Super Wingstorm

WOAH!!!

It wasn’t until the referee’s whistle blew, confirming the goal, that gasps of astonishment rippled through the stadium.

All the fans were stunned by the sudden turn of events. No one had expected a substitution for the Ajax Second Team to have such a miraculous effect.

The few reporters sitting in the stands were especially shocked.

"Who is this number twenty-one?"

"Where did he come from?"

"What country is he from? How old? When did he join Ajax?"

...

Everyone could glean a lot from the others’ shocked questions—apparently, no one knew the first thing about number twenty-one.

Who was he?

Right after he came on, he’d made a very nice solo break, but no one had paid it much mind. After all, it was perfectly normal for someone on the Ajax Second Team to pull off a brilliant run.

But what had just happened was clearly different. He had dribbled past two opposing players before making a cross to the center.

You could say he deserved most of the credit for Ajax’s second goal. The goal-scorer, Fred Benson, seemed more like he’d just picked up a bargain in front of the net; the black-haired boy from the East was the real mastermind.

But who on earth was he?

Just as everyone was completely baffled, a young colleague next to them adjusted the thick, black-rimmed glasses on his nose, timidly raised his hand, and said softly, "Maybe... I know who he is."

The reporters all turned to look at the young man, whose face instantly flushed red. Everyone present was a senior in the field.

"Who are you?" one of the veteran reporters asked.

Hearing the question, the young man quickly reached into his pocket, pulled out a stack of business cards, and handed them out one by one. "Hello, everyone. I’m the editor-in-chief of the website Super Football. My name is Michel van der Steeg."

"Super Football? A website?" Everyone was baffled all over again.

Everyone there was a veteran of the Netherlands football media industry, but none of them had ever heard of such a website.

"Sorry, our website was just founded less than two months ago, and right now we only have... only..."

Van der Sma trailed off. He wanted to say that he was the entire staff—from reporter to editor to editor-in-chief—but he couldn’t bring himself to admit it. Fortunately, no one there was particularly interested in him or his website anyway.

"Let’s put that aside for now. You said you know number twenty-one?"

Van der Sma nodded hurriedly. "Yes, I know him. I’ve gathered information on him before. His name is Yang Yang, he’s Chinese, born in October of ’86, so he’s not even seventeen yet. He just joined Ajax a few days ago."

"He just got here a few days ago?" Realization dawned on the reporters. No wonder they didn’t recognize him.

"Is there any other intel?" someone urged.

"Yes, yes." Van der Sma quickly flipped through his notepad and soon found the relevant information. "This Yang Yang used to play for Almere’s youth team. He distinguished himself in this summer’s amateur tournament, and several teams, including Ajax, Eindhoven, and Utrecht, took notice of him."

"What else?"

"He chose Ajax because he’s a fan of Van Basten. Both Van Gaal and Van Basten think very highly of him. He was also recommended by the scout Fred Arroyo. His specialty is breaking through on the right wing, just like he did a moment ago with the Pendulum Move. A lot of people say he’s like Ronaldo."

"Oh, so it’s him!" someone said, slapping their thigh.

"I remember now, too. Aaron Moye’s ’Football Online’ did three straight features on him."

"Right, that’s the one. Lots of people say he’s like Ronaldo."

"My God, it really is him. I can’t believe he’s been pulled up to the second team, skipping levels like that."

"Look at his run and performance just now, especially that Pendulum Move. It’s so much like Ronaldo."

"His breakthroughs on the wing are pretty impressive. Van Basten and Van Gaal really have a good eye for talent."

The group of reporters started chattering amongst themselves.

Aaron Moye’s "Football Online" was an influential radio show in the Amsterdam area. It had featured this Yang Yang for three consecutive episodes, so everyone had heard of him. But many hadn’t paid much attention—for one, he was too young, and for another, the youth leagues just weren’t that appealing. So, they had gradually forgotten about him.

Now that this Van der Sma fellow had brought him up, it all came flooding back to them.

Meanwhile, the young founder of Super Football stood on the sidelines, listening to the veterans’ discussion. He tried to jump in a few times but could never find an opening, leaving him to fret anxiously.

He was eager to use this opportunity to get on good terms with the seniors and expand the network of sources for his small website.

...

...

Yang Yang was oblivious to the commotion the reporters were making in the stands.

After helping Fred Benson score, he celebrated with his teammates, shared a hug with Vermaelen, and then returned to his team’s half of the field.

This time, he positioned himself to the right of the centerline.

The match restarted.

Having conceded two goals in a row, Ezmeralda’s morale took a heavy blow. Ajax, on the other hand, was riding a wave of momentum. Every player was hungry for more goals, hoping to deliver a crushing defeat to Ezmeralda.

This was, after all, the first match of the new season. A good performance here would help them secure their place on the team.

Yang Yang was also starting to truly appreciate the advantages of being on a strong team.

Back at Almere, the team was always on the defensive, and he rarely got a chance to get the ball on the right wing. Every touch was precious, and he cherished each one, afraid of letting his teammates’ efforts go to waste.

But on the Ajax Second Team, things were clearly different. He didn’t have to worry about defense in the midfield or backfield at all. Especially with their overwhelming advantage on the pitch, the players behind him would create a constant stream of attacking opportunities for the front line.

Maduro and Kroen were responsible for distributing the ball for attacks, and now, they were clearly placing more hope in the fresh blood on the right wing, Yang Yang. As a result, Yang Yang was constantly getting opportunities to receive the ball.

All he needed to do was judge the timing, seize the opportunity, go for a solo run when he should, and pass when he should.

A few times, he even wasted opportunities and felt ashamed and regretful, but his teammates clearly didn’t think it was a big deal. They could always win the ball back quickly.

This situation was completely different from playing at Almere, and for Yang Yang, it was a whole new experience.

He also understood that he was now playing for the Eredivisie giants, Ajax. Even if it was just the youth team, he had to learn to adapt to this change in role and position. He couldn’t play like he did during his time at Almere anymore.

For example, he could no longer constantly fall back to defend like he did at Almere. Instead, he needed to conserve his stamina and stay up front, waiting for attacking chances.

In the seventy-sixth minute of the match, the Ajax Second Team launched an attack from the left. After Babel’s attempt to cut inside failed, he passed back to Maduro in the center, who then passed to Kroen.

The Danish midfielder trapped the ball and, without a second thought, sent a high, diagonal pass across the field to the right wing.

Yang Yang sprinted forward along the right sideline. Pierre Tash also looked up, watching the approaching ball and predicting its landing spot. But Yang Yang was a step faster. He caught up to the descending ball, knocked it from the outside toward the penalty area, and then zipped past Pierre Tash’s back, completing a knock-on move.

Behind Pierre Tash, the home team’s covering left center-back reacted quickly, immediately chasing after the ball.

The two of them sprinted towards the same ball from different directions.

But it was obvious that Yang Yang had better control. He had already anticipated the ball’s path and reached it a step ahead of his opponent before coming to a sudden stop. By then, he had already broken into the penalty area.

Seeing that Yang Yang was about to shake him off again, the opposing left center-back’s face fell. Almost instinctively, he shot out both hands, grabbed a fistful of Yang Yang’s jersey, and used his own momentum to forcefully drag the abruptly stopping Yang Yang to the ground.

At that exact moment, the referee’s whistle blew once again.

Everyone in the stadium gasped in unison yet again.

That last breakthrough had left them breathless. They thought it was going to be another goal, but instead, it was a foul in the box. The home team was in big trouble now.

His teammates Fred Benson and Kroen, being the closest, both ran over to check on Yang Yang.

Yang Yang, however, picked himself up off the ground and awkwardly held up his jersey—it had been ripped by the pull. He helplessly spread his hands towards the referee, the gesture clearly asking what the official was going to do about it.

Soon, the referee made the call: a red card and a penalty kick.

Since the opponent was the last defending player, the call was basically indisputable.

Seeing that Yang Yang was okay, Fred Benson grinned, revealing a mouthful of pearly whites, and chuckled.

From the backfield, Vermaelen also shouted Yang Yang’s name and gave him a long-distance thumbs-up.

For a moment there, he had been genuinely worried that Yang Yang might have been injured by the opponent’s dirty play.

The designated penalty taker for the Ajax Second Team was Kroen. The Danish midfielder gave Yang Yang a grateful high-five and sent him off the pitch to change his jersey, while he composed himself and stood in the penalty area, waiting to take the shot.

While Yang Yang was changing his jersey, Van Basten came over to praise his performance since coming on. He also noted that their opponents would be a man down and urged him to keep up the effort and strive for a spectacular victory.

But when he saw Yang Yang’s skinny frame after he took off his shirt, Van Basten thought for a moment, then turned to his assistant, John van Schip, and instructed, "He’s too thin. He needs to bulk up properly. Have the club’s nutritionist draw up a diet plan for him as soon as possible. His training needs to be adjusted accordingly as well."

Van Schip nodded in agreement and jotted it down in his notebook.

He could tell that Yang Yang was now one step closer to being placed on the special development list.

’It really is surprising,’ Van Schip thought. ’Who could have imagined he would create such a huge stir in his very first match? Demuer hadn’t been able to get past that Pierre Tash for a whole hour, yet after Yang Yang came on, the team scores two goals and gets an opponent sent off. With fifteen minutes left, Ajax can definitely score again.’

As the assistant, he knew all too well how much Van Basten wanted to win by a large margin.