Chapter 701: Second Only to the Top Five Leagues in the Chinese Super League, Manchester United and Beijing Beijing Guoan Neck and Neck

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【Ball Control: 92→93】

Tang Ye (22 years old)

【Ball Control: 93; Passing: 96】

【Shooting: 91; Heading: 62; Set Pieces: 94】

【Pace: 82; Stamina: 85; Physicality: 90】

【Defending: 78; Vision: 100】

Overall Rating: 96

So satisfying!

In the hotel, lying on the bed, Tang Ye looked up at the ceiling with an expression of utmost contentment.

After his unremitting efforts, the Ball Control attribute had finally broken through.

93 Ball Control!

If estimated according to FIFA ratings, Tang Ye could be considered the undisputed number one in today's football world.

Based on Tang Ye's impression, the only player whose Ball Control attribute could exceed 93 was Messi during his peak.

Effort!

Still effort!

Tang Ye's journey thus far had taught him a truth.

All that talk about talent was irrelevant.

Effort was the most important thing of all!

……

July 17th.

Today was a very important day, especially for football fans.

Manchester United's first pre-season match of the new season was against Beijing Beijing Guoan from the Chinese Super League!

Just eight hours before the match was set to begin, a reporter from Sports Weekly broke the news via his personal Weibo account.

Although not issued in the newspaper's name, because the reporter himself enjoyed a good reputation, the news was immediately reposted by Check Dongqiu Di and other media figures upon release.

【The new head coach of the national football team might be Escrivá; reliable information indicates he has already signed a coaching agreement with the national team, lasting two years and covering the 2022 Qatar World Cup and the 2023 Qatar Asian Cup】

【Brothers, this is very reliable news; anyway, I think there's a high probability it's true】

Although the copy used words like "might" and "seems" multiple times, overall, the reporter remained quite confident.

The heat surrounding this matter quickly soared, rushing to second place on Baidu's trending search, causing many netizens who never watched football to learn about Escrivá.

The spread of photos also provided fans with more information.

On Baidu Tieba, a netizen posted a photo of Escrivá at the airport.

To be precise, it was a selfie, except that in the background of the photo, Escrivá could be seen pushing a luggage cart and rushing along.

【Is this the person you're talking about? I took this at Capital Airport on the 10th...】

!!!

【Awesome!!!】

【Holy crap, really???】

【I was saying why Escrivá left Dortmund; turns out he was preparing all along, haha】

【This is outrageous, brothers】

【Not gonna lie, a Champions League head coach, even if there's a tiny bit of riding coattails involved, still carries serious weight】

There were many videos online cursing Escrivá as a freeloader.

But now all signs pointed to Escrivá becoming the head coach of the Chinese national team, causing the Spaniard's reputation in China to instantly reverse.

You say Escrivá's Champions League title had an element of coasting.

But a Champions League title isn't something you can just coast to.

Escrivá indeed possessed certain abilities, and he could form excellent chemistry with Tang Ye.

A newly crowned Champions League winner in his early sixties—isn't that better than a 73-year-old former World Cup champion?

Hiss...

Thinking of this, the fans couldn't help but feel expectant.

【Mr. Francisco, lead us to charge once!】

……

"Terrible, terrible..."

Looking at the news displayed on his phone, Ten Hag on the bus kept shaking his head.

Disappointment!

Too disappointing!

He was filled with disappointment toward Escrivá.

Knocked to the ground by a single punch from Escrivá, this was the first time Ten Hag had been betrayed by the Spaniard; from that moment on, they were no longer friends.

Now was the second time!

In Ten Hag's view, Escrivá abandoning Borussia Dortmund to join the Chinese national team was a most shameful act.

To solidify his relationship with Tang Ye, Ten Hag needed to ensure the support of Chinese fans, and the Dutchman had devoted years of effort to this end.

As a result, that fellow Ferran had chosen to overtake on a bend!

In Ten Hag's view, Escrivá was treading an improper path, a wrong path, a path that prepaid its results; such an erroneous approach would inevitably lead to erroneous outcomes!

"Why are you paying attention to this?"

Beside him, Fan Fan Dejiahe noticed the content on Ten Hag's phone.

"Nothing much."

Ten Hag switched off his phone: "Someone is just making a mistake; it won't affect us."

Baidu Hot Search No. 1: Manchester United vs. Beijing Guoan – The Battle at the Bird's Nest.

Click-click!

"Tang Ye!"

"Tang Ye!"

Thump-thump!

Thump-thump-thump!

Outside the stadium stood a dense crowd of fans, all extremely agitated.

Since the 2017 World Cup qualifiers ended, Tang Ye had not played a match within China's borders; a full four years had passed, so it was impossible for the fans not to be excited.

Among them, the Shanghai Shanghai Shenhua fans were the most agitated, shouting the loudest.

"Tang Ye! Crush Beijing Guoan! Tang Tang Qiuwang, crush Beijing Guoan!"

"Tang Tang Qiuwang!"

"Tang Tang Qiuwang is awesome!"

"Tang Tang Qiuwang, remember, your club today is Shanghai Shanghai Shenhua!"

The Shanghai Shanghai Shenhua fans had bestowed upon Tang Ye a very important mission: to pose as a Shanghai Shenhua player and sanction Beijing Guoan!

"Beijing Guoan! Turtles! Beijing Guoan! Turtles!"

"..."

"Hey, hey, hey, calm down, calm down!"

Tang Ye signaled for everyone to calm down: "This is a friendly match, a friendly match!"

The grudge between Shanghai Shanghai Shenhua and Beijing Guoan had existed for quite some time; as a former Chinese Super League youth trainee, Tang Ye was naturally aware of this matter.

However, since Tang Ye himself had never played in the Chinese Super League, this counted as his most profound experience of the "Beijing-Shanghai Derby."

"It's a friendly match! Calm down! Stop cursing!"

Tang Ye wandered between the Beijing Guoan fans and the Shanghai Shanghai Shenhua fans, constantly persuading them: "Stop cursing, stop cursing, hey, hey, don't fight, you can't fight!"

Tang Ye now resembled a scholar trying to advise two brutes who were locked in a brawl.

Hmm, Tang Ye felt this metaphor of his was quite reasonable.

After all, he was a top graduate of Peking University, a master of economics.

"Tang Tang Qiuwang, promise me, go easy, don't score too many."

A Beijing Guoan fan emphasized: "Tang Tang Qiuwang, I've been your fan since your days at Shandong Luneng; back then, I ran to the Shandong Luneng training base every day just to watch you train!"

"Okay, okay, thank you, thank you."

Although this was clearly a friendly match between Manchester United and Beijing Guoan, the fans on-site had forcibly turned it into a Beijing-Shanghai Derby.

Sigh.

Just as Tang Ye was taking photos with fans while trying to break up fights, Ten Hag accepted an interview with reporters.

"To be honest, the reason we came to China to play matches during this summer transfer window is that I have always greatly appreciated China's football culture. It has cultivated many excellent and outstanding players; for instance, Tang—Tang is a prime example."

"I dislike speaking in absolutes, but the fact remains that Tang is the most talented player in the history of modern football."