Super Wingstorm

The first conversation with Van Basten lasted only about twenty minutes.

The legendary player, who had just taken his first step into solo coaching this season, seemed very patient. He shared a lot of his past playing experience with Yang Yang and laid out his expectations for him.

There was nothing particularly unusual about them. He hoped Yang Yang could continue his performance from his time at Almere, becoming a sharp weapon on the team’s right flank and creating openings for the offense.

After several players were called up to the first team, the reserve team was severely short-staffed on the right wing.

Afterward, Van Basten called over his two assistants and introduced Yang Yang to them.

Van Basten’s assistants were also from Ajax. They were his teammates from the eighties: John van Schip, a former right-winger, and Rob Witschge, who played in midfield.

The two coaches made a great first impression on Yang Yang; they were very approachable. This was what moved him the most.

Back at Almere, even when he performed terribly, both head coach John Reep and Dick Van Puer had treated him with plenty of respect. Not only was there no verbal abuse, but they didn’t even yell at him. It seemed they were intentionally or unintentionally maintaining a relaxed environment that put young players at ease.

This atmosphere was even more pronounced at De Toekomst. From Van Basten to Van Schip and Witschge, everyone Yang Yang met always had a smile on their face and spoke in a calm, gentle tone, which put him completely at ease.

However, when he followed Van Schip into the reserve team’s locker room and met his other teammates, Yang Yang still felt some unfriendly gazes. The first and most prominent came from the talented winger, Ryan Babel.

Perhaps influenced by the match against Almere, the talented local Dutch winger’s performance in the subsequent amateur tournament wasn’t particularly good. He didn’t even get to start in the final against Feyenoord, and Ajax unfortunately lost.

Afterward, although Babel made it to the first team, participated in the summer training camp, and played in two friendly matches, his performance wasn’t great. He was quickly sent back to the reserve team by Ronald Koeman, which left Babel feeling deeply resentful.

Now, seeing the Chinese kid who had embarrassed him again—and as a teammate, no less—how could he possibly be friendly?

The moment he saw Yang Yang walk in with Van Schip, Babel immediately stood up and left.

Another player who wasn’t too fond of Yang Yang was the left-back, Emmanuelson. He had also been thoroughly tormented by Yang Yang in that match, so naturally he didn’t look at him kindly, but he didn’t go as far as turning and leaving like Babel.

It was clear his status on the team wasn’t high enough for him to throw his weight around.

John van Schip introduced Yang Yang to everyone present and then handed him over to the team captain, Robert Zwinckels. The twenty-year-old goalkeeper was the current captain of the reserve team and a homegrown product of the Ajax youth academy.

The Ajax reserve team was truly an international squad. Center-back Niklas Moisander was from Finland in Northern Europe, center-back Rasmus Lindgren was from Sweden, center-back Thomas Vermaelen was from Belgium, left-sided player Jose Valencia was from Ecuador in South America, and midfielder Michael Krohn-Dehli was from Denmark.

Furthermore, even among the local Dutch players, most had African heritage. The captain, Robert Zwinkels, was likely one of the few ethnically pure white Dutch players. He was said to have been born in a small town near The Hague but had joined Ajax at a young age.

After the introductions, Yang Yang shook hands with his teammates one by one. The most familiar face was, of course, his roommate Vermaelen. When Emmanuelson shook his hand, he muttered something, seemingly about getting his revenge.

On the current reserve team, there were only four players born in ’86: Demuer in March, Emmanuelson in June, Yang Yang in October, and Ryan Babel at the end of December. The fact that these four could make it to the reserve team at this age spoke volumes. Moreover, Babel was unanimously recognized by everyone on the team as a genius.

He was the youngest, yet he was the biggest name on the team. Coupled with his somewhat withdrawn personality, it was said that he had been skipping levels since his youth team days and never really fit in with anyone.

The Ajax Team generally used two languages for communication: Dutch and English.

Yang Yang had no problem reading or writing Dutch, but his English needed improvement. So, he had to sign up for an English class, where a dedicated English teacher would come to give lessons to the group.

When captain Zwinkels mentioned academic classes, many of his teammates’ faces visibly darkened, and a chorus of groans erupted. Yang Yang, however, felt no pressure at all. Academics had always been his strong suit, and especially after getting the Super Training, he found he had a photographic memory, which made learning even easier.

......

......

The afternoon training session was the same as usual, just with one extra person.

Back during the talent day event, Yang Yang had already gotten a deep impression of Ajax’s training intensity. In comparison, the training at the Almere Youth Team was like child’s play.

Whether it was the tight schedule of training drills, the coaching staff’s emphasis on execution, or the required level of commitment from the players, everything was completely different from his time at Almere. The difference was like night and day.

Even on the reserve team, the training intensity was no less than that of an official match.

In fact, the coaching staff demanded that players train with near-match-level intensity.

At first, Van Basten was worried that Yang Yang wouldn’t be able to keep up with the team’s training, as he did look rather thin and frail. But after one session, his worries were put to rest.

Yang Yang didn’t drag the team down. Not only did he persevere to the end, but his level of dedication during training also made people see him in a new light. He executed almost every drill arranged by the coaching staff meticulously.

The only remaining concern was his on-field chemistry with his teammates, especially on the right flank.

The reserve team’s starting right-back was also a recent promotion from the youth academy this season: eighteen-year-old Dwight Tiendalli, a player of African descent and a product of Ajax’s own youth system. He was fast, had solid footwork, and his signature move was making sudden overlapping runs on the right flank. He was also a skilled defender, making him a well-rounded player in both offense and defense.

As a newcomer, Yang Yang couldn’t get on the same page as his teammates during tactical drills, leading to quite a few mistakes.

But both Van Basten and the rest of the coaching staff were very satisfied with Yang Yang’s first training session. After all, he was new. As long as he gradually integrated into the team and became familiar with his teammates’ playing styles, building chemistry was just a matter of time.

After training ended, Van Basten specifically called Yang Yang over to offer some encouragement before leaving with the coaching staff.

The other players also headed back to the locker room.

......

......

"Why aren’t you leaving yet?"

Seeing that everyone else had left but Yang Yang was still on the training ground juggling the ball, Thomas Vermaelen came back and asked, puzzled.

"You go ahead. I’m going to stay a bit longer," Yang Yang replied, his eyes fixed on the rising and falling ball.

"Seriously? You’re not tired after a full training session?" Vermaelen asked with a wry smile.

Yang Yang gave a self-deprecating laugh. "My fundamentals are too weak. I have to put in extra work."

"Were you like this at your old team?"

"Yeah, but that was a youth team. The training intensity was much lower than here."

"Always by yourself? Never found someone to practice with?"

"No." Yang Yang was still focused on juggling the ball.

Vermaelen chuckled. "Well then, I guess I’ll have to give you some pointers today."

The words had barely left his mouth when Yang Yang saw a figure flash before his eyes. The ball he was juggling on his left foot was suddenly poked away. Looking up, he saw Vermaelen with his foot on the ball, grinning at him.

"What’s the fun in practicing alone? Catch."

With a THUMP, a fast and sharp pass flew from Vermaelen’s foot toward Yang Yang.

Caught off guard, Yang Yang instinctively tried to control the ball with his right foot, but his first touch was a bit heavy.

Seeing this from a distance, Vermaelen shook his head in mock contempt. "You really do need to practice. That first touch is terrible."

Yang Yang knew he was just trying to rile him up. Fired up, he immediately sent the ball flying back.

To his credit, even though Vermaelen was a center-back, his ball control was impeccable and very solid. He trapped it, then kicked it right back.

"Alright, here’s the deal: if the ball hits the ground, you lose. Loser cooks, does the dishes, and cleans."

Yang Yang cursed inwardly. ’Isn’t this just setting me up to fail?’

Everyone knew his first touch was his biggest weakness.

But having a training partner was indeed much more interesting and motivating than practicing alone, so he immediately agreed.

And so, the two of them passed the ball back and forth on the training ground, having a great time practicing.

Needless to say, Yang Yang lost.

Later, when Yang Yang was practicing crosses, Vermaelen volunteered to practice his headers, playing the role of a center forward in the middle.

"Don’t think I’m joking. There was a time when my youth coach actually suggested I play as a striker. They all thought my height wasn’t suitable for a defender, but I refused to believe it."

"Is that true?" Yang Yang was clearly skeptical.

"You’ll know once you try," Vermaelen said, challenging him.

Soon, as Yang Yang sent cross after cross into the box from the right wing, Vermaelen, true to his word, was always able to accurately judge the ball’s trajectory and showed excellent positioning to get on the end of them, much to Yang Yang’s surprise.

He had previously thought Vermaelen was just an outstanding defender, but he never expected his footwork and attacking abilities to be so strong—even better than Emmanuelson, who was known for having the heart of an attacker. It really proved the old saying: you can’t judge a book by its cover.

But having such a talented teammate to practice with really fired up Yang Yang’s competitive spirit. He trained with extra energy, and with the goal of giving his teammate a hard time, he would occasionally put some extra spin on the ball to cause trouble for the heading Vermaelen, adding a bit of fun to the otherwise tedious training.