Shooting Trajectory is Visible - Chapter 124



Only Krnovel

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It was when the game was in full swing.

I was about to take a goal kick, but instead I lay down, holding my legs.

The referee stopped the game because of my sudden action and came in to check on me, and I frowned and complained of leg pain.

“I feel like something is coming up from the collision earlier.”

Was it about 5 minutes ago?

There was a tangled situation at a corner kick, where there was clearly a collision between the goalkeeper and an outfield player.

As I continued to lean against the goalpost, complaining of pain, the Hannover medical staff rushed over.

‘I feel like I’ve committed a sin.’

Pain? Actually, there was nothing like that.

I was doing Hollywood action now.

According to the rules of soccer, if a field player complains of pain, he is immediately stretchered out or taken off the field to receive treatment, and the game continues in the meantime.

However, the goalkeeper position was different.

Because it is such a special position, the game cannot proceed with the goalkeeper out.

It makes no sense to continue the game with an empty goal.

However, it was not possible to immediately replace the goalkeeper with a substitute goalkeeper whenever he complained of pain, even if it was only mild.

thus.

‘Oh, soccer. Even though you know it, you don’t know it.’

This has been the trend these days.

If you’re winning, the goalkeeper lies down.

You might say it’s bed soccer, but it’s not.

This delay was not the purpose of bed soccer, as it would have been added to the extra time later anyway.

Then why is it like this?

There are two purposes for a goalkeeper to lie down.

The first is when the opponent’s flow is good.

Soccer is a game where the flow is important, and once you get the momentum going, it’s very difficult to break that flow.

So, the defending side deliberately delays the time by having the goalkeeper lie on the ground to intentionally break this flow.

Then, of course, the attacker’s excitement is ruined and the flow is disrupted.

The second was when operational time was needed.

In soccer, there is only one half-time in each half, 45 minutes long, excluding overtime, and from the coach’s perspective, there was no time to talk about tactics other than then.

So the manager intentionally gives instructions to the goalkeeper to lie down.

And while the goalkeeper is lying down, he gathers the field players and gives them tactical instructions.

This may seem like a bit of a shortcut, but this is the current trend in football. It is what most clubs, big or small, do.

The audience also thinks, “Oh, this is a strategy time,” and moves on.

That… because soccer is a sport where there is no time to give tactical instructions. Soccer is a sport where every minute is different, so one half-time is too short.

“Ahhh! Ahh my legs!”

“Ouch! Kim! Does it hurt here? Here?”

And then the medical team comes and sprays my poor ankle with something. I pretend to be in pain and glance over at the bench.

As expected, Hanover colleagues were gathered around the bench, listening to Jan’s operational instructions. Some were drinking water.

‘The audience’s excitement will be ruined if the flow is interrupted, but… what can I do?’

It was something that would happen anywhere in the world unless FIFA changed the rules. And then I saw the Hannover players coming back. Only then did I stop my method acting and slowly get up from my seat.

“Ah, I think I’m feeling better now.”

“Really? Can you jump?”

“Yes. Thank you for treating me so well…”

The referee listens from the side, seemingly bewildered. Well, the referee has seen this happen countless times while refereeing games, so he must have known all along······ But he still has to pretend.

I spoke to the medical staff a bit more and then prepared for the goal kick.

Current score 1:0.

A situation where Hannover could score another goal at any time, or the opponent could score.

I swallowed as I looked at the scoreboard.

‘Just hold on for 20 more minutes.’

25 minutes including extra time.

Today, Gyeonggi-do is slowly coming to an end.

***

···And the Gladbach expedition was successfully concluded.

1:0.

Hannover scored just the amount they needed to secure victory.

There were times when a flash of defense was needed, but they managed to keep a clean sheet once again.

‘How long will this go on…’

That thought occurred to me, but I shook my head.

Now I was at the training ground.

Today was a recovery day, a day without any rough training. And tomorrow was the day I had to leave for London.

So today was the day to find out if quick and accurate kicks could be applied to free kicks.

I tapped the ball and lost myself in thought.

‘Ugh.’

An idea that suddenly occurred to me during the last game.

That thing where I use my special trait when taking free kicks.

After the game ended, I read through my traits carefully over and over again until I went to bed that night.

And also about the dictionary concepts of ‘goal kick’ and ‘free kick’.

In conclusion, I was very mistaken that day.

‘A goal kick is also a free kick, but it is an indirect free kick. In other words, it is highly unlikely to work with a direct free kick…’

Anyway, looking at it broadly, I thought that it would work since it was the same free kick whether it was direct or indirect, but no matter how many times I thought about it, it didn’t seem like that would happen.

In other words, it was a fuss.

Why, just like Korea was excited about superconductors last time, I was just delusional···.

“Hey! Kim! What are you doing there!”

Korsic raised his hand and nodded. It meant for him to hurry into the recovery room. I raised my hand and shouted.

“I need to check something for a moment!”

Still······ It’s a shame, so let’s at least check it out. There’s a glimmer of hope.

I closed my eyes tightly in front of the soccer ball.

The place where I am standing now is one of the many training grounds in Hanover, the training ground is the size of a real stadium.

Among them, he was located on the left side of the penalty box, facing the goal.

‘Let’s think of it as a real game and kick it.’

I opened my eyes.

In front of me, four players were forming a scrum, their vital parts covered, ready to jump. Beyond them, the goalkeeper was screaming, and around him were his teammates standing here and there.

“Phew.”

I’m like Ronaldo, after blowing a sigh of relief.

Turned on quick and accurate kick.

The target point is a trajectory that hits the goal post, bounces, and goes inside.

‘Will it work?’

It did turn on.

There hasn’t been any notification from Football Manager saying no.

“Kim! I’ll go first!”

Next to him, Alex Scott made the first move with a determined expression. Alex Scott seemed to be going for it, but then he passed the ball.

Well now it’s my turn.

Quick and Accurate Kick is turned on, now all you have to do is kick it.

‘let’s go!’

I ran and kicked the ball with all my might. With a crisp pop, the ball shot up and curved to the side.

The players who were forming the scrum jumped with all their might, but the ball did not even come close to them. And,

Tae-aeng─!

And then it hits the goal post, its trajectory twists, and it goes straight into the goal. It’s a goal.

“······oh my god.”

I froze in place. This is really possible. No, this is it? The name of the skill is ‘Fast and Accurate Goal Kick’…

“Nice Kim!”

Alex Scott runs to me and hugs me as I stand frozen. Ariumbi runs from behind and climbs on top, putting her weight on my shoulders.

I was a bit shocked, but it was a goal anyway. Whether it was a trick or not, I scored! So now it’s time for Ser-

“Kim. What are you doing?”

Someone taps me on the shoulder.

When I turned my head, it was Corsic.

Corsic was looking at me with a puzzled expression.

Only then did I feel like I had come back to reality.

The opposing players who were forming a scrum were metal obstacles in the shape of a scrum, and there was nothing around the goal except the ball.

“Are you obsessed with the goal you scored? Well, it was a good kick, but…”

“Hey, Corsic.”

“huh?”

“Can you call the players?”

“Players?”

Corsic blinked and asked again.

“Yeah. Let’s have a scrum. And call Leo too.”

Corsic looked at the iron barrier set up in front of me and the ball that had entered the goal, then grabbed my hand.

And he said it with a really serious expression.

“Kim. There is a famous psychological counseling center in Hanover. Some of my colleagues in Hanover have also received treatment there. Would you like me to introduce you to it?”

“I’m fine, Corsic.”

“Well, it seems to me that you’re a little out of your mind right now.”

Yeah, maybe so.

I figured out a groundbreaking way to score goals from the goalkeeper position, and it might seem crazy.

I was about to urge Corsic to call his colleagues over, when a thought suddenly occurred to me.

‘···But. What kind of crazy manager puts his goalkeeper in as a free kick taker?’

If you’re not trying to deceive the other person······ does this make sense?

‘Whew. Let me calm down. I’m so overheated right now.’

I’m going crazy over the discovery of a new route to siphon stats.

What’s more, the experiment that I thought would definitely fail ended up succeeding, which made my headache even worse.

It’s definitely a happy feeling, but it’s a feeling like all the strength drains from your body because you’ve succeeded in something ridiculous?

First of all, I had to experiment. Countless experiments. I only tried it once.

And after calling in real players and practicing free kicks, and receiving evaluations from the manager and coaches that they are usable in actual matches, I will be able to step up as a free kick taker.

‘I don’t think anyone would use it unless it was an emergency. If it fails or the ball goes to the opponent, it would be too dangerous.’

Yes, that’s right. The success rate is 100%. If it’s not at least 95%, there’s a chance that the opponent will get the ball, and if that happens, I could lose the clean sheet record that I’ve been trying so hard to keep.

So let’s calm down.

“Kim? What’s really wrong with you?”

Corsic’s worried voice.

Only then did I return to my original form.

“No way. Let’s go, recovery room.”

“Is this okay?”

“then.”

By the way, this guy Corsic. He seems to be quite worried about me. His personality passes.

After that, I played around with Corsic as usual to ease his worries. After about 30 minutes, Corsic returned to his original form and started playing around with him.

***

Jan brought home the report the analytics coach gave him from the clubhouse and read it.

“Kim is consistently on the rise.”

He’s such a great player that it hurts to have to let him go after just one year.

“Alex Scott, who was recently recruited, is also on the rise.”

Alex Scott was a player who had been making a positive impression in the market even before his recruitment, and he was growing well in Hannover.

It was great.

Maybe not like Kim, but he will grow up here and go to Bayern Munich. That’s what the Bundesliga is all about.

If a small or medium-sized club develops a player, Munich will take him away…

Well, even if it’s not Munich, if he continues to grow, he can be sold to another big club, so Nice anyway.

“Whistle, stiller, Ariumbi.”

The players newly recruited this time and the existing promising players of Hannover. All of them showed upward trends, but Ariumbi showed an even greater upward trend.

Because he was originally a promising player for Hannover.

and.

“···Corsic is the most unexpected.”

In Jan’s memory, Korsic was not a very good player. At best, he was a sub-level center back even in the Bundesliga 2nd Division.

However, starting from last year, during the summer transfer market, he started to grow slowly, and after entering the first division, he started to blossom during the pre-season.

“To be called a slow starter… Korsic is past his growth spurt.”

Was he a Jamie Vardy type player, who is not common in football?

Jamie Vardy also made his debut in the first division at 27, and Corsic also made his debut in the first division at 28, although in a different position.

Before, he was a player who always moved between the 2nd and 3rd divisions, so the storytelling was somewhat suitable.

“Sub in the second half. Main in the first half···.”

Jan Light scratched his chin. No matter how much I think about it, it’s still strange.

How can one grow so dramatically in one’s late 20s?

Even now, Corsic is still on the rise. If we leave him alone, we can’t even guess how far he will grow.

“Well, I guess what’s good is good.”

Corsic’s sudden rise is unexpected, but whatever is good, it is good.

“Because Kim can play in the next game-”

That was when.

Someone sneaked up behind him and grabbed his sleeve. When he looked, it was his lovely daughter, Luna Light.

A daughter who is still very young, barely taller than Jan’s knees.

Luna Light was looking straight at Yan with her bright, sparkling eyes.

“Why is that?”

“dad.”

Jan looked lovingly at her daughter’s face.

The daughter quivered her lower lip for a moment and then said.

“When can I meet Kim?”

“Oh, yeah?”

What is this all of a sudden?

“You promised, didn’t you? Don’t you remember?”

Jan searched through his memories. Among all the trials and tribulations, one small memory emerged.

In that memory, Jan made a promise to his daughter. If she listened to her father, he would let her meet Kim.

Luna Light was a huge fan of Kim’s, and Jan took advantage of that to bring it up whenever her daughter was acting up.

After that, everything happened so much that I forgot······ This is not the time. If this continues, Luna will cry.

When Jan saw her daughter’s moist eyes and pouting lips, she quickly got up from the chair, knelt down on one knee, and looked into her daughter’s eyes.

“Of course I remember Luna. I’m sure Kim is looking forward to meeting Luna too.”

“Huh, uh, really?”

Luna eventually bursts into tears. But if you soothe her, it will end there. Children cry dozens of times a day.

“Okay. I’ll just finish my busy schedule and have Dad invite Kim to our house. Is that okay?”

“Yes! Okay!”

Then Luna stopped crying and smiled brightly. When Jan saw her, he felt something inside him melt away, but what happened after that was the problem.

‘Oh no. I made this promise… What should I do?’

But I couldn’t help it. I couldn’t say that I lied in front of my daughter.

It’s not that big of a deal though, so I’ll have to try and coax Kim into inviting me over to the house sometime soon.

Inviting players to dinner isn’t his style, but… he can’t help it.

End

ⓒ Doctor Am