Chapter 9: Let That Kid Taste Some Bitterness!

FC Utrecht: Second team number 16, Sofyan Amrabat, and number 99, Tang Ye, have been promoted to the first team and have already completed their registration in the Eredivisie.

"Meng Ge Promoted to Utrecht First Team, Joins Zhang Zhang Yuning to Start Eredivisie Professional Career!"

News from Utrecht's official channel and Dongqiu Di spread like wildfire among Chinese fans in a short time.

【"Damn, my Brother Meng, two outside-of-the-foot passes and he gets sent straight to the first team!"】

【"Even if it was luck, to be honest, Little Tang playing football is an art; he just walks around and somehow makes an assist."】

【"Other athletes find opportunities by running into position, but my Brother Meng is different; Brother Meng finds opportunities by walking into position!"】

【"Playing in the Eredivisie at 16? Holy crap, will Utrecht actually let Tang Ye play in a match?"】

【"Fun fact: In the Netherlands, you can't sign a professional contract before turning 18; Little Tang can only play for the first team on a youth training contract..."】

【"Youth contract or not, joining an Eredivisie first team at 16, and for a mid-to-upper tier club like Utrecht no less, I'm blowing this up with praise, okay!"】

The day after the news broke, fans saw Tang Ye's name on the player roster on Utrecht's official website.

99 Ye Tang (U17)

Still wearing the number 99 jersey, the U17 behind Tang Ye's name indicates that he has still signed a youth training contract with the first team.

However, unlike the youth contract he had while playing for the second team, Tang Ye's current contract boasts a weekly salary as high as 1,000 euros, which is nearly double his previous weekly wage.

Of course, there is also a release clause; if any other team wants to take Tang Ye away, they will need to pay a release fee of 35,000 euros.

It's just that no team would be willing to spend that money, anyway!

Amsterdam time, July 28th; this was Tang Ye's first day after being promoted to the first team, and after waking up in the second team's dormitory, Tang Ye headed toward the first team's training ground.

【Random Daily Mission: Bench press 40kg barbell 25 times】

【Reward: Counterattack Points * 3】

The familiar voice sounded, but Tang Ye, as always, paid it no mind whatsoever.

Arriving at the training ground, it was now 8:55 in the morning, nearly half an hour past the 8:30 assembly time.

Entering the training ground, Tang Ye did not hear Meilun's voice, because this was not the second team's training ground.

The first team's head coach, Erik ten Hag, was looking at Tang Ye with an expression as if his mother had died.

If Ten Hag had scolded him like Meilun did, Tang Ye would have felt a bit better, but Ten Hag said nothing, just staring straight at him with his eyes, which gave Tang Ye a creepy feeling.

"Good, good morning, Mr. Erik."

"You're late on your very first training session."

Ten Hag glanced at his watch: "Did you go to a bar last night?"

"No, how could I? I'm only 16; I can't even get through the door of a bar. After returning to the dormitory last night, I went straight to sleep."

Tang Ye spoke the truth, but Ten Hag didn't quite believe him: "So you're saying you slept from 9 PM until 8:30 AM? You slept for eleven and a half hours, and then you were late?"

"Yeah, you could say that, but I was only late by ten-something minutes; does that even count as being late?"

Tang Ye looked into Ten Hag's eyes; back in the second team, he was used to being half an hour late, but today being his first day with the first team, out of respect for the job, Tang Ye had set his alarm twenty minutes earlier.

"Fine, this is your first time, and it will be your last, understand?"

Ten Hag pointed at Tang Ye's nose: "If you're late again next time, I won't allow you to eat in the first team's cafeteria! Alright, go warm up now; today's training tasks are heavy, so you need to be prepared."

As soon as Ten Hag finished speaking, Tang Ye immediately ran to the side to put on his cleats.

Not only are the first team players better than the second team, but the coaches are even fiercer!

"Beep!"

Assistant coach Fan Fan Dejiahe blew the whistle to gather the players together.

With only ten days left until Utrecht's first Eredivisie match of the new season, Fan Fan Dejiahe stated that they would now focus their training on tactical coordination.

Thus, under Fan Fan Dejiahe's direction, the first team players formed several circles, with a player wearing a yellow bib placed inside each circle.

This training game is called rondo; the players forming the circle must pass the ball to each other, while the player in the middle must constantly try to steal it.

This game trains short-range passing coordination between players and is also one of Tang Ye's favorite training drills, precisely because it doesn't consume as much stamina as actual match play.

"Hey, Tang!"

Striker Haller extended his right hand toward Tang Ye: "I'm really sorry about that one-on-one chance the day before yesterday; I didn't keep my center of gravity low enough."

"Oh, it's nothing, it's nothing."

Tang Ye reached out his hand: "It was just a training match, it's fine."

"But..."

Tang Ye lifted his head: "Sebastian, how tall are you?"

"Me? Hahaha! 1.91 meters!"

Whoa!

Tang Ye took a deep breath.

As expected of the first team, a striker who is 1.91 meters tall; if only he could grow that tall too!

"Stop chatting, Tang, catch the ball!"

Defender Koom's voice came from behind; hearing the sound, Tang Ye turned his body, seeing the ball rolling toward him, along with Ramselaar running in his direction.

According to the game rules, Tang Ye needed to pass the ball to any teammate's feet, but absolutely could not let Ramselaar touch it!

Thinking quickly, Tang Ye found the most energy-efficient solution among all possible options.

Tang Ye simply let the ball pass through his legs, sending it to Haller's feet.

Haller reacted quickly; after receiving the ball and before Ramselaar could arrive, he immediately passed it to the left toward Van der Maarel, who was rushing over to support.

"Quite creative."

Fan Fan Dejiahe, with his arms crossed over his chest, expressed approval of Tang Ye's move.

Just now, Ramselaar was less than one meter away from Tang Ye; no matter where Tang Ye passed, there would have been risk, so the fact that he thought to let the ball slip through at that moment proves Ten Hag's judgment was correct.

This is indeed a player with extremely strong creativity!

"Do you know why he let the ball slip past?"

Ten Hag laughed and asked Fan Fan Dejiahe a question in return.

"Why?"

"Because it's the easiest way to handle the ball; this guy is only willing to use his brain, just not willing to move his body!"

After speaking, Ten Hag called over Ramseyal, Koom, and others who had just been in the rondo, pointed at Tang Ye on the far end, and whispered instructions: "Keep an eye on that Chinese kid; if necessary... let him taste some bitterness."

Three minutes later.

"Holy crap!"

Tang Ye's first words were in his native language as he spread his hands toward Ramseyal in front of him: "Bro, can you stop tackling me? I'm begging you!"

(End of Chapter)