Chapter 113: Sergio, Which One Is the Left Foot?

The match ended with a final score of 1-1.

This was Villarreal's last pre-season friendly; setting aside the mistakes, the overall performance was acceptable to Escrivá.

After the match, Escrivá called Tang Ye out of the locker room for a private chat.

"Mr. Fei, Mr. Ferran..."

Tang Ye sounded a bit nervous as he spoke.

He could tell that Mr. Ferran was not in a good mood.

During the second half of today's match, Tang Ye had abandoned passing and possession play with his teammates due to stamina issues; surely, this was what had made Mr. Ferran angry.

However, contrary to Tang Ye's expectations, Escrivá did not bring up this matter.

"You took a set piece with your left foot in the second half; why was that?"

?

Tang Ye looked up at Escrivá: "..."

"Then should I use my right foot next time?"

"No, no, no, that's not what I mean; I'm asking why you used your left foot to take the set piece!"

Escrivá was somewhat anxious.

Having coached top-tier teams for so many years, Tang Ye was the first player he had ever seen who could take set pieces with both feet.

Most importantly, Tang Ye's left foot was just as steady as his right!

Carefully recalling the situation during the match, Tang Ye gave his answer: "At the time, I felt the position of my left foot was quite good; since I needed to avoid the defenders inside the penalty area, judging by the positioning at that moment... hmm, the curve from the left foot was more suitable."

"No, you still haven't understood what I mean!"

Escrivá grabbed Tang Ye's shoulders: "How did you learn to take set pieces with your left foot? Have you always been able to do it?"

"Yes."

"..."

Hiss—

Taking a deep breath, shaking his head left and right, and confirming there was no one else around, Escrivá continued the question he hadn't finished asking: "I watched all the highlights from your time at Utrecht; not a single pass or set piece of yours was taken with the left foot. Why is that?"

"It depends on the situation."

Tang Ye spoke slowly: "At Utrecht, I was accustomed to using my right foot because I was very used to it, but that won't work now; the pace in La Liga is fast, and sometimes I don't have time to switch feet, so I can only use my left."

Escrivá nodded.

This fellow Tang Ye could be said to be the strangest player Escrivá had encountered in his coaching career.

"So, did anyone at Utrecht know you could use your left foot?"

Tang Ye thought again for a moment: "Seems like no one knew, huh?"

"Wow."

Thinking about it, it was obvious: if anyone at Utrecht had known Tang Ye was a two-footed player, Villarreal would never have been able to loan him for a price of 3 million euros.

Escrivá pressed his lips together, sinking into thought.

He now found himself in a very awkward situation.

He knew Tang Ye was a treasure, but the problem was that the team's tactical characteristics clashed with Tang Ye's style of play.

How the hell was this supposed to be handled?

Creak—

Escrivá pushed open the door and entered the press conference room, where the sound of camera shutters clicking immediately filled the air.

Reporters once again asked Escrivá questions regarding Tang Ye.

Spanish football reporters were no fools; just as Escrivá could see that Tang Ye clashed with the team's style of play, the reporters could see it too.

"Ferran, before pushing for Tang's transfer, did you consider that he might not be able to execute your tactical requirements?"

"To be honest, I did not consider that issue."

Escrivá spoke the truth.

During his time at Utrecht, Tang Ye had few dribbling scenes, but his first touch was very steady, which led Escrivá to mistakenly believe Tang Ye possessed excellent ball control.

Logically speaking, the assist king of the Eredivisie should not have had poor dribbling skills!

This was his mistake.

However, it now appeared that this mistake had brought Villarreal a windfall!

"So, do you regret this deal now? Or, in the upcoming matches, will you include Tang in your tactical arrangements?"

The reporter continued to ask.

Just after the reporter finished asking this question, a smile appeared on Escrivá's face.

These idiot reporters were eighty percent likely trying to criticize him for wasting the team's 3 million euro loan fee.

They were still completely in the dark!

"I will not regret it; I will not regret any deal I have made."

Escrivá spoke slowly: "As for incorporating Tang into the team's tactics, I believe that is a certainty; we spent money to bring Tang to the team with the purpose of having him perform on the field."

"But currently, it seems he cannot adapt to the team's system."

"I know, I know, but I will solve this problem; that is my job!"

Escrivá's voice gradually grew louder, and the reporters knew he did not wish to continue discussing this topic.

They switched to a new topic.

"On August 17th, you will host Monaco in the Champions League playoff match; are you prepared?"

The first leg of the Champions League qualifying playoffs was Villarreal's first official match of the season!

"Yes, of course, we are ready."

Escrivá nodded very firmly: "Monaco is a team with excellent overall strength; there is no doubt about that, but I believe we are prepared."

……

On the train back to the base, Tang Ye chewed his favorite gum.

He was thinking now.

After taking a set piece with his left foot, Tang Ye suddenly realized he could no longer distinguish left from right.

It wasn't that he couldn't tell left and right apart at all; it was just that Tang Ye sometimes forgot.

Just like now, Tang Ye looked down at his two feet.

Which one is the left foot?

Which one is the right foot?

Tang Ye had no way to tell.

He turned his head to look at Rodri beside him: "Sergio."

"What is it?"

Tang Ye stretched out his lower leg, pointed at his left foot, and asked: "Is this the left foot or the right foot?"

"The left foot; why are you asking me this?"

"Nothing, I was just asking."

Tang Ye placed his left foot back on the ground.

Rodri had just confirmed it for him; this was indeed the left foot.

Wait!

Tang Ye realized something not quite right.

Which foot did Rodri just say was the left one?

Damn!

No, no!

Tang Ye shook his head and immediately turned his consciousness to the system in his mind.

【Zhou Zhou Botong Left-Right Mutual Combat Template (Ultimate)】

(1) Completely replicate the ability of your dominant foot onto your non-dominant foot;

(2) When your dominant foot acquires a new template, completely replicate that template onto your non-dominant foot.

It never mentioned any side effects...

The only explanation was that the system had bugged out again, just like the previous 【De Bruyne Spatial Positioning】 at Gundam Lv6.

Tang Ye felt very uncomfortable now.

The previous bug had been helpful to Tang Ye, but this current bug had completely erased his ability to judge left and right directions.

That's not right!

Tang Ye suddenly realized a problem.

Since his left and right feet were exactly the same, why bother distinguishing between them? Just use whichever foot suited the situation on the field, and that would be that.

As soon as he thought of this, Tang Ye suddenly didn't feel uncomfortable anymore.

……

Check Dongqiu Di Pinned Post: What's going on? Tang Ye suddenly used his left foot for a set piece in a friendly match; was this an accident, or was he hiding a trick?

Check Dongqiu Di Repost: Yellow Submarine and Monaco will decide the new season's Champions League qualification; does Tang Ye have a chance to participate in the Champions League this new season?

The matter of Tang Ye using his left foot sparked significant discussion in Spain, the Netherlands, and of course China, with Chinese fans debating the most intensely.

Judging from the two friendly matches, Tang Ye's left foot definitely had some skill, and his proficiency was likely quite high.

So now the question arises: the great Tang Tang Qiuwang clearly possessed the ability to kick with his left foot but chose not to use it.

Why is that?

There is only one reason!

That damn Ten Hag!

During his time at Utrecht, Tang Tang Qiuwang hid his left foot specifically to prevent Ten Hag from knowing about his left-footed ability, thereby avoiding being controlled by Ten Hag!

【There are still people praising Ten Hag; what is there to praise about Ten Hag?】

【What do you people know? Ten Hag is Tang Ye's mentor; how could Tang Ye intentionally hide skills under Ten Hag? There must be another reason you just don't know about.】

【I know now; there's also a mysterious old man inside Tang Ye's gum, and it's Xiao Yan!】

【Screw you; Tang Tang Qiuwang absolutely hid his left foot because he couldn't stand it anymore. If Ten Hag doesn't feed you, would you be willing to play hard?】

On Manchester United's side, Ten Hag is currently busy strengthening the team during the Piggy Xia Chuang, and he is not yet aware of what has happened to Tang Ye.

After the match against Leganés concluded, Escrivá held a small meeting attended by the team's three assistant coaches, including all four fitness coaches.

Taking into comprehensive consideration Tang Ye's performance in the friendly matches, Escrivá clearly expressed during the meeting his intention to heavily rely on Tang Ye in the new season.

"I don't know exactly how to use him yet, but what I need to say is that we need a player like this to help the team; Tang will be a key link for Villarreal in the new season, but how exactly to do this depends on future training."

Escrivá's current goal was to transform Tang Ye.

He wanted him to possess passing and control abilities while retaining Tang Ye's creative passing capability.

If Tang Ye could possess both of these abilities simultaneously, then things would be very simple for Escrivá: he would directly place Tang Ye in the attacking midfielder position and continue using the team's tactics from last season.

"What if we cannot train Tang to develop sufficient passing and control abilities?"

Martí suddenly asked.

As the coach responsible for passing training, in his view, wanting Tang Ye to acquire La Liga-level passing stability and awareness in such a short time was a possibility with low probability.

"He will definitely have it."

Escrivá's expression was resolute.

Tang Ye absolutely had to possess sufficient passing and control ability; otherwise, Escrivá wouldn't even know how to use him!

Besides Tang Ye's transformation training, Escrivá also discussed the upcoming Champions League playoff against Monaco during this small meeting.

The team definitely wanted to secure Champions League qualification, but unfortunately, Monaco was not an easy opponent to deal with.

Two paths lay before Escrivá.

1. Do not let Tang Ye play; instead, use the team's lineup from last season to face Monaco. Although missing several key players, Villarreal was, after all, the fourth-place finisher in La Liga last season, so if they went head-to-head with Monaco, it was truly uncertain who would win.

2. Let Tang Ye play; although risky, considering Tang Ye's outstanding individual creativity, Villarreal might just create some kind of miracle.

The coaching staff argued endlessly over this topic, until finally Escrivá made the ultimate decision.

For the Champions League playoff against Monaco, Tang Ye would remain on the bench on standby!

There was no other way; the prize money for Champions League matches was far too great, so Escrivá had to be cautious!

……

(End of Chapter)