Chapter 111: It is absolutely wrong to violate the league's mainstream style of play!

The match continued; having found his rhythm, Tang Ye became increasingly bold.

Take the initiative to ask for the ball, and pass whenever you spot an opening!

After a series of actions, Villarreal’s possession rate began to plummet rapidly.

74%, 70%, 68%, now down to 60%!

In just over ten minutes, Villarreal’s possession rate dropped by more than ten percentage points.

Escrivà watched nervously from the sideline.

Against a Primeira Liga side, possession is only at 60%!

This isn’t the kind of stat a team that finished fourth in last season’s La Liga should produce!

Years of playing in La Liga made Escrivà dissatisfied with this possession rate, but he held his tongue.

Because Escrivà could see that since Tang Ye began his bold experiments, the team’s offensive frequency had indeed increased.

Previously, Huang Qian needed seven to eight minutes of possession to create a decent chance; now, that time was cut to under five minutes, sometimes even yielding two chances within three minutes.

Complex passing and movement were replaced by Tang Ye’s repeated direct through balls.

Though sometimes those through balls hit opposing players instead.

Ssshh—

Escrivà took a deep breath, his expression complicated.

Tang Ye’s style may look flashy, but it gives neither the head coach nor the fans any sense of security!

Just as Escrivà was thinking about possession, Huang Qian lost the ball again.

Bakambu failed to control the through ball Tang Ye played behind the defense!

【These Huang Qian players aren’t good either—they can’t even capitalize on the chances Tang the King gives them. Better off with Ale.】

【Ale was Tang the King’s former teammate—he knows how great Tang the King is.】

【That idiot who said Tang Ye couldn’t keep up with his teammates—doesn’t he see Tang Ye is now dragging them along?】

【Why do I feel Tang Ye has completely disrupted Huang Qian’s possession rhythm?】

【Just tell me—did they score or not?!】

At the 82nd minute, sensing an opportunity, Tang Ye abandoned his position and slipped into the box while the opposing defender wasn’t looking.

Huh?

Ma Di moved quickly, picking up his pen and starting to write.

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

The next second, Tang Ye, sprinting into space, stopped the ball with the inside of his foot and fired a quick shot to score.

The assistant coach’s second assistant stared at Ma Di’s notebook.

“...”

Ma Di felt embarrassed and quickly shielded his notebook with his body.

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

“You’ve changed it three times.”

The second assistant reminded him.

“Do you know why I use a pencil?”

Ma Di showed the eraser end of his pencil: “What’s written on paper must be constantly revised, slowly approaching the truth. Do you know why you’ve remained second assistant all this time? Think about it, buddy.”

“...”

Full-time: Villarreal defeated Porto 2-1.

“Phew...”

Tang Ye rubbed his buttocks with both hands, panting as he walked toward the player tunnel.

Though he’d played less than fifty minutes, Tang Ye felt exhausted.

More exhausted than when he’d been subbed off after seventy minutes at Utrecht due to the protection rule.

Tang Ye briefly considered why he felt so drained.

Simple: constant passing demands constant movement.

Tang Ye himself rarely moved off the ball, but his teammates’ constant runs forced him to move too.

That’s why Tang Ye was so tired!

“Well done.”

Escrivà came over and embraced Tang Ye.

One goal, one assist—Tang Ye was unquestionably today’s Man of the Match!

Walking together down the tunnel, Escrivà patted Tang Ye’s back: “Good job, Tom!”

“Haha, yeah, it was tiring.”

“...”

Escrivà covered his face with his left hand: “You should’ve said ‘not tired’—that’s what you’re supposed to say.”

“But I really am tired.”

Tang Ye turned his head.

He hadn’t played a proper football match in months; the sudden high-intensity passing and movement had left him drained.

“...Alright, rest well, just rest well.”

Escrivà exhaled deeply.

After spending over half a month with Tang Ye, the Spaniard realized something.

Taming a wild boar is extremely difficult!

But it doesn’t matter—Spaniards are bullfighters!

Escrivà believed he could succeed!

Click! Click!

Escrivà walked alone into the press room.

He could’ve brought today’s Man of the Match, but he chose not to.

In Spanish football philosophy, players under twenty-two shouldn’t face too many media interviews.

Scheming journalists easily disrupt young players’ mindsets!

“Hello, Ferran, your victory over Porto, who had won every match in the preseason, shows your players are in good form...”

“But we noticed that after the 70th minute, your tactics changed significantly—you began abandoning possession. Am I right?”

“That’s correct.”

Escrivà nodded, signaling the reporter to continue.

Already, he was formulating his response in his mind!

“I’d like to know—is this your new season’s tactic? Abandoning possession in favor of long balls and direct through balls?”

“No, absolutely not.”

Escrivà shook his head quickly.

“The mainstream of La Liga is possession football. Every team has outstanding passers and passing systems.”

“Deviating from the mainstream is absolutely wrong—I can state this clearly: we cannot go against the league.”

Escrivà explained.

The passing in the second half of today’s friendly was merely an experiment—it won’t affect the team’s official league matches.

“Yes, our mainstream remains possession. Possession football is always the best.”

Possession football is always the best—that was Escrivà’s belief as a Spaniard!

Diario Sport—Villarreal beat Primeira Liga’s Porto 2-1 in a friendly; Tang shows integration issues despite 1 goal, 1 assist.

Overseas Weekly—Tang Ye’s debut: 1 goal, 1 assist reveals king potential; can Huang Qian’s players keep up with Tang Ye’s rhythm?

Vs. Porto, Tang Ye’s post-match stats:

Pass completion rate: 76% (6th on team), lost possession 19 times (highest in match), created 5 chances (highest in match), created 2 clear chances (highest in match), won 1 of 5 physical duels (most lost in match).

【Guys, Tang the King really belongs in a team like Utrecht—he just can’t play possession football.】

【Suggest Huang Qian change tactics. Since they can’t beat Barcelona anyway with possession, why not just follow my Meng’s rhythm?】

【Hahaha】

【No way—Utrecht won the league only because the Eredivisie is weak. If you put Tang Ye in La Liga, are you gonna treat Messi and Ronaldo like amateurs?】

【Go get ‘em, Tang the King! When’s your first La Liga goal?!】

【At 38, registering as a La Liga player—you’re stepping into a completely uncharted territory.】

【Score 2 goals or provide 3 assists in La Liga: Reward—German Chest · Premium.】

“La Liga goals or assists...”

In his apartment, Tang Ye stared blankly at his computer desk. After the team helped him register as a formal La Liga player, he’d activated his first task since arriving in Spain.

Unlike his time at Utrecht, the system had clearly raised its demands on him.

Even the rewards for his first appearance or first start were gone!

He must score or assist!

He rubbed his hands together; there was still some time before La Liga officially started, so Tang Ye didn’t need to rush thinking about the German treasure chest yet.

He checked his remaining balance.

Account balance: 198 points

Tang Ye had spent nearly 2,500 reverse points on Spanish (proficient), leaving him with almost no money now.

Thinking of his team’s terrifyingly precise passing and control system, Tang Ye gritted his teeth and spent 25 reverse points—a huge sum—to buy a 【Azar’s Tarta Sauce Burger】, planning to use tomorrow’s day off to sharply improve his ball control.

Recent training and matches had made Tang Ye acutely aware: players with average ball control struggled terribly in La Liga!

…

The next day was the first team’s rest day, but Tang Ye had no rest—he needed to attend school at Cerámica International High School, 9 km from the base.

The school collaborated with Villarreal, so it offered special courses for athletes on Sundays.

Tang Ye couldn’t drive, so Ale drove him to school.

Sitting in the passenger seat, Tang Ye hugged his Joma backpack, his expression far from good.

“Tom, do you know what feeling you give me right now?”

Ale gripped the steering wheel with one hand, glancing over at Tang Ye: “Like a high schooler? Oh, wait—you actually are a high schooler, hahaha!”

“Fuck, it’s fine—only six months left. After six months, I won’t need to go to school anymore.”

Tang Ye counted the days; once he turned 18 next year, he’d take the school’s graduation exam, and if he passed, he’d never have to attend class again.

“Are you sure you can pass?”

Ale joked, but Tang Ye fell silent immediately.

“Hey, Tom, you… you really can’t pass, can you?”

“It’s hard to say yet.”

Tang Ye analyzed seriously: “I heard Spain’s graduation exam is harder than the Netherlands’. Damn, I should’ve come to La Liga a year later.”

“Hahahahahaha!”

Ale nearly lost control of the steering wheel: “So you really aren’t confident about passing the graduation exam? That’s not right—you studied Spanish before, your Spanish is great!”

“It’s just Spanish! I have to take other subjects too—I have to take Spanish history! Are you kidding me? Testing me on events before I was born? That’s bullying! How the hell am I supposed to know?”

This was Tang Ye’s first day of school in Spain; classes were supposed to start in October, but the club negotiated with the school to move his and other U18 players’ classes forward to August.

That way, when the schedule got busy in October, Tang Ye could skip classes entirely and only need to show up for a 60-minute test every two weeks!

The Volkswagen pulled up to the school gate; Tang Ye sat motionless.

“Tom, we’re here.”

Tang Ye didn’t move.

“Tom?”

“I know, I know, don’t rush me.”

Tang Ye opened the car door and walked into the school with his head down.

“Haha, Tom, study hard!”

Ale waved from behind, but all he got in return was Tang Ye’s middle finger.

Sitting in a classroom on the first floor, this was Grade 2, Class 0—the club’s youth academy class.

“Welcome to class,” said Teacher Adelina, standing before the blackboard. “We have sixteen students, all from Villarreal’s youth academy…”

She suddenly realized something was off—she spotted Tang Ye hiding in the corner: “I forgot—we have one first-team player too. Sorry. Tom, can I call you that?”

“Huh?”

Prompted by a classmate, Tang Ye quickly raised his hand and nodded: “Sure, whatever.”

Then he returned his attention to his desk drawer.

He was playing a FIFA match against Jimmy, a U18 player beside him.

The score was 5-1; Tang Ye was about to win!

“You’ve trained too little.”

Tang Ye whispered: “If you only play one hour a day, you might as well not play at all. If you’re going to play games, play seriously—split attention and you’ll never get good.”

As a “senior” from the first team, Tang Ye began lecturing Jimmy, the U18 player.

“But I have training every day—I don’t have that much time to play.”

“You make time.”

Tang Ye sighed in frustration: “You can play at night. Don’t you always get crushed in ranked matches? Your through balls are way too inconsistent.”

After finishing the match, Tang Ye slipped his phone back into his pocket.

He glanced up at Teacher Adelina at the front—she was writing complex chemical formulas on the board.

The Villarreal top midfielder began observing.

Confirming the teacher wasn’t looking his way, Tang Ye quickly moved to the window beside him and climbed out.

Huh?

Jimmy stared at the suddenly empty seat to his left, dazed—then he received a text.

From Tang Ye.

【If the teacher asks for me, say I’m sick and went to the bathroom. Then text me right away.】

Tang Ye’s apartment was only 9 km from the school—plenty of time for a bathroom break.

He’d planned all this in advance.

Places near the club base would naturally be close to the affiliated school!

Jimmy sent a “ok” back, then took a deep breath.

No wonder he was a first-team midfielder at 17—this level of tactical judgment and decisive action wasn’t something just anyone could pull off!

…

Time flew; on August 14, Villarreal played away against Leganés again.

The opponent was another La Liga team; this match served as a warm-up for Villarreal before the league began.

What fans cared about most was the matchday squad: last season’s Eredivisie assist king was making his first-ever first-team start!

…

(End of Chapter)