"Get past him... get past him... beat him!"
Seeing Yang Yang dribbling toward Marvin Doring, Dick Van Pul shouted excitedly from the sidelines.
Even the battle-hardened John Rep could not hide his anticipation. He wanted to see Yang Yang's Pendulum Dribble again.
On the field, Yang Yang suddenly slowed as he approached Marvin Doring. He looked utterly confident as he faced him head-on. Once the distance closed, Yang Yang suddenly accelerated and executed another Pendulum Dribble, still using the outside to deceive his opponent while actually cutting in from the inside.
Even though Marvin Doring had been prepared this time, he was still fooled by Yang Yang's footwork and feints. He could only watch helplessly as his opponent burst through the inside and sped away, unable to grab him.
"What a move! Beautiful!"
"Another Pendulum Dribble! That's incredible!"
"Who's that number nine? Two Pendulum Dribbles in a row—amazing!"
"You don't know? Hehe, that's Yang Yang, the top young star of the Almere Youth Team."
"I know Henk Dimer, but this Yang Yang..."
"Remember his name. Yang Yang—he's definitely going to make it big!"
Hearing the fans' cheers, John Rep and Dick Van Pul were extremely excited the instant Yang Yang completed the dribble. His Pendulum Dribble in particular was simply a joy to watch.
After getting past Marvin Doring, Yang Yang did not hesitate. He sent a horizontal pass to the edge of the penalty area. Henk Dimer, who had surged up from the back, saw that the left center-back had been drawn toward the right by Yang Yang and immediately seized the opportunity to carry the ball into the box. Between the two center-backs, he fired a powerful shot and sent the ball into AS80's goal once again.
Two-two!
Henk Dimer spun around excitedly and rushed to Yang Yang's side. He grabbed Yang Yang's hand and ran with him toward the fans on the sidelines, wanting to share the goal with him.
Without Yang Yang, there would have been no goal.
The fans on the sidelines were equally excited, cheering for them nonstop.
It had indeed been a brilliant goal, especially Yang Yang's breakthrough on the right.
Who would have thought that Marvin Doring could be beaten by two consecutive Pendulum Dribbles? How had that happened?
Only Yang Yang himself knew clearly that Marvin Doring was at most an upper-level Fourth Division player. But every night, he trained against a Third Division defender. Although he still lost more often than he won, he had long since become more than capable of handling someone like Marvin Doring.
If his team had not been under pressure in this match, he was confident he could have created even more chances.
Amid the cheering crowd, Yang Yang saw Head Coach John Rep and Dick Van Pul. Both coaches smiled and nodded at him, as if affirming his performance.
Behind Yang Yang and the others, Wesley Snoyer walked over to Marvin Doring and asked what had happened.
"How could you let a sixteen-year-old kid get past you again and again?"
Wesley Snoyer felt that Marvin Doring had simply been too careless. Otherwise, how else could this be explained?
"The first time, I was careless. But the second time I was watching him closely too. I just didn't expect..." Marvin Doring was deeply frustrated.
He had not expected things to turn out this way either.
At eighteen, he already had two seasons of First Team experience. He had performed especially well the previous season and had a good chance of becoming a starter in the new season. He had originally thought dealing with a bunch of sixteen- and seventeen-year-olds would be effortless, but he had never expected that number nine to be so difficult.
"No matter what, you have to stop him!" Wesley Snoyer said harshly.
If the other First Team players found out that he had lost while playing in an amateur match, how could he possibly establish himself in the First Team?
The two sides entered halftime with the score tied at two-two.
By equalizing just before the end of the half, Almere recovered its morale. Everyone had also begun to believe that as long as they protected their goal and created chances for Yang Yang, he would definitely be able to threaten the goal again.
Thus, the second-half tactics naturally continued to revolve around Yang Yang, while everyone else leaned more toward defense.
The match resumed, and the teams switched sides.
Marvin Doring was, after all, experienced. He quickly learned from the first half and began marking Yang Yang tightly. With Kule's assistance in midfield, this made things extremely difficult for Yang Yang on the right wing.
With AS80 holding the overall advantage in strength, Almere also had trouble sparing players to support Yang Yang. As a result, Almere's attack was feeble, while its defense was in grave danger.
In the sixty-fourth minute, Yang Yang got another chance and tried to dribble past Marvin Doring again. But this time, before Yang Yang could execute his Pendulum Dribble, Marvin Doring decisively committed a foul and received a yellow card, while also disrupting one of Almere's few attacks of the second half.
As the balance shifted, the pressure on Almere's defense doubled. Even Henk Dimer had to retreat to the edge of the penalty area to defend.
Yang Yang, meanwhile, racked his brains for a way to break through the deadlock.
What should I do?
Yang Yang stood with his hands on his hips, panting heavily as he brooded in frustration.
He knew very well that this could not continue. His team's defense would be breached sooner or later. They had to launch a counterattack.
A counterattack with the right amount of threat would make the opponents wary and ease the pressure on his team's defense.
But how?
Ever since the second half began, the opponents had tightened their marking on him. There was always someone beside him, making it difficult for him to do anything.
Looking at Kule and Marvin Doring again, they seemed to be struggling too. Kule in particular was panting even harder than he was.
Both sides had given everything in this match, and many players were already exhausted. This might be an opportunity—but how could he make use of it?
Yang Yang had always possessed excellent stamina. Even after coming to the Netherlands and joining the Almere Youth Team, his speed and stamina had remained his strengths. Some teammates had even joked that it was impossible to understand how such a huge amount of athletic energy could be contained in his skinny body.
Soon, Yang Yang thought of the one-against-two training he had done in the Super Training Ground.
Although he had practiced it for less than a month, he had gained some understanding of it. Moreover, his opponents were also heavily fatigued now. If he used it properly, he might well be able to create a threat.
But would that be too risky?
What if he failed?
Just as Yang Yang hesitated, two sentences Old Bing had once told him suddenly surfaced in his mind.
"If you want to replace Henk Dimer and stand out in Almere, you have to prove your value."
"At the critical moment, only someone who dares to shoulder heavy pressure and step forward can be called a leader."
Thinking of those two sentences, Yang Yang gritted his teeth and began making plans.
Almere soon won the ball back again. The right-back Nick moved to the right to receive it, but just as he was about to clear it upfield, he saw Yang Yang rapidly retreating behind the opponents' number seven and pointing toward the inside. After a moment's hesitation, he immediately passed the ball there.
Just as expected, Yang Yang suddenly cut inside, shook off the defender behind him, received the ball, and turned with it.
This was closer to Kule's defensive area. When Marvin Doring saw Kule move forward, he immediately understood and dropped back to provide cover.
Through God's Perspective, Yang Yang had a complete grasp of the situation. Before Kule could close in, he pushed the ball forward and carried it ahead, heading straight toward Kule while raising his head to watch Marvin Doring's movements behind him.
As the distance between the two grew smaller, Kule was nervous despite knowing that a teammate was covering him from behind. Then Yang Yang suddenly accelerated, startling him. When he saw Yang Yang feint toward the inside, he instinctively moved to block him.
Pendulum Dribble! Another Pendulum Dribble!
A blur flashed before Kule's eyes, and Yang Yang had already burst past him on the outside to his left.
Another wave of gasps rose around the field, but Almere's defensive line remained firm.
Marvin Doring had been providing cover behind Kule all along. The moment he saw his teammate beaten, he immediately moved in to press Yang Yang.
Yang Yang was skinny, and Marvin Doring was confident that once he got close, Yang Yang would have no way to deal with him.
But when Marvin Doring charged over, he exposed a huge gap behind him. After beating Kule, Yang Yang kept the ball under control, pushed it forward with a large touch, and accelerated again.
Seeing Yang Yang about to cut inside past his right side, Marvin Doring was startled. He knew it was already too late to stop him, but instinctively reached out to grab him, intending to foul him and bring him down.
He was not the last defender, and there were still more than thirty meters to the goal. There would be no problem.
But just as the thought arose, he suddenly remembered that he was already carrying a yellow card. Another card would mean a red.
That instant of hesitation cost him his chance to foul. He could only watch as Yang Yang pushed the ball past him and raced by.
Before the gasps around the field had even faded, another wave of cheers erupted.
But Yang Yang had no attention to spare for anything else. All his focus was on the number four center-back ahead of him.
Only that man remained between him and the goalkeeper.
Yang Yang raced forward at full speed and could no longer slow down. He charged at his opponent as fast as he could, constantly watching his every move. As he entered the defender's zone, inspiration suddenly struck, and he gently tapped the ball to the right.
The number four center-back had clearly been waiting for Yang Yang's move. He had seen Yang Yang get past Kule and Marvin Doring and had prepared himself long ago. Knowing that the first motion of Yang Yang's Pendulum Dribble was often a feint, he saw Yang Yang move right and instantly concluded that Yang Yang intended to go left, reacting in advance.
But unexpectedly, after gently tapping the ball past the defender, Yang Yang did not cut back.
Damn it! I've been fooled!
By the time the number four center-back realized what had happened, the ball had already slipped past his foot. Yang Yang swept past his side and charged into the penalty area with the ball.
Three in a row!
Everyone around the field was stunned!
He had beaten three defenders in one breath!
Inside the penalty area, Yang Yang caught up with the ball again. Only the goalkeeper remained in front of him. He calmly seized the opportunity and gently placed his shot into the bottom-right corner.
The instant the ball rolled over the goal line, everyone inside and outside the stadium stood frozen!