Chapter 25: Broccoli Must Not Go to Waste

[Page 1/3]
【You have obtained Cristiano Ronaldo's broccoli; training efficiency with the ball is doubled for the next 12 hours.】
【Kevin De Bruyne’s Curved Through Ball, Lv2: Similar】
【Proficiency: 5/50】

On the Utrecht training pitch, the first-team players were engaged in their scrimmage.
Ten Hag had encouraged Tang Ye to be bold with his long passing, and Tang Ye had certainly followed through.
Unfortunately, his De Bruyne-style curling technique was only at the "Similar" Lv2 level, still a long way from the next stage, "Simulation" at Lv3.
Out of 12 long-pass attempts, four successfully reached the front court, with Haller receiving one of them.
According to the system's calculations, as long as the ball reaches the vicinity of the front court, it counts as proficiency regardless of whether the striker secures possession.
However, since it was just training, each successful pass only granted 1 point of proficiency.
With the 4 successful passes boosted by the broccoli, Tang Ye successfully gained 4 points of proficiency.
The Lv2 progress bar had surged by one-fifth in an instant!

"Mm, I'm starting to feel it!"
Tang Ye shrugged his shoulders.
I have to say, Ronaldo's broccoli is truly effective!

"Beep!"
Van der Gaag blew the whistle to stop the scrimmage. Ten Hag walked over, synchronizing the observations he had just made with the Utrecht players on the pitch.
"Great pass!"
Haller and Tang Ye high-fived in celebration.
Four out of 12 balls delivered to the right spots.
It might seem like only a one-third success rate, but one must remember that Tang Ye was passing from the backfield.
He was at least 30, perhaps even 40 meters away from Haller and Barazite!
Haller placed a hand on Tang Ye's shoulder: "I said it before, if you are willing to train hard, you will become truly incredible!"

"Quiet down!"
Ten Hag signaled for the players to be silent, then announced that the afternoon's training was over.
"Over? Wait, why?"
Someone was anxious, but to Ten Hag's surprise, the one who was anxious was actually Tang Ye. "Come on, you lazy pig, what are you in such a hurry for? Isn't resting your favorite thing?"
"Of course I'm anxious; I have always been the most diligent in training. I don't like to rest!"
"Wow~~"
As soon as Tang Ye finished speaking, jeers erupted from the crowd. Amrabat, in particular, kept arching his eyebrows at Tang Ye.
"Oh~ I have always been the most diligent in training, wow~"
Tang Ye turned his head and ignored Amrabat.
This guy was his biggest hater.
His absolute biggest hater!
He had spent a full 10 Counterattack Points on that broccoli today.
And now, training was ending an hour early.

[Page 2/3]
Isn't this a massive loss!
His gaze shifted to Ten Hag; the Dutch coach was looking at him with amusement: "We have a KNVB Cup match tomorrow. The schedule is tight, and you all need time to rest."
The facts were exactly as Ten Hag said.
The KNVB Cup for this season was about to begin.
With a congested schedule, a coach needs to reduce the training load to ensure players can perform well during matches.
Ten Hag would have liked these Utrecht players to train a bit longer.
But the conditions simply wouldn't allow it!

Ten Hag gave a brief summary of the day's training and sent the players to the therapy room for muscle massages.
After giving these instructions, Ten Hag and Van der Gaag headed up to the second floor of the base.
That was where the Utrecht coaches' office was located, and they needed to use this time to finalize the squad list for tomorrow.
There was essentially no controversy over which players to bring; the Utrecht first team only had 24 players, so selecting 18 from those 24 was an easy task.
Furthermore, because the polarization of players within the Utrecht squad was quite severe, Ten Hag set his starting lineup very quickly.
"Goalkeeper: Ruiter"
"Defenders: Nganioni, Strieder, Timo Letschert, Van der Maarel, Klaiber"
"Forwards: Haller, Barazite"
The goalkeeper, defenders, and forwards were undisputed.
As for the midfield...
Ten Hag’s pencil hovered in mid-air. He had already written down Ramselaar and Janssen.
Next, he had to choose between Ayoub and Amrabat.
Both had their own strengths and weaknesses.
Ayoub was a veteran of the Eredivisie with rich experience, but his downside was that his form over the last two seasons hadn't been very good.
Amrabat was the exact opposite; as a reserve team player, this was his first season in the Eredivisie.
Amrabat had produced performances good enough to win Ten Hag over.
But due to his lack of experience, enough trust hadn't yet been built between Ten Hag and Amrabat.
"Forget it, let's try it!"
Ten Hag steeled himself and wrote down the number representing Amrabat on the paper.
"Are you really going to start Sofyan?"
Van der Gaag felt a bit surprised by Ten Hag's decision.
"Whatever, Sofyan's performance is indeed good, we can try it out first."
"And..."
Ten Hag paused mid-sentence.
"And what?"
"In a tournament like the KNVB Cup, if you don't win the championship, it’s all useless. Do you think we can win it this season?"
"No," Van der Gaag shook his head decisively.
"Then that's settled."

[Page 3/3]
Ten Hag spread his hands: "The task of fighting for our league position this season is arduous. I mean, let's treat the KNVB Cup as a practice competition and let Sofyan have a go. He's really in good form."
Ten Hag's attitude made it clear that he wasn't planning on going very far in this season's KNVB Cup.
Win a few matches if possible.
Can't win?
Then so be it.
With the starting lineup confirmed, just as Ten Hag was about to discuss tomorrow's tactical assignments with Van der Gaag, the office door was knocked upon.
Walking in was Haller.
The top scorer of the Utrecht squad!
"Erik, Mitchell!"
Haller walked in, his eyes immediately landing on the notebook on Ten Hag's desk.
For a core player like Haller, Ten Hag didn't hide anything and opened the starting list for him to see.
"We've made some slight changes. Sofyan will start in place of Ayoub. I know you and Ayoub have a good relationship, but I believe Sofyan is the better choice."
Ten Hag expected Haller to speak up for Ayoub.
But he didn't.
His attention remained on the starting lineup; he seemed to be looking for someone.
But he didn't find the person he was looking for.
Haller raised his head and asked a question Ten Hag never expected: "Erik, have you considered starting Tang?"
"No, Sébastien, that is impossible."
Ten Hag pushed off with his feet, and with the help of the swivel chair, he retreated slightly: "He lacks the experience. Have you ever seen a 16-year-old start in the Eredivisie, the top football league in the Netherlands?"
"Besides, he is a lazy pig. If Mitchell and I don't push him to train, he would just hide in the dormitory and sleep!"
Haller didn't speak but instead pulled back the curtains, signaling for Ten Hag to look out the window.
Huh?
Ten Hag and Van der Gaag exchanged glances, then walked over to the window together to look down.
Tang Ye was on the pitch in his training gear.
He was...
Simulating backfield passing drills!
"What is this?"
Ten Hag looked at Van der Gaag, pointing at Tang Ye on the pitch below: "Did you hold a gun to his head?"
"No, how could I!"
Van der Gaag took a step back, while Haller spread his hands toward Ten Hag: "There hasn't been a 16-year-old to start in the Eredivisie, that is a fact."
"But have you ever seen a 16-year-old deliver passes like that?"
"I am a striker, I know who the right midfielder is. Erik, please, you must trust me. I can tell!"