Super Wingstorm

Twenty-six-year-old Lee Yong-Soo watched from afar as Yang Yang shook hands and embraced Scola on the sidelines before jogging onto the pitch. His brow furrowed unconsciously; he knew exactly what his upcoming duty was.

After Yang Yang entered the pitch, players like Maxwell, Sneijder, Van der Vaart, Wesley Sonck, and Ibrahimovic went over to high-five him one by one, constantly chattering about something, but the roar of the crowd was so loud that no one could hear them.

From this gesture alone, Lee Yong-Soo could sense the weight Yang Yang held in his teammates’ eyes.

For an Asian player at a powerhouse club like Ajax to earn the recognition and respect of such talented teammates, this Yang Yang was clearly no simple character. Moreover, he was the fastest-rising new star in the Eredivisie over the past few months.

Lee Yong-Soo reflected on his and Park Ji-sung’s positions within the Eindhoven squad and the attitude of their teammates toward them. He could appreciate how difficult it must have been for Yang Yang, and the threat this Chinese player could pose to him.

His esteemed mentor, Hiddink, had repeatedly reminded Lee Yong-Soo before the match to watch out for this Yang Yang, no matter what.

Now, Ronald Koeman had finally played this card.

Amidst the cheers of the Ajax fans, Yang Yang quickly ran to the right wing, coming face to face with Lee Yong-Soo.

The South Korean international got a close-up look at his baby-faced opponent. As fellow East Asian players meeting on a football pitch in a foreign land, it was a kind of fate. Lee Yong-Soo gave his opponent a smiling nod, and Yang Yang responded with a smile of his own.

The two exchanged no words. The match quickly resumed.

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After Yang Yang came on as a substitute, Ajax’s attack began to shift to the right wing.

Sneijder, the midfielder in charge of distribution, started frequently sending the ball to Yang Yang’s side. However, Lee Yong-Soo had learned from Feyenoord’s targeted defensive tactics against Yang Yang and stuck to him like glue, giving him very few opportunities.

Find space, receive the ball, pass it back. Find space again, receive the ball again, pass it back again...

After coming on, Yang Yang covered a lot of ground on the right wing and was very active and aggressive. But the defense, coached by Hiddink, was incredibly tight and gave him no room to operate, making it difficult for him to get the ball and face Lee Yong-Soo one-on-one.

Yang Yang was mentally prepared for this situation. He wasn’t anxious, and he continued to patiently wait for an opportunity.

He believed that Lee Yong-Soo couldn’t possibly follow him forever.

Sure enough, when Ibrahimovic dropped back to receive the ball, he drew a center-back out of position. Lee Yong-Soo was forced to position himself closer to the center, and Yang Yang seized the opportunity to pull wide to the touchline, creating space between himself and Lee Yong-Soo.

The Swedish Striker laid the ball back, and Sneijder, who had been watching Yang Yang all along, quickly sent a low, driven pass to the right side.

Yang Yang quickly surged forward with the ball along the right flank. But at that moment, Ibrahimovic was still lagging behind in the center, and Wesley Sonck at the far post failed to grasp Yang Yang’s intention in time and didn’t keep up.

Worse yet, Lee Yong-Soo’s recovery speed was incredibly fast, and he relentlessly pursued Yang Yang along his inside.

’Dammit!’

Yang Yang cursed inwardly. He was out of options. He could either keep dribbling forward, but that would lead him into a dead end, and Lee Yong-Soo would quickly trap him near the corner flag. The best outcome would be earning a corner kick or a throw-in.

Another option was a hasty cross, but with no one in the middle or at the far post to meet it, that would be tantamount to handing possession back to Eindhoven, and might even help them launch a fast counter-attack.

The last option was to stop and wait for his teammates to catch up.

John van Schip had mentioned this kind of situation during their one-on-one training. He said it was like a beginner swimmer charging into the deep end alone. It was extremely dangerous. The best course of action was to stop, shield the ball, and bring it back toward the shallow end.

But simply stopping was clearly not enough.

The moment Lee Yong-Soo caught up to him, Yang Yang suddenly stopped dead and pulled the ball back, changing direction to cut inside. At the same time, he used his body to shield the ball from Lee Yong-Soo, cutting off any chance for the Korean player to make a tackle. Then, with his left foot, he took the ball two steps horizontally and passed it back to the overlapping Sneijder.

The Ajax midfielder immediately played a through-ball, sending it into the penalty area.

But this time, Ibrahimovic, who had already reached the edge of the box intending to support Yang Yang, failed to read Sneijder’s intention. A very good scoring opportunity inside the box was wasted.

By the time the Swedish Striker tried to make a run, Eindhoven’s center-back, Hoffland, had already cleared the ball with a powerful kick.

Ibrahimovic helplessly threw his hands up, panting. He gave Sneijder a thumbs-up but also pointed at Yang Yang, as if to say, ’Buddy, you really screwed me over this time.’

Yang Yang shook his head helplessly as well. If he had passed to Ibrahimovic, Lee Yong-Soo would have likely intercepted it.

But this sudden Ajax counter-attack still created a threat, drawing a roar of excitement from the entire stadium.

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”Protect the edge of the box!”

Hiddink broke out in a cold sweat on the sidelines and roared the command.

If Ibrahimovic hadn’t slowed down and had charged straight into the box just now, it would have been an incredibly threatening attack.

Fortunately, there was a miscommunication between the Swedish Striker and Sneijder, and he stopped instead.

”This group of Ajax players is quite talented. Van der Vaart and Ibrahimovic go without saying, but those two passes from Sneijder were full of skill. He’s going to become a top-tier midfielder for Ajax, and even in European Football,” the assistant coach beside him couldn’t help but praise.

Hiddink completely agreed with his assistant’s analysis. Ajax’s group of young players was indeed formidable.

”The biggest change in that attack just now came from number ninety-nine, Yang Yang, and his sudden stop and cut inside. If he had just selfishly put his head down and dribbled forward, he would have run himself into a dead end. But he actually had the intelligence to stop, shield the ball, cut inside, and then pass it to Sneijder. That was crucial.”

Hiddink was completely unfamiliar with this Chinese teenager who had only recently emerged at Ajax. During his time coaching South Korea, he had never even heard of such a player. But after seeing his first run since coming on, it was clear he was something special.

That sudden stop-and-pull-back move just now seemed simple, but in reality, it revealed a lot.

In European Football, countless young players emerge every year. Many of them are outstanding dribblers with exceptional speed. But limited by experience or their own temperament, in a situation like Yang Yang was just in, the most likely choice would have been to dribble straight to the byline or make a rushed cross.

But Yang Yang chose to stop and shield the ball, which demonstrated his football IQ.

Also, for the same stop-and-pull-back, a player with superb technique might choose a flashier move, maybe using their heel to pull the ball back from behind them. But Yang Yang chose the simplest, most practical skill, yet his timing was perfect, making it impossible for Lee Yong-Soo to make a tackle. That was quite rare.

Many young players are brimming with talent, but they play in an illogical or inefficient way. This causes them to waste their best years. By the time they gain experience and finally ”get it,” it’s often too late for their careers to advance much further.

But a player like Yang Yang, only seventeen yet playing with such rationality, was truly a rare sight.

At this thought, Hiddink quickly walked to the edge of the pitch and shouted, ”Lee Yong-Soo, mark him tightly!”

On the pitch, the South Korean international nodded emphatically, panting heavily. He had clearly been given a huge scare just now.

As he walked back to the dugout, Hiddink glanced at De Jong in the backfield and said with no small amount of relief, ”Good thing Talabesi isn’t on their team, otherwise...”

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”If Talabesi were on the team, that would have been a golden opportunity.”

In front of the home team’s dugout, Ronald Koeman shook his head with deep regret.

He wasn’t surprised by Yang Yang’s on-field decision. Yang Yang had always given the impression of playing a very sensible game, with simple, practical, and unflashy moves. This had a lot to do with his fundamentals not being solid enough yet.

But if Talabesi had been on the pitch just now, the Tunisian right-back would have appropriately trailed behind Yang Yang during the counter-attack. The moment Yang Yang did that stop and pull-back, his first and best option would have been Talabesi. The Tunisian would have then chipped the ball into the box, and Ibrahimovic could have taken one touch and shot directly.

This right-wing attacking combination was something the team had practiced extensively. But with Talabesi absent, De Jong busy marking Robben and afraid to press forward, and Sneijder positioned more centrally, the coordination between Yang Yang and Ibrahimovic was inevitably rusty.

But it was too late to talk about that now.

”Alright, keep playing like this, keep up the pressure!” Ronald Koeman walked to the sideline, clapping his hands forcefully and shouting.

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Having orchestrated a threatening attack almost immediately after coming on, Yang Yang was quickly put under tight marking by Lee Yong-Soo.

The Korean’s physical fitness, stamina, strength, and speed were all excellent, and his commitment on the pitch was extremely high. Once he was determined to shut Yang Yang down, it was very difficult for Yang Yang to shake his defense.

In his next few touches, Yang Yang was constantly harassed by Lee Yong-Soo and couldn’t find a single opening. A few times, he was even on the verge of losing the ball. Fortunately, Yang Yang didn’t dwell on the ball and always passed it back to a teammate quickly.

As a result, Ajax’s right-wing attack was stifled once again. Ronald Koeman’s substitution had failed to produce the desired effect, and as time wore on, the match became a stalemate.

Fortunately, Ajax’s defense in the midfield and back was still tight, and De Jong’s marking on Robben was very successful. They didn’t give Eindhoven many chances, and neither side could create any real threats, making the game somewhat dull.

Gradually, the fans in the stands began to cheer and rally again.

The home fans certainly didn’t want to see their team draw at home. They were worried the game would remain deadlocked, run out of time, and the opponent would walk away with a point from their turf.

Ronald Koeman made another substitution, bringing on the veteran Litmanen for captain Van der Vaart.

This substitution happened in the sixty-eighth minute. Van der Vaart had been playing in two competitions back-to-back and started this match as well. With the game being so intense, his stamina was nearly depleted, and keeping him on the pitch wouldn’t be very effective.

In contrast to Ajax’s two substitutions, Eindhoven seemed unmoved. Other than a forced substitution in the first half due to Colin’s injury, Hiddink showed no intention of making any changes in the second half.

It looked as though he was determined to hold on to the current score with his current lineup.

On the pitch, Yang Yang desperately searched for an opportunity. He was also starting to feel it. ’I have to change something.’