Chapter 166: Both Missed Out on Monthly Best, But Escrivá Found a Bond

November Player of the Month: Messi (Barcelona)

"..."

Tang Ye hung his head and silently hopped down from the stool.

The Villarreal locker room suddenly fell silent.

The players in front of the television turned to look at Tang Ye: "Tom..."

"It's okay, it's okay, Tom!"

Bruno squeezed out from the very back, patted Tang Ye's shoulder, and said, "You're the first person to make the Player of the Month shortlist at seventeen; that's already incredibly impressive."

"But I didn't win the award in the end..."

Tang Ye bit his lower lip with his front teeth.

This feeling was truly unpleasant; the organizers had created a shortlist to grab Tang Ye's attention, making him feel he had a chance to win.

Since the final result was that he didn't win, some sense of disappointment was inevitable.

"It's fine, it's fine; losing to Messi is nothing to be ashamed of."

Pato reminded him, "Actually, Tom, I feel like Messi only won by a small margin; you were just a hair's breadth away from winning."

"Yes, that's right."

Aleix nodded. "I feel like Messi is just average; if we were really playing together, I think it would still have to be Tom."

The Villarreal first-team players had never in their lives imagined they would be comforting the team's youngest player after a match; this seemed to have already become part of their post-match routine.

"It doesn't matter!"

Aleix pinched the flesh on the back of Tang Ye's neck. "Messi just has the advantage of age; wait a few more years for you to develop, and you might just be able to take Messi down."

After his teammates spoke, Tang Ye slowly lifted his head.

Lionel Messi...

Although Tang Ye had not yet played against him, he had long heard many rumors about Messi.

Just as he had heard rumors about Cristiano Ronaldo.

Losing to Messi wasn't actually that unbearable, was it?

Just as Tang Ye was pondering seriously, the replay of Messi's brilliant goal on the television ended.

Next up was... the November Manager of the Month!

Tang Ye's attention was quickly diverted; curiosity swallowed his frustration.

November Manager of the Month!

Unlike the five candidates for Player of the Month, the shortlist for Manager of the Month consisted of only two people.

And the November Manager of the Month would be decided between Escrivá and Simeone!

Mr. Ferran!

I have already been defeated; now it's up to you!

Manager of the Month: Simeone (Atlético Madrid)

"Oh~!"

The players in the locker room held their heads and sighed, while Tang Ye spread his hands and sat back down in his spot on the substitutes' bench.

He and Mr. Ferran had been knocked out together!

After briefly adjusting his emotions, Tang Ye returned to the pitch to receive the MVP trophy.

As expected, reporters asked him about failing to be selected as Player of the Month.

Tang Ye's response to this was very simple.

He would continue to work hard!

On the other side, Escrivá was already ready in the press conference room.

"Ferran, we noticed you standing on the sidelines directing today during the match, which doesn't align with the style you've consistently maintained this season; could you explain the specific reason?"

Escrivá did not rush to answer the reporter's question but first used his hand to briefly adjust the microphone in front of him.

"Our opponent today played somewhat anxiously; I feared the players' rhythm would be affected, so I needed to be on the sidelines to remind them to make some adjustments. Of course, rest assured, I intervened heavily in Tom's on-field decisions and corrected many of his mistakes."

The reporter blinked. "Ferran, we don't seem to have asked anything about Tom?"

"Oh, sorry, sorry."

Realizing he had gotten a bit ahead of himself, Escrivá touched his nose to ease the awkwardness.

The reporter then briefly asked Escrivá about his substitutions during the match and his tactical adjustments in the second half, all of which Escrivá answered quite easily.

Compared to Ten Hag, who is a liberal arts student, Escrivá was more like a science student, although he had recently been constantly pretending to be a liberal arts student.

"One last question, Ferran: you lost to Simeone in the Manager of the Month selection; where do you feel you fell short?"

With only two candidates for Manager of the Month going head-to-head, the one who didn't win would inevitably feel awkward.

Right now, the one feeling awkward was undoubtedly Escrivá!

"I learned this news while I was in the back just now."

Escrivá pointed toward the door. "I've also thought about it, but I feel it's perfectly normal that I wasn't as good as Diego (Simeone) last month; I will make some adjustments, and I feel this month will be my chance."

!!!

The first half of that sentence wasn't really a problem; Escrivá remained very humble, which fit his usual persona.

But that last sentence...

"This month will be my chance."

Since when had Escrivá become so full of himself?

Click-clack!

Suddenly, the reporters had many more questions, but Escrivá stated that time was almost up and left the press conference venue directly.

"Wow, Ferran, what an astonishing statement."

Waiting at the door, Martí couldn't help but tease Escrivá upon seeing him.

He had, of course, heard what Escrivá said inside.

"What astonishing statement?"

Escrivá adjusted his suit and tie, then walked toward the locker room together with Martí.

"The last sentence, your very last sentence—you said you're going to win Coach of the Month this month? Wow, no coach has ever said anything like that before."

Martí burst out laughing.

For some reason.

After today's match against Leganés ended with a 3:0 score, Escrivá suddenly became confident.

"No coach has ever said anything like that before, huh..."

A smile appeared on Escrivá's face.

Just as Martí had noticed, the Spaniard was now extremely, extremely confident.

He had already figured it all out long ago!

Why did he lose the November Coach of the Month selection to Simeone?

Wasn't it simply because Yellow Submarine lost to Athletic Bilbao!

It was precisely due to his performance in that match that prevented Escrivá from achieving a perfect record; losing to Simeone was completely understandable, and in fact, he had long suspected he wouldn't win that trophy.

In November, both Escrivá and Tang Ye missed out on the monthly best awards.

But that didn't matter!

In the first league match of December, Escrivá found a way to coordinate with Tom.

He knew how to give commands now.

He now shared chemistry with Tom!

This was the reason for his confidence!

Escrivá would achieve his greatest breakthrough in December!

"Do you know about bonds?"

Escrivá's words left Martí somewhat bewildered.

"B-bonds? What is that?"

"It's the bond between coach and player. When a bond forms between coach and player, the team becomes stronger, ushering in a breakthrough, a great breakthrough!"

"I have already found my bond with him!"

"Him?"

"Oh, sorry, I mean them!"

"That's right, I've found my bond with them!"

Check Dongqiu Di: In the La Liga November Best Player selection, Tang Ye was defeated by Messi by an extremely narrow margin and failed to be selected.

【When are we playing Barça, brothers? I think Messi also needs a good beating!】

【Isn't there no specific vote count? How do we know the gap between Tang Ye and Messi was so small?】

【No need to think about it; the gap definitely wasn't large. King Tang Ball was so carry in November.】

【Let's forget about Messidona; their combined assist count isn't even as high as my King Tang Ball's alone. Add Neymar, and maybe they could compete with my King Tang Ball.】

Messidona plus Neymar versus Tang Ye?

Currently, the sum of Messidona's assists on the leaderboard is 10; adding Neymar's 4 makes a total of 14.

Meanwhile, after 14 rounds of the current La Liga season, Tang Ye has only a pitiful 13 assists, failing to surpass the combined total of 14 from Messidona and Neymar.

Looking at it this way... King Tang Ball really does need more practice!

Upon learning this sad news, Tang Ye's fans are generally feeling somewhat depressed.

But it doesn't matter. The December La Liga matches have just begun, and Tang Ye's two goals and one assist have given his December a great start.

He will continue to compete with Messidona in December for the Monthly Best Player trophy!

Defeating Leganés 3:0 was certainly worth celebrating, but head coach Escrivá did not arrange too many more holidays for the players.

Tang Ye had only just spent half a day playing games in his apartment with Dembélé, who had skipped training, before Escrivá called him back for practice!

It felt terrible; Tang Ye bid a disappointed farewell to Dembélé and stood once again on the training ground at the base.

Head coach Escrivá flipped through the notebook in his hands, searching for today's training tasks.

That's right!

Tang Ye suddenly remembered; didn't he have a skill that was close to leveling up?

Better check quickly!

【De Bruyne Underlap Cross Lv2: Similar】

Proficiency: 171.5/200

He remembered that the last time he checked, there was still nearly 50 points of proficiency remaining; now, less than 30 proficiency points were needed to level up.

He might as well check his current Counterattack Points balance while he was at it.

392 points!

Having nearly 400 Counterattack Points on hand...

Tang Ye considered carefully and finally made his decision.

That meant temporarily setting aside the quest to unlock new items and focusing instead on those for which he already had purchase permission.

The match against Atlético Madrid was about to begin, and Tang Ye could use 【Grealish's Draft Beer】 and 【Kanté's Hot Chocolate Milk】 to intensify his training, striving to raise his attribute values as much as possible before kickoff.

"Alright!"

Just then, Escrivá finally flipped the notebook to the page containing today's tasks.

Before that, however, Escrivá needed to emphasize a few points regarding the upcoming Europa League match.

"After five rounds, we have fifteen points and have already secured first place in the group; our next opponent, Zürich, isn't strong either..."

Hearing this, Tang Ye had a premonition: he was likely going to sit on the substitutes' bench again.

But Escrivá hadn't finished speaking yet.

"Even so, we've decided to field a full starting lineup; I'll substitute the starters off early in the second half."

Escrivá had given this considerable thought; currently, Villarreal's momentum in the Europa League was fierce, even more intense than their form in the league.

Since that was the case, they needed to maintain this momentum and secure another high-scoring victory in the final round of the group stage.

Six matches, six wins, eighteen points!

By the time they reached the knockout stage, opposing teams would tremble at the sight of Villarreal!

The Europa League match was in three days, so today the players' main task was strength training.

Martí and Kyle led the players into the gym; the fitness coach Kyle stated that another physical assessment was required before training began.

Time for the physical assessment!

Tang Ye suddenly became excited, suppressing his urge to purchase 【Ronaldo's Chicken Breast】. Every morning upon entering the gym, Kyle required Tang Ye to stand on the scale and weigh himself, as body weight could indirectly reflect a player's recent training gains and fatigue levels; the club placed great importance on weight data.

But compared to weight, a footballer's height seemed far less important.

Tang Ye queued up behind Haller, who turned around to observe him: "How tall were you when you first arrived at Villarreal?"

Hmm...

"It should have been 176."

But Tang Ye immediately added: "I feel I should have grown to 178 by now, since I've gained a lot of weight."

"Gained a lot of weight? You're still quite thin."

Bruno reached out and pinched Tang Ye's arm, clearly not quite understanding what Tang Ye had just said.

"I'm already 67kg now; that's not exactly thin, is it?"

Bruno suddenly remembered something: "What was your weight back when you were at Utrecht?"

"63."

!

Tang Ye answered quickly.

"62..."

Bruno's eyes widened: "So those rumors were true?"

"What rumors?"

Before Tang Ye could grasp what Bruno meant, Haller had already completed his height measurement.

"Holy crap..."

Tang Ye took a deep breath, having seen the figure displayed on Haller's height reading.

1.90 meters!

"Sebastián, you're really tall."

"I haven't grown an inch. Come on, Tom, get up there quickly."

Haller pushed Tang Ye onto the weighing scale; Tang Ye loosened his joints with some simple movements, took a deep breath,

and looked at the data before him.

176cm.

?

Something must be wrong with the procedure; Tang Ye twisted his neck, then lifted his head high.

"..."

"Beep!"

The machine sounded; Tang Ye stood motionless atop it.

"D-did it finish?"

He rose onto his tiptoes and stretched upward.

The data didn't change in the slightest.

This...

So in half a year, he had only grown 0.5cm?

"This can't be right, can it?"

Tang Ye looked at Haller beside him; the latter scratched his head: "Well, at least you did grow a bit; no need to rush. Maybe you'll be taller next time we measure."

Tang Ye felt somewhat displeased, but height was indeed a statistic that couldn't be improved through effort.

He was still only seventeen; doing a rough calculation, he still had a chance to reach 180cm.

Soon, under Kyle's guidance, the Villarreal players began their strength training in the gym.

With the help of 【Ronaldo's Chicken Breast】 and hard training (though hard training was the core factor), Tang Ye's attributes at their critical thresholds had been enhanced.

【Physical Contact: 71→72】

Sitting on the bench press, Tang Ye squeezed his arms together toward the center, thereby accentuating his pectoral muscles.

Hmm...

It really does seem like I've gotten a bit stronger?

Sansone wandered around the gym before finally sitting down beside Tang Ye: "Hey, Tom."

"What's up, Nicola?"

Tang Ye shifted his hips, thanking Sansone for making space.

Sansone hesitated, but seeing Tang Ye's kind expression, he ultimately sat down.

"I feel like I've become much stronger today."

Tang Ye flexed his biceps for Sansone to see.

The increase wasn't actually that large; Tang Ye himself didn't feel much difference.

But since the System said he had grown stronger, it certainly couldn't be wrong.

"Mm, I've seen your hard work."

As Sansone spoke, his expression appeared somewhat awkward.

Tang Ye turned his body toward him: "Nicola, is there something you want to tell me?"

"Well, Tom..."

Sansone regulated his breathing, controlling his current nervousness, and said in a low voice: "I accidentally lost your homework..."

"What the hell?"

Tang Ye widened his eyes: "What happened? When did you lose it, and did you look for it?"

Rubbing his hand, Sansone looked somewhat embarrassed: "I thought about it carefully, and it must have been during the last match against Leganés. I brought two backpacks when I went over, but only returned with one; the other backpack seems to have been left at Leganés' home ground..."

"This..."

Tang Ye scratched his head.

If it was left at the opponent's home ground, there was mostly likely no chance of getting it back.

"It's fine, it's fine."

Tang Ye patted Sansone's shoulder: "It's just a homework notebook; I'll just ask the teacher for another one later."

Arriving on December 8th, the Yellow Submarine players boarded a plane for Switzerland, beginning their final round of Europa League group stage matches.

"The match has begun!"

"Aleix, Pato, Bruno, Musacchio, and of course Tang Ye; Villarreal has fielded a complete starting lineup for this final Europa League group stage match."

"Yes, to be honest, this surprises me somewhat, since they had already secured first place in the group and direct qualification before today's match!"

【This is awesome; earlier some people said Coach Escrivá wouldn't let Tang Tang Qiuwang play—how could Coach Escrivá possibly not let Tang Tang Qiuwang play?】

【Why is Tang Tang Qiuwang still playing? Aren't they already first?】

【What do you know? My Tang Tang Qiuwang is here to farm stats.】

【?!】

Since it was an away match, the Yellow Submarine players did not rush during the early stages of the first half.

Escrivá also appeared quite calm; aside from reminding the players on the field about mistakes, he said nothing else.

This was because he could see that the team was currently in a state of overwhelming advantage.

Scoring was merely a matter of time!

By the 15th minute of the match, Tang Ye suddenly played a horizontal pass that forcibly accelerated the team's offensive rhythm.

Escrivá watched with some tension, yet he did not rush to stand up and say anything.

The opponent wasn't strong; let's first see how this Golden Boy attacking midfielder, Tang Ye, controls the match tempo!

The Yellow Submarine launched an attack down the right flank; González's long pass accurately found Bakambu up front, who immediately played a cross, and Pato arrived galloping in!

"Bang!"

A driven shot was struck; Zurich's defensive line in their own half was as good as non-existent!

In the 17th minute, the away-playing Yellow Submarine scored the first goal, directly establishing their advantage in this match!

"Clap clap! Good, keep it up!"

"Not bad, excellent rhythm!"

"Tom! Run, remember to run!"

That faster passing and receiving rhythm had just helped the team score, forming a tacit understanding among the Yellow Submarine players on the field: maintain this offensive frequency and finish the first half first!

Arriving at the 38th minute!

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

Tang Ye had somehow drifted over to the right flank without anyone noticing, completing a crossover run with Bakambu near the right baseline.

OK, time to pretend to be a striker!

Glancing at the situation inside the penalty area, he headed straight for the baseline!

Slap!

【De Bruyne Bottom Cross Lv2: Similar】

Proficiency: 178/200

The camera focused on the penalty area, but the cameraman quickly realized something was wrong; Tang Ye's cross wasn't aimed at the penalty area, but damn it, at the arc outside the box!

Rodri controlled the ball perfectly, immediately following up with a volleyed shot!

"Goal!"

"Beautiful! Before the first half has even ended, Villarreal is already leading by two goals!"

Rodri, the scorer, ran over and embraced Tang Ye.

Facing Zurich for the second time, it feels even easier than the first match!

"Beep——!!!"

The referee blew the whistle signaling the end of the first half, and Tang Ye walked toward the player tunnel alongside Ale.

Zurich's head coach, Fort, stood by the sideline waiting, ready to high-five the players coming off.

Watching Tang Ye walk past him, Fort pressed his lips together.

When the 40-man shortlist for the Golden Boy Award was released earlier, this little kid from China had already become thoroughly famous across Europe.

The key point wasn't how well he was playing right now.

The key point was that on top of playing so well, his age was only a damn 17 years old!

"Hey, Tom!"

After a moment's thought, Fort finally decided to greet Tang Ye.

"Huh? Oh, hello, hello!"

Tang Ye shook Fort's hand with great delight, surprised to discover that someone in the home stands was actually shouting his name.

It was a special feeling!

"We've all played very well in the first half, excellent in every aspect; we're leading the opponent by two goals, which means that as long as we maintain our form, we can secure victory in all six group stage matches!"

Escrivá delivered an inspiring speech in the locker room while Tang Ye untied his shoelaces and rotated his ankles.

"Let me announce the substitutions for the second half here: Sebastian and Tom, you two need to come off."

Alright then...

Tang Ye and Bruno bumped fists.

Although he knew he would be substituted in the second half, he hadn't expected the change to come so quickly.

"It's fine, we've already won!"

Bruno patted Tang Ye's thigh, then stood up to encourage the players in his capacity as captain.

The second half was about to begin; Martí led the substitute players out of the tunnel first to coordinate the substitutions with the fourth official.

"Phew—"

Sitting on the bench, Tang Ye soaked in the atmosphere of the venue and said to Ale beside him, "Watching the match from this spot is really nice."

After attending to his own matters, Martí sat in the front row of the bench, whereupon the team's Dierzhu Sect dashed out from the tunnel and handed Martí a mobile phone.

Martí originally had no intention of looking at the phone, but since the Dierzhu Sect insisted he do so, Martí took a quick glance.

At first, Martí's expression was quite plain, but after seeing the content on the phone, he suddenly stretched his neck out, his eyes widening greatly.

Then... he turned his head to look at Tang Ye.

Huh?

(End of Chapter)