The Godfather of Football

In the Ajax team led by Van Gaal that swept across Europe, there are many outstanding talents.

For example, Edgar Davids, Seedorf, the De Boer brothers, Overmars, Reiziger, Kluivert, etc., this group of players are the backbone of this Ajax team that swept across Europe, and everyone thinks that they will be the club's greatest wealth.

But what was unexpected was that in this Ajax team that was watched by the whole of Europe, there was a low-key star who created higher value than them, that is Edwin van der Sar.

People who know Edwin van der Sar will feel that this is a person who is not so easy to get along with, because he has the arrogance that many Dutch people have, but if you know Van der Sar very well, he will definitely tell you that arrogance is just Van der Sar's appearance, and he is a very affectionate person inside.

When Ajax fell apart, Van der Sar was the last player to leave, and his departure brought Ajax 10 million in transfer income, which was completely different from some other players vying to leave. Moreover, Van der Sar joined Juventus in Serie A at that time.

In terms of fame and influence, Juventus was far more famous than Barcelona at that time.

So, when Van der Sar was underestimated and questioned in Juventus, many Ajax fans took the initiative to call for the club to bring Van der Sar back to the Arena Stadium, which was somewhat like taking care of their own children.

For Van der Sar, the experience of Juventus was more like a nightmare.

From the familiar Amsterdam, the Netherlands, to the unfamiliar Turin, Italy, from the open offensive Ajax to the solid defensive Juventus, whether from the overall tactical style of the team or the training method off the court, Van der Sar could not adapt to the Italian football style.

He has said more than once that Juventus's way of training goalkeepers makes him feel difficult to adapt, but the reason given by Juventus is that Peruzzi was trained in the same way when he was in Juventus, and he became the most famous and top goalkeeper of the time.

This made Van der Sar sound a little uncomfortable. His arrogance in his heart made him dislike people comparing him with Peruzzi, because he is Van der Sar and Peruzzi is Peruzzi.

Today's Ancelotti is not the Italian Bosque later. He was known as the 1:0 doctrine in Parma. After switching to Juventus, his style has changed to a certain extent, but he still insists on defense first, which has led to Juventus's poor performance in the league. Moreover, with a luxurious attack line such as Zidane, Piero and Inzaghi, Ancelotti's team has repeatedly scored 1:0.

This season, Juventus has 21 wins, 10 draws and 3 losses, but among these 21 wins, there are as many as 10 games in which they scored only one goal more than their opponents. In the 34 rounds of the whole season, there are as many as 14 games in which they scored only one goal or no goals. Such a record sheet is not only unsatisfactory to the fans, but also to the general manager Moggi.

As for the reasons for the team's poor performance, Ancelotti finally attributed it to a problem of one before and one after. The former was Inzaghi, and the latter lacked goals in key games, which made many Juventus fans very dissatisfied with him, believing that Piero was their treasure, and Inzaghi was really the culprit of the team's weak offense.

As a time traveler, Ye Qiu felt that the funniest thing was that one of the charges listed by Juventus fans against Inzaghi this season was that he fell into the opponent's offside trap again and again, and wasted scoring opportunities again and again.

From this point of view, Inzaghi's keen sense of offside in the next few years is not innate, but a set of survival rules on the offside line that he has finally realized through constant training and accumulation.

Another scapegoat is Van der Sar, who even once handed over the position of the main goalkeeper to Uruguayan goalkeeper Carini this season, and in several key games, Van der Sar's mistakes were infinitely magnified by the media and fans.

Just after the season ended, Moggi found Van der Sar's agent and revealed that the club would consider selling Van der Sar because he wanted to introduce a more stable goalkeeper for Juventus. The two objects he is currently considering are Bayern Munich's Lion King Kahn, who is Moggi's first choice, and Parma's young goalkeeper Buffon.

Originally, Van der Sar thought that with Ancelotti's dismissal, he would have a brand new future in Juventus, but the club report submitted by the new head coach Lippi has clearly told Moggi that Van der Sar is not in his plan and he hopes to sell Van der Sar.

After all, the arrogant Dutchman is not someone who can sit on the bench and wait for an opportunity.

Therefore, Moggi also issued a final ultimatum to Van der Sar's agent, contact the team and leave immediately, otherwise he will go directly to train with the second team after the new season training camp!

With the halo of the main goalkeeper of the European champion team, he came to Turin ambitiously, wanting to show himself on the top stage of world football in Italy, but he didn't expect that two years later, what awaited Van der Sar was such a humiliating end.

Even looking at the whole of Europe, almost no team is willing to be interested in Van der Sar, because more people think that Van der Sar is just a special product of Van Gaal's tactical system, and it is difficult for him to adapt to other teams.

As for Barcelona after being transformed by Van Gaal, the new head coach Reixach is already having a headache with too many Dutch players, not to mention that the Barcelona team is currently working hard to cultivate their own Casillas, where does Van Gaal need to be? Desa?

Just when Van der Sar was distressed, news came from the outside world that Ajax's main goalkeeper Fred Grimm announced his retirement, and Ajax was also actively looking for a main goalkeeper after Grimm. Van der Sar couldn't help but ignite a hope in his heart, because he will never forget the scene of playing football together and being united and friendly with a group of equally young but energetic teammates in Ajax.

"I heard that the new head coach of Ajax is a young Chinese named Ye Qiu. The Ajax team he leads is also young, a group of rookies in their twenties, but last season they won UEFA Cup, maybe you should consider having a good talk with him, at least I think returning to Ajax would be a very good choice!”

In front of Van der Sar, agent Jensen made no secret of his fondness for the young Ajax team. Although as an agent, he could not get involved in Ajax's player business, he still felt that Van der Sar Sa's return to the Arena would be a good choice.

"But..." Van der Sar hesitated, "He is only 26 years old!"

There is a saying that goes well, great achievements overshadow the masters. Van der Sar is a meritorious star of Ajax in the past and a veteran of Ajax. If he returns to the Arena, with his qualifications and his With his age and status, can Ye Qiu accept him?

You know, it is not difficult for a young head coach to manage a young team, but the difficulty lies in managing a team with famous stars. This is undoubtedly very difficult.

Van der Sar knows very well that there are many young coaches who don't like old ministers like him at all.

"Call Ajax and let's talk. If it doesn't work, let's talk again!" Janson thought.

Now there are not many choices for Van der Sar. There are currently almost no teams interested in him. If he continues like this, then Van der Sar will really have to go to the second team to train during training. At that time, which team is still willing to want him?

In fact, in Ye Qiu's previous life, Van der Sar actually went to the second team for training for a period of time. He had no choice but to finally switch to Fulham, a newly promoted team in the Premier League. Otherwise, with Van der Sar's position as the main goalkeeper of Juventus, Status, will he go to the newly promoted Premier League team that was vaguely at the bottom of the four major leagues at the time?

Encouraged by Jenson, Van der Sar finally picked up the phone and quickly found the number of Bobby Harms in the address book. Van der Sar admired the oldest assistant coach very much. , always keeping in touch.

Called and got through quickly.

"Hello, Bobby!" Van der Sar was a little embarrassed, "I'm Edwin!"

"Oh, it's you, Edwin!" Bobby Harms quickly recognized Van der Sar's voice.

"It's me, Bobby, how are you doing?" Van der Sar chuckled, hiding his embarrassment.

"Very good, thank you!" Bobby Harms replied with a smile, "But I heard that your situation is not very good. Edwin, have you encountered any difficulties?"

Van der Sar's nose felt sore. After all, he was one of his own. He didn't need to speak, but the other side took the initiative to mention that there were two different attitudes to the way Juventus treated him. This made him feel very moved.

"Don't be sad, Edwin. I have always believed that you are a very capable goalkeeper. You are one of the strongest goalkeepers in the world. I have never doubted this. It is the Italians who do not know how to use you, so You don't need to be sad at all!" Bobby Harms encouraged and comforted him on the phone.

He was still the same. Van der Sar on the other side of the phone listened and smiled warmly.

Taking a deep breath, Van der Sar summoned up the courage, "Bobby, I want to ask, are Ajax looking for a goalkeeper? Is there a suitable candidate?"

Bobby Harms on the other side of the phone listened and immediately understood the purpose of Van der Sar's call. He nodded, "Edwin, you know, this is business. What I can tell you is, Aja Kekes really needs a goalkeeper, and if it were me, I think you would be a good fit, but now our head coach is in charge of the team’s recruitment and everything else!”

After hearing this, Van der Sar said yes. He understood Bobby Harms' situation.

"Edwin, maybe I can help you mention it and arrange for you to meet with our head coach!"

"Really?" Van der Sar was a little surprised.

"Of course, but I don't guarantee success!" Bobby Harms laughed, "But I have to remind you one thing."

"Say it!" Van der Sar nodded.

"He is a very assertive head coach, and sometimes very tough!"

Bobby Harms doesn't talk much, but Van der Sar understands him.

Over the years in Ajax, Bobby Harms has met all kinds of people and experienced all kinds of things. For example, when Rijkaard returned to Ajax, Van Gaal was very upset about it. After a period of distress, he later completely suppressed the veterans including Rijkaard and Blind, which led to the subsequent revival of Ajax.

Now, in Bobby Harms' view, the relationship between Van der Sar and Ye Qiu will undoubtedly be the relationship between Rijkaard and Van Gaal back then, so he was a little worried that Van der Sar would not accept Ye Qiu, so he decided to Got a dose of vaccination.

"I know, thank you, Bobby!" Van der Sar understood in his heart.

Ajax won the league runner-up and the UEFA Cup last season. Judging from Ye Qiu's coaching performance in the past two years, he is a very thoughtful, thoughtful and capable head coach. People often don't like their players to be disobedient, so if Van der Sar wants to return to Ajax, he must be mentally prepared.

…………

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One day later, Ye Qiu met Edwin van der Sar at the Golden Slender Chinese Restaurant at the Arena Stadium.

There are many controversies among fans regarding Van der Sar's performance in Serie A this season. One of the interesting controversies is that Van der Sar has the tallest height among Serie A goalkeepers, but is the worst at stopping high balls.

Ye Qiu believes that this is mainly because Van der Sar encountered two different styles in Ajax and Juventus.

Strictly speaking, Van der Sar has never been a small penalty area goalkeeper. If you look closely at Van der Sar, it is not difficult to find that whether he is in Ajax, Fulham, or even Manchester United, he is a big goalkeeper. A penalty-type goalkeeper with excellent ball control and accurate long passes, Van der Sar can become an initiator of offense in front of the goal.

This is an important reason why Van der Sar was praised by the media as a sweeper goalkeeper when he was in the Premier League. He would not stick to the small penalty area. He would often rush out of the small penalty area to defend, or respond to teammates' knockbacks. Become an important link in the team's game control system.

But also because of his style, he faced great challenges at Juventus, and was even often scored with high goals.

In fact, a very interesting thing to say is that after Louis van Gaal's Ajax team went to Serie A, how many of them performed well? After understanding this, it is not difficult to see that Van der Sar's problem is a problem of incompatibility of styles rather than a problem of personal ability.

Unfortunately, Ye Qiu also needs a goalkeeper of this type now, because he plays high-position defense.

"Edwin, you are a goalkeeper that I admire very much. Regarding your experience at Juventus, I always believe that it was a little joke God made on you. It is not suitable for you there. In my opinion, , your style is either in the Eredivisie or the Premier League, these are the only two places where you can prove your strength!"

After meeting, Ye Qiu left the impression on Van der Sar that he was approachable, without the arrogance of young people, and was very good at communicating.

"Thank you!" Van der Sar said little.

"We at Ajax are a young team with a group of very young but talented players, but this does not mean that we will reject the veterans, especially someone like you, a former meritorious player of the club. This will undoubtedly It will boost the morale of the team!" Ye Qiu said almost all in polite words.

Van der Sar was asking for help now. Listening carefully, he felt that what Ye Qiu had to say was more than just this.

"I am a person who likes to say ugly things first. I hope you can use your experience and your abilities to lead this group of young teammates on the team and be a role model for them. I also hope you can become this Rijkaard and Blind in the new Ajax team!”

Rijkaard and Blind both played a pivotal role in Louis van Gaal's Ajax team.

Ye Qiu's words undoubtedly mean that he has no objection to Van der Sar joining Ajax, but that is based on the premise that Van der Sar is willing to obey the tactics and rules set by Ye Qiu. If he wants If he wants to return to Ajax and think that he can rely on his old skills and enjoy privileges, then he is totally wrong.

At this point, everyone knew Ye Qiu's attitude, and Ye Qiu stopped talking and looked at Van der Sar.

"Tell me, Edwin, can I trust you?"

It's very direct, but very straightforward. If you can accept these requirements of mine, then you can say yes, otherwise, say no.

Van der Sar has a lot of affection for Ajax. He often reads the news about Ajax from the newspapers, and he also knows Ye Qiu to a certain extent. From what Ye Qiu said to him just now, Fan der Sar has a lot of affection for Ajax. Dessa also knew that Ye Qiu was the one who truly understood him.

At the very least, Ye Qiu could see that Van der Sar was not suitable for Serie A.

"I promise, Mr. Ye Qiu!" Van der Sar nodded solemnly.

Ye Qiu smiled after hearing this and did not stand up. He reached out across the dishes on the table and held Van der Sar's hand tightly. "Congratulations, Edwin, welcome back to Ajax. Be part of us again!”

Van der Sar also smiled and nodded, "Thank you, head!" His title also changed.

"Believe me, Edwin, returning to PSV will definitely be your wisest choice, because my players and I, your teammates, will once again take you to the top of your career. I promise!" Ye Qiu said with great confidence.

Van der Sar kept nodding. He felt that Ye Qiu's words were very attractive to him.

"I will get in touch with Juventus tomorrow and I will talk to them about your transfer fee, but I believe it will not be a problem. I can assure you that when you return to Turin, you can bring your family back with you. amsterdam.”

Ye Qiu's words made Van der Sar feel warm again, because it meant that no matter how much Juventus offered, Ajax would definitely bring Van der Sar back to Amsterdam.

If Van der Sar had some doubts about Ye Qiu's promise before, now he believes that what Ye Qiu said to him before is true, and he also began to look forward to this new journey after returning to Ajax.