Beckham's Cross

Unreliable crossing was another major weakness that Yang Yang had exposed during his amateur matches.

Both John Rep and the people from Ajax had pointed this out to Yang Yang.

They all believed that if Yang Yang's crossing ability could reach a basic passing grade, then with his breakthrough skills and running ability on the wing, Almere's attacking firepower would skyrocket, and beating Ajax might not have been out of the question.

Crossing looked simple on the surface, but in reality, it was extremely difficult.

Yang Yang hadn't neglected practice either. He had even tried imitating the crossing techniques of famous stars, but with little success. A key reason was the footwork during the cross, the point of contact with the ball, and even the body posture.

Football techniques were often like that—simple to look at, easy to pick up, but hard to master. Especially in motion, when the ball was spinning at high speed, delivering a high-quality cross was undoubtedly extremely challenging.

But for Yang Yang, this was also the most urgent problem he needed to solve.

If he could improve his crossing ability as quickly as possible, it would greatly enhance his standing in the Ajax youth team.

Sharp wing breakthroughs combined with reliable crossing would become his core competitiveness over the next two or three years.

Take Robben at Eindhoven, for example—lightning speed, sharp wing breakthroughs, and it was said he was now working hard on left-wing crosses.

Van der Meide, who had just transferred from Ajax to Inter Milan, also had sharp wing breakthroughs and was likewise diligently practicing his crosses.

Of course, these two stars could stand firm in the Eredivisie and attract interest from Europe's top clubs precisely because their crossing was at least reliable.

Yang Yang, on the other hand, was still firmly in the unreliable category.

After discussing it with Old Bing, Yang Yang didn't hesitate to choose crossing as his second Star Skill.

"Then there's nothing to debate. For right-wing crosses, the best choice is him."

As Old Bing's words faded, the star silhouettes around the Super Training Ground dimmed once more, leaving only Beckham's figure growing brighter and brighter, until it turned into a bolt of lightning that shot straight into Yang Yang's forehead.

In an instant, every cross from Beckham's professional career played through Yang Yang's mind like a video, frame by frame. It seemed to stretch on forever, yet it was over in a flash.

By the time Yang Yang came to his senses, Beckham was already standing on the right side of the training ground's front field.

"Beckham's crosses generally fall into two categories. The first is the long-pass cross."

As Old Bing's words fell, the star silhouette on the training ground quickly stepped forward. After just two short strides of run-up, he struck the ball directly. The ball arced through the air and landed precisely in the designated target area, almost with zero error.

That was undoubtedly the highest quality cross Beckham could deliver.

Watching Beckham's execution up close, even though he had only seen it once, Yang Yang still noticed many details.

For example, Beckham's run-up before the strike, the contact point on the instep, the slightly odd body posture—especially the forty-five-degree angle between the supporting foot and the ball—and his arms spread wide.

This long-pass-style cross had no curve, but it was fast, and the trajectory could even be kept low. That made it perfect for wing crosses. If there was a teammate with sharp finishing instincts at the near post, the ball could be sent into the net in no time.

"The second category is the curved cross."

As Old Bing's words faded, the star silhouette and the ball on the training ground returned to their starting positions.

Beckham again took just two steps of run-up before striking the ball. A loud thud rang out as the ball shot off his right foot with fierce spin. At first, it seemed to fly straight toward the goal, but then it curved outward, arcing away from the goal before landing with breathtaking precision in the predetermined area.

Such exquisite technique and such high-quality crossing left Yang Yang full of admiration.

He had played football himself and had worked hard on crossing, so he knew just how difficult it was to deliver a cross of that caliber.

From the star silhouette's demonstration, Yang Yang once again picked up on some clues.

The run-up and body posture were similar, but the footwork and contact point were different. This time, Beckham used the inside of his foot.

Compared to the long-pass cross, the curved cross was slightly slower but carried strong deceptive qualities, clearly meant to confuse the goalkeeper and defenders, causing them to misjudge during defense.

"All of Beckham's crossing techniques generally fall into these two categories. If you can fully understand and master both, then as your crossing ability improves, it will greatly benefit your future practice of long passes and free kicks."

Football techniques were interconnected; many things were related—crossing, long passes, and free kicks were exactly like that.

Yang Yang understood that if he wanted to excel on the wing, mastering long-range switches of play was also necessary. That was a weapon on the pitch for pulling apart the opponent's defense. Being able to switch the ball from one side to the other at will would catch the opponent off guard.

As for free kicks, that was more of a bonus question.

After that, Old Bing had Yang Yang repeatedly watch the star silhouette's demonstration, emphasizing key aspects of [Beckham's Cross], which mainly broke down into internal and external factors.

On the personal side, Yang Yang had already observed a lot—things like the run-up, how many steps to take, the distance of each step, the gap between the supporting foot and the ball, the body's lean, the footwork, the muscle engagement, and so on. There were countless details to pay attention to.

Simply put, Yang Yang had to find a crossing motion that best suited him through relentless practice.

Yang Yang wasn't surprised by this. Just like when he learned [Ronaldo's Rush], Old Bing had told him more than once that he had to find his own stride.

Experience had proven that blindly imitating others didn't always yield the best results for yourself.

The same went for Ronaldo's Rush and Beckham's Cross.

Compared to personal factors, external factors also needed attention.

The situation on the pitch changed in an instant. The ball wouldn't sit still for you to kick it, and neither attacking teammates nor defending opponents would stand frozen waiting for your cross. That required good vision and anticipation—the ability to observe teammates' runs and speed in advance, delivering the cross to the spot where they could best strike.

Beyond that, excellent distance judgment was essential.

Whether crossing or making long passes, you needed a strong sense of distance. At the moment of the pass, you had to clearly judge how far away the target was and control your power to ensure the ball landed precisely in the intended area.

Yang Yang still remembered how the media and fans joked about Beckham's crossing ability: just stand still in front of the goal, and Beckham could send the ball right onto your head to bounce into the net.

That showed just how difficult it was to truly master Beckham's crossing.

In addition to all these internal and external factors, there was another indispensable element: practice.

Not just the footwork, muscle engagement, and body posture needed endless repetition—distance judgment and power control also required constant practice to master.

The famous writer Gladwell proposed the ten-thousand-hour rule in his book Outliers, and it applies just as well to football.

Of course, the so-called ten thousand hours is just a generalization; exceptionally talented players might only need five thousand hours, while those with less talent may require more.

Yang Yang wasn't sure whether his own talent was good or bad, and it didn't matter to him. The only thing he knew was that regardless of talent, training was essential.

He had now set his sights on one goal: to keep practicing until he was satisfied.

At the same time, Old Bing adjusted Yang Yang's training regimen.

For example, in the daytime wall-practice drills, the twenty-meter exercise became a crossing drill. It required that after the ball rebounded, the first touch had to calculate exactly where to stop the ball, followed immediately by a cross, all while the ball was still in motion.

The purpose was to simulate real match scenarios as closely as possible, and this was just the beginning. Next, he would practice stopping the ball at different positions, teaching Yang Yang to adapt to crossing in various situations.

In the Super Training Ground, Old Bing also added a new drill: simulating a Beckham to practice crossing with him.

Twenty meters was just the starting distance; once Yang Yang mastered it, the distance would gradually increase.

As for Yang Yang's original worry about insufficient strength in his right foot, Old Bing didn't see it as a problem. He believed the main issue with lack of power lay in the technique of generating force—ultimately, it was about the entire crossing motion not being properly linked, preventing him from unleashing his true strength.

In the following days, Yang Yang returned to his pre-amateur-match state.

Every night when he slept, he trained in the Super Training Ground under Old Bing's guidance, focusing mainly on the two Star Skills—Ronaldo's Rush and Beckham's Cross—along with a series of other basic drills.

During the day, aside from meals and a lunch break, he was mostly buried in hard practice at the Skate Park.

Old Bing had arranged all the training sessions very reasonably, balancing work and rest, so although the training was somewhat monotonous, it wasn't overly exhausting. Occasionally, during the lunch break, he would adjust and change the afternoon drills based on Yang Yang's morning performance.

The days passed in this relentless grind.

During this time, Eindhoven's scout, Karas van Balen, visited the Chinese Restaurant once. Yang Yang wasn't there, but his uncle Shen Ming politely declined van Balen's invitation for Yang Yang to join Eindhoven, stating that Yang Yang had already decided to join Ajax.

Karas van Balen expressed deep regret over this. That afternoon, Eindhoven's Chief Scout, Pete Deviser, personally called the Chinese Restaurant, offering to sign Yang Yang directly to a professional contract with a substantial salary and a promise to get him into the First Team within three years.

Yang Yang wouldn't turn seventeen until October, and three years later he'd only be nineteen. Eindhoven's commitment showed their sincerity, but Shen Ming still declined on Yang Yang's behalf, thanking them for their favor. Yang Yang had only one goal: Ajax, playing under his idol, Van Basten.

He had confidence in himself—as long as he kept improving through hard work, he would make his debut in Ajax's First Team within three years.