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

Chapter 729 A Real Warm-up Match

Sohu: 9.83 seconds! Su Bingtian broke the Asian record in the 100-meter semifinals at the Tokyo Olympics with a time of 9.83 seconds, advancing to the finals as the top finisher in his group.

The Paper – In the men's football semi-final, the Chinese Olympic men's football team lost 1-2 to the Ivory Coast Olympic team, ending their run in the quarterfinals. Jiang Shenglong scored the winning goal.

The Tokyo Olympics have entered the second half, with both field and track events entering the knockout stage, making them highly anticipated.

The Chinese Olympic team also received both good news and bad news.

With a time of 9.83 seconds, breaking the Asian record, Su Bingtian's performance in the semifinals can only be described as amazing, regardless of the final result.

However, it is truly a pity that the Chinese Olympic men's football team was eliminated right after advancing to the knockout stage.

According to the Chinese Football Association, Tang Ye will most likely participate if the 2020 Tokyo Olympics are held as scheduled.

Upon seeing the news in Titan Sports, Chinese fans didn't know whether to feel fortunate or regretful.

Being of age but not participating in the Olympics is definitely a good thing for Tang Ye, because Olympic medals don't really have much value for football players.

But the national Olympic team is in a difficult position.

Based on the actual situation of the men's football event at this Olympics, if the national Olympic team could bring Tang Ye back from the national Olympic team and add two over-age players, winning a medal would be a very easy task.

Repost: Tang Ye shared the video of Jiang Shenglong scoring a goal on social media, commenting "Go Jiang Shenglong!"

"9.83 seconds, that's really impressive..."

Watching the Chinese Olympic team being eliminated by Ivory Coast on TV, Tang Ye felt extremely frustrated.

Fortunately, Su Bingtian brought good news at this time, and it was very, very good news.

"We're both Chinese, why can't you run fast?"

Dembele seized the opportunity and directly provoked Tang Ye: "You run a 9.83-second Tom, then I won't have to play as a winger, and I can play as an attacking midfielder."

Dembele considers himself good at passing and doesn't like making runs down the flanks, so the midfield position is very attractive to him.

"I ran 9.83 seconds?"

"Haha, okay, wait for me to train and then wait for 4 more years. I'll participate in both the World Cup and the Olympics then."

Tang Ye also joked with Dembele: "But before I run 9.83 seconds, I want to see you play in midfield first."

"If you play as an attacking midfielder for any team in the Premier League, I can run 9.83 seconds."

Tang Ye appeared to have set a goal for himself, but in reality, he cleverly set a trap for Dembele.

Putting two impossible events together and then demanding that the other party complete them first may seem like a rogue tactic, but it's actually incredibly effective.

"Go to hell, fuck!"

Dembele waved his hand and said, "If I run 9.83 seconds, can you play as a center forward and score 10 headers in a season?"

"Haha! You don't think you're that good at heading, do you, Osman? I can head the ball too, you just haven't seen it."

"Okay, whatever."

We started by talking about 9.83 seconds, then moved on to headers.

When the topic of headers came up, Tang Ye and Dembele couldn't help but talk about Cristiano Ronaldo.

So, will Ronaldo come?

Dembele raised his question.

Everyone online is talking about the rumors linking Cristiano Ronaldo to Manchester United.

Fans don't know the exact situation, but Dembele, as a Manchester United player, has the advantage of being able to directly ask Tang Ye.

However, Tang Ye did not seem to think that this matter had anything to do with him.

Why are you asking me this? How would I know?

"Isn't this all up to Eric? His decision has nothing to do with me."

Tang Ye was determined to distance himself from this matter.

Because he knows Jurassic Park so well, regardless of whether Ronaldo will eventually come to Manchester United, Tang Ye will inevitably be criticized by fans for saying the wrong thing during the transfer window.

A new king has ascended the throne in football, but as a newcomer, Tang Ye needs to maintain sufficient respect for Messi and Ronaldo, the two former kings.

"Come on! This has something to do with you; that's what everyone's saying online."

Dembele gestured to Tang Ye to stop pretending: "If you don't agree, Ronaldo won't come!"

"That depends on Eric's opinion; whether I agree or not is not the point."

"No, listen to me..."

"I feel that in the end, it's up to you to decide."

Bruno Fernandes interrupted Dembele.

As a Portuguese, Bruno Fernandes likely wants Ronaldo to come, so he has obviously looked into the matter.

"I, I don't know..."

Tang Ye shook his head slightly, clearly feeling utterly helpless.

"Has Eric asked you about this, about Cristiano?"

Tang Ye pondered carefully the question posed by Rodri.

"I did ask."

"That's right!"

Snapped!
Rodri and Bruno Fernandes clapped their hands at the same time.

While transfers may seem like a team-wide effort, Ronaldo's case is quite unique.

This matter was influenced by many factors, the biggest of which was Tang Ye.

"That……"

Rodri pinched his chin and looked at Tang Ye: "What are you planning to do?"

"Well, what I mean is, you can answer if you want, or it's okay if you don't want to."

Not realizing that asking the question was a bit too direct, Rodri apologized to Tang Ye first.

"Oh! It's nothing, it's nothing!"

Tang Ye didn't really care.

Because in his eyes, teammates can share ideas with each other.

"Actually... I don't think I should be too opposed to Cristiano coming."

"He's fine."

Tang Ye gritted his teeth: "But I feel that if we're going to buy a center forward, Kane would be a better choice because he's young."

Logically speaking, Cristiano Ronaldo is undoubtedly outstanding.

However, from a long-term perspective and from the club's point of view, the younger Kane might be a better option for Manchester United.

They could even do what Ten Hag planned: observe Osimhen's situation through warm-up matches and see if they can win a high-cost lottery ticket worth nearly 1 million euros.

……

Bank of America Stadium.

This is the home ground of the Carolina Black Panthers, and also the venue for today's friendly match between Manchester United and Napoli.

As an NFL team, the Panthers' home stadium has 75000 seats.

Despite the large number of seats, more than 6 fans still attended the match between Manchester United and Napoli, making it one of the highest-attended football matches in the United States this year.

"TangYe!"

"TangYe!"

I got off the bus.

It's been a long time since my last visit to the United States, and I just realized that I have so many enthusiastic fans here.

While taking photos with fans, Tang Ye secretly walked up to Dembele and said, "I feel a little guilty now."

"Huh? What's wrong?"

"They were so supportive of me, and I even peeked at their military transport plane, which I shouldn't have done."

"..."

"Ha ha!"

Dembele shook his head: "But we didn't see anything, so it's not a problem."

"Makes sense."

"Then remind me when we're heading back that I won't be using the sunshade."

……

Bilibili!

As the sole domestic copyright holder for the third warm-up match, Bilibili has made ample preparations for it.

Although the platform itself does not have as much traffic as Douyin, the way of live streaming Manchester United's pre-season friendlies can attract a lot of new users to Bilibili, including a large number of loyal fans in their thirties and forties.

For Bilibili, the role of football matches is to help them attract more users over 30 years old.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to this friendly match between Manchester United and Napoli. The venue for this game is Charlotte, North Carolina, USA, a football stadium with a capacity of over 7..."

In the shot, Osimhen and Politano stand in the center circle, waiting for the referee's whistle to blow the starting whistle. "Tang Ye!"

"TangYe!"

The majority of people present were Americans.

As one of the world's most notorious football deserts, the United States actually has very few football fans.

As the NBA's popularity declines, some former basketball fans will switch to football, making Manchester United, with its star players, the most attractive club.

In some respects, the United States and China are actually quite similar.

"Beep!!!"

The game is on!

Napoli (4-3-3)

Goalkeeper: Meret
Defenders: Divrenzo, Manolas, Koulibaly, Mario Rui
Midfielders: Fabian Ruiz, Lobotka, Zielinski

Forwards: Politano, Osimhen, Insigne
Manchester United (4-2-3-1)

Goalkeeper: De Gea
Defenders: Wan-Bissaka, De Ligt, Varane, Luke Shaw
……

Both sides fielded very standard starting lineups, but it seems that Ten Hag of Manchester United is considering promoting Varane to the starting lineup?
Some Manchester United fans were quite surprised to see this, because Varane is neither Dutch nor a member of the Portuguese national team, so it is almost impossible for him to get a starting position at Manchester United in a short period of time.

Could it be that Ten Hach had a change of heart?

The camera panned to Erik ten Hag on the sidelines, where the Manchester United manager remained expressionless, giving off an unpredictable vibe.

The great Eric seems to be trying to bring about a change!
A great transformation!

"Zelinski, hey, lead the way forward."

"Napoli didn't seem to be in a rush at the start of the match."

"Yes, I feel that Napoli wants to test Manchester United's level of defense on the flanks first."

Manchester United doesn't have many weaknesses, the most obvious of which is the flanks.

Luke Shaw is not good at defense, and Wan-Bissaka is not good at defending against multiple opponents. These two players have become Manchester United's weaknesses.

If we want to beat Manchester United, testing the toughness of their weaknesses will be key.

Facing De Jong's one-on-one defense, Zielinski stopped the ball by stepping on it.

Rui ran up from behind and received a pass from his teammate.

Definitely start setting the bottom!
So far, the game is going very smoothly, and Manchester United's defense is also tightening up at the same time.

"hurry up!"

Ten Hag shouted, "Look at their defenders!"

Just after Ten Hag finished shouting, Lobotka and Koulibaly suddenly moved forward, forming a trio with Osimhen who was already in the attacking third, creating three passing options for Rui almost instantly.

fuck!

Knowing something was wrong, Tang Ye wanted to run over and keep an eye on Lobotka, who was closest to him.

But Rui was very clever; he chose to pass the ball to Koulibaly, who wasn't in the best position.

Koulibaly stopped the ball in the middle and passed it to Politano!
"Pretty!"

"Napoli has moved the ball down the right flank!"

Snapped!
Facing Luke Shaw's defense, Politano forced a cross.

Osimhen!

boom!
Napoli's center forward used his physical advantage to force his way forward and jumped up to head the ball.

But it flew away.

"Depend on!"

The two sides had completely different feelings: Napoli were very disappointed, while Manchester United breathed a sigh of relief.

Just as they relaxed, the Manchester United players on the field were quickly scolded by Ten Hag.

What are you guys doing?

"Keep an eye on them! Keep an eye on them!"

clap clap!

Ten Hag clapped his hands repeatedly, gesturing for the players to look in his direction: "Why are they able to pass the ball safely? Apply pressure, press!"

Having just played two games in China, the Manchester United players don't seem to have shaken off the gaming mentality yet.

Napoli is not Beijing Guoan, nor is it the Chinese national team.

They are teams from the top five European leagues, so how can you treat this match like a game?
"Cough cough!"

With a wave of his hand, Tang Ye, as the captain, stepped forward and called several key players who controlled the tempo to his side.

"Osman, move to the right lane. Marcus will come to the mid lane to pull. I'll coordinate with him."

Compared to Rashford's mediocre performance, Tang Ye chose to trust Dembele's ability to break through defenses.

"So I see an opportunity and immediately move forward?"

Although he usually acts carefree and often clashes with Tang Ye.

But one thing at a time, if Dom had tactical instructions during the actual match, Dembele would definitely have listened.

"Yes, try to move a little to the right to spread their defense out."

"Their defense is too tight!"

"..."

"Unity! Man United!"

"Man United!"

Boom!

Bang bang bang!
Although it was a neutral stadium, Manchester United fans still made up the majority, with a ratio of approximately 5 to 1.

The camera focuses on Rodri.

After shaking off Ruiz's pressure, Rodri immediately passed the ball to Luke Shaw.

Manchester United's peak performance began with overlapping runs!
Luke Shaw's speed was so fast that he immediately set the pace for Manchester United's entire team.

"Go pick them up!"

Tang Ye pushed off the ground and accelerated, heading straight for the left flank. He then instructed Rashford to drop back and receive the pass.

"Oh!!!"

Luke Shaw bypassed Rashford and passed the ball directly to Tang Ye.

"Tang Ye..."

"Ahead is Napoli's number 22, Di Lorenzo."

"Let's see how Tang Ye plans to handle this. Will he continue with his consistently aggressive playing style, or..."

"Wow, beautiful!"

Before the commentator could finish speaking, Tang Ye delivered a groin piercing to Di Lorenzo.

The Napoli full-back, who had been easily beaten, was naturally unwilling to accept it and reached out to pull Tang Ye down.

Tang Ye held on with all his might, and before falling to the ground, he delivered a through pass.

Dembele makes a run down the middle!
Snapped!
With a gentle push, Dembele easily opened the scoring for his team.

“GOOOO——AAAA——LLLLLL!!!”

"The ball is in!"

"Beautiful! Dembele!"

"There was absolutely no problem with that goal!"

Although they were caught off guard by Napoli at the beginning, Manchester United players adjusted their form very quickly.

With their form improved and their squad more mature on paper and tactical system, Manchester United will naturally have the advantage.

"Ha ha!"

Dembele raised his hands above his head and gave Tang Ye a high five: "That was easy!"

"Too easy!"

"Stop blowing!"

"Come on."

Tang Ye patted Dembele on the back.

Manchester United took the lead in the match, but as the most perceptive player on the field, Tang Ye knew that the pace of the game was only just picking up at this point.

Although the score is 1-0, it's really just the beginning.

……

(End of this chapter)