After Yang Yang opened his Eredivisie scoring account for the new season, the match completely tilted in Ajax's favor.
Just five minutes later, he once again combined on the right with Maicon, carving open Den Haag's defense. Yang Yang received the ball wide, drew his marker, and laid it off for Maicon on the overlap. The Brazilian right-back delivered a sharp cross toward the top of the penalty area.
Wesley Sneijder timed his run perfectly — breaking through midfield lines — and struck it first-time with his left foot.
The ball skipped across the turf and beat the goalkeeper clean.
2–0!
Den Haag, having conceded twice in quick succession, began to unravel. Their morale visibly dipped. Head coach Frans Adelaar tried desperately to organize the team, shouting instructions from the technical area, urging his players to hold shape and prevent the defeat from spiraling into a humiliation.
But Ajax were relentless — sharp, aggressive, and hungry.
In the nineteenth minute, Den Haag lost possession in midfield trying to build from the back. Nigel de Jong intercepted and immediately launched a long, arcing pass over the top of the defensive line.
Angelos Charisteas rose to meet it and flicked a header into space behind the defenders.
Yang Yang was already on the move — sprinting diagonally across the back line.
He got to the ball first, took a controlled touch past the onrushing keeper, and calmly slotted it into the empty net.
3–0. A brace for Yang Yang.
Den Haag's shape collapsed. Confidence drained from their back line.
Then came the twenty-ninth minute.
Ajax attacked again — this time down the left. Felipe Luís pushed forward from full-back, playing a quick one-two with Steven Pienaar, who drifted centrally to open space.
Pienaar rolled the ball across the front edge of the box.
Yaya Touré, arriving from deep, met it with a clean strike — his technique simple but decisive. The shot zipped low and hard into the bottom corner.
4–0.
Any remaining doubts about the outcome were erased.
Den Haag had been completely overrun.
Even after the fourth goal, Ajax didn't ease up immediately. Though they gradually reduced their pressing intensity, they kept control of possession and maintained pressure.
Just before halftime, Maicon drove forward again and delivered a low ball into the area.
Charisteas, lurking near the six-yard box, ghosted in front of his marker and tapped it in from close range.
5–0.
When the whistle blew for halftime, the Amsterdam Arena was already celebrating. The scoreline left no room for suspense.
Ajax had won — that much was clear.
The second half played out with less intensity. Den Haag, bruised by the first-half barrage, retreated into damage control. They no longer had the structure or energy to mount a comeback.
With a five-goal cushion, Ajax showed no urgency to chase additional goals. They slowed the tempo, focused on keeping possession, and avoided taking unnecessary risks.
But not everything went to plan.
In the 63rd minute, Johnny Heitinga received his first yellow card for a rash sliding challenge in midfield.
Then, in the 87th, he lunged into another unnecessary tackle — late, and in a situation that posed no real danger. The referee didn't hesitate.
Second yellow.
Red card.
Even with ten men, Ajax were never threatened. Den Haag didn't have the legs or belief left to mount a response.
The final whistle came without further incident.
Ajax 5, Den Haag 0.
A powerful win. A strong message.
But not without internal consequences.
Back in the dressing room, Ronald Koeman wasted no time.
He tore into Heitinga in front of the squad — not for the fouls themselves, but for the recklessness.
Heitinga was supposed to be a leader on the pitch. A captain. His actions, Koeman said, were the opposite of what the armband stood for.
No one disagreed. Not openly.
Most in the squad felt the same. Heitinga had courage, no doubt. But that wasn't enough.
Being a captain meant more than playing with fire in your chest.
It meant control. Discipline. Knowing when to act — and when not to.
And right now, Heitinga hadn't shown that.
...
...
Yang Yang's brace, and Heitinga's red card, became the two most talked-about storylines of Eredivisie's opening round.
But the Dutch media handled the two players very differently.
For Yang Yang, the coverage was glowing. Analysts and columnists alike praised his performance — especially the opening goal, scored from an almost impossible angle near the byline. It was already being hailed as one of the best goals of the round, and it gave fans and reporters plenty to talk about.
Heitinga, on the other hand, received heavy criticism.
While some defended his first yellow as a necessary tactical foul, no one could excuse the second. It was careless, unnecessary, and completely avoidable. And now, Ajax would be without one of their key defenders for the next league match — a problem that could have been prevented.
Several Dutch outlets pointed to signs of arrogance in Heitinga's game.
After two straight seasons as a starter and a role in Ajax's back-to-back European successes, some felt he was becoming complacent. His style had grown riskier, his challenges more reckless. The red card, they argued, wasn't just a moment of poor judgment — it was the symptom of a larger trend.
The club's official stance was firm but measured.
Ajax confirmed that Heitinga would not face disciplinary action, but he would receive a formal warning for his behavior.
Heitinga accepted the decision after the match and told reporters he would "learn from it" and control his temper going forward.
Meanwhile, Ajax's 5–0 thrashing of Den Haag propelled them straight to the top of the Eredivisie table.
PSV Eindhoven, still recovering from their Super Cup loss, drew 1–1 with newly promoted Heracles Almelo, while Feyenoord defeated NAC Breda 2–0, with Dirk Kuyt getting on the scoresheet.
Feng Xiaoting, who had recently signed with Feyenoord, did not make the squad for the match. Coach Erwin Koeman told Chinese reporters that he remained optimistic about the young defender, who had shown promise in preseason. He emphasized that Feng would get opportunities as the season progressed — but earning a regular starting role would depend entirely on performance.
In contrast, Gao Lin made the bench for AZ Alkmaar under Louis van Gaal. With the team leading 3–0, he came on as a late substitute and managed to create two decent chances in just ten minutes, though he didn't score. The technical staff noted his impact, but also made it clear: Gao would need to push harder to break into the rotation.
Following their World Youth Championship triumph, a wave of Chinese players began securing moves abroad.
In addition to Feng and Gao, Zhou Haibin, one of the tournament's breakout stars, completed a transfer to Benfica, the defending champions of Portugal's Primeira Liga.
According to what Yang Yang had heard from Zhou, Benfica had lost several midfielders over the summer and saw Zhou not just as a project, but as someone they could develop and eventually rely on.
Another standout, Hao Junmin, joined Hamburg SV in the Bundesliga, thanks to the work of Dutch agent Guido Albers. Though Hamburg had fallen from grace in recent seasons — finishing just eighth last year — they were rebuilding with ambition. Albers assured Yang Yang that Hao would receive guaranteed minutes, even having playing time written into his contract.
But for now, no Chinese player was making waves quite like Yang Yang.
He had become the face of Ajax, a rising star in European football. Pundits estimated his market value was already over €30 million, and he was now being discussed as the most valuable Asian player in Europe.
Trailing behind were several others making strong starts.
Zheng Zhi, now with Mainz, had begun earning more minutes under Jürgen Klopp.
Zhao Junzhe was playing regularly for Celtic, showing his quality in midfield.
Chen Tao, after joining Anderlecht, had come off the bench in their season opener and impressed.
Even Shao Jiayi, though in the second division, remained a starter in Germany.
Players like Feng Xiaoting, Gao Lin, Zhou Haibin, and Hao Junmin had all been signed by European clubs as long-term youth investments. This brought both opportunity and pressure.
The World Youth Championship had earned them attention and a shot at development, but they still had to prove their potential — not just survive, but grow, and show that they could be trusted for the future.
European football was ruthlessly competitive. Patience in clubs had limits. At most, players had two seasons to prove themselves. If they couldn't make it by then, they were often moved on or forgotten.
That was a truth none of them could escape — not even Yang Yang could help them with it.
And while several more young players back home — names like Zhao Xuri, Cui Peng, and Lu Lin — were eager to follow their path to Europe, not all of them could make the move.
Sometimes it was logistics. Sometimes politics. Sometimes hesitation from clubs or agents.
Guido Albers openly expressed regret about this. In his view, the World Youth Championship should've been a springboard for more players to move abroad immediately. Delaying another year risked stagnation. Without continued development, a player's perceived value would shrink — and next year, there would be a new wave of talents to compete against.
But in football, as in life, not everything was within a player's control.
And not even the Chinese Football Association could intervene in the choices that shaped careers.
...
...
There was a full week between the first and second rounds of the Eredivisie.
Ajax gave the players a full day off following the 5–0 win, and then another half-day of rest on Friday morning.
Yang Yang, however, didn't take a break.
While most players used the time to relax or recover, he stayed at De Toekomst, continuing his personal training sessions. His form was climbing, and he felt it. Rather than risk losing momentum, he chose to keep pushing.
By Friday afternoon, the rest of the squad returned to training. Slowly, a new conversation began to stir around the facility — one that had nothing to do with tactics or the next opponent.
Everyone had started to feel it.
The captaincy was now under review.
Heitinga's suspension from the red card wasn't an issue tactically. Vermaelen and Vlaar were both healthy and ready to play, and even Hedwiges Maduro, a promising defender from the second team, could fill in if needed.
But the real concern wasn't the suspension.
It was leadership.
The morning after the Den Haag match, Heitinga had walked into Ronald Koeman's office and formally apologized for his behavior. Both Koeman and Ruud Krol accepted the apology, but also made it clear: the coaching staff was now reconsidering whether he was the right person to wear the armband.
Heitinga accepted the criticism. He told them he would respect whatever decision the club made.
And just like that, the question of captaincy was open.
It was a delicate topic — one that could shake the chemistry of a locker room if handled poorly.
Galásek, last season's captain, was reliable and respected. But with Yaya Touré now in the squad, it was clear he would struggle to hold his place in the starting XI. He could no longer lead the team from the pitch.
Heitinga, meanwhile, had just shown why temperament mattered. The red card hadn't just hurt the team tactically — it raised doubts about whether he could lead under pressure.
That left the staff, and the squad, asking a hard question: Who was left?
Some players looked to the academy roots. From that perspective, Wesley Sneijder made sense — a homegrown talent, technically brilliant, and always present. Many clubs valued continuity like that in their captain.
Others pointed to Maxwell, the longest-serving player in the current squad.
But neither choice felt complete.
Sneijder was reserved, more introverted by nature. He didn't naturally command the group, nor was he known to rally or organize players on the pitch.
Maxwell, while universally liked, lacked influence. His kind, easygoing personality worked against him when it came to leadership. Some questioned whether he could take control when things got difficult.
And so, inevitably, some turned to Yang Yang.
He was the team's best player, the one whose work ethic, attitude, and intensity set the tone every single day.
On the pitch, his fight and drive were contagious. He never coasted, never complained, and never accepted less than full effort — from himself or others.
He had become the face of Ajax.
But there was one problem.
He was young. Too young — at least in the traditional sense.
Barely two full seasons in the first team. Still just 18 years old. Not a product of the Ajax academy.
Was that enough to lead a club like Ajax?
It was a question no one could answer easily.
Not yet.
But it was clear the conversation had begun.