Chapter 293: The 26th Ball

「The evening of May 4th, at the Amsterdam Arena.」

Just six minutes into the match, Yang Yang broke through on the right wing and provided an assist. Charisteas pounced on the opportunity at the edge of the six-yard box, scoring the first goal for Ajax and putting them ahead of Sporting Lisbon one-nil.

But just before the end of the first half, Liedson scored one back for Sporting Lisbon.

Both teams went into halftime with the score tied at one-one, bringing the aggregate score to four to two.

This meant that Sporting Lisbon had to score two more goals just to level the aggregate score.

For the Portuguese Super League team, this was no small feat.

Yang Yang played this match in a relaxed manner, not forcing himself to chase goals.

In the sixty-fourth minute, Ronald Koeman substituted him for Demuer, hoping he could focus on playing well in the weekend’s league match.

Charisteas was also substituted, with Ronald Koeman bringing on Niklas Bendtner to replace him.

Meanwhile, Sporting Lisbon was also making substitutions, trying to strengthen their attack.

But just three minutes after the substitutions from both sides, Niklas Bendtner got a chance to shoot and breached Sporting Lisbon’s goal, further extending Ajax’s lead.

This goal was the final nail in the coffin for Sporting Lisbon.

In the end, the two-one scoreline held until the final whistle, and Ajax eliminated Sporting Lisbon with an aggregate score of five to two.

This was also the second time in Ajax’s century-long history that they had reached the UEFA Cup final, the first being in 1992.

That time, Van Gaal’s team defeated Italy’s Turin Team, winning the club’s first-ever UEFA Cup title.

After a thirteen-year absence, Ajax once again stormed into the UEFA Cup final.

The other team that reached the UEFA Cup final was Moscow Central Army from the Russian Super League.

It was widely rumored that this was the Russian Super League team of Chelsea’s owner, Abramovich, and they had also been performing exceptionally well this season.

The final was scheduled for May 18th, to be held at the Alvalade Stadium in Lisbon, Portugal.

One could easily imagine that Ajax, having knocked Sporting Lisbon out of the UEFA Cup, would be the most unwelcome team at the Alvalade Stadium come match day.

…

…

「The evening of May 7th, at the Amsterdam Arena.」

When the referee blew the whistle to end the first half, the big red scoreboard showed a score of two to zero.

Ajax was in the lead.

But Yang Yang was not among the goalscorers.

In the thirty-fourth minute of the first half, De Jong assisted Maicon’s goal.

Three minutes later, Yang Yang made a long pass to switch play. Pinaar, on the left, then sent a diagonal pass into the box. De Jong made a late run and unleashed a surprise shot, scoring again to make it two-nil.

Yang Yang desperately sought opportunities throughout the first half, managing five shots, two of which were on target, but he failed to score.

This made Yang Yang feel a bit dejected as he walked off the pitch.

Vaalwijk, just like Vitesse, was desperately trying to stop him.

Whether it was Yang Yang or Kuyt, with the race for Top Scorer reaching this stage, every Eredivisie team would do everything in their power to shut them down. This was the reason for Kuyt’s previous five-game goal drought.

In the last round, Vitesse had specifically marked Yang Yang, and Vaalwijk was doing the same in this match.

Let him have his moment of glory?

That’s not how things work on a football pitch.

Vaalwijk’s head coach, Erwin Koeman, was the younger brother of Ajax’s manager, Ronald Koeman. He had made it very clear before the match that his team would give it their all.

It had nothing to do with anything else; it was a matter of professional honor for them as a coach and as players.

Want to score?

Fine. Yang Yang would have to show his true skill.

Seeing Yang Yang walk off the pitch with his head down, the Ajax fans in the stands shouted his name to cheer him on. Many fans also unfurled banners with slogans, telling Yang Yang not to worry, that the goals would surely come.

In response to the fans’ immense support, Yang Yang stood at the entrance of the players’ tunnel, raised his arms high above his head, and applauded them enthusiastically.

This gesture immediately earned him even more fervent cheers from the fans.

At this stage of the league season, no one questioned Yang Yang’s skill or performance anymore. He no longer needed to prove himself to anyone; what he truly needed was to challenge his own limits.

In fact, as the season neared its end, more and more people were losing faith in Yang Yang. Everyone believed it would be very difficult for him to catch up to Kuyt.

He was scoring, but so was Kuyt. Feyenoord was known for its attacking football this season, with an offense even more potent than Eindhoven’s. Kuyt benefited significantly from this.

In contrast, aside from Yang Yang, Ajax’s other attacking outlets were not prominent enough.

Ronald Koeman had never been a coach known for honing an attack. Furthermore, after the departures of Ibrahimovic and Van der Vaart, the club failed to promptly bring in strong reinforcements to fill the gaps, which greatly affected Ajax’s offense.

…

…

“The second half is underway.”

“Neither side has made any substitutions. Ajax continues to control the flow of the game.”

“We can see that Yang Yang is still working very hard to find an opening.”

“But Vaalwijk has specifically assigned a player to mark Yang Yang, which is making it difficult for him to get on the ball.”

“Indeed. If he can’t get the ball and has no space to use his speed, it’s hard for Yang Yang to leverage his strengths and pose a threat.”

“But he shouldn’t get anxious now. The more pressure there is, the calmer he needs to be.”

…

“More than ten minutes have passed in the second half, and the score remains two-nil, the same as the first half.”

“In previous matches, Ronald Koeman would often choose to substitute Yang Yang around this time. Because he’s only eighteen, the coaching staff is very concerned about him playing continuously across multiple competitions and wants to avoid putting too much pressure on him.”

“But before tonight’s match, Ronald Koeman stated that Yang Yang would be allowed to play the full ninety minutes. Ajax will give everything to support Yang Yang in his quest for goals.”

“At this point, it’s no longer just about the Top Scorer race between Yang Yang and Kuyt; it’s also a contest between the two giant clubs, Ajax and Feyenoord.”

…

Ajax launched another attack down the left flank.

After receiving the ball on the left, Maxwell quickly advanced to the left side of Vaalwijk’s thirty-meter zone.

Pinaar cut inside towards the center, raising his hand to call for the ball.

The Brazilian left-back immediately sent a diagonal pass to the left edge of the penalty area, allowing the South African international to run onto it, while he himself made a quick overlapping run.

At this moment, Yang Yang made a quick horizontal run from right to left along the penalty line. The move looked like he was about to support Pinaar, which immediately put Vaalwijk’s defenders on high alert and made them all tense up.

But just as Pinaar received the ball, he came to a sudden stop, turned, and passed the ball back to the left.

Maxwell quickly dribbled into Vaalwijk’s left side. Before reaching the byline, he suddenly whipped in a low cross.

The ball shot across the center of the box at high speed, heading towards the far post.

The Brazilian left-back was confident that Yang Yang would not only understand this pass but would also be able to get to it.

After all, during their extra training sessions, they had practiced this exact kind of coordinated play countless times.

Yang Yang had just been running towards the center. When he saw Pinaar suddenly turn and pass back to Maxwell behind him, he instantly understood. He paused on the right side of the arc at the top of the box, lulling the Vaalwijk defenders into a false sense of security, before suddenly bursting into a sprint towards the far post.

As Yang Yang charged to the right corner of the six-yard box, Maxwell’s pass arrived at that exact spot.

The goalkeeper was positioned to the left, leaving the entire right half of the goal wide open.

In that instant, Yang Yang made a clear prediction. He knew the goalkeeper would definitely make a diving save.

‘I have to keep this shot down.’

Six long months of shooting practice allowed him to instantly visualize the entire process of scoring the goal in his mind—from the technique to the power to the placement, it all appeared with perfect clarity.

…

“BANG!”

“GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!”

“YANG YANG!!!!”

“YANG YANG!!!!”

“HE’S FINALLY SCORED!!!!!”

The entire Amsterdam Arena went wild, as every single fan jumped out of their seats.

After catching up to the ball, Yang Yang sent it straight into the bottom right corner of the goal. It went in almost scraping the right post, leaving the opposing goalkeeper completely helpless, able to do nothing but watch the ball find the back of the net.

As for Yang Yang, his momentum was unstoppable. He ran off the pitch and nearly collided with the goalpost.

At the side of the pitch, Yang Yang leaned against the advertising hoardings, panting heavily, yet he felt an urge to cry from the sheer excitement.

His twenty-sixth goal!

This was his twenty-sixth goal of the season!

At that moment, he truly felt as if he had just broken through a barrier!

He suddenly believed that no matter how the opponent defended against him, he could still score!

He didn’t know why he had this feeling, but it was incredibly strong—so strong that he felt he could score again!

Moreover, he yearned from the bottom of his heart to score again.

After this match, there were only two rounds left.

He was still three goals behind Kuyt. He’d scored one today, but what about Kuyt?

Since Feyenoord’s match was scheduled later than Ajax’s, no one knew yet if Kuyt would score, or how many he might score.

Therefore, Yang Yang felt he had to give it his all.

…

…

Returning to the pitch, Yang Yang exchanged high-fives with his teammates in celebration, then immediately ran back to his own half.

After the restart, Ajax continued to press the attack.

The midfield and defense frequently organized attacks, creating scoring opportunities. Meanwhile, Vaalwijk, despite being three goals down, stubbornly held on, maintaining their defensive line.

Finally, in the eighty-ninth minute, Yang Yang got another great opportunity.

A Vaalwijk defender, suffering from fatigue, failed to mark his man. Sneijder sent a through ball, and Yang Yang made a diagonal run into the box. Upon receiving the ball, he shot for the far corner.

It was a shot he was certain would go in; he was even ready to celebrate.

But unexpectedly, the Vaalwijk goalkeeper made a miraculous diving save, blocking Yang Yang’s shot.

Charisteas, following up from behind, met the deflected ball and gently tapped it in, almost as a reflex.

The ball went in!