While Messi was looking at the newspaper in Gambo Sports City, thinking about how to defeat Yang Yang and Ajax tonight, and in the hotel in the center of Barcelona, ​​Yang Yang looked worriedly at Winston Bogard sitting in front of him.

Next to him, Harvey Alonso, Antonio Pintus, Frans Hawke and others also looked worried.

"Answer me, Winston, I just need you to give me an answer. Can he get on?" Yang Yang stared at his close friend and asked in a deep voice.

The air seemed to have become condensed because of this problem.

Winston Bogard felt a sense of solemnity. After thinking about it, he swallowed and shook his head and said, "I can't guarantee it."

"Jovic just now told me that he could participate in the competition and he really wanted to participate in the competition, but you tell me now that there is no guarantee, so what should I do? What should I do to face Barcelona tonight?" Yang Yang was a little anxious.

This is a sudden incident.

The incident happened two days ago on the afternoon. After a training session, Luka Jovic's right foot had a slight soreness, so he went to the team doctor's room for a check-up, hoping to do it casually or prescribe some medicine.

As a professional player, who is not suffering from pain?

As long as it does not affect the game, no one will care too much.

But unexpectedly, after the test, it was found that Jovic's right leg muscle was a little strained. Although it was still mild, this kind of thing could be big or small, especially when he was going to face Barcelona next time.

"You know, our style is high-pressure and oppression, which requires a wide range of running. Luka Jovic often has to fight his opponents physically, and all of this has huge risks and may aggravate his muscle damage."

Winston Bogard understood Yang Yang's anxiety at this moment, and Yang Yang attached great importance to this game.

But as Ajax's director of athletic performance, he must have his own position and idea. This is not only his professional ethics, but also his responsibility for Yang Yang, Ajax's entire team, and Luka Jovic.

"If you have to give me an answer, then I can tell you if he can play? My answer is, yes!"

Yang Yang's face was a little slow, but unexpectedly, Winston Bogard quickly changed his subject.

"But what I have to tell you is that I have no way to guarantee it, and I'm not sure whether he can hold on to the ninety-minute game. If you want him to play, then you have to prepare for this to avoid being caught off guard."

The following sentence once again pulled Yang Yang's mood into the quagmire.

Not only him, but also Harvey Alonso shook his head depressedly, obviously not satisfied with the news.

"Although we rely on overall combat and not too dependent on a certain player, Jovic's importance in the team is still very obvious. At least no one in the team can replace him at the moment." Xavi Alonso sighed.

He is tall and strong, has excellent physical confrontation, has a stamina, can hold the ball, and has a stable scoring efficiency. These make Jovic the favorite in Ajax's center position.

Although Haaland is tall and strong, his characteristics are different from Jovic.

Faced with a team like Barcelona, ​​Jovic's tactical role will be greater.

Yang Yang frowned and thought for a while, then looked up at Winston Bogard, "Then your opinion is still the same?"

"Yes, it's better to let him rest unless it's absolutely necessary."

"I understand!" Yang Yang sighed.

Losing a general before the game is indeed not a good thing for Ajax, who is about to challenge Barcelona.

But this was not too unexpected to Yang Yang, because he had been mentally prepared for this aspect two days ago.

This is also why he shouted at the pre-match press conference that he wanted to decide the winner in the first round.

Ajax is a young team, and young players are always full of various rich imaginations. Once they arrive at the stadium and find that the reality is not as good as they imagine, they will easily panic.

Since that's the case, Yang Yang directly smashed everything, not giving them any room for imagination, and told them directly that when they walked into the Camp Nou Stadium, they had no way out and could only kill their opponents and get the right to advance.

Want to save hope for victory and defeat until the next round?

Yang Yang directly denied this possibility!

Of course, the game changes rapidly. At the end of the game, the two sides are in a stalemate and must stay until the second round to determine the outcome. At that time, the Ajax players will definitely understand Barcelona and there is no need for him to "mobilize" like this.

"Then we should discuss now how to play without Jovic!" Yang Yang turned to Harvey Alonso and did not continue to stare at Winston Bogard.

The position of the Dutch sports fitness coach as the director of sports performance was tailored for him by Yang Yang, and even the responsibilities and authority were set by Yang Yang, so he could not take the lead in denying Winston Bogard.

Although he has power and has absolute reasons to do so, he must consider the consequences.

Winning and losing are a game and a season, but his expectations for the sports performance manager are in the future.

If he opposes and denies it now, what authority can be expressed in this position in the future?

...

As early as when Jovic was injured, Yang Yang, Xavi Alonso and others had already formulated a substitute plan, and now it is just to repair and reconsider the details of the substitute plan.

The point is, how will Barcelona play?

Barcelona's playing style this season is a bit similar to Ajax, that is, the midfielder often retreats to the central defender, and the two wings press forward greatly, forming a style similar to the three central defenders.

The advantage of this is that the frontcourt can form multiple offensive routines, players interspersed with running positions, and Barcelona's pass-and-receive cooperation and the players' technical skills, the offensive firepower will be very strong.

Before, when Cristiano Ronaldo was still there, the Portuguese's off-ball running and Messi's dribbling propulsion played the greatest threat in this set of tactical play. But now, with the Portuguese's transfer to Serie A Juventus, Barcelona's front-court offensive firepower was greatly affected, but Messi is still there and should not be underestimated.

Of course, there are gains and losses.

Barcelona's style of play has a weak point, that is, the defensive ability of the two wings is relatively poor.

Although Ajax also adopts a similar style of play, it should be noted that Barcelona is Busquets' single midfielder, while Ajax is the double midfielder of Frankie De Jong and Ndongbele. More importantly, the midfield, led by a group of young players such as Jovic, Nerez, Van der Beck and Sancho, can provide the team with strong running coverage and high-pressure.

On the other hand, Barcelona cannot do this at all.

Even though Vidal, who has excellent running ability, still cannot withstand Barcelona's old age in the entire midfield and frontcourt.

Vidal is about to be thirty-two years old, Rakitic is thirty-one, Busquets is soon thirty-one, and Messi is also almost thirty-two years old.

With such an age, Barcelona is at a disadvantage in terms of running ability and endurance in the game.

...

"Now we'll see how Valverde will fight and how he will take action?"

Yang Yang doesn't like this feeling, but he has to admit that Ajax's overall strength is not as good as Barcelona.

The weak don’t have much choice.

"If Alba and Roberto choose to push forward on both wings, then our defense must be vigilant. At the same time, the counterattack after intercepting the ball will be mainly based on both wings. Nerez and Sancho are actively creating opportunities on both wings."

After intercepting the ball, he quickly completed the offensive and defensive conversion. This is the best Ajax has done this season and is also a key point that is getting better and better. The opponent's playing style against Ajax is also very troublesome because he can't defend himself.

Almost every player in the Ajax team can immediately fight back after grabbing the ball, while other players will respond quickly to form cooperation, which makes all opponents extremely troublesome, but they have no good plans.

"When fighting at home, Valverde may not fight to the death, nor may he take risks." Xiavey Alonso guessed.

Although Valverde coached Athletic Bilbao seems to play fiercely, after coming to Barcelona, ​​Valverde has obviously restrained a lot. After all, Barcelona's coaching environment is completely different from Athletic Bilbao.

Only when you have nothing will you do anything, and happy people often have more worries.

In such an important key game, it is home games again, Valverde must consider whether to score a away goal for Ajax?

Ajax is playing away and doesn't mind playing against Barcelona at all. As long as it's within one goal or even two goals, Ajax still has hope for returning to home.

As for what Yang Yang said before the game, no one would care about the winner in the first round, because that was called to the Ajax players. If Valverde really believed it, he would be a little stupid.

"If he doesn't let the wings press, then we will completely overwhelm Messi, cut off Barcelona's midfield and shoot. If you lose this, Barcelona's offensive threat will be greatly reduced, and we will have a chance!"

Speaking of this, Yang Yang felt a pain again. It was a pity that Jovic could not go on.

The Serbian center is still very effective when facing a team like Barcelona.

"What would you choose if you were Valverde?" asked Javi Alonso suddenly.

This is a question that Ajax assistant coach would ask Yang Yang before almost every game.

This is called thinking from the perspective of others!

"If I were Valverde, I would consider starting with stability and trying not to score away goals for my opponent. Through players such as Busquets, Rakitic, Coutinho, Artur, etc., we can ensure the team's possession rate, so that we can continue to press high and find opportunities to hit the back, especially on the side of Ashraf."

Ajax's right-back attack is strong and the defense is weak. This is well-known. The more powerful the attack, the greater the hidden danger.

After hearing this, Harvey Alonso nodded repeatedly, obviously agreeing with Yang Yang's judgment.

This is a kind of mature and persistent approach, and it is a home game, and it is a game that can get the ball possession rate. It also explains to the home fans, so the scene will not be too ugly.
Chapter completed!