There had just been a light rain last night, and Amsterdam was shrouded in a damp fog in the early morning.

Walking out of the hotel, Arteta was a little tired of the weather, as if he was a little resistant to the city, the club.

He's a Basque guy and a lot of people like to say he's a Barcelona academy player, but that's wrong, he only spent a year and a half at La Masia before he was loaned to Paris Saint-Germain.

Former France international Luiz? Fernandes brought him to Paris from Barcelona and entrusted him with the task of team-mate Ronaldinho, Nicolas Anelka and other famous European stars, and he gained some experience in Paris, but eventually he had to return to Barcelona.

Ironically, he came to Catalonia from the Basque Country in the hope of playing for a big club like Barcelona, but this team never gave him even a chance, and after returning from Paris Saint-Germain, they unceremoniously told him that he would either go to cold Scotland or go to the distant Netherlands, you choose.

Scotland, the Soviet Super League, this is indeed too far away for Arteta, who has lived on the continent of Europa since he was a child, some out of reach, relatively speaking, Amsterdam in the Netherlands makes him feel closer, and Ye Qiu's Ajax successfully reached the Champions League semi-finals last season, which caused a huge repercussion throughout Europe.

Of course, joining Ajax will make Arteta's name a little less good, everyone will say, is that Seydoux? Keita joined Barcelona, but in the end, Arteta came to Amsterdam.

That's why he's a little resistant.

Pulling on the Adidas training jersey on his body, Arteta zipped up his jacket, moved his hands and feet on the spot a few times, and began to run quickly in the direction of the nearby Arenal Stadium.

Today is the first day of the team's training camp, and it is also his first day at Ajax, and he should also meet the long-admired manager for the first time on this day, and this meeting is bound to determine his future and fate at Ajax in the next four years, so he is a little apprehensive and a little looking forward to it.

From the hotel to the stadium to the training base, Arteta did not stop the whole process, and always maintained a uniform speed, so when he ran to De Tokmost, he was sweating a little, and his body felt hot, just in time to complete the warm-up.

"Morning, Mikel!"

Captain Van der Sar got out of his car just as he passed the parking lot, "a little early. ”

"I woke up early in the morning, and I didn't feel comfortable staying in the hotel, so I just came early!" Arteta replied with a smile.

He is not the kind of kid who has never been out, on the contrary, he left his hometown to come to Barcelona since he was a child, and then he was loaned by Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain, so he knows very well and knows how to adapt to an unfamiliar environment and integrate into a strange group.

It's not a good idea to close yourself off, on the contrary, it's the right thing to do.

"Young people are young people, full of energy!" Van der Sar laughed.

The two walked side by side into Detokmmost's first-team training ground, and because it was a summer training camp, the team will take three training sessions a day during this period, which is also to allow the team to better adjust their bodies and better carry out physical reserve training to cope with the upcoming new season.

Van der Sar is not as flamboyant as Van Bommel as a captain, he doesn't have a strong personality, but he has an affinity that he can talk to everyone, so the club and the coaching staff rely heavily on him when it comes to accepting new players.

Walk through the door, Mikel? Arteta saw from a distance that in the comprehensive training area, the coaching staff was already busy arranging the training ground, and when they came downstairs, they happened to see Ye Qiu and Peter from the medical research team? Brandt walked out of the medical research room, and the two were obviously discussing something, but it was Ye Qiu who was talking, and Brandt was listening.

"Morning, head!" Van der Sar greeted casually.

"Morning, Edwin!" Ye Qiu smiled and nodded, and when he swept past Arteta, he stopped, "Mikel? Arteta? ”

The Spaniard knew that this very young-looking person was actually his head coach and the manipulator of his fate for the next four years, so he straightened up slightly with a little seriousness, "Yes, Mr. Ye Qiu!" ”

His serious appearance and behavior made the other three people laugh.

"Don't be so serious, Mikel, don't eat this set!" Van der Sar said with a smile.

Arteta blushed a little and looked a little embarrassed to stand there.

Ye Qiu waved his hand, Van der Sar and Peter? Brandt knew he wanted to talk to Arteta, so he left.

"I'm sorry, Mikel, I was in Argentina when you came to Amsterdam, so I couldn't meet you in the first place, and I have to apologize to you for that."

Arteta was a little surprised, he had fantasized about countless pictures and opening remarks of meeting Ye Qiu, but he never thought that the first sentence of the manager's private communication with him was an apology, but this apology made him feel that he was taken seriously.

Yes, in Barcelona, he is not valued at all, and even at Paris Saint-Germain, he is just a player on temporary loan, and it is impossible for him to be valued by the club, but now that he has come to Ajax, Ye Qiu gave him this feeling when he met for the first time, and this is the first time he has a good impression of Ajax and Ye Qiu.

"There's one thing I think I have to make clear to you, and that's that I want you to understand what is rumored and hyped by the media outside about you being Seydoux? Keita's transfer has been a no-brainer, and I've never let players I don't like, or who don't contribute to the team, stay in the team. ”

"You're a player I've hand-picked, I've seen the footage of your game at Paris Saint-Germain, I've seen some of the footage of you playing for the Spanish national team, and I've gotten to know you better than you ever thought you would."

Ye Qiu's words made Arteta a little flattered, he really always thought he was Seydoux? Keita's transfer was added, but he didn't expect that Ye Qiu said no, and from Ye Qiu's words, he once again felt the feeling of being valued and relied on.

'I'm sure you've seen some news about us last season, we lost control in midfield, everybody said we were impactful, Arjen Robben and Van der Vaart were very fast on both wings, Zlatan Ibrahimovic was good, we were very strong in attack, but we could be fast but not slow, we could put it but we couldn't take it.

Arteta has played the ball himself, and he is a more traditional Spanish midfielder, organization and control of the tempo, these are his strengths, and he is also his forte, and he is still young, and his speed is not slow, he is proficient in passing, long and short passes are also very good, and getting rid of the ball with his back is his forte.

Therefore, he was able to understand the meaning of Ye Qiu's words.

"We have long been determined to bring in a suitable metronome in the summer, with him and Sneijder forming the second echelon of our team's attack, delivering a steady stream of shells to the trident in front."

After hearing this, Arteta couldn't stop nodding, Ye Qiu's words resolved many doubts in his heart, and also made him see his future in this young team more clearly, "I understand, Mr. Ye Qiu." ”

"Call me head, they all call me that!" Ye Qiu said with a smile.

"Yes...... Head! Arteta replied with a smile.

"However, there are some things I still have to say up front, I have always advocated football as a whole, and our tactics in the last two years have been very focused on holistic, with aggressive counter-attacks and midfield pressing to suppress the opponent, and a high defensive system, so the midfielders have a lot of work to do, you have to be mentally prepared."

Ye Qiu said this politely, but the subtext is very clear, that is, if the performance is not good, I will still let you play as a substitute.

Arteta nodded, "Don't worry, head, I'll give it my all." ”

"It's not just about giving it your all, you have to dig out all your potential, we must make another fuss in the Champions League this year, and we will have the shame of last year!" Ye Qiu said with a smile.

Last year, Ajax reached the semi-finals of the Champions League and became the dark horse of the year, which has surprised the whole of Europe, Ye Qiu is now saying his goal for this season, and even Arteta has been moved, after all, who doesn't want to be a professional player in the Champions League?

…………

…………

Although Ajax practiced three times a day and the first training session was early, to the surprise of the two newcomers, no one was late, and all of them arrived ten minutes or even half an hour early.

The players came to Detokmost, changed their clothes, and came to the training ground with great self-awareness, and under the guidance and supervision of the coaching staff, they each carried out warm-up activities to prepare for the next training session.

Ye Qiu appeared at the training ground on time, but he was not as serious as Mascherano or Arteta imagined, but when he spoke, he joked with the players, talked about family things, and even teased Lucio's marriage.

Originally, Ye Qiu planned to give him a few days off and let him go on vacation, but this kid refused to come to Amsterdam on time to report, so Ye Qiu joked that he would not dare to go to his house in the future, otherwise he was afraid that the hostess would retaliate against him, which made the players laugh.

But in some links, Ye Qiu and the coaching staff are very strict, that is, the testing of the players' bodies.

Who is over-the-top and who doesn't pay attention to moderation when on vacation, these have become the object of Ye Qiu's severe criticism, and then a punishment is given, that is, targeted doubling of training to ensure that these players with poor physical conditions can catch up with the team's progress.

I don't know if Lu Dao is too happy to get married, or if it is because the newlywed Yan'er, Lucio, who was originally physically amazing, exceeded a number of data during the physical test, and finally fell to the middle of the overall ranking, which suddenly became the focus and object of ridicule by everyone in the team.

Don't look at the Brazilian centre-back's face, but in fact he is very joking, everyone laughs together, and the atmosphere on the training ground is very good, so that the two new players feel a kind of family together.

In terms of training projects, there are two physical reserve classes, and this one in the morning is more based on some games that are not very high-intensity, but very compact, several of which are bought by Ye Qiu from the godfather cultivation system, and they are all training that combines the ball very strongly, focusing on adjusting the players' bodies, cultivating and improving the tacit cooperation between the players.

The second training session was based on high-intensity fitness training, in which the players had to undergo high-intensity fitness training, and after learning the lessons of the previous two years, the Ajax coaching staff improved and adjusted the team's fitness training program appropriately.

In the afternoon, after a break, he ushered in the last training session, mainly tactical drills and ball training, but because it was the early stage of the training camp, Ye Qiu mainly used some small-scale cooperation training and new training methods as the main training items, of which the new training methods are also mainly primary for the time being.

Arteta and Mascherano are both new to Ajax's new training program, whether it is a game such as hitting the wall or a new training method at the beginning, on the one hand, it is very demanding for players, and it can improve the strength and teamwork of players very well, but at the same time, it is very interesting.

At present, these two sets of training methods have been popularized by the Ajax academy, but the lower age groups are basically primary, with the increase of age, continue to strengthen, I believe that over time, Ye Qiu's new training method will completely change the entire Ajax.

In fact, Ye Qiu has changed many people, such as Van der Vaart, the Dutch golden boy was not injured as in his previous life, and now he is still fast and sharp, whether it is cutting inside with the ball or crossing the bottom on the right side, it is his forte, and his skills, creativity and vision make him have a strong back pass even on the side.

There is also Ibrahimovic, the Swede's last shot in the previous life has always been criticized, and the goal rate in key games has also made many people dissatisfied, but under Ye Qiu's command, Ibrahimovic's shooting skills may not be comparable to that of skilled shooters like Vanney and Huntelaar, but it is definitely not bad, and it has improved a lot.

Ye Qiu reassigned the reorganized midfield.

Purely from the point of view of position, the three midfielders stand in an oblique triangle, maintaining a tight distance from each other, Sneijder is on the center to the right, in order to echo Van der Vaart, and after Van der Vaart cut inside on the right, McCann's back insertion is also an important offensive means for Ajax.

Arteta is a little further back than Sneijder, a little to the left, and although he is a right-footed player, he is very flexible with his left foot, and like Sneijder, he is a player with a very flexible left and right foot, but the characteristics of the two are different.

The Spaniard has some deficiencies in the link of discovering the opponent's loopholes and taking advantage of them, which is the so-called lack of creativity and threat in passing, but he is very good at long and short passes, balanced left and right feet, very strong ball control and control of the rhythm, and excellent reading of the game and overall vision.

Sneijder is a very interesting player, if everyone pays attention to his passing, it is not difficult to find that in fact, he rarely lets the ball stick to his feet, runs and passes, the whole process is very fast, and some people will even suspect that this kid doesn't need to see his eyes to know where the ball is going.

In fact, it's not that he doesn't have to look at it, but when he runs to catch the ball, or before, he has already thought in advance where he wants to pass the ball after receiving the ball, so he will hardly let the ball stop at his feet, and such a player should be more forward in the position, and then play his strengths, as well as his ability to plug in and attack.

In other words, in terms of division of labor, Arteta pays attention to ball control and tempo, is responsible for scheduling and distributing the ball, more like a military adviser in the midfield, specializing in controlling the overall situation, while Sneijder is responsible for threading the needle in front and passing the ball, Van der Vaart on the right can also pass the ball, and his passing and creativity are also very good.

There is no doubt that the lag behind is Mascherano or De Jong, the latter has been mixed in the Eredivisie for two years, and his strength has improved rapidly, although he is very young, but as a versatile player, he is a very important card in Ye Qiu's hand.

In Ye Qiu's heart, he knows very well that if the midfield can have stronger control and higher possession, then the transformation is that the team has longer possession of the ball, then he dares to let McCone put more into the attack, and let Sneijder and Van der Vaart create more threats in the midfield.

And for that to happen, Arteta is important.

In the past, Ajax was in full swing, although it could play a lot of magnificent attacks and carry out a series of mercury-like penetration and cooperation, but there was always an urge to swallow the opponent in one bite, which was more reflected in the team's attack, although it was very good-looking, very passionate, but also very dangerous, a little bit of a desperate feeling.

Ye Qiu believes that any fan in the world likes to see this kind of passionate offensive football because it looks good; But he also believes that no manager in the world wants his team to adopt such a risky style of play, because the risk is too high, and the tactics are fundamentally to control the risk of the team winning.

Ye Qiu wants to introduce a metronome, that is, he hopes to be able to control the team through the metronome, and when the situation is dominant, the team can play a hearty fast-paced attack, and can completely beat the opponent; But when the situation is unfavorable, speed needs to be sacrificed for stability.

Between relaxation and relaxation, it is all the art of control.

Ye Qiu also didn't know if Arteta could help his Ajax achieve the level and performance he wanted, but he believes that at least so far, Arteta is the player he can bring in the most suitable for this.

So, he's willing to take a risk!