[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-football-at-16-let-me-retire-and-come-back":3,"chapter-football-at-16-let-me-retire-and-come-back-football-at-16-let-me-retire-and-come-back-chapter-9":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Football: At 16, Let Me Retire and Come Back?",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2299979,4499,"Chapter 9","football-at-16-let-me-retire-and-come-back-chapter-9",9,"\u003Cp>FC Utrecht: Second-team number 16 Sofyan Amrabat, number 99 Tang Ye promoted to the first team, currently registered for the Eredivisie.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Mengge Promoted to Utrecht First Team, Begins Eredivisie Career Alongside Zhang Yuning!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>News from Utrecht’s official site and Dongqiu Di was rapidly spread by Chinese fans in a short time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【So awesome my Mengge, two outside-of-the-foot passes and he’s straight into the first team!】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Even if it’s luck, honestly, Xiao Tang playing football is an art—he just walks and suddenly provides an assist.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Other athletes find opportunities by making runs, but my Mengge is different—he finds opportunities by walking!】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【16-year-old in the Eredivisie? Holy shit, will Utrecht actually let Tang Ye play in a match?】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Fun fact: In the Netherlands, players under 18 can’t sign professional contracts—Xiao Tang can only play for the first team on a youth contract…】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Youth contract? Whatever—16 years old joining a top-tier Eredivisie team like Utrecht? I’m blowing this up!】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The next day the news broke, fans saw Tang Ye’s name on Utrecht’s official website player list.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>99YeTang (U17)\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Still wearing number 99; from the U17 after Tang Ye’s name, it’s clear he’s still on a youth contract with the first team.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But unlike his previous youth contract with the second team, Tang Ye’s new contract pays him 1000 euros per week—almost double his previous wage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There’s also a release clause: if another team wants to take Tang Ye, they must pay a 35,000-euro release fee.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But no team would ever pay that amount!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Amsterdam time, July 28: Tang Ye’s first day with the first team. After waking up in the second-team dormitory, Tang Ye headed to the first-team training ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Random daily task: 25 push-ups with a 40kg barbell】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Reward: 3 Reverse Points】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The familiar voice sounded; Tang Ye ignored it just like before.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Arriving at the training ground, it was 8:55 a.m.—nearly half an hour past the 8:30 assembly time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tang Ye didn’t hear Merent’s voice because this wasn’t the second-team training ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>First-team head coach Erik ten Hag stared at Tang Ye with a face like he’d just lost his mother.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If Ten Hag had yelled at him like Merent did, Tang Ye would’ve felt better—but Ten Hag said nothing, just stared straight at him, giving Tang Ye a chilling feeling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Good morning, Mr. Ten Hag.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’re late for your first training session.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ten Hag glanced at his watch: “Did you go to a bar last night?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No, how could I? I’m only 16—I can’t even enter a bar. Last night I went straight to bed after returning to the dorm.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tang Ye spoke honestly, but Ten Hag didn’t fully believe him: “So you slept from 9 p.m. to 8:30 a.m.? Eleven and a half hours—and still you’re late?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yeah, you could say that. But I’m only late by a few minutes—is that really considered late?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tang Ye looked Ten Hag in the eye. In the second team, he was used to being half an hour late. Today was his first day with the first team, so out of respect for his new role, he’d set his alarm twenty minutes earlier.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Fine. This is your first and last time. Understood?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ten Hag pointed at Tang Ye’s nose: “If you’re late again, you won’t be allowed to eat in the first-team cafeteria! Now go warm up—today’s training is heavy, get ready.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As soon as Ten Hag finished speaking, Tang Ye ran to the side to put on his cleats.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The first team’s players are better than the second team’s—and so are their coaches!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Beep!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Assistant coach Fan Dejia blew the whistle to gather the players.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With only ten days left until Utrecht’s first Eredivisie match of the new season, Fan Dejia announced that training would now focus on tactical coordination.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Under Fan Dejia’s direction, the first-team players formed several circles, each containing one player wearing a yellow vest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This drill is called “keep-away”: players in the circle pass to each other while the player in the middle tries to steal the ball.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The drill trains short-passing coordination and is one of Tang Ye’s favorite exercises because it’s less physically demanding than actual matches.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hey, Tang!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Striker Ale extended his right hand: “Sorry about that one-on-one the day before yesterday—I didn’t keep my balance.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Oh, no problem.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tang Ye reached out his hand: “It was just a training match, it’s fine.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tang Ye lifted his head: “Sebastian, how tall are you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Me? Hahaha! 1.91 meters!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hmm!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tang Ye took a deep breath.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No wonder this is the first team—a 1.91-meter striker. If only I could grow that tall too!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Stop chatting, Tang, receive the ball!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Defender Kum’s voice came from behind. Tang Ye turned and saw the ball rolling toward him, along with Ramselaar sprinting in.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>According to the drill rules, Tang Ye must pass the ball to any teammate—but Ramselaar must not touch it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His mind raced; Tang Ye found the easiest solution among all options.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tang Ye simply let the ball roll past him—it landed at Ale’s feet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ale reacted quickly: after receiving the ball, he passed it leftward to Van der Maarel, who was sprinting to support.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Creative.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fan Dejia crossed his arms, nodding in approval of Tang Ye’s move.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ramselaar had been less than a meter away from Tang Ye—any pass carried risk. The fact that Tang Ye thought to let the ball slip through showed Ten Hag’s judgment was right.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This is truly a player with exceptional creativity!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Do you know why he let the ball go through?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ten Hag smiled and asked Fan Dejia a question.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Why?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Because it’s the easiest way to handle the ball. This guy only wants to use his brain—he refuses to use his body!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After speaking, Ten Hag called over Ramselaar, Kum, and others, pointed at Tang Ye in the distance, and whispered, “Keep an eye on that Chinese kid. If necessary… let him feel some hardship.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Three minutes later.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Holy shit!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tang Ye spoke in his native tongue, spreading his hands toward Ramselaar: “Bro, can you stop tackling me? Please!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1015,"2026-06-20T06:50:08.245Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","aa15dc9b69a93a930695d4017dce4d9a5a6a9cab73b29c0485dcfb792a93cc8e","football-at-16-let-me-retire-and-come-back-chapter-10","football-at-16-let-me-retire-and-come-back-chapter-8",918,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Ffootball-at-16-let-me-retire-and-come-back-cover.jpg"]