On the evening of January 24, 2004, Amsterdam Athletic Stadium.

When the 60th minute of the game was still zero to zero, Ronald Koeman made another substitution adjustment, and Yang Yang, wearing the No. 99 jersey, stood on the sidelines again.

All the fans of the audience gave him warm applause.

"We can see that Ronald Koeman finally couldn't help but make a change."

"In another game played at the same time, Eindhoven had already taken the lead 2-0 in the first half."

"Yang Yang, wearing the No. 99 jersey, stood on the sidelines again. He should be replacing Victor Scola on the right."

"This young player, who is only seventeen years old, was the biggest surprise for Ajax in the first half. His repeated substitutes on the bench brought surprises and changes, and was deeply loved by Ajax fans. I believe that his substitute appearance can also bring surprises."

"But this time, he is facing Nijmegen's left-back Jeffrey Revacabessi, the former main player of the Dutch National Youth Team. His performance in Nijmegen in the past two years has been highly recognized by fans. I believe the two will have a wonderful showdown on the wing."

"Sure enough, No. 99 Yang Yang replaced No. 11 Victor Scola. This is also Ajax's first substitution in this game. Let's see if Koman's substitution can work."

"After the substitution, Ajax only had Dridel left in the frontcourt, Wesley Songk and Yang Yang formed a trident, and Van der Fate in the middle, Sneider and veteran Galasek were still combined, and the defense line placed O'Brien in the left back position, Escud and Heatingga formed a central defender, and De Jong, who played as a midfielder, was adjusted to the right back position in this game."

"Affected by the fact that many international players were transferred to participate in the African Cup, there were some problems on Ajax's right. In this round, Ibrahimovic and Maxwell were both injured. Ajax did not send all the main players to play, which also made it difficult for the team to win Nijmegen in the game."

"Let's see if Yang Yang can bring changes to the team after he comes on the court."

...

"Okay, Ajax successfully intercepted the ball in the backcourt, and De Jong and Galasek successfully intercepted the ball."

"Leave it to Sneider, a long pass..."

"Yang Yang's speed is very fast, Ajax's counterattack."

"Look at this attack."

"Yang Yang chased the ball, but Revacabessi's return to defense was also very fast, and the two formed a one-on-one on the sidelines."

"Emergency stop, continuous change of direction and pulling the ball..."

"pretty!"

"Yang Yang's movement frequency is very fast. Although he failed to completely get rid of Revacabesi's defense, he cut inside by dribbling the ball..."

"Passed to Van der Fate..."

"Niemegen is in a neutral position, Van der Fate passes straight...Wesley Songk..."

"The ball is in!!!"

"goallllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll!!!!"

"The sixty-third minute, the sixty-third minute!"

"Yang Yang, who just came on the bench, planned a very sharp counterattack on the right side, dribbled the ball into Nijmegen's 30-meter zone, cut inside and passed it to Van der Fate. Ajax's captain directly passed the ball and tore open Nijmegen's defense line. Wesley Songk successfully counterattacked and scored in one shot in front of the goal, sending the ball into Nijmegen's goal."

"One to zero, Ajax took the lead."

"It was a gold goal, assisted by Van der Fate, Wesley Songk's shot was very beautiful, with a false move that confuses the goalkeeper, which reflects the calmness of the Belgian striker in front of the goal and his keen sense of shooting."

"We have to admit now that Yang Yang is indeed the lucky star of Ajax and the lucky star of Ronald Koeman."

"After he came on the court, he formed a very threatening counterattack when he touched the ball for the first time. He kept changing directions on the wing and knocking away Revaca Bessy's cut inwards was also very beautiful."

"This is the fifth consecutive game. Yang Yang changed the game trend after he came on the bench."

"This is so unbelievable, because he has just turned seventeen, but it is surprising whether it is his reading comprehension of the game or his execution of the head coach's tactical intentions."

"Perhaps, Ronald Koeman should really start to consider whether to support Yang Yang to the main position. After all, Ajax's right has been changing frequently since Van der Mede left the team, and he has never found a suitable main candidate."

"But now, Yang Yang's appearance has solved this problem well."

"Wesley Songk, Ibrahimovic and Yang Yang's trident, plus Van der Fat and Sneider's midfield, Ajax's offensive combination is definitely worth looking forward to."

…………

…………

"I'm sorry, this is not in our plan yet."

With Wesley Songk's precious goal, Ajax defeated the visiting Nijmegen 1-0. At the post-match press conference, Ronald Koeman answered without hesitation.

"I know that Yang Yang's performance has been quite good recently. He has played a key role in several consecutive games, but what I want to say is that he is only seventeen years old and it is too early to be the main player now, and it is not appropriate."

"Whether it is me, the technical team, or the players themselves, I hope I can get more relaxed training opportunities and room for growth. It is obviously not a good decision to be the main position too early."

Ronald Koeman's statement obviously cannot satisfy the appetite of the live media because they are more willing to hype a new star than watching Ajax keep protecting Yang Yang.

"Mr. Koeman, but as far as we know, Yang Yang doesn't seem to be satisfied with the status quo. His agent has reservations about his current situation, and we have also received news that many Eredivisie teams are interested in Yang Yang. What do you think?"

Ronald Koeman has long known that paper cannot contain the popularity, and many things are difficult to stop the omnipresent media reporters.

"I have read the news, but I don't think it's the real situation. I have talked to Yang Yang. He trusts me and the coaching staff very much. He believes that he can get better development space in Ajax. This is what we have always been best at doing, right?"

"What about?" another reporter asked.

"We can help him further consolidate his foundation, which can help him achieve better and higher achievements in the future."

"But as far as we know, there is a problem with his contract with Ajax. If he leaves Ajax in the summer, he will likely have to pay a small amount of compensation, and we all believe that with his performance in recent games, there will be many clubs willing to pay him this amount and give him a richer contract."

The reporters clearly investigated it. Yang Yang's weekly salary in Ajax is only 400 euros. This is not only the minimum salary for the first team, but also only in the middle and lower reaches of the second team. Many players, including Maduro and Lindgren, are a little higher than Yang Yang, and their salary is twice that of Yang Yang.

After Babel renewed his contract, his salary also increased to more than twice that of Yang Yang.

Of course, media reporters would not be so righteous and speak out for Yang Yang's salary and treatment. They still want to take this opportunity to hype up the possibility of Yang Yang leaving the team, so as to attract the attention of Ajax fans and promote newspaper sales.

"Thank you very much for the media reporter's concern, but what I want to say is that Yang Yang's contract renewal has entered the club's schedule. Everything is progressing smoothly at present. I believe everyone can get the answer soon. As for the others, I can't disclose more."

Ronald Koeman said this, his expression on his face became very serious, "But I can take this opportunity to tell all Ajax fans and friends who care about Ajax that there is no problem with Yang Yang's contract renewal. He promised me personally that he would never leave Ajax, and I believe him."

But as the team's head coach, Ronald Koeman's promise obviously cannot calm the speculation of the outside media.

"As far as I know, Mr. Koeman and Yang Yang immediately fired their original agent after returning from Portugal's winter training. Does this mean that Ajax's contract renewal plan has changed?"

"Sorry, this involves his private affairs, and I can say that he will stay in Ajax."

"But there are rumors that he authorized his agent to contact the Eredivisie team. What do you think?"

“I won’t answer any guessing questions.”

…………

…………

Media reporters cannot get effective information from head coach Ronald Koeman, so it is naturally difficult to knock Van Gaal's mouth.

Ajax's technical director also repeatedly emphasized in an interview with the media that Yang Yang will not leave DeTok Most.

“The contract renewal has been put on the agenda, and everything is in our control.”

But this still cannot calm the outside world's discussion. Many fans even called the club, demanding that Yang Yang be kept no matter what.

A week later, Ajax ushered in the 18th round of the Eredivisie, challenging Helenfin away.

For the mid-week Dutch Cup, Ronald Koeman once again rotated the roster. Ibrahimovic continued to miss, but left-back Maxwell returned. The team just won the Greek high center Anastasio, who was introduced from Roda JC, and partnered with Deredel and Victor Scola in the Trident.

As a result, no one expected that before the first half was about to end, Ajax made a mistake and conceded a goal. He was eager to win in the second half. Not long after the opening, he was hit by a continuous counterattack and scored two goals.

By the time Yang Yang came on as a substitute in the 75th minute, the team was already behind three goals.

Under such circumstances, no matter how hard Yang Yang tried, it would be difficult to change the morale of the team's collapse. After the 83rd minute, he was scored by his opponent.

However, before the game was about to end, Yang Yang's right-hand breakthrough in the counterattack posed a threat. When the ball was passed into the penalty area, the opponent's central defender Hansen cleared the ball and blocked the ball into his own goal, turning into an own goal.

In the end, Ajax returned with regret and lost 1-4 away.

The arch-rival Eindhoven defeated Zwolle five-1 at home, successfully recovering the league points back to one point behind.

The Dutch Eredivisie, Dutch Cup, Champions League, and three-line battles made it difficult for Ajax to maintain concentration and focus on competitiveness.

Returning from Helenfin's crushing defeat also put Ronald Koeman and the team under pressure.
Chapter completed!