Shooting Trajectory is Visible - Chapter 126



Only Krnovel

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The next match was against Bayern Munich.

An opponent you can’t help but be nervous about.

‘Of course, since the club’s name is valuable, I can’t help but feel a little intimidated.’

There’s a reason people sing Big Club Big Club.

The weight of the name of a big club was clear, and it felt very different from the names Bochum or Gladbach had previously attached to it.

“Phew···.”

An absolute powerhouse in the Bundesliga and the reigning champion himself, having won 12 championship trophies between 2013 and 2024.

Dortmund, Leipzig, Leverkusen, the established powerhouses, aim to win the title every season, but in the end, it is always Bayern Munich who wins the title.

Literally overwhelmingly strong.

‘However, it is a bit colorless because it is an absolute force only in the league.’

Last season, Munich, which advanced to the Champions League final, eventually had to kneel to Real Madrid.

The showdown between the two Englishmen (Kane and Bellingham) at Wembley ended in a victory for Bellingham.

But Kane also released Han.

‘Even Harry Kane, the king of nobility, heard of the Meisterschale, so his wish came true.’

In fact, for Munich, the Meisterschale is almost like an annual event that they always have at the end of the season······ but a trophy is a trophy anyway.

But this season, Munich’s momentum is different.

If the Champions League final held at the end of the 2024 season was held at Wembley, the 2025 Champions League final will be held in Munich.

The poison must have really kicked in.

‘They missed out on the Champions League trophy by a hair’s breadth, and the final will be held at their home stadium, so they will want to win the Champions League no matter what.’

So look at Munich!

The league schedule is a bit more relaxed!

“Kim. How can you keep a clean sheet against Munich?”

It was Gerald Hermann.

I thought about what the goalkeeper coach said for a moment and then answered.

“I have to do my best.”

Harry Kane, the king of nobility.

The original iron pillar, Kim Min-jjae.

And the opponent I have to overcome is Manuel Neuer.

‘To be honest······I want it to be a draw.’

I don’t even expect a win at home in Munich. I’d be lucky if I could get one. And maybe.

‘It’s likely to be a very tough match, just like my debut match.’

Even though Hannover spent a lot of money this time, the weight difference with Munich was still huge.

In my debut match, it was a good thing that Dortmund only put non-regular players in the lineup, but this away match in Munich will definitely only feature the best first-team players, so to be honest, it was my first goal conceded. Or I could have conceded 2 or 3 goals in a row.

‘I’m nervous.’

I’m worried. I’ve been to Munich’s stadium once, and I think I might not be able to perform as well as I usually do because I’m nervous about playing there.

“Phew.”

I have to do well.

I did a little bit of goalkeeper training, and then I practiced free kicks to experiment with quick and accurate kicks.

The scrum in front is a steel barrier. And the goalkeeper asked Tony, who is currently training hard in the second team.

“Okay! Let’s go!”

I raised one hand and turned on the quick and accurate kick, then attempted a free kick.

First try first.

Crash-!

Success. It was neat.

“Wow. Kim. Are you enjoying it?”

Ken Muramoto passed by and gave me a thumbs up. I followed suit and gave him a thumbs up, then tried again.

Crash-!

A shot that hits the upper goal post and goes in. This is a route that could never be blocked unless you, like me, can see the trajectory in advance.

As expected, it was a clean success.

“He’s a goalkeeper, so he’s really good at shooting!”

Compliments from Toyhert. But is that right? Aren’t field players usually better at taking free kicks? Well, anyway.

“I’m going back!”

Third attempt with a raised hand.

This time I aimed for the near post, just above the iron barrier.

A pretty standard flying shot. Tony flew but couldn’t block it.

Then, the players around him slowly started to gather and exclaim in admiration.

“What? Kim! Why are you so good at kicking? You were good at blocking, and now you’re good at kicking too?”

I held up two fingers with my right hand. Not victory, which means victory, but two more.

“I’ll try two more times. Okay, back to you!”

Tony, attention.

As soon as I saw Tony ready, I aimed for the right goal this time.

The shot flies past the obstacle.

If it were a real game, the trajectory would have been such that it would hit the players’ bodies and bounce off.

The obstacle was like a mesh net, so Tony knew the trajectory as soon as I kicked it, so he was able to block it this time.

“Three successes, one failure. Is that okay?”

Mumbling colleagues.

I made one last attempt.

A place where you know but can’t stop it, just like before.

Top right corner.

Okay, Tony. Try to stop this too!

Crash-!

And of course it was a goal.

Tony dived for the shot, which he had already been hit with once, but was unable to block it.

Clap clap clap-!

Before I knew it, the players who had gathered like a flock of clouds began to applaud.

“Wow! What’s wrong with Kim? He’s really good at kicking free kicks!”

“Even though the iron barrier was broken, the goalkeeper was visible as soon as I kicked the ball, and I scored four times out of five kicks!”

“Kim is a player who always surprises me.”

Among the players, there was also a head coach.

I looked at the head coach and asked, just in case.

“Elmare. Can a goalkeeper take a free kick?”

The head coach, who was asked a question out of nowhere, scratched his chin for a moment and then answered.

“···Well, Kim, you’re good at kicking, but you know, practice and real life are completely different, right?”

“Then, next time during the practice match, if there’s a free kick, can you let me take it?”

The head coach nodded, his expression slightly uneasy at my advances.

“Okay. Let’s do that.”

Okay, let’s get through the first step.

‘I’ve been through a lot more than this. And the Hannover players and coaching staff all have a lot of confidence in me, so it’ll be easier than last time.’

Even if he puts aside Chiller and takes the starting goal, if he just shows people that he is designated as a free kick taker, he will get a chance in an actual game at least once.

And if you can prove it without missing a beat in that actual game······.

‘I can be the number one kicker every time a free kick is taken.’

It’s just a fantasy right now, but I will do it, just like I did at Suyang High School and when I first joined Hannover.

certainly.

***

Before the match, Thomas Tuchel appeared at the press conference room set up on one side of the Munich stadium.

Current Bayern Munich manager, great tactician and fiery eccentric.

The reporters asked questions in an orderly manner before the match against Hannover.

“The match against Hannover will soon take place, and as you know, Hannover’s goalkeeper Kim has not conceded a single goal since his debut. How do you plan to deal with it?”

Tuchel took the microphone and answered.

“At first I thought Kim from Hannover was the brother of Kim on our team. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be so good at football with the same last name.”

The reporters laughed lightly. Tuchel also smiled brightly,

“He is clearly a very promising and desirable player, but Munich will be the one to hand Kim his first goal today. But I would say that keeping a clean sheet up to this point is a great achievement.”

“Then, coach. If Kim can prevent a goal from Munich, will Munich actively consider signing Kim?”

“We are a club that has the funds to exercise Kim’s buyout clause at any time.”

With a broad smile, Tuchel moved on to the next question.

Tuchel had to field questions not only from Kim but also from both inside and outside the match, and that was the end of the pre-match interview.

There were also individual questions asked to each player.

“Coman, you’ve already met Kim once, right? At the Olympics. You’ve played against him once, so I think you know better than anyone what kind of goalkeeper he is. Do you think Munich can score in this game?”

With every game played and every clean sheet Kim kept, Europe was in an uproar, so questions about Kim Min-woo’s clean sheet were now a regular topic for opposing teams.

And Coman, who had experienced frustration once before from Kim Min-woo while carrying the French flag at the Olympics, was hesitant to answer.

“That’s a tough question. I hope this is a day of revenge, but I don’t know. It won’t be easy to score against Kim. It’ll be like that when our Kim is in goal.”

“Is that so?”

“It’s roughly similar.”

And the mic went back to Kim Min-je of Munich.

“How does it feel to meet players of your country in the Bundesliga?”

“I feel proud.”

Short answer.

The reporter was taken aback, but moved on to the next question.

“Can Hannover’s Kim keep his clean sheet against Munich?”

“To be honest, I wish that were the case.”

“Oh? Really? That’s, as a Munich member-”

“I’m not a goalscorer. And even if we don’t beat Hannover, there are still a lot of games left. So… I hope my junior can keep a clean sheet against Munich. It won’t be easy, though.”

Kim from Munich gave his blessing to Kim from Hannover. And this became a hot topic. Munich fans criticized it as ‘inappropriate language’, while other football fans praised it as ‘romantic’.

And time was ticking away, and the Munich vs. Hannover match was getting closer and closer.

***

On the day of the match against Bayern Munich, we took the club bus early in the morning and drove down the Autobahn.

It was a forced march that took more than six hours.

However, since it is an away game, it was not that difficult. I also got used to the comfort of the team bus a long time ago.

‘Still······ It’s too far from Munich, so it’s difficult.’

We’re already a weak team, and we’re playing away. Damn it.

Hannover then entered the stadium in Munich before the match.

This overwhelming stadium.

I’ve been here once before, but it’s a stadium of such a small size that I really can’t get used to it.

‘Look at all the splendor. Is this where my grave will be?’

I’m sure by now Korea is getting excited that this will be a real Korean derby.

Well, the positions are goalkeeper vs defender, so it might be a little less interesting than a striker vs striker match in the EPL.

‘First of all, Minje hyung and I are huge topics of conversation in Korea.’

My sister told me that there is a debate going on in the Korean community right now about which is stronger, an iron wall or an iron pillar.

There were also many mischievous netizens who wrote posts congratulating Kim Min-woo on his first goal in advance, saying that today was Kim Min-woo’s memorial day.

In addition,

《Kim Min-woo is really great, but it’s ridiculous that he hasn’t allowed a run throughout his career》

「So if we’re going to get eaten, it’s better to get eaten by Munich. And only by conceding one goal. Those who want to concede a goal to me, prove yourself. It’s a bit like being the goalkeeper of heaven, yeah.」

→Even Mbappe and Messi, who won the World Cup, couldn’t break through, so how dare Kane, who has no trophies, surpass Kim Min-woo’s first goal?

→Kane is no longer irrelevant. And honestly, the reason Mbappe and Messi couldn’t get through was because of luck. The goal post was also crazy.

→It was just that the heavens had given Korea the gold medal.

→But should we also consider it relevant that they won the Bundesliga with the Munich badge on?

And luck doesn’t always come to people.

France’s Kingsley Coman, who couldn’t get past me, will once again wear a Munich shirt and relive the horror he felt at the Olympics, and Harry Kane, Leroy Sane, Jamal Musiala, oh shit.

‘Left and right, Kane and Musiala are there too. Even if luck comes down to the goal…’

Just looking at the names of the players, it seems like today will be a festival of goals that were not scored until now.

Festival of Losses.

‘I can never see that sight again.’

Let’s trust the players.

From Part 2, Neumann, Corsic, and Ariumbi, who have been living together.

I’m sure you’ll do well. You’ve been doing well so far, right?

“Okay, Kim! It’s time for the final warm-up!”

I warmed up by blocking a few shots from the goalkeeper coach in front of the goal. In a real match, there will probably be a lot more shots coming at you faster and stronger than this.

Let’s do our best.

End