Chapter 268: Returning Home to Prepare for Asian Qualifiers, Champions League Group Stage Draw

Check Dongqiu Di pinned post: Tang Ye has confirmed his return to China; the specific time for joining national team training remains unknown. (19,834 comments)

Since his first call-up to the national team in March this year, news of Tang Ye's return to China has consistently broken into the top five on the Baidu Hot Search list, and this time it surged directly to second place.

The reason is simple.

These are the final two matches of the third stage of the Asian qualifiers!

Direct qualification for the World Cup, entering the playoffs, or being completely eliminated from World Cup contention?

The fate of the Chinese men's football team will be decided in these two matches!

To this end, "China Football News" led with a long article analyzing the national team's upcoming two games.

First is the match against Uzbekistan on August 31st, with only one week remaining until kickoff!

"Uzbekistan's defense is relatively average among the six teams in Group A; considering Tang Ye and Wu Lei's excellent attacking abilities, the national team should be able to gain an advantage in the match."

【"Should be able to gain an advantage"—that statement makes me a bit nervous.】

【Can we lose to Uzbekistan? It looks very blue!】

【Tang Ye and Wu Lei's excellent attacking abilities? I feel Tang Ye's partnership with Zhang Zhang Yuning should be better, right?】

【Wu Lei is truly suffering; he's the number one striker in the current national team yet can't finish one-on-ones, completely bypassing my Tang Tang Qiuwang's greatest strength.】

【He doesn't match Tang Ye; if Ten Hag were coaching the national team, Wu Lei would be directly benched. I'm not joking.】

【Tang Tang Qiuwang, take us to Russia!】

"Wuhu, haha!"

On the training ground, Tang Ye, having just scored, high-fived Gao Lin.

In a good mood today, Tang Ye did a few small jumps on the spot after scoring.

The difference in training intensity between the national team and the club is quite significant; although the afternoon session ended quickly, Tang Ye did not feel too tired.

Taking a moment to check the system.

【De Bruyne Underline Cross Lv3: Simulation】

Proficiency: 344/400

Not much proficiency left before leveling up!

Standing still, Tang Ye carefully calculated.

Fifty points of proficiency, comprehensively considering the difficulty of acquiring 【Underline Cross】 proficiency.

His Broccoli is already at +3 level, paired with 【Pogba Hair Gel】, also at +3 level.

If he focuses on training underline crosses over the next few days, he can upgrade this growth template to Lv4 before the match against Uzbekistan!

I wonder if his passing attributes will increase by one level by then?

Suddenly, a ball flew over and smashed directly onto Tang Ye's head.

"Damn, Tang Ye, are you okay!"

Zheng Zhi ran over, not expecting Tang Ye to have missed his pass.

Shaking his head, Tang Ye laughed: "My fault, my fault, I'm coming, I'm coming."

"You used to curse Brother Zhi daily on Tieba when you were young; now Brother Zhi is angry."

Gao Lin put his arm around Tang Ye's shoulders.

"Haha."

Tang Ye patted Gao Lin.

The trainer had already set up the dummies, and Tang Ye ran over to prepare for set-piece training.

Wen Wen Qianshi walked toward Tang Ye holding a notebook, speaking in Chinese with a very standard accent.

"While you were away, we practiced some set-piece tactics because, as you know, we've never had suitable set-piece tactics, yet these tactics are extremely necessary."

Hearing this news, Tang Ye suddenly felt some pressure: "The match starts in three or four days; will I have enough time to gel with them?"

"Uh, it should be enough time; Marcello (Lippi) told me I'd definitely make it."

Glancing at Lippi in the distance directing Zhang Zhang Linpeng and others in practicing compact defense, Tang Ye shook his head.

Mr. Marcello still trusts him a bit too much!

Set-piece tactics are actually no easier than open-play tactics.

How to coordinate with players inside the penalty area is a major problem!

"But I also feel you'll make it."

Wen Wen Qianshi chuckled.

"Alright, then quickly tell me what the tactic is."

Tang Ye swapped in a new piece of gum for himself, focusing his attention to listen as Wen Wen Qianshi explained the set-piece tactics to him.

Wen Wen Qianshi pointed at the penalty area in front of the goal and said seriously: "The tactic is... our attacking players stand inside the penalty area, and then..."

"And then?"

"Then you shoot directly."

"..."

"Is... is there anything else?"

"Marcello told me that top-class free-kick takers have their own judgment capabilities, and overly specific tactics might actually hinder your performance."

"Alright."

Tang Ye now understood why Lippi was so certain he could integrate into the set-piece tactics.

This is bullshit!

Does this even count as a tactic...

Finishing defensive training, Lippi walked over with the national team's defenders, speaking strange Italian while making various hand gestures.

"What is he saying?"

"He says this is the strongest set-piece tactic we can currently deploy."

"... Alright."

Tang Ye shook his hands and proceeded with the subsequent set-piece training under the arrangements of Lippi and Madaloni.

Lippi's set-piece design was extremely aggressive, directly pushing the players best at heading into the penalty area, while Tang Ye and Zheng Zhi stood behind the ball for the set piece.

Zheng Zhi, much like Bruno, would provide cover for Tang Ye, depending on the actual match situation.

The core was Tang Ye.

"Top-class free-kick takers often make the most suitable decisions," these were Lippi's exact words.

Teammates took their positions; Tang Ye was ready!

Eyes wide open, observing.

The dummies represented defensive players, while his passing options included Gao Lin, Zhang Zhang Yuning, and Feng Feng Xiaoting.

"Indirect free kick!"

After shouting this, Lippi blew the whistle.

However, Tang Ye's ears registered only the sound of the whistle.

He shot directly!

Bang!

【Ronaldo Axe-Style Free Kick Template】!

The ball flew over the heads of the dummy and Gao Lin.

With absolutely no spin, it curled straight into the dead corner of the goal!

Zeng Cheng stood on the goal line, stunned.

"It was an indirect free kick!"

Lippi shouted.

Snapping out of his thoughts, Tang Ye finally heard Lippi's voice this time.

"Ah, my mistake!"

"It's fine; from now on, they are all indirect free kicks!"

Lippi signaled to continue, then stared at Tang Ye while exchanging glances with Madaloni beside him.

"Did you see that shot just now?"

"I saw it; it was impressive, but the success rate for such shots won't be too high; achieving 20% would already be remarkable."

Madaloni's point was that although they had an outstanding direct free-kick taker, the national team should still prioritize indirect free kicks.

"No."

Lippi shook his head gently, the wrinkles on his face very obvious in the sunlight.

"We simply don't have players with particularly good heading ability..."

Lippi pointed out a very critical issue.

That was the general weakness of the national team's forward line players in attacking points within the penalty area.

Or rather, viewed against world-class standards, the heading abilities of Zhang Zhang Yuning and Gao Lin were not outstanding.

"What is our goal conversion rate for indirect free kicks?"

Lippi posed the question, and Madaloni hurriedly ran to the back to fetch his notebook.

"3.9%."

"I only want the data since Tom joined; after Tom joined, what was our indirect free-kick conversion rate? Specifically for indirect free kicks within 30 meters of the goal."

There were two filtering conditions, but for assistant coach Madaloni, who was skilled at handling data, this was not a difficult task.

After some operations, Madaloni obtained the data Lippi wanted.

"10.4%, tripled!"

Lippi smiled: "That still hasn't reached 20%; do you think I'm right?"

"!!!"

Madaloni was suddenly enlightened!

Damn!

Considering the current situation of the national team.

Letting Tang Ye shoot all direct free kicks from suitable distances was actually the option with the highest probability of scoring!

Simple is best!

Upon discovering the problem, the Chinese national team coaching staff immediately changed the training content; Madaloni pulled Feng Feng Xiaoting and Zhang Zhang Linpeng out of the penalty area: "Go practice defense, go practice defense!"

The dummies remained in place as Lippi had Tang Ye continue training on set pieces.

Bang!

Bang bang!

After kicking for over twenty minutes, Madaloni recorded Tang Ye's direct free-kick success rate.

24%.

It might be slightly lower during official matches, but it would surely not fall below 15%.

The data had already proven that Lippi's idea was indeed feasible!

Set-piece training was not exhausting; by the end of the afternoon session, Tang Ye wasn't even out of breath.

"Tang Ye!"

Zhang Zhang Yuning ran over from behind: "Damn, your direct free kicks are fierce, but I notice you don't seem to use them much."

Zhang Zhang Yuning was half teammate and half fan to Tang Ye.

He often watched Tang Ye's matches, but apart from that one shot in the Europa League final, Zhang Zhang Yuning couldn't recall Tang Ye ever taking a direct free kick?

As Tang Ye and Zhang Zhang Yuning walked toward the area where chairs were being placed on the training ground, Tang Ye suddenly suggested they just sit on the grass.

Because he could see Zhang Zhang Yuning was already a bit tired.

"Brother Lei, toss us a drink; Brother Zhang Yuning, what do you want?"

"I'll have a drink too."

"Then toss two, thanks Brother Lei!"

The two lay down on the grass.

At noon when training started, the grass had been scorching hot, but now it was much better.

"It mainly depends on the actual situation,"

Tang Ye explained.

"I'm mainly good at set-piece crosses, so when I get a chance, I have to make a choice; even if the referee awards a direct free kick, I'd most likely choose to cross."

"But that was last season; who knows what this season will be like."

Tang Ye thought back: "Hmm, I've only attended one Manchester United set-piece training session."

"By the way, Tang Ye, can I ask you a question?"

After careful consideration, Zhang Zhang Yuning finally decided to speak up.

"Go ahead and ask, Brother Zhang Yuning."

Tang Ye took the two drinks Wu Lei had brought, patted Wu Lei's thigh, and said, "Thanks, Brother Lei."

"Haha, no problem."

Wu Lei sat down nearby, but that didn't stop Zhang Zhang Yuning from voicing his problem.

"It's just that last month I went to Bremen (Fan Fan Dejia's Werder Bremen); I trained with the team for a whole month and completed every training task..."

"What's wrong? The head coach won't let you play?"

Wu Lei immediately guessed what Zhang Zhang Yuning wanted to say.

Having no chance to play is a problem Chinese players abroad often encounter.

"Something like that; I can't even make the matchday squad. So far in Bremen, I've only played 20 minutes in a friendly."

His tone was still normal, but Zhang Zhang Yuning's expression already showed some grievance.

"Tang Ye, when you first joined Manchester United, how did you manage it? Does good performance in training mean the head coach will give you a chance?"

"Well..."

Tang Ye lowered his head to think carefully.

Seeing Zhang Zhang Yuning face the problem of being unable to play, to be honest, Tang Ye felt somewhat uncomfortable.

"It should be about performing well in training."

After thinking it over carefully, Tang Ye found the answer.

"Before the matches, I played in many scrimmages; I scored in basically every scrimmage, and then I became a starter. Oh right, I also coordinated very well with my teammates."

Tang Ye placed his hand on Zhang Zhang Yuning's shoulder: "It'll be fine, Brother Zhang Yuning; your poaching is excellent, and you're fierce in duels, so you'll definitely get a chance to play. No need to rush."

"Tang Ye!"

Zheng Zhi's voice came from afar: "You have a text message!"

Tang Ye climbed up from the grass, patted Zhang Zhang Yuning's shoulder, and said, "It'll be fine, Brother Zhang Yuning; keep it up."

Then he ran off.

"So blending in with teammates is the key; we need to build chemistry?"

Zhang Zhang Yuning pondered Tang Ye's words when Wu Lei kicked his foot.

"You shouldn't be asking Tang Ye this question; his advice isn't applicable to us."

"Why?"

Zhang Zhang Yuning sighed.

That's true; with Tang Ye's level, he'd probably have a starting spot even if he skipped training and went straight to the match.

"You don't have a rattan armor."

Wu Lei laughed loudly: "Haha, do you want to hear my advice?"

"Brother Lei, what do you say?"

"During training, you can play a bit more selfishly."

Wu Lei stood up and added one more sentence: "But don't be too selfish."

While Wu Lei and Zhang Zhang Yuning were talking, Tang Ye received a text message from former captain Bruno.

【Bruno: The Champions League draw is at noon today, Tom; it should be evening over there, but it's all the same.】

"Haha."

Tang Ye signaled to Zheng Zhi that he was heading to the physio room first, then typed on his phone with both hands.

【Bruno, are you afraid of running into me? I'll crush you.】

Thinking it over, Tang Ye added another sentence.

【By then, you'll only be able to sit in your Maserati and cry.】

With a smile on his face, Tang Ye waited for Bruno's reply.

It should be the time for Villarreal's morning training now.

【Bruno: Hahahaha, Mateo is right beside me; he says he's going to tackle you into the sky.】

Arrogant Bruno!

And there's the arrogant Musacchio!

Even so...

Tang Ye still hoped not to face Villarreal in the group stage.

Soon evening arrived, and Tang Ye lay in his gaming chair watching the live draw.

【UEFA Champions League (European Champions League)】

Gazing at the Champions League logo displayed on his computer screen, Tang Ye slowly chewed the gum in his mouth.

Unknowingly, he had already stepped into the Champions League.

Just two years ago, he was still playing games in the dormitory of Utrecht's reserve team.

Time flies!

The scene shifted; after the host's concise opening remarks, the draw ceremony began.

Looking left and right, Tang Ye felt a bit empty inside.

If only the match against Uzbekistan could have started a little later.

Then he could have watched the draw ceremony together with Marcus, Mr. Sitting Like, and the others in the cafeteria!

Check Dongqiu Di pinned post: Results for the 2017-18 Champions League group stage draw are out; Chelsea, Roma, and Atlético form a Group of Death, while Manchester United in Group A faces Benfica and Feyenoord.

Group A: Benfica, Manchester United, Basel, Feyenoord.

(End of Chapter)