August 3, 2000, Amsterdam Arena, the first match of the Amsterdam Cup Invitational Tournament.

Hosts Ajax take on Serie A champions Lazio.

Ajax have been depressed in their last two warm-up games.

The game against Anderlecht reversed the opponent, although the scene was bad, but at least it was won, but the game against Werder Bremen, which lost 0:2 away, made Ajax encounter a wave of doubts, because the team's performance did not improve much, which made Ajax feel depressed.

Among them, the most frustrating is Ibrahimovic, who has not played in two games.

In Ajax's first team, there are two who have not played in two games, one is Gilberto? Silva, but he is injured, and the other is Ibrahimovic, Ye Qiu did not let him go, which made Ibrahimovic very depressed.

But what made him even more depressed was that in the third warm-up match against Lazio, Ye Qiu let him go, but he met Nesta.

The team was at a disadvantage, so after the opening, Ajax was more inclined to defensively, Lazio was attacking mainly against the visitors, and the home team's first threatening attack came in the 7th minute, Robben took the ball on the left flank and broke through Pancaro and passed behind the opposition defence, Ibrahimovic followed all the way from behind.

To say that Ibrahimovic is tall and not very explosive, but not too bad, and the speed is not bad, and the kick given by Robben is obviously on the left side of the small penalty area, as long as he plugs in, he can basically get a chance.

But the problem is that Nesta seemed to judge Ibrahimovic's running in advance, and stopped in front of him, limiting his speed with his body, so that he could not insert into the left side of the small penalty area in time to respond, and finally could only watch the ball go out of the bottom line.

The Swede was so depressed that he couldn't wait to push Nesta directly from behind.

The second direct confrontation between the two came in the 13th minute, when it was Ajax who counter-attacked.

Sneijder split the ball down the left, Robben cut in quickly from the left, and was disrupted by Pancarro's ferocious tackle.

After Ibrahimovic got the ball, he wanted to control the ball, but at this time, Nesta suddenly appeared in front of him, took advantage of Ibrahimovic's ball, decisively seized the opportunity, stabbed the ball with his foot, and directly poked the ball, once again ruined an attack of Ajax, and at the same time made the Swede once again depressed and frustrated.

Ibrahimovic is not the only one who is depressed about Nesta.

Robben once dribbled the ball against offside, obviously he had crossed Pancaro, but Nesta suddenly inserted to the right side to help defend, blocked Robben with his body, and after breaking the ball with his feet, he calmly dribbled and turned, and then passed the ball to Stankovic.

Immediately afterwards, Van der Vaart cut inside with the ball and cut straight through, Ibrahimovic originally wanted to carry Nesta with his body, but he didn't expect that the Italian central defender chose to go around the front defense and intercept the ball passed to Ibrahimovic in advance.

This series of blows made the Swedes look depressed, but Ye Qiu on the sidelines looked at it and smiled.

"I'm afraid this kid is going to meet a powerful opponent!" Bobby? Harms said with a smile.

Ibrahimovic seems to be a boy who has never seen the world, and his opponents in the past are basically in Sweden, and after coming to Ajax, he has suffered a series of blows, first against defenders like Lucio and Abidal, who are not afraid of his body, and at the same time against a group of players such as Robben and Van der Vaart, who are not inferior to him in terms of skill and personal ability.

This time, he directly faced the leading central defender in Serie A, and I am afraid that he will suffer from it.

"You did it on purpose, didn't you?" Bobby? Harms looked at Ye Qiu with a malicious expression.

In the first two games, he deliberately stayed up with Ibrahimovic, which made his heart blocked, and now as soon as he played, Ibrahimovic naturally tried every possible way to show his strength, but he met a strong opponent like Nesta, which must have been a series of blows for Ibrahimovic.

"This kid has strength, and he doesn't have to say anything about his skills, his talent is very good, the key is here!" Ye Qiu pointed to his head, he felt that Yibu's biggest problem was his mentality and temper.

If Ibrahimovic wants to learn how to work with a team, it's best to make him understand that he can't do it alone, he needs the support of his teammates, and at the same time, he needs to be motivated to see what kind of player is like in the world.

"Aren't you afraid that this dose will come too violently?" Bobby? Harms asked with a smile.

Ye Qiu smiled slightly, "It depends on the person, I think his psychological ability to withstand pressure is not too low!" ”

When he said this, Ye Qiu turned around and looked at Van Basten, "Marco, after you go back, according to his performance in the game, make a technical evaluation and analysis report, and you will take the lead and dig out all his problems!" ”

Van Basten smiled and nodded in agreement, he is experienced in scoring goals, but as a coach, it is new to him to teach others how to score goals and runs, but it is not difficult for him.

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While Ibrahimovic was helpless when he met Nesta, Lazio's attack met Ajax's defence and was equally helpless.

The Serie A champions have been training for a while, but it is clear that they have not adjusted to the level of fitness for the game, especially in attack, even for the number one star Nedved as hard and hard as ever, Stankovic is as good as ever, but the new signing Crespo just failed to score the ball into the Ajax goal.

Gilberto? Silva has been very good in the midfield position, he doesn't move a lot vertically, but he does a very good job of moving laterally, especially in the protection of the defence, covering the area and defending, which he does very well.

What's even more rare is that Gilberto? Silva is a Brazilian player in the end, the basic technical ability is not weak, there is a certain ability to play the ball, when the opponent scores into the 30-meter area, when the team fully retreats, basically can firmly control the 18 to 25 meters in front of the goal, which is the so-called front of the penalty area.

"What a wall this Brazilian is!" Bobby? Hams had a pair of eagle eyes, and immediately saw Ajax's defense, the reason why he was able to freeze Lazio's attack, on the one hand, in addition to Lazio's poor form, there is also an important aspect is Gilberto? Silva's protection of the defensive line.

Lucio is still out of his position frequently, and McCone is often involved in the attack, and the two Brazilians have not yet formed a good enough tacit understanding with each other, but Gilberto? Silva's presence in the midfield position has allowed their recklessness to be exploited by the opposition.

"It's a hidden danger!" Blind himself is a defender and immediately saw the problem of teaming up at the back.

Ye Qiu also understands, "Lucio and McConn are both the kind of players who have a strong ability to plug in the back, they both have the ability to easily move forward with the ball, especially McConn, who has a better ability to promote, but the defender's ability to propulsion, while making a great contribution to the offense, often represents a huge hidden danger." ”

'Coordinate the division of work at the back, avoid two players getting involved in the attack at the same time, and use the running ability of the midfielders and Gilberto? Silva's positioning and defensive ability should be able to minimize the problems exposed by defenders inserting into the attack, right? "Bobby? Harms was experienced, and he could see Ye Qiu's abacus at once.

Ye Qiu smiled, he was recently studying a book by Ferguson, called "Looking at the Midfield Configuration of Modern Football", which contains some of Ferguson's understanding of the role of modern football midfield, as well as targeted functional configuration.

First of all, there must be players who can pass, distribute and transfer the ball, and players who can dribble the ball forward to create depth attacks, but also need to have the ability to use the space, especially when the ball is advanced to 32 meters, and there must be someone who can protect the defence and firmly control the edge of the box.

Look at Manchester United's golden midfield in '99, Beckham's large-scale transfer and deep advancement; Ryan Giggs dribbles deep and plays wide to create width; Scholes cut in after 32 meters, and the last pass at the most; and Keane's protection of the defence, as well as his ability to dispatch the ball.

These four people formed the Manchester United midfield, coupled with Ferguson's use of 442, each of them was assigned a reasonable running distance, coupled with tacit cooperation and strategy, which made Manchester United's black wind on the front line at that time only need to run to the open to respond, and there will naturally be people behind them to pass the ball and create opportunities.

And as a defensive side, in the face of such a combination of routines, it can be said that it is impossible to defend.

Ye Qiu also went to see the midfield configuration of AC Milan when he won the Champions League in 07, Gattuso area coverage and defensive supplements, this guy's running ability is against the sky, and it is not as stupid as many fans think; Andrea Pirlo is responsible for passing and advancing the ball widely, so he is always at the back.

Kaka took on two responsibilities, one was to drive the ball forward, and the other was to plug in within 32 meters.

Seedorf took on the responsibility of distributing the ball, but he could play a huge role in the team's transition between attack and defence.

In addition, like Liverpool's midfield, Barcelona's midfield, in fact, almost all midfielders are arranged around a set of responsibilities to arrange the midfield.

In other words, different teams, different player configurations, to put it bluntly, the allocation of authority is ever-changing.

Ye Qiu had already fully taken this into account when he was recruiting.

Gilberto? Silva's ability to protect and tackle the edge of the box, as well as the help of defenders when they cut forward; Yaya? Toure or Keita's ability to cover the ball and distribute the ball in a wide area, and they both have good attacking ability to cut back; Sneijder's ability to distribute the ball and deliver the ball in depth, as well as his ability to cut in from 32 yards.

As for the advancement of the ball, Robben's one-on-one breakthrough with the ball on the left, McCone's back-insertion on the right to advance with the ball, and even the ability of central defender Lucio to advance 10 meters after taking the ball, can help Ajax to effectively advance the ball.

From this point of view, when Ye Qiu formed the team, he had already given up Kaka very clearly, because Kaka's role in the current Ajax team has been replaced by other players, and one more Kaka has become a bad thing.

Of course, this is only a theoretical set of perfect midfield configurations, but there are many more factors that affect the operation of a midfield, such as the degree of cooperation between the players, the orderly movement of the players, and the awareness of keeping an appropriate distance from each other.

"I need more time!" Ye Qiu said with a smile.

He has enough confidence in his own set of personnel, and more needs to be carved and improved in some details, such as Robben's sense of cooperation, such as Ibrahimovic's details and playing habits, etc., which will take time to polish.

Yaya? Toure is currently playing in midfield with an attacking bias, but he has excellent running ability, plenty of energy, and a little younger, but Keita, who has more professional experience, and he is also the best player of the 1999 World Youth Championships, and is the typical box-to-box all-round player.

Therefore, after a period of investigation and observation of the game, Ye Qiu has preliminarily formulated the main lineup of the team.

The goalkeeper is definitely the veteran Grim as there is no more suitable candidate at the moment.

Abidal on the left side of the backline, Kivu and Lucio formed the defensive line, and the right side was handed over to the more attacking McConn, Heitinga, Colo? Toure, Frenkie de Jong and Maduro are all suitable substitutes.

Sneijder, Gilberto in midfield? Silva and Keita, the front three are Robben and Van der Vaart, respectively, on the left and right wings, and Huntelaar and Ibrahimovic in the middle, depending on the situation.

For Ye Qiu's lineup and tactical arrangement, Bobby? Harms and others understand and support them, even if they are experienced like Bobby? Harms felt that Ye Qiu's lineup arrangement and tactical arrangement did not have the slightest problem, and it could even be said that it was very exciting.

But in football, a lot of times, fans and the media don't pay attention to your manager's intentions, and their only concern is whether the game is won or not, and whether there are stars in the team.

Ye Qiu was better, and Van Praag personally gave assurance and support, so he could slowly start his own layout.

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The match against Lazio ended up being 0-0, with neither side able to score.

This also fully demonstrates the progress made by Ye Qiu in the team's defensive transformation, although there are still a lot of problems exposed in the game, but at the very least, the team has withstood Lazio's offensive pressure very well.

On the contrary, on the offensive side of the team, Ibrahimovic was abused by Nesta throughout the game and could not find the north, he was targeted by Nesta and disappeared all over the field, and even only had a pitiful 1 shot on goal in the whole game, which was definitely a painful blow to the Swedish center forward who was ambitious before the game and wanted to show his strength.

After the game, Ye Qiu praised the team's performance and thought that the players' performance was worthy of recognition.

'I understand that a lot of people want the team to win every game and they want us to beat every opponent and I want that myself, but we are a young, newly restructured team and I want everyone to give us more patience and confidence.

"I am confident that in the next two months, we will grind into a model and show strong enough!"

Ye Qiu's answer in an interview with reporters after the game was obviously not satisfactory, because most of the outside was full of questions about Ye Qiu's lack of experience and Ajax's youthfulness, but Gilberto? Several young players such as Silva, Arjen Robben, Van der Vaart, Abidal and Kivo have all won the praise.

Especially against Lazio, Gilberto? Silva's performance in midfield has been very solid and eye-catching.

However, Ibrahimovic, who was brought in at a high price this season, performed very badly, and was voted the worst player of the game after the game, and many fans also deducted the title of parallel goods to him, believing that he could not bear the responsibility of attacking the Ajax forward line.

But fans have not paid as much attention to Ajax as they have been to Barcelona.

The match between Barcelona and Arsenal left the Arena to the full, compared to Ajax's debut at home, but only half the attendance, the difference between the stars and the stars can be seen.

However, the La Liga giants were not ambiguous, beating Arsenal 2-1.

But Arsene Wenger's side soon took all their anger out on Ajax.

Arjen Robben, who has been in excellent form lately, was limited by Arsenal's Lauren on the right, Van der Vaart on the right was marked by Dixon, and Zlatan Ibrahimovic and substitute Huntelaar were spotted by Keown and Toney? Adams had no temper at all, and even Ajax's midfield was suppressed by the Gunners led by Patrick Vieira.

The forward line of Thierry Henry and Bergkamp took advantage of two errors in the Ajax backline to find the back of the net twice to help Arsenal beat hosts Ajax 2-0.

As a result, all four games were lost.

Barcelona have four points from one win and one draw, but they have nine points thanks to a 3-3 draw against Lazio and five goals.

Arsenal are in second place with six points with one win and three goals.

Lazio got 5 points with 2 draws and 3 goals, Ajax drew 1 and lost 1, did not score, and finally got 1 point, ranking at the bottom of the group, and it is the kind with a huge gap.

If you look at it purely from the perspective of the relationship between victory and defeat, Ajax's performance is not too bad, at least it is evenly matched with Lazio, and playing with a strong team like Arsenal, the strength and scene are very passive, but this is also a normal performance.

But the problem is that from the standings, Ajax really lost too badly, especially the lack of goals, which made Ye Qiu's team blamed by some Ajax fans, thinking that the reason why Ye Qiu's team was weak in attack was the most important thing caused by the blind purge after he took office.

To add insult to injury, after the Amsterdam Cup, Ajax played a warm-up match with Barcelona, and the home team lost 3-0 to Barcelona at the Arena Stadium.

In an interview after the game, Barcelona's manager at the time, Ferrer, said, "It was not a valuable warm-up game because there was a huge gap between us and our opponents, but we still gave our all, which made us unbeaten in our pre-season preparations and gave us confidence in the new season." ”

It is clear that in his eyes, there is no Ajax at all.