Chapter 72: I Will Fully Recover by 10 AM the Day After Tomorrow (20k Update, Seeking Monthly Tickets!)

Tang Ye sat on the bus returning the team to their base, saying nothing.

It wasn't just Tang Ye; none of the Utrecht players spoke.

The feeling of a last-minute equalizer conceded is extremely unpleasant; to be honest, for the players on the field, it feels no different from a loss.

"Damn it..."

Tang Ye gritted his teeth.

Although not having to train after an injury is a good thing, Tang Ye didn't want to lose the opportunity to participate in matches just like that!

People are all like this; once you have enjoyed the feeling brought by success, you will no longer accept failure.

And for a football player, the feeling of success is the fans in the stands shouting your name after the match ends.

【At age 37, you suffered your first injury since coming out of retirement. It must be admitted that the probability of middle-aged people getting injured while playing football is indeed higher than that of ordinary players. Even though you possess the bone density of an 18-year-old, this is because your body's metabolic rate is far inferior to that of young people!】

【As compensation, your metabolic rate doubles during the injury period.】

Hmm!

Tang Ye's eyes lit up.

Metabolic rate doubled?

The system's description wasn't very clear, but Tang Ye could understand seventy or eighty percent of it.

A doubled metabolic rate roughly meant that Tang Ye's recovery speed from injuries would become twice what it was before.

Taking this ankle sprain as an example, the team doctor Roosevelt estimated that Tang Ye would need a full month to recover enough to play.

But with the accelerated metabolic rate, Tang Ye should be able to fully recover in just 15 days!

"Phew..."

Tang Ye let out a long breath.

Sometimes being middle-aged is helpless; one indeed needs some external help...

Wait!

Damn it, I almost got tricked by this dog-fucking system!

He wasn't some middle-aged man!

Check Dongqiu Di — Tang Ye Suffers Brutal Stomp Foul, Expected Out for One Month: Did Zwolle Forward Nilander Destroy Chinese Football?

Utrecht Official: Team No. 99 Player Tang (yetang) Suffered Ankle Sprain, Expected Out for 1 Month.

Utrecht Evening News Front Page Headline — Ten Hag Believes Tang's Injury Has No Relation to the Team's Draw, "Utrecht is Walking on the Right Path."

For the next few days, Tang Ye did not participate in training; the task the club arranged for him was simply rest and recuperation.

Sleeping in the dormitory and then going to the gym for rehabilitation therapy—this was Tang Ye's entire task for these few days.

The only thing he could do was buy an 【Hazard's Tata Sauce Burger】 from the system's item shop, then lie on the therapy bed to receive a massage from a Malaysian therapist.

It wasn't that he didn't want to train, but rather that he truly couldn't train at all right now.

After lying in bed for a few days, Tang Ye was surprised to discover his foot was healing exceptionally fast.

The effect of double metabolism might sound like nothing much, but when one is actually injured, the difference felt is very obvious.

He sprained his foot on the 24th; by the 28th, Tang Ye could walk normally, and even passing with the instep was no problem.

However, Tang Ye was extremely cunning; before his body recovered enough to participate in official matches, he would not tell Ten Hag that he was already capable of training!

On the afternoons of the 28th and the 31st, Utrecht played away matches against Roda JC and Twente respectively; these were two Eredivisie matches, with both opponents possessing strength in the mid-table range of the league.

The final results were one draw and one loss.

The drawn match ended 0:0, and the lost match ended 0:2, meaning Utrecht failed to score a single goal in these two matches!

After the matches, Dutch football journalists surrounded Ten Hag in the press conference room, throwing out all sorts of questions, to which Ten Hag answered fluently.

Although they lost the matches, Ten Hag's ability to handle reporter interviews was in a league of its own among all 18 coaches in the Eredivisie.

This was simply too easy for him!

Besides the reporters, Ten Hag was also summoned to the team owner Verhoef's home for a talk.

"You said we would become a top-four team in the Eredivisie by the end of the season, possibly even qualifying for the Champions League and Europa League, but now we have gone three matches without a win!"

Verhoef's expression was somewhat tense.

Having already experienced the feeling of a winning streak, his expectations for the team naturally increased.

As a result, midway through the league season, Ten Hag suddenly dropped a massive load.

Three consecutive matches without a win is not the performance a top-four Eredivisie team should display!

"Oh, Mr. Paul, please don't be nervous first."

Ten Hag soothed Verhoef's emotions: "Although we only gained 2 points in 3 matches, rest assured, our current league ranking is third."

Ten Hag took out the notebook he had prepared long ago, which recorded Utrecht's current results: "Come, Mr., look, starting from Round 7 of the league, we have always been a top-four team."

"From Round 7 to Round 20, we have never fallen out of the top four!"

With Ten Hag's analysis, Verhoef suddenly fell silent.

It seemed...

That was indeed the case!

"This is just a temporary setback; any strong team must face setbacks before walking toward glory."

Verhoef nodded, his trust in Ten Hag instantly increasing considerably.

"I knew I hadn't chosen the wrong person!"

"Thank you, Mr. Paul."

Front-page headline of the "Utrecht Evening Post"—despite suffering three consecutive winless matches, Utrecht's senior management still places immense trust in Ten Hag; currently, base staff have already shortened the turf by 2cm per Ten Hag's request, as the Dutchman believes shorter grass benefits the team's passing drills.

The team's inability to win matches actually leaves Ten Hag himself quite helpless.

Because in his memory, Utrecht should always be scoring goals for some inexplicable reason.

But for some reason, for some reason, Utrecht's players suddenly forgot how to attack!

Ten Hag cannot accept this; the pressure on him right now is enormous, enormous!

Training resumed on February 1st, and the atmosphere across the entire training ground felt somewhat heavy.

This was because on February 4th, Utrecht was scheduled to play an away match against PSV Eindhoven.

This was the KNVB Cup quarter-final!

Utrecht needed to face PSV Eindhoven, currently top of the league standings, while having gone three matches without a win and being in extremely poor form!

"Run, run!"

Ten Hag clapped his hands, and the players doing shuttle runs immediately accelerated; Fan Fan Dejiahe, who had synchronized the training plan with the fitness coach, walked up from behind.

"Erik, if we play against Eindhoven in this state, we will lose one hundred percent."

Fan Fan Dejiahe spoke in a very low voice; the players running on the training field could not hear him.

Ten Hag turned his head to look at Fan Fan Dejiahe: "Lose one hundred percent? Why?"

Fan Fan Dejiahe pointed at the players running back and forth on the training field: "Leaving aside match fitness, our mentality is already wrong; the players don't believe they can win."

The winning streak and the consecutive losses have created a massive psychological gap in the hearts of the Utrecht players, a situation that is very difficult to handle.

"We should identify the root of the problem: why can't our attacks materialize?"

The question Fan Fan Dejiahe asked was also the one Ten Hag had been pondering.

However, over the past few days, Ten Hag had been busy dealing with reporters and, on the side, comforting the team owner, so he indeed hadn't conducted much in-depth research on this issue.

"Come here, Erik, look at this!" Fan Fan Dejiahe ran off, then returned with his laptop to show Ten Hag some statistical data.

One point caught Ten Hag's attention.

When possession exceeded 50%, Utrecht averaged only one effective attack every 6 minutes.

Whereas when possession was below 50%, Utrecht averaged one effective attack every 4.5 minutes.

"Possession rate and number of attacks are inversely correlated?"

Ten Hag widened his eyes. Fan Fan Dejiahe chimed in from the side: "Exactly; I mentioned this issue to you before, but since we were on a winning streak at the time, we didn't pay it any mind."

Ten Hag took the laptop from Fan Fan Dejiahe's hands, and the two walked over to the substitutes' bench; after sitting down, they examined the data more closely.

It was indeed so: whether in the Eredivisie or the KNVB Cup, in every match where possession was below 50%, Utrecht had won.

But in matches where possession was above 50%, Utrecht had lost twice and drawn once.

According to objective laws, a higher possession rate indicates that a team has more attacking opportunities.

!

But Utrecht simply did not follow objective laws.

This was completely and utterly a non-mainstream team!

The content in the Chinese Football Association's coach training manual could no longer explain the phenomenon Utrecht was currently experiencing!

Watching the players running on the field, Ten Hag was deep in thought.

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

Thus, Ten Hag operated Word, checked the boxes for "attack," "tang," and "expected win rate."

A total of three options, then generated a linear statistical chart.

"Hiss—"

Ten Hag and Fan Fan Dejiahe stared at each other in disbelief.

These three lines overlapped perfectly!

……

That afternoon during lunch in the canteen, Ten Hag located Tang Ye's seat and then walked straight over carrying his own tray.

Seeing Ten Hag approach, Tang Ye quickly rolled up his pant leg to reveal the bandage underneath.

Although doing so was a bit cold, as long as it allowed the head coach to see the extent of his injury, it was worth it.

Thanks to the system's double metabolism reward, Tang Ye had felt absolutely no pain upon waking up that morning!

"Good afternoon, Tang."

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

Fortunately, the person sitting next to him was Di Di Bala and not Haller; otherwise, this row of seats truly wouldn't have been enough for Ten Hag to sit.

"How is your ankle?"

Ten Hag pointed at Tang Ye's ankle and asked.

"Uh, it's alright, but it still hurts a bit when I run."

Right in front of Ten Hag, Tang Ye simply rotated his ankle, then pretended to twist it onto the injured spot, inhaling sharply with a "hiss."

"What's wrong, what's wrong?"

Ten Hag stood up from his chair: "You didn't secretly train on your own, did you? An ankle injury is very serious; you absolutely cannot train in secret!"

"I know, I know; I thought I was already healed, but actually I'm not."

Tang Ye smiled bitterly; Ten Hag nodded and sat back down: "Then when do you think you'll be able to resume training?"

Good question!

Tang Ye pulled his phone out of his pocket and briefly checked the schedule.

February 4th!

Ten Hag:?

"Mm, I will be fully recovered by 2 PM the day after tomorrow; I am already prepared."

Huh?

Ten Hag frowned, not quite believing what Tang Ye said: "Are you sure? But just now you said your ankle hurt badly."

"That little pain is nothing."

Tang Ye said with a slightly guilty conscience: "As long as I can resume... resume training, as long as I can resume training, all of this is worth it."

Ten Hag nodded, yet he seemed somewhat unconvinced by Tang Ye's words; he looked Tang Ye up and down, making Tang Ye feel a bit panicked in his heart.

What if I suddenly recover and Ten Hag doesn't let me play?

Wouldn't that French High-Tier Chest just sit there unused?

At that moment, the loudspeaker hanging outside the base sounded.

"Montford Livestock Research: Generally speaking, piglets have a faster metabolic rate than humans, especially piglets in their growth phase; they possess outstanding injury recovery capabilities, which makes piglet skin more elastic than human skin..."

Ten Hag narrowed his eyes, carefully examining Tang Ye before him.

"So that's how it is..."

"Slap!"

"Come on, over here!"

Tang Ye actively reached out to his teammates for the ball, received it, and immediately sent it forward with one kick.

【De Bruyne Curved Through Ball Lv3: Simulation】

Proficiency: 18.2/400

Joosten, running furthest ahead, received Tang Ye's pass, laid it off to Di Di Bala on the flank, and Di Di Bala finished with a shot.

After Di Di Bala scored, Tang Ye raised both hands to celebrate.

This was his first training session since recovering from injury; this afternoon, Ten Hag would announce the starting lineup for tomorrow's KNVB Cup match.

To be able to play tomorrow, Tang Ye had to go all out in today's training!

He had to fight for an opportunity for himself!

As expected, after the morning training ended, Ten Hag called Tang Ye directly to the office on the second floor.

"For tomorrow's match, I will include you in the squad; you might come on as a substitute. Are you certain your ankle has fully recovered?"

"Of course."

Tang Ye answered without hesitation: "However... Mr. Sitting Like, if possible, that is, could I start in the lineup?"

"No, impossible!"

Ten Hag stood up from his chair: "Except for today, you haven't participated in any training before; now you suddenly ask me to let you start?"

"This..."

Tang Ye scratched his head: "There's not much connection between training and matches, right? I just didn't participate in training; that doesn't mean I can't play in a match..."

"Nonsense!"

Ten Hag gritted his teeth, looking at Tang Ye before him: "Training and matches are closely related; how can you say training and matches have no relation? Tang, I need to correct your mistaken thinking here."

Ten Hag walked toward Tang Ye: "Hard training gives you excellent skills, which is why you can start; do you understand? Your current thinking is wrong, absolutely wrong."

"But my ankle really has fully healed..."

Right in front of Ten Hag, Tang Ye shook his ankle a few more times.

"Are you sure?"

Ten Hag looked at Tang Ye before him with some suspicion, while the latter nodded repeatedly.

"Mm... in that case, it's fine for you to start first. Alright, then you shall start first."

Utrecht Evening News front-page headline—Utrecht announces squad for away match against PSV Eindhoven; Tang, recovered from injury, starts directly in his first match back.

(End of Chapter)