Super Wingstorm

During the Christmas period, aside from the Premier League, European leagues went on a complete break, but major news from the world of European football continued unabated.

First, Zidane decisively beat his National Team teammate Henry and club teammate Ronaldo to be named World Footballer of the Year. This was also the French superstar’s third time winning the award.

Yang Yang watched the awards ceremony live on television. During an interview at the event, the French superstar announced he would retire at the age of thirty-three, which came as a surprise to everyone, including Yang Yang.

Although he was already thirty-one, Zidane was still at the peak of his powers. He played for a Real Madrid team packed with superstars, hailed as the strongest side in the world. They seemed perfectly capable of dominating European football for several more years. ’So why would he explicitly announce he’s retiring in just two or three years?’

After Zidane announced his retirement date, the global media was stunned. Many outlets immediately began searching for the "next Zidane," putting together lists of the ten most promising young midfielders in European football poised to take his place.

Topping the list, of course, was Ronaldinho, who had just joined Barcelona that summer. At only twenty-three, he was a universally acclaimed generational talent, and everyone believed he was destined to become one of the world’s biggest superstars.

However, his teammate on the Brazil National Team, AC Milan’s wonderkid Kaka, was also the focus of immense anticipation. He was the most dazzling newcomer in European football that season, and he was only twenty-one.

Beyond them, the eighteen-year-old Diego, dubbed the "New Pele" who played for Santos in Brazil, was also generating immense excitement. Many even felt he was more talented and had greater potential than Kaka.

In addition to the three Brazilian stars, other highly anticipated young talents in European football were included on the list of Zidane’s potential successors: Argentina’s Dalisandro and Amel, England’s Lampard, and Italy’s Casano and Pirlo, among others.

Also on the list was Ajax’s own Rafael van der Vaart.

As Ajax’s youngest-ever captain, Van der Vaart had moved from the left wing to a central midfield role. Everyone agreed he already had the quality of a top-tier European star. His talent and potential were certainly enough for him to become a world-class superstar, but only on the condition that he left Ajax.

The Eredivisie was no longer the league it had been a decade ago, and Ajax was not the European powerhouse it once was. Only by leaving Ajax for a bigger club could Van der Vaart find a better stage on which to perform.

Yang Yang wasn’t familiar with the other players on the list, but he knew of Kaka; the Brazilian was truly incredible. As for Ajax’s Van der Vaart, he was his teammate—his skills needed no introduction.

This list made Yang Yang keenly aware that the Eredivisie’s status in European football had completely sunk to second-tier, and Ajax had long since fallen off the radar of the mainstream media and fans.

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After Zidane won the World Footballer of the Year award, France Football Magazine quickly announced the results for the European Footballer of the Year. Juventus’s Czech star, Nedved, beat out Henry, Maldini, and Shevchenko to be crowned the new European Footballer of the Year, while Zidane only finished fifth.

Yang Yang’s idol, Ronaldo, fell even further to eleventh place.

Among the top ten players, Real Madrid had four: Zidane, Raul, Carlos, and Beckham. With Ronaldo at eleventh, Real Madrid utterly dominated the list.

The results for the World Footballer of the Year and European Footballer of the Year quickly sparked heated debate among the media and fans over which award was more prestigious, but Yang Yang’s attention soon turned to the upcoming draws.

The draw for the Dutch Cup quarterfinals was soon announced: Ajax would host Feyenoord.

The match was scheduled for February 4th.

This would be the first clash between Dutch giants that Yang Yang would experience since his arrival.

The second half of the Eredivisie season was set to begin on January 24th. After two league matches, the Dutch Cup would follow, and then the Champions League round of sixteen would kick off in late February. Ajax’s schedule for the entire month was packed.

Following the Dutch Cup draw, the draw for the Champions League round of sixteen was also held.

Since Ajax had qualified as group runners-up, they were set to face one of the other seven group winners, with the exception of AC Milan.

Lyon, Chelsea, Juventus, Manchester United, Arsenal, Real Madrid, and Monaco...

In the end, Ajax had the worst of luck, drawing the Gunners: Arsenal.

This news plunged the entire Dutch football world into pessimism. This season, Arsenal had been utterly dominant in the Premier League. After nineteen matches, they had thirteen wins and six draws, remaining undefeated. It was only due to the high number of draws that they sat one point behind their old rivals, Manchester United, in second place.

In the Champions League group stage, however, Arsenal’s first three matches had been disastrous: a 0-3 home loss to Inter Milan, followed by a 0-0 away draw against Moscow Lokomotiv, and a 1-2 away loss to Dynamo Kyiv.

But Wenger’s team quickly turned things around, beating Dynamo Kyiv 1-0 at home, thrashing Inter Milan 5-1 away, and defeating Moscow Lokomotiv 2-0 at home. Their quality and current form were both clearly outstanding.

After the draw, the entire Dutch football community despaired for Ajax’s prospects in the Champions League. After all, Arsenal was a Premier League giant, and it would be incredibly difficult for Ajax to contend with such a powerhouse.

And this sentiment naturally affected the team.

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As 2004 began, Ajax reassembled at De Toekomst.

After the Christmas break, all the players returned to the club on schedule.

Yang Yang was reunited with his good friends Ibrahimovic, Vermaelen, and Maxwell, who had gone home for Christmas, but the overall atmosphere at De Toekomst was noticeably subdued.

Nobody enjoys the feeling of being destined for elimination.

Captain Van der Vaart led all the players to their detailed physicals with the team doctor. Several players’ results were over the limit, which left Head Coach Ronald Koeman looking none too pleased.

Before the break, he had warned them time and again not to let themselves go.

What surprised Yang Yang was that the Swedish Striker’s physicals were actually great; he hadn’t gone over the limit at all. This clearly defied all logic.

"Didn’t you say you spent the whole break just eating and drinking with Helena?" Yang Yang asked curiously.

Ibrahimovic looked smug and raised an eyebrow. "Heh, I was just born with this body. You guys can’t help but be jealous."

"Would it kill you to stop bragging?" Yang Yang said, shaking his head with a wry smile.

’Still,’ he thought, ’listening to Ibrahimovic’s bragging felt strangely comforting.’

"I bet he’s just worn out from spending so much time with Helena," Maxwell said with a loud laugh.

Yang Yang and the others, being men, of course understood the implication and burst out laughing.

The Swedish Striker reached for the Brazilian. "Maxwell, if you’ve got a death wish, just say so. I’ll be happy to oblige."

Yang Yang laughed again. Hearing his teammates’ boisterous laughter felt so wonderfully familiar.

Since Yang Yang had continued to train every day over Christmas, he passed his physical with flying colors. However, the coaching staff still gave him an extra training regimen, mainly focused on building up his stamina reserves and his strength in physical challenges. These were his current weaknesses and needed improvement.

This meant Yang Yang’s winter training camp would be particularly grueling. But on the other hand, it also showed that the coaching staff, led by Ronald Koeman, was beginning to have higher expectations and demands for him. They believed he would continue to be an important part of the team in the second half of the season.

After the physicals, Ronald Koeman sternly reprimanded the few players who were significantly over their physical targets, attributing it to their indulgence over the Christmas break. He also issued an ultimatum to all players who failed their physicals: they had to get back in shape during the training camp in Portugal. Otherwise, they wouldn’t see a single minute of playing time.

Ronald Koeman was known for being a strict disciplinarian. Everyone on the team both feared and respected him, so naturally, no one dared to take his warning lightly.

The first day of the training camp was focused mainly on conditioning and recovery, aiming to get everyone gradually back into a competitive mindset.

Since Ajax had performed well in the first half of the season, with satisfactory results in the Champions League, Eredivisie, and Dutch Cup, the management wanted to maintain the stability of the first-team squad. As a result, they weren’t considering any transfers or new signings during the winter break.

Furthermore, Van Gaal had previously reached an agreement with core players like Talabesi, Ibrahimovic, and Van der Vaart. They had all promised to stay focused on playing for Ajax until the end of the season, so it was unlikely any players would be sold during the winter break.

This stability was reflected in the players’ mood and mindset on the first day back.

Notably, the traveling squad for the winter training camp in Portugal also included several players from the reserve team: Babel, Demuer, Maduro, and Lindegren. They would train with the first team for the entire camp to be evaluated by the coaching staff.

These players were all visibly awkward when they saw Yang Yang. Just half a month ago, they had all been teammates on equal footing; Babel had even been considered ahead of Yang Yang. Who could have imagined that a mere two weeks later, Yang Yang would not only have broken into the first team and secured his spot, but would also have become a household name in Dutch football?

This left Babel, who had never liked Yang Yang, feeling particularly frustrated.

The day before the Ajax training camp began, Dutch media broke the news that Twente’s Collins John had officially transferred to Fulham for a fee of 600,000 euros.

The eighteen-year-old Dutch forward of African descent had made a name for himself early in the season by breaking the Eredivisie record for the youngest goalscorer—a record that stood until Yang Yang broke it at the end of the year. His impressive performance, scoring nine goals in eighteen league matches in the first half of the season, had attracted Fulham’s attention.

Since he was still on his original youth academy contract with Twente, Fulham was ultimately able to purchase the well-known Eredivisie rising star for a relatively low price.

Following Collins John’s transfer, many media outlets turned their attention to Yang Yang.

Collins John was gone, so what about Yang Yang, the player who had burst onto the scene at the very end of the first half of the season?