Chapter 229: National Team Tang Zhuang Jersey, Preparing for Iran!

Lippi stepped forward to speak on Tang Ye's behalf regarding the matter of the shorts' pockets, and the Football Association immediately contacted the sponsor Nike, stating that a batch of match shorts with pockets needed to be produced.

Both the Football Association and Nike knew this was a huge business opportunity, so the matter was executed very quickly.

According to FIFA rules, shorts cannot have zippers.

But this was not a problem.

Pockets without zippers were permitted, and this would be Nike's design direction.

……

Baidu Hot Search List.

1. The National Football Team won.

2. The Chinese Men's Football Team defeated the South Korean Men's Football Team 3:0 to secure their first victory in the third stage of the Asian qualifiers.

3. Tang Ye scored twice.

4. 50,000 fans at He Long Stadium sang "Little Hero, Big Belly" in chorus.

5. An 18-year-old genius youth saved the national team.

Front page, second headline of the "Villarreal News": Demon Star Tom scores twice in his national team debut; can the Chinese team, with only 5 points after six rounds, qualify for the Russia World Cup?

"Marca": Considering the Chinese team's schedule, Tom will most likely be unable to participate in Villarreal's matches against Eibar on April 1st.

On March 28th, the national team plays an away match against Iran; on April 1st, Villarreal hosts Eibar at home.

With just this schedule, Tang Ye was one hundred percent unable to participate in the 29th round of La Liga.

Escrivá had actually hesitated over whether to contact Lippi, but after thinking it over, he ultimately decided against it.

Given the current standings of the national team and the opponent in the next match, it was simply impossible for Tang Ye to return to the club.

In response to reporters' questions, Villarreal held a press conference at their training base regarding the April matches to address the journalists' concerns.

The reporter's first question went straight to Tang Ye.

"Tom is playing for the national team; they are about to play Iran, so you will not have Tom for your 29th-round match against Eibar."

There will be no Tom for the match against Eibar!

The reporter's words were cruel, and it was hard for Villarreal fans to accept this point.

But this was the fact!

"I know, of course I know this; I have been keeping an eye on the Chinese team's schedule, and unfortunately, our matches and the Chinese team's matches have clashed on similar dates. So Tom cannot play in the match against Eibar on April 1st, but what does that matter?"

Escrivá shrugged his shoulders: "For the Chinese team, Tom is indispensable, I can see that. But for Villarreal, it is not like that."

Facing the cameras, Escrivá held up two fingers: "Just as I said before, we have two squads: one without Tom, and one with Tom."

?

Just as Escrivá was speaking, Roig, the club chairman beside him, suddenly turned his head.

"Yes, exactly like that; in the upcoming match against Eibar, we will field the squad without Tom. I must tell you, this squad is strong, truly very, very strong."

Click-click!

Click-click-click!

The sound of camera shutters rang out continuously, and the expressions of the reporters on site were somewhat excited.

As early as last year, Escrivá had said that Villarreal this season had two squads.

At that time, reporters and fans thought Escrivá was a liar and that he was speaking falsehoods.

But now it seemed things were not like that.

Ferran Escrivá was an honest man.

He had been holding a card up his sleeve!

As the reporters slowly left the venue, Escrivá tidied up his notebook and pen on the table.

Roig placed his hand on Escrivá's shoulder: "Damn it, Ferran, you really gave me a big surprise!"

"I thought we were done for, but you actually have something!"

"Let me tell you, I've already calculated it; if we win all the matches in April, we might actually have a chance to take down one of Real Madrid or Barcelona!"

"Villarreal is about to rise!"

Escrivá clipped his gel pen onto his notebook, glanced left and right to confirm that all the reporters had left, and then said in a low voice.

"I was blowing smoke."

……

On the plane, Tang Ye's tablet was playing an American TV drama, but his mind's attention was completely focused on his system.

Pretending to watch a drama, but actually playing with the system.

This was the deceptive ability of a top-tier attacking midfielder!

Account Balance: Counterattack Points * 972.

A balance of 972 Counterattack Points might not seem like much, but in reality, it was enough to stir up some things.

Let's take a look at Haaland's Forge!

【Ronaldo's Chicken Breast +2 → Ronaldo's Chicken Breast +3】

Material Cost: Counterattack Points * 500.

Red Bull, hamburgers, hair wax, chicken breast, and hot chocolate milk—these were Tang Ye's five most important consumable items currently.

Tang Ye's current idea was to spend 500 Counterattack Points to upgrade the chicken breast to +3 first; the extra 1% strength training gain could help Tang Ye build muscle faster.

He had been envious of his teammates' muscles for quite some time!

As early as during his time at Utrecht, Ten Hag had told Tang Ye that the fastest way for him to improve his match performance was to enhance his physical attributes!

However, Tang Ye now had other considerations.

In April, Villarreal had a total of 9 matches to play.

Improving one's own strength is certainly important, but the April matches are simply too crucial for the team.

With such a dense schedule, Villarreal's players must all make sacrifices, and naturally Tang Ye is no exception!

【Kante's Hot Chocolate Milk → Kante's Hot Chocolate Milk +1】

……

【Kante's Hot Chocolate Milk +2 → Kante's Hot Chocolate Milk +3】

Account Balance: Counterattack Points * 222

【Kante's Hot Chocolate Milk +3: An excellent item enhanced by the Viking Forge; upon use, restores 59% of muscle condition, and you will not suffer insomnia due to match anxiety】

Price: Counterattack Points * 10

Originally, the chocolate milk restored 50% of Tang Ye's muscle condition; each forge enhancement adds 3%, so after three times, it reaches 59%.

Spending 10 Counterattack Points directly restores 60% of his muscle condition.

For Tang Ye, this thing is even more useful than Red Bull!

Maintaining the best possible muscle condition before matches is one of the reasons Tang Ye rarely gets injured!

Besides restoring nearly 60% of muscle condition, reaching +3 also grants Tang Ye an additional effect from the 【Chocolate Milk】.

He will not suffer insomnia due to match anxiety!

For ordinary professional athletes, this thing is an absolute god-tier skill, but for Tang Ye, it's quite useless.

Throughout Tang Ye's career so far, he has never once suffered insomnia due to anxiety over a match!

Zheng Zhi walked over, swapped positions with Zhang Zhang Yuning, and sat down beside Tang Ye.

"Tang Ye."

Zheng Zhi patted Tang Ye: "I heard you were playing in the U15 squad when you were 12? Back at the Shandong Luneng Football School?"

"More or less."

Tang Ye thought carefully for a moment: "After I joined the U13 class, I've been playing in U15 matches; during training, I sometimes practiced with the U17s."

Oh!

Zheng Zhi nodded.

Training with the U17 squad at age 12 meant that Tang Ye was already playing alongside 16-year-old players when he was only 12.

Zheng Zhi suddenly thought of a question: "Weren't you bullied being so young?"

"Not really; it was just that coach who often targeted me. The teammates were fine, and my classmates were all quite nice."

Recalling events from his childhood, Tang Ye said: "Once, we played a friendly match against a South American U15 team. I had just come onto the field when I got tackled hard. Our U17s happened to be training on the adjacent pitch, and one brother rushed straight in and flipped the guy who tackled me."

"Actually, I'd only played with him two or three times back then, but I was incredibly moved. Hmm... he was probably 15 or 16, a striker, not very bulky but fiercely tough in a fight."

Hiss—

Thinking of his childhood idol, Tang Ye sank into memories.

Back then, his idol seemed to have said something to Tang Ye, but Tang Ye couldn't remember what it was.

But Tang Ye vaguely remembered the number on his idol's back.

He was number 7 of the U17 squad.

His name was...

Hmm, Tang Ye trusted his visual memory immensely.

It should be exactly like that!

Returning to Hebei, Tang Ye began new training with the national team.

After concluding the match against South Korea, the group's second-place team, two days ago, the Chinese men's football team will travel away to face Iran on the 28th!

They are currently the top team in Group A!

"Iran is formidable; they are the strongest team in Group A, but we have already created one miracle. We defeated South Korea 3-0, which proves we have the strength; we can defeat Iran as well."

On the training ground, assistant coach Madaloni was feeding the players chicken soup.

Tang Ye chewed his gum.

He felt Madaloni lacked the kind of presence that Mr. Ferran and Mr. Eric had when they spoke!

After listening to Madaloni's words, Tang Ye's heart rate hadn't even accelerated!

【You purchased Pogba's Hair Clay +3】

Training to prepare for Iran began!

According to Lippi and Madaloni, Iran would most likely adopt a 4-2-3-1 formation, which leans more toward offense, so the national team needed to strengthen their defensive training in open play.

Having the fitness coach arrange for the team to warm up, Madaloni ran to the edge of the training field.

At this moment, Lippi was standing on the grass, with a white tactical board placed before him, featuring magnetic flags in red and yellow.

Lippi slowly moved the magnetic flags on the tactical board; his movements were slow, but every step was the result of careful consideration.

"I think we cannot play 4-4-2."

Lippi suddenly said, and Madaloni quickly leaned in, discovering that Lippi had set up a 4-3-3 formation for the national team.

Tom's passing ability is ridiculously exaggerated, a fact the national team's coaching staff is very clear about.

With such an attacking midfielder in the squad, if the national team plays with two strikers, it would be a pure loss.

Lippi moved the central magnetic flag of the 4-3-3 backward, changing it to 4-4-2: "This was our formation the afternoon before yesterday; the defense was excellent, but this style of play is unsuitable for us. With two strikers, Tom would play very uncomfortably. I've thought it over carefully; if we had played with three forwards throughout that match, we should have had a chance to score four goals against South Korea."

"Of course, the goal difference doesn't mean much to us right now; my point is simply that three forwards would be better. Roni, you understand what I mean, right?"

Madaloni nodded quickly, and Lippi continued to explain: "Moreover, we must bring Yu (Yu Yu Dabao) off; we need a taller center forward, and Zhang (Zhang Zhang Yuning) is an excellent choice."

The squad Tang Ye is in definitely needs a tall center forward; Utrecht and Villarreal have consecutively proven this fact.

Ale's presence helped Tang Ye draw many defenders, indirectly helping Tang Ye find many opportunities.

All Lippi needs to do now is adjust the team's tactics.

Find a way to activate Tang Ye's combat power as much as possible.

Why say that?

The current starting eleven of the national football team has a market value of 54.75 million euros; viewed across all of Asia, this starting lineup value is very considerable.

But you must note that after rounding down, the starting lineup value of the national team is exactly 50 million euros.

And 50 million euros happens to be GGBond's market value!

Check Dongqiu Di Match Preview: In Round 7, the national team plays away against Iran; with Tang Ye joining, can the Chinese team take points from the Group A leader?

Pinned: The national team releases a pre-match warm-up poster for the game against Iran, featuring Tang Ye alone.

……

On the afternoon of the 27th, Iran time, the national football team players arrive in Tehran, the capital of Iran.

On the evening of the 27th, that is, the day before the match between the national team and Iran, Nike and the national team released their latest season's jerseys via their official Weibo account.

2017 Season National Team Home Jersey (Player Version), priced at 499 yuan.

2017 Season National Team Home Jersey (Fan Version), priced at 199 yuan.

The 499-yuan player version jersey and the 199-yuan fan version jersey; compared to the previous few seasons, this season's jerseys have actually dropped in price!

Continuing further down, the selling price of the player version shorts is 299 yuan, which is also a significant drop compared to last year's 380 yuan.

And then...

!!!

Scrolling to the very bottom, Chinese fans saw something quite interesting.

2017 Season National Team Home Shorts, priced at 299 yuan.

2017 Season National Team Home Shorts (Tang Style), priced at 299 yuan.

Tang Style!

Do you think it refers to the Tang Dynasty?

Actually, no; this "Tang" refers to Tang Ye's "Tang"!

Because there was a note attached below these shorts.

1. The Tang Style shorts feature zipless pockets on both sides; otherwise, they are consistent with the standard match shorts, and these shorts comply with FIFA match short standards.

2. The Tang Style shorts are now available for pre-order, with shipments beginning sequentially after May 28.

【Tan... Tang Style】

【Starting to pull stunts, huh? But Tang Tang Qiuwang's status is indeed top-tier; Nike specially designed a pair of shorts for him.】

【So what are these pockets for?】

【The person above is blind.】

【Four pieces of chewing gum at halftime, two on each side; if the pockets are deep enough, they won't fall out while playing—personally tested and effective.】

【Go for it, beat Iran!!!】

【What does it mean that the pre-match poster features a single person? Is Tang Ye continuing as a starter?】

【If Tang Ye isn't starting, are you going to start instead?】

……

The bus slowly drove into the stadium, with Tang Ye's head resting against the window.

He was searching for fans of the Chinese team, but alas, his line of sight was filled entirely with Iranian fans.

"Eh, why are there no women?"

Tang Ye pointed outside the window; Zhang Zhang Yuning leaned his head over: "I don't know."

"Over here in Iran, women are not allowed to enter the stadium."

Hao Hao Junmin, sitting in the back, provided the answer.

"Not allowed to enter the stadium?"

Tang Ye squinted and looked outside: "Then what if a woman buys a ticket? If she buys a ticket, she still can't enter?"

"I don't know that either."

Hao Hao Junmin shook his head.

This maneuver by Iran was still too difficult for the national football team players to understand.

Just then, Tang Ye pointed out the window: "I see our fans! They're wearing red clothes! Over by that statue!"

……

(End of Chapter)