Super Wingstorm

The evening of August 22nd, at the Amsterdam Arena.

In the twelfth minute of the match, the visiting team, Breda, launched a swift counter-attack after an interception in midfield.

Right winger Anouar Diba made a quick dash behind the Ajax defensive line, using his pace to power past Vermaelen. He then sent a low cross into the box, and a trailing Yuri Cornelisse met the ball head-on and slotted it into Ajax’s goal.

Zero to one!

The entire Amsterdam Arena erupted in an uproar.

All the Ajax fans were stunned.

Since the start of the match, the home team had launched wave after wave of furious attacks against Breda. Yang Yang had been particularly active on the right wing, frequently creating chances and leading everyone to believe that a goal for his team was imminent.

But unexpectedly, in the blink of an eye, it was Breda who had scored.

This left all the Ajax fans in the stands in disbelief, and also somewhat disappointed.

It wasn’t just the fans; even the Ajax players on the pitch looked a bit dejected.

Especially Vermaelen, who had been at the heart of the conceded goal.

It was hard to say exactly how much responsibility Vermaelen should bear for that goal. When an attacking player builds up speed, a defender is at a great disadvantage. There was really no excuse for Vermaelen getting beaten one-on-one like that.

But who would care about the details?

In the last round, the team’s back line hadn’t performed well and was nearly equalized by Twente. Now, in their first home game, they get beaten one-on-one right from the start...

One could only imagine how low Vermaelen’s spirits were.

......

......

”That goal came out of nowhere. Ajax needs to stabilize themselves as quickly as possible.”

”We can see Ronald Koeman on the sidelines, repeatedly calling for his players to remain calm.”

”The game has only just begun. Conceding one goal isn’t terrible, but if they lose their composure, it will be very dangerous.”

”The Breda players look very excited. That goal has given their morale a huge boost.”

”Lockhoff’s team has had an eye-catching start to the season. In their opening match at home against Utrecht, they fell behind twice and equalized twice, finally managing to turn the game around and clinch their first win of the season thanks to a goal from Diba.”

”And now, it seems he’s come fully prepared for tonight’s away match against Ajax. Their defense has been very solid since the start, and they’ve capitalized on Ajax’s major summer restructuring and loss of key players to seize an opportunity and score.”

”It has to be said that so far, about ten minutes into the match, Lockhoff’s tactics have paid off.”

”Now we’ll see how Ronald Koeman and Ajax respond.”

......

......

After seeing Cornelisse send the ball into the net, Lockhoff was so excited he nearly jumped for joy right where he stood.

The goal was so sudden, so wonderfully surprising.

”I told you! Ajax is really no good this season!” Lockhoff laughed heartily.

”I’ve been keeping an eye on them since the preseason. Losing five core players in one go has had a huge impact on their overall strength. The newly signed players are either too young or haven’t integrated in time...”

Lockhoff paused here, a sharp glint in his eyes. ”But most importantly, this team has lost its core. Having lost both Ibrahimovic and Van der Vaart, two key pillars, they’ve forgotten how to play football.”

The assistant coach beside him nodded repeatedly. ”Ajax is just too young.”

Last season, Ajax’s average age was only twenty-two. Winning the Champions League at that age could almost be called a miracle. But after losing five core players one after another, Ajax’s average age has dropped even further.

Eindhoven also lost two star players, Kezman and Robben, but their midfield and defense remained largely unchanged. In fact, their team’s average age has increased, which has brought stability to Eindhoven.

As for Ajax, all their transfer income this summer was used to pay off debts. They made virtually no investments in the transfer market. Even the signing of Charisteas only cost 3 million euros.

The Greek center-forward hardly got any playing time at Werder Bremen; he only exploded onto the scene during the European Cup.

Lockhoff was now brimming with confidence because the start of the game had completely validated his earlier prediction: as long as Breda didn’t make any mistakes themselves, Ajax would surely fall into disarray. This was a common ailment of young teams.

’So, next, Breda should probably apply a little more pressure on their opponents.’

The temptation of taking down Ajax at the Amsterdam Arena, scoring a major upset against the European champions in their first home game of the new season, and starting with two consecutive wins—it all thrilled Lockhoff. He immediately walked to the sideline and began relentlessly conveying his ideas to the players on the field.

’I have to win!’

......

......

Just like everyone else, Yang Yang’s spirits were a bit low.

He felt like someone who’d had their bride stolen on their wedding day—frustrated and full of simmering anger.

’After selling off five core players, Ajax’s overall strength has indeed dropped significantly. But no matter what, we shouldn’t have fallen so low as to be humiliated like this by a team like Breda in our own stadium.’

’What’s even more annoying is that after we conceded, my teammates haven’t shown any fighting spirit to strike back. Instead, Breda is pressing us relentlessly, clearly intending to score more while we’re in trouble.’

’And we really are in a mess.’

’After the restart, we lost the ball again after just two or three passes.’

Breda pushed their defensive line up near the halfway line, looking poised to launch another attack into the Ajax box.

On the sideline, Coach Koeman was a little nervous, constantly urging his players to stay calm and try to push the defensive line forward.

’I can’t let them keep playing like this.’

Having made a decision, Yang Yang immediately shifted his position closer to the center and expanded his area of activity. He targeted Breda’s two midfielders, Marcel Koning and David Mendes Da Silva.

According to the pre-match intelligence provided by Ajax’s scouts, Koning wasn’t Breda’s first choice for the holding midfielder role. Lockhoff’s original preference was Engelaar, who was also the main hero in Breda’s 3-2 comeback victory at home against Utrecht.

When Utrecht scored just five minutes into the game, it was Engelaar who stepped up, equalizing for the home team just one minute later. His performance in the second half was also quite impressive.

But after that match, Engelaar was transferred to the Belgian club Genk for a fee of one million euros.

The reason was simple: the Dutch midfielder wanted to play in European competitions.

Under these circumstances, Lockhoff had to hastily assign Marcel Koning to the team’s holding midfielder position.

Long before the match, Yang Yang had received detailed intelligence from Luther Carroll. Breda’s midfielders were basically all tall, strong, power-type players. This was true for Marcel Koning and Engelaar, and David Mendes Da Silva was no different.

Among them, Marcel Koning had a low pass completion rate, and David Mendes Da Silva’s on-the-ball skills weren’t good either. Moreover, David Mendes Da Silva had only recently transferred from Rotterdam Sparta, so his coordination with the team was bound to be rusty.

Head coach Ronald Koeman had already reminded the players in detail before the match that they should take full advantage of this weakness.

’Now is the chance.’

Having made his decision, Yang Yang immediately gestured to Sneijder and Pinaar.

They had been playing together for a year. While he couldn’t say their coordination was perfect, they could understand each other’s intentions through on-field hand signals and glances.

......

......

After winning the ball back, Breda tentatively passed it to the front, but finding no opportunity, they were forced to pass back and regroup.

As the ball returned to the midfield and defense, Pinaar immediately pressed forward, actively joining the press. His first target was Marcel Koning.

Having just received a pass from a center-back, Marcel Koning was immediately put under pressure by Pinaar before he could even control the ball properly.

After turning to shield the ball, he made a light sideways pass to his twenty-two-year-old teammate, who was raising his hand to call for it.

David Mendes Da Silva was facing the direction the ball was coming from and didn’t notice Yang Yang quietly approaching from behind.

By the time the Breda players realized the danger and shouted a warning, Yang Yang was already a step ahead.

The Dutch midfielder was nearly 1.9 meters tall, sturdily built, and quite large—a full head taller and a size bigger than Yang Yang. In terms of agility, however, he was far inferior. He had intended to control the ball and immediately face the direction of attack, but he never expected Yang Yang to stick a foot out and intercept the ball just as he was trapping it.

The ball hit Yang Yang’s left foot and bounced behind the Breda midfielder, resulting in an interception in the attacking half.

...

”Ajax makes a successful interception in the attacking half.”

”Yang Yang pushes forward with the ball, he’s incredibly fast! It’s a counter-attack for Ajax!”

”Pinaar in the center and Wesley Sonck on the left are also rushing forward quickly. It’s a three-on-three situation up front!”

”A Breda center-back comes up to challenge, but Yang Yang doesn’t slow down... he knocks the ball past him and runs around him...”

”Brilliant! Yang Yang carries the ball into the box, he’s one-on-one with the goalkeeper...”

”It’s in!!!!”

”GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!”

”In the fourteenth minute, Ajax has equalized! It’s one-one!”

”Breda was only in the lead for two minutes before Ajax managed to level the score.”

”Yang Yang! A magnificent goal from Yang Yang!”

”After successfully intercepting the ball near the halfway line, he made a blistering forty-meter run with the ball before successfully slotting it home.”

”This is undoubtedly a huge morale-boosting goal.”

...

The moment he successfully intercepted the ball, Yang Yang felt as if his entire body was on fire.

After scoring, he didn’t turn to celebrate. Instead, he sprinted towards Breda’s goal, snatched the ball before their goalkeeper could, ran back to the halfway line, and threw the football down in the center circle before returning to his own half.

’I’ve found their fatal weakness!’

’If they want to take us down in the Amsterdam Arena, then I’ll show them whether they really have what it takes.’

’We might be weaker, but we’re not so weak that just any team can come and bully us.’

...

”Yang Yang looks full of fighting spirit. He didn’t celebrate after his goal, instead taking the ball straight back to the center circle.”

”The fans in the stadium are extremely excited, shouting his name.”

”With this action, he’s telling all the players and all the fans that the match has only just begun.”