Super Wingstorm

In August, the temperature in the Netherlands varied greatly between morning and evening.

Although he had been away for two months, Yang Yang still woke up on time, just like before. He brushed his teeth, washed his face, put on his ”China Red” Adidas boots, and threw on a track jacket. He picked up the soccer ball by the door, but just as he was about to leave, he heard a commotion from upstairs.

”Wait, wait, wait for me.”

Before long, Vermaelen came clattering down the stairs and rushed out the door like a gust of wind.

”What’s the rush? I was waiting for you, wasn’t I?” Yang Yang chided with a laugh.

Vermaelen chuckled and pointed behind him. Yang Yang turned around just in time to see Maxwell coming out as well.

For a long time during the second half of last season, the four of them had often done extra training together in the mornings, so Yang Yang wasn’t surprised. What did catch his eye was the woman who had just seen Maxwell out.

”Who’s that?” Yang Yang asked curiously.

Vermaelen waved his hand dismissively and kicked the ball over to the approaching Maxwell. He then shouted with a laugh, ”Yang Yang is asking why you’re hiding a woman in your house!”

Maxwell gave an embarrassed smile, looking surprisingly shy. ”That’s my wife.”

”You brought your wife over?” Yang Yang was overjoyed to hear this. ”When did that happen?”

”Just this summer. My two kids, too. I’m planning to enroll them in school in Amsterdam,” Maxwell said, beaming with happiness.

’Yang Yang understood the situation. The Brazilian left-back had surely made his decision: either leave the team or renew his contract for a higher salary.’

As one of Ajax’s standout players last season, if Maxwell were to stay, he would definitely command a higher salary—at least on par with Yang Yang’s.

”This guy,” Vermaelen teased with a laugh, ”he basically never goes out at night anymore. He’s quietly working on making a third baby.”

”Whoa, that’s impressive,” Yang Yang said, full of admiration.

Maxwell already had two sons, so wanting another one took considerable courage.

Of course, he really loved children; he called home almost every night.

”He’s trying to make his own soccer team,” Vermaelen laughed.

Maxwell instantly aimed a kick at him, but the Belgian center-back dodged it.

Yang Yang was in a great mood too. He pointed to the house across the street that used to be Ibrahimovic’s. ”Has that house been rented out again?”

”Yeah, to his fellow countryman,” Vermaelen said, pointing at Maxwell.

”Who?” Yang Yang didn’t understand.

”Didn’t the club sign two players from Brazil recently? One is a left-back named Filipe Luís, he’s only nineteen. The other is a right-back named Douglas Maicon, who’s twenty-three.”

Only then did it dawn on Yang Yang. However, because neither of these transfers had attracted any attention, there hadn’t been any media coverage.

However, Yang Yang had heard the name Douglas Maicon before. He started his career at Cruzeiro and was not only the same age as Maxwell but had also been his teammate on the youth team and the National Youth Team. But at Cruzeiro, he hadn’t managed to become a starter.

Last season, Talabesi was pushing for a transfer, so Ajax had been trying to sign a right-back since before the winter break. Their target at the time was Cruzeiro’s main right-back, Mourinho. However, some problems arose during the process, and the winter transfer fell through.

’Who would have thought? They failed to get the starter but ended up buying the backup, Maicon, instead.’

”How good is he?” Yang Yang asked with concern.

As a right winger, he was naturally concerned about the skill of the right-back.

”He’s fast and has good footwork, so he’s definitely capable. But he still has some habits from playing in Brazil. His defense isn’t great yet, which will be a problem,” Maxwell said.

Maxwell himself wasn’t known for his defense. If even he thought Maicon’s defending was poor, then it definitely needed a lot of work. Yang Yang wasn’t surprised by this.

Maicon and the left-back, Filipe Luís, were renting Ibrahimovic’s old house together. Maxwell had even helped arrange it. From now on, they would be neighbors with Yang Yang and the others.

Not only that, but several other new players signed this season were also living in the neighborhood.

”Van Gaal has become the head coach of Alkmaar, and the club signed Vlaar from them. That tall center-back is very capable. Thomas will have some serious competition this season.”

The three of them chatted as they ran, their feet never idle. The ball moved back and forth between them as if threaded by a needle.

”I know Vlaar. He’s really strong and is definitely aiming for a starting spot,” Yang Yang said with a laugh.

Vermaelen snorted. ”Hey, I’m not weak either.”

”That new kid on the forward line has a bit of Zlatan’s style,” Maxwell said, laughing.

”Who?”

”Niklas Bendtner, the tall center-forward from Denmark.”

”Oh.” ’Yang Yang realized. Van Gaal personally went to Portugal to sign him, snatching him right from under Arsenal’s nose.’ ”Is he really good?”

”He’s decent. Only sixteen, but everyone has high hopes for him. He went straight to the first team and has played in several preseason matches. He’ll probably be used a lot this season. His style is a bit like Zlatan’s, but his personality is a little arrogant.”

”Arrogant?”

”Yeah. Not long after joining the team, he publicly announced he wants to challenge your status as the team’s top rising star.”

”Me? The team’s top rising star?” Yang Yang laughed, amused. He hadn’t even known.

”It was an unofficial poll among the De Toekomst players. It used to be Ryan Babel, but after last season, you became the undisputed number one. This kid shows up and wants to overthrow you right away. You better step it up and not lose to him. Don’t embarrass us.”

”Get lost, you guys,” Yang Yang laughed heartily, but he found the idea amusing.

’I wonder if this is a case of a newborn calf not fearing the tiger?’

”The newly signed Charisteas has also been performing pretty well. From the Amsterdam Tournament, it was clear that a tall center-forward has a significant tactical role. Based on the preseason games, his position and Wesley Sonck’s should be relatively stable.”

Wesley Sonck’s greatest strength was scoring goals. Last season, Ibrahimovic wasn’t a true tactical center-forward. But now that they had signed Charisteas, who shone at the European Cup, the club definitely intended to reshape the forward line.

The Greek center-forward in the middle, Wesley Sonck on the left, and Yang Yang on the right—it was a logical setup.

The only potential problem was that Yang Yang had missed the summer training camp, so his coordination with his teammates was still a bit rusty.

Fortunately, there was still a week before the new season started. ’Plenty of time to catch up.’

”What about the void left by Rafael’s departure?” Yang Yang asked, concerned.

Last season, Ajax’s three-man midfield was basically Van der Vaart paired with Sneijder, while De Jong and Galasek took turns in the holding role. But now that Van der Vaart was gone, a spot had opened up in the midfield.

”Pinaar is the top choice for that position now. He has great chemistry with Sneijder. Judging from his performance over the summer, it’s working out really well. That’s probably set in stone.”

After hearing this, Yang Yang had a preliminary understanding of the team’s framework for the new season.

In the goalkeeper position, Robbent had performed well last season but had since transferred to Florence. The team was now heavily promoting the young Stekelenburg, but to be on the safe side, they had also specifically brought in the 34-year-old veteran Hans van der Vorm from Heerenveen to support him.

There was no helping it. After the restructuring, Ajax’s average age was much younger than in previous seasons.

This season, the average age was estimated to be around twenty-one, still the youngest team in Europe. They desperately needed veterans to provide stability.

On the left side of the defense, Maxwell was the clear starter, with Filipe Luís as his backup. Of course, if Maxwell left, Filipe would logically step up.

The right side would be a competition between Maicon and Gregory. In the center, Pasanen and Escude were gone, but Vlaar had been signed. So, Heitinga, Vermaelen, and Vlaar would compete for the spot, and both De Jong and Gregory could also play there.

The midfield and attack went without saying. Yang Yang’s position as right winger was relatively stable, but not completely secure.

According to the agreement between Ajax, Arie Haan, and the Chinese National Team, Yang Yang would leave in September to participate in the AFC U-19 Championship. He would definitely be gone for a while. Fortunately, the National Team had not considered calling him up for the World Cup qualifiers.

According to what Captain Zhu had said before, the National Team was very confident about the World Cup qualifying group stage. They had an excellent draw and advancing to the final round of eight wouldn’t be a problem. They wanted Yang Yang to focus on the AFC U-19 Championship and try to qualify for next year’s Netherlands World Youth Championship. They would call him up next year for the final round.

Therefore, Yang Yang could focus on his club matches for the time being.

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As usual, after running two laps around Oude Kerk Lake, Yang Yang arrived at the breakfast shop on the corner.

”Hey, you’re back!” the owner exclaimed, both surprised and delighted to see Yang Yang.

Yang Yang smiled slightly. ”Not happy to see me?”

”Of course not! We’ve all been waiting for you.”

Yang Yang liked the sound of that and chuckled.

”I’ve been collecting news about you lately, clipping out the articles. I plan to save them; they’ll definitely be valuable in the future.” As he spoke, the owner turned and grabbed a thick notebook from the back.

Yang Yang took it and flipped it open. It was indeed full of newspaper clippings about him.

”A lot of people left the team for the new season, but the financial situation has mostly recovered. We all know it’s thanks to the outstanding performances from you and a few other teammates last season. So, you have to keep working hard this season too.”

Yang Yang didn’t know the owner’s name, nor did he feel the need to. There were so many fans like him in Amsterdam, everywhere he went. He ran into them almost every time he went out on the street.

’Sometimes,’ he thought, ’these passionate fans, who support the team with all their might regardless of whether they’re at their peak or in a slump, they must be the bedrock of Ajax’s long-term survival.’

”Don’t worry, I’ll definitely work hard,” Yang Yang said as he took a pen and signed his name in the scrapbook.

”Good. The new season is a great opportunity for you. I have very high hopes for you.”

Yang Yang gave a polite nod of thanks, picked up his breakfast, and left.

Across from him, the morning sun was slowly rising.