Super Wingstorm

”Ha, John, looks like today just isn’t your day.”

Outside the chain-link fence on the sidelines, Hank De Kuning suddenly appeared behind John Reep and Dick Van Puer.

”What do you mean?” John Reep was slightly startled.

”Your most promising prospect before, Henk Demyer, screwed up. And now this kid, Yang Yang, has the misfortune of being matched up against Vincent Wegier.” At this point, Hank De Kuning gave a smug smile. ”Let me tell you, Vegiel was known for his defensive skills in the Ajax Youth Team. After he was cut, the left-side defense for the eighteen-year-old age group has been a constant weakness.”

It was obvious he was saying this to hype up Vincent Wegier’s individual abilities.

”So what?” John Reep retorted.

”Nothing much. I’m just afraid Almere will be going home empty-handed again this year,” Hank De Kuning laughed out loud.

Hamler was a hotbed for youth development. Basically, every year some of their players would enter the Ajax Youth Academy. The Talent Days event was just one way in; more important were the regular evaluations by Ajax scouts and player tryouts at De Toekomst.

This was to be expected.

Ajax had over fifty scouts stationed around Amsterdam. They already had a grasp on any truly good prospects and had even brought them into the fold. Why would they wait for a once-a-year Talent Days event?

Even Vincent Wegier was only trying to make a comeback through the Talent Days. After being cut by Ajax six months ago, he had returned to Hamler, unwilling to give up, and trained hard to earn his way back into the Ajax Youth Academy.

”That player of yours, Yang Yang, is as skinny as a monkey. A little bump and he’ll probably go flying, ha...”

Hearing Hank De Kuning’s words, both John Reep and Dick Van Puer’s faces darkened with anger, but neither of them retorted.

There was no point in a war of words. What mattered was letting the performance on the pitch do the talking.

’Yang Yang, oh, Yang Yang, don’t you dare disappoint me at this crucial moment,’ John Reep thought, gritting his teeth.

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The two competing teams took their positions on the field.

With a blast of the referee’s whistle, the match officially began.

The fans on the sidelines grew restless, while the scouts and youth coaches focused intently on the match, pen and paper in hand, ready to jot down anything that happened.

The players attending the Ajax Talent Days had been planning for this for a long time. Their goal was to catch the eye of the Eredivisie giants, so every one of them was fired up, playing their hearts out and trying their best to show what they could do.

The left winger on Yang Yang’s Team A was a prime example. As soon as he got the ball, he tried to break through on the wing. He did catch his opponent off guard, but he never thought about passing, instead trying to dribble into the box himself.

As a result, just outside the penalty area, Heitinga rushed out and took him down, man and ball, a fierce challenge to put him in his place.

But afterward, the left winger still hadn’t learned his lesson. Every time he got the ball, he tried to go it alone, frustrating Ibrahimovic who was constantly calling for the ball up front. The striker was furious, and the scouts and coaches on the sidelines could only shake their heads.

Some players have no problem with their fundamentals or overall skill, but they just don’t understand teamwork. They love to show off and hog the spotlight. Players like that will never have a chance in the professional world.

To put it bluntly, football is a game for eleven players. Going it alone will never lead to a good result.

Sure enough, after the winger lost the ball three times, the midfielder in charge of distribution, Sneijder, decisively changed his passing lane. He immediately switched the ball to the right side, where Talabesi overlapped to support the attack and quickly delivered a forty-five-degree cross.

This time, the cross went to the near post. Ibrahimovic, tall and powerfully built, had a huge area of control and was very dominant in the box. But this time he chose to hit it on the volley without taking a touch, and the shot went way off target, wasting a good attacking opportunity.

On the field, Yang Yang was constantly running to create passing options, but he was also observing everything.

From Talabesi’s cross, he noticed that Ibrahimovic was right-footed. But it also seemed his desire to show off was very strong. With that cross, if he had taken a touch before shooting, it probably would have been a goal. But instead, he chose to volley it directly.

Realizing this, Yang Yang started to understand how he should pass to him.

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......

”This kid is really good, but he’s just too arrogant and untamable,” Ronald Koeman said with a sigh and a shake of his head.

If it weren’t for that personality, he wouldn’t need to worry so much.

”From the bottom of his heart, he looks down on the Eredivisie. All he can think about now is moving to one of the Four Major Leagues, which is why he plays so hard in the Champions League. He scored five goals in the Champions League last season.”

After hearing this, Van Gaal’s expression turned grim. He said in a stern tone, ”We at Ajax have always fought as a team. We absolutely will not allow anyone to put their individual interests above the collective. He’d better understand that, and soon.”

Van Basten, on the other hand, looked a little worried but didn’t say a word.

The Netherlands legend understood. Ever since the Bosman Law was passed, player movement in Europe had become frequent, and Ajax had rapidly declined. The team’s business model had been forced to change. More and more players like Ibrahimovic, Talabesi, and Qi Wu were using Ajax as a platform to prove themselves.

But the ultimate goal of these players wasn’t to stay at Ajax. In a way, they had no emotional attachment to Ajax at all. They had only one objective: to use Ajax as a springboard to land in one of the Four Major Leagues.

Qi Wu and Van der Meede were gone. Talabesi was only 7 million euros away from a move to Old Trafford Stadium. Ferguson had offered 8 million euros, but Ajax’s asking price was 15 million euros. It was hard to say if they could keep him.

Next it would probably be Ibrahimovic, Pinaar, Maxwell... and even homegrown youth academy mainstays like Van der Vaart and Sneijder.

Nowadays, Ajax could only continuously promote new talent and develop young players to reinforce the first team. Only by doing this could they barely maintain the team’s competitiveness. But how long could this last?

Van Basten knew that Ronald Koeman and Van Gaal were also aware of this and were trying hard to make a change, but many things simply couldn’t be changed by just one or two people.

Just as Van Basten was feeling down, a cheer erupted from the sidelines. A scene unfolding on the pitch made his eyes light up.

He saw Yang Yang finally receive a pass from Sneijder on the right wing.

The Ajax midfielder sent a precise pass to the feet of Yang Yang, who had found an open, unmarked space. After controlling the ball, Yang Yang turned and charged directly at the defending Vincent Wegier.

The moment they engaged, Yang Yang used a series of feints, about to execute a Pendulum Move. Just as it looked like it would be a beautiful individual breakthrough, Vincent Wegier suddenly closed in, nudged Yang Yang’s chest with his shoulder, and smoothly cut in between Yang Yang and the ball, successfully stealing it. Yang Yang lost his balance and fell to the ground.

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”Haha, see? I told you so! He’s too skinny. Can’t even take a light bump before falling over.”

Seeing Yang Yang get knocked to the ground by Vincent Wegier, Hank De Kuning burst out laughing, looking incredibly smug.

In his eyes, Vegiel making a fool of Yang Yang was the same as him making a fool of John Reep.

Dick Van Puer watched anxiously, wondering, ’Why didn’t the referee blow the whistle?’

”What’s gotten into Yang Yang? He clearly knows he’s physically weaker than his opponent, so why did he charge right at him?” The assistant coach was very anxious. He was counting on Yang Yang to bring some glory to Almere and to them, but he never expected...

John Reep, however, remained remarkably calm. He also found it strange, but a possibility immediately occurred to him: it was a test.

”Maybe Yang Yang was deliberately sizing up this Vincent Wegier,” John Reep said in a low voice.

Dick Van Puer was stunned for a moment, then his eyes lit up. He had a point!

Glancing again at the smug Hank De Kuning, John Reep reassured his assistant, ”Don’t worry. Let’s keep watching.”

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On the pitch, Yang Yang picked himself up from the ground, just in time to see Vincent Wegier’s arrogant face sneering down at him. He couldn’t help but give a helpless shrug.

He hadn’t gone all out just then, but it wasn’t entirely to test his opponent either. Another reason was that he hadn’t controlled Sneijder’s pass perfectly, his footwork was a bit messy, and Vincent Wegier had closed in on him very quickly, which led to what had just happened.

Although he’d been put at a disadvantage, he had now gauged Vincent Wegier’s abilities, especially his reactions and speed. This would make him more confident in how to handle him next time.

While tracking back to defend, during a lull in the action, Yang Yang approached Sneijder. He first complimented him on the beautiful pass from earlier, to which the latter replied coolly that it was nothing.

”Next time, can you try to play the ball into the space in front of me?” Yang Yang asked.

Sneijder was slightly taken aback, but he seemed to understand quickly, nodding. ”Sure, I’ll try.”

Watching Sneijder turn and run off, Yang Yang wondered to himself, ’I didn’t even explain it in detail, how could he just agree?’

’Did he really get it? Or only half-understand?’

The game was changing from one moment to the next, leaving Yang Yang no time for idle thoughts.

Soon, Team A got another chance, and the ball once again went to the midfielder, Sneijder.

The first-team core midfielder had the composure of a general. After calmly securing the ball, he glanced to his left but suddenly hit a low, driving pass, quickly switching the ball to the right flank.

This time, Yang Yang was just running in from the right to receive it. The ball landed perfectly and bounced a short distance in front of him, slowing down instantly. As he ran onto it, he was perfectly positioned to charge directly at the opponent’s defensive line.

In that instant, Yang Yang was completely stunned.

So the quiet, reserved Netherlands midfielder really had understood, and he’d even made such a perfect pass.

It was obvious that while Yang Yang had been observing others, this Sneijder had also been observing his playing habits and preferences.

’Could it be? Did Sneijder figure me out completely just from that one pass before?’

’Is this the skill of an Ajax first-team midfielder?’

Yang Yang marveled inwardly, but he quickly shifted his focus back to Vincent Wegier in front of him.

This time, he had no intention of holding back.