Chapter 431: (Side Story) Why Does the Striker Get the Golden Boot and I Don't?

PS: This content relates to the main story, but since some readers dislike it, I've separated this part into its own chapter.

The title includes the tag "Side Story" as a hint; readers who dislike flashbacks can skip this directly without it significantly affecting their understanding of the subsequent text.

……

"Haha!"

Rush out and slide on your knees!

Leaving two not-too-deep trails, Tang Ye stood up from the grass.

The scoreboard outside the field displayed the current live score.

The 72nd minute of the match.

U13 Red Team: U15 Yellow Team.

2:4.

"I've said many times not to slide on your knees!"

Coach Li Li Weibin's voice rang out; Tang Ye's face flushed red as he stood there awkwardly: "I forgot, I forgot, sorry."

Sliding on one's knees causes significant damage to the grass, and since players in this age group haven't fully developed their muscles yet, the football academy prohibits younger players from doing it.

Tang Ye certainly knew this, but he just couldn't help himself.

He had secretly learned this skill by watching UEFA Champions League matches on television.

"Amazing, Tang Ye."

Wang Wang Ruiqi hugged Tang Ye.

Facing the U15 Second Team (Yellow Team), he recorded two assists and completed three successful dribbles; his good friend Tang Ye's performance was as exaggerated as ever.

"Beep, beep-beep!!!"

The match ended, with U13 ultimately losing to U15 by a score of 2:5.

Tang Ye sat on the ground and poured a small bottle of iodine tincture directly onto his calf.

It hurt intensely, but Tang Ye didn't cry out because he was long accustomed to such things.

Playing soccer against older students made injuries very likely.

"Tang Ye, I got cotton swabs for you?"

Luo Kang walked over; ever since sharing KFC with Tang Ye last time, they had become good friends.

"It's fine, it's fine, that's too troublesome, just pouring it directly works."

Accidentally emptying the bottle of iodine tincture, Tang Ye simply tossed it on the ground and ignored it.

"Brother Kang, I feel like we were close to winning."

"We lost by three goals," Luo Kang said.

Strictly speaking, he wasn't originally part of the Red Team, but due to his outstanding recent training performance, he had been temporarily transferred to train with them.

"No, I mean the feeling; if we played a bit better, we could have won—I feel like they're pretty weak."

Tang Ye spoke without thinking; just then, a player from the U15 Yellow Team walked by, and the two sides immediately clashed.

Tang Ye spoke without thinking; just now, a player from the U15 Yellow Team walked past, and the two sides immediately started fighting.

The U15 guy approached; Tang Ye grew frightened, sitting on the ground and shuffling his butt backward while averting his eyes: "S-sorry..."

The guy opposite was nearly half a head taller than him.

A simple calculation showed that if a fight broke out, Tang Ye would end up crying from being beaten.

"You think you're so great with your two assists? Damn it."

After cursing at Tang Ye, the Yellow Team member intended to shove him a few more times, but unexpectedly, Luo Kang immediately fetched the coach.

"Hey, you damn brat, get over here!" Laozi roared.

With one shout from Li Li Weibin, that U15 player ran off immediately.

Tang Ye kept his mouth shut, gazing in Li Li Weibin's direction, not saying a word for a long time.

He felt the coach was truly formidable; even those tall older students were afraid of him!

"Haha, Tang Ye, there's no need for you to be afraid."

Luo Kang walked over and sat beside Tang Ye: "You played so well; the coach will keep an eye on you."

Tang Ye smiled broadly: "I wasn't afraid; if he had taken one more step forward, I would have hit him, but since he didn't take that extra step, I didn't hit him."

Tang Ye smiled broadly: "I wasn't afraid. If he had taken one more step forward, I would have hit him, but since he didn't take that one step forward, I won't hit him."

Assemble!

"12, 13, 14... Good, everyone's here, right? Let me discuss next month's finals."

The tournament the U13 Red Team participated in was called the "China Youth Football League (U13 Age Group)."

Because China's territory is vast, although it is a national competition, it is actually played across divided regional zones.

Shandong Luneng Football Academy possessed a relatively high overall level, basically sweeping through their regional zone, and was now preparing to participate in the global-scale finals.

The competition location was Jilin, not too far from Shandong.

"Alright, first let me announce the roster for the upcoming match..."

"Wang Wang Ruiqi, Xu Xu, Liu Liu Changqi, Tang Ye, He Tongshuai..."

Hearing the end and confirming that his good friend Luo Kang was not on the list, Tang Ye felt somewhat sad, so he placed his hand on Luo Kang's thigh.

Having transferred from the Yellow Team only recently, Luo Kang, despite his outstanding performance in training matches, had not gained the head coach's trust.

However, perhaps because he had long guessed he wouldn't be able to participate in the finals, Luo Kang remained relatively calm after the news was confirmed.

"Tang Ye," Luo Kang said softly, "I heard that those who win the championship at the national finals have a very high probability of playing in the Chinese Super League later."

"Tang Ye"

Luo Kang said softly, "I heard that those who win the national finals have a very high chance of playing in the Chinese Super League later."

"For real? Who said that?"

Tang Ye's eyes lit up.

"Our English teacher said it. Hiss... If I can play in the Chinese Super League, my mom and dad will definitely be very happy. My ultimate goal is to play in the Premier League."

Tang Ye nodded gently.

"If we win the championship, I feel like I can talk to my dad about it."

"Wait until you win the championship to say it? Tang Ye, if I were you, I'd say it as soon as we reached the finals. This is a national competition; you guys defeated so many teams."

Luo Kang couldn't understand Tang Ye's thinking at all.

This guy was just too low-key!

【2009 National Youth Football League U13 Age Group Third Place: Shandong Luneng Football School U13 Team A】

Looking at the banner hanging on the stage, Tang Ye lowered his head and touched the medal on his chest, his expression somewhat dejected.

"What's wrong?"

Wang Wang Ruiqi looked at him: "Tang Ye, you won, so why are you still sad?"

"It seems I can't play in the Chinese Super League anymore..."

Tang Ye hung his head.

After the team award ceremony concluded, the individual awards began.

"Knockout Stage Most Valuable Player, Xu Genye."

Clap, clap, clap!

Applause rang out through the venue.

"Golden Boot Award, Liu Zhi!"

Clap, clap, clap!

Applause rang out once again.

Tang Ye hadn't reacted much during the MVP announcement, but now, with the Golden Boot Award being presented, he finally showed a reaction.

"Brother Qi, why does the person with the most goals get an award, but the person with the most assists doesn't?"

"I should have one too, right?"

Tang Ye voiced the doubt he had harbored in his heart all along.

"Assists are usually fewer, like three or four; wouldn't comparing them be quite troublesome?"

Wang Wang Ruiqi said.

Reaching into his pocket, Tang Ye pulled out his personal statistics card.

The card's quality wasn't very good; it was already somewhat crumpled, but this didn't hinder reading the content on it.

【Tang Ye (10 years old), Shandong Luneng Football School U13 Team A】

【Matches Played: 14, Goals Scored: 6, Assists: 12】

"But... the goals he scored aren't even as many as my assists."

"No way, damn it. I feel like I lost out. When that coach told me to play midfielder, I shouldn't have listened to him; I should have played as a winger."

Tang Ye felt a bit regretful.

Wang Wang Ruiqi shrugged: "Anyway, you scored quite a few goals too. Come back to play this competition in another year, and won't the Golden Boot be easy to grab?"

"Last year when I played in the U11s, the coach told me the same thing..."

Tang Ye stuffed the statistics card he had taken out back into his pocket.

"And then?"

"The next day, I went to the U13 Team B."

"..."

After the finals concluded came the long-awaited summer vacation.

Accompanied by a flight attendant, Tang Ye walked into the arrivals hall.

Looking east and then west, he quickly spotted Tang Tang Zhengxiong lying on a massage chair, so he quickly ran over: "Dad, I'm here."

"Hmm?"

Hearing the voice, Tang Tang Zhengxiong stood up from the massage chair.

He wanted to take the fully packed backpack from Tang Ye's back, but after hesitating for a moment, he didn't do so.

That evening, at home.

"Um, um..."

At the dining table, Tang Ye hesitated somewhat.

"Is there a dish you want to eat?"

Zhang Zhang Qingqing thought Tang Ye couldn't reach the dish he wanted.

Mothers were always like this, worrying that their children weren't eating well enough.

"No, um..."

"I got third place, in that Chinese Youth U13 competition. And I had the most assists, as many as twelve of them."

"If there were a trophy for assists, I could have brought one home, but since there's no trophy for assists, I couldn't bring a trophy back."

Tang Ye deliberately emphasized the two characters "Chinese," seemingly to stress that this was a highly prestigious competition.

"Oh, that's very impressive!"

Zhang Zhang Qingqing quickly gave Tang Ye a hug; the latter smiled very happily, but this smile didn't last long.

Because he noticed that on his father's face was not the thing he had wanted to see.

"Finishing third doesn't prove anything, does it?"

Tang Tang Zhengxiong ate the food in his bowl and said casually.

"Tang Zhengxiong!"

Zhang Zhang Qingqing called out, and Tang Tang Zhengxiong looked somewhat aggrieved: "It really is like that; if it were third place in the adult team, that would be one thing, but third place in the U13s holds no weight."

Tang Ye bit his fingernails.

At Zhang Zhang Qingqing's request, Tang Tang Zhengxiong stopped speaking; after quietly finishing his meal, Tang Ye slipped back to his room.

It was a bit of a pity.

If he had played just a little better, Shandong Luneng would actually have had a chance to win the championship.

"Hey, Tang Zhengxiong, how many times have I told you? When your son achieves something, you should encourage him. Acting like this, he won't know what to do."

Zhang Zhang Qingqing was extremely dissatisfied with Tang Tang Zhengxiong's behavior just now.

"Zhang Qingqing, just trust me, okay? His interest in football is just a passing whim; he won't stick with it for long."

Zhang Zhang Qingqing stood up from her chair: "You're saying he won't stick with it for long again, but hasn't he already been playing for three years?"

"You said boys should be independent, and I thought you were right, so I listened to you and didn't go to Shandong to see him. You said if he couldn't persist, he would call home on his own, but he never called. If we don't call, he doesn't come back; what family has a ten-year-old child who only comes home four times a year?"

"He has met all your requirements and never complained to you about being tired, so shouldn't you support him? Look, he's speaking less and less at home."

Zhang Zhang Qingqing said.

There was still rice in the bowl, but she could no longer eat.

"No, Zhang Qingqing, you don't understand what I mean. Tang Ye should play basketball just as I said. You saw it yourself during the Canberra summer camp; no one his age at that school could beat him, and how long has he even been practicing? What's so fun about football? He'd be better off even if he practiced tennis instead."

"Why does it have to be basketball? Just because you like watching basketball? Then why don't you let him play rugby? Don't you like rugby very much?"

While Tang Tang Zhengxiong and Zhang Zhang Qingqing continued to argue, Tang Ye had long since returned to his room.

The distance was too great, so he couldn't hear anything.

【Guangdong Telecom Zone 1, Version No. 2.0, Network: Good】

【QQ Account:】

【QQ Password:】

Click! Click! Click!

Carefully typing in his account and password, Tang Ye quickly found Luo Kang and Wang Wang Ruiqi after entering the game.

【Why is dinner taking so long? Hurry up.】

【I】

【type】

【a little】

【slowly】

【wait】

【for】

Because he had only recently started using a computer, Tang Ye needed to spend some time figuring out the positions of the letters on the keyboard.

【okay?】

Because he had only started using the computer recently, Tang Ye needed some time to figure out the positions of the letters on the keyboard.

Oh, it's on!

The game sound emanated from the speakers, and Tang Ye's eyes began to glow.

【158】......

【159】 (End of Chapter)