Chapter 159: Don't Suddenly Start Rotating

The match had just begun, and Escrivá paced back and forth in front of the substitutes' bench.

He was now a bit hesitant.

Should he stand and direct...

or sit and slack off?

If he stood to direct, relying on his excellent match comprehension, Escrivá could give himself a full sense of security.

If he sat.

Hmm...

Escrivá raised his eyebrows.

He suddenly realized that sitting down on the chair at the substitutes' bench might actually give him even more sense of security?

He leisurely wandered in front of the camera, swayed twice, then walked back to the substitutes' bench, sighed, and sat down on the chair.

"What's wrong?"

Martí asked, somewhat puzzled.

After the Ballon d'Or award ceremony, Escrivá had told him about removing Tang Ye from the core position, stating at the time that he intended to participate more in directing.

What was this situation now?

"Stood too long during matches recently; today I'll rest a bit,"

Escrivá explained.

Since he didn't know what to do, he picked up a bottle of mineral water from beside his feet and began gulping it down.

Martí blinked thoughtfully.

He recalled Tom's passing opium.

Could Ferran have already fallen deeply into it, unable to break free?

No, Ferran wasn't that kind of person!

Martí shook his head, stopped overthinking, and turned his attention to the laptop on his thighs.

He needed to constantly monitor the data from both teams, facilitating Escrivá's tactical adjustments later.

"Today Villarreal is using a 4-2-3-1 formation; this differs slightly from their approach in the last match."

"Yes, exactly. Athletic Bilbao's counter-attacking level is very strong, so increasing the number of defensive midfielders is necessary. However, Ajax's counter-attacking level is relatively average in comparison; a 4-2-3-1 can solve most problems!"

"Klaassen, run forward, very fast, pass the ball to Traoré!"

Although their counter-attacking level wasn't strong, the speed at which Ajax players entered their rhythm was truly fast.

Today's match was clearly Villarreal's home game, yet Ajax was the side that first picked up the pace.

The camera cut to Bos on the sidelines; the Dutchman wore a smile on his face.

The tactics for today's match were something he had carefully prepared.

For this, he had specifically studied Villarreal's tactics in recent matches.

Bos had only one objective.

That was to complete his revenge against Tang Ye!

Slap!

Near the right touchline, Traoré delivered a square pass to the left flank; Younes retreated to a suitable position and controlled the ball.

"Oh!"

The fans in the stands let out a startled cry.

Had Ajax's quick attack successfully developed?

Younes moved quickly; after controlling and adjusting the ball, he immediately began dribbling toward the penalty area with the outside of his foot.

Compress the opponent's defensive line!

"Watch the arc!"

Bruno reminded.

When wingers compress the defensive line, once all defenders retreat into the penalty area, the space at the arc opens up.

At that moment, if an Ajax player stood at the arc position, they could shoot directly from long range!

Prompted by Bruno's reminder, Rodrigo hurriedly ran to the arc position and took his stand.

Seeing that a teammate had already covered the arc, Tang Ye slowed his defensive retreat and began jogging slowly toward Ziyech.

Younes continued moving toward the touchline!

He feinted twice, then directly kicked the ball into the six-yard box!

Slap!

Dolberg ran out from beside Musacchio, but Musacchio reacted quickly, immediately turning to block Dolberg's position.

Bang!

Dolberg's long-range shot struck Asenjo's leg and went directly out for a corner!

A corner kick for Ajax!

"Mmm..."

Tang Ye breathed a sigh of relief and slowly jogged back from the front field.

He exchanged a glance with Bruno; both their expressions were somewhat grim.

Clearly, Ajax's rapid attack at the very start of the match had placed immense pressure on Tang Ye and Bruno, leaving them both somewhat at a loss!

"It's fine, it's fine, just play normally and stay focused!"

Bruno patted Tang Ye's arm, then ran toward the wall.

In Escrivá's tactics, during corner kick defense, he did not need to return into the penalty area.

Because Tang Ye lacked the ability to head the ball, all he needed to do was position himself at the top of the arc and watch for a counterattack opportunity!

The match had only been underway for ten-odd minutes, yet both sides were playing with tremendous energy.

"Move forward! Good!"

"Pass, pass, pass!"

"Beautiful!"

Bos was now in high spirits.

He could feel that Ajax currently held the advantage.

If they maintained this offensive momentum, Yellow Submarine would inevitably be overturned!

Boom!

Ye He's pass was headed away by Rodrigo, causing Bos to temporarily calm down.

He glanced next door.

Escrivá was currently...

Damn it!

He had sat down again!

Bos was now furious; on what grounds should he have to stand while Escrivá sat?

That damned Spaniard would pay the price for his arrogance!

In the 25th minute of the match, Bacambu dribbled the ball toward the center, while Bruno ran to the right flank.

Bacambu then passed the ball to Bruno, who was near the touchline on the right wing.

This was a crossing run combination between Yellow Submarine's midfielders and forwards.

"Switch!"

Tang Ye suddenly shouted at Bacambu; the latter was slightly bewildered but still swapped positions with Tang Ye.

He ran past behind Bacambu to reach the right flank!

Thanks to this crossing run, Tang Ye successfully shook off Schöne's marking.

"Mark him!"

Bos shouted loudly from the sidelines.

Although Tang Ye's positioning was extremely peculiar, as long as someone kept an eye on the man himself, there would surely be no problem.

The retreating Younes ran toward Tang Ye.

However, there was still a long distance to go before Younes could close in on Tang Ye.

At this moment, the space around Tang Ye was open.

Keep running forward!

Bruno understood what Tang Ye meant.

He was going to impersonate a striker!

Slowing down and walking forward deliberately to let Tang Ye run ahead of him, Bruno played a through ball to the bottom of the right flank.

Tang Ye rushed up, extended his foot, and stopped the ball!

Perfect!

At this moment, Tang Ye was completely acting as a winger.

Observing all of this from close range, Bos felt secretly surprised.

It had to be said that the speed at which the Yellow Submarine players exchanged positions was truly fast, making it very difficult for marking to be effective!

Arriving on the flank, Riedewald stepped out to mark Tang Ye one-on-one.

"Tang Ye! Facing Riedewald's defense!"

Veteran fans all knew that Tang Ye lacked dribbling ability, so upon seeing him marked by the opposing full-back, everyone felt a bit expectant.

How would Tang Ye handle this next?

"Tang Ye, lift his foot to pass..."

"Hmm, Tang Ye spun around on the spot; he seems to be adjusting his position."

"Eh, he spun around again; what is this? He seems to be waiting for his teammates' runs; while confronting the defender, he is observing his teammates' positioning!"

"Tang Ye is still spinning!"

Tang Ye spun three consecutive times on the right touchline; for the first two spins, the CCTV commentators could still help spin it positively.

But by the third spin, even the commentators didn't know what to say.

Okay!

Finally stopping, Tang Ye passed the ball to Bruno, who was making a run down the line from behind him.

"This..."

Bos's mouth opened slightly.

He had been standing near the touchline the whole time; when Tang Ye was spinning, the distance between them was less than five meters.

He saw it very clearly, but Bos couldn't quite figure out the purpose of Tang Ye's maneuver.

Was this meant to draw the defending players' attention away from the teammate making the run down the line?

The camera cut to Escrivá sitting on the substitutes' bench; the Spaniard couldn't help but use his hand to cover his face.

Escrivá could already guess what those football reporters would ask him after the match ended.

They would use Tom's spin to make things difficult for him!

Regardless, during the post-match interview, he must emphasize to the reporters one thing.

He did not teach this thing!

He absolutely would not allow his players to do this in an official match!

The 37th minute!

Both teams had pushed the pace of the game very fast, making it comfortable for the fans to watch, and before they knew it, the first half was already approaching the 40-minute mark.

Yet at this moment, the score on the field was still 0:0!

At this point, the fans realized a problem: Bos, the new manager of Ajax, truly possessed capability!

After gaining experience from their previous encounter with Yellow Submarine, Bos had modified and adjusted his team's tactics.

Originally, they only restricted Tang Ye alone, but now Ajax's attention was slowly shifting to Rodrigo, a Yellow Submarine youth trainee within their own squad.

Whenever Tang Ye found himself trapped, Rodrigo would run out to support him.

But now that was gone!

The fierce Bos had his players clamp down on these two young talents within the Yellow Submarine team.

Villarreal's offense consequently became extremely strenuous!

"Villarreal!"

"Villarreal!"

"Wow!!"

After receiving the ball on the left wing, Ye He suddenly accelerated, catching Bruno completely off guard and startling the home fans in the stands into shouting!

Bruno hurriedly chased back, but Ye He's speed was somewhat fast, and in a few quick moves, he closed in on Gonzalez, who was positioned near the baseline.

Gonzalez initially intended to go up directly for one-on-one marking against Ye He, but he did not expect Younis to follow over as well.

With both players advancing toward the baseline simultaneously and Bruno still on his way back, Gonzalez simply did not know which one to defend and could only stand still in place to observe.

Seeing that the opposing defender had no intention of stepping up to challenge, Ye He dribbled the ball straight toward Gonzalez.

Gonzalez assumed a defensive stance, standing with one foot forward and one foot back!

Compared to Korte's aggressive defending, Gonzalez's defense was relatively conservative; as long as Ye He did not pass, he absolutely would not extend his foot.

If you move forward, I will retreat!

If you continue forward, I will continue retreating!

Realizing that Ye He alone had no opportunity to break through the defensive line, Younis directly circled around behind Gonzalez.

Gonzalez observed for a moment, and once Younis positioned himself inside the offside line, he suddenly passed the ball.

Gonzalez's solitary defense proved utterly useless!

Having reached the baseline, this was an excellent attacking opportunity!

All of Ajax's players in the forward area ran forward, creating as many passing options as possible for Younis.

Slap!

A horizontal pass flew to the far post, where Traore leaped up for a header.

Boom!

The ball was fiercely hammered into the penalty area by Traore, then bounced back up.

This was the key!

Slap!

Dolberg stepped on the ball and kicked it into the goal.

Asenjo, sitting on the grass, ultimately touched nothing at all.

Goal!

"Beautiful!" (in Dutch)

Bos suddenly thrust both hands upward, his entire emotion soaring to its peak along with Dolberg's goal.

After pulling his hands back, Bos felt it was still not enough and punched the air three consecutive times with his right hand.

So satisfying!

This was exactly the feeling!

Tom getting Bos fired?

No, how could that be possible!

The great Dutchman would complete his revenge against Tom at the El Madrigal stadium.

He intended to lead the Ajax legion to crush Tom!

After the match ended, the pitiful little Tom would have no choice but to hide in the locker room and weep silently!

Check Dongqiu Di live match report: Dolberg scores from a poacher's position, Yellow Submarine trails 0:1 at home.

【We're done for, bro, we're really about to get revenged upon】

【It's fine, it's fine, Tang Tang Qiuwang has beaten Bos three times, while Bos has only beaten Tang Tang Qiuwang once; 3 is greater than 1】

【??? This won't do; if we lose this match, Yellow Submarine won't be able to lock in first place in the group】

【It doesn't matter; even if Ajax wins, they'll only have 12 points, tying us, and Yellow Submarine's final match is against Zurich, guaranteeing at least a three-goal difference, while Ajax cannot score three goals against Inter, so we're secure】

【What if Inter intentionally goes easy on Ajax just to get revenge on Tang Tang Qiuwang?】

【Conspiracy theory? Kick them out! If Inter frames my Tang Tang Qiuwang, I'll immediately launch a proletarian revolution in Milan!】

【Wait for the second half, brothers; in the second half, Tang Tang Qiuwang will lead Yellow Submarine to counter-kill Ajax】

Dolberg's goal made the fans in the live stream somewhat nervous.

Escrivá, of course, felt the same.

Actually, compared to Yellow Submarine, Ajax was not much stronger; in terms of hard strength, they were even slightly weaker than Yellow Submarine.

But the nationality of Ajax's head coach was the point that worried Escrivá the most.

Bos was Dutch!

And the previous head coach who perfectly controlled Tang Ye was also Dutch!

Could Bosch be planning to tame Tom today?

The first half ended; Villarreal's late counterattack failed to yield a goal.

The reason was simple: both Rodri and Tang Ye, one as the progression point and the other as the passing hub, had been completely neutralized!

"Come on!"

"Villarreal!"

Walking into the player tunnel, Tang Ye could hear the fans cheering from both sides of the stands.

The home supporters were giving their all to back him, yet the scoreline still showed them trailing, which left Tang Ye feeling somewhat disheartened.

Could they fight for something in the second half, striving not to disappoint the fans' expectations?

During halftime, Escrivá analyzed the opponent's tactics for the players in great detail, while also unveiling his own new tactical setup.

"Tom, you can go to the left or the right; you choose a side."

"Huh?"

Tang Ye paused for a moment: "I'm playing on the wing?"

"Yes, but I don't mean for you to pose as a striker. The distance between you and Rodri needs to be stretched; otherwise, they can use a single player to press both of you simultaneously, which would be very costly for us. Do you want to go left or right?"

"Either is fine."

Tang Ye rubbed his hands together.

With a new tactic to execute in the second half, he couldn't help but feel a slight surge of excitement.

The foul mood from being behind was instantly blown away!

"Either is fine? It depends on whether you prefer your left or right foot; if you favor your right foot, go to the left side, and if you prefer your left, go to the right."

"Well, whatever, I'm fine with either."

Tang Ye happily shook his legs.

He was already looking forward to the second half!

"Whatever..."

Escrivá's mouth twitched.

He couldn't even pick a side after all this time.

Good lord, so your left and right feet are truly equally skilled, are they?

The idea that Tang Ye was completely ambidextrous sounded a bit absurd and hard to believe, yet Escrivá genuinely couldn't identify his dominant foot.

Then let's just go with Tang Ye's "whatever."

"You take the right flank; that way, the distance between you and Sergio (Rodri) can be maximized."

Escrivá gave the arrangement, then suddenly remembered something and added: "The right flank is the side closer to the substitutes' bench in the second half."

"Leave it to me!"

Tang Ye's eyes were shining.

Having been restricted and played poorly in the first half, once he switched to the wing in the second, Tang Ye was determined to show the opposition the true power of his 【Anthony Ultimate Spin Template】...

"By the way, don't spin recklessly!"

Escrivá pointed at Tang Ye's nose, admonishing him sternly.

Although the Europa League indeed isn't part of the Big Five leagues, that was no reason for Tang Ye to suddenly start spinning!

Returning to the player tunnel, Tang Ye was now brimming with fighting spirit.

"Go get 'em, Tom!"

Bruno patted Tang Ye on the shoulder.

Although expecting a seventeen-year-old youngster to turn the tide while trailing wasn't exactly reasonable.

But Tom was the Little Golden Boy!

"Leave it to me!"

Tang Ye repeated the words he had just spoken in the locker room.

This was the second time he had said those words.

It was clear he was now extremely confident!

"Alright, the second half is underway. Thanks to Dolberg's goal, Ajax leads by one; let's see how both sides perform in this half."

"Can Villarreal equalize the score!"

"..."

"Eh, what's going on!"

"Tang Ye is very active on the right wing; is this the tactic Escrivá arranged during halftime?"

Seeing Tang Ye constantly roaming up and down the right flank, the on-site director immediately cut the camera to Escrivá.

He was still seated, and seated very calmly at that.

This indicated he accepted Tang Ye's current behavior.

Was Tang Tang Qiuwang not posing as a winger?

Had Escrivá instructed Tang Tang Qiuwang to play as a winger?

Did he want to unleash the Ball King's talent in the striker position?

No, that was impossible; barring any surprises, this must be a temporary tactical adjustment by the Spanish head coach.

"Villarreal!"

"Villarreal!"

Ajax's offensive momentum remained fierce in the second half, making the Villarreal fans in the stands somewhat panicked, forcing them to continuously chant the home team's name to support the players on the pitch.

It was also a consolation for himself.

Only at the 54th minute, Ajax launched another attack; Younes's cross found Traoré.

This time, Traoré did not choose to cross.

He chose to shoot directly!

Duang!

What a pity!

It hit the crossbar!

"Damn!"

Bos was not very satisfied with Traoré's failure to capitalize on the chance, but he wasn't too upset either.

Just then, the broadcaster displayed the possession statistics for both sides.

VCF: 43%

Haha!

Villarreal's possession rate had dropped to only 43%.

Still acting cool!

Are you still acting cool now!

Bos had a premonition that he would soon lead Ajax to exact revenge on Tang Ye.

He glanced at Escrivá on the adjacent substitute bench.

Escrivá was... smiling?

"Hmm?"

Bos suddenly furrowed his brow.

Why could Escrivá still smile upon seeing the 43% possession rate?

Are you admitting defeat, buddy?

(End of Chapter)