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

Chapter 717 Asian Cup Qualifiers Round of 12 Draw, Manchester United Returns During Off-Season (3rd Update, Seeking Monthly Tickets!)
新华网：2022年卡塔尔世界杯亚洲区预选赛第三阶段（十二强）抽签仪式将于7月1日在吉隆坡举行，12支参赛球队分为6档，同档球队不同组。

Tier 1: Japan and Iran.

Tier 2: China and South Korea.

……

Tier 6: Lebanon and Vietnam.

The seeding for the final 12 teams was based on the national teams' FIFA rankings.

After the Asian Cup, the Chinese team maintained its number one ranking in Asia for a period of time.

Unfortunately, after two East Asian Cups and the first and second stages of the Asian Cup qualifiers, the Chinese team's ranking dropped to third in Asia.

Dropping from first to third place seems like a huge fall, but it's actually understandable.

After all, Tang Ye hasn't played for the national team since the 2019 Asian Cup.

In response to the upcoming lottery, Xinhua News Agency reporters conducted a video interview with Tang Ye, who is currently at his home in Guangdong.

The screen shows Tang Ye's head. At this moment, Tang Ye is wearing a pure white Adidas T-shirt, and the background behind him is a large bed.

"Mr. Tang, do you have anything to say about the draw for the top 12 that will take place in a week?"

"..."

Tang Ye leaned his upper body on the table, which allowed him to get closer to the camera.

"I think it's a bit tough to be placed in the second tier, because Japan and Iran are both quite strong, and it's not good to force them to play against us."

The impact of the World Cup qualifiers on a team's FIFA ranking has been considered by both the Chinese national team and the Chinese Football Association.

However, the World Cup qualifiers start in May, when Dortmund is still busy with the Champions League, and you can't expect Tang Ye to take time off to come back and play.

So now we can only accept the fact that we've been placed in the second tier.

If we randomly select either Japan or Iran, who would be a more suitable opponent?
"I don't know what Lippi's thinking is, because there's still more than a month before the training camp starts. But if you had to choose one..."

Tang Ye looked hesitant: "I'll choose Iran. I've watched some recent match videos between Japan and Iran, and I feel that Japan is much stronger now than they were in the Asian Cup and the last World Cup final. Of course, I don't mean to say that we are weak."

"Speaking of Lippi, his contract with the national team expires in July. Do you think the Football Association will renew his contract? Or... will they seek a new coach?"

"I haven't received any information about that yet."

Tang Ye shrugged: "Lippi's professional ability is indeed outstanding."

After asking several of the most important questions, the Xinhua News Agency reporter then inquired about Manchester United's China tour with Tang Ye.

Taking this opportunity, Tang Ye made assurances to reporters and the media.

He is currently in good physical condition and his right hand injury is recovering, so he will play the full 90 minutes in both games in Chengdu and Beijing.

Although no contract was signed, he is, after all, a Chinese citizen and has received considerable support from Chinese companies, fans, and the Chinese Football Association along the way. It would indeed be unreasonable for him to conserve energy and reduce playing time when playing exhibition matches in China.

……

Xinhua News Agency interviewed Tang Ye: He will return to Manchester United on July 7 to report, and then begin his China tour, where he will play two 90-minute warm-up matches.

Dongqiudi pinned post: What do you think? Tang Ye, in an interview, said he would prefer to face Iran rather than Japan.

Iran's strength has probably declined, while Japan has become stronger. I think it's quite reasonable to mention Iran.

[The problem is that Iran plays an attacking style, and I feel our defense can't hold up. Japan's passing and possession game is better, but I, Tang, specialize in breaking down their passing and possession style!]

The difference between national team matches and club matches is huge. What if Japan skips the National People's Congress and plays a possession-based style of football? What will you do then? Just surrender?

What are you all so nervous about? It's not like we necessarily have to beat Japan and Iran. We just need to beat the rest of the teams. Anyway, just watch my performance as a National People's Congress representative.

The Sun reports that Tang Ye and his girlfriend were present at the Wimbledon semi-finals.

In the photos published by The Sun, Tang Ye, Zhou Ye, and Rodri are seen sitting together watching the game. Another person who caught the attention of fans was Jackie Chan.

I didn't expect that Tang Ye and Jackie Chan had a connection. It seems they were invited by the organizers together?

Weibo: Look who's here! Tang Ye has been officially announced as the ambassador for the 2021 Stockholm Counter-Strike Major.

……

Italian journalist Romano: Here we go! Varane has transferred to Manchester United, with an estimated transfer fee of 4000 million euros or more.

With the signing of Real Madrid defender Varane and the return of Dalot from loan, Manchester United have already added two players to their squad halfway through the winter transfer window.

Of course, some fans believe that having two more players is far from enough.

What does Manchester United need most right now?
He's a center!
Manchester United need a strong center forward to complement their powerful starting lineup!

The Manchester Evening Post's front-page headline reads: "TY asks Manchester United management if they can sign Kane; TY speaks highly of the English striker."

The second headline on the front page of Mundo Deportivo reports that Ten Hag is interested in Dutch striker Weghorst, and the transfer is under discussion.

7 Month 1 Day!
Today is a very important day, especially for football fans in the Asian region.

Because the draw for the top 12 teams in the Asian Games has begun!

Xinhua News Agency: The draw results for the Asian Qualifiers for the 12 World Cup are out, with the Chinese national team set to face Japan!

Group A: Iran, South Korea, Australia, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon.

Group B: Japan, China, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Oman, Vietnam.

The lottery results...

To be honest, many fans were speechless when they first saw the draw results.

There is no consensus among fans regarding whether Iran or Japan is stronger.

But since Tang Ye said he didn't want to mention Japan, drawing Japan would definitely be a bad result for the Chinese national football team.

There is also Saudi Arabia.

Japan and Saudi Arabia are two teams that the Chinese team needs to be wary of!
……

Oriental News – Lippi's team is urging the Chinese Football Association to make a decision.

"Lippi himself is positive about continuing to coach the Chinese men's national football team, but the Football Association has not yet given a response, which makes the Italian anxious."

Lippi was a little anxious, but he couldn't afford not to be.

The Italian is 73 years old this year, so this is very likely his last job.

Whether the Chinese team will renew his contract will directly determine when Lippi will retire.

Manchester United official statement: The Return of the King!
Manchester United released a photo showing Tang Ye carrying a backpack at the Carrington training ground.

Many movie fans should know that Manchester United's official account paid homage to the third Lord of the Rings film here.

The title of the third Lord of the Rings movie is "The Return of the King," and even the capitalization is the same.

However, because the contexts are different, the same text can produce different results when translated.

Judging from the photos, Tang Ye seems to be in a pretty good mood today, because it's a rare sunny day in Manchester!

In addition to the photo in the report, Manchester United also released a video.

In the video, Tang Ye changed into his training uniform and arrived at the training ground, where he hugged Ten Hah and Van der Gach, who were already ready.

[Countdown to the start of the new season: 35 days]

"Diogo!"

Tang Ye shook hands with Dalot, welcoming the Portuguese full-back back. Dalot's performance at AC Milan wasn't particularly outstanding, but his return is still necessary for Manchester United.

Because Luke Shaw is frequently injured, and Ashley Young has left the team, Manchester United has always been short of players in the full-back position.

The pandemic has caused financial problems for the club, so you can't expect Manchester United to make signings in whichever position they need; that's unrealistic.

If capitalists keep buying people, how will they make money?
"I watched you play every day when I was in Serie A."

Dalot put his hand on Tang Ye's shoulder, whether as a joke or for real, it was unclear.

"Ha ha!"

"Thank you, Diogo, and best of luck in the Euro qualifiers!"

"I wish you all the best in the Asian Cup qualifiers, Tom!"

The two chatted for a few minutes, and then headed to the training ground together.

Since returning from his loan spell, Dalot has been sticking close to Tang Ye, and no one knows what's going on.

He seems to be a big fan of Tom the Great?
"long time no see!"

Tang Ye and Dembele hugged.

The moment the two met, Tang Ye immediately started boasting about his role as the global CS ambassador: "The Stockholm Major, they'll be releasing weapon skins for me then. How about it, Osman?"

How will you get to the competition in November?

Dembele was puzzled.

"It's not like I necessarily have to go there. The commercials I filmed make me a brand ambassador, and I can use my own skin. They're playing in Stockholm, and I can use my own skin in Manchester. Isn't it the same thing?"

"No, no, no, it's different. You have to be there in person to be a promotional ambassador!"

"Hey, you're just envious of me, Osman, there's no need for that!"

"If you win the World Cup next year and get the Golden Boot, CS will also give you a custom skin. And since you're the World Cup Golden Boot winner, you'll definitely get more custom skins than me!"

Tang Ye pushed Dembele forward.

Dalot doesn't play CS, and he doesn't know why Tang Ye and Dembele are so fond of this game.

Oh, and there's Neymar too.

!

Tang Ye, Dembele, Neymar...

Dalot's eyes lit up as he suddenly noticed something.

These CS players are all top-notch talents.

Could playing shooting games unleash a person's potential for soccer?

wow！

The players gathered at the training ground, with Ten Hag and Van der Gag standing together.

"Today is our first day of reporting for duty. There are still 4 players who haven't returned due to some issues. We'll talk about those 4 players later."

"Let's talk about the arrangements for next season first..."

Van der Gach opened the notebook and handed it to Ten Hach.

"First of all, there are the signings this summer. Although we have only spent tens of millions so far, we don't actually have much money left."

To avoid the players constantly asking Ten Hag, he simply revealed the club's situation.

"The club hasn't given me a large budget, but... I'll try to negotiate. As for how much I can get, that's not your concern. I'll handle the player recruitment. You just need to train as required and execute the tactics in the matches."

As head coach and the team's football manager, requesting budgets from leadership is part of Ten Hag's job, and he is very good at it.

"Then there's the league. I want to talk about the league first because it's something we absolutely must fight for."

When the topic turned to match schedules, Ten Hag's tone suddenly became more serious, as if he had suffered too much injustice in last season's Premier League.

"We finished second in the Premier League last season. Do you know why we were second?"

"Is it because we're not as good as Manchester City that we're being overshadowed by them?"

"No, how is that possible!"

"The reason we came in second is because neither of us performed at our best. Not just you, but me too."

"Then why didn't I perform at my best? Because in many cases you didn't perform the tasks as I required!"

"That's why we failed!"

Ten Hag pressed his index finger firmly on his notebook: "Last season we only had the Club World Cup, so this season our primary task is the league title. We can't make any excuses for that, no matter how well Manchester City and Liverpool perform, or how suddenly Chelsea emerges. We are going to win the title, that's for sure."

"Then there's the Champions League. The group stage draw hasn't started yet. But whatever the draw results are, we're going to finish first in our group."

Ten Hag ignored the EFL Cup and FA Cup, saying the players needed to focus on the Premier League and Champions League.

Tang Ye listened attentively; he sensed Ten Hach's ambition.

Ten Hag's speech ignited the passion of the Manchester United players standing on the grass!

However, based on Tang Ye's understanding of Ten Hach...

“We don’t have the EFL Cup or FA Cup to compete for right now, but once the season starts, we certainly will.”

Tang Ye and Dalot whispered, "Eric will change the plan at the last minute, so we'll definitely be competing for the championship on four fronts."

"Ah."

Dalot nodded emphatically with a serious expression.

Everyone knows that playing for Manchester United involves an exceptionally heavy workload and immense pressure.

In that case, we need to be prepared before the season starts!
"Let's go for a physical exam first, and then we'll start today's training. There aren't many tasks today, so we can relax a bit."

clap clap clap!
Van der Gach clapped his hands: "Alright, alright, let's get moving!"

"Don't be lifeless, keep your passion alive!"

……

The front page headline of the China Football News reads: "New coach not yet confirmed! Lippi's contract with the national team has expired, and the Chinese Football Association currently has no plans to sign a new contract with him."

"The Italians are urging us, but the Football Association says they need more time to think it over."

The Chinese Football Association certainly has the means to provide over 2000 million euros, especially since, with the assistance of the General Administration of Sport, it can easily obtain an interest-free loan of 5 million to 10 billion RMB from the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China.

More than 2000 million euros is not a small amount, and the Football Association should be more cautious in this regard.

of course!

The amount of money is relative; in some cases, you might even think that 2000 million euros is a small sum.

L'Équipe's front-page headline: Another historic achievement! TY's latest Transfermarkt value surpasses 3 million euros, breaking his own world record of 2.6 million euros.

……

P.S.: It's easy to get banned during the off-season, so some chapters will be posted directly at midnight these days to avoid being banned while I'm still sleeping.

There will be another update at 10 PM!
Asking for a monthly ticket!
(End of this chapter)