"This is going to be a tough match."
Among the people standing at the sidelines, John Rep frowned as he spoke.
"Even players like Wesley Snoyer, Kagri Asante, and Marvin Doring have been sent out. It looks like AS80 is taking this seriously, hoping to use the summer amateur tournament to boost the team's morale," Dick Van Pool analyzed.
Ever since Almere was promoted to the third tier, the First Team had steadily held the upper hand over AS80. However, the two sides were still somewhat different when it came to youth development. Much of the First Team's success came from players loaned over from Ajax for training.
Over the past season, Almere had failed to earn promotion to the second tier, but they had performed brilliantly throughout the campaign. Having achieved such results only seven years after their founding, Almere had already made a name for themselves in Dutch football. As their local rivals, AS80 naturally felt immense pressure.
Since they couldn't compete with Almere in league results, AS80 naturally wanted to win back ground in other areas. The amateur tournament was undoubtedly the best platform. With three First Team-caliber starters joining them, could they still be considered an amateur team?
The amateur tournament also used a single-elimination format. If Almere were knocked out in the very first match, not only would the players lose a valuable opportunity to train, but it would also be a devastating blow to the team's morale.
However, John Rep and Dick Van Pool were powerless to change that.
In the end, matches still had to be fought out by the players on the field. The Head Coach could only offer advice from the sidelines.
When they saw Yang Yang saying something to his teammates in their team's technical area, seemingly directing them, both John Rep and Dick Van Pool were quite surprised.
They could both sense the team's low morale. Even Henk Dimer looked grim. Yet Yang Yang appeared to be brimming with confidence, directing everyone with calm assurance. That caught them off guard.
"He doesn't seem to understand how strong the opponents are," Dick Van Pool said with a bitter smile.
"That might actually be a good thing," John Rep said, genuinely believing it.
The ignorant were fearless. Since Yang Yang didn't understand the strength of the opposing players, he had no psychological pressure or burden.
What they didn't know was that even if Yang Yang did know, he still wouldn't feel any pressure. If anything, he would be eager to give it a try.
Although he had only played four matches, the youth team's games had long since failed to satisfy him. Facing a starting defender from the fourth tier was a rare training opportunity for him.
With the referee's whistle, Almere, who had the kickoff, immediately passed the ball back to the defense.
Yang Yang surged forward down the right flank at once, directly facing the opposing number two left-back, Marvin Doring.
Doring clearly didn't take Yang Yang too seriously. The attackers he faced in the First Team were all fourth-tier players. Looking at this thin Chinese player before him, someone who could probably be knocked over with a slight nudge, he truly didn't feel much of anything.
The ball soon returned to midfield. Henk Dimer was responsible for distributing it, while Yang Yang ran into space to receive the pass.
Even after nearly two months of specialized training, Yang Yang's fundamentals still weren't very good, especially when it came to his first touch.
Henk Dimer's pass had come a little too quickly. Yang Yang failed to control it properly with his first touch, allowing Marvin Doring to catch up. Fortunately, he immediately turned and shielded the ball before quickly passing it back to the defense.
When Marvin Doring saw Yang Yang turn and pass the ball back as soon as he approached, he assumed that Yang Yang was flustered. Especially when he saw the look of relief on Yang Yang's face, he let out two mocking chuckles and slowly backed away while facing him.
That was all this kid had.
Yang Yang had indeed secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He really hadn't controlled that ball well just now. He couldn't help raising a hand to apologize to Henk Dimer, indicating that the failed attack had been his responsibility.
Almere's players all understood Yang Yang. They knew his fundamentals were poor, but they knew even more clearly that once Yang Yang controlled the ball properly, that was when he truly became dangerous. So nobody lost heart.
Soon, after reorganizing their attack, they sent the ball into midfield again.
This time, Yang Yang ran in from the right wing toward the middle to receive the ball, successfully trapping his teammate's pass at his feet.
With no one around him, Yang Yang calmly turned, pushed the ball ahead, and charged forward like a leopard.
Marvin Doring was, after all, a fourth-tier league player. Although he hadn't taken Yang Yang seriously, his basic tactical awareness and ability were still there. He quickly settled into position and blocked Yang Yang's path.
One-on-one!
Is this kid trying to dribble past me?
Marvin Doring watched Yang Yang approach with the ball, secretly sneering.
Doesn't he know that I'm renowned for my defensive ability?
His speed was decent, but trying to break through with speed might work in the youth team. It wouldn't work against him.
Facing Yang Yang, Marvin Doring continuously observed the rhythm and speed of his dribbling while retreating. When Yang Yang entered his defensive range, he immediately moved to disrupt him.
Get out to the wing!
Affected by Marvin Doring's challenge, Yang Yang did exactly as he expected. He suddenly cut the ball toward the outside, and Marvin Doring launched himself along with him, decisively sticking out a foot to win the ball. Ideally, he would also take down this timid Chinese kid and give him a rude awakening, showing him the might of a starting fourth-tier left-back.
But the moment he moved, the figure before his eyes suddenly blurred. When he focused again, he found that Yang Yang had shifted his body and changed from breaking outside to cutting inside. The foot he had extended had completely missed the ball.
What was going on?
After using Pendulum Dribble to get past Marvin Doring in an instant, Yang Yang suddenly accelerated the moment he brushed past him. He was clearly faster than before and left Marvin Doring behind.
A wave of startled cries suddenly rang out around the field.
No one had expected Marvin Doring to be beaten so easily at the very first clash.
By the time Marvin Doring turned around, Yang Yang had already reached the right side of the penalty area. After suddenly accelerating, Yang Yang made a sharp stop and cut, shaking off the center-back who had hurried over to cover him. He then calmly sent a low cross to the near post, where the forward who had come down from Almere's First Team easily tapped it into the net, scoring the opening goal for Almere.
"Yeah!!!!"
Almere's number eleven center forward excitedly rushed toward Yang Yang and quickly lifted him off the ground in a bear hug.
The teammates around them also charged over and surrounded Yang Yang in a group embrace.
"Haha, you've got it, kid! You're really good!"
"You caught them off guard right from the start. That breakthrough was beautiful."
"That was so sharp! So powerful!"
"I think I love you to death, Yang Yang."
All the teammates were cheering wildly in celebration, and Yang Yang was grinning from ear to ear.
Who would have thought that Almere would break through AS80's defense and score the opening goal before three minutes had even passed?
Marvin Doring stood frozen in place, staring in disbelief at the celebrating Almere players, especially Yang Yang in the middle. He felt deeply humiliated, as though he had been toyed with.
Kule saw his expression and understood what had happened. He knew that his teammate from the First Team had been careless.
He had warned Marvin Doring long ago, but Doring clearly hadn't taken it to heart at all.
Pendulum Dribble was Yang Yang's signature move.
"Don't let it get to you. We're only one goal down. We'll equalize soon enough," Kule consoled him.
That was all he could say at the moment.
When they saw Almere score first, John Rep and Dick Van Pool also laughed and cheered from the sidelines.
Neither of them had expected their team to seize the initiative so quickly.
"This kid has improved again," John Rep said. His eyes were the sharpest, and he noticed it at a glance.
"Yeah. Just look at that breakthrough. He was so calm and composed, completely in control," Dick Van Pool said in amazement. Although it had caught Doring off guard, it had also truly displayed Yang Yang's ability.
It had only been about half a month since the previous match, yet Yang Yang had improved again.
"He's improving so quickly. We have to prepare as soon as possible," John Rep said.
By "prepare," he meant signing Yang Yang to a contract and making absolutely sure he stayed with the team.
Dick Van Pool strongly agreed. The First Team had suffered heavy personnel losses ahead of the new season and was in urgent need of a player like Yang Yang.
But he could also see that, given Yang Yang's current rate of improvement, Almere wouldn't be able to keep him forever.
"With that goal, I'm sure the players will be even more motivated," John Rep said confidently.
Conceding the first goal completely enraged AS80's players. Taking advantage of the restart, they launched a fierce attack on Almere and used their superior strength to suppress them on the field.
In the nineteenth minute, after dominating the match, AS80 finally breached Almere's goal.
Wesley Snoyer provided the assist, allowing Kagri Asante to receive the ball inside the penalty area. He muscled past the defender and fired a close-range shot into the net, bringing AS80 level.
Although Almere fought tenaciously, their goal was eventually breached.
After scoring once, AS80 quickly reorganized another attack. In the thirty-first minute, Wesley Snoyer received a pass from the number seven left winger and scored once again with a shot from near the penalty spot, sending the ball into Almere's net.
Two to one. AS80 had successfully turned the match around against Almere.
From leading to trailing, Almere, whose overall strength was far inferior to their opponents, could only endure the barrage.
At first, Yang Yang waited patiently for an opening on the right wing. Later, he began actively tracking back, but he never again found a good one-on-one opportunity like the one at the start. That made it difficult for him to threaten the opposing goal.
It wasn't until the forty-third minute, with the first half nearing its end, that Almere won the ball in their own half and sent it to Yang Yang once more. With his back to the direction of attack, Yang Yang failed to control it properly and could only pass the ball across to Henk Dimer before turning and charging forward.
This time, Henk Dimer understood him perfectly. After receiving the ball, he passed it back toward the right flank and sent it into Yang Yang's path, allowing him to make the best use of his speed advantage.
When Yang Yang caught up with the ball, he once again found himself facing Marvin Doring alone.
Another one-on-one duel.
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