The Godfather of Football

On a cloudless day, Ajax quietly started the pre-season training.

On the first day, all Ajax players came to De Tokmost in advance, because they were still the same group of people, but a new player named Van der Sar joined. However, Van der Sar had already had a private conversation with Ye Qiu last night, and was very grateful to Ye Qiu for appointing him as the captain of the team.

A person who was not welcomed in Juventus and even nailed to the shame pillar of a fake player, after returning to Ajax, was promoted to the captain of the team by Ye Qiu. For this favor, Van der Sar really didn't know what to say, so he was always moved and grateful.

Therefore, on the first day of the training camp, Van der Sar came to the locker room early, changed his clothes, and prepared everything.

Checking gloves, shin guards, uniforms... Van der Sar carefully checked everything he had as a goalkeeper, as if what he was about to wait for was not a training session, but a European Champions League final, very serious and very focused.

Players gradually arrived in the locker room. They all noticed Van der Sar's actions and were a little surprised.

"Training is more important than the game, so if you can't do well in training, you will definitely do badly in the game!" Van der Sar saw his teammates looking at him, raised his head and grinned.

Perhaps it was because of Van der Sar's words, or because he was beside them, the other players were also very serious when they were getting ready, and they were very orderly and not as casual as usual.

Gilberto Silva walked into the locker room, and several players immediately looked at him.

After Grim left the team, the Brazilian midfielder was regarded by many as one of the three hot candidates for the captain. The other two were Van der Vaart and Kivu, but the latter two players were relatively young. Only Gilberto Silva had enough strength, and his 24-year-old age made him mature and stable enough.

I believe that at this moment, many people are worried that the Brazilian midfielder who lost the captain's armband will give the new captain Van der Sar a warning. Or will the two of them compete with each other?

"Hello, Gilberto, I'm Edwin van der Sar!" Van der Sar took the initiative to stand up and stretched out his hand from a distance.

Gilberto Silva is not very good at speaking on weekdays. He nodded lightly and shook hands with Van der Sar, "Hello, Edwin!"

"You speak Dutch very well!" Van der Sar smiled.

Gilberto Silva smiled, "I was forced by my boss. He said that I would not be allowed to play if I didn't learn, so I had to learn it hard!"

Van der Sar laughed, "Learning Dutch will make life in Amsterdam more convenient and beneficial. You can always find me if you have anything in the future, and I also hope to have a chance to talk to you!"

Ye Qiu talked to Gilberto Silva, who had returned from vacation and reported to the team the day before yesterday. He told Gilberto Silva that he had found a suitable candidate for the captain's armband, that is Van der Sar, and he also explained why he chose Van der Sar and that Gilberto Silva would serve as the team's vice captain.

This is a way of communication between Ye Qiu and the players.

He could have said it later, for example, after the team training camp, but he chose to make it clear to Gilberto Silva, Van der Vaart, Kivu and other players who were interested in the captaincy before the announcement. This represents his honesty and attention to the players. If he said it after the announcement, the effect would be completely different.

Of course, Ye Qiu was not worried that the players would cause trouble, but he still didn't want to cause any unhappiness between himself and the players, or between the harmonious locker room, because of this incident.

"Why don't we have a good talk during the lunch break!" Gilberto Silva suggested.

Van der Sar nodded, "Okay!" He was also happy in his heart.

Seeing the two of them talking happily, the players were more or less relieved. No one wanted someone to form cliques in the locker room and force them to stand in line one by one. Everyone hoped that the locker room would be more harmonious and united.

Not long after, Van der Vaart, Kivu, Ibrahimovic and other players arrived at the locker room one after another.

Every time a teammate walked into the locker room, Van der Sar would take the initiative to greet him, communicate with him kindly, and have some superficial conversations. After all, this was the first time they met.

"Okay, guys, get ready and wake up. This is our first appearance on stage in the new season. It's time to go on stage!" When the time was almost up, Van der Sar clapped his hands vigorously, signaling his teammates to get ready quickly.

Not long after, Van der Sar walked in front and led this group of first-team players out of the locker room one after another and came to the comprehensive training area of ​​the first-team. Ye Qiu and the coaching staff had already arranged it here and were waiting for them.

Seeing the players walk out of the locker room on time, Ye Qiu nodded with satisfaction and looked at Van der Sar. He was very satisfied with the performance of this veteran. At least on the surface, he did a good job in communication and exchange with his teammates.

The players stood in three neat rows in front of Ye Qiu, all looking at the head coach, waiting for a lecture.

"The pleasant vacation is over, everyone, welcome back to the devil's purgatory to be tortured!"

Ye Qiu's first words made all the players present smile, because the season was indeed purgatory for them.

During the ten-month period, they could not relax even a little bit. In addition to games every day, they trained. Everything must be based on ensuring the team's results and game performance. Whoever performed poorly would be on the bench, and even Leaving the team after the season brings huge competitive pressure to every player.

"First of all, I must give everyone recognition that I was quite satisfied with your performance last season!"

Having said this, Ye Qiu also noticed the expressions of several players, nodded and smiled, "Yes, I'm just quite satisfied. The reason why we can't be more satisfied is mainly because we didn't win the Eredivisie championship!"

This is the pain in the hearts of all Ajax players, especially for this group of young players. It was the first time that they were so close to a professional league championship, but they were just one step away from grabbing it. In the end, he watched helplessly as his opponent snatched it from his hand. The feeling was as painful as tearing out their flesh.

"I believe that everyone will not be willing to accept such a failure, so I also believe that everyone must feel the same as me, not satisfied with the results of last season. Even though we won the UEFA Cup, we also lost the Dutch Eredivisie. Champion, the former is our glory, but the latter is our shame!”

Ye Qiu became more and more serious as he spoke, and the players became more and more angry.

"I said that we must completely wash away the shame of last season in the new season. I want you to kick PSV out of the Eredivisie championship. I want you to completely end PSV's dominance of the Eredivisie. , I want you to work together to create a new dynasty for Ajax, and let the Eredivisie enter the era of your dominance starting from this season!”

Ye Qiu's words made all the players present raise their heads and chests, puffed up and showing high morale.

"I have summarized the reasons for the failure of last season. There are several reasons. The first one is that we lost too many points. The league is a long contest. We must always remain strong during this long confrontation. combat effectiveness, so all of your players are crucial and indispensable to us at Ajax!”

"So I hope all of you have a consciousness in your mind that in our team, in the long season, no one is indispensable to the team, because everyone is indispensable. Yes, no one can put the individual above the whole, because only by relying on the whole can we get to the end.”

"There are no main players and substitutes. Everyone is the main player and may become a substitute. As long as you work hard enough and perform enough, you will definitely have the opportunity to play the main force. This is what I want before the season. I'm telling you, and in this long season, I will select players based on this criteria."

After a pause, Ye Qiu glanced at the players one by one, "What I want to build is a team that is hungry for competition, victory, and championships, and every player who makes up this team Players must have these spirits, otherwise, he will not deserve to stay in Ajax, no matter who he is!"

All the players at the scene heard Ye Qiu's solemn lecture, and they all knew in their hearts that the head coach's emphasis on discipline was to remind them once again that none of them were indispensable to the team.

This is necessary, because after the team's outstanding performance last season, several players have been clearly regarded as promising stars for the future. They have been generally noted by the European media and have become stars. , once such players are not given the tightening spell of discipline again, they will easily become undisciplined, which will affect the team.

After hitting the player with a big stick on the head, Ye Qiu also wanted to lighten the atmosphere.

"Next, let me talk about the training arrangements later!"

"Before you warm up, each of you go to that room over there." Ye Qiu pointed to a room next to the gym downstairs in the first team training building, "From today on, you must go to that room every day. Let the physical coach Mr. Peter Brandt conduct a physical examination for you."

"This kind of physical examination is a little more troublesome, but it can help you avoid injuries as much as possible!"

When the players heard this, their eyes immediately lit up. Even a young man like Van der Vaart welcomed Ye Qiu's request, because Van der Vaart himself lost his main position due to injury.

Moreover, as a professional player, everyone knows that injuries are the biggest enemy of any professional player.

In order to introduce such a system, Ye Qiu spent more than one million euros to import it from the United States. I heard that many clubs in the NBA, rugby, baseball and other American professional leagues use this type of system. The only difference is that each There are various specializations. For example, Ajax has many young players and needs to detect some data that other players with more adult players do not need to detect. This will be more troublesome, but it can protect players in a targeted manner.

"Another thing is that the captain of our team in the new season will be Edwin Van der Sar, and Gilberto Silva will be the vice-captain of the team!" Ye Qiu announced this new appointment, "I hope, Both the captain and vice-captain can lead by example and better unite the team. I believe that under the leadership of the captain and vice-captain, the Ajax locker room will be more united!"

Gilberto Silva, Van der Vaart and Kivu are the three most likely candidates to compete for the captaincy. Gilberto Silva, in particular, is considered the top candidate for the captaincy. After Ye Qiu settled the matter, this appointment was not difficult at all and was directly approved.

Moreover, Van der Sar's reputation is there. Even if he performed poorly in Juventus, his status and influence are obviously higher than all the current players. If he does not become the captain, who can convince him?

Seeing that no one had any objections, Ye Qiu waved his hand and everyone went to the testing room to find Peter Brandt.

…………

…………

The change from Fred Grimm to Edwin van der Sar in goalkeeper has made obvious changes to Ajax's defensive system, especially in the interaction and cooperation between the goalkeeper and the back line.

Van der Sar is a sweeper goalkeeper who has strong ball control ability. Therefore, his technical skills and passing ability ensure that he can become the first choice for defenders to knock back after being pressed. This can be seen from his high success rate when he played the role of a wall player in the Ajax first team's wall game.

If we analyze it carefully, the wall player in the wall game cannot stick to the ball and must touch the ball with one foot, which is very similar to the situation of the goalkeeper when being pressed in the frontcourt, and Van der Sar's one-touch ability is very good.

In the past, Ajax's central defender combination of Kivo and Lucio, both players have strong technical skills.

Kivo's characteristics are excellent passing ability and certain organizational ability, which is related to his playing in the midfield, but he is short, fast, likes to grab, and is relatively young now. He is undergoing training and accumulating experience in a rapid progress stage, so there will be some mistakes occasionally.

Lucio is a combination of an angel and a devil. He can bring a qualitative leap in the team's offense and defense, but his mistakes often send the team into hell. However, after a season of training in the Eredivisie and the UEFA Cup, Lucio's progress is obvious.

It is impossible to transform two players in one year, so Ye Qiu wants to try to let Van der Sar command the team's back line defense, because his position is the farthest back and his vision is the best in the team.

And Ye Qiu is still thinking, Kifu, Lucio and Van der Sar are all players with excellent passing ability, and Kifu and Van der Sar's long pass skills are very solid. In Ajax's tactical system, can they form a backcourt ball control and long pass counterattack mechanism around them?

Of course, Ye Qiu didn't want to transfer the ball control core to the backcourt, that was impossible, because a very important point of high-position defense is that once the team presses forward, the ball control area should maintain a direct threat to the opponent's 30-meter area, that is, control the ball in the 30-meter area. If the central defender presses so high, doesn't it mean that the goal is directly exposed to the opponent's gun?

Ye Qiu's idea is that when the team's offense is frustrated, there will be a stable receiving point behind him. After the central defender and goalkeeper re-sort the ball, the ball will be sent forward, which can ensure Ajax's ball possession rate and secondary attack. At the same time, when defending and counterattacking, Kivu and Van der Sar's long passes will definitely create threats.

However, to achieve this, it undoubtedly requires running-in and time.

Fusion is based on mutual understanding. If you don't understand each other, what is the point of talking about fusion?

When Ye Qiu communicated his ideas with other members of the coaching staff, they all felt that this would be a bold move, but it might have unexpected effects, because in this way, Ajax would have stable ball control points on all three lines, which would greatly improve the team's overall control.

After the UEFA Cup final, Ye Qiu trusted Maicon more. He decided to use Maicon as the right back in the new season and promoted the Brazilian to be the main player. Ye Qiu was also looking forward to it. Whether it was Maicon + Van der Vaart or Maicon + Van der Meyde, Ajax's right side would become a highlight of the team's offense in the new season.

If the right side is the area with the most offensive momentum of the team, then the situation on the left side is more special.

The left winger is Robben. Robben is a player with very strong ability to fight alone. There is no second person in the Eredivisie to compete with his personal attacking ability. However, the full-back Abidal has excellent one-on-one defense and his positional sense has improved significantly in the past two years, but his contribution on the offensive end is very small. He is more of a support and passes more short passes to teammates.

In this case, it is very important to arrange a player like Keita who can go up and down, attack and defend on the left, because he can well connect the gap between Abidal and Robben, and cover the space from the penalty area to the penalty area on the left half. Whether it is attacking or defending, he has enough ability to complete the task.

If the right side is a storm, lightning and thunder, then the left side is as stable as a rock and solid as a rock; if the right side is the main attack, then the left side is the main suppression.

As for the middle, Ibrahimovic, Sneijder, Gilberto Silva, Lucio, Kivu and Van der Sar, this central axis will connect the tactical system of the entire Ajax team more. Whether it is the left or the right side, it needs to be integrated into the advance and retreat of the middle to play the greatest power.

Ye Qiu has undoubtedly successfully created a new framework for Ajax. Now all he needs to do is to constantly adjust and improve a series of details within this framework, thereby stimulating the team's stronger combat effectiveness.