Shooting Trajectory is Visible - Chapter 167



Only Krnovel

Director’s view

* * *

Narrative in sports has been an indispensable seasoning.

While most of the games felt like mere points-piling machines, some special games were different.

A big match that is important, special, and will have a big impact on the rankings in the future cannot be without a narrative.

In that sense, the Leverkusen manager’s provocation marked the beginning of a narrative.

Whether it was intentional or just a show of confidence, Jan appreciated it.

Perhaps the Leverkusen manager, who started out as a player, may have intentionally done this to provoke the fans.

He was a famous player, incomparable to me.

“Coach? Have you seen what Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso said about Hannover and Kim?”

The reporter asked. Jan nodded leisurely.

“sure.”

Xabi Alonso.

Defensive midfielder who played for Liverpool, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich.

Unlike himself, he was a legendary player who dominated the era. He even stood out as a coach.

“Kim, who is now becoming a legend at Hannover, has predicted that he will score multiple goals in the coming matches. Do you have any comments, manager?”

The reporter opened the arena openly.

No matter what Jan says here, the reporters will get what they want.

For example, if you avoid answering or give an unconfident answer, the reporters will write articles to criticize Hannover and Jan, and if you give an aggressive answer to the Leverkusen manager, they will say, “Oh, that’s good,” and write articles to match.

And, whether you win or lose, it’s always better to win when it comes to risk.

Jan was also not a weak man who could be easily defeated by someone who was openly lying to him.

“In the last match, Kim was unable to play against Leverkusen due to a wrist injury. I think the opponents are underestimating us. Leverkusen may be the highest ranked team, but I don’t think they are stronger than Munich or Dortmund. So.”

Jan paused for a moment and then smiled faintly.

“It’s like a dog barking without knowing how scary a tiger is.”

The reporters looked as if they couldn’t be happier. Jan also looked happy.

In fact, there was a catch.

If the shit dog is the best in the league, then the rest are either worse than the shit dog, or not shit dogs anymore, but of course, Jan didn’t say such old-fashioned things.

Because in the sports world, interesting gossip tends to be more of a topic of conversation than boring logic.

Jan was thrilled by the reporters’ reaction, and also annoyed that Leverkusen dared to provoke Hannover like that, so he added a word.

“Maybe Munich will be grateful to us, because the next match will change the positions of first and second in the Bundesliga.”

“Oh… .”

Reporters on the verge of a happy ending.

Jan then stopped making provocative remarks and returned to his normal self, conducting regular interviews.

* * *

Leon Harpers, the head coach of the South Korean national team and successor to Klinsgel, was momentarily perplexed upon seeing the growing public opinion in Korea as soon as he arrived on a business trip to Europe.

“Was it like this…?”

The same goes for club managers, but especially national team managers have always been in a position where they are the center of attention from numerous media outlets and people.

It’s a place that’s peaceful when nothing’s happening, but when there’s an issue, it’s a place that receives a lot of attention.

In fact, the business trip to Europe was not a special issue for Leon Harpers.

The problem is that the former manager would fly out to see European players whenever he had time, so now even leaving the country has become a sensitive issue in Korea.

[Why should a South Korean coach look at overseas leagues when he only needs to look at the domestic league?]

[The starting lineup has already been announced, so why on earth are you going on a business trip to Europe? Aren’t you just going to have fun?]

Leon Harpers felt desolate at the public opinion that the interpreter told him. He felt even more disgusted when he saw that the media seemed to be fanning the flames of public opinion.

“Anyway, those damn journalists… .”

Although race, country, and culture are different, the essence is the same job.

I respect reporters who cover other fields, but for some reason, reporters who cover sports are viewed with colored glasses.

Leon Harpers kept that sentiment in his head for now and looked at a list of players to watch during this trip to Europe.

‘In Germany, first of all, Kim from Hanover. Then Jeon from Stuttgart. Then Lee from Mainz and Lee from Hertha.’

It didn’t mean that he would simply watch the game. Leon planned to closely observe the training they received and the process they went through.

And among the players Leon was watching, there were certainly some who were not selected for this national team roster.

Since the national team coach position is a long-term race leading up to the World Cup, I planned to select the best candidates in advance, and I planned to visit not only the German league but also any league that has Korean players.

And the process must be completed within two weeks.

“Can I see your ticket?”

The place we visited today was Bayer Leverkusen’s home stadium, BayArena, where the match between Leverkusen and Hannover will be held.

Leon Harpers and the coaches who came with him entered the stadium using tickets provided by the association.

The game will start here soon.

In fact, Kim from Hannover was so overwhelming and a player that there was no need to go and see him… … but Leon kept thinking about Kim.

‘No matter how much I think about it, Kim is too young to be a starter in the World Cup. If an inexperienced player goes out on such a big stage, he could end up collapsing.’

Above all, the position was goalkeeper.

It’s more common than you might think for a young player to get excited and ruin their game at a major international tournament.

Especially if you are a goalkeeper, whose position is of a different level of importance than other positions… … you should look into it even more.

Leon wanted to see how well Kim could keep his composure during this match against Leverkusen.

Since Kim is a good goalkeeper anyway, we will look beyond the simple skill aspect to see if he gets excited in this important matchup or if he has any unexpected weaknesses.

‘It’s not that I won’t take Kim to the World Cup just because he has the flaws I thought he had.’

If you do that, you will face an unbearable backlash.

Leon wanted to identify Kim’s weaknesses in this match and discuss with the coaches how to improve on those weaknesses to make Kim a better goalkeeper.

That’s why we came to find Kim, who is already a complete goalkeeper.

Although he is clearly a historic goalkeeper, Kim is still too young.

* * *

And the game began.

Kim, watching from the stands, seemed quite relaxed even on this big stage.

‘… There’s no way I could have been nervous. If I had been, I wouldn’t have been able to show such an overwhelming performance in the Bundesliga.’

Leon carefully watched Kim during the game to see if he was behaving in a way typical of an inexperienced player, or if there were any quirks that needed to be corrected.

So the first half goes by in 10 minutes, 20 minutes, 30 minutes.

The time for exploration has already passed, and now it is time for a fierce battle of offense and defense to unfold.

Leon let out a short exclamation of admiration at the sight of Kim, who, despite his mission to analyze Kim’s weaknesses, was guarding the goal like an ironclad, without showing any particularly noticeable weaknesses in the Bundesliga matches.

“… That’s amazing.”

At that short exclamation, head coach Nicolas van de Burgh, who was watching the game from the side, also nodded in agreement.

“I’ve seen it in national team matches and in practice many times, but Kim is already world class. In my opinion, that goalkeeper is a type that has never been seen before. He’s so reliable.”

There was no denying it. If it was build-up, it was build-up. If it was a defense, it was a defense. If it was kicking power, it was kicking power. If it was defensive coordination, it was coordination.

It’s because the defense is so overwhelming, but the other abilities are also very good.

How could he develop so dramatically? I know he didn’t have that much overwhelming force when he debuted, but how did he grow so much in such a short period of time?

It’s not for nothing that the yellow press circulates rumors about drugs.

‘If Kim were Chinese, I would have been really suspicious too… .’

Even though it’s a country right next door, I don’t think Korea, which has quite a few good players, would do that.

Leon knew too.

These days in the Bundesliga, a tailored strategy is popular to stop Hannover (or more precisely, to avoid facing Kim).

But the Bundesliga’s top club’s reputation was too high to employ such a strategy, and that’s why Kim shined so brightly in this match.

Kim shines brighter the more his opponent attacks.

With only a little over 30 minutes into the game, Kim’s performance was as varied as that of a goalkeeper over the course of a 90-minute game.

And this time, the crisis of losing points comes again.

Leverkusen’s Bundesliga title was not a piece of cake as they launched a very fast counterattack.

In an instant, Hannover’s defense was in a 3v3 situation, and Leverkusen moved from the right flank to the center, and from the center to the left flank, and the gap was opened up in the blink of an eye.

And Amin Adli, who broke through the back space, aimed for the goal with his left foot, but Kim was invincible in the situation where the shooting angle was narrow.

Kim blocks it with a quick raise of his right hand without even taking a few steps.

Leon burst out laughing at that leisurely attitude.

“When I look at Kim, he looks like he’s having a practice match. How can he be so relaxed? Usually, when someone that young has a clean sheet record, he’d be nervous.”

“With a heart like that, you must have such a record.”

The head coach answered. Leon nodded as well.

“That would certainly be the case. If it weren’t special in the first place, it wouldn’t have achieved such a record.”

The game was very fast-paced and very entertaining. Above all, as Leverkusen came out aggressively as they had promised, Hannover also had numerous attacking opportunities, and the game turned into a mud fight where they hit back at each other.

And Philippe Coutinho attempts an attack by using his footwork to shoot between the gaps between the opponent’s defenders’ feet.

It was a very sharp attempt, but the Leverkusen goalkeeper flew in and blocked it with an acrobatic flying performance.

There was a roar and applause from the stands. Leverkusen’s goalkeeper also showed a series of saves that were no less than Kim’s.

That’s how Leon got hooked on the game.

The flow changed again, giving Leverkusen an opportunity to attack. The game felt like it was changing hands quickly every minute and every second.

“It’s dangerous.”

Leverkusen in a dangerous run.

After passing the ball back and forth on the flank of the Hannover camp, a pass is made that quickly breaks through to the center, and as soon as the center is broken, the opposing attacker attempts a slight curling shot towards the left goal.

And then Kim pauses for a moment as if his movements are interrupted.

Kim was momentarily startled, but he managed to fly and block that dangerous opportunity again.

Kim tightly grabs the ball as it bounces slightly. Any talk of analyzing its weaknesses or anything like that has already flown far away.

The game is just so damn fun.

“It’s not called one of the top four European leagues for nothing. It’s amazing.”

I once again felt that things are much tighter and tactically more advanced now than when I was leading in Europe.

How on earth does Kim keep a clean sheet in this icy league? Is he even human?

And just before the first half ended, extra time.

Hannover came out aggressively and then Leverkusen took over the game, which quickly led to a counterattack.

A counterattack situation starting from the side half-line.

Alex Grimaldo, who is playing as ‘4’ in Leverkusen’s 3-4-2-1, runs through the empty space, and in an instant, he catches the wide open space on the opposite flank and passes a through ball there.

Leon saw the clear opportunity and stood up from his seat.

‘This is crucial!’

We haven’t had a clear goal chance like this in this match yet!

In an instant, Jeremy, who was playing as the ‘4’ on the other side of 3-4-2-1, entered the central penalty box, and Kim ran in to narrow the shooting angle.

Leon instinctively thought, ‘This is working.’ One-on-one situation. The defenders are a few steps away, and Jeremy swings his right foot with all his might.

Surprisingly, in this tense situation, Leverkusen midfielder Jeremy faked.

Motion as if kicking to the right and kicking to the left.

A fake motion that is so instantaneous and so fast that it is difficult to follow even with the eyes.

And the shot bounces off Kim’s outstretched right leg.

It was a save as if he knew you would do that.

The ball bounced off, and defender Phil Neumann caught it and dribbled it.

Before we could even admire the overwhelming save, Phil Neumann was dangerously dribbling inside the penalty box and lost the ball!

‘That idiot! I should have kicked him out right away!’

Leon almost screamed at the frustrating defensive ability, but the situation became urgent again.

Hannover, who lost the ball while dribbling, found themselves in a dangerous situation once again, and this time Kim blocked a shot from right in front of the goal with his right arm.

The ball bounced off and Hannover’s center back Corsic headed it clear, ending the situation. This time, it was a complete end to the situation. Thank goodness.

“……after.”

Leon felt his heart pounding, and when the situation was over, he was finally able to sit down with a sigh.

“I’m going crazy. It’s been a long time since I’ve felt my heart race like this while watching a game.”

“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a goalkeeper’s saves stand out more than the strikers’ attacks. No wonder Kim is treated like a god at Hannover.”

Leon nodded in agreement. If his team had a goalkeeper who could show such crazy skills, he would be thrilled.

“Nicholas. It seems to me that Kim doesn’t really need any feedback. I just realized that our worries were completely unnecessary.”

“Yes, that’s right, Director. I feel that way too.”

“Kim must be taken to the World Cup and used as a starter. There is nothing we can do to Kim. He is young, but he already has a deeper composure than most veterans.”

“I agree.”

The ensuing corner was neatly cleared by Hannover, and the first half ended like that.

But Leon felt like the first half was too short. To be honest, it was too much fun.

I was so excited for the second half and wanted to watch the game quickly. It was a shame that there was a halftime.