Football: I am only 16 years old, and you want me to retire and make a comeback?

Chapter 385 You should have said so earlier, I have many friends

"Thanks, Tom!"

"Haha, it's nothing, it's nothing."

After saying goodbye to Oscar, Tang Ye and Wu Lei returned to the locker room together.

"Tang Ye!"

Zhang Yuning gave Tang Ye a big hug.

As Tang Ye's number one fan in the national football team, Zhang Yuning's loyalty to his idol goes without saying.

"Damn, I feel like we could have been more decisive in our play from the back. We could have won today."

Wu Lei sat back down in his seat, and the players started chatting about today's warm-up match.

It was unexpected to draw with Shanghai SIPG. Although the opposing team deliberately lost, the players are still in good spirits.

Sitting in his seat, Tang Ye chewed gum and whispered to Zhang Yuning next to him, "I feel like Lippi might be in a bad mood. We have too many problems."

Tang Ye's words made Zhang Yuning, who was originally happy, suddenly become serious.

Click, click, click!

In the press conference room at that moment, head coach Lippi was being interviewed by reporters.

"In a Chinese team where the average player's value is less than 100 million euros, you need to manage Marcello, the most valuable midfielder in football today. Do you feel the pressure?"

"I'm very happy to work with Tom, and I believe he can perform well in the World Cup, just like he did in the Asian Cup qualifiers. Tom's performance in the Asian Cup qualifiers was beyond question."

Despite his age, Lippi always exudes a sense of composure when he speaks.

"Can you make a prediction about the results of this World Cup? Fans say the best outcome for the Chinese national team is to get one draw in three matches. As the head coach, do you think this is possible?"

Can the Chinese national football team perform well in the World Cup?

This is what fans care about most right now.

"..."

Lippi hesitated slightly: "It depends on the specific situation, but I think it's possible. I have the utmost trust in the team I coach, and I believe we can achieve things that seem impossible."

"One last question, Mr. Marcello. You've arranged friendly matches with Shanghai SIPG and the Saudi Arabian national team, but two friendlies are definitely not enough. Which teams does the national team plan to play against in June?"

Turning to look at his assistant coach, Lippi was now somewhat embarrassed.

"The national team, or other Chinese Super League clubs... these are all possibilities, but we need to keep it confidential for now."

Click, click, click!

After the interview, the two national football team coaches returned to the locker room.

Madaloni walked directly to the center: "Everyone, please be quiet for now."

The atmosphere suddenly became tense. Tang Ye unconsciously lifted his feet off the ground and hugged his knees.

Let's see what Mr. Marcello is about to say!
Lippi remained calm and slowly walked to the tactics board.

"I don't think we should look at the match scores; scores from warm-up matches aren't very meaningful."

What is the purpose of our warm-up matches?

Lippi looked into the players' eyes: "It's about solving problems. We need to solve problems; that's why we're playing these friendlies. We should learn something from the games and find ways to improve. That's what makes these friendlies effective."

"We're heading to Saudi Arabia tomorrow morning, and I hope you can all maintain a serious attitude and reflect on today's match. We didn't play well today, and I need you to identify the key areas yourselves, because only by identifying the problems yourself can you remember them more effectively."

"When the striker goes down the wing, the full-back needs to provide support. I've said this many times, but you still haven't done it. I won't ask too much of you; I won't expect the same from you as I would from players in the top five leagues. But I expect you to do what I've said."

The locker room was quiet, and Tang Ye was shaking his head.

Lippi said far too much at once, which made it quite difficult for Tang Ye to understand.

But that's alright, he can probably understand what Marcello is talking about.

The Chinese team needs to play many, many warm-up matches and then improve its problems through those matches.

Twenty days may not seem like a long time, but it's definitely not a short time either.

If this time can be managed well, the Chinese national football team can achieve a phased improvement!

……

Football reporter: The Chinese national football team players have already departed for Riyadh. The Chinese team will play an open friendly match against the Saudi Arabian national team at 6 pm local time on May 29.

"This will be the Chinese team's second warm-up match before the World Cup. Considering the importance of the national team's actual combat, Tang Ye is very likely to start in this match."

Good news: Tang Ye will most likely start against Saudi Arabia in order to practice his starting lineup.

The bad news: It's in Saudi Arabia, and there are no television stations in the country broadcasting it.

Your team.

Goalkeeper: Zeng Cheng

Defenders: Zhang Linpeng, Wang Shenchao, Feng Xiaoting, Deng Hanwen
Midfielders: Zheng Zhi, Tang Ye, Zhang Xizhe

Forwards: Wu Lei, Gao Lin, Yu Hanchao
Looking at the lineup displayed on his phone, Tang Ye fell into thought.

He has been using this lineup to play games on his phone ever since he returned to China, but he has discovered many problems.

If your overall stats are below 75, you'll have a real headache playing against national teams with overall stats of 85.

In the game, Tang Ye can make up for the numerical gap by operating the game alone.

But it doesn't work in actual matches!

Improving his own skills or enhancing the teamwork and chemistry between teammates are the two ways Tang Ye can think of to improve the team's strength.

Improving team synergy is a complex issue, so let's put that aside for now.

Improve your own strength...

With a thought, Tang Ye opened his system panel.

Since the FA Cup final, he has been waiting for the season-ending rewards for the 2017-18 season. As long as he gets those tens of thousands of comeback points, Tang Ye can go all in to upgrade chicken breast and then quickly improve his physical fitness in just over ten days.

But it wasn't what Tang Ye had expected.

His season final results are still pending!
The worst-case scenario is that the system will also classify the World Cup as part of the 2017-18 season; if that happens, things will be terrible.

GGBond's dream of building muscle is about to be shattered!

Feeling a bit anxious, I took out a piece of chewing gum and put it in my mouth.

Just then, his phone rang.

Hmm... It's a message from my comrade Osman.

Dembele first spoke to Tang Ye about the club, expressing his willingness to transfer to Manchester United, but on the condition that Tang Ye could not leave.

However, Dembele's agreement alone is not enough; whether his transfer will be successful depends on the communication between Barcelona and Manchester United.

Are Manchester United willing to pay a transfer fee that satisfies Barcelona?
Besides club matters, Dembele also discussed their upcoming training camp arrangements with Tang Ye.

The French national team will next play friendly matches against Ireland and Italy.

[Osman: Which national teams will you be playing against next?]

[Tang Ye: Saudi Arabia, I don't know after that, the coach didn't say.]

[Osman: Good luck, we'll meet in the final!]

Tang Ye: Haha

……

Manchester United have announced that midfielder and legendary captain Michael Carrick has officially retired.

The Manchester Evening News' front-page headline reads: "If they don't sell players, Manchester United's summer transfer budget this season will be less than €8000 million, which is not enough to buy both Dembele and De Jong at the same time."

GiveMeSport's front-page headline – Juventus appear to have inquired with Manchester United about Tom's transfer, but this has not yet been confirmed.

Juventus also want Tang Ye!
Fans caught this key information.

However, upon rational analysis, Juventus' chances are indeed slim.

If Juventus' offer is less than 1.5 million euros, the deal will not be completed.

Because Manchester United rejected Barcelona's offer of the same price. And for Juventus, a transfer fee of €1.5 million is quite a burden!

Juventus only made a tentative inquiry, but some teams go beyond that.

Romano: This summer could be very crazy. If Barcelona decides to trade Messi for Tom, they may face strong opposition from Real Madrid.

"Despite already having a solid midfield, dismantling the ceremonial three-man midfield might be one of Real Madrid's options if they can prevent Barcelona from acquiring Tom."

……

Upon arriving at their hotel in Riyadh, Lippi convened a short meeting with the players in the conference room.

The content is divided into two parts.

First, we'll summarize the match against Shanghai SIPG, and then we'll discuss some preparations for the match against Saudi Arabia.

Tang Ye disliked sitting in the room listening to the head coach speak, but these tactical meetings were unavoidable, so all he could do was sit quietly and listen attentively.

Lippi's tactical insights are quite unique. He discovered many problems within the team, many of which Tang Ye had not noticed.

After the meeting, Lippi specifically kept Tang Ye behind to ask for his opinion on tactics.

"I feel this tactic is just right for me; I feel quite comfortable playing this way."

Tang Ye gave an affirmative answer.

Although he didn't listen to what Lippi was saying very carefully.

"But Mr. Marcello, you don't just look at me; the key is the team as a whole. I'm willing to make some sacrifices."

Lippi was somewhat surprised to hear Tang Ye's words.

I know what you mean, but you don't understand our problem right now.

"We must make good use of you and Lei (Wu Lei) as key players, and bring out the full potential of both of you. Only then can we achieve results. This is part of our tactics."

Tang Ye nodded slightly.

An unprecedented sense of responsibility enveloped him in a short period of time.

The intensity of national team matches is much lower.

But the pressure hasn't lessened at all!

……

"Ahead! Ahead!"

boom!
With a through ball, Tang Ye bypassed the defense and accurately passed the ball to Wu Lei, who was making a forward run.

"Pretty!"

Madaloni's voice came through, and Wu Lei gave Tang Ye a thumbs up.

He could feel that his teamwork with Tang Ye was getting better and better.

"Brother Lei, you can run faster, don't worry about me."

Tang Ye took a few steps towards Wu Lei and shouted, "I'll pass the ball out. Run when you see an opportunity, otherwise it'll be gone!"

"Ok!"

Wu Lei and Tang Ye exchanged fist bumps.

"Beep!!!"

The training session, which lasted for an hour and a half, quickly came to an end. Lippi called away Wu Lei and Gao Lin, while the other players stayed in the physiotherapy room to rest.

In the gym next door, Lippi looked at Wu Lei and Gao Lin in front of him, with his translator Wen Qianshi standing next to him.

"I just wanted to talk about the first penalty taker."

Lippi spoke up.

"The penalties were previously awarded to Gao Lin and Yu Dabao, back when Tang Ye couldn't take penalties, as you all know. But the situation is different now; Tang Ye has penalty-taking ability, and he's very good at it."

The translator glanced at Lippi, then looked at the two players: "So what he means is... to give the first penalty to Tang Ye. Do you have any objections to that?"

"..."

Wu Lei and Gao Lin exchanged a glance.

"If you have any opinions, speak them up as soon as possible, so as not to affect the current atmosphere of the team."

Wu Lei looked at the translator and shrugged: "Do you think we can have any objections...?"

"All right"

Wen Qianshi relayed Wu Lei's message to Lippi, who then placed his hand on Wu Lei's shoulder.

crunch--

Pushing open the door, Wu Lei and Gao Lin walked together towards the physiotherapy room.

"He didn't really need to ask. Our penalty kicks are nowhere near Tang Ye's level."

Gao Lin complained.

Wu Lei smiled and shrugged: "He respects us a lot, isn't that good? I never thought he would specifically seek us out."

Pushing open the door to the physiotherapy room, Tang Ye's voice immediately came through: "Damn, Lei-ge, did you see that display screen by the door? Yeah, that one. Lower the temperature by 2 degrees."

"No, I'm about to burst into flames!"

Lying shirtless on the yoga mat, Tang Ye was covered in sweat.

"Why play against Saudi Arabia? It's summer now!"

"Ha ha"

Wu Lei handed Tang Ye a bottle of water.

"Actually, I've already drunk some water. Drinking water won't help, and I can't drink anything cold either. It's so difficult."

Tang Ye rolled half a circle on the yoga mat, then sat up: "We should play against South American or European teams, somewhere cooler. Saudi Arabia is really hot; I've blacklisted this place for a long time."

"This team was selected by Lippi, mainly because Saudi Arabia is also one of the World Cup teams."

Feng Xiaoting explained.

Just then, Lippi walked in, and Tang Ye quickly asked, "Mr. Marcello, which countries are we playing against next month? Are there any Middle Eastern countries?"

Tang Ye asked the question that the national football players had been wanting to ask, and Feng Xiaoting, Wu Lei, and others all looked at Lippi at the same time.

The plane tickets need to be bought in advance, and logically speaking, which team to play against next month should have already been decided by now.

However, the chartered plane that the Football Association booked for the players was to fly directly back to Hangzhou.

"This……"

Lippi shook his head: "We haven't decided yet."

"Not confirmed yet?"

Tang Ye's eyes widened.

"There's nothing we can do, we can't schedule any warm-up matches. We were originally planning to play against South Korea and Italy, but their schedules are already full."

Lippi was somewhat embarrassed: "Now I have to wait for a response from the United States and Indonesia. If they don't want to play, then we'll have to continue playing against Chinese Super League teams."

"..."

The room was eerily quiet.

In the past few years, the national football team has not made a name for itself, and now it can't even get suitable warm-up matches.

Just then, Tang Ye suddenly spoke.

"No, Mr. Marcello, you should have said so earlier."

"I have many friends."

……

PS: Waaaaah, I finally have a leader!

Three chapters tomorrow, thank you!
(End of this chapter)