"The ship of Ajax is in turmoil, if you love him, then fight for him!"

This is what manager Ye Qiu said to the players in the dressing room before the Dutch Cup semi-final between De Tokmostt and Ajax II against Heerenveen on the afternoon of April 5, 2000.

There is no need for too much hype, and there is no need for too much motivation, and all the players can clearly understand the current situation at Ajax, because there are many staff members they know well have left, and there are also some players they know well who have submitted transfer applications.

If you say that the wind and rain are shaking, it can be regarded as light, and if it is serious, it can even be said to be sinking.

Most of them come from De Tokmost, Huntelaar is not an Ajax academy player, but he loves the team, and Abidal sees Ajax as the first stop of his career, so no one wants to see Ajax fall or see the team they play for sink.

It's drizzling in the sky, but the players don't care about that anymore, they tackle when they should tackle on the pitch, they fall to the ground when they should fall, and no one has the energy to care about whether the rain is heavy or not, whether their uniforms are dirty or not, whether their hair is messy or not, it doesn't matter anymore.

They were not alone, because Ye Qiu was with them from beginning to end, constantly cheering them on.

After these two games in Eindhoven and Utrecht, everyone has clearly understood the tenacity of the Ajax second team, and no one dares to look down on this youth team easily, on the contrary, in the eyes of many people, this second team is even more difficult and tenacious than the first team of Ajax.

There is absolutely no doubt about Heerenveen's quality, who are still second in the league at the end of the season, beating the likes of Feyenoord, Vitesse, FC Twente and AZ Alkmaar.

Gone Harris during the winter break? Huizinger was a terrible blow to Heerenveen's already modest attack, which made them completely lose the ability to continue chasing PSV Eindhoven in the second half, and the gap between the two sides widened, but the team's defense was very solid and unbreakable.

Ye Qiu has self-knowledge in his heart, Ajax second team can beat Eindhoven, the opponent's carelessness is a very important factor, can beat Utrecht, the other party's coach Mark? Walter's blind self-confidence and trustworthiness are important reasons.

But now, in the face of Heerenveen, in the face of this team that is not outstanding in offensive strength and relies more on defensive counterattacks to win, the second team of Ajax has no way at all, and the whole game is completely pressed by the opponent, and several counterattacks have not worked, but they were almost beaten by the opponent's counterattack.

He knew very well that this game was the most brutal and difficult game for Ajax II so far except for the one in PSV Eindhoven, but he kept shouting from the sidelines, reminding the players and adjusting the team's defense.

Yes, in such a game, it is impossible for him to take care of the offense at all, and can only let all the players concentrate all their energy on defending and defending to the end.

It's a realistic choice!

Ajax's defensive strength is not bad, the back line of Abidal, Kivo, Van Doyin and Heitinga is getting stronger and stronger, coupled with the three attacking and defensive midfielders De Jong, Maduro and Sneijder, Ajax II team can not expect to break down easily if they really want to hold the camp.

Moreover, after more than half a year, the players are more and more familiar with the overall defensive system from Rehhagel that Ye Qiu arranged before, and the organization is becoming more and more proficient, and the combination of Kifu and Van Duyne's two central defenders has also established a very good tacit understanding, which makes the defense of the second team of Ajax very solid.

Against PSV Eindhoven, this set of defense may not be effective, but when it comes to Heerenveen, Ye Qiu is still a little confident.

Continuing the tradition of past Ajax II matches, De Tokmost's home stadium was packed with onlookers, and the club continued to adopt the strategy of free admission for members, with more than 3,000 fans pouring into the stadium in total.

Ajax fans put all their hopes on the second team, and many of them even stood on the sidelines to cheer on the second team players despite the rain.

0:0 in the first half, their passion did not diminish because of this, and in the second half, they shouted even louder.

The fans shouted hard and the players performed equally well on the pitch.

All the second-team players played their 120,000 points on the court one by one, and they were always on guard against Heerenveen's attack, because they knew their own insignificance, knew the strength of the opponent, and clearly realized that as long as one negligence, the opponent could trample themselves to death.

As head coach Ye Qiu reminded at halftime, "If we want to win, then we can't even make a mistake!" ”

Not to make mistakes and to take the initiative to help your teammates make up for their mistakes has become the belief of the players on the pitch.

They completely forgot the time, forgot the score, forgot everything around them, and in their eyes, there were only opponents!

They all follow the arrangement of the head coach in their usual training, every step and every action is strictly demanding themselves, and they are all in accordance with the four standards of the ball, space, opponent and teammates, coupled with Ye Qiu's constant adjustments and instructions on the sidelines, the Ajax II team showed a surprising integrity in the game.

Even after 75 minutes, the physical fitness of both sides has declined significantly, and many players have begun to run without running, but the Ajax II team can still maintain a good integrity, and the three lines are kept very compact, and they always face Heerenveen's attack as a whole.

The rain finally stopped, but the race continued.

Ye Qiu stood on the sidelines, watching silently, constantly patrolling back and forth on the positions of the enemy and us.

"It's been 80 minutes!" Rick Link walked over and reminded.

Ye Qiu looked at the manual scoreboard on the sidelines, it was still 0:0, and the time showed that it had been 80 minutes.

There were only 10 minutes left until the end of the 90 minutes of normal game time, but his mood did not relax at all, on the contrary, he became more and more dignified.

Those who travel a hundred miles are half ninety, he understands this truth!

"Young, you go and sort out the information, I want the penalty report of each of their players, and the main goalkeeper Hans of the opposing side? All records of Funk penalty saves! Ye Qiu said with a heavy face.

Rick Link frowned, "You think it's going to be a penalty shootout?" ”

Ye Qiu shifted his attention to his assistant and asked with a wry smile, "Do you think we still have a chance?" ”

In the face of such a team that is already very good defensively, the Ajax second team can't find a chance in the whole game, is it still counting on a comeback at the last moment? What capital and chips are there?

Do you expect this group of sixteen or seventeen-year-old teenagers sitting on the bench?

"If we can score a penalty shoot-out, we will win!" After Ye Qiu finished speaking, he refocused his attention on the court.

Rick Link understood the meaning of Ye Qiu's words, and gradually, he understood.

Defeating PSV Eindhoven and Utrecht made him and some people mistakenly think that Ajax II has the strength to compete with the Eredivisie team, and they mistakenly think that Ajax II is already strong, but in fact, Ajax II is stronger than their peers.

Facing the second team of other teams, it is nothing for Ajax to play a 5:0 against the other side, and even against a team in the middle and lower reaches of the Eredivisie like Utrecht, the second team of Ajax may not have no chance of winning, but the problem is that they are now facing Heerenveen, who is currently ranked second in the Eredivisie.

If you give the Eredivisie a grade, Eindhoven is outstanding this season, Heerenveen, Feyenoord, Vitesse and other three or four teams are very close in strength, bite very tightly, and even the Ajax first team has little chance of winning when they meet them, it is conceivable that no matter how strong the second team is, it can be stronger than them?

"I see!" Rick Link nodded heavily, turned and left.

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"It's been 80 minutes, Bobby!"

In the second team's chairman's stand, Van Praag exhaled heavily, and he could clearly feel that the atmosphere in the stadium was becoming more and more depressing, especially the momentum and fighting spirit shown by the players on both sides.

"yes, there's 10 minutes left, and there's extra time." Bobby? Harms looked a little tired as he was scared from time to time in this game, and Heerenveen's quality allowed the team to create some threat from time to time.

"If it weren't for Westerhoff's resolute introduction of Harris? Huizinger's words, this game is estimated to be enough! ”

Van Praag listened and smiled, he didn't expect that the $4 million he spent would have this effect, it was really ironic to say, "Do you think you have a chance of winning?" ”

"I don't know what to do!" Bobby? Harms shook his head, "If it's a top coach, maybe he can find holes in Heerenveen's tight formation and use them and attack, but whether the second team players can still attack, it's not clear." ”

"If you really can't find it, then just hold on, hold to the end, and drag it into the penalty shootout!"

"Penalty shootout?" Van Praag was a little surprised.

Bobby? Harms smiled, "I heard that Ye Qiu specially arranged targeted penalty training before the game. “

Maybe noticing something strange on Van Praag's face, Bobby? Harms knew that Ajax has always admired attack, so he added, "There is no good or bad tactics, only suitable and inappropriate, it depends on yourself and your opponent." ”

Van Praag listened, nodded and said: "Don't worry, I understand, Bobby, with the strength and quality of the players of the second team, it is very unlikely that an opponent like Heerenveen will win the game, and Ye Qiu's choice is correct!" ”

After a pause, he was still a little worried, "It's just that dragging into the penalty shootout can only depend on luck and the psychological quality of the players, is he really sure?" ”

Bobby? Harms shook his head again, "Who knows? But penalty shoot-outs aren't just about luck. ”

Van Praag looked at Bobby? Harms, but the latter didn't say anything more.

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No one knows how much pressure the Ajax II team is under, but when everyone sees that at the moment when the whistle blows at the end of the official game, Kurul falls on the pitch because of his weak legs, everyone can deeply understand the hard work of this Ajax II team.

Van der Vaart also fell to the ground, his left leg cramping, and the pain made him grin and almost cry.

This scene also saw that many shallow Ajax fans on the sidelines cried.

"Ajax! Ajax!! We are proud and brave Ajax!! ”

"Come on, guys from Team 2, come on!!"

In the shouts of the fans, the players supported each other and walked out of the stadium, which made many fans feel emotional.

This is a united, combat-ready team!

Ye Qiu quickly replaced Kurul with Rui, he originally wanted to replace Van der Vaart with Van der Ruth, but the latter insisted on continuing to play and refused to be replaced like this, which suddenly moved many fans indescribably.

The second team of Ajax is a shrinking defense, and the physical consumption is not as good as the opponent, but Heerenveen is a professional player and has an advantage in physical fitness and physicality, so when the two sides played extra time, it was already a tie.

Entering extra time, every player was already unable to run, and the Ajax II team continued to shrink the defense and did not dare to be careless, so although Heerenveen did not continue to exert pressure, the Ajax II team still built their own half of the court solid, and did not give the opponent the slightest gap and opportunity.

In this case, extra time could not continue to break the deadlock on the field, and the two sides eventually went to a penalty shootout.

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When the referee blew the whistle for the end of overtime, Ye Qiu clenched his right hand and waved it hard, looking very excited.

Scoring a penalty shoot-out was a bit more secure for him than it was because he was prepared.

If it is in a normal game, if you want to kill Heerenveen, the possibility is very small, but in the penalty shootout, it may not be.

"Boss, how do you arrange the candidates?" The players all came closer, and Kivu was the current captain of the field and was about to be responsible for communicating and contacting the referee.

Ye Qiu glanced at the players in front of him and smiled confidently, "Don't be nervous, relax, we trained for penalties before the game, remember what I told you, Hans?" Funk is the best at playing on the right side, but his left side is a weakness, so I was pumped to the left side in the first few rounds, don't think about it so much, don't be pressured! ”

That being said, who can really do it without pressure?

"Eric, how are you feeling?" Ye Qiu looked at Abidal.

Abidal shook his head, "It's okay, you can't die!" ”

Ye Qiu smiled, "Then dare to go up and kick the first penalty?" ”

As early as in the pre-game training, Ye Qiu noticed that Abidal's style of play is relatively wild, and his skills are relatively rough, but his feet are still very accurate, which is estimated to have something to do with the fact that he has practiced a lot of shooting in the amateur league.

The penalty kick is actually a contest between the penalty taker and the goalkeeper, the goal is so big, as long as you can not miss it, the probability of scoring is very high, and Abidal is a left-footed player, against Hans? Funk's left side comes to the penalty, which is very appropriate.

"What's not to dare?" Abidal grinned and agreed.

After 120 minutes of play, everyone's physical fitness is almost the same, at this time to play a penalty shootout, on the one hand, it is to test the psychological quality of the players, and whether it will lead to deformation of technical movements because of physical fitness, Abidal has good physical fitness, and he has a big heart, but he has a try.

"The second one is Huntelaar!" Ye Qiu arranged again.

The first two penalty takers were one in front of the other, and Ye Qiu obviously hoped to win these two penalties.

"The third penalty is Wesley!" Sneijder's shooting percentage was the highest when he practiced penalty kicks in the team, and Ye Qiu placed him in the crucial third place.

Three, four, five, these three positions are the most important in the penalty penalty order, especially the third and fourth, these two rings are not played well, and the penalty shootout is basically wasted, so Ye Qiu handed over the fourth place to Kifu, who is also a left-footed general.

The fifth choice was also very important, Ye Qiu chose Van der Vaart, although the player had a cramp in his left foot during the game, Ye Qiu decided to trust him and let him take the fifth penalty.

Of course, if there is an accident in the first four penalties, there is a good chance that the fifth will not be played.

After arranging the order from one to five, the rest is basically not very important, Ye Qiu gave the sixth to Van Duyin, who is also a central defender, obviously just in case.

The remaining penalty takers were also basically based on the results of the penalty training.

After Ye Qiu made the penalty order, Kifu immediately walked to the referee, submitted the list of penalty orders, and also began to negotiate which side to take the penalty kick, and at the same time drew the penalty order with Heerenveen.

Ye Qiu took advantage of this period of time to hand over a note to goalkeeper Stekelenberg.

"It's the record of Heerenveen players taking penalties, and so far we can only find the data of four people, so you have to remember their penalty habits." Ye Qiu patted Stekelenberg's shoulder heavily, "It's up to you next!" ”

Feeling the attention and trust of the head coach, Stekelenberg kept nodding, "Don't worry, boss, we won't let you down!" ”

"Come on!" Ye Qiu nodded and said vigorously.

Watching the players slowly walk towards the Heerenveen half, Ajax took the lead in the penalty.

Heerenveen's goalkeeper Hans? Funk was the first to stand in front of the already familiar goal line, and the first to come out of the Ajax II side was Eric? Abidal.

After seeing who it was, there was an uproar in the audience, and some fans even shouted, "Why is it not Van der Vaart or Huntelaar?" What is a defender? ”

Believe, the same doubts are also in Hans? In Funk's mind.

Can it be Hans? Funk saw Abidal set the ball, slowly retreated, and immediately followed his thoughts, everything was thrown out of his mind, and all his energy was focused on the dark-skinned Ajax II player in front of him.