Super Wingstorm

After the match against Utrecht, Wei Zhen asked Yang Yang what his biggest takeaway was from playing in two consecutive first-team matches.

Yang Yang’s answer was a single word: confidence.

It was an ephemeral, almost illusory feeling, but one that played a crucial role on the football pitch.

When he’d come on in the final few minutes of the away game against Bruges, Yang Yang hadn’t been thinking too much. He didn’t even consider whether he could get the better of Van der Heyden. His only thought was to do everything in his power to win the match.

Van Gaal treated him like his most trusted friend, and he had to repay that kindness.

The final result astonished even Yang Yang himself. He had never imagined he could pose such a threat when facing Van der Heyden.

During the post-match review in the Super Training space, Old Ice told Yang Yang that he could have actually done even better.

Yang Yang also knew full well that coming on as a substitute gave him an advantage over a tired Van der Heyden, but so what?

Then, in the Eredivisie match against Utrecht, Ronald Koeman continued to use Yang Yang as a substitute. He quickly assisted a goal for Van der Vaart and went on to create several more threats down the right flank. Unfortunately, neither Ibrahimovic nor Wesley Sonck could capitalize on the opportunities.

After wearing himself out for over seventy minutes, Etienne Xu was simply no match for Yang Yang.

Coming on as a substitute and performing brilliantly in both matches to save the team not only gradually raised his status within the Ajax Team, making him increasingly important in the eyes of the fans, but also bolstered his own self-confidence.

This strong self-confidence gave him the courage to take on opponents directly on the pitch and to try his moves.

Just like right now, at the Amsterdam Arena, facing Breda’s left-back, Adrian Balakat.

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This was a round of 16 knockout match in the Dutch Cup, and it was also Ajax’s first Dutch Cup match of the season.

A day earlier, Van Basten’s Ajax Second Team had lost 0-1 away to Twente. Yang Yang hadn’t played in that match, but Vermaelen had returned to the second team to play the full ninety minutes. The Belgian center-back put on a remarkable performance, but ultimately couldn’t prevent Twente from scoring.

Without Yang Yang, the offensive threat of the Ajax Second Team was greatly diminished.

The second team’s loss made all the fans pin their hopes on the first team, but their opponent, Breda, was no pushover.

In the fifth round of the Eredivisie, Ajax, with a four-game winning streak, had challenged Breda away, only to lose 2-4. That marked the first crisis of confidence in Ronald Koeman for the season.

Breda was an Eredivisie team with countless ties to Ajax. Many of their players came from the Ajax Youth Academy. For example, in the starting eleven visiting the Amsterdam Arena tonight, Nuruddin Buhari, Stefano Seedorf, and left-back Adrian Balakat were all from Ajax.

Buhari and Seedorf were both loaned from Ajax this past summer to gain experience. Balakat, on the other hand, had transferred to Breda on a free from the Youth Academy in ’02. It was just that this player, who had always been a left winger, was forced to switch to left-back to get more playing time.

Interestingly, it was precisely these players from the Ajax Youth Academy who played with the most ferocity at the Amsterdam Arena, pushing Ajax to the brink.

In the 54th minute, on a sharp counter-attack, Breda’s forward Ali Bousabane scored past Robbent.

Ronald Koeman quickly made a substitution, bringing on Van der Vaart for Oubadaie.

But soon after, Gregory, who had started at right-back, was injured. This forced Ronald Koeman to use his second substitution urgently, bringing on Yakubu to play right-back.

Despite two quick substitutions in a short period, Ajax’s attack showed no signs of improvement.

Breda’s head coach, Don Lockhoff, also made a swift adjustment, further strengthening his midfield and defense to focus solely on a defensive counter-attacking strategy.

The clock ticked past the 75-minute mark, and Ajax’s offense was still stagnant. Boos began to echo from the stands of the Amsterdam Arena, as the fans were extremely dissatisfied with the players’ performance on the pitch.

Ronald Koeman was also well aware that the 2-4 away loss to Breda had been a complete loss of face. If they lost again tonight, he would be condemned by all the fans and media, and the team would also miss out on competing for their first championship trophy of the season.

And so, in the 78th minute, Ronald Koeman made his third substitution of the match.

Yang Yang once again came on as a substitute, replacing left winger Mitja.

After coming on, Yang Yang still played as a right winger, with Wesley Sonck switching to the left wing. Ibrahimovic continued to occupy the center, while in midfield, De Jong played deep with Van der Vaart and Sneijder pushing forward.

And with his very first touch after coming on, Yang Yang received the ball and directly faced Balakat.

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Balakat was a reject from the competitive Ajax Youth Academy.

He had failed to get promoted to the first team amidst competition from Mitja, Deridder, and Soetters. With the threat of Ryan Babel rising from behind, he had no choice but to leave Ajax and seek more playing opportunities at other clubs.

But this had also planted a seed of resentment in his heart against the players from the Ajax Youth Academy.

’Look at Mitja’s performance in this match. What right does he have to be the starting left winger?’

As for this academy kid before him, who had risen meteorically in the past week and changed the outcome of two games as a substitute, Balakat was just as unconvinced, just as he had been with the genius Babel back in the day.

An inexplicable anger flared up in his heart, especially when he saw Yang Yang dribbling straight at him.

’I’m going to teach this kid a harsh lesson.’

’Right in front of Ronald Koeman, the fans in the stands of the Amsterdam Arena, and everyone watching on TV.’

But the moment he moved, Yang Yang, who was just a step away, suddenly moved as well.

Yang Yang shot forward like a startled rabbit, moving with incredible speed. With a series of deceptive feints, he made Balakat think he was going for a cross from the byline. But then, in a flash, he cut the ball back, changed direction to move inside, created a gap, and then, before Balakat could react, he pushed the ball into the penalty area with his left foot.

Ibrahimovic, already on the same wavelength, used his body to shield the ball from the defender. With his height and long legs, he controlled the ball to his right, turned, and unleashed a powerful shot with his right foot.

The ball, with the force of a thunderbolt, crashed into the goal guarded by Arno van Zijl. One-one!

After scoring, an ecstatic Ibrahimovic leaped into the air, ran over to Yang Yang, and lifted him up by the waist.

The fans at the Amsterdam Arena erupted in celebration, their passion rekindled.

After equalizing, Ajax launched a frantic offensive.

Don Lockhoff made two consecutive substitutions within just four minutes, further bolstering his team’s midfield and defense.

Yang Yang was incredibly active on the right flank. Taking advantage of his fresh legs as a substitute, he covered a lot of ground and posed a significant threat when running directly at defenders. In the 83rd minute, one such direct run at the defensive line drew a foul from Breda’s center-back, Pendes, winning Ajax a free kick on the right side.

Unfortunately, Sneijder’s free kick hit the wall, failing to create a threat.

The Ajax fans in the stands cheered relentlessly, encouraging the players to keep pressing the attack.

This was a single-elimination knockout match; a draw wouldn’t guarantee Ajax’s advancement.

Time slowly ticked by. Ajax continued to intensify their attacks, but Breda resisted stubbornly.

As Yang Yang dropped back to receive the ball, Heitinga quickly passed it to his teammate on the right flank.

Yang Yang received the ball unopposed, turned, and drove forward. Balakat quickly ran over to intercept, but Yang Yang was a step ahead, passing the ball horizontally to Sneijder who was supporting in the middle, while he himself sprinted forward.

Sneijder, perfectly understanding the idea, received the ball and immediately played a low through-pass, precisely sending the ball into Yang Yang’s sprinting path. It even had a noticeable deceleration upon landing, allowing Yang Yang to catch up to it comfortably and continue his forward dribble.

Pendes quickly moved over to the right to defend, but Yang Yang was already at full speed.

The moment they made contact on the right side of the penalty area, Yang Yang came to a dead stop and then suddenly accelerated again. He forcefully carved out a sliver of space from Pendes, who was defending from the side, and quickly sent in a cross with his right foot.

This was the curling cross from [Beckham’s Crossing].

The ball traced a curve through the air, deceiving the goalkeeper and defenders in the box, before suddenly dipping towards the far post.

The Belgian forward, Wesley Sonck, made a diagonal run into the box from the left channel. Unmarked, he headed the ball into the net from close range, turning the score around to 2-1!

"GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!"

The stadium announcer’s roar echoed through the Amsterdam Arena.

All the Ajax fans in the stadium leaped from their seats, screaming wildly.

Amidst the deafening cheers, Wesley Sonck sprinted off the pitch towards the corner flag, roaring to vent his exhilaration and excitement after scoring. Yang Yang immediately caught up from behind, and the two embraced tightly.

The fans in the stands were chanting Wesley Sonck’s name.

But Yang Yang could also faintly hear someone calling out to him, in broken Chinese no less.

Two-one. In less than ten short minutes, Ajax had successfully turned the tables on their opponent.

On the sidelines, Ronald Koeman was also visibly emotional. He had never expected Yang Yang to have such a miraculous effect after coming on as a substitute. Three substitute appearances, three times he had changed the result of the match.

Even he, the head coach, found it hard to believe, yet he also felt a lingering fear.

If it weren’t for Yang Yang, Ajax would not only have lost a league match, but would also have been knocked out of European competition, and tonight they would have been eliminated from the Dutch Cup. If that had happened, even if he did lead the team to an Eredivisie title, how could that possibly compensate for the team’s losses?

Yang Yang hadn’t just saved Ajax; he had saved him, the head coach.

"This kid is incredible!" Ronald Koeman praised with a smile.

As a very successful professional player in his day, he could naturally see that every time Yang Yang came on as a substitute, he targeted the opponent’s weak spot, their Achilles’ heel. This was clearly not something he, as the coach, could have arranged.

’Perhaps this is what he gains from observing the match from the bench.’