Chapter 127: Tang Ye! Impersonating a Winger!

"China Central Television! This is the live broadcast of Round 4 of La Liga, the match between Villarreal and Real Sociedad at Villarreal's home ground!"

"Now, let me introduce the starting lineups for this match!"

"..."

"For the Yellow Submarine, Tang Ye remains in the starting lineup; his current league statistics stand at one goal and three assists, though it remains to be seen what kind of performance Tang Ye will deliver in today's match!"

Real Sociedad (4-2-3-1)

Goalkeeper: Rulli

Defenders: Berchiche, Martinez, Gonzalez, Zaldua

Midfielders: Zurutuza, Hu Hu Anmi, Illarramendi

Forwards: Oyarzabal, Willian José, Vela

Head Coach: Eusebio

Walking out of the player tunnel, the announcer's voice introducing the players gave Tang Ye a slight headache.

These Spaniards and their names—each one longer than the last.

As if length weren't enough, they even insist on using identical names!

The Yellow Submarine already has one Gonzalez, and now the opposition brings another!

"Let's go!"

Bruno slapped Tang Ye's buttocks, and Tang Ye gave a thumbs-up.

【You have purchased Vardy Red Bull】

"Beep!!!"

"Alright, the match has begun! Currently, the two teams rank fourth and sixth in the league respectively; considering Real Sociedad's excellent overall form this season, they are likely the strongest opponent Villarreal has faced in the league so far this season!"

"Of course, for Real Sociedad, Villarreal is also the strongest team they have encountered in the league up to this point!"

【Tang Tang Qiuwang sprints!】

【Okay brothers, a standard one-handed gum wrapper opening, time to start my performance~】

【Heard the opposition is quite strong; wonder how I, Tang Tang Qiuwang, will handle it?】

【How to handle it? Just kick it blindly!】

"Come back, come back! Too far forward! Too far forward!"

"Go, go, go, move up, move up, support your teammates!"

In every match where Tang Ye plays, Escrivá drinks a lot of water.

Why does he need to drink so much water?

Because he needs to shout instructions from the sidelines continuously.

Then why does Escrivá have to keep shouting whenever Tang Ye is on the field?

Because this fellow Tang Ye never runs according to conventional patterns!

In a 4-4-2 formation, the attacking midfielder's position is relatively deep, especially during defense, where the attacking and defensive midfielders almost align on the same horizontal line.

But Tang Ye is different.

During attacks, Tang Ye positions himself absurdly far forward, sometimes even running right behind Ale's backside.

This causes Tang Ye to fail to track back in time during defense.

A bizarre player, a player who gives coaches headaches!

No sooner had he thought this than Tang Ye, carelessly, ran right behind Ale's backside again.

"Come ba—"

Slap!

Receiving Ale's layoff, Tang Ye delivered a left-footed 45-degree cross into the penalty area; Bakambu nearly connected with a header, missing by a hair's breadth.

"Come ba—Damn it!"

Escrivá clenched his fists tightly.

Damn it, this is precisely the difficulty of coaching Tang Ye.

Clearly erroneous positioning, yet it somehow creates chances.

Sometimes Escrivá even doubts whether he is truly a professional head coach.

Who exactly is wrong?

Escrivá doesn't know whether he or Tang Ye is at fault; he even wishes he could ask Ten Hag to judge the matter.

But what Escrivá doesn't know is that Ten Hag himself doesn't know whether Tang Ye is right or wrong either.

Ten Hag only knows that he himself has done nothing wrong.

That is enough!

"So we sailed onto the sun."

"Till we found the sea of green."

"..."

"Villarreal!"

Boom! Boom!

"Villarreal!"

Boom! Boom!

The fans in the stands were both singing and chanting the team's name, creating an incredibly lively atmosphere at the venue.

Just as the CCTV commentator said earlier, Real Sociedad is likely the strongest opponent Villarreal has faced in the league so far this season.

At least in these first few minutes of the match, they are playing even better than Sevilla did!

"Wow!!!"

The fans suddenly let out screams; Zurutuza and Illarramendi executed a brilliant one-two pass in the center, leaving Bruno and Bacambu trapped in their circle, unsure what to do.

The tempo was fast; after breaking through with the ball, Zurutuza's long pass accurately found Vela.

A standard long ball, with backspin and trajectory controlled perfectly.

Tang Ye watched with some envy, but there was no time for him to be envious now.

The opponent's attack had bypassed Yellow Submarine's midfield defense line entirely!

This was extremely dangerous!

"Get back, get back!"

Bruno shouted loudly; Tang Ye glanced left and right, spotted Zurutuza beside him, and ran behind him.

Zurutuza's speed was fast, and Tang Ye was straining hard to keep up!

On Yellow Submarine's left-wing baseline, Vela and Costa were engaged in a one-on-one duel, while midfielder Soriano moved to provide defensive support!

Vela was the type of player who loved to show off; he didn't cross immediately, causing Real Sociedad to lose the opportunity for a quick counterattack.

Vela!

Step-overs!

He drove to the baseline and crossed horizontally into the center of the penalty area!

"Mine!"

Asenjo shouted loudly; Musacchio abandoned the ball and went straight to mark the opposing striker.

Slap!

Asenjo booted the ball with a big kick to the midfield.

Oh?

This was a chance!

Asenjo's big kick flew exactly to the position of Tang Ye and Zurutuza.

Glancing at Zurutuza beside him, this guy wasn't very tall.

Might as well try it first!

Tang Ye used his shoulder to collide.

Okay, couldn't budge him!

Then they could only rely on a header!

Although his heading attribute was less than 50 points, Tang Ye would absolutely never back down whenever a header contest was needed!

Jump up!

As expected, Tang Ye's header failed to connect!

However, Zurutuza didn't connect either!

He had been startled by Tang Ye's momentum!

It was still a chance; Tang Ye extended his foot to kick the ball out.

Passing it to Bruno, who was rushing over from the side!

Bruno controlled the ball!

Just as Bruno extended his foot to receive the ball, Belzunce charged up from behind, kicked the ball forward, and immediately ran past.

This was Bruno's mistake!

A very fatal mistake!

He hadn't scanned ahead before receiving the ball!

"Belzunce is advancing with the ball, very fast!"

"Directly threading it into the penalty area!"

"Jose, control the ball; Musacchio and Ruiz are right beside you!"

Facing simultaneous marking from Yellow Submarine's two center-backs, Jose held firm under pressure, turned, and shot in one fluid motion.

Goal!

Real Sociedad scored first!

"Damn..."

Tang Ye placed both hands on his buttocks, his mouth still holding chewing gum motionless.

His expression looked far from good.

This was because the opponent's attack had been too fast.

Tang Ye hadn't even reacted before his team conceded a goal!

"It's fine, it's fine, my fault!"

Bruno came over and high-fived Tang Ye.

Truly fucking annoying; if he had known Belzunce was behind him, he would absolutely never have stood still waiting for the ball to arrive!

After scoring a brilliant goal, Jose, unable to suppress his excitement, went to the sideline and spread his hands toward the fans in the stands.

"Xuuuu—!!!!"

Whistles erupted throughout the Madrigal Stadium; the home fans were clearly enraged by Willian Jose's gesture.

But apart from whistling, they had no other way to respond.

Because their home team was indeed trailing!

Aleix passed the ball back to Musacchio with one kick, and the match continued.

At this moment, Huang Huang Jianxiang in the CCTV broadcast booth provided information.

In the last 10 matches where they scored first, Real Sociedad has lost only once!

Setting aside metaphysical factors, Real Sociedad's players generally possess excellent interception and pressing abilities.

Simply put, their ability to contest for possession is generally quite good.

This ability to contest for possession allows Real Sociedad to proactively increase the tempo when leading, thereby controlling the match!

In the 32nd minute of the match, the broadcaster displayed the possession statistics.

VCF: 42%

SAD: 58%

From the possession statistics, one can also see just how strong Real Sociedad is.

Villarreal has not been at a disadvantage in possession for a very long time!

Taking the current situation as an example, with Villarreal controlling the ball in their own half, Ruiz, Musacchio, Costa, and Soriano were passing it back and forth among the four of them.

Every time Soriano received the ball in the midfield, he would immediately face pressing from Vela and Hu Hu Anmi.

Unable to send the ball forward, Soriano had no choice but to pass it back to the defenders!

And when the defenders received the ball, they would encounter pressing from Jose and Zurutuza, forcing them to pass it back again.

There was no other way; in this situation, Villarreal's entire midfield line had to drop back!

Tang Ye and Bruno both ran toward their own half, with Illarramendi following alongside them.

Tang Ye raised his hand, and once Musacchio noticed him, Tang Ye immediately sprinted in front of Illarramendi.

?

Musacchio didn't quite understand Tang Ye's intention, but out of trust in his teammate, he still played the ball out.

The pass was delivered precisely to Tang Ye's position.

Here it comes!

Facing the rolling soccer ball coming toward him, Tang Ye pulled off a flashy move.

He first feigned moving forward to control the ball, and as expected, Illarramendi followed up from behind.

OK!

This is the moment!

Tang Ye stepped across with his right foot and spun around directly!

???

The ball rolled between Illarramendi's legs, and Tang Ye, having already turned, sprinted forward.

At this moment, his body was facing the ball, allowing him to reach it a step faster than his opponent!

This was a nutmeg dribble.

However, it wasn't a nutmeg initiated by Tang Ye himself; rather, he helped Musacchio complete a nutmeg on Illarramendi from over 20 meters away!

"Beautiful! Tang Ye!"

"A very clever piece of play!"

"He's carrying the ball forward himself!"

Of course, he wasn't actually going to dribble; after running a few steps, Tang Ye passed the ball forward to Bakambu.

Then he signaled for Bakambu to pass the ball back to him.

Bakambu didn't understand the purpose of Tang Ye's maneuver, but Tang Ye himself knew clearly.

Only on his first touch was his passing at its most accurate!

Snap!

A through-ball straight into the penalty area!

Ale!

"GGGG——OOOOOOO——LLLLLLL!!!!"

"Goal!"

"Ale!"

"Tang Ye completed the assist!"

"Tang Ye's assist helped the team equalize the score!"

"Beautiful!"

The 34th minute of the match!

Thanks to Ale's pushed shot finding the net, Villarreal pulled one back!

【OK guys, tomorrow's headline: "Tang Ye's 20-Meter Nutmeg and Solo Counter-Attack"!】

【That's just how the Little Tang Ren are; in their minds, Tang Ye is daddy.】

【You upstairs should hurry up and delete your account; the 'Little Tang Ren' you just mentioned might come looking for you next.】

"Good ball!"

Escriba applauded the players on the field.

Villarreal was slowly gaining momentum, which was a good thing!

The camera focused on Tang Ye on the field; the Villarreal number 99 quickly rubbed his hands together, then ran toward the corner flag along with Ale.

【You have obtained 10 Counterattack Points】

Tang Ye now had a feeling.

Villarreal was about to turn the tables and kill their opponent!

As a result, four minutes later!

"Zaldua, headers the ball into the penalty area!"

"José!"

"José, push one more time!"

"Goal!"

"José's brace puts Real Sociedad back in the lead!"

As expected, after falling behind, the fans in the stands immediately became restless.

Villarreal trailed their opponents 1:2, a scoreline that held until the end of the first half.

"Damn, that shot should have gone in!"

Tang Ye and Ale walked into the player tunnel together: "I should have shot directly; I shouldn't have given the opposing defenders time to react! They ran too fast!"

"Pah!"

From ten meters away, Tang Ye spat his chewing gum precisely into the trash can, making Escrivá almost think he had seen things.

Snapping back to reality, he quickly reached out to pat Tang Ye on the buttocks: "Hurry back to the locker room!"

!

The moment his buttocks were patted, Tang Ye's body jerked as if suddenly electrified, and he stood frozen in place.

"What's wrong?"

Ale pushed Tang Ye, then carefully reconsidered the action Escrivá had just performed.

He finally realized!

"Haha, don't tell me you're thinking of Erik?"

He remembered that back in Utrecht, Ten Hag had patted Tang Ye's buttocks many times a day, meaning for Tang Ye to run faster.

Tang Ye shook his head and ran toward the locker room alongside Ale.

Come to think of it, if the player tunnel at El Madrigal weren't decorated entirely in yellow, he might truly have believed he was playing in Utrecht.

However, there was still a significant difference between Escrivá and Ten Hag.

Mr. Ferran was a good person.

But Mr. Erik was not so good.

Mr. Erik was bad!

……

"Slam!"

Skillfully kicking the door shut with his foot, Tang Ye walked toward his spot in the corner.

At that moment, Escrivá suddenly grabbed him.

"Wh-what's wrong?"

Tang Ye felt a bit nervous.

He thought he had returned too late, but that wasn't the case; Escrivá needed to use him as a prop.

With both hands holding Tang Ye, Escrivá made him stand straight in front of himself.

"Mr. Ferran, do I need to do something?"

"Just stand there!"

"Okay, okay."

Tang Ye nodded, and Rodri tossed him a bottle of water.

"Watch closely!"

Escrivá pointed at Tang Ye standing before him: "Our opponents like to press; they will run over."

Escrivá moved closer to Tang Ye, pressing directly against his body.

Pfft!

Unable to hold it in, Tang Ye spat the water straight out of his mouth: "Sorry, sorry, Mr. Ferran, sorry, sorry!"

"Hahaha!"

Ale couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Well, if the score weren't currently a deficit, these guys in the locker room would probably be laughing for a long time.

Escrivá wiped the water off his arm with a paper towel: "Quiet, quiet, watch closely. When the opponent comes to press, what do you do? Don't just pass the ball away immediately. Right now, there's still some distance between Tom and me, so what should Tom do?"

"Spit water,"

Rodri murmured.

"Pfft..."

Soriano was struggling to suppress his laughter.

"Tom should yield his position, because at this distance we are safe; we don't need to rush the pass. We can continue retreating, and only after retreating can we find space to pass; that is when we make the pass."

"That's enough."

Escrivá let Tang Ye return to his seat.

"Neither of the two players was in a good position, yet they insisted on passing anyway; this is why we couldn't play out from the back. You must remember this; it is very important."

Holding Martí's notebook, Escrivá went over each of the team's first-half buildup problems with the players one by one.

After finishing, Escrivá turned his body toward where Tang Ye was sitting; the latter held out the half-eaten banana in his hand: "Do you want some? I can give you a bite, but you can't eat too much."

"..."

Escrivá very much wanted to scold Tang Ye, yet he also felt strangely moved.

To think a player would actually remember him while eating!

"In the second half, you can position yourself a bit further forward; we shouldn't have any more problems playing out from the back."

Escrivá issued the instruction to Tang Ye.

……

The second half of the match begins!

"Villirreal!"

"Villirreal!"

"Olé, Olé, Olé, Olé, Oh~"

"Boom, boom, boom!"

The cheers from the fans in the stadium were deafening.

The score on the pitch is unfavorable right now, so the Yellow Submarine supporters have to step up.

They want the team to claim a fourth consecutive league win from the opening of the season.

At the same time, they also know that to increase the team's chances of winning, the cheers are absolutely essential.

Villarreal needs passion!

And right now, Tang Ye is brimming with passion!

Boom!

Soriano played a short pass to Tang Ye. The latter didn't bring the ball under control at the first touch, but instead, just as Escribá had said, shifted his body out of the way and let the ball roll past him.

"Oh no!"

Escribá on the bench stood up.

He'd made himself perfectly clear, but as the model himself, Tang Ye seemed not to have understood what he'd said in the locker room?

The opposition isn't even pressing you — why are you giving way? Wouldn't an early pass be better?

Actually, Escribá was being one-sided; he hadn't seen the ambition Tang Ye was showing right now!

Out to the left flank!

Tang Ye!

Playing as a winger!

Driving forward on his own!

Illarramendi charged at Tang Ye in front of him, and Tang Ye played the ball to Bruno in the middle.

A one-two combination!

"Holy crap!"

Tang Ye stumbled a couple of steps.

Bruno's pass hadn't gone to where he'd imagined, but it didn't matter.

Tang Ye is currently masquerading as a winger, and a good winger can deal with this kind of problem.

Arriving in front of Zaldúa, Tang Ye glanced at the penalty area.

Then he raised his left foot!

Zaldúa clearly knew Tang Ye had the ability to cross with his left foot, so he lunged straight at Tang Ye's left leg.

Here it comes!

Seeing the opponent take the bait, Tang Ye shifted the ball to his right foot and began cutting inside!

The fans in the livestream chat could no longer stay calm.

This is… Tang Ye taking on a man!

A real, genuine piece of dribbling!

!

Realizing something was wrong, Zaldúa went into a sliding tackle.

But because he was too nervous, Zaldúa's tackle showed his studs, and he stepped directly onto the back of Tang Ye's calf.

Damn!

The sudden pain sent Tang Ye tumbling to the ground, rolling over twice.

But… if he really focused on it, it actually didn't hurt that much?

Tang Ye was about to get up from the ground, but then suddenly remembered something.

Didn't that number 20 on the opposition already have a yellow card?

Mm!

Tang Ye, who had just been about to scramble up, lay back down on the grass, shouting at the mouth, while his right fist pounded the turf furiously.

"Grass! Grass!"

"Grass!"

Tang Ye was in a lot of pain right now — so much so that he needed to find a way to distract himself!

……

(End of this chapter)