Chapter 115: La Liga Debut! Did He Score?

Crack!

Crack crack!

Under the gaze of the reporters, Ten Hag walked into the press conference room at Wembley Stadium.

The La Liga season hadn't started yet, but Ten Hag had already led his team to two consecutive victories in the Premier League.

In addition to the Premier League, just a week earlier, under Ten Hag's leadership, Manchester United defeated Leicester City 2-1 to bravely claim the Community Shield title.

Tell a ghost story: after joining Manchester United, Ten Hag took only 27 days to win his first trophy with the club!

"Yes, Manchester United is currently in a rebuilding phase; both the coach and the players need to put in tremendous effort."

"Rebuilding?"

Ten Hag raised an eyebrow: "I don't particularly like the word 'rebuilding,' because in my view, Manchester United has always been a powerhouse in its prime."

Crack crack!

"Can we talk about Tom?"

Upon hearing "Tom," Ten Hag reflexively turned his head, only then realizing there was a media outlet from Spain present at the press conference.

"Erik, you seem to have hit the nail on the head; Tom failed to keep up with Villarreal's rhythm, and he didn't even get a chance to play in the first leg of the Champions League qualifiers."

After the reporter finished asking this question, a hint of sadness appeared on Ten Hag's expression.

"Well..."

"Tang is a very outstanding player; you must admit that. Although I anticipated he would struggle to establish himself in La Liga, failing to adapt to La Liga doesn't mean he is an ordinary player."

Ten Hag spoke slowly, once again emphasizing the fact that his prediction had come true.

"In a year, he will return to Utrecht, back to the Eredivisie, and by then he will once again be the super assist leader within the Utrecht squad."

Ten Hag was a head coach who placed great importance on the bond between master and disciple, which moved some of the reporters below the stage.

In truth, everyone rather hoped that master and disciple, Tang Ye and Ten Hag, would reunite; it was just a pity that the ability Tang Ye had currently displayed was insufficient to support him in high-intensity matches in the Premier League or La Liga.

Back at Villarreal, the Yellow Submarine players, having lost to Monaco, resumed training.

Defeat was heartbreaking, but the players had to pull themselves together.

Because the new La Liga season was about to begin!

Slap, slap slap slap!

The sound of striking the ball echoed frequently on the training ground as Escrivá and Martí stood by the sidelines, watching the players undergoing passing drills.

What surprised Escrivá somewhat was that despite having no playing time, Tang Ye's mood seemed largely unaffected, something quite rare among young players, or even top-tier stars.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!"

Trapping the ball passed by Bacambu, Tang Ye used a feint to create space, then delivered a through ball along the baseline.

The movement wasn't fast, but when Tang Ye performed it, there was a distinct sense of rhythm.

Pato sent in a cross without controlling the ball first, and Aleix steadily scored.

"TOM!"

Escrivá shouted toward the field.

Tang Ye pointed at his own nose: "Me?"

"Who else here is Tom besides you?"

"Seems like no one?"

"Then come over here quickly!"

Escrivá called Tang Ye to the sidelines while Martí continued leading the players in training.

"The league is about to start."

With his hands in his pockets, Escrivá began walking around the training ground with Tang Ye.

Suddenly turning around, Escrivá looked Tang Ye straight in the eyes: "Do you remember what I told you on the phone during the transfer?"

"I remember."

Tang Ye held up his right hand, counting on his fingers: "The team's training is quite arduous, I can't be lazy, and then... hmm, and then that's it."

"That's not what I'm talking about; that's not the main point."

"Then what is the main point?"

Escrivá let out a long sigh.

He had almost forgotten that this fellow Tang Ye thought differently from normal people.

"I said you would at least be a rotation player for the team, most likely even a starter; I promised you that, don't you remember?"

"..."

Tang Ye frowned, wearing an expression of deep thought.

"Was there such a thing?"

"Not 'was there,' I definitely said it!"

Escrivá's attitude was firm: "I just wanted to talk to you about this matter; I'm very sorry, but I might not be able to give you a rotation position right at the start of the season."

"But don't worry!"

Fearing Tang Ye might get anxious, Escrivá quickly added a sentence, though so far Tang Ye didn't seem to have any extreme reaction.

"The position I promised you will definitely be yours, but the actual situation has changed slightly; I need to wait until you train to a sufficient level of passing ability before I can include you in the starting lineup."

"..."

Tang Ye pressed his lips together and said nothing.

Mr. Ferran's meaning was that before Tang Ye trained to a sufficiently excellent level of passing ability, he couldn't include Tang Ye in the squad.

The reason was that Tang Ye's presence would directly disrupt Villarreal's possession-based system!

"Don't be nervous; I guarantee you are an extremely talented player, but you still need two to three months of settling in!"

Two to three months of settling in...

Hearing this, Tang Ye's expression finally changed slightly.

Only after two to three months of settling in would there be a chance to play.

Hiss—

Why does it feel like I'm back with the Utrecht reserve team?

After returning to the dormitory that evening, Tang Ye played a few games as per his habit, then started scrolling through news on Twitter.

【Ferran shouldn't have wanted Tom; luckily it's just a loan, otherwise Villarreal would have suffered a huge loss.】

【Tom recorded 36 assists in a single Eredivisie season; why can't he perform at the Yellow Submarine?】

【He just can't adapt; Utrecht doesn't play possession football, so he shouldn't have come to La Liga; the Primeira Liga and Eredivisie would have suited him better.】

【A dud!】

【I just watched Tom's matches from his Utrecht days; his passing was truly excellent, but that was his only strength!】

Damn it!

The thing he feared most had happened; he succeeded once during his time at Utrecht, which caused fans to unconsciously raise their expectations of him.

Now that Tang Ye couldn't get playing time in his new team, he naturally faced condemnation from the new team's fans.

"Phew..."

Exhaling deeply, Tang Ye actually very much wanted to prove himself; he had been extremely active in training these past few days, but alas, Mr. Ferran had already said he wouldn't give him a chance to play for now!

Tang Ye's hands tightly gripped his pillow; he suddenly felt an unprecedented sense of discomfort.

Time moved to August 20th, and the first round of La Liga match between Granada and Villarreal officially kicked off.

In this match, Tang Ye was once again included in the squad list, but he remained on the substitutes' bench.

La Liga's popular possession-based attacking style unfolded; both sides maintained a good rhythm, though neither managed to create a scoring opportunity in the first half.

In the second half, an unexpected incident suddenly occurred on the field.

"Hey! Cuenca stepped directly on Trigueros' ankle!"

"Looks like a sprain?"

"Villarreal's team doctor has entered the field; let's check on Trigueros' condition!"

Damn!

Escrivá let out an angry roar.

It was clear that Trigueros' condition meant he couldn't continue the match, so they had to find someone on the substitutes' bench.

Poor Villarreal's bench had only two midfielders in total: Tang Ye and Rodri.

Escrivá had to make a choice between Tang Ye and Rodri.

His choice was...

"Tom, hurry up and change!"

Huh?

Tang Ye pointed at his own nose; just as he was about to confirm with the coach again, Rodri beside him directly pushed him up.

"Right away, I'm coming right away!"

Tang Ye stepped onto the chair, tied his shoelaces in a few quick moves, then took off the bib he was wearing.

"Huff, huff, huff..."

Standing by the sideline, Tang Ye could feel his breathing becoming increasingly rapid.

He had never been this nervous before!

Kneeling on the ground to adjust his socks, Escrivá squatted down beside Tang Ye: "Good luck."

↓14 Trigueros

↑99 Tang Y.

Dongqiu Di Live Match Report: A sudden opportunity? In the 65th minute, Villarreal midfielder Trigueros got injured, and Tang Ye came on as a substitute!

Dongqiu Di Pinned Post: Come watch quickly, a Chinese player lands in La Liga again!

【Here we go, brothers, an official La Liga match!】

【Not bad, not bad; Escrivá is still willing to give Tang Tang Qiuwang a chance!】

【Awesome; I think whether Meng-ge can start after this depends entirely on today's match.】

【Escrivá? Saint Escrivá!】

Clap, clap!

High-fiving Trigueros, Tang Ye quickly ran onto the field.

Thump, thump!

The sound of the home fans singing the team anthem in the stands was loud, and the sound of Tang Ye's heartbeat was equally loud.

After being scolded on Twitter for several days, this was Tang Ye's best opportunity!

Having secured his Red Bull, Tang Ye immediately began observing left and right after entering the field.

This match was extremely, extremely important; he had to go all out!

"We can see that the number 99 player for Villarreal on the field is the young talent from our country, Tang Ye; he came to Villarreal from Utrecht this July with a loan fee of 3 million euros."

In the broadcast booth, He Wei was now somewhat excited.

A Chinese player, in an official La Liga match!

No matter what kind of performance Tang Ye puts on in today's match, he is destined to be praised to the skies by domestic fans!

In the 68th minute of the match, captain Bruno completed a tackle on Cuenca in defense.

Tang Ye saw this opportunity and actively ran toward Bruno.

"To me!"

Slap!

A grounded pass went out; Bruno accurately found Tang Ye, who had moved up to receive it.

Controlling the ball and turning!

"Go up!"

The Granada players were fast; seeing Tang Ye take possession, they charged straight at him.

This is a major difference between La Liga and the Eredivisie; the pace in La Liga matches is generally faster, and players must release the ball quickly after gaining possession.

Tang Ye didn't have much time to think!

"Here!"

Soriano ran into position and called for the ball from Tang Ye; Tang Ye quickly passed it out and immediately began his own off-ball run.

De Bruyne Spatial Run LV6: Not Ashamed to Ask!

Although it was obtained by exploiting a bug, this was indeed an ability Tang Ye possessed.

He secretly slipped between Kerzhin and Agbo.

Charge in!

Having completed the penetrating run, Tang Ye was just about to call for the ball from Soriano when Soriano passed it to him the very instant he arrived in position!

Good heavens, these Yellow Submarine players' grasp of passing timing was truly incomparable to the teammates Tang Ye had during his Utrecht days.

This was perfect; Tang Ye received the ball extremely comfortably!

Kerzhin, retreating to defend, prepared to tackle Tang Ye, but at this moment, Tang Ye played a trick.

He suddenly stepped on the ball and stopped dead in his tracks!

?

Kerzhin was stunned!

Because of Tang Ye's sudden stop, he had run past him!

Haha!

Spotting a good opportunity, Tang Ye felt a surge of joy in his heart and threaded a through-ball to Soriano, who was making a run on his right.

He then continued running toward the edge of the penalty arc!

Although Tang Ye wasn't very fond of running around during possession play, it had to be said that the off-ball movement awareness of these Yellow Submarine players was truly excellent.

Moving to the center, Soriano passed to Bruno, who sent a through-ball straight to Tang Ye's feet.

It was Tang Ye with the ball again; at first glance, it seemed like nothing special, but soon the Granada players realized something was wrong.

Tang Ye's positioning was very advanced, just like a striker!

Controlling the ball at the edge of the arc and running toward the penalty area, Tang Ye's mindset became somewhat anxious due to his eagerness to prove his detractors wrong.

It feels like a suitable opportunity...

Forget it!

Shoot directly!

The fans in the stands suddenly fell silent, while goalkeeper Ochoa stood motionless in place.

He completely hadn't expected Tang Ye to choose to shoot himself!

Wasn't he supposed to be a substitute? Why was he so bold?

"Goal!"

"Goal!"

"Tang Ye!"

"In the 71st minute of the match, Villarreal opens the scoring!"

"This is Villarreal's first goal of the current La Liga season, scored by Tang Ye!"

The two commentators in the CCTV broadcast booth could no longer contain their excited emotions.

Before the match started, the internet was full of people calling Tang Ye a dud.

As a result, the Yellow Submarine's first league goal was still scored by Tang Ye.

The problem is that Tang Ye is damn well a midfielder!

"Haha!"

Tang Ye ran quickly toward the corner flag.

A goal!

This was a goal in La Liga!

"VAMOS!"

Bruno and Aleix ran over together, and the two of them directly hugged Tang Ye.

The Yellow Submarine players on the bench were also cheering, as for Escrivà...

"Damn."

Escrivà touched the hair on his head.

This attack was relatively smooth, and the coordination between the players was quite acceptable.

But Escrivà now had one question he couldn't figure out.

How did Tang Ye score that goal?

The stadium's big screen replayed the recent attack, and at the moment of the shot, the director deliberately gave Tang Ye a slow-motion close-up.

In the frame, Tang Ye looked toward Pato's direction, and his supporting foot also pointed toward the right-wing baseline.

It seemed he intended to pass the ball to the flank, but Tang Ye twisted his ankle and suddenly turned it into a shot.

Escrivà laughed.

This kid is unusually sharp!

Walking slowly back to his position, Tang Ye heard the system's voice in his mind.

【At 38, you scored a goal in the La Liga.】

【You have received 15 Counterattack Points.】

【This is your first goal in the La Liga; an extra reward of 15 Counterattack Points.】

!

Tang Ye remembered that in the Eredivisie, one goal was worth 10 Counterattack Points?

Now one goal is worth 15 points!

Thinking it over carefully, Tang Ye understood clearly.

Just like the growth template training and proficiency, Tang Ye would increase the proficiency of the 【De Bruyne Growth Template】 skill during training.

And while training at Villarreal, the proficiency Tang Ye gained was more than double what he got when training at Utrecht.

This was because Villarreal was a team one tier higher than Utrecht.

By the same logic applied to league goals, the La Liga is one tier higher than the Eredivisie, so Tang Ye could receive more rewards when scoring in the La Liga!

"Beep!"

The referee's whistle blew, and the second goal of the second half was kicked off by the Granada forward.

Tang Ye started running again.

Scoring in his La Liga debut, Tang Ye had already created a new record in Villarreal's history.

However, he was not satisfied yet.

He needed a very good performance!

Tang Ye needed a better performance to shut the mouths of the Twitter trolls.

Of course, he also needed to fight for a starting position for himself.

Mr. Ferran said he would let Tang Ye enter the team's midfield rotation in 2–3 months, but Tang Ye could not wait that long.

He really couldn't be scolded anymore!

……

(End of this chapter)