Super Wingstorm

At some point, Ajax’s Talent Day had gradually lost its purpose of selecting talent and evolved into a festival-like event to maintain the bond between the club and its fans.

Centered in Amsterdam, all age-eligible players within a sixty-kilometer radius who wished to participate could sign up. All the club’s youth team coaches and scouts would be present at the event to observe and select outstanding players for the final round.

The entire Talent Day selection event lasted for four days. The first three days were preliminary selections, and only players who passed could enter the final selection on the fourth day. During the final selection, the first-team stars and coaching staff would also come to participate in the event.

According to the official data released by Ajax this year, the total number of players participating in the preliminary selections over the first three days reached over 1,500, setting a new high for recent years. Only a very small fraction of them would make it to the final selection.

Around Amsterdam, Ajax had stationed more than fifty scouts. At the same time, they had established partnerships with twenty-four lower-division clubs to mutually recommend players and share information. These twenty-four clubs were given a few fixed spots each year to recommend their own youth academy elites directly into the final selection.

Almere was one of these twenty-four clubs.

As was customary, the three recommended players, including Yang Yang, did not need to participate in the first three days of preliminary selections. They only needed to arrive at Ajax’s De Toekomst Training Base on time for the final selection on the fourth day.

In the morning, Dick Van Puer and John Reep drove their car, picking up Henk Demyer and Nick in succession before getting Yang Yang from a residential area north of the city’s automotive center. Only then did they take Exit 5 onto the highway, heading west.

Along the way, John Reep, sitting in the front passenger seat, frequently turned around to explain the important points of the Talent Day selection to the three players in the back. He focused on advising them on how to handle the assessments, especially urging them not to feel any psychological pressure, and so on.

Because Ajax’s Tony Bruins Slotts and Patrick Radru had already given them the inside scoop, John Reep and Dick Van Puer both knew that regardless of Yang Yang’s performance at Talent Day, he would be joining Ajax after the event.

In return, Almere would receive a compensation fee. But more importantly, Slotts had promised to loan two elite youth academy players to Almere, helping the satellite club get promoted to the Eerste Divisie as soon as possible.

John Reep and Dick Van Puer were both deeply regretful that they couldn’t keep Yang Yang. However, getting two elite Ajax youth players in exchange was undoubtedly a very worthwhile deal. Moreover, with Yang Yang joining Ajax, it would also be a major boost to the influence of Almere’s youth academy.

If Yang Yang managed to play for the Ajax first team, he would surely become the poster child for Almere’s youth academy.

John Reep couldn’t help but feel a bit reluctant to see this departing player go, but he held even greater hopes for him. He encouraged Yang Yang to perform as well as possible at Talent Day and try to get directly into the second team to play under Van Basten.

This was also Yang Yang’s sole purpose for this trip.

...

...

The last time they went to the Amsterdam Arena, they took a bus along the A1 highway into Amsterdam. After heading directly north, they got off at the Diemen exit. They played their match in Diemen before circling west around the Southeast New City to get to Ajax’s home stadium.

This time, however, after entering Amsterdam, they turned directly onto the A9 highway heading west, then switched to the A2 highway heading north, and got off at the Amstel exit.

"Look, that’s De Toekomst."

Just after getting off the highway, John Reep pointed to the north side of the exit. There was a small river by the road, with a row of trees lining each bank, but through the gaps, they could vaguely see stretches of green fields on the other side.

Henk Demyer and Nick had clearly been here many times and weren’t surprised at all. Only Yang Yang pressed himself against the window, staring intently in the direction of De Toekomst, his heart filled with anticipation.

According to John Reep’s introduction, Ajax’s Amsterdam Arena was just east of De Toekomst, about a 500-meter walk away. Although the area around the stadium seemed rather quiet for now, everyone believed that with the influx of people drawn by the stadium and the development of the Southeast New City, this area would one day become the commercial core of southeastern Amsterdam.

This was precisely the reason why Ajax had chosen to move its home stadium here in the first place.

After making their way through three intersections, they finally arrived at De Toekomst.

The first thing that came into view was a large, rectangular parking lot. It was said that on match days, it could hold a total of two thousand cars. But when Yang Yang and the others arrived, the lot was already more than half full.

After the three of them got out of the car, they couldn’t help but be secretly amazed at the spectacular sight in the parking lot.

This was the appeal of Ajax.

"Ha, John, I knew it was you."

Just as Yang Yang and the others were taking their luggage from the trunk and preparing to enter De Toekomst, a loud voice called out from behind them.

Everyone turned to look and saw a tall, heavyset, middle-aged Dutch man hurrying up to them. Following him were several young players whose gazes toward Yang Yang’s group were filled with hostility. They were clearly also here for the selection.

"Hello, Hank. Good to see you here."

After getting a clear look at the man, John Reep subconsciously pursed his lips but quickly forced a smile and shook the middle-aged Dutchman’s hand.

After the heavyset middle-aged man shook hands with John Reep and Dick Van Puer, his gaze quickly fell upon the three players from Almere, especially Yang Yang in the middle. Mainly, his black hair and yellow skin were just too conspicuous.

"So he’s Yang Yang?" the heavyset man asked, pointing at him.

"Yes," John Reep replied.

The heavyset man’s eyes brazenly scanned Yang Yang up and down. He clicked his tongue twice with mock pity. "Too skinny. A build like that can’t handle professional soccer."

Yang Yang felt a bit defiant upon hearing this. He looked up at the four players behind the heavyset man and saw that they were about the same age as him, but every one of them was solidly built. Even the smallest of them was a size bigger than him.

"Hmph, since when does being strong mean you can play soccer well?" Henk Demyer retorted indignantly from the side.

"For amateur soccer, of course not. But if you want to play in a professional league, you must have a solid physical foundation. Even if the Ajax Youth Team selection doesn’t emphasize physical condition, it’s a mandatory consideration if you want to get into the second team, let alone the first team."

The one who spoke was a player in a tracksuit standing next to the heavyset man. He looked to be around the same age as Yang Yang’s group, but his tone was extremely arrogant, as if he didn’t even see them as worthy of notice.

When Yang Yang looked at him, he could easily see the disdain in his eyes as their gazes met.

’Who is this guy?’

The standards for selecting youth talent have been a constant source of controversy in recent years. Whether to prioritize physique or technique has always been a focal point of debate in Dutch soccer, and it’s hard to judge which is ultimately superior.

Having been directly challenged, Henk Demyer was now annoyed too. He sneered, "You talk as if you’ve been on the Ajax Youth Team before."

Unexpectedly, as soon as he said that, the heavyset man burst out laughing. He pointed at the player who had just spoken and said, "Funny you should say that. Vicente really was in the Ajax Youth Academy for four or five years. It was only because he failed an assessment half a year ago due to some ’objective factors’ that he came back to our team."

Henk Demyer’s expression changed instantly, and he grew embarrassed. He hadn’t expected the person arguing with him to be a former Ajax youth player who had been there for four or five years. His skill level was definitely not to be underestimated.

The heavyset man clearly didn’t pay Henk Demyer any mind. His gaze remained on Yang Yang, only to find that this Chinese boy didn’t even flinch after hearing that one of his players was from the Ajax Youth Academy. He remained calm and composed, neither servile nor overbearing. This inexplicably angered the man.

"I’ve heard about you. You performed well in the amateur tournament—fast, with strong dribbling skills. But I’m afraid that’s not enough to get into the Ajax Youth Academy. At De Toekomst, they care about more than just your performance on the pitch."

"I know," Yang Yang replied nonchalantly.

He did know. Radru, Arroyo, and John Reep had all mentioned this to him.

Excellent performance on the field can be due to many reasons. For example, some players mature early and have outstanding physical attributes, which is a big advantage in youth teams or amateur matches. But once they reach the second team, or even the first team, they are knocked back down to size when they lose that advantage.

As one of the clubs with the highest level of youth training in the World, Ajax’s selection criteria were naturally quite high. This was evident even from Almere’s semester assessments, and Almere was just a satellite club.

Yang Yang knew what was what, but his calm reply left the heavyset man unsure of how to follow up. He had to swallow the many prepared remarks he had, and after a cold snort, he turned and left with his group.

However, the player named Vicente deliberately stopped as he passed in front of Yang Yang. He stared provocatively at the Chinese boy before him, his eyes radiating jealousy and resentment.

"That idiot Emmanuelson is just a makeshift left-back; defending isn’t his specialty. You were lucky to run into him. But in this afternoon’s practice match, you’d better hope you don’t run into me, or else..."

Before he could finish, Yang Yang interrupted him with a smile. "Now that you mention it, I’m hoping to run into you even more."

Anger flashed in Vicente’s eyes. He nodded at Yang Yang, grinding his teeth, then hurried to catch up with his teammates.

Seeing Yang Yang shut the other guy down, Henk Demyer and Nick both felt a sense of satisfaction. ’So what if he’s just a reject from the Ajax youth academy? Does he have to be so condescending?’

Although they both admitted that even a reject from the Ajax youth academy was more skilled than them and did indeed have the right to look down on them, being ridiculed like that to their faces still infuriated them. They just couldn’t bring themselves to talk back.

Meanwhile, John Reep glanced helplessly at Dick Van Puer, then turned to the three boys. He gave a bitter, apologetic smile. "Sorry, that was my fault."

Yang Yang was taken aback. ’What does this have to do with John Reep?’