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

Chapter 488 Manchester United loses league title, faces strong opponent Iran in the quarterfinals (Seeking monthly votes at the beginning of the month!!)

Today's Headlines - Keep Moving Forward! China defeats Thailand 3-0, advancing to the Asian Cup quarterfinals against Iran.

Manchester Evening News – Manchester City overturned Manchester United's goal difference to win the Premier League title, Guardiola's prediction came true!

AFC Official Team of the Asian Cup Group Stage (3-4-3):
Goalkeeper: Shafi (Jordan)

Defenders: Kim Min-jae (South Korea), Adnan (Iraq), Tristan (Thailand)

Midfielders: Songkrasin (Thailand), Hwang In-beom (South Korea), Tang Ye (China), Goodwin (Australia)
Forwards: Wu Lei (China), Son Heung-min (South Korea), Ali (Qatar)
Head Coach: Sanchez Bass (Qatar)
After two knockout stage matches, the official team has finally released the best lineup for the group stage.

To be honest, many Chinese fans don't recognize many of the players in this best lineup.

As long as Tang Ye and Wu Lei are confirmed to be in the team, nothing else matters.

What's attracting more attention from Chinese fans now is the Premier League standings.

As the Manchester Evening News put it, Manchester City completed a comeback against Manchester United on goal difference after winning their 23rd league match.

After the match, the sky in Manchester turned from red to blue!

On the podium, Tang Ye, who had just received his fourth MVP award, was feeling a little awkward.

The great GGBond has been proven wrong!

"Tom, you said in a previous interview that Manchester United could still maintain their winning streak and hold onto the top spot in the league even without you. But... the current situation seems a little different from what you said?"

"..."

The interviewer was a British journalist with a thick London accent.

"Well... actually, it's normal to make some mistakes. I always trust my teammates. I make mistakes too, like the penalty I missed today."

Tang Ye pinched his nose: "I also saw the news and the standings after the match. We and Manchester City are both with 60 points now, so strictly speaking, we haven't lost our first place. We're just a little behind in goal difference, but that's something we can catch up to."

Even if we lose points, we can still catch up.

Tang Ye shrugged.

"I'm sure many Manchester United fans are already hoping you'll return, regarding this..."

Tang Ye looked up and interrupted the reporter, he was now somewhat at a loss.

"I don't know what to say. I really want to go back and help my club, but I also need to help my national team. We have to give our all in every game here."

"As soon as the match here ends, I will definitely buy the earliest ticket back to the club. I can guarantee that I won't lie to you."

Tang Ye made his promise.

As he said, he didn't know what he should do now.

Making a promise seems to be all he can do.

Returning to the tunnel from the stadium, Tang Ye looked up at the ceiling.

GGBond is under immense pressure.

But GGBond doesn't say.

"Tang Ye!"

Seeing Tang Ye come out, Zhang Yuning waved and said, "He wants you to come over for a moment."

The players liked to refer to foreign coaches as "he," and Tang Ye certainly knew who Zhang Yuning was referring to.

"What's wrong?"

"I do not know"

Zhang Yuning shrugged: "He just stood by the tactics board, and then he told me to come find you."

Nodding, Tang Ye walked towards the changing room.

……

A reporter covering Borussia Dortmund reported that after the match against Bayer Leverkusen, the team's head coach, Eskreva, was photographed watching the Asian Cup match between China and Thailand on the team bus.

"He's lovesick," the reporter accompanying the team concluded.

Dortmund fans are no longer surprised to see similar news these days.

Eskeriva suffers from lovesickness in his daily life.

It doesn't matter how much Ferran misses Tom, as long as he doesn't make reckless purchases during the transfer window.

When Eskeriva bought Wu Lei, he was heavily criticized!

"Kill Iran!"

"The semi-finals!"

"Kill Iran!"

"The semi-finals!"

Chinese fans outside the stadium appeared quite excited, surrounding the tour bus that had just come out of the parking lot.

"King Tang!!!"

Someone was calling his name, so Tang Ye naturally opened the curtains.

"come on! Come on!"

Tang Ye has a feeling that the fans are even more enthusiastic now than during the World Cup.

"I feel a little unwell..."

Wu Lei, who was sitting next to Tang Ye, suddenly spoke.

Tang Ye paused for a moment, then turned his head and asked, "What's wrong, Brother Lei?"

"Actually, it would have been better if we had lost one match in the group stage."

Wu Lei's words were astonishing, and Tang Ye's eyes widened in surprise: "Why...is this?"

"We set it too high..."

Seeing Tang Ye's puzzled look, Wu Lei realized he couldn't say that.

"Our winning streak gives others the impression that we're very strong, especially after that 8-1 victory. Now everyone thinks we're incredibly strong, almost invincible."

Isn't this a good thing?

"But think about it, doesn't that raise their (the fans') expectations of us?"

Wu Lei looked into Tang Ye's eyes.

What if we suddenly lose a game?

"..."

This……

Tang Ye fell silent.

At first, I thought what Brother Lei said was a bit nonsensical.

Now, after hearing the explanation, it suddenly seems to make a lot of sense.

"So we have to keep winning?"

"Something like that, haha. Do you think we can keep winning?"

Wu Lei asked a question that even he himself felt guilty about.

Tang Ye did not answer the question directly, but instead looked out the window.

……

A day later, all 16 matches concluded, and the final eight teams for this Asian Cup were determined.

Upper bracket: China, Iran, Vietnam, Japan.

Second half: South Korea, Qatar, UAE, Australia.

You don't need to worry about the lower half; just focus on the upper half.

Iran, Vietnam, and...

Japan.

On the hotel bed, Tang Ye was staring blankly at his phone.

He just watched a highlight reel of Japan's group stage matches on Bilibili, and he has to say that Japan's overall strength is indeed outstanding compared to other teams participating in the Asian Cup.

boom!
Tang Ye jumped out of bed, grabbed a piece of chewing gum, and decided to stop thinking about it.

Let's win against Iran first; Japan is a matter for later.

Besides, GGBond has a great mission to carry out right now!

Tang Ye exited Dongqiudi and opened WhatsApp, finding a folder in his chat with Madaloni.

This is a compressed file containing a lot of things.

[2016-17 Season Kanté Match Highlights]

[2017-18 Season Rodri Game Highlights]

[2016-17 season Pogba match highlights]

【…】

There are more than 20 files in total, all of which Tang Ye needs to see.

The team needs Tang Ye to make more contributions.

It might seem a bit unfair, but Tang Ye was perfectly willing to accept it.

……

At the Chinese team's training ground in Abu Dhabi, Tang Ye sat on the steps at the entrance of the canteen, watching a bird flying in the sky.

When the bird flew to the left, Tang Ye's gaze shifted to the left. When it flew to the right, his gaze shifted to the right.

"Tang Ye!"

"Hmm, good morning, Brother Lei!"

What are you looking at?

Wu Lei looked in the direction Tang Ye had been pointing and saw the small brown bird that had caught Tang Ye's attention.

Haha, why are you looking at birds?

"I don't know either, maybe it's because there's nothing to do, training hasn't even started yet."

Wu Lei sat down next to Tang Ye: "He wants you to play defensive midfield? Have you played defensive midfield before?"

"Yes, I've played there. I think I played there when I was with Villarreal and also when I was with Utrecht."

Tang Ye tried to search for the memories in his mind.

However, it was quite a long time ago, so I don't remember it very clearly.

"To be honest, I think his method makes a lot of sense, because if you kick the ball to the defensive midfielder, we can play a counter-attacking game."

Wu Lei gestured.

With Tang Ye playing as a defensive midfielder, it means that both the Chinese team's attacking and defensive lines will be pushed back, which will inevitably lead to an increase in defensive time.

Simply put, Lippi's method is to bring the opponent into his own half and then use Tang Ye's rhythm to play defense.

As for the attack, they also utilized Tang Ye's long pass counter-attack ability.

This is a tactic that Lippi and Madaloni have always believed the Chinese team should use when facing strong teams.

Regardless, defense is indeed more important than offense.

The Chinese team may be a mini-Manchester United, but China doesn't have the same impressive player lineup as Manchester United. The strategy of prioritizing offense over defense simply doesn't apply to them.

"Brother Lei, you're going to be under a lot of pressure."

Tang Ye put his hand on Wu Lei's shoulder: "Because I'll be passing the ball to you a lot, you need to find a good position and run forward."

"Ha ha"

……

UAE Asian Cup Top Scorers List (as of the end of the Round of 16):
1. Tang Ye (China), 8 goals.

2. Ali (Qatar), 6 goals.

3. Shomurodov (Uzbekistan), 4 goals.

4. Yuya Osako (Japan), 3 goals.

5. Mabkhout (UAE), 3 goals.

The Guardian's Asian Cup Special - Tom only needs one more goal to break the Asian Cup single-season goal record.

The Times – Son Heung-min's Asian Cup performance was mediocre with 2 goals and 0 assists in 4 games. Did the South Korean team's tactics and players drag down the Premier League attacker?

This year's Asian Cup has truly gone global, attracting not only Asian newspapers but also many journalists from Europe and the Americas to the UAE.

Even the Borussia Dortmund coach was secretly watching the China-Thailand match on the team bus!
The reasons behind this are obvious to the fans.

The presidents of FIFA, AFC, and Chinese Football Association were photographed together at the Chinese national team's training base.

All three officials hoped that the Chinese team could perform better.

When will the "Light of Asian Traffic" truly become the "Light of Asia"?
……

Tik Tok.

"AFC Asian Cup Quarter-Finals Team Preview: Iran!"

"The striker is Sardar Azmoun, from a top-tier Russian club, who possesses excellent football intelligence and positioning."

"The midfielder is Majid Hussein, a 22-year-old attacking midfielder with top-notch playmaking abilities from the Turkish Super League."

"..."

"Iran has won the Asian Cup three times in its history and is undoubtedly one of the strongest teams in Asian football. Head coach Queiroz's goal is to lead the team to the championship and return to the top of Asia!"

[That sounds impressive, but didn't Iran lose to us in the Asian Cup qualifiers?]

Iran is first in their Asian Cup qualifying group, ranked higher than us.

[Tang Ye: A genius attacking midfielder? Let me see]

[Iran won't play China in the quarterfinals? And you're still describing them as a genius midfielder? Ask Hossein if he dares to call himself a genius in front of Tang Ye.]

Go China!!!

As the knockout stage progresses, the Asian Cup is receiving increasing attention.

Now, promotional posters for the World Cup can be seen in shopping malls across the country, giving people a feeling of being back in the World Cup.

However, unlike the World Cup, the Chinese team survived the first knockout match in the Asian Cup.

Their next goal is to defeat Iran and advance to the semi-finals!
……

clap clap!

In the locker room, the Chinese team players clapped their hands, trying to get excited.

Tang Ye appeared relatively calm, remaining seated in his place.

Lippi walked over.

"Let's start by playing normally, but we can be a little more aggressive. We absolutely must solidify our advantage."

"Iran is stronger than both Thailand and South Korea, if things don't go well..."

I don't think so.

Tang Ye interrupted Lippi: "We already won in the Asian Cup qualifiers."

"I know, but just to be on the safe side, I'm telling you this beforehand."

Lippi slowly explained: "Iran is stronger than when we last met. If unexpected situations arise, I will try to have you play as a defensive midfielder."

Tang Ye nodded, then gave Lippi a high five.

"Go, Tang the King of Football (Chinese)"

"Haha, thank you, sir."

……

The hashtag #ChinaIran easily topped the Weibo trending list, and the players are all ready.

A beam of light shone in from outside the passage, landing directly on Tang Ye's forehead.

"I rely on!"

Tang Ye was momentarily blinded by the flash and quickly dodged.

"China Media Group, China Broadcasting..."

"As you can see, both teams' players have already left the player tunnel."

The camera follows Tang Ye and the caddie he is leading as they move slowly.

A gust of wind blew, and his brown hair fluttered.

“Beep!!!!”

"Alright, let's begin the match. Now, I'll introduce the starting lineups for both teams, starting with China!"

China (4-3-3)

Goalkeeper: Yan Junling
Defenders: Liu Yiming, Feng Xiaoting, Shi Ke, Liu Yang

Midfielders: Hao Junmin, Tang Ye, Zhang Chengdong
Forwards: Wu Lei, Gao Lin, Yu Hanchao
Compared to the last match, the starting lineup for the Chinese team has undergone some significant changes today.

Not only did the formation change from 4231 to 433, but the starting lineup also changed quite a bit.

"Lippi must have something in mind."

"Yes, we said before that if Lippi hadn't played Tang Ye as a striker, the award for best coach in the group stage would definitely have gone to him."

"Yes, because Lippi's level is among the top tier of all coaches in the entire Asian Cup."

Snapped!
At the start of the match, Tang Ye made a very bold long pass directly into the penalty area, but unfortunately Gao Lin failed to handle the ball well.

"Eh!"

"It's alright, it's alright, good! good!"

Madaloni looked a little anxious.

This past month of the Asian Cup has probably been the most stressful month of his life.

"China~ China~ I fight for you!"

I'm so proud of you!

"China, China!"

"I cheer for you, I'm so proud of you!"

“Ole Ole Ole Ole Ole Ola…”

Boom!

Bang bang bang!
The atmosphere at the stadium was getting heated, and the Chinese players were gradually finding their rhythm.

……

Requesting monthly votes at the beginning of the month!!!
(End of this chapter)