Super Wingstorm

Real Madrid’s 4-2 home victory over Ajax triggered a fervent response from the media and fans after the match.

Of course, the star of the show wasn’t the completely overshadowed Ajax, but rather the Galaxy Battleship.

Falling behind by a goal in the first half only to score four unanswered goals within thirty minutes in the second half—it was a clear testament to Real Madrid’s formidable strength.

But both the media and the fans had their reservations about this victory. This was mainly because the superstars’ performance during the match was clearly unsatisfactory, especially their passivity in the final stages.

Even the Spanish Marca commented that if Raul Bravo’s injury hadn’t interrupted Ajax’s offensive, Real Madrid would have likely conceded another goal, or even allowed Ajax to tie the game.

Barcelona’s "godfather" Cruyff, who himself came from Ajax, pointed out in his column that considering Real Madrid’s overall performance, the fact they ended up winning by two goals was simply baffling.

But the Galaxy Battleship wasn’t the only team to act erratically; the other was AC Milan.

In their first-leg match at home, the Red-Black Army hosted Deportivo La Coruña. They also conceded a goal just eleven minutes in and only managed to equalize in stoppage time at the end of the first half. Then, in the second half, AC Milan scored three goals in a short seven-minute span—in the 46th, 49th, and 53rd minutes—to complete the comeback.

In the end, AC Milan secured a decisive 4-1 home victory over Deportivo La Coruña, a result slightly more impressive than Real Madrid’s.

Both the mainstream media and the fans issued warnings to the two giants, Real Madrid and AC Milan, believing they needed to seriously identify their teams’ problems. Otherwise, advancing to the semifinals would be extremely difficult.

Shrouded in the shadow of these powerhouse clubs, Ajax received little attention. After all, they had suffered a crushing 4-2 defeat. Even back in the Netherlands, the media and fans were in an uproar, as if the team had already been eliminated.

Instead, Yang Yang’s post-match interactions with superstars like Ronaldo and Beckham became gossip news that drew more media attention. One Spanish tabloid even ran a story claiming Real Madrid wanted to poach Yang Yang, but no one believed it.

Buy a seventeen-year-old kid?

That had never been Real Madrid’s style.

In the other two Champions League quarterfinal matches, Porto defeated Lyon 2-0 at home, and Monaco beat Chelsea 3-1 at home. The latter result was quite surprising, a minor upset, but Chelsea still had a home game to play and thus still had hope.

...

...

Yang Yang paid no mind to the clamor from the outside world.

The morning after the match, he participated in the team’s post-game recovery training, mainly to readjust his physical condition.

Head coach Ronald Koeman also told him that he would be rested for the weekend’s league match to rest up and save his strength for the second leg in two weeks.

Although they lost 4-2 away, it didn’t mean they had no chance at home. It all depended on whether the team could seize the opportunity.

After training ended, Yang Yang didn’t leave right away. Instead, he juggled the ball aimlessly, frowning as he pondered a question that had been bothering him for a whole day: that intense feeling he’d had during last night’s match at the Bernabéu Stadium.

The feeling had been incredibly strong, the impression especially deep, but it was like a fleeting flash in his mind that he just couldn’t grasp.

’But what was that all about?’

He had discussed it with Ibrahimovic, Maxwell, and Vermaelen, but none of them had an answer. Later, he asked Old Ice in the Super Training, but it just rambled on about a bunch of things without offering a clear explanation.

Yang Yang could be stubborn sometimes. When he encountered a problem, he always had to figure it out. Being stuck in limbo like this felt awful, and he could only let out a heavy sigh.

"What’s wrong? You in a bad mood?"

Suddenly, Van Basten’s voice came from behind him.

Yang Yang spun around. Seeing the smiling Ajax legend, he immediately grinned. "Hey, Marco."

"What’s up? You’ve got such a long face."

"It’s nothing," Yang Yang said with a laugh. "What about you? I haven’t seen you in a while. How’s the team doing?"

"Don’t ask. Without you, we lost our sharpest weapon on the right wing. After getting knocked out of the Dutch Cup, we’ve run into some problems in the league, too. We aren’t playing ideally, but thankfully, the team is still strong, so it’s been okay," Van Basten said with a carefree laugh.

At his level, he no longer needed to prove himself to anyone.

"I’m not that important," Yang Yang chuckled.

Being praised, especially by his own idol, felt pretty damn good.

"I heard you met your idol last night?" Van Basten asked with a smile.

"My idol? Aren’t you standing right in front of me?"

"Cut the crap. I’m talking about Ronaldo. I heard you even collected a full set of jerseys from the Real Madrid superstars?"

Seeing the mischievous look in Van Basten’s eyes, Yang Yang felt a wave of frustration. ’It must have been one of the bigmouths from last night,’ he thought. Thankfully, he had already put the jerseys away.

"I’m still missing Roberto Carlos’," Yang Yang said with a playful grin.

Seeing his expression, Van Basten couldn’t help but chuckle. At the end of the day, he was just a seventeen-year-old fanboy.

Although he no longer played under Van Basten, Yang Yang’s respect for the Dutch legend hadn’t diminished one bit.

Soon, he described the problem he was facing to Van Basten. Unexpectedly, upon hearing it, Van Basten’s smile vanished. His expression turned serious, and he looked deeply at Yang Yang.

"How should I put this? It’s a phenomenon that’s very difficult to explain, but it definitely exists."

Van Basten had been one of the most successful professional players on the planet. Yang Yang took his words very seriously and listened intently.

"Do you watch basketball?"

Yang Yang shook his head. "I don’t know the first thing about basketball."

Van Basten was a bit speechless. "In basketball, you often see a phenomenon where one team suddenly goes on a hot streak, scoring continuously, forcing the opposing coach to call a timeout to break their rhythm."

Yang Yang didn’t understand basketball, but he understood what that meant.

"If we think of a team as a machine, then the players are its components. For the machine to run during a match, all the components need to be in sync. Only when every part is working together smoothly can the machine operate fluidly."

Yang Yang nodded. The explanation was simple and clear, and he understood.

"But you know, that’s a machine. We’re human. Every person is an independent individual with their own thoughts and way of thinking. Getting two people on the same wavelength isn’t easy, let alone several, or even eleven. You can imagine how difficult that is."

Of course, Yang Yang could imagine it. Even for a team like Ajax with so many youth academy players, many of whom had trained together since they were kids and played together for years after joining the first team, getting on the same frequency during a match was still incredibly difficult, let alone with so many people.

"But," Van Basten said, his tone shifting, "if multiple players, or even all of them, align their thinking, get on the same wavelength, and push in the same direction, then the team’s coordination will become incredibly smooth. Whether on offense or defense, they’ll be unstoppable. It’s just like that hot streak in basketball."

"Some people used to call this ’momentum’."

Yang Yang had a sudden realization. The saying "having all the momentum but failing to score" was talking about exactly this.

"Back when I played for AC Milan, the head coach was Saki. He pioneered a completely new training method called ’shadow training.’ There was no ball involved; everyone just moved constantly on the pitch like the clockwork of a watch, one part interlocking with the next. Unconsciously, everyone was tuned to the same frequency."

"And what you felt during the match—whether it was the offense Real Madrid dominated with for half an hour, or the pressing and counter-attacking pressure we applied in the final stage—that was all the formation of this kind of momentum."

Hearing this, Yang Yang finally understood.

This so-called "momentum" was something that could only be felt and experienced personally. It was something that couldn’t be scientifically quantified but was a real presence on the pitch. That’s why even Old Ice had a hard time explaining it.

Take last night’s match, for example. Real Madrid scored four goals in half an hour. It was obvious that their superstars had worked in unison, thereby creating momentum, going on a hot streak, and suppressing Ajax.

But after securing their victory, one link in their chain—or perhaps several—broke. And so, Real Madrid reverted to their previous rhythm and situation.

And when Ajax built up its own momentum in the final moments, it gave Yang Yang an incredibly strong feeling that the team could score again. As long as there was enough time and the team maintained that momentum, they could keep scoring.

But right at that moment, Raul Bravo’s injury broke that momentum.

But soon, another question arose in Yang Yang’s mind.

"Marco, based on what you’re saying, can this momentum only be created through a united team effort?"

After hearing this, Van Basten gave an appreciative smile and shook his head. "No, not necessarily. Teamwork is one aspect, but in reality, some individuals can guide the team through their personal ability alone, getting everyone to play according to their rhythm and frequency. This also creates momentum, and such a person is often the core and soul of the team."

"Many of us coaches often employ specific defensive strategies against such players. The goal is to prevent them from playing comfortably at their own familiar rhythm, because we worry that their individual performance will galvanize the entire team."

Hearing this, Yang Yang was reminded of a saying often repeated back home: The times make the hero, but the hero also often makes the times.

The same was true on the football pitch.

Yang Yang thought about the current Ajax team. The core figure seemed to be Van der Vaart, who was the team captain, but in reality, he wasn’t.

It wasn’t Ibrahimovic, nor Sneijder or Wesley Sonck, and certainly not the midfielders or defenders like De Jong or Heitinga.

The current Ajax team simply didn’t have that person who could galvanize the team and create momentum.

In other words, they had no spiritual core.

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