Chapter 33: Elite Positioning, Consecutive Goals! (4k)

Amsterdam time, September 26 afternoon.

The bus carrying 18 players and over ten club staff members drove toward the Goffert Stadium.

Today is Matchday 7 of the Eredivisie, with Utrecht hosting Cambuur at home!

“All home tickets have been sold out—it’s a full house today.”

In the aisle between the seats, Ten Hag placed one hand on each side of the seats: “With a full house, some of you may feel extra pressure—if anyone’s particularly nervous, let me or Michel know, we’ll help you.”

Captain Ramselaar crossed his arms over his chest: “Come on, Eric, we’ve all played in front of full houses before—some of us even played at Old Trafford. This kind of pressure won’t affect us.”

“I know it won’t affect you, but it will affect someone else.”

“Not everyone on our team has played in front of a full house.”

As he spoke, Ten Hag’s gaze landed on Amrabat.

Unsurprisingly, upon hearing how massive the crowd would be, Amrabat’s expression grew uneasy.

Ten Hag sighed—he was right not to start Amrabat today.

Then he turned to look at Tang Ye, sitting beside Amrabat.

Tang Ye had his eyes closed, leaning back against his seat.

“Hey, Tang!”

Ten Hag called out.

Tang Ye didn’t react.

“Sir, he’s asleep,” Amrabat whispered.

“...”

“You should all have Tang Ye’s mindset—yes, mindset, not attitude. Do you understand what I mean?”

You should all have Tang Ye’s mindset—yes, I mean mindset, not attitude. Do you understand me?

“OK, brothers, welcome back!”

“Today’s a long-awaited Utrecht match—though it’s only been four days since the last game, many of you have washed your feet too often and run out of Happy Beans. These four days have been torture!”

“But no worries—Tang Ye is still on the big list today!”

“Let’s see if King Tang will treat the brothers to a foot wash today!”

“First, let me introduce the starting lineups!”

Cambuur (4-3-3)

Goalkeeper: Zijnstera

Defenders: Andrews Kovičius, Persman, Dammers, Pereira

Defenders: Andrews Kovičius, Persman, Dammers, Pereira

“OleOleOle...”

The Goffert Stadium was buzzing—today Utrecht’s opponent was Cambuur, the weakest team Utrecht had faced so far in the Eredivisie.

Because the opponent was weak, Ten Hag decided to get creative.

Because the opponent was weak, Ten Hag decided to try something creative in this match.

No—he went straight for a 4-3-3, and even more precisely, a 4-1-2-1-2.

Two attacking midfielders, two forwards—clearly aiming to exploit the flanks.

As planned, Utrecht played aggressively from the start. Before the 20th minute, Balazic headed the ball straight into Cambuur’s net.

By the 30th minute, Utrecht was leading 2-0.

It seemed the game was completely tilted in Utrecht’s favor—but then things went wrong.

This was Utrecht’s first game with four defenders, and the central midfielders were all disoriented. The culprit, Van der Maarel, committed two fouls in five minutes, directly giving Cambuur a goal.

This was Utrecht’s first game this season using a four-defender formation; the central midfielders looked confused. The culprit, Van der Maarel, committed two fouls in just five minutes, directly giving Kambur a goal.

Ten Hag grabbed the back of his head, took a deep breath, and sat down on the bench.

“We’ve adjusted—switch to five defenders.”

Van der Gaag whispered in Ten Hag’s ear.

With Utrecht leading by one goal, switching to defense was the safest option.

But Ten Hag didn’t want to play it safe.

“Switching to five defenders now will cost us even more!”

The Dutchman knew his players well.

He had never trained them to adapt mid-game. If he changed formation suddenly, they wouldn’t be able to execute it.

Ten Hag rejected the suggestion to revert to five defenders. Van der Gaag fell silent.

At that moment, Ten Hag felt someone tapping his shoulder.

He turned—and saw Tang Ye.

“Lazy pig, what’s up? Need to use the toilet?”

Tang Ye pointed at his teammates advancing on the pitch: “Mr. Eric, let me go on, please.”

Tang Ye could see clearly—Cambuur relied on wing attacks, meaning as an attacking midfielder, he had minimal defensive duties.

His pressure on the field would be low!

But mostly, it was about the comeback point.

The opponent was weak—he believed he had a chance to earn the comeback point today.

“You? On the field?”

Ten Hag sized Tang Ye up: “But your eyes were closed an hour ago. Are you sure you can do it?”

Ten Hag sized up Tang Ye: “But your eyes were closed an hour ago. Are you sure you can do it?”

Tang Ye patted his chest confidently. Ten Hag frowned, thought for a moment, then decided to sub him in.

“Here we go—44th minute. Utrecht’s coaching staff requests a substitution.”

“Let’s see how Ten Hag’s decision plays out...”

“Tang Ye replaces Ayoub!”

“Perfect substitution! Perfect substitution! The great Dutch coach brings on his team’s strongest attacker!”

“Perfect substitution! Perfect substitution! The great Dutch coach has brought on his team’s strongest attacker!”

“Half-time is over. Unfortunately, even though Tang Ye is on the pitch, he hasn’t touched the ball yet.”

“Damn it, Utrecht’s defenders can’t play—can’t they even pass the ball to Tang Ye?”

At half-time, Tang Ye had zero touches.

Ten Hag’s four-defender setup was terrible for Tang Ye—defenders always passed to the wings.

Tang Ye wasn’t a player with strong covering ability—he could only wander back and forth on the pitch.

By the end of stoppage time, he still didn’t know how much air was in today’s ball.

At halftime, Ten Hag gave a speech in the center of the locker room. Tang Ye sat in the corner, arms resting on his thighs.

After thinking it over, Tang Ye felt something was off—he rubbed Van der Maarel’s arm: “Buddy, in the second half, pass me the ball.”

“But you don’t come back to get it—how am I supposed to pass to you?”

“Then I’ll come back.”

“Can you? Really?”

Tang Ye patted Van der Maarel’s shoulder: “Relax—I’m solid.”

Second half begins!

Utrecht, having already made a substitution in the first half, makes another: Amrabat replaces Jansen.

Now, both players promoted from the reserve team are on the pitch.

The bond between Tang Ye and Amrabat has formed!

“Run forward—I’m watching!”

Amrabat controlled the ball and signaled Tang Ye to run ahead. Tang Ye obeyed and moved forward.

But Amrabat immediately erred—Ogbechi charged in, used his shoulder to block his position, and stole the ball.

However, Amrabat immediately lost the ball; Ogbeche surged forward, used his shoulder to block his position, and snatched the ball right from Amrabat.

Ramselaar shouted, sprinted back, and at the instant Ogbechi passed, reached Barto and kicked the ball to the defender.

Now Van der Maarel has the ball!

Cambuur’s attack line hadn’t pushed high today—their pressing was average, classic low block defense.

But the ball was right there—Ogbechi had to charge in.

But now the ball was right there—Ogbeche had to charge forward no matter what.

Tang Ye boldly called for the ball. On the sideline, Ten Hag, seeing Tang Ye’s boldness, couldn’t help but clap and cheer.

Tang Ye boldly called for the ball. Seeing Tang Ye’s boldness, Ten Hag on the sideline couldn’t help but clap and cheer.

Van der Maarel remembered Tang Ye’s words at halftime and passed the ball to him.

Tang Ye received the ball, preparing to turn—when Amrabat shouted, “Ass!”

Tang Ye turned his head—Ovugul was still far behind him.

He turned back—and Ogbechi had already stolen the ball.

“Shit!”

Tang Ye cursed inwardly and sprinted back.

Van der Maarel was now on high alert!

Tang Ye couldn’t quite keep up with Ogbeche, but his thinking was crystal clear.

Ogbeche was the attacker; as long as he had no intention of shooting directly, he’d definitely slow down when reaching the edge of the penalty area.

Sure enough, Ogbeche slowed to pass the ball wide, and Tang Ye seized the moment, sliding to kick it away—Ram Saier ran back and cleared it immediately.

Tang Ye got up from the ground and gave Van der Maarel a thumbs-up: “I told you, you pass the ball steady.”

Van der Maarel: …

“What the hell are you two doing? What kind of coordination is this?!”

Ten Hag had been calm, but after watching Amrabat and Tang Ye’s insane combination, his heart nearly stopped.

They both came up from the reserve team—how could they pull off something like this?

“It’s fine, it’s fine, I’m working on it.”

Tang Ye raised his hand toward Ten Hag on the sideline: “I’ve found my rhythm—watch my coordination.”

At the 68th minute, Cambuur finally got an attacking chance; Barto broke down the flank but was blocked by Ram Saier .

The two immediately went one-on-one.

Tang Ye normally wouldn’t drift wide, but his touches had been too few this match, so he moved proactively toward the right flank.

Pretending to drop back, he curved his run, slipping quietly behind Barto.

“Someone’s behind you!”

A Cambuur player shouted, but it was too late—Tang Ye slid his foot between Barto’s legs and kicked the ball straight to Ram Saier .

“Hah!”

Tang Ye, triumphant, turned and sprinted off arrogantly.

Ram Saier spotted the opening.

He feinted left, shaking off Barto.

Then he played a through ball forward.

That was Tang Ye’s position.

“Tang Ye’s running! Tang the King is sprinting—controls the ball!”

“Right flank! Tang Ye keeps driving toward the byline!”

Tang Ye was now extremely close to the right sideline, barely brushing it as he moved.

This position was perfect—he could see all his forward teammates.

The problem? Tang Ye was already gasping for breath.

“Damn, so tired.”

“Fucking move, don’t drag your teammates down!”

Ten Hag shouted at Tang Ye—and the next second, Tang Ye began his move.

He didn’t cut to the byline; instead, he struck a curved pass from right to left.

【De Bruyne curved through-pass, Lv3: Simulation】

Proficiency: 2/200

No wonder that pass felt so smooth.

So it’s unlocked!

“Wow!”

Fans near the away stand jumped to their feet.

From an overhead view, the ball’s trajectory looked like a reversed “C.”

The ball flew over Cambuur’s right-back and center-back, landing in the center—right where Balazet had made his run.

The ball was in the air, positioned decently.

The only flaw? It was too far.

Balazet timed his run perfectly, leaping to head it.

Header!

But it went straight over the crossbar.

“Idiot! Nasser!”

Ten Hag roared at Balazet on the pitch: “I told you—don’t drag your teammates down!”

“Tang deliberately slowed down—can’t you read that? If you’d started your run earlier, you wouldn’t have been that short! Idiot, use your brain!”

“Damn it!”

Ten Hag turned and flung his hand toward Van der Gaag, seated on the bench: “Can’t even spot such an obvious tactical pause? Nasser’s attacking awareness is terrible!”

【Wait, you wasted Tang the King’s perfect pass—what’s wrong with this #10? You still want to start next time?】

【We almost had 3-1!】

【Montgo wanted to help the team go 3-1—but these teammates are just too awful!】

【A bunch of 16-year-old kids—I can’t carry them!】

【Reverse the Heavenly Law!】

【Watching Tang Ye play is both nerve-wracking and satisfying—this vision! When he stopped on the flank, I thought he was out of breath—but he was setting up the pass! What awareness!】

【You don’t get it—Tang stopped to evade the fullback’s mark; the pass was just a bonus!】

【Holy shit, I thought Montgo stopped because he was exhausted—I’m guilty!】

Time ticked away, and the Dou Zhan Shi in the livestream felt the pressure.

The score was now 2-1.

But 2-1 earns far less than 3-1.

Don’t think this one-goal gap is trivial—it decides how many extra hours you can add tonight!

This match affects GDP growth in dozens of Chinese cities—everyone must take it seriously!

…

At the 75th minute, the backend data team released the possession stats for both teams.

Everyone was stunned: the leading side, Utrecht, had only 47% possession.

Why?

The camera cut to Tang Ye.

The data team displayed his stats on the livestream screen.

34 minutes on pitch, total ball control time: 9.2 seconds.

So that’s why—there’s a saboteur on the team!

But no matter—they all knew their Montgo’s specialty was redemption.

“Utrecht, corner kick!”

“Ale and Balazet—these two are key—but they’re both marked!”

“Huh? Damn, Tang Ye! Tang Ye! Jump! Head it!”

“Tang Ye didn’t connect—he forgot Tang Ye can’t head the ball!”

“No problem, still a chance—follow up!”

“….”

“Goal! Goal! Goal!”

Fans in the livestream and the stadium now had one question:

Master, aren’t you an attacking midfielder? Why are you here?

The replay showed: after Ram Saier raised his hand on the flank, Tang Ye circled behind Van der Maarel and slipped quietly into the penalty area.

Cambuur’s defenders each had their assigned man—none noticed Tang Ye sneaking in!

Came on as a substitute in the Eredivisie—scored in back-to-back matches!

“Top-class movement!”

“Top-class movement! Tang the King is still pushing!”

…

(End of Chapter)