Chapter 241 - 234: Marseille Turn

"We have to completely shut Yang Yang down in this match!"

This was the warning Eindhoven manager Hiddink repeatedly gave his players before the top-of-the-table Eredivisie clash.

No one would forget that it was Yang Yang’s outstanding performance that had helped Ajax defeat Eindhoven.

Ever since that match, Hiddink had listed Yang Yang as one of Ajax’s most dangerous players.

And this summer, after the departures of Van der Vaart and Ibrahimovic, Yang Yang had become Ajax’s most lethal player—and the one everyone at Eindhoven feared most.

Ajax’s performance this season had been far from ideal. Especially after entering September, they had only managed two draws in four matches. Their league points barely increased while their ranking plummeted, leading to a deluge of criticism directed at Ajax.

Eindhoven had originally been determined to win their home match against Ajax, and they were full of confidence.

Unexpectedly, however, after Yang Yang’s return, Ajax’s performance improved significantly. They first scraped a 1-0 victory against Roda JC in the league, then followed it up with a 5-0 thrashing of Maccabi Tel Aviv in the third round of the Champions League group stage.

These two victories made the entire Netherlands football scene believe that Ajax was making a strong comeback.

An Ajax with Yang Yang also displayed a formidable and intimidating attack.

Before the match, Hiddink had specifically drilled the team’s left-flank defense, with Lee Yong-Soo being the key figure.

The South Korean player was a favorite of Hiddink’s from his time coaching the Korea National Team. After coming to Eindhoven, he was also highly regarded by Hiddink, becoming a starter last season and now the undisputed choice for the team’s left flank.

But in Lee Yong-Soo’s heart, there was always a thorn in his side: Yang Yang.

Both were Asian players, both from East Asia, yet in their first encounter, Yang Yang had completely dismantled him, a South Korean international, causing a huge uproar back in South Korea.

Afterward, Yang Yang went on to help Ajax fight their way into the Champions League final and win the trophy, becoming the first Asian player to reach the pinnacle of the Champions League. This once again triggered heated discussions among the South Korean media and fans.

Everyone knew that South Korea had always looked down on Chinese Football, and "Koreaphobia" was a topic they delighted in discussing.

But who would have thought that, overnight, China would produce a talented rookie even more outstanding than any South Korean player?

Just as the South Korean media and fans were speculating that Yang Yang was likely just a flash in the pan, the seventeen-year-old Chinese starlet helped the China Youth Team win the Toulon Cup right after his Champions League victory.

In the subsequent Asian Cup hosted in China, Yang Yang not only helped the Chinese Team win their first-ever championship trophy but also defeated Japan’s Nakamura Shunsuke to claim the Asian Cup’s Best Player award, becoming the youngest-ever recipient.

South Korea, in contrast, lost to Japan and was knocked out before the final.

This made the South Korean media and fans feel as if they had been brutally slapped in the face. Some even began to worry: if the Korea National Team faced the Chinese Team, would "Koreaphobia" be shattered for good?

This concern was not without reason.

In the AFC U-19 Championship final in September, Yang Yang led the China Youth Team to another convincing victory over the South Korean Youth Team. He personally swept both the Best Player and Top Scorer awards, becoming the undisputed number one rising star in Asia.

By this point, it could be said that everyone had begun to accept one fact: China had produced a genius.

But South Korea was unwilling to admit or accept this fact.

In the new Eredivisie season, both Park Ji-sung and Lee Yong-Soo were starting for Eindhoven. Facing Ajax, facing Yang Yang, the enthusiasm of the South Korean domestic media and fans was at an all-time high. Many media outlets even made a special trip to the Philips Stadium in the Netherlands to watch the match.

The South Korean media also repeatedly emphasized this China-South Korea showdown. They believed Park Ji-sung and Lee Yong-Soo could help Eindhoven defeat Ajax, and that Lee Yong-Soo, who was matched up against Yang Yang, should not give him a single inch.

Facing the frenzied media and fans, Lee Yong-Soo said in a pre-match interview with an authoritative South Korean media outlet, "I want to assure all the fans, I will not give him any chances in this match. I will completely shut him down!"

Besides the South Korean media, the domestic media in the Netherlands were also paying close attention to this match, especially Yang Yang’s performance.

Whether or not Yang Yang could be shut down seemed to have become the key to Eindhoven’s defense.

...

...

No matter how well you talk before a match, when it comes down to it, you have to prove yourself with real skill on the pitch.

Three matches, eight days, twenty thousand kilometers.

This was the praise all the media heaped on Yang Yang before the match, almost as if they were trying to deify him.

After returning to the Netherlands, he had played two more matches in less than a week. He came on as a substitute against Roda JC, and he didn’t play the full match in the Midweek Champions League game against Maccabi Tel Aviv either.

Everyone knew he was saving his strength for Eindhoven.

Lee Yong-Soo had talked a big game, but on the pitch, he didn’t dare to be the slightest bit complacent or careless.

He knew very well that even the slightest lapse in concentration could allow Yang Yang to create an opportunity.

During the match, Lee Yong-Soo constantly reminded himself to stay focused, to be alert. Hiddink had even given him permission to dedicate himself solely to man-marking Yang Yang, ignoring everything else.

He fulfilled his duty diligently, sticking to Yang Yang like glue, never leaving his side.

Wherever Yang Yang ran, he followed.

He was like a stubborn plaster stuck to Yang Yang, impossible to shake off.

This man-to-man marking made it very difficult for Yang Yang to cope. Although he got a few chances and created two threats, they weren’t great, and his teammates failed to capitalize on them.

As for his individual performance, constrained by Lee Yong-Soo’s tight marking and Hiddink’s meticulously organized left-flank defense, Yang Yang found it hard to make an impact. He failed to produce any eye-catching plays for the entire first half.

Lee Yong-Soo had been running for over forty minutes. He felt tired, very tired.

It had been a long time since he’d felt this way.

The last time was probably during the Korea-Japan World Cup. The most memorable instance was the match against Spain, where he faced Joaquin, the superstar winger renowned throughout Europe who played on Spain’s right flank.

Just like tonight, he had been on edge for the entire game. He was passively chasing his opponent, and the overly frequent stops, turns, and sudden bursts of acceleration left him exhausted.

But the pressure Yang Yang put on him was clearly even greater, because his range of movement was wider than Joaquin’s.

Lee Yong-Soo could hardly believe it. ’To think I’m actually comparing a seventeen-year-old kid from China to that famous Spanish winger who’s been established for years, and even concluding the kid is tougher... If word of this got out, people would laugh their heads off.’

But that was truly what he thought.

Fortunately, the first half was about to end. ’Finally, I can get a break, catch my breath,’ the South Korean left-back thought to himself when he saw the fourth official on the sideline hold up the board for two minutes of stoppage time.

But in that brief moment of distraction, when he turned his gaze back to the pitch to find Yang Yang, he was gone.

In that instant, a chill ran down his spine, as if he had been plunged into an ice cellar.

...

...

Yang Yang was also exhausted, panting heavily.

He really didn’t have many other ways to deal with a stubborn, one-track-minded defender like Lee Yong-Soo. All he could do was run.

Hadn’t Van Basten said it before?

An attacker on the move is impossible to defend.

When he saw Maicon get the ball in the backfield, he immediately ran back to receive a pass.

The Brazilian right-back was playing a bit conservatively tonight, not daring to push up too far for fear of leaving space behind him.

Maicon didn’t pass directly to Yang Yang, but instead to De Jong, who then passed to Yang Yang, forming a neat passing triangle.

Just as Yang Yang was about to receive the ball, he noticed that Lee Yong-Soo hadn’t stuck to him immediately. He was overjoyed and collected the ball smoothly.

Only then did Lee Yong-Soo start chasing from behind, but because he was a beat too slow to react, he pursued a little too hastily.

Yang Yang knew exactly what to do in this situation.

Before Lee Yong-Soo could get behind him, Yang Yang quickly executed a drag-back turn.

"Oh, my God, a Marseille Turn..."

After spinning away from Lee Yong-Soo, Yang Yang charged forward with the ball, gritting his teeth, mustering all his strength, and picking up speed.

Eindhoven’s holding midfielder for the match was the veteran Kokou. He reacted quickly and rushed toward Yang Yang.

But unexpectedly, before Kokou could close him down, Yang Yang swiftly executed a Pendulum Move. With a series of feints, he swayed left and right, directly shaking off Kokou and continuing his charge forward, heading straight for the penalty area.

"A beautiful Pendulum Move!"

"Yang Yang is at full speed! He’s beaten two Eindhoven players in a row and is charging into the box!"

At this moment, the only player standing in front of Yang Yang was the center-back from Brazil, Alex.

This Brazilian center-back, who had just transferred from Santos FC in Brazil to Chelsea this summer only to be immediately sold to Eindhoven, kept backpedaling as Yang Yang relentlessly closed in.

The distance between the two grew shorter and shorter. The penalty area was right behind Alex; he had no more room to retreat.

The Brazilian center-back had no choice but to stop his retreat and move to challenge Yang Yang.

He was the last defender. He couldn’t back up any further.

Yang Yang dribbled the ball with skillful steps, each movement seeming to come from pure instinct.

He clearly saw Alex’s shift in posture and understood the situation he was facing, but he had no intention of giving his opponent time to react. He needed to press his advantage in one fluid motion.

Alex watched as Yang Yang charged into his defensive zone. Just as he was about to step forward, he saw Yang Yang suddenly dip his left shoulder and immediately realized: this guy’s left foot is just as good as his right.

’Damn it!’

’He’s going to cut inside and shoot!’

Almost instantaneously, Alex instinctively made a move to block Yang Yang’s cut inside. But to his surprise, Yang Yang suddenly feinted and quickly cut to the outside instead.

Alex was aghast. He tried to react at once, but his body had already committed to the first move, leaving him a step too slow. As he tried to turn, Yang Yang had already sped past him. On pure reflex, Alex reached out, grabbed the back of Yang Yang’s jersey, and pulled hard.

The tug completely threw the rapidly advancing Yang Yang off balance, and he stumbled and fell.

Alex, meanwhile, took the opportunity to rush forward and kick the ball out of bounds.

And at that very moment, the referee’s whistle blew.

’A throw-in?’