Thanks to "Na Yue", "Running Man Knows", and "Kaoshanyang" for their tips!
-----
In order to prepare for the decisive battle against Club Brugge, Ajax did a lot of preparation work, including video analysis of the opponent. The news brought back by the scouts who went to Belgium was not optimistic.
Because Club Brugge had two completely different stances in the Champions League and the Premier League.
Club Brugge was a championship team in Belgium, but in the Champions League, they were mostly playing the role of a dark horse.
It was conceivable that on two different stages, Club Brugge's game tactics and stance would have a strong contrast.
It was not as informative as collecting information on mainstream league teams such as AC Milan and Celta, because the strong teams often paid attention to maintaining continuity of tactics, and there would not be too big of a contrast in their technical and tactical styles.
At the last minute, Comain decided to take a risk.
He would focus on himself!
No matter what tricks the opponent would play.
Ajax would play to his own characteristics and go all out to win!
When the day of the Champions League group game arrived, the air in Amsterdam seemed to be filled with gunpowder smoke.
The Club Brugge fans who came to the Netherlands from Belgium shuttled through the streets and alleys. A few hours before the game started, people realized that there would be a life and death battle that night.
Qin Xiong had not been distracted recently. He put all his energy into preparing for the game. He adjusted his physical state, listened to the coach's advice, and listened to the music in the locker room with his teammates to relax before the big game.
He warmed up on the field and returned to the locker room to rearrange his game equipment.
After tying his shoelaces, Qin Xiong stood up and stuffed the bottom of his jersey into his shorts. His expression was calm as he exchanged glances with his teammates. Everyone nodded at each other in tacit understanding, and a burst of fighting spirit suddenly erupted!
Comain did not give a passionate speech in the pre-game lecture.
He did not want to overemphasize the outcome of the game, which would put more pressure on the players. After all, this was a young team. Pressure would promote their growth, but excessive pressure could crush them!
He wanted the players to play as relaxed as possible. As long as they showed 80% of the quality in training, Ajax would definitely have the advantage in the game. As for whether they could turn the advantage into victory, it was hard to say. After all, no one could guarantee anything on the football field.
The players from both teams lined up and entered the stadium. It could be seen that the Club Brugge players were also full of fighting spirit. Of course, they wanted to advance to the top 16 of the Champions League. For the Belgian team, that would be a success!
After the ceremony before the start of the game, the players of the two teams began to take their positions in their own half of the field.
"The end of Group H of the 2003-2004 Champions League season is about to begin. AC Milan has already advanced in this group. The only suspense that exists for the defending champion is whether they will be first or second in the group. The other ticket to the top 16 would be between Bruges and Ajax. Bruges was two points ahead of Ajax. As long as they could get out of this match unscathed, they would advance to the top 16. Ajax couldn't accept any other result other than victory! In the first match between the two teams in Bruges, Ajax lost 1: 2 to Bruges in the away game. Today, they moved to the Amsterdam Athletic Stadium. Between Ajax and Bruges, who would get the last ticket?
Ajax started 4-4-3.
Goalkeeper: Lobonte
Defenders: Grygera, Galasek, Eskud, Maxwell.
Midfielders: De Jong, Qin Xiong, Pienaar.
Forwards: Van Der Vaart, Ibrahimovic, Snede.
Bruges started 4-4-1.
Goalkeeper: Butina.
Defenders: De Cook, Meertens, Rogenard, Van Den Haidt.
Midfielders: Martens, Simmons, Clermont, Heinrich, Nastja Čech.
Forward: Lange. "
With the whistle of the referee, the Champions League life-or-death match between Ajax and Bruges officially began.
Ibrahimovic stood in the center circle to kick off. He stepped on the football and gently rubbed the ball. Van Der Vaart was beside him to control the ball.
Bruges was at the front, and Lange took the lead to rush up!
Van Der Vaart raised his right foot and pretended to pass back. Lange ran extremely wildly. Seeing Van Der Vaart turn sideways to pass back, he immediately went around to block his passing route. However, Van Der Vaart feinted. He did not pass back, but dribbled the ball forward!
Lange rushed over the head!
The moment he braked and stopped, he saw Snede on the left quickly rush to the front field.
Pienaar was less than two meters away from him as he sprinted past. Just as he took two steps towards the back of the field, he saw the recently popular Chinese player sprinting forward in large strides from where he was standing parallel to him!
At this moment, Lange suddenly felt his heart palpitate.
Ajax's attacking team, from the first second of the match, galloped like a wild horse!
Quick attack! Flash attack!
Van Der Vaart dribbled the ball across the half of the field. When his teammates rushed up behind him, he slowed down slightly. When he encountered Bruges' midfield defensive line, he immediately passed the ball to Ibrahimovic.
Ibrahimovic stopped the ball, protected it with his back, and then passed the ball to Snede in the back row.
After passing the ball, Ibrahimovic sprinted forward.
Snede faced the withdrawing Martens. Similarly, he did not stick to the ball. He quickly moved and passed the ball across.
Pinard's front was blocked by Simmons and Claremont. The two players were confident that they would close the door to block Pinard's advance.
However, when the ball rolled over, Pinard's move shocked the two players.
He leaked the ball!
They could only watch as the ball rolled across two meters in front of them.
On Pinard's right, Qin Xiong quickly rushed over. Čech withdrew inside, and Hirac defended from the front.
The moment Qin Xiong touched the ball, he paused for a moment. He took advantage of the opponent's poor defensive rhythm and immediately moved the ball nimbly and freely through the narrow gap between Hirac and Čech. At the same time, he sped up again and successfully broke through the defensive line between the two players like a madman!
Ajax opened the match with a quick attack and destroyed the opponent's midfield defensive line!
After passing the ball, Qin Xiong observed the opponent's goalkeeper's position. He was more than 30 yards away from the goal. He chose a long shot!
Since it was a blitzkrieg, he had to take the opponent by surprise. He had to catch them off guard!
Taking his steps and adjusting his angle, Qin Xiong decisively fired a long shot!
In the stands of the Amsterdam Sports Stadium, tens of thousands of Ajax fans could not help but open their mouths slightly. They were amazed by Qin Xiong's decisive and unexpected long shot.
The match had only just begun. Not even 10 seconds had passed!
The ball, which did not spin and seemed to contain an aura that could destroy everything, flew like a meteor toward Club Brugge's goal!
All of the Club Brugge defenders turned their heads to look. No one could stop the ball in its flight path. In the blink of an eye, the ball flew into the penalty area!
The goalkeeper, Brenner, panicked. He only moved one step to make a save. Obviously, he could not touch the ball.
Bang!
The ball hit the bottom of the crossbar of the goal!
Then, it bounced back!
The entire stadium let out a huge sigh of surprise.
However, it was not over yet!
The ball did not bounce out of the penalty area. After bouncing in the penalty area, it would land near the penalty spot for the second time.
The Club Brugge defenders, who had been collectively thunderstruck, lost their mark on Ibrahimovic!
However, Ibrahimovic's forward footsteps could not stop. Qin Xiong's shot was unexpected, but the rebound was even more unexpected!
Ibrahimovic could not stop and turn around to use his chest to stop the ball. He could only head the ball to the goal!
However, he was not good at headers. He had always preferred to use his footwork.
At this moment, Ibrahimovic could not care so much. He immediately jumped and used all his strength to head the ball back to the goal. After all, it was an empty goal!
Bang!
Ibrahimovic was stunned.
His extreme follow-up header actually hit the crossbar once again!
Moreover, the ball that bounced out flew over his head and behind him.
The Ajax fans in the stands were shocked!
Was the team cursed today?
Qin Xiong and Ibrahimovic, both of their shots had hit the crossbar!
This was not a good sign. It would immediately give the fans an ominous feeling in their hearts.
But soon, the ball that bounced out the second time landed outside the penalty area. The Club Brugge defenders were always a beat slower in their panic. After Qin Xiong shot, they only cared about seeing if the ball had entered the goal and lost track of Ibrahimovic. When Ibrahimovic went to head the ball to the goal, they collectively rushed to surround Ibrahimovic. At this moment, there was a large gap in front of the penalty area.
When the ball that bounced out fell, it was kicked back to the goal by someone with a foot kick!
The goalkeeper, Brenner, made a second save but did not manage to touch the ball. He fell on the goal line and turned his head to look inside the goal. His heart fell into the abyss.
The ball spun rapidly at the bottom of the net. It spun slowly and was still. It was like a bomb that exploded the hearts of the Club Brugge team!
All the Ajax players stared at the teammate in front of the penalty area who had scored the goal with a foot kick. Who was he?
The South African, Pienaar!
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
