Chapter 69: Passes That Benefit the People—Can That Be Called a Fumble

Learning that his own pet pig had been lured away by another family with cabbage, Ten Hag grew anxious and immediately called Tang Ye.

“Come to my house now—the address has already been sent to your phone. Get here right away!”

Despite his authority, the banquet had barely lasted an hour when Tang Ye hurried back, knocking on Ten Hag’s door.

“Damn it, come in!”

Ten Hag grabbed Tang Ye from outside and yanked him inside, then slammed the door shut.

Inside, Tang Ye realized everyone in the room was staring at him.

He turned to Ten Hag: “Mr. Erik, what’s going on?”

“Come here, I want to ask you—why didn’t you attend tonight’s banquet?”

Ten Hag pulled Tang Ye aside, his eyes locked onto him, the word “anger” plainly etched on his face.

“Uh, my agent called me to discuss something…”

Tang Ye answered honestly.

“Damn it, I knew it!”

Ten Hag clenched his teeth: “So which club is it?”

Tang Ye scratched his head, confused why Ten Hag was so angry, but still answered: “Feyenoord.”

Feyenoord—one of the Big Three!

Ten Hag sucked in a sharp breath. His worst fear had come true.

Other teams were manageable, but if it was Feyenoord—a traditional powerhouse in the Eredivisie—he’d have a hard time handling this.

Given Tang Ye’s current treatment at Utrecht, Feyenoord could easily offer three, even five times more!

In other words, Utrecht had no leverage to keep Tang Ye.

“What treatment did they offer you?”

Ten Hag asked. The first-team players immediately gathered around; the atmosphere grew tense.

“Uh… 7,000 euros weekly salary, 20,000 euros goal bonus, assist… assist is apparently 10,000 euros each—I’m a bit fuzzy on the details, but I think it’s 10,000 euros.”

Tang Ye counted on his fingers, listing everything he’d heard from Feyenoord’s staff.

Damn it!

Just as he’d feared, Feyenoord had offered Tang Ye an extremely generous package.

A weekly salary of 7,000 euros, plus a slew of goal bonuses—Utrecht could barely afford these.

The problem was Tang Ye’s contract included a buyout clause.

If he wanted to join Feyenoord, Utrecht couldn’t possibly retain him!

That damn agent—Ten Hag couldn’t help but rage at the Brit.

If it weren’t for Boer, Utrecht would never have agreed to a buyout clause with Tang Ye!

“Phew…”

Ten Hag placed a hand on Tang Ye’s shoulder, his eyes slightly red: “No matter what, before the winter transfer window opens, I’m still your coach, and we’re still friends, okay?”

Huh?

Tang Ye stepped back: “W-what? Mr. Erik… I didn’t say I was leaving. I’m not going.”

“Huh?”

Ten Hag froze in place: “You’re not leaving? Why?”

Ten Hag didn’t understand what Tang Ye meant.

Triple salary, generous bonuses.

If it were Ten Hag making the choice, he’d have left long ago!

What’s so great about Utrecht?

“I definitely can’t leave.”

Tang Ye explained: “The league’s only halfway through—I’m still a starter. If I suddenly left, we’d be short a midfielder, and that’d be terrible. Utrecht might lose games.”

“No wins means no points, Mr. Erik. We still have a goal to finish in the top four this season—if we fail, everyone will be unhappy.”

Tang Ye continued his reasoning: “My friends are all here. If I go to Feyenoord, I won’t know anyone—I’d be miserable.”

“I…”

Ten Hag and Fan De exchanged a glance, then turned back: “I… uh, never mind. Sorry.”

“What’s going on?”

Tang Ye was bewildered—Ten Hag had suddenly hugged him.

“Mr. Erik?”

Ten Hag patted Tang Ye’s back, his eyes redder now: “You’re a proper player. Yes, we must achieve our goal—we still need to finish in the top four!”

Ten Hag pulled back, pointing a finger at Tang Ye’s nose: “I’ve decided—I’m restoring heating to your dorm!”

“Come here, look—I bought you a new controller!”

Ten Hag picked up the gift box on the dining table meant for Tang Ye, who opened it right in front of him.

“How’s it?”

“Uh…”

Tang Ye rubbed his head, embarrassed: “My mom already bought me one of these…”

“What!?”

“Wait, are you sure it’s the same one? This is the latest model!”

…

Dongqiu Di reports: Before the winter transfer window opened, Utrecht signed a new contract with Tang Ye. Under the new terms, he will receive a weekly salary of 7,000 euros for five years, and the original buyout clause has been removed.

Tang Ye’s contract renegotiation with Utrecht sparked heated discussion on Dongqiu Di, though most agreed it was reasonable.

Setting aside attitude, speed, stamina, defensive skills, and movement, Tang the King’s ability is simply flawless.

For a player of this caliber, a raise isn’t just justified—it’s expected.

January 2016 arrived. Europe’s winter transfer window officially opened.

On the first day, Ten Hag began his show, securing Frenkie de Jong from Ajax for 9 million euros.

Eredivisie clubs generally avoid signings in the winter window, and Utrecht was no exception—Frenkie de Jong was Utrecht’s only winter transfer, worth 9 million euros!

“Erik, so now do we have the concrete strength to secure a top-four finish?”

Immediately after the transfer, owner Verhof sought out Ten Hag.

Verhof was anxious.

A top-four finish in the Eredivisie meant Utrecht could qualify for the Europa League next season—even the Champions League wasn’t entirely out of reach!

Ten Hag shook his head.

“What does that mean? Erik, I’ve done exactly what you asked!”

Seeing Ten Hag shake his head, Verhof snapped.

“Mr. Paul, don’t rush. What I mean is, a top-four finish can’t be forced—but rest assured, I’ll do everything I can. Originally, my confidence was 90%. After Frenkie’s transfer, that probability has increased!”

Oh?

Verhof’s eyes lit up: “So now, how confident are you?”

“99%!”

…

The day after completing the de Jong transfer, Ten Hag received the Dutch Royal Football Association’s December Coach of the Month award.

This was his second Eredivisie monthly coach of the month award in his career.

And so far, Ten Hag had only been managing Utrecht for five months!

On December 17, during the pre-match interview before Utrecht’s away game against Groningen.

“Twice. Two Coach of the Month awards.”

Ten Hag held up two fingers: “This season, no other coach has won more awards than me. I don’t understand why anyone still questions my transfers.”

Mid-sentence, he placed his hand over his left chest: “I feel my heart is wounded. Do you understand that feeling? I’m giving everything for the team, yet you say I’m harming it.”

“Five months, two Coach of the Month awards—am I harming the team?”

With that, Ten Hag walked straight out of the press room.

He simply couldn’t understand why these utterly foolish reporters questioned his transfers!

Or rather—what right did they have to question them?

…

“Cough, cough—welcome back, guys. The past few weeks had fewer European matches, but now everything’s back to normal. Don’t worry—I’ve carefully selected the games I stream for you, the ones easiest to bet on.”

Chinese New Year was coming soon, and Wang Chao’s tone had grown far more confident.

Previously, as a low-tier streamer on Huanle Dou, he’d always be bombarded with questions from relatives.

But not this year!

Under the great leadership of Tang the King, Wang Chao was no longer just a low-tier streamer!

He now spoke with the unmistakable confidence of a successful man.

“Today! Groningen vs. Utrecht—Tang Ye starts again!”

“First off, Utrecht will definitely win. As for the score—I personally think Utrecht will lead by two.”

“Let me introduce the home team’s lineup first.” Groningen (4-3-3)

Goalkeeper: Pat

Defenders: Hartbauer, Rienen, Maduro, Payne

Midfielders: Driew, Capelhof, Tiblin

Forwards: Rusnak, Serot, Lin Sen

“If it’s the away team, the main C is No. 99 Tang Ye!”

“Other players aren’t important; we won’t introduce them here.”

“Kickoff!”

【Damn, finally an Utrecht match! I’ve got to make some cash before New Year’s, or I won’t have money for the holiday.】

【Let me tell you a ghost story: New Year’s Eve is coming soon—how much do you have left in your bank account?】

【I’ve got 300 yuan saved, but I’m not worried—I’ve got Utrecht matches, and I’ll safely earn 20,000 before the holiday.】

!

【Awesome】

【Pass it to Tang Ye, pass it to Tang Ye! Are Utrecht’s defenders idiots? Pass it to Tang Ye—I’ll just blast it straight to the forward’s feet!】

【If a pass benefits the team, can you even call it a “blast”?】

In the 11th minute, Tang Ye, strolling down the left flank, received a pass from Koom.

He dribbled forward, facing Driew’s defense!

Tang Ye knew he couldn’t beat Driew with 200% certainty, so he quickly looked for a teammate.

Pass to Aale, then run forward!

Aale pass it back!

The one-two combination executed perfectly—Tang Ye showed his incredible sprinting ability to the haters in the livestream.

Look up!

Fullback Hartbauer was sprinting toward him!

Holy shit!

Hartbauer’s beard was long and menacing—Tang Ye was terrified and immediately turned around.

He took a quick glance, then launched a long pass to the overlapping Barazit on the right flank.

“Barazit is pressing the opponent’s defense.”

“OK, very nice—this attack also comes from my genius pass!”

“To Josten in the center!”

“Josten shoots!”

Thud!

Center-back Rienen suddenly fell to the ground and blocked Josten’s low shot.

Utrecht’s attack ended abruptly—and Tang Ye inexplicably found himself standing beneath the ball again.

Head it!

“Xuuuu——！！”

The stands erupted with boos.

Tang Ye’s header went wide!

Damn it!

He cursed under his breath, quickly retreated, controlled the ball on the ground, and lofted it into the penalty area.

“Nasir!”

Barazit, called by name, sprinted forward and headed the ball.

The quality of this header was immeasurably better than Tang Ye’s earlier one.

“Goooooo——aaaaa——lllllll!!!”

“Here we go, guys! Utrecht leads 1-0!”

“The scorer… wait, no—the assister is…”

“Tang Ye!”

“Wuhu!”

【French Premium Chest upgrade progress: 1/5】

Here it comes!

I got this French Premium Chest in mid-December, but Christmas hit and I never got the chance to upgrade it.

Finally, a long-awaited league assist!

“Beautiful!”

Barazit sprinted toward the sideline; Tang Ye followed closely behind.

Tang Ye could feel—he was in good form today.

If things kept up, maybe he could rack up another assist in this match?

The game continued. Utrecht, leading with their 4-3-3 formation, kept their three forwards on to push for more goals.

28th minute!

“Give me! Give me!”

Tang Ye reached out to Rieuwe for the ball, but Rieuwe didn’t pass—so Tang Ye shouted again: “Trust me, brother!”

His teammates didn’t trust his ball control—but Tang Ye had full confidence in his own ability!

Thud!

Rieuwe passed the ball—Tang Ye sprinted eagerly to receive it, but Serot appeared out of nowhere and stole it clean.

Holy shit!

Tang Ye realized his mistake and sprinted back.

Serot was physically strong—Tang Ye couldn’t push past him, so he simply blocked Serot’s position.

Lin Sen ran up from the left flank; Serot passed the ball wide—Tang Ye held his position to deny Serot the pass, so Serot opted to shoot instead.

Goal!

Serot’s shot!

A crime committed by Tang Ye!

“Damn…”

Watching Serot’s shot find the net, Rieuwe shrugged at Tang Ye. Tang Ye felt embarrassed: “Mine, mine!”

“Look before you pass!”

“Don’t believe that kid.”

Ten Hag and the players warned him.

Tang Ye always thought he could control the ball—but in truth, he often couldn’t.

But it didn’t matter—Tang Ye immediately began his redemption phase.

Koom launched a long ball from the left baseline; Josten, dropping back, jumped and headed it back.

Tang Ye was sharp—he knew Josten would head it back, so he waited right in front of him.

Catch it!

Perfect!

“Don’t let him pass!”

Defender Maduro shouted—but it was too late.

Tang Ye was now unmarked—this was when Tang Ye was most dangerous.

Because no one knew what kind of “blast” he’d unleash next!

Thud!

“Tang Ye, whip it with your outside foot!”

“The ball’s speed is high—let’s see the quality of this pass!”

Tang Ye’s cleats scraped the grass; the ball lifted off the ground and skimmed past Josten’s right arm.

???

“Give it to me!”

Josten held out his hands toward Tang Ye.

From his perspective, Tang Ye’s pass was aimed straight toward the left sideline.

But there was no Utrecht player on the left sideline!

…

PS: Future updates will be at 10 a.m. daily.

(End of chapter)