Chapter 221: King's Cup Champion: Reflections of Spanish Fans (Seeking Monthly Votes!)

"Here it comes, here it comes!"

Bruno approached the players holding a large handful of medals, and Tang Ye quickly ran over: "Bruno, give it to me, give it to me."

"Don't rush, Tom, don't rush."

Bruno lifted the medal ribbons with his right hand, drew out one medal, and placed it into Tang Ye's hand.

"Come here, Tom, let me help you put this on."

Musacchio walked over; Tang Ye lowered his head, allowing Musacchio to hang the medal around his neck.

"Haha!"

Tang Ye and Musacchio shared a hug, after which Tang Ye lifted the medal at his chest to examine it carefully.

【Copa del Rey】

This was the Spanish term for the King's Cup; just like the medal Tang Ye had previously won in the Eredivisie, the King's Cup champion's medal was also gold.

"Tom."

Neymar emerged from somewhere and shared a hug with Tang Ye.

Tang Ye could tell that Neymar was currently somewhat dejected.

"Junior, I'm so sor—"

"Don't say it; a win is a win. This is your championship."

Neymar patted Tang Ye's shoulder; just then, a photographer entered the scene, and Tang Ye asked Neymar if he wanted to take a photo together.

The two stood side by side with arms around each other's shoulders; Tang Ye thought about taking the champion's medal off his own neck, but Neymar indicated that wasn't necessary.

Click-click!

"OK, thanks!"

Tang Ye high-fived the photographer.

The Yellow Submarine fans in the stands were still cheering as Barca captain Iniesta walked toward the podium to receive their runner-up trophy from a football association official.

"It's a shield too."

Tang Ye was slightly surprised.

The King's Cup runner-up trophy, like the Eredivisie champion's trophy, was a shield.

Hmm...

But the shield for the Eredivisie champion was much larger!

"Soon you'll see the champion's trophy."

Aleix smiled and joined Tang Ye at the award platform in the center of the pitch.

Standing on the podium, he jumped a few times; this inflatable platform struck Tang Ye as quite interesting.

He leaped up, then plopped down on his butt, swinging his two legs.

Tang Ye wanted to find Bruno, but after a long while, he still couldn't locate the person he was looking for.

"Sebastian, where's Bruno?"

"Over there!"

Aleix pointed toward the area in front of the player tunnel, where Yellow Submarine captain Bruno, surrounded by reporters, was walking toward the podium.

Bruno was about to go up and receive the trophy!

"Can't the captain go up?"

Watching Bruno high-five fans on both sides of the steps, Tang Ye felt a twinge of envy; he too wished to walk toward the podium amidst the fans' cheers.

"If you insisted on going up, I don't think anyone would refuse you."

Aleix said with a smile: "But there's no need to rush; he'll bring the trophy down shortly."

On the podium, Bruno shook hands with the football association officials one by one, finally receiving the trophy from a man in a suit.

Just as Bruno had told Tang Ye earlier, the King's Cup champion's trophy was absurdly large.

"Who is the person handing the trophy to Bruno? The president of the football association?"

"It's the King of Spain."

Musacchio sat down beside Tang Ye: "Otherwise, why do you think it's called the King's Cup?"

Bruno seemed to know Tang Ye was waiting anxiously, so after receiving the trophy, he quickly ran back down.

"Get ready, get ready!"

Musacchio called out to the players on the podium: "Tighten up, stand closer together!"

"OK, compact defense; I'll stand on top!"

Tang Ye picked his spot, and just then, Bruno came jogging over, cradling the trophy.

"Wow~ wow~ wow~"

The Yellow Submarine players on the podium stood shoulder to shoulder, bouncing up and down; Tang Ye could clearly feel the platform trembling beneath his feet.

It felt like an earthquake!

Exactly the same as when receiving the award in the Netherlands last year!

Bruno reached the center position, shaking the trophy in his hands.

"Damn it, first championship—what should I do now?"

"Lift the trophy up!"

Escrivá walked over; the Yellow Submarine head coach chose to stand right beside Bruno.

"Wow~ wow~ wow~"

Bruno gripped the trophy with both hands and suddenly hoisted it above his head.

"Vamos!"

Bang! Bang!

Bang-bang-bang!

Golden confetti suddenly exploded on the podium, and the players let out excited roars.

【2016-2017 Season Spanish Football Federation Copa del Rey Champion: Villarreal】

"Haha!"

Tang Ye immediately looked for Rodri.

Golden confetti rained down on their shoulders.

Just as he and Rodri had agreed beforehand!

"Come, give it to me."

Musacchio took the trophy and called out to Costa beside him: "Come, Jaume, together!"

Costa's expression showed some hesitation.

Clearly, he was still hung up on that penalty kick in the final moments of the second half.

If he hadn't given Messi that penalty, the Yellow Submarine wouldn't have won this championship so arduously!

"Costa, it's all in the past!"

Tang Ye patted Costa on the back.

He couldn't wait to lift the cup, but there was still some distance before the trophy reached his hands.

"It's fine."

Bruno also came to comfort Costa: "If not for that penalty, Tom might not have had the chance to score the winning goal today!"

Tang Ye patted Costa's back again: "Costa, don't be afraid, I'm here with you!"

"Haha!"

Bruno and Tang Ye's unique way of comforting made Costa burst out laughing; the latter, together with Musacchio, held the trophy, one on each side.

Suddenly lifting it overhead!

"Vamos!"

Tang Ye shook his legs on the spot; soon it would be his turn.

Tang Ye picked up the trophy, noticed Ale standing to his right, and passed the trophy over to him.

But very quickly, Tang Ye realized there was a problem.

"Sebastian, you're too tall."

Tang Ye looked up at Ale beside him—super huge.

Ale was nearly 15 cm taller than Tang Ye; if they lifted the trophy together, Tang Ye would be dragged up into the air!

"I'll do it, I'll do it!"

Rodri squeezed in between Tang Ye and Ale, reaching out to grab one side of the trophy.

The two got ready, and Tang Ye began the countdown.

"Three!"

"Two!"

"One!"

"Vamos Villarreal!"

Bang-bang-bang-bang!

The fans in the stands cooperated perfectly; whenever a Yellow Submarine player lifted the trophy, they would shout the team's name.

And when Tang Ye and Rodri took hold of the trophy, the stands became the liveliest of all.

"Viva Tom! Tom!"

"Viva Tom! Tom!"

Why were the fans shouting "Long live Tom"?

Because Tom was the MVP of today's match!

His shot aimed far but struck near had secured a last-minute victory against Barcelona!

Barcelona was a defeated foe of Villarreal!

"In the town where I was born~ (In the small town where I was born)"

"Lived a man who sailed to sea~"

"And he told us of his life~ (He told us about his life)"

"In the land of submarines~ (About what happened in that submarine)"

"Villarreal!"

"Villarreal!" "Villarreal!"

The celebration continued; Tang Ye jumped straight down from the podium, hugging the trophy and walking around on the ground.

If this were CCTV, the broadcast might have already ended by now.

But since the Copa del Rey was being watched via a pirated stream, the advantage of piracy was that it would broadcast the entire award ceremony to completion.

【Tang Tang Qiuwang!】

【6666666】

【Witnessing history!】

【Finals MVP!】

【Tang Ye is about to become a hero of Villarreal】

【2 goals, 2 assists—you think this is the total record for the entire Copa del Rey knockout stage? No, this is what Tang Tang Qiuwang achieved in a single final match】

!

【Barcelona is out!】

Tang Ye carried the trophy to the area below the stands, with Rodri standing beside him.

"Rod, let me tell you something; my former captain taught me this."

Under Rodri's gaze, Tang Ye grabbed the base of the trophy with one hand and the top with the other, then fiercely flung the trophy toward the stands.

"Villarreal!"

The stands immediately erupted in cheers.

"Rod, look, how was that?"

No sooner had he spoken than Tang Ye repeated the previous motion right in front of Rodri.

"Villarreal!"

Again!

"Villarreal!"

"Haha!"

Check Dongqiu Di pinned post: Villarreal overturns Barcelona 4:3, Messi equalizes, Tang Ye scores a stoppage-time winner.

After having enough fun, Tang Ye handed the trophy to Rodri, then made his way to the small podium at the sideline.

It was here that he received his Final MVP trophy.

"Well deserved, Tom!"

Sitting on the grass in front of the home team stands, Tang Ye stretched his legs out, with the King's Cup trophy and the Final MVP trophy placed before him.

Glancing to the left, he saw Rodri sitting beside him.

And of course, there was the right side too!

On the right were his old teammate Ale and Bruno, the captain he most enjoyed chatting with.

The other teammates were still on their way.

Reaching out to touch the golden confetti on the ground, Tang Ye propped himself up with both hands on the grass behind him, feeling relaxed.

The words "King's Cup Final" had troubled Tang Ye for nearly a month; he had always dreamed of winning a championship in Spain and claiming his first title trophy.

Now he had done it!

Together with these friends beside him!

"Yellow submarine~ (Yellow submarine)"

"Yellow submarine~"

"And our friends are all aboard~ (All our friends live inside)"

"Many more of them live next door~ (Many, many more, right next door)"

A yellow submarine crafted from golden confetti.

Tom and his friends!

King's Cup Champions!

"Bruno, you're crying."

Tang Ye suddenly said; caught off guard, Bruno hurriedly raised his hands to cover his eyes.

"Phew... Damn! Back then, I really thought we were going to lose."

"It's alright, Bruno."

Just as he had comforted Costa, Tang Ye reached out and patted Bruno on the back.

"You don't need to worry, because I am right beside you."

Back in the locker room, Tang Ye sat on a bench clutching the trophy, letting Rodri take photos of him.

At that moment, the locker room door opened, and an older man walked in accompanied by a little girl.

"Oh, this is that..."

Tang Ye pointed at the older man and said to Musacchio beside him: "Mateo, is this the person you were talking about?"

"Felipe VI, the King of Spain."

Felipe VI shook hands with the Yellow Submarine players in the locker room one by one; at that moment, Tang Ye, holding the championship trophy in the corner, caught his attention.

Felipe walked over: "Tom? That's what they all call you, but that doesn't seem to be your real name."

Tang Ye shook hands with Felipe; at this moment, Bruno stood behind Felipe, constantly making hand gestures to Tang Ye.

Up! Up!

?

Oh!

Realizing what was meant, Tang Ye placed the trophy on the bench beside him, stood up, and said: "Hello, Mr."

"You look very young."

Felipe looked Tang Ye up and down: "How old are you this year?"

"Eighteen."

"Eighteen!?"

"Wow."

Felipe kept nodding his head; no one knew what thoughts were running through his mind.

La Liga officially released the player ratings for both teams in the King's Cup Final (players with less than 10 minutes of playing time were excluded from the statistics).

1. Tang Ye (MVP), 10.0 points.

2. Suárez, 8.9 points.

3. Bruno, 8.7 points.

4. Messi, 8.6 points.

5. Gaspar, 8.4 points.

6. Rodri, 8.1 points.

Because they won the match, four of the top six players in the post-match ratings were from Yellow Submarine.

Among them, Tang Ye and Rodri also broke a record for the King's Cup final.

Rodri currently holds the second-highest post-match rating among all U21 players who have participated in a King's Cup final; with an official rating of 8.1, he achieved this result at only 20 years and 9 months old.

Ranked ahead of Rodri is Tang Ye.

An official rating of 10.0, and his age is...

Just turned 18~

After the match ended, Felipe VI, the King of Spain, accepted an interview with reporters.

"Yes, that's correct. After the match, I joined the Villarreal players' celebration in the locker room; this is their first championship, so they are all very happy. Football is often full of miracles."

"Villarreal is a miracle, and so are their players."

Felipe pointed toward the player tunnel: "Just now in the locker room, I learned the age of Villarreal's number 10."

"18 years old, he is only 18 years old."

Felipe held up his hand to gesture an "8": "And he has just turned 18. A midfielder who has just turned 18, almost single-handedly leading the team to win a championship in a tournament like the King's Cup—I find it hard to imagine the existence of such a genius, yet I indeed saw it."

"Here, we also need to reflect: why has Spain consistently failed to produce players of this caliber?"

Felipe spread his hands: "Our last World Cup championship was in 2010; in truth, that isn't too long ago, yet I have a feeling that Spain's overall strength has regressed compared to seven years ago."

Facing the camera, Felipe's expression was quite serious: "We truly should sometimes ask ourselves why China can cultivate geniuses of this level, but we cannot. Is it a problem with the training system?"

"Resting on past laurels will not bring achievements. We should remain humble; the World Cup championship is already in the past. We should learn from China."

"Letting Spanish fans and the Spanish people see hope—this is what the national team and clubs should be doing."

Click!

Click-click!

Marca front-page headline: The King of Spain speaks sharply; the regression in the national team's overall strength caused by a backward youth training system should provoke reflection—why can Spain no longer cultivate new superstars?

The King of Spain's remarks during his interview with reporters sparked intense repercussions within the Spanish football community.

The day after the incident occurred, an AS reporter interviewed Roura, the director of Barcelona's La Masia youth academy.

"Big-picture awareness, excellent vision, certain set-piece abilities, consistent attendance rates..."

"Oh, and most importantly, an absolute five-five footedness."

The reporter handed the microphone to Roura: "Can La Masia cultivate such a player?"

Facing the camera, Roura spoke evasively.

"I... I don't know..."

(End of Chapter)