Shooting Trajectory is Visible - Chapter 182



Only Krnovel

182. Double slope

Hannover’s last match was unfortunately an away game.

Away to Wolfsburg.

The distance between Hanover and Wolfsburg is roughly the same as the distance between Seoul and Pyeongtaek in Korea.

It’s a long way, but not so far that we can’t watch the Bundesliga championship being decided.

Wolfsburg will not gain anything by beating or losing to Hannover, as their ranking will not change much, but Hannover must be beaten or drawn to win the Meisterschale.

thus.

“… … Zusammen sind wir groß und stark wie eine Wand!”

As we prepare for the match in the locker room, we hear a thumping sound from outside, along with the now familiar Hannover anthem.

“Obviously, today’s game is an away game….”

“There were probably more Hannover fans than Wolfsburg fans. I heard they sold a lot of tickets to Hannover supporters.”

Corsic added, somehow catching my monologue. I nodded, scratching my neck.

“Oh really? That’s good. My mom just happened to be here too.”

“Huh? Your mom too?”

“Huh? Your mom too?”

My colleagues were nervous and tittered at me.

I shook my head and untied and tied my soccer shoe laces again.

I was given the option to nominate another running mate, but I haven’t chosen one yet. I felt it was a must, since this is my last game for Hannover.

Hannover’s last game of the season.

Of course, cameras from NFlix, who had come to film a documentary, were panning around the locker room, and nearby, Sophie was filming us with a small camcorder.

‘… …Why are you only taking pictures of me?’

I wonder if it’s an illusion that Sophie’s camcorder is focusing on me for the longest time. But it wasn’t an illusion, because Sophie held the camcorder close to me and said.

“Kim! Today’s match will decide Hannover’s fate. Do you have a word for us?”

Scratch scratch.

“… I’m going to play with the mindset of never losing. It’s okay if I don’t win. Even if we draw today, I’m still winning.”

“Oh! Great! Regardless of the result of today’s game, Hannover will advance to the Champions League next season. Kim, you still have time left on your contract. What do you think about playing for Hannover for another season?”

“Your shoelaces are not tied properly….”

I quickly lowered my head and tied my shoelaces again. Then Sophie burst out laughing, and the other players who had been perking up their ears around me also giggled, probably because it was quite funny.

“This could practically be your last game for Hannover, Kim. How do you feel?”

Sophie asked me questions as if she were a reporter, and I followed along, thinking that she was trying to ease my tension.

“I’m in good condition. Since this is the last game of the season, I hope to get a good result.”

“Is this the last game of the season or is this the last game I play for Hannover?”

“Your shoelaces are not tied properly….”

When it comes to difficult questions, the answer is, of course, soccer shoelaces.

In fact, no one knows whether this match will be his last for Hannover or whether it will continue.

It’s true, but like Schrödinger’s cat, you don’t know until you try.

“Everyone! How are you all doing!”

Jan Wright appears.

Jan looked much more nervous than usual.

We showed confidence, as we have in many games with Yan.

The NFlix camera also kept rolling without stopping. Next to it, Sophie’s small camcorder was also busy going back and forth to capture various characters.

“The coach has no intention of being compared! I don’t want to tie with Munich and Leverkusen and win the championship on goal difference! I want to win by clearly outpacing them on goal difference! Do you all understand?”

“yes!”

And Jan looks at me. I look at Jan too. Then Jan slightly turns his head.

“?”

That guy?

* * *

A lot depends on this one game.

In fact, it would not be an exaggeration to say that everything depended on Hanover.

There is a saying that the difference between winning and coming in second is just a hair’s breadth, but the results are as different as heaven and earth.

So, Hannover captain Henrik Fischer expects Jan to be very passive in today’s match.

Hannover would win the championship even if they only draw.

But then Jan suddenly declared that he had eaten something wrong and started playing attacking football, and as a result, the current match was a series of dogfights.

‘shit!’

The flow of attack is momentarily interrupted and Wolfsburg’s counterattack begins.

Wolfsburg didn’t sit back and do nothing like other teams that have faced us.

Since the team didn’t need to worry too much about the changes in rankings whether they won or lost today’s game, they seemed to want to show the fans an entertaining game rather than being obsessed with winning or losing, so they defended when they had to and attacked fiercely when they had to.

in result.

“Ugh!”

Henrik Fischer bit the ball hard and made a quick return to his own half to block a counterattack.

It wasn’t just Fischer, but most of the Hannover players were running like crazy to stop the opponent’s counterattack.

However, it was not enough to stop the counterattack that was carried out cleanly.

The Wolfsburg striker fired a shot straight at the goal before we could stop it, and the shot was… .

“Heeeeek. Heeeeek.”

Phew.

Fisher spat and gasped for breath, then laughed loudly. Kim, as always, blocked the opposing attacker’s shot.

When I see him block every game like that, I sometimes have that thought.

‘Is there a need to run around like this, trying to block a counterattack? Kim will block it anyway… .’

Of course, I know that Yan and Kim will both be going crazy in that case. Kim is a brat who pretends not to care, but is known for snapping at people when their defense is messed up.

“Knock knock knock! Oh, I’m dying.”

My head hurt because I was running at full speed when I wasn’t prepared.

And before I had time to think, the ball came flying towards me. It was Kim’s signature shot put pass. A pass thrown with the hand.

As luck would have it, the pass was headed straight for Fisher, who hurriedly moved his body even though he was still hesitant.

“Ugh―!”

I’m out of my mind. I’m out of my mind.

… Every time I receive a pass from Kim, I feel that Kim’s passes are more accurate than those of most players, even though he is a goalkeeper.

As the ball falls in a very delicate position for the receiver of the pass, you have to watch Kim closely when he builds up.

Bam-

Fisher caught the ball that fell 1.5 meters in front of him and ran down the flank. Without stopping his speed, he simply broke through the opponent’s poor defense.

The opposing flank defender tried to push me away with his body, but my acceleration caused him to fall back.

‘Idiot.’

Fischer, who was laughing inwardly, dragged Kim’s pass deep into the opponent’s flank. In the blink of an eye, Fischer reached the corner kick flag and crossed.

… and the opposing goalkeeper blocks it without difficulty.

‘shit.’

The Hannover away fans applauded as if they were proud.

Fisher continued to spit and catch his breath. His whole body was drenched in sweat. The scoreboard was pointing to the first half of the 30 minutes.

‘It’s only been 30 minutes and I’m already dying.’

Even though the game tempo was fast, it was too fast.

If this trend continues, both teams will probably run out of energy in the early part of the second half.

‘I don’t know. Ian must have planned it.’

Fischer shook his head and returned to his original position. It was his turn to stop Wolfsburg’s build-up.

* * *

The match was tighter than expected. It was a head-on collision of the two managers’ attacking styles.

‘No matter how much I think about it, Jan trusts me too much.’

Rather than winning through a draw, Jan seemed to want to prove that Hannover are the most worthy team for the Meisterschale with a convincing performance that overwhelms their opponents.

And my presence must have had a huge impact on that proof. It’s like something out of a drama for a goalkeeper who has conceded zero goals all season to concede a goal in the final round.

“Tchcha!”

As if they were going to fight if they made eye contact on the street, Hannover and Wolfsburg let their guard down and went for the score.

The fans also showed off their passionate cheers during this exciting match, and I had those thoughts while blocking Wolfsburg’s various attacks.

‘Why can’t our team score when we have so many attacking opportunities?’

Is that the same for the other person?

.

.

And then Wolfsburg attacks again.

This time it was quite dangerous.

It was a deflected shot that just grazed Corsic’s thigh and went wide.

I paused for a moment, but since I knew the shooting trajectory, I quickly threw myself toward it.

And I was able to catch the ball in a split second of timing. It was a save that would probably make people who didn’t know my circumstances exclaim, ‘Oh my god! What a crazy save!’

“Kim! How did you block it? That shot had a completely different angle!”

Phil Neumann, who had witnessed the scene right in front of his nose, shook my shoulder and shouted. I answered with my eyebrows furrowed in a state of shock.

“You can see it. To me.”

“also!”

“I’m going crazy, so go back to your seat.”

As he hurriedly stood up and made a motion to throw the ball, the Wolfsburg players quickly retreated.

It may be a small thing, but it is beneficial since it drains your stamina.

“Take it!”

I rolled the ball to Corsic.

I had completely adapted to the tempo of the game so I didn’t find defense difficult, but I felt a little frustrated because I wasn’t winning.

’65 minutes… .’

We are now in the second half of the 65th minute.

The players from both teams, who had been running like crazy from the start of the game until now, were completely exhausted.

The counterattack was much slower than the first half, and both teams’ defenses were wide open. Despite this, the score was 0-0.

Both teams continued to use their substitution cards, but there were no major changes in the game.

‘If things continue like this, we’ll probably score one or two goals before the game ends.’

I glanced at Coutinho.

Why don’t you show us something today? It would be great if you could give us a free kick in such an intense match… .

I shook my head and changed my mind.

‘Okay. Even if we draw, we’ll still win. Let’s just focus on blocking the ball and not trying to score.’

.

.

and.

In this situation where the second half of the 90 minutes passed by as if it were a lie, the score was still 0-0.

Both teams were exhausted, and in that situation, with Hannover’s goal constantly under threat, Jan became a coward and stopped playing attacking football.

Wolfsburg immediately took control of the game, and I organized the defensive line around Corsic with Hannover players layered on top of him.

The Hannover away fans who came all the way here were already shouting and jumping around as if they had won the game.

Additional time is 3 minutes.

“Just focus a little more!”

At the same time as the shout, a mid-range shot is fired from the Wolfsburg side.

‘Where!’

pop-!

It was a deadly shot.

It’s clear that the soccer ball was blocked, but there’s a sound like something bursting.

The ball bounced off my wrist and was caught by Ari-eum-bi, who kicked it away in front of me. I quickly got up from my seat and looked ahead… … .

“ouch….”

My wrist is so cold.

Wolfsburg used this short time to their advantage, as Hannover continued to look precariously close to collapsing.

‘I never knew 3 minutes could feel like an eternity…’

The shooting angles are creative, so there’s no time to get bored. Fortunately, there was no threat that made you think, ‘This is really dangerous,’ and after 3 minutes, which felt like 30, passed…

Beep— beep— beep!

The referee blows the whistle.

At the same time, I, who had been killing time with the ball in my hand, threw it forward and roared, and Corsic grabbed my shoulders with both hands and jumped up.

Why does this guy keep sticking to me?

“Waaa …

There was a sound like the stadium was collapsing.

I was startled for a moment and looked around.

“Eek.”

It was a scene from a movie.

It was as if zombies were rushing at fresh humans.

Tens of thousands of people in the stands stormed onto the field like a pack of dogs.

The crowd was running towards us with all their might. I was happy, but I was also seriously worried.

‘Should I run away?’

where?

They are running from all directions… .

“Kim―!”

A man I didn’t know ran up to me and kissed me on the cheek. That was the beginning of what was to come.

“Kim!”

“Kim!”

“Now, wait a minute. Just a minute.”

Why does this bald guy want to kiss me!?

I quickly came to my senses and ran through the crowd. If I stay still, I might end up kissing a guy for the first time.