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

This is what head coach Ye Qiu said to the players in the locker room before the Dutch Cup semi-finals of DeTok Most, Ajax II team faced Helenfen on the afternoon of April 5, 2000.

There is no need for too much exaggeration or too much motivation. All players can clearly understand the current situation in Ajax, because many staff they are familiar with have left, and some players they are familiar with have submitted transfer applications.

It is considered light to say that the storm is shaking, and it is a little more serious, and it can even be said to be sank.

Most of them are from DeTok Most. Although Hunterlaer is not Ajax youth training, he loves this team deeply. Abidal regards Ajax as his first stop in his career. Therefore, no one wants to see Ajax decline, and no one wants to see the team they play for sink.

It was drizzling in the sky, but the players no longer took care of these things. They put shovels on the court when they should be putting shovels and falling to the ground when they should be falling. No one has the extra energy to care about whether the rain is heavy, whether the team uniforms on their bodies are dirty and their hair is messy, and these are not important.

They are not alone, because Ye Qiu is accompanying them from beginning to end, constantly cheering them up.

After the two games of Eindhoven and Udrecht, everyone has clearly realized the tenacity of Ajax II team. 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 Ajax I team.

Helenfin's strength is absolutely no doubt. He can still rank second in the league at the end of the season, surpassing teams such as Feyenoord, Witts, Twente and Alkmaar. They definitely came to the game with their real skills.

During the winter break, Harris Huyzinger left, which was a very painful blow to Helenfin's offense, which made them completely lose their strength to continue chasing Eindhoven's pace in the second half. The gap between the two sides became wider, but the defense of this team was very solid and unbreakable.

Ye Qiu knew it himself. Ajax second team was able to defeat Eindhoven. The opponent was careless and underestimated the enemy. It was an important factor. It was able to defeat Udrecht. The opponent's head coach Mark Walter's blind confidence and entrustment are important reasons.

But now, facing Helenfin and facing this team that was not outstanding in offensive strength and was more determined to win by defensive counterattacks. The second team of Ajax had no choice but to be completely suppressed by the opponent in the whole game, and several counterattacks failed to work. Instead, they were almost hit by the opponent's counterattack.

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

Yes, in such a game, he could not care about the offense anymore. He could only let all players concentrate all their energy on defending and defending to the end.

This is a very realistic choice!

The defensive strength of Ajax II is not bad. The defense line composed of Abidal, Kivo, Van Duin and Hetinga is becoming stronger and stronger. In addition, three midfielders with both offense and defense are placed in front of them. If Ajax II really wants to tighten the camp, no one can expect to break easily.

Moreover, after more than half a year, the players are becoming more and more familiar with the overall defensive system arranged by Ye Qiu before, and the organization is becoming more and more proficient. The combination of Kivo and Van Duin, one fast and one high, has also established a very good tacit understanding, which has made the defense of Ajax II very strong.

Against Eindhoven, this set of defense may not work, but Ye Qiu is still a little confident when facing Helenfen.

Continuing the tradition of Ajax II matches in the past few Ajax team, DeTok Moste's home court was crowded with fans coming to watch. The club still adopted the strategy of free membership to enter the game. A total of more than 3,000 fans flocked to the scene, which made the entire field scattered.

Ajax fans focused all their hopes on the second team. Many of them even stood on the sidelines and cheered for the second team players regardless of the rain.

At 0:0 in the first half, their passion did not fade away, and in the second half, they shouted louder.

The fans shouted with great effort, and the players' performance on the court was also no less.

All the second team players all showed their 120,000 concentration on the court, and were always on guard against Helenfen's attack, because they knew their insignificance and strength, and they also clearly realized that with just one negligence, the other party could trample themselves to death.

As head coach Ye Qiu reminded during the intermission, "If we want to win, we can't even make a mistake!"

You cannot make mistakes and take the initiative to help your teammates make up for them. This has become the belief of players to play on the court.

They completely forgot the time, the score, and everything around them. In their eyes, there are only opponents!

They all followed the head coach's usual training arrangements, strictly required themselves every step and every move, and performed according to the four standards of ball, space, opponents, and teammates. In addition, Ye Qiu's continuous adjustments and instructions on the sidelines, the second team of Ajax showed an amazing integrity in the game.

Even after 75 minutes, the physical fitness of both sides had obviously declined rapidly. Many players had already started to run, but the second team of Ajax was still able to maintain good integrity, with the three lines being very compact, and always facing Helenfen's attack as a whole.

The rain finally stopped, but the game continued.

Ye Qiu stood on the sidelines, watching silently, and constantly patrolling and observing the positions of both sides of the enemy and us.

"It's been 80 minutes!" Ricklink came over and reminded.

Ye Qiu looked at the artificial scoreboard on the sidelines, and it was still 0:0, while the time was shown to be 80 minutes.

There were only 10 minutes left before the end of the normal game time of 90 minutes, but his mood did not feel relaxed at all. On the contrary, he became more and more solemn.

He understands this principle if he travels a hundred miles apart!

"Yang, go and sort out the information. I want the penalty report of each of their players, as well as all the records of the opponent's main goalkeeper Hans Fonke's penalty kick!" Ye Qiu reminded with a heavy face.

Ricklink frowned, "Do you think you'll drag a penalty?"

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

Faced with such a team that is already very good at defense, Ajax II cannot find any opportunity in the whole game. Do you still expect to be able to turn the tables at the last moment? What capital and chips do you have?

Are you just counting on the group of 16 or 17 years old teenagers sitting on the bench?

"We will win if we can score a penalty shootout!" After Ye Qiu finished speaking, he adjusted his attention to the court again.

Ricklink understood what Ye Qiu said, and gradually, he understood.

The defeat of Eindhoven and Udrecht made him and some people mistakenly believe that Ajax II team already has the strength to compete with the Eredivisie team, and mistakenly think that Ajax II team is already very strong, but in fact, the strength of Ajax II team is relative to his peers.

Facing the second team of other teams, Ajax's 5-0 against the opponent is nothing. Even when facing teams in the middle and lower reaches of the Eredivisie like Utrecht, Ajax's second team may not have no chance of winning, but the problem is that he is now facing Helenfen, who is currently ranked second in the Eredivisie.

If the Dutch Eredivisie is divided into a grade, Eindhoven will stand out this season, Helenfen, Feyenoord, and Witts will have three or four teams that are very close to their strength and bite them tightly. Even Ajax's first team doesn't have much chance of winning when they meet them. It can be imagined that no matter how strong the second team is, can they be stronger than them?

"I understand!" Ricklink nodded heavily, turned around and left.

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"It's been 80 minutes, Bobby!"

In the stands of the second team's chairman, Van Prager breathed heavily. He could clearly feel that the atmosphere in the stadium was becoming more and more depressing, especially the momentum and fighting spirit displayed against the players on both sides.

"Yes, there are 10 minutes left and overtime." Bobby Hams looked a little tired, because he was frightened from time to time in this game. Helenfen's strength allowed the team to create some threats from time to time.

"If Westhoff hadn't been the firm introduction of Harris Huyzinger, this game would have been a tough one!"

Van Prager smiled when he heard this. He didn't expect that the $4 million he spent would have such an effect. It was really ironic to say it, "Do you think you have a chance of winning?"

"I don't know!" Bobby Hams shook his head, "If it were a top coach, he might be able to find loopholes from Helen Fenna's tight formation and exploit and attack, but it is unclear whether the players of the second team can still attack."

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

"Play the penalty shootout?" Van Prager was a little surprised.

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

Perhaps he noticed something strange on Van Pragg's face. Bobby Hams knew that Ajax always advocated offense, so he added, "There is no good or bad tactics, only suitable or inappropriate. It depends on yourself and the opponent."

Van Prager heard this and nodded, "Don't worry, I understand that Bobby, with the strength and quality of the second team players, the possibility of winning the game is slim, and Ye Qiu's choice is the right one!"

After a pause, he was still a little worried, "But, dragging the penalty shootout can only depend on luck and the psychological quality of the players. Is he really sure?"

Bobby Hams shook his head again, "Who knows? However, the penalty shootout is not just about luck."

Van Prager looked at Bobby Hams, but the latter didn't say anything more.

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No one knows how much pressure Ajax II has been under, but when everyone sees that at the moment when the whistle sounds at the end of the official game, Kuruel fell on the court because of his weak legs, everyone can deeply understand the fighting spirit of this Ajax II team.

Van der Fate also fell to the ground, his left leg cramped, making him grin and almost cried.

This scene also made many Ajax fans who were shallow in their eyes burst into tears on the sidelines.

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

"Come on, the guys from the second team, come on!!"

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

This is a united and combat-filled team!

Ye Qiu quickly replaced Kuruel with Rui. He originally wanted to replace Van der Fate with Van der Fate, but the latter insisted on continuing to play and refused to be replaced like this. This immediately touched many fans indescribable.

Ajax II team contracted their defense and their physical energy consumption was not as good as their opponents, but Helenfin was a professional player and had an advantage in physical fitness and physical fitness. Therefore, when both sides played in overtime, they were considered to be even.

Entering overtime, every player was almost unable to run. In addition, Ajax II continued to use shrinking defense and did not dare to be careless at all. Therefore, although Helenfen did not continue to put pressure, Ajax II still made its half-time solid and did not give the opponent any gaps or opportunities.

Under such circumstances, overtime was unable to continue to break the deadlock on the court, and both sides finally entered a penalty shootout.

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When the referee blew the whistle at the end of overtime, Ye Qiu clenched his fist with his right hand, but his expression looked very excited.

Compared to the game, winning the penalty shootout is more certain for him because he is prepared.

If you want to kill Helenfin in a normal game, the possibility is slim, but in a penalty shootout, it may not be possible.

"Boss, how do you arrange the candidate?" The players all came closer. Kifu is the current captain on the field and is about to be responsible for communicating and contacting the referee.

Ye Qiu glanced at the player in front of him and smiled confidently, "Don't be nervous, take it easy. We trained for a penalty kick before the game. I still remember what I told you, Hans Fonke is best at snatching the right side, but his left side is a weakness, so I drew to the left side in the previous few rounds. Don't think so much, don't be stressed!"

That's it, but who can really be without pressure?

"Eric, how do you feel?" Ye Qiu looked at Abidal.

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

Ye Qiu smiled, "Will you dare to go up and play the first penalty kick?"

As early as before the game, 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. It is probably related to his practice of many shootings in the amateur league.

Penalty is actually a battle between the penalty kicker and the goalkeeper. The goal is so big that as long as you can keep losing, the possibility of a goal is very high. Moreover, Abidal is the left-footed player, so it is very appropriate to punish Hans Fonke's left side.

"What's there to dare?" Abidal agreed with a careless smile.
To be continued...