Became The Premier League’S Youngest Manager [EN]: Chapter 203

Ajax.

Its official name is Amsterdamsche Football Club Ajax.

It is also sometimes written as AFC Ajax. For most teams that use the abbreviation AFC, the ‘A’ usually stands for ‘Athletic,’ highlighting the strong local pride in this particular designation.

According to the German football magazine *Kicker*, it is considered one of the most successful football clubs of the 20th century.

While the exact ranking is debatable, most agree that Ajax is one of the best football teams of the 20th century.

They have produced numerous famous players, including Johan Cruyff, and, most importantly, under the leadership of the renowned coach Rinus Michels, they introduced a revolutionary tactical framework to the football world: Total Football.

Total Football is a philosophy of attacking and defending with all players, unbound by fixed positions or formations. The aim is to gain numerical superiority in each area of the field to stifle the opponent’s opportunities and control the game.

Later developments like Barcelona’s tiki-taka [a style of play characterized by short passing and movement, working the ball through various channels] and Germany’s gegenpressing [a counter-pressing tactic where the team, after losing possession, immediately attempts to win back the ball, rather than retreating to regroup] can be seen as evolutions of this philosophy in different directions.

Tiki-taka emphasizes seamless passing among all positions, denying the opposing team possession.

Gegenpressing involves all positions applying intense pressure to quickly regain possession from the opposing team.

Although the approaches differ, they share the same fundamental philosophy: suppressing the opponent’s possession.

Ajax not only created a philosophy that marked a milestone in football history but also excelled in youth development.

Jung Ajax, considered one of the best youth academies in the world, served as the inspiration for La Masia [Barcelona’s youth academy], which Johan Cruyff transplanted to Barcelona.

A prestigious club that has won 8 trophies in European competitions, including 4 European Champions League titles and 1 UEFA Cup in the 20th century.

Both in terms of achievements and influence on football history, they were a remarkably important club, but even they could not resist the changing times.

In the 21st century, they still dominated domestically, winning the Eredivisie [the Dutch first division league] 9 times, but they couldn’t exert much power in European competitions, overshadowed by the financial power of the Premier League and major European clubs.

In the 2018/19 season, under the leadership of coach Erik ten Hag, and with a team that harmonized youth and experience, including Matthijs de Ligt, Frenkie de Jong, Hakim Ziyech, and Dusan Tadic, Ajax wrote a fairy tale, eliminating the previous season’s Champions League winner Real Madrid in the round of 16 and the Italian powerhouse Juventus in the quarterfinals.

Although they were narrowly defeated by Tottenham in the semi-finals and did not reach the final, they were remembered as the Ajax team that achieved the best result in Europe in the 21st century.

In comparison, Burnley has no history, achievements, or experience in European competitions.

Of course, Hyungmin and his young squad didn’t care about such things.

***

“Dit is mijn club, mijn ideaal! (This is my club, my ideal!)”

“Dit is de mooiste club van allemaal! (This is the most beautiful club of all!)”

“Hier ligt mijn hart, mijn vreugd en mijn verdriet! (Here lies my heart, my joy, and my sorrow!)”

“Het kan dooien, het kan vriezen, we kunnen winnen of verliezen! (It can thaw, it can freeze, we can win or lose!)”

“Maar een be’tre club dan deze is er niet! (But there is no better club than this!)”

The 55,865-seat stadium, renamed the Johan Cruyff Arena after the team’s legendary player and coach to honor him after his death, echoed with the home fans’ cheers. However, it was inevitable that the fans’ voices would slightly falter whenever ‘sorrow’ was mentioned in the lyrics.

“Oooooh!!!”

Another Burnley attack fizzled out, and the away fans let out a sigh of disappointment. As the second half began, a voice came from beside Hyungmin, who was sitting on the bench, casually watching the game.

“Coach! Coach! You’re still going to sub Benjamin in later, right?”

Luca Pellegrini, known to have bet a significant portion of his remaining annual salary on Benjamin Sesko winning the team’s top scorer title, looked at him with sparkling eyes.

While most of the Italians who had joined ‘Team Sesko’ were running around on the field, he felt like their spokesperson on the bench, desperately hoping for Benjamin Sesko to be brought in.

“We’ll see?”

At Hyungmin’s lukewarm response, the handsome Italian defender rubbed his hands together and leaned towards Hyungmin.

“Ajax has completely dropped back in the second half! So, we should bring in a new player to inject some energy into the attack, give Lorenzo a rest after working hard in the first half! And… maintain Benjamin’s match fitness! Wouldn’t that be great?”

Over Luca Pellegrini’s shoulder, Carolina rolled her eyes and let out an exaggerated sigh, but Hyungmin tried his best to maintain a calm expression.

“Hmm… what’s the current score in the top scorer race?”

“Before today’s game, Benjamin was leading by 2 goals with 23 goals…”

A dark shadow fell over Luca Pellegrini’s face.

“Damn Ajax! They should mess up the defense a little, but why are they going completely insane like this?!”

The young Italian player unleashed fiery anger at the unprofessionalism of his fellow defenders.

“No, even if it’s tough, how can you just let the opposing team’s central striker roam around in the penalty box like that?! Huh?! And you have to block the crosses coming from the sides, right?! The wing-backs on the sides are all screwing up!”

Finally, Luca Pellegrini’s low, rapid curses began in a mix of Italian, and the Burnley players sitting around him watched their teammate’s outburst with chuckles.

It’s hard to understand every word exactly, but you can get the gist just from the mumbling.

He’s probably cursing the Ajax defenders who made huge mistakes in defense today, the stupid goalkeeper who couldn’t stop the shots, and the Ajax midfielders who didn’t press properly and let Burnley’s midfielders run wild.

However, the fact that he doesn’t curse Ajax’s forwards, who haven’t scored a single goal, is proof that Luca Pellegrini hasn’t completely lost his sense of self as a defender.

“Aaaah!!!”

While Luca Pellegrini was spewing curses, the away fans let out another sigh of disappointment, and the home fans let out a sigh of relief.

Ajax, who brought out a 3-4-3 formation in today’s home game, was completely helpless against Burnley.

Alfred Schreuder, the Ajax coach who took over from Erik ten Hag and is in his second season, had planned to defend firmly with up to five defenders and launch attacks through counterattacks, but it was a pipe dream.

Hyungmin read the tactics perfectly, and whenever Ajax’s wing-backs moved forward even slightly, Burnley’s wingers and full-backs cooperated to break through the flanks and attack.

And when Ajax’s midfield tried to support the defense, Tommaso Pobega, who seemed determined to vent his frustration at recently being pushed out of the starting lineup by Patrick de Paula, swept across the field like Nicolas Seiwald possessed, single-handedly devastating the opposing team’s midfield.

Luka Sukic and Christian Medina, who played alongside him, were in a situation where they only needed to focus on leisurely developing the ball forward that their teammate had won.

In the end, the defense and midfielders dropped deep into the penalty box to desperately protect the goal, but the problem is that even that couldn’t stop the towering Italian striker who was over 200 centimeters tall.

Of course, this is a problem that national teams around the world are struggling with, so it’s not really Ajax’s defense’s fault, but just because the opposing team is struggling doesn’t mean Lorenzo Lucca won’t score goals.

The Ajax center-backs charged at the towering striker, who was casually heading down crosses coming from the flanks as if it were a practice match, with a determined resolve, but Lorenzo Lucca didn’t seem to be bothered much.

With the back and midfield blocked, the attack was a complete mess.

They only approached Burnley’s penalty box once or twice throughout the game, and when they barely reached there, Mika Marmol, who was defending the center along with Nathan Collins, ruthlessly cut them off.

It would be better if it just ended with being cut off, but the problem is that Mika Marmol is good at passing.

After stealing the ball, he immediately connects the pass to the front line, leading directly to a counterattack.

While the Ajax coach, coaching staff, players on the field, and home fans were frustrated by the desperate gap, the rap that was a mix of English and Italian was finally entering its final stages on the Burnley bench.

“So, is Benjamin coming in?”

While Benjamin Sesko was casually joking around with his teammates next to him on the other side of the bench, the young defender, who had poured out all the rap he had in his heart like a machine gun, finally came to his senses and looked back at the coach.

“No.”

“Haa…”

Luca Pellegrini let out a long sigh.

In fact, player substitutions are the sole prerogative of the coach, and Burnley has a friendly atmosphere, so he can bring it up as a semi-joke, but it wouldn’t work in other teams.

Maybe if it was Juventus’s coach Massimo Allegri, he might have been permanently relegated to the second team the moment he brought up such a thing.

“But…”

“…But?”

Hoping for a sudden glimmer of hope at the coach’s words, Luca Pellegrini asked.

Maybe he’s going to replace the central striker with another player?

Mamma mia [Italian exclamation, literally “my mother,” expressing surprise, shock, or delight], please let Lorenzo stop scoring goals!

“You go in.”

“…Huh?”

Hyungmin gave a kind smile to the young defender who was making a bewildered expression.

“Hurry up and get ready and go replace Amaar.”

“…There’s only 15 minutes left, though?”

“Yeah, I know. So, you’ll have to hurry, right?”

Accepting a joke is one thing, but listening to someone whine next to you is another.

While the coaching staff and players sitting on the Burnley bench chuckled, Luca Pellegrini, who had been banished from the coach’s side to the field, slumped his shoulders and began to warm up on the sidelines.

Hyungmin, who had punished the starting left-back by bringing him on as a substitute to waste time, let out a satisfied sigh and leaned back comfortably on the bench.

Now it’s a bit quieter….

“Uwaaaah!!!”

Along with the cheers of the away fans, Burnley’s fourth goal, which had been pounding Ajax’s goal throughout the second half, went in.

And with that, Luca Pellegrini, who was standing on the sidelines, threw the vest he was holding on the ground and screamed.

“Aish!! Why?!!” [Korean exclamation of frustration]