Chapter 572: Tang Ye, Lewis Hamilton

pinned: Tang Ye (football) and Lewis Hamilton (F1) share the 2020 Laureus World Sportsman of the Year award.

Manchester Evening News — TY will travel to Los Angeles on January 14 to attend the Laureus annual ceremony (after the Manchester derby), making TY the first footballer in history to win this award.

【Why are there two best male athletes this year?】

【Wait, they actually gave it to him? Laureus is that generous?】

【Man United has nine matches in January — how the hell is Tang the King supposed to fly to America for the award? Do they have a jet? Otherwise we're left without a central attacking midfielder.】

【No central attacking midfielder? You're not even respecting Lingard?】

【Suggest someone else picks it up — he really can't go; if he does, he's done for.】

When Laureus released the nomination list, fans did notice, but Man United kept dropping random news, so fans barely paid attention to the Laureus award.

Simply put, this is a highly prestigious sports award, with the ceremony scheduled for January 15.

None of this is the most important.

The most important thing is that Man United has nine matches in January!

Some fans suggested Tang Ye send someone else to collect the award, but the reality is far more complicated than fans imagine.

"You have to go, Tom."

Pohl gave a clear reply on the phone: "You can skip the Asian Ballon d'Or, but Laureus is too important. I checked your schedule — between the 12th and 18th you have no matches. I've tentatively arranged your itinerary; it'll cause some disruption, but you'll make it in time."

Tang Ye hesitated, but there was no room for hesitation.

Laureus is a vital award; if he doesn't go, he risks offending his sponsors — something absolutely unacceptable.

"It's fine."

Tang Ye didn't turn on speakerphone, but just from his tone, Ten Hag knew what was going on: "The club has already arranged it — you must attend Laureus. There's no alternative."

Ten Hag remained optimistic.

Before the ceremony, Man United only needs to play the weak Norwich; after the ceremony, their opponent is Liverpool.

So as long as Tang Ye returns quickly, everything's fine.

Seeing Tang Ye still unmoved, Ten Hag slapped his shoulder: "Hey, cheer up — the flight's only one day off; you can even catch an NBA game in Los Angeles."

"Mr. Eric!"

Tang Ye spread his hands.

But then again, since he's going to collect the award anyway, might as well treat it like a vacation in America.

LeBron and Bryant are Tom's friends — they've invited him several times before, but he always declined. This time, he can finally visit them.

…

London time, January 8.

First leg of the EFL Cup semifinal: Man United hosts Manchester City at home.

"Greenwood!"

"Back post, Wan Bisa!"

"Hurry up, hurry up!"

Thwack!

Wan Bisa charged in from the back post and smashed the ball into the net.

"Holy shit! Amazing!"

"Wan Bisa!"

In the 51st minute of the second half, with the match deadlocked, Man United broke the deadlock.

Wan Bisa!

Before the match, no one expected the fullback to score first.

"Wow!!!"

Tang Ye leapt onto Wan Bisa.

Beautiful, Bisa!

"Guys, I think Man United must win this game — we face Liverpool on the 20th, then the second leg against City."

"If we win the first leg, we can focus entirely on preparing for Liverpool."

Wang Chao explained his plan for Man United to the livestream viewers.

First leg: give City a 3-0 thrashing, then free Man United from the EFL Cup pressure.

Next, Tang Ye flies to America for the award ceremony, while Man United continues training, then all-out for Liverpool on the 20th.

After that comes the second leg of the EFL Cup, but it doesn't matter anymore — we have a three-goal advantage; the focus can shift entirely to the league.

So here's the question.

How will Man United get this 3-0 today?

After the first goal, Man United players hugged Bisa tightly — the first substitution of the match followed.

Greenwood replaces Ale!

"Ten Hag is making Greenwood play striker, guys — can he even do that…?"

"I've been saying for a while: Man United needed to buy a more expensive striker in the winter window — Ale's useless against top teams, yet here we are still tinkering with defenders."

"I just don't get it, Ten Hag — how much can you really improve the defense? Why not focus on attack?"

Wang Chao, like many fans, is an idealist — he believes Man United can replace defense entirely with attack.

But in reality, that's impossible.

Against weak teams, maybe — but against strong teams, Man United cannot avoid defending.

Counterattacking defense suits Man United far better than pure attack!

"Come on, come on!"

Tang Ye shouted to his teammates: "Play the right flank, right flank!"

This season, he was named team captain for the first time.

But it doesn't matter — he doesn't need to innovate.

Whatever Ashley Young did before, Tang Ye just copies it.

Following the footsteps of his predecessors? Naturally, no mistakes.

Grabbing Dembele's arm: "Be decisive, Osman — if you get a chance, just shoot."

Boom boom boom!

"Ole～oleoleole～～～"

"United!"

"ManUnited!"

The fans' energy was electric.

Playing at home, Man United supporters were ready to crush City!

64th minute!

Fernandinho dribbled forward alone.

Tang Ye and Rashford moved in together, preparing to pressure the ball carrier.

Fernandinho was forced to pass.

To Sterling!

"Huh!"

The pass was precise — Sterling immediately raised both hands upon receiving it.

"Holy shit, guys — as soon as Sterling gets the ball, he turns into a duck…"

"Here comes Sterling!"

"Wan Bisa! Can you tackle him? Tackle him, tackle him!"

Beating Wan Bisa 1v1 is nearly impossible — Sterling knew this, so he only closed in, making no actual attempt to dribble past.

"Huh…huh…"

Thwack!

The ball was floated into the box — to Bernardo!

Bernardo crossed again!

Into the box — to Mahrez!

"Holy shit!"

Tang Ye covered his head — the next second, De Ligt headed the ball away.

"De Ligt!"

"Amazing, guys!"

An incredible clearance!

The score remained 1-0!

Tang Ye exhaled in relief, preparing for the next corner kick defense.

But suddenly he remembered something and ran into the wall, briefly reinforcing the defensive strategy with his teammates.

"Ok ok, Captain Tom, no problem!"

Ashley Young and Tang Ye slapped hands.

Thwack!

The corner kick was taken!

Give it to me!

De Gea's voice—teammates in the box quickly cleared space.

The Manchester United goalkeeper leapt high, arms raised, securing the ball firmly.

Manchester City failed again!

Damn!

Guardiola shouted in fury, nearly kneeling again.

"Talk before passing! Can't you attack the front post? Front post!"

De Gea held the ball. Beep-beep-beep!

Away fans urged the restart, as they were trailing.

Here!

De Gea threw the ball to de Ligt.

"Go back! Go back and receive!"

Tang Ye shouted; De Jong, fulfilling his role as a defensive midfielder, dropped back to receive de Ligt's pass.

Defenders closed in to tackle; De Jong showed a slick move to shake them off.

Dribble forward yourself!

A powerful run from the Manchester United defensive midfielder—extremely fast.

No pass—he dribbled all the way to the center circle. That's De Jong's trademark.

Find Tang Ye.

Wanted to find Tang Ye, but Tang Ye was already glued to De Bruyne.

A shoving match erupted between the two Premier League super midfielders.

Ah!

Tang Ye bumped into De Bruyne, then got bumped back by him.

These two seemed to have detached from the game, so De Jong chose a more aggressive passing lane.

Find Greenwood up front!

Thwack!

Greenwood gently controlled the ball but didn't immediately turn and surge forward.

Pass back to Tang Ye!

Thud!

Tang Ye played a through ball; by then, Greenwood had reached the edge of the box.

Adjust…

"Just shoot!"

Tang Ye yelled, then choked on his own saliva.

Cough! Cough!

Greenwood adjusted, tried to enter the box—but failed.

Move sideways to open the angle!

Greenwood hesitated too long, giving Manchester City time to set their defensive line.

Eventually, Greenwood lost all shooting angle.

Pass back to Ziyech!

Ziyech prepared for a curling shot, but for some reason Tang Ye suddenly sprinted to the edge of the box.

!

Manchester City defenders in the box were startled—but it was too late to stop it.

Thwack!

Pass to Tang Ye!

"Wow!"

Jumped to control, flicked with his heel—Tang Ye easily shook off Fernandinho.

Seize the chance, gently poke with his right foot.

!

Fernandinho thought he was about to be nutmegged—but it was a dummy.

No nutmeg, but the Manchester City captain went down.

Aim for the far post!

Tang Ye feigned a shot, then used his right foot to cut the ball back to Greenwood.

"Shoot!"

This was his second chance—Greenwood no longer hesitated.

Thud!

Greenwood blasted the ball into the net!

"Goooo——aaaaa——llllll！！！！"

"Greenwood!!!"

"Amazing, Qingmu! (Greenwood—green wood—Qingmu)"

Tang Ye put his arm on Greenwood's shoulder and led teammates sprinting toward the stands.

"Run faster!"

Tang Ye pushed Greenwood forward, signaling him to slide-kneel.

Thud!

Swish-swish-swish!!!

Mason Greenwood scores!

Manchester United leads 2-0!

"Qingmu is a real genius."

"Guys, I feel the gap between City and United this season is even bigger than last season."

"What's that nonsense? What do you mean nonsense? That's a conclusion I actually analyzed—analysis!"

"Right winger Dembélé, right winger Qingmu—United's setup is unbeatable!"

Last summer, United struggled to find a right winger; now, Greenwood clearly suffices.

Still, spending over a hundred million on Dembélé isn't a bad deal—after all, that guy's power doubles the moment he's on the same team as Tang Ye.

…

DQZ Match Report: First leg of the EFL Cup semifinal, United 2-1 City, establishing advantage; Greenwood scores his first goal against City. (Comments: 72,392)

"I think left-right foot ability is especially important for forwards, especially wingers."

At strong journalist request, Tang Ye shared his thoughts on Greenwood: "In my view, Mason (Greenwood) has tremendous talent—he has the ability to become United's starting striker."

"What about Dembélé?"

"Ousmane's on-field decisions are more mature than Mason's. Both are excellent. If Mason wants to grow quickly, I think he should learn from Ousmane."

Tang Ye smiled: "Mason is the youngest in our squad, so I do give him advice—but I'm not a forward, so some things I don't fully understand."

Tang Ye placed his hand on Greenwood's head.

Compared to last season's awkwardness, this season Greenwood appears more energetic on camera.

"Congratulations on winning the Laureus Award, Tom."

"Thank you!"

…

Romano: United may make no signings in the winter window.

"United and Tottenham held negotiations over Trippier in December, but this deal now appears collapsed."

No signings?

Upon seeing Romano's report, most United fans were stunned.

Why suddenly no reinforcements?

Romano didn't state why the deal collapsed, but common sense suggests it was due to failed fee negotiations.

Trippier is important to current Tottenham; United cannot offer enough to make them release him.

Another key reason: Fernandes.

After the scout report leaked, Fernandes' price skyrocketed—far beyond Tottenham's budget.

Since they can't afford him anyway, Tottenham has no reason to sell anyone.

What about other defenders besides Trippier?

That's even more frustrating—few full-backs or center-backs meet United's standards.

The club wants quality players but refuses to spend much—isn't that pure fantasy?

The Sun: Tang Ye shared on social media his win of the Laureus Best Male Athlete award; Kobe and James retweeted; Hamilton retweeted.

With the Laureus Awards ceremony just days away, Tang Ye followed many F1 and tennis athletes on Instagram, plus marathon legend Kipchoge.

"Actually, I find it strange."

Tang Ye lay on the sofa: "Why do people enjoy just running? It's so boring."

Maybe I just like it—I used to really enjoy running when I was little.

Dembélé frantically operated the controller: "My early soccer career had a lot to do with how fast I could run. Wowow, Tom, hurry up! Don't just sit there—I can't beat him alone!"

Tang Ye glanced at the screen briefly—Dembélé was still at full health.

"Hey, don't rush."

"I checked—Kipchoge runs 42 km in just two hours. Holy crap, that's amazing. Can you do that, Osman?"

Dembélé operated with one hand while picking up the controller and tossing it to Tang Ye: "Hurry up, hurry up—it's all on you, Tom! You can't beat him!"

"Don't rush, don't rush—just hold your ground, I'm replying to a text."

……

Apple: Technology changes the world.

Apple's Instagram latest post featured a collage poster: one side showed the iPhone 11 promotional image, the other showed Tang Ye holding the Ballon d'Or.

It carried only one simple line: "Technology changes the world." But sharp netizens had already sensed something.

ESPN—Ty will sign a $55 million super-contract with Apple before the Laureus Sports Awards; the duration of the contract remains unclear.

……

(End of Chapter)