He's Red

Noordwijk is a seaside city located more than forty kilometers southwest of Amsterdam.

It boasts beautiful North Sea beaches and, being far from the hustle and bustle of big cities, offers picturesque scenery, making it an excellent destination for a summer vacation.

Van Gaal, who loved the leisurely pace here back in the day, purchased a plot of land within the resort area and built a exquisite residence. Since then, apart from his winter holidays in Portugal, he has spent most of his time living here.

Especially in the last six months, after returning to the Netherlands from Barcelona, he only stayed in Almere for a short while.

Every night, the sea breeze from the North Sea to the west would sweep across the balcony, bringing a hint of coolness. Lying on a beach chair, gazing at the tranquil and magnificent night sky, with the occasional laughter of tourists drifting from the distant beach, he felt as if he were immersed in the peaceful darkness.

After sitting for an unknown amount of time, Van Gaal finally withdrew his gaze from the starlight in the night sky, only to find that Trus had, at some point, sat beside him. She always accompanied him so quietly, yet he always felt like a child needing care.

Perhaps it had something to do with him being the youngest of nine siblings.

The youngest one always received extra care.

"I was just listening to Aron Mooy's football online inside," Trus said with a faint smile.

"Mm," Van Gaal replied noncommittally. It was a radio show he used to enjoy, but he hadn't listened in a long time.

"Tonight's show spent a good portion discussing Ajax, and their current situation isn't great."

Van Gaal nodded slightly and sighed deeply.

The European professional football scene was changing too quickly, especially in the years since the Bosman ruling. It could be described as evolving at breakneck speed, so fast that he could barely keep up.

Player transfers had become much easier. Wealthy and powerful clubs no longer focused on youth development but instead adopted a quicker way to improve their teams: by spending money.

There was nothing wrong with that. All the top clubs played this way, and Van Gaal had done the same when he coached Barcelona. However, he knew deep down that he wasn't good at that. His greatest strengths lay in nurturing and developing young players, molding a team step by step, much like he did at Ajax in the 1990s.

But unfortunately, the professional football world today offered him no such patience.

All teams, whether Barcelona or Ajax, were becoming increasingly short-sighted. The pace of both player movement and team performance was accelerating, so much so that his second stint at Barcelona lasted only half a year.

Of course, this had a lot to do with the resignation of club president Gaspart, but Van Gaal also knew very well that everything was becoming increasingly unfamiliar. He needed to adjust himself and re-adapt to this environment.

Some time ago, Ajax chairman Michael van Praag personally visited him in Noordwijk, hoping he would succeed Leo Benhak as the club's technical director. Interestingly, when Van Gaal took over as Ajax's head coach in the 1990s, his predecessor was also Leo Benhak.

Van Gaal was somewhat resistant to this because the current head coach of the club was Ronald Koeman.

He knew Koeman well; he was definitely a coach with strong opinions. But he also knew himself: call it honest and direct, or call it blunt and lacking tact, he wasn't smooth in his dealings and was too sharp, easily offending people.

If he were to truly take on the role of Ajax's technical director, could he coexist peacefully with Koeman?

Even if he could, would he be able to solve the various predicaments Ajax was currently facing?

Ajax was one of the biggest victims of the Bosman ruling. Not only had the squad that won the Champions League in the 1990s been completely dismantled, but this summer, it was likely they wouldn't be able to keep Chivu and Van der Meide, and in the future, they would certainly not be able to retain Ibrahimovic, Van der Vaart, and Sneijder.

Even if Van Gaal and Ronald Koeman could work together, what difference could they make?

Thinking of this, Van Gaal sighed deeply again, "It's all bad news."

"Not entirely," Trus chuckled softly.

"Oh?"

"Aron Mooy spent a large part of the time discussing one person."

"Who?" Van Gaal was curious.

"Yang Yang."

"It's him." Van Gaal immediately thought of the young Chinese boy he had met in Almere. The image of him practicing hard against a wall in the skate park flashed through his mind, and his heart couldn't help but warm.

This was the most wonderful thing he had encountered in the past six months.

"He's become famous," Trus said with a smile.

"Huh?"

"In the past four matches, he played for Almere in amateur games and won all four. His performance was quite outstanding. Aron Mooy hadn't heard of him before, but many fans called in to the hotline, sharing stories like 'dribbled past three players,' 'Pendulum Dribble,' 'Ronaldo the Second,' and so on, talking with great enthusiasm."

Van Gaal couldn't help but chuckle upon hearing this. He hadn't expected this at all.

"That kid actually became famous in this way," he said with a wry smile, shaking his head.

"Almere isn't a well-known club. It's rare for a gem to emerge from an underdog team, so the fans are all excited."

Van Gaal could understand the fans' feelings. If Almere were to produce a star player, all the citizens would feel proud, even if Yang Yang wasn't Dutch.

"Has he... been performing well recently?" Van Gaal asked, now interested.

Trus nodded. "I heard he's been doing very well, but I don't know the specifics. How about... we go watch him play?"

Van Gaal hesitated for a moment.

He had lost a bet to Trus last time, and the stake was for him to do one thing. Trus wanted him to find a job as soon as possible and not stay at home all day. Currently, he was seriously considering several offers from different teams, as well as Ajax's recruitment.

Was it appropriate to go watch Yang Yang play at this time?

But soon, Van Gaal himself smiled. What did it matter if it was appropriate or not? If he wanted to go, he would go.

"Okay, let's go watch."

Volendam is a professional team from the small town of Volendam, northeast of Amsterdam. Last season, they finished sixth in the Dutch Second Division and were promoted to the Dutch First Division through the playoffs.

This professional club, founded in 1920, was once a powerhouse in the Dutch First Division. However, they suffered relegation in the late 1990s and struggled in the Dutch Second Division for five years before finally returning to the top flight this year.

As a smaller club, Volendam shares a deep connection with Ajax, with the two teams maintaining a very close working relationship. Wim Jonk, who played for Ajax in the early nineties, came through Volendam's youth academy. In '93, he joined Inter Milan alongside Bergkamp, and two years later, he returned to the Netherlands to play for Eindhoven.

Being a team from a small town, Volendam has limited financial resources and its youth academy isn't particularly outstanding. However, they have the backing of Ajax, a major club. As newly promoted teams in the Dutch First Division, Volendam signed several young players on loan from Ajax this summer.

Among those participating in the summer amateur matches were center-back Hélder Postiga, left-back Paul Quasten, left winger Sebastiaan Steur, and forward Rowin van Zaanen. These four players all came from Ajax's youth academy. Coupled with their own youth academy's promoted center-back, young Henny Schilder, and right winger Charles Dissels, Volendam's squad for the competition was quite formidable.

Almere also shares a deep connection with Ajax, even serving as a satellite club for the Dutch giants. However, due to the difference in league levels, Almere receives far less support than Volendam.

At the very least, their squad for the amateur matches doesn't even include a single player from the Ajax youth academy.

Unlike their previous opponent, VVV-Venlo, who were strong defensively but weak offensively, Almere faced Volendam this time, a typical Dutch team that is strong offensively and weak defensively. Playing at home, Volendam launched a barrage of attacks on Almere from the very start of the match.

Even though Almere was mentally prepared for this and adopted a defensive counter-attacking stance from the opening whistle, they were still severely suppressed by Volendam, repeatedly being pushed into their own penalty box, with near-disasters occurring in front of their goal.

Although Yang Yang is a right winger and the team's offensive core, he chose to fall back and defend when he saw his team in a precarious situation. He actively pressed the opponent's defense and constantly retreated to support the midfield and backline, consequently not performing well offensively.

Despite this, Almere still conceded a goal in the 29th minute when Volendam's right winger, Charles Dissels, broke into the penalty area and calmly scored.

After opening the scoring, Almere became somewhat disorganized, and their performance on the field became even more passive.

Yang Yang also noticed a shift in his teammates' mentality; they were becoming anxious and restless, and he himself felt a sense of urgency.

If things continued like this, not only would they not win, but they were likely headed for a crushing defeat.

With this thought, Yang Yang decisively retreated to within the thirty-meter area, positioning himself at the edge of the penalty box. Simultaneously, he continuously signaled his teammates to fall back and temporarily abandon their offensive efforts, focusing on blocking Volendam's attacks first.

The home fans on the sidelines cheered enthusiastically.

Teams that reach the fifth round are generally strong. Volendam was fortunate to draw the weaker team, Almere, which was essentially a free pass to the sixth round. For Volendam, who had just been promoted to the Dutch First Division, this was an excellent opportunity.

Van Gaal and Trus stood among the crowd on the sidelines, watching the two teams on the field. He shook his head with a sigh.

"The gap in strength between the two teams is too large; Almere doesn't have much of a chance," Trus said, shaking her head.

"I don't think so. As long as he hasn't given up, there's always a chance," Van Gaal disagreed.

The second half of the match was still to come. As long as the tactics were right, anything was possible.

Football is, after all, a game played by eleven people; it's difficult for one person to change the course of a match single-handedly.

Besides, Yang Yang isn't some extraordinary genius who can change the game's momentum by himself.

Others might not know, but Van Gaal was well aware that Yang Yang's achievements today were all the result of his hard work, not talent.

However, Yang Yang on the field seemed unfazed by everything else, continuing to run tirelessly and fighting for every ball defensively.

With the forwards actively falling back to defend, Almere managed to withstand Volendam's relentless onslaught.

At the end of the first half, the home team, Volendam, led 1-0, thanks to Dissels' goal.