You're Too Capable!

"This is going to be a tough match."

Standing among the crowd by the sidelines, John Rep frowned as he spoke.

"With players like Wesley Snoyer, Kagri Asante, and Marvin Doring being deployed, AS80 is clearly serious this time. They want to use the summer amateur league to boost their team's morale," Dick Van Pool analyzed.

Ever since Almere was promoted to the third division, their first team had consistently held an edge over AS80. However, there was still some gap in their youth development, with many of the first team's successes stemming from players loaned from Ajax for experience.

In the past season, Almere failed to get promoted to the second division, but their performance throughout the season was outstanding. Achieving such results after only seven years of existence had made Almere renowned in Dutch football. As their city rival, AS80 naturally felt immense pressure.

Since they couldn't compete with Almere in league performance, AS80 naturally wanted to gain an advantage in other areas. The amateur league undoubtedly became the best platform. With three first-team regular-level players joining, was it still an amateur team?

The amateur league also adopted a single-elimination format. If Almere were eliminated in the first round, not only would the players lose valuable training opportunities, but it would also be a devastating blow to the team's morale.

However, John Rep and Dick Van Pool could do nothing about this.

Ultimately, matches had to be won on the field by the players. The head coach could only offer advice from the sidelines.

Seeing Yang Yang in their team's sideline rest area, talking to his teammates and seemingly directing them, John Rep and Dick Van Pool were both surprised.

They could sense the team's low morale; even Henk Dimer looked unhappy. Yet, Yang Yang appeared full of confidence and in command, which was unexpected.

"He doesn't seem to understand the opponent's strength," Dick Van Pool said with a wry smile.

"This might actually be a good thing," John Rep truly felt this way.

Ignorance is bliss. Yang Yang, unaware of the opponent's players' strength, had no psychological pressure or burden.

But what they didn't know was that even if Yang Yang knew, he would still have no psychological burden. Instead, he'd be more eager to try.

Although he had only played four games, the youth team matches no longer satisfied him. Facing a fourth-division starting defender was a rare training opportunity for him.

With the referee's whistle, Almere, who kicked off, immediately passed the ball back to their defense.

Yang Yang charged forward from the right wing, directly facing the opponent's number two left-back, Marvin Doring.

The opponent clearly didn't take Yang Yang seriously. In the first team, he faced forwards from the fourth division. Looking at this skinny Chinese player, who could be easily pushed over with a slight shove, he didn't feel much.

The ball quickly returned to midfield. Henk Dimer was responsible for distributing the ball, while Yang Yang ran into space to receive it.

Even after nearly two months of special training, Yang Yang's fundamental skills were still not good, especially his first touch.

Henk Dimer's pass was a bit too urgent, and Yang Yang couldn't control it with his first touch. Marvin Doring caught up. Fortunately, after turning to shield the ball, he quickly passed it back to the defense.

Seeing that the opponent immediately turned to shield the ball and pass it back as soon as he approached, Marvin Doring thought the player was flustered. Especially seeing Yang Yang's relieved expression, he chuckled coldly and slowly retreated from Yang Yang.

This kid only had this much ability.

Yang Yang was indeed secretly relieved. He hadn't controlled that pass well and raised his hand to apologize to Henk Dimer, taking responsibility for the failed attack.

Almere's players also understood Yang Yang and knew his basic skills weren't great. But they knew even better that once Yang Yang could control the ball, that's when he truly showed his threat. So, no one was discouraged.

Soon, after reorganizing, the ball was sent to midfield again.

This time, Yang Yang ran from the right flank towards the center to receive the pass and successfully controlled the ball at his feet.

With no one defending him, Yang Yang calmly turned, pushed the ball forward, and charged ahead like a leopard.

Marvin Doring was, after all, a player from the fourth division. Although he didn't take Yang Yang seriously, his tactical awareness and skill were still there. He quickly took up his position, blocking Yang Yang's path.

One-on-one!

Is this kid trying to dribble past me?

Marvin Doring sneered inwardly as he watched Yang Yang approach with the ball.

Didn't he know that I'm known for my strong defense?

His speed is decent, but trying to break through with speed is impossible against me, even if it works in the youth league.

Facing Yang Yang, Marvin Doring constantly observed his dribbling rhythm and speed. He kept retreating, and when Yang Yang entered his defensive range, he immediately took action to interfere.

Get to the sideline!

Affected by Marvin Doring's interference, Yang Yang, just as he expected, suddenly cut the ball outward. Marvin Doring also moved in sync, decisively extending his leg to tackle, ideally knocking down this timid Chinese player at the same time to give him a taste of the fourth-division starting left-back's power.

But as soon as he moved, he felt his vision blur. When he looked again, he found that Yang Yang had flickered and broken through on the inside instead of the outside. His outstretched leg had missed.

What's going on?

Using a pendulum dribble to instantly get past Marvin Doring, Yang Yang suddenly accelerated as he brushed past the opponent. His speed was noticeably faster than before, leaving Marvin Doring far behind.

A gasp suddenly erupted from the sidelines.

No one expected Marvin Doring to be so easily beaten by Yang Yang right at the start of the match.

By the time Marvin Doring turned back, Yang Yang had already reached the right side of the penalty area. With a sudden stop and cut after accelerating, he shook off the center-back who was hastily covering, and easily crossed the ball to the front post. The forward, who came down from Almere's first team, easily tapped it in from close range, giving Almere the lead.

"Yeah!!!!"

Almere's number eleven center forward excitedly rushed towards Yang Yang, quickly scooping him up around the waist.

Teammates from all around also swarmed over, hugging Yang Yang.

"Haha, you're amazing, kid, absolutely amazing!"

"A strong start, that breakthrough was just brilliant."

"So sharp, so powerful!"

"I think I'm falling in love with you, Yang Yang."

All his teammates were cheering wildly, and Yang Yang couldn't stop smiling.

Who would have thought that Almere would break through AS80's defense less than three minutes into the game, shattering the deadlock first?

Marvin Doring stood frozen, staring in disbelief at the celebrating Almere players, especially Yang Yang at the center. He felt immense shame and humiliation, like he'd been toyed with.

Kule saw his expression and knew immediately that his first-team teammate had been careless.

He had warned Marvin Doring long ago, but the other man clearly hadn't listened at all.

The Pendulum Dribble, that was Yang Yang's signature move.

"Don't worry about it, it's only one goal down, we'll catch up soon," Kule said, trying to comfort him.

It was all he could say at this point.

Seeing Almere score first, John Rep and Dick Van Pool by the sidelines also cheered with laughter.

Neither of them had expected their team to draw first blood.

"This kid has improved again," John Rep, with his sharpest eyes, noticed it immediately.

"Yeah, look at that breakthrough just now, he looked so composed, so effortless," Dick Van Pool was also amazed. Although it was a bit unexpected, it truly showed Yang Yang's skill.

It had only been half a month since the last match, and he had already improved again.

"His progress is so rapid, we need to prepare quickly," John Rep said.

The preparation he was referring to was signing a contract with Yang Yang, to ensure he stayed with the team.

Dick Van Pool agreed wholeheartedly. The first team was suffering from a severe loss of players for the new season, and they desperately needed players like Yang Yang to support them.

But he could also see that with Yang Yang's current rate of improvement, Almere wouldn't be able to keep him for long.

"With this goal, I believe the players will have more fighting spirit," John Rep affirmed.

Conceding the first goal completely enraged the AS80 players. They used the restart to launch a fierce attack on Almere, leveraging their superior strength to dominate the game.

In the 19th minute, AS80, having gained the advantage, finally broke through Almere's defense.

Assisted by Wesley Snoyer, Kagri Asante received the ball in the penalty area, used his body to push past the defender, and fired a shot from close range to equalize for AS80.

Although Almere fought tenaciously, their goal was eventually breached.

With the first goal, AS80 quickly regrouped and attacked again. In the 31st minute, Wesley Snoyer, assisted by the number seven left winger, scored again from near the penalty spot, finding the back of Almere's net once more.

Two to one, AS80 had successfully overturned Almere.

From leading to trailing, Almere, whose overall strength was far inferior to their opponent's, could only endure the onslaught.

Yang Yang initially waited for opportunities on the right flank, but later actively retreated to defend. However, he never got the kind of one-on-one chances he had at the start, making it difficult for him to threaten the opponent's goal.

It wasn't until the 43rd minute, just before the end of the first half, that Almere regained possession in their own half and passed the ball to Yang Yang again. Yang Yang, with his back to the attack, couldn't control the ball well and was forced to pass it sideways to Henk Dimer, turning and sprinting forward himself.

This time, Henk Dimer understood perfectly. After receiving the ball, he passed it back to the right wing, placing it ahead of Yang Yang's sprint, allowing him to best utilize his speed advantage.

When Yang Yang caught up to the ball, he was once again facing Marvin Doring alone.

It was another one-on-one showdown.