Chapter 188: Spanish Outlet Six Targets Tom; Yellow Submarine Players Face an Additional Task

"Beep, beep-beep—!!!"

Referee Undiano blew the whistle signaling the end of the match; ultimately, the miracle the fans had hoped for from Yellow Submarine never arrived.

Villarreal had lost!

They lost 1:2 to Alavés at the Cerámica Stadium, dropping the first leg of the Copa del Rey quarterfinals!

"Beep-beep-beep!!!"

"Beep-beep-beep!"

Some fans in the stands were dissatisfied, but with nowhere to vent their anger, they could only keep blowing fake whistles.

Fortunately, however, no home fans had yet expressed dissatisfaction toward the Yellow Submarine players on the field or head coach Escribá.

Yellow Submarine's performance across all competitions this season had thus far earned the fans' approval.

But today's match was indeed played quite poorly by Yellow Submarine.

"Not only did our defense fail, but our offense never got going either!"

Walking through the player tunnel, captain Bruno pinpointed the problems the team had exposed in this match.

"I should have converted that last chance."

Aleix felt a tinge of regret.

Yet, having been through it before, Aleix did not feel the same near-collapse he had experienced after missing a chance against Barcelona previously.

He had become stronger!

"This isn't just about whether we converted the last chance; our feel for the game in the second half was off."

As Bruno walked through the circular corridor, they encountered the Alavés players in the tunnel; the design of the Alavés stadium was rather unusual.

However, as they passed the Alavés players, the Yellow Submarine players kept their heads lowered.

Because they were the losers of today's match!

With the opposing players present, Bruno found it difficult to address his teammates; only after returning to the locker room did he speak again.

"We should have maxed out the tempo right from the start, taken the lead, and then played pure possession in the second half, denying our opponents any chance to control the ball!"

"We shouldn't have been so gentle with them from the beginning."

Sitting in his assigned spot in the locker room, Bruno's foul mood remained unrelieved.

As Yellow Submarine's veteran captain, Bruno knew just how important the Copa del Rey quarterfinals were to the team.

It was truly a most regrettable affair!

The atmosphere in the locker room was poor, and with Escribá absent, Tang Ye could only silently return to his seat.

After Pato's departure, Tang Ye had inherited Pato's former position, yet he still insisted on sitting in the corner.

A wall to his right gave Tang Ye an indescribable sense of security.

"What a pity!"

Hugging his knees, Tang Ye rocked back and forth on the bench with his buttocks as the pivot point; Rodrigo, having just returned, fetched a sports drink for Tang Ye from the cooler.

"Orange or blueberry?"

"Blueberry, please."

Tang Ye took the drink and gulped down half the bottle in one go.

Sweet drinks always helped ease emotions when one was sad, and this time was no exception.

But the effect of sweetness was limited; if the Yellow Submarine players wanted to fully move past today's defeat, it would likely take considerable time.

"Actually, there is another way."

Tang Ye suddenly spoke, planting both feet back on the floor and looking at Rodrigo and Aleix with wide eyes.

"Isn't it enough to just win the second leg?"

"..."

Tang Ye had proposed a perfect solution to the problem, yet neither Rodrigo nor Aleix spoke immediately.

"What's wrong?"

Tang Ye pressed.

"Tom, given the current situation, Alavés has already figured out how to deal with us; defeating them in the second leg will be very difficult..."

Aleix's words plunged Tang Ye into silence as well.

Indeed, they had already lost the first leg at home.

And the second leg would be away!

What could they do for an away match?

"It's fine."

Tang Ye placed a hand on Rodrigo's shoulder and looked at Aleix, who sat one seat away: "Before, we didn't know how they played, but now we do, so our probability of winning the second leg is even greater."

"Well, that's... that's true..."

In the press conference room, head coach Escribá and assistant coach Martí walked in together.

Click-click!

"Ferran, this is Yellow Submarine's second loss this month; what are your thoughts on this result? You've lost the first leg of the quarterfinals at home, which is highly disadvantageous for advancing."

Due to this defeat, Yellow Submarine's chances of advancing to the semifinals had diminished significantly.

The reporters present for on-site coverage were professionals; they could see the problems Yellow Submarine had exposed in this match.

They had been thoroughly studied by Alavés!

The visiting head coach Pellegrino had completely deciphered the Yellow Submarine.

They knew how to beat Yellow Submarine, but Yellow Submarine did not know how to beat their opponents.

That was the crux of the problem!

"I know the current situation is unfavorable for us; we are one goal behind our opponent, which puts us at a disadvantage in the match flow, but I believe this is acceptable. We can adjust and turn things around in the second leg."

As Escrivá spoke, Martí beside him turned his head to glance at him.

Adjust and turn things around in the second leg?

Martí knew Escrivá very well; he could tell that what Escrivá had just said was the truth.

So had Ferran already figured out a solution for the second leg?

How was he planning to do it?

"So you believe the team can advance to the semifinals? May I ask about your cup objectives? What kind of result are you aiming to achieve in this season's King's Cup?"

Escrivá pressed his lips together, then parted them slightly and took a deep breath.

"I believe that since we have come this far, you should compete with the mindset of winning the championship. Falling in the quarterfinals or the semifinals would be extremely regrettable. I do not wish to disappoint the players in the squad or the fans."

The reporter stuck his head out and said in a low voice, "Ferran, I must remind you that neither Real Madrid nor Barcelona has been eliminated yet; you might encounter one or even both of them in the upcoming matches!"

"I know, but that has nothing to do with our objectives. What we need to do is identify who our opponent is and then find a way to defeat them, rather than fearing them."

"..."

The reporter said nothing, and Martí turned his gaze back from Escrivá.

Compared to the early stages of the season when Tang Ye had caused his mentality to explode, Ferran was now much more confident.

He was slowly figuring out this team.

This was not just talk; he was actually doing it!

Aleix parked the car at the entrance of Tang Ye's apartment building, and Tang Ye, having gotten out of the car, was fiddling with the road bicycle on the roof.

Since he often drove Tang Ye around, Aleix had simply installed a bicycle rack on his car.

By placing Tang Ye's bicycle on the roof, he could deliver both Tom and his bicycle to their destination without damaging the bike.

After messing with it outside for quite a while, Tang Ye finally knocked on the driver's side window with his hand.

"Sebastian, come help me quickly!"

Aleix rolled down the window: "Take a look; there's a latch. Flip it, and you can take it out."

"I know that; I've already unlocked it, but the bike is positioned too high. Come help me quickly!"

"Haha!"

Aleix stepped out, grabbed the bicycle frame with both hands, and lifted it upward.

The rear wheel came up, but the front wheel did not.

"I know why you can't lift it down; there's another latch you haven't pressed."

Saying this, Aleix quickly manipulated the mechanism, then took Tang Ye's bicycle down and placed it on the ground: "Remember to put it inside your room; otherwise, it could easily be stolen."

"Oh, don't mention that, Sebastian."

Tang Ye mounted his bicycle: "I now keep the bike in my room every day; I no longer trust the people in Spain."

"Haha."

"See you the day after tomorrow, Tom!"

Aleix and Tang Ye bumped fists.

After the loss, Escrivá gave the players a half holiday to adjust their mentality.

As for what method to use to adjust their mentality, every player had their own approach.

Tang Ye's method was the simplest and most relaxing; he only needed to play a few rounds of CS or FIFA with Neymar and Dembélé to become very happy.

Although Dembélé's skills were poor and Neymar's skills were not particularly good either, Tang Ye greatly enjoyed playing games with them.

Achieving victory alongside his good friends gave Tang Ye a distinct sense of pride.

This feeling brought him joy! Tang Ye rode his bicycle inside, and upon reaching his floor, he quickly ran into his room.

Dembélé was already waiting for him.

He had originally planned to play with both Neymar and Dembélé, but Neymar said he was going to a bar today, so only Dembélé remained.

To be honest, it was a pity, but there was no other way; Tang Ye and Dembélé started chatting in the chat box using translation software.

They had their microphones on, but due to the language barrier, they needed the help of translation software to communicate whenever things got complicated.

After chatting for a long time, Tang Ye learned some news from Dembélé that surprised him greatly.

【Barcelona wants you too? Does that mean you're going to Barcelona during the winter transfer window?】

Pressing the Enter key, Tang Ye awaited Dembélé's reply.

The winter transfer window had not yet closed; if Dembélé were to transfer to Barcelona...

Wow!

If he played against Barcelona in the second half of the season, Tang Ye would very likely encounter his good friend in a match!

Awaiting Dembélé's response, the French forward typed quickly; Tang Ye copied the text and pasted it into the translation software.

!

Dembélé meant that Barcelona had submitted a 60 million euro offer to Dortmund, but Dortmund had not accepted it, so this transfer was likely to fall through.

Well...

Tang Ye's head drooped.

【Does that mean we have to wait until the summer transfer window?】

【Probably; my agent told me the probability of me going to Barcelona is quite high.】

【Do you want to go to Barcelona?】

【Of course; that's Barcelona!】

Ousmane wanted to go to Barcelona!

Tang Ye silently committed this to memory, then adjusted his headset: "Huff, huff, start, start."

……

The King's Cup quarterfinals were still underway, and Real Madrid's first-leg loss to Celta had sparked considerable discussion among La Liga fans.

Why had Real Madrid lost to Celta at the Bernabéu?

Soon, seasoned fans would arrive at a widely accepted answer through their own analysis.

Real Madrid had abandoned the King's Cup!

With the Champions League knockout stage about to begin, Real Madrid's current objective was to secure more points in the La Liga competition.

And thereby achieve their goal of contending for titles on two fronts!

Real Madrid's revealed intention to abandon the King's Cup was absolutely good news for the other teams participating in the tournament.

Especially for Yellow Submarine and Alavés, the two teams drawn in the same half of the bracket as Real Madrid.

In other words, if either Yellow Submarine or Alavés emerged victorious from the quarterfinals, they would face Celta, a team of no great strength, in the semifinals!

This was a direct path to the final!

【No more talk, brothers; first, let me pray to GGBond here.】

Speaking of Tang Ye, after the match between Yellow Submarine and Alavés concluded, Spain's Channel Six convened an interview program.

The headline read: "A Professor from the Autonomous University of Barcelona Analyzes Tom's Homework."

At first glance, this headline seemed somewhat outrageous, but one had to admit that Spain's Channel Six had absolutely seized upon the traffic hotspot.

The viewership for this program was far higher than that of the interview program held after Cristiano Ronaldo won the Ballon d'Or!

True to its headline, Pedro, the host of Spain's Channel Six, interviewed Solanas, an associate professor from the School of Mathematics at the Autonomous University of Barcelona.

Solanas was not only an associate professor in the School of Mathematics but also a seasoned football fan in Barcelona.

In the camera shot, Solanas held a notebook in his hand.

Clearly, this was Tom's homework!

Spain's Channel Six had obtained Tom's homework from Marca!

Under the gaze of the camera, Solanas read the contents of this homework notebook with great care, while the host beside him seized the opportune moment to ask a question.

"So, what is your opinion on Tom's homework?"

"Hmm..."

Solanas adopted a contemplative expression: "First, there is the French language; the appearance of French in a Spanish-language homework assignment is indeed a very strange matter, but I am a loyal fan of Tom, and since he said no one was made to write the homework, then certainly no one was made to write it."

Pedro leaned his upper body back: "Tom will surely be very grateful for your support; so, apart from those two pages of French, do you have any opinions on the other content within the homework?"

Hiss—

"This is not an easy question to answer."

Solanas flipped through the homework notebook in his hands: "However, I did indeed notice something..."

"This homework is continuous, yet I can divide it into four parts, and within these four parts, the accuracy rate of the answers is not the same."

"He learned many things slowly while doing the homework, so the accuracy rate increased?"

Pedro asked tentatively.

At this moment, the camera slowly zoomed in, displaying the content shown in Tang Ye's homework notebook, as Solanas spoke slowly: "Look, initially the accuracy rate of the answers was very high, but in the second part, where a thicker ballpoint pen was used, the accuracy rate suddenly began to decline."

Just as Solanas had said, after the handwriting changed, the accuracy rate of Tang Ye's homework plummeted, dropping by nearly half.

Then came the third and fourth parts.

The accuracy rate grew lower and lower, and the pens used were different as well.

Facing the camera, Solanas once again emphasized his point: "Of course, I believe Tom did not find five people to write his homework for him; that is too absurd. My view leans more toward competitive pressure; I believe it was the high-intensity pressure from La Liga and the Europa League that caused him to perform worse and worse while doing his homework, which is understandable."

In the office on the second floor of the training base, watching the YouTube video playing on the laptop, Escrivá's expression was not very good.

Damn Spain's Channel Six.

Wasn't this program simply insinuating things about Tom!

Knock, knock!

The sound of knocking rang out as Captain Bruno entered the office: "Is something the matter, Ferran?"

With the match scheduled for tomorrow, Escrivá most likely wanted to discuss the upcoming game with Bruno, the captain.

Just as he had done in the past.

But this time, Bruno had guessed wrong again.

"Come, Bruno, come over here!"

Escrivá had Bruno stand beside him, then dragged the video's progress bar, making Bruno watch the entire video posted by Spain's Channel Six on YouTube from beginning to end.

"..."

After watching the video, Bruno, who had originally been leaning with his hands on the desk, suddenly became serious, having straightened his posture at some unknown moment.

Escrivá spread his hands: "Do you now understand where you went wrong? I know you helped Tom with his homework out of good intentions, but this matter will bring about many negative consequences."

Spain's Channel Six insinuating things about Tang Ye in their program was, up to this point, something the club could still accept.

But what if matters developed further, and reporters discovered that the people writing homework for Tang Ye were all forwards?

By then, it would no longer be mere insinuation; instead, the Royal Spanish Football Federation would damn well send people to Yellow Submarine's training base to investigate!

Investigating match-fixing!

"Official La Liga Statement—Due to Villarreal Club Forwards Adopting Collusive Goal-Scoring Methods, the Club is Deducted 20 League Points"!

Although match-fixing itself did not exist, once Yellow Submarine came under suspicion, it would absolutely cause a massive impact on the club's reputation.

Unacceptable!

This was absolutely unacceptable!

"Ferran, don't be nervous."

Bruno comforted him, saying, "They can only identify Tom's handwriting because he wrote his own name on the cover, along with Nicola (Sansone). Apart from Tom and Nicola, they have no way to distinguish anyone else's handwriting. They won't discover the problem."

Oh, right.

Remembering something, Bruno reminded him, "The part with the highest accuracy rate is mine."

Escrivá:?

"Screw you!"

An angry Escrivá scratched his hair, then asked Bruno a question: "Tom should still have homework recently, right?"

"Yes, it seems there's quite a lot of it."

"How do you know?"

"Well... because I often see him writing it."

"Forget it, forget it."

Escrivá waved his hand: "I'm giving you a task: you must find a way to get the midfielders, defenders, and even the goalkeeper on the team to write some of Tom's homework. Yes, it doesn't matter even if the reporters discover it."

"It can't be only the forwards and the captain helping with the homework; otherwise, damn it, we'll be investigated by the Football Association. Bruno, do you understand? This matter is very serious."

Hiss—

Bruno took a deep breath.

Although what Escrivá said was correct.

Yet this matter coming from Escrivá's mouth.

Hmm...

This gave Bruno an indescribable feeling...

After seeing Bruno off, Escrivá stared blankly at the computer screen on his desk.

Alavés's tactics had perfectly limited Villarreal.

He needed to devise a method.

A method that could defeat Alavés!

(End of Chapter)