After being mocked by Vincent Weijl, Henk Dimer was so humiliated and furious that his temper flared. Fortunately, Yang Yang reacted quickly and grabbed him, preventing the two sides from getting into a fight.
In fact, if Henk Dimer had charged forward, he might not even have been able to beat Vincent Weijl.
The Haarlem Youth Training Camp's selection standards had clearly been heavily influenced by Henk de Koning's preferences, with an emphasis on physical fitness and strength in physical contests.
John Rep and Dick Van Pool, who were nearby, also hurried over to stop them.
Before coming, they had all held on to a sliver of hope. If Henk Dimer could also enter Ajax's youth training program, it would have a tremendous impact on Almere. Not just the entire city of Almere—even parents from the surrounding cities would send their children to Almere's Youth Training Camp.
By then, the broader pool of candidates would produce more promising players, and the overall level would naturally rise.
But now it seemed that Henk Dimer had performed poorly, and his chances of being selected were slim.
Sometimes, when they thought about it, they truly found it inconceivable. In just over three months, everything had become so unfamiliar that whenever they looked back, they still found it hard to believe.
Who would have thought, three months ago, that Yang Yang would be able to enter Ajax's youth training program?
At the time, even if they had considered every player in the entire youth program, they never would have thought it would be Yang Yang.
But that was how strange the world could be.
As for Henk Dimer, this was not the first time he had been unable to withstand pressure at a crucial moment and subsequently performed poorly. Regardless, they could not let him lay hands on anyone. Otherwise, not only would he lose his eligibility for selection, but Almere Youth Training Camp would also receive criticism and a warning from Ajax.
"Yang Yang, if you really run into that bastard this afternoon, remember not to hold back. Take him down." Henk Dimer glared at Vincent Weijl's retreating figure with bloodshot eyes and ground out the words through clenched teeth.
"Don't worry. Even without you telling me, I'll give it everything I've got," Yang Yang replied calmly.
John Rep and Dick Van Pool exchanged a glance, both noticing the strange look in the other's eyes.
Even someone as proud as Henk Dimer had accepted Yang Yang, and had even taken the initiative to ask for his help. How could they ever have predicted that?
The conflict between Henk Dimer and Vincent Weijl failed to attract the slightest attention at the teeming De Toekomst. Everyone was more concerned with the selection itself.
After the morning's assessment events ended, the crowd gradually dispersed.
De Toekomst's players' cafeteria provided free lunches only to the players taking part in the assessment, their parents, and employees of cooperating clubs. Most of the spectators had to go outside to eat, while some who lived nearby simply chose to return home.
After all, the food provided by the players' cafeteria was prepared strictly according to professional players' standards. Although it was made as refined and delicious as possible, it could hardly be called gourmet food.
Yang Yang, on the other hand, was trying the nutritional meal specially provided for Ajax's youth players for the first time, and found it very novel.
His uncle Shen Ming was an excellent cook who mastered all kinds of Chinese cuisine and tea snacks. After Yang Yang came to the Netherlands, his palate had been spoiled quite a bit by his uncle. But this was the standard lunch for Ajax's youth players, and even though it was light, he still ate with great relish.
Nick, John Rep, and Dick Van Pool also ate while chatting and laughing. Only Henk Dimer seemed to have been deeply affected by his setback that morning. He had no appetite at all, and after forcing down a few bites, he simply sat there brooding.
This left John Rep and Dick Van Pool deeply disappointed.
Without a good mentality and the ability to regulate oneself, how could someone become an outstanding professional player?
After lunch, John Rep led everyone on a tour of De Toekomst.
Although he had come from Ajax's youth system, Ajax had only moved its home ground and training base to Southeast New Town a few years ago, so John Rep was not particularly familiar with De Toekomst either. Still, he had visited many times, and he introduced the place as though he knew it by heart.
After moving to Southeast New Town, Ajax had gone a long time without producing a dazzling star. This caused many fans to question Chairman Michael van Praag's decision. It was only in the past two years, with Van der Vaart's sudden emergence, that those doubts had eased considerably.
The first team was currently overflowing with talent. It had homegrown youth products such as Van der Vaart, Sneijder, De Jong, and Heitinga forming its backbone, as well as powerful foreign players like Ibrahimovic, Maxwell, Trabelsi, and Pienaar. Every fan was looking forward to Ajax entering another period of revival.
Ronald Koeman was also ambitious, hoping to recreate the glory of the mid-1990s under Van Gaal. That was also why Chairman Michael van Praag had invited Van Gaal to return and take up the position of Technical Director.
But judging from what John Rep meant, he did not seem particularly optimistic about that prospect.
"I heard there are plenty of conflicts inside Ajax's dressing room too. Earlier, the Egyptian striker Mido threw a fit because he wanted a transfer. In his anger, he actually flung a pair of scissors at Ibrahimovic, nearly hitting the Swedish Striker in the head. After that, the club kept loaning him out, and this summer they finally sold him to Marseille."
Nick brought up the gossip from the newspapers with a hint of mystery and lingering fright.
If the scissors had really hit him and blood had been spilled all over the dressing room, wouldn't that have become shocking news around the world?
"Really?" Yang Yang asked, somewhat doubtful of the media reports' reliability.
Ronald Koeman had always been extremely strict in running his team. How could something like that have happened?
"It's true. I heard that ever since then, Ajax has strictly prohibited anyone from carrying sharp objects into the dressing room," Nick said with certainty.
As the saying went, there was no smoke without fire. If the media had reported it that way, there must have been a reason.
Yang Yang still remembered that the last time he passed by the Amsterdam Arena, the media had been reporting on Leo Benhak's romantic scandal. At the time, everyone had found it unbelievable. No one believed Benhak would prey on a much younger woman. But what had happened in the end?
"Mido tried every possible means to force a transfer, and Ibrahimovic also wanted to leave, even going so far as to demand a move to Southampton in the Premier League. These foreign players simply can't be relied on. They're only using Ajax as a stepping stone," Nick complained indignantly.
Yang Yang frowned as he listened. If he joined Ajax too, then he would count as a foreign player.
Perhaps, in the eyes of many Dutch fans—especially those in Amsterdam—only homegrown youth players like Van der Vaart and Sneijder could be considered the team's true core and backbone.
An hour before the final assessment match that afternoon, Van Gaal finally appeared at De Toekomst.
The newly appointed Technical Director knew everything about Ajax inside and out, and he had quickly settled into his work. From player transfers to contract renewals, he had arranged everything in an orderly fashion. After finally finding a little time to rest at noon, he immediately hurried to De Toekomst to prepare for the afternoon's work.
Once he entered the technical group, Patrick Radru, Tony Bruns Slots, and the others came forward to report on the morning's final assessment. They also handed him a copy of the morning's results.
"What's going on?" Van Gaal noticed Radru and Slots exchange a smile as they handed over the results, and he found it strange. Was there something in the report worth celebrating?
"Take a look first," Radru said with a smile.
Van Gaal thought no more of it and immediately opened the file. Squinting, he went through the names one by one. When he saw the final results of the three players from Almere, he could not help feeling surprised.
"How did Henk Dimer perform so poorly in the four-on-four training?"
Van Gaal clearly remembered that when he had gone to Almere to oversee their term assessment, Henk Dimer's performance had been outstanding. There was no reason for him to perform so terribly this time. The only explanation was that he had fallen apart under the pressure of the moment.
"I paid particular attention to all the players we had placed on our watch list. After seeing the results, I specifically contacted the sideline coach and scout from that assessment to find out what had happened. They both felt that Henk Dimer had become unsettled after making a mistake, and his performance deteriorated," Slots said. Then he pointed to Vincent Weijl on the Haarlem player list. "Look at Weijl. He was eliminated in the assessment six months ago, which directly left us short of a left-back in the under-eighteen age group. But his four-on-four results this time weren't particularly good either."
Van Gaal gave Slots a meaningful look. After thinking it over briefly, he immediately understood what had happened.
He knew a little about the entanglement between Henk de Koning and John Rep. But regardless, he would judge the players solely according to their assessment results.
Besides, wasn't this also a test of Henk Dimer's mental strength?
Henk Dimer had performed below expectations, while Nick had been merely average. But when Van Gaal saw Yang Yang's results, his eyes clearly lit up, and he clicked his tongue in admiration.
"This kid has improved again."
Radru and Slots exchanged another glance and smiled knowingly.
They had not expected that the results Yang Yang produced this time would be considerably better than those from his assessment in Almere two months ago. Not only had he improved in the areas that were usually his strengths, but even his weakest skills—ball control, passing, and crossing—had improved noticeably, especially his crossing.
It was clear that the kid had worked extremely hard to make up for his shortcomings.
Another pleasant surprise in just two months—no one had expected it.
Van Gaal was also gratified. Others saw only a results sheet, but he seemed to see Yang Yang training tirelessly day and night in that empty Skate Park. Whenever he recalled the scene, he felt inspired from head to toe.
"Not bad. His ball control has at least reached a passing grade," Van Gaal said with a faint smile.
He had never been a Head Coach who was good at praising players, nor did he want people to think he was treating Yang Yang differently.
That would benefit neither him nor Yang Yang.
"Let's wait and see how he does in the afternoon's scrimmage."
With a soft puff, Van Gaal closed the results sheet, though inwardly he let out a quiet sigh of relief.
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