Ajax entered the sprinting stage of the season.
Due to their huge lead in the league tournament, they could concentrate on preparing for the Champions League, which was also the battlefield that affected the Ajax players the most.
Along with the praises from the outside world, more mainstream European media paid attention. Just like Qin Xiong, many players privately received news that other clubs had thrown out olive branches.
They did not want to be disturbed now and hoped to climb to new heights in the sprinting at the end of the season.
In the middle of March, Ajax went to the Dutch Cup.
Comain did not have any plans to train the players this time.
Ajax made it to the top four. Before the top four, it didn't matter if they lost or won. As long as they did not play PSV Eindhoven or Feyenoord, they could train the players however they wanted.
But entering the top four meant that they were only three games away from winning a championship. The attraction of this real honor was strong enough. Of course, it would exceed the temptation of the value of training the players.
In particular, Ajax could even sacrifice the league tournament to give in to the Dutch Cup, which made Comain even more ambitious. He had to win the Dutch Cup.
Ajax's main force played in the Dutch Cup semi-finals.
The opponent was FC Twente.
The semi-finals were decided in one game. Twente's entire team retreated to play defense and counterattack. If it did not work, they could drag it to overtime and play a penalty shootout.
Ajax did not make their wishful thinking come true.
The entire game patiently fought the tough battle until the 68th minute of the game, when Qin Xiong received Van Der Vaart's clever pass after charging into the penalty area and scored a low shot from a small angle, helping the team to open the score.
"Qin Xiong timely inserted into the penalty area, Van Der Vaart diagonally, Qin Xiong forcefully broke the goal in a very small angle, Ajax leads Twente 1: 0."
Faced with the cheers of the home fans, Qin Xiong did not celebrate wildly. He just played it down and high-fived his teammates. He needed time to digest the sadness of Louis Van Gaal's departure.
Twente went all out to counterattack after falling behind, which gave Ajax a chance to expand the score.
In the last 15 minutes, Qin Xiong sent two clever passes. First, he went over the top in the midfield to assist Snede to break the goal. Then, he attracted three opposing defenders in front of the penalty area to backheel to assist Ibrahimovic to break the goal. Ajax beat Twente 3: 0 at home, avenging his own youth team, and at the same time, getting a ticket to the Dutch Cup final. of this season....
After the game, his teammates said that they wanted to celebrate the upcoming Dutch Cup final. Qin Xiong did not participate. He went home after taking a shower and changing his clothes.
..........................
There was no need to elaborate on the advantages of the local league. There were two matches in the final of the Dutch Cup. The current system was that the two teams would play a home and away match in the final.
Jax's opponent was also announced; it was Utrecht who wasn't that strong.
In addition, the home and away matches increased the margin for error. The stronger the side, the higher the probability of winning the trophy.
Ajax was thought to have locked in the Dutch Cup title. Together with the league title, the lowest achievement of this season was at least the Double.
Of course, this was the media's boasting. In theory, Ajax was neither the league title nor the Dutch Cup title.
The first leg of the Champions League 14 finals was next week. This weekend, although Comain put out the full main lineup, it was only to let the players continue their state on the field and warm up for the Champions League.
Ajax's players, who had been very serious about training and games in recent days, easily defeated Vidis 4: 0 at home, even if they did not play with the momentum of lightning in the game.
It was obvious that the effect of their cooperation was more tacit. After Comain's last step to transform the team, the team's offense and defense were more flexible. Although the offense was not as explosive as before, the efficiency was almost the same as before. More importantly, the defense was strengthened, which was a very important foundation for moving forward in the Champions League.
In the same round, the numbing PSV Eindhoven had not come out of the shadow of not winning, but fortunately, at least they had ended the losing streak. They were forced to a 1: 1 draw at home by Breda. With eight rounds left in the Eredivisie, the gap between Ajax and the second-placed PSV Eindhoven had widened to a shocking 17 points!
Three days later, the British upstart Chelsea arrived in Amsterdam under the leadership of their manager, Ranieri!
Qin Xiong learned the news while watching TV with his teammates in the gym.
It seemed that as long as a team came from a mainstream European league, it would attract the attention of the Dutch sports media.
It was no wonder. At the level of the Champions League's top eight, the attention itself was high. Secondly, although Chelsea was not at the same level as Ajax in terms of glory, they were rich. Their wealth shocked the European football circle!
This was not based on the owner's financial resources. After all, some club owners were also very rich, but they were stingy.
Chelsea's wealth was reflected in spending money like water!
It was the owner's willingness to spend money that shocked people.
Chelsea's boss, Abramovich's dream lineup was still far away. He did not buy the world superstars like Nesta, Ronaldo, and Raúl that he wanted. But at the very least, he also bought a lot of famous European powerhouses. In addition to Chelsea, who was down and out a year ago, he still had a little bit of a player's family. Players like Lampard, Terry, and Glenn Xiaer were good players. The combination of the old and the new Chelsea's strength on paper was enough to shock people.
The Dutch media did not like Chelsea. On the one hand, Chelsea was as rich as a nouveau riche, which was something that the Dutch clubs did not have. Even PSV Eindhoven, which had the support of a consortium, was a world of difference compared to Chelsea's ability to spend money like water, especially when it came to spending money without blinking.
On the other hand, Chelsea's manager, Ranieri, did not speak English. It was very troublesome to interview him, and he also had to be equipped with a translator to relay. Over time, the reporters were very impatient.
Ranieri said some diplomatic words at the pre-match press conference, complimenting Ajax's strength and expressing his respect. Then, he made the Dutch media very nauseous by boasting about Chelsea's changes. He also flattered the boss openly, saying that it was Abramovich who brought about the qualitative change in Chelsea, and that they would realize their football dreams together.
In fact, it was true. Without Abramovich, how could the debt-ridden Chelsea have today's glory of not having to worry about food and clothing?
But this kind of cruel reality of using money to solve everything and to realize one's dreams was still unacceptable to the public.
Comain encountered difficulties in Fleet Street at the pre-match press conference.
The British reporters were always asking off-topic questions, such as Chelsea's interest in Ibrahimović, Van Der Vaart, Qin Xiong, Maxwell, and so on.
As Ajax's manager, what do you think?
Comain did not want to stir up trouble, but he was still irritated.
He attacked realism with idealism.
He claimed that Chelsea could not buy the championship title with money. If he wanted to be recognized and achieved, he had to be down-to-earth and follow the rules of football development. He also used Ajax as an example to show off that Ajax had maintained a considerable fighting power through excellent youth training and had obtained countless honors and achievements.
Chelsea was like the radicals of today's football world. Wherever they went, they would set off a big debate about money and ideals, reality and tradition.
Ajax, of course, belonged to the group of people who had no money but had ideals. Of course, he could not stand and firmly opposed Chelsea's way of doing things.
Otherwise?
The star players that he had painstakingly cultivated were lured away by your money. How could he live his life?
The night before the game, Qin Xiong saw the news on Holland Sports TV. He felt very strange.
The Champions League 14 final between Ajax and Chelsea seemed to have changed the focus of the outside world's attention.
It was separated from the competition itself.
.....
North Sea, night.
A luxury cruise ship was quietly parked on the surface of the North Sea. On the bow deck, a middle-aged man in a shirt and trousers stood there, holding a wine glass in one hand and a high-end red wine in the other. He poured himself half a glass of wine from time to time, tasting the wine while looking to the south.
In the distance, the outline of the continent was faintly visible, and the charming colors of the city under the curtain of night could be seen.
That was the Netherlands, Amsterdam.
The man standing at the bow of the ship, enjoying the sea breeze, smiled slightly, raised his glass in front of his eyes, and narrowed his eyes to observe the distant south, the Free City.
He was Abramovich, Chelsea's boss.
Last summer, he entered Stamford Bridge with the ambition to subvert the traditional pattern of European football.
His money reshaped Chelsea's body, a strong and powerful new body, and the team immediately reached the top eight of the Champions League. It seemed that he was not too far away from the Champions League title he dreamed of, standing proudly at the peak of European football.
But perhaps he underestimated football.
He did give Chelsea a strong new body, but he could not inject a new soul into Chelsea!
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
