Super Wingstorm

Sunday afternoon, Southeast New City of Amsterdam, De Toekomst.

The new season of the Dutch Youth League A had finally kicked off.

In the first round, the Ajax Second Team hosted the Vitesse B Team at home.

Vitesse B Team’s starting left-back, Reo Ramos, was staring uneasily at the Chinese player with black hair standing before him, his eyes filled with caution. He’d heard that three days ago, this opponent had come on as a substitute for thirty minutes in the first round of the Dutch Cup and had put on a brilliant performance. Before the match, his head coach had repeatedly warned him to be careful.

This season was the last chance for Reo Ramos to decide his fate. He would either get into the first team or be forced to leave the Vitesse B Team. He had no idea where he would go after that.

He had performed well in the first round of the new season, and he hoped to continue that performance in this match. It would give his new campaign a good start, making him more assured and confident.

At this thought, Reo Ramos looked at the Chinese player before him again, his eyes filled with determination.

’In this match, I have to completely shut him down.’

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Yang Yang didn’t know what the other player was thinking, but he could instinctively feel the Dutch left-back’s hostility.

But that was normal in a football match, especially in a confrontation at this level.

On the sidelines, his uncle Shen Ming and his family of three had come to the stadium. They had once again made a special trip to cheer him on.

Ibrahimovic, who had thrown a tantrum and was still sulking from being left out of last night’s match, had also come. He was accompanied by his old buddy Maxwell and his girlfriend, Helena, who had just arrived in Amsterdam yesterday.

Yang Yang suspected that a major reason the Swedish Striker was so furious was that his girlfriend had made a special trip to see him play, only for Ronald Koeman to leave him out of the squad. It was a complete loss of face.

Starting for the first time in the new season, and in his familiar position as right winger, Yang Yang was filled with excitement.

Last night in the Super Training, he had simulated Reo Ramos based on the coaching staff’s scouting report to practice against him. At first, the simulation was only at a third-division league level, but Yang Yang later increased it directly to a second-division level.

This was a precaution. After all, he didn’t have detailed stats on Reo Ramos, and it was better to overestimate than underestimate him.

’If I screw this up, I’m afraid I’ll lose the starting spot I fought so hard to get.’

At this thought, Yang Yang looked at the Dutch left-back before him again, his eyes filled with a soaring fighting spirit.

’I will use this match to solidify my position as the starting right winger.’

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Like all head coaches, Van Basten had a habit of sticking with a winning formation.

For this match, the attacking trio up front remained Babel on the left, Fred Benson in the center, and Yang Yang on the right. In the midfield, Kroen and Maduro were once again responsible for ball distribution.

Evidently, Van Basten hoped to continue the ferocious offensive from the last thirty minutes of the second half of the previous Dutch Cup match.

Naturally, the focus fell on Yang Yang’s flank.

Before the match, Van Basten had made it clear that he wanted Yang Yang to create openings from the right flank to supply ammunition for Benson in the center and Babel on the left, while also breaking down the opponent’s defense. From there, Kroen and Maduro would make runs from deep in the center to form a second wave of attack.

Encouraged by the home fans, the Ajax Second Team steadfastly executed Van Basten’s strategy from the very beginning.

Yang Yang bided his time on the right flank. Less than three minutes into the game, he performed a beautiful Pendulum Move to shake off Reo Ramos, then sent a curling cross toward the far post.

This was a routine the Ajax Second Team had practiced before the match. Babel quickly made a diagonal run into the box, chested the ball down, and shot immediately.

But his finishing shot was too focused on the angle, and he sent the ball straight into the opposing goalkeeper’s arms.

Having missed a golden opportunity at the start of the match, Babel looked extremely regretful.

The fans on the sidelines were also disappointed. An enraged shout could even be faintly heard from the crowd, "How can you call yourself a scorer if you can’t even put that away?"

Yang Yang recognized the voice as Ibrahimovic’s and couldn’t help but shake his head with a wry smile.

’If that had been Ibrahimovic, it would have been a sure goal. Babel’s handling of it was really problematic; it always feels like he’s not decisive enough, lacking that cold-blooded killer instinct in front of the goal.’

’Even though the Swedish Striker is usually shameless and thick-skinned, on the pitch, he’s an incredibly confident player. While that personality sometimes causes him to miss chances, it’s a fundamental quality needed to become a clutch player.’

’Babel clearly lacks that kind of tenacious personality.’

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After the first failed attack, the Ajax Second Team continued to ramp up their offense against the Vitesse B Team.

Although Yang Yang’s right flank had become the opponent’s primary target for man-marking, they couldn’t afford to assign extra players to follow him besides Reo Ramos. After all, they also had to worry about defending other areas.

Moreover, Yang Yang had plenty of stamina and a large range of movement. He often drifted into the center to receive the ball and transition play, which made it very difficult for the opposition to defend. They often failed to stay tight on him.

This gave Reo Ramos a headache as well, because he had to maintain the team’s defensive structure.

They were all a group of young players; their tactical discipline and defensive awareness were clearly inferior to the senior team’s.

In Yang Yang’s opinion, this Reo Ramos’s defensive awareness was even worse than that of Pierre Tash from Ezmeralda. The latter had been knocking around in the third-division league for four or five years and clearly had much more defensive experience.

So, very soon, Yang Yang spotted another opportunity. He suddenly dropped back to receive the ball, turned, and dribbled diagonally towards the box. After drawing the attention of two defenders, he abruptly made a square pass to Kroen, who threaded a precise through ball behind the defensive line.

This time, Babel finally seized the opportunity. He made a quick diagonal run into the box and scored with a right-footed push shot, netting his first goal of the season and venting all the frustration he’d felt over the past two games.

The fans on the sidelines were no longer stingy this time, giving Babel a round of warm applause.

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After scoring the first goal, Ajax clearly played with more composure and confidence.

Already superior in skill and playing at home, Ajax completely controlled the match against the Vitesse B Team and soon organized wave after wave of attacks.

Yang Yang continued his excellent performance from the last match, proving very active on the right wing. Whenever he got the ball, he would decisively drive forward if he had the chance. This not only gave Reo Ramos a hell of a time but also caused huge problems for the Vitesse B Team’s defense.

In the twenty-fourth minute of the first half, Yang Yang received a pass from Maduro in the gap between the Vitesse B Team’s center-back and left-back. After getting the ball, he quickly turned and used his speed to charge forward.

Reo Ramos immediately ran over to defend, but Yang Yang, already at full tilt, didn’t wait for him to get close. He executed a quick Pendulum Move, directly feinting past his opponent and breaking through on the outside, earning enthusiastic cheers from the Ajax fans on the sidelines.

After Yang Yang successfully beat his man, the opposing center-back quickly moved over to cover the inside, forcing the Ajax right winger to rush forward along the right flank. However, Yang Yang was closely monitoring every movement inside the box with both his eyes and [God’s Vision].

The moment he saw Fred Benson get into the most advantageous position, he made his decision. With familiar footwork and rhythm, he planted his left foot at a forty-five-degree angle to the ball, swung his right, and whipped a curling diagonal cross into the box.

The ball flew over the head of the opposing center-back, tracing a high arc before slowly descending.

The arc of Yang Yang’s cross made it difficult for the opposing goalkeeper to make a decision. He wanted to come out for it but wasn’t confident, so he ended up staying on his line. But for Fred Benson, who was making a quick run from deep, it was perfect. He met the falling ball with a simple push shot.

The goalkeeper made a diving save, but Benson’s shot drilled straight into the bottom of the net.

Two-nil!

After scoring, Fred Benson once again rushed toward Yang Yang.

The Ghanaian player suddenly realized that Yang Yang had become his Lucky Star. In two matches, he had provided him with two exquisite assists, and as long as he judged the ball’s trajectory and drop correctly, scoring wasn’t that difficult.

Seeing Benson score, Yang Yang was also very excited because he could see his own progress.

This curling cross was definitely the fruit of his recent hard work practicing the skill. Although he was still a long way from Beckham’s mastery, at the very least, his crossing could now be considered reliable.

On the sideline, Van Basten was also nodding repeatedly as he watched.

He could tell that Yang Yang’s cross had incorporated his earlier advice. That time, he had personally shown Yang Yang how to cross the ball—the required arc, the target area—to make it easiest for a forward to run onto and score.

It now seemed that Yang Yang had not only listened but had also achieved results through diligent practice.

"In two weeks, this kid’s crossing has improved significantly," Rob Witzig also noted.

He had personally seen Yang Yang’s training and his performance during the talent scouting day. At that time, everyone felt that while Yang Yang’s momentum for improvement was fast, his strengths and weaknesses were still very obvious, especially his crossing.

As a dribbling-focused right winger, unreliable crossing was Yang Yang’s greatest weakness.

But looking at his performance in the two weeks since he joined Ajax, his crossing was improving rapidly. Now, he was frequently delivering good balls from the right flank. In just over twenty minutes of this match so far, he had already created two deadly chances with his crosses.

"We used to say his crossing was a weakness, but now it looks like he’s already shored it up," John van Schip also praised. As the team’s assistant coach, he knew better than anyone that Yang Yang was, without a doubt, the most diligent and hardworking player on the second team.

Putting aside everything else, just that cross alone was something that could never be achieved without grueling practice.

Take Yang Yang’s direct competitor, Demuer, for example. The coaching staff had been demanding that he strengthen his crossing ability since last year, but after more than a year, the young Belgian’s crossing was still unreliable.

There was no other reason for it: he couldn’t endure that kind of hardship.

In contrast, this Yang’s improvement was too fast and too obvious.

Van Basten was equally amazed, because he had discovered that Yang Yang was improving incredibly quickly.

’At his current rate of improvement, if he keeps this up, just how good could he become?’

Van Basten was very curious to find out.