Thank you to "Lubuyi", "Eilia", and "Book Friend 150516083948834" for your tips! And "Panshi Yu" for his great reward!
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When the emcee introduced the starting lineup of both teams, the fans of Ajax and URK were a little disappointed.
None of the players were famous star players.
URK's team consisted of a group of amateur players who usually went to work.
Ajax's lineup did not have any big names.
Goalkeeper: Stekelenburg.
Defenders: Trabelsi, Van Damme, Pasanen, Rustenberg.
Midfielders: O 'Brien, Qin Xiong, Lindgren.
Forwards: Drieder, Sonke, Sottals.
Sonke was originally quite famous. He came to Amsterdam in the summer transfer with a price tag of six million euros. But after more than two months, the Belgian striker steadily played as a substitute for Zlatan Ibrahimovic. He did not make the headlines or become the focus. Naturally, no one cared about him. Even before the season was over, Ajax's summer transfer was labeled as a failure.
Now, Qin Xiong had become the most famous player because of his eye-catching performance in the Dutch national derby a few days ago.
In the Netherlands, Qin Xiong had become the object of their enthusiastic support among the Chinese fans. In the past few days, Ajax's official sales of Qin Xiong's jerseys had exploded!
But this could not be compared to the scene in China. In China, pirated sports goods manufacturers mass-produced Ajax's jerseys day and night. With Qin Xiong's number and name, the sales were booming!
If Ajax FC were not limited by the Dutch league, with their Jewish business background, the club's management would have blindly shouted slogans like Manchester United's management: We have 100 million fans in Asia!
Ajax's slogans were useless. After all, the sponsors looked down on the league. Also, because Ajax's appearance in the Champions League decreased year by year, his status declined and there was no return.
But as Qin Xiong gradually gained fame as a football player, his commercial value also began to be valued by people with intentions!
The Asian market was highly valued by many European powerhouses. Real Madrid, Manchester United, and other powerhouses with extremely high commercial value in the football world, had to go to Asia to make a fortune and go to China to play in commercial competitions?
The fans' expectations were always higher. The ticket prices for this match were already very low, and they wanted to see the big name players. They also wanted the match to be exciting. How could there be such a good thing in the world?
As soon as Qin Xiong stepped onto the field, he stood in a position roughly parallel to O 'Brien, in the position of defensive midfielder.
He was an obedient player. Naturally, there was arrogance in the coach's words.
URK is just an amateur team. What are you going to do? Just take a walk and you'll win, okay?
Don't be so serious about playing against an amateur team. A person's energy is limited.
Comain only wanted to keep Qin Xiong in good condition and rhythm until the match against AC Milan a week later, which was a small peak for him to maintain his condition.
The match began.
Qin Xiong always jogged around the field in a small area, doing the work of organizing.
Lindgren was not an attacking midfielder. He was more inclined to organize. He assisted Qin Xiong, and the two of them could easily dominate the midfield.
Qin Xiong did not intend to fight, but Ajax had plenty of people to fight with their lives on the line!
Trabelsi, whose main position had been snatched away by Grygera.
Rustenberg, Drieder, and the first team's substitutes, Sottars and Sonke, were transferred up.
They were all doing their best to perform.
Ajax's main offensive direction in this match was the two flanks. The two full backs and two wingers were all good at attacking. The flanks were very good at attacking.
URK defended with all their strength at the start of the match. Ajax lacked a killer to follow up in the middle, so his offense was not very ideal.
Qin Xiong was watching from the back, causing O 'Brien to feel as though his balls were about to shatter.
O 'Brien played as a defensive midfielder. His main role was defense. If Qin Xiong did not go up, he would have no problem defending at all times. He could not play to his strengths.
So, he sometimes glanced at Qin Xiong with resentment.
When Qin Xiong realized it, Qin Xiong bluntly said to him, "You go up and participate in the attack. I'll be fine on my own."
URK had more defense than defense, so they put in very few players to attack. Qin Xiong only needed to be a moving human wall in the key areas. Pasanin and Van Damme behind him could resolve the danger.
O 'Brien probably sat on the bench for too long. He really did not dare to listen to Qin Xiong. He was afraid that if he rushed up rashly, the manager would think that he was fooling around.
Qin Xiong did not force him.
He watched the attacks of his teammates in the backfield. They always ended up in the penalty area. They were surrounded and could not pose a threat. Especially when they were fighting on their own!
They all wanted to show off. It was a good opportunity to pass the ball to their teammates, but they did not pass it!
Qin Xiong understood this feeling. It was not easy to be a substitute!
But it was not a good idea to continue playing like this. Look, 15 minutes had passed. Ajax was playing against an amateur team, but he still could not break the goal.
After URK broke the siege with a big kick, Qin Xiong controlled the ball in the backfield. Then, he turned around and passed the ball to the fullback, Pasanin. Pasanin was stunned. Most of the time, he was very idle. He subconsciously kicked the ball back to Qin Xiong. Qin Xiong then kicked the ball to Van Damme, who also passed the ball back to him.
Qin Xiong began to pass the ball to his teammates in the backfield.
URK got a breather and relieved a lot of pressure. They slightly relaxed their formation and pressed up.
Suddenly, something unexpected happened.
The football flew from the backfield to the front field.
Half-high ball!
The ball was extremely fast!
The trajectory of the football's flight penetrated URK's midfield defense zone. Moreover, it happened to roll between the center back and the fullback of the defensive line after it landed!
Half-high ball more than 40 yards long!
By the time URK's defensive line reacted, the football had already rolled past their defensive line. Moreover, someone darted out from behind them and ran toward the ball. After stopping the ball, he seemed to have a one-on-one stance!
It was the Belgian striker, Sonke!
This speedy and skillful striker was not good at confrontation, but his ability to seize opportunities was very strong. What he was most afraid of was being trapped in a tight defensive zone. Given some space, he could give the world a wonderful show!
Now, he was one-on-one. After adjusting, he faced the goal diagonally and decisively pushed the ball to the far corner of the goal. He succeeded.
All the URK players were stunned!
Sonke looked back after the goal. His gaze passed through the crowd. He raised his right hand and gave a thumbs-up.
His teammate was standing in the direction of his gaze. He also raised his right hand and gave a thumbs-up to praise his goal.
He was Qin Xiong, Ajax's midfield commander!
Ajax's fans in the stands applauded one after another.
Most of the applause was for Qin Xiong. Sonke's single-handedly breaking through the goal was not difficult, but the unexpected long pass from the middle to the back of the field was amazing!
It was the model of a scalpel pass.
Qin Xiong did not feel much of a sense of achievement.
After all, the opponent was an amateur team. Their defensive formation was not tight enough. If they relaxed a little, he could capture the best passing route in his field of vision. It was simple and direct as it went straight to the vital points.
What was left was the problem of footwork.
If the opponent was a slightly stronger professional team, their defensive formation would be tight. Most of the time, there would not be such an obvious "passing route".
For example, if any of Ajax's youth team players were to play against their school team, they would definitely be able to do a lot of shocking things.
1:0
Ajax was in the lead. A strong team was in the lead!
URK's situation had completely changed.
Perhaps URK's fans were still dreaming before the match.
"The Jax Dynasty doesn't even send a famous player! This is an open insult to us! Maybe we can win this match and eliminate them!" Xu Xiaoshou thought.
Tell them: Don't look down on us!
However, Ajax's fans did not have such worries.
Dekoiz and the others were completely different from before. They were less crazy and more relaxed.
Not only were they drinking beer, but Dekoiz also grabbed a herring and swallowed it in one gulp. He said cheerfully, "Three more wins, three more wins, and it'll be worth the ticket price. Playing an amateur team, winning four is the minimum cost."
The match continued. URK was obviously more aggressive. However, their team tactics could not be compared to a professional team. They always seemed to be in a rush, but their defense was full of mistakes.
Qin Xiong maintained a slow pace throughout. He did not step into the 40-yard danger zone in front of the opponent's goal, and no one came to intercept him. He always kicked the ball out and then ran to an empty space to receive the ball. URK's players wanted to harass him, but they could not even touch his jersey. In this relaxed and leisurely state, he repeatedly sent out direct passes that made the audience's eyes light up. It almost became a performance of his long-distance footwork between 30 and 40 yards.
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