Midnight.
-----
When Qin Xiong woke up, it was already afternoon. He did not expect to sleep for so long, almost 11 hours.
At the end of the season, his body had been fighting for a long time. For an 18-year-old like him, the burden was a bit heavy. Moreover, this was his first professional league season, and it was under the conscious protection of the club. If Comain and the coaching staff did not protect him, he might have been overdrafted.
Today, the First Team main force was on holiday. After Qin Xiong ate something, he received a call from Snede. He and Heitinga were in a spa in the city and asked Qin Xiong to go with them to relax and recover.
In the evening, Qin Xiong and Snede were soaking in the jacuzzi together with Heitinga. They felt like they did not want to move at all.
Originally, they thought that there would be enough time to rest before preparing for the Champions League semi-final. Recovery after the game would be normal, but in reality, it was very different from before.
If he needed two days to recover from a game half a year ago, now he needed even longer. Even if it was the same amount of energy from the game, his body would feel more tired.
Snede and Heitinga were discussing today's news. The Dutch media had mixed feelings about Ajax's 2: 2 result in Louis II.
The situation was, of course, good. What was worrying was that Ibrahimovic was confirmed to be out of action for three weeks and would not play in the next game against Monaco.
The media began a big discussion and speculation about who would replace Ibrahimovic.
Even the veteran Litmanen was listed as a replacement candidate by the outside world.
But in a season, Litmanen had not played more than 10 times. Could he be trusted?
As for Sonke, Snede and Heitinga were discussing it.
Ajax's own players also did not know what Comain would choose.
The substitution after Ibrahimovic left the field due to injury in the last game was a terrible mess. Otherwise, Ajax might have been able to bring back victory from the away game.
"It's obvious that Sonke can't find a sense of presence in the penalty area. I mean, under certain circumstances, he can't be as conspicuous as Zlatan. He is an opportunist. If Ajax is a weak team and our opponent does not pay attention to our defense, then Sonke may be better than Zlatan. But the second leg of the Champions League semi-final? How can we rely on him? "
Snede, who was soaking in the bathtub, was drinking fruit juice as he spoke.
Heitinga furrowed his brows and said, "Will they not even have a vanguard? Just like in the last game, sending in a defensive player? As long as we don't lose at home, we can basically advance to the next round, right? "
Snede shook his head and snorted, "Look at how badly our manager has been scolded in the newspapers today. The stupid substitution led to the team being useless and could only get a draw. He ruined a victory that Ajax deserved. Even if we don't change according to the views and opinions in the newspapers, I think this point is very right. At the level of the Champions League semi-finals, we can't rely on the accumulation of offensive or defensive numbers to achieve the desired advantage. We need to be rational and balanced. Add another defensive player? Oh my god, are we still Ajax? "
Having said that, Snede gently kicked Qin Xiong's leg in the bathtub and asked, "It's mine, right?"
Qin Xiong closed his eyes and raised his head to enjoy the comfortable feeling of the water hitting his back. He nodded in a daze and grunted twice as an answer to Snede.
Snede shrugged at Heitinga and said, "Look, he thinks so too."
Heitinga rolled his eyes helplessly.
Qin Xiong was not interested in privately discussing with his teammates the lineup that the manager should be worried about. It was meaningless. He had encountered some small problems in his life now.
Recently, it seemed that Mr. Slote's physical condition had taken a turn for the worse. Sylvia and George rarely contacted Qin Xiong, and Qin Xiong also had to focus his energy on the final sprint towards the end of the season.
It was just that he was often shocked on the streets.
Reporters would suddenly appear and ask him which club he would choose to go to.
The countdown to the end of the season had rung. For many clubs whose achievements in the season were almost a foregone conclusion, the focus of their work was, of course, to prepare early for the next season.
There were many clubs that were the most popular with Qin Xiong now. Among them, there were five that were famous and could create a sensation.
Chelsea, Arsenal, Inter Milan, Paris Saint-Germain, Bayer Leverkusen.
As for Real Madrid and Barça in La Liga, there were only one or two pieces of news. It was not known if the reporters were making it up.
Manchester United in the English Premier League had also made a sound, but there was no substantial action.
The five clubs mentioned above had directly made an offer to Ajax. The clubs were not open to the public, but the media reporters were very resourceful. They spread the news as soon as they got hold of it.
As a result, Qin Xiong now had to hide from the reporters who came from who knew which country they were from and which media they represented.
He was a little annoyed, but he couldn't do anything about it. He didn't talk to the media, and he didn't extend his contract with Jax. Originally, he wanted to have a peaceful season, but it turned out that he didn't want to leave Jax. That was why the rumors of him transferring to Jax spread like wildfire.
The next day, Comain revealed the answer during training.
There was a candidate to replace Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Pinar!
The attacking four-man team's system remained unchanged. Van Der Vaart was pushed to the center forward or the shadow forward position, Pinar played as the winger, and Ajax's main lineup for the second leg of the Champions League semi-final surfaced.
This change might be the one that had the least negative impact on the team as a whole. However, no one could guarantee the actual effect.
In the following training, the four of them strengthened their cooperation and tacit understanding.
Comain tried to get them to play a disorderly and efficient attacking mode in the front field.
With the four-man team as a small team, with the concept of full attack and full defense as the core, through unpredictable positioning and role exchange, they achieved an invincible offense.
After training that day, Qin Xiong received an invitation to dinner.
He and Freddy went together to a high-class restaurant in the city where celebrities frequented.
The dinner invitee was the club's owner, Van Praag, accompanied by the technical director, Van Oss.
Dressed in casual clothes, Qin Xiong did not realize the real purpose of the dinner. He thought the club was still trying to persuade him to stay and wanted to persuade him to renew his contract through communication and sincerity.
However, sitting in a more conspicuous seat by the window in the restaurant, facing the efficient and amiable Van Praag, Qin Xiong was surprised to hear nothing from the club's owner about his contract.
During dinner, Van Praag and Van Oss asked him about his life in Amsterdam for the better part of the year, how he felt about the club's training and matches. Especially when they talked about a few key matches, everyone was exultant and in high spirits.
The dinner ended in a happy atmosphere. Before they left, they even smiled and shook hands with each other formally.
Qin Xiong was confused on the way home, but Freddy was full of smiles.
"This meal really seems to be just a meal."
Qin Xiong, who had his hands in his pockets and walked side by side with Freddy, said in bewilderment.
Freddy shook his head mysteriously and said to Qin Xiong, "Do you believe that tomorrow's newspapers will be full of news that you're about to renew your contract with Ajax?"
Qin Xiong suddenly realized after thinking for a while and said, "This dinner is a show?"
Freddy nodded seriously to confirm.
Appearing in that kind of high-class restaurant where there would be a lot of paparazzi ambushing, the scene of Qin Xiong and the club's top management being harmonious, even more intimate than friends, would be photographed by many reporters and let their imaginations run wild.
Qin Xiong's relationship with the club had never had any problems, not even rumors of small conflicts. This made it more likely that he would have dinner with the club's owner and then reach a contract renewal agreement.
When there were teams from Europe's top leagues that made substantial offers to Qin Xiong, the Ajax's top management knew that it would be a waste of time to talk to Qin Xiong about any contract renewal. They needed to increase Qin Xiong's value to get more transfer fees.
At the very least, they had to tell the European clubs that were interested in Qin Xiong: We have a good relationship with Qin Xiong, and he may be inclined to stay in Ajax. If you want him, please make an offer that will move us!
After Freddy analyzed the meaning behind this dinner for Qin Xiong, Qin Xiong seemed to be dispirited. He was honest and straightforward and was not good at this kind of social skills, nor did he like to deal with outsiders like this. Even having a meal was actually a show. He suddenly felt that he was stupid to talk excitedly with the club's top management about the game …
However, maybe this was social life. Even if you didn't like it, you had to accept it.
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