Chapter 163 - 156: Double Crown

At noon on May 2nd, inside Oosterenk Stadium in Zwolle, in the eastern part of the Netherlands.

The moment the referee blew the final whistle, everyone from Ajax rushed onto the field in a frenzy.

From the coaching staff to the players, along with over a thousand fans who had traveled to the away game, everyone was lost in wild celebration.

The scoreboard displayed the final score of the match: 0–5!

As is international convention, the home team’s score is listed first.

Thanks to a hat-trick from Sonck and goals from Galasek and Sneijder, Ajax had crushed Zwolle 5–0 in an away victory.

In another match played simultaneously, Eindhoven also secured a 5–0 away victory over Warrendan. However, at the end of this round, Ajax still held a seven-point lead over Eindhoven. With only two rounds left in the season, Ajax had clinched the title early.

This was Ajax’s first championship trophy of the season!

Just a week prior, during the 31st round of the Eredivisie, Ajax had drawn 0–0 with Nijmegen immediately after a grueling Champions League showdown with Monaco. Countless reporters and fans had worried that the team, fighting on three fronts, wouldn’t be able to hold on. They feared Ajax would ultimately collapse and allow Eindhoven to stage a comeback.

But this 5–0 victory allowed everyone to breathe a huge sigh of relief.

Wesley Sonck scored in the 56th, 78th, and 82nd minutes to complete his hat-trick.

Yang Yang came on as a substitute in the 75th minute. He then pulled defenders away from Sneijder, allowing the Dutch midfielder to assist a goal for Wesley Sonck. Later, Galasek assisted Sneijder, who also found the back of the net.

Not until the 82nd minute did Yang Yang get an assist on another goal for Wesley Sonck, putting the icing on the cake.

Five goals, and Ajax had secured the season’s Eredivisie title with two rounds to spare.

This left everyone at Ajax feeling ecstatic and filled them with morale. The team could now focus entirely on preparing for the Champions League and Dutch Cup finals. The first and most pressing challenge was the away match against Monaco in just three days.

Yang Yang was grinning from ear to ear on the field. ’I really can’t believe I’ve won a championship.’

’Just a year ago, I was sitting on the Almere team bus, gazing at the Amsterdam Arena as if on a pilgrimage. Now, I’m wearing an Ajax jersey and have been crowned a league champion.’

’This all feels like a dream.’

’What’s even more incredible is that if we can just protect our first-leg lead in the away match in three days, we’ll knock out Monaco and head to the Champions League final. We’d have a shot at winning the treble: the Eredivisie, the Dutch Cup, and the Champions League.’

’That would be an absolutely astounding achievement. In the entire history of the Eredivisie, only two teams have ever won the treble.’

’One was the Ajax team led by Cruyff in the early seventies. The other was the Eindhoven team coached by Hiddink in the late eighties. Both of those squads have become legends to this day.’

’Even the mid-nineties Ajax team led by Van Gaal, so fondly remembered by countless fans, couldn’t claim that honor. But now, it’s right there, just ahead, beckoning to us.’

Thinking about this, Yang Yang felt a fire ignite within him.

The feeling of being on the verge of making history surged through him, filling his entire body with power.

He was sure all the other Ajax players felt the same.

As the players tossed head coach Ronald Koeman high into the air, Ajax fans in the stands unfurled banners proclaiming "Treble Winners!" Even many of the home Zwolle fans held up signs encouraging Ajax, hoping the Eredivisie giants would find success in the Champions League.

This wasn’t just an honor for Ajax; it was an honor for the entire Eredivisie.

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「May 5th. Monaco, Louis II Stadium.」

This was a pivotal match.

Monaco started with a 4-4-2 formation, featuring a two-striker setup with the tall center-forwards Molentes and Puljic. With Roten and Jouli on the wings, Deschamps opted for an aggressive, all-out attack from the start.

Ajax, on the other hand, countered with their usual 4-3-3 formation. Galasek and De Jong formed a double pivot in defensive midfield, with Sneijder as the attacking midfielder. Van der Vaart, Ibrahimovic, and Wesley Sonck made up the front line.

The match was fast-paced from the get-go, with both sides playing fiercely.

Monaco, in particular, pressed high up the pitch, showing a do-or-die resolve that put immense pressure on the Ajax defense. After Molentes scored in the 34th minute, the Ligue 1 powerhouse launched a nearly frantic assault, forcing three different Ajax players to pick up yellow cards.

After play resumed in the second half, Monaco continued to press their advantage, looking ready to devour Ajax in one fell swoop. In response, Ronald Koeman deliberately shifted to a defensive, counter-attacking posture, but his team was still pinned down and looked utterly overwhelmed.

This was especially true in the 50th minute, when the veteran Galasek committed a foul that earned him his second yellow card of the match. He was immediately sent off with a red card, and the entire Louis II Stadium erupted into a frenzy.

Deschamps immediately made a substitution, bringing on Sissoko for the underperforming Puljic and pushing Jouli to the front line to bolster the attack. Ronald Koeman acted just as decisively, making a substitution of his own. He brought on Vermaelen for Wesley Sonck on the wing and pushed Heitinga into the midfield to partner with De Jong.

Past the 70-minute mark, Monaco’s assault intensified. Ajax was pushed into a desperate corner, their defensive line looking as if it could collapse at any moment.

Finally, in the 73rd minute, Ronald Koeman made another substitution, bringing on Gregory for Maxwell.

The string of substitutions failed to halt Monaco’s relentless assault. In the 78th minute, Deschamps made his second change of the match, replacing left-back Evra with Ibarra. It was yet another clear signal of his intent to pour everything into the attack.

A 1–0 victory wouldn’t be enough for Monaco to advance. They needed at least two more goals just to tie the aggregate score, which is why Deschamps once again opted to go all-in on offense.

Just after Evra left the pitch, Ajax made their final substitution in the 80th minute.

Number 99, Yang Yang, entered the game, replacing team captain Van der Vaart.

With the opposition having just subbed out their left-back, Ronald Koeman opted to bring on his super-sub, right-winger Yang Yang.

But by this point, Deschamps had thrown caution to the wind. In the 82nd minute, he made his third and final substitution, bringing on Adebayo for the exhausted Molentes. The player from Togo was another powerful center-forward who dominated the penalty area with his sheer physical presence.

Yet just two minutes after Adebayo took the field, Ajax suddenly launched a counter-attack.

Sneijder launched a long, diagonal pass, sending the ball perfectly behind Monaco’s defensive line. Moving at incredible speed, Yang Yang tore through their defense like a bolt of lightning. He raced after the ball and reached it just ahead of their center-back, Squillaci.

After collecting the ball, Yang Yang was forced to the right side of the penalty area. He deliberately slowed his pace, waiting for Ibrahimovic to make a run into the center. Then, he suddenly accelerated again, using a series of quick feints to shake off Squillaci before firing a low cross with his right foot.

Ibrahimovic charged forward, overpowering Julien Rodriguez to get to the ball first. He tapped it in from close range, sending it straight into the bottom-right corner of the net. 1–1!

That goal completely reignited Ajax’s morale and fighting spirit!

In contrast, the morale of the Monaco players completely cratered.

’We have to score four goals against Ajax in less than eight minutes? How is that even possible?’

As the Ajax players, both on the field and from the bench, rushed to the sideline to celebrate in a tight huddle, the Monaco players lost their composure. Their captain, Jouli, suddenly shoved Ajax midfielder Sneijder to the ground, sparking a heated confrontation between the two teams.

After calming both sides down, the referee showed Jouli a red card, sending the Monaco captain off the pitch. At the same time, he warned the Ajax players to tone it down and not celebrate so excessively in front of their opponents.

When the match resumed, the Monaco players were still seething. They committed several rough fouls, and the referee finally lost his patience. In the 89th minute, he showed midfielder Rijkaard a second yellow card, sending him off the pitch as well.

Three red cards in a single match spoke volumes about its intensity.

After the referee’s string of cards, the Monaco players lost all will and spirit to fight back.

Ultimately, the second leg of the match ended in a 1–1 draw.

Thanks to their 3–0 victory in the home leg, Ajax eliminated Monaco with an aggregate score of 4–1, securing their spot in the Champions League final.

However, their key midfielder Galasek would be suspended for the final because of his red card, a huge blow to Ajax.

Meanwhile, in the other semifinal, Porto eked out a 1–0 aggregate victory over Deportivo La Coruña thanks to an away goal. They would now meet Ajax in the Champions League final.

This also marked the first time since the Champions League was restructured that the final would not feature a single team from the Four Major Leagues.

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「May 9th. Eredivisie, Round 33.」

Having returned to Amsterdam from Monaco, the newly-crowned Ajax team focused all their energy on preparing for the Dutch Cup and Champions League finals. They fielded an entire squad of substitutes for their league match, ultimately defeating Breda 2–0 at home.

After the match, Ajax was presented with the Eredivisie championship trophy. The club, however, did not organize any large-scale celebrations, opting instead to remain focused on preparing for the two upcoming finals.

「A week later, the final match of the Eredivisie season.」

Once again fielding a full squad of substitutes, Ajax defeated William II 5–2 in an away match. Oubadaie scored a brace, while Soetters, Pinaar, and Deridder each added a goal.

「Another week passed. The evening of May 22nd. De Kuip Stadium, home of Rotterdam Feyenoord.」

The Dutch Cup Final: Ajax versus Utrecht.

After a period of adjustment, Ajax was in much better form. They controlled the match from the outset and broke through Utrecht’s defense in both the 31st and 32nd minutes, with Van der Vaart scoring both goals.

Play resumed in the second half, and in the 65th minute, Ibrahimovic scored another goal, bringing the score to 3–0.

Yang Yang once again came on as a substitute in the 70th minute. With the match’s outcome already decided, he came on mostly to get a feel for the game’s rhythm and tune up for the Champions League final on the 26th.

The final was set to be held at AufSchalke in Gelsenkirchen, Germany.