Chapter 385: You Should Have Said So Earlier; I Have Many Friends

"Thanks, Tom!"

"Haha, no problem, no problem."

After saying goodbye to Oscar, Tang Ye and Wu Lei returned to the locker room together.

"Tang Ye!"

Zhang Zhang Yuning gave Tang Ye a huge hug.

As Tang Ye's number-one fan within the national team, Zhang Zhang Yuning's loyalty to his idol naturally went without saying.

"Damn, I feel our buildup from the back could have been more decisive; actually, we could have won today."

Wu Lei sat back in his spot, and the players began chatting about today's friendly match.

No one expected to draw with Shanghai SIPG; although the opposition held back to some extent, the players were still in good spirits.

Sitting in his spot, Tang Ye chewed gum and whispered to Zhang Zhang Yuning beside him, "I feel Lippi's mood might not be great; we had too many problems."

Tang Ye's words suddenly made the previously cheerful Zhang Zhang Yuning turn serious.

Click-clack! Click-clack!

At this moment, in the press conference room, head coach Lippi was accepting interviews from reporters.

"In a Chinese squad where everyone's value is generally under one million euros, you need to direct the most valuable midfielder in today's football world, Marcello; does that bring pressure?"

"I am very happy to work with Tom; I believe he can deliver a good performance at the World Cup, just as he did during the Asian qualifiers. Tom's display in the Asian qualifiers was beyond question."

With his age being what it is, Lippi always gave people a sense of steadiness when he spoke.

"Then could you make a prediction for this World Cup's results? Fans say the best outcome for the national team is to secure one draw in three matches; as head coach, do you think that is possible?"

Whether the national team could deliver a good performance at the World Cup.

This was the matter fans cared about most right now.

"..."

Lippi hesitated slightly: "That depends on the specific circumstances, but I think it is possible. I hold the highest degree of trust in the team I coach; I believe we can achieve things that seem somewhat impossible."

"Then one last question, Mr. Marcello: currently you have scheduled friendlies with Shanghai SIPG and the Saudi Arabian national team, but two friendlies are certainly not enough. Which teams is the national team preparing to play in its June friendlies?"

Turning to glance at the Yiyanzhu Sect, Lippi now felt somewhat awkward.

"National teams, or other Chinese Super League clubs... these are all possibilities; for now, we need to keep it confidential."

Click-clack! Click-clack!

After concluding the interview, the two national team coaches returned to the locker room.

Maddaloni walked straight to the center: "Everyone, do not speak for now."

The atmosphere suddenly turned tense; Tang Ye unconsciously lifted his feet off the floor and hugged his knees.

Let's see what Mr. Marcello is about to say!

Lippi remained calm, walking step by step toward the tactical board.

"I feel we should not look at the match score; the score of a friendly holds little reference value."

"What is the purpose of us playing friendlies?"

Lippi looked into the players' eyes: "It is to solve problems; we need to solve problems. That is the reason we play friendlies. We should discover things from the match and then find methods to improve; only such friendlies are effective."

"Tomorrow morning we depart for Saudi Arabia; I hope you can maintain a serious attitude and reflect on today's match. We did not play well enough today; I need you yourselves to identify the key issues, because only problems you discover yourselves will you remember more firmly."

"When the forwards go wide, the fullbacks need to provide support; I have said this many times, yet you still have not done it. I will not demand too much from you; I will not demand from you what I would demand from players in the top five leagues, but for things I have already stated, I expect you to accomplish them."

The locker room was very quiet; Tang Ye shook his head back and forth.

Lippi had said far, far too much at once; for Tang Ye, this still posed considerable difficulty in comprehension.

But it did not matter; he roughly understood what Marcello was talking about.

The Chinese team now needed to play many, many friendlies and then improve its problems through those friendlies.

Twenty days was not a lot if one said so, but it was certainly not little either.

If this period of time could be grasped well, then the national team could welcome a stage of improvement!

Football reporter: The Chinese national team players have already departed for Riyadh; the Chinese team will play an open friendly against the Saudi Arabian national team at 6:00 PM local time on May 29.

"This will be the Chinese team's second friendly before the World Cup; considering the importance of actual combat for the national team, the probability of Tang Ye starting in this match is very high."

Good news: In order to train the starting lineup, Tang Ye is highly likely to start against Saudi Arabia.

Bad news: It is far away in Saudi Arabia, and no domestic television station is broadcasting it.

Your squad.

Goalkeeper: Zeng Cheng

Defenders: Zhang Zhang Linpeng, Wang Wang Shenchao, Feng Feng Xiaoting, Deng Deng Hanwen

Midfielders: Zheng Zhi, Tang Ye, Zhang Zhang Xizhe

Forwards: Wu Lei, Gao Lin, Yu Yu Hanchao

Looking at the lineup displayed on his phone, Tang Ye fell into thought.

Since returning to the country, he had been using this exact lineup to play games on his phone, but he had discovered many problems.

With an overall rating below 75, playing against a national team with an overall rating of 85 would be extremely troublesome.

In the game, Tang Ye could operate alone to make up for the gap in ratings.

But in actual matches, that was impossible!

Improving his own strength, or enhancing the chemistry and coordination among teammates—these were the two ways Tang Ye could currently think of to boost the team's strength.

Enhancing teammate chemistry was somewhat complicated; he would set that aside for now.

Improving his own strength...

With a shift of his consciousness, Tang Ye opened his system panel.

Ever since the FA Cup final, he had been waiting for the 2017-18 season settlement reward, because once he secured those tens of thousands of Counterattack Points, Tang Ye could go all-in to upgrade his chicken breast, then rapidly improve his physical attributes within a dozen days.

But things did not unfold as Tang Ye had anticipated.

His season settlement still hadn't arrived!

The worst-case scenario was that the System had also classified the World Cup within the 2017-18 season; if that were true, it would be disastrous.

GGBond's sweet dream of training his muscles was about to shatter!

Feeling somewhat anxious, he pulled out a piece of chewing gum and popped it into his mouth.

Just then, his phone rang.

Hmm... it was a message from his comrade-in-arms, Osman.

Dembélé first discussed club matters with Tang Ye, stating he was willing to transfer to Manchester United, but only on the condition that Tang Ye did not leave.

However, Dembélé's agreement alone was useless; whether his transfer succeeded still depended on communications between Barcelona and Manchester United.

Was Manchester United willing to pay a transfer fee that satisfied Barcelona?

Besides club matters, Dembélé also informed Tang Ye about their upcoming training camp arrangements.

The French national team would next play friendly matches against Ireland and Italy respectively.

【Osman: Which national teams are you playing next?】

【Tang Ye: Saudi Arabia; after that, I don't know—the coach hasn't said.】

【Osman: Good luck, let's meet in the final!】

【Tang Ye: Haha】

Manchester United Official: Team midfielder and meritorious captain Carrick has officially retired.

Manchester Evening News Headline: If no players are sold, Manchester United's budget for this summer transfer window is less than 80 million euros, which is insufficient to sign both Dembélé and De Jong simultaneously.

GiveMeSport Headline: Juventus appears to have inquired with Manchester United regarding Tom's transfer, but this matter has not yet been confirmed.

Juventus also wants Tang Ye!

Fans caught this crucial piece of information.

However, a rational analysis suggests Juventus's chances are indeed slim.

If Juventus's offer is anything less than 150 million euros, this deal simply cannot be completed.

Because Barcelona's identical offer had already been rejected by Manchester United.

And for Juventus, a transfer fee of 150 million euros would be extremely strenuous!

Juventus was merely asking tentatively, but some clubs were not just asking so simply.

Romano: This summer could be very crazy; if Barcelona confirms they want to use Messi to exchange for Tom, they might face vehement obstruction from Real Madrid.

"Although they already possess a sufficiently solid midfield line, if avoiding Barcelona acquiring Tom is the goal, dismantling the Gala Midfield Trio could become one of Real Madrid's options."

Upon arriving at their hotel in Riyadh, Lippi gathered the players in the conference room for a brief meeting.

The content was divided into two parts.

First, a summary of the match against Shanghai SIPG, followed by preparations for the upcoming match against Saudi Arabia.

Tang Ye greatly disliked the feeling of sitting in a room listening to the head coach speak, but such tactical meetings were unavoidable; all he could do was quiet down and listen attentively.

Lippi's insights into tactics were quite unique; he had identified many existing problems within the team, many of which even Tang Ye had failed to notice.

After the meeting concluded, Lippi specifically kept Tang Ye behind to ask his opinions on the tactics.

"I think this tactic is just right for me; playing this way, I feel quite comfortable."

Tang Ye gave an affirmative reply.

Although, to be honest, he hadn't listened too carefully to what Lippi said.

"But Mr. Marcello, you don't need to focus only on me; the key is the team as a whole, and I can make some sacrifices."

Hearing Tang Ye's words, Lippi looked somewhat surprised.

"I know what you mean, but you don't understand our current problem."

"We must utilize both you and Lei 【Wu Lei】 effectively, bringing out all your capabilities; only then can we produce results. This is part of our tactics."

Tang Ye nodded gently.

An unprecedented sense of responsibility enveloped his entire body in a short span of time.

The intensity of national team matches was much lower.

But the pressure had not diminished one bit!

"Ahead, ahead!"

Bang!

A through-pass was kicked out; Tang Ye dodged the defender and precisely delivered the ball to Wu Lei, who was making a forward run.

"Beautiful!"

Madaloni's voice rang out, and Wu Lei gave Tang Ye a thumbs-up.

He could feel that his coordination with Tang Ye was improving more and more.

"Brother Lei, it's fine if you run faster; don't worry about me."

Tang Ye walked a few steps toward Wu Lei and shouted loudly, "I will get the ball out to you; just run when you see the opportunity, otherwise the chance will be gone!"

"OK!"

Wu Lei and Tang Ye fist-bumped.

"Beep!!!"

Soon, the training session lasting one and a half hours concluded; Lippi called Wu Lei and Gao Lin away, while the other players remained in the physiotherapy room to rest.

In the gym next door, Lippi looked at Wu Lei and Gao Lin before him, with the translator Wen Wen Qianshi standing beside them.

"I just want to discuss the matter of the first penalty taker,"

Lippi began.

"Previously, penalties were assigned to Gao Lin and Yu Yu Dabao; at that time, Tang Ye did not know how to take penalties, as you all know. But now the situation is different; Tang Ye possesses penalty-taking ability, and a very strong one at that."

The translator glanced at Lippi, then turned to the two players: "So his meaning is... to give the first penalty rights to Tang Ye. Do you have any objections to this?"

"..."

Wu Lei and Gao Lin exchanged a glance.

"If you have objections, speak up now; do not let it affect the current atmosphere of the team."

Wu Lei looked at the translator and spread his hands: "Look, how could we possibly have objections..."

"Alright."

Wen Wen Qianshi relayed Wu Lei's response to Lippi, who then placed his hand on Wu Lei's shoulder.

Creak—

Pushing the door open, they left; Wu Lei and Gao Lin walked together toward the physiotherapy room.

"He actually didn't need to ask; our penalty skills and Tang Ye's aren't even on the same level, are they?"

Gao Lin complained.

Wu Lei smiled and shrugged: "He shows us quite a bit of respect; isn't that a good thing? I never expected he would specifically seek us out."

As soon as they pushed open the door to the physiotherapy room, Tang Ye's voice immediately rang out: "Damn, Brother Lei, did you see that display screen at the entrance? Yes, that one; lower the temperature by another two degrees."

"No way, I'm freaking burning up!"

Lying shirtless on a yoga mat, Tang Ye was covered head to toe in sweat.

"Why do we have to play against Saudi Arabia? It's summer right now!"

"Haha."

Wu Lei handed Tang Ye a bottle of water.

"Actually, I've already drunk some; drinking water is useless anyway, since we can't have anything ice-cold; it's so troublesome."

Tang Ye rolled halfway around on the yoga mat, then sat up: "We should be playing against teams from Nanmeizhou or Europe; choose somewhere cooler. Saudi Arabia is truly hot; I blacklisted this place long ago."

"This squad was selected by Lippi; mainly because Saudi Arabia is also one of the World Cup teams."

Feng Feng Xiaoting explained.

Just then, Lippi walked in, and Tang Ye quickly asked: "Mr. Marcello, which countries are we playing next month? Are there any more Middle Eastern nations?"

Tang Ye had voiced the question all the national team players wanted to ask; Feng Feng Xiaoting, Wu Lei, and others simultaneously looked toward Lippi.

Airline tickets need to be purchased in advance; logically, the opponents for next month should have already been decided by now.

However, the football association had booked a charter flight for the players to fly directly back to Hangzhou.

"This..."

Lippi shook his head: "We haven't confirmed this yet."

"Not confirmed yet?"

Tang Ye widened his eyes.

"There's no help for it; we couldn't schedule any friendly matches. We originally planned to play against South Korea and Italy, but their schedules are already full."

Lippi looked somewhat awkward: "Now I am still waiting for replies from the United States and Indonesia; if they refuse to play, then we can only continue playing against Chinese Super League teams."

"..."

The room fell terrifyingly silent.

In previous years, the national team failed to make a name for itself, leading to the current situation where they cannot even schedule suitable friendly matches.

Just at this moment, Tang Ye suddenly spoke.

"No, Mr. Marcello, you should have said so earlier."

"I have many friends."

PS: Boo-hoo-hoo, I finally have a Guild Leader.

Three updates tomorrow as thanks!

(End of Chapter)