Chapter 92: Ten Hag Regains His Freedom, A New Contract?

"Continuing the Winning Streak, Utrecht's Position in the Standings Becomes Even More Secure!"

"Ten Hag Leaves Montfoort Detention Center; Utrecht's Savior Returns!"

Just as the news reported, on the day after the Utrecht versus Graafschap match, Ten Hag left the local detention center.

"Ten Hag!"

"Erik!"

More than a dozen football reporters blocked Ten Hag the moment he stepped out, firing off countless questions before he could even speak.

With the team having won yesterday's match and himself released from detention today, Ten Hag was in good spirits; instead of rushing to his car, he accepted the reporters' interview.

"Erik, yesterday afternoon you directed Utrecht from inside the detention center while the match was ongoing, and Utrecht indeed won the game; what made you think of directing the players over the phone?"

A reporter held the microphone up to Ten Hag's mouth.

"Oh, you mean that? I thought of it the very moment I was arrested."

Ten Hag curled the corners of his mouth upward: "Because I am very clear that this is the most critical period for the team; at a time like this, I, as the head coach, must step forward—the team cannot be without me."

The reporter nodded: "We saw the help you gave the team; Utrecht's offense in the second half truly became more effective. Mr. Erik, in the match against Ajax, you started Tom and had him play the full game, and ultimately you were arrested by the police."

"Do you have any regrets about this? Do you regret the decisions you made earlier?"

"No, no, no, I absolutely do not regret it."

Ten Hag shook his head repeatedly: "Tang's offensive threat capability is outstanding; I needed his ability to help the team compete against Ajax, because, as you know, Ajax is not an easy opponent to deal with."

"Exactly, so that is what I did; as for being taken away, I actually knew long ago that I would encounter this situation, but my view is that if it benefits the team, I am willing to accept a certain degree of sacrifice."

Clap, clap, clap!

Clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap!

Applause from reporters and fans rang out at the entrance of the detention center.

"Erik!"

Boom! Boom!

"Ten Hag!"

Boom! Boom!

"Erik!"

Boom! Boom! Boom!

"Ten Hag!"

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The fans' cheers were deafening; Ten Hag raised his right hand to acknowledge them, and the surrounding area immediately erupted in cheers.

"Then... Erik, you are about to face Feyenoord in the KNVB Cup final soon."

The reporter returned to the main topic, and Ten Hag's expression immediately turned serious.

"Although Feyenoord currently ranks only fourth in the league, far below you, they are, after all, one of the traditional powerhouses of the Eredivisie; you will face such a strong enemy as Feyenoord in the KNVB Cup final—as the club's head coach, Erik, do you have anything to say?"

"Feyenoord is very strong; this I must admit."

As the reporter extended the microphone, Ten Hag took another step forward, as if intending to take the microphone from the reporter's hand.

Having been detained for more than three days, Ten Hag now had many, many things he wanted to say.

"But you also know that this season's Utrecht has created many miracles; we have many miraculous players, and we have miraculous tactics."

"So you believe you will win the KNVB Cup? Win your first KNVB Cup trophy since the 2003-2004 season?"

"Yes, I believe so."

"Wow!!!"

"Ten Hag!"

"Ten Hag!"

"Ten Hag!"

【De Bruyne Curved Through Ball Lv3: Simulation】

Proficiency: 217/400

【De Bruyne Far-Corner Curled Shot Lv3: Simulation】

Proficiency: 27/250

【De Bruyne 45-Degree Cross Lv2: Similarity】

Proficiency: 32/100

"Phew..."

With the morning ball-training session concluded, Tang Ye exhaled a long breath.

Damn it, ever since these skills leveled up to Lv3, they've become increasingly difficult to upgrade.

Tang Ye currently possessed only one Lv6 skill, Spatial Movement, which he had obtained by exploiting a bug.

Aside from Spatial Movement, Tang Ye's strongest assets were now his Lv3 Curved Through Ball and his Lv3 Far-Corner Curled Shot.

The problem was that both of these skills still had a long way to go before reaching Lv4.

The road ahead is arduous!

Walking slowly toward the physiotherapy room, Tang Ye took a moment to check his current account balance.

Account Balance: Counterattack Points × 265

With 265 Counterattack Points, and only 160 Counterattack Points required to unlock the new item...

This...

Tang Ye gritted his teeth.

Since the season is nearly over anyway, might as well churn out a few more items.

He still needs the KNVB Cup title and the league championship to unlock his Ultimate Treasure Chest!

【Spend 160 Counterattack Points to unlock a new item?】

【You obtained Paul Pogba's Hair Wax: For the next 2 hours, whenever you gain 2 points of skill proficiency, you gain an extra 1 point (for the same skill).】

Price: 10 Counterattack Points

"Uh..."

Looking at his current system panel, Tang Ye felt quite unsettled.

Had he known the next unlocked item would have such an effect, he wouldn't have hoarded his savings when he had over 200 Counterattack Points sitting idle!

Fifty percent extra proficiency!

Tang Ye reckoned that if he'd possessed this item earlier, he absolutely would not have leveled 【Far-Corner Curling Shot】 to Lv3 so late!

"Tang, why do you look somewhat distressed?"

Amrabat, having also completed his training tasks, ran up from behind and patted Tang Ye's shoulder: "Is it because Eric has returned? Haha!"

"No, how could that be? You're overthinking it."

Tang Ye shook his head, snapped back to reality, and slapped Amrabat's buttocks: "I'm just under a lot of pressure right now."

"Come on, Tang, you get stressed too?"

Amrabat didn't quite believe Tang Ye's words; the Moroccan pointed at Ramselaar walking ahead: "Bat's pressure is the real deal, you know. Mr. Sitting Like found Bat a psychologist!"

"A psychologist?"

Tang Ye's expression turned somewhat grim.

A professional footballer suddenly seeing a psychologist—this was definitely not a good sign!

"Because Bat's pressure is too great. Haven't you noticed? He used to eat two croissants every morning, but these past few days he's only eaten half."

Tang Ye nodded.

If Amrabat hadn't reminded him, he truly wouldn't have noticed this issue.

"Then what should we do? Do we need to do something?"

"What else can you do? Come on, Tang, you're not a psychologist."

Amrabat moved in front of Tang Ye: "You could wake up earlier and eat Bat's croissant for him; that way, he won't have any leftovers. Hahaha!"

"..."

Tang Ye was somewhat speechless; whenever he didn't know what to do, he always liked popping a piece of gum into his mouth.

Prompted by Amrabat, Tang Ye carefully recalled and realized that high stress seemed to be an issue not just for Ramselaar.

Utrecht currently sat atop the league table, with PSV Eindhoven and Ajax eyeing them hungrily from behind, while their opponent in the KNVB Cup final was Feyenoord.

Damn!

Thinking about it this way, Utrecht was essentially going head-to-head with the Eredivisie's Big Three!

No wonder his teammates were getting more and more nervous one after another.

It really wouldn't do to not be nervous under these circumstances!

Training preparations against Feyenoord continued; when that day's training ended, Tang Ye once again received a call from Boer.

With the season nearing its end, Boer expressed a desire to meet with Tang Ye to discuss matters for the new season.

"WenChow," a local Wenzhou cuisine restaurant in Montfoort, was where Tang Ye and Boer had first met.

"Want to order something, Tang?"

Boer handed the menu to Tang Ye: "My treat is fine."

Tang Ye's weekly salary was now 7,200 euros; according to their contract, Boer could take over 1,000 euros from Tang Ye each week, amounting to 4,000 euros a month.

Earning that much money, treating Tang Ye to a meal was no big deal.

Tang Ye held the menu, looking it over back and forth for two minutes, yet still couldn't decide on his dinner for the day.

"Do you have indecision syndrome like me?"

Boer said with a smile; upon hearing Boer say this, Tang Ye immediately made his choice.

A large bowl of wontons, two plates of duck tongues, and a serving of sweet and sour pork ribs.

Compared to his last visit, Tang Ye ordered significantly more this time, a result of his increased food intake following the escalation in training volume.

After handing the menu to the waiter, Boer ordered a bottle of cola for Tang Ye, and the two began discussing matters.

"I've briefly looked into the current Eredivisie situation. Based on my inference, I should be able to negotiate a new contract for you with Utrecht offering a weekly salary of 9,000 euros, or even 10,000 euros."

Boer took a sheet of paper and a pen from his backpack and briefly wrote down the current situation for Tang Ye.

"A weekly salary of 10,000 euros is a low-probability event, but if you can secure either the KNVB Cup or the league title, I believe the club would be willing to pay that amount for you."

"However, there is one issue: my agency contract with you will become void once your weekly salary reaches 10,000 euros."

Boer pointed out the crux of the matter.

When signing the initial agency contract, Tang Ye had set a threshold of a 10,000-euro weekly salary.

A 15% commission rate was relatively high; it would be somewhat inappropriate for Boer to continue taking such a large percentage of commission once Tang Ye's weekly salary hit 10,000 euros.

This was Boer's primary objective in seeking out Tang Ye this time.

Unwilling to give up on Tang Ye, a rising potential star, he had proactively proposed the idea of a new agency contract.

A 9.5% commission on the weekly salary was the condition Boer offered.

However, learning from the lessons of last time, Boer added a new clause to this contract.

If Tang Ye's weekly salary reached 50,000 euros, the commission rate would drop to 8%.

At 100,000 euros, it would be 6.5%.

If Tang Ye's weekly wage reaches 150,000 euros in the future, the commission rate will drop to the minimum of 6%.

From this commission rate, it is clear that Boer still does not want to give up cooperating with Tang Ye.

He has already shown great sincerity!

"Uh, are those later clauses really necessary..."

Pointing at the clause regarding the 150,000 euro weekly wage, Tang Ye shot Boer a look that said, "You think far too highly of me."

"Just prepare for it; my other top-tier players in the five major leagues all have similar contracts, and your percentage might even be lower."

Tang Ye took the draft handed over by Boer, pondered it carefully, and finally agreed.

They would sign the new contract when the season ends next month.

"By the way, there is one more issue."

Resting his elbow on the table with his hands crossed in front of him, Boer said, "There is no news from Sevilla yet, but the person in charge at Frankfurt indicated they are willing to increase their offer for you. Tang, do you need my help to push this transfer through?"

"..."

"Mm."

On April 24, the red-and-white bus carrying the Utrecht players slowly pulled into the Feyenoord Stadium.

At this moment, five hours before kickoff, the area outside the stadium was already packed with Feyenoord fans.

"Come on!"

Inside the bus, Amrabat stood up from his seat: "Those guys outside are so arrogant; damn it, Tang, open the window so I can curse them out!"

The Feyenoord fans trying to pressure the Utrecht players immediately was more than Amrabat could handle.

"Are you going to go out and beat them up? But there are so many of them."

Tang Ye gently pulled back the curtain and stole a glance outside.

Damn, it is still early before the match, yet it is already full of people outside.

"They have no hope of winning the league title this season; if they don't take the KNVB Cup, they won't win a single trophy."

Fan Fan Dejiahe suddenly spoke up, explaining the reason for the Feyenoord fans' intense agitation.

"We are currently first in the league, so they are panicking!"

Amrabat knelt on his chair; it seemed he really wanted to open the window.

"So should I open the window?"

Tang Ye pointed to the curtain on his left and asked Amrabat.

"Open it; I want to curse them out!"

Tang Ye opened the window, and Amrabat took a deep breath.

"I f***ing..."

"Smack!"

Tang Ye had only pulled open the curtain when a mineral water bottle flew out from the distance and smashed directly against the bus window.

"Holy crap!"

Tang Ye quickly pulled the curtain shut; Amrabat was startled and plopped back down onto his chair.

"Hahahaha!"

Haller pointed at Amrabat on the chair: "Could you be any more cowardly? Tang hasn't even opened the window yet."

"Damn, these guys!"

Having suffered a setback before the match even started, Amrabat was in a foul mood.

"Tang, you must crush them when the match starts later; they are just too arrogant!"

Tang Ye spread his hands in innocence: "Why make me do it? What about you?"

"I'm a substitute!"

Amrabat chuckled, placing his hand on Tang Ye's shoulder: "So it's all up to you!"

"..."

Tang Ye was about to nod in agreement when, upon second thought, he realized something was off.

"Hey, Sofyan, so you were just drawing aggro onto me? Damn it, I'm going to kill you!"

True to his word, Tang Ye immediately started wrestling with Amrabat right there in his chair.

Last year, whenever he fought Amrabat, he always got pinned down and beaten, but after joining the first team, Tang Ye developed much faster and was no longer particularly afraid of Amrabat.

Ten Hag and Fan Fan Dejiahe, sitting at the very front, watched the players messing around in the back, unsure of what to say.

The atmosphere within the Utrecht team was now severely divided.

Those who were nervous, like Ramselaar, were under immense pressure.

Tang Ye and Amrabat represented the other extreme.

Amrabat felt no pressure because he was a substitute, so the blame wouldn't fall on him in the end.

As for Tang Ye...

This guy's nerves were naturally thick-skinned, leaving Ten Hag somewhat speechless about him.

"Okay, okay, clap clap!"

After thinking it over carefully, Ten Hag stood up from his seat: "When we get off the bus later, be careful not to clash with the home fans; arguing with the fans will bring us no benefits."

"I know you are under great pressure right now; my pressure is huge too, but you must have confidence in your abilities. What place are we in the league?"

"First!"

Tang Ye quickly answered.

"Exactly, we are the ones in first place, while Feyenoord is only fourth. Why should the first-place team fear the fourth? They only have the KNVB Cup as a path forward; trust me, their pressure is even greater than ours right now."

Not only was Ten Hag formidable when facing reporters, but his level of team speeches was also first-rate.

This was the art of Dutch speech; with just a few words, the atmosphere within the team immediately relaxed considerably.

……

"This is the 2015-16 KNVB Cup Final, the match between Feyenoord and Utrecht; I am the commentator Wang Chao!"

"Both teams' players are ready on the pitch; today Utrecht is the away side, yet I feel Utrecht's chances of victory are still quite high!"

"In the previous league match against Graafschap, Utrecht secured victory even without Ten Hag presiding over the team."

"In today's match, our Erik Ten Hag, also known as Saint Ten, has personally come to the scene to supervise the battle, so I believe Utrecht has no reason to lose."

"Alright, let me first introduce the starting lineups for both sides; first up is Feyenoord."

"Feyenoord is making a desperate last stand today, so their lineup will undoubtedly consist entirely of core starters."

Feyenoord (3-4-3)

Goalkeeper: Vermeer

Defenders: Van Beek, Botteghin, Kong Kong Geluo

Midfielders: Karsdorp, Ahmedi, Kuyt, Vilhena

Forwards: Toornstra, Kramer, Elia

Head Coach: Fan Bulong

The camera cut to the Feyenoord head coach as Wang Chao began his introduction.

For today's KNVB Cup Final, the little streamer had made special preparations!

"This Fan Bulong had previously contacted Tang Ye, but unfortunately, he was ultimately rejected by Tang Ye."

"Then there is Utrecht's side; it is still the familiar defensive and forward lines we know, while the three-man midfield consists of De Jong, Ramselaar, and most importantly, Tang Tang Qiuwang!"

"The referee is checking his watch!"

"The match has begun!"

Haller passed the ball back to Van der Mareel; Van der Mareel controlled the ball and moved forward as the Utrecht defenders sought their attacking opportunities.

In front of the away team's substitute bench, Ten Hag stood with hands in pockets, his face displaying not a shred of expression.

In this match, Feyenoord deployed a 3-4-3 formation, a style of play currently popular in the Premier League.

The Feyenoord head coach learning tactics from Premier League teams might seem impressive, but in Ten Hag's view, this was purely pretentious posturing.

With Tang Ye possessing such heaven-defying long-passing ability, Feyenoord actually still wanted to play with three defenders.

Purely pretentious posturing!

Won't this just run you to death?

"Give it to me, I'll take it!"

Tang Ye took the ball from Koom, immediately turning while controlling it!

He prepared to deliver a pass to the front field, and then...

... Tang Ye was shoved aside!

Ahmedi used his body to collide with Tang Ye and gained possession; Tang Ye was utterly helpless and could only cast a pleading glance toward the referee.

Unfortunately, the referee made no indication.

"Damn it, Ref! Ref!"

Ten Hag raised both hands and went straight to the fourth official: "Isn't this a foul? This is clearly a foul!"

The fourth official remained unmoved; he was not the main referee, so even if he wanted to call a foul on Ahmedi, he did not have the authority to do so!

Unbelievable!

Ten Hag grew somewhat irritated; now he finally understood why Feyenoord wanted to play with three defenders.

It turned out they simply would not give Tang Ye any opportunity to deliver long passes.

How the hell are we supposed to play this?

……

(End of Chapter)