Soccer: Only 16, and You Want Me to Retire and Come Back?
Chapter 23

De Bruyne Curved Through Ball

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25d ago

De Bruyne Curved Through Ball The second half began. Tang Ye took off his yellow bib and stood at the edge of the pitch.

"Tom!"

Someone in the away stand shouted.

Thanks to his performances in the previous few matches, quite a few fans now knew Tang Ye.

Unfortunately, the away stand was rather far from where Tang Ye was standing, so he did not hear their shouts.

6 Ayoub↓ 99 Tang↑

"Tang Ye is on!"

As expected, the moment Tang Ye appeared, the barrage frequency in the Happy Livestream Room multiplied several times over.

The Bean Warriors cried out Tang Ye's true name from the abyss, hoping that the god descending from heaven would pull them out of its depths.

"Subbing him on right at the start of the second half—Erik ten Hag is really going to rely on Tang Ye!"

"Come on, let's see whether Tang Ye can seize his chance in this match!"

Watching Tang Ye jog slowly onto the pitch, Erik ten Hag pondered.

Sixteen years old, coming on as a substitute right at the start of a Dutch Eredivisie second half.

Was this too early?...

"Push up! Push up a little!"

Captain Ramselaar reminded his teammates on the pitch.

Erik ten Hag was not satisfied with the current 2:0 scoreline.

He wanted more! Smack! Having just rallied his teammates, Ramselaar sent a through ball forward. It was fairly accurate, finding Balazhit on the right wing as he drove toward the byline.

This was a chance for Utrecht! Janssen was supporting from behind! Balazhit cut it back!

To Tang Ye!

Tang Ye looked up! There was space on the left! Without a second thought, Tang Ye sent a long pass over, switching the ball to Haller on the left.

Haller brought the ball down.

Wuytens pressed him!

Haller was a stubborn player. After Wuytens got his body between him and the ball, Haller immediately locked into a stalemate with him.

Tang Ye ambled over from the middle.

"Give it to me!"

Hmm? Haller had wanted to keep battling Wuytens, but when he saw it was Tang Ye, he decisively passed the ball over.

But there were no attackers ahead of him now. Who was going to support Tang Ye? Tang Ye was crafty too. After receiving the ball, he feinted a pass, then dribbled forward himself and charged straight into the penalty area.

With Peters challenging him, Tang Ye stopped the ball with the sole of his foot before flicking it back to Haller behind him.

!!!

Erik ten Hag's eyes lit up.

Holy shit?

That smart? "Haller, hit it!"

"Hey, Haller!"

"Ah!!!!"

After shooting, Haller clasped both hands over the back of his head.

He had blasted it over!

That was right. Utrecht's best scorer had sent a gift-wrapped ball flying over the bar! "Fuck!"

Haller let out an angry roar.

He had thought Tang Ye was going to shoot himself. He had not expected the guy to take the initiative and carry the ball forward to pressure the defense, only to lay it back afterward.

Haller had not been focused enough.

That was why he had failed to complete his hat trick!

"Tang, my fault, my fault!"

Haller ran to Tang Ye, placing both hands on his shoulders as he apologized repeatedly.

"What a shame..."

The gum in Tang Ye's mouth was not even finished yet, his lips moving as he chewed.

After unlocking the shop, he had also unlocked rewards for goals.

One assist in the Dutch Eredivisie was worth 5 comeback points.

Worth one glass of Grealish draft beer! "Hey, sorry, sorry!"

Seeing Tang Ye's disappointed expression, Haller thought Tang Ye was angry.

"It's fine, Sebastian. Don't be nervous. We're leading 2:0 now, it's okay."

Tang Ye waved a hand.

"Okay, you're not angry, right?"

"Not angry."

Haller began retreating toward his own half, but after thinking of something, he suddenly turned back and asked Tang Ye a question.

"Then... will you still pass to me?"

"Of course!"

Tang Ye smiled.

He had almost no scoring ability himself. If he wanted to earn comeback points, he had to rely on assisting his teammates.

Haller was Utrecht's best scorer. Of course Tang Ye would pass the ball to him! "Okay, that's good!"

Haller high-fived Tang Ye, then accelerated back toward his position.

Damn, that was close!

Come on, man, you wouldn't even eat a sitter served right to your mouth?

That useless Haller wasted King Tang's brilliant pass in the box. Send him to the reserves!

The gap was obvious. This was the difference between King Tang and ordinary players—their thinking was on completely different levels!

The match had reached the 65th minute, and the score was still 2:0.

For Utrecht fans, that scoreline was already quite good.

But some people would never be satisfied! The match remained tense as Falkenburg carried the ball in the attacking half, and Tang Ye slowly ran toward him.

The match had only been going for a little over twenty minutes, but Tang Ye had already covered more distance than he had in the previous two matches combined.

"I've got him!"

Amrabat ran in from the side, joining Tang Ye in forcing Falkenburg to pass.

Passes made in panic often went wrong, and Falkenburg was no exception.

His pass went straight to Van der Maarel!

"We can counter! Get moving!"

"Everyone, get moving!"

Erik ten Hag kept waving his right hand. "Get moving!"

This was a counterattacking opportunity!

Van der Maarel passed to Ramselaar, who then passed it to Tang Ye.

Tang Ye received the ball and began assessing the positions of the opposing players.

There were two center-backs hanging back for cover.

De Bruyne Curved Through Ball, lv2: Similar Proficiency: 2/50

"Get moving!"

Erik ten Hag was practically going mad on the sidelines.

The forwards had already run into the opposition half, and you had only just finished turning around.

Wouldn't that make your teammates' runs pointless...

Smack! Tang Ye struck the ball forward from the middle, and it traveled ten centimeters above the grass.

Willem II's two center-backs, Wuytens and Peters, stood ahead of him. Tang Ye's long pass went right between them.

"I've got it!"

Peters went into a sliding motion, preparing to clear the ball, but for some reason, it suddenly started curving.

?

It rolled past Wuytens and arrived in front of Haller!

"Okay!"

Erik ten Hag nodded and quietly said, "Maybe you shouldn't run anymore."

The ball was a little too fast!

It did not look easy to control...

Smack! The powerful friction of the natural grass slowed the ball down, and it finally came to an almost perfect stop in front of Haller.

"Haller, this is your chance!"

Facing this absolute one-on-one opportunity, Haller chose to place it into the top corner.

Bang! "GOOOOOO--AAAAAAA--LLLLLLLL!!!!"

"It's in! Haller!"

"A hat trick! It's Haller's hat trick!"

Having witnessed the entire process of that goal, the fans in the stadium were full of question marks.

What the hell was that pass??? "Tommmm!!!"

Haller picked up the ball, tossed it out, and volleyed it toward the stands.

Then he ran toward Tang Ye without looking back.

Tang Ye had been telling the truth. He was not angry at Haller!

"Beautiful!"

Haller crashed into Tang Ye, but the latter did not smile.

"What's wrong?"

"Wait!"

"Wait for what?"

Comeback Points *5

"Haha!"

Tang Ye finally smiled.

Grealish draft beer.

Acquired!

End of Chapter
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