The Gap Between Platforms

This is a sad story that has played out repeatedly in professional clubs around the world over the past few decades.

John Rep and Henk de Koning were both Ajax youth players. They played the same position but had completely different styles. In the end, the faster, more incisive John Rep was selected for the first team, soared to stardom, and became a household name in Dutch and European football.

As for Henk de Koning, he was devastated by the blow, left Ajax, and bounced around several Dutch professional clubs without ever living up to his potential. He eventually retired early, dejected, and transitioned into a youth coach. After years of accumulation, he became the Youth Training Director of the Dutch Second Division side Hamler.

John Rep, on the other hand, enjoyed a brilliant playing career. After retiring, he took charge of a newly formed amateur club, Almere. Though he led the team through promotions and came within a hair's breadth of reaching the Dutch Second Division last season, they still lagged behind Hamler.

More importantly, in terms of youth development, Hamler, as one of Ajax's key youth partners, maintained close ties and personnel exchanges with Ajax every year. Almere, despite being labeled a satellite club, had never sent a single player into Ajax's Youth Training Camp.

This gave Henk de Koning, who had always felt stifled and aggrieved in his career, a great sense of vindication. Every time he ran into John Rep, he always tried to one-up him.

This mindset naturally rubbed off on the players under him.

After hearing Dick Van Pool's explanation, Yang Yang and the others suddenly understood. They all felt that the middle-aged fat man was being petty, holding a grudge from decades ago and still seeking revenge now.

But Yang Yang couldn't help thinking of Van Gaal.

He clearly remembered that when Van Gaal mentioned John Rep, his expression wasn't great either. He made no secret of his disdain for Ajax's legendary icon Cruyff, feeling that Cruyff was just all talk.

"He's always attacking my tactics and discipline, but he keeps forgetting one thing: his success was built on a group of geniuses, but geniuses can't be replicated. My philosophy, on the other hand, is to mold a group of talented ordinary people into professionals through rigorous tactical discipline, forging a strong, cohesive team."

It's hard to say which of these two legends' philosophies is superior, or to judge the rights and wrongs of it.

But Yang Yang had heard that the reason Van Gaal never made it into the first team back then was because Ajax's first team had a world-famous legendary star: Cruyff.

Perhaps Van Gaal, like Henk de Koning, still carried that old grudge against Cruyff. He was just too proud to show it as openly as Henk de Koning did, but deep down, he was definitely unwilling to accept it.

A professional player's career is full of unpredictability. Who knows what Van Gaal might have achieved if he had stayed at Ajax back then?

"You need to watch out for Vincent Weijl," John Rep warned. "Spending five years in Ajax's Youth Training Camp means he's definitely not to be underestimated. Be careful during the Group Match this afternoon."

Yang Yang understood. The way that guy talked about Emanuelson, with such resentment, suggested they were probably rivals.

Maybe, many years from now, this would become another sad new story.

If he didn't want to end up like Henk de Koning, he had to strive to be like John Rep.

Yang Yang's resolve grew stronger.

The new Eredivisie season schedule had been released.

The first match was on August 16th, with Ajax playing away against Vitesse.

That team wasn't strong; they had narrowly avoided relegation last season and were one of the favorites to go down this year. But it was still the season opener, and everyone at Ajax took it very seriously.

The team's friendly results were decent. In the most prestigious Amsterdam Tournament, Ajax first drew 0-0 with Liverpool and then beat Inter Milan 3-0 to win the title. But their performance wasn't great, especially in attack.

After Van der Meide left, Ajax's offense took a hit. In several friendlies, the forwards underperformed. Swedish striker Ibrahimovic had stirred up a transfer saga in the summer, with rumors linking him to Southampton in the Premier League, which seemed to affect his form.

Wesley Sonck, the Belgian First Division Top Scorer who had just transferred from Genk, still needed time to integrate. The player cost Ajax six million euros, could play in central and wide attacking positions, and was highly anticipated as a goalscorer.

After the Amsterdam Tournament, Ajax's first team stayed at De Toekomst to prepare for the new season. Having let go of captain Chivu and starting winger Van der Meide, the club made it clear they wouldn't allow Ibrahimovic to transfer.

Unable to convince a big club to pay up, Ibrahimovic had no choice but to stay.

Following the tradition of Talent Day, the first-team stars and coaches would participate in the afternoon's activities, so the whole of De Toekomst was expected to be even more packed.

But in the morning, it was mainly about testing the basic qualities of the finalists.

Ajax's testing items were basically the same as Almere's, but as a Dutch powerhouse, they had deep pockets. Many of their equipment and facilities were far beyond what Almere could match.

For example, for the shuttle run sprint, De Toekomst had a dedicated track. From the whistle to the monitoring, the whole process was handled by machines, producing data far more accurate than manual coaching assessments.

This was Yang Yang's first experience with such high-end training equipment. Feeling the novelty, he couldn't help but sprint faster.

Besides the better equipment, Ajax's training was also noticeably more meticulous.

Even during warm-ups, Ajax's coaches repeatedly reminded the players about the details—from the placement of cones to the specifics of their movements, down to the leg lifts. They emphasized everything repeatedly, all to ensure every joint was fully loosened and to prevent injuries in the subsequent training.

The passing and receiving drill took place in a ten-by-ten-meter square. Five players stood at one corner, and three players each stood at the other corners. They performed various passing and running drills clockwise or counterclockwise.

It looked simple, similar to Almere's daily training, but in reality, the pace, the passing, and the running speed were all noticeably faster, demanding more from the players. Everything was one-touch: pass and run.

The subsequent pattern drills focused on passing, crossing, and shooting. The content was similar to Almere's, but the intensity and pace were clearly higher, and the coaches on the sidelines demanded more.

Throughout the training, youth coaches and scouts, including Patrick Radru and Fred Arroyo, observed from various areas, recording the players' performances to compile their assessment scores.

The final training session of the morning was a four-on-four group match, designed to train the players in collective pressing and defensive cooperation.

This was also Ajax's philosophy: attack is the best defense, but the prerequisite is winning the ball back first. So, when defending, the whole team pressed forward as a unit, and once they won the ball, they launched a counterattack immediately.

In a 25-by-35-meter rectangular area, eight players engaged in four-on-four combat. The pace was incredibly fast, the technical demands were high, and there was plenty of physical contact.

To some extent, players with better physical attributes had an advantage in such tight spaces.

This reminded Yang Yang of what Vincent Weijl had said earlier: Ajax's selection criteria, especially for the Second Team and the First Team, were increasingly emphasizing strength and physicality.

It was hard to say whether this trend was good or bad. Yang Yang didn't know, but this was Ajax's assessment standard.

Each four-on-four session lasted five minutes and was very intense. After one session, everyone was gasping for breath.

Yang Yang was no exception—he had a profound appreciation for the intensity of Ajax's training.

But apparently, this still fell far short of the First Team's training demands.

He could easily imagine how much it would boost his improvement to train under such high intensity every day, competing against a group of exceptionally talented teammates.

A young player of similar talent and skill, whether in terms of progress or future development, would be worlds apart between Ajax's youth training camp and Almere's—that was the gap between platforms.

Realizing this, Yang Yang became even more determined to secure a foothold at Ajax.

"How do you feel?"

As Yang Yang stepped off the pitch, Dick Van Pool hurried over with concern.

Although he knew Yang Yang would join Ajax regardless of his performance, he still hoped Yang Yang would do well.

At the very least, he didn't want Henk de Koning to look down on him.

"I gave it my all." Yang Yang panted, replying with a chuckle.

As the saying goes, money is a man's courage, but on the football field, skill is a player's backbone.

Yang Yang had always been self-aware. After months of grueling basic training, his fundamentals still weren't satisfactory, but he felt he could at least reach Almere's mid-to-upper level. If his on-field form was good, he might even perform better.

Judging by this morning's training, he was fired up and playing well.

"That's right, giving it your all is what matters." Dick Van Pool understood that Yang Yang's strengths weren't in these basic drills.

Soon, Nick finished his last exercise and returned, saying he'd done okay, though he wasn't too confident about his performance.

Henk Dimer, the last to come back, was clearly scowling and fuming.

When John Rep and Dick Van Pool asked about his performance, Almere's rising star cursed Vincent Weijl, accusing him of deliberately sabotaging him during the final four-on-four scrimmage, causing several unnecessary mistakes.

But his words were overheard by Vincent Weijl, who was returning from behind.

"If you can't blame your own poor fundamentals, who else is there to blame?" Weijl sneered with a cold, mocking tone.