Chapter 17: He Has Not Yet Reached the Level of a Genius

After the match, Ten Hag accepted an interview with local reporters at Utrecht's home ground, the Galgenwaard Stadium.

Click!

Click-click!

The press conference scene was extremely lively; the photographers gave Ten Hag the highest level of treatment, a barrage of clicks that made the Dutchman unable to even keep his eyes open.

"Erik, the number 99 player who provided the assist in the dying moments today—we understand he was just promoted from the second team. Did you bring him into the first team because you feel he is worth developing specifically?"

"Mm, that's correct."

"We learned that he also delivered such brilliant passes during the second team's friendly matches. May I ask... is he a genius?"

"A genius?"

Ten Hag raised his eyebrows: "Tang is very talented, but he has not yet reached the level of a genius."

"Then how do you explain that pass today?"

"Oh, you mean that pass; that is the result of training."

Ten Hag smiled at the reporters: "After Tang was promoted to the first team, I formulated a specialized training plan for him; this plan helped him acquire superior passing ability."

Huh?

The reporters looked at each other in bewilderment.

So this pass was not some innate talent, but the outcome of the head coach's targeted training!

Ten Hag!

A famous coach, truly capable!

"Assist Seals Victory Against Groningen, Genius Youth Announces Return"

"Only Delivering God-Tier Passes: Utrecht Head Coach Ten Hag Declares Responsibility for Tang Ye's Passes!"

"Two Last-Minute Winners in Four Matches: Utrecht Officially Enters the Ten Hag Era!"

The fourth-round match brought Tang Ye into the view of more Chinese fans, who were greatly surprised by this young genius.

Sixteen years old, Eredivisie league, substituted on during garbage time in two matches, one assist and two tackles.

Relying on his outstanding performance, Tang Ye successfully earned entry into the first team's cafeteria.

It was still just as he remembered; the variety of dishes in the first team cafeteria was at least three times that of the second team's!

Tang Ye and Amrabat sat together to eat; since both had been promoted from the second team, the two had more common topics to discuss.

"Hey, Tang!"

Haller walked over carrying his tray: "Can I sit here?"

"OK, of course, no problem, have a seat!"

Tang Ye shifted his butt slightly inward, leaving the outer seat empty for Haller.

Haller simply drank a little grapefruit juice without eating anything, then launched into a round of thanks to Tang Ye: "Tang, that pass of yours was brilliant, truly brilliant; I didn't expect you could actually deliver the ball to that position—my god, incredible."

Being praised like this by the captain, Tang Ye suddenly felt somewhat embarrassed.

"You must train hard from now on."

Haller placed his hand on Tang Ye's shoulder and said with earnest sincerity: "You need to compete with Eric for a starting spot, you know? I'm not saying this just for your passes; I'm purely doing it for your future. Tang, you are only sixteen; this is when you need to work hardest!"

"I have always been working hard."

"But you seemed to be late for training today; is that correct?"

"Uh, I am working hard on not being late; that is also a form of effort."

"..."

With two weeks remaining until Utrecht's next match against Vitesse, Tang Ye took this opportunity to return to China.

Due to his age, he could not obtain a Dutch work visa, which meant he held only a Dutch tourist visa, valid for just three months.

Every three months, he needed to return to China once, then re-enter Utrecht with a new visa to continue training.

The process was quite troublesome, but until Tang Ye turned eighteen, he had to do this, unless he directly gave up on playing abroad.

Since he would not be staying long, Tang Ye did not bring a suitcase; he returned carrying only a Nike backpack sent by a sponsor.

"Lecong Town, thank you."

Tang Ye tossed his backpack onto the seat beside him, told the driver the address, and prepared to sleep.

However, the driver started chatting with him directly.

"You look only about fifteen or sixteen; traveling abroad alone by plane—are you an international student?"

The airport terminals are divided into domestic and international sections, so the driver knew Tang Ye was returning from abroad.

"No, I'm playing soccer over there."

"Playing soccer? Football, you mean?"

The driver had assumed Tang Ye was an international student, but upon hearing he was playing soccer abroad, he instantly lost interest: "Football doesn't have much of a future, you know; it's already 2015, and what's popular now is IT, meaning computers. Do you know what computers are?"

"I know a little; it seems very impressive, but I can't grasp that stuff."

After completing his junior high curriculum at a sports school in China, Tang Ye went to the Netherlands. There, he attended a high school cooperating with Utrecht, needing to attend classes only two days a week on weekends.

Tang Ye studied only four subjects: Dutch, mathematics, physics, and chemistry; computer science was not included.

"In that case, you should decide early to change directions. A child of a classmate of mine, a master's graduate in computer science, has a starting annual salary of 300,000!"

The driver shared his experience with Tang Ye from the perspective of someone who had been through it.

If Tang Ye played soccer, unless it was in the Chinese Super League, playing in any other tier of league would not reach an annual salary level of 300,000.

Moreover, computer science is mental labor, which commands respect.

"Mm, it's fine; there's no rush, I'll consider it slowly."

Tang Ye put on his earphones and stopped talking to the driver.

A little past one in the afternoon, Tang Ye arrived home; since he hadn't informed his family in advance, his mother's expression was one of stunned surprise when he bumped into her at the doorway.

Seeing Tang Ye standing before her with a backpack on his back, Zhang Zhang Qingqing quickly took the backpack from him, then fumbled to pull out her phone: "Ah, Tang Zhengxiong, come down quickly! Come down quickly! Your son is back!"

"Mm, Tang Ye, Tang Ye..."

Zhang Zhang Qingqing casually dropped Tang Ye's backpack on the ground, then hugged Tang Ye tightly, the bunch of keys in her hand jingling incessantly with a "ding-ling-ling" sound.

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

Three minutes later, Tang Tang Zhengxiong's voice appeared; having run so fast, he had lost one of his slippers along the way: "Eh, damn it, wait, wait."

After putting his slipper back on, Tang Tang Zhengxiong came before Tang Ye: "Tang Ye, mm, you've grown taller!"

"Seems like I have grown a bit taller."

Rubbing his head, Tang Ye said somewhat embarrassedly, "Mm... I'm only coming back to stay for one day this time."

"Ah, just one day? Why?"

Tang Tang Zhengxiong's smile suddenly froze, while Tang Ye also felt helpless: "I'm on the first-team squad now; we have a new coach, and that coach only gave me five days to change my visa. I have to leave tomorrow afternoon."

"What the hell???"

Tang Tang Zhengxiong frowned, somewhat angered by Tang Ye's coach: "Hey, Zhang Qingqing, go pack up; we'll take a trip outside and have dinner together tonight."

"Ah, but I still have things to do."

Zhang Zhang Qingqing pointed at the bunch of keys in her hand, roughly estimating there were sixty or seventy of them: "I haven't collected the rents for this month or last month yet; I estimate I won't be back until eight or nine tonight."

"Eh, it's fine, this isn't urgent; let's take our son out for a spin first."

"But I told them I'd be collecting money today."

Tang Tang Zhengxiong waved his hand: "We need to celebrate; just waive today's fees for them."

Having said that, Tang Tang Zhengxiong grabbed and shook Tang Ye's shoulders: "Damn, you've definitely grown taller; awesome, you're almost taller than me!"

(End of Chapter)