Thanks to "Xiao Hong" and "Endless Thoughts" for the tip!
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Pinar was back!
It was as though this was the first time he had come to Ajax.
He felt that the scene in the training ground was very strange.
He had been away for a period of time due to his injury. Now that he had returned, he did not seem as important as he had been at the start of the season.
When you were needed by others, by a group, you would have an important sense of existence.
However, when his teammates casually greeted him as though he was an ordinary friend, he could feel that his return did not receive a particularly enthusiastic response. Behind this, his enthusiasm for being needed by the group had decreased.
Qin Xiong had been in the limelight, and Pinar had understood this from his hospital bed.
However, he had not expected that Qin Xiong had completely integrated into the team. Snede and Qin Xiong had become friends early on. Now, captain Van Der Vaart and the egomaniac Ibrahimovic would chat with Qin Xiong for a while during training. They seemed to be in harmony.
Qin Xiong, on the other hand, was like a bird gun changing into a cannon. He no longer wore those shabby sportswear that people despised in their hearts. He would also wear casual and fashionable clothes after training. The originally sunny big boy suddenly looked extraordinarily handsome.
Pinar felt a little dejected. Fate had played a joke on him. Just when he should have taken the initiative to suppress Qin Xiong, he was injured. Then, Qin Xiong stood out from the competition. He could see that even the manager, Comain, had spent more time interacting with Qin Xiong during training. This was how important he was!
He felt that the atmosphere in the team had changed. It had become more positive and competitive.
This was because Qin Xiong's attitude during training was recognized by everyone. His superb discipline during training had also unknowingly forced captain Van Der Vaart, Ibrahimovic, Snede, Derong and the others to compete with Qin Xiong in secret!
As a result, on the first day of training after returning to the team, Pinard did not manage to complete the morning training and had to train alone in the afternoon, unable to withstand the intensity and rhythm of his teammates' training.
He had no choice but to secretly encourage himself. He was unwilling to accept his fate and let Qin Xiong succeed in usurping the throne!
He had to double his efforts!
Therefore, after the training ended, he stayed on the training ground for extra practice!
However, he was dumbfounded again.
Van Der Vaart, Ivan, Snede, and Qin Xiong were all doing extra training!
He did not know that in the last free kick battle, Qin Xiong had won, which made the other three players very unhappy. They had agreed to have another match at the end of today's training. However, it would be a long-distance match. There would be no human wall, only a challenge from the goalkeeper.
Pienaar obviously misunderstood.
He might have thought that the geniuses of the team would train every day when he was not around.
Seeing that Pienaar had not left, Qin Xiong invited him to join the team. Pienaar gladly accepted. No matter what, he did not want to be left behind and pushed out of the circle of geniuses.
Pienaar and Qin Xiong had no quarrel. The two of them were just competing openly in the team. Competition did not mean that they could not become friends.
With Pienaar joining the team, the five of them took turns to take long-distance free kicks, with Stekelenburg in goal.
As the sun set in the west, Ajax's geniuses used their own style of free kicks to "destroy" Stekelenburg!
Qin Xiong won once again.
Stekelenburg still did not know what to do with the "elevator ball". This made the other teammates think that Stekelenburg was going easy on Qin Xiong.
After laughing and fooling around, when it was time to go home, Van Der Vaart, who earned more than 20,000 euros a week, took the initiative to treat them to dinner at a high-class restaurant in the city.
On this day, Qin Xiong had a rather pleasant time. It seemed that his teammates had a tacit understanding to reduce their stress before the big match!
Another day passed, and in the bleak autumn season, the defending Champions League champions, AC Milan, hailed as the strongest squad in the world, landed in Amsterdam!
Their arrival attracted the attention of the media, and the pre-match press conference for the Champions League became the focus of attention.
Ajax's manager, Comain, was under heavy pressure, while AC Milan's manager, Ancelotti, appeared to be at ease, as if he had been through all sorts of ups and downs.
The atmosphere in Ajax's team changed completely 24 hours before the big match.
Laughter became a luxury.
No one would take the initiative to chat and laugh, as if the upcoming battle was a matter of life and death!
On November 5th, near the evening, AC Milan's bus drove into the Amsterdam Athletic Stadium. At this time, the stadium was packed inside and outside. For the city of Amsterdam, today's Champions League game could be said to be an unprecedented grand occasion. The atmosphere was even more explosive than when AC Milan visited the stadium in the knockout stage last year!
Ajax's fans were in a heavy and nervous mood, but they also had unyielding expectations and firm beliefs that their beloved team could create miracles!
Defeat AC Milan and regain the initiative to qualify!
AC Milan's fans, who followed the Rossoneri to the Netherlands, were confident and optimistic. They had no reason to worry. Their team stood at the top of the world and looked down on everyone!
When Qin Xiong once again witnessed AC Milan's super luxurious lineup in the players' tunnel, he saw Maldini's mainstay of leadership, Pirlo's high-spirited spirit, Andriy Shevchenko's calm and outstanding aura, and the attitude of a team standing at the top!
Some were insufferably arrogant, some were low-key and luxurious, some were domineering, and some were indescribably noble. There were too many dazzling and colorful attitudes that shocked and envied people!
Perhaps this was the true meaning of Ivan's so-called higher pursuit!
The top!
That was our goal!
We also wanted to stand in that position, look down on everyone, and enjoy the worship of the world!
We wanted to write our names in the history of football and leave our names in the annals of history!
Become legends and become eternal.
On the contrary, when AC Milan's players just casually glanced at you without any color or emotion, and then retracted their gazes, the opponent's eyes swept past them. That kind of feeling was not disrespectful, but it was obvious that they ignored and did not put you in their eyes. It was absolutely intolerable for these geniuses who were the focus of attention on the orange land!
Every dog has its day. Ajax's retribution seemed to have come very quickly.
Four days ago, they were in Alkmaar and treated Alkmaar with the attitude that AC Milan was showing now. They did not expect that in just four days, not even 100 hours, Ajax would receive the same treatment as Alkmaar. They had become the weak, an existence that could be casually ignored by their opponents.
That was the iron law of the football world: the strong were respected!
The strong would snatch away glory and attention. Dissatisfaction? Then go and snatch it!
For Ajax, the atmosphere in this Champions League group stage match was very different from the past. Qin Xiong could feel it. Even from the stands, the cheers and shouts from the fan group were unusual. The atmosphere also affected the stadium.
He sat on the substitutes' bench and stared at the field with indifferent eyes.
Comain was a little restless before the game started.
AC Milan's starting lineup had two changes compared to the last time they played against each other.
Ajax's starting lineup: 4-3-1.
Goalkeeper: Lobonte.
Defenders: Grygera, Heitinga, Escude, Maxwell.
Midfielders: Sikora, Van Der Vaart, De Jong, Galasek, Snede.
Striker: Ibrahimovic.
AC Milan's starting lineup: 4-3-12.
Goalkeeper: Dida.
Defenders: Cafu, Nesta, Maldini, Kaladze.
Midfielders: Pirlo, Gattuso, Seedorf, Kaka.
Strikers: Andriy Shevchenko, Tomasson.
AC Milan's changes were in the defensive line and the forward line.
Inzaghi was out due to injury, and Tomasson replaced him.
In the last game, Costakarta was the starting center back. In this game, Maldini was the center back and Kaladze was the full back.
Ancelotti looked more relaxed, chewing gum as he stood on the sidelines and watched the game.
Kerman, on the other hand, seemed uneasy.
For a team like AC Milan with the strongest lineup and rich resources, even if it was just a change in personnel in one position, the tactical effect might be very different from what was expected.
For example, Tomasson replaced Inzaghi. Everyone might think that Tomasson was not as good as Inzaghi, but last season, it was Tomasson's finishing blow that sent AC Milan to the top four and stopped Ajax in the top eight. At least the Ajax fans' "hatred" for Tomasson was definitely more than for Inzaghi, especially since Tomasson had played for Feyenoord.
Qin Xiong observed the game seriously from the first minute of the game and analyzed the game through his own perspective. However, he soon frowned, and his frown deepened!
The game was not developing on the track that Comain had envisioned!
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