Chapter 287: Learn from the Good Role Model, Yang Yang

Chapter 287: Chapter 280: Learn from the Good Role Model, Yang Yang

The morning of April 8th. Barcelona, Ciutat Esportiva.

As Lionel Messi approached the locker room, he could hear the commotion inside before he even opened the door.

“Hey, guys, did you watch the game last night?” It was the voice of Brazilian left-back Sylvaino.

He was the second teammate to speak to Messi after he had joined the first team.

“Yeah, I watched. Villarreal played well, it’s just a shame they lost.” This was Ronaldinho’s voice.

He was the first.

“Ajax played better, I think,” came the voice of midfielder Deco.

“Their defense, man. They defended well,” Ronaldinho retorted.

“No, no, no, I’m talking about that Chinese kid,” Deco replied.

“Yeah, that kid’s good. Really impressive,” Sylvaino said with a laugh.

Ronaldinho pondered for a moment. “Hmm, he is good. That Cruyff Turn was very fast, very fluid. You can tell he’s practiced it a lot, and his feel for the ball is great. But it’s just not spontaneous enough.”

“You think everyone isn’t spontaneous enough. You can’t expect everyone to play like you, come on,” Deco shot back.

“Okay, I’m just giving my opinion, alright?” Ronaldinho said, sounding aggrieved.

“I think the Pendulum Move he did after that was even better than the Cruyff Turn,” the Brazilian superstar added.

Many of his teammates in the locker room agreed with that.

“He’s pretty fast, I think.”

“He is really fast. I played against him in the Champions League final,” Deco said. “I still remember, after the final, my teammates Cavaleiro and Costa both told me that after the kid came on as a sub, he was like a slippery loach, darting all over the place. But he runs really intelligently. If you lose focus for even a second, he’ll run into a dangerous area to receive the ball.”

“We’ve played against Ajax too. Yang Yang is definitely one of their most dangerous players,” Jouli joined the discussion. “But based on last night’s game, his skill has improved by leaps and bounds.”

“That’s right, he’s much better than he was last season.”

“His first touch was pretty average back then.”

“His physical game was on the weaker side, too.”

“Yeah, but from his performance last night, he’s really made huge progress. He must have put in some serious work.”

“He’s only eighteen, but he’s already this fierce. As long as he stays injury-free, the sky’s the limit.”

“Ajax is managing him well, too. He’s basically playing sixty to seventy minutes a game now, so there shouldn’t be any major issues.”

“Ajax has always been good at that sort of thing.”

The discussion continued for a while, with the conversation revolving entirely around Yang Yang.

But soon, others joined the discussion.

“I actually think Sneijder is also worth watching. He fed Yang Yang a lot of through balls,” said Xabi.

As Barcelona’s central midfield playmaker, Xabi paid more attention to the performance of the midfielders.

“Oh, are you guys forgetting about Maicon?” Sylvaino reminded them.

The Brazilian right-back had delivered a beautiful cross for an assist at the Estadio El Madrigal last night.

The Barcelona locker room had a large contingent of Brazilian players, so they quickly started discussing the combination play between Maicon and Yang Yang on the right flank, especially for the second goal. They all felt the two had a real chemistry.

“I hear that practically every top club in Europe is watching Yang Yang closely. There’s going to be a mad scramble for him this summer.”

“What top club wouldn’t want a young talent like that?”

“I’d really love a chance to go up against him,” Ronaldinho said, eager for the challenge.

“You can just think about it. Leave me out of it,” Sylvaino quickly refused.

He was a left-back, which meant he would be directly up against the right-winger, Yang Yang.

Whoever had to face a player like that was in for a rough time.

The locker room immediately erupted in laughter.

…

…

Messi stood at the entrance to the locker room, listening in silence.

He had been promoted to the first team this season, and upon joining, he was taken care of by the Brazilian players, who were also from South America. The team’s number one star, Ronaldinho, had even declared on the spot that from now on, Messi was under his protection.

Ronaldinho, Deco, Sylvaino, Belletti, Ednilson, Thiago Motta…

These Brazilian players accepted him from the very beginning. From then on, whether it was in the rondo or in small-sided training games, he always joined the Brazilian group, which helped Messi integrate into the team smoothly.

He made his first substitute appearance last October, in the seventh round of La Liga, during Barcelona’s away match against the Spaniards, but he only played for eight minutes. Afterward, in a home game against Osasuna, he came on as a substitute and played for twenty minutes.

After that, he was in the squad for a month straight but was always on the bench.

In February, he accepted an invitation from the Argentina National Youth Team to play in the South American qualifiers and performed very well. But after returning, he was still stuck on the bench, occasionally getting on for a few minutes.

In the away game against Athletic Bilbao, he only played for a single minute.

His only start where he played the full match was in the final game of the Champions League group stage. The team had already qualified, so Rijkaard gave him a starting spot and let him play the full ninety minutes, but Barcelona lost that match two to nil.

So far this season for Barcelona, he had made the matchday squad eighteen times and appeared in seven games, for a total of just over two hundred minutes of playing time. In the league, he had made the squad thirteen times and came on as a substitute five times, for a total of less than seventy minutes.

This situation left Messi feeling extremely frustrated, because he was already seventeen years old.

A seventeen-year-old Yang Yang was already playing outstandingly in the Eredivisie, had already scored for Ajax against Arsenal, and had scored the winning goal for Ajax in a Champions League final.

But a seventeen-year-old Messi was still languishing on Barcelona’s bench.

His best friend, Fàbregas, had gone to Arsenal and was being heavily relied upon. Another friend, Pique, had gone to Manchester United and was also getting a lot of attention. Only he had chosen to stay, waiting bitterly for his chance.

And when Messi heard that Barcelona was also interested in signing Yang Yang, his mind went completely blank.

‘He could play on both the left and right wings, but Ronaldinho occupied the left. That meant he could only play on the right. But if they brought in the eighteen-year-old Yang Yang for the right wing, what chance would he have?’

Messi had always been introverted and shy, but he was also sensitive and felt things deeply. He didn’t say much, but he thought a lot.

…

…

“Leo.”

Head coach Rijkaard also appeared at the locker room entrance.

He was like a gentleman, always impeccably dressed in a suit, with a relaxed and carefree smile.

He was a good man, but the assistant coach, Ten Cate, was a hateful devil everyone loathed.

“They’re… they’re talking about the UEFA Cup last night,” Messi said, forcing a faint, strained smile.

Rijkaard was a perceptive man and immediately picked up on the change in Messi’s mood.

La Liga teams had not performed well on the European Arena this season. Real Madrid had been knocked out in the Round of 16, and Barcelona had also lost to Mourinho’s Chelsea in the same round.

Pellegrini’s Villarreal was the La Liga team that had gone the furthest in European War this season. Many people had high hopes for them, hoping they could win a UEFA Cup to alleviate the embarrassment of La Liga teams in the European War.

But unexpectedly, last night, the Yellow Submarine was defeated two to one by Ajax. The eighteen-year-old prodigy Yang Yang scored a brace, his performance even overshadowing Riquelme’s, which sent shockwaves through the entire Spanish football world.

This morning, from Marca to Diario AS to the National Newspaper, from the Daily Sports to the World Sports Daily, almost every major media outlet was reporting on the player Yang Yang. One moment they were hyping up Real Madrid’s interest in him, the next they were saying Barcelona wanted to get him.

Rijkaard could understand Messi’s complicated feelings at this moment. He and Yang Yang played in the same position. If the club really spent a fortune to sign Yang Yang, then there would be no place left for Messi.

“Leo, don’t overthink it. At least for now, I haven’t heard any news of the club contacting Ajax.”

Hearing this, a bit of light returned to Messi’s eyes.

“A short while ago, I went back to the Netherlands, and many people there told me about Yang Yang. They said he was improving at a divine speed, that he was playing exceptionally well this season, things like that. But did you know that Yang Yang is the first one to arrive at the training ground every day and doesn’t leave until it’s dark? And during all that time, he’s almost constantly training with the ball.”

Messi was silent. He asked himself honestly: he wasn’t as hardworking or as diligent as Yang Yang.

“Six months ago, Yang Yang took the initiative to request strength and conditioning training. During the winter break, he paid out of his own pocket to hire the club’s fitness coach as his personal trainer and trained relentlessly. That’s why his performance took another step up in the second half of the season.”

Now, Messi understood what Rijkaard was trying to tell him.

Not long ago, assistant coach Ten Cate had suggested he undergo strength training. But like almost all South American players, he had a strong aversion to the gym and was unwilling to go along with Ten Cate’s arrangement.

Rijkaard was telling him all this now simply to make him understand one thing: without suffering, there can be no progress.

“Trust me, Leo, there’s no such thing as a natural-born genius in this world,” Rijkaard said, his words surprising.

Messi was taken aback. He didn’t believe it.

“Ronaldo grew up with a ball at his feet. He and the ball were inseparable; it was like a part of his body. So people called him a genius. Bergkamp practiced hard every single day, without fail. If no one was around, he’d train against a wall. So people called him a genius too. And Ronaldinho, he also grew up with a ball.”

“These so-called geniuses, to put it bluntly, are just people who have invested far more time in football than anyone else since they were children. Even if they do have a tiny bit of extraordinary talent, it’s not what’s important. At most, it accounts for one percent. The other ninety-nine percent has to come from hard training.”

Rijkaard had once been one of the best players in the world, and his words deeply moved Messi, even turning some of his beliefs upside down.

“Two years ago, Yang Yang was just a kid who couldn’t even get a game on an amateur team. But now, he’s one of the most sought-after young stars in European Football. He achieved all of this through his relentless hard work.”

“He is the best role model for you to learn from!”

Messi was silent, unsure how to react. The words had hit him hard, and he needed to process them.

Rijkaard didn’t say any more. “Think it over.”

Watching the head coach leave, Messi couldn’t help but think of that guy from Ajax, Yang Yang. ‘Is he really that hardworking? Is he really that good?’

But soon, Messi realized something else. From start to finish, Rijkaard had only said that Barcelona hadn’t contacted Ajax. He never said that Barcelona wasn’t interested in Yang Yang.

At this realization, Messi’s anxiety returned.