The template of Madoka Kaname: I rose from adversity to the summit.

Chapter 146 Commanding with a Cane: Ten Hag's Battle for Canonization

Ta-da!

A rhythmic knocking sound came from outside the locker room, and the players all looked towards the door.

The man arrived; he appeared in the locker room leaning on a cane.

"It seems I've made it." Ten Hag's voice was filled with determination.

Yuan Meng looked at Teng Hage's ankle, which was wrapped and secured with white bandages, and a sense of relief welled up within her.

Ten Hag kept his word.

Three hours earlier, when the players boarded the bus with Schroeder, Yuan Meng was very disappointed, thinking that Ten Hag wouldn't come today.

The greater the disappointment then, the greater the joy now.

"I've heard your morale has been low lately," Ten Hag said, walking to the center of the locker room and slamming his cane on the ground. "Is that so?"

He looked around and saw that many players had lowered their heads.

"What is our goal? Can anyone tell me?" Ten Hag asked calmly.

"Champions!" Captain Feltman answered first.

"Well said! But that's not all." Ten Hag pointed to the Ajax crest. "Ajax was a legendary team, winning the Champions League title several times."

"But what about now?"

"When we entered the Champions League group stage, everyone thought we were just lucky and that we would be eliminated soon."

"Don't you feel even a little bit resentful?!"

Ten Hag's voice echoed in the locker room.

Seeing the players' grim faces, he didn't give anyone else a chance to interrupt and suddenly roared.

"A mere six-game winning streak in the league shouldn't make you lazy and complacent!"

Is this the attitude a strong team should have?

"From today onwards, I will only give playing time to the most diligent and serious players. Anyone who dares to slack off in training will be relegated to the bench!!!"

"We at Ajax will set our sights on the whole of Europe!"

"Players without ambition don't deserve to play for Ajax!"

"Now, go out there and prove your worth!"

"Give it your all and keep in mind that there are plenty of players waiting for their chance on the bench."

"Did you all understand?"

"Yes, boss!!!"

The deafening roar echoed through the locker room.

The players walked toward the players' tunnel with an unwavering determination to win, while Ten Hag, leaning on crutches and supported by Schroeder, headed toward the pitch.

"Welcome to the live broadcast. The seventh round of the Eredivisie, Heerenveen vs. Ajax, is about to kick off at the Abbe Renstra Stadium."

"We can see from the broadcast footage that the great Dutch head coach Ten Hag is directing the team while using a cane."

All I can say is, Ten Hag is awesome!

Is he really that dedicated?

Whether Teng Hai's tactics were good or not is another matter, but at least his fighting spirit is commendable.

[Still calling him Teng Hai? Isn't that practically canonization?]

[Winning makes you a true master; losing just makes you a poser.]

"Look, Yuan Shen has arrived. Look at that boss aura."

Why is Yuan Shen wearing gloves today?

[It's all black, which looks pretty cool.]

Yuan Meng's gloves are part of Nike's sponsored gear and are quite versatile.

Not only can it prevent slipping, but it can also prevent nails from breaking or fingers from getting scratched during impacts and falls.

Although Yuan Meng was already used to these minor injuries, having gloves was better than nothing.

"The match has begun, Ajax kicks off."

"Heerenveen played very proactively, and their pressing was quite disciplined."

"No wonder they're a team vying for European competition."

"Odegaard, number 10, has the ball; he's Heerenveen's most dangerous player!"

"Odegaard gets past Shené and sends a through ball!"

boom!

Warber rushed towards the striker, and the two of them kicked the ball hard at the same time!

"Good! The ball has been cleared out of the penalty area."

Wöber was highly motivated today, and Ten Hag's message was clear: from now on, everyone could be a starter.

As a key rotation player, he is only one step away from a regular starting position, so there is no reason for him not to give it his all!

"The ball is flying into the penalty area; watch out for multiple players pressing!"

Ziyech made a timely pass, allowing Schöne to safely pass the ball out.

Ziyech glanced forward and sent a curved pass with his left foot.

"What a clever pass! Yuan Shen gets the ball and cuts inside from the right wing."

"A curling shot to the far corner!"

"No, it wasn't a curling shot. The same trajectory, but this time the ball landed on the left side of the penalty area!"

"Neres scores from close range!!!"

[Holy crap, what's going on with Yuan Shen's pass?]

[Yuan Shen isn't shooting anymore, my youth is over!]

That shot looked just like a goal, only it lacked power.

Neres ran towards Yuan Meng, and the two high-fived in celebration.

"Great pass! The goalkeeper just couldn't reach it."

Yuan Meng responded with a smile: "You guys run like your lives depend on it, leave the rest to me."

"OK!" Nerez gave a thumbs up.

This goal was somewhat unexpected for Heerenveen. In order not to repeat the mistake of Vitesse, head coach Strepper signaled to the players to slow down a bit, control the pace, and not let Ajax lead them by the nose.

As head coach, Streppel understands best what makes Ajax so formidable. Their already strong attacking midfield, coupled with the unstoppable wing threat of Yuan Meng, allows Ajax's attack to radiate across all three flanks.

Most teams either focus on attacking down the flanks or penetrating through the middle, but Ajax's attack is very balanced, making it difficult to pinpoint their attacking focus.

Heerenveen wanted to slow down, but Ten Hag wouldn't allow it. Once Heerenveen controlled the ball in their own half, Yuan Meng, Dolberg, and Neres pressed them like mad dogs.

Even if Heerenveen manages to penetrate their defenses, they will still face a second pressing from the midfield trio.

In this way, even a slight mistake in passing the ball out from the backfield can trigger a chain reaction, leading to conceding a goal.

"Long pass!!!" Streppel shouted from the sidelines.

Escape is shameful but useful. Rather than waiting for ground passing to go wrong, it's better to choose a long pass, which has a lower success rate, and is at least much safer.

"Take the second ball!" Yuan Meng shouted to the midfielder. As a forward, he was always ready to steal the second ball, provided that someone caused chaos at the first ball.

Schöne took the lead in suppressing Ødegaard. The opposing number 10 has average physical attributes, but his positioning is very clever. He is a typical mental player. We can't let him steal a win.

Other players were also moving towards the center, and the midfield was in chaos.

De Ligt suddenly burst out from the edge of the penalty area, took a running start, and headed the ball forward.

"Holy crap, this young man is amazing!"

"Ziyech gets the ball."

"They've conceded another goal in the blink of an eye. Are they playing mahjong in midfield?! So many people?!"

"Holy crap, we got it back! Our team is awesome!!!"

Ten Hag raised his cane and pointed to the opponent's half: "Counterattack! Send a long pass!"

Without a moment's hesitation, Shene swung his leg and slammed it into the bottom of the ball!

Yuan Meng took the lead and stopped the ball in front of the center-back.

Young center-back Pierre wanted to take advantage of Yuan Meng's unstable footing and quickly steal the ball.

As he got close, a strong gust of wind surged up around him.

Yuan Meng spun around to Pierre's side, ruthlessly placing her large hand on Pierre's waist, using the momentum to rush into the penalty area.

These gloves are really good at preventing slipping!

"Yuan Shen is on a one-on-one attack!"

"Goalkeeper, come out!"

"An elegant chip shot!"

"GOAL!!!!!"

"Following his hat-trick, Yuan Shen scores in consecutive matches!"

"No one in the Eredivisie can stop him!"

"Yuan Shen is awesome!"

[Pierre's forward run was perfectly fine, right? How did he get beaten so easily?]

[It's still a matter of physical fitness; this young man is too thin.]

[Yuan Shen, why did you have to eat that young man alive? You should have at least shown him some respect.]

[Football based on personal connections, huh?]

Yuan Meng ran towards the away fans' section and held up seven fingers.

He believes the fans understand.

"Seven consecutive wins! Seven consecutive wins! Seven consecutive wins!"

"Aja! Aja! Aja!"

"Wij zijn Aja, wij zijn de beste!"

(We are Ajax, we are the best!)

Yuan Meng waved her arms upwards, signaling the fans to shout louder!

"Aja! Aja! Aja!"

The away fans' voices drowned out the home fans' voices.

That's it, let's make the atmosphere even more lively!