Shooting Trajectory is Visible - Chapter 194



Only Krnovel

194 Opening Match

Now, one day, with the opening game just around the corner, I felt that the time for an important decision had come.

‘You need to designate a running mate.’

First of all, keep one of them, it’s Kim Jun-young’s.

Then there’s one left.

Who should I designate as the remaining one?

Actually, if you go into real entertainment, it’s Anthony or McTominay.

‘There are rumors of those two transferring and they are actually sub players.’

The more I think about it, the more I realize that Manchester United’s vision is truly amazing.

How strong are Manchester United’s top players, with a 140 billion won player (Anthony) as a sub?

‘It’s not a good idea to name Anthony McTominay as your running mate. Maybe you need to look at it for a long time like Corsic to see how your performance will improve.’

I didn’t want that.

Manchester United are not a small club like Hannover.

Perhaps the board could have made a move before the players designated as running mates even got into form.

‘Kim Jun-young and Corsic, they gave it to players who weren’t able to do it before. So this time… .’

Sometimes, I lie in bed and fantasize before falling asleep. What if I had given the ball to Han Seung-woo instead of Kim Jun-young when I first started playing soccer at Suyang High School?

What if Hannover had given their running mate to someone like Teutchert or Fischer instead of Corsic?

What happened to those players?

This time I wanted to find out.

‘Let’s designate players who have been doing well in the past.’

There are many candidates.

Bruno Fernandes, currently one of Manchester United’s key players.

Rashford’s form was up and down like a stick the year before and last year, but he is currently in good form.

Martinez is a bit short for a center back, but he is responsible for Manchester United’s defense.

Other candidates include Luke Shaw, Garnazzo, Greenwood, Raphael Varane, Wan-Bissaka, etc… … but they are players who seem a bit disappointing to be designated as running mates compared to the three mentioned above.

‘Actually, it seems right to invest in attack resources.’

I can do whatever I can to defend, but if I can’t score, there’s no answer… .

I felt it a lot in Hanover.

However, I have absolutely no intention of giving it to Hoilun. He is in a position where he has to compete with Kim Jun-young, and it was a waste to begin with. It was a foregone conclusion that Manchester United would let Hoilun go.

I kept thinking about it and decided to eliminate them one by one using the method of elimination.

First of all, I designated the center back last time, and I excluded him because I thought I would be too much of a salary man if I strengthened the defense.

Winger Rashford is a winger by default and mostly plays on the wing, but he can also play at the top.

If Hoilun falls and Kim Jun-young cannot be replaced, Rashford can play at the top and Anthony or Greenwood can come in on the wing, so Rashford is also excluded.

then…….

‘Captain?’

Bruno Fernandes does not threaten Kim Jun-young’s position. Rather than letting Bufe play as a top player because his form has improved, it would be more beneficial for Manchester United to just leave him there and recruit a new striker.

So after much thought, I chose Bruno, the captain and key player of Manchester United, as my running mate this time.

‘Let’s do our best, Captain.’

Of course, the parties involved don’t know anything… .

* * *

On the opening day of the Premier League, the first match was played by Manchester United.

It’s not an away game, it’s a home game.

Our first league opponent was Brighton. Brighton & Hove Albion FC.

A club with an impressive seagull.

“I think you all know how important this match is.”

Time for the manager’s long speech before the game starts.

I left Giovanni’s speech behind and took my time thinking about Manchester United’s starting lineup today.

‘As always, Hoilun is up top, with Rashford and Anthony on the wings.’

Normally, Rashford and Garnazzo should play on both wings, but Garnazzo suffered an injury during training and will not be able to play in the opening match.

Fortunately, Captain Buenos Aires will be playing, with Eriksen and McTominay following behind, and the rest of the back four being Dalot, Varane, Evans, and Wan-Bissaka from the left.

‘There are many patients in the squad…’

Lisandro Martinez and Mainu, who did not play even in the friendly match, are not expected to return, and Luke Shaw and Garnazzo, who were newly released, are also expected to miss at least 2-3 games.

Maguire is also out with an injury and will likely not return until the next game at the earliest… … Hehe.

If I had dropped out too, this match wouldn’t have been easy, right?

There are only six patients in the team. The league is just starting, and there are six patients. As a coach, Giovanni must be going crazy, but Giovanni’s training program also had some influence on the fact that there are so many patients, so it can’t be said that it’s just bad luck.

‘But Hanover didn’t have any casualties at all.’

With injuries to that poor squad, Hannover’s title bid might have been eliminated long ago.

“Let’s go! Show yourselves to the fans! Prove yourselves! Let’s go Devils!”

We left the locker room with the coach’s shout. I hoped that we would show a good performance as much as we had spirit.

“Kim. This is your Premier League debut, right? Please take care of it. Just do what you usually do.”

And a kind word from Captain Bruno. I nodded and hugged the Captain.

.

.

Old Trafford, Manchester United’s home stadium, where history and tradition live on, was sold out for this match, just like the friendly match, as befitting a world-class club.

Actually, it’s not that unusual. In Hanover, it’s always the case that every seat is filled.

“““Come on you Reds, Come on you Reds!”””

Still, it was refreshing to see red waves after seeing green waves every day. It felt like I was visually leaving Hanover and settling in a new nest.

Today, Manchester’s squad pales in comparison to the elite first team, but they are not so low in value that they can be beaten by Brighton, so I promised myself to do well and ran towards the goal.

The game is about to start.

* * *

Kim Shin-ah looked at her phone with fierce eyes. Inside the phone, a broadcast was being played by ‘Best’, a true Manchester United fan and YouTuber with over 2 million subscribers.

It was the same guy I saw last time. A balding, fat guy.

[Okay, Mr. Book! Today is Kim Min-woo’s Premier League debut. I’m really nervous too. Manchester United will win today, right!?]

And Best opens the book on the camera screen. The book opens to a random page, and inside it is written a single sentence.

[‘There will be something to be thankful for.’ It’s here. It’s here! It’s here! Kim Min-woo, let’s go for a shutout!]

The number of real-time viewers was a whopping 80,000. Most of them were people who came to make fun of this person. Kim Shin-ah watched the broadcast while giggling. And then, the opening match between Manchester United and Brighton began.

As soon as the game started, Manchester United came out with an aggressive stance. It felt like watching the last friendly match again.

Best exclaimed “Nice” from the start, saying that he felt good from the start as Manchester United moved steadily with organic movements from the start of the game.

But Best’s joy doesn’t last even five minutes.

Manchester United, who were without many of their regular starters, quickly began to falter, and Brighton did not miss the opportunity.

[Ah, Anthony, what are you doing, that kid! Why are you taking it from there! Stop it! Stop it! Stop it!]

Brighton’s counterattack unfolded in an instant. Kim Shin-a was amazed by the speed of the Premier League and watched with an ‘oh’ sound.

Certainly, there was a difference in speed compared to the Bundesliga. Brighton, who won the ball and ran in an instant, fired a mid-range shot from outside the penalty box, and although the trajectory was accurate, it was blocked by Kim Min-woo’s hand.

[That’s right! Kim Min-woo! This crazy defensive stability! That’s it!]

The game continued. Manchester United were aggressive, but the flow kept breaking somewhere.

[No, I can’t move forward! How is that a 140 billion won player! If I hesitate and lose it, what should I do, what should I do, and then the flow is completely broken! Aaaah!]

It was a shout towards Anthony. Best continued to grumble and eventually took out the book.

[Book! Won’t that kid get out!? Won’t he let him out!?]

And the sentence that emerges is: ‘Take action now.’

[That’s why! That’s why!]

Shin-ah’s face turned bright red and she was laughing at Best’s grin.

“It’s not like it’s some magical conch shell from Spongebob or anything… … Hehehe.”

And after about 15 minutes of the first half, the game became fierce and not one-sided. It felt like a match between two teams of similar weight class, rather than a match between a strong team and a weak team.

“Wow. They go here and there… The attacking and defending teams keep changing.”

To take control of the game, Manchester United continued to attack, but Brighton was not far behind. It was so intense that you could call it a derby match if you only mentioned the club names.

The two teams, who continued to alternate between offense and defense like in a battle of Goji, eventually came to a decisive chance.

It was Brighton.

A short cross is sent from the flank and the player who is supposed to receive the cross jumps up with his legs apart.

The ball went into the bottom corner and another Brighton striker, running behind, had a solo chance.

A decisive opportunity right in the middle of the penalty box. It was an opportunity that even Kim Shin-ah was momentarily surprised and let out a ‘Huh?’

The Brighton striker took the opportunity and put the ball into the goal with one touch, and Kim Min-woo responded by lying down.

A shot in the opposite direction to where the goalkeeper was went right into the goalkeeper’s arms. It was an unbelievable super save even when you saw it.

“Whoa! Crazy! Stop this?”

It was Kim Shin-ah’s short scream, and the best on the screen was… … .

[Keeeeeeeeeeee! Keeeeeeeeee! Kim Min-woouuuuuuuu! Kim Min-woouuuuk! Stop this aaaa …

Just like that time, he became a pterosaur again and jumped up and down. It was definitely a great save. No, how did he stop it?

That’s something that almost any goalkeeper in the world could have done.

As such, Kim Min-woo is a goalkeeper who enjoys making saves that are hard to believe even when you see them. Sometimes, Shin-ah would wonder if that person was really her older brother… .

The TV commentators were commenting on the Brighton striker’s missed opportunity, while others were amazed by Kim Min-woo’s crazy save.

[This is it! This is it! I believed in you! Come on! Come on! Kim Min-woo! Okay! You deserve to be number one in annual salary! You deserve to be number one in annual salary! You can give me more! You can give me more!]

Best of the best who keeps repeating the same thing.

It seems like he was really impressed by that crazy defense. His face was extremely red and he was clearly flustered.

And on the screen, Kim Min-woo stood up with the ball in his hand and started getting really angry at his teammates. It was just like when he was in Hannover.

I used to get angry like that often back then too.

[Oh, but I can’t help it. Evans should have covered this well, but that old man Evans is impossible. Does it make sense that a guy who should retire tomorrow is still playing?]

I heard that the players who had to play in place of the main players due to injuries are quite old.

And the game continued.

Even if you turn the clock back, time still passes, and the game that was going on without a moment to catch one’s breath announced the end of the first half in an instant.

“Wow. What? It’s over already? Why is it over so quickly?”

I got really immersed in it. This is… the best league in the world? It was so fun from the opening game.

The aftertaste lingers. Best also showed a similar reaction, as if he couldn’t believe that the first half was already over.

Then he brought the board and started talking about what he saw in the first half. The tactics should be like this, that player should be replaced right away, things like that.

Shin-ah was so touched by the aftertaste that she immediately left a message for her brother.

[Kim Shin-ah: The uniform is red, but it feels like Hanover? Fighting! ㅋ]

* * *

“Fuck.”

My head is spinning.

I clearly escaped Hanover, but why?

I expected it wouldn’t be easy, but no, was it really this much?

Even though some of the key players are missing, is it really possible for a team like Manchester United to fall behind like this?

If you look closely, it wasn’t just a matter of being pushed back. We certainly attacked and had some effective shots, but Brighton had far more quality attacking opportunities than Manchester United in the first half.

Naturally, coach Giovanni was also furious in the locker room.

“Hey you little shits! Move according to plan! Move according to plan! Anthony! Why do you keep dawdling? What are you doing?!”

“Evans! Are you a fucking wooden doll? Why are you two steps too slow? You’re making things hard for Kim!”

“McTominay! You’re slow to get back on defense, so the whole team is under pressure! Move quickly! Are you playing with crutches? Even my grandmother can run faster than you!”

Giovanni pours out his words.

He points out the problems of the players who performed poorly in the first half and even suggests areas for improvement.

I thought to myself, agreeing wholeheartedly with Giovanni’s words.

‘I guess it takes some time to adjust because the league is different.’

I haven’t even finished a single game yet, but I have one feeling.

It is clear that the Bundesliga is just as good as the EPL, but the Bundesliga and the EPL are clearly different leagues.

Also, I hate to admit it, but the Premier League definitely felt tougher than the Bundesliga.

‘It’s too early to evaluate after only running for 45 minutes, but…’

Originally, experts could roughly estimate their opponent’s level by just mixing their swords once.

“Kim!”

Director Giovanni, who was giving a passionate speech, called me. I was startled and shouted.

“Yes, sir!”

The director looked at me with sharp eyes… .

“I don’t really have any feedback for you. Just do as you’ve been doing. Are you uncomfortable with participating in the build-up or anything?”

“Oh, it’s okay.”

“okay.”

Giovanni, who used to say something to almost all of the players, gave me a warm word and a look.

It felt really awkward for me to be the only one getting special treatment, but I let it be.

‘Honestly, if it weren’t for me, I would have scored at least one goal…’

Coach Giovanni threatened some players that he would watch the second half and that if they did not properly follow the tactical instructions, he would consider it as disobedience and immediately take them out.

So, we left the locker room in a somewhat uncomfortable atmosphere.