Chapter 255 - 248: The Fourth Star Skill

When January came, Ajax reassembled and the team once again headed south for winter training.

The location for the winter break training camp was once again the small town of Lagush, Portugal, and they were staying at the same hotel as last year.

The only difference was that Ibrahimovic, who had played cards with them last year, was gone. In his place, Vermaelen, who had gradually secured his spot in the first team as a regular starter, completed their little trio.

However, Yang Yang rarely played cards himself, usually giving up his seat to Heitinga or Sneijder.

He was also facing academic pressure this year. Although his parents hadn’t said anything, Yang Yang could guess they still hoped he would continue his education. Since Yang Yang himself wanted to keep studying, he decided to use this time to hit the books.

Besides, since everyone was hanging out together in one room during the training camp, he couldn’t just go to sleep anyway. He figured he might as well use the time to study.

In his spare time, Yang Yang would also chat online with his friends back in China.

He chatted most frequently with Su Xiaomei, who was under a lot of pressure herself.

Although Su Wenhong and his wife had agreed to let her apply to the Central Academy of Drama, getting in was no easy feat. It took more than just good looks, so she was studying especially hard and even rehearsing for a stage play.

Meanwhile, Wei Zheng was not only helping Yang Yang’s father, Yang Yongqiang, with his business, but he also made good on his earlier promise. Before the Chinese New Year, he had signed two major endorsement deals for Yang Yang, each worth an eight-figure sum.

From his domestic commercial endorsements alone, Yang Yang could earn at least fifty million a year. Adding his Nike sponsorship deal and his salary from Ajax, his annual income was already quite substantial.

Wei Zheng also revealed that many other domestic companies and brands were interested in working with Yang Yang. However, keeping in mind Yang Yang’s "quality over quantity" principle, Wei Zheng was vetting them strictly, and many deals were still under negotiation.

As for his National Team teammate Zheng Zhi, he successfully transferred to the Bundesliga club Mainz when the January winter transfer window opened.

The exact transfer fee wasn’t disclosed, but Zheng Zhi had persuaded his Chinese club to release him, personally making some financial sacrifices to facilitate the move.

Mainz’s young head coach, Klopp, was very pleased with the signing. He believed Zheng Zhi would significantly enhance Mainz’s competitiveness and also stated that the team brought him in for purely athletic reasons, not to tap into the Chinese market.

When you thought about it, this wasn’t surprising.

Mainz was just a newly promoted team; how could they possibly have the resources to develop the Chinese market?

Zhao Junzhe had also completed his transfer before the winter break, moving to Celtic in the Scottish Super League.

The Scottish Super League club had originally been deciding between two players: Japanese midfielder Nakamura Shunsuke, who played for Regina, and Zhao Junzhe, who was playing domestically in China.

After some complications, and with Regina unwilling to let Nakamura Shunsuke leave during the winter break, Celtic ultimately opted for Zhao Junzhe, who was younger and cheaper.

With these moves, the entire spine of the Chinese National Team was now composed of players based abroad: Yang Yang up front, Shao Jiayi and Zhao Junzhe in the midfield, and Zheng Zhi in defense. This filled the fans back home with even greater anticipation.

Everyone believed that this generation of the National Team truly had what it took to qualify out of Asia and make it to the World Cup again.

And the biggest source of their confidence was Yang Yang.

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During the training camp in Lagush, Ajax focused on tactical drills.

In addition to practicing their familiar 4-3-3 formation, Ronald Koeman had the team train a second system.

The starting Goalkeeper was the young Stekelenburg, with veteran Hans van der Vorm serving as the main backup.

In defense, Maxwell was the undisputed starting left-back. Filipe Luís was still too young to challenge his position. Vermaelen and Heitinga were the center-backs.

At right-back, Maicon had gradually reclaimed his starting spot, thanks to a resurgence in form during the latter part of the first half of the season. This was especially due to his excellent attacking chemistry with Yang Yang. After returning from the Christmas break, the Brazilian right-back even took the initiative to ask Yang Yang to do extra strength training with him, a clear sign of his determination.

The difference between the two systems lay in the midfield.

One system focused on controlling the attack. It featured Galasek or De Jong in the holding midfield role, with Pienaar and Sneijder in the center. The front trident was Wesley Sonck, Charisteas, and Yang Yang.

This had been the team’s primary lineup for the first half of the season, and barring any injuries or suspensions, it was their default system.

The other system was also a 4-3-3, but with some positional changes.

Galasek and De Jong played as a double pivot, with Sneijder in the center, single-handedly responsible for the midfield’s playmaking and distribution.

Up front, Pienaar moved to the left wing, Charisteas played centrally, and Yang Yang remained on the right.

Judging from this setup alone, the second formation was clearly geared more towards a defensive, counter-attacking style.

When Ronald Koeman introduced it, he explained that the team’s performance in the Champions League during the first half of the season had been far from ideal, particularly on defense. This led the coaching staff to believe it was necessary to strengthen the team’s defensive presence in midfield.

That was the official explanation, but the players were still buzzing about the coaching staff’s true intentions.

Everyone vaguely sensed the coaches’ dissatisfaction with Wesley Sonck, particularly with his scoring efficiency.

As the striker who received the most tactical support, Wesley Sonck’s goal-scoring rate was far worse than Yang Yang’s, which was simply unacceptable. On top of that, the Belgian forward seemed to be losing more and more confidence.

Both on the pitch and in training, Wesley Sonck increasingly gave off the impression of a man who had lost his way. He no longer had that sharp poacher’s instinct in front of goal and struggled to pose a threat.

This second tactical system was a clear shift, designed to focus the attack down the right flank and build around Yang Yang.

By now, no one doubted Yang Yang’s ability or questioned his status in the team. Everyone believed he was Ajax’s most important player, so it was only natural for the coaching staff to make such an adjustment.

The only remaining concern was whether Yang Yang could handle such a heavy burden.

Van der Vaart and Wesley Sonck had both buckled under the immense pressure. Would Yang Yang be next?

After all, he was much younger than either of them.

Yang Yang didn’t pay much mind to the speculation from inside or outside the team.

Throughout the training camp in Portugal, he kept his head down and trained relentlessly, sticking to his morning and evening sessions every day without a hint of slacking off.

Whether it was Van Gaal’s earlier words or Ronald Koeman’s new tactical arrangement, he took it all as motivation, pushing him to work even harder to improve.

Only by becoming stronger could he prove he was capable of shouldering this responsibility.

At the same time, Ajax’s scouting department was also actively scouring the transfer market for suitable players, mainly looking to further strengthen the team’s midfield.

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"Galasek is already thirty-two. He’s still performing well this season, but at the end of the day, his age is a factor."

In Yang Yang’s room, the team’s resident know-it-all, Maxwell, was sharing the latest gossip he’d dug up with Yang Yang and the others.

"Maduro and Lindegren have both come off the bench for the first team this season. Maduro’s performances have been decent, but he’s not quite reliable enough. The club is interested in signing another talented young midfielder."

"Any specific targets?" De Jong asked, his interest piqued.

Maxwell nodded. "One of them is a midfielder from the Eerste Divisie club Go Ahead Eagles, Demmi De Zewu."

"De Zeeuw?" Everyone shook their heads, clearly unfamiliar with the name.

Yang Yang frowned in thought. ’I think I’ve heard of him somewhere. Supposedly he’s pretty good, a well-rounded player, good at both attack and defense.’

He quickly remembered. ’It was at dinner at Van Gaal’s house. They mentioned him. I heard Alkmaar has their eye on him too. The price isn’t too high, which makes sense for a player from an Eerste Divisie team.’

But of course, Yang Yang wouldn’t betray Van Gaal’s confidence.

"Besides de Zeeuw, the club is also looking at another player: Tymoshchuk, from the Ukrainian club Shakhtar Donetsk. The twenty-five-year-old defensive midfielder is right in his prime and very talented, but his price tag won’t be cheap. I heard the team even sent scouts to Ukraine specifically to watch him."

Shakhtar Donetsk is also a strong team in Ukraine, but their performance has slipped in recent years, and they failed to qualify for the Champions League. In terms of prestige and reputation, they’re certainly no match for a storied club like Ajax, but Ukrainian teams have deep pockets.

To pry a player like that away, Ajax would have to make a very generous offer, but money is exactly what Eredivisie clubs are short on right now.

"The other option is to promote from within. Maduro is already on the list to be fast-tracked for development in the second half of the season. Also, the young Belgian, Jan Vertonghen, might get promoted to the first team."

Maduro is a highly-touted prospect from the Ajax Youth Academy, hailed by many as the "next Rijkaard." But that’s just a flattering nickname for now. His performances with the first team haven’t been consistent enough to displace De Jong or Galasek.

As for the Belgian, Vertonghen, he’s a versatile defender who can play multiple positions. After joining Ajax in ’03, he’d been in the youth academy, playing for the various youth squads. It was only after Yang Yang and Vermaelen were pulled up to the first team that Van Basten selected him for the reserves.

Yang Yang wasn’t familiar with Vertonghen, which was perfectly normal.

The Ajax Youth Academy was filled with countless prospects from all over the world; how could he possibly know them all?

But through this series of moves by Ajax, as well as the earlier words from Van Basten and Van Gaal, Yang Yang clearly realized that his opportunity had finally arrived.

The most important thing for him to do now was to perform at his absolute best, to convince the entire coaching staff and technical staff, including Ronald Koeman, that he was ready to carry the team’s attack.

That night, after his teammates had all gone back to their rooms to rest, Yang Yang entered Super Training.

As soon as he saw Old Ice, his first words were...

"I think it’s time for me to start learning a fourth Star Skill."

"Why?" Old Ice asked coolly.

"I want to improve my goal-scoring ability," Yang Yang said with determination.