Super Wingstorm

A Blessed General!

Yang Yang was definitely a Blessed General!

Ronald Koeman no longer had any doubt about it.

Conceding a goal to Real Madrid in the first half had dealt a painful blow to the Ajax players’ morale. After Ronald Koeman returned to the locker room, he tried every trick in the book but still couldn’t lift his players’ spirits.

He was anxious. On one hand, he knew the team had to go on the offensive right from the start of the second half and score as soon as possible. On the other hand, he couldn’t think of a good way to restore the team’s morale and help the players regain their confidence.

But right at that moment, Yang Yang brought good news: Real Madrid’s players were on their last legs.

This was undoubtedly a godsend. But more importantly, the news came from Yang Yang.

If it had been one of the more lackadaisical players like Ibrahimovic or Maxwell, their words would have certainly been taken with a grain of salt. But the news came from Yang Yang—a player who didn’t talk much but was extremely hardworking in training and matches, a seventeen-year-old who had already won over the entire first team with his performance and effort.

No one would doubt Yang Yang’s words, because everyone trusted him.

More importantly, everyone wanted it to be true.

Ronald Koeman certainly didn’t suspect Yang Yang was lying. The coaching staff had already predicted before the match that the Real Madrid players’ stamina wouldn’t last the full game. This was precisely why they had planned for Yang Yang to come on as a substitute and spearhead the attack in the second half.

The news Yang Yang brought back was unexpected, yet perfectly logical.

This was definitely not luck, but the result of Yang Yang’s keen observation of details.

"Alright, everyone!" Ronald Koeman shouted.

Everyone in the locker room was getting restless. They all stood up and looked directly at the head coach.

"Yang Yang’s observation confirms our earlier judgment. In fact, Real Madrid’s situation is even worse than we imagined. So, even if we were three goals down, it wouldn’t be scary at all, because we can score three goals, or even more."

Everyone nodded in unison.

Real Madrid was indeed packed with superstars and exceptionally talented. But if this group of superstars lacked stamina, they were like a toothless tiger—ferocious in appearance, but actually fragile and completely non-threatening.

"From the very start of the second half, we press them. Press them even harder. As long as we put pressure on them, they’ll make mistakes on their own, and we’ll capitalize on those mistakes with fast counter-attacks."

Everyone nodded again, their faces filled with a burning desire to compete and fight.

Their opponents were about to break. If they went out there now and dealt the final blow, they could turn the game around. Ajax would make a name for itself in world football. Tomorrow morning, media outlets all over the world would be reporting on Ajax’s great comeback.

The reason was simple: their opponent was Real Madrid.

"Our counter-attacks need to be faster. We’ll mainly go down the flanks, especially the right. Roberto Carlos is very active on the attack, and he’ll leave a huge gap behind him. Also, Real Madrid’s protection in front of their penalty area is weak. From what we saw in the first half, the combination of Boerhaave and Guti provides poor cover for the defensive line. We can exploit that."

Everything Ronald Koeman was emphasizing now had actually been repeated over and over in the pre-match preparation meetings. No one was unfamiliar with these points, but they still listened with rapt attention.

"Gentlemen."

Reaching his conclusion, Ronald Koeman cut the chatter and stopped emphasizing the technical and tactical aspects.

"We have no more room to retreat. There’s only one path before us now, and that is to attack. We can’t make any more mistakes, including in our defense. We can’t give Real Madrid the slightest chance. Every single one of us must be fully alert. Only by standing united, only by working together as one, do we have a chance to win."

"If we let them score one more goal, we’re finished."

Ronald Koeman slammed his fist on the table, grinding his teeth as he spoke, the veins on his neck bulging.

Everyone listened intently. They all felt it.

The team was standing on the edge of a cliff, with a bottomless abyss behind them.

...

...

"The two teams are now back on the field."

"We can see that Real Madrid hasn’t made any substitutions, but Ajax made one during halftime, bringing on their number ninety-nine right-winger for the holding defensive midfielder, De Jong."

"De Jong already had a yellow card from the first half, which made him a bit tentative in his defensive duties. This directly led to him playing a rather unflattering role in the goal they conceded. Ronald Koeman likely realized this and decided to substitute him."

"Ajax is now sticking with a 4-3-3 formation. Sneijder is playing deeper, Van der Vaart is back in his familiar attacking midfielder position, Yang Yang is still at right-winger, and Wesley Sonck has moved to the left-winger position."

"The Ajax fans in the stands are incredibly excited to see Yang Yang come on. Many of them have unfurled banners and are chanting slogans, shouting Yang Yang’s name. Although this seventeen-year-old prodigy only joined the first team midway through the season and has come on as a substitute in most of his matches, he’s managed to deliver a pleasant surprise every single time."

"We’ll have to see if Yang Yang can deliver another spectacular performance tonight."

...

The two teams returned to the pitch, and Ajax kicked off.

After the match restarted, Real Madrid still wanted to control the ball and the tempo of the game by establishing their passing dominance, just as they had in the first half. However, they quickly discovered that Ajax had changed their tactics.

Less than a minute after the kickoff, Ajax launched an attack down the left flank.

Maxwell made a quick overlapping run on the left, received a pass from Van der Vaart, and sent in a cross with his left foot. Wesley Sonck won the header at the near post and flicked it on, but Ibrahimovic’s subsequent shot from inside the box was blocked by a desperate Elgara.

As soon as Real Madrid got the ball, Ajax immediately launched a high press. The tempo was fast, forcing Real Madrid to clear the ball out of the danger zone as quickly as possible. As a result, possession changed hands again.

A minute later, Ajax came surging back. Van der Vaart received the ball at the edge of the box, drove into the penalty area, and fired a left-footed shot that was saved by a diving Casillas. Ajax had missed another golden opportunity.

From the very beginning of the second half, the match immediately kicked into a high-speed tempo.

The intense and exciting match on the field got the crowd’s blood pumping. Fifty thousand fans roared in unison, their cheers deafening, and the Ajax players on the pitch became fired up with fighting spirit.

After the second half began, Roberto Carlos remained very active on the left flank. With his team’s forwards being stifled, he clearly hoped to open up a channel down the wing to get the ball into the final third.

Both the coaching staff and Yang Yang intended to exploit this.

Whenever Roberto Carlos pushed forward, Yang Yang was poised and ready to attack the space behind him. Unfortunately, the team’s first two attacks went down the left side, rendering Yang Yang’s runs on the right useless. But he wasn’t discouraged.

’He knew that as soon as a teammate passed to him, his chance would come.’

Sure enough, the team had created threats twice by attacking the left flank, but they just couldn’t score. Real Madrid reinforced the defense on their own right side to counter Ajax’s left. But when Ajax won the ball back again and Sneijder orchestrated the third quick counter-attack, he sent a low, driven pass straight to the right flank.

Roberto Carlos was out of position. The right flank was wide open!

Yang Yang made a diagonal run at top speed into the space behind Roberto Carlos. By the time he caught up to Sneijder’s pass, he was already on the right side of the penalty area. After a quick glance into the box and a slight adjustment, Yang Yang whipped in a curling cross with his right foot.

Ibrahimovic knew exactly what to do. The two of them had practiced this countless times during their extra training sessions. The Swedish Striker, well-versed in the move, surged forward, got in front of Mejia, and met the ball with a powerful header right at the edge of the six-yard box.

The ball changed direction and flew into the goal past Casillas!

...

"GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!"

"Ajax has finally scored!!!!"

"The forty-eighth minute! Just three minutes into the second half, Ajax has finally broken through Real Madrid’s goal!"

"It’s Yang Yang again! The magical Yang Yang!"

"My God, he’s like an angel, always appearing when the team needs him most."

"This time, he didn’t do anything fancy. He just ran into open space, collected the ball completely unmarked, adjusted, and sent in a curling cross with his right foot. Ibrahimovic finished it with a close-range header!"

"The entire scoring play was very simple, but it demonstrated the fantastic chemistry between Yang Yang and Ibrahimovic."

...

After scoring, the Swedish Striker rushed toward Yang Yang, did a knee slide right in front of him, and hugged him tightly, letting out a triumphant roar to the sky.

They had pulled one back! The team was now right back in the game, as if the match had just begun.

And what’s more, it was only the forty-eighth minute. Ajax still had plenty of time.

...

"The Ajax players are celebrating wildly, and the entire stadium is chanting the names of Yang Yang and Ibrahimovic."

"That was a brilliant piece of combination play on the wing, built on pure chemistry."

"Looking at the slow-motion replay, it’s clear the two had a plan. Ibrahimovic didn’t rush in immediately; he waited for Yang Yang to make the cross before making his move. Mejia was caught off guard. He was boxed out by the late-arriving Ibrahimovic and didn’t even jump, allowing the Swedish Striker to easily head the ball in from close range."

"This is a huge morale-crushing goal. For Ajax, scoring right at the start of the second half has completely ignited their spirit and confidence. Real Madrid, on the other hand, obviously needs to regroup and stabilize their defense as quickly as possible."

...

After the wild celebration, Yang Yang laughed as he high-fived his teammates one by one.

Every Ajax player had a smile on their face, confidence written all over them.

They could all clearly sense Real Madrid’s weakness. At the very least, the Galaxy Battleship wasn’t as invincible as they appeared on the surface, especially when their stamina was nearing its breaking point.

Meanwhile, on the sidelines, head coach Ronald Koeman, after a brief celebration, was already waving his hands, signaling to his players on the field to press forward, to squeeze them even tighter, and to try and score another goal as soon as possible.