Super Wingstorm

Even back at school, sitting in the classroom, Yang Yang was still immersed in the somber atmosphere of the Champions League draw.

He still remembered it clearly: the moment Friedrich drew Monaco’s name, it was as if all the air had been sucked out of the lounge. Everyone inside, including the defiant Ibrahimovic and the brilliantly talented Van der Vaart, had fallen silent.

No one wanted to draw Real Madrid; the team was terrifying.

Ronaldo, Raul, Zidane, Beckham, Figo, Roberto Carlos, Guti, Sergado, Casillas, Elgara...

Real Madrid had world-class stars in almost every position. Even their bench was filled with well-known European players like Solari, Cambiasso, Raul Bravo, and Portillo.

This was one of the strongest and most fearsome teams in Europe. A single moment of brilliance from any of their stars could decide a match.

No team wanted to be drawn against Real Madrid, but Ajax had been the unlucky ones.

Yang Yang’s idols were Van Basten and Ronaldo. He had always dreamed of playing on the same pitch as them. At De Toekomst, he had been on the same training ground as Van Basten many times, and the Dutch legend had taught Yang Yang a great deal.

Now, he was about to face Ronaldo, but his mood was anything but cheerful.

It wasn’t just him. Everyone on the team felt as if a giant stone was weighing them down.

Real Madrid was like a towering mountain looming before everyone at Ajax, forcing them to crane their necks to look up.

”Ahem... ahem...”

Just as Yang Yang was sinking into his melancholy, he heard two coughs from beside him.

When he snapped out of it, he was startled to see that his middle-aged teacher had, at some point, walked over to his side.

Everyone in the class silently turned to look at him. The atmosphere was tense, like a drawn bowstring.

Like a student who had misbehaved, Yang Yang immediately shot up from his seat. ”I’m sorry, sir.”

Admitting his mistakes was one of Yang Yang’s strengths.

This middle-aged teacher was notoriously strict. He stared intently at Yang Yang, and just when everyone thought he was about to explode, he suddenly bent down. He picked up the soccer ball that had been at Yang Yang’s feet and had rolled away, and placed it gently on his desk.

”Drawing Real Madrid is certainly a shame, but you must understand, Ajax fans are never unreasonably demanding. For us, getting out of the group stage and eliminating Arsenal to reach the quarterfinals is already an excellent achievement.”

With that, he gently patted Yang Yang’s shoulder and gestured for him to sit down.

”Don’t put too much pressure on yourselves. You’ve already done more than enough. Whether you win or lose against Real Madrid, all of us Ajax fans will be proud of you.”

The moment the teacher finished speaking, the classroom erupted in enthusiastic applause.

The group of Ajax fans were all seconding the teacher’s words with their applause.

Yang Yang was touched and encouraged, but his heart remained heavy.

......

......

For the next two days, Yang Yang’s routine remained unchanged: a straight line between school, De Toekomst, and home. He continued to train diligently, but he just couldn’t bring himself to feel happy.

It wasn’t just him. The entire first team, even a thick-skinned character like Ibrahimovic, seemed to have forgotten how to smile. No one was acting like their usual selves, and the atmosphere at De Toekomst had grown strange.

Ronald Koeman, of course, knew the reason. He was also acutely aware that the team needed to snap out of this low mood as quickly as possible. He tried many things, but nothing seemed to work.

Ajax was too young, with an average age of just twenty-two. Yang Yang was only seventeen. Nearly every player had grown up watching the superstars on the Real Madrid squad play. Many of those players were their childhood idols.

In the minds of these young players, Real Madrid’s superstars were practically omnipotent. Now, they were actually going to play against a team like that. How could they not feel pressure?

It wasn’t just the young players; even experienced veterans would inevitably feel the pressure.

At the pre-match meeting for the twenty-fifth round of the Eredivisie, Technical Director Van Gaal told the players frankly that this was a hurdle every team and every professional player must face. ’Leap over it, and you’ll improve. Fail, and you’ll only regress.’

”I still clearly remember the ’92-’93 Champions League season. Capello led his AC Milan all the way from the qualifiers to the final. In the eight matches leading up to the final, AC Milan had eight consecutive wins, scoring sixteen goals and conceding only one, with seven clean sheets. Meanwhile, Marseille from Ligue 1 stumbled along the way, managing four draws and barely scraping by in their wins.”

”But to everyone’s surprise, Marseille defeated AC Milan one-nil in the Champions League final.”

Van Gaal paused, then gave the players a slight smile. ”Gentlemen, that AC Milan team had Van Basten, Rijkaard, Baresi, Maldini, Costacurta, Tassotti, Albertini, Donadoni, Lentini, Papan... a whole host of world-class superstars.”

”And while that Marseille team had names that are legendary today—Barthez, Deschamps, Desailly—at the time, they were about your age, and the team was in a period of transition. Yet they toppled the mighty and seemingly invincible AC Milan.”

”But one year later, a devastated AC Milan came roaring back. Capello’s team fought all the way to the Champions League final, where they faced Cruyff’s Barcelona. Having lost Rijkaard and Van Basten, AC Milan’s attack was severely hampered, while Cruyff’s Barcelona had reached an unprecedented peak.”

”Four consecutive La Liga titles, ninety-one goals in a single season, the most potent attacking force in Europe. Their team boasted superstars like Michael Laudrup, Romário, Bejiristan, Guardiola, and our very own head coach, Ronald Koeman.”

”But the final result was Capello’s team demolishing Barcelona, four-nil.”

The entire meeting room fell silent. Everyone watched Van Gaal quietly as he stood on the stage, seemingly lost in his own memories.

”Another year passed, and the imperious AC Milan once again stormed into the Champions League final—their third in a row. They were ambitious, aiming to defend the Saint Berlade Cup. And their challenger this time, as you all know, was the young Ajax team of that era.”

”That match was incredibly difficult. For the entire game, we couldn’t find a way through AC Milan’s defense. Then, in the eighty-fifth minute, the eighteen-year-old substitute, Kluivert, who had replaced Litmanen, lost his balance but still managed to poke the ball past Rossi and into the goal.”

”That goal went down in Champions League history, and it brought another Champions League trophy to Ajax.”

Everyone in the room was a footballer. Though Van Gaal’s retelling was brief, they could all sense the immense pressure and the daunting obstacles those teams had faced.

”The Champions League is a magical stage. It captures the attention of the entire world, drawing the eyes of fans from every corner of the globe. But it is also ruthless, showing not a shred of pity or sympathy for anyone. It does not believe in the tears of the weak, nor does it accept the cowardice of the timid.”

”It yields only to conquest by the strong.”

”And this distinction between strong and weak isn’t determined by who has more stars, or who has the more talented roster. It is determined by you.”

As he finished, Van Gaal jabbed a finger toward everyone in the room.

Sitting in the crowd, Yang Yang felt as though Van Gaal’s finger was pointing directly at him.

’I never knew Van Gaal was such a powerful speaker,’ he thought. He had to admit the speech was incredibly inspiring. Even the stone that had been weighing on his heart for days felt much lighter.

But he had no idea if the others had taken it to heart, or how much of it had sunk in.

......

......

The result of the Champions League quarter-final draw deeply affected the team, but its impact was confined to that competition.

In the Eredivisie, Ajax had never doubted their own strength.

In the twenty-fifth round of the Eredivisie, Ajax secured a convincing 4-2 victory over Roda JC at home.

Ajax fielded a full reserve squad for the match. Anastasios scored a brace, while Mitja and Pinaar each added a goal, showcasing the formidable depth of Ajax’s bench.

They might struggle in the Champions League, but in the Eredivisie, Ajax was unstoppable.

Midweek, back at the Amsterdam Arena, Ajax faced Breda in the semi-finals of the Dutch Cup.

This time, Ajax secured a clean 2-0 victory at home. Yang Yang came on as a substitute in the seventy-fifth minute. The team scored its second goal in the seventy-sixth minute, but it had little to do with him.

The most encouraging aspect of the match was the link-up play between Ibrahimovic and Van der Vaart. They each scored a goal, demonstrating excellent form and chemistry.

Back in the Eredivisie, Ajax hosted Vitesse. To better prepare for the midweek trip to the Bernabéu Stadium, Ronald Koeman once again fielded a heavily rotated squad. They managed only a narrow 1-0 home victory, thanks to a goal from Mitja.

It was worth noting that after losing 0-1 at home to Feyenoord in the previous round, Eindhoven’s poor form continued. They drew 1-1 at home against Breda, dropping five points in two rounds. This allowed Ajax to rapidly extend its lead to thirteen points.

With only eight rounds remaining in the season, this result all but guaranteed them the league title.

After the twenty-sixth round of the Eredivisie, Ajax rested in Amsterdam for three days before flying to Madrid on the evening of March 23rd. They checked into a hotel not far from the Bernabéu Stadium.

All the players rested and conserved their energy, quietly awaiting the next night’s battle against Real Madrid.