Fate had played a joke on Monaco.
It constantly made them see hope, but it always disappeared abruptly when the dawn arrived.
The treacherous game situation in the Amsterdam Stadium suddenly became clear in the final stage.
The Monaco players who rushed across the half of the field, the players who surrounded Qin Xiong, collectively looked at their own goal and saw Roma sitting in front of the goal with their heads down. They saw Snede and Van Der Vaart hugging each other in celebration.
They looked back and saw Qin Xiong with his fists raised and a victorious look on his face.
The game was not over yet, but in fact, they all knew that the dawn of a miracle had faded!
Monaco would not have another chance.
They still wanted to create chaos through a frenzy of attacks. Their own backfield defense would be full of loopholes. Ajax's quick reaction after conceding the second goal had killed all their efforts in a disguised way.
Deschamps was also aware of this. He did not add a center forward to throw into the attack like he did in the last game.
In this frenzy of attacks, if the three midfielders could not block Ajax's midfield from sending cannonballs forward, and another midfielder was removed to throw into the front line, Ajax's counterattack might succeed every time.
Comain showed a look of relief, but he still made a pressing gesture to the players on the field to let the players not relax.
"4: 2, the total score is 6: 4. The goal of the captain of Ajax, Van der Vaart, might have already killed the match. Monaco was eager to equalize the score, so they used more people to surround the midfield commander of Ajax, Qin Xiong. However, Qin Xiong was prepared and sent the ball to the front field. Sneijder calmly got rid of the two defenders of Monaco and then sent the ball to Van der Vaart. Van der Vaart was facing an empty goal, and if Monaco didn't learn from this lesson and continue to press forward, they might lose the ball in the remaining time."
Snede and Van Der Vaart walked back to the backfield side by side. Their stamina was like a lamp that had run out of oil. Qin Xiong was already in position to watch the ball. When he saw his two teammates coming towards him, he stretched out his hands. Van Der Vaart and Snede each patted his hands heavily on each side.
The Monaco players were clearly divided in their team battle mentality.
The attacking players certainly wanted to score goals and try to perform a miracle in the remaining five minutes or so.
However, the defensive players were worried about being crushed by Ajax's quick attacks again. Therefore, after Monaco restarted the ball, there was an extreme disconnect between the front and back of the team. They completely lost the competition for the midfield area.
On the other hand, the Jax Legion controlled the center of the field calmly to waste time.
Ajax's offense was actually not very powerful. Without the center forward, Ibrahimovic, as a fulcrum, their stamina consumption in this game was far greater than before. Because almost every attack, they had to advance the distance of half the field, repeatedly shuttling up and down. Their stamina consumption was imaginable.
Monaco lost the ball for a long time, and even the counterattack did not seem to be coordinated enough. The players in the backfield hoped that their teammates in the front field would retreat and counterattack, while the players in the front field waited for the defensive players to come up and press and snatch. However, their thinking was not unified enough. This small conflict led to Ajax easily consuming the last minute of the game.
Ibrahimovic's final pass from the flank flew out of the end line, and that was the end of the game.
When the referee blew the whistle at the end of the game, the Amsterdam Athletic Stadium fell into a riotous carnival!
"The game is over! Ajax defeated Monaco at home with a score of 4: 2 and eliminated their opponent with a total score of 6: 4 to advance to the Champions League final of this season! After eight years, Ajax will once again stand on the stage of the Champions League final! Eight years ago, they lost to Juventus. On May 27, 2004, can Ajax replicate the glory of nine years ago? Waiting for them is the Portuguese powerhouse, FC Porto. No matter who wins the championship, this season's Champions League title will be a miracle! In three weeks, we'll see you in Germany! "
Qin Xiong stopped running. His ears were filled with deafening cheers. He was in a trance when he was exhausted. He lowered his head, clenched his hands into fists, tightened his arm muscles, closed his eyes, and let out a low roar.
This moment was like a dream. Even the Ajax players themselves felt that it was unreal!
The substitutes rushed onto the field, waving their jerseys and whistling like crazy. His teammates hugged each other and smiled incredulously.
We're going to the Champions League final?
Yes, we're going to the Champions League final, the last game of the season!
We're still young, but this game might be the most important game of our careers!
It's the stage that many players dream of!
Unknowingly, the Ajax players came together. Ibrahimovic, who first walked onto the field, hugged Qin Xiong and whispered incoherent words in his ear. Gratitude, praise, and excitement with profanities.
Then, Van Der Vaart, Snede, Pinar, and the others also came over. Everyone hugged each other. Finally, more and more teammates gathered there. They hugged each other as if they had gathered together with the instinctive team spirit of athletes.
In the stands, the Ajax fans, who were celebrating the team's advancement to the final, saw this scene and their hearts surged with pride.
They knew that the Ibrahimovic they saw today was not the best Ibrahimovic.
Snede, Qin Xiong, Van Der Vaart, Pinar, they were not the best versions of themselves!
Because they were young, there was still room for growth, and they could still become stronger!
But in the eyes of the Ajax fans, they were the strongest team of their generation!
A team that every Ajax fan could be proud of!
.....
Qin Xiong did not return to Ward Street that night. When he left the stadium, many reporters at the sidelines fought to interview him. He avoided them one by one. If he was not wrong, there would be many reporters waiting to ambush him at Ward Street.
The troubles of life after becoming famous were obvious. He no longer went to North Sea Beach. Sometimes, he could not even go back to his "home."
He just did not want to repeat the same words he used to evade or reject the reporters once, twice, thrice.
He asked Freddy to find a hotel for him. After the game, he went straight to the hotel to rest.
When he woke up the next day, he went straight to the hotel for dinner.
Freddy sat opposite him with a smile on his face and put a variety of football newspapers on the dining table.
Qin Xiong casually flipped through the newspapers as he ate.
He did not watch the previous game, only the post-game statistics. His statistics were not as good as his teammates', and were not as dazzling as the previous Champions League game. He stopped scoring goals.
But the football critics and reporters who watched the game were full of praise for him.
He was known as "Ajax's Caesar", and he had a strong control over the game!
Probably because of the transfer rumors with the London team, even Fleet Street was reporting on Qin Xiong's outstanding performance in the game.
Qin Xiong appeared to be dispirited.
He was not a child who would be happy when others praised him, and depressed when others criticized him.
Moreover, there were a lot of good games in a season. He could be indifferent to what was written in the newspapers, whether it was praise or criticism, and could not set off the slightest ripple in his heart.
After dinner, Freddy said to Qin Xiong, "Take care of yourself for the next three days. I'm going back to England."
Qin Xiong asked in surprise, "Visiting relatives?"
Freddy shook his head and said with a smile, "Manchester United has officially joined the negotiation table. They invited me over to seriously discuss the possibility of your transfer to Manchester United. I think whether you end up transferring to Manchester United or not, this is an opportunity to raise your value. At least it will let other clubs know that you have a lot of strong suitors."
Qin Xiong frowned and said, "Is that okay? Bypassing the club. "
Freddy stopped smiling and said in a deep voice, "This is an unspoken rule. Everyone is playing like this. However, I still suggest that Manchester United be more cautious and play a game of skirting the boundaries. So this time when I return to England, I won't meet with any current Manchester United staff. I'll meet with Ferguson's son in a place far away from Manchester."
Qin Xiong thought for a moment and asked curiously, "Is Sir Ferguson's son also someone in the football circle?"
Freddy nodded and said, "Sort of. One of his favorite sons used to work in a television station and later joined a local agency in Manchester. Ferguson dotes on him very much and even blocked the media for him. Oh, his son was behind the scenes in Stam's transfer to Manchester United."
Qin Xiong listened and just wanted to satisfy his curiosity.
Freddy embarked on a journey to England. Qin Xiong really did not care much about the transfer at this stage.
Perhaps there were really a lot of clubs throwing him an olive branch. He was so calm because there was no shortage of opportunities next season. The problem was that he needed to think carefully and calmly about which club to choose …
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