The Dutch Cup semi-final would be played in mid-March.
Ajax's semi-final opponent was FC Twente. It was FC Twente that kept Ajax's youth team out of the top eight. If possible, Ajax might play against his own youth team in the semi-final.
Sikora, who scored twice, received praise from all sides after the game. The media also called for Ajax to try his best to keep Sikora, even if he was positioned as a substitute.
Qin Xiong was praised as a player who changed the game.
He used a fancy way to bypass Park Ji-sung in the game and delivered a fatal straight pass. Coupled with the breakthrough image of the second goal, the Dutch local sports television station edited it into a clip and repeatedly played it.
After the Dutch Cup, Ajax returned to Amsterdam, took a short break, and waited for PSV Eindhoven's arrival.
The Dutch local football media also turned their attention to the upcoming Eredivisie league game this weekend.
The Dutch National Derby was attacking again.
PSV Eindhoven, as the defending champion of the league, was the weaker side.
In the first 19 rounds, PSV Eindhoven had a record of 14 wins, 3 draws, and 2 losses for 45 points.
Ajax had a terrifying record of 17 wins, 1 draw, and 1 loss for 52 points.
Ajax was ahead of PSV Eindhoven by 7 points!
Although there were still 14 games in the league after 20 rounds.
But if PSV Eindhoven could not shorten the gap with Ajax in the second game in the league, no one would believe that the rapid momentum of Ajax would be reversed.
Before the game, Comain gave the team a combat order: This would be the most challenging game before Ajax faced Arsenal!
They must win!
After this league game, there were two more league games. Ajax would step on the stage of the Champions League's top 16, and the opponents in those two league games were not strong.
In terms of the competition schedule, Ajax dealt with it more calmly.
One tension and one relaxation, so that the heartstrings would not be tight all the time.
Therefore, in this league game, they had to do their best to suppress their rivals!
In the locker room, Ajax's players also reached a consensus.
They hoped to build an advantage in the league game that would make PSV Eindhoven desperate!
This way, they could concentrate more on the Champions League.
On the weekend, the Amsterdam Athletic Stadium was overcrowded. It was difficult to get a ticket. Ajax fans swarmed in. They all understood the importance of this game.
If PSV Eindhoven could win, the suspense of the league title would suddenly increase because it would hurt Ajax's morale.
But what if Ajax won?
I'm afraid that PSV Eindhoven will no longer have the state and morale to catch up with Ajax.
Amidst the enthusiastic cheers of the home fans, Ajax and PSV Eindhoven's starting players lined up on the field.
Compared to the "small skirmishes" of the Dutch Cup a few days ago, the level of this match was obviously different.
Both teams sent out their best players, including almost all of the most eye-catching local stars.
Ajax was confident, arrogant, and even a little condescending, disdainful of his opponents.
On the other hand, PSV Eindhoven was repressed and reserved. They had the tenacity of enduring hardships and the persistence of wanting to avenge their humiliation.
They couldn't help but be hostile towards Ajax.
Their competitors in the Pro League had a huge background.
Attention was also a major factor.
The Netherlands was not the home of the geniuses. If they wanted to leave here, they needed to be watched by the world outside the Netherlands, the heart of European football.
When the Dutch media reported less and less news about Robben and mocked Kežman for only scoring goals against weak teams, Ajax's geniuses appeared in the headlines of football news almost every week. TV stations were willing to broadcast their individual highlights. News writers were happy to brag that the Amsterdam geniuses were playing "artistic football." Even the thrilling qualification of the Champions League group stage could be described as an epic.
This kind of attention was the main channel to arouse the interest of the outside world.
PSV Eindhoven's geniuses were also competing with Ajax for this kind of attention.
Could it be shared?
It was difficult.
Because there was only one league title.
Who was strong and who was weak, the results were the assessment criteria.
When PSV Eindhoven lost to Ajax at the Philips Stadion, who could say that Robben was the best?
Who had the confidence to compare Kežman and Ibrahimovic?
Who dared to throw out the statement that the best player of the game, Qin Xiong, still needed to adapt to Dutch football?
The winner did not need to boast. Countless people rushed to sing praises.
It was this desire to prove that they were stronger than their opponents and at the same time, to snatch back the glory that attracted so much attention.
When the players of PSV Eindhoven and Ajax stood in formation in the field, looking like two armies facing each other, Robben stood at the kickoff point in the center circle with Kežman beside him. The two men acted the same as the other players of PSV Eindhoven. They looked at Ajax's half of the field with a resolute expression and scanned the whole team of Ajax.
Robben retracted his gaze and secretly gritted his teeth.
Today, here, I will beat you!
"The first match of the 2004 Eerste Divisie, the Dutch national derby, will kick off at the Amsterdam Athletic Stadium. The defending champion, PSV Eindhoven, who is seven points behind the leader, Ajax, urgently needs a victory to shorten the gap with their opponents. We don't have to doubt that both sides will hold back in this game. Now we can wait and see. This will definitely be a classic battle!
Ajax starting 4: 33.
Goalkeeper: Lobonte.
Defenders: Grygera, Heitinga, Eskuder, Maxwell.
Midfielders: Galasek, Qin Xiong, Pienaar.
Forwards: Van Der Vaart, Ibrahimovic, Snede.
PSV Eindhoven starting 4: 33.
Goalkeeper: Watlers.
Defenders: Oyer, Hovland, Bouma, Li Rongpyo.
Midfielders: Vogel, van Bommel, Park Ji-sung.
Forwards: Romedard, Kežman, Robben. "
At the beginning of the game, PSV Eindhoven launched an attack from the right flank. It looked like PSV Eindhoven did not hold back.
Maxwell calmly forced Romedard into a dead end and cooperated with Galasek to assist in the defense, successfully blocking the opponent's attack.
Ajax immediately launched a counterattack, and Galasek passed the ball to Qin Xiong.
Qin Xiong still managed to match Park Ji-sung's offense and defense.
Park Ji-sung had been studying Qin Xiong's game videos for the past three days, trying to analyze Qin Xiong's playing habits.
However, he realized that it was too difficult!
Qin Xiong's thinking when playing football was very flexible. He was not like Robben, who could dominate the world with one move. Even if the opponent could not defend against it, he could indeed predict correctly.
However, Qin Xiong's playing style was extremely strange!
It was unpredictable.
As soon as the game started, Park Ji-sung once again felt powerless.
He expected Qin Xiong to use various ways to deal with the ball, but he did not expect that in the dangerous area of the backfield, Qin Xiong dared to miss the ball!
What made him so confident?
Was he born with eyes in the back of his head?
Could he see the situation in all directions?
The football that Qin Xiong missed rolled to the right flank. Robben did not scramble for it. Grygera started earlier than him and received the pass better.
Grygera passed straight ahead to Van Der Vaart.
The Dutch golden boy passed the ball to Sneijder, the left winger, from a long distance. Sneijder did not move and received the ball on the spot. When Oyer pounced on him, he did the opposite and dribbled the ball back two steps. Then, he also moved in a wide range and passed the ball back to the reverse triangle, the midfield area.
Ajax's three passes and two passes were long distance and wide range passes, which suddenly quickened the pace of the game. Moreover, it could be seen that they were unusually confident on the field. This confidence was not blind. They believed that they could do it. In actual action, they did do it!
Snede's long-distance pass back to the midfield area looked like it would be received by Qin Xiong, who was rushing forward.
And beside Qin Xiong, Park Ji-sung was like a shadow.
It was impossible for Park Ji-sung to touch the ball, but Qin Xiong could. All of Park Ji-sung's attention was on Qin Xiong.
When the two men were running side by side toward PSV Eindhoven's midfield, Qin Xiong suddenly slowed down. His action immediately alerted Park Ji-sung.
He was going to touch the ball!
What choice would he make?
The next scene almost made Park Ji-sung collapse!
The football rolled past a meter in front of Qin Xiong …
Another missed ball!
Qin Xiong did not even look sideways. His expression was calm. He just slowed down and waited for the football to roll in front of him before he sped up and rushed forward.
Park Ji-sung was distracted by the direction of the rolling football. He saw that the football missed by Qin Xiong for the second time still rolled to the sideline and in front of Grygera.
Qin Xiong pulled away from him and rushed forward. After Park Ji-sung's brief attention was distracted, he was eager to catch up with Qin Xiong. But between the slow and the fast, he did not maintain his body's center of gravity and slipped to the ground!
The Ajax fans in the stands were excited and cheered for Qin Xiong.
Since the start of the match, Qin Xiong, who had not touched the football even once, managed to confuse his opponent with two missed balls!
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