The Sharp Blade

Five days later, in the evening, at the Almere Youth Team training ground.

In the second round of the amateur competition, Almere welcomed Naarden.

Naarden was a small town in Amsterdam's southeastern outskirts, south of Almere, with Hooij Lake lying between them.

Buoyed by their 3–2 away demolition of AS80 in the first round, Almere played aggressively at home. From the very start, they showed every sign of launching a full-scale assault, intent on swallowing this mediocre opponent in one bite.

It was still Yang Yang, still on the right wing, still using his Pendulum Dribble. This time, it took less than two minutes for Almere to carve through Naarden's defense down the right. Yang Yang's cross was met by the First Team's number eleven center forward, but he failed to turn it into a goal. The number seven left winger followed up and finished the loose ball in front of goal.

After opening the scoring, Almere fully switched into all-out attack mode.

Yang Yang moved through the right wing as if no one were there, completely shredding Naarden's left flank. He launched attack after attack and broke through the opposition time and again, helping his team take a 4–0 lead before halftime.

The gap in quality between the two teams was enormous, but Almere's morale was soaring, and they continued pressing their advantage in the second half.

When the ninety minutes were up, the score was 7–1, and Almere had secured a resounding home victory.

Yang Yang contributed two assists and a goal in the match. He completed countless successful dribbles, was once again recognized as the team's outstanding player, and received special praise after the game from Head Coach John Rep and Dick Van Pool.

John Rep, who had also been a right winger, personally coached Yang Yang through several problems that had emerged during the match. He mainly felt that Yang Yang lacked attacking aggression and should make more runs into the penalty area.

Yang Yang, meanwhile, felt that his shooting was not strong enough and that his first touch was not good enough either. The penalty area was the most heavily defended zone, where his weaknesses could easily be exposed. For now, staying on the wing allowed him to make better use of his strengths.

Although their views were not entirely aligned, both men accepted each other's opinions. Drawing on his own experience, John Rep gave Yang Yang plenty of advice and offered several practical suggestions for his future development.

Yang Yang was deeply grateful for it.

Yang Yang finally left the city of Almere.

Weesp was a suburban town right next to Amsterdam's Southeast New Town. The Vecht River ran through it, dividing the town into numerous sections. Surrounded by green water and blessed with breathtaking scenery, it left Yang Yang thoroughly amazed.

The town's most famous landmark was a military bunker called Ossenmarkt Fortress, built on an island in the Vecht River to the east. It was said to have been constructed 150 years ago and was easy to defend but difficult to attack, making it a favorite destination for tourists. A yacht marina had been built around the fortress, allowing visitors to cruise along the Vecht River for a unique experience.

Weesp had a population of only a few tens of thousands, but it had a strong sporting culture. Hockey and rugby fields stood to the southeast, while the sports complex to the north contained tennis courts and five standard-sized soccer fields.

Almere's third-round amateur competition match against Weesp was held on one of the main pitches.

The match was once again played in the evening, drawing residents from across the town. Cars filled the parking lot south of the field, and enthusiastic fans packed every side of the pitch. Many parents had brought their entire families to watch.

Reaching the third round of the amateur competition meant Weesp possessed a certain level of strength. They had also clearly heard that Almere had defeated AS80 and then crushed Naarden. In this match, they adopted the posture of an underdog playing on the counter, focusing especially on marking Almere's sharp blade on the right wing, Yang Yang.

Despite receiving special attention from the opposition, Yang Yang remained extremely active on the right.

He had outstanding stamina, and with the benefit of God's Perspective, he could always find his way into gaps in the opposition's defense. This had given professional defenders a huge headache in the match against AS80, so it was even less manageable for Weesp's group of amateurs.

Moreover, with Yang Yang being closely marked, the center naturally became weaker, and Henk Dimer immediately began making his presence felt.

In the thirty-ninth minute, Yang Yang received the ball on the right and used Forceful Breakthrough to burst through the defense. He sent the ball to the near post once again, where the number eleven forward finished with a close-range shot. By then, Almere were already 3–0 ahead.

After the teams switched ends for the second half, Yang Yang grew more courageous with every passing minute. Weesp's players tired even faster and were completely unable to stop him. All they could do was watch helplessly as Yang Yang repeatedly surged down the right and sent the ball into the penalty area again and again.

By the end of the match, the score had reached 5–0.

Almere had once again secured a thoroughly satisfying victory.

Yang Yang was heavily marked and managed only two assists, but he had drawn the opposition's main defensive forces, playing an important role in Henk Dimer's excellent performance in the center and the two forwards' displays. His repeated breakthroughs on the wing also earned loud applause from the Weesp spectators.

In the fourth round of the amateur competition, Almere welcomed Vlaferlants at home.

Vlaferlants were a team from West-Friesland. They possessed excellent overall quality and had swept through the first three rounds of the amateur competition, performing extremely well. In the third round especially, they had defeated a team from Utrecht on their home turf.

Everyone at Almere was extremely cautious about the visitors. After playing Weesp, they had conserved their strength and patiently awaited Vlaferlants' arrival.

After advancing through three rounds, Almere's performances in the amateur competition had already shocked their fans. But the farther they went, the stronger their opponents would become. They might even encounter teams entered by Eredivisie clubs such as Ajax, Alkmaar, and Feyenoord. For Almere, that would undoubtedly be a huge challenge.

But the greater the challenge, the greater the rewards.

As the amateur competition went deeper, it naturally attracted more and more fans. Among the crowd, no one knew whether scouts from professional clubs might be hiding among them. If someone performed well, a major club could take notice at any moment.

As the away team, Vlaferlants had clearly done their homework. Against Almere's potent attack, they adopted a defensive-counterattacking approach. Their solid defense and tight formation were extremely rare in the amateur league, and they were the core of the strength that had carried them to the fourth round.

The two teams were locked in a fierce struggle from the opening whistle. Almere still centered their attack around Yang Yang, the sharp blade on the right, while Henk Dimer organized play, provided support, and made late runs through the center. This attacking pattern had flourished during the first three rounds.

But this time, it completely failed against Vlaferlants.

The opposition's tight defense made it difficult for Almere to open up the game. Yang Yang struggled to receive passes on the wing in the final third and had to widen his range of movement, repeatedly dropping back to collect the ball. But doing so made it difficult for him to threaten the defense directly.

Henk Dimer, stationed in the center, was even more thoroughly silenced as the opposition once again shut him down.

Vlaferlants were stronger in defense than attack, and the two sides became locked in a hard-fought battle. Neither could breach the other's goal. The first half ended 0–0, marking the first time since entering the competition that Almere had failed to score before halftime.

After the teams switched ends for the second half, Vlaferlants continued defending with all their might.

Yang Yang moved actively on the right, dragging their left back and left midfielder back and forth across the field. He had no other choice but to rely on wearing them down, while his teammates around him were also largely unable to break the deadlock. All they could do was keep running and pulling at the defense in search of an opening.

Time trickled away, and both sides were being drained badly. Neither could do anything to the other.

It was not until the seventy-third minute that Yang Yang once again drifted into space to receive the ball. The pass came from a center back deep in his own half. His stamina had already taken a beating, and his technique was slightly off. He failed to control the ball with his first touch, and it immediately escaped his control. The surprise jolted him, and he instantly sprinted after it.

Vlaferlants' left back, following behind him, was also startled. Seeing the ball fly toward him, he instinctively threw himself forward. It practically looked as though Yang Yang had passed it straight to him.

The two men raced for the ball, charging toward it from different directions at the same time.

Yang Yang gritted his teeth and pushed his speed to the limit. At last, he got half a step ahead of his opponent and poked the ball forward.

The touch sent the ball past the left back's sliding tackle. Although Yang Yang was tripped by the defender's body, he staggered for two steps, quickly regained his balance, and then accelerated after the ball again.

Vlaferlants' left center back had been watching the situation the entire time. When he saw Yang Yang poke the ball past his teammate, he immediately stepped up. But when he saw Yang Yang racing toward it at full speed, his heart jolted. That speed...

While he hesitated, Yang Yang caught up with the ball. There was no longer time to think.

As soon as Yang Yang reached the ball, he had no time for deliberation. His body acted almost instinctively, naturally feinting an outside-line breakthrough to the right before suddenly cutting inside.

Faced with the sudden feint, the opposition's left center back instinctively moved to block him, only to lunge at empty air. When he tried to halt his momentum and recover, he lost his balance and slid onto the grass.

With a practiced Pendulum Dribble, Yang Yang sent the left center back tumbling and immediately cut diagonally into the penalty area from the inside.

Vlaferlants' right center back hurried over to cover, but once Yang Yang entered the penalty area, control of the situation was entirely at his feet. First, he feinted as though he were about to shoot, then suddenly cut the ball back and gently squared it into the center.

The number eleven forward, who had chased all the way up from behind, could not possibly miss such an opportunity. After controlling the ball, he immediately sent a close-range shot into the bottom-left corner. The Vlaferlants goalkeeper had been drawn toward the right by Yang Yang and could not reach it, managing only to watch helplessly as the ball hit the net.

1–0!

Only then did the entire stadium suddenly erupt in astonishment.

Yang Yang had just carried the ball more than thirty meters and was panting as he shook his head. That burst of acceleration had nearly killed him.

But before long, his rapidly arriving teammates knocked him to the grass.

At the crucial moment, Almere's sharp blade on the right had once again rescued the team.