Escribá

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Ferran Escribá 107
Alias(es)	Mr. Ferran; “Saint Escribá” 110 163
Gender	Male
Nationality	Spanish 735
Affiliation	China national football team; formerly Villarreal and Borussia Dortmund 631 735
Occupation/Role	Football head coach/manager
Status	Active 923
First Appearance	Chapter 107

Background / History

Villarreal

Escribá was Villarreal’s head coach when Tang Ye joined the club on loan and received the number 99 shirt. He initially considered Tang Ye’s fluent Spanish an advantage for integrating into the squad. 107

His early approach centered on possession football, disciplined movement, and collective structure. Tang Ye’s direct, improvisational play repeatedly disrupted that system, leaving Escribá unsure how to use a midfielder with exceptional creativity but unreliable positioning and conventional passing fundamentals. 110 116 121

Villarreal’s Champions League qualifying defeat to Monaco became a turning point. Concluding that his side could not out-possess La Liga’s strongest clubs, Escribá abandoned his commitment to possession for a more direct approach built on long balls and movement, drawing inspiration from Erik ten Hag’s work with Tang Ye at Utrecht. 120

He subsequently adopted a 4-2-3-1 formation after studying Utrecht’s records. The system reduced Tang Ye’s defensive responsibilities, placed him in advanced creative areas, and gradually made him Villarreal’s attacking focal point. Though Escribá publicly claimed to have a second lineup without Tang Ye, he later admitted that his workable system was a modified 4-2-3-1 centered on him. 134 171 193

Escribá’s trust in Tang Ye developed through repeated tactical adjustments. By December, he believed he had formed a “bond” with the player and had learned how to direct him effectively. 166 He later instructed the team to prioritize creating attacking opportunities for Tang Ye to create in turn. 190

Borussia Dortmund

After leaving Villarreal, Escribá became Borussia Dortmund’s manager. He pursued Tang Ye aggressively, offering to personally subsidize part of the player’s wages if Dortmund failed to reach the Champions League semifinals; Tang Ye initially declined in order to pursue the Champions League with Manchester United. 546

Tang Ye later joined Dortmund on loan and was given the number 10 shirt. Escribá’s contract reportedly required him to win the Bundesliga or face dismissal and repayment of salary. 631 639

At Dortmund, Escribá continued to build his tactics around Tang Ye. He developed a “bomber formation” designed to protect and maximize the attacking midfielder, and employed a strategy of bypassing Manchester United’s midfield during their Champions League meeting. 666 562

He led Dortmund to their first Bundesliga title in nine years—his first league title as a coach—and later won the Champions League. 683 711 Despite having years left on his contract, he departed because Dortmund’s system was no longer suited to him after Tang Ye’s exit. 711 735

China National Football Team

Escribá became head coach of the China national football team shortly after leaving Dortmund. He openly acknowledged that the opportunity to work with Tang Ye was part of his reason for taking the job. 735

During AFC Asian Cup qualifying, he regretted not fielding a full-strength side against Oman, believing that the result may have cost China a place in the World Cup’s second seeding pot. 813 He later embraced the role and described a strong sense of belonging with the national team and its supporters. 750

Tactical Approach

Possession to Direct Play

Escribá initially treated possession as Villarreal’s foundation and demanded that Tang Ye run, occupy correct positions, and link play conventionally. 110 Monaco’s elimination forced him to reconsider, leading him toward direct passing and movement rather than trying to imitate stronger possession sides. 120

4-2-3-1 Built Around Tang Ye

His defining Villarreal system was a modified 4-2-3-1:

• Used Tang Ye as an advanced creator rather than a defensively burdened midfielder. 171
• Shifted Tang Ye further forward when Villarreal needed to activate their attack. 201
• Prioritized Tang Ye’s chance creation above rigid changes to his own role. 190
• Treated Tang Ye as the actual core of the lineup despite initially resisting that conclusion. 158 193

Situational Adaptation

Escribá regularly altered formations and player roles during matches:

• Switched Villarreal to a 4-2-3-1 and moved Tang Ye into attacking midfield against Athletic Bilbao, though the late change did not prevent defeat. 157
• Used Tang Ye as a wide midfielder against Ajax, enabling a decisive tactical shift. 160
• Adjusted Villarreal’s approach against Alavés and Valencia after opponents began exploiting the team’s established patterns. 187 190
• At Dortmund, experimented with a Tang Ye-centered “bomber formation” while preparing to face Manchester United. 666

Personality

Escribá is intensely reflective and willing to revise his ideas after failure. His tactical evolution at Villarreal began only after he recognized that possession football could not take his side beyond its existing ceiling. 120

He is also highly sensitive to pressure, media criticism, and online comments. Following a difficult period at Villarreal, he removed Twitter from his phone rather than continue engaging with public criticism. 231 At Dortmund, mounting stress and insomnia led him to seek psychological counseling. 708

His attachment to Tang Ye is unusually personal as well as tactical. He sought to sign Tang Ye for Dortmund, structured teams around his abilities, and pursued Chinese players such as Wu Lei and Zhang Yuning partly to support Tang Ye’s environment. 546 634 Escribá nevertheless frames this as a footballing decision: making Tang Ye stronger, in his view, is what the team needs. 634

Relationships

• Tang Ye — Initially struggled to control Tang Ye’s unconventional style, but gradually rebuilt Villarreal around him and came to regard their coach-player understanding as a “bond.” He later tried to sign Tang Ye for Dortmund and became China’s coach in part to work with him. 110 166 546 735
• Erik ten Hag — Began as a tactical reference point; Escribá studied ten Hag’s Utrecht system and match management. Their relationship later became an open rivalry, culminating in a bare-knuckle fight won by Escribá. 120 164 843
• Mati — Assistant coach and principal tactical confidant. Mati regularly discusses Tang Ye, formations, and match adjustments with Escribá. 116 666
• Wu Lei — Villarreal signing whose arrival was publicly interpreted as an expression of Escribá’s nostalgia for Tang Ye; Escribá maintained that Wu Lei was signed for his ability and potential. 339
• Zhang Yuning — Dortmund recruit whom Escribá wanted partly to give Tang Ye a familiar Chinese teammate; he justified the decision by arguing that strengthening Tang Ye strengthened the team. 634
• Cristiano Ronaldo — Publicly supported Escribá after the latter’s fight with ten Hag and criticized ten Hag in an interview. 843

Notable Quotes

“Fuck possession football!” 120

“Making you stronger is what the team needs.” 634

Trivia

• Tang Ye once became convinced that Escribá was a serial killer after misinterpreting his behavior and online search results. Escribá denied it, explaining that the supposed evidence had been a joke. 361
• Escribá defeated Erik ten Hag in their bare-knuckle fight, but apologized afterward when Tang Ye intervened. 843
• Villarreal supporters nicknamed him “Saint Escribá” during the club’s successful run under his management. 163