Chapter 178: Escrivá: One Greater Than Three, On the Eve of the Barcelona Match (Requesting Monthly Votes!)

Spanish outlet Six: 1 > 3. In his post-match interview, Escrivá directly compared Tom with MSN (Messi, Suárez, Neymar), telling reporters that Tom's assist count exceeded the combined total of the three.

Marca front-page headline: Tom's current La Liga assist count is indeed 15, which is greater than the combined total of 14 for MSN; Escrivá's statements in his post-match interview contained no objective errors.

Escrivá's personal Twitter: After yesterday's match ended, I made erroneous remarks; I hereby apologize to everyone. My intention was merely to convey that we had a chance to defeat Barcelona, but I made a clearly flawed comparison.

AS editor-in-chief Ramallo: Among the three in MSN, Messi has the fewest assists; he dragged his teammates down in the comparison between MSN and Tom. By the way, Tom is not a trio; he is a single individual.

Escrivá's impassioned remarks have once again stirred up the entire La Liga.

Number 99 changed to number 10, 1 greater than 3; Villarreal's series of maneuvers has solidified their title as the kings of traffic in La Liga.

In just a few short days, the traffic overflowing from the Yellow Submarine's water tank has sustained a batch of reporters who were nearly parched to death.

It can be said that in these past two days, whenever you logged into Google or Twitter via the Spanish internet, what you saw was either Escrivá's face or the Villarreal club crest.

【Real Madrid fans coming to lend support!】

【When Real Madrid was held to a draw by the Yellow Submarine earlier, Barcelona fans came to the comments section to kneel and slide; now the tables have turned, haven't they?】

【Don't get your hopes up just yet; in a few more days, Barcelona will face my King Tang directly.】

【Real Madrid cries, Real Madrid cries, after Real Madrid cries, Barcelona cries; Barcelona cries, Barcelona cries, after Barcelona cries, Real Madrid cries.】

【Don't be too optimistic, brothers; Tang Ye's teammates are too weak. The Yellow Submarine's and Barcelona's forward lines are not on the same level at all; it's hard to say what will happen when they actually play.】

【My evaluation of this is: 1 > 3.】

【Saint Escrivá is putting pressure on my King Tang; apparently the Golden Boy Award isn't enough, it has to be the Ballon d'Or, right?】

【Saint Escrivá, please train King Tang more; kneeling in gratitude!】

The comments section on Dongqiu Di is lively; "1 > 3" has now become a meme discussed by fans.

The fans are having great fun with the meme, but Tang Ye is not happy.

When training resumed the next day, Tang Ye stood on the grass, staring face-to-face with Escrivá.

"Fe... Mr. Ferran..."

"You don't need to say anything; this is my fault."

Escrivá raised his hand to interrupt Tang Ye, who wanted to say something; the latter's mouth, which had just opened, immediately closed again.

To be honest, Escrivá naturally regretted making such remarks yesterday.

Trash-talking is not his style!

Moreover, their opponent in the next match is Barcelona!

That makes it even more unacceptable!

"I am very sorry, Tom, but actually you don't need to be nervous."

Escrivá placed his hand on Tang Ye's shoulder.

Last night, he lay in bed scrolling through news until 2 a. m.

Although the "1 > 3" statement was somewhat outrageous, in reality, many people still support them.

For example... Real Madrid fans!

The number of Villarreal fans is not large; they cannot out-shout Barcelona fans in a war of words. At this moment, warm-hearted Real Madrid fans stepped forward to help Villarreal fans confront Barcelona, which directly resulted in Villarreal not being at a significant disadvantage in public opinion.

"Then... do I need to do anything next?"

Tang Ye looked up into Escrivá's eyes.

Escrivá simply shook his head: "You don't need to do anything extra, Tom; training seriously is enough."

Tang Ye was very nervous, but judging by Escrivá's reaction, this matter should not have too negative an impact.

Since Mr. Ferran is so calm, Tang Ye did not need to worry about anything further.

Tang Ye returned to the squad to warm up with his teammates; at this moment, Ma Ti, having finished arranging the venue equipment, walked over to Escrivá.

"Ferran, are you feeling very guilty right now?"

Ma Ti stood beside Escrivá, looking at Tang Ye, who was running to warm up on the grass in the distance.

"No, I think it's fine."

Escrivá rejected Ma Ti's view, then briefly explained: "Tom has been too comfortable; he needs a little bit of pressure."

Having known Tang Ye for nearly half a year, Escrivá could sense the talent hidden within him.

But Tang Ye's personality clashes with his talent; what Escrivá needs to do now is make Tang Ye feel pressure, something he rarely feels on his own.

Feel the pressure.

And then...

Fully unleash Tom's talent!

"But..."

Ma Ti wanted to say something but did not speak it out.

"But what?"

"He is only 17 years old..."

Ma Ti turned to look at Escrivá beside him: "I can understand if you compare 17-year-old Tom with 17-year-old Messi, because he indeed possesses great talent. But comparing 17-year-old Tom with 29-year-old Messi, 24-year-old Neymar, and 29-year-old Suárez all together, isn't that a bit inappropriate?"

Hmm...

Escrivá's face showed contemplation as he recalled the conversation Ten Hag had with him that night during the Europa League knockout stage draw.

"Actually, 17 is not too young; thinking about it this way, Tom is currently 17, and 17 is basically no different from 20; you can treat him as being 20. Once you reach 20, you are not far from 30, and around 30 is roughly when a professional player's technique and awareness are at their peak. You cannot wait until 37 or 38 to work hard; by then you will be nearly 40. If you only start working hard at 40, will it be too late? Yes, it will be too late."

Turning to look at Tang Ye on the pitch, Escrivá's expression was firm.

"Ma Ti, although Tom is on loan, he is also our player; we need to shoulder our responsibilities. Surely you don't want to see such a talented player fail to fulfill his potential due to personality issues, do you?"

"Hey, Tom! Stop spinning!"

Escrivá shouted angrily toward the pitch: "This is warm-up; no spinning allowed!"

"Sorry, sorry!"

Tang Ye quickly raised his hand to signal to Escrivá.

It had to be said that this 【Anthony Ultimate Spin】 template was indeed extremely powerful.

Not only did it add 3 attribute points to Tang Ye, but this spinning skill could also gradually cultivate his ball control ability.

Based on Tang Ye's deduction, 【Anthony Ultimate Spin】 should be considered first-tier among all superstar templates.

Because this thing was truly very practical!

If one had to find a flaw, Tang Ye believed the only drawback of this template was that it was easy to become addicted to!

"Over here!"

Bruno shouted, heading the ball over to Tang Ye.

Tang Ye turned around, bent at the waist, and used his chest to stop the ball, firmly controlling it.

His ball control attribute was now at 80 points; 80 points of ball control and 79 points could be said to be completely different leagues.

Tang Ye now possessed the ability to receive the ball in La Liga, but he still had a long way to go before achieving true ball control.

Without speed, without rhythm, and without outstanding stamina, lacking these three key factors, Tang Ye couldn't use his ball control ability to control the ball too much even if he wanted to.

Because stationary ball control had no other use besides waiting for teammates to make their runs!

Oh right!

Remembering he still had an unopened Superstar Chest, Tang Ye quickly checked his current progress.

【France Chest · Superstar】

League Assists: 15/18

Still 3 short!

Bad news; there was no way to obtain the chest before playing against Barcelona.

But the good news was that he was already very close to the Superstar Chest!

Time arrived on match day; head coach Escrivá was speaking in the middle of the bus aisle. "Our opponent today is very strong, so our pressure will be great, but long before we came out I already told you all that we have a chance; our form is good, and we have a chance to defeat our opponent!"

Tang Ye sat in his assigned seat on the bus, one foot on the footrest ahead, the other foot on the cushion, hugging the knee of the leg resting on the cushion with both hands.

Facing Barcelona for the first time, Tang Ye's mindset was currently quite complex.

He felt a bit nervous, worried he wouldn't be able to perform well in the match or secure a victory alongside his friends.

But at the same time, he felt somewhat expectant.

Because Barcelona was a very strong opponent, Tang Ye would encounter many star players in today's match, all of whom were incredibly, incredibly formidable.

The bus slowly drove onto Loring Street; at this point, they were less than 1 km away from the Madrigal Stadium.

"Wow!!!"

Cheers from the fans came from outside the bus.

Since it was a home game, Tang Ye decisively pulled open the curtain to greet the home fans outside.

!

The home fans were indeed jogging around the bus, but besides these fans outside, Tang Ye also saw a bus in the distance marked with the "Barcelona" logo.

The away team bus had its curtains tightly drawn, but this did nothing to hinder the fans' enthusiasm.

"Messi!"

"Messi!"

"Neymar! Wo!!!"

Watching the commotion around the opposite bus, Tang Ye widened his eyes and said to Rodri beside him: "Rode, aren't they the away team? Why are there so many people?"

Rodri propped his hands on Tang Ye's shoulders, stretching his upper body upward: "There are many neutral fans who came over from the neighboring city. No, not neutral fans; they're just fans of Messi and Neymar. Their fanbase is too huge."

"Mm..."

Tang Ye nodded slightly: "We never received this kind of treatment when we were playing away before."

"That's just how Barcelona is; they have many fans."

"I feel like we have quite a few fans too."

Tang Ye said softly: "But it's all the same; once the match starts, you can't hear the fans' voices anymore. I'm very focused during the game."

Just as Tang Ye said, once the match began and his attention became highly concentrated, he could no longer hear the shouting of the fans in the stands.

"So home and away games make no difference to you?"

Rodri raised his eyebrows.

At this moment, Tang Ye took out the backpack stored under the table, pulled a large handful of chewing gum from the middle compartment, stuck his head out the window, and distributed his gum to the fans outside.

"Home games are naturally a bit better; away games are full of people cursing at me, which is too uncomfortable."

"I won't give my chewing gum to fans who curse at me."

Upon arriving at the stadium's rear entrance, Tang Ye noticed many ceramic company advertisements added to the stadium's perimeter, with LED screens continuously scrolling through the names of sponsoring companies.

This was because the renaming work for the Madrigal Stadium had been completed the day before yesterday.

Yellow Submarine's home ground was no longer the Madrigal Stadium; it was now the Ceramic Stadium!

Although the stadium's exterior and interior decorations had undergone significant changes, the locker room remained the same as before; Tang Ye even found the black Joma gloves he had previously left there.

With less than 20 minutes remaining until kickoff, Escrivá gathered the players in the center.

"Barcelona is right outside; our task now is to go out there and knock down our opponent. I know this is difficult, but I am also certain it is achievable!"

The coach and all the players placed their hands together in the center.

Tang Ye took a deep breath with a "Whoosh," and suddenly his entire heart began beating faster.

"Three!"

"2!"

"1!"

"Vamos Villarreal!"

……

"China Central Television! We are bringing you live coverage of Round 17 of La Liga, the match between Villarreal at home and Barcelona…"

"Now, let me introduce the starting lineups for both teams…"

"For the away team, Barcelona, the only injury in their squad is the goalkeeper Aleix; in other words, Barcelona is fielding their full lineup today!"

Barcelona (4-3-3)

Goalkeeper: ter Stegen

Defenders: Digne, Mascherano, Piqué, Roberto

Midfielders: Iniesta, Busquets, André Gomes

Forwards: Messi, Suárez, Neymar

Head Coach: Enrique

Chewing gum as he walked out of the player tunnel, Tang Ye couldn't help but feel immense pressure.

Just then…

【You have received a new mission: Destroy the Universe Team】

【In 2039, the once-dominant Universe Team Barcelona faced their most difficult period due to financial issues; multiple key players could not be registered for La Liga. After half a season, the team's ranking in the standings had plummeted out of the top ten. This is Barcelona's weakest season in the last decade, and also the best time to defeat them!】

"…"

A mission has arrived!

Getting a mission is certainly a good thing, but today's mission, how should one put it…

Multiple key players unable to be registered?

Tang Ye secretly glanced to his right.

Messi, also wearing the number 10 jersey, stood to his right; in front of Messi stood Suárez, and two positions ahead of Suárez was Neymar.

【This mission has three completion levels】

1. Flee in panic: After being defeated by Barcelona, secretly depart from the Ceramic Stadium by bus. Reward: Barcelona La Masia Youth Template.

2. Evenly matched: Force a draw against Barcelona. Reward: Barcelona Advanced/Star Template.

3. Destroy the Universe Team: Decisively defeat Barcelona, directly relegating them to the relegation zone. Reward: Barcelona Legend Template.

The Barcelona Legend Template!

Seeing this, Tang Ye suddenly felt wide awake.

Opening the Barcelona Legend Chest carries a probability of obtaining Messi.

As a standard possession-style midfielder, what Tang Ye desires most is Messi's top-tier close-control ability.

If he can obtain this template of Messi's, then when Tang Ye again dares… er, when he plays as a forward in a pinch, he will have the opportunity to dribble past opponents directly!

Okay, so Tang Ye already has his goal for today's match.

That is…

Destroy the Universe Team!

……

(End of Chapter)