The day of the second round of the Champions League group stage match had arrived.
The Amsterdam Athletic Stadium was packed under the night sky, and the atmosphere in the stadium was fiery and enthusiastic.
Qin Xiong, who had walked out of the players' locker room, felt strange the moment he stepped into the stadium.
Because he had never walked into the visiting team's locker room in this stadium.
In the players' tunnel, he first saw the defender, Grygera. He took the initiative to walk forward and give Grygera a one-armed hug. Vermaelen, de Jong, Pienaar, Babel, Stekelenburg, and finally, he walked to the front and saw Snede and Galasek, who was now the captain.
Snede said to him in a serious manner, "Be careful today. If you make the Ajax people unhappy, be careful that you won't be able to walk out of Amsterdam."
Qin Xiong laughed it off. He hugged Galasek and returned to Arsenal's row.
As the players from both sides lined up to enter the stadium, Qin Xiong suddenly saw some fans in the stands holding up a slogan, "Welcome home, China Hero!"
There were bound to be a large number of Chinese fans in the Netherlands in the stands, but the mainstream was still Ajax's local fans. There were many fans who had always supported Qin Xiong. They would not forget what Qin Xiong had brought to Ajax in the previous season. It was a spectacular scene that might not be seen in ten or twenty years. The images that remained in their memory would never be forgotten and would never be mottled or blurry.
Qin Xiong stood in the stadium with his head held high. When the emcee on the sidelines introduced the starting players of both sides, there was a warm cheer in the stadium after Qin Xiong's name was called. The Ajax fans' welcome to Qin Xiong's return was sincere. They were happy to witness Qin Xiong's performance on the field again, even if he came back here as an opponent.
Qin Xiong restrained his inner emotions. He tried to isolate himself from the outside influences, whether good or bad. Even if he was moved at this time, he had to suppress it in his heart to avoid problems in the game.
His friends in the Netherlands, young and old, came to the stands. In order to avoid being in an awkward position, Sylvia chose to sit in the VIP seats to watch the game. George, Zeller and the others stood in the stands of the home team fans. Although George worshipped and supported Qin Xiong as usual, in terms of loyalty to the team, he stood on Ajax's side, just like his father, the late Mr. Slott.
"The second round of the new season's Champions League group stage is about to begin. Ajax will be at home to face the Premier League powerhouse Arsenal. The two teams are really fated. In the last four years, there has only been one season where the two teams have not met. In the previous confrontation, Ajax had a clear advantage. They once kept Arsenal out of the top eight in the second stage of the Champions League group stage. In the previous season, they eliminated Arsenal in the quarter-finals of the Champions League. Although the two teams met again this season, because it was in the group stage, it was not as intense as before. The situation in this group is more clear. Ajax and Arsenal are the favorites to advance. Thun and Sparta Prague are obviously less competitive. Ajax was forced to a draw by Sparta Prague in the last round in the away game. The result was not too bad, after all, it was an away game. Today, they challenged Arsenal. If they could maintain an undefeated home game, Ajax still had a chance to win the group.
The atmosphere in the stadium told us that the Ajax fans were welcoming an Arsenal player. That's right, it was Qin Xiong, who won the MVP of last year's Champions League final. He helped Ajax to win the Triple Crown in the 0304 season, the most glorious of which was naturally the Champions League title. After more than a year, when Qin Xiong returned to the Amsterdam Athletic Stadium again, he was wearing Arsenal's jersey, but the Ajax fans still welcomed him back.
Let's take a look at the starting lineup of both teams.
Ajax starting 433.
Goalkeeper: Stekelenburg.
Defenders: Grygera, De Jong, Vermaelen, Emmanuel Elsen.
Midfielders: Galasek, Pienaar, Lindberg.
Forwards: Babel, Huntelaar, Snede.
Arsenal starting 451.
Goalkeeper: Lehmann.
Defenders: Eboue, Touré, Senderos, Flamini.
Midfielders: Reyes, Fàbregas, Qin Xiong, Silva, Pires.
Striker: Henry.
Well, the game is about to start. Ajax will be the first to kick off. "
Ajax was still the Ajax who persisted in 433. Even if they faced opponents who were stronger than them, they would still not waver. It was their insistence on attacking football that made Ajax special.
As soon as the game started, Ajax immediately urged the threatening offense.
After Van Der Vaart left, Pienaar became the midfield commander. He passed the football quickly and accurately. Snede was like an attacking midfielder in the front field, similar to Pires' role in Arsenal's flank.
As soon as the game started, Snede used his skillful footwork to make Eboue suffer a big loss. After Eboue was deftly bypassed by Snede, Snede did not play a cross or continue to break into the penalty area. Instead, he unexpectedly returned the ball to the reverse triangle. Lindberg, who followed up, charged into the penalty area and passed the ball after Fàbregas panicked.
Huntelaar ran nimbly to find an opportunity to shoot. Senderos made a final effort to do a horizontal slide tackle to block the shot. The football hit his calf and flew into the stands, only less than 30 centimeters above the crossbar!
"Ajax almost broke through Arsenal's goal at the beginning of the game! Huntelaar's shot was blocked by Senderos and was deflected. The football will fly over the crossbar and into the stands. "
Fàbregas felt unprecedented pressure.
The Premier League was the Premier League, and Europe was Europe.
After he got used to the simple and crude style of play in the Premier League, he seemed a little overwhelmed in the face of Europe's delicate passing and cutting and richer offensive methods.
Ajax had always been the representative team of the triangle passing team in offense. Premier League teams rarely could play an unexpected triangle pass, and it was in a continuous offensive state.
Sometimes Premier League teams were like a bull that could not be pulled back. They would go forward all the way and would not pass back or adjust.
And many European teams with strong technical and tactical strength had unimaginable subtle changes in offense.
Even though Ajax's overall strength had declined, their technical and tactical accomplishments were still at the forefront of Europe. This was inextricably linked to their entire youth training system, First Team training system, and football philosophy.
Today was a test for Fàbregas.
Ajax's corner kick did not create a threat. Instead, Arsenal immediately launched a quick counterattack. Lindberg consciously went to block Qin Xiong, while Pienaar and Galasek teamed up to defend, trying to form an encirclement to contain Qin Xiong.
During the midfield, Qin Xiong did not wait for the opponent's encirclement to form. He immediately transferred the ball to the left side of the front field. Pires tried to break through Grygera, but he did not succeed. This reminded Pires of the game last spring, which was against Ajax. He and Ljungberg almost did not use their individual strength to break through Grygera and Maxwell on the flank.
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