"I watched this match. You played brilliantly."
After Ajax beat Heerenveen 4–0 away, producing their most exhilarating display of attacking football this season, the team returned to Amsterdam, where Van Gaal, Van der Sar, and the others held a remote video conference with Yang Yang in the meeting room.
Yang Yang had just finished watching the live broadcast at home, and he was very pleased with Ajax's performance.
"That was because you put your finger right on the problem. Once we made your changes, the team's attack immediately came alive." Van Gaal could not stop smiling.
"Yes, even watching from the stands, we were amazed. The attack was so fluid today that, compared with the previous rounds, I could hardly believe my eyes," Van der Sar marveled.
Bergkamp kept nodding too. He was thoroughly satisfied with the team's performance, and the person who had truly revived the side and sparked its improvement in attack was Yang Yang.
Many outsiders thought the team's revival was down to the news that Yang Yang would return to Ajax, but anyone familiar with European professional football would never believe that. It simply did not work that way.
Yang Yang's return had rescued the team's morale, but if Ajax had continued playing as they had in those opening matches, there would have been little improvement. Their away trip to Heerenveen would still have been fraught with danger.
What had brought about this emphatic Ajax victory was precisely the advice Yang Yang had offered.
Ajax had previously faced a host of problems: a toothless attack, a shaky defense, and an unstable midfield. There were issues everywhere, leaving the impression of a hopeless mess riddled with holes.
But Yang Yang had quickly put forward several suggestions.
First, Frenkie de Jong had always moved between center-back and midfield.