Chapter 76: Double Kill Against Eindhoven

"Clang!"

"Clang!"

The sound of weight plates colliding echoed through the gym; this was Tang Ye performing squats with a barbell.

Fifty-five kilograms on each side was not a difficult weight for Tang Ye, but the physical conditioning coach had already refused to let him increase the load further.

This was a form of protection for Tang Ye; the consequence of exposing oneself to maximum weights too early was that future physical development would be restricted.

One must never pull up seedlings to help them grow; this was a concept the Deleizhi Sect coaching staff had always maintained.

"OK!"

Tang Ye racked the barbell, then jumped out from within the rack: "I feel invincible right now!"

Tang Ye charged toward Amrabat's position, slamming his left shoulder into Amrabat's right shoulder, only to be bounced back.

"Damn, Sofyan, your muscles are quite impressive."

Tang Ye gave Amrabat's upper arm a firm squeeze.

Although the Moroccan was not much taller than him, his muscle mass was far from negligible!

"You still want to bump me!"

Amrabat took off his jacket, leaving only a black tank top underneath.

Then...

He displayed his upper arm muscles to Tang Ye!

"Hahaha, Tang, this is what you call confrontation!"

Amrabat placed Tang Ye's hand on his biceps: "Can you feel it? You need muscles like this to outmuscle opposing players; your muscles are only good enough for U15 matches. Do you know what U15 is? It's those matches where a bunch of kids run around on a grass field."

"Keep dreaming."

Tang Ye didn't continue bantering with Amrabat; instead, he turned and sat on a giant yoga ball, feeling the changes in his thigh muscles.

Usually, after squatting with the barbell, Tang Ye's thighs would feel tight, but after eating Cristiano's chicken breast, besides the tightness, he also felt a tingling sensation.

It felt as if something was crawling on his thighs!

"Phew..."

Tang Ye exhaled deeply; he could imagine that in a few months, he would possess muscles like Amrabat's!

"Next is core training."

Coach Antus from the physical conditioning group walked in from the adjacent room and announced the upcoming training content.

Everyone's training routine was different; Tang Ye needed to stand on this yoga ball.

Carefully stepping up...

"OK!"

Tang Ye gave a thumbs-up; Antus, holding a small ball, stood beside him: "Tang, lift your right leg."

"Wait, wait."

Tang Ye regulated his breathing, and once his body was completely stable, he shouted to Antus, who then tossed the small ball in his hand to Tang Ye.

Tang Ye caught the ball; at that moment, he was still stable, but the instant he threw the ball back, he lost control of his center of gravity and plopped down onto the yoga ball.

"Grandma's!"

It wasn't Tang Ye speaking, but Ale nearby: "Tang, is this what you wanted to say? Is this how it's pronounced, right?"

"..."

Tang Ye was about to speak but closed his mouth again.

Because what he had indeed wanted to say was: "Ale, can you stop mimicking me?"

"Don't you think this is fun?"

Tang Ye lay on the ground while Ale squatted beside him: "Grandma's, this is Chinese, right? What does it mean?"

Ale's question left Tang Ye somewhat speechless, so he thought carefully about how to explain it.

"Hmm, it's used when expressing emotion, just like 'fuck.' Do you know 'fuck'?"

"Who doesn't know that?"

Ale looked disdainful: "My English is very good. What level is your English at? You probably only know the word 'fuck'."

"..."

"Alright, come on, stand up and I'll teach you."

Ale, who had been squatting, stood up and picked up the small ball from the floor: "When practicing this, you must keep your core engaged the entire time. Throwing it out is the hardest part; you need to control your body. No matter how heavy the ball, your core must remain unmoving."

Amsterdam time, February 7th, 12:00 PM; there were five hours remaining until the Eredivisie Round 22 match between Deleizhi Sect and PSV Eindhoven.

Erik ten Hag arrived alone at the stadium's press conference room.

"This is Deleizhi Sect's first home match against Eindhoven this season, and prior to this, your record against Eindhoven was one win and one draw. Erik, do you think you can win today's match?"

"Of course, why not? We won the away match, so winning at home will only be easier."

After the 3-2 last-gasp victory over Eindhoven, Ten Hag spoke with considerably more confidence.

"There have been rumors that if Eindhoven loses this match, Cocu might be fired. Do you have any comments on that?"

"Fired?"

Ten Hag frowned: "If that's the case, I can only wish him good luck, but we cannot be soft-hearted. As you know, this is professional football."

Click-click-click!

Click-click-click!

As match time approached, the Deleizhi Sect team anthem began ringing out at the Galgenwaard Stadium.

The Deleizhi Sect anthem was somewhat difficult to sing; Tang Ye pricked up his ears, listening carefully, trying to distinguish every Dutch word in the lyrics.

"Are you shocked?"

Alé shouted at Tang Ye: "Don't think about those things; focus on the match. I'm still counting on you for my goals!"

With that, the referee's whistle blew, and Alé passed the ball back to Ramseelaar with one kick.

It has begun!

【You purchased Vardy's Red Bull】

The players ran across the field, and the broadcast camera cut to Cocu on the away team's bench.

Cocu's expression was not good; clearly, his pressure was immense.

Because they had won the championship last season, Cocu submitted a request for a salary increase to the club at the start of the new season.

Cocu's raise was not a simple adjustment; he demanded a direct 50% increase to his salary. It was precisely because of this unreasonable demand at the beginning of the season that Cocu now found himself in a dilemma.

The team management had already prepared a replacement coach at the start of the season; as soon as they detected anything amiss in the league situation, the ruthless team owner would kick Cocu out immediately!

Turning to glance at Ten Hag next door, the Utrecht head coach wore a smile on his face.

"Damn it!"

Cocu complained to his assistant coach Rudy: "Utrecht isn't strong; Erik shouldn't be so confident!"

Rudy nodded: "I very much agree with what you said."

Just as Rudy finished speaking, a "slap" sound rang out from the grass ahead.

This long pass came from Tang Ye; the Utrecht youngster's pass accurately found Di Di Bala, who was lying in ambush near the right-side baseline. After receiving the ball, Di Di Bala fired off a volley.

Cocu and Rudy stared at each other.

"Hmm... I might not agree so much now."

"Damn it!"

Cocu jumped up from his chair: "Vision! Watch your vision! Keep an eye on their strikers!"

"Wooww!!"

"Utrecht!"

Bang bang!

"Utrecht!"

Bang bang!

Cheers from the home fans erupted from the stands.

The match had not even reached the 10th minute, yet Utrecht was already leading by one goal.

Even though Utrecht's record against PSV Eindhoven this season was decent, this opening today was still too wonderful.

Sharp-eyed fans had long realized that PSV Eindhoven was under immense pressure; the players of the Red-and-White Army could not even find their early-season form!

【You obtained Counterattack Points *5】

【French High-Level Chest Upgrade Progress: 3/5】

One step closer again!

Tang Ye spread his arms and ran toward Di Di Bala's position.

The match continued; facing a deficit, Cocu made an unexpected move.

He made a substitution.

With the match only 15 minutes in and no players injured yet, he made a substitution.

Narsing replaced Joseph Zong!

Cocu brought Narsing, who had performed well in the previous match, onto the field; his intent could not have been more obvious.

They wanted to counter-attack!

"Holy crap, hurry up, the opposition is coming for us!"

PSV Eindhoven took the set piece, and Tang Ye immediately ran back toward his own half.

Stretch out the foot to intercept!

As expected, it failed!

"Left side, watch the left side!"

Ramseelaar shouted, and Tang Ye actively ran to the left flank to provide support.

Pereiro was originally only getting past one person, but as Tang Ye rushed over from the center, Pereiro burst straight through the gap between Tang Ye and Ramseelaar.

Sigh...

Ten Hag covered his forehead with his right hand.

Tang Ye's defensive cover still needs practice!

"Pereiro, Pereiro is running a bit fast; Tang Tang Qiuwang has been left behind!"

"This is a bit uncomfortable; let's see if Kleber can handle it!"

"Pereiro crosses!"

"..."

"Perfect! Tiny PSV Eindhoven, did you really think you could breach Utrecht's goal?"

By the 40th minute of the first half, PSV Eindhoven's possession rate had reached an astonishing 71%.

It looked impressive, and indeed it was impressive. Although the PSV Eindhoven players had been in poor form recently, the title of one of the Eredivisie's Big Three was not earned for nothing; with many players in the squad valued at over ten million euros, it was these big brothers who propped up the team's floor!

Of course, PSV Eindhoven still hadn't scored a goal.

A smile still hung on Ten Hag's face.

This season, Utrecht's midfield and forward line had significant problems, with the midfield issues being the most severe, but the defensive line was still holding up well.

The coordination ability of Utrecht's several defenders ranked among the top tier across the entire Eredivisie.

The match entered the second half; only a few minutes after kickoff, Jansen suffered a malicious foul from Propper.

Roosevelt came onto the field to check Jansen's injury, then made a crossed-fists gesture toward Ten Hag on the substitutes' bench.

Substitution!

Frenkie de Jong, who was warming up, took off his training bib.

Utrecht's substitution was forced to happen earlier than planned!

"Damn, are you okay?"

Tang Ye ran toward Jansen; he had been standing nearby when Jansen got tackled on the shin.

!

Just looking at it hurts like hell!

Tang Ye patted Jansen's hand; the latter's expression was grim, clearly not yet recovered from the pain.

"..."

Jansen's injury left Tang Ye somewhat flustered.

If the opponents did to him next what they just did to Jansen, wouldn't it hurt like death?

Tang Ye narrowed his eyes, thinking; Jansen's injury made him more cautious.

Protecting his own body was extremely important!

Play resumed; the injury and subsequent substitution of Utrecht's starting defensive midfielder gave Cocu an opportunity.

This was his chance to save himself!

Soon, under Cocu's direction, the PSV players launched a new attack; Hendrix and van Ginkel displayed their excellent ball control, constantly passing the ball among themselves in midfield until Tang Ye felt dizzy.

Damn it!

Tang Ye couldn't hold back any longer and charged at Hendrix, but the opponent executed a simple "V" drag, easily shaking off Tang Ye.

His chewing gum consequently fell onto the grass!

Fortunately, Ramselaar arrived just in time; while Hendrix's attention was on Tang Ye, he made a clean tackle.

"Oh?"

With a teammate in possession, Tang Ye quickly scrambled up from the ground.

Attack, attack!

"Tang Ye has gotten up from the ground; Hendrix's foul clearly meant nothing to King Ball Tang!"

"Moving forward, Tang Ye's speed isn't fast, but his aggression is extremely strong!"

"Ramselaar brings the ball into the center!"

"Pass to Tang Ye!"

Here it comes!

Tang Ye grinned, stopped the ball right in front of Bruma, then performed two step-overs.

Bruma was a bit bewildered because Tang Ye was doing stationary step-overs!

Was this some kind of performance?

Wait!

Tang Ye suddenly played a straight through-ball into the penalty area!

Bruma turned his head and saw Haller running out from beside him.

What stationary step-overs.

It was just that his teammates had slowed down King Ball Tang's attacking rhythm; King Ball Tang had simply stopped voluntarily to wait for them!

Haller!

Bang!

A composed shot, and the ball rolled steadily into the net.

"Gooooo——aaaaa——lllll!!!"

"Haller, the goal is scored!"

"Utrecht's two wingers have both scored!"

"2:0, Utrecht has taken a two-goal lead over PSV at home!"

Besides Wang Chao in the broadcast booth being unable to control his emotions, the home fans in the stands had also gone wild!

Perfect coordination!

Haller, Ramselaar, and Tang Ye had executed perfect teamwork!

【French High-Level Chest Upgrade Progress: 4/5】

The System's voice sounded; after this assist, Tang Ye was only one league assist away from upgrading the chest.

Could he secure that final assist in today's match!

Tang Ye grew more and more excited, as he was very curious about what item he could obtain from the French Super Chest.

Regrettably, after taking a two-goal lead, Ten Hag very cunningly substituted Tang Ye off for Amrabat.

The reasoning was simple: now leading by two goals, Utrecht only needed to defend to win the match.

In that case, a certain player on the team who contributed nothing on the defensive end could come off and rest first.

"Mr. Erik, why did you substitute me off?"

Tang Ye spread his hands, perplexed by Ten Hag's decision to sub him off early.

He was even a little angry now!

Ten Hag pushed Tang Ye toward the substitutes' bench: "Top players should be substituted off early to rest."

Wow?

Tang Ye's ears suddenly grew a bit hot.

No longer angry!

The entire match ended; Utrecht held off Eindhoven's fierce attack and finished with a 2:0 scoreline, as Kook sat back on the bench in despair.

The broadcast camera cut to Ten Hag in front of the bench.

Ten Hag spread his arms wide.

"Ten Hag!"

Bang bang!

"Ten Hag!"

Bang bang!

Eindhoven's head coach Kook collapsed.

Utrecht's head coach stood up!

After the match, Kook arrived at the press room with a blank expression.

Click!

Click click!

There were very, very many reporters in the press room, and there were two reasons for this.

1. This was a match between the defending champions and this season's dark horse, so the heat was naturally high.

2. A reporter from the Eindhoven Forward believed this match concerned Kook's life and death; with a head coach possibly being fired, reporters naturally came to join the fun.

"Mr. Kook, after losing this match, you handed the top spot on the standings to Utrecht, and you consequently dropped directly to third on the standings."

The reporter spoke slowly: "I heard Eindhoven has already found a suitable head coach; do you think you will remain with the club after this match ends?"

Kook glared at the reporter who asked the question.

"I don't know if I will stay, but I feel you have no need to ask such a question."

"Although we lost to Utrecht, we are still third on the standings; third on the Eredivisie standings allows participation in the Champions League qualifiers, so I do not feel our current results are very poor."

Kook said.

"But you have never beaten Utrecht once this season."

"..."

The reporter's words silenced Kook.

Kook was suppressing his emotions, but soon he could no longer suppress them.

Because the reporter mentioned Ten Hag.

"Ten Hag, as the new coach, won the Eredivisie monthly best head coach award; it was precisely with his help that Utrecht became this season's league dark horse..."

"Eric? No, no, no, that's not how it is."

Kook shook his head repeatedly.

It was clear he was already somewhat angry now.

"Eric actually did not bring out any tactics during the match; Utrecht's overall tactics this season are the same as last season; Eric is not as formidable as you imagine."

"He actually knows nothing; he is just a pig."

???

The reporters below exchanged glances.

Ten Hag is the most popular coach this season, and all reports about him are positive.

Kook actually criticized Ten Hag right in front of the reporters!

Is it that intense?

"I know you might be very surprised, but what I say is all fact."

Click click click!

The sound of camera shutters rang out continuously in the room.

The reporters did not care whether what Kook said was fact.

They only knew that a head coach of an Eredivisie team had cursed another head coach of an Eredivisie team after the match ended!

This is big news!

"Mr. Kook, can you briefly state your reason, that is, what is your reason for thinking Ten Hag is a 'pig'?"

"This requires no reason."

Kook spread his hands and stared straight at the camera in front of him: "Utrecht's data across all categories this season are all inferior; why are they inferior? Because their tactics have problems; Eric did not arrange suitable tactics for Utrecht."

The reporter's eyes widened: "If there are no suitable tactics, then why could Utrecht become this season's dark horse?"

"This is very simple."

Kook shrugged his shoulders: "Because some players within the team brought changes to the team; as for Eric... Eric is actually just a slacker."

???

Ten Hag is a slacker?

"I seem to have said too much; sorry."

Kook breathed heavily.

"I just drank alcohol; sorry, I drank alcohol... um, those words were not my true intention."

Reporters:???

(End of this chapter)