Nordic Giant

Sure enough, more fans came to De Toekomst that afternoon.

The area around every training pitch was packed with spectators. Though there were many of them, they conscientiously maintained order. Everyone stood outside the wire fence, doing their best not to affect the players on the pitch.

There were not many players who had made it to the final selection. They were divided into different areas according to age group. The sixteen-to-eighteen age group Yang Yang belonged to had only around fifty players, split into four groups for two matches. Each match lasted thirty minutes, and each group would also receive support from three Ajax First Team players.

Henk Dimer had been affected by what happened that morning and seemed somewhat listless, especially when he saw Vincent Weijl. The latter, however, kept looking at Yang Yang with a provocative expression.

When arranging the teams for the matches, the coaches tried their best to take the players' positions into account, allowing them to perform at their best in their familiar roles. One of the two was a left-back and the other a right winger, so they happened to be directly opposed.

Yang Yang paid no attention to Vincent Weijl's provocation and warmed up methodically according to the coach's arrangements.

Suddenly, a burst of enthusiastic cheers rang out from the sidelines.

Yang Yang, who was on the pitch, looked toward the sound and saw the Ajax players entering the training ground one after another.

They had evidently divided up their duties in advance. More than a dozen players, including Van der Vaart, Litmanen, and Pienaar, did not linger and went straight to the selection areas for the younger and middle age groups. The remaining twelve players headed toward the oldest age group.

Yang Yang saw Van der Vaart, wearing the Captain Armband and walking at the front of the group, pass outside the wire fence. He secretly marveled, Being handsome would be enough, but he even plays football this well. Seriously...

"I heard he and Sylvie have made their relationship official." Nick had always been full of gossip.

"They really are a good match." Even proud Henk Dimer had to admire them.

As the most talented young prodigy in the Netherlands at present, Van der Vaart was universally acknowledged as a genius. He was also one of the hottest young players in Europe. It was said that many elite clubs had set their sights on him, convinced that he would become a top-level superstar in the future.

Yang Yang watched him pass by, feeling somewhat envious. Soon, he remembered his cousin's instructions and could not help laughing bitterly to himself.

Before setting out that morning, his cousin Shen Yuzhu had specifically reminded him that, no matter what, he had to get Van der Vaart's autograph. But now, it seemed he could only wait until the selection ended and see whether he got the chance.

After the First Team players arrived, the group lists were officially announced.

Unfortunately, Yang Yang was assigned to Group A as a right winger, while Vincent Weijl was assigned to Group B as a left-back. The two of them had actually ended up directly opposing each other.

Yang Yang could not help shaking his head when he saw the list. His luck was really something else.

Seeing Yang Yang shake his head, Vincent Weijl assumed he was frightened after seeing the group assignments. He sneered behind him and mocked, "It's too late to regret it now. I'm not that idiot Emanuelson."

Clearly, he had always attributed Yang Yang's outstanding performance in Ajax's match against Almere to Emanuelson's poor defending. He and his teammates had never thought much of Almere's Youth Training Players.

"Regret?" Yang Yang turned around and looked at Vincent Weijl's disdainful face. The corner of his mouth lifted slightly. "I'm only feeling sorry for you. Your luck is terrible—you actually drew me."

Vincent Weijl had not expected Yang Yang to dare talk back to him to his face. His tone immediately became threatening. "Then just wait and see. I won't go easy on you."

After all, he had spent five years in the Ajax Youth Training Camp, and defending was his strong suit. Stopping a rookie from a third-tier amateur league, a fledgling Youth Training Player, should be effortless.

"Then that's for the best. I was worried this match wouldn't offer much of a fresh challenge." Yang Yang spoke indifferently.

Henk Dimer and Nick were assigned to the other two groups, but since they were not directly opposed, it did not affect them much.

The three Ajax First Team players in Yang Yang's Group A were Ibrahimovic on the frontline, Sneijder in midfield, and the right-back Trabelsi in defense.

After seeing the list, Yang Yang could not help turning his gaze toward the towering yet seemingly slender Nordic Giant warming up on the pitch. He had heard that Ibrahimovic was quite controversial at Ajax.

Though he was massive and nearly two meters tall, he was actually known for his footwork. His build also looked rather slender, and outsiders had always believed that he was not the kind of penalty-area killer Ajax favored.

In fact, in the two seasons since Ibrahimovic joined Ajax, his scoring efficiency had remained low. Many people therefore believed that if Sonck could quickly take up the scoring burden after joining, Ronald Koeman—who was dissatisfied with Ibrahimovic—might abandon the Nordic Giant.

It was clear from this that Ibrahimovic faced enormous pressure going into the new season.

Midfielder Sneijder had been Ajax's biggest discovery last season. After entering the First Team, he had firmly secured a starting midfield position, becoming another benchmark for the club's local Youth Training Players after Van der Vaart. His technique was delicate, his abilities well-rounded, and he could play several different positions in the attacking midfield and forward lines.

Trabelsi, the Tunisian right-back, was the oldest. He was already twenty-six and was now a renowned top-class right-back in Europe. Many people even compared him to Cafu. Ferguson of Manchester United, Wenger of Arsenal, and other famous managers of elite clubs had all publicly called for his signing, but Ajax had no intention of letting him leave again.

They had already lost Van der Meide. If they lost Trabelsi as well, the entire right flank would be ruined.

As Yang Yang pondered this, the coach of Group A blew his whistle and called the players over.

From a distance, Yang Yang had not felt much, but once he drew closer, he truly sensed the pressure coming from Ibrahimovic.

He was too tall!

At 1.95 meters, he towered over Yang Yang.

When the two stood close together, Yang Yang had to look up at him.

Fortunately, the Nordic Giant really was rather slender. His whole body resembled a thin bamboo pole. If he were any more muscular, the pressure and intimidation he gave off would be even more terrifying.

That was also why Ajax as a whole was currently dissatisfied with Ibrahimovic. The Swede did not seem interested in strengthening his physical play. Instead, he took pride in his footwork.

"Hey, kid, if you keep staring at me like that, I might beat you up." After Yang Yang had stared at him for a while, Ibrahimovic finally turned around unhappily and glared at him menacingly.

"Sorry." Yang Yang smiled apologetically.

"No problem. I was joking. Hahaha." Ibrahimovic threw his head back and laughed with his huge mouth wide open.

Seeing how happily he laughed, Yang Yang helplessly shrugged. Picking on a newcomer just because you're tall—is it really that fun?

"You play right wing?" Ibrahimovic asked casually after he finished laughing.

"Yeah." Yang Yang nodded.

"Can you cross?"

"Uh... I suppose I can, but I'm not very accurate." Yang Yang answered honestly.

He had indeed been practicing Beckham's Cross recently. But he had only been doing so for a short time. It had produced some results, but he was far from mastering it.

Yang Yang's character was to do his absolute best, but never speak with undue certainty.

"Good, as long as you can cross. Once the match starts, don't listen to that coach's nonsense. Just make runs and receive the ball. If you get the chance, cross it toward me. Got it?" Ibrahimovic instructed him solemnly.

"This..."

"Relax. I can definitely win the ball. The opposing defender is Heitinga. That guy's always been dominated by me in training. No one can take the ball from me."

He said it with such commanding confidence that Yang Yang almost believed him.

Where did the Nordic Giant get all that confidence?

"But you have to tell me which foot you want it to. What kind of balls do you like to receive?"

"It's simple. Just don't cross it onto my head. Anywhere in front of the goal inside the penalty area is fine. Left, center, or right. Low balls or waist-high balls are fine too. If you want, you can even send it behind my backside. No problem—I can reach it all."

Yang Yang could only smile bitterly as he listened. Buddy, are you performing acrobatics?

"All right, Zlatan, stop messing with him. How's he supposed to play later if you keep this up?" Trabelsi, whose skin was dark, came over and lightly patted Yang Yang on the shoulder. He pointed at his head. "Don't listen to him. He's under a lot of pressure lately. There's something wrong up here."

"Say that again if you've got the nerve." The Nordic Giant's expression darkened.

Trabelsi innocently shrugged. His round eyes, set in his dark face, seemed to say, I didn't say anything. Don't accuse me.

Ibrahimovic did not pursue the matter. He flicked a ball up from the grass and began performing various freestyle juggling moves.

Though he was huge, he showed not the slightest clumsiness when juggling. Both feet looked extremely nimble, and all kinds of dazzling freestyle moves came naturally to him. Yang Yang, meeting him for the first time, was deeply impressed.

Good grief. I've never seen anyone this tall who's also this agile.

The Swedish Striker seemed quite pleased by Yang Yang's astonished expression. He laughed and became even more engrossed in his performance.

This was Yang Yang's first time interacting with an Ajax First Team star, and it felt somewhat strange. He then looked at Sneijder in the distance. Sneijder was juggling the ball alone, head bowed as if searching for his rhythm, but from beginning to end, Yang Yang did not see him say a single word to Ibrahimovic or Trabelsi.

This reminded Yang Yang of what Nick had said at noon. Could there really be friction between Ajax's local players and their foreign teammates?

But whether it was true or not, it had nothing to do with Yang Yang.

He had only one goal at the moment: to enter Ajax's Second Team as soon as possible and play under Van Basten.

As he thought of this, Yang Yang suddenly realized that he had not seen Van Basten today.

His gaze swept across the fans along the sideline, and he soon spotted a familiar figure in the crowd.

Van Gaal had arrived.

The Van Basten Yang Yang had been looking for was standing beside him. On the other side stood a Dutch Middle-aged Man who was clearly a head shorter than the two of them and slightly chubby. If nothing unexpected had happened, he should be Ajax's Head Coach, Ronald Koeman.

Suddenly, Yang Yang felt a trace of nervousness well up inside him.