Fifth Update.
-----
At the end of the day's training, Qin Xiong returned to Wardle Street. He was already exhausted, but after seeing the figure of his dreams, his spirit was refreshed.
He stood outside De Koizze's restaurant, watching the enthusiastic girl busying herself.
Sylvia Slott.
It seemed that she had been hired by De Koizze.
Wearing the restaurant's uniform, she showed an angelic smile to every customer, as if she could bring meticulous care to everyone.
This made De Koizze's restaurant business significantly better.
Freddy sat in front of the outdoor table and chair. He was also observing Sylvia. Before, he only knew that there was such a girl and knew her appearance through Qin Xiong's sketches. Seeing her with his own eyes today made him feel relieved and particularly happy.
He was worried that Qin Xiong did not like a good girl. After all, this was Amsterdam, the world-famous City of Freedom, and also the Capital of Sex.
He examined Sylvia like an elder, warm and generous, full of affinity, and beautiful.
What a good girl!
She is a good match for Qin Xiong!
As Freddy was thinking this, his shoulder was suddenly pressed down by someone. He turned his head and saw that it was Qin Xiong who had returned from training. He immediately gestured in Sylvia's direction with his eyes full of mockery.
Qin Xiong put his shoulder bag on the chair and walked over to greet Sylvia.
"Hey, are you used to it?"
Sylvia turned her head and saw Qin Xiong. She quickly thanked him.
"It's good here. Thank you for recommending me here."
Qin Xiong nodded and did not know what to say. He was worried that he would disturb Sylvia's work, so he walked back to Freddy's side and sat down to prepare for dinner.
He ate the dinner very slowly. He did not dare to stare at Sylvia openly. Occasionally, he would sneak a glance. He was worried that he would be discovered by the other party, like a thief.
From time to time, Freddy would twist his face and snicker.
Although there were many boys in Europe and America who were shy and introverted, it was still rare. Freddy had lived in China for a long time, so he was used to Qin Xiong's "first awakening of love" behavior.
After the evening rush hour, Sylvia's work ended. She was not working full-time. When she was about to leave, Qin Xiong was pushed by Freddy. Qin Xiong immediately understood and took the initiative to walk to Sylvia's side. He suggested, "Let me walk you out."
Sylvia smiled at him and shook her head, saying, "I've lived in this city since I was young. You've only been here for two months, and you're sending me off? I'm afraid I'll have to send you back later. I heard you were here, right? "
Qin Xiong pointed to the small apartment opposite the restaurant and said, "It's over there. The people here are very kind. I like it here."
"Well, yes, I like it here too. Qin Xiong, good night."
"Be careful on the road. Good night."
Qin Xiong stood there for a long time and stared at her back as she left. He could not see that Sylvia's lips were curved as she left. She maintained a sweet smile and seemed to be happier than usual.
.....
Before the third round of the Dutch Cup, Comain took the initiative to talk to Qin Xiong during the training break.
"Most of the team's main players will be resting for the Dutch Cup, but I intend to let you continue to be in the starting lineup. The purpose is to keep you in shape. I don't ask much of you for tomorrow's game. Let me put it this way. My requirements for you are: first, don't care about the outcome of the game. Second, don't consume too much of your stamina. Third, create more opportunities for the teammates drawn from the reserve team."
Qin Xiong was hugged by Comain's shoulder. He roughly understood.
It was also thanks to Ajax's arrogant philosophy.
In fact, it was: go up and play casually. Maintain your condition. Winning or losing was not important. The main goal of the Dutch Cup was to train the players. Don't be too nervous, and don't take it too seriously.
Qin Xiong would play, but Comain obviously did not expect the Dutch Cup to train Qin Xiong. The ones who really needed to be trained were the players in the reserve team.
Comain did not know why, but he started to walk around the training ground with Qin Xiong's shoulder. After he finished talking about the tasks for tomorrow's game, he changed the topic to a long-term discussion.
"Qin Xiong, you've been in the First Team for more than a month, and your performance has been outstanding. It has exceeded all of our expectations. In the game against PSV Eindhoven, I realized that we can place high hopes on you. At the same time, the technical characteristics that you've displayed have made us start to re-examine the team's tactical system. Van Der Vaart is not you, and you're not Van Der Vaart, Pienaar, Snede. Every player is special and unique. Because of this, we still have to be more cautious when it comes to how to let you integrate, adapt, and stimulate a new tactical system. Sigh, the disadvantage for us is that now is not a good time. "
Qin Xiong did not understand and asked, "Time?"
He saw Comain frown subconsciously. He looked into the distance, and his eyes were misty. He said faintly, "In a week's time, we have to face AC Milan. If we rashly change anything in a competition with unprecedented pressure, the probability of failure will be very high. If we lose the next European game, we may be declared eliminated in the group stage."
Qin Xiong understood.
Comain's concern was that a big battle was imminent. For a team that was on the weaker side, changing tactics at the last minute would always require them to bear a greater risk. Just like when marching to war, changing the general at the last minute was a military taboo.
.....
Qin Xiong looked through the list of teams in the Eredivisie and Eredivisie professional leagues, but could not find the name of Ajax's opponent in the third round of the Dutch Cup.
URK。
When they were on the bus to the small town of Ulk, Lindgren told him that URK was an amateur team in the Netherlands and did not participate in the professional league.
Qin Xiong suddenly understood. It was no wonder that Ajax would make a big rotation in this round. Maybe the First Team's substitutes did not have much training value, so they transferred the players from the reserve team. If the youth team had not also participated in the Dutch Cup and belonged to a different team from Ajax, Ajax might have simply let the First Team rest.
The mayor of Ulk had mixed feelings during an interview before the game.
"The 4,000 tickets have been sold out. We can't stop the rush from Ajax fans. Yes, our team may not have the home advantage. This is our current situation."
URK was the only local team in Ulk. It was a big breakthrough for them to be able to enter the third round of the Dutch Cup. Because they were not a professional team, there was no home advantage protection in the ticket sales. For example, clubs in the Eredivisie and Eredivisie required the buyer to show their membership card to sell their home tickets. URK was an amateur team. Without this layer of protection, it was natural that they could not stop the away team's fans from buying the tickets crazily. Of course, from an economic point of view, the mayor of Ulk should still be excited. If it were other opponents, they would not be as enthusiastic as Ajax's fans.
In Europe, the loyalty of fans was usually measured by the frequency of away games. It was very convenient for local fans to cheer for the team at home. However, it was rare and valuable for them to go to away games. It highlighted their loyalty.
This was the case for Ajax fans. URK's stadium only had 4,000 tickets. It was estimated that more than 3,000 tickets had been bought by Ajax fans. They treated it as a trip to the small town for fun. The Netherlands itself was not big, so the transportation was convenient.
The midweek cup match was played at night.
It was just past seven o 'clock. Qin Xiong had already put on his jersey. He stood with his teammates in the players' tunnel, waiting for the match to start.
The amateur team's stadium was very simple. It might not even belong to them. Instead, it was rented to them by the town government.
Comain told Qin Xiong not to exhaust his stamina and not to go all out. Other than to prevent excessive energy consumption, he also wanted to protect him.
The conditions of the stadium were poor!
What if he stepped on a small pit and sprained his ankle? Would it be a loss?
Before the match, Comain had repeatedly ordered Qin Xiong in front of everyone. He was just short of saying, "Just take a walk on the field!"
It was also to let his teammates know in their hearts that Qin Xiong was not putting in effort on the field.
The Ajax team that was playing today was really a ragtag team put together at the last minute.
The main force of the First Team, the substitutes, and a few players from the reserve team.
When the referees led the players from both teams into the stadium, Qin Xiong was confused by the atmosphere at the stadium.
Whose home ground was this?
In the stands, most of the cheering and shouting fans were wearing Ajax jerseys!
He even saw the three old men and Freddy standing at the edge of the left-hand side of the players' tunnel. They were holding beers in their hands and smiling at him in an unusually relaxed manner.
The management of this stadium was also very lax.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
