Chapter 62: Utrecht's Set-Piece Tactics

Because of the holiday, Tang Ye missed Utrecht's 14th round match against Heracles Almelo.

This was Utrecht's third defeat of the season, and the 1:2 scoreline left both the players and the coach rather annoyed.

However, Ten Hag did not blame the players for the defeat, primarily because the referee of that match had been utterly, outrageously biased.

Two penalty shouts were completely ignored; otherwise, Utrecht would have won 3:2 long ago!

The sudden defeat cast a depressed atmosphere over the entire Utrecht squad.

Since he hadn't played, Tang Ye hadn't experienced the burning anger of facing a biased referee firsthand, so his mood wasn't particularly affected.

Even so, Tang Ye wasn't entirely happy, because his teammates—Amrabat, Haller, and Ramselaar—hadn't worn a smile since the match ended.

With his teammates lacking smiles, Tang Ye couldn't even find anyone to play with during training!

"It's fine, we'll just win the next one back," Tang Ye messaged Amrabat via WhatsApp. Just a moment ago, the Moroccan had turned down Tang Ye's invitation to play FIFA.

"Damn it, you have no idea how mentally deficient that referee was. We should have won the day before yesterday," Amrabat replied with a voice note. Not knowing what else to say, Tang Ye decided to start a match by himself.

Though anger was certainly present, professional players possessed relatively strong mental resilience. After venting their frustrations online by trading insults with referees and fans, the guys in the Utrecht first team felt significantly relieved.

"Pass it to me! Pass it!"

Tang Ye sprinted quickly toward the left flank near the byline. Van der Maarel seized the opportunity and delivered a high lofted cross.

"Alright, watch this!"

Tang Ye shouted, using a dummy to deceive Klaiber.

Chest trap!

Then...

A ferocious volley!

Thwack!

With a single kick, Tang Ye blasted the ball clean out of the training ground. The ball soared past the perimeter fence and struck a fox resting quietly on the grass outside.

"Haha!"

"Tang, what was that?"

Tang Ye's super world-class strike completely stunned everyone present. Ramselaar clutched his stomach and laughed uncontrollably. "I felt like I was watching a legendary footballer."

"Hey, don't laugh, I was *this* close!"

Tang Ye pointed in the direction the ball had flown. "If I had kept my foot just a fraction flatter, it would have gone in! RUITER would never have saved that!"

"You could wait for the ball to bounce on the ground before striking it, you know," Ten Hag shouted onto the pitch.

To be fair, the imagination behind Tang Ye's volley was quite rich.

It was just that his fundamental execution was far too poor to support his grand imagination!

"No, you can't wait for the ball to drop."

Tang Ye shouted back. "Once it hits the ground, the defender closes in. I have to get rid of the ball immediately!"

Tang Ye pointed at Klaiber beside him. If he waited for the ball to hit the ground, Klaiber would never have given him a chance to shoot.

That ball simply had to be struck on the volley!

"But blasting it like that is completely useless," Ten Hag walked over, saying, "Even a goal twice as high wouldn't catch your shot. You're just launching it into outer space—do you enjoy shooting planes out of the sky?"

"Don't rush me, I'm practicing," Tang Ye repeated the shooting motion he had just performed.

What a pity!

If only he had kept his foot slightly lower, that shot definitely would have gone in!

"Okay, I am officially terrified," Goalkeeper Ruiter crossed his arms and shivered in mock fear.

"Alright, that's enough of the scrimmage for now. We need to practice set pieces."

Ten Hag and Van de Gaag walked onto the pitch together, and the players slowly gathered around.

Utrecht's set-piece tactics were extremely simple, usually consisting of Ramselaar or Klaiber delivering a cross from deep.

However, they had recently discovered that Tang Ye secretly possessed a masterclass specialty in free kicks!

An excellent coach tailors special tactics to his players' characteristics, let alone a Manager of the Month like Ten Hag!

"We'll practice set pieces now, but we're not splitting into teams this time. Everyone together—midfielders, forwards, and defenders all need to get involved. We're practicing our team tactics, not just set-piece striking technique," Ten Hag instructed.

The watering of Pitch 2 was already complete, and training could begin at any moment.

Under Ten Hag's arrangement, the final training session of the morning—set-piece drills—commenced.

The players were still divided into Team A and Team B. Team A featured the starting lineup, including Haller, Barazite, Tang Ye, and Ramselaar.

Team B consisted of Amrabat, Ayoub, Joosten, and several players temporarily called up from the reserve team to assist with the training.

Tang Ye looked around, trying to catch a glimpse of Xhaka, only to find that Xhaka wasn't there.

"You two, step out."

Grabbing Tang Ye by the arm, Ten Hag pulled both him and Ramselaar out of the group.

In the new set-piece strategy, dead-ball situations were to be entrusted to either Tang Ye or Ramselaar, which was why Ten Hag had pulled the two aside.

As for the penalty area, Ten Hag opted for a tactical setup he favored.

Haller, Barazite, and Van der Maarel lined up diagonally. Before the corner kick was taken, these three aerial threats would use a pre-arranged signal to coordinate their running paths.

Having settled the matters inside the penalty box, Ten Hag walked over to the designated set-piece spot and explained the plan to Tang Ye and Ramselaar.

Naturally, these instructions were primarily meant for Tang Ye.

"You don't need to worry about where they run. You stand at the very back where your view is clearest. You need to observe, deliver the ball exactly where you want it to go, and leave the rest to the guys in the box."

"Understood? Tang, you take the first one."

Ten Hag stood right in front, arms crossed, wearing a very stern expression.

He was eager to witness once again that bizarre, variable-speed free kick of Tang Ye's.

Tang Ye placed the ball on the turf, backed up slowly, and found a position he felt comfortable with.

He carefully assessed the situation in the penalty area, raised his right hand, and then...

He turned his head to look at Ten Hag. "Um... which team am I on again?"

"..."

Ten Hag buried his face in his hands. "The colorless team! You're on the colorless team. The guys wearing the fluorescent vests are your opponents, understood?! Damn it, seriously? I was actually starting to get nervous, and you ask me that?"

"My bad, my bad."

Tang Ye turned his head back.

Having confirmed he was on the colorless team, Tang Ye needed to figure out how to place the ball into a specific zone.

A spot where a colorless team player could easily collect it, but colored team players would find difficult to reach.

Hmm...

Got it!

Thwack!

The ball was whipped away at high speed, tracing an upward-slanting arc very similar to the one against NEC.

This ball possessed topspin as well!

It sailed just over the heads of both sets of players and then began to dip sharply!

"Nacer!"

Ten Hag shouted loudly. Barazite, hearing his name called, did not let the manager down; he leaned his upper body forward and fiercely headed the dipping ball directly into the turf.

Thwack!

It bounced once and then settled into the back of the net.

Clap, clap, clap, clap!

Ten Hag started applauding. "Still some details to iron out, but pretty much like that."

Designing and executing set-piece tactics was notoriously difficult.

Yet, Ten Hag belonged to that elite tier of managers after all.

With just a few casual pointers, he had practically resolved Utrecht's ongoing struggles with set-piece attacks!

As for Tang Ye.

Ten Hag placed a hand on Tang Ye's shoulder. "Lazybones, being lazy is fine, but as long as you keep up with my rhythm, you'll find success."