Chapter 196: Physical Confrontation, Comprehensive Rating 81!

"Beep, beep-beep—!!!"

The head referee blew the whistle signaling the end of the match, and Tang Ye, who had been running until out of breath, collapsed onto the ground.

Escrivá walked onto the pitch with the substitutes to celebrate, making a point of approaching Tang Ye: "Hard work."

Even with a three-goal lead, Tang Ye continued relentlessly searching for attacking opportunities.

In fact, the frequency was increasing!

One could only say that since first meeting Tang Ye last summer, Escrivá had witnessed this guy's transformation.

He appeared somewhat lazy, but during matches, this guy was more serious than anyone else!

Tang Ye was indeed changing.

He was becoming increasingly pure!

"Just a little bit short."

Sitting on the grass, Tang Ye hung his head, spat his gum into its wrapper, and began panting rapidly.

【Attacking Opportunities Created: 16/18】

Sixteen attacking opportunities created; this was his final statistic for today's match.

He was just two short of upgrading the Superstar Chest into a Legendary Chest!

"Just a little bit short, haha!"

Escrivá squatted in front of Tang Ye, holding up three fingers: "3-0! We defeated our opponent 3-0 today; are you still unsatisfied with this scoreline?"

Tang Ye turned his head away, not really wanting to speak to Escrivá.

In his youth, Escrivá had already served as an assistant coach at Benfica, a Portuguese Super League powerhouse; upon returning to his homeland of Spain, he immediately became an assistant at Atlético Madrid, subsequently rising step by step to his current position as head coach of Yellow Submarine.

Mr. Ferran's life has been devoid of any hardships.

A pampered fellow!

How could he possibly understand the twists and difficulties Tom has encountered?

"Haha!"

Seeing Tang Ye's visibly unhappy expression, Escrivá couldn't help but burst out laughing.

He reached out and patted Tang Ye on the back: "You played very well already; if we exert a little effort in the second leg, we'll be heading to the finals."

Rising from the grass, Tang Ye did not forget what he had been thinking about during the first half, so he slowly walked toward the area beneath the away supporters' stand.

"Tom!"

"Wow!"

Seeing Tang Ye approach, the Yellow Submarine fans in the stands screamed excitedly and hurriedly pulled out the signature pens they had been carrying on their backs.

"Tom! Sign, Tom!"

"Tom, good luck in the second leg; we're about to reach the finals, the closest we've ever been to the championship!"

"Have you finished your homework, Tom?"

Upon reaching the area beneath the stands, Tang Ye did not immediately accept the offered pens but instead reached into his pocket.

"Wait a moment."

Tang Ye fished two unopened packs of gum from his pocket: "Do you want these?"

"I do, I do!"

"Give me, give me!"

Tang Ye looked up at the young man before him wearing his number 99 jersey.

This was the very fellow who had just asked Tang Ye whether he had finished his homework.

"I don't like you."

Tang Ye took a step to the left and handed the gum to someone else.

Check Dongqiu Di Match Report: In the King's Cup semifinals, Yellow Submarine secured a foundation for advancement by shutting out Celta 3-0 away from home.

Check Dongqiu Di Match Report: In the King's Cup semifinals, Barcelona drew 0-0 away against Atlético Madrid; Messi's goal was disallowed for offside, and Griezmann accumulated a yellow card resulting in a one-match suspension.

Messi failed to carry Barcelona, whereas Tang Tang Qiuwang single-handedly carried Yellow Submarine through.

Although fans did not intentionally make comparisons, the disparity was simply too obvious!

After the match concluded, Tang Ye, as the MVP player, returned to the pitch once again.

"Many fans believe you will meet Barcelona in the finals, but based on the current situation, Barcelona seems unlikely to get past Atlético Madrid. What are your thoughts on this?"

"This..."

Tang Ye remained silent for a long time facing the microphone extended by the reporter.

He pondered for quite a while without figuring out what this question had to do with him.

He glanced at Escrivá beside him.

Tang Ye needed to think it over.

If it were Mr. Ferran, how would he answer this question?

Seeing Tang Ye look toward him, Escrivá displayed a somewhat surprised expression.

Damn it!

After spending an entire season in Utrecht, you haven't learned any of the essentials, have you?

"Tom?"

The reporter quietly prompted him.

"Oh."

Tang Ye snapped back to reality and quickly replied: "Whether it's Barcelona or Atlético Madrid, we will have ways to deal with them, but right now we should be focusing on the semifinals."

"Because the rule is that only by winning the semi-finals first can one qualify for the finals."

Thinking of something, Tang Ye added: "But I might actually hope Barcelona wins, since I have friends there."

Escrivá, who had been sitting nearby looking relaxed toward the camera, suddenly whipped his head around.

What do you mean, Tom?

I gave you a hard time once before; you're not seeking revenge now, are you?

Atlético and Barcelona playing against Atlético is definitely easier!

On the return bus, Escrivá and Rodri swapped seats to sit beside Tang Ye.

Today, Yellow Submarine defeated the home team Celta with a score of 3:0, a victory worth celebrating.

But after the match ended, Tang Ye didn't seem very happy.

Clearly, Tang Ye's thinking had gone astray, and Escrivá now needed to correct this mistake!

The two chatted for a long time, with Escrivá attempting to explain to Tang Ye the greatness of a three-goal clean sheet.

"I can tell, Tom, you're feeling regretful right now; this isn't how a winner should look."

For young players like Tang Ye, emotions are generally easily affected.

Players can only perform at their best in matches when they are happy and maintain a slight degree of tension.

Regret is useless, and Tang Ye has no reason to feel regretful now.

"..."

"Mr. Ferran, I understand what you mean; I don't mean to express regret,"

Tang Ye explained.

It was the same statement as before.

Mr. Ferran couldn't understand the challenges and difficulties Tom faced!

Escrivá nodded, and just then his phone rang.

He quickly took out his phone to check.

LaLiga Official: C. Ronaldo (Real Madrid) wins LaLiga Player of the Month for January; Pellegrino (Alavés) wins LaLiga Coach of the Month for January.

Tang Ye leaned his head over, and after seeing what was displayed on Escrivá's phone, he looked at his head coach with some surprise: "Mr. Ferran, you follow this kind of news?"

While Player of the Month and Coach of the Month for January are indeed very high honors for LaLiga players, there was no need to set a specific ringtone just to follow them, was there?

"Oh, you mean this."

Escrivá quickly switched the screen off: "I just follow the official LaLiga account; mainly, as you know, sometimes the official body releases announcements and such, and as a coach, I need to stay informed about those things."

"So that's how it is."

Tang Ye nodded.

Escrivá put his phone back in his pocket, looked forward, and then used his peripheral vision to glance at Tang Ye, who was sitting on the chair in a daze.

He should...

He should have believed it.

Escrivá breathed a sigh of relief.

He was the head coach of Yellow Submarine.

A head coach should maintain a good image in front of the players.

To be honest, Escrivá didn't care much for awards like Player of the Month.

"By the way, Tom,"

Remembering something, Escrivá turned to look at Tang Ye beside him: "Since we have a large lead from the first leg, the pressure in the second leg will be less; by then, we can shift our focus to the league. There's actually a chance for the February award."

Previously, Escrivá had thought Yellow Submarine would have to sacrifice some LaLiga matches in February for the sake of the King's Cup.

But now the situation had changed somewhat.

Yellow Submarine had established a three-goal advantage in the first leg, which meant their pressure in the upcoming second leg would be greatly reduced.

Simply put, Yellow Submarine did not need to sacrifice LaLiga matches for the King's Cup.

They could handle both fronts!

"Um..."

Tang Ye rubbed his fingernails: "Mr. Ferran, I didn't ask about the February award..."

"Oh?"

Escrivá raised his eyebrows, then reached up to touch his nose.

"But it's fine; I'll do my best,"

Tang Ye expressed his determination.

He had won Player of the Month three times in the Eredivisie, but since coming to LaLiga, he hadn't won it even once; inevitably, there was some sense of disparity between the two.

The dominance of Messi and Ronaldo in LaLiga was truly terrifying!

But it didn't matter.

The LaLiga matches for February hadn't started yet, so Tang Ye still had a great chance!

On the morning of the first day of resumed training, the players underwent strength training in the gym.

The Yellow Submarine players were divided into groups of several people, each led by different fitness coaches for training.

Tang Ye was personally trained by Kyle, the head of the fitness coaching staff.

The reason was simple: there was still a huge gap between Tang Ye's various strength metrics and those of his teammates.

In most situations, Tang Ye was unable to share equipment with his teammates!

"Come on, no rush, no rush, take your time coming up."

"Thighs parallel to the ground, hmm, that's about right, Tom, get ready."

"Up!"

"Duang!"

A crisp sound rang out as Tang Ye pressed the barbell he had been carrying on his shoulders straight up.

"Hmm, that's about enough, rest for a bit."

Kyle recorded Tang Ye's training data from just now in his notebook, while Tang Ye found a stool nearby to rest.

"Come on, Tom, you're not lifting enough weight."

Ale rolled up his shorts, flexed the muscles on his thighs, and displayed them before Tang Ye.

Tang Ye reached out to touch the muscles on Ale's thighs, then touched his own.

"..."

"Haha."

Ale patted Tang Ye's shoulder: "It's fine, it's fine, just keep training hard; I didn't have much muscle when I was seventeen either."

After saying that, Bruno urged Ale to hurry back and train his core, while Tang Ye sat alone on a small stool, lost in thought.

【Physical Confrontation: 73→74】

【Overall Rating: 80→81】

Oh?

Broken through!

As expected!

Everything Escrivá and Ten Hag had told him before was correct.

For the current Tang Ye, improving physical attributes was far faster than improving ball skills.

Not to mention Tang Ye also had the Chicken Breast item assisting his training.

Without rushing to feel the improvement in his body's strength, Tang Ye first checked his system.

Tang Ye (38 years old)

【Ball Control: 80; Passing: 88】

【Shooting: 77; Heading: 48; Set Pieces: 74】

【Speed: 70; Stamina: 72; Physical Confrontation: 74】

【Defense: 70; Vision: 95】

Overall Rating: 81

Heading wasn't essential, so he would temporarily ignore it.

Now, every one of Tang Ye's attributes had reached 70 or above.

A very significant improvement!

Next was the Counterattack Points balance.

Account Balance: Counterattack Points * 3356

Previously, Tang Ye had used 620 Counterattack Points to obtain 【Casemiro's Gloves】; next, unlocking permission to purchase new items would require 2000 Counterattack Points, rather than 1240 points.

Two thousand Counterattack Points were indeed a bit expensive, so Tang Ye decided to wait a little longer.

If he saved his points until the end of this season, by the time the season settled, Tang Ye might have over ten thousand Counterattack Points.

Items only provided slight improvements; the current Tang Ye no longer cared for such small things.

If he truly wanted leaping progress, he still had to rely on Template Infusion!

What was called hard training?

A tearing pain across the crown of the head, followed by a sudden increase in attribute points.

This was the most authentic hard training!

"God's Miracle."

In the corner, Kyle and Escrivá watched Tang Ye, who was sitting dazed on the bench press stool.

Although they didn't know why Tang Ye had suddenly clenched his fists, it didn't matter.

"I must remind you, he is not within God's jurisdiction."

Escrivá laughed heartily, while Kyle beside him spread his hands: "His bone density is very high, his recovery ability is strong, and combined with his special style of play, he isn't prone to injury... Ferran, I cannot analyze whether a player is a genius like a youth coach would, but I can speak from the perspective of a fitness coach."

Kyle turned to look at Escrivá: "Ferran, I must tell you, players with these physical characteristics have a very high ceiling; although Tom's personality has some flaws, if only he could be like Cristiano Ronaldo..."

As Kyle sighed with emotion, Escrivá beside him kept his eyes fixed on Tang Ye on the bench press stool.

Although he had already switched to the number 10 jersey, this guy was still wearing a training kit marked with the number 99.

According to Tang Ye's explanation, the new training kits had an unpleasant smell, so he had always been wearing the old one.

"Like Ronaldo, you mean?"

Escrivá raised an eyebrow: "I don't think that's necessary; Tom's personality is special, and that personality is even helpful for his current style of play. If he were as passionate as Ronaldo, he probably wouldn't be playing as a midfielder..."

"Kyle, you know, what we need is a midfielder; a top-class striker has limited influence on a match."

"Football tactics are too complicated; I got a Level B coaching license and then gave up."

Hearing Escrivá speak of these difficult-to-understand things, Kyle shook his head with a bitter smile.

"Anyway, based on my experience, players like Tom who have strong recovery abilities and aren't prone to injury have a very high ceiling."

"Ferran, I guarantee you, in another two or three years, Tom can reach a very high standard; this is my experience—I watched Ronaldo transfer from Sporting CP to Manchester United before I came here."

While Kyle was speaking, Escrivá stood beside him, staring straight into his eyes.

Escrivá's expression was terrifyingly stiff.

"Uh..."

Well, Kael suddenly remembered something unpleasant.

"Sorry, Ferran, I didn't mean it."

Check Dongqiu Di Match Preview: February 5th, 7 PM, La Liga Round 21, Yellow Submarine away against Sevilla; Tang Ye and Rodri both selected for the squad.

Sevilla versus Villarreal; this is a clash between two non-giant powerhouses in La Liga.

And it's at 7 PM, the prime time slot!

Then there's no need to say more!

This match will be closely watched by Chinese fans!

CCTV-5 will broadcast the La Liga Round 21 match between Sevilla and Villarreal.

Commentators: Zhan Jun, Zhang Lu.

(End of Chapter)