Chapter 302 - 295: Going a Step Further

"A quick counter-attack from Ajax."

"Pinaar on the left wing forces a breakthrough, gets into the box, and crosses it to the center."

"Charisteas lets it go through..."

"At the penalty spot, Yang Yang..."

"It’s a goal!!!!"

"GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!"

"In the twenty-eighth minute, Ajax scores again!"

"Yang Yang! Yang Yang! He’s scored his second goal of the match!"

"This is also his sixth goal in the UEFA Cup this season, a very clean and crisp left-footed push shot."

"Akinfeev had absolutely no chance of stopping that shot!"

"Ajax takes a two-nil lead!"

...

After scoring, Yang Yang ran off the pitch, slide-kneeling toward the stands where the Ajax fans were, his head thrown back and arms outstretched as if to embrace every single fan in the stands.

This had already become his signature goal celebration.

Behind him, his teammates rushed out and crowded around him.

"This was Yang Yang’s first shot of the match, and incredibly, it went straight in."

"His ability to seize opportunities is incredibly consistent, but Moscow Central Army really needs to reflect on their defense."

"Ajax isn’t known for its attacking prowess this season. Yang Yang is the team’s most dangerous secret weapon, yet they still let him find an opening."

"This is the difference in strength. Ajax has been in excellent form lately."

......

......

As Yang Yang celebrated with outstretched arms below the Ajax fans’ section, in the stands with the Russian fans of Moscow Central Army, Chelsea’s owner Abramovich pressed his hand firmly over his mouth.

He looked dejected and somewhat listless.

He hadn’t originally planned to attend tonight’s match because he didn’t think the chances of winning were high. However, Moscow Central Army’s head coach, Gazayev, had publicly invited him. After weighing his options, he finally came.

But he never expected to be greeted by such a defeat.

The difference in strength between the two sides was still quite apparent.

Although Ajax wasn’t known for their attack, the offensive power of this group of young players was not bad at all.

Especially that Yang Yang.

After last year’s Champions League final, the Portuguese madman José Mourinho arrived at Stanford Bridge. The first time Abramovich met him, the Portuguese madman said he wanted to get Yang Yang from Ajax.

To this day, Abramovich still clearly remembered Mourinho’s high praise for Yang Yang at the time.

"Trust me, he will be a very outstanding player, perhaps even the best in European Football."

Chelsea had been in contact with Ajax, but Ajax refused to engage in talks with Chelsea about Yang Yang, stating clearly that Yang Yang was not for sale. Not long after, Ajax announced a contract extension for Yang Yang.

The Blue Army had also contacted Yang Yang’s agent, Raiola, but the cunning agent was more interested in discussing a transfer for Talabesi or Maxwell with Chelsea. The two sides could never come to an agreement, and the matter was eventually dropped.

Chelsea later signed Robben, whose performance was also quite good.

But Abramovich knew that Mourinho had never forgotten about Yang Yang.

Abramovich wasn’t a hardcore football fan; he had never even seen a single one of Yang Yang’s matches before. But tonight, he was here in person. He saw with his own eyes how Yang Yang exploded in an instant, shook off Berezovsky, and scored with a left-footed push shot from the penalty spot.

Was Berezovsky too weak?

No, he was a renowned defender in Russia. How could a player who helped Moscow Central Army reach the UEFA Cup final possibly be weak?

So, it could only be said that Yang Yang was too strong.

"This kid is good, worth considering," a well-known Russian tycoon sitting next to him suggested with a smile.

The corner of Abramovich’s mouth lifted, but he remained noncommittal.

Chelsea currently had the "devil’s wings" formed by Robben and Duff. Whether they still needed Yang Yang was a question.

......

......

After scoring the second goal, Ajax could be said to have completely taken control of the situation on the pitch.

Daniel Carvalho was being shut down by Ajax, and Moscow Central Army was finding it difficult to launch any more threatening attacks.

On top of that, conceding two goals in a row was completely unexpected for the Central Army players, making them feel extremely anxious.

This was the final. There were only ninety minutes, and time waits for no one.

While Moscow Central Army was burning with anxiety, Ajax, with their greater experience and advantage in both the scoreline and the run of play, firmly held the midfield. They actively employed a high-pressing tactic, waiting for the Russian team to make a mistake.

During this period, it wasn’t as if Moscow Central Army had no chances at all.

In the thirty-ninth minute, they managed to launch a very threatening attack. Olic received the ball on the right and passed it to the center, but Wagner Love, under pressure from Vermaelen, couldn’t get a clean hit and sent the ball wide of the goal line.

Just three minutes later, after winning the ball in midfield, Ajax once again launched a swift counter-attack.

Pinaar cut inside with the ball and then passed it back to the left.

Maxwell made an overlapping run, took the ball straight to the byline, and crossed it to the edge of the six-yard box.

Akinfeev decisively rushed off his line, diving to punch the ball away just before Charisteas could get to it.

But the punched ball didn’t go far. Yang Yang collected it, and facing the Moscow Central Army defenders inside the box, he flicked the ball behind him with his left foot, turned, and shot into the empty net with his right.

It’s a goal!

This time, Yang Yang wasn’t excited at all. To him, this goal was like a freebie. He simply spread his hands nonchalantly and accepted his teammates’ congratulations.

The Moscow Central Army players, however, collapsed in the penalty area, their faces full of despair.

Three-nil!

They were truly in despair!

Before the match, every one of them had been full of confidence. But they never expected that once the game started, they would suddenly discover that nothing was as they had imagined.

Ajax’s overall strength was indeed not on par with the true giants, but they were, after all, last season’s Champions League winners. This season, they were also a strong team that had fought tooth and nail against Juventus and Bayern Munich in the Champions League.

After another half-year of rest and integration, the new signings had fully blended into the team, and their overall strength had been enhanced.

The current Ajax team might still be a little short of last season’s strength, but not by much.

This was the strength of a top European team!

They could settle the match in a single half!

......

......

A three-goal lead made everyone at Ajax more composed and confident.

During halftime, Ronald Koeman was full of praise for the team’s first-half performance and encouraged the players to keep up the good work.

"I believe that as long as we play steadily and surely, victory will be ours!"

After play resumed in the second half, Moscow Central Army made no changes to their lineup. They attempted a quick offensive push right from the start, but it had no effect.

In the fiftieth minute, a very obvious detail highlighted the problems of the Moscow Central Army players.

Under the high press from Ajax’s midfield and attack, center-back Ignashevich, unable to find an outlet, passed the ball back to the goalkeeper with his foot. But with Ajax pressing relentlessly, a flustered Akinfeev picked the ball up with his hands.

The Ajax players immediately protested to the referee, Poll. The English referee did not issue a harsh punishment, but instead awarded Ajax a free-kick near the byline on the right side of the penalty area.

Once again, it was Yang Yang who stepped up to take the free-kick.

He sent the ball directly into the penalty area. Sneijder made a quick late run and took a powerful shot, but it hit the post and didn’t go in.

Although it didn’t result in a goal, both the terrible mistake made by the Moscow Central Army player and Ajax’s subsequent shot that hit the post clearly reflected the change in the two teams’ mental states.

Afterward, Ronald Koeman made some substitutions. Yang Yang, Sneijder, and Galasek were successively taken off, giving Ryan Babel, Deridder, and Maduro a chance to play.

When Yang Yang was substituted for Babel, the entire stadium erupted in thunderous applause.

With two goals and one assist, Yang Yang continued his excellent form from the league and orchestrated the victory in this final.

After that, Moscow Central Army failed to make any further progress, and in the end, Ajax secured the victory with a score of three-nil.

......

......

When referee Poll blew the final whistle, confetti rained down from the stands of Alvalade Stadium, floating in mid-air like colorful, swirling snowflakes.

Beneath the shower of confetti, the Ajax players scrambled to celebrate.

Head coach Ronald Koeman was tossed high into the air by them, celebrating Ajax’s second European Level trophy in two years.

And when the stadium announcer declared that Yang Yang had been chosen as the Man of the Match for the UEFA Cup final, the Ajax fans in the crowd once again erupted in thunderous cheers.

All the players, coaching staff, and personnel swarmed around Yang Yang, celebrating his achievement. And although Ajax only started their UEFA Cup campaign midway through the season, his performance and the final result were more than enough to ensure he would be shortlisted for the tournament’s best player, and even win the award.

He would be the youngest-ever best player in the history of the UEFA Cup.

Yang Yang was also incredibly excited. This was the first significant championship trophy of his career that he had won as the main protagonist. The previous Toyota Cup had very little impact; this UEFA Cup was his first real one.

But he didn’t feel satisfied in the slightest, because he wanted to go even further.

Raiola had said that Champions League-caliber teams placed more importance on performance in the UEFA Champions League.

Yang Yang longed to be the protagonist and have an outstanding performance in the UEFA Champions League, just like he had in the UEFA Cup this season.

’And at the same time, I’m also thinking about the upcoming thirty-fourth round of the Eredivisie.’

’I’m only one goal behind Kuyt now. I’m confident I can score in the final round.’

’It would be best to score two goals.’

’That way, I’ll break Ronaldo’s legendary record once again.’