Chapter 87
The draw ceremony for the 32 teams of the Europa League ended, and Ajax fans were jubilant.
The result of the Ajax draw was really good, which could be described as the best of the best.
According to the elimination rules of the 32 teams, the 12 teams that finished first in the Europa League group and the four teams that finished third in the Champions League group with higher points were divided into the first tier, and the remaining 16 teams were in the second tier.
Ajax only got five points in the Champions League group stage, and was classified as a second tier team together with Liverpool, Roma and Anderlecht.
This position is very dangerous. If you are unlucky and draw a strong team from the four major leagues, you may face a difficult choice of staying in the league or the European war at the end of February.
There will definitely be a focus on the double matches in a week. Meeting a strong team at the beginning of the knockout round will definitely have a major impact on the team's path to promotion.
Although Ajax has an absolute advantage against most teams in the Eredivisie, everyone has eleven people, and it is much more difficult to win than playing games.
The first-tier teams of the Europa League are Monchengladbach, Bruges, Besiktas, Red Bull Salzburg, Dynamo Moscow, Inter Milan, Feyenoord, Everton, Napoli, Dynamo Kyiv, Fiorentina, Legia Warsaw, Olympiacos, Zenit, Sporting Lisbon and Athletic Bilbao.
According to the draw rules for the top 32, teams from the same league do not meet. The rules can only help Ajax exclude Feyenoord. The team has to draw an opponent from the remaining 15 teams.
Legia Warsaw is mixed in a group of strong teams, compared to the Erha who mixed into the wolf pack.
Obviously, this team is the weakest team in the first tier.
Ajax wants to draw this Erha, the probability is only 6.7%, the difficulty is not ordinary.
Unexpectedly, it was drawn!
It's really a big luck!
The knockout round of the top 32 will be held in February. This round of knockouts is equivalent to giving Ajax a big gift package.
With a month of buffer time, at least four more league games can be played, which is a big advantage.
Among the "Big Three" in the Eredivisie, Feyenoord, which won the first place in the group stage, drew Roma, which is a bad draw.
PSV Eindhoven drew Zenit, which is a bad draw, because Zenit is also a team from the Champions League.
For PSV Eindhoven, the most difficult thing in this round of knockouts is not the strength comparison, but the itinerary.
It is nearly 2,000 kilometers from PSV Eindhoven to St. Petersburg, and the average temperature there is close to minus 20 degrees Celsius, so they can only play on artificial turf.
Sun Yu calculated the time for PSV Eindhoven. It takes one hour to take a bus from the club to the airport. So many people take a plane and have to go to the airport at least two hours in advance to check in and check in, and the flight journey is about two hours.
There is no direct flight from PSV Eindhoven to St. Petersburg, and it needs to transfer in Istanbul, plus the time from St. Petersburg Airport to the residence is two hours.
It takes about 28 hours for a one-way trip, so PSV Eindhoven will most likely have to charter a plane to play such a game.
A one-way charter flight takes about eight hours, and such a trip is not an ordinary torture.
So as long as PSV Eindhoven wants to fight for the Europa League, the league in February must be particularly hard.
January 18.
Ajax beat Groningen 2-0 at home, and Sun Yu opened the scoring for the team in the 15th minute.
After the special training during the winter break, Sun Yu's explosive power and speed have improved to a certain extent. With the addition of the system, his explosive power and speed have increased significantly.
Ajax's physical coach has a high level of professionalism. Not only has he improved Sun Yu's explosive power, but he has also helped Sun Yu develop an ability to use his body to block the defensive player at the first moment of sprinting.
These coaches are really willing to show their unique skills only when they are "making up lessons".
Just five minutes into the game, Klaassen sent a through ball, and Sun Yu blocked the opponent's position at the first moment.
The right back of Groningen accelerated and both of them fell to the grass, resulting in a yellow card at the beginning of the game.
After conceding the goal, Groningen was constantly under pressure, and the central defender made a clearance error in the second half and kicked the ball into his own goal.
Ajax easily won the first game after the winter break.
The championship rival PSV Eindhoven also won, and the championship situation at this time has become a two-man race.
PSV Eindhoven has 46 points, Ajax has 44 points, and Feyenoord, which ranks third, has only 34 points.
The league has just passed the halfway point, and Ajax's only championship rival is PSV Eindhoven.
For Ajax, there is actually only one rival for the Eredivisie championship.
After defeating Groningen, Ajax will usher in the "Big Three" derby in the 19th round of the league, and the opponent is Feyenoord, which lost the title qualification at the beginning of the season.
Klaassen was injured.After the suspension, Riedewald was injured one day after being transferred to the first team. De Boer recruited Bazoer to the first team three days before the game.
As a result, after Bazoer came, Stam followed him with a curse: "Flander, how do you train the first team normally?"
"You said you recruited players, but why do the players have to stop for a few days every time they go back, and when they recover, they are recruited again!"
With the strong performance of the Ajax youth team in the Dutch second division, De Boer has been recruiting youth team players to participate in the game since November.
Since the absolute core Sun Yu has stayed in the first team, and more and more players have joined the first team, the Ajax youth team has slipped from the second place in the Dutch second division to the fourth place in the Dutch second division.
What Stam finds most difficult to accept is that in order to win the opportunity of the first team, the main players of the youth team try their best to leave a good impression on the head coach every time they appear.
As a result, the main players of the youth team often suffer from minor injuries and illnesses. For example, Riedewald has formed a vicious cycle of fighting hard in the first team, recovering in the youth team, and then fighting hard again in the first team.
Listening to Stam's complaints, De Boer could only smile and compliment him.
"Without your coaching level, how could our first team get so many good players?", "So it has to be you", "Look, the national team coach has begun to bully the club coach", "I feel that the European Youth Championship will be yours sooner or later, and then I will not be able to keep my position as coach."
De Boer's workplace routine made Stam so angry that he couldn't get angry or leave, and he could only stand and chat.
Stam is not an ordinary person. He suddenly changed the subject: "Do you think I am as idle as you? I came to see my old captain."
De Boer smiled and said: "Yes! Fourteen years have passed in a flash."
Stam interrupted him directly: "I'm not talking about you, I'm talking about Sun Yu."
"After this kid joined the first team, I haven't seen him train for many days."
"Dennis (Bergkamp), I asked you to give this kid some special training last time to practice his off-ball running. How is it going?"
Bergkamp smiled and spread his hands. Opening his hands: "Can you two head coaches stop taking me? I have been teaching for more than a month. This kid has good comprehension ability."
At this point, Stam changed his tone again: "I know, I want to ask you one more thing. There is still an assistant coach position in the Dutch youth team. I want you to help me train the team's off-ball running until the end of the European Youth Championship."
"If you think it's okay, I'll go back and talk to Overmars."
Bergkamp said he didn't have time for the time being, and he might not have time before the end of the season.
Stam asked Bergkamp to think about it again, and after chatting for a few more words, he turned around and walked back to the youth team training ground.
At the end of the afternoon training session, Bergkamp took Sun Yu to find the feeling again, and also personally demonstrated several times.
It must be said that even after retiring for many years, Bergkamp's technical ability still maintains the elegance of the "Ice Prince".
After the series of actions of running, stopping the ball, and shooting, Sun Yu secretly sighed in his heart: "This is art."
Comparatively speaking, he can only be regarded as an assembly line level.
During this period, Sun Yu watched the game whenever he had time, constantly pondering the running of C Ronaldo, Inzaghi, Romario and Ronaldo.
Sun Yu asked De Boer and Stam the same question respectively: "Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, C Ronaldo and Messi, who is the most difficult to defend in one-on-one?"
The answer of both head coaches was Ronaldo.
In Stam's words, Ronaldo is the only forward he has met since he was a child who has no shortcomings.
He said that Ronaldo can be used as a center forward when he is at the front, and he has good left and right foot skills and headers.
As long as he is allowed to start, the first defender will not be able to keep up with the opponent's rhythm as long as he does not foul, and Ronaldo can get rid of the opponent at a speed that other wingers can't keep up with.
Sun Yu asked him: "Is his ability to run without the ball better than Inzaghi?"
Stam sneered: "If his speed is as slow as Inzaghi's, he will look smarter, but unfortunately the conditions do not allow it."
Sun Yu understood that sometimes too fast speed will make people not obvious enough.
January 25.
Amsterdam Stadium.
Ajax welcomed the third-placed Feyenoord.
As a relatively weak team among the "Big Three" in the Eredivisie in recent years, Feyenoord started with 1 win, 2 draws and 3 losses, and lost the qualification for the league championship in the second month of the league.
In the following half of the season, Feyenoord's performance improved, and they only lost one game to PSV Eindhoven in the league..
From the first second of the game, the two sides started a hand-to-hand fight, and they continued to fight until the end of the first half.
In the 54th minute, Sun Yu scored a goal and had a highlight moment.
Schone got the ball on the right, and Feyenoord's midfielder and full-backs surrounded him at once. He passed the ball to Anderson in the gap.
After Anderson got the ball, he saw Sun Yu suddenly accelerate from the left to the middle of the penalty area.
Feyenoord's central defender thought Sun Yu was going to receive the ball on the right, and turned his head to look at Milik in the penalty area.
But!
Just as he turned around!
Sun Yu suddenly accelerated behind the opponent, and the Feyenoord central defender felt footsteps behind him and turned around immediately.
But just as he turned around, Sun Yu suddenly turned half a circle on the spot and ran into the gap from the other side of the central defender!
Anderson saw the opportunity and kicked the ball into the penalty area. Milik decisively blocked another central defender, and Sun Yu easily pushed the ball into the lower left corner of the goal with his right foot!
The moment Sun Yu scored, the entire Amsterdam Stadium exploded.
Many Ajax fans simply jumped up from their seats and howled.
1:0!
Ajax players rushed up excitedly, slapping Sun Yu's back and neck frantically, making Sun Yu's happiness diluted.
In the penalty area, Feyenoord's central defender turned around and looked at Sun Yu's back, asking his teammates in an incredible tone: "How did he run into the penalty area just now?"
The central defender who was blocked by Milik spread his hands and said helplessly: "He ran over your back..."
The central defender thought his teammates were playing tricks on him and was a little angry. After getting confirmation from the goalkeeper, he shouted: "What the hell is this!"
How is it possible?
How did that kid do it?
The center back turned around immediately after hearing the footsteps behind him. He dared to say that his turning speed was not slow.
But...
Alas!
What a bad luck!
The center back spat fiercely on the grass.
He only knew one thing now, that he would definitely appear in the goal collection, and would appear repeatedly.
On the side of the court.
De Boer excitedly ran to the coach's seat and made a turning motion with his hand towards Bergkamp.
Bergkamp was also very happy. Although Sun Yu only touched the ball once before scoring, that run was quite similar to the feeling of him playing tricks on Newcastle's center back in the past.
Moreover!
The opponent's center back didn't even have the chance to turn back and shovel Sun Yu. He didn't find Sun Yu from beginning to end!
The next moment!
Sun Yu suddenly heard the system prompt in his mind.
[Congratulations to the host for understanding the "blind side movement" skill! ]
At the same time as the prompt sounded, a movie-like picture appeared in Sun Yu's mind.
That was the scene where I repeatedly observed the defensive players.
That was the scene where I pretended to take a walk but actually waited for an opportunity.
That was the scene where I kept watching the games of several forwards who were good at scoring.
That was the scene where I took advantage of the opponent's distraction and suddenly accelerated to get rid of him.
This skill is a skill I have practiced!
Whenever Sun Yu chose to run, he was not copying others, but being himself!
This feeling is great!
It's exciting!
After Sun Yu scored, the players on both sides ran as hard as they could.
In the 79th minute, Sun Yu slipped past the central defender again and scored a goal after receiving a pass from Bazoer.
It's a pity that Bazoer's pass was a little late, causing Sun Yu, who had already accelerated, to appear in an offside position.
The moment the linesman raised the flag, the opponent's central defender was so angry that he pushed Sun Yu from behind.
Sun Yu looked at the other party with a smirk: "If you push me again, I will lie down directly."
The game was over, and Sun Yu lay on the lawn as he wished.
Not only him, at least more than ten players from both sides lay on the lawn.
"Too damn tired!"
Sun Yu lay on the lawn for half a minute before getting up. In the case of a game a week, the players on both sides were energetic Kenyans.
When checking the results of the game, Sun Yu suddenly found something wrong.
Shooting 74, stopping 75, dribbling 83, passing 64, crossing 53
Long shot 69, header 51, set piece 68, explosive power 85, speed 85
Confrontation 64, bounce 69, flexibility 73, balance 72, physical fitness 72
Off-ball running 82, vision 58, prediction 68, creativity 75, defense 42
Skills: fast change of direction, fatal through pass, blind side movement
Overall evaluation: excellent player in the Eredivisie
Dominant foot: Left foot is very comfortable, right foot is average.
Physical condition: Good.
Direct increase in running without the ballIt has reached 82!
The field of vision has also increased to 58!
It turns out that the spiritual attribute depends on enlightenment!
Now I feel like I am taking off!