. It was accompanied by a stronger adaptation of his thinking.
A new day of training. The conflict between the generals in the team, Shikora and Comain, did not improve.
Especially when Pienaar was grouped with Qin Xiong, Van Der Vaart, Snede and Ibrahimovic during training. This made Shikora even more disheartened. His position in the team plummeted!
But on the whole, the atmosphere was still good. The teammates were calm and the competition was also healthy.
The new attacking combination actively communicated during training. They experimented with the operation of the new tactics in the team's short training matches. All of this made Ajax's geniuses excited and expectant. After only one day, they put the defeat in the Champions League to the back of their minds. They were more concerned about tomorrow and the future.
.....
The FIFA match in November was coming. Before that, Ajax still had a league match to play.
They were facing a weak team, The Hague, at home.
Comain had just suffered a defeat in the Champions League in the middle of the week. Even in the home game against The Hague, there were people who questioned Comain's strategy. In addition, the media exposed the conflict between Shikora and Comain. For a moment, people were full of doubts about whether Comain could control this young and talented Ajax team.
There was always such a rule in the football circle. When there was success, there would be singing and dancing, and when there was failure, there would be trouble on all sides.
On Sunday afternoon, when Qin Xiong walked into the stadium with his teammates to prepare for the game, he saw the Ajax fans were as enthusiastic as ever. He saw the spectacular scene of the packed stands and saw the popularity of Ajax in the Netherlands!
The fans would not choose to abandon Ajax because they were in a bad situation in the Champions League, nor would they reduce their interest in watching the game because their opponent was the weak team, The Hague.
Ajax's natural advantage in their home ground was too outstanding!
Just like Paris Saint-Germain in Paris, only their top football club could enjoy the fan market in a bustling city, unlike London, where there were many powerhouses, and Milan, where there were two powerhouses, and so on.
Qin Xiong stood in the stadium and waited for the game to kick off.
The opponent was not strong. This was a fact. But the game was very important for Ajax.
Comain stood on the sidelines with a serious expression. He did not let the team be immersed in the shadow of the Champions League defeat. He threw out a tactical change to divert everyone's attention and let the team quickly cheer up.
But, would the new tactical system work?
Would it be better than before as the ideal design?
He did not know.
Everything depended on the practice to give the answer.
Therefore, the importance of this game may not be seen by outsiders, but Comain and the Ajax players were well aware.
It was no exaggeration to say that Comain had no room for failure. If the reform failed this time, it was bound to dishearten Ajax's geniuses and only disappoint him as the manager.
Ajax was reforming before the season. The reform was not successful. The away loss to Club Brugge was the best proof.
The Champions League group stage had four games and three losses. Now Ajax was reforming again in the middle of the season. If it failed, the end of the season seemed to be foreseeable. The Champions League was out of the question. The team might fall apart and there would no longer be a foundation of mutual trust between the managers.
If it was said that it was difficult to test the effect of a team's change in defense when playing against a weak team, like Comain's previous experiment after changing to a 4-3-1 formation, there was not much difference in the league. After all, Ajax's strength was above most of the teams in the Eredivisie.
But playing against a weak team was a good environment to test the team's offensive system.
Tough battle!
It was a test of creativity and the requirements for offensive ability were higher.
This was also the biggest strength gap between the mid-tier teams and the top teams. The top teams could only climb higher if they could win the tough battle, while the mid-tier teams were weak in the tough battle, lost points, and lost, and their position was neither high nor low.
Hague cooperated very well and put on a defensive posture at the beginning of the game. The whole team defended and there was not even a striker who crossed half the field.
This was a paradise for offensive football. But would a relegation team dare to play offense in front of Ajax? And in the Amsterdam Athletic Stadium?
Don't be kidding. It might make their momentum look fierce, but it was actually giving away three points as a tribute to the king.
Under the tight defense of the opponent, Ajax's offense at the beginning of the game was not smooth and was not successful.
Qin Xiong's role as the pivot was more obvious. He was the core of the team and had to link up the offense from the back field and create an environment for the offense from the front field.
Hague put on an iron bucket formation. Qin Xiong's organization work was very easy. The back field, the midfield, and the wide open environment allowed him to pass the ball comfortably to his running teammates.
But perhaps everyone could not wait to test the new tactical system. When the ball was at the feet of the attacking players, they would speed up!
To speed up the rhythm of the game, Pienaar, Snede, and Van Der Vaart did not stick to the ball. Instead, they ran and cut clearly. They rushed into the penalty area quickly and wanted to immediately break open Hague's goal.
But playing like this did not have good results.
Because of the new tactical system, after the side passes were weakened, the movement in the dangerous areas in front of the opponent's goal would be more restricted and obstructed. Plus, the faster the speed, the less coordinated and smooth the movement. The faster the rhythm, the more chaotic it was!
The coordination in the offense could not be achieved.
In the first ten minutes of the game, Ajax's offense went smoothly in the midfield. But when it reached the front line, it was chaos. The effect of the new tactical system was not as good as before. When breaking through the tight defense, the speedy wingers like Sikora or Sottles would pass the ball from the back. As long as Ibrahimovic snatched the ball and landed in the penalty area, he could still play an immediate effect.
The reason why Comain gave up that style of play was very simple. That simple and crude side pass tactic was indeed effective against weak and mid-tier teams. It was enough to crush them!
A center back combination that could block Ibrahimovic, other than the three big clubs in the Netherlands, no other team could do it!
But when it came to the Champions League stage, this was a big problem. It would not work at all.
There had to be a change!
At this time, Qin Xiong, as the midfield commander, actively made adjustments to his teammates.
He gestured to his attacking teammates.
Slow down!
Play steadily and surely!
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