Super Wingstorm

As the most dazzling star of the Ajax Youth Academy, Ryan Babel was not in a good mood.

He had originally thought Almere would be a pushover, but they turned out to be a tough nut to crack.

John Reep had once again set up a 4-3-3 formation for this match, but in reality, only the right winger, Yang Yang, was positioned up front. The other players formed three tight defensive lines, fortifying the area inside and around the thirty-meter zone of their own half.

This presented a huge obstacle to Ajax’s offense.

As the team’s number one star, Ryan Babel was being closely marked by the opposition, making it difficult for him to perform. This made him secretly anxious, and his eyes frequently swept over to the simple VIP stand.

The first team’s chief assistant coach, Luther Carroll, and the youth team’s head coach, Marco van Basten, were both sitting there. These were two men who could decide the future of his professional career. Naturally, Babel hoped to put on an excellent performance in front of them and earn a spot on the first team for the new season.

But unexpectedly, Almere’s defense was remarkably tight—they didn’t look like an under-18 team at all.

As the center forward, Babel was tightly marked by Almere, making it hard to get the ball, let alone leverage his advantages in speed and skill. Seeing that his team’s passes could barely penetrate the opposition’s defensive line, he decisively chose to pull out to the wing.

Back in the youth team, Van Basten had once encouraged him, "Keep working hard, and you can become the next Thierry Henry."

This sentence had always inspired Babel. As a result, despite being right-footed, he preferred to operate on the left wing.

That was Henry’s most proficient area.

The Ajax players had great chemistry. The moment Babel pulled to the wing, the others immediately understood. They appropriately slowed their attack, giving Almere a chance to breathe, but in reality, they were just setting up their next wave of offense.

Sure enough, a few minutes later, Babel, now on the wing, seized an opportunity when Almere’s defense slackened. He cut inside from the left into the box and got a very dangerous chance to shoot, but unfortunately, he didn’t connect with the ball cleanly and missed the golden opportunity.

This was in the thirteenth minute of the first half.

Having successfully created a dangerous chance, Ajax’s morale soared, and they soon launched another tide-like wave of attacks.

The difference in strength between the two sides was vast. Almere’s goal was under siege, with the defensive line on the verge of collapsing.

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Up front, Yang Yang waited anxiously for a pass from his teammates in the midfield and defense, but he found it was difficult.

At least, much more difficult than head coach John Reep had thought before the match.

Ajax had clearly come into this away match fired up, determined to take down Almere. Combined with the huge gap in strength between the two teams, this made it very hard for Almere to get any opportunities.

He desperately wanted to help his team, but Ajax gave him no such chance.

Thomas Vermaelen and Urby Emanuelson were always lurking around him. On top of that, with his own team’s midfield and defense almost entirely focused on defending, Yang Yang could barely get the ball, so naturally, he couldn’t help the team.

"I have to do something," Yang Yang muttered to himself.

’I can’t just keep waiting like this.’

So, he chose to drop back and defend.

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"The gap in strength between the two teams is too wide."

Watching Yang Yang start to track back into his own half to defend, John Reep sighed and shook his head helplessly.

The overwhelming difference in overall strength left Almere with no other options. They could only defend, or rather, defend desperately.

The situation on the field was even worse than his pre-match assessment. It was clear that the arrival of Van Basten, Luther Carroll, and the others had significantly boosted the Ajax players’ fighting spirit and commitment to the game—something John Reep couldn’t have predicted.

"What do we do now?" Dick Van Puer asked, fraught with worry.

John Reep just shook his head helplessly.

With the match at this stage, there wasn’t much he, as the head coach, could do. It was all up to the players on the field.

The team had made it to the sixth round, eliminating teams like Warrendan to face Ajax head-on. No matter the outcome, it could be considered an honorable defeat. He just hoped they wouldn’t lose too badly.

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Another Ajax attack was thwarted, but the ball was quickly passed back out of Almere’s thirty-meter zone, where Maduro received it in the center.

In this match, Ajax’s front trident consisted of Feydi Elmas, Ryan Babel, and Tom Demuure. Flanking the midfielder Maduro were Abolach and Amrabat.

With Sneijder and De Jong called up to the first team, this was now the Ajax Youth Team’s main starting lineup.

Facing the youth team of a third-tier club like Almere, everyone at Ajax was full of confidence. Even though they hadn’t managed to break down their opponent early on, most players weren’t anxious. They continued to firmly suppress their opponent, patiently waiting for an opportunity.

But every single one of them was eager to convince the two men in the VIP stand with their performance.

Maduro was no exception.

As the team’s core midfielder, after receiving the ball, he quickly raised his right hand, signaling his teammates to stay calm. He controlled the tempo with composure, but after passing the ball to Amrabat, he spotted an opportunity, immediately surged forward, and raised his hand again to call for the ball.

The ball quickly returned to Maduro’s feet, but he didn’t stop it. Instead, he hit a diagonal pass, sending the ball to the left side of the box. Babel, the center forward, had once again pulled out to the wing. He controlled the ball before an Almere player could reach it, laid it off for Feydi Elmas, and pointed inside.

Elmas understood instantly. He passed the ball toward the left side of the arc at the top of the penalty area. Babel, who was originally on the left wing, suddenly burst into motion. Like an agile cheetah, he rapidly shook off his defender and chased after the ball at top speed.

From Maduro’s diagonal pass to the wing, to Babel’s control and lay-off, to Elmas’s square pass, the entire sequence was a series of slick and fluid one-touch passes. The Ajax players demonstrated both outstanding individual skill and the philosophy of the Ajax Youth Academy.

When everyone saw Babel shake off his defender and charge toward the ball, countless fans gasped in alarm.

The area at the top of the box was now completely undefended!

This prodigious new star from Ajax had been hailed by Van Basten as the "second Henry." For a right-footed player like him to receive the ball on the left side of the arc, how dangerous could that be?

But all of this happened in the blink of an eye. By the time the Almere players reacted and tried to give chase, it was already too late.

Nick, the closest player, was just about to shake off Elmas and turn to track back when he felt a figure flash past him. The figure cut diagonally in pursuit of the ball, moving even faster than Babel, who had anticipated the play.

Babel focused, counting the rhythm, adjusting his steps, his eyes locked on the Almere goalkeeper. As he reached the ball, he planted his left foot and swung his right. He’d never felt better. He knew that once he struck this shot, it was a sure thing.

’I have to score this goal!’

But just at that moment of supreme confidence, when victory seemed certain, he suddenly felt something was wrong. Before he could even react, he saw someone had beaten him to it. A figure shot out from his side, getting to the ball a step ahead of him and poking it away with their foot.

At the critical moment, his shot right in front of the goal was ruined.

Furious and frustrated, Babel didn’t pull back his foot. He followed through with his shot, kicking the other player squarely in the calf.

Yang Yang, who had just sprinted back a long distance to defend, fell to the ground. He hadn’t even had a moment to celebrate his crucial clearance when he took the kick to his calf. A sharp pain shot through his leg, and he let out a cry of agony.

The nearby Henk Demyer, Nick, and others were instantly enraged and all rushed toward Babel. The Ajax players immediately surrounded their teammate to protect him.

The referee blew his whistle at the right moment. He first went over to check on Yang Yang. After confirming it was just a kick to the calf and not a serious injury, he got up, walked toward Babel, and reached into his breast pocket.

Yellow card!

Not only that, but the referee also sternly warned Babel to control his temper, or he wouldn’t mind giving him another one.

The Ajax prodigy glared at the Almere players, not even glancing at Yang Yang, who was still on the ground, before turning and walking away.

In contrast, several Ajax players, including Thomas Vermaelen and Maduro, gathered around to check on Yang Yang’s injury. Only after he got back to his feet did they all disperse and prepare to restart the match.

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"If he doesn’t change that attitude of his, it’ll be his downfall sooner or later."

In the VIP stand, Van Basten sighed and shook his head. He had just watched Ryan Babel kick Yang Yang in the calf, get a yellow card, and then storm off in a huff—a complete lack of sportsmanship.

Following through on a tackle and kicking a defender is a bit of dirty play, something very common in the professional world. Even if he got a yellow card, no one would really blame Babel for that. But not helping his opponent up afterward proved he had truly lost his temper. That was the most worrying part.

Van Basten truly had high hopes for this player. He had speed, he had skill, and his build and height were both excellent. As long as he kept working hard and improving, Van Basten believed he had a bright future, which was why he used Henry as an inspiration for him.

But Babel’s biggest problem was his personality. Even within the Ajax Team, he didn’t seem to fit in.

It wasn’t as noticeable on the youth team, but on the first team, being able to get along with teammates and integrate into the locker room is crucial.

Yang Yang, on the other hand, had teammates who immediately stood up for him after he was kicked. Even several Ajax players, including Vermaelen, Emanuelson, and Maduro, went to check on him. He didn’t seem to hold a grudge at all; in fact, he thanked the Ajax players for their concern.

All of these were signs of maturity. In comparison, Babel was far inferior.

"This Yang Yang is quite a surprise. To voluntarily track back from the front line to the edge of the box and dare to make a crucial clearance at the risk of getting kicked—that’s not easy," said Luther Carroll, growing more and more fond of the player.

Ronald Koman’s preference in players was similar to Van Gaal’s: he liked players with strong tactical discipline. As the first team’s chief assistant coach, Luther Carroll was naturally aware of this.

Tony Bruins Slotts, however, watched Yang Yang on the field, who was bent over massaging his right calf, and said with some concern, "I just hope he’s not injured."

But on the field, as Yang Yang massaged his calf, he looked up at his opponents, a fierce glint flashing in his eyes.

’This isn’t over!’