Chapter 22: Don’t Walk?
“Hmm, not bad at all!”
Watching Tang Ye continuously deliver passes on the training ground, Ten Hag felt quite pleased. He had initially thought Tang Ye wouldn’t be able to complete today’s training after the extra session yesterday. But it turned out Ten Hag had been overthinking.
At sixteen, the body is made for this! A lazy kid is meant to be trained!
“Here, give me the ball!” Tang Ye reached out to Ramsey Lar, then began a one-on-one duel on the wing with Amrabat.
Since unlocking the “Grealish’s Draft Beer” ability, Tang Ye always felt an inexplicable sense of urgency. Specifically, whenever the comeback points in his pocket dwindled, he grew anxious. This tension pushed him to complete his daily tasks.
Tang Ye bore this pressure alone, until September 16th, when a Dutch local journalist, through a “mole” inside FC Utrecht, learned about the team’s internal affairs and wrote an article. The piece was promptly shared by the football fan platform, Soccer Emperor.
The article focused on how Ten Hag led and trained the team, but one sentence caught Chinese fans’ attention:
“Due to being late for training, Ten Hag refused Tang entry to the first team’s canteen. However, according to the journalist’s observations at the training base, Tang’s training attitude was not as poor as imagined.”
“Holy crap, is this tolerable?”
“Didn’t they say his attitude wasn’t that bad? Then why won’t Ten Hag let Tang Ye eat in the first team canteen?”
“So sad, I’m stunned!”
“I’ve earned over 2,000 yuan in the past two weeks thanks to Tang Ye. Maybe next time he shouldn’t go to the canteen—I’ll treat him to a meal!”
“Abusing the King Tang? Ten Hag should be sacked!”
“King Tang? Wait, even Messi and Ronaldo haven’t been called king, how is Tang Ye king already?”
“You just don’t get it. Can Messi or Ronaldo compare to Tang Ye?”
“???"
Chinese fans were deeply unhappy with Ten Hag’s “mistreatment” of Tang Ye. Some even climbed ladders to post comments under Ten Hag’s Twitter account, but to no avail.
The fans were heartbroken. Their idol was treated unfairly, yet they could do nothing!
...
September 20, 2:45 a.m. Beijing Time.
The familiar lively livestream room!
The players weren’t ready yet, but host Wang Chao already was!
“Okay brothers, the long-awaited Utrecht match is here again. The game’s late today, but our livestream still has a good crowd.”
“I say, anyone who goes to bed early on Utrecht game day is a fool.”
“Those people just don’t know how to make real money.”
“Alright, let me show you today’s match squad!”
Wang Chao switched screens to display the match roster posted by the Utrecht F.C. account.
On the bench: number 99, Tang Ye!
The screen showed players from both sides ready in the tunnel.
Wang Chao wasn’t interested in Utrecht’s other players, so he skipped introducing both teams and went straight to analyzing the match’s direction.
Unlike previous games, Utrecht’s opponent today, Willem II, wasn’t a strong team.
This season, Utrecht was weak, but Willem II was even weaker!
So the plan was clear.
First, Utrecht should win.
Then, look at the lineup.
Need to check the starting lineup?
No need!
The starting lineup doesn’t matter. What matters is that Tang Ye is on the bench.
Therefore, it was obvious that Utrecht should score at least three goals today!
“All right, the match begins!”
The chips were thrown; the fans in the chat room felt the pressure.
At this moment, the broadcast cut to Tang Ye chewing gum on the bench, and the fans’ pressure eased a bit.
Willem II used the classic 4-3-3 formation, one Utrecht knew all too well. After all, they had played the same way last season!
In the 17th minute of the first half, Alay won a penalty in the box and calmly converted it himself.
Score: 1-0!
Utrecht took the lead away from home!
After scoring, Alay celebrated with a magnificent sliding knee, igniting the visiting fans’ stands.
“Utrecht!”
Bang bang!
“Utrecht!”
Bang bang!
Clap clap clap clap!
Ten Hag applauded Alay on the field.
The match started smoothly.
“Stay calm, stay calm!”
Willem II would surely launch a counterattack after falling behind. Ten Hag was smart, instructing his players to pull the defense back at this moment.
Ride out these few minutes of Willem II’s pressure, then resume the attack!
Heimhaus passed the ball; Falkenberg controlled it upfront and immediately played to Vander Weerden on the right.
This was Willem II’s attack.
Amrabat!
Today, Amrabat was starting!
This was his first start; he needed to seize this opportunity!
Snap!
Amrabat used his body to block Vander Weerden’s forward path and kicked the ball away during the passing interval.
A brilliant interception!
Hiss—
Ten Hag took a deep breath.
Generally, players promoted from the second team don’t perform well in their first season with the first team.
But these two this year—
Except for the lazy one who couldn’t be analyzed, Amrabat’s level was already enough to support a starting role in the first team.
Especially with Ayoub’s poor form this season.
Amrabat had a real chance to start!
Having made his decision, Ten Hag returned to the bench, wrote down Amrabat’s initials in English, and added a note in Dutch:
“Consider starting.”
The first half ended with Utrecht leading 2-0 thanks to Alay’s brace.
In the locker room:
“Overall, our performance was quite good today, especially Alay and Sofyan (Amrabat).”
“Tactically, there’s no problem. We can wait for the opponent to make changes before we adjust.”
“Personnel-wise, some adjustments are needed...”
Ten Hag’s gaze fell on Tang Ye, who lifted his head.
“Hmm...”
Not wanting Tang Ye to get too cocky, Ten Hag deliberately glanced around the locker room at all the players.
When Tang Ye lowered his head in disappointment, Ten Hag said, “Tang, you’re coming on in the second half.”
“Right on?” Tang Ye pointed at himself.
“Yes, you’ll swap with Yaxin (Ayoub) when you enter.”
Ten Hag stepped up to Tang Ye. “Show me your performance, and...”
“Don’t walk?” Tang Ye finished the sentence he thought Ten Hag was about to say.
Don’t walk...
Ten Hag thought it over carefully, exchanged a glance with Van der Gaag.
“It’s fine. Just do it your way.”
...