On the day of the UEFA Champions League 14 final, Qin Xiong was placed in a slightly awkward position by the Dutch media.
"A midfield confrontation with a gap of 75 times!"
The Dutch media compared Chelsea's number one midfield star, Lampard, with Qin Xiong.
Haha, they still did not discuss the content of the game itself.
Instead, they used the difference between the annual salaries of the two players to make a comparison.
After Abramovich took over at Stamford Bridge, he immediately renewed the contracts of Lampard and Terry. The mainstays of the team received sky-high contracts, and Lampard also became the highest-paid player in the Premier League.
And his annual salary was 75 times that of Qin Xiong!
Qin Xiong's weekly salary was 2,000 euros. He roughly calculated the effect of the 75 times difference. Lampard earned pounds in London, which was more than 100,000 pounds a week.
This was the reality. What Qin Xiong earned in a week was more than what Qin Xiong earned in half a year since he joined Jax.
Qin Xiong did not quite understand the significance of the media's comparison.
It was not until Comain's impassioned pre-match speech in the locker room before the game that Qin Xiong slightly understood the media's intention.
"Chelsea's players are all millionaires! They have money, and their players who earn the least are more than our players who earn the most! But what does this mean? Are we not as good as them? "
The gap between the rich and the poor had always been a long-standing survival situation in society.
Of course, there were also epitomies of such problems in the football circle.
It was easy to arouse a different kind of "hatred of the rich" mentality in the players!
Perhaps in society, if the poor asked why they could be so rich, the other party would confidently answer: I have the ability, education, knowledge, background, connections, talent, no matter what it was. The poor might end up being speechless and acquiesce to the facts.
But in the football circle, this reality would not be recognized. Even the worst team still had a chance to subvert the facts!
The game!
There was always suspense in a game that had not started!
Even if it was a world champion against a third-rate noob, who dared to say that the result would not be a shocking upset?
When it came to Ajax, the players certainly knew that even if they defeated Chelsea, it would not make their income equal or surpass the other side. But under the stimulation of "I earn less than you, but I can beat you," the players would burst out with a stronger fighting spirit. They would use victory to mock them and comfort themselves with idealism.
We are playing real football. We are the traditional defenders of the law of football development. Our strength is not showy with money.
Perhaps this kind of mentality was somewhat self-deceiving, because it was hard to say that people, including Qin Xiong, were not tempted by money. After all, wealth was the key to survival in this society. A better life would bring endless material and vanity.
Living in a better house, driving a flashy car, wearing the most luxurious and dazzling brands, and even attracting more enchanting beauties to spend the night with. Didn't all of this cost money?
F-U-C-K！
Of course, this would require money!
But we don't have a rich boss. There is only one Abu in the world. Damn it, why did he buy Chelsea? Not Ajax?
In this kind of realistic and idealistic self-contradiction, the Ajax players were stimulated by Koeman's words. In addition to their original pursuit of victory, it also aroused the desire to target Chelsea and beat their opponents even more impatiently.
Since they could not get it, then they would destroy it!
Let those rich people, who earn more in a week than they earn in a month, a quarter, half a year, or even a year, taste the bitterness of failure. Let them be unable to lift their heads and let them go back to London with their tails between their legs!
The media's discussion of the game was out of the scope of competition. When the Ajax players walked out of the locker room, they stirred up a fighting spirit. Part of it did not come from pure competition.
Qin Xiong and his teammates stood in the players' tunnel. The Chelsea players did not look at them, and they were dismissive of their opponents.
On one side was the exuberance of a football upstart, and on the other side was the arrogance of a former tyrant. The atmosphere was very strange.
In the packed stands of the Amsterdam Athletic Stadium, the Ajax fans sneered at Chelsea. The fans hated Chelsea's wealth, which made Ajax, the "talent base" of European elite clubs, more visible, and became a supply market for whatever they wanted. In the past, when teams like Real Madrid and Milan took away talents from Ajax, the fans could still comfort themselves that the players left to pursue their dreams. But if they were to be seduced by Chelsea, damn it, what else could attract them other than money?
"The first leg of the 03-04 Champions League final is about to begin. Ajax will be at home to face Chelsea from England. Ajax has almost locked in the league title this season and can now concentrate on the Champions League. Chelsea has improved in the league. After the new boss generously brought in a large number of strong reinforcements for the team, Chelsea is firmly in the top three in the Premier League this season. Although it is unlikely to compete with Arsenal for the title, at least they seem to be close to Manchester United. This is a team that has caught the attention of Europe. Everyone is paying attention to Chelsea's changes and discussing whether the Russian tycoon's golden dollar offensive can shake the traditional structure of European football. At least for now, it seems that in the Champions League top eight stage, the only team representing the Premier League is Chelsea!
Let's take a look at the starting lineup of both sides today.
Ajax starting 4-3-3.
Goalkeeper: Lobonte.
Defenders: Grygera, Heitinga, Escude, Maxwell.
Midfielders: De Jong, Galasek, Qin Xiong.
Strikers: Van Der Vaart, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Snede.
Chelsea starting 4-4-2.
Goalkeeper: Cudicini.
Defenders: Melchior, Terry, Gallas, Bridge.
Midfielders: Greenhall, Lampard, Makelele, Duff.
Strikers: Hazel Bank, Crespo.
Well, the opening ceremony is over. The guest Chelsea will be the first to kick off. The show is about to begin! "
Chelsea immediately launched an attack from the right flank after the kickoff.
When Greenhall received the ball on the flank and began to dribble the ball forward, the whole stadium was shocked.
That kid is so fast!
The Danish Golden Wings dribbled the ball as if it was flying. They scurried on the flank and did not give Snede a chance to close in. Maxwell guarded the inside line and was wary of Greenhall dribbling the ball to cut inside. As a result, Greenhall dribbled the ball directly to the end and decisively sent a cross.
The ball flew over the danger zone of the penalty area and landed directly on the outside of the penalty area on the other side, where it was cleared by Grigra's header.
Ajax was a little shaken.
Greenhall's speed was off the charts and was frightening after the start.
But in all fairness, the quality of his kick was really too horrible to look at.
It wasted a good opportunity for him to break through on the flank. It had the effect of being all bark and no bite.
Qin Xiong received the pass from De Jong in the midfield. He was not in a hurry. Ajax played the team as a whole. He passed the ball to each other with his teammates step by step to improve the sense of rhythm of the team, achieve a tacit understanding, and enter the game state.
Just like Greenhall, although his breakthrough was sharp, it felt that he did not enter the game state with Chelsea. If the pass was accidental, it meant that he made a mistake. If it was not accidental, it meant that his breakthrough on the flank was actually inefficient. No matter how sharp the breakthrough was, it also had to contribute to the offense. If he could not send the ball to the key players who threatened the opponent's goal, what was the point of breaking through on the flank a hundred times, or ten thousand times?
While adapting to the rhythm of the game and improving the sense of rhythm of the team, Qin Xiong was also observing Chelsea's technical and tactical play.
In fact, he was a little disappointed. Compared to Arsenal, they had a whirlwind on the left flank and Bergkamp in the middle. When they really exposed a flaw, they would be caught by the opponent and beaten to death. Chelsea did not seem to have a superb and strong technical and tactical play.
They were more traditional. They flew together on both wings, with Daff on the left and Greenhall on the right. The two midfielders were a typical six and eight, which meant one defensive player, Makelele, and one more offensive player, Lampard.
The combination of the two strikers also looked very traditional. Although it was not as typical as England's one tall and one fast, at least Hazel Bank's strength and Crespo's agility were also quite similar to the British combination of center forwards.
This set of technical and tactical system could not be said to be powerless. It could only be said to be lacking in novelty. The playing style was methodical, step-by-step, and lacked the flexibility to win by surprise.
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