Chapter 62: Utrecht

Because of this vacation, Tang Ye missed Utrecht’s 14th-round match against Almería Hercules.

This was Utrecht’s third loss of the season; the 1–2 scoreline left players and coaches frustrated.

But Tenghahe did not blame the players for this defeat, because the referee in that match was extremely biased.

Two penalties were not awarded—otherwise Utrecht would have won 3–2!

The sudden loss made the atmosphere inside Utrecht’s squad tense.

Since Tang Ye didn’t play, he didn’t feel the fury of facing a corrupt referee, so his mood wasn’t affected much.

But Tang Ye wasn’t happy either, because his teammates—Amrabat, Aale, and Ram Saier —hadn’t smiled since the match ended.

With no smiles on his teammates’ faces, Tang Ye couldn’t even find anyone to play with during training!

“It’s fine, we’ll win the next one.”

Tang Ye sent a message to Amrabat via WhatsApp—just now, this Moroccan had declined Tang Ye’s FIFA game invite.

“Fuck, you don’t know how stupid that referee was—we should’ve won the other day.”

Amrabat sent a voice message; Tang Ye didn’t know what to say, so he started a game himself.

Sure, they were angry—but as professionals, their ability to adjust mentally was strong; after online brawls with referees and fans, Utrecht’s first-teamers felt better.

“Give it to me! Give it to me!”

Tang Ye sprinted to the left baseline; Van der Maarel seized the chance and sent a high ball over.

“OK, watch this!”

Tang Ye shouted, faked a move, and deceived Klebe.

Chest control!

Then…

Volley!

Thwack!

Tang Ye blasted the ball out of the base—it flew beyond the field and hit a fox lying on the grass.

“Hahaha!”

“Tang, what was that?”

Tang Ye’s super strike stunned everyone; Ram Saier laughed, clutching his stomach: “I felt like you just kicked like a Ballon d’Or winner.”

“Hey, don’t laugh—I was so close!”

Tang Ye pointed to where the ball flew: “If I’d just flattened my foot a bit, it would’ve gone in—Ruit couldn’t have saved it!”

“You could’ve waited for the ball to bounce first.”

Tenghahe shouted from the field.

Honestly, Tang Ye’s volley showed plenty of imagination.

But his raw power was too weak to support his imagination!

“No, I can’t wait for it to bounce.”

Tang Ye shouted back: “If it drops, the defenders close in—I have to release it fast!”

Tang Ye pointed to Klebe beside him—if the ball landed, Klebe would never give him a shooting chance.

This had to be a volley!

“But blasting it like that won’t work.”

Tenghahe walked over: “Your shot can’t even reach a goal ten times higher—you’re just shooting at airplanes. Do you like shooting at airplanes?”

“Don’t rush—I’m practicing.”

Tang Ye repeated his previous shooting motion.

Too bad!

If I’d just lowered my foot a bit more, that ball would’ve gone in!

“OK, I’m starting to get scared.”

Goalkeeper Ruit crossed his arms, pretending to shiver.

“Alright, enough—end the scrimmage. We need to train set pieces.”

Tenghahe and Van der Gaag stepped onto the field; players slowly gathered around.

Utrecht’s set-piece tactic was simple: either Ram Saier or Klebe would deliver the cross from behind.

But now they’d discovered Tang Ye secretly had another trick: free kicks!

Great head coaches design special tactics based on players’ strengths—especially Tenghahe , the monthly best coach!

“Next, we train set pieces—but no positions today. Everyone: midfielders, forwards, even defenders—all participate. We’re practicing tactics, not just set-piece technique.”

Tenghahe said. The watering on Field 2 was done; they could start anytime.

Under Tenghahe ’s direction, the final morning training session began: set-piece drills.

Still split into A and B teams: Team A included Aale, Barazite, Tang Ye, Ram Saier , and others in the starting lineup.

Team B consisted of Amrabat, Ayoub, Josten, plus some second-team players called up for auxiliary training.

Tang Ye scanned the group, searching for Zaka’s figure—but Zaka wasn’t there.

“You two, step out.”

Tenghahe grabbed Tang Ye’s hand and pulled him and Ram Saier out of the line.

In the new set-piece tactic, set pieces would be taken by either Tang Ye or Ram Saier —that’s why Tenghahe called them out.

Inside the box, Tenghahe used one of his favored tactics.

Aale, Barazite, and Van der Maarel stood in a diagonal line; before the corner kick, these three aerial specialists would signal each other to determine their running directions.

After arranging the box, Tenghahe walked to the designated set-piece spot and explained to Tang Ye and Ram Saier .

Of course, these instructions were mainly for Tang Ye.

“Don’t worry about how they run. Stay at the back—your view is best. Observe, then pass exactly where you want. The rest is up to the men in the box.”

“Understood? Tang, you go first.”

Tenghahe stood ahead, arms crossed, expression stern.

He wanted to see Tang Ye’s weirdly Biansu free kick again.

Tang Ye placed the ball on the ground, stepped back slowly, and found what he felt was the right position.

He carefully observed the box, raised his right hand, then…

Turned to Tenghahe : “Uh… which team am I on?”

“…”

Tenghahe grabbed his head: “Colorless team—you’re on the colorless team. The ones in fluorescent vests are your opponents. Got it!? Fuck, I’m already nervous and you’re asking me this?!”

“Sorry, sorry.”

Tang Ye turned back.

Now that he knew he was on the colorless team, Tang Ye needed to send the ball somewhere…

Somewhere a colorless player could easily reach, but a colored player couldn’t.

Hmm…

Got it!

Thwack!

The ball shot out fast, curving upward diagonally—just like the one he’d kicked against Nijmegen.

This one had topspin too!

It flew over both teams’ heads, then began to drop.

“Nasser!”

Tenghahe shouted. Barazite, named, didn’t disappoint—he leaned forward and smashed the ball with his head into the ground.

Thwack!

It bounced once, then dropped into the net.

“Clap clap clap clap!”

Tenghahe clapped: “Still needs refinement, but that’s basically it.”

Designing and executing set-piece tactics is difficult.

But Tenghahe belongs to the top tier of head coaches.

He only needed to emphasize a few points, and Utrecht’s set-piece offensive problems were nearly solved!

As for Tang Ye…

Tenghahe placed his hand on Tang Ye’s shoulder: “Lazy pig. Being lazy’s fine—but if you keep up with my rhythm, you’ll succeed.”

…

(End of Chapter)