Super Wingstorm

"An attacking opportunity for Ajax, the ball goes to the right flank again..."

"It’s passed to Yang Yang, who sends it back to Sneijder and sprints forward."

"Sneijder plays a through ball behind the defense..."

"Ashley Cole tracks back, he’s very fast, and gets there first to tackle the ball out of bounds."

"Yang Yang is signaling to the linesman, claiming Ashley Cole used his arm to push down on his shoulder. It must have been a little trick before their race for the ball, but the linesman isn’t paying attention."

"A throw-in for Ajax."

"After his outstanding performance in the first leg, Yang Yang has become a closely marked target for the opposition in this match."

"Let’s see what Ajax does with this throw-in. Talabesi to take it."

"He finds Yang Yang, who heads it back. It’s Talabesi again, who passes it once more."

"And it’s another throw-in."

"Arsenal’s defense is incredibly tight, leaving no openings for Ajax."

"Since coming on, Gilberto Silva has been very solid in the defensive midfield position."

"Ajax takes the throw-in, passing it straight back to the defense. A long ball is hoofed forward, Yang Yang starts his run..."

"But it’s overhit..."

"Good idea, but Yang Yang isn’t Superman; there’s no way he can catch that."

"A goal kick for Arsenal."

...

Even though he couldn’t catch the long ball from the back, Yang Yang still gave Heitinga a thumbs-up from a distance. He jogged back quickly, immediately returning to his own half to prepare for Arsenal’s goal kick.

In the short five or six minutes since he’d come on, he had already gained a profound appreciation for Ashley Cole’s skill as a world-class left-back, as well as the strength of Arsenal as a giant in both the Premier League and Europe.

Don’t be fooled by how active Ashley Cole was on the left flank in the first half—frequently overlapping, posing a significant offensive threat, and practically playing like a winger. In reality, when he buckled down and focused on defense, he was incredibly solid.

Since coming on, Yang Yang had found it difficult to get any advantage over him in every direct confrontation. Even on the rare occasion he got a step ahead, Cole would always neutralize the threat with a clever move. That little foul just now, for instance, was subtle and dirty, but extremely effective.

His defensive awareness was also clearly stronger and superior to Kerri’s. His greater experience allowed him to handle any situation with ease, making Yang Yang feel truly helpless and unable to find a way past him.

As the saying goes, a great reputation is never unearned. For Ashley Cole to be recognized by so many top clubs, he certainly had to have something special.

By the same token, Arsenal’s strength was definitely enough to crush Ajax. The first leg and the first half tonight had shown Yang Yang Arsenal’s attack. Now, the second half was showing him their defense and their targeted tactics.

Reyes replacing Pires had pinned Talabesi back, making him feel as if a fishbone was stuck in his throat, unable to push forward and join the attack. Gilberto Silva coming on for Edu created a shield in front of the penalty area, making it very difficult for Ajax to create any threat in that zone.

Ajax had prepared thoroughly before the match, but Wenger was no slouch either. His two substitutions had perfectly countered Ajax’s changes, leaving even Ronald Koeman on the sidelines with no moves left to make.

Unable to gain a tactical advantage and with inferior players, Ajax had basically run out of cards to play.

"We can’t break through on the right. What do we do now?" Sneijder asked, panting.

He had already been playing for eighty minutes, and his stamina was severely depleted.

Yang Yang wiped the sweat from his forehead and shook his head. "There’s nothing else for it. We just have to fight for it."

Sneijder’s expression changed when he heard that; he was already just about spent.

"Don’t worry, I’ll do the running," Yang Yang said fiercely. "I refuse to believe their defense is truly watertight."

...

...

During his one-on-one special training, John van Schip had once told Yang Yang that when pinned down by the opponent’s defense with no options, the best solution was to run more. Run into open space, and keep yourself constantly in motion.

’Running might not create a chance, but not running definitely won’t.’

That sentence had left a particularly deep impression on Yang Yang, and he always kept it in mind.

Not long ago, Luther Carroll had taught him that the Champions League knockout stage is the highest level of football in terms of skill and tactics precisely because the targeted strategies are so intense. Every team will dig three feet deep to study their opponents, preparing countermeasures for every potential threat.

"Before, the team could use teamwork and tactics to create one-on-one opportunities for you on the flank. But in the Champions League knockout stage, when you face a strong team, you’ll find that approach doesn’t work anymore. They won’t easily give you a chance to face a defender alone."

"Then what do I do?"

"You can only try to learn to create opportunities for yourself."

And how do you create opportunities?

Run!

Van Basten had also told Yang Yang that excellent off-the-ball movement could allow an attacking player to ignore any defensive system.

"If you can start from the very first second, constantly run into space, and still perform consistently until the ninetieth minute without your technique breaking down, then congratulations, you’re already a top-tier star in Europe."

"In our era, attacking players ran about six kilometers per match. Later it became seven, and now it should be about eight. If you can run nine, ten, or even more kilometers every match, then no defensive system will be able to shut you down."

...

Almost every coach who had trained Yang Yang had emphasized the importance of running.

Van Schip, Luther Carroll, Van Basten...

They were all constantly telling Yang Yang about the most fundamental and timeless truth on the football pitch.

And that was running.

Attacking requires running, defending requires running, even a goalkeeper’s positioning requires movement.

There are twenty-two players in a match, but only one ball. The key to victory has never been the player with the ball, but the other twenty-one players without it.

Why could Yang Yang dribble past three players and score in an amateur match, but not on the professional stage?

Why could he easily get one-on-one opportunities in the Eredivisie, but not tonight against Arsenal?

’Has he gotten weaker?’

’No, he’s clearly gotten stronger, much, much stronger than when he was playing amateur football.’

’Then why is this happening?’

’Because the other twenty-one players have gotten even stronger!’

Running seems simple, but it’s a very difficult thing to do.

Especially in a high-intensity, ninety-minute match, how to rationally manage one’s stamina and how to cleverly deceive opponents to run into open space are profound subjects that countless professional players spend their entire careers trying to master.

Not only that, but the other great enemy that limits a player’s running is, ironically, the player themself.

The greater the stamina consumption and the closer one gets to their limit, the more fragile a person’s willpower becomes, and the more easily it can be broken.

Using God’s Vision, Yang Yang could find weaknesses in the opponent’s defense faster and more intuitively than others. All he needed to do was run, and keep running.

Sometimes he’d run into position, but the pass from his teammate never came, a wasted effort. Other times, the pass would arrive before he got there, forcing him to sprint faster, but he still couldn’t reach the ball...

The situation on a football pitch changes in an instant; no one can know what will happen in the next second.

Constantly running into space doesn’t just consume stamina; it also tortures the mind.

After one futile effort after another, even the strongest person will grow weary. Their determination will ebb away, bit by bit, until they finally give up.

Yang Yang had experienced this feeling more than once.

For a full year!

Back when he was at the Almere Youth Academy, the daily "keep-away" game was his nightmare. He was like a monkey in the middle of a circle of teammates, constantly being toyed with, again and again, day after day...

That experience was torture for him, but wasn’t it also a form of training?

More than half a year had passed since then. His status now far surpassed that of Henk Demyer and the others, and he had long since buried the hatchet with his former Almere teammates. But that experience remained deeply etched into his very soul.

Therefore, just as he could endure long, tedious hours of basic training, he could also bear the endless, fruitless running.

At the very least, every run gave him a sliver of hope.

...

...

Arsenal made their final substitution in the eighty-third minute.

This time, Wenger brought on the tall striker Kanu to replace Bergkamp.

This was a clear signal to strengthen the attack. Wenger’s intention was crystal clear: he wanted to score another goal to completely extinguish any of Ajax’s lingering hopes and send the team from the Netherlands packing.

Ronald Koeman didn’t make a corresponding substitution, because he had no one left on the bench to bring on.

The team’s best and strongest attacking lineup was already on the pitch. This was all he could do. He had no intention of bolstering the defense either, because at this point for Ajax, there was no difference between losing by one goal, two, or even three.

’Either we equalize—then I’ll make a substitution without hesitation to strengthen the defense and try to see the game out.’

’Or we lose, and everyone leaves Highbury Stadium in disgrace.’

It was that simple.

The Highbury Stadium crowd gave Bergkamp a warm round of applause as he left the pitch. He hadn’t scored in this match, but his impact was obvious. His performance told everyone that he was still one of Arsenal’s most outstanding attacking players.

Ronald Koeman also applauded his Dutch compatriot, but he was more focused on the situation on the field.

After Gilberto Silva came on, Van der Vaart found it hard to get any opportunities. The team was forced to play more on the wings, but the left side was already suppressed by Arsenal, and on the right, Talabesi also struggled to get free. Only the right-winger up front, Yang Yang, was still running relentlessly, constantly searching for a chance.

He was a Warrior.

Ronald Koeman had known that from the very beginning.

Facing a world-class left-back in Ashley Cole, facing a powerful Arsenal, the Ajax manager found it hard to ask a seventeen-year-old player to save the team, even if he had truly saved them before.

The match clock ticked away, bit by bit. Every minute, every second, seemed to stretch on for an eternity.

Yang Yang was still running, sparing no stamina—receiving the ball, passing, transitioning...

Although he hadn’t had any eye-catching moments, he was still working incredibly hard, and his technique remained solid, proving that his long hours of basic training in the past had indeed paid off.

But was this enough to break through Arsenal’s iron defense?

Just as Ronald Koeman was shaking his head in resignation, Ajax suddenly launched a counterattack.