Chapter 72: I Will Be Fully Recovered by the Day After Tomorrow at 10 AM (20k words, begging for monthly votes!)

Tang Ye sat on the team’s bus returning to base, silent.

Not just Tang Ye, all the Utrecht players were silent.

The feeling of a draw is excruciating; honestly, for the players on the pitch, it’s no different from losing.

“Damn it…”

Tang Ye clenched his teeth.

Although being injured meant he didn’t have to train, Tang Ye didn’t want to lose his chance to play altogether!

That’s how people are: once you’ve tasted the thrill of success, you can’t accept failure anymore.

For footballers, the feeling of success is hearing fans in the stands chant your name after the match ends.

【At 37, you suffered your first injury since returning from retirement; you must admit, middle-aged players have a higher injury rate than ordinary players, even if you have the bone density of an 18-year-old—this is because your body’s metabolism is far slower than that of younger players!】

【As compensation, your metabolism rate doubles during this injury period】

Hmm!

Tang Ye’s eyes lit up.

My metabolism rate doubles?

The system’s description wasn’t clear, but Tang Ye understood most of it.

Doubling metabolism meant his recovery speed would become twice as fast as before.

For this ankle sprain, team doctor Roosevelt estimated Tang Ye would need a full month to recover.

But with his metabolism accelerated, Tang Ye should be fully recovered in just 15 days!

“Phew…”

Tang Ye exhaled deeply.

Sometimes, being middle-aged is just helpless—you really do need some external help…

Wait!

Shit, I almost got tricked by this damn system!

He wasn’t some middle-aged man!

…

【Dongqiu Di】—Tang Ye brutally fouled and trampled, expected to miss one month; Utrecht forward Nieland destroyed Chinese football?

Utrecht official: Player #99 Tang (yetang) suffered an ankle sprain, expected to miss one month.

Utrecht Evening News front page—Ten Hag believes Tang’s injury has nothing to do with the team’s draw: “Utrecht is on the right path.”

…

For the next few days, Tang Ye did not train; the club assigned him only rest.

Sleep in his dorm, then go to the gym for rehab—that was his entire routine these days.

The only thing he could do was buy a 【Azar’s Tarta Sauce Burger】 from the system’s item shop and lie on the therapy bed while a Malaysian therapist massaged him.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to train—he simply couldn’t train at all right now.

After lying in bed for several days, Tang Ye was shocked to find his foot healed incredibly fast.

Doubling metabolism sounded insignificant, but the actual effect during injury was unmistakable.

He sprained his ankle on the 24th; by the 28th, he could walk normally—even passing with the arch of his foot was no problem.

But Tang Ye was cunning—he wouldn’t tell Ten Hag he was ready to train until his body was fully fit for official matches!

On the afternoon of the 28th and the afternoon of the 31st, Utrecht played away matches against Roda JC and Twente—two Eredivisie games against mid-table opponents.

The results: one draw, one loss.

The draw ended 0-0; the loss was 0-2—meaning Utrecht scored zero goals in both matches!

After the matches, Dutch football journalists surrounded Ten Hag in the press room, hurling questions at him; Ten Hag answered them all smoothly.

Though they lost, Ten Hag’s ability to handle media interviews was unmatched among all 18 Eredivisie coaches.

It was effortless for him!

Besides reporters, Ten Hag was also called to the home of team owner Verhof for a talk.

“You said we’d finish in the top four by season’s end, even qualify for Champions League or Europa League—but now we’ve gone three games without a win!”

Verhof’s expression was tense.

He had tasted the thrill of a winning streak; naturally, his expectations had risen.

Then, right in the middle of the season, Ten Hag suddenly dropped a massive bomb.

Three straight wins without a victory? That’s not the performance of a top-four Eredivisie team!

“Oh, Mr. Paul, don’t panic.”

Ten Hag calmed Verhof: “Though we’ve earned only two points in three games, rest assured—we’re still third in the league.”

Ten Hag pulled out a notebook he’d prepared in advance, listing Utrecht’s current record: “Look, sir, from matchday seven onward, we’ve always been in the top four.”

“From matchday seven to matchday twenty, we’ve never dropped out of the top four!”

After Ten Hag’s analysis, Verhof fell silent.

It seemed…

It really was true!

“This is just a temporary setback. Every great team must face setbacks before achieving glory.”

Verhof nodded; his trust in Ten Hag instantly grew.

“I knew I didn’t choose wrong!”

“Thank you, Mr. Paul.”

…

Utrecht Evening News front page—Despite three straight losses, Utrecht’s management still has full trust in Ten Hag; staff have already reduced the pitch grass by 2 cm as Ten Hag requested, believing shorter grass benefits passing training.

Ten Hag himself was also frustrated by the team’s inability to win.

Because in his memory, Utrecht always somehow scored goals.

But for some reason, for some reason, Utrecht’s players suddenly couldn’t attack anymore!

Ten Hag couldn’t accept it—he was under immense pressure!

On February 1st, training resumed; the entire training ground felt heavy.

Because on February 4th, Utrecht would face PSV Eindhoven away.

It was the Dutch Cup quarterfinal!

Utrecht had to face PSV Eindhoven—the league leaders—after three winless matches and terrible form!

“Move! Move!”

Ten Hag clapped his hands; the players doing shuttle runs sped up, syncing with the fitness coach. Van der Gaag walked up from behind.

“Eric, if we play Eindhoven in this state, we’ll lose for sure.”

Van der Gaag spoke softly—the players running couldn’t hear him.

Ten Hag turned to Van der Gaag: “For sure? Why?”

Van der Gaag pointed at the players sprinting back and forth: “Even ignoring match form, our mindset is already wrong—the players don’t believe they can win.”

The contrast between the winning streak and the recent losses created a huge psychological gap among Utrecht’s players—this was extremely hard to fix.

“We need to find the root problem: why can’t our attack work?”

Van der Gaag’s question was exactly what Ten Hag had been pondering.

But these past few days, Ten Hag had been busy dealing with reporters and soothing the team owner—he hadn’t deeply studied this issue.

“Come, Eric, look at this!” Van der Gaag ran off, then returned with his notebook, showing Ten Hag some statistics.

One point caught Ten Hag’s attention.

When possession exceeded 50%, Utrecht produced an effective attack only once every six minutes.

When possession was below 50%, Utrecht produced an effective attack once every 4.5 minutes.

“Possession and attack frequency are inversely related?”

Ten Hag widened his eyes. Van der Gaag nodded: “Yes, I told you this before, but we were on a winning streak then, so we ignored it.”

Ten Hag took the notebook from Van der Gaag; they walked to the bench, sat down, and examined it closely.

It was true: in every Eredivisie and Dutch Cup match where possession was below 50%, Utrecht had won.

But in matches where possession exceeded 50%, Utrecht lost two and drew one.

According to objective logic, higher possession means more attacking opportunities.

!

But Utrecht didn’t follow objective logic at all.

This was a completely non-mainstream team!

The content in the Chinese Football Association’s coaching manual could no longer explain Utrecht’s current phenomenon!

Watching the players run on the pitch, Ten Hag was deep in thought.

Suddenly, he thought of a so-called “possession master.”

He opened Word, selected “attack,” “tang,” and “expected win rate.”

Three options, then plotted a linear graph.

“Huh—”

Ten Hag and Van der Gaag stared at each other.

The three lines overlapped completely.

……

That afternoon during lunch in the cafeteria, Ten Hag walked straight over to Tang Ye’s seat with his tray.

Tang Ye saw Ten Hag coming and quickly rolled up his pant leg to show the bandages.

Though the act was a bit cold, it was worth it if it made the head coach see his injury.

Thanks to the system’s double metabolism bonus, Tang Ye had felt no pain at all when he woke up this morning!

“Good afternoon, Tang.”

Ten Hag sat down beside Tang Ye, forcing Tang Ye to squeeze inward.

Luckily, the person beside him was Barazite, not A Lei—otherwise, the bench wouldn’t have been long enough for Ten Hag.

“How’s your ankle?”

Ten Hag pointed to Tang Ye’s ankle.

“Uh, it’s okay, but it still hurts a bit when I run.”

In front of Ten Hag, Tang Ye twisted his ankle slightly, then feigned pain at the injury site, sucking in a sharp breath: “Ouch!”

“What’s wrong? What’s wrong?”

Ten Hag stood up from his chair: “You didn’t secretly train, did you? Ankle injuries are serious—you absolutely cannot train on your own!”

“I know, I know. I thought I was fine, but I’m not.”

Tang Ye smiled bitterly. Ten Hag nodded and sat back down: “So when do you think you’ll be ready to resume training?”

Good question!

Tang Ye pulled out his phone and quickly checked the schedule.

February 4th!

Ten Hag: ?

“Yes, I’ll be fully recovered at 2 p.m. the day after tomorrow. I’m ready.”

Huh?

Ten Hag frowned, skeptical of Tang Ye’s words: “Are you sure? But you just said your ankle still hurt.”

“That little pain doesn’t matter.”

Tang Ye spoke with a hint of guilt: “As long as I can recover to… resume training, as long as I can resume training, it’s all worth it.”

Ten Hag nodded, but he seemed doubtful, scanning Tang Ye up and down, making Tang Ye feel uneasy.

What if, after suddenly recovering, Ten Hag still doesn’t put him in the lineup?

Then his French Premium Chest would just sit there unused?

At that moment, the base’s public address system blared.

“Montford Livestock Research: Piglets generally have faster metabolisms than humans, especially growing piglets, whose injury recovery abilities are exceptional, making their skin more elastic than humans’…”

Ten Hag squinted, studying Tang Ye closely.

“So that’s it…”

……

“Snap!”

“Come on, here!”

Tang Ye actively reached out to his teammate for the ball, then sent it forward with one kick.

【De Bruyne Curved Through Pass Lv3: Simulation】

Proficiency: 18.2/400

Yosten, sprinting ahead, received Tang Ye’s pass and laid it off to Barazite on the flank, who then took the shot.

After Barazite scored, Tang Ye raised both hands in celebration.

This was his first training session since recovering—he had to prove himself today, because Ten Hag would announce the starting lineup for tomorrow’s Dutch Cup.

To play tomorrow, Tang Ye had to give everything in today’s training!

He had to fight for his chance!

As expected, after the morning session ended, Ten Hag called Tang Ye straight to the second-floor office.

“I’ll include you in tomorrow’s match squad—you might come on as a substitute. Are you certain your ankle is fully recovered?”

“Of course.”

Tang Ye answered without hesitation: “But… Mr. Eric, if possible, could I start?”

“No, impossible!”

Ten Hag stood up from his chair: “You haven’t trained at all until today, and now you suddenly want to start?”

“Well…”

Tang Ye rubbed his head: “Training and matches aren’t really connected. I just didn’t train—I didn’t say I can’t play.”

“Nonsense!”

Ten Hag glared at Tang Ye: “Training and matches are closely linked! How can you say they’re unrelated? Tang, I need to correct your wrong thinking.”

Ten Hag stepped toward Tang Ye: “Hard training gives you excellent skills—that’s why you start. Do you understand? Your thinking is wrong. Absolutely wrong.”

“But my ankle really is fully healed…”

Tang Ye shook his ankle again in front of Ten Hag.

“You’re sure?”

Ten Hag eyed Tang Ye skeptically; the latter nodded vigorously.

“Hmm… then starting you is fine. Alright, you start.”

……

Utrecht Evening News, front page headline: Utrecht Announces Starting XI for Away Match Against PSV—Tang Returns from Injury, Starts Immediately.

(End of Chapter)