Shooting Trajectory is Visible - Chapter 160



Only Krnovel

Hanover is smiling

* * *

Renowned German sports announcer Lucy Schneider has prepared a special broadcast for the Bundesliga break special.

There are no games, and the break is long.

Football fans need something to chew on around the world of football to get through these dull times.

And this is what Lucy Schneider had in store for us today.

“There’s this Asian player who’s been making headlines recently and has struck fear into the hearts of football insiders. That’s Kim!”

Lucy Schneider breaks down the metrics she has on Kim.

“Here’s a graph of the 24/25 Bundesliga goalkeeper saves. Look at Kim. He’s leading the pack.”

In the computer hologram, while all the other goalkeepers were positioned in the center and left of the screen, Kim was positioned far away in the upper right corner, alone, as if he were a noble crane looking down on everyone.

“It’s an indicator that exists in a different world by itself. And Kim’s data doesn’t end here. If we go into more detail… … .”

As Lucy Schneider operated the machine with the aforementioned voice, other indicators were generated.

“It’s a ball handling statistic. It’s the percentage of times when you can’t hold onto the ball and just hit it. If you look at it, the percentage was high at the beginning of the season, but it keeps decreasing as the season goes on. Can you believe it? How can you keep improving like this during the season?”

And when we manipulate the remote control again, Kim Min-woo’s ball handling numbers since his debut are revealed.

“And this figure is unbelievable, and has been gradually decreasing since its debut. It is still a monster, but the more it plays, the more it grows like AI.”

In addition, Lucy Schneider showed several indicators.

Data on a goalkeeper’s one-on-one defensive ability.

Goalkeeper cross blocking data.

Goalkeeper’s sweeper operation data.

Goalkeeper’s ball distribution data… .

“… As you can see, almost all the data points to a trend of Kim continuing to grow. If we compare it to stocks, he is a promising prospect. In fact, Kim is still one of the top three goalkeepers in the Bundesliga, except for the cross-blocking data, so it will be interesting to see how far he will grow.”

Former German football player Schweinsteiger, who is also the host and invited guest of the same program, pointed to the data with a slightly tired expression.

“Isn’t that indicator wrong?”

“Yes? What is it?”

“One-on-one defense capability data. Also, the sweeper operation data and ball distribution data seem to be wrong. What happened in Germany after I retired? Did Genghis Khan invade? The attack participation rate also doesn’t seem to make sense… .”

“Bastian. It may surprise you, but all of those indicators are accurate. A young goalkeeper from Korea is dominating the Bundesliga.”

Schweinsteiger’s mouth falls open in silence at Lucy Schneider’s words.

“I couldn’t do that in my time….”

And the Schweinsteiger cast by Lattepal.

“Actually, there are some things that I haven’t gotten yet because the data hasn’t been accumulated yet. For example, the free kick success rate.”

“… Free kick success rate? What kind of free kick success rate does a goalkeeper have?”

“Bastian. Now that you’re retired, aren’t you too indifferent to German football? Kim is a full-fledged free kick taker now!”

Schweinsteiger blinked and answered.

“I see. It looks like Russia is planning to join NATO soon.”

It was a roundabout way of telling her not to talk nonsense, but Lucy Schneider shook her head and showed the prepared scene of Kim Min-woo’s free kick goal instead.

A scene from the goal against Mexico during the national team match.

Goal scene from the Japan match.

And the 35m long-range free kick goal that shocked Hoffenheim.

And what was Steiger’s reaction when he saw that?

“… Now that Messi seems to be retiring, God has created Messi for a different position.”

“That may be true. And with the emergence of this goalkeeper, of course, Kim’s jersey sales are also on the rise. Look at this.”

Kim’s uniform sales data appears with a single press of a button.

First of all, the sales volume within Hanover.

Steiger looked at the numbers and laughed.

“What is this? That goalkeeper is even dominating in terms of jersey sales? Usually, goalkeepers are an unpopular position, so jersey sales are low, but they can never be high….”

“Usually, yes. But Kim is no ordinary player.”

All the players in Hannover combined did not sell as many jerseys as Kim, which was an overwhelming number, even higher than the goalkeeper figures.

“And this is the sales of jerseys sold outside Hanover.”

Kim Min-woo’s overwhelming performance impressed many Germans.

Even now, Kim Min-woo’s uniform sales continued to rise, and Hannover was screaming with joy as they earned money in amounts they had never seen before.

“In Germany, our uniform sales are in the top 5, and in Europe as a whole, we are in the top 20. Sales in Asia are also gradually increasing.”

“…Hanover is going to make some money with this.”

“First of all, the goalkeeper position. Moreover, with this level of sales in Hannover, a club that is relatively lesser known than other famous big clubs, it is a mega hit.”

“I don’t think big clubs would not be after a player like that.”

In response to Steiger’s question, Lucy Schneider operates the machine as if she had prepared for this as well.

“Kim has made it clear that she will not leave on her own, but lately, her rhetoric has been getting weaker. She’s using politicians’ rhetoric. Why, you know? Ambiguous statements.”

“Aha. Are you talking about statements like, ‘If you hang it on your ear, it becomes an earring, and if you hang it on your nose, it becomes a nose ring?’”

“That’s correct, Bastian.”

Kim Min-woo, who initially said he would never leave Hannover, has recently been giving ambiguous answers or remaining silent when asked about transfers.

In fact, the reason was simple.

H&B’s Philip Harris advised him to keep his position ambiguous as this would help his valuation to increase, but since others are unaware of this, we can only guess why.

“There are so many teams in the world that want Kim. If he wanted to, he could leave Hannover right now and go to Manchester City, Real Madrid, anywhere. This is the latest rumor… … .”

The special on Kim Min-woo prepared by Lucy Schneider became a hot topic among German viewers, as there had never been a show that analyzed Kim so obsessively.

Most of them were just broadcasts that analyzed Kim’s defense in detail.

And this special feature gained quite a lot of popularity and was even exported to Korea.

“Satisfactory….”

Kim Shin-ah sat in the back of the bus on her way to school, before a tough day began, and filled herself with patriotism that day as well. It was a sweet taste that even made her drowsiness disappear.

* * *

It wasn’t new to go to Hanover for the first time in a long time and get used to it and train.

It used to taste awkward, but as time passed I got used to it and it became familiar.

And today, a secret guest came to visit.

It was a completely unexpected guest.

“Kim! A legend has come from Korea to see you!”

The head coach’s shout.

I was training and playing around with my colleagues, and then I ran over to see what that meant.

Then nearby… … .

“uh?”

“Minwoo! You’re Minwoo!”

Familiar Korean.

And… … an old grandfather wearing glasses?

Who is it?

No, wait a minute. The voice and face seem somehow familiar.

“Uh… … Are you Cha Beom-gun… my grandfather?”

The tanned grandfather smiles and nods.

“Yeah, that’s right. My grandfather is Cha Beom-gun.”

“iced coffee!”

What the heck? An old Korean legend that I heard about like a fairy tale came to me?

I froze for a moment and didn’t know what to do. Then, the Germans around me and Grandpa Cha Beom-gun laughed heartily and enjoyed my reaction.

“I really wanted to see you, Minwoo.”

“Oh, uh, yes! I’ve heard a lot about that too!”

I was polite and polite.

He was a legendary soccer player who started playing soccer in the 70s and dominated the Bundesliga in the 80s.

“Yeah, is life in Germany a bit worthwhile?”

“Oh, yes! I’ve been living here for over a year, and the German people around me have been very helpful, so I’m adjusting without any problems!”

“Does it suit your taste?”

“Oh, uh, yes! But, my mom cooks a lot of Korean food at home, so I don’t really have a hard time with food!”

Without realizing it, I opened my mouth and answered faithfully every time with, “Ah, yes.”

Cha Beom-gun hugged me tightly as if I was his precious grandson and said to Jan.

“I’d like to see Kim train, is that okay?”

“Yes, Cha.”

Then Jan picked up his cell phone and called someone separately, and the person who quickly ran out was Sophie, who was working separately in the clubhouse.

“Director? Did you call me?”

“Sophie. This guy here is a soccer legend from Korea who came to see Kim. If you need any help, you can show him around.”

I glanced at the sight and thought, ‘The manager is manipulating the staff within the club as he pleases? Is that right?’

But if you think about it, Sophie kind of felt like a civil servant.

It feels like when something goes wrong, the first thing you look for is Sophie.

Anyway, I went back to my original position and continued training, and I didn’t do it playfully with my colleagues like before.

No matter what, the legend is watching so we have to take it seriously.

And it was while I was training really hard.

During a short break, Cha Beom-gun walked over and said.

“Minwoo, you’ve completely adapted to living in Hanover, right? Well, that’s why you can do things like this.”

“Go, thank you.”

I heard many words of wisdom from Grandpa Cha Beom-gun. Don’t lose your love for soccer. If you keep working hard like you are now, you will be able to surpass me…

Of course, when I was young, I used to think like this.

‘Haven’t we already passed?’

Hehehe. Just kidding.

Well, just don’t say it out loud!

‘In terms of career, he’s still not even at the level of Grandfather Cha Beom-gun.’

As for my career, it ended with winning the Bundesliga 2nd division.

Ah. Isn’t that right? There’s no way Cha Beom-gun won an Olympic gold medal.

Fortunately, Grandpa Cha Beom-gun didn’t ask me any questions about transfer. Well, even if he had asked, I would have said I would stay. And that’s true.

* * *

After a long break, our first opponent of the second half was Wolfsburg.

It was my first time facing a team that hadn’t reached the turning point yet, but I wasn’t too worried.

Actually, that was what I was most worried about.

‘Aren’t you bringing up Hoffenheim’s strategy again?’

Hoffenheim poison the Bundesliga.

It was a bit disappointing that, unless they were a really strong team, they would show their will to sit back and do nothing when playing against Hannover.

I wish they wouldn’t do that since they’re a mid- to upper-tier team, but you never know.

Jan seemed quite worried about this as he called the players together and explained the tactics to be used in the match against Wolfsburg at home.

“It’s been a while since we played in front of our fans, so let’s win with a bang. Is everyone ready?”

“yes!”

It wasn’t as bad as the last Dortmund game, but it was a pretty aggressive tactic. It looks like Corsic and I will be the only ones who will suffer and cry again…

I glanced at Corsic. It seemed like he was thinking the same thing as me. He was looking at me.

We looked at each other and simultaneously chuckled.

It seems like Yan thought I was an impenetrable shield no matter what he did after the last game.

Well, whatever happens, happens.

* * *

And the match against Wolfsburg went as expected.

My car show and running mate Corsic’s defensive skills on par with Kim Min-je’s.

And actually, just by doing that, my burden is greatly reduced.

“Kim!”

An obvious route that Corsic missed.

“Tchcha.”

He caught me without letting me go.

“Kim!”

The route where Corsic approaches me with an expression that seems to be asking for praise, kicking away the lies.

I nod and give him a thumbs up.

“good job.”

“lol.”

Although it was my first match in a long time, I didn’t have any trouble adjusting like I used to.

I’ve gotten a feel for the league atmosphere now.

And, above all,

‘Ah, Hoffenheim… .’

Wolfsburg tried to beat me up a bit in the first half, but after seeing my saves, I decided it wasn’t going to work out, so I went straight to Hoffenheim.