4 February, Amsterdam Arena.

In the quarterfinals of the Dutch Cup, Ajax played Feyenoord.

Seventy-five minutes into the second half, the score was still 1-1.

Ibrahimovic, who returned from injury, scored for the home side in the 20th minute, but Kuyt equalised for Feyenoord nine minutes later, with left winger Robin van Persie providing the assist.

Subsequently, the two teams once again fell into a stalemate between attack and defense.

A number of Ajax players were transferred by the national team, and the absence of the main right full-back Trabelsi caused the team's right side defense to encounter very big problems, especially the left attack combination of Feyenoord left winger Van Persie and left full-back Patrick Mtiliga, which made the Ajax defense frequently fall into a dangerous situation.

Towards the end of the first half, Escude's injury made matters worse for Ajax, but substitute Vermaelen was very brave and partnered with Heitinga to hold the Ajax defence.

However, in attack, Ajax still couldn't open up the situation, Ibrahimovic was closely watched by Feyenoord's two central defenders, Van den Berg and Van Vanderen, and Ajax's ball was difficult to get to the feet of the Swedish centre-forward.

Ronald Koeman then replaced the starting Mitya with Wesley Sonk in the hope of adding an attacking point up front, but Feyenoord boss Van Marwijk made two successive substitutions to freeze Ajax's attack again.

'Time is running out and neither side has been able to come up with an effective attacking approach at the moment, with Ronald Coman and Van Marwijk each having one substitution left to make a change in the game.

"But neither seems to be in a particularly hurry to make a substitution."

"If the 90-minute regular game is over, according to the rules of a single knockout match, the game will go to extra time, and if it is still tied, it will go to a penalty shootout."

'Although the penalty shoot-out is unpredictable, the disadvantages will undoubtedly be heavier for Ajax, who have a lower average age, and with this still their home turf, Feyenoord will be more mature.

"We can see that Ajax's No. 99 substitute Yang Yang has been warming up on the sidelines, and many fans in the stands are chanting his name, he has come off the bench in the last five games, and each time he has changed the trend of the game."

"But this time, I wonder if Ronald Coman will replace him?"

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"It's been almost eighty minutes."

Luther Carroll walked up to Ronald Coman and whispered.

Ronald Coman glanced up at the time, and had quietly jumped into seventy-nine minutes.

Time flies!

"Van Marwijk is waiting for me to make a substitution." Ronald Coman said with a frown.

In terms of strength, Ajax as a whole is not inferior to Feyenoord, and even has a slight advantage, but the team has just finished the winter break and ushered in a two-front battle, coupled with injuries and the impact of the Africa Cup of Nations, making it difficult to align the team's lineup.

Escude's injury in the first half also used up one of the team's valuable substitutions, which caused Ronald Koeman to become very passive now, wanting to make substitutions, but worrying about what if another player was injured or unable to survive after the substitution?

Also, Van Marwijk had one more substitution in his hands, and he was also motionless, obviously waiting for Koeman's move.

"You're saying he's hiding a card to restrain us?" Luther Carroll couldn't help but turn his head sideways and glance at the guy in front of the away team's dugout not far away, although he was only in his early fifties, he was already gray-haired.

"It should be a card to restrain Yang Yang." Coman guessed.

Luther Carroll's face also became solemn.

If it were to be like Ronald Koeman said, it would be tricky right now.

"It's supposed to be Ramon Van Halaen." Luther Carroll noticed the veteran sitting on the Feyenoord bench.

The 31-year-old veteran Van Haalen made his debut at Waalwijk and then moved to Roda JC to join Feyenoord through outstanding performances in 01 years, but he was never reused, always playing a substitute role.

But as a player who can be valued and brought in by Feyenoord, Van Haalen's ability is undoubted, but he is not fast, he is better at defending, and he is not liked by the manager Van Marwijk, so he has to play as a substitute.

Judging by his many appearances, this is a very good full-back.

At the age of thirty-one, his physical function is still good, but he has a lot of game experience, and he is a player with excellent defensive ability, if Van Marwijk uses Van Haalen to target Yang Yang, it is definitely possible.

But now, if you don't change Yang Yang, who can you change?

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"Yang Yang is just a fledgling kid, and only the media who chase the wind and shadows will praise him so well."

In front of the visitors' dugout, Van Marwijk stood straight and smiled.

Feyenoord's scouts have focused on Yang Yang, analysing all the game footage from his bench appearances, and the final conclusion is that the player's strengths and weaknesses are very clear.

His speed, one-on-one breakthrough ability, and high quality crosses are his strengths, but the disadvantages are also obvious, that is, he needs space, is afraid of close marking, and once he is close to the opponent, the mistakes in handling the ball begin to increase.

The most typical example was the game against Nijmegen three days ago, when he came on the pitch and orchestrated a sharp counter-attack, cutting inside from the right to cross to Van der Vaart, who set up Wesley Songk to open the scoring.

At first glance, it is indeed very eye-catching, but after careful investigation, it is not difficult to find that the main problem is that Nijmegen did not pay enough attention to Yang Yang, especially the left wingback Reva Cabesi, who consumed a lot of physical energy and wanted to defend Yang Yang in the same way as he defended Scola before, which gave the Chinese boy space.

After orchestrating a goal, Nijmegen tightened their focus on Yang Yang on the right flank, and his performance was greatly stifled after that.

With Yang Yang's current situation, it is definitely not a good thing to play the main force too early, it is better to let him come off the bench, continue to get opportunities to practice in the game, continue to polish and improve his skills, and wait until the time is ripe before stepping into the main position.

'It's not like Ronald Koeman's style of developing young players, it's like Louis van Gaal. When Van Marwijk mentioned Van Gaal's name, a hint of admiration flashed in his eyes, and the personal relationship is another matter, but Van Gaal's ability is undoubted.

At this time, he saw the home team's coach's box, assistant coach Luther Carroll finally walked to the bench and gently called the name of a player, and then saw Yang Yang get up from his seat, take off his long-sleeved tracksuit, and reveal the No. 99 jersey.

"Finally, I can't help it." Van Marwijk felt a sense of satisfaction in the press, and he also turned around and beckoned to the veteran Van Haalen who was sitting on the bench, who also immediately came over in understanding.

"See that kid ninety-nine?"

"See."

"Stare at him."

"Okay." Van Haalen replied lightly, then ran over to warm up and get ready to play.

Van Marwijk raised his head and stared straight at the pitch, a confident smile on his lips.

He has been in charge of Feyenoord for three years, finishing second in the league and second in the Dutch Cup, but most importantly it was the UEFA Cup winner, which he won in 2002 and proved to everyone that he is capable of coaching.

With the current strength of Feyenoord, it is undoubtedly extremely difficult to overtake Ajax and PSV Eindhoven in the league, so the Dutch Cup is Van Marwijk's breakthrough.

At present, there are many teams in the big four leagues who are extending olive branches to him, and he needs to prove himself with another weighty title, so that he can take this step in Dutch football and step more solidly.

PSV Eindhoven suffered a shock defeat to Breda and as long as Feyenoord can beat Ajax tonight to reach the last four, Van Marwijk will be confident enough to beat the other Eredivisie sides.

And to beat Ajax, the first thing you have to do is freeze the number ninety-nine who is standing on the sidelines and is about to come on as a substitute.

…………

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"Beep!"

The referee blew the whistle and reached ahead for a foul on Feyenoord and gave Ajax a set-piece near midfield, much to the displeasure of the Ajax players and the referee for an explanation.

Yang Yang sat on the ground, pulled down the socks, saw the kick on the calf, rubbed his muscles vigorously, rearranged the shin guards and socks, and stood up from the ground.

Just a moment ago, he just retreated to receive Sneijder's pass, and before he turned around, Van Haalen came up from behind to prevent him from turning around, and the two were entangled, Yang Yang passed the ball out, but Van Haalen did not retract his foot, and kicked directly on his calf.

The controversy among the Ajax players was that the referee should have given at least a yellow card or even a warning, but the referee clearly felt that his decision was reasonable and showed no favoritism.

Each referee has his own law enforcement standards, which Yang Yang can only accept, but for Van Halen......

'The Ajax players really need to be calm right now.

"There's not much time left in the game and they seem to be a little impatient, which is not a good sign."

"Instead of chasing the referee for an explanation, it's better to focus on the game and try to play a threatening attack as soon as possible."

Head coach Ronald Koeman also kept shouting at his players from the sidelines, signaling them not to rush and hurry back to the game.

The Ajax players were back on the pitch and the game was restarted.

Feyenoord's left full-back Van Haalen, who had just come on as a substitute, still followed Yang Yang inch by inch, no matter where Yang Yang ran, as long as he received the ball, Van Haalen could always stick behind him as soon as possible.

It's okay to catch the ball, but don't try to turn around.

This made Yang Yang play very awkwardly, and he could only be forced to pass back every time he received the ball.

Not only him, but the players on the Ajax stadium played awkwardly, and the fans in the stands also looked very awkward.

But time is running out.