You've Really Pissed Me Off

Yang Yang looked with great interest at the handsome guy with long flowing braids in front of him.

In his memory, the first player to wear this hairstyle had probably been Ruud Gullit of the Dutch Trio. Later, Ajax midfield star Edgar Davids had adopted the look as well, sparking a trend.

The dark-skinned player of African descent before him looked about the same age as Yang Yang, yet his long braids hung all the way down his back. Yang Yang found it both curious and amusing.

"What are you laughing at?" the braided player asked irritably.

This guy had been staring at him and grinning like an idiot for no reason. It was more than a little creepy.

"Nothing. It's just... strange," Yang Yang hurriedly explained.

"What's strange about it?" the braided player pressed, his tone turning hostile.

He suspected this guy might be discriminating against his African heritage.

If that was the case, this wouldn't end here!

Yang Yang truly had no such prejudice. Smiling, he replied, "Don't misunderstand. I don't mean anything else. I just want to ask you a question."

"What question?"

"Can I really ask?"

"Obviously. Hurry up."

Yang Yang chuckled as he looked at the braids covering the back of his head. "Is it convenient when you wash your hair like that?"

Convenient... when washing his hair?

Ajax's left back stared fixedly at Yang Yang, speechless for a moment, before bursting into laughter.

This kid was really something. We're playing a football match here, okay? Why do you care about me washing my hair?

What does whether it's convenient have to do with you?

Yet the question was so ridiculous that he couldn't help laughing.

The center back behind him, Thomas, overheard their conversation on the flank. Seeing his teammate laughing like that, he coughed heavily twice as a reminder. "Urby, we're in a match."

Urby quickly turned around and raised a hand at Thomas to show he understood. Then he turned back to Yang Yang with a grin and asked tentatively, "Do you really want to know?"

"Of course, if you don't mind," Yang Yang said humbly.

Urby rolled his eyes and said with a cheeky grin, "Then I'm definitely not telling you."

Yang Yang did not care. He shrugged with an indifferent look, since he had not really intended to ask in the first place.

But in Urby's eyes, this Chinese kid had to be full of questions. He simply refused to tell him, hoping to frustrate him to death and leave him too conflicted to focus on the match.

Just then, Thomas suddenly called out from behind, "Urby, the ball's coming."

Sure enough, Almere's midfield quickly sent a high diagonal ball over, switching play to the right flank.

Since kickoff, Almere had been in an extremely passive position. Ajax, relying on their overall superiority, had firmly suppressed Almere. In particular, their attacking lineup led by Babel and Amrabat had caused enormous problems for Almere's defense.

Babel was playing at center forward in this match, while Amrabat was at right winger. Both were extremely active.

Clearly, both wanted to show off their ability in front of Luther Carroll and fight for a place in the First Team for the new season.

Having finally found a chance to counterattack, Almere quickly switched the ball to the right.

The match had only just begun, so Yang Yang did not need to drop back into the middle and defensive thirds. Instead, he stayed high on the right side. As soon as he saw his midfield teammate lift the ball forward, he sprinted toward the right touchline in attack, judged the landing point, and cushioned the ball ahead of himself with his chest.

By the time he caught up with it, Ajax's left back, Urby, had already closed in.

The two quickly found themselves in a one-on-one battle on the flank.

Yang Yang caught up with the ball and accelerated toward the byline. Urby immediately kept pace, surprisingly quick as he stayed tight on Yang Yang's inside.

Yang Yang suddenly stopped sharply and pulled the ball back, looking to cut inside. But to his surprise, his opponent turned just as quickly, facing Yang Yang sideways as he continually retreated and occasionally stuck out a challenge.

Fast, agile, and defensively aware—he really was a tough customer.

Yang Yang instantly judged the Ajax left back's ability and did not dare let down his guard in the slightest.

One advanced while the other retreated, and soon they reached the outside of the right corner of the penalty area.

Out of the corner of his eye, Yang Yang noticed his team's forwards and midfielders quickly catching up. His mind settled. He suddenly accelerated, using a hand gesture and a turn of his head to sell a feint that he was about to cut inside.

Urby had long been mentally prepared for Yang Yang's Pendulum Dribble, but the sudden change still startled him. Instinctively, he moved to block the inside cut. Yet the figure before him flashed, and Yang Yang suddenly dragged the ball the other way, knocking it toward the outside byline as he burst down the outside of Urby's left side.

In the blink of an eye, Yang Yang had forced his way past Urby's defense and charged toward the byline.

Urby's reaction could not have been quicker, nor could his body have been more agile. The instant he realized he had been tricked, he spun around and gave chase.

But he was still a step too late. After catching up with the ball on the right side of the penalty area, Yang Yang immediately whipped in a cross.

Two Almere players charged into the middle, one at the near post and one centrally. But the cross lacked quality, and Thomas, the center back at the near post, headed it clear beyond the penalty area.

Still, it was the first time either side had entered the other's penalty area since kickoff.

The fans around the pitch erupted in applause.

"The idea behind that pass was there, and it was a good one. But it lacked power, and his technique was a bit poor."

The people seated in the Presidential Tribune were all Ajax youth training experts, each with many years of football experience. They could tell at a glance what was wrong with that cross just now.

"His fundamentals are too poor. That's a well-known old problem, but it was still good that he noticed the two teammates moving into the middle to support him," Fred Arroyo said.

Things like strength and technique could be trained. Yang Yang was only sixteen, but passing vision and ideas were much harder to develop.

Van Basten kept nodding, clearly agreeing with his colleague's assessment. "That dribble just now was interesting. It looked a lot like Ronaldo's Pendulum Dribble, but it wasn't quite the same. Urby was still a bit rash, though. That's another old problem."

Patrick Radru chuckled beside them. "They've put him at left-back, and he's not happy about it. Didn't you see those long braids of his? He thinks he can take over from Davids."

Everyone could not help laughing.

Edgar Davids was now one of Europe's top defensive midfielders, but he had actually made his name on the left flank. He was a genuine wide player, and with his African descent, Urby Emanuelson had never hidden his admiration for the senior Davids.

"What's the name of that center-back?" Van Basten asked, pointing at the defender who had just headed the ball clear.

"Thomas Vermaelen," Tony Bruns Slots replied. "We signed him as early as 2001, but he still hasn't made an appearance for the First Team."

Van Basten nodded at Slots.

Although Van Basten's current position at the club was clearly below Slots's, Slots did not dare put on airs around him. On the contrary, he often had to listen to Van Basten's opinions.

As they spoke, Almere launched another counterattack.

After winning the ball in the middle of midfield, they quickly switched it out to the right.

This time, Yang Yang had tracked back to midfield. As the ball came toward him, he nodded it forward, then immediately burst after it.

Ajax's holding midfielder, Maduro, quickly tracked back, but Yang Yang accelerated down the right touchline and left Maduro behind. Carrying the ball into the final thirty meters, he drove straight toward Ajax's penalty area.

Facing the rapidly closing Yang Yang, Urby Emanuelson hesitated for a moment before decisively stepping up to challenge him.

The instant he moved in, Yang Yang suddenly accelerated. It was another Pendulum Dribble. He feinted as if he were about to break down the outside again, but then abruptly shifted his body and cut the ball inside.

He was cutting in with the ball, charging toward the penalty area.

Emanuelson had been fooled by Yang Yang. The moment the two came into contact, Yang Yang had beaten him.

But just as a cry of alarm rose from the pitch, and Yang Yang was about to chase after the ball again, a figure suddenly flashed before his eyes. A nimble body rushed out from Ajax's penalty area and went straight into a sliding tackle.

Yang Yang was swept to the ground. The man went down, and the ball was lost as well.

Another wave of gasps erupted from the crowd. Everyone worried about Yang Yang, who had rolled twice across the grass, unsure whether he had been injured.

Yang Yang lay sprawled on the grass, gulping in deep breaths.

That series of accelerations and changes of direction had left him somewhat out of breath. He needed a moment to rest.

After successfully making the tackle and hoofing the ball clear, Ajax's center-back quickly returned to Yang Yang's side and extended his left hand. Only then did Yang Yang realize that the other player was left-footed. No wonder.

A sliding tackle like that was something a right-footed player simply could not pull off.

Grabbing the other man's hand and using it to pull himself up, Yang Yang rose from the ground. He grinned at him and chuckled.

"That tackle of yours gave me a fright."

"You too," the other man replied flatly.

He meant that Yang Yang's sudden dribble past the left-back had caught him off guard.

In his view, the left-back should at least have been able to slow the opponent down somewhat. Instead, he had been beaten cleanly, forcing him to take the risk of sliding in to stop him.

"My name is Yang Yang."

"Thomas Vermaelen," the Ajax center-back replied.

Then another voice suddenly cut in from the side. "My name is Urby Emanuelson. You've pissed me off."

Yang Yang turned around and saw the left-back glaring at him. He raised his right hand apologetically, though a smile curled at the corners of his mouth.

Being remembered with resentment by an opposing defender was undoubtedly an honor for any attacking player. He did not mind it in the least.

The ball had already returned to their own half, and Ajax was launching an attack. Yang Yang did not dare linger for even a moment, quickly tracking back to help defend. But when he looked again at Thomas Vermaelen, a flicker of excitement flashed through his eyes.

It was obvious that Vermaelen was much tougher to deal with than Emanuelson.

But the tougher the opponent, the more stimulation he gave Yang Yang—and the more excited Yang Yang became.

Ajax's Youth Training Camp was truly packed with formidable players.