Progress Again

Once again mocked by Vincent Weijl, Henk Dimer's shame flared into a surge of anger, but luckily Yang Yang reacted quickly and grabbed him, preventing a conflict from breaking out.

In truth, if Henk Dimer had charged forward, he might not have gotten the better of Vincent Weijl anyway. The selection criteria at the Haarlem Youth Training Camp were clearly heavily influenced by Henk de Koning's preferences, with a bias toward physical fitness and strength.

John Rep and Dick Van Pool quickly came over to mediate as well.

Before coming, they had still held onto a sliver of hope. If Henk Dimer could make it into Ajax's youth system, it would have a huge impact on Almere. Not just the city itself, but even surrounding towns would see many parents sending their children to Almere's youth training camp.

With a broader pool of candidates, more promising talents would emerge, and the overall level would naturally rise.

But now, it seemed Henk Dimer had choked under pressure, and his chances of being selected were slim.

Sometimes, when they thought about it, it felt utterly baffling. In just over three months, everything had become so unfamiliar that every time they looked back, it seemed unbelievable.

Three months ago, how could they have imagined that Yang Yang would make it into Ajax's youth training camp?

Back then, even if they had run through every single player in the camp, they never would have guessed it would be Yang Yang.

Yet that's just how strange the world works.

As for Henk Dimer, buckling under pressure at a critical moment and losing his composure wasn't the first time. But no matter what, he couldn't be allowed to start a fight. Otherwise, not only would he lose his chance at selection, but Almere's youth training camp would also face criticism and warnings from Ajax.

"Yang Yang, if you run into that bastard this afternoon, don't hold back. Crush him." Henk Dimer's eyes were red as he glared at Vincent Weijl's retreating back, grinding his teeth in hatred.

"Don't worry, you don't have to tell me. I'll give it my all," Yang Yang replied calmly.

John Rep and Dick Van Pool exchanged a glance, both catching the strange look in each other's eyes.

Even someone as proud as Henk Dimer had conceded to Yang Yang and even taken the initiative to ask for help—how could they have predicted that?

The clash between Henk Dimer and Vincent Weijl barely drew any attention in the bustling De Toekomst, as everyone was focused on the selection itself.

After the morning assessment ended, the crowd gradually dispersed.

De Toekomst's player canteen provided free lunch only for the players undergoing assessment, their parents, and employees of partner clubs. Most of the onlookers had to eat elsewhere, with some who lived nearby choosing to head home.

After all, the food in the player canteen was strictly prepared to professional athlete standards. Though it was made as palatable as possible, it was hardly a gourmet meal.

For Yang Yang, though, it was his first taste of the nutritional meals provided to Ajax's youth players, and he found it quite novel.

His uncle Shen Ming was an excellent cook, skilled in all kinds of Chinese cuisine and pastries. Since coming to the Netherlands, Yang Yang's palate had been somewhat spoiled by his uncle, but this was the standard lunch for Ajax youth players. Even if it was bland, he ate it with relish.

Nick, John Rep, and Dick Van Pool were also eating and chatting cheerfully. Only Henk Dimer seemed deeply affected by his morning setback, having lost his appetite entirely. He barely took a few bites before sulking in silence.

This left John Rep and Dick Van Pool feeling deeply disappointed.

Without a strong mentality and the ability to self-regulate, how could he ever become a good professional player?

After lunch, John Rep led the group on a tour of De Toekomst.

Though he was a product of Ajax's youth system, the club's home ground and training base had only moved to Southeast New Town a few years ago. John Rep wasn't intimately familiar with De Toekomst, but having visited many times, he could still describe it with ease.

Since moving to Southeast New Town, Ajax had gone through a long period without producing any standout stars, leading many fans to question Chairman Michael van Praag's decision. It wasn't until recent years, with the emergence of Van der Vaart, that the fans' doubts were significantly eased.

The first team was now brimming with talent. There were homegrown youth pillars like Van der Vaart, Sneijder, De Jong, and Heitinga, alongside powerful foreign players like Ibrahimovic, Maxwell, Trabelsi, and Pienaar. All the fans were eagerly anticipating another revival for Ajax.

Ronald Koeman was also ambitious, hoping to recreate the glory of the Van Gaal era in the mid-1990s. That was why Chairman Michael van Praag had invited Van Gaal to return as Technical Director.

But from John Rep's tone, he didn't seem very optimistic about this prospect.

"I heard there's a lot of internal conflict in Ajax's dressing room. Remember when Egyptian striker Mido wanted to transfer? He got so angry that he threw a pair of scissors at Ibrahimovic, nearly hitting the Swedish striker in the head. After that, the club kept him on loan and finally sold him to Marseille this summer."

Nick brought up some tabloid gossip, speaking with a hint of mystery and a touch of shock.

If those scissors had actually hit, blood would have been spilled in the dressing room—wouldn't that have been a world-shaking scandal?

"Really?" Yang Yang was skeptical about the media's claims.

Ronald Koeman was known for strict discipline. How could something like that happen?

"Really. I heard that after that, Ajax's dressing room banned carrying sharp objects," Nick said with absolute certainty.

Where there's smoke, there's fire. The media wouldn't report it without reason.

Yang Yang remembered that the last time he passed by the Amsterdam Arena, the media was covering Leo Benhak's scandal. Everyone thought it was unbelievable that Benhak would go after a younger woman, but look what happened.

"Mido would stop at nothing to force a transfer, and Ibrahimovic is also pushing to leave, even willing to go to Southampton in the Premier League. These foreign players can't be relied on—they're just using Ajax as a stepping stone," Nick grumbled indignantly.

Yang Yang frowned. If he joined Ajax, he'd be considered a foreign player too.

Perhaps, in the eyes of many Dutch fans, especially those from Amsterdam, only homegrown talents like Van der Vaart and Sneijder were seen as the team's core and backbone.

An hour before the final afternoon selection, Van Gaal finally arrived at De Toekomst.

The newly appointed Technical Director knew everything about Ajax inside and out, quickly getting up to speed. From player transfers to contract renewals, he handled everything methodically. After squeezing out some time and taking a short rest at noon, he immediately headed to De Toekomst to prepare for the afternoon's work.

As he entered the technical team, Patrick Radru and Tony Bruns Slots greeted him, reporting on the morning's final selection and handing over a results sheet.

"What's going on?" Van Gaal noticed Radru and Slots exchanging a knowing smile as they handed him the sheet, which struck him as odd. Was there something in these results worth celebrating?

"Take a look first." Radru said with a smile.

Van Gaal didn't overthink it. He immediately flipped open the file, squinting as he scanned the names one by one. When he saw the final assessment results for the three Almere players, he couldn't help but feel a bit surprised.

"How did Henk Dimer perform so poorly in the four-on-four drills?"

Van Gaal clearly remembered that when he had gone to Almere to oversee their semester evaluation, Henk Dimer's performance had been outstanding. There was no way he should have turned in such a lackluster showing. The only explanation was that he had choked under pressure.

"For the players on our key watch list, I pay extra attention. After seeing the results, I specifically contacted the sideline coach and scout from that session to get a clearer picture. They both believed that Henk Dimer's performance fell apart after he made a mistake."

Slots paused here, then pointed at Vincent Weijl's name on the Hamler player list. "Take a look at this Weijl. He was eliminated during the assessment six months ago, which left us short on left-backs for the eighteen-year-old age group. But this time, his four-on-four results aren't particularly impressive either."

Van Gaal gave Slots a meaningful look, thought it over for a moment, and quickly understood what was going on.

He was vaguely aware of the grudge between Henk de Koning and John Rep, but regardless, he would only judge based on the players' assessment results.

Besides, wasn't this also a test of Henk Dimer's mental fortitude?

Henk Dimer's performance was less than ideal, and Nick was merely average. But when Van Gaal saw Yang Yang's results, his eyes lit up, and he let out an impressed murmur.

"This kid has improved again."

Radru and Slots exchanged another glance, sharing a knowing smile.

They hadn't expected that Yang Yang's assessment results this time would be even better than the ones from two months ago in Almere. Not only had his usual strengths seen slight improvement, but even his weakest areas—ball control, passing, and crossing—had shown clear progress, especially crossing.

It was obvious that the kid had put in serious effort to shore up his weaknesses.

In just two months, he had managed to surprise them again. No one had seen that coming.

Van Gaal felt a quiet sense of satisfaction. Others saw a report card, but he could almost picture Yang Yang training day and night in that empty Skate Park. Every time that image came to mind, he felt deeply inspired.

"Not bad. His ball control has at least reached the passing mark." Van Gaal offered a faint, restrained smile.

He was never a head coach who was good at praising players, and he didn't want anyone to think he was giving Yang Yang special treatment. That wouldn't be good for either of them.

"Let's see how he does in this afternoon's scrimmage first."

Van Gaal snapped the report shut with a soft thud, but inwardly, he breathed a quiet sigh of relief.