Chapter 254 - 247: The Bearing of a Leader

That night, Yang Yang didn’t let Zheng Zhi stay at a hotel, having him stay at his house instead.

Oude Kerk was closer to the airport, making the next day’s flight more convenient.

Back in China, Zheng Zhi had already learned from the media about Yang Yang’s daily extra training sessions. Eagerly, he joined Yang Yang the next morning, getting up early and heading out with him after getting dressed.

Yang Yang was already a master of jogging while juggling a ball; it was practically second nature to him.

As one of China’s top players, Zheng Zhi’s fundamentals and technique were also quite good. At first, he could barely keep up with Yang Yang’s pace, but he was soon forced to slow down as the ball became slick with moisture.

Later on, as the fast pace drained his stamina, his technique began to falter, and he couldn’t pick up speed no matter how hard he tried. Yang Yang, in contrast, remained perfectly stable.

Zheng Zhi was filled with admiration as he watched the ball, which seemed to have become an extension of Yang Yang’s own foot, allowing him to juggle it effortlessly as he pleased.

’This is the gap between us!’

"It seems I’ll have to work even harder just to barely keep up with you," Zheng Zhi said, shaking his head.

He was already twenty-four and had played professional soccer for many years, yet he now felt inferior to an eighteen-year-old rookie. As the number one player in Chinese Football, he keenly felt the immense gap between the sport in China and in Europe.

"After you go back, are you confident you can persuade the club to let you go?" Yang Yang slowed down to accommodate Zheng Zhi.

"No problem. They promised me before that they’d let me go play abroad."

"That’s good. As long as the club doesn’t create any obstacles," Yang Yang said with relief.

Zheng Zhi shook his head. "I’ll still have to deal with the Football Association when I get back, but I don’t think they’ll make things difficult. After all, the National Team’s outstanding performance from the Asian Cup until now has been largely thanks to the excellent play of our overseas-based players, especially you."

At this point, Zheng Zhi couldn’t help but look at his young teammate beside him again.

At eighteen, he had already become the goal that countless professional players in China strived to reach.

He was now the star player for Ajax in the Eredivisie.

Perhaps that description wasn’t vivid enough.

Currently, among Asian players, the strongest from Japan and South Korea played for Eindhoven and Feyenoord in the Eredivisie, but whether it was Park Ji-sung, Lee Yong-Soo, or Xiaoye Shen Er, they were at best only role players.

But Yang Yang was different. He was Ajax’s current superstar, and he was only eighteen.

The man who scored the game-winner in the Champions League final, the recipient of the European Golden Boy Award—these two accolades alone set a high baseline for Yang Yang’s career. As long as he kept working hard, the heights he could reach would surely be the greatest in Asian history.

In comparison, whether it was Mainz in the Bundesliga where Zheng Zhi was about to play, Celtic in the Scottish Super League where Zhao Junzhe was headed, Regina in Serie A where Nakamura Shunsuke played, or Manchester City in the Premier League where Sun Jihai played, none of them could compare to the three traditional powerhouses of the Eredivisie: Ajax, Eindhoven, and Feyenoord.

Although Regina, Mainz, and Manchester City were teams in the Four Major Leagues, they were all mid-to-lower-table clubs. Forget the Champions League; they couldn’t even qualify for the UEFA Cup. In contrast, the three Eredivisie giants were basically in the Champions League every year.

Take Ajax, for example. This year they were knocked out in the Champions League group stage, but their performance was still highly praised. After being eliminated, they could continue to participate in the UEFA Cup. This meant that although they weren’t in one of the Four Major Leagues, their influence was greater than that of teams like Manchester City and Mainz.

His agent, Guido Alberts, had outlined a progression plan for Zheng Zhi.

Given Yang Yang’s current status and the support he received at Ajax, once he leveled up, his next step would be a giant in one of the Four Major European Leagues, and he would definitely be aiming for a starting position.

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......

After three laps, Zheng Zhi was already gasping for breath, but Yang Yang’s expression remained unchanged.

When they returned home, they ran into Winston Bogard, who had brought breakfast.

Following Yang Yang’s instructions from the previous night, Bogard had prepared an extra portion for Zheng Zhi.

Zheng Zhi found it very difficult to get used to this kind of breakfast. It was nutritionally balanced, but the taste was frankly unimpressive.

Back when they were with the National Team, Zheng Zhi had already noticed how much attention Yang Yang paid to his diet. But looking at him now, he had to admit that what Yang Yang considered normal during their time with the National Team was already quite extreme.

"You eat like this every day now?" Zheng Zhi asked.

Yang Yang nodded. "Yeah. I hope to perform even better in the second half of the season."

Zheng Zhi was left speechless, a wry smile on his face.

Such a restrictive diet was absolutely unimaginable back in China. Even at Hertha Berlin and Mainz, where he had trialed before, he had never seen anything like it. It could only be said that Yang Yang was truly determined this time.

"They say a person’s body is like an inverted stalactite. Through scientific training, a controlled diet, and a disciplined lifestyle, you can continuously refine tiny droplets of water from this stalactite."

"And our form is like a bowl placed beneath the tip of that stone, catching the tiny droplets as they fall. How much you can catch, whether you can fill the bowl, all depends on whether you can endure the loneliness and put in the hard work during the refining stage."

Zheng Zhi was full of admiration as he listened.

Of course, the principle wasn’t hard to understand, but whether one could actually do it was another matter entirely.

Yang Yang was only eighteen, but he already understood these principles and, more importantly, was able to put them into practice. That was the most impressive part.

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After arriving at De Toekomst, Yang Yang made a point of giving Zheng Zhi a tour of the facility first.

Ajax was, after all, a traditional European powerhouse. The facilities at the training complex were top-notch, especially the indoor soccer pitch and analysis center being built in partnership with Adidas. Even though they were still under construction, they were already ahead of what other European teams had.

Zheng Zhi had trialed at Hertha Berlin and Mainz before, but he was still amazed when he entered Ajax’s training ground.

He had also done strength training back in China, but neither the gym equipment nor the professionalism of the fitness coaches could compare to Ajax’s. This made Zheng Zhi feel the gap between China and Europe even more keenly.

Hardware like equipment and machinery could be quickly caught up with if you had the money, but the professional expertise of fitness coaches wasn’t something you could catch up to overnight. This became especially clear to Zheng Zhi, who was even more impressed after watching Bogard coach Yang Yang.

But what impressed him most was Yang Yang’s determination.

The fact that he would decisively pay out of his own pocket to hire Bogard as a personal coach while the rest of the team was on vacation, and then persist in grueling training every day, was a testament to his immense determination.

It would be difficult for a player like that not to succeed.

Yang Yang also took the opportunity to have Bogard give Zheng Zhi a few pointers. However, since Zheng Zhi was new and unfamiliar with everything, Bogard didn’t provide in-depth coaching, only correcting a few minor mistakes in his form.

But even that alone was enough for Zheng Zhi to benefit greatly.

Sometimes, a single piece of advice from a professional is enough to bring about a moment of sudden enlightenment.

......

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That evening, Yang Yang personally drove Zheng Zhi to Amsterdam International Airport.

As they parted, Yang Yang specifically reminded him to let him know as soon as the transfer was confirmed. Zheng Zhi readily agreed.

In the following days, Yang Yang continued his disciplined and monotonous training life.

Every day was extremely routine, one might even say unchanging.

But it was amidst this almost masochistic training that he could feel his body continuously accumulating strength.

It was a wonderful feeling that couldn’t be described in words. He could truly feel the water in the bowl beneath the stalactite gathering more and more, which motivated him to train even harder.

On Christmas Day, Winston Bogard took two days off, and Yang Yang was picked up by his uncle, Shen Ming, and taken to Almere.

His cousin Shen Yuzhu and Wei Zheng weren’t there, leaving Shen Ming and his wife alone in Almere. If it weren’t for Yang Yang’s occasional visits, their days would be quite dull.

In conversation, his uncle Shen Ming revealed that once Shen Yuzhu and Wei Zheng had stable careers and were married back in China, he and his wife planned to sell their Chinese restaurant and return to China to retire.

"Retiring is a great idea, Uncle. Running a Chinese restaurant is too tiring," Yang Yang strongly agreed.

He believed that his uncle had earned good money over the years in the Netherlands. Returning to China and investing in some small business would be more than enough.

The day after Christmas, Van Gaal personally drove to Almere to pick up Yang Yang and invite him over for dinner.

The guy had been in a great mood lately.

Alkmaar had performed very well in the first half of the season. Although there was the blemish of a crushing defeat to Eindhoven, they staged a comeback in the final round to clinch the top spot, becoming the "winter champions." Van Gaal deserved a great deal of credit.

This once again made everyone feel that Van Gaal hadn’t lost his touch.

If Van Gaal was the most eye-catching manager in the first half of the Eredivisie season, then Yang Yang was the most eye-catching rookie.

Eighteen years old, in his first season as a starter, he had eleven goals and eight assists. It goes without saying how eye-catching that record was. What was even more unbelievable was that he had also missed four rounds of matches to play for the National Team.

If Yang Yang’s progress was rapid after frequently coming on as a substitute in the second half of last season, then this season his improvement had been like a rocket launch—unbelievably fast.

"You Chinese have a saying about accumulating deeply to burst forth powerfully. Your fundamentals are becoming more and more solid, your ball control is improving, and you’ve basically compensated for all your shortcomings. The only area that’s still a bit lacking is probably your scoring ability."

"Scoring?" Opmel Trus chimed in from the side, shaking his head with a smile. "Louis, he’s currently ranked among the top goal-scorers."

"Statistics are meaningless," Van Gaal shook his head. "You have to look at Yang Yang’s number of shots. Among the top ten, even top fifteen, goal-scorers, he has the fewest attempts. He has a lot of goals because his efficiency is very high. He doesn’t take a shot unless it’s a very good opportunity. This is something he needs to improve."

"Why is that?" Trus asked.

"Two reasons. One is a tactical issue with the club, the other is Yang Yang’s own issue."

Yang Yang nodded. "Is that not a good thing?"

"It depends on the situation. If you continue to play a role similar to Van der Meede, then this is a very rare advantage." Van Gaal deliberately paused here, looking into Yang Yang’s eyes.

"But if you really want to take up the mantle from Ibrahimovic and Van der Vaart, then you have to make yourself more aggressive, more audacious."

Yang Yang was convinced and nodded silently.

’Looks like I need to improve my goal-scoring ability as soon as possible,’ he thought.