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When the thirteenth round of the Eredivisie competition was about to begin, Ajax FC's attention was similar to when they played against AZ Alkmaar.
In the middle of next week, there would be the fifth round of the Champions League. They would travel to Spain and challenge Celta in an away game.
Ajax could not be blamed for always biting off more than they could chew. It was just that their lead in the league was a little too big.
Heerenveen was a guest at the Amsterdam Stadium. Their opponent had been performing well in the new season. Usually, they were in the middle of the pack. Now, they were in the upper echelons of the league and behind the championship contenders. However, the gap between them and Ajax was too big. It was impossible for them to challenge for the throne.
In view of the fact that Ajax easily massacred Hague in the last league game, most of the Ajax players thought that Heerenveen would definitely defend with all their might. They would be facing a tough battle.
Two hours before the game, the players had an early lunch at the club.
Qin Xiong felt like he was not full, so he took some snacks from the stadium's lounge.
The club would prepare a lot of food and water in the lounge. Before and after the game, the players could eat at any time.
Although it looked like snacks, the club's medical team had checked that it was mainly to replenish energy and to prevent the players from eating junk food.
Qin Xiong looked up at the television as he ate.
Maxwell also did not seem to be full. He walked into the lounge and looked at Qin Xiong. Then, he took a bottle of water and snacks and walked to Qin Xiong's side. He said, "The Netherlands is like this. If you go to Italy, you won't necessarily see so many goals every week."
Qin Xiong nodded. The television was playing the highlights of the game that had already ended.
Dutch football had no shortage of goals!
In the game that had just ended yesterday, Roda JC had massacred AZ Alkmaar in an away game with 5: 1!
After Ajax ended their unbeaten streak, AZ Alkmaar's morale suffered a thunderous blow. This was the most mysterious part of the competition in the league. When a team's morale was at its peak, they had to stop the other team's momentum!
The significance of this was definitely more than a game with three or six points.
William II also swept Fulundan with a score of 6: 0.
The unlucky Hague had lost 7 goals to Ajax in the previous match, and in this match, he had lost 4 goals to Twente in the away game.
With these big scores, games like Feyenoord's 3: 0 victory over Vidis and PSV Eindhoven's narrow 3: 2 victory over Nijmegen seemed not worth mentioning.
It was true that the Eredivisie did not make it into the top five in Europe, but it was never lonely here. Every week, there would be matches that seemed unreasonable to the outside world.
Remembering something, Qin Xiong turned his head and asked, "Coach seems to be in a bad mood today. Do you know why?"
In the morning training, Qin Xiong saw that Comain's face was very ugly.
Maxwell munched on his snacks and casually replied, "Didn't you see the news?"
"What news?"
"Yesterday's pre-match press conference."
"I didn't."
"Oh, he criticized the Dutch Football Association for arranging the competition schedule. We have to play the Champions League, but the league is only played the next day. If it was arranged to be played yesterday, we would have had an extra day to prepare for the Champions League."
"With the Champions League, does the league have to be played in the morning?"
"Not necessarily, but it's definitely better to have an extra day of rest. Uh, maybe it has something to do with PSV Eindhoven. Their game was played yesterday. When the coach saw it, he felt unbalanced. Then, he was satirized by some Dutch newspapers today, thinking that there was no hope for him to lead Ajax to play in the Champions League. It was better to concentrate on playing in the league tournament. Of course, he would be unhappy to see such comments. "
Qin Xiong made an 'oh' sound and did not say anything else.
He had never paid much attention to media reports. As for Comain's unhappiness, it probably had little to do with the comments from the outside world. After all, in the position of manager, controversy was inseparable at any time. The pressure from the media was extremely heavy. If he was unhappy because of the criticism from the outside world, then he might have to cry every day for the whole year.
It was still related to who had more "privileges" in the Netherlands, Ajax or PSV Eindhoven.
It was clear that Ajax was more obedient and well-behaved in front of the Dutch Football Association, and he was the local king who contributed more. However, PSV Eindhoven could get more preferential treatment. If it were anyone else, they would not be happy.
When they were almost done eating, Qin Xiong sat down to rest. After chatting with Maxwell for a while, he met up with his teammates in the locker room. Half an hour before the game, he warmed up in the stadium and returned to the locker room to listen to Comain's pre-game lecture.
The veteran Galászek had returned from the Czech Republic national team with a minor injury and would not be able to play for the next half a month. This was what gave Comain a headache, but in terms of the league tournament, it was not a big problem.
Heerenveen was ranked at the top of the standings, but it was not a threat to Ajax. Moreover, the game was played in the Amsterdam Arena. Ajax's natural self-confidence was reflected incisively and vividly. He did not put his opponent in his eyes at all.
Among other things, Ajax's arrogant philosophy could make their mentality more positive and not miserable after a major loss. Their confidence recovered quickly, and their superior temperament was unshakable.
As far as the current situation was concerned, this temperament was very important, especially when compared to AZ Alkmaar, a team that was once able to challenge for the throne. After losing to Ajax, they were defeated by the unknown Roda JC yesterday.
The atmosphere in the stadium was bursting. Ajax and Heerenveen lined up to enter the stadium.
When the game started, Qin Xiong and his teammates found that their thinking about the game was completely wrong!
Heerenveen did not show any signs of defending.
They played very wild, unrestrained, and aggressive.
This did not make Ajax panic. On the contrary, they were excited!
Really, there was no point in playing a tough battle because there were always many people in a narrow area engaging in "hand-to-hand combat." They could not run, rush, and play a tug-of-war effect. Not to mention long-distance attacks, which were the favorite scenes of the audience, had a very low probability of appearing.
Heerenveen's manager was the 60-year-old De Haan. He had coached Heerenveen for more than 15 years. Now, he had coached Heerenveen twice, but it had already been 11 years!
Sixty years old was long past the age of knowing one's destiny. It might be difficult for outsiders to guess what De Haan was thinking.
Was it because the team performed well in the new season, so he wanted to arm wrestle with Ajax?
Or did he want to take advantage of the fact that Ajax's Champions League "final" was imminent and that his attention might be distracted?
In fact, De Haan's idea was very simple.
The standings could not reflect the true strength of the team. Heerenveen's strength on paper was far from Ajax's. Even if they defended to the death, there was a high probability that they would be defeated in the Amsterdam Arena. Especially after watching the video of the last game between Ajax and Hague, De Haan was even more convinced of this point.
Instead of defending to the death and losing the game in a cowardly manner, it was better not to think about anything and let the team play the game with a normal attitude.
Even if they lost, it did not matter.
Heerenveen did not have much ambition and lacked confidence. According to the situation of the season, relegation was impossible. Then, it would not be much higher. It was better to let loose and play the game.
Just like how Ajax was excited to play in the Champions League, Heerenveen was naturally excited to play against Ajax.
As soon as the game started, Heerenveen was very active.
On the other side, there was a Greek striker under the age of 20 named Samaras. His technical ability seemed to be very talented and he was also very confident.
He controlled the ball in the front field and used his right foot to frequently pull the ball in front of Qin Xiong to make confusing moves. As for Qin Xiong?
He was as immovable as a mountain!
This was what he learned in the game against AC Milan.
As long as the opponent did not really break through him, Qin Xiong would not be "seduced" by the opponent. The method of giving up the center of gravity in defense was actually very passive.
Samaras made a few moves in a row. Qin Xiong stood in front of him like a wooden stake, but he did not dare to pass him!
He might have been thinking about why Qin Xiong did not come up to steal the ball from him.
Samaras moved. After he dribbled the ball horizontally, he found a gap and intended to break through from the gap between Qin Xiong and Dirong.
At the moment he broke through, Qin Xiong and Dirong both closed the door at the same time!
Samaras's thin and tall body seemed to have hit a piece of iron. Qin Xiong and Dirong did not react, but Samaras himself rebounded and fell to the ground.
Dirong controlled the football and glanced at Samaras on the ground with a somewhat disdainful expression.
Was this kid here to play street football?
He spent a lot of time, but his physical confrontation was simply too weak. Plus, his speed was not fast. Who were you trying to fool?
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