Shooting Trajectory is Visible - Chapter 107



Only Krnovel

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The first matchup in the semifinals was South Korea vs. Brazil.

Before the game, I went with the coach to a press conference room full of foreign and domestic reporters and conducted an interview.

“Currently, South Korea is playing head-to-head with Brazil as its senior national team and is at an overwhelming disadvantage with a total record of 1 win and 7 losses.

Also, the national teams by age group, U-23, have 3 losses in 3 matches, U-20 has 1 win, 1 draw, and 9 losses in 11 matches, and U-17 has 1 win, 1 draw, and 6 losses in 8 matches, showing a huge difference in their performance. What do you think about this, coach? I am also curious to know how you will play out this match.”

“······The ball is round and there is no absolute winner in soccer. Our U23 national team has never won against Brazil, but this time, we don’t know.”

Director Choi spoke in general terms. I sat next to him and nodded my head slightly, pretending to agree.

“First of all, we have won all the matches since we came to France, including the evaluation match. We have not lost a single match, not even a single draw. If we do what we have done without being discouraged, we can easily defeat Brazil.”

The difference in compatibility is overwhelming.

Among the countries we’ve been in, has there ever been a country like that?

We don’t have many records against France, Spain, and even the United States.

And, as if mocking everyone’s expectations, we defeated those countries one after another and came this far.

Not only foreign media, but even Koreans reacted by saying, ‘France won’t do it’, ‘Spain will be difficult’, but we did it.

And now people were moving beyond ‘what if?’ to ‘any country can win!’

The same goes for players who play directly on the field.

We can do it.

‘I need to be in the top three at least for the Football Manager rewards, so I should be able to do it before then.’

If it doesn’t work, make it work.

I played the game with that kind of mindset, and my attitude going into the match against Brazil won’t be much different.

“···Kim?”

This time, the question was directed at me.

He was a foreign correspondent, but judging from the name tag around his neck, he looked like a German reporter. When I nodded, the German reporter asked me a question in English.

“I haven’t conceded a goal in any game since my debut. It’s an incredible achievement. I think many young goalkeepers will be influenced and inspired by Kim. Can you give them a piece of advice?”

Oh. This is an off-topic question.

Normally, I would have asked questions about the game, but it was difficult to refuse such questions.

“hmm···.”

Just some advice.

“You need to develop your own abilities. Even if it seems like you’re not making much progress, there will be times when your consistent efforts will pay off. And, it may sound arrogant, but if you try to imitate me, you’ll definitely fail, so developing your own strengths will help.”

I was sincere.

What good will it do to imitate a goalkeeper whose trajectory can be seen in the eye?

Not only would it not be of much help, but you wouldn’t be able to do what I did, and I didn’t want to see promising youngsters go, “Ugh! Why can’t I do it like Kim? Why! Why!”

Well······ You guys can’t see the trajectory, right?

‘Not only the trajectory, but also the stat increase would be extremely limited without Football Manager.’

And this time, a French reporter raised his hand. It was a female reporter.

“Do you think you can keep your clean sheet throughout this tournament?”

I thought deeply about that question.

No, I don’t think so.

If you meet Messi, you’ll be satisfied.

Honestly, I think it would work even if Mbappe came up.

No matter how I think about it, I was lucky in the last game.

However, sometimes in life, a man comes across a time when he has to lie.

Even if it’s just bluff and boasting, I decided to stand tall and show off my teeth because I’ve shown what I have so far.

“I think I will continue to keep my clean sheets not only in this tournament but throughout my professional career.”

Then, laughter erupted everywhere. I continued talking without laughing.

“I wonder if I can still smile like that when the Bundesliga season starts and the season is over. Well, we’ll just have to wait and see.”

And then he put the mic down.

I kept my mouth shut and looked up vaguely.

‘This guy’s mouth is really square…’

If I hadn’t bit my lip hard, I probably would have sighed like the ground was falling apart.

‘It turned out well.’

The truth of the drain.

If you don’t want to become a liar or a clown, you have to keep a vicious streak of shutouts.

If you talk so loudly and get eaten up in the Brazil match, you’re screwed. If you advance to the finals and get eaten up again there, you’re screwed.

What happens when the competition is over?

Even if it works in the league, people will laugh at it again when this mention comes up.

‘Anyway, life is hard for you. You could just say that you think you can do well…’

I think so in my head, but my mouth won’t listen.

Now it’s your body’s turn to suffer.

The interview, which continued a little longer, ended like that, and Coach Choi smiled brightly and patted my head, saying that he was looking forward to a clean sheet against Brazil.

Yeah. Let’s do it. Let’s do it.

*

And the match between Korea and Brazil was just around the corner.

Brazil’s wild cards were a mix of veteran players playing in the Brazilian league.

One winger, one midfielder and one fullback each.

The rest were all young players. But we can’t let our guard down.

The players who make it to Brazil’s age-group teams are bound to become the ones who will dominate world football in the future, and they are players who are good enough even at a young age.

Beep─!

And the game began.

In this match, Korea’s concept was ‘fire and fire’.

We won the last game, but we gave up possession to a shocking degree, so I guess it wasn’t Coach Choi’s style.

I heard that it was a plan devised by Yoo Jin-ho, and if you look closely, it was a successful plan.

Spain had a blunt spearhead in beating Korea, and eventually they were eliminated in a penalty shootout.

“Here! Here!”

So I also took an active part in this game. The ball was going back and forth in our own half, so I left the goal empty and went to the edge of the penalty area to play a part in the build-up.

Lee Jin-seop receives the ball that has been passed back and passes it to me, and a Brazilian player runs towards him actively.

Boohoo-!

I handed it over to Jo Young-woo at the front line.

During the ball battle, Jo Young-woo dropped the ball to Park Seung-ho, who was nearby, and in this way, Korea pressured Brazil with a completely different performance than in the match against Spain.

‘It’s better than I thought?’

They were pressuring the eternal championship contenders Brazil and were actually gaining the upper hand. And they deserved it. If they win this game, they will be exempted from military service!

In fact, the players had very serious expressions on their faces right from the locker room.

“Now I just need to win one game. If I just win one game, I’ll be discharged···.”

“Please, Kim Min-woo! This time, I will only trust you!”

In the locker room, the Sangmu hyungs half-jokingly and half-seriously asked me to do it.

This is how I reacted to those brothers’ reactions.

“Hmm. Should I send my brothers to the military or not….”

“hey!”

“Just kidding. Just leave it to me.”

But now I think I don’t have to worry too much.

Guys, you were really running like crazy and pushing like crazy.

Just one game.

If I win just this one game, I’ll be exempt from military service.

Although the opponent was Brazil, which was practically considered a match for the national team, our players’ passion for military exemption seemed to be unbearable and they continued to be pushed back.

‘Because of the military exemption, Korea and Brazil are on a par. It’s really amazing.’

Passion for exemption. Very commendable.

Boohoo-!

And even Jo Young-woo’s valid shot.

This this.

Will it really work?

*

And my prediction was wrong.

The Brazilian players, whose bodies were gradually warming up, responded to the harsh pressure from the Korean players by ‘relieving the pressure’ and began to show why they are the favorites to win.

Rough pressure.

Simultaneous pressure.

Occupying space.

South Korea’s defensive passion could not stop Brazil’s attacking acumen.

Brazil has begun to punish Korea in earnest for daring to fire back at them.

“Young-wook! Shit. Jin-seop!”

Brazil’s wild card and midfielder Willian Farias, who plays as the middle 3 in the 4-3-3 formation, lightly passed a long pass forward, and that one pass instantly broke down our defense.

The guy running ahead of me is Joao Pedro, who plays for Brighton in the Premier League.

In an instant, a solo 1v1 opportunity is created, and the defenders are far away.

As soon as I saw the trajectory, I spread my arms and legs wide like a locust.

Boohoo-!

Joao Pedro kicks the shot at the same time.

The ball that hit my body bounced to the side, and Lee Jin-seop ran over and kicked it hard out of the touchline to end the situation.

“Good! Our Minwoo! I believed in you!”

“···Let’s focus, brothers.”

Look how crazy Brazil is unfolding.

How could you send it forward so casually and have such a threatening attack opportunity?

I went back to the goal nervously.

*

The Brazilian defenders were playing for Zenit and Leverkusen respectively.

Neither of them were starters for their respective teams, but were either second or third options.

But how could he possibly be a sub for a prestigious club at such a young age? So I expected that scoring in this game would not be easy.

If I hadn’t witnessed Lee Kang-im sprint down the flank, pass a ground ball to Jo Young-woo in the cross area, and cleanly kick it away with one touch.

Boohoo-!

I was watching it intently, and I tilted my head back as I saw the shot go past the goal by two sesame leaf widths.

“Oh my, what a pity!”

A sigh just comes out naturally.

But that’s okay. It was a good try.

Above all, it is encouraging that Korean players are not giving up.

The counterattack was very clean, and although the shot didn’t go in, the process was very good.

PSG runs, PSG passes, Sangmu shoots.

Sangmu, who received the exemption, was on par with PSG.

But Brazil was no slouch either.

It was similar to Spain, but with a different ending.

Brazil’s wildcard Robson sent the ball between Lee Jin-seop’s feet with a heel pass.

And Joao Pedro, who received the ball in empty space, started running again. It was like deja vu.

‘It’s on the left!’

Joao Pedro, who was standing right in front of me with Seol Young-wook on his back, aimed for the left goal with his left foot.

I could tell because I saw the trajectory in advance, and I raised my right arm in the trajectory and interrupted the flow.

Boom-!

Joao Pedro’s shot, which hit my hand, flew far out of bounds and over the touchline.

“Maldición!”

Joao Pedro kicked the grass and screamed in frustration after missing two crucial chances.

This place is full of reactions.

But that wasn’t enough.

I walked towards João Pedro and whispered to him.

“Whoa, whoa. Calm down, bro. This is going to last a full 90 minutes.”

“Fuck you!”

“You’re a hot-tempered friend···.”

I had achieved my original goal of getting on the other person’s nerves, so I went back. I walked slowly on purpose, hoping that he would hit me in the back of the head like he did against Iran in the Asian Cup, but that didn’t happen.

···No matter how much I think about it, that kid from the Iran match was really a pervert.

And after I had thwarted all of Brazil’s threatening attacks, I prepared for a goal kick.

“Is there no place to give it to···.”

I scanned the area in front as if licking it, and seeing the players’ positions, I thought that there might be an opportunity to create it, so I used ‘Quick and Accurate Kick’.

Now that I could hit towards space rather than just the player, I would hit forward with all my might, designating space instead of targeting the player.

Boohoo-!

The shot I kicked flies briskly across the sky.

And it fell right in front of Jo Young-woo.

In the middle, a Brazilian player tried to head the ball away, but Jo Young-woo was one sesame leaf short and ran forward after receiving the ball.

“Woooooooo-!”

The crowd roars at Korea’s sudden attacking opportunity.

There was one defender behind Jo Young-woo and two more on either side, but the gap was still far enough.

And he runs towards the right edge of the penalty box. It’s a tricky place to aim for directly.

“To Lee Kang-im! To Lee Kang-im! Please!”

But it was visible to me.

Lee Kang-im, who was running after Jo Young-woo, realized that there were no defenders nearby and that he had just entered the penalty box.

Jo Young-woo also did not miss and passed a ground ball that bounced once on the ground.

The goalkeeper quickly changed direction after looking at Jo Young-woo, and even tried to react to Lee Kang-im’s shot, but he could not stop the net from shaking.

It was a preemptive strike.

“Nice!”

This works!

I was as happy as I could be.

The pass sent with a quick and accurate kick created an accurate opportunity and led to a goal. I couldn’t help but be happy.

“Wow! I won!”

Lee Jin-seop also raised both arms and suddenly ran towards me in reverse.

“Minwoo! Your brother’s exemption from military service has been confirmed, right? I don’t have to worry, right?”

“···The first half isn’t even over yet?”

“You’re going to block everything anyway!”

No, this guy… Does he think I’m invincible?

I’ve already faced Joao Pedro twice in a one-on-one situation, and I can’t be 100% sure that I won’t concede a goal if that happens again.

“There’s still a long way to go before the game ends, so don’t let your guard down. And I’m human too. I’m not invincible. If the defense doesn’t do its job, I can get through it too.”

“Oh, okay. Okay.”

But Jinseop Lee leaves, laughing and not even listening to what I say.

Oh, that guy, that’s really…

Should I show you Nonsan Irasshaimase as an example?

“Brother! Heed my words! Play good defense!”

“Okay, I got it! I’ll work hard, hyung!”

“Don’t work hard, just do well!”

“Okay, okay. Got it~”

It’s a reaction that causes the eyes to squint and the lips to pout.

But, do you really think you can defend without a brain, just by talking about it? If you do that, the coaching staff, including Coach Choi, won’t let you off easy.

Looking at the coaching staff, Yoo Jin-ho and Choi Yong-seok were hugging each other and looking happy.

I tilted my head at the sight.

You don’t really think that everyone except me has won, do you?

End

ⓒ Doctor Am