Groningen's home ground, the Oberg Stadion.
The stadium, which only had a capacity of 20,000, had been in use for more than half a century.
It was a stadium that could not keep up with the times.
Therefore, the Groningen club was building a new stadium at the same time and planned to move into the new stadium in two years!
Because of this, the club did not need to spend more money on the stadium. The stadium itself was slightly shabby. The quality of the turf and the maintenance of the stadium were far from the best standards.
The field conditions were not ideal. Coupled with the rain, some parts of the stadium began to turn from slippery to muddy.
Groningen's general manager, Ron Youngs, was full of anticipation for the ongoing rain battle.
The rain battle would increase the uncertainty of the football game!
Especially for Ajax, a team with a stronger overall fighting strength, the restrictions on them would definitely be more than Groningen's!
This was reflected in the reduction of the gap between speed and overall ball control.
Ajax's team was determined to win this game.
The geniuses cultivated by the Pride philosophy were confident in taking down Groningen, but they would not show the momentum of swallowing their opponents from the start.
Many of the main players had played two games in the past seven days. It was the third game in eight days, so they needed to control their physical fitness.
Especially since it was raining today!
The rain would accelerate the consumption of physical fitness. The players who were mentally prepared for this would restrain themselves at the start of the game.
Qin Xiong's tactical task was to stabilize the team's midfield. As long as he could suppress the opponent in the midfield, it would be enough. Comain wanted to see what kind of power the trident combination of Snede, Ibrahimo- Van Der Vaart would burst forth.
In the first ten minutes of the game, everything went according to plan. It looked calm and peaceful.
Qin Xiong's play was also normal.
Ajax did not exert his strength. The whole team was slowly adapting and improving their condition. They were waiting for the opportunity to kill with one blow.
However, from the thirteenth minute onwards, Qin Xiong's play made Comain frown on the sidelines.
In the thirteenth minute, Qin Xiong attempted a mid-range pass to Van Der Vaart, but he missed it!
It was a half-high ball. After bouncing off the ground, due to the slippery field, the speed of the ball did not slow down. Before Van Der Vaart could reach his position, the ball had already flown out of the sidelines!
Qin Xiong had no choice but to raise his hand to signal to Van Der Vaart, admitting that he had made a mistake in his pass.
If it wasn't for the rain, this ball would definitely be fine!
Van Der Vaart would run faster and the football would slow down after bouncing off the ground.
However, in a rain battle, the speed of the players' positioning would be slower than usual because the turf under their feet was slippery. It was easy to make mistakes when passing the ball in the air. The acceleration after the ball bounced off the ground was difficult to grasp.
Qin Xiong learned his lesson and avoided passing high balls to his teammates as much as possible, unless he directly dropped into the penalty area for Ibrahimovic to head.
In the seventeenth minute, FC Groningen launched a counterattack. The striker, Schmitt, was playing as the attacking midfielder today. He challenged Qin Xiong one-on-one when he spurred the attack in the middle!
Schmitt was agile and his speed and explosive power were not weak. His footwork had the usual nimbleness of a Dutch player and he was skilled and at ease.
He made a feint in front of Qin Xiong and swayed to the right, then broke through from the left.
Qin Xiong saw through the other party's feint. When Schmitt pushed the ball to the right behind his body, he immediately turned around and consciously blocked.
However, in the moment of his burst of speed, he slipped and fell to the ground in embarrassment!
Schmitt originally thought that he was blocked by Qin Xiong, but he did not expect Qin Xiong to fall. He almost avoided Qin Xiong's falling body, went around him, regained control of the ball, and dribbled forward.
After Qin Xiong fell, he did not have time to think about anything else. The first thing he did was to get up and chase after Schmitt, but he almost slipped and fell again.
He gritted his teeth and quickly got up and chased after Schmitt's back. He had just run two steps when he saw Galasek move to block Schmitt. He decisively ran to the middle of the penalty area to take over Galasek's position to avoid the center back being exposed to the opponent's offensive firepower.
Schmitt did not wait for Galasek to get close and tried a long shot. The goalkeeper, Lobonte, played well and steadily picked the football out of the air.
Although he did not break the goal, Schmitt deliberately looked at Qin Xiong as he walked back.
Ajax's new genius?
That's all there is to it.
Qin Xiong raised his hand to Galasek again. His defensive mistake just now could almost be said to have not interfered with Schmitt. Because of the fall, he could not even chase back to harass him.
Galasek, on the other hand, asked Qin Xiong if he was alright.
On the sidelines, Comain showed a puzzled expression.
Qin Xiong's performance today was very average. In the midfield, 20 minutes were almost over, and he almost passed the ball too often.
In his position, the formulaic passes did not make much sense.
And Qin Xiong did not bring the effect of personal acceleration in the midfield.
What was he doing?
Qin Xiong wiped the rain and sweat from his face, continued to run, and continued to play seriously!
When he could not guarantee his own performance, his information collection of his teammates' movements on the field was also affected.
His teammates could not be said to be used to playing in the rain, but they were basically prepared and knew how to deal with the current environment.
The decrease in running speed meant that they had to seize the opportunity and be more careful when handling the ball.
They adapted to the environment faster and more actively. Qin Xiong could not see the overall situation of their own changes.
Because he had not fully adapted to the weather and the field environment.
The environment was also changing!
As the rain grew heavier, the water on the field increased. In the 21st minute, Qin Xiong made a forward pass to Pienaar, but he slipped and fell on the spot. His right foot, which was about to kick, kicked the ball directly to Schmitt, who was in front of him!
After falling a second time, Qin Xiong gritted his teeth and quickly got up, wanting to intercept Schmitt, who was dribbling the ball in front of him. However, Schmitt cooperated with his teammates. The midfielder, Matt Hughes, was 26 years old and strong. When Qin Xiong moved to intercept him, Matt Hughes directly engaged in a physical confrontation with Qin Xiong!
He was knocked to the ground by Qin Xiong!
Qin Xiong appeared to have pounced on his opponent.
Because Qin Xiong, due to his burst of speed, slipped and lost his center of gravity.
The referee whistled to indicate that Qin Xiong had committed a foul and gave Qin Xiong a yellow card.
Boos and jeers rang out in the stadium, coming from the home fans.
The FC Groningen players looked at Qin Xiong with disdain.
This Asian was like a clown on the field!
Ajax's teammates were also very surprised by Qin Xiong's performance.
This should not be his level!
When Matt Hughes got up to argue with Qin Xiong, as if he was going to bully him, Snede was the first to rush over. He forcefully separated Matt Hughes and stood in front of Qin Xiong, as if silently saying to Matt Hughes: If you have anything to say or do, come at me!
Qin Xiong did not lose his cool. He gently pushed Snede aside and extended an apologetic hand to Matt Hughes, apologizing.
Matt Hughes sneered and slapped Qin Xiong's hand away, not appreciating it at all.
Qin Xiong did not care. He did not have the slightest malice. He had just knocked the other side down and apologized. If the other side did not accept it, he could not do anything.
Snede turned around and asked him in a low voice, "Are you not feeling well? Why do I feel like you're sleepwalking? "
Qin Xiong shook his head slightly and did not say anything.
With the previous experience of slipping, Qin Xiong did not dare to rashly accelerate. Even if he accelerated, he would be careful and focus on balancing his body's center of gravity.
However, there were critical moments in the game when you had to accelerate!
You had to explode!
In the 37th minute of the game, Qin Xiong was pushed aside by the strong body of the FC Groningen's South African striker, Salmonen, and fell to the ground. Qin Xiong felt that the world was spinning, as if his heart was going numb.
The African striker was super strong. He deliberately slowed down to protect the ball. He looked for the opportunity to extend his leg to intercept, but because of the physical confrontation, his supporting foot slipped and he fell again!
Qin Xiong, covered in mud, seemed to be lost in the rain.
However, every time he fell, he would quickly get back up and do what he thought was right.
The head coach, Comain, noticed something was wrong. He directed the game from the sidelines, allowing the rain to hit him. Comain was already soaked.
However, he did not care about that. He came to the sidelines and shouted Qin Xiong's name!
After Qin Xiong noticed him, Comain shouted at Pienaar and Van Der Vaart. He signaled for the two to retreat to the midfield!
Qin Xiong was called to the sidelines by Comain.
Comain directly said to Qin Xiong, "Take off your sneakers."
Qin Xiong did not ask anything. He walked to the sidelines and sat down, taking off his sneakers. Comain squatted down and took his sneakers. He looked at the soles of the sneakers and revealed a look of understanding.
Qin Xiong's sneakers were not suitable for a rain battle!
The studs were too short. In a rain battle, the grass was slippery and the soil was loose. He could not hold on to the ground at all!
Of course, he could not stand properly!
Comain asked, "You didn't bring your studded sneakers?"
Qin Xiong had a complicated look on his face and shook his head.
It was not that he did not bring them.
He did not bring any!
He had never worn them before!
Freddy, who was wearing a raincoat and watching the game from the sidelines, saw this scene on the sidelines. His heart felt like it was being cut by a knife.
Qin Xiong fell on the field again and again, but he stubbornly climbed back up. This made Freddy feel sad.
He did not know what was wrong with Qin Xiong today.
It was only when Comain took Qin Xiong's sneakers and observed them that Freddy felt as if he had been struck by lightning. He hugged his head and muttered to himself under the puzzled gazes of Dekoiz, Peter, and Rutmansen.
"It's all my fault, all my fault … I actually did not prepare sneakers for a rain match … Qin Xiong, it's all my fault, my fault … I deserve to die! How could I have made such a mistake! "
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