"Bergkamp, go home!"
"Who will stop Henry?"
"Vieira will test Ajax's new midfield star!"
"Who will be king in the battle between beautiful football and offensive football?"
.....
The day before the Champions League match, the Dutch local sports television stations were full of reports about Arsenal.
Including Arsenal's astonishing 26-game unbeaten streak in the Premier League season!
In the league, Arsenal had not lost a single game.
At the same time, Arsenal's golden left flank shocked the world. The combination of Ashley Cole, Pires, and Henry on the left flank frightened the Dutch football media.
There was also the double defensive midfielder combination of Vieira and Gilberto Silva, which could be said to be the world's top.
Although the young Ajax was unstoppable in the local league, against the mature and powerful Premier League giants, there was no doubt that this would be an extremely difficult match.
Qin Xiong and his teammates would see these reports in the gym. Did they feel pressured?
No! What they felt was motivation and excitement, excitement that made them tremble uncontrollably!
If Arsenal was not strong, they would be disappointed.
There was also no need to sweat so hard after the winter break. They were waiting for the upcoming battle!
In the press conference before the Champions League match, the gentle and elegant Wenger complimented Ajax and praised Ajax's strength. He also insisted that Ajax was the most difficult team to draw in order to counter the mainstream media's claim that Arsenal had drawn a good draw.
Comain also appeared to be extremely low-key, claiming that Arsenal was difficult to deal with. If Ajax wanted to advance, he would have to put in more effort than the other side, much more!
Although the Dutch media believed that Ajax should take advantage of the home field and establish the advantage of advancing in the first round, in fact, Comain did not deliberately emphasize this point in his pre-match speech.
Because he knew that the Champions League knockout stage, two rounds of 180 minutes, or even 210 minutes plus a penalty shootout, the most important point of the competition was the mentality!
Whoever lost their mentality would be in an extremely passive situation.
In the face of such a big battle, the first thing to do was to be calm.
Fully recognize the reality and not be influenced by external factors.
Yes, Ajax had the home field advantage in the first round. The next round at Highbury would be more difficult.
However, would they be able to play so aggressively in the first round on their home ground?
No!
Absolutely not!
Comain had done a lot of research on Arsenal. Arsenal's so-called beautiful football only existed in England.
It was because of the overall style of English football that Arsenal's style of football appeared more beautiful.
This did not mean that Arsenal was playing offensive football. Offensive football and beautiful football were not equal.
Arsenal had abandoned the traditional English style of attacking with long passes and hoisting. Instead, they used ground passes and cuts. However, in terms of tactics, they still relied on defending and counterattacking. They had more space to play their players' advantages in passing and cutting and speed.
If Ajax rashly went all out, it would be exactly what Arsenal wanted!
February 25th, evening.
Ajax and Arsenal arrived as scheduled and gathered at the Amsterdam Athletic Stadium. The battle of the pinnacle was about to take place.
As the players of the two teams warmed up seriously, fans had already entered the stadium in advance and began to cheer for the team in the stands.
Qin Xiong, who was extremely serious, saw the nostalgic old fans in the stands when they were about to return to the locker room after the warm-ups. They put up a banner to welcome Bergkamp home!
The soon-to-be 35-year-old veteran, Bergkamp, was still Arsenal's main force. He was very famous. In the European football world, there was a saying that in today's increasingly utilitarian football world, there were only a few artistic football masters left. If you wanted to appreciate artistic football, you could either go to Bernabéu and watch Zidane play, or go to Highbury and watch Bergkamp play.
This saying had changed recently. One could also go to Camp Nou to watch Ronaldinho play.
In any case, this represented Bergkamp's style of play and his position in the hearts of the fans. It was not based on honor.
Qin Xiong put on his shoes again in the locker room, tidied up his jersey, and stood up in high spirits. Captain Van Der Vaart walked in front of each of his teammates, reached out his hand, and shook hands with everyone with a serious expression. The teammates cheered each other on with silent expressions and actions.
After Koeman finished his lecture, he left early. Just as he had been trying to get the players to relax and face the game with a calm mind, he naturally did not want to put too much pressure on the players at this time before the game.
Qin Xiong walked to the door of the locker room, and the other teammates also stood up. Everyone was ready to leave the locker room.
Qin Xiong bowed his head slightly and closed his eyes. He took a deep breath and raised his head to open his eyes. He was in high spirits, and there was an obvious fire burning in his eyes.
Ajax's players, who had the same expression as him, did not urge Qin Xiong. After Qin Xiong reached out to open the door of the locker room, they heard a sound coming from the players' tunnel. It was the enthusiastic noise in the stadium.
It was the sound of the horn coming from the battlefield.
They walked out of the locker room with their heads held high and stood in line in front of the exit of the players' tunnel without saying a word. They looked focused and did not look at the opponents beside them.
Arsenal's players were already in line.
Someone cast his gaze at Ajax and scrutinized them. That was Vieira. He was like the king of the jungle, sizing up his prey.
Henry, who was the most famous, stood in the front row. He just glanced at Ajax lightly and then looked away. The outstanding King of Guns on the field was as cold as a killer. His usual attitude was lukewarm, but perhaps when he was on the field, he would suddenly erupt with a shocking murderous intent!
The referee looked at the time and confirmed that the starting players of the two teams had arrived. Then he entered the field with his colleagues from the referee team.
When the two teams stepped into the field, the whole stadium erupted with deafening cheers.
Walking into the field, they stood in line horizontally. The melodious and high-pitched Champions League theme song reverberated in the stadium. Qin Xiong looked up slightly with a solemn expression. At this moment, he could not imagine the attention he received.
In addition to the European fans' attention to the Champions League, there were also Chinese fans far away in China. Even if they were not Ajax or Arsenal fans, they were closely watching him through the sports television broadcast.
As he stood on this battlefield, on the highest stage in Europe, he might not be aware that a flag had quietly risen behind him.
Countless Chinese fans regarded him as the flag-bearer of China's football! They had high hopes for him!
"The first leg of the 2003-2004 Champions League 18 finals has kicked off. Today, we are at the Amsterdam Athletic Stadium. Ajax, who is at home, is up against Arsenal, a powerhouse from England. Both teams' records in the league are exceptionally outstanding. Ajax has only lost one game in 22 rounds of the league, while Arsenal has created an astonishing 26-round unbeaten record. In England's top league, Arsenal has not lost a single match. However, compared to the glorious history of the Champions League, Arsenal is still not as good as Ajax. To this day, the century-old powerhouse Arsenal has not touched the Champions League trophy, while Ajax not only has four Champions League trophies, but also created a great career of three consecutive championships. Today is different from the past. Ever since the Bosman Law, Ajax's competitiveness on the top stage in Europe has been declining. Arsenal, on the other hand, made a new leap after Wenger took over. They challenged the Red Devils' dominance in the English Premier League and also sought a new breakthrough in the Champions League. Now, Arsenal's overall strength is stronger than Ajax's. Ajax is talented, but he is still too young. However, football matches are played, and any results can happen.
Now, let's introduce the starting lineups and name lists of both teams.
Ajax 433.
Goalkeeper: Lobonte.
Defenders: Grygera, Heitinga, Escude, Maxwell.
Midfielders: Galasek, Qin Xiong, Pienaar.
Forwards: Van Der Vaart, Ibrahimovic, Snede.
Arsenal 442.
Goalkeeper: Lehmann.
Defenders: Lauren, Campbell, Touré, Ashley Cole.
Midfielders: Ljungberg, Vieira, Silva, Pires.
Forwards: Bergkamp, Henry.
Well, with the referee's whistle, the first round of the Champions League 18 knockout stage begins. Arsenal kicks off first! "
When Arsenal kicked off, Henry passed the ball back. He ran forward, and Vieira passed the ball back to Henry. Henry dribbled the ball and turned around, moving like a fleeing rabbit.
Qin Xiong pointed to his position behind the middle to signal Pienaar to go back and cover. At the same time, he assisted in defending the flanks. He was about to meet Henry, who was dribbling the ball forward!
The battle between Ajax and Arsenal had begun!
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