Uncut Jade

Yang Yang had never expected to win the ball so easily, but he had no time to dwell on it. The moment he took possession, he charged toward the opposition half with the ball, launching a counterattack on the spot.

The instant the ball was intercepted, everyone from Volendam was stunned.

Paul Quasten was the first to react, immediately rushing at Yang Yang.

Yang Yang had already built up speed, while Paul Quasten had come in a little too aggressively. Without thinking further, Yang Yang pulled off a Pendulum Dribble as soon as they drew close, feinting a break down the outside before forcefully cutting through on the inside.

The moment they came into contact, the overcommitted Paul Quasten was beaten cleanly by Yang Yang.

But getting past Paul Quasten bought Volendam's defenders precious time. The two center-backs and central midfielders quickly dropped back as well. Their strategy was clear: use their numerical advantage to shut down this Chinese kid.

They were quick, but Almere's players were no slower to react. Henk Dimer moved up at once to offer support.

Yang Yang had been monitoring the changes around him with [God's Perspective], fully aware of Volendam's defensive setup and his teammates' support. Once he entered the final thirty meters, he immediately passed the ball into the middle.

The ball landed right between Volendam's two defensive lines, perfectly along Henk Dimer's path of advance.

It was a brilliant pass, and John Rep, Dick Van Pool, Van Gaal, and the others on the sidelines all silently praised it.

The pass drew Volendam's defenders' attention. After releasing the ball, Yang Yang suddenly ran out toward the right flank, and Volendam's defenders were immediately drawn by the pass, turning their focus back to Henk Dimer receiving the ball in the middle.

But just as Henk Dimer caught up with the ball, the Almere captain suddenly played another Low Ball, sending it diagonally toward the right side of the penalty area. Having slipped out of the defenders' attention, Yang Yang suddenly accelerated, changed direction, and cut diagonally into the box.

The sudden change caught Volendam's defenders off guard. By the time center-back Afiyes adjusted his position and tried to block Yang Yang, Yang Yang had already received the ball and stepped into the penalty area with one foot.

This was trouble.

Yang Yang was charging straight at him while Afiyes kept retreating. Afiyes did not dare commit a foul inside the box, leaving him in an extremely passive position. After breaking into the area, Yang Yang followed up with another Pendulum Dribble. Whether or not he had completely fooled Afiyes, he used his speed advantage to force the ball toward the byline, wrenching open a gap through Afiyes.

After creating space on the right, Yang Yang did not forget to glance up at the goalkeeper, who had come halfway off his line, before directly chipping the ball with his right foot.

The goalkeeper instinctively stretched out his left hand to block it, but grabbed nothing. When he turned around, the ball had already dropped into the net behind him.

The moment he saw the ball go in, Yang Yang leaped into the air.

The reason he had shot without hesitation was not because he was confident in his finishing, but because the goalkeeper had left far too much space exposed by rushing halfway out. It did not require any particularly brilliant technique.

Sure enough, it went in!

Overwhelmed with excitement, he spun around quickly and was just about to sprint off in celebration when a blur flashed before his eyes. Then a tremendous impact hit him, and he was helplessly knocked to the ground.

It was Henk Dimer charging over.

Yang Yang could do nothing about it. He was a little tired too, so he simply spread his arms and lay sprawled on the grass, letting his teammates pile onto him one after another as he burst into laughter.

The match was nearly over. Scoring at a time like this needed no explanation.

After seeing Yang Yang score, the fans around the pitch could not help letting out waves of admiration.

Almere had shown tremendous resilience in this match, but the most impressive player had been that number nine.

Not only had he run tirelessly throughout the match, but both crucial second-half goals had come from his boots. The second, match-turning goal had even come from his tracking back to win the ball.

It could be said that he had single-handedly rewritten the match.

Faced with such a performance from such a young player, how could they not praise him?

John Rep and Dick Van Pool were beside themselves with excitement as well.

In their view, the ideal outcome for this match had been for Almere to score once and save face. They had never expected Yang Yang to score twice in the second half and turn things around. The surprise was simply too great.

If the first goal had still been somewhat within their expectations, then the second was pure unexpected gain.

If Yang Yang had not run so actively and tracked back into his own final thirty meters to defend, how could there have been a chance?

"This kid is incredible!" Dick Van Pool could not help laughing. "He always does the unexpected, always brings people surprises. I can hardly believe this is Yang Yang."

John Rep nodded repeatedly. Wasn't he the same?

The scene from just over two months ago, when he had privately tried to gently persuade Yang Yang to leave, still felt like yesterday. Yet now Yang Yang had become the team's leader, delivering such astonishing performances. It was simply unbelievable.

Sometimes, John Rep could not help wondering what exactly had happened to him over these short two months.

Naturally, he attributed it all to Yang Yang finally figuring things out, having an awakening, and working harder than before.

Henk Dimer had said that Yang Yang even went to the Skate Park to train by himself in his spare time. Even Henk Dimer could only admit he was inferior when speaking of Yang Yang's diligence, filled with admiration.

Perhaps this was the result of Yang Yang's hard work and improvement.

If John Rep and Dick Van Pool were merely guessing, then Van Gaal was one hundred percent certain that this was what Yang Yang had gained from enduring that mind-numbingly tedious, hellish training.

The renowned Dutch manager now had to admit that he had still underestimated Yang Yang's rate of progress.

His fundamentals were indeed still relatively poor, but he was improving far too quickly.

They had not seen each other for only two months, yet he had improved to this extent. He was no worse than those players who had received years of professional training at Ajax. If given a little more time, who knew how many more unexpected surprises he might create?

Looking at Yang Yang, Van Gaal felt as though he were seeing Kluivert and the others back when he coached Ajax's youth team. They were all rare, uncut gems.

The match finally came to an end.

Volendam, playing at home, launched a furious bombardment against Almere in the final minutes, but their stamina had been severely drained and their players' fighting spirit had already dissipated. In the end, they still failed to score against Almere.

The instant the Main Referee blew the final whistle, everyone in Almere erupted into wild celebration.

All the players gathered around Yang Yang to celebrate, then went over to John Rep on the sidelines.

If John Rep had not adjusted the team's defensive setup for the second half during halftime, Almere could never have mounted their second-half comeback. Only now did everyone truly feel the importance of the Head Coach.

Having won, John Rep grinned from ear to ear, constantly praising the players and mentioning nearly everyone who had taken part in the match. Clearly, he too was immensely excited.

This was the fifth-round knockout stage, and their opponent was Volendam, a newly promoted Dutch First Division side. Though it was only a youth-team match, Volendam had several players who were about to play in the Dutch First Division, so their overall strength could not be underestimated.

Defeating an opponent like that was enough to make everyone at Almere proud.

Yet John Rep did not single Yang Yang out for special praise. He merely patted Yang Yang lightly on the shoulder and said with a smile, "Keep working hard. You'll definitely make all of us proud of you."

Those simple words delighted Yang Yang more than any amount of praise could have.

He knew that his efforts over the past two months had paid off and earned the Head Coach's approval.

While talking with John Rep, Yang Yang spotted Van Gaal at the edge of the crowd some distance away.

The famous Dutch coach had disguised himself a little, wearing a golf cap—the very one he often wore when watching Yang Yang's special training. Yang Yang remembered it clearly, and with Trus Opameer beside him, he recognized them at once.

"Hey." Yang Yang waved from afar.

Van Gaal smiled, nodded back at him, and waved.

Yang Yang immediately jogged over with a grin. "Long time no see... Mr. Van Gaal."

All of a sudden, he did not know how he should address him.

This was a world-famous coach, while he was merely a rookie just starting out. What would be appropriate?

In the end, he chose the more formal address: Mr. Van Gaal.

Trus Opameer, standing beside them, noticed Yang Yang's restraint and giggled. "You should call him Louis. He likes his friends to call him that."

"Oh, okay, Louis." Yang Yang nodded.

Being able to call Van Gaal a friend made him feel deeply honored.

"Have you still been training in the park lately?" Van Gaal asked with concern.

"Yeah, every day."

"Looks like you've been training your left foot too." Van Gaal smiled.

"How did you know?" Yang Yang was a little surprised.

The last time they had met, Van Gaal had advised him to train his left foot. After discussing it with Old Bing, he had added several left-foot-focused drills to his regular training. He had not expected Van Gaal to know even that.

"Your first goal just now was scored with your left foot." Van Gaal chuckled. Whether because Yang Yang had taken his advice or because he had seen the results of Yang Yang's training, he seemed to be in an exceptionally good mood.

"My left foot still isn't as nimble as my right. I was in too much of a hurry just now to think, and I nearly adjusted back to my right foot." Yang Yang felt somewhat ashamed. After all, he was right-footed, and his left could only serve as support.

Of course, juggling with his left foot was also part of his basic training.

"That's perfectly normal. Take it slowly. Being balanced with both feet will make you more dangerous." Van Gaal smiled.

Yang Yang understood that mastering both feet not only made a player more threatening, but also more well-rounded on the pitch.

"All right, I won't keep you from celebrating with your teammates." Van Gaal said with a smile and a nod.

He spotted John Rep in the distance, but the two were not especially close. They merely waved to each other in greeting.

"We should be meeting again soon."

After leaving behind those puzzling words, Van Gaal drifted away with Opameer.

Yang Yang did not have time to think about it before his teammates quickly called him over.