Chapter 110: Oh No, Did I Buy the Wrong Person? (20k Update, Seeking Monthly Tickets!)

On the sideline, Escrivá remained silent.

Before pushing for Tang Ye's transfer, he had watched many recordings of Tang Ye's matches.

This was the kind of pass seen in actual matches, and Escrivá had just witnessed it with his own eyes on the training ground today!

It was exactly this kind of pass!

However...

Escrivá fell into deep thought.

Tang Ye's passing creativity was absurdly high; he possessed the ability to break open a game.

But La Liga was not the Eredivisie, and Villarreal could not revolve entirely around Tang Ye the way Utrecht had.

Such an opportunistic approach would not work!

Escrivá made a decision, one he had already made long before Tang Ye arrived in Spain.

He was going to remodel Tang Ye!

He would preserve Tang Ye's creativity while also granting him excellent ball-control abilities.

Consistent match performance, coupled with the occasional ability to create chances—this was the final form Escrivá envisioned for Tang Ye!

The lazy pig from Montford would today be tamed by the Spanish matador!

"Peep!"

Assistant coach Martí blew the whistle to resume the scrimmage.

The scheduled scrimmage was thirty minutes, but since Tang Ye had produced good results, Escrivá needed to observe him a bit longer.

For the next friendly match against Porto, he wanted to take both Tang Ye and Aleix with him!

"Switch! Switch!"

Escrivá shouted toward the field: "Sebastián and Bacambu, swap positions! Aleix, just play according to your style as a center forward!"

The Villarreal players executed orders strongly; after the next dead ball, Aleix ran over directly and put on Bacambu's bib.

"Come on!"

Bacambu spread his hands toward Escrivá: "Ferran, I've just started finding my rhythm; can we not substitute yet?"

"What!?"

Escrivá gave Bacambu no pleasant look: "Substitute! This is a training requirement!"

Unable to argue with Escrivá, Bacambu had no choice but to run over to the B-team side.

What a pity; he had just begun to grasp what Aleix had said, only to be substituted off immediately in the next round.

Training continued, with Escrivá watching Tang Ye on the field with full concentration.

He decided not to speak for now, to see exactly how this fellow Tang Ye played football.

Yet only a few minutes after falling silent, Escrivá immediately encountered a problem.

Tang Ye had started strolling!

"Hey, Tom, come down!"

Escrivá substituted Tang Ye off the field, and the latter slowly jogged out of the pitch.

"Mr. Ferran!"

"Do you know why I called you out?"

"Is this... a training requirement?"

Tang Ye mimicked the words Escrivá had just spoken, while the latter looked at him speechlessly: "No! Tom, do you realize you haven't run for five minutes now? This is a training match, only forty-five minutes long; you don't need to conserve stamina for a second half."

Pointing at the players running on the field, Escrivá explained to Tang Ye: "Tom, understand? You should be running. After you start running, combine with your teammates; that is what makes a proper training match."

"Understood, Mr. Ferran."

Tang Ye nodded solemnly, but his blinking eyes always gave Escrivá the feeling that this fellow was not very reliable.

"Tom, can you understand what I'm saying?"

"Yes, Mr. Ferran!"

"That's good, that's good..."

When this afternoon's training session ended, Tang Ye felt his body was sore.

He took a look at his current skill progress.

【De Bruyne Curved Through Ball Lv3: Simulation】

Proficiency: 320/400

【De Bruyne 45-Degree Cross Lv3: Simulation】

Proficiency: 8/100

【De Bruyne Far-Corner Curling Shot Lv3: Simulation】

Proficiency: 89/250

After training at Utrecht ended, the proficiency levels of these three skills of Tang Ye had not increased at all.

It was not until today, with the new club starting, that Tang Ye finally saw progress on these three template skills again!

Currently, the one closest to leveling up was 【Curved Through Ball】; this was Tang Ye's most important skill as a ball-playing midfielder.

He just didn't know what degree of improvement would come after this thing leveled up to Lv4?

There was good news: after Tang Ye arrived at Villarreal for training, leveling up his skills had become easier.

This was something Tang Ye discovered during today's training.

Last season, when training at Utrecht, each through ball earned him 0.2 proficiency points, or 0.4 if successful.

But at Villarreal, the proficiency points he received had changed slightly.

For each through ball, as long as the positioning was roughly accurate, he could directly earn 0.5 proficiency points.

If successful, he would directly gain 1 point of proficiency.

The curved through-pass worked this way, and of course, the other two skills were exactly the same.

According to Tang Ye's guess, this increase in training yield should be caused by the strengthening of his team's overall strength.

"Sebastian, I suddenly realized a truth."

In the physiotherapy room, Tang Ye lifted his head and looked at Ale, who was lying down to his right.

"Hmm? What truth?"

"We should be more ambitious; we need to climb higher! The higher, the better!"

"..."

Ale buried his entire face in the pillow; he could no longer hold back his laughter.

It was a very sensible statement.

But...

Why did it sound so comical when Tang Ye said it???

Time moved into August; Villarreal players traveled to Porto, Portugal, preparing to play a friendly match against the Primeira Liga powerhouse Porto at the Estádio do Dragão.

Compared to the simultaneous International Champions Cup warm-up matches between AC Milan and Chelsea, the hype surrounding the Yellow Submarine's match against Porto was not high on a global scale.

But that didn't matter.

Although the global hype wasn't high, the hype in China was enormous!

【What do you say, brothers? He should be able to play in this warm-up match, right?】

【I haven't seen Tang Tang Qiuwang play for several months; my whole body is going numb.】

【The guy upstairs is in the same situation as me; we must all be poisoned! Damn it, why does the La Liga season only start in mid-August? Wouldn't it be better to kick off earlier?】

【Go, go, go, brothers! Where can we find resources for this match?】

【Broadcasting isn't the problem; the question is whether Tang Tang Qiuwang can get on the field.】

【He will definitely play in a warm-up match; otherwise, why would the Yellow Submarine buy him? Our Tang Tang Qiuwang is worth several million in loan fees, after all!】

On the day of the match, Tang Ye followed the team to the famous Estádio do Dragão.

"When making attacking passes, you must be cautious; our opponent today is extremely skilled at counter-attacks, which is something we need to pay attention to. Keep the ball at our feet and raise our possession rate; this is the key to the match!"

Escrivá stood in the middle of the locker room emphasizing tactical points, while Tang Ye chewed gum, head bowed, eyes glazed over.

Escrivá had sharp eyes and immediately spotted Tang Ye zoning out: "Tang, what are you doing?"

"Oh? Oh! Sorry, Mr. Ferran, please continue; I've been listening the whole time."

Tang Ye straightened his upper body and said seriously.

Escrivá naturally didn't believe Tang Ye's words; he walked over, squatted down, and said, "Tom, it's okay. Tell me what you're thinking about; tell me your problem."

"Alright."

Tang Ye nodded: "Why is this place called the Dragon Stadium?"

"..."

"Hahahahahaha!"

"Hahahahahaha! Ferran, damn it, hell, hurry up and explain it to Tang!"

The Villarreal players in the locker room were laughing, each one happier than the last.

"So this is what you were thinking about?"

Escrivá looked Tang Ye up and down: "To be honest, I don't know the answer to that question either."

"What a pity..."

"But! The focus now is the match, the match; we must win this match!"

Escrivá gestured for Tang Ye to stand up from the bench, then pushed him toward the door: "You can go out to the pitch now, Tang; you are playing in today's match, so focus your attention."

"Can you promise me one thing?"

Escrivá narrowed his eyes as Tang Ye turned around to look at his head coach: "Sure, Mr. Ferran." "Stop thinking about why this place is called the Dragon Stadium; that is not today's focus!"

"OK, brothers, this is Wang Chao's livestream room."

"The picture quality today isn't very clear, but there's no helping it; the broadcasting equipment for warm-up matches is usually trash, so let's just make do."

Wang Chao hurriedly adjusted the livestream feed.

He had livestreamed the last few Villarreal matches; even when Tang Ye wasn't included in the squad list, he would still stream.

There was no other way; the La Liga matches were about to begin, and by then, domestic fans who wanted to watch the games would have official channels available.

Although it was free, Wang Chao simply couldn't compete against the official channels.

Because the name of that official channel was "China Central Television"!

Wang Chao's instincts were sharp; he could feel that these warm-up matches were likely his last chance to absorb traffic related to Tang Ye!

"The match has already started; today, our Tang Tang Qiuwang is sitting on the substitutes' bench. This is Tang Ye's first time entering the squad list since his Zujiejia Alliance with Villarreal."

"Let me first introduce the starting lineup for the home team! As for the away team, I'll introduce them together when Tang Tang Qiuwang comes on as a substitute later."

"Porto, 4-3-3 formation, goalkeeper Casillas!"

!

"..."

The director's camera cut to Tang Ye on the substitutes' bench; he was still chewing gum as usual.

His expression looked a bit sleepy; fans who didn't understand the game might think Tang Ye hadn't rested well.

Fans who knew the game were already waiting for Tang Ye to get on the field.

Sitting on the substitutes' bench and observing, Tang Ye realized the intensity of this warm-up match was not high.

Porto and Villarreal had reached a tacit understanding: this warm-up match was primarily about finding form, so neither side should play too aggressively.

However, in the 34th minute, Porto midfielder Ruben Neves suddenly scored with a long-range shot, directly shattering the balance between the two sides.

"Damn, that accurate?"

Neves' long-range shot nearly scared the chewing gum right out of Tang Ye's mouth.

"Stop admiring it, Tang, get ready to go on!"

Escrivá ahead waved Tang Ye over, while Ale was also called up at the same time.

"Brothers! He's here! Tang Ye is here!"

"Are there any Porto fans in the livestream room? The Eredivisie's top assister and top scorer are warming up together; are you scared now!"

"Which team's fan is the streamer? Oh, the streamer is a Villarreal fan."

Wang Chao turned on his camera; the red-and-white Utrecht jersey that had been hanging on the wall had somehow been replaced by a yellow Villarreal jersey.

You might think Wang Chao is an Utrecht fan, but he is not.

Fan bases for teams outside the top five leagues are generally small; Wang Chao was simply not an Utrecht fan.

"Brothers who often watch my livestream should know: the streamer is a Villarreal fan and has been watching La Liga for over 20 years."

The second half began, and both teams started making substitutions; Villarreal's head coach Escrivá was a ruthless man, making seven changes at once to completely refresh the lineup.

New signings for this season took the field alongside last season's substitutes.

This included Tang Ye, Tang Ye's old teammate Ale, and Rodri, a good friend Tang Ye had just met!

Jogging onto the pitch, Tang Ye noticed many of his teammates liked to touch the grass and then kiss their hands.

Tang Ye didn't know what exactly this was supposed to accomplish, but he imitated the action anyway.

【You have purchased Vardy's Red Bull】

"Control the ball, control the ball!"

It was the same old story; Escrivá demanded the players on the field keep possession.

Rodri, Soriano, and Trigueros kept passing the ball around, making Porto's forward players extremely anxious.

Of course, Porto's defenders weren't the only ones facing this problem.

Tang Ye was facing the exact same issue!

He couldn't even touch the ball!

"Move! Get moving!"

Escrivá shouted at Tang Ye.

Oh?

Thinking it over carefully, Tang Ye finally realized what was happening.

Was it because he wasn't standing in the right position that his teammates weren't passing to him?

Quickly finding a suitable spot, Tang Ye sprinted over.

The moment he reached the position, Rodri's pass arrived immediately!

Just as expected!

Tang Ye's eyes lit up.

At this moment, the training content began to pay off; after receiving the ball, Tang Ye actively looked for his teammates.

A short pass went out!

The ball landed at Soriano's feet!

Perfect!

Tang Ye had found the feeling—that sensation of coordinating with teammates to execute possession play!

Clap, clap, clap!

Escrivá applauded Tang Ye on the field.

Although Tang Ye was a bit lazy, inactive during training, prone to zoning out when the coach spoke, always asking strange questions, and usually holed up in his dorm playing video games...

... after excluding all those flaws, Tang Ye still possessed quite a few strengths.

He was a typical "pig-type" player: he wouldn't listen to words, but just give him a kick and he would start running!

"Come, come, come!"

"Mine!"

Tang Ye trapped the ball under his foot, performed a flashy stationary step-over, and then passed it forward to Ale.

Ale passed to Bacambu, but a Porto defender seized the moment Bacambu received the ball, clearing it away with a single kick.

From the 45th minute to the current 75th minute of the second half, Villarreal controlled 74% of the match's possession.

On the surface, it seemed incredibly impressive.

But looking at the goal statistics, the score on the field was 1:0, with Villarreal trailing by one goal.

In terms of attacking data, Villarreal had created a total of 5 chances, falling behind Porto's 7.

Facts proved that Porto's form at the start of the new season was terrifyingly good.

As the fourth-place finisher in last season's La Liga, Villarreal's substitute lineup could not even defeat Porto's substitute lineup!

"Huff, huff..."

The non-stop passing made Tang Ye feel somewhat unaccustomed, and what was most critical was that he was playing in midfield.

Within Villarreal's classic passing system, the passing duties borne by the midfield were extremely burdensome.

This also caused Tang Ye to feel a bit of a headache right now.

Watching the ball roll toward him, a wicked thought suddenly surged up in Tang Ye's heart.

Damn it, I can't take this anymore!

Let the ball slip past himself, turn around, and then control it with his left foot.

He didn't know if it was because of Zhou Zhou Botong's Left-Right Mutual Combat, but Tang Ye was now having trouble distinguishing his left foot from his right.

Whatever, it's all the same; just knock the ball forward and go!

Ma Ti, the assistant coach responsible for recording the team's issues in real-time, took out his pen and wrote a sentence in his notebook.

【Tom: Consistent with the scout report; poor discipline.】

"Let's go, let's go!"

Tang Ye shouted toward the front.

Bakambu hadn't reacted yet, but Haller had already started making a forward run.

Tang Ye stepped on the ball, curled it out with the outside of his right foot on the right flank, and the leather sphere rolled from right to left.

Passed to Haller!

Haller scores!

This is the offensive instinct of an Eredivisie Golden Boot winner!

【At 38, you joined La Liga's Villarreal and secured an assist in your first appearance for the team; for a 38-year-old player, earning an assist in a La Liga match is an incredible feat.】

【Pity that goals in a friendly match are hardly worth celebrating; you have obtained 1 Counterattack Point.】

"Hmm."

Ma Ti raised his eyebrows, picked up his pen, and continued writing in his notebook.

【Tom: Consistent with the scout report; poor discipline, but strong creativity.】

After Haller scored, players from both sides slowly began returning to their positions.

The camera cut to Escrivá in front of the away team's substitute bench; the Spaniard had spotted a problem.

A very, very serious problem!

Damn it, why was Tang Ye passing with his left foot?

Some fans might not have noticed, but Escrivá, standing on the sideline as the coach, saw it crystal clear.

Tang Ye passed with his f***ing left foot, and even used the outside of his foot?

He remembered watching the Utrecht match recordings; Tang Ye should have been passing with his right foot.

Did we... did we buy the wrong player?

(End of Chapter)