[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-football-at-16-let-me-retire-and-come-back":3,"chapter-football-at-16-let-me-retire-and-come-back-football-at-16-let-me-retire-and-come-back-chapter-52":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Football: At 16, Let Me Retire and Come Back?",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2300022,4499,"Chapter 52: So What Exactly Are Our Current Results?","football-at-16-let-me-retire-and-come-back-chapter-52",52,"\u003Cp>After Fan Dejia left, Teng Haha remained in his office and logged back into the Royal Dutch Football Association website on his computer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing the photo of himself in a suit, directing players on the pitch, Teng Haha let out a long breath.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Best Coach award mainly considers tactical arrangements; Teng Haha remembered he barely studied Utrecht’s tactics back in October.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It turns out this month’s Best Coach trophy was much easier to win than I thought!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I just wonder if I can win another one this month?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>……\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Training resumed after one day off.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The first day’s training had no intensity—just basic ball control and coordination drills.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The drills were simple, but the players weren’t happy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because their next league opponent was PSV Eindhoven!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ramselaar, Barazite, and Tang Ye were practicing right-wing passing combinations, while Ale was pressing in the center.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Tang, you seem completely unfazed—don’t you know how strong Eindhoven is?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ramselaar noticed Tang Ye was the only player today with the most relaxed expression.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Eindhoven? Of course I know Eindhoven—they’ve got a player with an incredible tackle!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>An incredible tackle?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>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?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Oh, he’s in the second team.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>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!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Haha, Tang, did you get crushed by Eindhoven’s second team last season?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ale asked with a grin, but Tang Ye shook his head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Oh? You drew?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tang Ye shook his head again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Barazite’s eyes lit up: “Wow, did you crush Eindhoven’s second team?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Not exactly.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tang Ye shook his head: “I didn’t play—I sat on the bench. My teammates got crushed by them.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“……”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ramselaar and Barazite burst out laughing, clutching their stomachs; Tang Ye had no idea why they were laughing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Soon, Teng Haha blew a long whistle and ended the first morning training session early.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He glanced at his watch: “I’m ending training fifteen minutes early because I can tell your training today wasn’t effective.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Teng Haha’s eyes were sharp; since morning, every Utrecht player had looked tense—clearly burdened by pressure for this weekend’s match.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This state couldn’t continue. Teng Haha knew he had to speak up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>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.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But it doesn’t matter.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Teng Haha’s gaze was firm; just looking at his coach’s expression, Tang Ye felt an inexplicable surge of strength.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Though we’re only mid-table, maybe even relegation candidates this season, I want to say this: we’re not bad.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We have good players—Sebastian, Barazite—these are all excellent players. And no matter what, I’m still here.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Teng Haha’s words caught Tang Ye’s attention; Tang Ye, who had been sitting on the ground, suddenly stood up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“To be honest, yesterday afternoon the Dutch FA announced the October Best Coach—I won it by a bit of luck…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Halfway through, Tang Ye sat back down.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Observing closely, he saw Fan Dejia and Teng Haha both surrounded by players, so Tang Ye slipped away quietly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From experience, when Teng Haha was showing off, he was completely focused—he’d never notice if I slipped off!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>……\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That afternoon, Teng Haha had planned a tactical session, but club owner Weierhuof happened to visit the club at that time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Training was handed over to Fan Dejia; Teng Haha and Weierhuof went into the office to talk.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Weierhuof was straightforward—he brought up the very thing Teng Haha had been pushing for: signing a top attacking midfielder.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“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.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“And you want him in the winter transfer window, right?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Weierhuof looked Teng Haha in the eye; the latter nodded sheepishly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In July, Utrecht and Ajax’s second team competed for a player named Frenkie de Jong.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the end, de Jong transferred from Willem II to Ajax’s second team for 7.7 million euros.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>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.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Teng Haha had repeatedly urged the club’s management to buy de Jong from Ajax in the winter window, but they’d always refused.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes, sir, listen to me—Frenkie is a qualified midfielder. He fits our system perfectly, and—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I came here specifically to talk about this.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>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.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>European football has two transfer windows: summer and winter. A player’s price in the winter window is often higher than in the summer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because everyone knows you need reinforcements, some clubs exploit that and inflate prices.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>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.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>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.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If de Jong doesn’t shine at Utrecht, that 10 million euros is wasted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That’s 10 million euros!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Weierhuof had spent the past month negotiating with Nike to secure a six-year, 38-million-euro sponsorship deal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Teng Haha wants to spend a quarter of that on one prospect!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Sir, listen to me—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>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.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“To achieve that, you should spend on players aged 25 or 26—they’re more stable.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We’re working hard, and our current results are good—relegation isn’t a problem.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Teng Haha grew anxious.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You keep saying our results are good—fine, what exactly are our current results?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hmm…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Teng Haha scratched his nose and whispered:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“League… first.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>……\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1033,"2026-06-20T06:50:08.245Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","e50b5b5a35077023f9f2a0037ac49fb8efc9e77276a2481322d1a9e0a0b65fff","football-at-16-let-me-retire-and-come-back-chapter-53","football-at-16-let-me-retire-and-come-back-chapter-51",918,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Ffootball-at-16-let-me-retire-and-come-back-cover.jpg"]