Chapter 103 Lucky Star

On the evening of January 24, 2004, Amsterdam Arena.

When the game reached the 60th minute and the score was still 0-0, Ronald Koeman made another substitution adjustment, and Yang Yang, who was wearing the No. 99 jersey, stood on the field again. side.

All the fans in the audience gave him warm applause.

"We can see that Ronald Koeman can't help but make a change."

"In the other game at the same time, PSV had a 2-0 lead early in the first half."

"Yang Yang, wearing the No. 99 jersey, stood on the sidelines again. He should be replacing Victor Scola on the right."

"This 17-year-old teenager was the biggest surprise for Ajax in the first half. In the last few games, his repeated appearances on the bench brought surprises and changes, and he is deeply loved by Ajax fans. One of his substitute appearances can also be a surprise."

"But this time, he is facing Nijmegen's left-back Geoffrey Rewakabesi, the main player of the Dutch national youth team in the past, and his performance in Nijmegen in the past two years has also been recognized by the fans. I believe the two will have a wonderful duel on the wing."

"Sure enough, Yang Yang on the 99th replaced Victor Scola on the 11th. This is also the first substitution for Ajax in this game. Let's see if Koeman's substitution can work."

"After the substitution, Ajax's frontcourt was left with Drieder, Wesley Sonk and Yang Yang to form a trident, the middle still was a combination of Van der Vaart, Sneijder and veteran Garacek, and the back line was O'Brien was placed at left-back, Escud and Heitinga formed the centre-back, and De Jong, who played in the midfielder position, was adjusted to the right-back in this game."

"Affected by the transfer of many international players to participate in the African Cup, Ajax has some problems on the right side, and Ibrahimovic and Maxwell are both injured in this round. Ajax Cox didn't do his best to play, which also made it difficult for the team to win Nijmegen in the game."

"Let's see if Yang Yang can bring changes to the team after he plays."

...

"Okay, Ajax successfully intercepted the ball in the backcourt, De Jong and Galasek successfully intercepted the ball."

"Give it to Sneijder, a long pass..."

"Yang Yang's speed is very fast, a counterattack from Ajax."

"Look at this attack."

"Yang Yang caught the ball, but Rewa Cabesi's back defense was also very fast, and the two formed a one-on-one on the wing."

"Emergency stop, continuous change of direction to pull the ball..."

"pretty!"

"Yang Yang's movements are very fast. Although he failed to completely shake off Rewa Kabesi's defense, he dribbled the ball inside..."

"Cross to Van der Vaart..."

"Niejmegen appears neutral, van der Vaart goes through... Wesley Sunck..."

"The ball is in!!!!"

"GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!"

"Sixty-third minutes, sixty-third minutes!"

"Yang Yang, who just came off the bench, planned a very sharp counterattack on the right, dribbling the ball into the 30-meter zone of Nijmegen, cut inside and crossed to Van der Vaart, and the captain of Ajax made a straight pass. The ball ripped open Nijmegen's defense, Wesley Sonk was offside, and he made it in front of the goal and sent the ball into Nijmegen's goal."

"One-zero, Ajax took the lead."

"It was a golden goal, an assist from Van der Vaart, a beautiful shot from Wesley Sonk, a fake to confuse the goalkeeper, it showed the Belgian striker's calmness in front of goal, and his A keen sense of shooting."

"We have to admit now that Yang Yang is indeed the lucky star of Ajax and the lucky star of Ronald Koeman."

"After he came on the court, he formed a very threatening counterattack at the first touch of the ball. He continuously changed directions to pull the ball on the flank, and the movement of throwing off Rewacabesine and cutting in was also very beautiful."

"This is the fifth game in a row, and Yang Yang changed the trend of the game after coming off the bench."

"It's unbelievable because he's only just turned seventeen, but both his reading comprehension of the game and his execution of the manager's tactical intentions are amazing."

"Perhaps, Ronald Koeman should really start to think about whether to help Yang Yang to the main position. After all, Ajax's right flank has been changing frequently after Van der Meyde left the team, and he has never been able to find a suitable main force. candidate."

"But now, the emergence of Yang Yang has solved this problem very well."

"The trident of Wesley Sonk, Ibrahimovic and Yang Yang, plus the midfields of Van der Vaart and Sneijder, Ajax's attacking combination is definitely something to look forward to."

…………

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"Sorry, this is not in our plans for the time being."

Ajax beat visiting Nijmegen 1-0 thanks to a precious goal from Wesley Sonk, and in the post-match press conference, when reporters asked if the manager would straighten Yang Yang, Rhone De Koeman answered without hesitation.

"I know that Yang Yang's recent performance is indeed quite good. He has played a key role in several consecutive games, but what I want to say is that he is only seventeen years old, and it is too early and inappropriate to be the main force. "

"Whether it's me, the technical team, or the players themselves, I hope that I can get more relaxed training opportunities and room for growth. It is obviously not a good decision to take the main position too early."

This statement from Ronald Koeman obviously cannot satisfy the appetite of the live media, because they are more willing to hype a rising star, rather than watching Ajax keep protecting Yang Yang.

"Mr. Koeman, but as far as we know, Yang Yang doesn't seem satisfied with the status quo, his agent has reservations about his current situation, and we have also received news that many Eredivisie teams are currently interested in Yang Yang. Interested, what do you think?"

Ronald Koeman has long known that paper cannot hold fire, and many things are hard to stop the pervasive media reporters.

"I've read the news reports, but I don't think it's the real situation. I talked to Yang Yang and he trusts me and the coaching staff very much. He believes that he can get better development space at Ajax. The best thing we've always been good at, isn't it?"

"Like what?" the reporter asked again.

"We can help him further consolidate the foundation, which can help him achieve better and higher achievements in the future."

"But as far as we know, there is a problem with his contract with Ajax and if he leaves Ajax in the summer, it is likely that he will have to pay a small compensation fee, and we all believe that with his recent After a few games, there will be many clubs willing to pay him that sum and give him a more lucrative contract."

The reporters have obviously investigated clearly. Yang Yang’s weekly salary in Ajax is only 400 euros, which is not only the minimum salary for the first team, but also in the middle and lower reaches of the second team, including Maduro and Lindege. Many players including Lun are a bit higher than Yang Yang, and their salary is twice that of Yang Yang.

After Babel renewed his contract, his salary also rose to more than double Yang Yang's.

Of course, media reporters will not be so righteous, and speak out about Yang Yang's salary. They still want to take this opportunity to hype the possibility of Yang Yang's departure from the team, so as to attract the attention of Ajax fans and promote the sales of the newspaper.

"Thank you very much for the concern of the media reporters, but what I want to say is that Yang Yang's contract renewal has entered the club's schedule, and everything is going smoothly at present. I believe everyone can get answers soon. As for the rest, I will temporarily There is no way to reveal more."

When Ronald Koeman said this, the expression on his face became very serious, "But I can take this opportunity to tell all Ajax fans and friends who care about Ajax that there is no such thing as Yang Yang's contract renewal. The problem, he personally promised me that he would never leave Ajax and I trust him."

But as the team's head coach, Ronald Koeman's commitment obviously failed to quell speculation in the outside media.

"As far as I know, Mr. Koeman, Yang Yang fired his original agent immediately after returning from Portugal's winter training. Does this mean that Ajax's contract renewal plan with him has changed?"

"Sorry, it's a personal matter for him, all I can say is that he will stay at Ajax."

"But there are rumors that he authorized the agent to contact the Eredivisie team, what do you think?"

"I'm not going to answer any speculative questions."

…………

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Media reporters have no way to get effective information from the head coach Ronald Koeman, and naturally it is difficult to knock Van Gaal's mouth.

In an interview with the media, the technical director of Ajax also repeatedly emphasized that Yang Yang will not leave Detokmost.

"Renewal is on the agenda and everything is in our hands."

But this still could not quell the outside discussion, and even many fans called the club one after another, requesting to keep Yang Yang no matter what.

A week later, Ajax ushered in the 18th round of the Eredivisie, away to Heerenveen.

For the Dutch Cup in the middle of the week, Ronald Koeman once again adjusted the starting lineup. Ibrahimovic continued to miss the starting lineup, but the left back Maxwell returned, and the team just introduced from Roda JC. Greek high center Anastasio got the start, with Derridel and Victor Scola partnering the trident.

As a result, no one expected that before the end of the first half, Ajax made a mistake and lost a goal. In the second half, they were eager to win. Not long after the opening, they were scored two goals by consecutive counterattacks.

By the time Yang Yang came off the bench in the 75th minute, the team was already three goals behind.

Under such circumstances, no matter how hard Yang Yang worked, it would be difficult to change the team's collapsed morale. After the 83rd minute, another goal was scored by the opponent.

However, before the end of the game, Yang Yang's right-sided breakthrough in the counterattack posed a threat. When the low ball was passed into the penalty area, the opponent's central defender Hansen blocked the ball into his own goal during a clearance and turned into an own goal.

In the end, Ajax returned with regret and a 4-1 defeat away.

Rivals PSV Eindhoven beat Zwolle five-to-one at home, successfully bringing the league points back to one point behind.

The Eredivisie, the Dutch Cup, the Champions League, and the three-line battle make it difficult for Ajax to stay focused and concentrate on competitiveness.

Returning from a fiasco at Heerenveen also put pressure on Ronald Koeman and the team.

Because the next team to face is the sworn enemy Feyenoord.