Super Wingstorm

"The first place for this year’s comprehensive evaluation goes to... Yang Yang!"

As soon as Van Puer finished speaking, a deathly silence fell over the crowd.

No one could believe their ears. They all suspected they had misheard, or that Van Puer had announced the wrong name.

’How could it be him?’

As everyone turned in unison to look towards the edge of the crowd, where Yang Yang had just turned to leave, he, too, spun around with a look of utter shock, staring incredulously at Dick Van Puer.

’Did I... did I hear that right?’

’How could it be me?’

Yang Yang couldn’t believe it himself. ’This is impossible.’

"That’s got to be a mistake. How could it be him?"

"Is there a problem with the scoring?"

"Mr. Van Puer, did you read the wrong name?"

"How is this possible?"

"Yeah, for him to get first place, isn’t that a little suspicious?"

The crowd erupted. No one could accept this result; they were shocked and suspicious.

Was this the coaching staff’s way of giving Yang Yang special treatment?

But this was just too ridiculous.

Rigging the results was one thing—giving him third, or even second, would have been understandable. But why first place?

Even Henk Demyer, Nick, and the others stared at the coaches in disbelief. They seriously doubted the authenticity of the evaluation; they simply could not believe that Yang Yang had actually taken first place.

No matter how much he’d improved recently, it couldn’t possibly be *this* much, could it?

John Reep and Dick Van Puer exchanged wry smiles. They had clearly anticipated the players’ reactions.

Forget the players—even the coaches had been shocked by the result. Someone had even suggested adjusting the rankings slightly to avoid any misunderstanding, like giving Yang Yang second or third place. But in the end, John Reep had put his foot down.

The results were the results. There was no need to falsify them.

Seeing the players’ strong reactions, John Reep stepped forward. He raised his hands, signaling for everyone to calm down and be quiet. He had something to say.

As the team’s head coach and a legendary former national player, John Reep commanded immense respect. The moment he stepped up, everyone instinctively quieted down and complied.

Yang Yang, who had been about to leave, drew closer to the crowd. He was also desperate to know what was going on.

"As you all know, this comprehensive evaluation primarily considers three areas: performance in regular training, match performance, and the final skill assessment. The only change was the addition of a ’growth and progress’ metric to the twenty sub-categories of the final assessment. This was on the recommendation of Mr. Louis van Gaal, and many youth academies have already adopted it."

The players all nodded. This had been announced before the results were released, and no one had objected at the time.

"In a moment, a full breakdown of every player’s score will be posted on the locker room door for you all to review. For now, I’ll just give a brief overview of Yang Yang’s scores."

Since he was number one, he was the target of public criticism and the most controversial, so the coaching staff did indeed need to provide a thorough explanation.

"When you see Yang Yang’s breakdown, you’ll notice his training performance has been steadily improving, especially in the last month. While not the absolute best, he’s been in the upper tier. As for match performance, his results over the last four games are plain to see. He was the best player on the team."

Everyone noticed that John Reep hadn’t said ’one of the best.’ It was a clear affirmation from the coaches regarding Yang Yang’s performance over the last four games. He was the primary reason for the team’s three-game winning streak, and even in the loss to Omni-Bass, he was the hero who saved the team from complete humiliation.

Even Henk Demyer and the others had to agree with John Reep. Based on match performance alone, Yang Yang was without a doubt the team’s MVP. And of the three evaluation categories, match performance was weighted the most heavily.

Nick’s performance had been average since his recovery, as he was still trying to find his form. And as for Henk Demyer, his form had never recovered from that slump during the Omni-Bass match.

The thing was, while Yang Yang had been performing exceptionally well in recent matches, the disastrous impression he’d made over the past year was hard to shake. Many couldn’t change their opinion of him so quickly. As a result, while everyone acknowledged his improvement, they didn’t really think he was all that outstanding.

"Now, let’s look at the final assessment scores. Yang Yang received perfect scores in off-the-ball movement, one-on-one offense and defense, and the ten- and thirty-meter shuttle sprints. His weaker areas are his first touch, shooting, and passing. His first touch, in particular, is a failing grade."

The quality of one’s first touch isn’t about simply stopping the ball, but about the quality of the control.

An excellent first touch allows a player to place the ball exactly where they want it. Yang’s touches, however, were often too heavy, or he’d miscontrol the ball entirely. This made him better suited for the wings, where there’s more space. Combined with his knack for running into open space to receive passes, this weakness wasn’t always obvious during games.

Frankly, as long as you don’t lose possession or make a mistake, nobody cares if your first touch sends the ball one meter or ten.

Besides, with Yang Yang’s speed, he could quickly catch up to the ball even after a heavy touch.

"The final assessment score is a composite. Out of the twenty sub-categories plus the new growth metric, Yang Yang’s score actually put him in second place. When you combine that with his training and match records—the three main components—you get the final score you see now."

As John Reep explained, a member of the coaching staff posted the full evaluation scoresheet on the wall behind him. The players, mostly convinced by the coach’s words, surged forward to see it.

Sure enough, the scoresheet showed that Yang Yang’s lead was razor-thin—just a point and a half ahead of Henk Demyer, who was in second. However, in the categories for match performance and progress evaluation, he was leagues ahead of Henk Demyer, Nick, and the others.

Looking at the breakdown, Yang’s profile was a mixed bag. He’d actually failed the first touch category, yet he’d earned multiple perfect scores in his stronger areas. That, combined with his superior match performance and outstanding academic results, meant that when everything was tallied up, he surprisingly came out on top.

Seeing the scoresheet, everyone found the result incredible, but they accepted it.

At the very least, they knew the coaches wouldn’t deliberately create a fake scoresheet to deceive them. Besides, many of the scores matched their own impressions—for example, everyone knew Yang Yang’s first touch was often too heavy.

Henk Demyer felt a pang of bitterness. He had only been so magnanimous earlier because he believed Yang Yang was no threat to his standing on the team. Now, it was clear he had underestimated the boy from China.

It wasn’t just him; all the players, and even the coaches, had underestimated him.

Everyone knew he was working hard to improve, but no one had realized he had improved *this* much—so much that it was almost unbelievable.

"Congratulations, Yang Yang." Henk Demyer sighed to himself, but he still turned, walked over to Yang Yang, and extended a hand in congratulations.

"Thanks." Yang Yang hadn’t seen the scores yet, so he was still a bit confused.

"You’ve earned it." Henk Demyer felt a pang of jealousy, but he forced a smile. "You won this round. But I’ll be working twice as hard in the upcoming amateur matches. I hope you won’t disappoint us."

Yang Yang smiled slightly. "Don’t worry."

Suddenly, Henk Demyer recalled something from over a month ago, in a classroom at Baken Academy. Yang Yang had told him he was going to fight for a top-three spot. Henk had mocked him then, but he never imagined that just over a month later, Yang Yang wouldn’t just make the top three—he’d take first place. The memory made him and his friends feel a deep sense of shame.

After Henk Demyer went up to congratulate him, the other teammates also gathered around in twos and threes to offer their own congratulations to Yang Yang. After seeing the scoresheet, many of them felt that while his first-place finish was controversial, it was definitely well-deserved.

However, from start to finish, no one asked Yang Yang to get autographs from the Ajax stars on their behalf. They still hadn’t truly accepted him. After all, a little over a month was too short a time, and Yang Yang had always been a lone wolf anyway.

The teammates gradually dispersed. Some were pleasantly surprised to have made the cut, others sighed in disappointment, and the three players at the very bottom of the rankings looked utterly dejected.

Once the crowd around the scoresheet thinned out, Yang Yang finally moved closer to look at his own results.

He wasn’t that interested in his rank; he was more concerned with his overall capabilities.

It was clear there was still a considerable gap between him and players like Henk Demyer, especially when it came to fundamentals.

Fundamentals couldn’t be mastered overnight. It required steady, accumulated effort, and rushing wouldn’t do any good.

But Yang Yang knew his time was short. The Ajax Talent Day tryouts in August were just two months away. In the meantime, he also had to play in the amateur league for high school students. He couldn’t afford to slack off; he had to push himself even harder.

If possible, he wanted to make a good impression on his idol, Van Basten, during the Talent Day tryouts, and also test himself against the Ajax stars.

Summer vacation was about to begin, which meant he could devote himself entirely to his fundamental training. He had to work even harder.

After they finished looking at the scoresheet, Yang Yang, Henk Demyer, and Nick were called over by Head Coach John Reep for a talk. He informed them that the youth team was disbanding for the season, and that the process of signing professional contracts with the three of them would begin with the new season.

"Oh, and Yang Yang," John Reep said, "You don’t have an agent yet. You should find one."

An agent could help a player with many things, like contract negotiations with the club. Having an agent as an intermediary made negotiations smoother and reduced the potential for conflict. Plus, they were familiar with standard contracts and all the fine print.

"Okay, I will," Yang Yang replied.

When John Reep heard that all three had decided to play in the amateur league, he was delighted. He encouraged them to play as many matches as possible to hone their skills and improve quickly, reminding them that they would officially join the first team for training and matches at the start of the new season.

"I look forward to the day I see you all wearing the first-team jersey and stepping onto the field for a match," John Reep said with an encouraging smile.

The three of them listened, their hearts also filled with anticipation.

Especially Yang Yang.