Ground football: Ronaldo thought I was going to assist him

Manchester United, tactical training room.

Although the team had no game or training today, Sir Alex Ferguson invited the entire team to watch a youth team match – Ajax U15 vs Sporting Lisbon U15.

After watching, we will invite everyone to dinner as a reward for the Manchester United players' recent outstanding performances across all three competitions.

They've been doing great lately.

"Oh, our little red devil is in danger," Giggs joked with a laugh.

Everyone knows that Ferguson adored the two children.

Manchester United fans wouldn't be surprised if they signed these two kids someday.

"Ajax is much stronger overall," Schmeichel commented.

"That Van der Vaart has great footwork! David, it seems you have a lot of challengers ahead of you. These kids are getting better and better." Neville was putting pressure on Beckham.

"I don't have Van der Vaart's agility." Beckham didn't mind admitting his shortcomings.

Confident people never deny their own shortcomings.

Because they also believe that no one can match their strengths.

In the crowd, the unassuming baby-faced Solskjaer posted on his social media: "Go, Kay!"

Oops, oops... Solskjaer really likes Duncan because the kid said in an interview that Solskjaer was among the three Manchester United players he admired most this year.

This is rare.

And perhaps influenced by this, Ferguson has become more flexible in his use of Solskjaer, the substitute striker, this season, giving him many opportunities.

At the distant Amsterdam Arena.

The match has reached the eighth minute.

Van der Vaart once again displayed his dribbling skills on the right flank, and although his final shot went a bit wide, it didn't stop the home fans from applauding.

In the tenth minute, Van der Vaart received a pass from his teammate Sneijder and then orchestrated a series of attacks, creating another threat after being hit by two teammates' through balls, shining brightly.

In the twelfth minute, Sporting Lisbon finally managed to launch an attack.

Cristiano Ronaldo dribbled past his opponent on the wing, cut inside, and shot.

But in his attempt to get a shot off, he didn't put in enough effort, and the goalkeeper caught the ball.

The goalkeeper threw the ball to Sneijder, who was coming back to receive it.

Sneijder made a slight adjustment and launched a long pass directly to connect with Van der Vaart in the attacking third.

This time, Van der Vaart dribbled past Semedo on the left and cut inside.

Duarte, who came over to cover, saw that there was no other way but to take down Van der Vaart.

The referee immediately blew his whistle and reached for a yellow card.

Duarte ruined a very good attacking opportunity.

"This is bad! Another free kick, and in such a good position!" Manchester United's midfield maestro, Scholes, expressed his alarm.

"Oh, do they even need cover? I don't think so. Ajax are being far too cautious." Dwight Yorke, one of Manchester United's formidable duo, shook his head. Ajax wasn't giving Sporting Lisbon any chance at all.

They actually had Sneijder cover for Van der Vaart.

Ajax's two stars each stand on one side of the football.

Although they are both right-footed players, Sneijder's left foot is also very strong, making him a rare ambidextrous player.

This situation, where multiple players take free kicks, can confuse the wall and the goalkeeper to some extent.

But anyone with a discerning eye can see that Van der Vaart will definitely be taking the penalty.

There are many reasons.

Van der Vaart is the team's star player.

Moreover, he is an attacking player in the frontcourt.

He is also the team's first free-kick taker.

Van der Vaart is currently the team's best and most active player, and he creates almost all of the threats.

The principle of "the capable should do more" is a tacit rule within the team, and letting players in good form take the free throws is a given.

Van der Vaart was positioned a little further back, which gave him an advantage in his run-up.

Conversely, Sneijder was positioned slightly closer to the ball. If he were to shoot directly, he wouldn't have enough power to create a good shot.

The referee blew his whistle, and Sneijder began to move.

He ran towards the soccer ball, but not very fast.

This is clearly intended to provide cover for Van der Vaart...

boom!

The football flew out!

Three-quarters of Sporting Lisbon's wall did not react to the ball and did not jump.

Pilar realized what was happening too late and lunged at the ball, but it was too late.

The soccer ball went into the net.

Although the force was not strong, the angle was quite tricky.

This was a high-quality free kick that resulted in a direct goal.

"Goal! Sneijder! Sneijder has scored directly from a free kick!"

"Two-nil! Ajax are on fire!"

"Both goals were from free kicks. Ajax has too many free-kick takers! They're impossible to defend against!"

"Van der Vaart and Sneijder are celebrating; they're practically the future golden midfield duo for the Dutch national team!"

"Ajax took a two-goal lead in just twelve minutes. It seems their coaching staff can start preparing for the final!"

The Ajax players celebrated enthusiastically.

A direct free kick goal is a very valuable achievement, and any player who accomplishes it will be very happy.

Moreover, Ajax completed it twice in almost five minutes!

Taking advantage of this time, Deng Kai decisively gathered his teammates.

Can't wait.

We have to take a gamble.

Otherwise, there really wouldn't be any chance to play.

"Hey, the Sporting Lisbon players are huddled together, and Deng Kai is gesturing something." The commentator noticed this. "Are they discussing tactics?"

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The camera immediately panned to Maxa.

After all, Deng Kai hadn't communicated with Maksa beforehand; was this something he did on his own?

Maxi was also puzzled, but he was a master of the art of pretense and knew that he couldn't show weakness at this moment, and even more so, he couldn't let the coach of Ajax next door see that he had no control over the team at all.

Maxa nodded repeatedly, a slight smile on his lips, as if Deng Kai's actions had been instructed by him long ago.

Does Zhuge Liang have any brilliant strategies?

"Sigh, Sporting Lisbon's positioning has definitely changed. Why are Ronaldo and Marcelino in the middle now? They seem more like shadow strikers..."

"Veloso is sticking straight to Van der Vaart; he's ignoring the defensive zone, he's just marking him hand-to-hand!"

"With such close marking so early on, Sporting Lisbon's midfield is very vulnerable to being breached."

"What does it mean to send three forwards to the middle? Are they planning to play long balls and crosses later?" asked Andy Cole, the other member of the Black Wind Duo.

Manchester United midfielder Roy Keane speculated: "Playing three players in the middle won't create many opportunities. Instead, it will make the opponent's defense more solid because they lose the distraction on the flanks."

"The purpose of doing this may be to push Sneijder back into the backfield."

Beckham nodded: "I think so too, but Duncan may have overlooked the fact that Ajax's second free-kick opportunity came from Sneijder's long pass from the backfield."

"Sneijder, even when he returns to the backfield to participate in defense, is still effective, and this tactical approach has failed."

Solskjaer agreed, saying, "To compensate for the defensive gaps left by Veloso's marking of Van der Vaart, Sporting Lisbon's wing play has also been brought back."

"But in doing so, they essentially gave up both flanks to Ajax."

"They should be glad Ajax doesn't have David, otherwise I wouldn't be surprised if they conceded ten or eight goals in this game."

Beckham's crosses had become deeply ingrained in people's minds at this stage.

So far this season, 65 percent of Manchester United's goals in the Champions League have been headers.

Of those 65% of headers, 80% came from Beckham's crosses!

Any team that dares to concede the flanks to Manchester United will face Beckham's wrath.

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Of the entire Manchester United team, only Scholes seemed lost in thought.

He is trying to understand Deng Kai's arrangements.

He had a bold idea, but it was so outrageous that he was too embarrassed to say it aloud.

After all, no team has the right to say to the opposing team when they are down by two goals, "I'll give you sixty minutes of playing time..."

Yes!

Scholes believes that Sporting Lisbon's fundamental purpose in using this tactic is not to contain Sneijder, but rather... to wear him down!

Consume Van der Vaart!

To confirm whether Deng Kai thought this way, one only needs to observe the behavior of Veloso, who was monitoring Van der Vaart.

Scholes stared intently at the screen.

While fans were discussing the masters, the masters were discussing Scholes!

Meanwhile, Scholes is studying Duncan's tactics and enjoying it immensely!

I like playing football on the ground: Ronaldo thought I was going to assist him.