Chapter 66: Asking Questions Without Shame? (20k Update, Seeking First Subscription!)

"I know many of you are deeply dissatisfied with my decision not to schedule any holidays."

Ten Hag spoke while eating, and the other Utrecht players at the table made no fuss either, picking at the food on their plates while pricking up their ears.

"But you must realize it is already December; today is... hmm, December 14th, and the first half of the season is about to end!"

"But aren't our results quite good?"

Tang Ye blinked his eyes.

In his memory, Utrecht had won the majority of their matches, including several victories with large scorelines.

"That is precisely the problem."

Ten Hag put down the fork in his hand and pointed his index finger at the ceiling: "Originally, our goal for this season was simply to finish in the top twelve of the league; reaching the top twelve was all that was required. But because our recent results have been so good, the upper management has temporarily changed our objective!"

The players around the dining table looked at each other in dismay.

A temporary change of objectives meant greater pressure.

Ramselaar lifted his head: "So what is our current objective?"

Ten Hag held up four fingers on his right hand, excluding his thumb: "Top four!"

"I apologize, my friends, but upper management has entrusted us with a heavy responsibility, which means the pressure on you in the coming period will be immense."

With the three giants of the Eredivisie present, for Utrecht to secure a top-four finish meant their points total had to exceed that of every other Eredivisie team outside those three giants!

"It is not an easy task, would you not agree?"

Ten Hag scanned the players seated around the table.

Whenever Ten Hag's gaze landed on a player, that individual would lower their head; only Tang Ye kept his head up, locking eyes with Ten Hag.

"Lazy pig, do you have something you wish to say?"

Tang Ye nodded: "Mr. Sitting Like, do you perhaps dislike looking at the league standings?"

"So-so; looking at the standings requires great courage, so I rarely do it. What is it you want to say, then?"

Tang Ye exchanged a glance with Ramselaar, who sat opposite him, then took out his mobile phone.

He opened the homepage of the Royal Dutch Football Association and clicked on the league standings within it.

1. Utrecht, 40 points

2. PSV Eindhoven, 38 points

3. Ajax, 37 points

4. Feyenoord, 35 points

5. AZ Alkmaar, 33 points

6. Groningen, 27 points

Tang Ye pointed at "Utrecht" at the very top of the screen: "We are currently in first place, so why should we worry?"

Oh?

Ten Hag raised his eyebrows, took Tang Ye's phone, and examined it repeatedly: "Since when have we been in first place?"

"Just yesterday, after defeating Ajax."

Ramselaar reminded him: "Eindhoven drew with Groningen, so they gained two fewer points; we were originally in second, but now we are directly in first."

"Wow..."

Ten Hag rubbed his eyes.

The Eredivisie was indeed simpler than he had imagined!

However!

"Of course I know we are currently in first, but let me ask you: is this first place permanent?"

Ten Hag looked into Tang Ye's eyes: "We are in first now, so does that mean we will still be in first after the season ends? No, it is not like that; we must feel the pressure!"

Ten Hag had Tang Ye unlock his phone again, then pointed at Feyenoord, who were fourth in the standings: "There is currently only a five-point gap between us and fourth place; a five-point gap is nothing, do you understand what I mean? What I mean is that there is essentially no difference between us and fourth place right now."

"If we do not intensify our training, we will fall out of the top four!"

Tang Ye nodded.

Although he very much wanted a holiday, he had to admit that Ten Hag's words made considerable sense!

This season's Eredivisie suffered from severe polarization, with the teams at the top accumulating many points.

If Utrecht made any mistakes in their upcoming matches, their first-place position would vanish instantly!

"I see you probably understand my meaning."

Seeing Tang Ye remain silent, Ten Hag took the initiative, placing a hand on his shoulder: "The youngest player should make the greatest sacrifice for the team; I will be waiting for you in the gym tonight."

"No! No no no no no!"

Tang Ye, neglecting even his hamburger, quickly stood up from his seat: "No, this is different; today is Sunday, and I am not required to train on Sunday evenings."

"Come on!"

Ten Hag put his arm around Tang Ye's shoulders, then pointed at the first-team players before them: "They are all your teammates, all your good friends; none of them want to lose a match, so can you not exert some effort for your good friends?"

"For the team!"

"For this great team!"

With just a few words from Ten Hag, Tang Ye found himself with no way out.

That evening, Tang Ye did indeed go to the gym for extra training, but he only warmed up there; after finishing his warm-up, he headed to the base's indoor sports hall.

In the indoor sports hall, Tang Ye saw several familiar faces from the second team; those fellows had all been called in for extra training by Meulent, and Tang Ye even spotted Zaka.

"Hey, Isaac!"

Seeing Zaka practicing dribbling near the marker cones, Tang Ye ran over: "Were you also called in for extra training by Mr. Meulent?"

"Mm, Tang? Yes."

Zaka spread his hands: "Mr. Merent consulted Erik; he now believes extra training can solve everything. We are striving for a higher league ranking; this is Mr. Merent's idea."

Clearly, the reserve team head coach Merent had been influenced by Ten Hag's coaching philosophy.

Ten Hag transformed Tang Ye through extra training; Merent also wanted to transform his reserve players through extra training.

Since they all came up through the reserves, if Tang Ye could do it, Merent believed the other reserve players could too!

"By the way, look at this."

Speaking, Zaka pulled the ball to his feet.

Pushing the ball with the inside of his left foot to his right, then pushing it back with his right, his upper body moved rapidly.

"Holy crap, cool!"

Tang Ye took a step back: "That's Cruyff's move, right? I've done this in the game."

Zaka gave a thumbs-up: "Yeah, I've practiced this for over two months. It's not hard to practice, but I just can't pull it off during matches!"

Zaka was only half a year older than Tang Ye; at seventeen, it was precisely the age for showing off.

If he could pull off a La Croqueta once in an official Eerste Divisie match, how stylish that would be!

"No way, it's too cool; I have to learn this too."

Tang Ye fetched a ball from the sidelines and mimicked Zaka's motion, swaying left and right.

As a possession-oriented midfielder, what Tang Ye loved most were these little techniques that helped him shield the ball!

"Alright, Tang, stop messing around with that stuff!"

Ten Hag spotted Tang Ye practicing dribbling on the sideline: "Please, that's not your job. Come over here quickly. And you, your name is Zaka, right? Isaac Zaka? You come too; you've been called up."

"Ah, me?"

Zaka pointed at his own nose.

Being called by name by the first-team head coach as a reserve player, Zaka would be lying if he said he wasn't happy; so he immediately abandoned what he was training and sprinted over.

After the tardy Tang Ye arrived, Ten Hag began explaining today's training content: he had pulled several players from the reserves, including Zaka, arranging for the two attacking players, Zaka and Tang Ye, to play against three defenders (including a goalkeeper).

The attackers' objective was to score a goal, while the defenders' objective was to win the ball from either Tang Ye or Zaka.

The purpose of this drill was to enhance Tang Ye's shooting ability.

This was a decision Ten Hag had made recently; according to statistics compiled by Fan Fan Dejiahe, Tang Ye ranked third in chances received inside the box, trailing only the two main strikers, Ale and Di Di Bala.

Tang Ye's off-the-ball movement talent was so outstanding that Ten Hag had no choice but to make this attacking midfielder practice shooting extra.

"Practice shooting!"

Tang Ye rubbed his hands together: "Mr. Erik, as you know, what I love most is shooting."

Finishing his sentence, Tang Ye lifted his right leg and mimed an outside-of-the-foot volley.

"I'm not talking about that kind of shot. Hit the far corner. Remember? You've done it during training before!"

Ten Hag positioned Tang Ye on the left flank, pointing to the far corner above the goalkeeper's right shoulder.

"Oh, that!"

Tang Ye nodded.

So today's task was to train his 【De Bruyne Far-Corner Curled Shot】.

Coincidentally, this skill of Tang Ye's was currently only at Level 1, so he could take this opportunity to strengthen it properly.

Training began; Tang Ye edged slightly into the penalty area as two reserve defenders ran out.

Tang Ye really wanted to use his dribbling to beat them, only to be immediately scolded by Ten Hag: "Pass, pass, don't dribble past them!"

Smack!

Tang Ye passed to Zaka, who moved laterally to get in front of Tang Ye, then used his heel to lay the ball back to him.

Look at the far corner!

Smack!

The ball flew into the net as expected.

【De Bruyne Far-Corner Curled Shot, Lv1: Emulation】

Proficiency: 48.2/50

Almost there!

Hearing the voice in his ear, Tang Ye felt somewhat excited.

Did this mean he was about to have his second skill promoted to Level 2?

With only 1.8 proficiency points remaining, Tang Ye didn't even need to eat broccoli!

"Come on, continue!"

The joy of being on the verge of breakthrough made Tang Ye quite happy, significantly boosting his enthusiasm for training.

Again!

It was the same combination: Tang Ye passed to Zaka, and Zaka passed it back.

Zaka was smart; he knew his role was to be Tang Ye's training partner, so he didn't deliberately try to show off.

"Here I come!"

Tang Ye laughed heartily and unleashed a curled shot.

Smack!

The reserve goalkeeper parried the ball, but Tang Ye still gained 0.2 proficiency points.

"Continue, continue."

Tang Ye urged the assistant coach to kick the ball over.

Seeing Tang Ye in this state, the reserve players couldn't help but feel somewhat surprised.

They remembered that last year, this guy wasn't like this at all!

Damn it!

No wonder Tang Ye can play for the first team.

All that talk about talent from Merent is fake.

The reason Tang Ye got promoted from the reserve team to the first team is that he works harder than everyone else in the reserves!

He is their role model!

"Give it to me, give it to me, I'm here, I'm here!"

Smack!

They always aim for the far corner; since they know where Tang Ye will shoot, the goalkeeper's save success rate is very high.

But Tang Ye doesn't care anymore; scoring is secondary.

Gaining the training effect is what matters most!

Smack!

【Lv1: Imitation → Lv2: Similarity】

【De Bruyne Far-Corner Curled Shot Lv2: Similarity】

Proficiency: 1/70

"Wuhu!"

Tang Ye jumped up on the spot and threw an uppercut, leaving Xhaka nearby somewhat bewildered: "Tang, you didn't seem to score."

"Scoring isn't the point."

Tang Ye shook his head and said with earnest emphasis: "You have to feel your own improvement; that's what's most important! I can feel my improvement right now!"

Just as Tang Ye said, after the second skill leveled up to Lv2, the angle of his curled shots would improve significantly.

Then came the new skill.

Because the second skill reached Lv2, Tang Ye also unlocked his third skill.

However, the third skill he received seemed a bit off?

【De Bruyne Spatial Movement Lv1: Imitation】

Proficiency: 7499/50

"Huh?"

Tang Ye stood frozen in place for a moment, before his brain was instantly overwhelmed by a massive amount of information.

【Lv2: Similarity → Lv3: Simulation】

【Lv3: Simulation → Lv4: Realism】

【Lv4: Realism → Lv5: Replication】

No, wait?

Max level straight away?

"What's wrong?"

Xhaka walked over to Tang Ye: "Damn, Tang, don't tell me you had an epiphany?"

"It's nothing, nothing, just zoned out for a second."

Tang Ye shook his head and walked back, signaling to resume kicking the ball.

He opened the system.

【De Bruyne Spatial Movement, Lv5: Replication】

Proficiency: 3999/4000

Hiss—

He took a deep breath.

He had just obtained this so-called Spatial Movement skill, yet the proficiency had instantly jumped to over 7,000.

Tang Ye had clearly never undergone any movement training!

Undoubtedly, Tang Ye could be one hundred percent certain.

He had found a bug!

Lv5: Replication was already max level, but Tang Ye seemed able to continue gaining proficiency?

"Isaac, let's continue!"

Tang Ye passed the ball to Xhaka, observed the situation, and then executed a movement based on his own thinking.

Unfortunately, he didn't feel any improvement brought by 【De Bruyne Spatial Movement】.

Whatever, just take a couple of steps for now!

Moving left then right, Tang Ye first lured the defender closest to him over, then circled around behind him.

No thinking required, because off-ball movement is simply too easy!

"Come on, over here!"

Tang Ye pointed to an empty space on his right; Xhaka passed the ball out, and Tang Ye curled a shot into the net.

The Lv2 far-corner curled shot was completely different from the Lv1 version; Tang Ye's shot this time was indeed much more accurate.

Eh, wait a second!

Tang Ye noticed something strange.

His movement skill, which was already at level 5, had leveled up again!

【Lv5: Replication → Lv6: Willing to Learn from Anyone】

【Vision: 91 → 93】

【De Bruyne Spatial Movement Lv6: Willing to Learn from Anyone】

Proficiency: 00/00

【At 37 years old, though you can no longer run fast, you possess the most outstanding off-the-ball movement ability in today's football world!】

【Rich experience has made you exceptionally humble; you sought advice from De Bruyne, whose talent is far inferior to your own, regarding off-the-ball movement techniques, and integrated his spatial movement philosophy into your own skills.】

【Eager to learn and unashamed to ask those below you! You have obtained: French Advanced Chest (Growable).】

"This..."

Taking a deep breath to calm his emotions.

Tang Ye was now two hundred percent certain.

His system had gone haywire!

(End of Chapter)