The Godfather of Greenery

Chapter 123 Keita
Saidu Keita in advance, before switching to Ajax, I am afraid that no one will remember this name, even in the early days of switching to Ajax, no one can tell the origin of this black player, but in the past In one season, he gained a firm foothold at Ajax and became one of the team's best players.

Speaking of the surname Keita, in Africa, especially in countries such as Mali and Senegal in West Africa, it represents the family name of a prominent family, because from the 12th century to the 17th century, the Keita dynasty ruled West Africa, and even now, the Keita dynasty The Ta family is still full of talents, covering the political, music, writers and entertainers. The first president of Mali came from the Keita family.

Seydoux Keita was born in a football family. His uncle was the famous Mali former number one star Sarif Keita. Arrived as the African Footballer, after retiring, he opened a football school in the capital of Mali.

The famous Salif Keita Youth Training Center, which is hailed by the Malians as the source of their own football talents.

In Mali, football is called the king, because almost everyone does not like to play football, whether it is a boy or a girl. After Keita's father passed away, he was in the youth training school of his uncle Sarif Keita. In training, along with other talented players such as Mohamed Diarra.

Sedu Keita stood out among all the children who received training and became one of the best, so he left Mali on the recommendation of his uncle, came to France, and entered the youth training camp in Marseille. One year he was 17 years old.

Many young people grew up under the wings of their parents when they were 17 years old, but Keita had to stay far away from his hometown and relatives to a strange Europe, with a language barrier and completely different living habits. Adapting to such a change and environment, I secretly hid under the covers and cried almost every night.

And more importantly, in the Marseille youth team at that time, many local youths who were training together rejected this black boy from Africa, because they knew very well that he would affect their position and performance.

But it was the 1999 World Youth Championship that really changed Keita's fate.

After joining Marseille for two years, Keita hardly showed any performance in the first team, because Marseille didn't trust this black and strong African player at all. It is difficult for such a player to contribute to the team when he gets along with his teammates.

But when Keita proposed to represent Mali in the World Youth Championship, Marseille did not allow it, because in their view, it is impossible for a team like Mali to perform well in the World Youth Championship, and Keita won the World Youth Championship. The biggest problem is Marseille's salary, they don't want their players to represent the national team.

On this issue, Keita inherited the character of his uncle Sarif Keita, who insisted on returning home to participate in the competition for the country, and for this reason, he had a very deadlock with Marseille. Finally, Marseille made a compromise and let Keita go back to Africa to participate. In the Nigeria World Youth Championship, unexpectedly, this cup made Keita a hit. Together with Mohamed Diarra, he formed a strong midfielder and led Mali to the third place. Keita himself became the winner of the World Youth Championship. Golden Globe winner.

But just when Keita thought that his fate would change because of this, Marseille was surprised by Keita's performance on the one hand, but on the other hand, he was dissatisfied with Keita's disobedience to the club's requirements, which directly affected Keita. Tower's situation at the club led to a poor first-team season the following season.

Marseille finally decided to abandon Keita, and they began to find a buyer for Keita through their relationship.

But what kind of team can a person who has no first-team performance and only the World Youth Championship Ballon d'Or title attract?
That period of time can be said to be the most hesitant and at a loss for Keita in Europe. He was completely panicked about his future, because he didn't know where he was going next?What kind of arrangement do you want to accept?
But what he didn't expect was that when he was feeling desperate and difficult, Ye Qiu called him a life-saving call.

"Would you like to come to Ajax? Here, you will have the opportunity to prove yourself, and you will become a first-class player in Europe, or even a top star, because I believe you have such strength!" This is what Ye Qiu said to him on the phone Said a word.

That was the only head coach who said that to Keita in his entire life, and even his mother never said that to him when comforting and encouraging him. So, at that moment, Keita decided to Sell ​​yourself to Ye Qiu!

Coming to Amsterdam and joining Ajax, Keita quickly gained a firm foothold in Ye Qiu's team and became the team's main midfielder, and his performance quickly won everyone's attention. recognition.

Among the three players in Ajax's midfield, Keita's position is somewhat special.

If we divide the work in the ball possession system, both Gilberto Silva and Sneijder belong to the type who constantly run to receive passes from their teammates, and continue to create passes for their teammates, but Ye Qiu After a period of observation, I realized that this is not Keita's strong point, so I changed Keita's responsibilities.

Now in Ajax's midfield system, Keita's role is more like a defender covering a wide area, participating in the offense from the frontcourt, investing in counter-robbing on the spot, and retreating to participate in the team's defense. Defensively, Keita almost has sufficient contributions on both ends of the team's offense and defense, and many people say that Keita's running is a bit sloppy.

There is no way around this. Some players are conscious enough to complete [Let the ball keep coming to you] because they have excellent running and coping skills, as well as excellent passing skills; Players can only do [I keep looking for the ball], and no head coach can transform a player from the latter to the former in a short period of time.

Just like Chelsea’s Essien in his previous life, he started running around a lot. Through covering a large area and running without hesitation, he made contributions to the team’s offensive and defensive system. There is also AC Milan’s Cato Suo, he was also this type of player in the early stage, so many people said at the time that these two players were shit-stick players.

But later, with the accumulation of game experience and the improvement of playing wisdom, the fans gradually discovered that whether it was Essien or Gattuso, they played smarter and smarter. The ball, transforming into letting the ball come to you constantly, the transformation between these two roles represents a kind of progress.

Originally, Yaya Toure in Ye Qiu's tactical positioning was more suitable for this midfield role than Keita, because he can become a player who keeps the ball coming, but he is too sticky to the ball, which is his shortcoming, and he He was still young and his performance was not as good as Keita, so Ye Qiu finally chose Keita.

This is also a trade-off. No one is [-]% perfect. If there are advantages, there must be disadvantages. The key is how a head coach can cover up the shortcomings of the players and dig out their advantages. This is how the head coach improves. The key to a team's combat effectiveness.

For Ye Qiu, Keita is very grateful and admirable. He is able to have what he is today, to stand on the top of the UEFA Cup, to stand on the stage of the UEFA Super Cup, and to compete with top giants like Bayern Munich. Yu head coach Ye Qiu.

Therefore, when Ye Qiu scored the fifth goal of the match in Bayern Munich, he rushed to the sidelines, angrily rebuked the players on the field for their shitty performance, and even threatened them.

"If possible, I will replace all 11 of you with Lao Tzu!"

Ye Qiu's accusation cannot be said to be unreasonable. It is a fact that his physical fitness has declined. However, after the Ajax players took a 3-0 lead in the first half, the overall slack was also the main factor, especially for several players in the team. slack.

What team is Bayern Munich?
Even if they face Real Madrid, Manchester United, or other top giants in Europe, Bayern Munich can suppress their opponents. Their fighting spirit and willpower are the best in the world .

For such a team, as long as you relax a little bit, you will be gnawed to the bone anytime, anywhere.

Keita heard Ye Qiu's reprimand, and a wave of anger surged in his heart, not at the head coach at all, but at himself and his opponent.

Not only him, but the Ajax players were also frightened by the head coach and his ferocious appearance. They all began to calm down, started to work harder and harder into the game, and launched a round of counterattacks and attacks against Bayern Munich.

After the re-kick-off, Ajax played very resolutely, ignoring the loopholes behind him, and actively participated in the attack. This strategy of attacking instead of defending also achieved certain results for a while. Bayern Munich again Pressed back by Ajax.

In the 83rd minute of the game, just over a minute away from Bayern's goal, Ajax's offense remained in Bayern Munich's half, but with little effect.

Maicon played as a right midfielder and partnered with van der Meyde in front of them. There were no Bayern players in front of the two, so Van der Meyer's position was more to enter Bayern Munich's penalty area and give up a lot of space on the right. to Maicon.

When Van der Meyde entered the penalty area, Maicon got the ball from Yaya Toure on the right, and got the ball in the right corner of the penalty area. Ge rushed over quickly, but Maicon raised his head and looked at Bayern Munich's penalty area.

It was already a mess, packed with players from Ajax and Bayern Munich.

Sagnol, Robert Kovac, Kufuor, Hargreaves, Salihamidzic... Ibrahimovic, Keita, Yaya Toure...

So many players flooded into the small penalty area, and the situation there suddenly became very chaotic. It was like a pot of boiled gruel, and it was not clear what was what.

After Maicon got the ball, he noticed Effenberg. He didn't plan to let the tiger get close, because he knew Effenberg's strength very well, so he grabbed the ball before Effenberg and passed the ball straight. Take the left side of the penalty area in front of the goal.

Both Bayern Munich and Ajax players took note of this side, with Bayern taking advantage of their numbers to secure the most powerful position in the penalty area, before Maicon's cross forced them to move back, And as long as they move, their advantage will be weakened, and their defense will have holes.

There is a saying that must be remembered that the key to grabbing points is not only the height and body confrontation, the prediction of the landing point, the occupation of favorable positions, and the observation of the surrounding situation, these also play a very important role.

When Keita saw Maicon's pass and the ball was still in the air, he already had a premonition, roughly guessing where the ball would land and where it would be. This ability is not surprising to Keita. The Ajax coaching staff is very familiar with and understands his ability, so he also scored headers and received crosses many times.

Keita realized this, and he threw away Sagnol, rushed to the small penalty area from the left side quickly before the Frenchman, Sagnor quickly chased back, and Roberto Kovac He was also constantly retreating, and he also predicted where the ball would fall.

But when Robert Kovac arrived, he found that Keita was one step ahead of him.

Don't underestimate this step, because Keita arrived one step earlier than Robert Kovacs, so when Robert Kovacs was in place, Keita took advantage of his unstable center of gravity and stopped Robert Kovacs with a body contact. Kovac took off immediately, and he also had a secret interference trick secretly, that is, he used his hand to interfere with Robert Kovac.

The Croatian central defender arrived at the place, but he couldn't take off immediately. On the contrary, Keita completed all the movements at the same time in an instant. Compared with Roberto Kovac and Sagnol, his height is the tallest , and has the jumping ability and flexibility of a typical African player, so he jumps very high.

Facing Maicon's incoming ball, Keita had an obvious lingering action in mid-air. Seeing Kahn, he deliberately hit a touchdown ball. The ball was very fast. After touching Keita's forehead, he turned a Direction, quickly bounced up after landing.

Kahn judged the direction and made a save, but he didn't expect it to be a touchdown ball. This kind of ball is very difficult for a goalkeeper who flies to save.

In the end, Kahn watched the ball go into the goal behind him, 4:2!

Everyone in the audience was stunned and watched this scene in disbelief. Kahn fell to the ground and became the foil and background after Keita's goal, while the Ajax players rushed into the scene crazily. restricted area.

After a brief silence, the entire Louis II Stadium erupted with the most enthusiastic shouts since the opening of the game.

"Brave Ajax, march forward without fear!"

"Bayern Munich, we are not afraid of you at all!"

"Come on, brave Ajax fighters, let's conquer Europe!"

Countless Ajax fans were screaming in the stands, maybe the UEFA Super Cup is not important at all, but beating Bayern Munich has a completely different meaning, because this is the strongest team in Europe, and it is also the most important team in Europe. The toughest team to play.

But the Ajax players used this game and this performance to prove their courage.

"We like to challenge strong teams. The stronger the opponent, the more excited we are, because it can prove our strength!"

The words of the head coach Ye Qiu are still in my ears. No one can deny the success of his spiritual indoctrination in this Ajax team. He has rebuilt this weak Ajax team in the past few years into a team that is not only Can win the underdogs, and at the same time be able to fight tough battles and win the mighty iron army.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who was known as a softie in his previous life, has scored many goals at critical moments since joining Ajax, especially his outstanding performance in the UEFA Cup final. Who would dare to say that the Swede is still the same in his previous life A soft-bodied player who gets frustrated at every critical moment?

Joining Ajax, playing around a group of teammates who are like wolves and tigers, even soft players will become hard!
After Keita scored, Ye Qiu clapped his hands happily. He was satisfied with Keita's performance. Although Mali's midfielder's performance in this game could not be said to be very good, the goal at the most critical moment at the end saved Ah. Jax, avoid the possibility of Ajax being equalized or even reversed.

Heathfield and Ye Qiu are both betting, and both of them are obviously betting on everything, because they almost gave up defense in this game, and they all chose to attack, it depends on who can win the bet, it depends on who of players are able to support to the end.

There is no doubt that Ajax has an absolute advantage at this point in the game!

But it is obvious that Hitzfeld and his Bayern Munich are not fuel-efficient lamps. After being scored by Ajax again, Bayern Munich quickly brought the ball to the center circle, while constantly reminding the referee that the game Should start right away.

Obviously, this iron army from the Bundesliga was also aroused by Ajax to fight and anger.

Soon, Ajax's celebration was interrupted and the game restarted. Bayern Munich launched a round of fierce attack on Ajax. They are all actively pressing forward.

For them, it's okay to lose, but it's embarrassing, even killing them can't do it!
And the way to restore dignity is not only to score goals, but also to fight until the last minute of the game!
In the 92nd minute of extra time, Bayern Munich scored another goal, using Yaya Toure's excessive sticking to the ball, Effenberg intercepted the ball and found Elber with a long pass. After getting the ball at the front of the penalty area, he got rid of Kivu in an instant, volleyed directly, and pierced Ajax's goal again, 3:4!

But everyone knows that this is a face-saving goal, but it is undeniable that Bayern Munich's performance is enough to earn them respect and dignity, allowing them to leave the Louis II Stadium proudly.

In the minds of the fans, winning or losing a game does not necessarily mean winning or losing. There is one thing that is more important than winning or losing, and that is dignity!

(End of this chapter)