Super Wingstorm

”Ha, you should have seen the look on Van der Vaart’s face after the match. It was as black as thunder.”

That evening, in their home in Oude Kerk, the Swedish Striker Ibrahimovic, who had just scored his first goal of the new season the night before, couldn’t stop grinning. He was especially animated when talking about his rival, Van der Vaart, whom he could never stand.

It made Yang Yang, who was sitting opposite him, think of a certain idiom: a petty person enjoying a moment of triumph.

Never mind Vermaelen; even his best buddy Maxwell and their agent, Mino Raiola, wore helpless expressions, as if to tell Yang Yang and Vermaelen, ’We don’t know this kind of petty person.’

But the thick-skinned Swedish Striker just kept grinning widely, laughing nonstop.

Once you got to know him, you’d realize this was just his personality.

The portly Italian, Mino Raiola, had arrived in Amsterdam yesterday. He had only been Ibrahimovic’s agent for a short while. Apparently, the Swedish Striker had gone through a lot of trouble and used several connections to contact him personally. And with the Swedish Striker running into some trouble recently, Raiola had dutifully flown to Amsterdam at the first opportunity to handle the situation.

According to what Ibrahimovic let slip, ever since he changed agents at the end of July, Raiola had been helping him contact teams in Serie A, the agent’s home turf. However, nothing had materialized yet.

”Don’t get carried away. One goal in three matches—I can’t shop that record around.”

After Ibrahimovic finished his gloating laugh, Raiola immediately poured a bucket of cold water on him.

The Swedish Striker gave an embarrassed laugh. ”The season has only just started, right? I haven’t even found my rhythm yet.”

With that, he thumped his chest and declared heroically, ”Mino, you just wait and see! My goal count this season definitely won’t be lower than last season’s. I won’t embarrass you.”

Last season in the Eredivisie, Ibrahimovic’s stats were thirteen goals in twenty-five matches, making him the team’s second-highest scorer, behind Van der Vaart. He also performed very well in the Champions League, scoring five goals.

Looking at his past two seasons at Ajax, his performance had been steadily improving. It was reasonable to expect better stats this season; after all, he was only twenty-one.

”Stop worrying about your feud with Van der Vaart. If you want to leave Ajax soon, if you want those big clubs to open their wallets for you, you need to produce better offensive stats. Score more goals, understand?” Raiola warned.

”I know, I know. You’ve said that a million times, my ears are about to fall off.” Ibrahimovic pouted. ”Losing Van der Meede up front this season is a big problem too. We used to have someone on the right who could cross the ball, but now...”

In the recent Champions League match, Ibrahimovic’s goal came from a cross by the left-back, Maxwell. Other than that, the Swedish Striker didn’t get many opportunities.

The main problem was the clash in playing styles between him and Van der Vaart.

Van der Vaart was Ajax’s undisputed star player, dictating the attack and ball distribution up front. He preferred to roam in the central area behind the striker, which made things awkward for Ibrahimovic, who also liked to have the ball at his feet.

Both Ronald Koeman and Van Gaal wanted Ibrahimovic to transform his game, to hold the ball less and increase his threat in front of the goal—in other words, to turn himself into a pure scorer. This was the type of striker Ajax had favored for years, but the Swedish Striker was an outlier and had no intention of changing.

In contrast, Wesley Sonck wasn’t as tall or as strong as Ibrahimovic, but his style was a better fit for Ajax’s requirements. It’s just that he hadn’t managed to integrate into the team yet.

Ibrahimovic refused to change, and Van der Vaart, as the star player, refused to compromise. Coupled with their previous dispute over the captaincy, the two ended up in a love-hate dynamic on the field. The result was that neither of them performed ideally. Van der Vaart had a terrible start to the new season, playing poorly in all three matches. Instead, it was Sneijder, with his more direct style and stronger ability to attack from deep, who reaped the benefits.

’Thinking about this, Yang Yang truly felt that for a player to excel in a team, they really needed the right time, the right place, and the right people.’

”Alright, that’s all I have to say. What you think and what you do—I can’t control you.” Raiola spread his hands helplessly. ”In any case, I’ll do my best to campaign for you in Italy, but you need to give me a better performance to use as a bargaining chip.”

”No problem at all,” the Swedish Striker promised without hesitation.

It was clear that he would leave Ajax without a second thought if given the chance.

Yang Yang, Vermaelen, and Maxwell could all understand this.

...

...

After seeing off Ibrahimovic and his two companions who had come to scrounge a meal, Yang Yang, as usual, made the excuse that he needed to study, locked himself in his room, and entered the Super Training.

Although he had no plans to leave Ajax for now, listening to Ibrahimovic and Raiola’s conversation had indeed spurred him on. He felt he needed to keep working hard to improve and secure a starting position on the second team as soon as possible.

At his age, sitting on the bench wouldn’t improve his skills. He needed match experience—the more, the better.

”Old Ice, I have a question for you.”

”What is it?”

”If I give you the general details of a player, like his height, weight, physical condition, playing habits, and other information, can you simulate him for me to train against?” Yang Yang asked with concern.

This was an idea that had suddenly occurred to him during the team’s pre-match tactical meeting that afternoon.

Ajax was, after all, an Eredivisie giant. Although the financial and material resources invested in the second team were far less than the first, they were certainly better than a small club like Almere. Before every match, a dedicated scout would be sent to gather intelligence on the opponent.

However, the intelligence was definitely a bit worse than what the first team got; for example, no video analysis of matches was provided.

But from the scout’s report, Yang Yang knew that the left-back he would be facing in the next match against Ezmeralda was named Pierre Tash. He was twenty-one, a local from Spakenburg, and the report also included various stats and his playing habits.

It was, admittedly, very basic and rough player information, intended only to give Yang Yang a superficial impression.

’But as Yang Yang held that report, a flash of inspiration struck him. If he could simulate such a player in the Super Training to practice against, wouldn’t that be like studying in advance?’

’If he could figure out his opponent before the match, wouldn’t his efforts on the field be twice as effective?’

So, the moment he entered the Super Training, Yang Yang threw this question at Old Ice.

”Theoretically, I can simulate any player for you to train against based on the information you provide. The more detailed the information, the higher the realism. If you can even provide video footage of his matches, I can virtualize him directly.” Old Ice was as cold as ever, his reply mechanical.

”But I must remind you that a match is ever-changing, and players adapt randomly. This kind of simulated training can only help you familiarize yourself with the opponent. You cannot rely on it too much.”

”I know that.” Yang Yang was very satisfied.

He knew, of course, that it was just an aid, but that was enough.

Before, whether at the Almere Youth Team or in amateur matches, Yang Yang had always gone in blind against his opponents. At most, he’d know their names and nothing else, having to slowly familiarize himself with them during the game.

But it was different now. Ajax’s scouting system was very well-developed, with dedicated scouts who studied upcoming opponents and provided intelligence to the team and players. This was undoubtedly a huge convenience for Yang Yang. If he could familiarize himself with his opponent in the Super Training beforehand, wouldn’t he be more confident in tomorrow’s match?

”Okay then, Old Ice. From now on, the night before every match, let’s change our training regimen a bit. In addition to the basic training, Ronaldo’s sprints, and Beckham’s crosses, let’s add a simulated practice against the next opponent.”

”Understood. I will make the adjustments immediately,” Old Ice agreed without hesitation.

’Meanwhile, Yang Yang was thinking that just getting intelligence on his direct opponent probably wasn’t enough. In the future, he should try to get information on more players. That way, he might be able to simulate the opponent’s team defense formations and coordinated plays, making the simulated training more realistic and targeted.’

’After all, on the field, the higher the level of competition, the fewer one-on-one opportunities he would get.’

Having made his decision, Yang Yang began his training for the night.

After four months of special training, Yang Yang’s fundamentals had been completely transformed compared to before, but he still practiced diligently every day. It was just that time in the Super Training was precious, so his daily basic training was now only used for warm-ups and review, and the time spent on it was gradually decreasing.

The two Star Skills were the advantages Yang Yang currently relied on most. They were the main focus of his hard work in the Super Training. Now that he had added simulated practice, he would definitely have to cut back on the practice time for the Star Skills.

Fortunately, it was only for the night before a match, so the impact wouldn’t be too great.

...

...

The next morning, after a night of hard training in the Super Training, Yang Yang woke up feeling refreshed and energetic again.

He still juggled a ball as he went for a slow jog to the east side of town, circling Oude Kerk Lake. After working up a sweat, he picked up breakfast on the way, but this time he bought an extra portion for Raiola.

Considering the portly Italian’s build, he guessed his appetite wouldn’t be small, so Yang Yang deliberately bought a bit extra.

Since he was hosting a guest, it was better to have too much than not enough.

As he returned home carrying breakfast, Raiola was standing at the living room window of Ibrahimovic’s house across the hall, watching him open his door with a curious and attentive expression.

”He’s the most hardworking player I’ve ever seen,” Ibrahimovic said with great admiration.

A faint, enigmatic smile touched the corners of Raiola’s lips. He turned his head to look at the Swedish Striker. ”If you had half his determination and effort, my life would be a lot easier right now.”

Ibrahimovic pouted and muttered, ”I already work very hard, okay?”

Raiola gave a noncommittal shrug and turned his head back just in time to see Yang Yang close the door and go inside.