Chapter 289: It's Not Over Yet

Chapter 289: Chapter 282: It’s Not Over Yet

The gap widened again!

Yang Yang lay on his bed, looking up at the posters of Ronaldo and Van Basten on his ceiling, feeling a bit down.

He had been thinking about surpassing Kuyt, but he hadn’t expected the gap to widen again.

This Dutch star forward was truly a streaky player. He’d either score nothing or bag a hat-trick.

However, although he was a little disappointed, he felt more excitement than anything.

This was what made it fun, wasn’t it?

If Kuyt really kept failing to score, letting Yang Yang overtake him, then there would be no real challenge.

‘Besides, I’m only three goals behind, right?’

There were still five rounds left in the league, which was enough time for Yang Yang to catch up.

Given Kuyt’s streaky nature, who knew how long his current form would last?

‘Besides, if Kuyt can score a hat-trick, why can’t I?’

At this thought, Yang Yang’s fighting spirit was reignited, especially when he saw the posters of his two idols on the ceiling.

These two posters were originally on the ceiling of his uncle’s house in Almere. After moving to Oude Kerk, Yang Yang found a chance to bring them with him. He kept them on his ceiling, looking at them every night before bed as a reminder and a way to motivate himself.

Ronaldo, a legend of the Eredivisie, was still the youngest player to have scored twenty-five and thirty goals in a season. He had always been the target Yang Yang strived to reach.

‘It’s only three goals,’ Yang Yang thought to himself.

Just as he was about to close his eyes, go to sleep, and enter Super Training, the phone on his bedside table chimed softly.

It was a message from QQ.

“Are you asleep?” Su Xiaomei sent a caring message.

Yang Yang suddenly felt playful and replied, “Asleep.”

“Hee hee, you’re amazing. You can reply to QQ messages while you’re asleep.”

Although it was just an emoji, Yang Yang could imagine Su Xiaomei must be beaming with a radiant smile at that very moment.

“The Duke of Zhou was shouting in my ear, ‘Su Xiaomei sent you a QQ message!’ and then I woke up,” Yang Yang replied with a smile.

“Yeah, right!” she replied, followed by a playful emoji.

“How’s your leg injury? Is it better?” Su Xiaomei asked, her routine daily concern.

“Yeah, it’s fine. Just a superficial wound. The coach is just worried, so he won’t let me play. Otherwise, I’d be out there.”

“As long as you’re okay. Don’t be too anxious. I believe that with your skill, you’ll definitely be able to make up those three goals quickly.”

“Thanks,” Yang Yang replied with a smile, but he quickly sent another message, asking curiously, “It’s so late. Have you been watching the Feyenoord match?”

If he remembered correctly, Su Xiaomei wasn’t a soccer fan, and this match wasn’t broadcast live in China.

But the biggest thing was the time difference.

The match ended a little after eight o’clock in the Netherlands, and it was now just past nine. That meant it was around two or three in the morning in China.

Yang Yang hadn’t noticed at first, but now that he thought about it, shouldn’t Su Xiaomei be asleep at this hour?

“Not really. I was just staying up late to study and happened to check the score,” Su Xiaomei replied.

“Gotta go, I need to sleep. Good night.”

Watching Su Xiaomei’s avatar go gray as she hurriedly logged off, Yang Yang’s heart filled with warmth.

Of course, he didn’t believe for a second that she had just “happened” to check the match results while studying.

‘No matter what, I have to work hard for the people who care about me!’

…

…

「April 21st, Dutch Cup Semifinals.」

Ajax played away against William II.

As arranged by the club, Yang Yang was once again left off the squad list for this match. Ajax lost 0-1 away to William II, stopping short at the semifinals.

In the other matchup, Feyenoord hosted Eindhoven. The two sides drew 1-1, but Eindhoven ultimately defeated Feyenoord 5-3 in a penalty shootout, advancing to the final.

Kuyt was also not on the squad list for his match.

Over the weekend, Ajax hosted Graafschap at the Amsterdam Arena for the thirtieth round of the Eredivisie.

From the very start of the match, Ajax pressed forward with an all-out attack.

Having sat out one league round and now trailing Kuyt by three goals, Yang Yang was extremely active.

Just two minutes into the game, Yang Yang made a quick diagonal run into the box from the right half-space. Pinaar sent a diagonal pass from the left behind the defense. Yang Yang controlled the ball and smoothly slotted it into the net, opening the scoring for Ajax.

But even after that, Yang Yang continued to search tirelessly for opportunities.

Just eight minutes later, it was Yang Yang again, combining with Maicon on the right wing. The Brazilian sent a cross into the box. Yang Yang controlled it with his left foot, then scored again with his right, extending the lead to 2-0!

And two minutes after that, it was Yang Yang again, dribbling past several players on the right before crossing the ball. De Jong rushed forward and headed it in from close range, making the score 3-0!

The successive goals turned the entire Amsterdam Arena into a sea of celebration.

“A brace!”

“Just twelve minutes into the match, Yang Yang has shown incredible form! Not only has he scored a brace, but he’s also provided an assist. This is an absolutely dominant performance.”

“We can see he is truly hungry for the league’s Top Scorer title. He has now raised his goal tally to twenty-four, just one step away from Ronaldo’s historical record of twenty-five goals.”

“But he still doesn’t look satisfied. He’s still working hard on the pitch.”

The fans throughout the Amsterdam Arena were wildly cheering Yang Yang’s name.

At this moment, every Ajax fan was cheering for him.

…

…

In the end, thanks to Yang Yang’s two goals and one assist, Ajax defeated Graafschap 4-1 at home.

Yang Yang had a spectacular start, and many expected him to complete a hat-trick. He himself played with great effort, but after conceding three quick goals, Graafschap immediately tightened their defense, focusing especially on Yang Yang.

This made it difficult for Yang Yang to play as freely as he had at the start.

Even so, just before being substituted in the second half, he drew the defense’s attention on the right flank before suddenly switching the play to the left with a long ball, allowing Maxwell to assist a goal by Sneijder.

With two goals and one assist, Yang Yang’s goal count in the Eredivisie reached twenty-four, along with sixteen assists. It could be said that he almost single-handedly carried the entire Ajax attack, an undeniably outstanding performance.

But in another match, Eindhoven hosted Feyenoord.

Hiddink’s team took the lead just thirteen minutes in, thanks to a goal from the young prodigy, Afeley.

But nine minutes later, Feyenoord’s Kalu assisted a goal by Kuyt, leveling the score.

Just before the end of the first half, a goal from Heise Linke put them ahead again.

After play resumed in the second half, Kuyt scored again in the fifty-first minute, equalizing once more.

But a minute later, Afeley assisted a goal by Van Bommel, putting them in the lead yet again.

Then, in the seventy-first minute, Park Ji-sung assisted a goal by Afeley. The young Eindhoven prodigy had scored a brace and also provided an assist.

In the end, Eindhoven defeated Feyenoord 4-2, with Kuyt also scoring a brace.

From a five-round goal drought to scoring five goals in the next two rounds, Kuyt fully embodied his nature as a passionate, streaky scorer.

After this round of matches, with only four rounds left in the league, Kuyt continued to lead the scorer rankings with twenty-seven goals.

Yang Yang followed closely behind with twenty-four goals.

For a time, the tone of the Dutch media shifted dramatically once again.

The vast majority of media outlets declared that the race for Top Scorer was essentially decided. They predicted Kuyt would claim the first Eredivisie Top Scorer trophy of his career, while Yang Yang would unfortunately lose this battle.

After the match against Eindhoven, Kuyt said in a media interview that he didn’t dare to be the slightest bit careless.

“Yang Yang is a very young but also very talented player. His scoring efficiency this season has been very consistent, and his recent form is truly excellent. I think it’s still too early to say how things will turn out.”

As for whether he could win the Eredivisie Top Scorer title, Kuyt stated that he would give it his all. “I feel I’m ready. This has been the best season of my career in terms of form and feeling.”

Regarding the race for Top Scorer, Yang Yang stated in an interview with the official Ajax website that it was not over yet.

“Without a doubt, Kuyt is an excellent forward. He’s always been the target I’m striving to catch. Although I’m still three goals behind and in the process of catching up, I believe I still have a chance.”

“It’s like a soccer match where we’ve only just reached the eightieth minute. The game is far from over. I will absolutely, positively not give up until the very last moment.”

Regarding Kuyt’s belief that he and Yang Yang would become friends, Yang Yang agreed that it was certain.

“No matter what the final result is, Kuyt is a very respectable player. I’m sure we’ll have a lot in common to talk about. We will become friends, definitely.”

As for when they could sit down for a good chat, Yang Yang said with a smile, “It would be best to wait until my goal count surpasses his.”

The race for this season’s Top Scorer attracted no less attention than the fight for the league championship. In fact, because it was a contest for an individual award, it captured the focus of soccer fans all across the Netherlands.

Dutch domestic media and fans all began to take sides. Because Kuyt was temporarily ahead by three goals and was a local player, the majority of fans supported him. However, the Ajax fans were uniformly behind Yang Yang.

When interviewed by the media, Dutch National Team coach Van Basten did not publicly state his support for either player to win the Top Scorer title. Because one was a beloved player of his from the past, and the other was a current member of the National Team, it was truly a difficult choice for him.

But he also added, “For Yang Yang, this has been a challenging season. The fact that he’s made it this far means he’s already won, regardless of the final outcome!”

Alkmaar’s coach, Van Gaal, took a much firmer stance. He stated, “Although Yang Yang is three goals behind, I have always believed that he will be the final victor.”

“I want to remind Kuyt not to get complacent just because he’s three goals ahead, because Yang Yang is the type of player who will fight until the very last minute, the very last second!”