Mourinho felt as if he had been hit hard in the heart, making him unable to breathe for a long time.
There was an unconcealable shock in his eyes!
Genius coordination!
This was what offensive football was most proud of.
When talent and creativity were presented on the field, no one would expect what would happen!
It could be said that this was the exact opposite of Mourinho's football philosophy.
He could not allow the players to have too much self-performance and gave the players a significantly low degree of freedom. What he focused on was the overall tactical execution of the overall situation.
Ajax adhered to the club's traditional technical and tactical playing style under Comain's management. In fact, as long as the next system was established, the manager would "govern by doing nothing" and let the players cooperate and freely display their creativity!
This was also why Comain was not as famous as Mourinho despite leading the team to this season's Champions League final.
The media would always tirelessly discuss one question around Comain: Was it this group of talented players who made Comain or Comain who activated this group of talented players? Would Ajax be able to achieve the same success if a different manager came to coach Ajax?
The media who did not understand the situation inside the Ajax locker room could not understand the relationship and feelings between the players and Comain.
Comain's every step was not based on whimsy, but based on the actual situation and did not betray his ideals.
He had been in a difficult situation. It was undeniable that the existence of Louis Van Gaal had always put him under great pressure. Nine years ago, Louis Van Gaal also led a group of geniuses to obtain the same supreme honor and was horrified by the European media's assessment that Ajax would rule European football for ten years! Comain's shoulders seemed to be carrying two mountains as he moved forward silently.
If it were not for the introduction of the Bosman rule, perhaps Ajax's status would not be lower than that of a world-class powerhouse.
Mourinho's high requirements for the team's tactical execution made the team he led more able to highlight the manager's coaching performance.
But at this time, Mourinho knew that the winning football he advocated could be unscrupulous as long as they could win the game!
The opponent they faced was the exact opposite of unrestrained and romantic attacking football.
Porto was strict and absolutely rational, but Ajax was open-minded and occasionally beyond common sense!
Two different styles of football collided, each showing off their skills.
When the battle of the pinnacle came to an end, it was a tie.
Porto used defensive counterattacks to seize every opportunity to break through Ajax's goal twice, and Ajax returned the favor in a way that the other side did not expect!
Mourinho dismissed the idea of changing players.
Originally, they had planned to use defensive players to replace offensive players to strengthen the defense. Now, this plan could be thrown into the trash can!
The score is 2: 2.
It might even go into overtime. Were they really going to bet on a penalty shot?
Mourinho would not leave his fate to luck.
Keeping the situation on the field unchanged, Mourinho went to the sidelines to cheer for the players, so that they would not be affected by the change in the situation.
When the Ajax players walked to the backfield, Snede tugged on Qin Xiong's arm and then pointed to the sidelines. Qin Xiong looked to the sidelines and saw Comain shouting and pointing at Qin Xiong.
Qin Xiong immediately jogged over. Because of the noise in the stands, Qin Xiong had to turn sideways. Comain covered his mouth with his hand and whispered into his ear.
Qin Xiong nodded continuously. Comain did not change players in this final, so they really had no one to use. The only offensive player they could count on, Pienaar, was temporarily useless. Moreover, at this stage of the game, he was worried that even if Pienaar came on, he would not be able to get into the game state. Then the substitution would not have any effect.
He told Qin Xiong his intention to take command on the field, and then let Qin Xiong pass on the message to his teammates on the field.
After he finished speaking, Comain patted Qin Xiong on the back. Qin Xiong nodded and quickly jogged back to the field. Van Der Vaart, Ibrahimovic, and Snede stood together and waited for him.
Because they saw Qin Xiong running towards them.
The four of them formed a circle. Qin Xiong told his teammates about Comain's adjustments and then got ready to continue the game.
The live audience and the viewers in front of their televisions all saw the scene of Qin Xiong being called to the sidelines by Comain, not to mention Mourinho, who was not far away from Comain.
Of course, he also saw it.
Now many people were curious about what Comain said to Qin Xiong.
What kind of changes would Jax have?
After he finished giving instructions to Qin Xiong, Comain turned around and walked to the substitutes' bench. Apart from the substitute goalkeeper, Stekelenberg, he called up the other substitutes. Then, Ajax's substitutes got up one by one and started warming up on the sidelines.
Mourinho's expression became unprecedentedly serious.
It looked like Ajax was preparing for a substitution.
Sonk, Sotars, Pienaar, O 'Brien, Trabelsi, Parsanen.
Six substitutes warming up. Who would be playing?
The game resumed. Mourinho's gaze returned to the field.
After watching for a minute, Mourinho saw an unexpected scene.
On the frontline of the Jax Legion, only Ivan was there!
Apart from Ibrahimovic rushing to the front line, Snede, Van Der Vaart, and Qin Xiong were all waiting in the midfield area. It looked like their focus was on defense.
What about offense?
They could only rely on long balls!
They pinned their hopes on Ibrahimovic, who had just scored a header.
Had Ajax given up on their ideals?
After the hard-fought equalizer, had they surrendered to reality?
Had they knelt in front of utilitarian football and bowed their heads?
No one outside knew.
Only Ajax's players knew.
In many of the past key battles, Ajax's youth had always been a concern for the outside world.
Youth was not only a lack of experience, but also that their physical condition had not reached its peak.
And one of the physical conditions was physical fitness.
Snede and Van Der Vaart repeatedly ran out of physical strength in the final stages of key battles. Although they did not collapse from exhaustion, the decline in running speed was a problem that the coaching staff had always hoped to improve.
But this problem could not be changed during the season. Hard work could produce immediate results.
In the Champions League final, less than 10 minutes before the end of the game, Comain knew that if Ajax continued to play like this, Snede and Van Der Vaart would definitely have problems with their physical fitness. And if their physical fitness could not keep up, their speed would decrease, their running range would shrink, and they would not be able to exert their explosive power.
This was not a surrender, but a compromise. Ajax held the banner of offensive football high. Was he going to tire himself to death?
Comain's management style throughout the season was to make a wise choice in combination with the reality of the situation.
In the final stages of the game, he let Van Der Vaart and Snede withdraw to give Porto the illusion that Ajax wanted to drag the game into overtime or buy time for substitutions. It was to give the two players a short respite on the field.
Porto regrouped. Debbie had more space to play before because the pressure on the defensive side was suddenly reduced. He could put more energy into the offense.
But Porto went to play positional play. They looked helpless in the face of Ajax's initiative to retreat and the tight combination of the three lines.
Ajax's offense became very rigid. Qin Xiong would pass the ball in the midfield with his teammates and take the initiative to slow down the pace of the game. If they encountered a strong sniper, he and his teammates would directly pass to Ibrahimovic at the front line.
Ibrahimovic was closely marked by Porto's defensive line and defensive line. Forget about playing, he could not even control the ball most of the time.
The fans in the stands were in a state of ice and fire.
Porto's fans were a little disappointed. They were only ten minutes away from winning the title.
Ajax's fans breathed a sigh of relief. As for the team's approach of shrinking the defensive line, they did not think it was a big problem. Take a breather and play overtime.
From the first minute of the game until now, Porto, who had been unswervingly playing a defensive strategy, suddenly found that Ajax had greatly reduced the impact on their defensive line.
It was easy to mark Ibrahimovic, especially since Ajax mainly attacked with long passes. There was almost no point for Ibrahimovic to receive from behind. In other words, he had to control the ball or shoot himself. This meant that Ibrahimovic's options were limited and it was easier for the opponent to predict. Therefore, it was not difficult for Porto to use three or four players to mark him.
Their defensive line could finally take a breather. Their tense nerves were naturally relieved.
As time passed, most fans and spectators thought that the calm situation on the field meant that the two teams had tacitly reached a consensus to enter overtime for the final decisive battle.
The situation was changing subtly. The players were under mental pressure. The psychological changes could also be carried out without them being aware of it.
A storm was brewing …
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