Ajax's first warm-up match was to cross the English Channel and go to England to challenge Ipswich.

In recent years, dark horses have appeared almost every season of the Premier League. For example, Ipswich last season, as a newly promoted team, this team actually won the fifth place in the Premier League standings in one go, directly holding down the strong Premier League teams such as Chelsea, Southampton, Newcastle under their belts.

After having the outstanding performance last season, Ipswich is ambitious this season and wants to continue to make a difference in the Premier League. However, as a newcomer, they have not made any big moves in the transfer market, and the team basically maintains the lineup of last season.

At the Portman Road Stadium, which is only separated from Amsterdam by the English Channel, Ajax ushered in the first warm-up match of the new season.

In this game, Ye Qiu lined up a lineup that performed well in two weeks of training. The goalkeeper was Van der Sar, the defense was Abidal, Kivo, Lucio and Macon. Because Keita was injured, the midfielder turned into a combination of Yaya Toure, Gilberto Silva and Sneider. The front tridents were Robben, Ibrahimovic and Van der Fate.

Ye Qiu focused on the team's training results in this game, so he did not give the team any instructions that must win or win beautifully. He just hopes that the players can show the training results.

But what was unexpected was that the fierce competition of the team made everyone in Ajax hold their breath and want to show their strength in front of the head coach. After the opening, Ajax's group of players rushed up like wolves and tigers, pressing Ipswich for a wild fight, which puzzled the fans of Portman Road Stadium.

You should know that the Portman Road Stadium last season was the most terrifying devil home court in the Premier League. Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea and other teams were unable to take even a slight advantage from this stadium. Middlesbrough, Newcastle and Manchester City failed here, and Tottenham Hotspur lost 0:3.

This surprised the fans of Portman Road, and also brought a little gloating.

"You group of Dutch boys who have never seen the world, be crazy, keep mad, see how we beat you up!"

But what was unexpected was that less than 5 minutes after the game started, Ajax took the lead in breaking Ipswich's goal. This was a long pass from Kifu's backcourt and accurately found Robben on the left. The latter quickly dribbled the ball and passed the ball diagonally to the right. Van der Fate inserted it and hit the goal, 1:0!

This goal came too suddenly, which surprised Ipswich's fans, but also felt a little depressed and even angry, because they were ranked 5th in the Premier League last season and actually lost to Ajax?

It’s so unbearable, aunty!

After scoring the goal first, Ajax obviously consciously adopted more tactics to control the scene.

There is one very interesting scene that makes Ye Qiu feel very satisfied, that is, Van der Sar took the initiative to walk out of the small penalty area, reached out to ask for the ball, dribbled the ball forward, and kept communicating with his teammates. His words were nothing more than to stabilize the situation first and ensure the maximum lead.

Later, although Ipswich's forward Stewart pressed Van der Sar, the latter passed Kivo shortly, and Kivo passed Lucio again. After the Brazilian pulled the ball into a loophole, he dribbled the ball and pushed forward quickly, which forced Ipswich's overall defensive formation to retreat quickly, and was almost caught off guard by Ajax.

Before the game, Ipswich had some of the 5th in the Premier League, but after being polished by Ajax for a while, he gradually lost this sensation and turned to it and felt difficult to deal with Ajax's more controlled style of play.

The game was almost always under the control of Ajax. It was not until the second half that Ajax once again broke Ipswich's goal. The winger Van der Mede, who came on the bench, made a cross from the right, and Hunterlaer, who replaced Ibrahimovic in the penalty area, shot in front of the goal, and broke Ipswich's goal again, 2:0.

This goal also became the last goal in this warm-up match. After that, neither Ipswich nor Ajax were able to score again.

After returning to Amsterdam, Ye Qiu immediately held a summary meeting of the team's first warm-up match, and raised some questions at the meeting, such as after the team slowed down, whether it was oppression or pressing, the strength was obviously weaker.

"There is a saying in our Chinese proverb, "If you don't kill the snake, it will bite you to death." It means that if you don't kill the snake, it will kill you. The same is true in football games. You cannot relax at all times. You must firmly suppress your opponents and patiently look for opportunities. Once you find an opportunity, don't be ruthless and kill them directly with lightning speed!"

"For us, the best opponents are always the ones who die the worst!"

Ye Qiu is taking advantage of the opportunity to constantly instill the football philosophy of the players, that is, offense, and offense!

After returning to Amsterdam, Ajax held another week of training and then ushered in the two-day Amsterdam Cup, which was also a cup match that Ye Qiu attached great importance to before the season.

Unlike last year's Amsterdam Cup, Ajax was coldly treated by local fans. This season, Ajax has become the darling of Amsterdam fans with his outstanding performance last season. Tickets for two games in Amsterdam Cup with Ajax were also snatched away. Even after the Cup, Ajax and Valencia's warm-up match were sold out.

Ajax's first match was AC Milan led by Trim.

The Ross and Blacks did not perform well last season, but this season showed strong ambitions. First, he introduced the Great Inzagi from Juventus, and then introduced the Portuguese genius Rui Costa from Fiorentina at a high price, showing Trim's ambition to transform the team.

At this moment, Pirlo has just turned from his arch rival Inter Milan, while Albertini lost his main force due to too many injuries. AC Milan's midfielder is Rui Costa and Serginho.

Trim's tactical lineup in this game is 4312, goalkeeper is Abiati, the defense line is Koko, Maldini, Karaze and Contra, the midfielders are Serginho, Donatti and Gatuso, Rui Costa suddenly play as a midfielder, and the double strikers are Shevchenko and Dainzagi.

Donati has transferred from Atlanta this season, and Trim arranged for him to start, obviously to examine the player.

Ye Qiu's starting lineup in this game is still 433, with goalkeepers being Van der Sar, defense lines being Abidal, Kivo, Lucio and Macon, and the three midfielders are Keita, Gilberto Silva and Sneider, among which Keita and Gilberto Silva are in the back, Sneider breaks forward, and the tridents are Robben, Ibrahimovic and Van der Fate.

AC Milan's lineup and tactics are typical examples of strong offense and weak defense, especially Contra, who just competed with Ye Qiu's Ajax last season in Alaves, but does not have much defensive ability, and he is best at attack.

The strategy Ye Qiu adopted in this game was to suppress AC Milan's midfielder, especially Rui Costa.

Whether it is Shevchenko or Da Inzaghi, their goals are excellent, but they still need someone to feed them the ball behind them. Trim thinks Rui Costa will be the most suitable candidate, and even the whole world thinks that this iron triangle will be the strongest trident in Serie A this season.

Ye Qiu's tactic is to use his own characteristics of double midfielders to suppress traditional midfielders, so that Rui Costa cannot control and get the ball at will in his most comfortable position, thereby destroying AC Milan's offense and rhythm.

For Ajax himself, the most comfortable thing is naturally the fast pace.

Therefore, from the beginning, Ajax did not pay attention to playing ball control with AC Milan and gave up some ball control time, but emphasized the fast pace and the impact of the offensive, which made AC Milan have a lot of ball control, but it was difficult to take a step forward at the front of the penalty area, and it was never possible to find an effective opportunity to convert the ball into a goal.

Moreover, AC Milan players did not train for a long time and lacked physical fitness. In addition, several core players were newly joined, and their cooperation seemed a little unfamiliar, which led to several mistakes in the team. Especially the cooperation between Maldini and Karaze gave Ajax two shots in just 5 minutes.

But this group of little kids missed the opportunity in front of AC Milan players who are more experienced and more mature in their performance.

In the 26th minute, Shevchenko used his personal ability to get Serginho's pass, got rid of Lucio and shot from a small angle, opening the first record for AC Milan.

After scoring the goal, AC Milan's intention to slow down the pace was more obvious. Trim himself knew that Ajax's impact was very good. In a fast-paced state, AC Milan would only expose more problems and discomforts.

Ye Qiu kept calling on the sidelines to keep calm and rational.

"It's only 26 minutes, and there's still a long time left. Don't worry, take your time!"

"Remember the tactics we arranged before the game, don't be messy, and fight firmly according to our rhythm and tactics!"

Ye Qiu's appeal injected confidence into the Ajax players. They began to compete with AC Milan for control of the rhythm according to the coach's requirements. They used high-level defense, high pressure and crazy pressing, forcing AC Milan to speed up the rhythm.

In the 37th minute, Ajax had an opportunity on the left. Robben used Contra to grab it and lost his position. After getting the ball, he quickly rushed to AC Milan's defense line. He walked straight to the left side of the front of the penalty area and calmly passed the ribs.

In a hurry, Maldini wanted to intercept, but under the interference of Ibrahimovic, he accidentally missed the ball. After the Swedes got the ball, he dribbled the ball flexibly and broke through the siege under the attack of Maldini and Karaze. He shot at the penalty area at a small angle, equalizing the score for Ajax, 1:1!

This goal completely sounded the clarion call of Ajax's counterattack. In the remaining time, Ajax completely suppressed AC Milan to play. Especially during the halftime break, Ye Qiu decisively adjusted the tactics based on AC Milan's tactical characteristics, giving Robben more opportunities to play, allowing him to make a one-on-one breakthrough.

Ye Qiu's adjustment brought huge trouble to AC Milan's defense in the second half.

In the 64th minute, Robben on the left made a cross from the left side of AC Milan after forcibly breaking through, and Keita headed the ball near the goal post, reversing the score to 2:1!

But after reversing the opponent, Ajax had no idea of ​​maintaining the status quo. Ye Qiu kept calling on the players to continue to maintain offensive pressure, and at the same time he also began to actively make substitution adjustments.

In the 85th minute, Yaya, who appeared as a substitute Keita, received a knockback from the front of the penalty area and crossed to the front of the penalty area. He found Van der Fate, who ran from the right and cut into the middle. The latter entered the penalty area and shot with his left foot, 3:1!

In the end, with goals from Ibrahimovic, Keita and Van der Fate, Ajax reversed AC Milan 3-1 in the first Amsterdam Cup at Arena Stadium and won the good start of the cup.

"I am very satisfied with the team's performance, but I think the victory in this game does not mean anything. We are more prepared than AC Milan, and our main lineup has not adjusted much compared to last season, which makes our players more tacitly cooperate on the court."

"AC Milan has replaced some players, which makes them even more unfamiliar in their cooperation. Shevchenko and Dainzagi missed at least 8 scoring opportunities in the game, which also reminds us that the reason why we won was because of the poor form of our opponents."

"We still have many problems, especially when we face the top European teams, our shortcomings will be exposed more clearly. My players and I are mentally prepared because we all know that exposing the problem is the beginning of our team's progress."

Ye Qiu also said that he was satisfied with the team's pre-season preparations.

"We have been in closed training for the past three weeks, which has certainly caused great trouble for the players, but I am particularly happy that the players are very serious and focused, which makes me feel that we are becoming a daunting team, and I always believe that Ajax will be stronger and more competitive in the new season than at any time in the past few years!"

Ye Qiu's words were affirmed by AC Milan head coach Trim. He believed that Ajax suppressed AC Milan well in tactical terms, and Ajax's players were not like some young players at all. "They have a group of outstanding talented players. With time, they will let the whole of Europe see their strength!"

Of course, everyone’s understanding of this is to be polite!

After the game, Trim once again emphasized that the reason why AC Milan and Ajax lost the game was because of the serious problem in the back line. He called on the team to further strengthen the team's back line, and AC Milan is currently contacting Danish defender Raulson.

After playing AC Milan, Ajax rested for two days and welcomed Arsenal.

Perhaps because of the warm-up match, whether it was Wenger or Ye Qiu, they played offensive football without reservation in this game. Arsenal and Ajax's attack and defense on the wings also became the most eye-catching highlights of the game, which allowed all the fans of Arena Stadium to see a happy goal feast.

3:3, Ajax and Arsenal completed a wonderful game that everyone praised.

From the scene and offense, both sides performed very well in this game, but from a tactical perspective, both Ye Qiu and Wenger obviously encountered difficulties, or even setbacks, because they did not limit their opponents well.

With a record of one win and one draw, Ajax scored 4 points, but because of two games, Ajax scored 6 goals and scored 6 extra points, finally scored 10 points, becoming the champion of this Amsterdam Cup.

Arsenal defeated Valencia 1-0 in the first game, and they finally scored 8 points, ranking second, while Benitez's Valencia defeated AC Milan 2-1, revealing AC Milan's biggest problem again, but the La Liga team only won the third place, and the poor Reds and Blacks lost in two games and ranked last.

Ajax won the Amsterdam Cup, which certainly made all Ajax fans happy, but it also exposed many problems of the team, especially in the warm-up match between Ajax against Valencia, Ye Qiu and Benitez fought, and the two sides finally tied a 1:1 draw, proving that the team still had many problems.

On the offensive end, the team's problems occur more when the fast-slow transition, especially when the team changes from slow to fast transition, many problems arise, which requires Ye Qiu and the coaching team to continue to further dig deeper into the team's tactical details and adjust them.

On the defensive end, it is more about the cooperation between players, especially the cooperation between goalkeeper Van der Sar and the defense line.

In the past, Grim almost did not command the defense line, which made the defense line feel a bit of a battle. The players have adapted to this style of play, but now Ye Qiu wants to integrate the defense line with the goalkeeper, let Van der Sar command the defense line, and maintain contact with the defenders at any time, which makes the defenders feel at a loss.

But judging from the training camps in several weeks and the performance in several warm-up matches, Van der Sar's joining has improved overall defense against Ajax, especially in commanding the defense line and communicating with the defenders. As long as the running-in is done well, Ajax's defense line will become a solid piece and will have a qualitative improvement.

But there are many problems, mainly in response and cooperation, which all seem unfamiliar. In addition, the players on the defense are too young, which also exposed some problems. Especially when facing the impact of top strikers such as Shevchenko, Dainzaji, Borgkamp and Henry, the youthful and inexperienced defenders undoubtedly seem very passive.

But no matter what, Ye Qiu has enough confidence to solve these problems and lead the team to continue moving forward!
Chapter completed!