Super Wingstorm

”Ajax wins the ball upfield and launches another counterattack! Yang Yang is surging up the right wing.”

”Breda is getting back quickly. Let’s see how Yang Yang deals with it this time.”

”He crosses it into the box, but Breda’s center-back, Kolon, tracks back in time and clears it away.”

”But the clearance is short! The ball lands just outside the box, and Sneijder rushes in... he shoots!”

”GOAL!”

”Sneijder! Ajax scores the go-ahead goal! It’s a long shot from Sneijder from outside the penalty area.”

”That was a truly brilliant long-range goal.”

”If the fans recall, Sneijder was also outstanding at the start of last season. He scored in several consecutive matches, rescuing a struggling Ajax.”

”And for this goal, Sneijder should thank his teammate on the right wing, Yang Yang.”

...

”Since falling behind, Breda has looked disorganized, making quite a few passing errors.”

”And speak of the devil, another misplaced pass, and Ajax is off on a quick counter.”

”Sneijder switches it to the right wing. Yang Yang receives the ball on the right flank, one-on-one against a defender.”

”He tries to burst past him! Yang Yang is incredibly fast, but this time Su Neville positioned himself well and stayed with him.”

”Yang Yang’s cross is deflected off the defender for a corner kick.”

”Yang Yang will take this corner for Ajax. Let’s see if he can create a threat.”

”Yang Yang swings the corner into the box... to the near post... Vermaelen!”

”GOOOOAL!!!!”

”Three to one! Ajax further extends their lead.”

”You can clearly see the change in the Ajax players’ demeanor. They look much more aggressive.”

”Breda is making too many passing mistakes. They’re on the back foot against the high press from Ajax’s midfield and attack.”

”Vermaelen runs over to Yang Yang and lifts him into the air. He certainly owes his teammate a big thanks.”

”This goal washed away his earlier mistake, atoning for his error.”

...

”The first half is about to end, and Ajax launches another attack.”

”Sneijder drifts out to the right, Maicon makes an overlapping run, and the three of them play a series of quick passes on the right wing. Yang Yang breaks free, charges into the box, and takes a shot!”

”The Goalkeeper makes a diving save...”

”It’s in!”

”Oh my god, it’s an own goal.”

”An own goal from Su Neville.”

”The Breda fullback looks absolutely devastated. He chased Yang Yang all the way into the box, but he never expected the ball, parried away by the diving goalkeeper, to hit his leg and bounce into the goal.”

”An own goal. Four to one.”

”This is an absolutely devastating goal for Breda to concede. Su Neville has obviously lost all his confidence.”

”He hasn’t been able to contain Yang Yang at all in this match.”

”Ajax has been outstanding in the first half. Yang Yang’s brilliant performance on the right wing reminds everyone of his sensational form on that same flank during the second half of last season.”

”It’s truly hard to believe he’s only seventeen.”

”The last player to make such a deep impression at seventeen was probably Robben, who was playing for Groningen at the time. He showed astonishing skill from the moment he debuted, but Yang Yang’s performance is even better than Robben’s was at seventeen.”

”After all, he already has a Champions League title under his belt, and over the summer, he won both the Toulon Cup and the Asian Cup, even being named the MVP of the latter. These are achievements a seventeen-year-old Robben could only have dreamed of.”

”Judging from his performance in this match, the way Yang Yang led Ajax to turn things around at a critical moment truly shows the qualities of a star player. The only question is, how long can he maintain this level of form?”

......

......

When the referee blew the final whistle, the entire Amsterdam Arena erupted in thunderous cheers.

The big red scoreboard showed the final score of the match: six to two.

Breda’s head coach, Lockhoff, spread his hands helplessly, accepting the crushing defeat.

He had accounted for everything, but he had underestimated one person.

Yang Yang still only played for sixty minutes, but when he was substituted off, Ajax was leading five to one. Afterwards, Charisteas assisted a goal for Maxwell, but in the final stages of the match, Breda pulled one back from a corner kick.

The final score was six to two, with Ajax securing a massive win for the new season.

But in other matches played at the same time, Eindhoven continued their winning form from the first game, crushing Van Gaal’s Alkmaar five to one at home in the second round. This left Van Gaal’s team near the relegation zone with one draw and one loss.

Simultaneously, the public outcry that Van Gaal was past his prime grew loud once more.

After his match, Yang Yang immediately called Van Gaal to check on him. But to his surprise, Van Gaal sounded very relaxed on the phone, saying that the match wasn’t a total loss; it was just that they allowed their opponents to get into too good of a rhythm at the start of the second half, conceding three goals in a row.

”Eindhoven has the strongest overall squad in the Eredivisie this season. If Ajax hadn’t sold any players, they might have been able to put up a fight, but now it’s probably going to be very difficult.”

Yang Yang didn’t doubt Van Gaal’s affection for Ajax or his professional judgment. For him to say something like that meant Eindhoven’s strength this season was truly exceptional, and Hiddink’s coaching of the team must be paying off this season.

And while both teams sold players, Ajax used the money to pay off debts, while Eindhoven used it to bring in new signings. That was the difference.

This round, Feyenoord won a resounding four-nil away victory against William II, with Kuyt scoring his fourth goal of the season.

With four goals in two rounds, Kuyt climbed to the top of the Eredivisie’s top scorer chart.

Ajax’s next opponent, Utrecht, also defeated Rosendal five to one at home, with their center-forward Van der Haar scoring a hat-trick. His performance was quite eye-catching, which was undoubtedly bad news for Ajax.

......

......

「Three days later」

Due to the European Super Cup, Ajax’s third-round Eredivisie match was rescheduled to be held Midweek.

Due to his age, the team’s medical department recommended that Yang Yang be rested to focus on preparing for the European Super Cup on the weekend.

After all, too many matches leading to excessive fatigue is not a good thing for a young player.

Ronald Koeman made adjustments to the defensive line. Maicon and Vermaelen, who had started the last two rounds but both made mistakes, were benched. Gregory and Vlaar took their starting spots, but the defensive situation still didn’t improve.

Twenty minutes into the match, Utrecht’s striker, Dar Douglas, opened the scoring for the home team.

For a long time after that, Ajax’s attack failed to create any threat. The situation on the field even became precarious at one point, which finally made Ronald Koeman lose his patience. He made a substitution in the seventy-first minute.

Yang Yang, who was originally supposed to be resting for the European Super Cup, was substituted on, replacing the starting right-winger for the match, Demuer.

The moment he stepped onto the pitch, with his very first touch, Yang Yang evaded a Utrecht defender. He surged down the right flank to the edge of the box, used a Pendulum Move to beat his man, and cut inside. He then laid a square pass with his left foot to the left side of the D, where Pinaar was rushing in. Pinaar took the ball into the box and buried a low shot with his left foot.

One-one!

After the goal, however, Utrecht reinforced their defense on Yang Yang’s right flank. They also dropped deeper, tightening their lines and giving Ajax no further opportunities. In fact, they launched several sharp and dangerous counterattacks of their own.

Ultimately, the match ended in a one-one draw.

......

......

An away draw against Utrecht wasn’t a disastrous result in itself. However, with both Eindhoven and Feyenoord in flying form, Ajax’s performance drew heavy criticism, particularly their defense.

On the offensive end, Yang Yang’s performance was outstanding, with two goals and three assists in three matches. Many people believed he was gradually taking up the mantle of the core player left behind by Ibrahimovic and Van der Vaart.

As the biggest bright spot for Ajax this season, Yang Yang was the team’s one true positive. He had largely maintained his excellent form from the Asian Cup, and all the Ajax fans were thrilled with his performances.

But the team’s new signing Charisteas hadn’t shown enough quality, Bentner didn’t perform well in his few substitute appearances, and Wesley Sonck also failed to rediscover his peak form from when he was the top scorer in the Belgian First Division A. This made Ajax’s attack far from satisfactory.

But the defense was the real, massive problem.

Maicon was strong going forward but weak defensively, creating a liability on the right flank. In the center, following Escude’s departure, neither Vermaelen nor Vlaar had managed to step up and command the back line. Compounding this, the Goalkeeper, Stekelenburg, was also a rookie, leaving Ajax’s defense riddled with vulnerabilities.

This was also a result of the club’s youth-focused policy.

Fortunately for Ajax, however, in the third round of Eredivisie matches over the weekend, Eindhoven stumbled. After going up 1-0, they allowed Breda to score twice to take the lead. Eindhoven managed to claw back an equalizer, but the match ended in a two-two away draw.

Feyenoord didn’t fare much better either. Although they scored in the twenty-fifth minute, they conceded a late equalizer and also drew one-one with Vitesse.

Everyone in the Netherlands knew the league title would be contested by the big three. With all three powerhouses drawing at the same time, it eased the pressure on Ajax’s situation somewhat.

But before Ajax could even breathe a sigh of relief, they were hit with another devastating blow.

......

......

「August 27th, Monaco Louis II Stadium.」

The European Super Cup. Champions League winners Ajax versus UEFA Cup winners Valencia.

After the first half-hour of slow-paced play, the Bat Army struck in the thirty-first minute. It was once again down Valencia’s left flank, as Vicente combined with Di Vaio before Bala scored with a header from fifteen meters out.

After that, Ajax’s right flank was left in disarray, completely overwhelmed by Vicente. Following halftime, another cross came in from Vicente on the left, and Italian striker Di Vaio found the back of the net again with a close-range header.

Two-nil.

The right flank defended by Maicon was basically torn to shreds by Vicente, while Ajax’s midfield was completely locked down by the double pivot of Bala and Albelda, unable to make a move.

With the defense repeatedly being breached, Yang Yang was isolated up front, but he still ran tirelessly, patiently searching for an opportunity.

’He firmly believed that even if Ranieri had truly forged Valencia into an iron fortress, they couldn’t possibly be completely mistake-free.’

’Losing because of a lack of skill was acceptable, but losing so pathetically, without even being able to fight back, was too humiliating.’

’Absolutely not!’