This Kid Is Something

Although Babel had deliberately kicked the ball, he had instinctively held back some of his strength.

It had really hurt when the ball struck him, but he quickly recovered. After hopping in place a few times, Yang Yang threw himself back into the match. He had already thought of a countermeasure.

As he passed Henk Dimer and Nick, Yang Yang briefly explained his idea.

Both teammates understood that Yang Yang was the team's attacking spearhead. Their task was to make that spear even sharper and more lethal, so naturally, they agreed to cooperate with him unconditionally.

When the match resumed, both sides quickly forgot about Babel's yellow card and the minor clash between the players.

Yang Yang continued to fall back actively into midfield, patiently waiting for an opportunity.

Whether or not he had been provoked by the yellow card, Babel was visibly more impatient up front. This caused some problems for Ajax's attack, which revolved around him.

It was clear that this attacking core was unstable, especially when he lost his temper.

Almere might have been the weaker side, but after several days of targeted defensive training, John Rep had managed to organize the team's defensive structure. It played a crucial role against Ajax's attacks.

Everyone carried out their respective tasks meticulously. Yang Yang also actively participated in the defense on the right side of midfield, patiently waiting for an opportunity to appear.

With the advantage on the field, Emanuelson, who had an attacking heart, also began making frequent forward runs.

Compared with playing left back, he would much rather follow in the footsteps of his former senior Davids, letting his flowing braids fly as he raced along the left flank. He could attack and defend, and occasionally sneak into the penalty area to deliver a fatal blow to the opposition.

That would be unbelievably cool.

Time passed little by little. Ajax continued to hold the advantage and launched wave after wave of attacks, but they still could not breach Almere's goal. The home side was forced to retreat into the thirty-meter zone and defend desperately.

It seemed only a matter of time before Almere conceded.

Yet this seemingly inevitable course was suddenly thrown into chaos in the thirty-ninth minute.

The source of the chaos was an accident on the field.

Center forward Babel moved to the left side of the penalty area to receive a pass from a teammate, but he failed to control the ball properly. An Almere center back poked it away, and Nick then beat Ajax left winger Elmas to the ball and kicked it forward to Yang Yang.

Yang Yang had originally been facing away from the direction of attack, but he did not go to receive the ball. It was as if he had eyes in the back of his head. Knowing there was no one behind him, he quickly turned and chased after the ball.

Ajax had lost possession up front and launched a counterattack, so Maduro immediately rushed over to stop Yang Yang.

Unexpectedly, before Maduro could get close, Yang Yang swept the inside of his right foot across the ball, sending it horizontally to Henk Dimer, then accelerated past Maduro.

The instant Maduro stood frozen in surprise, Henk Dimer quickly laid the ball back. The two completed a beautiful one-two in the right-central area, and by the time Yang Yang received the ball again, he had already crossed the halfway line and was charging straight toward Ajax's thirty-meter zone.

Everyone throughout the stadium let out a collective gasp.

In the past few matches, they had clearly seen how effective Yang Yang's direct dribbling runs could be. They believed this one would not disappoint them either.

Quite a few fans in the stands were even calling Yang Yang's name.

Yang Yang charged forward with the ball. Emanuelson was rapidly tracking back beside him, while Ajax left center back Vermaelen stood ahead. Both were extremely troublesome opponents, especially Vermaelen.

The center back was not tall, but he was agile and possessed tremendous explosiveness. Yang Yang had failed to shake him off several times.

Against an opponent like Ajax, there might be only a handful of opportunities like this in an entire match. Yang Yang could not squander one so casually.

But how was he supposed to deal with the two-man defensive trap?

After entering the thirty-meter zone, Yang Yang suddenly slowed down, causing Emanuelson to rush past him.

Ajax's left back was startled. After braking sharply, he turned and charged back at Yang Yang.

But at that very moment, Yang Yang suddenly accelerated, cutting the ball inward with his foot as his whole body surged forward, causing Emanuelson to lunge at empty air.

Vermaelen also stepped forward immediately and extended his foot to poke the ball away from Yang Yang's left foot. But Yang Yang suddenly dragged the ball back with his left foot, then gently nudged it to the right with his right, clearly intending to break through on the outside.

The Belgian center back reacted with lightning speed and was extremely agile. His earlier poke had merely been a probing attempt to disrupt Yang Yang. The instant he saw Yang Yang change direction, he turned and moved to block the outside route.

What surprised him was that Yang Yang gave the ball a light touch with his right foot, adjusted with quick little steps from his left foot, caught up to the ball, planted his right foot on it, and dragged it back again. In an extremely narrow space and an incredibly short span of time, he changed direction twice in succession.

Faced with the sudden changes, a gap opened on the inside of Vermaelen's right side. Yang Yang pushed the ball forward with his left foot and immediately accelerated, bursting past Vermaelen on his right.

The Belgian center back realized something was wrong the moment he was beaten. Instinctively, he reached out to grab Yang Yang. Even if he could not stop the ball, he intended to stop the man. But Yang Yang seemed to have anticipated it. He twisted aside and made Vermaelen grasp at empty air.

The entire sequence happened in the blink of an eye. All anyone could see was Yang Yang cutting past Emanuelson, then changing direction twice to shake off Vermaelen before suddenly accelerating and forcing the ball out from between the two defenders.

At that moment, Yang Yang had used the consecutive drag-and-change moves from Ronaldo's Rush.

He had not yet mastered them completely. But after cutting past Emanuelson, Yang Yang knew that a Pendulum Dribble would certainly not fool Vermaelen, so he improvised and used the consecutive drag-and-change moves instead, with unexpectedly brilliant results.

A thunderous roar of astonishment erupted from the stands.

After accelerating, Yang Yang took the ball in long strides and charged toward Ajax's penalty area at top speed.

Sven Dabelima came rushing out decisively, but near the penalty spot, he met Yang Yang charging toward him. A Pendulum Dribble feint sent him the wrong way. After rounding the goalkeeper, Yang Yang calmly slotted the ball into the open net before the opposing right center back could catch up.

The instant the ball rolled into the goal, the entire stadium erupted in thunderous cheers.

Yang Yang leaped off the grass in excitement and quickly turned toward his teammates. Along the way, he kept raising both arms and shouting wildly, venting his exhilaration. When he passed Babel, he shouted especially loudly.

At that moment, he clearly saw the fury on Babel's face. It felt wonderful.

Thousands of fans throughout the stadium shouted "Yang Yang" in unison.

Yang Yang was then seized in a powerful embrace by his teammates and surrounded in the middle of the group.

"Consecutive changes of pace and direction, along with those drag-and-rollovers—he seems determined to learn all of Ronaldo's signature moves."

On the Presidential Tribune, Van Basten chuckled.

Many players had used this move before, but Ronaldo was the most famous for it. Whether in the Eredivisie, La Liga, or even the notoriously defensively disciplined Serie A, Ronaldo's consecutive changes of pace and direction and drag-and-rollovers were the nightmare of every defender.

Especially when combined with his astonishing speed and explosiveness.

Other than Almere's chairman and the fans, no one at the stadium was more excited than Fred Arroyo.

He was the one who had recommended Yang Yang to Ajax. The better Yang Yang performed, the more it proved the sharp eye of this scout.

After hearing Van Basten's words, Arroyo smiled faintly. "He idolizes two people above all others. One is you, Marco, and the other is Ronaldo."

It was easy to tell how much Yang Yang admired Van Basten from the fact that he had gone over to shake Van Basten's hand before the match, as well as from his nervous expression at the time. As for his admiration for Ronaldo, he showed it by learning Ronaldo's signature moves on the field.

From the Pendulum Dribble to consecutive drag-and-change moves, he was making rapid progress along this path.

Van Basten did not doubt Arroyo's words at all. The reason was simple: these moves had to be practiced.

In fact, performing the moves themselves was not difficult. Without defenders, countless players could execute them well. But to use them as fluidly as Yang Yang had just done in an actual match, a player had to train extremely hard until the entire sequence became instinctive.

Every player began by imitating an idol. Van Basten had been no exception, and he believed Yang Yang was the same.

"This kid is something," Van Basten said with a smile.

After Yang Yang's goal, Almere took a temporary one-goal lead over Ajax at home.

The goal naturally thrilled everyone at Almere. They celebrated wildly, but it also served as a harsh wake-up call for Ajax, especially Vermaelen and Emanuelson.

Emanuelson knew exactly what mistake he had made. He had pushed too far forward, allowing Yang Yang to seize the initiative.

As for Vermaelen, he was mostly blaming himself for being fooled so easily by Yang Yang.

Therefore, after conceding, the two players learned their lesson and stuck tightly to Yang Yang. Emanuelson in particular clung to him like glue, giving Yang Yang not the slightest chance to move freely.

Ajax's other players launched furious attacks on Almere's goal. But because they were desperate to equalize, their minds became increasingly agitated. Babel made mistake after mistake up front, and in the end, Ajax could not score before halftime. They went into the break trailing 0–1.

But Almere was in no better position.

They had struggled for nearly fifty minutes under Ajax's powerful attacks, and every Almere player had expended enormous energy. When Yang Yang returned to the locker room, one of his teammates was even suffering from cramps, a clear sign of how difficult the first half had been.

Head Coach John Rep also understood the team's capabilities. Their first-half performance had already pushed them to their limit, and he could hardly demand more from the players. During the halftime break, he merely encouraged them to keep up their efforts and fight to preserve their 1–0 lead.