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During Wednesday morning's training, Qin Xiong was arranged by manager Comain to be in the starting lineup for the next game. Although this made Qin Xiong very excited, it also made him aware of his position in the First Team.
Because the next game was a training ground, the second round of the Dutch Cup would begin. Ajax would be the guest of the Eerste Divisie team, Eerste Divisie.
The First Team's main players, such as captain Van Der Vaart, striker Ibrahimovic, and veteran Galasek, were not in the main roster for the game. They would not even be with the team.
At the end of noon's training, Louis Van Gaal specially came to the locker room to find Qin Xiong. He gave Qin Xiong ten tickets for the evening's game and patted Qin Xiong on the shoulder. "Give the tickets to your friends. Tonight is the first official game of your professional career. Do your best to leave yourself a memorable start. No matter how you perform, it's always good to have friends by your side at the end."
Qin Xiong did not know that the First Team would be given tickets on the day of the game, so he was grateful and expectant. At noon, he returned to Wardle Street and gave the tickets to Freddy. He asked Freddy to invite the landlord, Lutmanson, Peter, and the others. Then he called De Heus and the others and invited them to watch the game at Eerste Divisie in the evening. De Heus readily agreed.
In the afternoon, during the final training before the evening's game, Comain walked to Qin Xiong with a brand-new set of jerseys. He handed the jersey to him and said, "You can try it on now. There shouldn't be a problem with the size."
Qin Xiong's eyes lit up. He held the jersey with both hands as if it was a treasure. He touched the jersey that felt comfortable to the touch. He first put the pants on his shoulders and unfolded the front of the jersey. The red and white jersey appeared in front of him, and he could not help but smile. He looked at the back of the jersey and saw his name and number printed on it.
Number 28!
The jersey numbers of the First Team were all single digits. There weren't even any numbers that started with 10. Qin Xiong chose the number 28 because it meant that 2 + 8 was equal to 10, and also because 28 had a certain commemorative meaning.
On the 28th of the previous month, he had officially signed the contract with Ajax, received the professional contract, and became a professional football player!
Seeing him slowly admire the jersey, his teammates around him felt like they were looking at a country bumpkin.
It was no wonder. In their hearts, Qin Xiong was a poor boy. Some of the teammates who cared about their reputation would definitely not walk side by side with Qin Xiong outside the club. This was because Qin Xiong always wore a set of cheap sportswear, which was a huge contrast to the branded casual clothes they wore.
Qin Xiong took off his training shirt and put on the jersey. In fact, in terms of the material and the feeling of wearing it, it was not much different from the training shirt. However, Qin Xiong felt that after putting on the jersey, his self-esteem had changed drastically.
It was as if this brand new jersey that belonged to him could give him more strength and vitality!
The afternoon training ended early. Because the team had to go to Eamonn, captain Van Der Vaart symbolically said a few words of encouragement to the team before leaving. Then, he left with the other teammates who did not make it into the squad list.
When the First Team went out for an official match, the entire team was of a higher standard than the reserve team and the youth team. For example, there was a team leader and administrative staff to manage the team's affairs, such as odd jobs, to solve all the team's problems during the match. There was also a team doctor and a coaching team, which increased the number of people. It was professional and formal.
Eamonn was in the northeast of the Netherlands. It was an important industrial city in the Netherlands. The industry in the north was basically concentrated here, but Eamonn's population was not large. Especially for Qin Xiong, who came from the vast and populous China, Eamonn's population was only about 100,000.
Eamonn Football Club had been around for more than 80 years, but had less than 20 years of professional "age." Although their stadium had undergone renovations in recent years as an official match stadium, which would give the players a comfortable experience of playing football, the stadium's capacity was only less than 9,000!
It was not the first time Qin Xiong had come to a modern stadium for a match, but today, he had followed Ajax to Eamonn's home ground in the evening, which made him feel even more refreshed. Perhaps it was because of his identity, but he was now a professional football player.
It was not like when he had gone to Japan and South Korea for a match organized by the Tang Group with a "semi-tourist" mentality.
Before the match began, they carried out warm-ups on the field. Qin Xiong and the veteran Litmanen passed each other to warm up for the match. After sufficient warm-ups, when they returned to the locker room, manager Comain and the coaching staff were already waiting for them.
After giving the players some time to change into their jerseys and shoes, and making sure that everything was ready, Comain clapped his hands for everyone to look at the tactical board. Once again, he reiterated the technical and tactical arrangements for the match against the opponent.
In terms of professionalism as a manager, Qin Xiong admired Comain. He had "prepared for a rainy day" in all aspects, so that the players were prepared. At the same time, there were reasonable arrangements after careful consideration on how to play and where to focus on when they were on the field.
Before leaving the locker room, Comain rallied the team's morale again and said to them, "Perhaps you think that the Dutch Cup is not important, but that is absolutely wrong! The fact that we did not send out our absolute main lineup to play in the match does not mean that we do not value it. Instead, I have confidence in you. With you, you can win the match! And you should also be full of confidence to play in the match. Then, don't let me down. More importantly, don't let yourselves down. We hope to return to Amsterdam in a good mood on the bus back, and not be unable to sleep because of the terrible mood after the defeat! "
Qin Xiong did not know how the other teammates reacted. He listened carefully to Comain's words and did not take his eyes off him. After Comain finished speaking, he could not help but nod his head.
He yearned for victory. Victory would make him happy and excited. Although it would not make him forget himself and act like a lunatic, such emotions would certainly exist. And if he did not perform well, or if he simply lost the match, there would be a period of time when he would have a lingering gloom in his heart, even if it was just training. He would go into a dead end to find the reason for the loss.
Walking out of the locker room with his teammates, he saw the starting eleven players of the Eindhoven team in the players' tunnel. They were already lined up and ready to go on the field. Qin Xiong stood in the middle of the team, with Sneijder in front of him and De Jong behind him. These two Dutchmen had serious expressions on their faces. They had a fighting spirit, but also seemed to have natural self-confidence. They did not look at their opponents, as if they were disdainful, silently saying: We are not on the same level.
The referee stood at the front of the team. Today's captain, Litmanen, even chatted with the referee with a smile. The referee raised his wrist to look at his watch. When he confirmed that the stipulated kickoff time was about to arrive, he looked back at the line-up of both teams to ensure that the players of both teams were present. Then, together with the assistant referee, he faced the field and stepped forward to lead the starting players of both teams onto the field.
The light in the players' tunnel was soft, while the inside of the stadium was rather dazzling. This made the intensity of the light in the players' tunnel and outside the stadium to form a certain contrast.
On the short path to the stadium, Qin Xiong looked up ahead. The stadium outside the exit seemed to be a brighter place, and this made his heart beat even faster.
As Qin Xiong walked into an even brighter place, in the blink of an eye, it was as if he had entered another world!
The deafening clamor all around him, and the eruption of cheers from the fans of both teams in the small stadium made Qin Xiong's head buzz. He needed some time to adapt to such an environment.
This was the first time he had played in such a noisy environment in front of so many spectators.
He stabilized his mind by adjusting his breathing. Then, he walked into the stadium, raised his head, and opened his eyes wide to watch the scene in the stadium.
The stadium was almost filled to the brim with nearly ten thousand fans in all sorts of poses. FC Eamonn's flag fluttered around the stands, and the fanatical fans were either excited or ferocious as they cheered for their team.
FC Eamonn had never entered the Dutch top league.
To be able to draw against Ajax in the Cup was their "misfortune," but perhaps it was also their "fortune."
They were unable to compete with Ajax, the "King of the Netherlands," in the League, but they were able to compete on the same stage in the Cup!
Of course, the fans were excited!
Everyone must have dreams. What if it came true?
If they could get rid of Ajax in the Cup!
This glory would make the fans excited for a long, long time. Perhaps two or three years later, there would still be people talking about this kind of victory.
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