Chapter 227: Hero in the GGBond Fairy Tale! (160k words update, seeking monthly tickets!)

"Central Broadcasting Television Headquarters, Central Broadcasting Television Headquarters. Good evening, dear viewers."

"This is the live broadcast of the 6th round of the 2018 Russia World Cup Qualifiers, where the Chinese Men's National Football Team hosts the South Korean Men's National Football Team; as you can see, the camera is currently focused on China's rising star, Tang Ye."

"He just celebrated his 18th birthday on March 4th."

Walking out from the player tunnel and looking at the sea of red waving in the distant stands, Tang Ye's heartbeat accelerated continuously, even giving him a sensation of being unable to breathe.

"Ole, ole ole ole~"

"Ole, ole ole ole~"

"China!"

"China!"

"Go Tang Ye!"

"Go Tang Ye!"

Gasping rapidly, Tang Ye patted Zheng Zhi, who was walking ahead of him, and whispered, "I imagined this scene when I was still in elementary school, but I didn't know which team we would be playing against."

"Now it has come true."

Zheng Zhi patted Tang Ye on the back: "Try not to leave any regrets in your first match; go for it, Tang Ye!"

Facing the main stand in formation, a clear female voice rang out across the venue.

"All spectators and staff, please rise."

"Now, playing the national anthem of the Republic of Korea..."

There were some boos on the pitch; this was unavoidable in an away match.

After the South Korean national anthem finished, Tang Ye felt his heart tighten.

It's coming!

"Now, playing the national anthem of the People's Republic of China..."

"Deng deng deng deng deng deng, deng deng deng"

"Deng deng deng, deng!"

Tang Ye managed to control his emotions well; after finishing the national anthem, he spotted Tang Tang Zhengxiong and Zhang Zhang Qingqing below the main stand.

Just as agreed, his parents had come to the venue to watch the match!

Noticing Tang Ye's gaze directed toward them, Tang Tang Zhengxiong raised his right hand and gave Tang Ye a thumbs-up.

As Tang Ye's number one hater, Tang Tang Zhengxiong would always find something to criticize whether Tang Ye was playing in the Eredivisie or La Liga.

But the Chinese National Team was different; when it came to anything bearing the national title, Tang Tang Zhengxiong was one hundred percent convinced.

Tang Ye clenched his right fist, tapped it against his chest, and then pointed his index finger toward the section of the stands where Tang Tang Zhengxiong was located.

"Go! Tang Ye!!!"

"Damn it! Wipe out South Korea!"

Beep—!!!!

"The match has begun!"

"Now, let me introduce the starting lineups for both teams, starting with the home team, the Chinese Men's National Football Team!"

China (4-3-3)

Goalkeeper: Zeng Cheng

Defenders: Zhang Zhang Linpeng, Mei Fang, Feng Feng Xiaoting, Jiang Jiang Zhipeng

Midfielders: Zheng Zhi, Tang Ye, Hao Hao Junmin

Forwards: Wu Lei, Yu Yu Dabao, Wang Wang Yongpo

"As you can see, Lippi has placed Tang Ye in the central position, but considering Tang Ye's technical characteristics, his positioning during the match might be even more advanced!"

"Next is the away team, South Korea!"

South Korea (4-4-2)

Goalkeeper: Kwon Sun-tae

"Due to scheduling conflicts with his club, South Korean star Son Heung-min reported late and has not yet integrated with the team, so head coach Stielike has not included him in today's squad!"

With main winger Son Heung-min absent, this is good news for the Chinese National Team!

Right at the start of the match, the camera cut directly to head coach Lippi in front of the home team's substitute bench.

After five rounds with only two points, the temporarily appointed Lippi was under immense pressure.

However, looking at the situation on the field, the Chinese National Team players were executing Lippi's defensive tactics very well.

"No rush, no rush!"

Lippi shouted in his less-than-perfect Chinese: "Lei, too far, too far, come back, come back!"

Wu Lei's indecisive distribution in the front field led to a loss of possession; Jang Hyun-soo, who completed the tackle, immediately passed the ball to Nam Tae-hee, who then dribbled forward.

Nam Tae-hee's speed was very fast!

The Chinese National Team players began to retreat into defense; since the defensive formation in the back field was still quite solid, Tang Ye was not in a hurry.

He glanced at Ki Sung-yueng to his right rear.

As long as Ki Sung-yueng did not suddenly accelerate, Tang Ye would not rashly move up to defend.

Let his teammates handle the first wave of the attack first.

"Nam Tae-hee!"

"Continuing forward on the left wing!"

"Zheng Zhi is coming over; the Chinese team is unwilling to let Nam Tae-hee have a direct opportunity to reach the byline!"

Zheng Zhi marks Nam Tae-hee one-on-one!

In this position, the likelihood of Nam Tae-hee dribbling past is low, so marking him tightly isn't the key.

The main focus is on how his teammates provide support!

Lee Jung-hyeop makes an overlapping run straight toward the baseline!

Zhang Zhang Linpeng follows him immediately!

Nam Tae-hee's hesitation gave Tang Ye enough time to drop back.

No rush.

Ki Sung-yueng is running forward!

Perfect!

Spotting Ki Sung-yueng starting his forward run from the right rear, a smile appeared on Tang Ye's face.

Run directly into Ki Sung-yueng's blind spot!

Slap!

As expected, Nam Tae-hee passes the ball horizontally into the center.

Tang Ye immediately goes to ground for a sliding tackle!

Bang!

Striking from the side of Ki Sung-yueng, Tang Ye clears the ball away with one kick.

"Beautiful!"

"Tang Ye!"

"An exceptionally brilliant read and execution!"

"The cleared ball lands at the feet of captain Feng Feng Xiaoting!"

Cheers erupt from the stands; after scrambling up from the ground, Tang Ye sprints forward!

"Get behind me to receive the ball!"

Hm?

Hao Hao Junmin had originally intended to make a forward run, but then Tang Ye's voice reached him.

In this position, wouldn't it be better for Tang Ye to stay in the defensive half to provide support...

Hao Hao Junmin and Tang Ye were not on the same page regarding their judgment, but since Tang Ye had already shouted out, Hao Hao Junmin simply chose to trust his teammate.

Hao Hao Junmin actively slowed down to stay in the defensive half and provide support, while Tang Ye accelerated toward the attacking third.

The South Korean team begins pressing in the attacking third!

"Go, go, go!"

Feng Feng Xiaoting shouted repeatedly, playing a safe pass back to Jiang Jiang Zhipeng.

Jiang Jiang Zhipeng then delivers a through ball to Hao Hao Junmin!

Perfect!

"Just go straight!"

Tang Ye pointed toward the right-wing baseline; realizing the situation, Wu Lei surged forward at his maximum speed.

In the defensive half, Hao Hao Junmin displayed his incredibly fast ball-carrying ability, consecutively evading the pressing of South Korean players.

Preparing to pass to Tang Ye!

Tang Ye pointed to an empty space to his front-left; that position was unoccupied!

Bang!

The through ball is played out!

At the same moment, Tang Ye accelerates!

Hao Hao Junmin's grounded through pass was delivered with great stability, so Tang Ye made a bold decision.

No first touch!

Slap!

【De Bruyne Curved Through Ball Lv4: Realistic】

Proficiency: 261/1000

The 【Curved Through Ball】 enhanced by the First-Touch Passing Module bonus!

The ball flew out from the position of Tang Ye's left foot, tracing a small arc that slipped between Hong Jeong-ho and Lee Yong.

It bounced on the grass right in front of Lee Yong, then suddenly decelerated!

At this moment, just to Lee Yong's left hand side, the national team's left winger Wang Wang Yongpo surged out.

He easily controlled the ball!

"Wow!!"

Cheers from the fans exploded in the stands!

"Tang Ye!"

"An almost perfect through ball, bypassing the South Korean defenders to directly find Wang Wang Yongpo making a forward run on the wing!"

"How will Wang Wang Yongpo handle this!"

"Accelerating forward!"

Ahead of him, arranged from left to right, were three defenders: Lee Yong tracking back, Hong Jeong-ho, and Jin Zhenzhu.

Wang Wang Yongpo accelerated directly, surging in front of Lee Yong.

Continuing his run toward the penalty area!

Arriving at the edge of the penalty area!

Goalkeeper Kwon Sun-tae reacted quickly, immediately blocking Wang Wang Yongpo's direct shooting angle to buy time for the defenders.

At this moment, as long as Wang Wang Yongpo could rush to the center of the penalty area before Hong Jeong-ho returned there, he could complete a one-on-one breakthrough and score.

Simply put, if this ball had been passed to Sansone, it would have gone straight in.

But Wang Wang Yongpo did not possess speed as exaggerated as Sansone's!

Hong Jeong-ho had already arrived in position!

Hong Jeong-ho blocked Wang Wang Yongpo's right side, leaving the latter unable to release the ball.

"You can pass to the right!"

"Or pass to me!"

Tang Ye shouted from behind.

But Wang Wang Yongpo was clearly overheated; under pressure from the block, he shot directly, and ultimately the ball ended up in Kwon Sun-tae's hands.

"Damn!"

Wang Wang Yongpo clasped his head with both hands, turning to look at Tang Ye somewhat embarrassedly: "My fault, my fault."

"It's fine, it's fine!"

Tang Ye began retreating.

A striker cannot guarantee seizing every opportunity; this was a principle Tang Ye had always understood.

What did Tang Ye need to do?

What Tang Ye needed to do was create the best possible opportunities for the strikers!

Lippi stood on the sideline, hands tucked into his jacket pockets, while fans in the stands behind him shouted loudly in English.

"Attack!"

"Let Tang attack!"

The fans could see that the current national team's tactics were failing to fully unleash Tang Ye's offensive capabilities.

Lippi pretended not to hear.

Time reached the 29th minute; Korean forward Koo Ja-cheol's shot was slapped out of bounds by Zeng Cheng.

The Korean team earned a corner kick!

This was about right!

"Forward, forward!"

"We can attack now!"

Remembering Tang Ye's instructions before he entered the match, Yu Yu Dabao patted Tang Ye the moment he heard Lippi issue the tactical change command, causing the latter to look toward the substitutes' bench.

This was Lippi's attack order.

The defensive play during the first 30 minutes had dampened Korea's offensive desire.

Now it was the national team's time!

The 37th minute of the match!

"Wu Lei's excellent off-the-ball movement allows him to hold the ball in the attacking third!"

"This is a very good position."

Fans in the stands were screaming; at this moment, Tang Ye, originally positioned in the center, made a somewhat controversial move.

He ran toward the right flank where Wu Lei was located!

"Hmm..."

Lippi exhaled anxiously.

Having frequently watched match recordings of Tang Ye, he was quite familiar with Tang Ye's technical characteristics.

Lippi roughly understood how Tang Ye intended to execute this attack.

But the problem was, this style of attack was not as easy as imagined!

Facing the defense of the Korean defenders, Wu Lei dribbled the ball two steps toward the baseline first.

By this time, Tang Ye had already arrived behind him.

Wu Lei continued forward, stopped, feinted to dribble past the defender, but actually passed the ball back toward Tang Ye.

Okay!

Focus, Tang Ye actively ran toward the ball.

Nam Tae-hee immediately came over to mark him tightly.

Tang Ye made his choice.

He delivered the cross before Nam Tae-hee could block his positioning!

Slap!

【De Bruyne 45-Degree Cross Lv4: Realistic】 Proficiency: 229/500

"Tang Ye!"

"He crossed it directly!"

"Let's look inside the penalty area!"

"Yu Yu Dabao runs in between two Korean defenders!"

"Great position! Tang Ye's pass was very steady!"

"Yu Yu Dabao!"

Boom!

"Goal!"

"Tang Ye assists Yu Yu Dabao!"

"Goal for the Chinese team!"

"China scores first!"

Yu Yu Dabao reached out to tug at his jersey, found he couldn't pull it free, and so spread his arms wide, charging toward the stands.

!

Tang Ye, by contrast, appeared calm, jogging slowly toward Yu Yu Dabao's position.

"Awesome!"

"Holy crap, Tang Ye is awesome!"

"King Tang!"

Fans in the right-side stands shouted Tang Ye's name; the latter, while jogging, waved to the stands.

He had received cheers from fans while playing in Utrecht and Villarreal as well.

But Dutch, Spanish, and Chinese—these three languages felt completely different to the ear.

Hugging Yu Yu Dabao, Tang Ye turned to face the stands.

"Va..."

Ahem! Ahem!

"ROAR—!!!!"

【You have obtained 15 Counterattack Points】

【With your father overseeing the battle, you gain an additional 1 Counterattack Point】

Oh?

So an assist is worth 15 Counterattack Points!

Assists in the Big Five Leagues are worth 10 Counterattack Points, but the World Cup qualifiers seem to have a different multiplier than the Big Five Leagues.

As an 'A'-level national team match designated by FIFA, the World Cup qualifiers appear to be rated by the system on the same level as the Champions League or its qualifying rounds.

Tang Ye was currently in dire need of Counterattack Points, so the system's willingness to grant him more was naturally excellent news.

"Tang Ye, you're awesome!"

Feng Feng Xiaoting reached out to ruffle Tang Ye's hair.

Although he was often teased by fans as the "esports midfielder," appearing to be a mere filler player.

But was Tang Ye really a filler?

He was no ordinary filler!

He was a filler with genuine ability!

Live match report from Check Dongqiu Di: Tang Ye assists Yu Yu Dabao for a goal; China takes the lead at home.

Currently, the point gap between China and South Korea in the standings stands at a massive 10 points.

This could truly be called an absolute shock goal!

"China~ China~"

"I fight for you, I am proud because of you~"

"China~ China~"

"I cheer for you, I take pride in you~"

The fans at He Long Stadium displayed immense unity; the stands were filled with waving red flags and red scarves held high by the supporters.

The home team's first goal taught them one truth.

Although South Korea was second in the group and China was fifth.

The fifth-placed team still had a chance to defeat the second-placed team!

42nd minute of the match!

"Tang Ye!"

"He's got the ball at the top of the arc!"

"Straight shot!"

"Ah, what a pity!"

Hiss—

Tang Ye cupped the back of his head with both hands.

So close!

If only he had kept that shot down, it would be 2-0!

"It's okay, it's okay!"

"Keep it up, keep it up!"

As halftime arrived, players from both teams began slowly exiting the field, yet the chanting of the team anthem from the stands did not weaken in the slightest.

"The fans are incredibly passionate today!"

He Wei shouted loudly from the commentary booth.

"Indeed, because the Chinese team is currently leading by one goal."

"Well, although we say South Korea is one of the top two powerhouses in Group A, the fact remains that it was China who scored first against them."

"Exactly, don't let the first 30 minutes fool you where South Korea nearly controlled the match; since they failed to score, the price they must now pay is China's massive offensive surge!"

The two CCTV commentators discussed the national team's first-half tactics at length before finally turning the topic back to Tang Ye.

Although Tang Ye had only rejoined the squad a few days ago, he had indeed demonstrated extraordinary adaptability.

Tom of the European leagues!

GG Bond of the national team!

This is Tang Ye!

Little Goat!

"We played very well in the first half; everyone strictly executed the tactics."

The translator, Wen Wen Qianshi, spoke rapidly in Chinese, while the assistant coach, Madaloni, quickly adjusted the tactical board.

"They are indeed using a 4-4-2, but it's not a standard 4-4-2; they're playing a high defensive line, with midfielders pushing up to press together."

"At moments like this, their flanks are empty—that's the opportunity we must seize..."

Lippi spoke at length; at first, Tang Ye listened intently, but later his mind began to wander.

Tang Ye was thinking.

Yu Yu Dabao and Wang Wang Yongpo rarely moved to the positions he wanted them to occupy; this was a rather troublesome issue.

Their off-the-ball movements were far too conservative.

Tang Ye needed to find a way to actively dictate the tempo!

Then there was Nam Tae-hee.

Tang Ye needed to devise a method to shake off both Nam Tae-hee and Ki Sung-yueng.

At that moment, Tang Ye suddenly felt a vibration from the locker behind him, so he took out his phone.

【Ten Hag: Keep it up!】

!!!

"Alright, welcome back, everyone. This is the second half of the Asian Cup qualifier between the Chinese men's national team and the South Korean men's national team. In the first half..."

"The match has begun!"

Leading by one goal at halftime was a favorable scoreline for the Chinese team.

But this was no reason for them to relax.

Although Son Heung-min was not leading the line, South Korea's overall strength remained formidable!

The camera cut to Stielike, the head coach of the South Korean team!

Time reached the 61st minute of the second half; China made the first substitution.

Wu Xi replaced Wu Lei.

Switching from 4-3-3 to 4-4-2.

"Lippi's tactics are extremely conservative; looking at it this way, the Chinese team has no intention of scoring more goals."

"..."

"Eh, Tang Ye!"

"Tang Ye is looking for an opening!"

He passed directly!

【De Bruyne Curved Through Ball Lv4: Deceptive】

Proficiency: 299/1000

In the camera view, Tang Ye's through ball rolled straight past Zhang Zhang Xianxiu.

Rolling right to Yu Yu Dabao!

"Whoa!!!"

The fans stood up!

Watch Yu Yu Dabao!

Kwon Sun-tae rushed out from the goal line.

Preparing to block Yu Yu Dabao's shooting angle!

Yu Yu Dabao pushed the ball directly!

Slap!

Yu Yu Dabao's pushed shot struck Kwon Sun-tae's arm, rebounded, and fell to Wang Wang Yongpo's feet.

Receiving the ball in this position, Wang Wang Yongpo was clearly somewhat panicked.

Just as he prepared to strike it himself, Tang Ye's voice came from behind.

"To me!"

Wang Wang Yongpo pushed the ball to Tang Ye.

"Press forward!"

Kwon Sun-tae shouted, and Hong Jeong-ho immediately ran toward Tang Ye.

Tang Ye stopped the ball dead!

A sudden halt!

Hong Jeong-ho:?

Done!

Dribbling toward the right!

Lifting his head to glance at the dead spot in the upper right corner of the goal.

In truth, Tang Ye knew perfectly well the positions of the goal and the goalkeeper, but he still had to take that glance upward.

Because that glance wasn't for himself—it was for the goalkeeper!

His right leg swung out!

Striking for the near post!

The ball brushed past the left post and rolled into the net.

Goalkeeper Kwon Soon-tae stood rooted to the spot!

"Woww!!!"

"Goal!"

"Tang Ye!"

"A push shot from outside the box finds the net!"

"2:0!"

"China has extended their lead!"

【You have obtained 20 Counterattack Points】

Tang Ye swung his arms and began his run-up.

A sliding knee celebration!

"Roar—!!!"

Check Dongqiu Di live match report: 63rd minute, Tang Ye scores with a direct push shot, China 2:0 South Korea.

【To be honest, Tang Ye playing for the national team has the aesthetic of someone playing in a youth squad】

【First dominating La Liga, now dominating the World Cup Qualifiers】

【South Korean goalkeeper: West Eight!】

The camera cut to the South Korean fans.

Two goals down, the South Korean fans were no longer in great spirits.

Yet they continued to support their home team.

"Even if the East Sea waters and Baekdu Mountain dry up and wither (Korean)"

"With the blue sky's protection, long live our nation (Korean)"

"..."

A South Korean family began singing their national anthem to boost morale.

Now looking at the home team's stands.

The Chinese fans...

When the big screen displayed the full name of the goal scorer, Tang Ye, the originally restless home stands slowly fell silent.

Tang Ye turned to look.

At that moment, the stands suddenly erupted in noise.

"Oh! Ggbond—!!!"

"Oh Ggbond~ A hero in a fairy tale~"

"Oh Ggbond~ Hot blood flows within the heart~"

"Oh Ggbond~ Everything held in hand~~~"

"Make the world a better place~~ Persistence guarantees success~!!"

Damn...

Tang Ye reached up to touch his head.

What is going on?

(End of Chapter)