Chapter 98: Chapter 97: On Protracted War (Fourth Update, Request for Full Subscription)
Amsterdam Arena.
In the sixteenth minute, Lisbon Athletic’s striker Lorenzo created an opportunity after dropping back to receive the ball.
Ronaldo advanced with the ball and, upon reaching the top of the penalty area arc, unleashed a long shot that nearly broke through the goal.
This shot directly showcased the strong offensive potential of the "triple striker" tactic.
Sneijder immediately dropped back from midfield to play as a defensive midfielder, joining the defense against the triple striker.
In the nineteenth minute, Sneijder demonstrated his prowess in both defense and offense with a long pass from the backfield, attempting to connect with Van der Vaart.
Veloso, who was marking Van der Vaart, blocked him and headed the football to a teammate.
Don’t forget, Veloso played as a center-back for the first half of the season!
Defense, physical confrontation, positioning—he’s very skilled at those.
And to top it off, he’s not slow either.
While Van der Vaart is good at many things, his speed just isn’t fast enough.
Press him!
Smother him!
In the twenty-fourth minute, Ajax players sent a through ball to Van der Vaart.
Veloso immediately used his body to challenge, and Van der Vaart fell to the ground losing possession in the confrontation, but the main referee considered it a fair challenge and did not blow the whistle.
At the thirtieth minute, Deng Kai made a flying tackle in the midfield, intercepting Sneijder’s long pass from the backfield.
Sneijder’s long passes are indeed exceptional.
But if you think you can split open Lisbon Athletic’s defense with a direct pass from the backfield, you’re underestimating Deng Kai.
In the thirty-third minute, Van der Vaart, marked by Veloso, found it very hard to find space to receive the ball. Even when he got the ball, it was only to pass it on immediately.
To avoid Veloso, he proactively dropped back to help.
However, this time, before he could even turn around, he was taken down by the pursuing Deng Kai.
Defensive players taking down players receiving the ball with their back to goal, not giving the opponent a chance to turn around, is a vital tactic.
Because once the opponent turns around, the difficulty of defending against them multiplies many times over.
Whether it was later Manchester City or Liverpool, any strong team had one thing in common: they would not easily give their opponents the opportunity to turn and face the goal with the ball.
The main referee blew the whistle and came over to warn Deng Kai.
He believed that Lisbon Athletic players had been obstructing Van der Vaart from turning too many times with fouls, and if it happened again, he would consider issuing a yellow card.
Deng Kai expressed his understanding, but the look he gave Van der Vaart as he turned his head was clearly saying, "Next time you receive the ball, I’ll do the same!"
Hey, not changing! Just playing!
Watching this scene, Scholes from way over at Manchester United couldn’t help but sigh.
"What’s the matter, Paul? Tired?" Ferguson misunderstood Scholes’s mood.
The latter shook his head and said, "I just didn’t expect to see this kind of do-or-die spirit in a fourteen-year-old kid."
Ferguson frowned, obviously not understanding what he was talking about.
Scholes explained, "Recently, Van der Vaart has been greatly limited in his performance. Veloso’s close marking is making it difficult for him."
Ferguson said, "But Van der Vaart is constantly adapting. Veloso’s defense on him is not as successful as it was at the beginning, and it requires Deng Kai to join in the defense."
"If this continues, after Van der Vaart completely adapts in the second half, he can continue to threaten Lisbon Athletic’s goal again. By then, Lisbon Athletic will be completely broken by him!"
Scholes smiled, "Van der Vaart thinks so too, but what if Veloso’s purpose was never to limit Van der Vaart?"
Everyone at Manchester United was stunned.
Not to limit Van der Vaart?
Then what for?
"I knew it, this guy’s fouls are so frequent!" The Strike Force Twins almost reacted simultaneously.
As forwards, they also have such maneuvers.
With the ball, they use the opportunity to elbow someone a few times.
Without the ball, they bump into others a bit more.
Many center-backs also do the same.
The purpose is the same, that is... to drain the opponent’s stamina, to break their mentality.
Accomplishing any one of the goals could help them tackle their opponents.
"Veloso’s main target is to drain van der Vaart’s stamina," Scholes said, "He’s made a lot of unnecessary movements, all aimed at exhausting van der Vaart."
"Although van der Vaart’s running might not always be more than in previous games, the quality is completely different. Look, there’s Veloso initiating contact again, when van der Vaart pushes him you can see the veins popping out on his neck, which shows he’s using a lot of strength."
"Even to shake off Veloso, van der Vaart’s running has increased. There are also many sudden stops and changes in direction, which also consume stamina."
Manchester United’s central defender Stam frowned and said, "But what good will it do to exhaust van der Vaart’s stamina? They’re already two-nil down, and if the game ends with this score, Sporting Lisbon will still lose."
"It’s not like they plan on waiting until van der Vaart is completely out of steam before they start their counter-attack, right?"
"That’s unrealistic, that would be something to consider after seventy minutes at the earliest."
"No team that is two-nil behind would dare to start their attack only after seventy minutes."
"Any goal on the pitch is hard-won. Often, ninety minutes might not even be enough to score a single goal."
Scholes nodded, "Yeah, that’s why I found it hard to believe."
"How confident a player would one have to be, how much would one have to trust their strikers, to dare to do such a thing!"
"If it fails, their actions would seem like giving up resistance prematurely in the eyes of others, becoming the biggest culprit in a loss."
"Moreover... while they’re exhausting van der Vaart, because they’ve conceded the flanks to the opposition and with Sneijder still having an unhindered ability to pass, conceding another goal is also possible."
"What then, will they do?"
"Would they still dare to persist? Such attritional tactics, if not seen through to the end, are meaningless. And even if carried through, they might still be meaningless..."
...
Scholes’ prediction soon came to pass.
As Ajax’s midfield organizer Sneijder was pushed back, he could only connect with the key front player van der Vaart through long balls.
But ground passes were easily intercepted by Deng Kai.
Aerial passes, on the other hand, were blocked by Veloso.
Van der Vaart couldn’t assist his team in a short period of time.
Under these circumstances, Sneijder started to lead the team to attack from the flanks, making good use of the wing corridors.
The thirty-fourth minute.
Ajax easily reached the baseline on the wing, and a cross nearly caused a threat.
In the thirty-sixth minute, Ajax crossed again, this time earning a corner kick.
And in the subsequent corner attack, they hit the post, almost changing the scoreline.
In the forty-first minute, Cristiano Ronaldo retreated back to participate and created an opportunity with his individual skills, passing the ball to Marcelino.
After receiving the ball, Marcelino directly challenged the Ajax central defenders, and success would have granted him a shooting chance.
This was the best attacking opportunity Sporting Lisbon had in a while.
Unfortunately, Marcelino wasn’t strong enough, failed to beat the central defenders, and lost possession of the ball.
In the forty-third minute, Cristiano Ronaldo again dropped back to participate, and executed wall passes with Lorenzo, bringing his not-so-powerful passing skills to the limit.
Cristiano Ronaldo truly showed a level of genius.
Even if not as dazzling as van der Vaart, he clearly surpassed the average player.
But the average player Marcelino wasted another opportunity with a long shot that was saved by the goalkeeper.
Marcelino held his head in disbelief.
Sporting Lisbon was like a trapped animal.
Already short on attacking opportunities, and when they finally had the chance to make a shot, they lacked stamina and touch due to the repeated tracking back and sprints by the front three, resulting in shots either flying off target or being weak and powerless.
In the forty-fourth minute, the worst case that Scholes had anticipated happened.
Sporting Lisbon’s corner kick was defended by Ajax.
Sneijder after receiving the ball launched a direct long pass, accurately finding van der Vaart.
Veloso, because of participating in the corner attack, had temporarily abandoned his restraint over van der Vaart.
Van der Vaart, even against two defenders, still managed to use his strong dribbling skills to get past them and go one on one with the goalkeeper.
Pilar advanced.
Facing the menacing Pilar, van der Vaart scored easily with an inspired chip shot, getting his second goal of the match.
A master... is unstoppable!
