Shooting Trajectory is Visible - Chapter 123



Only Krnovel

=======================================================

Borussia Mönchengladbach.

Because it is too long to be called, it is usually abbreviated as MG by taking the first letters of the name.

Anyway, the club was located in the state of Westphalia, which borders the Netherlands and Belgium, at the western end of Germany.

It is 300km from Hanover, roughly the distance from Busan to Suwon in Korea.

Korea is so narrow that it’s almost like one end to the other, but in Germany, this distance was a blessing.

‘Why not just go south…’

Going from Hanover to Munich was almost like going from Busan to Sinuiju.

And Hannover had an away game in Munich two games later.

In fact, the match against Möncheng (which sounds a bit salty?) before the match against Munich and the match against Bochum that followed were more like preliminaries and evaluation matches before the match against Munich.

In addition, the next match after Munich was Leipzig, the star of East Germany and a top-ranked team in the Bundesliga, so it was a series of really important fixtures for Hannover.

‘First of all, if we continue the good momentum from the previous two games, and then continue that momentum against Munich and Leipzig…’

The best from Hanover’s point of view.

And it could bring about a huge tectonic shift in the world of the Bundesliga, which is dominated by a few teams.

Hannover, who was promoted out of nowhere this season, will immediately receive attention if they destroy all the strong teams? Even if the recent match against Leverkusen is inevitable, the next four matches must have good results.

‘Hannover’s future will be decided by these four matches.’

There are a total of 34 Bundesliga matches.

The total points from the four games is 12 points assuming all wins. It was a huge score for the Bundesliga teams that wanted to finish high in the rankings.

And if Hannover manages to win the whole thing, the promise I made when I joined Hannover (that I would give them the first division championship trophy) will be reexamined, and experts will seriously consider the possibility.

But if even one of these four games is a loss······.

‘Our results aren’t that good, so if we get beaten by Gladbach or Bochum, it’s over.’

Hannover’s current record is 2 wins, 1 draw, and 2 losses. They have 7 points.

The ranking was 8th, which wasn’t a bad result, but it was a questionable ranking if you were aiming for the championship.

Leverkusen, currently ranked first, has won all five games and has 15 points, more than double ours.

‘It’s probably because it’s still early in the league, but we have to catch up anyway.’

To be honest, the goal that Yan and the higher-ups at the club have in mind is not winning the championship, but staying in the league, or if we set our sights higher, we would aim for a mid-table finish in the league, but I would like to win the championship if possible.

As in the second division and at the Olympics, Football Manager has always rewarded clear results.

‘Should I check the stats?’

I tried to check the stats for the first time in a long time before the match against MG, skipping Borussia or something.

[Kim Min-woo]

– Stamina: 104

-Stamina: 104

-GK Kick: 112(+5)

-GK Diving: 113

-GK reaction speed: 107

-GK position selection: 103

-GK Speed: 104

– Traits: Yasin’s Eye, Quick and Accurate Kick, Wedge-Shaped Goalkeeper, Iron Legs

-Height: 188cm

-Weight: 76kg

==

‘hmm.’

There were quite a few notable numbers.

I carefully checked to see if there were any differences from before.

First of all, stamina increased from 100 → 104.

Stamina: 98 → 104.

GK kicks from 105 → 112.

GK diving is 102 → 113.

GK reaction speed from 99 → 107.

GK positioning is 97 → 103.

Final GK speed increased from 96 → 104.

Also, his height increased by 1cm from 187cm to 188cm, and his weight also increased by 1kg.

‘Hmm······ Have I been eating too much Korean food lately?’

Mom’s cooking was really delicious.

However, you can see that you have gained about 1kg in height, and it doesn’t seem like a big problem.

First of all, my body was made up of muscle rather than fat. That’s natural since I lift heavy things every day.

‘It’s increased a lot. The stats have definitely increased a lot······but it’s still not enough.’

Guus Hiddink says I’m still hungry.

Me too.

I’m not satisfied with these stats.

I’m still hungry!

More! More!

‘I really regret not playing for Leverkusen. If I had played, I would have improved even more.’

Well, let’s put regrets aside and just be careful in the future.

“Kim? What are you doing? Come out.”

It was goalkeeper coach Geralt.

I was in the locker room right now, and we were getting ready for the game.

The final warm-up time before the game.

I stopped staring blankly at the stats and left the locker room.

*

After the warm-up time, we headed into the 8th round.

For us, it’s an away game. For the opponent, it’s their home game.

Even a shit dog eats half of its food in the living room, so you always have to be careful when going on an expedition.

Beep─!

And kickoff.

Before the game, I told the players (especially the defenders) to do as they usually do.

Don’t do anything weird and just act as usual.

Especially during the last game against Leverkus, I saw him acting dangerously near the goal because he was anxious without me, so I strongly advised him not to do anything like that.

‘We conceded four goals in the last game, but… this isn’t so bad.’

The back three of Phil Neumann-Korsic-Arimbi. And our solid transfer students who can play box-to-box and volante.

I shouldn’t let my guard down, but I had a feeling this match was going to be easy.

And the match devolved into a tight midfield battle.

Go sideways and then back.

Go forward and then sideways.

Go up and then back.

A back-and-forth fight unfolds that Americans find extremely boring.

Even though it may look like this, anyone who watches soccer at all will know what this situation means.

Before exploration.

Hannover doesn’t try to steal the ball too aggressively, and Munich doesn’t try to break through too aggressively.

The so-called exploratory battle situation unfolds.

Then, when they get too close, the Hannover players start to press, and the Gladbach players get surprised and kick the ball in various directions.

If you kick it well, the ball will land somewhere else, and if you miss it, it will go out of bounds.

This pattern of play continued for quite some time.

‘Coming.’

And Gladbach, who send a long shot from the defensive line at once.

Hannover’s defensive number is 4. Their opponent’s offensive number is 3.

However, because the defensive numbers were so tight, the opponent couldn’t see the shooting angle, and I couldn’t see the trajectory.

In the end, Gladbach, who had been passing the ball to the side, kicked the ball powerfully into the goal even though the angle was awkward.

“Tchcha.”

A spurt of action shot from outside the penalty box. I lightly received it with both hands.

Then the crowd applauded. It was probably meant for the striker, but I stood up, thinking it was meant for me.

“Neumann. Close.”

Then he dropped the ball and kicked it to Neumann.

The build-up process in the defensive zone that follows.

Hannover followed their opponents’ lead instead of building up.

A long ball sent long into the opposing defense.

The opposing defender played a long ball cleanly, but it resulted in a corner for Hannover, and from the corner the promised play came out.

‘Oh! This is a composition I’ve been practicing for quite some time!’

A player in front of the corner kicker receives a short pass, and the player receiving the pass passes the ball back to the kicker.

The kicker sends a long and accurate ground pass to a player outside the penalty box, intentionally far from the players contesting the spot.

Alex Scott receives the pass, takes it with one touch and shoots hard.

Boohoo-!

And the shot went past all the obstacles that had been lined up between the players, and even missed the goalkeeper’s fingertips, sending the net rippling. It was a goal.

“Yar!”

I clenched my fists and liked it.

Goal early!

Even though I was watching from afar, I was quite happy because it was a goal scored with a promised play that had been practiced for quite some time.

‘We scored the first goal in less than 10 minutes of the first half. I felt good about it…’

Okay, now we just need to block one goal.

Unless it was a wild shot, or the ball bounced back after being blocked with too much force, or all the arrogance in the world was in it, I was confident I could keep a clean sheet in this game.

I brought you this far, so I have to do it this time too.

*

‘As expected, even though it is an unknown team, it is no joke since it is a team in the Bundesliga 1st division.’

Maintaining a clean sheet is a difficult and arduous journey.

Fortunately, the defense actively helped in this game, so the burden was less.

Whenever the opponent tried to do something, Corsic showed up in time to block the way, and if Corsic couldn’t step up, Phil Neumann or Ariumbi would step up.

If not, our midfielders will block it.

So all I had to do was block the opponent’s worthless shots, but most of the shots that came flying at me were not threatening shots, but rather shots that I just hit once and then watch.

“Ugh!”

A shot from outside the penalty box.

Diving and blocking cleanly.

“Ugh!”

The shot that the defenders missed the mark for a moment with a heel pass was blocked with my individual skill.

It wasn’t easy, but I always prepared myself mentally as I created the trajectory.

“Tchcha!”

An attacker running towards me with two of our defenders on his back will have no choice but to shoot in my arms if I just narrow the angle.

Because there are defenders on both sides, the areas where you can hit the ball are limited.

World class, like Messi or Mbappe, would be able to produce something here too, but······the Möncheng striker is not at that level.

“Fuck! Stop it!”

The opposing attacker, who has been blocked by me time and time again, shouts at me in frustration.

I bounced the ball on the ground with a blank expression and responded.

“You put some in.”

“what?”

The opposing attacker looked at me as if I was dumbfounded. I ignored him and used a quick and accurate kick before kicking the ball away.

What is the target point?

The opponent’s goal.

I aimed directly at the goalkeeper since he was pretty far out. Anyway, I could deliver to the space instead of the player.

Then······.

“Oh my! What a pity!”

The opposing goalkeeper ran backwards and barely managed to catch the ball.

There was no way around it, because the stats weren’t yet good enough to put the ball directly into the opponent’s goal, so it bounced on the ground a few times before heading towards the goal. If the opponent’s goalkeeper had let his guard down even a little, it would have led to a goal right away.

However, the opposing goalkeeper was not that relaxed, and the ball bounced twice and was barely able to be caught.

‘Wait a minute. So if your stats get ridiculously high, you can just hit it straight into the opponent’s goal?’

Perhaps the stat needed in this case is GK Kick.

So, if the GK kick is ridiculously high, that means I can take a free kick at the opposite goal.

It would be absolutely impossible for a human, but I thought it might be possible for me. With the help of stats, it wasn’t necessarily impossible.

“Wow. If that happens, the opposing goalkeeper will never be able to come out in front of the goal when we play against each other in the future.”

Just thinking about it gives me goosebumps all over my body.

Every time I have the ball in my hand, the opposing goalkeeper has to be nervous.

This is seriously······ thrilling.

Even with these stats, he almost scored a goal in that situation just now, so if only he could just stay a few more years…

‘If the stats rise to that level, the correction rate will probably drop, but if it can be achieved, then so be it.’

Goalkeeper who scores goals!

There have certainly been instances where other goalkeepers have scored goals from goal kicks, but those instances have generally been accidental. And they are not common.

But if you can aim for it directly…

As I was thinking that, something flashed through my mind.

It was like a lightbulb turning on or a lightning bolt flashing through my head, like in a cartoon.

‘Wait a minute! If I can hit it towards the spot, shouldn’t I just kick it when it’s a free kick? The spot should be the corner of the goal! It’s a place I can’t block even if I know it!’

It was something I hadn’t even thought of.

Why haven’t we thought of using quick and accurate kicks when taking free kicks until now?

‘Well, I’m a goalkeeper!’

What the hell kind of goalkeeper takes a free kick!

But if you just step outside your stereotypes for a moment, a new world opens up. That’s what happened now.

Using quick and accurate kicks when taking free kicks. Oh my god. Oh my god···.

‘This is so groundbreaking.’

As my thoughts continued like that, my body began to tremble.

It may not be possible for this match, but I wanted to go to the training ground and practice right away.

If at all possible······.

‘I can be a real goalkeeper!’

A free kick kicker with a 90% success rate, excluding a few variables, for every free kick!

Thinking like that, I couldn’t concentrate on the game at all.

“Ah, no! Get a grip! First, we have to get through this match safely!”

I rolled my eyes and muttered as if I was possessed, but fortunately, the stadium was so noisy that no one noticed.

I forced myself to calm my pounding heart and decided to focus on this match first.

It’s not too late to learn how to use quick and accurate free kicks even after this match is over.

End

ⓒ Doctor Am