April 12 – Evening. Amsterdam Arena.
Matchday 33 of the Eredivisie. Ajax vs. Vitesse.
The atmosphere inside the Amsterdam Arena was electric. Despite having already clinched the league title three days earlier, the crowd packed into the stands with anticipation. Yang Yang was chasing history, and everyone knew it.
From the opening whistle, Ajax immediately pushed forward with intent, pressing high and attacking in waves. Ronald Koeman's side clearly wanted to impose their rhythm and bury Vitesse early. But Edward Sturing's men had come well-prepared.
Compact, disciplined, and sharp in transition, Vitesse soaked up pressure and struck on the break.
In just the 7th minute, they stunned the home fans.
After regaining possession on the edge of their box, Vitesse launched a swift counter. A diagonal ball from the left-back sent Purrel Fränkel darting into space. He slipped a perfectly weighted pass between Ajax's centre-backs, and Mads Junker ghosted in behind, finishing clinically past Stekelenburg.
0–1.
The Amsterdam Arena fell silent for a moment, a wave of unease spreading through the stands.
This wasn't in the script.
Before the game, Vitesse head coach Edward Sturing had boldly declared in his press conference that they would "go all out to stop Yang Yang from scoring." So far, his team was backing up his words with action.
But if Vitesse had hoped the early goal would rattle Ajax, they miscalculated.
There was no panic on the pitch.
And certainly not from Yang Yang.
Instead of showing frustration, Ajax's talisman calmly gestured to his teammates—hands down, palms open—urging composure. A quiet but decisive leader, his body language radiated belief. He walked over to Sneijder and Maduro, exchanged a few words, then jogged back into position.
From that point forward, Ajax dominated possession.
Patient, probing, and methodical, they controlled the tempo and slowly suffocated Vitesse's momentum. Yang Yang drifted between lines, drawing defenders out of shape, linking with Sneijder and Emanuelson, waiting for the perfect crack to appear.
It came in the 20th minute.
Yang Yang, dropping off the front line, received the ball with his back to goal near the edge of the centre circle. He cushioned the pass with one touch, shielded the ball from Vitesse's holding midfielder, then quickly laid it off to Sneijder. Without hesitation, he spun and sprinted into space behind the retreating defence.
Sneijder spotted the run immediately.
A precise lofted through ball arced over the backline, landing just inside the penalty area. Yang Yang timed his run to perfection, ghosting between the two centre-backs. As Vitesse goalkeeper Harald Wapenaar rushed out, Yang Yang arrived first, delicately lifting the ball over him with a composed chip.
The ball hung in the air for a heartbeat—then dropped gently over the line.
1–1.
The Amsterdam Arena erupted.
A flare went off in the South Stand, flags waved violently, and chants of "YANG YANG! YANG YANG!" echoed across the terraces. The goal wasn't just a response—it was a statement.
Simple. Direct. Clinical.
The type of goal only a world-class forward could make look effortless.
And for Ajax, it was only the beginning.
...
With the score locked at 1–1, the first half came to a close.
Ajax returned to the dressing room unsatisfied but far from discouraged. Ronald Koeman immediately took advantage of the break to implement tactical adjustments. He encouraged more aggressive pressing from the midfield and demanded quicker rotations in the final third. The objective was clear—overwhelm Vitesse before they could regroup.
His changes paid off almost immediately.
Just four minutes into the second half, Wesley Sneijder made a decisive run forward, played a swift one-two with Maduro on the edge of the box, and calmly placed a low shot into the far corner past Wapenaar.
2–1, Ajax had turned the game around.
And they weren't done yet.
In the 61st minute, Yang Yang combined brilliantly with Charisteas at the top of the penalty area. The Greek striker dropped deep, took a short layoff from Yang Yang, and returned it with a sharp diagonal through ball. Yang Yang accelerated onto it with flawless timing and fired past the keeper from close range to make it 3–1.
The Amsterdam Arena roared once again.
It was his second goal of the match—and his 46th of the league season.
But what truly stood out was not just the number of goals, but the manner in which Yang Yang played.
From the start of the second half, he had deliberately drawn more defenders toward him, opening space for his teammates. He was clearly more concerned with facilitating attacks than hunting for personal glory.
This attitude left a lasting impression on everyone—coaches, teammates, fans. Even in pursuit of history, he prioritized the team. In a moment where selfishness might have been understandable, he remained the same Yang Yang they had known for three seasons.
Beyond his genius on the pitch, Yang Yang had become the heart of the locker room.
Every holiday season, he brought gifts for the staff. Every birthday celebration, every team dinner—he paid out of pocket. He was not only Ajax's undisputed star and captain but also its emotional anchor.
And now, with only one league match remaining, the entire team felt it.
The atmosphere wasn't just about finishing strong—it was about giving him the farewell he deserved.
Players started looking for him more intentionally. One more goal, they thought. Let him reach it.
That sentiment extended to the coaching staff as well.
Ronald Koeman knew Yang Yang was outgrowing the Eredivisie. Everyone did. No one said it aloud, but the writing had been on the wall for months. He had surpassed Marco van Basten's domestic records, dethroned Coen Dillen's single-season mark, and now, he stood just one goal away from matching Dudu Georgescu's long-standing record of 47 goals in a top-flight European league season.
He didn't need to score again for Ajax to win titles. But for history—he needed just one more.
Koeman knew it. And so did the crowd.
With just under twenty minutes to go, Koeman made a decisive substitution, bringing on Nicklas Bendtner for Charisteas. The young Dane had fresher legs and a better understanding with Yang Yang, especially in quick transitions.
It was the perfect call.
Ten minutes later, Bendtner drifted wide to the right, received a ball near the edge of the box, and surged toward the byline. As the defenders scrambled, he cut inside and delivered a low cross into the path of Yang Yang, who had ghosted between the two centre-backs.
Yang Yang didn't hesitate.
With a calm, precise touch, he met the ball in stride and slotted it low into the left corner.
Goal number 47.
A hat-trick on the night. A tie with Georgescu. A place in European football history.
The crowd exploded.
Yang Yang let out a yell of pure elation and sprinted toward Bendtner, leaping onto him in celebration. His teammates quickly surrounded him, wrapping him in hugs and pats on the head. But Yang Yang wasn't finished.
He turned and jogged toward the touchline, where Ronald Koeman stood waiting. Behind him were assistant coaches Ruud Krol, Tonny Bruins Slot, and Winston Bogarde, the man who had helped mold his physique and discipline.
Yang Yang embraced them all.
Then, turning to the stands, he raised his arms and slowly bowed in all four directions of the Amsterdam Arena.
It was a farewell gesture.
Applause rained down from every seat.
Some fans wept openly. Television cameras caught images of grown men, eyes reddened, clapping in rhythm as Yang Yang bowed one last time.
Everyone understood.
This was likely his final Eredivisie match at home. In three years, he had gone from a promising teenager with uncertain potential to one of the most feared attackers in European football. They had watched him grow, week by week, goal by goal, into something legendary.
Now he was preparing to leave.
Not because he wanted to, but because he had outgrown the league.
No one resented it. No one tried to hold him back.
Instead, they gave him their love—one final ovation for the boy who had become a king in Amsterdam.
And perhaps, someday in the future, he would return, not as a player, but as a legend coming home.
...
...
Tie to the Titans: Yang Yang's Hat-Trick Ignites Europe
On Saturday night, the Amsterdam Arena didn't just witness a hat-trick. It witnessed a piece of football history being tied down with both hands.
Three goals. Forty-seven for the season.
With a cool push into the bottom corner, Yang Yang didn't just complete his hat-trick — he caught up with Dudu Georgescu. The Romanian great had stood alone for nearly three decades, holding the record for the most goals in a single season in a European top-flight league. Until now.
Now, he has company. A 19-year-old from China.
Dutch headlines the following morning didn't hold back. "De Tiener van de Eeuw!" — "The Teenager of the Century!" roared De Telegraaf, plastering Yang Yang's image across its front page, arms outstretched in celebration.
"Last year, he shocked the world by breaking Ronaldo Nazário's decade-old scoring record," their column read. "And this season, he's gone further. He's forced Europe to rewrite its books."
But the numbers, they added, only tell part of the story. Because tucked behind that 47th goal are landmarks that will echo long after the final whistle of the season.
At just 19, Yang Yang has already secured back-to-back European Golden Boots — the youngest player in history to do so. His 47 goals this season are more than enough to seal the award for a second consecutive year.
He has crossed the 100-goal mark for Ajax, becoming not only the youngest to reach that milestone, but also the fastest to do it — faster than Cruyff, Van Basten, or even Bergkamp.
And by surpassing the century mark, he has also become the first Asian player to score over 100 goals in European football. Not friendlies. Not youth games. European top-flight football.
No player in Ajax history — not Litmanen, not Bergkamp— has scored as much across all competitions in a single season.
And he's done all of this before his 20th birthday.
"He's not just breaking records," wrote Algemeen Dagblad, "he's making new definitions for what records should mean."
Fans across the Netherlands — and across Asia — now watch with a singular question on their minds: Can he do one more?
One more goal in the final league match would mean surpassing Georgescu. Two more would place him beyond all others in the history of European football. And if he were to reach fifty — a feat not seen in Eredivisie or even among the greatest scorers of La Liga or the Premier League — it would etch his name into football immortality.
Even those who once doubted him are now among the believers.
Vitesse manager Edward Sturing, who boldly claimed pre-match that his team would "shut down" the Ajax talisman, spoke humbly afterward. "We studied him all week," he said. "But how do you prepare for someone who reads the game like that? It's like trying to catch lightning in a bottle."
Yang Yang's influence isn't limited to the pitch.
Van Basten, now coaching the national team, was effusive in his praise. "He reminds me of our era at Ajax," he said. "Back then we had Cruyff above us, guiding us with trust. Today, Ronald Koeman does the same with Yang Yang — and the results are just as magical."
But perhaps the most touching words came from Arie Haan, Ajax icon and current China national team coach. "He's a phenomenon," Haan said. "What separates him is not just what he does, but how he does it. He's disciplined. He's intelligent. He leads. His success proves that Chinese football doesn't lack talent — it lacked belief. Yang Yang has given it that."
He added, "He's a banner. A symbol. Not just of goals, but of what's possible."
Now, with one league game remaining, all of Europe waits. Not just to see if Yang Yang can break the record.
But to witness a young man, already crowned a legend, take one final step — and leave behind a story that can't be captured in numbers alone.