Shooting Trajectory is Visible - Chapter 137



Only Krnovel

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The next day.

The South Korean national team, which was called up after a long time, had a good atmosphere within the team despite the suspicion from those around them, negative public opinion, and unstable performance.

In addition, with Kim Min-woo being hired this time, the external pressure that had been shaking Leonho without mercy for less than a year has calmed down a bit, making the atmosphere even better.

Leon Harpers watched from a distance as his players trained session after session.

‘The media will probably write about Kim and if his performance improves, they will find fault with him and attack me.’

In the first place, the media is a group that tends to return to that kind of phenomenon.

They are pests who exaggerate trivial things, try to manipulate people’s emotions, post articles even if they are inaccurate, and then later hope that the team will falter and even completely destroy itself.

It was the same when I was in Europe, but it doesn’t seem much different in Korea, which is far away from Europe.

Click, click!

In the distance, reporters are gathered and filming the players training with cannon-like cameras. Perhaps because they have suffered so much, even that sight now seems disgusting.

“Is today’s private training a practice match?”

Leon’s question was answered by Nicolas van de Burgh, a member of the Leon Division’s coaching staff and head coach.

“Yes. The match schedule is set up with the Alpha Team, which consists of all the original starting members, and the Beta Team, which consists of the remaining non-regular members.”

It was something I had already confirmed several times, but it was reassuring to hear it confirmed again from the head coach.

“But, Director?”

“hmm?”

“Kim is in the beta team lineup······ Is it really going to go like this?”

Nicholas continued in a calm voice.

“I understand what the coach wants, but if you’re going to use Kim against Mexico, I think you need to change the goalkeeper position. Middle Kim can no longer be Korea’s starting goalkeeper. So he needs to get in sync with the starting players.”

It was a slang term created to distinguish Seung-gu Kim, who was playing in the Middle East, from Min-woo Kim.

Kim Seung-gu is Middle Kim, and Kim Min-woo is Top Kim.

Leon Harpus shook his head in disagreement.

“Organization, coordination, and other issues with the starting members can be replaced by other training sessions. More than that, I’m curious to see if Kim can show the same amazing performance he showed on his team here. Considering his performance at the Olympics, I don’t think so, but isn’t this a different team from there?”

“So, if he performs below expectations, will Kim’s selection for the Mexico match be a no-no?”

Leon Harpus turned his head to find Top Kim. Then he curled one corner of his mouth and said.

“Just because Son is out of form, do you think you can put a K-League winger in his place?”

“···yes?”

“That’s how it is.”

After a while of silence, the two left for the upcoming private training session.

***

A practice match was scheduled for this afternoon.

A practice match of 50 minutes in total, with 25 minutes in the first half and 25 minutes in the second half.

It was a practice match designed to add a bit more color to the football the coach wanted ahead of the match against Mexico, but there was a problem.

‘What are we supposed to do now?’

I crossed my arms and looked at the paper with the lineup written on it.

The team marked A was filled with familiar members.

Son Heung-min, Hwang Hee-cheon, Lee Kang-im, Lee Ja-seong, Kim Min-je, Kim Yang-kwon, etc.

It was just the existing national team best 11.

My name wasn’t there.

And my name was on Team B, which was playing against Team A, and all of the players were sub-members.

The only player in a similar position to me is Hwang Eul-jo, who was pushed out by Jo Gyu-seok.

“Ouch! We’re in trouble! It’s Kim Min-woo’s B team! We can’t score a goal!”

Lee Kang-im playfully shouts while touching his head. I laughed too, but you want me to last 50 minutes against the best 11 players from the national team?

‘Well, of course it might be possible.’

As long as the A members don’t suddenly go crazy and run wild.

And actually, it doesn’t matter if you get kicked.

There won’t be any official records anyway!

And more than that.

‘Why did the coach put me on the B team?’

A fight? A hierarchy? Or maybe just to see how well I can block?

I don’t think he’d tell me the exact reason even if I asked him directly, but it still made me realize something.

The lethargy that had been slowly building up momentum was removed, and a sense of alertness took hold within me.

‘Yes. This is not Hanover.’

It’s not U23, nor is it Suyang High School.

A completely new team.

I knew very well how to deal with this kind of thing.

‘Prove it. I’ll show you clearly.’

I need to make sure that Leon and the rest of the coaching staff know how I won the gold medal.

*

And just before the practice match between the Best 11 and non-selected members held at Paju NFC.

I looked at Son Heung-min, who was standing in front of the goal and glaring at me.

‘Isn’t this an event?’

I grew into a player who could block Son’s attacks.

I’ve grown into a player who has to stop Hwang’s break!

But more than anything, the moment that comes to mind the most at this moment is when I first joined Hannover.

‘Yeah. It was like that back then too.’

This is the first match against Ron Robert Ziller.

When I was about to play a practice match with the national team, I suddenly remembered that time.

Beep-!

And the game starts with the referee’s whistle. The referees for this practice match were officially dispatched by the Football Association.

‘It’s not called the national team for nothing. Even for the team’s internal practice matches, the association sends referees.’

Of course, I thought the coaching staff would be the referees, but I guess that’s not how they handle things when they’re a national team member.

“Hey! Hey!”

“Here! Hey!”

As soon as the practice match begins, the ground becomes noisy as if it were a real match.

This isn’t much different from when I was in Suyang High School.

Although Team B is made up of sub-members, the fact that they were selected as national representatives means that they are Korea’s elite players whose skills have been recognized.

Team B actively pressures Team A without being intimidated at all.

I also kept changing positions according to the players’ movements. And I shouted at the national team players who were trying to match up for the first time.

“If you have no place to go, go back!”

In fact, there wasn’t much for a goalkeeper to do in a competitive situation. Maybe just cheer them on?

So I followed the flow of the ball moving left and then right.

And then he kept talking nonstop.

“If you have no place to go, go back!”

I know how to build up too, so if you have no place to give it, give it to the back!

And fullback defender Lee Ki-jae reacts to my words.

The possession of the ball was taken away due to Hwang Hee-cheon’s rough pressure.

A situation is created in an instant where a goal is scored.

‘If you don’t have a place to wash your child, come to the back!’

Since I have no one to give it to, I give it to the opposing attacker.

Even though it was our first meeting and you may have some questions about me, isn’t this a bit too much?

“Hey! Hey!”

And the defensive numbers fall back quickly. Team A is led by Hwang Hee-cheon, who breaks through the flank, and Jo Kyu-seok, Son Heung-min, Lee Kang-im, and Lee Ja-seong come up.

In an instant, the penalty box is crowded with players and a trajectory appears.

It was a curling shot that Hwang Hee-cheon aimed for himself.

‘Coming.’

A curling kick from the edge of the penalty box. The trajectory was the same, and as soon as Hwang Hee-cheon kicked the ball, I jumped with all my might and received the ball.

I held the ball tightly with both hands to avoid the risk of the ball bouncing to an unpredictable direction if I punched it or blocked it with only one hand.

Clap clap clap-

“Wow.”

“Nice try!”

The admiration of the coaching staff who were watching.

I got up without hesitation and looked around. Then I saw Jeon Woo-young in the distance.

We’re from the same Bundesliga team and we met once before!

I sent it over with a quick, accurate kick.

Jeon Woo-young received my ridiculously accurate goal kick and ran forward coolly.

Boohoo─!

I was blocked by Kim Min-je.

To be exact, Kim Min-je sent the ball that Jeon Woo-young was in possession out of bounds.

‘Ah, Minjesichi···.’

You’re really doing great.

I’m enjoying the benefits of Football Manager, but Kim Min-je is a real monster. If Corsic plays with me for about 5 years, wouldn’t he be able to compete with Kim Min-je?

The aging curve is coming, isn’t it?

*Aging curve (the decline in ability as a player ages)

‘Wait a minute. Does Football Manager also stop the aging curve?’

That thought occurred to me for a moment, but I had to focus on the game again.

Because of the nature of soccer, situations can change quickly, and I’m not old enough to think about the aging curve yet.

Above all, goalkeeper is a position with a much longer lifespan than field players.

Gianluigi Buffon has already retired at the age of 45… So maybe I will set an unbreakable record of participating in the World Cup seven times?

“Minwoo! Minwoo!”

Of course, I’ll try to do something starting from this game.

I understood the intention of Ki-jae hyung who was calling out to me urgently, so I ran over and caught the ball.

Yeah. Give me the ball like this.

Then Hwang Hee-cheon rushes at me with all his might to pressure me.

‘Calmly.’

Short pass to center back Jeong Seung-heon.

And Jeong Seung-heon couldn’t withstand the pressure.

As soon as Jeong Seung-heon received the ball from me, pressure came from the surroundings, but Jeong Seung-heon couldn’t handle it and passed the ball back to me.

‘no!’

There’s Hwang Hee-cheon around me!

Hwang Hee-cheon thinks, “That’s right,” and speeds up again, closing in on me. He’s only a few steps away, so I use my footwork like I did at the Olympics to roughly get past Hwang Hee-cheon, and I leave the penalty box.

Then, this time, Lee Ja-seong, who had been attached to Jeong Seung-heon, ran towards me.

This time too, the distance was close, and I was thinking of giving it to Lee Ki-jae, who was free from Hwang Hee-cheon’s pressure, but since it was also a practice match, I ended up dribbling past Lee Ja-seong.

‘What the hell? Is this okay?’

A double dribble that I would never have attempted in a real match. However, before I knew it, Lee Ja-seong and Hwang Hee-cheon were behind me, and only then did I kick forward and pass it to Hwang Eul-jo.

Clap clap clap clap-!

The coaching staff was surprised by my sudden dribbling and the applause erupted once again.

“What’s wrong, Kim Min-woo? Why are you so good?”

The guy who had stripped me of my clothes smiled at me and walked away, and Hwang Hee-cheon hit the back of my head a few times and said, “This guy is really something.”

‘I took out two ace-level players from the national team in a row.’

Ah. This tastes a bit like mulberry.

Is that why Kim Byung-jin with his long hair came out of the goal and started dribbling?

If it had been a real match, I would have probably heard the cheers of tens of thousands of spectators, and I might not have been able to hide my smile.

***

The frustrating match continued.

The uniform team consisting of the best 11 players maintained a tight match with the fluorescent uniform team, and as time went on, they pushed hard, but the problem was that the most important goal was not going in.

Why is that?

Son Heung-min knew why.

So I was frustrated, but I didn’t sigh or anything.

“Hehehe.”

Kim Min-woo easily blocks Lee Kang-im’s mid-range shot.

Son Heung-min has been watching Kim Min-woo’s games every now and then, even though he hasn’t contacted him.

Ever since I was in Part 2.

‘That’s not a talent that can be passed off as simply being good at soccer.’

The goalkeeper position itself. The incarnation of Lev Yashin.

A crazy goalkeeper who has been keeping clean sheets for countless games in the Bundesliga.

‘If Minwoo is here, I can challenge for my last World Cup······ maybe.’

The Korea-Japan World Cup that I watched on TV when I was young.

The World Cup semi-finals are now called legend, even a myth.

Wouldn’t it really be possible if Minwoo was there?

‘Even Minwoo is a friend who grows steadily.’

It’s true.

I know this because I’ve been watching the game for a long time.

Kim Min-woo’s skills were clearly different when he was active in the second division and when he won the gold medal at the Olympics, and his skills were also clearly different when he was active in the Olympics and when he was active in the first division.

Minwoo’s skills are improving. Obviously, quickly and steeply.

‘Above all, under your feet.’

When he was in the second division, his feet weren’t that good. But now Kim Min-woo is beating out Hee-cheon and even Ja-seong.

It may be a coincidence since it happened once, but judging by his performance throughout the game today, it doesn’t seem like that.

‘And that arm strength, like a shot put thrower.’

Kim Min-woo threw the ball forward with his arm at that moment, and the force was as fast and powerful as kicking it with his foot.

That’s also an ability that wasn’t shown in Part 2.

And above all, what I’m most looking forward to is…

‘He’s so incredibly calm and composed. Did he gain some insight from playing against world-class players at the Olympics?’

It looks sturdy just by looking at it.

Just looking at it makes me feel trustworthy.

Min-je blocks the fluorescent uniform team’s attack again, and this time he directly hits Son Heung-min.

Son Heung-min stopped thinking and dribbled past fullback Kim Tae-hoon.

‘come!’

The now famous Hongmin John.

Minwoo, yeah, try to block this too!

Boohoo-!

Son Heung-min tried his best to shoot from a distance with a curling shot, just like he did at Tottenham.

The ball hit by Son Heung-min bounces off like a cannon and flies as if it will tear through the net.

however.

“······haha.”

Kim Min-woo blocked it.

As if he had expected it, as if he had read this number, he jumped as if he was flying and punched it far away.

Then he gets up quickly and is on guard against further attacks.

Son Heung-min was so happy, he couldn’t help but laugh as he watched the scene.

‘Is this how Ji-sung used to look at me?’

The future of Korean soccer. A monster that will follow in the footsteps of Son Cha-bak, or perhaps even a word like Son Cha-bak, has appeared.

Son Heung-min had a shot that almost went into a goal blocked, but he showed no regrets and just smiled happily until the end of the game.

End

ⓒ Doctor Am