Every year at the end of August, media outlets and football fans around the world turned their attention to the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco.
The annual Champions League Group Stage draw and UEFA awards ceremony would be held there.
But this year was clearly different.
Before it was even time to enter, more and more media reporters and fans from around the world had already gathered outside the convention center. There were noticeably more of them than in previous years, and they were all anxiously waiting.
Would Yang Yang come?
This was a topic the entire world of football could not avoid.
Even though he had left the mainstream leagues of world football and come to the declining Eredivisie, he still attracted the attention of countless reporters and fans. Every match he was involved in received media coverage and attention.
Would he play? How was Ajax doing? Did he have what it took to coach Ajax?
Every one of these questions drew the attention of the media and fans around the world. They all wanted to know the answers.
Yet after arriving in Amsterdam, Yang Yang seemed to have vanished from the face of the earth. He neither accepted media interviews nor showed himself voluntarily. He had not even played a single minute in a match.
All anyone could see was him standing in front of the substitutes' bench, directing the team during matches.
Was he really planning to retire?
But Ajax had registered him in both the squad list and the Champions League squad. That proved he was still a professional footballer.
All these doubts were difficult to answer. Even Ajax's management gave the same standard response whenever asked: They believed Yang Yang had his own plans and timetable, and they would not interfere.
Many people felt that Yang