Chapter 52: So What Exactly Are Our Current Results?

After Fan Dejia left, Teng Haha remained in his office and logged back into the Royal Dutch Football Association website on his computer.

Seeing the photo of himself in a suit, directing players on the pitch, Teng Haha let out a long breath.

The Best Coach award mainly considers tactical arrangements; Teng Haha remembered he barely studied Utrecht’s tactics back in October.

It turns out this month’s Best Coach trophy was much easier to win than I thought!

I just wonder if I can win another one this month?

……

Training resumed after one day off.

The first day’s training had no intensity—just basic ball control and coordination drills.

The drills were simple, but the players weren’t happy.

Because their next league opponent was PSV Eindhoven!

Ramselaar, Barazite, and Tang Ye were practicing right-wing passing combinations, while Ale was pressing in the center.

“Tang, you seem completely unfazed—don’t you know how strong Eindhoven is?”

Ramselaar noticed Tang Ye was the only player today with the most relaxed expression.

“Eindhoven? Of course I know Eindhoven—they’ve got a player with an incredible tackle!”

An incredible tackle?

Tang Ye’s words left Ramselaar and the other two stunned: “Did you see it on TV? What’s the name of that player with the great tackle?”

“Oh, he’s in the second team.”

Tang Ye suddenly realized: “I mean the second team—that guy’s from Eindhoven’s second team. If even their second team is this good, their first team must be even better!”

“Haha, Tang, did you get crushed by Eindhoven’s second team last season?”

Ale asked with a grin, but Tang Ye shook his head.

“Oh? You drew?”

Tang Ye shook his head again.

Barazite’s eyes lit up: “Wow, did you crush Eindhoven’s second team?”

“Not exactly.”

Tang Ye shook his head: “I didn’t play—I sat on the bench. My teammates got crushed by them.”

“……”

Ramselaar and Barazite burst out laughing, clutching their stomachs; Tang Ye had no idea why they were laughing.

Soon, Teng Haha blew a long whistle and ended the first morning training session early.

He glanced at his watch: “I’m ending training fifteen minutes early because I can tell your training today wasn’t effective.”

Teng Haha’s eyes were sharp; since morning, every Utrecht player had looked tense—clearly burdened by pressure for this weekend’s match.

This state couldn’t continue. Teng Haha knew he had to speak up.

He scanned all the players, then spoke: “I know Eindhoven is strong—they were last season’s champions and are still at their peak this season.”

“But it doesn’t matter.”

Teng Haha’s gaze was firm; just looking at his coach’s expression, Tang Ye felt an inexplicable surge of strength.

“Though we’re only mid-table, maybe even relegation candidates this season, I want to say this: we’re not bad.”

“We have good players—Sebastian, Barazite—these are all excellent players. And no matter what, I’m still here.”

Teng Haha’s words caught Tang Ye’s attention; Tang Ye, who had been sitting on the ground, suddenly stood up.

“To be honest, yesterday afternoon the Dutch FA announced the October Best Coach—I won it by a bit of luck…”

Halfway through, Tang Ye sat back down.

Observing closely, he saw Fan Dejia and Teng Haha both surrounded by players, so Tang Ye slipped away quietly.

From experience, when Teng Haha was showing off, he was completely focused—he’d never notice if I slipped off!

……

That afternoon, Teng Haha had planned a tactical session, but club owner Weierhuof happened to visit the club at that time.

Training was handed over to Fan Dejia; Teng Haha and Weierhuof went into the office to talk.

Weierhuof was straightforward—he brought up the very thing Teng Haha had been pushing for: signing a top attacking midfielder.

“I read the report Michel gave me—you’re interested in a midfielder from Ajax’s second team, a playmaker, around 8.5 million euros.”

“And you want him in the winter transfer window, right?”

Weierhuof looked Teng Haha in the eye; the latter nodded sheepishly.

In July, Utrecht and Ajax’s second team competed for a player named Frenkie de Jong.

In the end, de Jong transferred from Willem II to Ajax’s second team for 7.7 million euros.

It was Teng Haha’s first signing attempt after taking over Utrecht—and it ended in failure, because Utrecht couldn’t afford the price in the summer window.

Teng Haha had repeatedly urged the club’s management to buy de Jong from Ajax in the winter window, but they’d always refused.

“Yes, sir, listen to me—Frenkie is a qualified midfielder. He fits our system perfectly, and—”

“I came here specifically to talk about this.”

Weierhuof cut him off: “I know you want de Jong. We’ll get some money in the winter window from sponsorships and broadcast shares—but Eric, you want him in the winter window.”

European football has two transfer windows: summer and winter. A player’s price in the winter window is often higher than in the summer.

Because everyone knows you need reinforcements, some clubs exploit that and inflate prices.

Ajax bought de Jong for 7.7 million euros in July; if they sell him in January, Utrecht’s management estimates they’d need to pay at least 8.5 to 9 million euros—maybe even 10 million.

Utrecht could scrape together 10 million euros in the winter window, but the problem is de Jong is a young prospect—Teng Haha is gambling.

If de Jong doesn’t shine at Utrecht, that 10 million euros is wasted.

That’s 10 million euros!

Weierhuof had spent the past month negotiating with Nike to secure a six-year, 38-million-euro sponsorship deal.

Teng Haha wants to spend a quarter of that on one prospect!

“Sir, listen to me—”

Teng Haha tried to argue further, but Weierhuof raised his hand to stop him: “I know it’s hard, but I can give you 8 million euros to sign other players. Our main goal this season is survival—ideally, stay in the top twelve.”

“To achieve that, you should spend on players aged 25 or 26—they’re more stable.”

“We’re working hard, and our current results are good—relegation isn’t a problem.”

Teng Haha grew anxious.

“You keep saying our results are good—fine, what exactly are our current results?”

“Hmm…”

Teng Haha scratched his nose and whispered:

“League… first.”

“What?”

……

(End of Chapter)