Chapter 15: Ten Hag's Lesson
“Hmm...”
Ten Hag felt a bit awkward. Tang Ye wanted to show him the real training footage, but he waved him off.
“Tang, come here, listen to me!”
Ten Hag looked Tang Ye in the eyes. “You’re only sixteen now—that’s the age to strive and work hard. You have significant shortcomings, from your skills to physical abilities. You need to spend time training.”
“Evenings are a great time; you can use them to improve your ball control or work on your physical duels.”
Midway through his sentence, Ten Hag suddenly sensed something was off, so he added, “Hmm, not that kind of duel, but this kind of duel—you know what I mean, right?”
“I know, I know,” Tang Ye quickly replied.
“Good. Remember, sixteen is the most critical time in a player’s future. If you don’t work hard now, what will you do later?”
“Stay in Europe until I’m twenty, then return home, play a few more years, and retire in the Chinese league in my thirties?”
“Would you be satisfied with that?”
“Tang, you need to put in the effort!”
As Tang Ye’s coach, Ten Hag felt responsible for motivating him to train harder.
But Tang Ye was no prodigy; Ten Hag couldn’t pin the team’s revival solely on him.
After a brief conversation, Ten Hag left the dormitory.
...
August 29th, the fourth round of the Eredivisie, Utrecht versus Groningen.
“Okay, brothers, I found the footage half an hour early today; the picture quality should be decent, right?”
“The match is about to start!”
“Announcer, what’s today’s focus?”
“Didn’t you see King Tang on the roster? Today’s focus is simple: Utrecht to win!”
[Nice, thanks to King Tang’s gift, I played three extra hours yesterday, my feet are peeling a bit.]
[Don’t pretend upstairs, are you sure it’s peeling feet?]
[Tang Ye is impressive; his slide tackle in the last match earned Ten Hag’s trust!]
[I heard there’s an amazing overseas player; I searched for two hours to find a stream just to watch!]
[Just asking, how awesome is this Tang Ye you all praise so much?]
[Let me put it this way: other players cost you money, but King Tang can help you make money!]
Tang Ye and Amrabat sat together on the bench as the match quickly kicked off.
Speaking of which, Utrecht’s luck wasn’t great; today’s opponent, Groningen, was also among the strong teams this season.
Four consecutive matches against tough teams!
The camera cut to Ten Hag, the Dutch coach’s expression was serious.
Since taking over at Utrecht, Ten Hag’s nerves had not eased.
“Utrecht!”
Boom boom!
“Utrecht!”
Boom boom!
Utrecht’s home stadium had over 20,000 seats, with about 15,000 spectators today.
Although the early season results were poor, fans still supported the team passionately.
By the 20th minute!
Ramzellar’s mistake in the front court was seized upon by De Roest!
He moved forward, found a gap, and passed the ball to Linsen on the left flank!
Linsen passed again!
To the striker Dreiu!
Groningen’s attack flowed smoothly, putting pressure on Utrecht’s defense.
“Vandermarel, move up and mark Dreiu’s position!”
“Good, Groningen’s counterattack was thwarted, Utrecht’s defense is already retreating!”
“Dreiu passes to Antonia!”
“Antonia!”
“A long shot!”
“Phew, that was close!”
The fans in the live chat sighed in relief; most had bet on Utrecht following the announcer’s advice.
If Utrecht fell behind, these fans would be devastated!
“Utrecht’s defenders are utterly terrible!”
Wang Chao switched to troll mode, although the match had just started over ten minutes.
In this short span, Utrecht’s goal had been threatened multiple times.
No wonder Utrecht’s results had been poor in recent years.
The players looked like they were sleepwalking!
The camera cut to Tang Ye on the bench; Wang Chao’s eyes suddenly lit up.
“Honestly, Ayoub isn’t better than Tang Ye. Why not put Tang Ye on?”
“Ten Hag, listen to the fans’ advice!”
“Bring on Tang Ye!”
The fans were pure and objective in their suggestions.
Eric Ten Hag, don’t you get it?
Now’s the time to put my Mongolian brother on the field!
By the 35th minute, the broadcast showed the match stats.
Groningen, as the away team, held 62% possession!
This game called for a midfield maestro!
Ten Hag turned his head, gestured for several midfielders and forwards to warm up, finally stopping in front of Tang Ye.
“Do you think you can handle it?”
“Uh...”
Tang Ye glanced at the field situation, then gave an ambiguous answer: “I think so?”
“Then get warming up!”
...
More than thirty minutes in, still 0-0, fans who bet on goals were quietly shedding tears.
Good news: Utrecht’s number 99 was warming up!
The second half began!
Home side Utrecht regained some control, but the situation remained grim.
In a 5-3-2 formation, five midfield and forward players, only Alae’s performance met Eredivisie standards.
“What are you passing?”
The ball flew past him; Alae turned and scolded Ayoub fiercely.
Actually, Alae had a fairly good temper, but Ayoub hadn’t made many accurate passes this match.
A through ball was intercepted—that was understandable.
But long passes going straight out of bounds? What was that about?
“Oh, sorry, sorry!”
After the team captain’s scolding, Ayoub sheepishly raised his hand to apologize.
It wasn’t that he deliberately mispassed; his form was just poor, which was hard to manage, and Alae was naturally strict with midfielders.
Ayoub had no choice!
He couldn’t just blast a pass straight through the opponent’s entire defense, could he?
By the 77th minute, the score remained 0-0.
Groningen’s coaching staff briefly discussed on the bench, deciding to push their defensive line forward for the remaining time.
Anyone with eyes could see that aside from Ramzellar, Utrecht’s midfielders posed little real threat.
So why not push the defense up?
Can’t score?
Let the defenders support the forwards; surely that would get a goal!
Seeing the opponents gradually press into their half, Ten Hag realized Groningen was making a last-ditch effort.
The Dutch coach had no prepared tactical plan for the final moments; his only option was to adjust his players.
At the 79th minute, Amrabat and Tang Ye simultaneously entered the field!
...