Sean was a man of his word; after breakfast, he immediately submitted his request to Frank de Boer.
Frank de Boer readily agreed.
When Sean announced the news to his teammates, he was met with cheers.
The national team break was after the Feyenoord match, and Sean had considered for a few seconds whether to treat everyone at that time.
If he chose the next day, teammates who needed to go to their respective national teams wouldn't be able to attend, which would be a shame.
A gathering after a match might be a bit tiring, but they probably wouldn't have the energy to get drunk and cause trouble.
Besides, even if they lost the match, a gathering wasn't impossible, but it wouldn't be as enjoyable.
For everything to go perfectly, shouldn't everyone try even harder during the match?
Yes, that's right, Sean felt he was a true logical genius...
At 1:30 PM on March 1st, the Eredivisie Round 26 match between Feyenoord and Ajax at Feyenoord Stadium began on time.
Ajax kicked off.
Sean passed the ball back, and Ajax began their probing passing and control.
Although both teams were very familiar with each other, they still needed to see if the opponent's overall transition speed was on point today.
It would be great if someone on the opposing team was clearly not in form.
Ajax passed the ball from side to side a few times, but unfortunately, the Feyenoord players reacted very quickly.
That was no big deal; Sean sprinted into the open space in the attacking third and raised his hand for the ball.
"Beep~"
Hmm?
Hearing the referee's whistle, Sean looked over with some confusion.
Oh, Bojan was knocked down.
This guy's physique was indeed a bit thin, and he wasn't great in physical confrontations.
Sean didn't take it too seriously, but he joined his teammates in pressuring the referee.
At times like this, it was necessary to show their stance and not let Feyenoord get away with it easily.
The referee indeed did not issue a yellow card; Ajax only received a free kick in the attacking third.
Sean walked past Bojan and casually asked, "Are you alright?"
Of course he was fine; even with his poor physicality, Bojan wouldn't have any serious issues from being bumped, Sean was just showing routine concern.
"Be careful, I feel like something's not right!"
Hmm?
Unexpectedly receiving such an answer, Sean glanced at Bojan with a slight surprise, finding the guy's face serious, not like he was joking.
This was a national derby after all; it was normal for it to be intense, so what wasn't right?
Sean didn't understand, but now wasn't a good time for a chat, so he could only put it aside for now.
The free kick was too far.
Blind took the free kick, and Ajax established passing and control in the attacking third.
Sean dropped back to receive the ball, pulled it back, and turned, when a dark figure suddenly appeared in his vision,
"Bang~"
A dull thud, intense body pain, and the world spinning—by the time Sean reacted, he was already lying on the grass.
Lying on the ground was truly pathetic!
Sean immediately sat up, suddenly tasted iron in his mouth, and turned his head to spit.
Damn it, it was bloody. Did I bite my tongue just now?
"Hey, Sean, are you okay?"
Feyenoord's left central midfielder, Vilhena, actively extended his right hand to Sean, looking friendly and approachable.
But it was this guy who had just knocked Sean down!
Sean immediately understood what Bojan meant by "something's not right."
On the pitch, defensive intensity clearly had two curves: against the man or against the ball.
The meaning is simple: is your defensive target the man or the football?
In the barbaric era, the legendary era when tackles from behind were very popular, defenders' targets were always the ball-carrier.
Managing this and that, they would first knock the man down.
The referee was also used to all of this and didn't think it was a big deal.
With the progress of the times and the development of civilization, this approach was gradually phased out.
After all, the refereeing standards changed.
First, tackles from behind were severely punished, and later, physical confrontations also had to be distinguished by level.
The defenders' target gradually shifted to the football.
You knock someone down once, they might not have any problems, but what about you?
A red card if serious, a yellow card if not too serious—it was really not worth it.
Given that, of course, the focus had to be on the football.
Even if the defensive difficulty increased exponentially, so what?
Offense is more attractive, and attractiveness brings more fans, which helps football develop.
Everything is a general trend.
Modern passing and control football developed on this basis.
If it were still an era where the man was the defensive target, even if you were Messi, you wouldn't be able to play Tiki-Taka.
If you can't stop the ball, can't you at least knock the man down, right?
However,
Sean was very sure that Vilhena just now had not tried to win the ball and coincidentally knock him down; he was aiming for Sean himself, otherwise Sean wouldn't have had zero reaction time.
As for this guy's current friendly attitude~
Heh~
Although this was Feyenoord Stadium, and the referee would most likely favor them, they weren't yet sure of the referee's judgment standards, so they naturally didn't dare to be too arrogant.
Vilhena's displayed friendliness wasn't for Sean, it was for the referee: "Look, look, I've already apologized to him, I didn't do it on purpose just now, please be lenient!"
That was roughly the meaning!
Sean ignored him and got up himself.
Vilhena wasn't embarrassed, smiled, and ran towards the referee.
The referee only casually spoke a few words to him and indeed did not show a yellow card.
Sean's heart sank: Damn it, this match is going to be tough!
Indeed, the subsequent match confirmed Sean's thoughts.
After testing that the referee's judgment standards were lenient today, the Feyenoord players felt reassured and actively sought out physical confrontations.
The Ajax players were truly not used to this.
Sean was no exception.
Playing with someone hanging on him was indeed a bit harder; Sean attempted three breakthroughs and none were successful!
Someone is literally on your back, and you're still thinking about changing direction?
Maintain your balance first, baby!
Sean was still okay; at least he could hold onto the ball, but other Ajax players couldn't even keep possession!
In this situation, the match simply couldn't flow smoothly.
Ajax players frequently fell, inevitably becoming increasingly frustrated.
Feyenoord players, on the other hand, became more excited as they played, and their actions became increasingly aggressive.
Finally, in the 37th minute, Sean finally ran into open space to receive the ball, turned, and cut inside towards the center.
He was met by a flying tackle from Feyenoord's defensive midfielder, Immers.
A flying tackle was one thing; Sean could try to dodge it, but a flying tackle with a raised foot was different; it was impossible to dodge!
"Bang!"
Sean plunged headfirst to the ground.
The Ajax players immediately erupted, no longer bothering to go to the referee—since it had been useless so many times before—and instead directly surrounded the perpetrator.
What if the whole stadium booed?
Your boos are our battle cry; we're going to beat him up to vent our anger right now!
"Beep beep beep~"
The referee, this time, quickly pulled out a yellow card, but it was completely ineffective; he could only blow his whistle and rush into the crowd...
...
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