Chapter 8: To the First Team?

Out of nowhere, Tang Ye and Milner, both midfielders, were stripped of their yellow vests and moved into the first-team lineup.

Not disappointing Ten Hag’s expectations, Tang Ye began his stroll mode in the first team.

Zaka dribbled forward near the center circle; Tang Ye made no tackle.

Caron stepped up to Tang Ye’s face; Tang Ye slowly walked toward Caron.

The two were less than two meters apart, yet Tang Ye still made no tackle.

Watching this, Marent was nearly moved to tears.

Marent didn’t want Tang Ye to leave the second team, and Tang Ye knew this, so he deliberately adopted a passive attitude during Ten Hag’s observation.

The disciple knows what the master is thinking.

What is master-disciple affection?

This is master-disciple affection!

Tang Ye is talented; Marent believed he could unlock Tang Ye’s potential.

Just then, Tang Ye, who had been standing still, suddenly sprinted forward; first-team player Balazic intercepted Zaka’s pass and immediately spotted Tang Ye breaking free.

Unfortunately, because Tang Ye was from the second team, Balazic did not pass to him.

“Give it to him!”

Ten Hag shouted; Balazic, hearing his coach’s call, decisively kicked the ball straight to Tang Ye’s feet.

Thud!

Tang Ye stretched out his foot to control the ball, then didn’t sprint—he simply pointed his right hand toward the forward area.

?

At the front, the center forward Ale, sensing something odd, suddenly charged forward; Tang Ye seized the chance, struck the ball with the inside of his foot, sending a low, direct pass forward.

“Your mother!”

Amrabat cursed loudly, utterly stunned by Tang Ye’s pass.

He didn’t even have time to extend his foot!

Thud!

The ball rolled past Amrabat’s eyes, then through two second-team center-backs, finally landing at Ale’s feet.

A perfect scoring opportunity; facing the second-team goalkeeper’s rush, Ale swung his leg and shot.

With a “thump,” the ball flew over the crossbar.

That was a classic sky-high shot!

“Uh…”

Ale covered his head, turned to look at Tang Ye, and gave a thumbs-up: “Mine! Mine!”

A 16-year-old second-team player delivered a perfect one-on-one chance—and Ale missed it himself.

Fuck, is there anything more embarrassing than this?

“It’s fine, it’s fine.”

Tang Ye waved his hand indifferently.

It’s just a training match; whether we score or not doesn’t matter!

Tang Ye didn’t care, but Ten Hag outside the field had turned black-faced.

He was a coach who cared about face; for a first-team player to drag down a second-team player was something Ten Hag could never accept.

“Hmm…”

Ten Hag turned to Marent beside him: “Our players aren’t in good form today; otherwise, the victory should’ve been ours.”

After explaining for the players on the field, Ten Hag’s gaze returned to Tang Ye.

This guy is strolling again!

“Cough, cough.”

Marent cleared his throat twice, then said to Ten Hag: “Tang has always been lazy; he was like this last season too.”

“Why not run? Can’t he run? Don’t you do plenty of endurance training?”

“Every time we do endurance training, he sneaks away.”

“?”

Ten Hag widened his eyes: “There are players like this?”

Seeing Ten Hag’s surprised expression, Marent felt a flicker of satisfaction.

He knew this Dutchman valued discipline above all; Tang Ye, a slacker, would likely be unwelcome to him.

“I think we should give it a try. The first team is currently stuck in a bottleneck. Let’s pause his training tomorrow.”

“Pause? Why?”

Marent didn’t understand Ten Hag’s words.

“I’ll arrange for someone to register him with the KNVB for a Dutch Eredivisie license. The transfer window is closing soon—if we don’t register now, it’ll be too late.”

“????”

“This… Eric, listen to me, Tang’s discipline is a huge problem, and he’s only 16—he won’t adapt to playing in the Eredivisie!”

Marent’s voice suddenly rose; Fan Degar, standing nearby, thought he was making a substitution and walked over to ask—only to leave after learning he was speaking to Ten Hag.

“It’s fine, no rush. I mean, first register him in the Eredivisie, then have him train with the first team.”

Ten Hag spread his hands: “Registering him in the Eredivisie doesn’t mean he has to play. This guy has talent—he’ll improve faster training with the first team.”

Ten Hag’s meaning was clear: he wanted Tang Ye by his side.

Discipline is lacking.

I’ll teach him myself how to follow discipline!

“This, this, this…”

Marent’s expression hesitated.

The first team needs midfielders—but so does our second team!

“Eric, how about we wait a bit? Keep Tang in the second team for now, and after next season—or even this winter transfer window—observe him for half a season?”

Ten Hag didn’t immediately reply to Marent’s suggestion. Instead, he turned, placed his hands on Marent’s shoulders, and asked: “Tell me, what is your position?”

“Uh…”

Ten Hag’s question was odd, but Marent answered seriously: “Second-team head coach.”

“You still remember you’re the second-team head coach!”

Ten Hag pulled his hands back: “This is settled—he must report to the first team the day after tomorrow!”

…

After morning training ended, Marent took Tang Ye and Amrabat aside.

“After lunch, we have another training session this afternoon—but you two don’t need to come.”

Huh?

Amrabat’s eyes lit up, his face beaming with joy.

Marent turned to Tang Ye and noticed his expression was tense.

“Mr. Marent, am I getting kicked out…?”

Tang Ye felt sad—he’d slacked off all season, and now he was finally being purged.

He didn’t like training, but he didn’t want to be fired either!

“….”

“Cough, cough!”

Marent cleared his throat to ease the awkwardness and continued: “This afternoon, you two will train with the first team. Tomorrow, someone will register you both in the Eredivisie.”

Amrabat rubbed his hands—he could already picture himself playing in the Eredivisie.

Over twenty thousand spectators in the stands—my god!

Tang Ye, upon learning he was moving to the first team, suddenly frowned.

“What’s wrong?” Marent asked.

“Is first-team training really that intense? Maybe I should stay in the second team a bit longer?”

What?

Marent’s eyes widened; his heart warmed.

Though Tang Ye was unreliable, he still remembered Marent, his second-team head coach!

“No, don’t come back!”

Marent took a deep breath: “Tang, although I often scold you, I’m telling you now—you’re an extremely talented player.”

“You belong in the Eredivisie, not back in the Eerste Divisie. Believe me, I can feel it—your ceiling could reach ten million euros!”

“Ten million euros? That’s too much!”

???

“...fuck!”

“Get the hell out of here!”

Marent shoved Tang Ye away from his chest, pointing toward the first-team training ground: “Lazy pig, a lazy pig with no ambition—if your value ever breaks ten million euros, I’ll shove my own shit into my mouth!”

“Get lost!”

…

(End of chapter)