Chapter 235 228: A Glutton for Punishment

"No way! You're going to the gym for extra training?"

"Oh, God, you must be out of your mind. That place is a total nightmare."

"Come on, Yang Yang. You're a speed-based player. Agility is your strength. Getting stronger will just make you clumsy."

"Winston Bogard... he's a total devil. Do you have any idea how terrifying it is in there?"

...

When Yang Yang returned to the players' locker room, his teammates had already heard the news. They all crowded around him, desperately trying to talk him out of being so cruel to himself. In their eyes, the gym was practically hell on earth.

It was understandable, though. The average age of an Ajax player was just over twenty. They didn't do much strength training, and the gym was grueling. Normally, no one ever went there unless it was for a session scheduled by the head coach or for injury recovery.

That was why, for a long time, Ajax didn't even have a dedicated fitness coach.

Ronald Koeman must have realized this, so he specifically bolstered this area. It was likely that fitness training would be increased to strengthen the Ajax players' physical power, especially for the central defenders and midfielders.

Take the center-backs, for example. Height is an objective factor that can't be changed, but their strength in physical confrontations could definitely be improved.

Defending against high balls had always been a weakness for Ajax. Strengthening the center-backs' physical power could, to some extent, compensate for this shortcoming.

"Bogard looks strong and powerful, but he actually comes across as very academic. He seems like a good guy," Yang Yang clarified.

That was indeed his first impression of Bogard. The man was very methodical in his words and actions, with very clear objectives.

"Trust me, buddy, no one likes that place. You're better off not going," Maxwell advised.

The Brazilian's personality was genuinely great, and his professional ethics were beyond reproach, but he lacked a bit of ambition and tended to just go with the flow.

Of course, as a friend, Maxwell was definitely one of the best people to have around.

"I know, but I really think I can get stronger with this kind of training."

As he spoke, Yang Yang patted his own shoulders and held out his arms for his teammates to get a good look.

It wasn't that he had no muscle—after playing soccer for so long, he definitely had some—but his overall frame looked very slight.

"Since the end of last season, opponents have been marking me more and more tightly. Now that I'm starting this season, they even assign someone specifically to trail me. And they know I can't handle physical confrontations, so they just get up close and personal, constantly hassling me. They've got my number."

Yang Yang's expression was dead serious as he spoke. He wasn't joking at all, and everything he said was the truth.

You could say that once Yang Yang was being marked, all he could do was keep running.

But the problem was, even when he ran into open space, his teammates needed time to get the ball to him. The moment his opponents reacted and closed in on him, Yang Yang was at a huge disadvantage.

Several times, he had clear opportunities, but he lost them simply because he was physically outmatched and got pushed off the ball.

Other times, he'd be knocked off balance while receiving the ball. All of this was due to his lack of physical strength in confrontations.

He hadn't felt it as much in the Eredivisie, but if he got the chance to play in one of the Four Major Leagues in the future, the defending would be much tighter, and the defenders would be much stronger. His weakness in this area would become even more glaringly obvious.

Given the fierce competition in the Four Major Leagues, if Yang Yang couldn't seize his chance right from the start, it would be incredibly difficult to fight for a starting position. That's why he had to build a solid foundation during his time at Ajax.

This was the reason he had stayed at Ajax.

He wanted to be fully prepared, to patch up all his weaknesses, before moving to one of the Four Major Leagues.

'Either I don't go, or if I do, I'm going to fight for a starting spot—and not just any spot, but a starting spot on a Champions League-caliber team in one of the Four Major Leagues.'

Otherwise, he might as well just stay at Ajax. At least here, he could play in the Champions League every year.

His teammates all understood Yang Yang's problem. He was naturally a bit slight, which was a real disadvantage in this area.

"But you're only seventeen," Maxwell said, still feeling it wasn't a good idea.

"I'm turning eighteen soon," Yang Yang reminded him.

His birthday, October 25th, was just around the corner.

"From what I know, the ages between eighteen and twenty-three are the most crucial for development. If I don't work hard now, am I supposed to wait until it's too late and regret it?"

Hearing this, Maxwell immediately got annoyed. "Hey, hey, hey, buddy, what are you trying to say?"

The room instantly erupted in laughter. Everyone knew Maxwell was exactly twenty-three years old.

Yang Yang's words sounded a bit like a warning directed at him.

"Ha, you know exactly what I mean," Yang Yang laughed. "We have a saying in China: 'If you're lazy when you're young, you'll have nothing but regrets when you're old.' You should do some soul-searching."

He and Maxwell had a great relationship and were used to joking with each other, so neither of them took it too seriously.

But behind Maxwell, Douglas Maicon's expression changed when he heard that. He was also twenty-three.

As players of the same age who had both been on the Brazilian Youth Team, Maicon hadn't had any standout performances so far. He had failed to secure a starting spot back at Cruzeiro, and after joining Ajax this season, his multiple appearances had been quite poor. He was currently even losing out to Gregory in the competition for the starting right-back position.

After finally making it to Europe and joining a team like Ajax, he didn't want to be sent back to Brazil in disgrace.

Yang Yang's words had really struck a chord with him.

The others had mixed reactions. After all, they were all young men around twenty years old. How many of them could be as mature as Yang Yang, already thinking about and planning for their future?

Most of them were more concerned with enjoying the present. Plus, the training in the gym was just too grueling. It wasn't just the young players; even some of the senior players resisted it. Who else but Yang Yang would voluntarily go to the gym looking for a torturous workout?

...

...

The afternoon training session still wasn't very intense.

Ronald Koeman specifically set aside half the time for tactical training for the upcoming match.

Roda JC wasn't considered a particularly strong team. Ajax had won both matches against them last season—2-1 away and 4-2 at home. It was safe to say they were comfortable wins, and Ajax had the clear upper hand in overall strength.

Their performance this season wasn't great either, with a record of three wins, one draw, and three losses in the first seven rounds. However, one thing worth noting was their decent away record. So far this season, they had won two of their three away matches, including a 4-3 victory over Heerenveen, which was no small feat.

This was also what Ronald Koeman reminded the players they had to be wary of.

Roda JC was certainly weaker than Ajax in terms of skill, but overall, there was no guarantee they wouldn't put on a high-level performance away from home.

On one hand, Ajax had many players on international duty who were definitely fatigued from all the travel, while their opponents were well-rested. On the other hand, Ajax's attack hadn't been properly fine-tuned yet, and the team's offense this season had been rather poor.

With Yang Yang in the first three rounds, the team had played with a sense of structure, but in the few games that followed, they failed to display a good level of attack.

Charisteas and Wesley Sonck—one a European Cup champion, the other a Belgian First Division A Golden Boot winner—certainly had the skill. The key now was figuring out how to unleash their potential, especially Wesley Sonck's.

The reason the team had brought in Charisteas was to activate Wesley Sonck's attacking prowess. But based on the first few rounds, he didn't seem to have rediscovered the goal-scoring instinct he had as the Belgian First Division A Golden Boot winner.

The good news for Ajax was Yang Yang's return to the squad, but to be on the safe side, he would only be on the bench for this match.

Ryan Babel, Maduro, Lindegren, and others had all been called up to the first team and had gotten playing time, but their performances were all rather average. It was still difficult for them to hold down a starting role on the first team.

On the other hand, the right-winger Demuer had been heavily featured this season. When Yang Yang was still in the team, he was a substitute. With Yang Yang gone, he was promoted to a starting position, but his performance had been consistently underwhelming.

However, he was the right-winger on the Ajax team whose characteristics were most similar to Yang Yang's.

During the afternoon tactical training, Yang Yang could guess Ronald Koeman's intentions. He would likely still use Demuer as the right-winger, with Charisteas definitely taking the center-forward position.

As for the left wing, Wesley Sonck would probably be benched. Instead, Pinaar might take that position.

The reason for this adjustment was mainly that Wesley Sonck wasn't performing too well and had also just played a National Team match, meaning he was tired from travel. Pinaar was capable of playing on the left wing, which would free up the center for De Jong and Galasek to partner as a double pivot.

Sneijder was still the core player in the midfield.

As for the defensive line, barring any surprises, Gregory would play on the right, Heitinga and Vermaelen would partner in the center, and Maxwell would remain at left-back. This was mainly because both of Roda JC's forwards were speed-based, and Vermaelen had an advantage when defending against that type of striker.

Watching the tactical training, Yang Yang felt his guess was more or less correct. Ronald Koeman's lineup was somewhat cautious, and considering they were playing at home, one could even call it conservative.

But considering Ajax's current situation, it seemed normal.

In professional leagues, winning is everything. Playing beautifully is just a bonus; the prerequisite for a beautiful win is being able to win in the first place.

Ajax was on a four-game winless streak, having dropped ten points. Their league ranking was even lower than Roda JC's. No matter how you looked at it, the most important thing was to get a win.

Win first, slowly get the team back in form, and get the tactics to click. Only then could they start thinking about how to win beautifully.

Clearly, Ronald Koeman and his coaching staff were well-prepared and had a plan for this.

As for Yang Yang himself, his task was simple.

If the team was leading when he came on as a substitute, his job was to extend the lead and win in style. If the team was struggling to break the deadlock, or even trailing, his job was to help the team win.

Realizing this, Yang Yang couldn't help but find it a little funny.

He had really learned a lot in his year with the team.