Trap

"Is that all you've got?"

Yang Yang had no idea how shocked everyone on and off the pitch was. His eyes held only his opponent.

This was the first time the ball had been taken from him in the match. Omnibus Number Seven was already deeply embarrassed, and after hearing Yang Yang's words, he was even more provoked, burning with rage and gritting his teeth.

It was just a fluke. What are you so pleased about?

"Just you wait." After tossing out the threat viciously, Number Seven turned and walked back.

It was obvious that he was truly furious.

Yang Yang stared at his opponent's back and merely gave a cold, unconcerned laugh.

After the ball was cleared toward the front, Omnibus quickly won it back.

It wasn't that the Baken Academy players weren't trying. Rather, the midfield relied too heavily on Henk Dimer. Once their core player was frozen out, the entire midfield fell into chaos, with mistake after mistake.

After several passes, the ball came to the left flank once again.

As a strong team in the Amsterdam Southern Inter-school Cup, Omnibus's Number Seven was highly capable among players his age. Though he had been provoked into acting rashly, he had still learned from his previous mistake and dropped back to receive the ball.

His greatest strength was his speed, and charging straight at opponents with the ball was his biggest advantage.

After receiving the ball this time, he dribbled up the right flank and quickly charged at Yang Yang.

You got lucky just now. Let's see how you defend this time!

Yang Yang immediately realized that his opponent was holding nothing back this time and was giving it everything he had.

"When facing an attack one-on-one, a defender is often under tremendous pressure and has to make a decision in an extremely short time. It's easy to be misled by an opponent's feint when they reveal the slightest opening and rush in blindly. That's a major taboo."

"The more urgent the moment, the more important it is to remain calm and patient, stay with your opponent, and wait for the right opportunity."

"And that opportunity often appears when the opponent transitions between two movements or loses control of the ball."

His opponent quickly dribbled to the edge of Baken Academy's penalty area. Suddenly, he used his right foot to cut inside. Yang Yang immediately turned forty-five degrees, faced his defensive target, and kept retreating. Although he never let his opponent break through, he gave up a large portion of the right flank.

Heh, he still hasn't taken the bait? Number Seven was delighted.

"Damn it, he's going down the line!" Dick Van Pool shouted anxiously from the sidelines.

He fell for such an obvious feint?

But Van Pul's warning had clearly come too late. Omnibus Number Seven suddenly pulled the ball back with his right foot and forcefully poked it forward with his left, changing direction in an instant from cutting inside to going down the line.

From beginning to end, he had never intended to cut inside. His right foot was the only one he could use to dribble, and after cutting inside, it would be difficult for him to make the most of his abilities. Crossing from the byline was his true specialty.

Yet just as he was feeling triumphant, convinced that he was finally about to get past his opponent, the figure before him suddenly blurred. The rookie defending him had somehow cut in front of him and, at exactly the right moment, blocked his path with his body. Using his waist, he squeezed him behind him, forcing his sprint down the line to die before it could begin.

After blocking him, Yang Yang caught up with the ball and pushed it across with his right foot, sending it into the penalty area.

The center-back covering behind him cleared the ball upfield once again, and Baken Academy defused another crisis.

Another burst of enthusiastic applause rose from the sidelines, with faint cheers from the fans mixed in.

"Well done, Chinese kid! Beautiful defending."

"That was rock-solid defense! Amazing!"

"I'm starting to like you, haha..."

Hearing the applause and cheers from the sidelines, Yang Yang's lips curved upward. He raised his right hand toward the fans in thanks.

Being praised really did feel pretty good.

Turning back toward his stunned defensive target, Yang Yang chuckled. "I knew you were going down the line."

Omnibus Number Seven's heart jolted. Could it be that he had deliberately left that huge opening on the right as a trap?

After thinking it over more carefully, he immediately realized that before cutting inside, his opponent had seemed to make a distracting movement. Could it be that he had already decided then to leave the right side open and lure me into going down the line?

Looking at Yang Yang's back, he suddenly felt a little wary.

After failing to gain the slightest advantage over his opponent twice in a row, how could he still dare to be careless?

Yet he couldn't help feeling depressed. Was he really the useless player from the legendary Almere Youth Team?

"He actually... defended successfully!" Dick Van Pool could hardly believe his eyes.

If the first defensive play had been luck, then the second could no longer be explained by luck.

But was this really Yang Yang? When had he gained such ability?

"His improvement has been too fast." John Rep was also filled with astonishment.

He knew that Yang Yang had improved considerably in training recently, and that his defensive performances had been especially good. But he had never imagined that the improvement would be this great. It was truly astonishing.

"Both defensive plays used only the simplest and most common practical techniques. Yet whether it was his composure and calmness when facing an opponent or his grasp of the timing of the match, everything was striking. Especially that pass across the penalty area after he won the ball just now—he didn't even look up at his teammate, yet it was as if he knew exactly where his teammate was."

"This..." Dick Van Pool was somewhat surprised. "You mean..."

Some superstars possessed an extraordinary ability to read the match. Even in a game that changed in an instant, they could remain fully aware of everything around them, as if watching a recording. Based on that, they could deduce the defenders' intentions and make unexpected choices.

Players with this ability were rare, but they were always dazzling, such as Raul, Bergkamp, or Ronaldinho.

But did Yang Yang possess such an ability?

Earlier, during team training, he had still been running around like a headless fly. He hadn't seemed like that at all.

John Rep shook his head and sighed. He understood this player less and less, but judging from Yang Yang's performance during these few minutes on the pitch, with proper development, he might truly become a competent defender in the future.

"No matter what, let's observe him for a while longer."

Dick Van Pul nodded slightly. He had sensed that the Head Coach seemed to be considering keeping this Chinese player.

After twice failing to break through on the left with the ball, Omnibus did not change its attacking route.

Their most trusted weapon was Number Seven's breakthrough on the left. With Baken Academy's right-side defense being their weak point, how could they change their strategy?

But in the next several one-on-one defensive battles, Number Seven still failed to gain the slightest advantage over Yang Yang. Whether he tried to dribble straight through or played a through ball behind and raced for speed, Yang Yang gave him no opportunity whatsoever.

This left Omnibus Number Seven extremely frustrated, yet helpless.

Baken Academy's defense had stabilized, but their midfield organization remained weak, and their attack still showed no improvement.

After winning several one-on-one battles, Yang Yang grew more and more confident. As the match went on and his opponent's stamina declined, Number Seven gradually changed his strategy. Omnibus also began seeking attacks from other directions, and the pressure on Baken Academy's right flank immediately decreased. Yang Yang began trying to support the midfield.

However, the players led by Henk Dimer clearly did not trust him. Several times, Yang Yang ran into open space on the right, but no one passed to him, causing attacking opportunities to slip away for nothing. This made Dick Van Pul and John Rep shake their heads and sigh repeatedly from the sidelines.

In terms of ability, Henk Dimer was indeed the best player on the team. But he was narrow-minded and lacked team spirit. Because of his conflict with Yang Yang, he actually disregarded the team's interests. That was absolutely not behavior befitting a captain.

But Almere had been founded less than seven years ago and did not have many youth-training prospects. With Henk Dimer's potential, joining the Ajax Youth Training Camp might be difficult, but helping Almere compete in the Dutch second tier in the future would not be a problem.

Any team would be more tolerant toward such a homegrown youth player. John Rep and Dick Van Pul understood this clearly as well.

Yang Yang also realized that his teammates had never intended to pass to him, but he didn't care. Whenever he had the chance, he continued running into open space to offer support. To him, this was also a rare opportunity for match practice, especially for using [God's Perspective].

Time trickled away, yet the score on the pitch remained 0–2. Baken Academy's attack still showed no improvement. After repeatedly failing to force their way down the left, Omnibus began attacking more through the right and center.

But in the seventy-eighth minute, Omnibus launched a powerful attack down the right. Baken Academy's entire defensive line shifted toward the left, and Yang Yang was forced to retreat into the penalty area to defend. However, the opponent suddenly switched play with a long clearance, sending the ball toward the left flank.

Number Seven sprinted forward from midfield, racing straight toward the ball.

Everyone on and off the pitch was shocked. Head Coach Dick Van Pul even shouted, "Damn it!" Omnibus's center forward was waiting at the edge of the penalty area. If Number Seven caught up with the ball and crossed from the byline, it would be dangerous. Weren't both of the earlier goals conceded in exactly that way?

At that moment, Yang Yang quickly sprinted out of the penalty area and chased toward where the ball was going to land.

Omnibus Number Seven was renowned for his speed, but Yang Yang was full of stamina. His sprinting speed was not inferior; in fact, he seemed even faster than his opponent. Starting later yet overtaking him, he forcibly turned a disadvantageous situation into an even contest.

Especially after repeatedly suffering setbacks, Number Seven found himself facing Yang Yang charging out like a wolf or tiger. Yang Yang looked thin and weak, but he showed no fear at all, as if he would gladly crash into him. Number Seven could not help losing some of his momentum.

Once his momentum weakened, his speed dropped by half a beat. As a result, Yang Yang reached the ball first and, before it touched the ground, gently flicked it upward.

After a period of basic training, Yang Yang's fundamentals had indeed improved considerably, and this delicate flick displayed that clearly.

Yang Yang chipped the ball over Number Seven. It dropped behind his opponent from the outside, while Yang Yang maintained his speed and swept past the other player's side like a gust of wind, chasing after the ball.

Another wave of enthusiastic applause and cheers erupted from both sides of the pitch.

But Yang Yang paid no attention. After catching up with the ball, he quickly advanced with it along the right flank.

Yang Yang won the ball and immediately launched a counterattack. Baken Academy switched from defense to offense.

Across the entire right flank, the only player standing in Yang Yang's way was Omnibus's left-back, who had pushed up near the halfway line.

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