Chapter 77: France

Koko left the press conference room, and about fifteen minutes later, Ten Hag walked in.

Although they won the match, Ten Hag’s expression was not good.

The reason was simple: he had watched the entire interview with Koko on the locker room TV.

Damn Koko!

Damn the Ajax head coach!

Creak—

Ten Hag pulled out a chair and sat down, placing both hands on the table.

He said nothing, but the reporters below were already impatient.

“Mr. Eric, do you know what Koko just said?”

“Mr. Eric, Koko called you a ‘pig’ in his post-match interview. What is your response?”

“Eric!”

Cough! Cough!

Ten Hag cleared his throat twice, and the press conference room fell silent.

“I know what Koko said. I know everything. Koko might be angry—he has a bad temper.”

Ten Hag wasn’t in a hurry. He had all the time in the world.

“Koko called me a ‘pig’ and a ‘fraud.’ Let him say whatever he wants. Coaches often become furious after losing a match, and when angry, people say foolish things—those words have no meaning.”

The reporters looked at each other.

“Unlike Koko, I like facts. I like to speak with facts.”

Ten Hag held up three fingers: “This season, we’ve played Ajax three times.”

“First match: we drew. Second match: we led by one goal and won. Third match—today—we won again, by two goals.”

Ten Hag retracted his three fingers.

“Do you know why our number of wins keeps increasing?”

The reporters shook their heads. Ten Hag extended his right index finger again.

“First match: I had only been coaching the team four months. I wasn’t yet familiar with everything, so I regret we didn’t win.”

Then his middle finger: “Second match: I had been coaching seven months—three more months. So we turned a draw into a win.”

The reporters below stared wide-eyed.

They said nothing—not because they didn’t want to interrupt Ten Hag.

But because they had no idea what to say anymore.

Finally, Ten Hag extended his ring finger: “Third match—today—I analyzed the experience from the second game and made targeted tactical adjustments. That’s why we won by two goals.”

“Koko said I made no tactical adjustments. That is absolutely, absolutely wrong. If I hadn’t made adjustments, how did we win?”

Ten Hag used facts to strike back at Koko directly.

“A fraud?”

Ten Hag spread his hands: “If I were a fraud, I wouldn’t have come to this team. I came because I knew I could lead this team to success.”

Ten Hag knew he was not a fraud.

Utrecht might have frauds.

But it could never be Ten Hag!

The room fell silent, then suddenly erupted in applause.

Every single reporter below was conquered by Ten Hag!

…

After the match, Utrecht’s players and coaching staff gradually arrived at the parking lot.

The bus was ready, but Ten Hag didn’t let the players get on right away.

Tang Ye chewed gum and whispered to Amrabat beside him: “Mr. Eric seems angry? Did someone insult him?”

Amrabat nodded: “Insulted by Ajax’s head coach. When you went to the restroom, we stayed in the locker room and didn’t dare speak.”

Insulted by the opposing head coach?

Tang Ye’s lips curled upward.

Good deeds bring good rewards, bad deeds bring bad ones—Ten Hag deserves this comeuppance!

Suddenly, Tang Ye’s smile vanished—he noticed Ten Hag was watching him.

“Mr. Eric, keep going! I support you forever!”

Tang Ye clenched his right fist.

Ten Hag said nothing. Soon, Koko and the Ajax players came down from upstairs.

Ten Hag walked straight toward Koko, who immediately stopped: “What do you want?”

“You think you’re clever. You told the reporters a lot.”

Ajax players surrounded Koko to protect him. Ten Hag couldn’t get through, so he shouted from outside.

“I have someone to save me. Do you?”

“My good friend, you’re getting fired!”

…

DQD: Clean sheet against Ajax, back to top of league table—head coaches exchange insults post-match.

Utrecht Evening News front page: After the match, Ten Hag waited for Koko in the parking lot. When he saw Koko, Ten Hag mocked him: “I have someone to save me. Do you?”

Within just a few days, news about Ten Hag exploded on DQD.

Any headline containing “Ten Hag” received no fewer than a thousand comments.

Logically, a Dutch Eredivisie head coach shouldn’t attract this much attention in China—but there was no help for it; this was Ten Hag’s charm.

[Is Ten Hag really that arrogant?]

[Uh… kinda insane.]

[To be honest, I feel Ten Hag really will lead Utrecht to greatness. I’ve followed the Eredivisie for years—Utrecht has never been this strong in any season.]

[????]

[Doesn’t anyone care about my Mong? My Mong helped the team a lot too!]

[Oh, and Tang Ye—honestly, the fact that Ten Hag promoted Tang Ye from the reserve team to the first team? I’d praise him for life. Saint Ten!]

[I think Koko was right—Ten Hag seems to have no real tactics. It’s all just Tang Ye bluffing up front.]

[Can someone explain what “I have someone to save me. Do you?” means?]

Fans fiercely debated Ten Hag’s remarks, but the most confusing was his parking lot line: “I have someone to save me. Do you?”

Everyone knew no one saved Koko.

But what did Ten Hag mean by “I have someone to save me”?

Who saved him?

Not just Chinese fans—Utrecht locals were also curious.

Under fan pressure, Ten Hag was forced to explain on social media.

[I am a devout Christian. Yesterday’s match was lucky—we were helped by God. Without doubt, the one who saved me is God.]

Besides Ten Hag himself, some Dutch local journalists also publicly supported him on their social media.

Utrecht RTV’s chief reporter, Fan De, wrote an article about Utrecht FC on Twitter.

In the article, Fan De analyzed Ten Hag’s tactics and said they were highly deceptive.

“This deception makes uninformed fans think Eric is not a qualified head coach—but the opposite is true: Eric is great.”

Koko's post-match comments had briefly made the club's senior management doubt Ten Hag—but after seeing these journalists' comments, the management felt only guilt.

They made a mistake!

Doubting Ten Hag was an error that no club senior management could ever commit!

…

Snap!

[De Bruyne’s far-angle curling shot, Lv2: Simulate]

Proficiency: 23.6/70

“Phew…”

Tang Ye exhaled deeply and gave a thumbs-up to Ruyter in front of the goal line.

Over the past few days, the first team had done countless shooting drills, and Tang Ye’s [Far-Angle Curling Shot] had improved significantly.

According to Tang Ye’s estimate, he could raise this skill to Lv3 within two to three months.

Far-angle curling shot was much harder to level up than curved through-passes—but Tang Ye had to put in the effort.

Because it was his only shooting skill!

Without curling far angles, Tang Ye could only score by sneaking in near the box!

“Tang, don’t go to the base for dinner after training today.”

Amrabat called out: “There’s an Indian restaurant in Montfort—we’re eating there tonight!”

“Indian food?”

Tang Ye raised an eyebrow: “Amrabat, you really like Indian food?”

“I like it too.”

Ale walked over from somewhere and chimed in: “Lots of people are going. We have to celebrate—we’re top of the league now, league leaders!”

After defeating Einhorn in the previous round, Utrecht climbed two spots in the league standings, now tied on points with Ajax and leading the table on goal difference.

This is Utrecht’s third time topping the league table this season—they must celebrate properly!

Amrabbat and Aale enthusiastically invited him; Tang Ye naturally didn’t refuse.

After afternoon training, Ten Hag and Van der Gaag entered the first-team cafeteria and found no players inside—only a few fitness coaches chatting together.

“What’s going on? Where is everyone?”

Ten Hag turned to Van der Gaag, who looked left and right: “Maybe Tang called them to play games?”

…

In the parking lot, Utrecht’s players wore casual clothes; captain Ramselaar walked at the front: “I’ve already booked it—we’ll eat at a restaurant first, then head to a bar. Damn, it’s been ages since I went to a bar!”

The players were excited; Aale led Tang Ye to his white Mercedes: “Come on, Tang, ride with me—it’s a Mercedes, you know what a Mercedes is?”

“How could you not know, Aale? Tang is sixteen, not six!”

Jansen shook his head and asked Tang Ye whether he wanted to sit in front or back.

“I’ll sit in the back!”

Tang Ye ran to the back and after a moment stuck his head out: “Is there nothing to put your legs on?”

“What do you mean, put your legs on?”

Aale didn’t understand. Tang Ye got out of the car and gestured to describe: “It’s a thing attached to the seat—you rest your legs on it, saves effort. Don’t all Mercedes have this?”

Huh?

“That doesn’t sound right.”

Aale frowned: “You’re sure it’s a Mercedes?”

“Yes, it’s a Mercedes. But your Mercedes doesn’t have zongzi—you know zongzi? It’s a Chinese food. Mercedes should have a zongzi stuck on the side.”

Tang Ye described it, but Aale clearly had no idea what zongzi was, so he didn’t intend to pursue the matter further.

“Never mind, it’s all the same.”

Tang Ye waved his hand and ran to the front passenger seat: “I’ll sit up front! I’ll sit up front!”

Utrecht’s cars drove down the road, playing soothing English songs inside.

Though the ride wasn’t very comfortable, Tang Ye enjoyed the feeling.

“So what are we eating later?”

Aale drove, turning to look at Tang Ye in the front passenger seat.

“What we eat isn’t the point—the point is drinking. A meal means drinking!”

“Fuck you, haha!”

Jansen and Amrabbat behind them laughed: “Drinking? Haha! Come on, why is the kid joining?”

Amrabbat slapped the headrest behind Tang Ye’s neck: “Tang, have you ever drunk alcohol?”

“...I’ve had a little.”

Tang Ye felt uneasy and made a tiny gesture with his fingers.

“A little? Fuck you. When we drink tonight, you take an Uber back to the dorm.”

Amrabbat reached forward, grabbing Tang Ye’s shoulder: “Minors can’t drink in the Netherlands. Watch out—you’ll get arrested!”

“If I don’t say anything, how will they know my age?”

Tang Ye was cunning.

The system said he was thirty-seven.

Is thirty-seven still a minor?!

…

The Indian restaurant wasn’t far from Utrecht’s base—about twenty minutes’ drive.

“Tang Ye? Tang Ye?” (in Chinese)

As soon as he stepped out of the car, Tang Ye heard someone call his name and turned quickly.

Three Asian boys—likely Chinese—were standing there.

“Wow, a star! Someone’s calling you!”

Aale acted surprised.

The entire Utrecht team was here, yet those three Asians called only Tang Ye’s name.

That’s the power of Utrecht’s top star!

“Ahem.”

Tang Ye coughed twice as the fans across the street ran over: “Tang Ye! Holy shit, I watched the game just a few days ago—the one against Einhorn!”

Surrounded by three Chinese fans in the Netherlands, Tang Ye was flustered. The middle boy introduced them.

They were three Chinese international students, two of them hardcore fans—but not of any Eredivisie team.

Their main team was in Spain, but since they studied in the Netherlands, they often watched Eredivisie matches.

Tang Ye was Chinese, so naturally they were interested.

“By the way!”

The boy pulled out his phone, swiped a few times, then showed the screen to Tang Ye.

It was an electronic match ticket—six tickets total.

A quick glance confirmed: these three had watched nearly every Utrecht match this season.

“Whoa—”

Tang Ye took a deep breath, signaled Aale and the others to go ahead, and stayed put: “Holy shit—you watched every game?”

“Yeah, pretty much. Except the one against Ajax.”

The fan scratched his head: “I didn’t buy it right away, then the price jumped to over five hundred euros, so I missed it.”

The boy on the right pulled a pen from his backpack and asked if Tang Ye would sign their shirts.

“Signature...”

Tang Ye took the pen and took a deep breath.

This was his second time being asked for an autograph.

“Can’t you...?”

“Of course! Turn around.”

Tang Ye had the Chinese fan turn around and signed on his shirt.

The pen wasn’t designed for fabric—it was hard to write on cloth, but not impossible.

“You have six people total?”

Tang Ye asked a strange question. The fan answered immediately: “Yes, we’re six. The other three are still working. Too bad—they didn’t get our luck, haha!”

“I see.”

Tang Ye returned the pen: “I have six home guest tickets. Perfect for you guys. I don’t need them—do you want them?”

Huh?

Tang Ye’s words stunned the three fans. He continued: “They’re in the east stand—great view, but sometimes balls hit you...”

“Wait, you mean you’ll give us all your future guest tickets?”

“Yeah, do you want them? It’s just writing a name.”

“Yes! Yes yes yes! We want them! We want them!”

Utrecht Evening News front page headline—Reporter, using binoculars, discovered the Utrecht first-team cafeteria empty; Ten Hag allegedly banned all players from entering?

…

February 12, Utrecht played away against Cambuur.

Before this match, Ajax defeated ADO Den Haag 4–2, meaning if Utrecht didn’t win, they’d lose the top spot in the league standings after this round.

Of course, with Ten Hag in charge, Utrecht would never disappoint their fans this season!

“Tang Ye, move left and right—very agile!”

“Even though he can’t sprint, Tang Ye’s movement is extremely deceptive!”

“To Josten up front!”

“Josten passes to Aale!”

“Aale shoots! Goal! Beautiful! Utrecht takes the lead!”

“...”

Tang Ye slowly jogged toward the corner flag area—he played seriously this match.

He currently had four league assists; the upgrade requirement for the French Premium Chest was five league assists.

Just one assist away.

A true stone’s throw!

Utrecht scored another goal in the first half, but unfortunately, Tang Ye still didn’t get an assist.

At the start of the second half, Tang Ye actively asked for the ball and began advancing, imitating De Jong.

“Cambuur’s defender pressures Tang Ye.”

“Stops, turns, passes to Ramselaar behind him!”

“Great combination—Ramselaar passes back to Tang Ye!”

“Classic one-two—let’s watch Utrecht’s attack!”

“Tang Ye, are you going to shoot?”

Give it to Jostein

Goal!

GOOOO——AAAA——LLLLL!!!

The stadium announcer let out a hoarse roar as Jostein ran out to celebrate.

Tang Ye remained calm.

He was waiting.

Waiting for something extremely important!

【France Premium Chest upgrade progress: 5/5】

【France Chest·Premium → France Chest·Superstar】

Here it comes!

Tang Ye excitedly sprinted toward Jostein, who was celebrating at the far end.

He currently had only one shooting technique: 【De Bruyne’s Long-Angle Curler】—extremely monotonous.

But it didn’t matter.

Because he now had another new Superstar Chest!

……

(End of Chapter)