Chapter 317 - 310: World-Class Stage

The next day, when the National Youth Team, led by head coach Klauen, arrived at the training ground they had rented from an amateur team in Utrecht across from their hotel, they were immediately taken aback by the lively spectacle outside.

Nearly a thousand fans and over a hundred media outlets had all gathered around the training ground.

When the National Youth Team players arrived, everyone swarmed them, shouting loudly.

"Yang Yang! Yang Yang!! Yang Yang!!!"

The sheer size of the crowd, the energy—even the seasoned Klauen couldn’t help but be surprised.

This wasn’t Amsterdam; this was Utrecht.

Who would have thought that Yang Yang would have such a massive draw here?

When the fans and media saw Yang Yang appear, they rushed forward all at once, and the scene even became a bit chaotic for a moment.

In fact, since the National Youth Team’s arrival in the Netherlands, it wasn’t as if no media or fans had come to watch them train. But it had mostly been domestic Chinese media, as well as local Chinese residents and international students. Now, even Dutch and other European media outlets, along with Dutch fans, had shown up. They had truly never seen a scene like this before.

"Damn, is he really that popular in the Netherlands?"

"Definitely. When I was on trial in Utrecht, a lot of fans were shouting Yang Yang’s name at me," Chen Tao said with a laugh.

"Why?"

"How should I know? Maybe they mistook me for him," Chen Tao said with an awkward, wry smile.

But this indirectly confirmed one thing: Yang Yang truly had an incredible appeal in Dutch football.

"You guys should know, according to the latest player valuations from an authoritative German agency, Yang Yang is ranked number one among young players. His value is even higher than the famous prodigy from Santos, Robinho. You can just imagine what that means."

After hearing Chen Tao’s words, his National Youth Team teammates were completely at a loss. How were they supposed to imagine that?

"Let me put it this way. If Yang Yang were to leave Ajax, his next step would definitely be to one of the giant clubs we’ve all heard of. And he wouldn’t just go; he’d have to be a core starter. Plus, his transfer fee wouldn’t be less than 30 million euros."

"Thirty million?" The teammates were all stunned.

Chen Tao added, "And remember, that’s euros, not RMB."

Everyone was dumbfounded. That was nearly 300 million RMB, an absolutely astronomical figure.

Chen Tao’s transfer to Anderlecht was only 800,000 euros, and they already thought that was a huge amount. To think that Yang Yang was worth over 30 million euros was something they simply couldn’t fathom.

"A game-winning goal in the Champions League, the European Golden Boy Award, UEFA Cup champion and best player, last season’s Eredivisie champion and best player... none of those honors are just for show. He earned every single one of them, bit by bit."

Chen Tao looked toward the sidelines where Yang Yang was being interviewed by reporters and spoke with great admiration.

Right now, Yang Yang was his role model, the goal he was striving for.

Some of the other National Youth Team players, including Feng Xiaoting and Zhou Haibin, also deeply admired Yang Yang. Moreover, every one of them had a fire in their belly, eager to make a statement at the FIFA U-20 World Cup.

Yang Yang had told them that the famous Dutch agent, Guido Alberts, who had orchestrated the overseas transfers for Zheng Zhi and Chen Tao, would be bringing scouts from Dutch clubs to watch their games during the FIFA U-20 World Cup. As long as they played well, every one of them would have a chance.

After Yang Yang started shining brightly in European football, and with players like Zheng Zhi and Zhao Junzhe successively moving abroad—especially after their own teammate Chen Tao completed his transfer—any player on the National Youth Team with a bit of talent was eager to go abroad and prove themselves.

And the FIFA U-20 World Cup was the best stage to showcase their abilities.

As the tournament approached and several players, including Yang Yang, rejoined the squad, Klauen seized every opportunity to play the cards he had long prepared. This included drilling their offensive tactics.

Press! Relentless pressure!

This was what Klauen emphasized the most. He demanded that all his players apply a high-intensity pressing tactic against their opponents, leaving them no time to think or space to pass the ball comfortably.

Klauen’s tactical demands were very much in line with the current mainstream trend in European football and were also consistent with Ajax’s tactics, so Yang Yang had no problem adapting at all.

Chen Tao had trained with Yang Yang at Ajax for several months, so he wasn’t unfamiliar with this system either.

Feng Xiaoting and Zhou Haibin, on the other hand, had benefited from their experience with the senior National Team and were also able to quickly grasp this style of play.

But the one who truly surprised Yang Yang was a new center forward who had just joined the team, Gao Lin.

According to the information Yang Yang had, Gao Lin had yet to make a single appearance in the domestic league. He was essentially a blank slate, yet Klauen had selected him for the National Youth Team and entrusted him with an important role.

He was a little taller than Yang Yang, had a great physique, and solid fundamental skills. He could hold up the ball, withstand challenges from defenders, and wasn’t slow. Among domestic players, he was a pretty outstanding center forward.

What really surprised Yang Yang, however, was how intelligent his pressing and off-the-ball runs were. He was also one of the players who received the most praise from Klauen during training.

During one short training drill, he successfully beat the offside trap twice to get into one-on-one situations with the goalkeeper. He earned specific praise from Klauen, who even personally gave him a hands-on demonstration of how to position his runs.

Later, after controlling a pass from the backfield, he sent a brilliant pass to Yang Yang, earning a thumbs-up from him.

When the training session ended, Yang Yang was quite curious about this new teammate and proactively walked over to him.

"Nice one!" Yang Yang praised.

Gao Lin was surprised and nodded repeatedly, somewhat flattered. "It was nothing. I just do whatever the coach tells me to do."

"That’s already very impressive. You truly understand Klauen’s intentions," Yang Yang said with a smile.

"Thanks." Gao Lin smiled humbly.

You could tell he was still a bit reserved in front of Yang Yang.

As a player who had never even appeared in the domestic league, it was impossible for him not to be a little nervous in front of a domestic superstar like Yang Yang, who had already made a name for himself in European football.

"Anyway, keep up the good work. Let’s work hard together," Yang Yang said with an encouraging smile.

"Okay, I will."

Watching Yang Yang walk away, Gao Lin could hardly believe it. That Yang Yang would proactively come over to talk to him and even praise him multiple times was a genuine surprise.

Yang Yang didn’t have any other motive. He simply felt that Gao Lin was genuinely talented and that Klauen had a sharp eye for players.

Even though it was just one training session, you could still see a lot.

To put it bluntly, if you can’t do it on the training ground, you’re not going to be able to pull it off during a real match.

Afterward, Yang Yang walked over to another new teammate, Lu Lin.

This was a player from Guangdong, currently playing for a team in China League One, the country’s second-tier league. He had been performing well, which earned him a spot on this National Youth Team roster. Klauen rated him highly, and he had a good chance of beating out Hao Junmin for the starting position on the left wing.

Faced with Yang Yang’s praise, Lu Lin’s reaction wasn’t much better than Gao Lin’s. He seemed even more shy and reserved.

Yang Yang’s impression of him came from his exquisite left-foot technique. However, he wasn’t tall, nor was he particularly fast, which somewhat limited his developmental ceiling. But regardless, a left-footed player with excellent ball control was still someone worth looking forward to.

Although he hadn’t spoken with Klauen in depth, Yang Yang felt that both Gao Lin and Lu Lin revealed Klauen’s selection criteria and his preferred style of play. This was quite consistent with what the senior National Team’s coach, Arie Haan, currently advocated.

And as for his teammates on this squad, Yang Yang was also full of anticipation.

He believed that, based on pure ability, several players on the team had enough talent to play in the Eredivisie.

As a Chinese player, he of course hoped that more and more of his teammates would be brave enough to step outside their home country and make a name for themselves in the European leagues.

Before the National Youth Team announced its final roster, several famous European betting companies had given the Chinese Team very low odds of winning the title. They were ranked the worst out of the twenty-four teams, even lower than Panama and Syria.

The reason was simple: Chinese players always crumbled under pressure in crucial moments.

But after the National Youth Team announced its final roster and Yang Yang was officially included, the betting companies’ odds for them winning shot up. They jumped directly to fifteenth place, barely in the middle of the pack.

However, they still weren’t optimistic about the Chinese Team, because they believed that one Yang Yang couldn’t carry the entire squad.

Among the twenty-four teams, Argentina was the top favorite to win the title. The team had gathered a group of young stars who had already made a name for themselves, such as goalkeeper Ustari, defenders Garay and Zabaleta, midfielders Biglia and Gago, and forwards Messi and Aguero.

Every one of these players was a familiar name in European football; many were renowned and talented prospects.

Second only to Argentina was another South American powerhouse, Brazil. Yang Yang’s Ajax teammate, Filipe Luís, was on their current squad, which also featured established players like Raphinha and Sóbis.

Spain was another team with high hopes of winning, boasting a batch of talented Spanish prospects like Alexis, Raul Albiol, Jose Enrique, Juanfran, Fàbregas, David Silva, and Llorente.

Among them, Fàbregas and David Silva were the most famous names.

Besides these highly-favored teams, the host nation, the Netherlands, was also brimming with talent.

Vlaar, Maduro, Emmanuelson, and Ryan Babel, all teammates of Yang Yang’s at Ajax, were on this team. In addition, Eindhoven’s prodigy Afeley and Collins John, who had broken the record for the youngest goalscorer in the Eredivisie before Yang Yang, were also on the squad.

You could say that the FIFA U-20 World Cup was a world-class stage that brought together all the best young players from every country to showcase their abilities.

Although Yang Yang had a modest reputation in European football, the Chinese Team’s overall strength was not great, so the outside world’s evaluation of his performance in this FIFA U-20 World Cup was not high.

But Yang Yang himself was full of anticipation, because he could feel that many of his teammates were filled with desire.

They wanted to play abroad. They wanted the whole world to know their names.

And the FIFA U-20 World Cup was their perfect stage!