The Godfather of Football

"From now on, you will receive two hours of tactical knowledge training every day, and what I want to tell you today is what our tactical framework for the new season is like? What are our core elements?"

At 4 o'clock in the afternoon of the first day of the training camp, the Ajax first team held the first tactical preparation meeting after the training camp in the tactical preparation room. The meeting lasted for two hours, followed by a half-hour break, and the third training session at 6:30.

Three training sessions a day, this is the training plan finalized by Ye Qiu during the season preparation.

"I believe all of you know that tactics are constantly evolving. The tactics in the past were loose and not rigorous enough. The tactics at that time emphasized more on positional competition. What does this mean?"

"To put it simply, forwards vs. center backs, wingers vs. wing backs, midfielders vs. midfielders, this is positional competition, and in this kind of positional competition, what determines the victory of a football game is the individual strength of the players. The more positional competitions you win, the more you can win a game."

This is not difficult to understand. Ye Qiu prepared for this tactical class for a long time, and even studied it with Bobby Hams and others for a long time. It was not easy to sort out such an easy-to-understand tactical analysis.

Therefore, many players at the scene nodded after listening to it.

"But I want to tell you that in the past one or two years, and even in the future, football tactical formations will be more compact and rigorous than ever before, and the utilization rate of every inch of space on the court will be higher. In this case, the players will respond to each other more frequently, and the match will no longer determine the victory of a game!"

This is not difficult to understand. In the past, there were not many responses, and it was easy to fall into a one-on-one situation, but now it is rigorous and there are more responses. It is easy to fall into a one-on-two or even one-on-many situation, so Ye Qiu's words also made this group of players who have played football understand it at once.

"What determines the victory of the game?"

The answer is already very clear.

"Teamwork!" Ye Qiu wrote this word on the tactical blackboard, "And in teamwork, the most important thing is running without the ball. This is the foundation of a team's survival and the key to a team's victory, because in a game, most of the time, the players are in a state without the ball, right?"

After that, Ye Qiu released a video.

The video is a scene of Ajax II playing in the cup last season.

Huntelaar pulled out a central defender of the opponent, Sneijder made a lob pass behind him, and Van der Vaart made a diagonal run into the penalty area, taking advantage of the gap exposed by the central defender of the opponent being pulled out of the defense zone. After successfully countering the offside, he got the ball and formed a single shot.

"This is a difficult question. When Huntelaar retreats, should the central defender follow or not?"

The players on the scene all showed a thoughtful look, which was also the effect Ye Qiu wanted, so that they could think more.

"Follow, there will naturally be a gap behind him. If not, Huntelaar can easily get the ball, and at this time we can have more offensive routines, such as Huntelaar getting the ball, Sneijder suddenly advances, attracts the defensive player, and then passes the ball diagonally to Van der Vaart, which can still create a threat!"

Everyone showed a thoughtful look, and they all knew that Ye Qiu was right.

At this time, Kivu raised his hand, "Boss, according to what you said, if we encounter such an attack, how do we defend?"

Ye Qiu wanted to speak freely, so he smiled and motioned Kivu to sit down, "It's very simple. If we work as a team, the midfielder retreats, Huntelaar retreats, the midfielder will block it first, and then the forwards will retreat in turn. The whole team's defense system remains tight and rigorous, and the problem is solved!"

"So, this tells us a very important truth. Offense is not the responsibility of the offensive players, and defense is not just the responsibility of the defensive players. We are a whole, and we are the offensive players. Offense and defense are a whole, and running can make our whole run more smoothly, more controlled, and stronger. "

"I can even say that as long as the tactical formation continues to develop towards compactness and rigor, the importance of off-ball running will become greater and greater. Teams without a reasonable and excellent off-ball running system will be eliminated, and players who lack off-ball running awareness will also be eliminated!"

Ye Qiu said this very confidently and decisively, and made all the players present clearly realize the importance of off-ball running, both for the team and for themselves.

After making everyone realize the importance of off-ball running, Ye Qiu spent a lot of time explaining his understanding of off-ball running, as well as the use and requirements of off-ball running in training, all of which are to enable all players to have a deeper understanding of Ye Qiu's training objectives and tactical requirements.

A person will only accept and work hard when he understands why he does something.

After talking about off-ball running, Ye Qiu spent a long time analyzing his specific tactical framework and tactical settings, using some replays and videos, as well as the team's 433 positioning, movement and area control diagram he had drawn earlier, so that every player would understand their specific responsibilities in this set of tactics.

Ye Qiu knows exactly what the full-backs, midfielders, and forwards should do, so he uses this method to instill it into the players so that they can understand it, but this is just the beginning, because after understanding, you need to be familiar with it, know how to use it, and know how to maintain coordinated operations.

It can be said that there is still a long way to go, but Ye Qiu must move forward step by step.

…………

…………

"I really didn't expect that the boss did so many things without us knowing!"

When he returned to the locker room to rest and prepare for the third training session, Sneijder said in disbelief, because Ye Qiu instilled a lot of tactical knowledge and content related to the team in this two-hour tactical class.

"I think the boss's tactics are further improved on the basis of the second team. It is still 433, but many details have changed. For example, the forward pays more attention to the connection and response with the left and right wingers. This aspect is my weakness!" Huntelaar saw his shortcomings.

"Don't worry, the boss also said that as long as you work hard, there is nothing you can't do!" Van der Vaart comforted.

They are all veterans of the second team last season. They admire Ye Qiu and have no doubts, but the new players are not so easy to be convinced.

"Don't you ever doubt that what the boss said may be just empty words, and may not necessarily be right. What tactical rigor and teamwork, doesn't it mean that the forwards should also be involved in defense and the defenders should also participate in offense? If everyone runs like this, the forwards will come back to defend, and their physical energy will be seriously consumed. How can they have time to score goals?"

Ibrahimovic is a thorn in the side, and he also has a sense of fear and resistance towards Ye Qiu. In addition, he himself is not the kind of player who likes to run a lot, so naturally he is a little resistant.

"You will doubt it because you have never participated, but we..." Van der Vaart glanced at the teammates beside him with a proud face, "... We are the witnesses of the boss's team football!"

"That's right, how do you think we won the Dutch Cup?" Sneijder also responded.

As soon as this matter was mentioned, the locker room suddenly became noisy. All the new players who joined the team had never heard of this before. After arriving in Amsterdam, they vaguely heard some clues, but never understood the truth of the matter. Now that Van der Vaart and Sneijder said it, they naturally became interested and asked about it.

"We were still in the second team at that time!" Kifu took the initiative to tell everyone about the process, "I was later demoted to the first team, and they were all promoted from the youth team. At that time, our team was basically a group of players around 16 years old. No one would look down on us because the teams participating in the Dutch Cup were all professional league teams."

How big the gap between professional teams and youth teams is, even amateur fans know, let alone this group of professional players.

After listening to Kifu's words, even a proud Ibrahimovic came closer and listened attentively.

"We were playing against the Go Ahead Eagles of the Eredivisie. Everyone said we would lose, but in the end, we defeated our opponents and advanced to the next round. That's nothing, but we drew PSV!"

"The Eredivisie champion last season, PSV?" Gilberto Silva was a little surprised. He knew this team.

"Yes, PSV was invincible in the Eredivisie at that time. They never lost a game in the Netherlands. In Europe, they were on par with teams like Bayern and Valencia. They had famous players like Van Nistelrooy and Van Bommel, and they just beat our first team 4:0 at the Arena Stadium!"

"It's over, it's over, you're dead?" Yaya Toure shouted in a panic.

Ibrahimovic glanced at him, "They won the championship in the end, how could they be dead?"

Yaya Toure immediately realized that he was wrong, laughed, and simply stopped talking.

"That's right. At that time, the whole Netherlands thought we were doomed. Even the fans of Ajax thought we were doomed. The club's management also thought we were doomed. The chairman also said that as long as we didn't lose too badly, it would be fine!" Kivu laughed and said. I didn't know that this guy was good at speaking.

Everyone in the locker room heard this and felt depressed. At that time, it could be said that there was no chance of survival. Who would still think about winning?

"Then how did you beat PSV in the end?" Gilberto Silva asked with concern.

Van der Vaart laughed, "Everyone thought we were going to lose, and we also thought we were going to lose, but the boss kept telling us, who the hell was going to lose? He kept telling us that as long as we were willing to fight, no one on the football field was born a loser. Even if it was the powerful PSV, we had to kill him!"

"Well said!" Lucio didn't say much, but he was very tough. He felt that Ye Qiu liked him.

People who play football are passionate. After hearing Ye Qiu say this, many people present looked at the gentle head coach with a new respect. Even Ibrahimovic, who was not very sensitive to Ye Qiu, couldn't help but show his admiration.

"We have little capital. In terms of strength, we are not as good as our opponents, and in terms of experience, we are not as good as our opponents. We lose everything, but the boss told us that there are two things we cannot lose. One is the whole body. We are a team. We are facing This is a war, and we all have to advance and retreat together. Whoever is timid or selfish is the turtle bastard!"

"well said!"

"That's how it should be!"

There was a burst of response in the locker room, and many players became excited.

"The other thing is fighting spirit. I dare to say this. No one has confidence in us, but the boss always has confidence in us and keeps encouraging us!"

Speaking of this, Van der Vaart looked at Kivu, Sneijder and others. Even Abidal, who was silent, couldn't help showing a look of nostalgia. This made everyone present feel that professional players like this If you can have such a competition in your life, you will be proud of it for the rest of your life!

"That game was very difficult, very difficult. PSV took all the advantages and pressed us to keep playing and keep playing. We were unable to fight back and were almost beaten. We couldn’t support it anymore, but we all gritted our teeth and held on to our last breath, because none of us wanted to be the first turtle bastard to give up on our teammates!”

Everyone present has played football or watched football. Naturally, they know what kind of passive situation the weaker side will be in when the strength gap is huge. They can also naturally imagine that this group of Ajas at that time How much pressure and pain did the players of the second team of Kekes bear?

But they ended up beating PSV, so what does that prove?

Doesn't it prove what Ye Qiu said?

Team is the key and foundation for a team to win!

"After defeating PSV, what's next?" Maicon saw that no one asked and the locker room was quiet, so he mustered up the courage to ask his doubts.

Kivu smiled and took over what Van der Vaart said, "After defeating Eindhoven, it was just the beginning, but it brought us unprecedented confidence and made all of us convinced that what the boss said That’s right, as long as we unite and advance and retreat together, there is no opponent in this world that we can’t defeat!”

“After that, we met Utrecht, Heerenveen, and finally Feyenoord in the final!”

Each of the three teams ranked higher than Ajax in the Eredivisie last season, which shows the strength of these three teams. Among them, Heerenveen and Feyenoord ranked third respectively. The second and third teams have both reached the Champions League, and their strength is even more extraordinary.

It can be said that any team has the ability to crush this weak youth team to death.

However, Ajax's second team had the last laugh and won the Dutch Cup.

Without understanding the situation and the opponent, when everyone heard that the second team won the Dutch Cup, they would just laugh. At most, they would just say the previous sentence, it is not easy, but only by truly understanding the opponent and the environment, After understanding the situation, they will know how difficult it is.

"At that time, we were playing very hard in every game, and we were risking our lives in every game, but we trusted our leader from the beginning to the end. If he said to go east, we would go east. He said go west, so we went west without hesitation. In the end, we had the last laugh and won the championship!”

The locker room was quiet, and everyone could feel that this group of players who came up from the Ajax second team had such a unique temperament in their spirit, or in other words, each of them looked like They all have such a stubbornness that refuses to admit defeat.

This is a group of soldiers who have experienced cruel baptism. Everyone can easily feel their tenacious style on the court and their fighting spirit to fight to the last minute and second.

These are the players brought out by head coach Ye Qiu!

Everyone was speechless for a moment, because from the words of this group of players from the second team, they had a more comprehensive understanding of their head coach, and they all had a stronger sense of trust in the head coach from the bottom of their hearts.

More than half a year ago, the head coach said he would lead this young second team to win the Dutch Cup, and he did it.

Half a year later this year, he said that he would lead this group of unknown young players to win the Eredivisie championship, and he would definitely be able to do it.

Even the arrogant Ibrahimovic's impression of Ye Qiu changed greatly after hearing what Van der Vaart and others said. At least he felt less afraid of Ye Qiu because he had never been afraid of Ye Qiu. In the words of Van der Vaart and others, he could feel the trust between them.

This is what Ye Qiu said at the tactical preparation meeting. The most important thing for a team is mutual trust.

Passing relies on trust, assists rely on trust, and all cooperation on the football field is based on trust.

Without trust, any team is in disarray.

Perhaps seeing that no one spoke and the locker room was quiet, Van der Vaart stood up and smiled, "So, I never doubt what the boss said. If he says we can do it, then we can definitely do it." Do it, I won’t doubt it, because that’s not what I should care about.”

"For me, trusting our leader, doing what he asks, and doing our best is enough!"

"Rafael is right. If the boss can say it, he will definitely do it!" Kivu also agreed with this point.

"Okay, it's time to go out for training!" Fred Grimm clapped his hands and shouted. He looked a little embarrassed, because he was a player of the first team last season. The glory of the second team was not something he was proud of. Instead, he felt ashamed and embarrassed.

Ye Qiu really didn't know that his players would have such a conversation in the locker room after the training session, but he clearly felt that the players' training enthusiasm in the last training session in the afternoon was much higher. This was a good phenomenon, and he felt happy in his heart.

He was also more confident about the future!