Chapter 90: You Can Take My Body, But You Cannot Take Away My Contribution to Utrecht

"Ajax!"

"Ajax!"

"Ajax!"

The home fans shouted loudly, deeply dissatisfied that the away team had suddenly equalized the score.

Clearly Ajax was the side dominating play, so how could Utrecht manage to pull the score back?

They relied on luck!

Ajax fans looked down on Utrecht because they believed those two goals for Utrecht were both due to luck!

In front of the substitute bench, Ten Hag clenched his fists tightly, his hands hidden inside his jacket pockets.

Substituting De Jong for Amrabat was a gamble.

He was betting that Utrecht could win the match!

In the third minute after De Jong entered the field, he executed a very fine drive forward; seeing the opportunity, Tang Ye began moving early, running directly from the center to the left flank.

De Jong continued driving forward!

Tang Ye jogged forward while observing the positions of the opposing defenders ahead.

He signaled for the ball!

Slap!

De Jong passed to Tang Ye!

Got it!

Tang Ye's eyes lit up; he had already scanned the situation before turning just now.

Now he only needed to lay the ball off to the right...

Bang!

Guddal charged out from who-knows-what direction and stomped right on Tang Ye's ankle, sending the latter flying straight up from the spot.

"Holy shit!"

Only when the pain stimulated his brain did Tang Ye realize someone had tackled him.

If you're going to tackle, just tackle; why kick the person!

"Beep!"

"A yellow card for Guddal; damn, a tactical foul by Ajax!"

"Why tackle my Tang Tang Qiuwang again!"

"Damn it, let's take a look!"

In the camera view, Tang Ye rolled a few times before standing up.

Guddal's tackle was somewhat similar to the one Bazur made in the first half; both were very fast, but the impact force was not particularly strong.

Damn it...

Tang Ye prepared to run forward to join his teammates in contesting the point, but his current position felt somewhat familiar.

So he communicated quietly with Ramselaar.

"How about you let me take this ball?"

?

Ramselaar walked behind the line marked by the referee and took a brief look.

It was indeed a good spot for a set piece.

Ramselaar could give it to Tang Ye, but with the score tied 2-2, a young academy player like Tang Ye was relatively prone to being affected by pressure.

Uh...

Wait!

Ramselaar suddenly remembered that Tang Ye seemed to have no feeling for pressure whatsoever.

"Are you sure you want it?"

Ramselaar looked into Tang Ye's eyes; the latter rubbed his hands together and then took the ball.

"Whoa!"

The home fans in the stands began to heckle.

Ramselaar handed the set piece to Tang Ye and then ran straight into the penalty area.

He wasn't even preparing to make a feint!

"Hoo..."

Ten Hag felt somewhat surprised by Tang Ye's action of actively demanding the ball.

Thinking it over carefully, Ten Hag reasoned that Tang Ye daring to ask for the ball at this moment meant he had a fairly high degree of confidence, so Ten Hag chose to respect his decision.

"Beep!"

The referee's whistle blew, and Tang Ye began his run-up!

Slap!

One kick swept the ball directly to the far post with a forward spin; after descending, the leather ball began to decelerate.

It reached Ramselaar!

Slap!

Ramselaar headed the ball straight into the net!

The ball...

It's in!

"Goooo——aaaaaaa——llllll!!!"

"Tang Ye's assist!"

"Tang Ye's second assist of the match!"

"Goal! Utrecht takes the lead!"

"Awesome!"

"Holy crap, awesome!"

"Tang Ye is awesome!"

"Ten Hag, awesome!"

The referee confirmed the goal was valid, and the Utrecht players on the field simultaneously ran toward the corner flag on the right wing.

The director switched cameras; two cameramen near the player tunnel followed Ten Hag without letting up an inch.

Seeing the camera turn toward him, Ten Hag spun around to face the home fans' stand and slowly spread his arms wide.

Click!

The frame froze at that very moment.

With his back to the camera, Ten Hag faced the home fans in the stands who were pointing at him and hurling insults.

This shot of Ten Hag gave the fans watching the live broadcast a familiar feeling.

That was Titanic.

Before Ten Hag seemed to lie an abyss, yet he chose to stride forward without hesitation.

Erik Ten Hag!

"Ten Hag, you're going to jail!"

"Ten Hag, go to jail, you!"

Fans in the stands relentlessly cursed at Ten Hag, while the Dutch manager displayed an attitude of complete indifference.

He turned around, resuming his previous posture of hands tucked into his pockets.

【Awesome, it has to be Tang Ye, holy crap, this is genuinely accurate.】

【Accuracy is only part of it; when Tang Ye's pass slowed down, it also dipped, making it super comfortable for Ramselaar to receive; otherwise, relying on his header alone wouldn't have been enough to score.】

【Ramselaar yielded the set-piece opportunity to Tang Tang Qiuwang, and Tang Tang Qiuwang graciously granted him the right to shoot. Tang Tang Qiuwang, magnificent!】

【Those idiots at Ajax only know how to foul; now they've suffered for it. If that number 8 hadn't committed the foul, Utrecht might not necessarily have scored.】

【Underestimating my Tang Tang Qiuwang's set-piece prowess comes with a price!】

【So, will Ten Hag get into trouble?】

【Saint Ten could never get into trouble!】

After the match entered the 80th minute, Ajax, trailing in score, began their counterattack against Utrecht.

However, Ajax's momentum for scoring had already been crushed; despite fierce attacks for over ten minutes, they failed to find even a single opportunity. "Beep, beep-beep——!!!"

Referee Pereira blew the final whistle; Utrecht completed a comeback victory against Ajax away from home!

"Wuhu!"

Tang Ye embraced De Jong and Ramselaar, the three of them hugging together.

He had been targeted by the opposition throughout this match, but ultimately winning the game counted as a decent revenge.

As the players returned to the locker room, Fan Fan Dejiahe approached Tang Ye, informing him that he had been named Man of the Match and needed to return to the pitch for another interview.

"I'm the Man of the Match?"

Tang Ye pointed at his own nose, feeling somewhat surprised by the news Fan Fan Dejiahe delivered.

Utrecht's second goal had rebounded off the post after Tang Ye struck it, so Tang Ye technically had only two assists.

"Aller has two goals,"

Tang Ye reminded him.

!

"It's not just about goals and assists,"

Fan Fan Dejiahe corrected Tang Ye's mistaken notion: "There's also the number of attacks initiated; sixty percent of our offenses started with you, which is why you are the Man of the Match for this game."

"I have no objections!"

Aller raised both hands.

He spoke the truth; right now, Aller had only one goal: to defend his Eredivisie Golden Boot title with Tang Ye's help.

For a striker like Aller, the league's Golden Boot was far more important than a match Man of the Match award.

Without further ado, Tang Ye returned to the pitch; most of the home fans had already left, but the away fans had chosen to stay.

Looking toward the away stand, Tang Ye could see support signs bearing his Chinese name "Tang Ye," though the calligraphy wasn't particularly good.

Asking these Dutch people to write Chinese characters was truly putting them in a difficult spot!

"Tang, congratulations on winning the Man of the Match trophy for this game. At halftime, Utrecht was once trailing by two goals; Tang, could you briefly describe the state of mind you and your teammates had at that time?"

"Oh, we felt immense pressure; the pressure was huge back then."

Clutching the trophy, Tang Ye spoke slowly, word by word.

"But we managed to regain our form; Ajax is not entirely unbeatable."

"Tom!"

"Tom!"

Tang Ye had barely spoken a few sentences before the fans in the away stand immediately began chanting his name, making Tang Ye's face flush red with an indescribable excitement in his heart.

The interview concluded, and Tang Ye walked back to the locker room cradling his newly acquired Man of the Match trophy.

Bang!

Kicking the door open with one foot, Tang Ye displayed the trophy to everyone; Ramselaar and Amrabat rushed over to celebrate with him.

The players were overjoyed, but Tang Ye quickly noticed something was amiss.

"Has Mr. Erik not finished his interview yet?"

Tang Ye's question instantly silenced the Utrecht locker room.

The head coach is always interviewed by reporters immediately after the match, followed by the MVP player; yet now Tang Ye had already returned, and still Ten Hag was nowhere to be seen.

Where exactly was the great Mr. Erik right now?

His teammates remained silent, so Tang Ye turned his gaze to Fan Fan Dejiahe.

"Uh..."

Fan Fan Dejiahe's expression was somewhat awkward: "This isn't good news, but... ahem, never mind, just follow me."

Fan Fan Dejiahe walked out from behind Tang Ye; Tang Ye, still wearing his slippers, followed him out, with the rest of the Utrecht first-team players trailing behind.

"What's going on?"

As they walked, Tang Ye asked Ale; the latter spread his hands: "Mr. Erik has been punished."

"What kind of punishment?"

"The kind that lets you play."

Fan Fan Dejiahe added, leading the players out of the Johan Cruyff Arena.

There were hardly anyone left in the stadium; only then did Tang Ye realize that the home fans and reporters were all outside the venue.

Parked outside the stadium were two sedans with fluorescent yellow paint; the word "politie" was written on them, which is Dutch for "police."

Huh?

Tang Ye hadn't yet caught sight of Ten Hag's eyes, but he already sensed that something was wrong.

It couldn't be...

Even though Ten Hag was a terrible person, he was still Tang Ye's head coach, after all!

Tang Ye tightly gripped the MVP trophy in his right hand, his heart filled with anxiety.

Even if I've gained everything, what use is it all if I'm about to lose you!

Mr. Erik!

Tang Ye looked left and right, finally spotting Ten Hag emerging from the fan entrance, following the direction the reporters' cameras were pointing.

Ten Hag was dressed in his own clothes, hands stuffed in his pockets, flanked on either side by two Dutch police officers.

Click!

Click-click!

"Ten Hag!"

"Ten Hag, how does it feel to be arrested?"

"Ten Hag, can you answer my question, Ten Hag!"

As soon as Ten Hag appeared, the scene immediately erupted into chaos; reporters constantly tried to break through the security line, desperate for a chance to interview Ten Hag directly.

"Erik Ten Hag~"

"Erik Ten Hag~ going to jail~ Erik Ten Hag~ prison awaits you~"

"Utrecht has no future; only darkness remains for Ten Hag~"

"Wow~"

"Erik! Ten Hag!"

"Erik! Ten Hag!"

The home fans began chanting their newly composed "Ten Hag's Imprisonment March"; in the camera lens, Ten Hag followed the two local police officers to the police car.

Ten Hag voluntarily opened the door and sat in the back seat.

Just as the police officer was about to close the door, Ten Hag suddenly leaned his upper body out.

"Erik..."

Tang Ye tightly clutched the MVP trophy in his hand.

Tang Ye could guess that Ten Hag was probably about to say some parting words to the Utrecht players.

Click-click!

Click-click-click!

The sound of camera shutters rang out incessantly; Ten Hag took a deep breath and slowly spoke.

"You can take my body, but you cannot take away my contributions to Utrecht."

He clenched both fists and raised his right hand.

"Make Utrecht Great Again! (Let Utrecht be great once more!)"

What the hell?

(End of Chapter)