Super Wingstorm

Nine o’clock?

Everyone who heard Yang Yang’s shout was momentarily stunned. What did he mean?

But Ibrahimovic wasn’t. Through their regular practice together, he and Yang Yang had developed their own set of signals. ”Nine o’clock” used the team’s direction of attack as twelve o’clock, meaning nine o’clock was to his right.

Yang Yang wanted him to cross the ball back into the penalty area.

The Swedish Striker understood immediately. However, Clichy was blocking the path for a direct cross, so he chose a passing lane between Clichy and Campbell to send it back into the box.

Yang Yang, confident in Ibrahimovic’s ability, immediately darted into the penalty area. Meeting Ibrahimovic’s cross, he used the inside of his right foot to deftly chip the ball toward the far corner.

Kolo Toure rushed back to defend but was a step too slow.

Yang Yang’s shot wasn’t powerful; he was focused on placement. But the angle was sharp and the shot completely unexpected. He even chipped it to bounce right after landing. Lehman dove to make the save, but he still couldn’t stop the ball from hitting the back of the net on the left side.

The moment the ball hit the back of the net, Yang Yang was overcome with joyous disbelief, unable to believe his eyes. He quickly clenched his fists and sprinted toward the corner flag on the right side of the pitch.

The entire Amsterdam Arena erupted in the most fervent cheers and applause since the start of the match. Countless fans chanted Yang Yang’s name, while many more rushed to the railings of the stands, roaring with raw emotion.

Head coach Ronald Koeman rushed out of the technical area the instant the goal was scored. If the fourth official on the sideline hadn’t stopped him, it looked like he was about to charge onto the field to celebrate with his players.

”My God, it’s a goal!!!!”

”Just eight minutes into the game, Ajax is the first to breach Arsenal’s goal!”

”This is an absolutely unexpected goal, coming from our number ninety-nine, Yang Yang!”

”This is his first-ever start for Ajax, and it’s absolutely unbelievable—with his very first shot of the game, he’s scored a crucial goal for Ajax!”

”This is his first goal in the Champions League!”

”The goal was so sudden, so unexpected! None of us could have imagined that Ajax would score so quickly, so abruptly. But we must congratulate Yang Yang for scoring the first European competition goal of his professional career.”

...

Overcome with excitement, Yang Yang ran off the pitch, but he was quickly grabbed and tightly hugged by his teammate, Ibrahimovic.

The Swedish Striker pressed his sweaty hair against Yang Yang’s cheek, loudly complaining in his ear. They had agreed that Yang Yang would do his best to help *him* score, but now, unexpectedly, he had been the one to assist Yang Yang.

But Yang Yang couldn’t make out what the Swedish Striker was saying. His mind was a complete blank; the only thought he had could be summed up in a single word: Goal!

He really hadn’t expected to score.

But the opportunity had presented itself right before him. He saw the gap in Arsenal’s defense, saw that patch of unguarded space in the penalty area, and decided to make the run. His teammate Ibrahimovic, with perfect chemistry, delivered the ball right to his feet. All he had to do was chip it at an angle.

It was just like when he used to chip the ball at that graffiti wall in the skate park back in Almere.

His teammates swarmed him, shaking him forcefully. Someone even snuck in a kiss on his cheek, but none of it could pull Yang Yang out of his state of ecstatic shock and excitement.

Shock and elation completely possessed his body and soul.

Everyone in the stadium was chanting his name. Countless broadcast and camera lenses inside and outside the stadium were trained on him. He had no idea what he looked like right now. ’Am I making a fool of myself?’

He couldn’t worry about any of that. The only thing he knew was that he had scored.

And it was a goal in the Champions League round of sixteen, against Arsenal.

...

”Wait, to all our viewers watching at home, we’ve just received confirmation from the official UEFA website.”

”Yang Yang, who just scored his first career UEFA Champions League goal, is only seventeen years and one hundred and twenty-two days old today. Prior to tonight, the record for the youngest goalscorer in UEFA Champions League history was held by Ghanaian player Peter Ofoli Quaye. He was seventeen years and one hundred and ninety-five days old when he scored for the Greek club Olympiacos in a 1997 Champions League group stage match.”

”That means all of you watching at home and all the fans here in the stadium have just witnessed the birth of a new record for the youngest goalscorer in Champions League history! Yang Yang has broken the previous record by more than two full months.”

”Let’s give our warmest round of applause to congratulate Yang Yang, the new youngest goalscorer in the history of the Champions League!”

...

When the announcement came over the stadium’s public address system, the Amsterdam Arena once again erupted in an even more thunderous round of applause.

All the Ajax fans were ecstatic.

It was a brand-new record.

How incredible! It was simply too amazing to believe!

Yang Yang had just broken the record for the youngest goalscorer in the Eredivisie in the Netherlands, and now, just two months later, he’d broken the record for the youngest goalscorer in the UEFA Champions League. Was he a genius born just to break records?

The fans all found it incredible, but this surprise, much like Yang Yang’s goal, had come so suddenly that it caught everyone completely off guard.

Even Yang Yang, who was on the field celebrating with his teammates, clearly froze for a moment when he heard the news.

He didn’t even know who held the record for the youngest Champions League goalscorer, or how old he was. He had never paid attention to that stuff.

But he really had scored!

And he had broken the record!

...

...

In the chairman’s box, Van Pragg and Van Gaal looked at each other and couldn’t help but share a wry smile.

”Starting him was a gamble. We needed him to create a threat on the right flank, but our real point of attack was still on the left. Who would have thought... he’d actually score...”

Van Gaal had no idea what kind of expression to wear or how to react.

”The goal relied on his excellent positioning, and Ibrahimovic’s assist was key. The shot itself wasn’t actually that difficult, so it’s not a complete surprise he scored, it’s just...” Van Pragg also gave a wry smile.

He was reluctant to attribute this record-breaking goal to pure luck, as finding open space requires intelligence and vision. But Yang Yang’s goal had come so suddenly and was so unexpected that one couldn’t help but wonder if luck played a part.

”His off-the-ball movement has always been his strong suit. He always manages to run into open space to receive the ball, so I’m not surprised he found that gap. It’s just that Ibrahimovic has been very active this game. A moment ago, he drew a center-back out wide, which created the space for Yang Yang’s late run,” Van Gaal analyzed.

Van Pragg nodded. ”Well, now the ball’s in, the record’s broken... how are we going to handle the contract renewal?”

Van Gaal’s face stiffened. He couldn’t smile anymore.

Right. It had been days, and Raiola still hadn’t initiated contact, refusing to even come to Amsterdam. He was clearly just holding out for a better offer. Now, this goal would cause Yang Yang’s value to skyrocket, and Raiola would definitely seize the opportunity to raise his price again.

”Michael,” Van Gaal asked with a wry smile, ”should we be happy about this, or sad?”

Van Pragg roared with laughter, and it was easy to tell from the sound that he was more happy than not.

Ibrahimovic and Van der Vaart might both be leaving, and Ajax desperately needed a new star to step up.

From the looks of it, Wesley Sonck still lacked a certain something, whereas the rookie Yang Yang, despite being the most inexperienced, had not only improved the most but also performed the best on the pitch. Tonight’s goal would make his fame skyrocket, making him the most likely candidate.

This contract renewal...

...

...

”Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!”

When the referee’s whistle confirming the goal sounded from the television, Shen’s Chinese Restaurant in Almere erupted in cheers.

Shen Ming’s family, the Almere coaches and players, and all the local fans in the restaurant cheered for Yang Yang’s sudden goal. No one had expected him to start the match tonight, let alone score.

While Shen Ming’s family was undoubtedly the most excited, Almere’s head coach, John Reep, was just as thrilled.

”That run by Yang Yang was so smart, and his chemistry with Ibrahimovic was perfect. Their give-and-go pulled Arsenal’s defensive line apart, and that’s what gave Yang Yang the chance to shoot inside the box.”

”Yeah, it was so sudden. They’d been attacking down the left flank the whole time, but then they suddenly switched to the right and broke right through. I think Yang Yang’s decision to take the shot immediately in the box was also incredibly decisive. You can tell he was very calm, with excellent mental fortitude,” Dick Van Puer added in praise.

Yang Yang came from Almere, so the better he performed at Ajax, the more the entire city of Almere could bask in his reflected glory.

”Looks like our recruitment pool for the youth academy this summer will be even wider,” Dick Van Puer chuckled.

Yang Yang was like a living advertisement for Almere. The better he did at Ajax, the more renowned Almere’s youth academy would become. More young fans would sign up, widening the talent pool and, in turn, raising the overall level of their youth training program.

”Hey, that’s right, Old Shen,” John Reep said with a chuckle. ”Next time Yang Yang comes back, make sure he swings by Almere. We’ll take some promotional photos to use for this summer’s youth academy recruitment. The young fans will definitely love it.”

A year ago, who would have ever thought that one day, Yang Yang would become the pride of Almere?

Henk Demyer, Nick, and the others felt a bitter taste in their mouths as they listened.

Once upon a time, they were on the same side as Yang Yang, fighting alongside him. Some of them were even better than him. But unexpectedly, Yang Yang had improved by leaps and bounds, especially after going to Ajax, where his skills had soared.

Now, while they, his peers, were still struggling to become starters for Almere in a third-tier league, Yang Yang was already playing in the Champions League knockout stage for the powerhouse club Ajax—and had even scored a goal.

No matter how unwilling they were to admit it, they had to acknowledge that the gap between them and Yang Yang was constantly widening.

Back then, they had all ridden the bus together past the Amsterdam Arena. But now, they were still on Almere’s bus, while Yang Yang had become the center of attention inside that very stadium.