Chapter 99: 45-Degree Cross Level 3! Utrecht's Dilemma? (Seeking Monthly Votes!)

Check Dongqiu Di: Winning two titles in 20 days, Tang Ye has become the player in Utrecht's history with the shortest interval between two championship victories.

Front-page headline of the "Utrecht Evening Post"—A divine soldier descends from the heavens for the Eredivisie U21; Tang delivers four assists to help the reserve team win the U21 Champions Cup.

Although he triggered the system's over-age violation mechanism and received nothing from this U21 Champions Cup match.

Tang Ye was still quite happy to have snagged a championship title.

Especially regarding Zaka; since Zaka dragged him into gaming every day, helping Zaka secure a championship made Tang Ye feel extremely proud.

By the way!

Remembering what Boer told him about nurturing his Instagram account, Tang Ye went to his computer desk and took a photo of the Final MVP trophy he had just received.

Posting just an image wasn't great, so Tang Ye prepared to pair this trophy photo with an emoji.

Which emoji to choose...

After picking and choosing, Tang Ye finally selected a small "Struggle" emoji.

This one fit his characteristics quite well.

tangye9999: Struggle! (. jpg)

Tang Ye's Instagram account already had over 90,000 followers; as soon as he posted, Utrecht fans immediately rushed to comment.

【A divine soldier descends from the heavens!】

【Stop bullying the kid, okay? Even though you're the kid yourself.】

【When will you win the Eredivisie championship?】

【Tom, can you persuade Ten Hag to stay at the club? Or you staying at the club would work too; don't go to Germany; Germany isn't as good as our Netherlands.】

【Those idiots at Ajax couldn't beat U19 players with their U21 squad and still called them up; for Tom to deliver four assists in a U21 match is truly not easy.】

【You can't look at it that way; De Jong was the core at Ajax's reserve team, but he's just a rotation player in Utrecht's first team.】

【Tom, stay at Utrecht! We want to win the championship!】

The fans were truly enthusiastic; besides the fans, Tang Ye's post also received a like from Utrecht Club's official account.

Muting notifications to let the fans chat in the comments first, Tang Ye started scrolling through news on Twitter.

1. The "Lightpool" brothel in Amsterdam's Red Light District was unprovokedly attacked by a drunkard; the brothel's management has currently applied to local police for protection.

2. A man from Montfoort traveled to China to find his online dating girlfriend, waiting bitterly at the airport for 12 days; Girlfriend: Won't meet.

3. The final battle for the Eredivisie title: Will Utrecht newcomer Tang be restricted again by minor protection laws?

The first two news items were meaningless, but upon seeing the third headline, Tang Ye sat up straight immediately.

Because the protagonist of this news story was damn well him!

Clicking in to take a look, this article was written by a local Dutch fan.

The match between Utrecht and Alkmaar on May 20th started at 8:45 PM Dutch time.

Tang Ye only just now realized something was off about this match time.

Doing a quick calculation: 45 minutes for the first half, 15 minutes for halftime...

Add another 15 minutes.

Good heavens, in the most critical match of the season for the team, Tang Ye only had 60 minutes of playing time!

Tang Ye now felt like cursing; clearly, the timing in autumn and winter was fine, but come spring and summer, a bunch of Eredivisie matches were scheduled after 8 PM.

What was a minor like Tang Ye supposed to do about this?

Tang Ye was feeling quite pressured now; Ten Hag had already been detained once because of him.

That previous time, Ten Hag was detained for three and a half days; although he didn't explicitly target Tang Ye after being released, Tang Ye could sense the resentment hovering over Ten Hag's head.

Being detained again would surely last longer than three and a half days; how was Ten Hag supposed to handle that!

Ten Hag had never spoken to the Utrecht players about the final match; Tang Ye really wanted to send Ten Hag a message to ask, but unfortunately, it was already a bit late, so the matter would have to wait until tomorrow.

Tang Ye went to his computer desk, preparing to play a few rounds of Hearthstone before sleeping.

At this moment, on Check Dongqiu Di.

【Wait, is Ten Hag going to jail again?】

【What jail? That's a detention center, a detention center!】

【The first time was three days; the second time won't it be two or three weeks? Haha, since Ten Hag talks so much, he must stay at the police station a while longer.】

【The next punishment will definitely be heavier; what if Ten Hag, fearing punishment, substitutes Mengge off early?】

【Good, good, now let's see whether Ten Hag wants the championship or wants to go to jail.】

【Can't we let King Tang Ball change his age? Anyway, 17 and 18 aren't much different; just change it directly to 18.】

【Good heavens, others are changing their age to be younger, and you're directly changing it to be older, huh?】

The next day, Utrecht conducted a shooting training session within the team.

"I'm skilled at this."

Tang Ye rubbed his hands together.

What he liked most was shooting training; everyone took turns, and when it was your turn, it was just a run-up plus a kick, basically consuming no physical stamina.

"Come on, come on, stand properly, stand properly!"

Fan Fan Dejiahe shouted twice, and the stadium staff placed seven or eight balls beside him.

Fan Fan Dejiahe was the passer for this training session!

"Go!"

Fan Fan Dejiahe kicked a ball from the wing to the center; the first to rush up, Allé, stopped the ball, adjusted for two steps, and then unleashed a volley.

Goalkeeper Ruiter made a dive, but it was useless.

"At most one adjustment step!"

Fan Fan Dejiahe emphasized to the players behind him: "During a match, you won't be given so many chances to adjust; if you adjust for two steps or more, this goal won't count!"

All subsequent training was preparation for the final championship match; against AZ Alkmaar's intense defensive pressure, Utrecht would barely get a chance to take two adjusting steps when attacking, which was precisely why Fan Fan Dejiahe was so harsh with his players.

"Okay, okay!"

Ramselaar, the second to step up, raised his hand; Fan Fan Dejiahe delivered a cross from the wing, and Ramselaar immediately started his run.

Smack!

Ramselaar shot without adjusting, sending the ball flying straight out of the training base.

"Keep it down, lower your center of gravity!"

Ten Hag reminded him.

Training continued; Tang Ye waited at the back of the line for his turn, but upon seeing Fan Fan Dejiahe standing on the right wing, a new idea sparked in Tang Ye's mind.

Shooting practice was exhilarating, but Tang Ye's 45-Degree Cross skill was about to level up.

Hmm...

Tang Ye pondered on the spot.

He hesitated slightly, but the moment he thought about winning the Eredivisie title and obtaining an Ultimate Template, Tang Ye suddenly made his decision.

Jogging slowly toward Fan Fan Dejiahe, he said, "Mr. Michel, how about I take over the passing?"

"Hmm? You?"

Fan Fan Dejiahe glanced at Tang Ye, then looked toward Ten Hag at the far end.

Ten Hag had no objections.

Crossing from the wing was, after all, one of Tang Ye's duties on the field.

"Alright then, go ahead."

Fan Fan Dejiahe vacated his position, and Tang Ye pointed to the empty space behind him: "Could we move the passing point back a bit?"

If he crossed directly from this position, based on Tang Ye's experience, he wouldn't be able to trigger proficiency gains for 【45-Degree Cross】.

"That's possible,"

Fan Fan Dejiahe nodded: "But you also know that the further back you go, the more difficult the cross becomes."

"That's no problem."

Tang Ye dribbled the ball backward; Fan Fan Dejiahe originally expected him to retreat only four or five meters, but the guy went all the way back twenty meters.

"Hey, can you even cross from that position?"

Ten Hag shouted loudly: "This is training; you need to ensure every ball lands inside the penalty area, otherwise we're just wasting time."

"No problem, no problem!"

Tang Ye raised his right hand and saw Di Di Bala, who had also raised his hand.

【You have purchased Pogba's Hair Wax】

Run-up!

Cross!

Smack!

【De Bruyne 45-Degree Cross Lv2: Similar】

Proficiency: 88.2/100

The ball traced a reverse "C" arc, flying from the right wing into the penalty area, landing perfectly in front of Di Di Bala; Di Di Bala turned sideways to control it with his chest, then immediately executed a volley sweep-shot to score.

"Haha!"

Di Di Bala spun around on the spot to celebrate, while teammates queued behind the arc applauded him.

"Well..."

Fan Fan Dejiahe lowered his head.

Actually, it wasn't that these Utrecht players lacked shooting ability; it was that damn his passing was just too terrible!

"Continue, continue!"

Ten Hag blew his whistle, and De Jong began signaling.

"OK, coming!"

Tang Ye delivered another 45-degree cross.

Proficiency: 88.4/100

Unlike Di Di Bala, De Jong chose to control the ball with the inside of his foot.

One adjusting step.

Then shoot!

【At 38 years old, you devoted yourself utterly; to help the players practice shooting consecutively, you actively sacrificed your own shooting practice opportunities to assist the coach with passing】

【You have obtained 10 Counterattack Points】

"Uh..."

Tang Ye hadn't expected this to trigger a system reward as well.

However, whether he got those 10 Counterattack Points or not didn't really matter anymore; his primary task now was to leverage the proficiency bonus from Pogba's Hair Wax to quickly upgrade 【45-Degree Cross】 to Lv3.

"Go, go, go!"

"Smack!"

Half an hour later, De Jong ran over proposing to switch positions with Tang Ye, but was rejected by Tang Ye.

This damn spirit of dedication!

Ten Hag and Fan Fan Dejiahe exchanged a glance.

They realized they had been wrong.

Tang Ye wasn't some slacker after all; he was the most dedicated player within the Utrecht squad! Fan Fan Dejiahe nodded: "Later, I can also go talk to him about switching positions."

"Slap!"

【De Bruyne's 45-Degree Cross Lv2: Similar】

Proficiency: 99/100

【Pogba's Hair Clay: You gained an extra 1 point of proficiency】

【De Bruyne's 45-Degree Cross Lv3: Simulation】

Proficiency: 1/100

"Huff..."

Hands on hips, watching Allé head his cross into the goal, Tang Ye wore a gratified smile.

His efforts had not been in vain.

His teammates were truly excellent!

"Tom!"

Fan Fan Dejiahe came around from behind to Tang Ye's side: "You've crossed enough; let me handle the rest!"

"Okay, okay."

!

"Huh?"

Before Fan Fan Dejiahe could react, Tang Ye had already run off to begin his shooting practice.

"Hey!"

Fan Fan Dejiahe spread his hands wide.

Damn it, shouldn't you have refused me?

"So, was my crossing decent or not?"

At Zhongwushitang, Tang Ye took a large bite of the hamburger in his mouth while reviewing the morning's shooting practice with his teammates.

Allé nodded: "Nine out of ten balls landed inside the penalty area; honestly, your 45-degree cross is quite good, but your shooting leaves something to be desired."

Seizing on Tang Ye's weakness, Allé said: "So you should just leave the shooting opportunities to me; you can be responsible for passing."

"No, Tang, listen to what he's saying; he's just tricking you into passing to him!"

Di Di Bala pointed directly at Allé: "Let me tell you, Tang, Allé is no good person; you really shouldn't be fooled by him."

"Haha, you two stop arguing; this is our last match of the season, so what we should be thinking about now is the championship, not goals!"

Ramselaar clenched his right hand tightly into a fist: "We must win this final match!"

"By the way, it seems I can only play for 60 minutes in the last match."

Tang Ye suddenly remembered the news he had seen last night.

Like Tang Ye, if no one had mentioned it, the players at the table would have forgotten to check the specific match time.

Whether the match was at 5:45 PM or 8:45 PM made absolutely no difference to the Utrecht players.

But for Tang Ye, the difference between these two match times was huge!

"Right, damn it!"

Amrabat frowned tightly: "Then wouldn't I have to be subbed on at the 60-minute mark? What if I give away a handball and screw things up for you guys?"

"Haha, so you even know you give away handballs!"

Ramselaar put his arm around Amrabat: "But there's no need to worry about that; Eric will probably let Tang play the full match. This is the final game; for such a crucial match, even a 100,000 euro fine is worth it!"

"But Mr. Eric might get taken away by the police!"

Tang Ye pointed out the crux of the matter, and the Utrecht players at the table suddenly fell silent.

Right!

Damn it!

Only now did they remember: if Tang Ye plays the full match again in the next game, that would be Ten Hag's fifth violation of the Minor Protection Law this season.

How should they handle this?

"Uh..."

Allé tapped his index finger lightly on the dining table: "How long would someone be locked up for a second offense?"

"I don't know either."

Tang Ye shoved the remaining hamburger into his mouth, then left his seat: "I'll go to the office to ask Mr. Eric; I'll tell you the news during afternoon training."

Just as he had said, Tang Ye arrived at Ten Hag's office located on the second floor of the training base.

Pushing the door open, he found Fan Fan Dejiahe lying on the sofa reading a newspaper.

Tang Ye exchanged greetings with Fan Fan Dejiahe, then walked straight to Ten Hag to ask whether he could play the full match in the final game.

"You don't need to worry about this."

"Mr. Eric, does 'don't need to worry' mean..."

"You will play the full match; as long as you aren't injured, you can play the entire game, and I can guarantee you that."

Contrary to Tang Ye's expectations, Ten Hag looked relaxed when saying this.

It was as if...

It was as if he had already prepared himself for sacrifice!

Walking out of the office, Tang Ye felt warmth in his heart.

Although Mr. Eric was very bad, this guy was still quite admirable at certain critical moments.

For the sake of the team, for Tang Ye's sake, he was actually willing to sacrifice himself!

This damn personal charisma!

……

Time arrived at May 18th, the start of the final round of Eredivisie matches; PSV Eindhoven defeated their opponent Cambuur with a score of 4:0, having played one extra match to return to the top of the standings.

Relying on the victory in the final round, Eindhoven fixed their season's points total at 78.

The current Eredivisie standings are as follows.

1. PSV Eindhoven, 34 matches, 78 points

2. Utrecht, 33 matches, 78 points

3. Ajax, 33 matches, 74 points

4. Feyenoord, 34 matches, 60 points

The gap in total points among the top three is extremely small; Utrecht and Eindhoven differ by only a few points, with Utrecht trailing by just four in goal difference.

This means Utrecht does not even need to win; merely drawing the final match would allow them to overtake Eindhoven once again.

As for Ajax, it matters even less.

Even if Utrecht loses and Ajax wins, they still cannot surpass Utrecht in points.

The final league match that will decide fate is imminent, and the Utrecht players are now under immense pressure!

What is most critical is that the timing of the final round has restricted the team's rising star, Tang Ye!

Time arrived on match day; the Utrecht players boarded a bus at the training base to head to Galgenwaard Stadium.

Before their departure, several hundred fans were already waiting outside the base.

"Utrecht!"

"Utrecht!"

"Ten Hag!"

The fans' cheers were loud, expressing their support for the home team.

Some fans had even brought support signs.

The key point was not the signs themselves, but the words written on them.

【Let Tom play; Ten Hag, I'll go to jail for you!】

"……"

Inside the bus, Ten Hag was somewhat speechless.

These fans clearly did not understand the difference between a detention center and a prison.

But that was no longer an issue; ten days before the match began, the Utrecht coaching staff had already held a discussion regarding Tang Ye taking the field.

They had already made their decision!

……

Click!

Click-click!

Ten Hag and Fan Fan Dejiahe entered the press conference room together; this was the most crowded press conference for an Utrecht home match this season.

Unlike previous matches against Eindhoven or Ajax, the large number of reporters present today was not due to the high profile of the opposing team.

It was because Utrecht itself had become high profile!

Under Ten Hag's leadership, Utrecht had now become a top-tier force in the Eredivisie.

Most importantly, they not only had popularity but also results!

"Erik, will you substitute Tom off in the 60th minute today? What if the score is behind at that time?"

"I don't think so; based on my understanding, Tang will play the full match today,"

Ten Hag replied.

I don't think so?

Hiss...

The reporter was somewhat bewildered by Ten Hag's words: "Erik, may I ask why you said 'I think'?"

"There is no why; Tang will start and play the entire match; this is the situation as I understand it,"

Ten Hag said with a smile.

The reporters below looked at each other; none of them understood the meaning behind Ten Hag's words.

"Then do you think you can win this match and claim the club's first-ever Eredivisie championship?"

"Of course."

……

Time arrived at 6:00 PM; less than three hours before kickoff, Utrecht announced their squad list for this match via social media.

Key players like Haller, Di Di Bala, and Ramselaar were all on the list, and of course, so was Tang Ye.

Looking further down, Jansen, who had been injured previously, had returned to the squad list.

Then there was the coaching staff section.

Upon seeing the coaching staff listed in Utrecht's squad, reporters and fans finally understood what Ten Hag had meant in his earlier interview.

Head Coach: Michel Fan Fan Dejiahe

Assistant Coach: Erik Ten Hag

The starting lineup was determined solely by the head coach; assistant coach Ten Hag was completely unaware of it.

He was...

Innocent!

……

(End of Chapter)