Chapter 318 - 311: Seizing the Initiative

June 11th, 4:30 PM.

Utrecht Koningin Julianapark.

FIFA U-20 World Cup, Group B, first round: Turkey versus China.

Approximately fifteen thousand fans had gathered to watch the match, the majority of whom were Turkish immigrants and their descendants, a reflection of Utrecht’s demographics.

The rest were fans from the Netherlands and China.

In the stands, many fans from the Netherlands had unfurled banners supporting Yang Yang and were chanting slogans. They appeared to have come specifically to cheer him on, which once again filled the National Youth Team players with admiration for Yang Yang.

To buy a ticket just for Yang Yang—they were definitely die-hard fans.

Just as the Chinese Team players finished their warm-ups on the field and were about to return to the locker room, Yang Yang suddenly heard a familiar voice from the stands.

"Hey, Yang, surprised?"

Yang Yang looked up and saw Van Gaal and Trus Opmel right above the players’ tunnel, leaning on the railing and waving at him. Both were disguised, wearing golf caps and sunglasses.

"Ha! Louis, Trus, what are you two doing here?" Yang Yang waved back, full of surprise.

They were the first old acquaintances he had run into in the three days since he’d arrived in the Netherlands.

"I’m here to scout players," Van Gaal replied with a straight face.

"Don’t listen to his nonsense," Trus Opmel said with a smile. "It’s your first match. Of course we had to come see it."

"Thank you." Yang Yang, of course, understood Van Gaal’s personality.

"Do your best! I’m waiting for you to score a goal," Trus encouraged him.

"I’ll try my best."

Yang Yang gave Van Gaal a knowing nod before walking into the players’ tunnel.

"Yang Yang, who was that just now?" Chen Tao was a bit puzzled. He had lived with Yang Yang in Amsterdam for several months but had no idea these two were among his friends.

"Louis van Gaal and his girlfriend," Yang Yang replied with a smile.

"What?"

Not only was Chen Tao shocked, but the surrounding teammates were also stunned speechless.

Louis van Gaal?

Forget the players—even Klauen couldn’t help but be a little surprised.

Although Van Gaal was currently coaching Alkmaar, his status in European Football was still very high. Especially under his leadership, Alkmaar’s performance had been consistently quite good, and they were gradually playing the style of football Van Gaal wanted.

As for the friendship between Van Gaal and Yang Yang, anyone who had read about Yang Yang in the newspapers knew about it.

"Did he come all this way just to watch you play?" Chen Tao asked with concern.

Yang Yang smiled. "He said he was here to scout players."

Given his relationship with Van Gaal, he naturally believed that Van Gaal had indeed come to watch him play, but he figured the man probably had some intention of scouting players as well.

"Oh, right. Gao Lin," Yang Yang suddenly remembered something.

"Huh?" Gao Lin, who had just been listening from the side, was a bit surprised to be called on suddenly.

"Alkmaar is short a center-forward, and Van Gaal really likes your type of player. Play well and show him what you’ve got!" Yang Yang said, half-joking and half-encouraging.

As soon as everyone heard this, the way they looked at Gao Lin changed instantly.

If he could really get noticed by Van Gaal, he would definitely become famous overnight.

Who was Van Gaal?

He was famous in European Football for his sharp eye for talent. How many players had he developed?

Playing under him was an absolute dream for many professional players.

"What about center-backs? Are they short on those?" Feng Xiaoting also asked, half-jokingly.

Yang Yang thought for a moment, then shook his head. "No, they aren’t. He doesn’t like to use young players in his defensive line."

Feng Xiaoting was instantly disappointed, but Yang Yang’s next words quickly made him excited again.

"Listen, I just glanced at the stands. Michel Bex, a scout from Feyenoord; Hank Vanke, a scout from Utrecht; Karas Van Balen, a scout from Eindhoven; and from our club, Ajax, youth academy assistant Patrick Radru and scout Fred Arroyo are all here."

As Yang Yang spoke, he looked at his teammates with an encouraging, even clearly instigating, gaze.

"And that’s just who I saw. I’m sure there are many more I didn’t see, scouts from other teams in the Netherlands, and even from teams in other European countries. Think about it."

Hearing Yang Yang list them off so familiar-ly made it hard for anyone to doubt him.

Many of them had come to the Netherlands for the FIFA U-20 World Cup with a simple goal: to get noticed by European Teams and start a career abroad.

Now the scouts were here. Opportunity might be just around the corner.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let’s do this!" Feng Xiaoting shouted, as if he’d just been shot with adrenaline.

"That’s right! We’re always complaining about not getting a chance. Now that the chance is here, let’s go for it!"

"Yeah, let’s give it our all!"

"Isn’t Turkey one of the favorites to win the title? Let’s pull off an upset, give them a surprise, and start with a win!"

"He’s right! If we pull off a big upset, everyone will remember us!"

"We already beat this Turkish team at the Toulon Cup last year. Let’s beat them again at the FIFA U-20 World Cup this year!"

The teammates all grew excited.

Klauen didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He had just been wondering how to motivate the players, but it turned out he didn’t need to. A few words from Yang Yang and every one of them was acting like they were shot with adrenaline.

......

......

When the stirring national anthem rang out in the stadium, Yang Yang and his teammates stood in a line, all facing the flag in a solemn salute.

On the coach’s bench, Klauen and all the other coaches did the same.

This made the match feel extraordinarily significant.

It wasn’t just a game; they were fighting for their country, representing more than a billion Chinese people.

After the national anthem, Yang Yang clapped loudly to thank all the fans who had come, but at the same time, he was observing the Koegenwaard Stadium and quickly walked over to the captain, Feng Xiaoting.

"Pick the west side," Yang Yang said in a low voice.

"The west side?" Feng Xiaoting was a little surprised. ’Is there a difference?’

"It’s late afternoon and the sun is setting in the west. If we pick the west side, we’ll be attacking eastward, so the sunlight won’t be in our eyes."

Feng Xiaoting took a closer look and saw that it was just as Yang Yang had said.

At that moment, Head Coach Klauen also realized the issue and immediately had an assistant coach tell Feng Xiaoting which side to choose.

Turkey obviously had the same idea.

But clearly, the Chinese Team’s luck was better today. Feng Xiaoting won the advantageous west side for China.

"Nice one!" Yang Yang high-fived Feng Xiaoting as he walked back.

Feng Xiaoting, wearing the captain’s armband, chuckled. "We go at them right from the start?"

"Absolutely!" Yang Yang replied with a smile.

Gao Lin and Lu Lin, playing with Yang Yang for the first time, were a little puzzled.

’Turkey is a strong European team, no matter how you slice it. Why does he make it sound like beating them will be easy?’

But as soon as the match began, they understood why.

......

......

"National Television, National Television!"

"We are now bringing you a live broadcast of the first-round match in Group B of the FIFA U-20 World Cup, where our National Youth Team is competing in the Netherlands. Our opponent in this match is the Turkish National Youth Team from Europe."

"Both sides have now taken their formations. Turkey has won the right to kick off first."

In her home in Beijing, Su Ye, who had just finished her college entrance exams, was sitting with her father, Su Wenhong, in the living room watching the live broadcast on TV.

Her attention was fixed on Yang Yang, especially on the colorful woven bracelet he wore on his left arm.

This brought an inexplicable warmth to her heart, and her cheeks grew slightly hot.

’So, he really has been wearing it all this time.’

"Turkey kicks off first."

"We can see the National Youth Team playing very proactively after the start, pressing forward aggressively."

"This style of play is somewhat unexpected. Turkey passes back to their defense repeatedly, then sends a long ball straight to the front."

"But the Chinese Team’s defensive line is very solid. Feng Xiaoting has brought the ball under control."

"The Chinese Team is now trying to launch an attack, let’s see this time..."

Su Ye saw Yang Yang on the TV, quickly running to the left side and raising his hand for the ball. She prayed silently in her heart.

’Come on!’

......

......

Yang Yang received a pass from Lu Lin in an open space on the left flank.

As soon as he got the ball, he immediately used his body to shield it from a defender behind him. Before a second defender could close in for a double-team, he nudged the ball toward the center. He exploded forward, cutting inside horizontally with the ball and shaking off both defenders at once.

This sudden move immediately earned Yang Yang applause and cheers from the stands.

Yang Yang dribbled from the left wing to the left corner of the penalty area. The Turkish left center-back rushed over, but at that moment, Yang Yang used his God’s Vision to see Gao Lin running toward the far post, pulling away Turkey’s other center-back.

’What a smart partner!’

Without a second thought, Yang Yang executed a Pendulum Move!

The moment they engaged, before the Turkish center-back could even get a clear look at Yang Yang’s face, he was completely faked out. The defender lunged at empty air, and by the time he tried to turn around, he saw Yang Yang had already brought the ball to the left side of the arc at the top of the box.

He planted his left foot, swung his right, and unleashed a powerful shot.

Everyone in the entire stadium heard a muffled BOOM, as if the air itself had exploded!

The ball shot through the undefended area of the box with lightning speed and crashed into the right side of Turkey’s goal.

"GOOOOAL!!!!!"

"Absolutely brilliant!"

"Just two minutes into the game! Only two minutes!"

"My goodness, the Chinese Team is the first to score against Turkey!"

"From the genius forward from China, eighteen-year-old Yang Yang!"

"Although he’s younger than the other players, his performance on the field is in no way inferior! He scored right at the start by cutting in from the left and firing a shot with his right foot!"

"This is also the Chinese Team’s first goal of this FIFA U-20 World Cup!"

After scoring, an ecstatic Yang Yang ran off the pitch, straight to the stands where the Chinese Team’s fans were, and did a knee slide to celebrate his first-ever goal in the FIFA U-20 World Cup.

In the stands, in addition to the Chinese and Netherlands fans, even many of the Turkish fans applauded the spectacular goal.

No one had expected the Chinese Team to seize the initiative just two minutes into the game.

And from the looks of it, the Chinese Team was turning the tables and aiming to devour Turkey in one go!