Chapter 222: Copa del Rey Seasonal Best, Iniesta's La Croqueta!

The front-page headline of "Villarreal Times," in bold font: Villarreal Club wins the Copa del Rey for the first time in its history; Tom scores 2 goals and provides 2 assists, earning a comprehensive rating of 10.0 and the Final MVP award.

La Liga: 2016-17 Season Copa del Rey Best Player: Tang Ye.

After today's match, Tang Ye has collected a total of three trophies.

The Copa del Rey champion, the Final MVP, and one more award for Best Player.

Among these, this Best Player award is neither the Man of the Match nor the Monthly Best Player.

It is the Seasonal Best Player!

"I must emphasize this point here."

In the press conference room, Escriva faced the reporters with eyes full of confidence.

"During the Seasonal Best Player selection, the one ranked behind Tom was Messi."

Click-click!

The reporters in the audience stirred up a commotion.

"Ferran, this is your first season coaching Villarreal, and you have already secured the Copa del Rey championship trophy in this debut season; do you have any thoughts on this?"

"When we first entered the final, no one favored us, but the fact remains that we won this championship."

The excitement had not yet faded, and Escriva was smiling as he spoke.

The reporter fell silent for a long moment before finally pulling the microphone to his mouth.

"Some say you won by lying down; do you think such a statement is appropriate?"

"Nonsense!"

Escriva's expression suddenly soured: "Someone says I won by lying down? That is absolutely, absolutely incorrect; everyone has seen the contributions I made to the match, how I changed the team's tactics, and the formation adjustments made at halftime. For a high-level match like the final, these are all extremely important."

Some fans claim Escriva won by lying down?

A few months ago, Escriva truly would not have known how to answer.

But now the situation is different.

Just like Tang Ye, Escriva is also a core member of the team.

The only difference lies in their respective roles.

Tom is the temporary main core, while Escriva is the executive deputy core.

Tom and Saint Escriva practically dragged the team to the Copa del Rey championship!

That night, Tang Ye celebrated with his teammates in the restaurant until 11 PM, then played games with Neymar at an internet cafe until 6 AM, returning to the hotel already past 7 AM.

However, Tang Ye was not in a hurry to sleep.

He had more important matters to attend to.

That was his Legendary Chest!

【Do you wish to place the Barcelona Chest · Legendary into the Piggy Bank to begin the Wealth Management mission?】

【Failure】

"Phew..."

He shook his head.

As expected, this Legendary Chest item cannot be used for wealth management.

Because in the system's settings, the Legendary Chest is already the highest quality.

As for the Ultimate Chest, that was a balancing compensation given by the system seeing that Tang Ye, at such an advanced age, still had to play professional football; it was truly something one could only encounter by chance and never seek.

Since wealth management is impossible, the logic is very clear!

【Do you wish to open the Barcelona Chest · Legendary?】

【You have obtained the Iniesta La Croqueta Template (Legendary)】

【Ball Control: 80 → 82】

【Physical Confrontation: 73 → 74】

Iniesta's La Croqueta!

Having played against Barcelona twice, Tang Ye was all too familiar with this move.

It is absolutely a divine skill!

After gradually becoming the core within the Yellow Submarine team, Tang Ye increasingly faced intense pressing from opposing players; at such times, the Iniesta La Croqueta Template could demonstrate its value.

This thing is simply too effective in one-versus-two situations!

Obtaining a template that is perfect for him is a good thing.

Unfortunately, La Croqueta only increased Tang Ye's Ball Control by 2 points, meaning Tang Ye still needs 1 more point in the Ball Control attribute to unlock the 【Hazard Self-Sacrificing Ball Shielding】 Template.

But it probably won't take long!

Following his habit, after obtaining a new template, he checked his current status panel.

Tang Ye (39 years old)

【Ball Control: 82; Passing: 88】

【Shooting: 77; Heading: 49; Set Pieces: 74】

【Speed: 71; Stamina: 72; Physical Confrontation: 74】

【Defense: 70; Vision: 95】

Comprehensive Rating: 81

A comprehensive rating of 81, combined with 88 in Passing and 82 in Ball Control, this is absolutely the standard of a top-tier midfielder in La Liga.

Not only that, but because he possesses a super abundance of templates with excellent compatibility between them, Tang Ye can consistently perform at a super-first-class level in actual matches.

This is his reliance for leading the team to victory!

The next afternoon, after returning to his home near the base, Tang Ye placed his King's Cup Season Best Trophy and Final MVP Trophy on the table.

Looking at the table full of trophies, Tang Ye took out his phone, snapped a photo, and posted it simultaneously on Twitter, Instagram, and his Weibo account.

After the King's Cup final, Tang Ye's Instagram follower count had already surpassed 15 million; this exaggerated fan base meant that whenever Tang Ye posted a message, he received a tremendous number of comments.

【GGGGOOOOAAAATTTTTT!!!!】

【The glory of Villarreal】

【Tom, stay!】

【17-year-old Golden Boy, 18-year-old King's Cup champion; it's hard to imagine what your future will look like】

【Well deserved】

The last comment caught Tang Ye's attention because the account's ID was: brunovcf.

Clicking in to take a look, just as Tang Ye remembered, this was the Instagram account of his captain, Bruno.

"Haha!"

Tang Ye tapped on Bruno's comment, then began operating his phone keyboard, sending two sunglasses emojis.

Looking again at the trophies on his table, Tang Ye's mind felt somewhat dazed.

Just then, his phone went ding-dong; Escrivá had sent him a URL.

La Liga, the official Spanish league, regarding the selection for Player of the Month and Head Coach of the Month for February.

Player of the Month for February: Tang Ye (Villarreal)

Head Coach of the Month for February: Ferran Escrivá (Villarreal)

One more trophy!

After resting for two days, Tang Ye rode his bicycle to the training base.

Photos celebrating Villarreal's King's Cup victory were pasted along both sides of the city streets; Tang Ye even saw a personal poster of himself at the entrance of the base.

In the poster image, Tang Ye sat on the grass in front of the stands, with fans going wild in front of him.

There was also a line of text written in Spanish on the poster: King of the King's Cup.

"How is it? Not bad, right?"

Escrivá appeared beside Tang Ye without him knowing when.

"Oh, Mr. Ferran."

Tang Ye broke into a smile: "It really looks great; I like this photo very much, but..."

After thinking carefully for a moment, Tang Ye finally voiced his inner thoughts: "Isn't this a bit too arrogant?"

"Arrogant? In what aspect?"

Escrivá and Tang Ye walked in the direction of Wangshitang.

"King of the King's Cup."

Tang Ye read aloud the line of text he had just seen.

"You mean this?"

Escrivá shook his head with a smile: "Tom, it doesn't matter; we are the ultimate victors, and victors should be a bit arrogant; otherwise, we would be no different from the losers."

Tang Ye felt that what Escrivá said made a lot of sense, so he nodded.

Suddenly thinking of something, Tang Ye took out his phone and began operating it quickly.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm going to repost the news about winning Player of the Month to my Instagram; I didn't dare to repost it directly when I won the award the day before yesterday. Wait... I'll add a sunglasses emoji; let's send three. I sent two before, but two is too few."

"Haha!"

Escrivá held his forehead.

"Go, go, go, move forward!"

"Good, good!"

Escrivá shouted loudly; at this moment, Tang Ye gained possession of the ball in the backfield.

Pa!

【De Bruyne Standard Long Pass Lv3: Realistic】

Proficiency: 608/650

Tang Ye launched a long pass from the backfield; the rapidly spinning ball landed precisely on the empty ground in front of Bacambu.

"Faster, faster!"

Team B's attack was about to succeed!

Bacambu stretched out his foot to control it!

He directly controlled the ball out of bounds!

"Hahaha!"

Laughter from the players immediately rang out on the pitch; Bacambu gave an awkward smile and gave a thumbs-up in Tang Ye's direction.

"Cédric, be steadier!"

Escrivá rushed directly onto the pitch: "Observe before taking a one-on-one; you had a huge positional advantage just now, so why rush? If you had controlled it steadily, wouldn't you have had the ball?"

While Mr. Ferran was educating the team's forwards, Tang Ye stood in place and began to think.

His proficiency was currently 608; if he focused on practicing long passes for these next two days, perhaps he could raise his 【Standard Long Pass】 to Lv4 before the start of the second leg against Lyon.

Although the Standard Long Pass was not as capable of creating direct attacking opportunities as the Curved Through Ball, this thing was actually quite important.

The stability of Tang Ye's Standard Long Pass had a significant impact on the team's overall possession rate!

That day, taking advantage of the friendly match, Tang Ye raised the proficiency of 【Standard Long Pass】 to 617.

Then came the second day.

Very fortunately, Marty arranged a long-pass training session specifically for Tang Ye and Rodri. The assistant coach of Valencia pointed to three dummies outside the penalty area; those were Tang Ye and Rodri's targets for the day.

A distance of 40 meters, the requirement was to hit the spot behind the dummies, and to ensure the ball did not bounce too high after hitting the grass.

"The difficulty is very high..."

Rodri took a deep breath, immediately attracting Tang Ye's attention; the latter turned his head to look at Rodri beside him: "Rod, are you afraid?"

"No, you're overthinking it!"

Rodri quickly pushed Tang Ye away, indicating he wanted to kick first.

"Go for it, Rod."

Tang Ye kicked the ball at his feet to in front of Rodri.

Rodri carefully observed the three dummies in the distance and chose the one closest to himself.

After a run-up, he passed directly!

Thwack!

A standard long-pass technique; Tang Ye's gaze followed the ball forward.

!

Among the three dummies, Tang Ye's good friend Rod chose the one in the very middle.

Thwack!

Rodri's long pass struck the side of the dummy, bouncing up to a height roughly equal to the dummy itself.

"Hiss—"

Rodri held his head and inhaled sharply.

Hitting the correct spot with a 40-meter long pass isn't hard, but controlling the height of the bounce is truly an art.

"Rod, if you pass like that, the striker won't be able to receive it."

Tang Ye said: "The ball bounced higher than a person!"

"Watch me!"

Saying this, Tang Ye was about to demonstrate for Rodri.

He raised his hand to signal Marty to pass him a ball; the football rolled to in front of Tang Ye, and the latter slowly stepped back a few paces.

Feeling the distance was suitable, Tang Ye suddenly began his run-up.

Marty:?

Won't you even look up?

Thwack!

【De Bruyne Standard Long Pass Lv3: Realistic】

Proficiency: 619/650

It was the same dummy in the very middle; Tang Ye's long pass struck the spot 2 meters behind the dummy, and the highest point after the bounce was only slightly higher than the dummy's knee.

Rodri stared with wide eyes, while Marty walked over clapping: "I understand the logic, but didn't you look beforehand before kicking?"

"Why would I need to look?"

Tang Ye expressed confusion at Marty's words: "Those three dummies have been placed there for nearly an hour; isn't their position very clear?"

"..."

Marty touched his nose: "Forget it, I won't talk to you anymore, let's continue."

So this guy Tang Ye had already memorized the dummies' positions during the warm-up?

Marty didn't know how Tang Ye found his reference points, but he didn't intend to investigate further.

If Marty could figure out the principle behind this, he probably wouldn't be stuck as just an assistant coach at Valencia.

"Tom, how did you remember that position?"

Rodri was very curious about Tang Ye's move just now: "Did you use the goal as a reference?"

"No reference needed. If you need a reference, you'd have to look at it before kicking. You just memorize their specific positions directly, like taking a photo, and then you're done."

As soon as he finished speaking, Tang Ye casually picked up a ball at his feet.

Same movement, he flicked the ball out without looking up.

Thwack!

【De Bruyne Standard Long Pass Lv3: Simulation】

Proficiency: 621.5/650

This time he didn't hit the middle dummy, but the one further to the left.

Same as before, the spot 2-3 meters behind the dummy, the height of the bounce was slightly higher than the knee.

However, since this ball was kicked diagonally, it had a tendency to drift toward the left sideline when it bounced.

"Hmm... this ball won't do."

Tang Ye shook his hand: "Nikola would find it very uncomfortable to receive this ball; he'd be forced to slow down."

Following Tang Ye's explanation, Rodri attempted this method of passing without observing first.

In the end, the ball went straight into the goal.

Scratching his hair, Rodri finally gave up.

"Rod, you need to think beforehand about how Nikola and Cedric will receive the ball, hmm, and also Sebastian; Sebastian is very tall."

"So when passing to the middle, you can make it slightly higher?"

Rodri attempted to answer.

"No, it definitely can't be passed high. Sebastian isn't as agile as Nicola. The pass to the middle should be the lowest, or you can aim directly near his head so he can head the ball down; that way, he can also stop it."

"If you pass it to his chest, he'll have a hard time controlling it."

"Then, when you pass to Bacambu, you can aim slightly behind him, because Bacambu is very good at stopping the ball with his heel."

Tang Ye spoke slowly, while Rodrigo in front of him squinted his eyes, thinking carefully.

Turning his head, he saw Marty, who was supervising their training behind them, quickly writing something on a notepad with a pen.

"Marty, what are you writing?"

"Oh, nothing."

Marty's face turned red, and he quickly put the pen back in his pocket: "I'm thinking about your training tasks for next week."

Turning around, looking at the notebook filled with notes he had recorded, a smile appeared on Marty's face.

Everyone thought Tang Ye's brain was filled only with games and hamburgers, but that wasn't true.

Tom's brain held great wisdom!

Clap!

Clap!

【De Bruyne Standard Long Pass Lv3: Simulation】

Proficiency: 624/650

Proficiency: 625/650

Proficiency: 648/650

After kicking dozens of balls, Tang Ye finally reached the critical point for leveling up.

"That's about enough. Everyone's condition is still good today. We have another shooting training session later, with everyone together."

"Let's kick two more."

Tang Ye was very passionate today, so Marty said OK.

Placing the ball down, Tang Ye slowly adjusted his breathing.

Feeling it was about right, he held his breath and started his run-up.

Clap!

【De Bruyne Standard Long Pass Lv3: Simulation】

Proficiency: 650/650

【De Bruyne Standard Long Pass Lv3: Simulation → Lv4: Realistic】

Proficiency: 1/1200

【Passing: 88 → 88】

【Vision: 95 → 95】

Damn!

This was a perfect pass, yet Tang Ye still let out a roar of frustration.

The upgrade of Standard Long Pass from Lv3 to Lv4 did not bring any improvement to Tang Ye's passing attribute!

It only added a bit of progress!

"Is there any more to learn about this ball?"

Marty walked over, holding a pen and a notepad in his hand; unsurprisingly, he should be researching the team's training tasks for next week.

"What more is there to learn?"

"You kicked that ball very accurately, but you don't seem very happy."

Marty pointed into the distance.

Tang Ye's long pass just now had directly found a perfectly ideal spot behind the dummy; if this were an actual match, it would very likely have been a one-on-one opportunity.

Tang Ye shook his head without speaking, then found Rodrigo nearby: "Rod, let me show you something."

Tang Ye picked a ball and placed it on the empty ground in front of him; Rodrigo and Marty simultaneously stepped back to clear the spot.

"Haa..."

Tang Ye began his run-up.

Clap!

【De Bruyne Standard Long Pass Lv4: Realistic】

Proficiency: 5/1200

"Watch closely, Rod!"

Tang Ye pointed his index finger forward; after the ball flew to its highest point and began to descend, Tang Ye suddenly shouted.

"Crossbar!"

"..."

"Dong!"

Check Dongqiu Di Match Report: La Liga Round 27, Villarreal defeated Celta 1-0 away; Tang Ye rested and did not play.

"Mundo Deportivo" — Because they won the King's Cup, Villarreal received 2.75 million euros in broadcasting bonuses, along with 2.2 million euros in sponsor revenue. As of March 11, Villarreal's revenue for this season had already exceeded the total of last season, but their La Liga broadcasting revenue and stadium renaming sponsorship income had not yet arrived. "Villarreal will become very wealthy in this summer window, which will put them at an advantage in the race for Tom."

"Utrecht Evening Post" Front Page Headline — In February, both the player and the head coach won the monthly award; why is Villarreal so similar to Utrecht?

In the office, looking at the news online, Escrivá smiled.

The Dutch journalist comparing him to Ten Hag made Escrivá very happy.

"Speaking of which, Eric is indeed impressive."

Escrivá suddenly turned to look at Martí, who was lying on the sofa studying his notes: "Martí, do you remember? Earlier, Erik said we would have to pay Utrecht another 3 million euros. I didn't expect it to be true."

When Tang Ye demonstrated his two-footed ability, Ten Hag stated during a press interview that Yellow Submarine would have to pay Utrecht an additional 3 million euros.

Then, due to the Golden Boy award, Yellow Submarine actually paid the 3 million euros!

It didn't end there; afterward, Ten Hag also said Yellow Submarine would have to pay him another 3 million euros in training compensation.

Everyone thought Ten Hag was joking.

Unexpectedly, this actually came true!

Yellow Submarine won the Copa del Rey championship, and they really had to pay Utrecht another 3 million euros!

Martí suddenly sat up from the sofa, looking at Escrivá before him.

"Ferran."

"If I'm not mistaken... winning the Copa del Rey doesn't require us to pay Utrecht any extra money."

Oh?

(End of Chapter)