Shooting Trajectory is Visible - Chapter 209



Only Krnovel

Episode 209

#Hot promise

At the director’s scolding, Onana and Anthony retreated with expressions of disgust.

The once pleasant atmosphere suddenly became solemn, and the locker room became as quiet as a mouse.

‘It used to be like a market, but now it feels like a charnel house… .’

Everyone except Giovanni was watching. Even the coaching staff.

Director Giovanni sighed briefly and then clapped his hands.

“Okay. Let’s all proceed with the training as scheduled!”

All the players stood up and left the locker room.

.

.

The atmosphere was chaotic, but the training went on as planned. As I was doing Giovanni’s characteristically intense training, I suddenly had that thought.

‘Fuck. Why do I feel jealous of Onana and Anthony?’

They must be sucking honey at home by now, right?

With Giovanni firmly in his sights, he could be excluded from further training or even demoted to the second team.

‘You’re getting paid so much but you don’t train or play in games… .’

I already felt secretly impressed by the two players who were following in Gareth Bale’s footsteps.

Even with the transfer market closed, United have until December to pay him.

“Kim! How is it being back on the team after so long?”

I turned my head at the question. It was such a cute question, but what I saw wasn’t Sophie, but some bald old man.

That too, a balding old man with a patchy head of hair… .

Looking at the camera in one hand, it looks like he’s going to post it on the club’s SNS.

“Okay. Everything is good.”

“Oh, really?”

The old man who had been bothering me soon left to bother other players. I finished training that day, sweating it out.

* * *

The only transfer that Giovanni De Luca personally identified and brought in was a striker.

He was likely to be the player to compete with Rasmus Hoilun or even completely overtake Hoilun as Manchester United’s first-choice striker until the transfer market reopened.

“Nice to meet you, Kim. Do you know me?”

“Uh… … Yeah. Hello.”

Maximilian Bayer. He is from Germany and is 180 cm tall. He was born in 2002, so he is my older brother and played in the Bundesliga.

He played for Hoffenheim and then transferred to Manchester United, but unlike the players Manchester United brought in before, he was not a complete player but rather a flower just before it bloomed.

Since I am from Germany, the buyer and I were talking to each other in German.

“I’ve often heard that you were from Hanover.”

“Yeah. That’s right. Most of the people you played with are people I know.”

“That’s amazing.”

If you try to piece it together, it was quite a mysterious relationship.

Hoffenheim were the first team to embarrass me in the Bundesliga, coming down to a relatively weak team, Hannover, while Maximilian Bayer was the striker who played against me after returning to his home team, Hoffenheim, after playing on loan at Hannover.

He is a Hoffenheim player with whom I have an unforgettable connection.

It was also interesting that I was playing on loan before I made my debut at Hannover. And that such a player became my teammate again.

‘Is it too much of a stretch to create a relationship like this?’

Well, anyway, since he was a colleague from the same league and had once played for Hannover, I greeted him warmly.

“Actually, I was a little surprised. I never thought I would be on a team like this.”

“so do i.”

The buyer burst into laughter at my words.

“But why didn’t you go to Real Madrid? If I were you, I would have chosen Madrid without looking back.”

A player’s dream club. But joining a club that’s already been completed is not my style.

“I thought it would be more fun to join a declining kingdom and rebuild it than to join a powerful empire.”

“… Oh. You’re really good at German? It’s hard to speak it after only being here for two years.”

“I had the teachings of a great teacher.”

Although I found out too late, Sophie wanted to stay with me a little longer, so I continued teaching her even though her German skills were already close to perfect.

This was the result.

I have now reached the point where I can speak German like a native speaker… .

“Anyway, Kim. Let’s do our best. When I was at Hoffenheim, I would sigh whenever we played against Hannover, but now the one sighing is my teammate!”

The buyer smiled brightly. I smiled back and hugged the buyer.

There was one reason why a player who was considered a promising prospect was able to come to a big club like Manchester United.

Potential.

To be precise, potential growth rate.

Last season, Maximilian Bayer scored 21 goals and provided 10 assists in 40 appearances for Hoffenheim.

It was also well-received for its attack points, which was why Giovanni chose it.

He has shown steady growth in the Bundesliga 1st division at a young age, and Giovanni was selected because he believes his playing style will suit his personality well.

In the 23/24 season, he scored 16 goals and 4 assists in 38 games. The following season, he scored 21 goals and 10 assists.

He was a steadily improving striker, so he would probably have been taken by somewhere else, even if it wasn’t Manchester United.

Any striker who scores more than 20 goals in the top four leagues at a young age is no ordinary player.

Of course, there are many players who show great performances but then lose momentum… … We’ll have to wait and see what type of buyers they will be.

‘By the way, how’s Junyoung doing?’

A striker who is good at hitting even in the Bundesliga has arrived.

He was a player who could have even been aiming for the scoring title if it weren’t for Harry Kane.

‘Junyoung’s future is also full of thorns. Even if he shows great performance in the reserve team, he might be loaned out.’

Well, if there’s a strong competitor, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to take a breather somewhere else for a bit. The problem is that then you won’t get the benefit of your running mate.

First of all, we have to get over Hoilun. That doesn’t look easy either…

* * *

Manchester United’s schedule this season has been quite tight.

Since rounds 5 and 6 were held at three-day intervals, physical and condition management was essential.

Our fifth round opponent is Leicester City.

It was the original fairy tale team that was relegated to the Championship League, then chewed up the second division and returned to the Premier League in just one season.

Jamie Vardy, who was active until last year, retired at the end of last season due to his age, and a statue of Vardy was erected at the club’s stadium.

And we welcomed a rebuilt Leicester City side to their home ground.

As expected, the starting striker for Manchester United, which everyone was paying attention to, went to new transfer Maximilian Bayer.

Hoilun was on the bench.

Onana and Anthony were unable to sit on the bench, perhaps due to the aftereffects of the previous incident. There were already speculations in the media that there was discord between the players and the coach.

‘It’s not a big club for nothing.’

Just two players were left off the roster, and in an instant, the media turned it into gossip.

Beep!

And the referee’s whistle to start the game.

Leicester City, who welcomed us at home, showed an aggressive side. In some parts of the game, they seemed to overwhelm Manchester, and at other moments, they almost scored a goal against me, who was called the wall.

“… This is an ambush.”

I feel this way while playing in the Premier League, but this league is so leveled that you can’t let your guard down no matter which team you face.

If you react even a little late, you will be in a situation where you lose a point in the blink of an eye.

And during the Bundesliga, the vague feeling of ‘I’ll concede a goal someday, too’ changed to the feeling of ‘Oh, I’ll concede a goal sooner or later.’

However, I kept my concentration throughout the game and defended the goal, and now I am starting to get along with the defenders to some extent, so my first goal has been delayed a little bit.

and.

“Waaa …

The crowd roared.

Maximilian Bayer, who is making his debut today, has impressed the home fans since his debut.

He chased down a loose ball and took a shot from the side of the penalty box, which went straight into the goal.

‘As expected. People say that Modric is good at soccer…’

The buyer was worried that he might not be able to survive in the Premier League with such a poor performance, but he eventually proved himself.

It’s a debut goal before debut.

It took Hoilun 1026 minutes over 15 games to score his debut goal, while Bayer did it in under 80 minutes.

After scoring the goal, Manchester United were on the rise and kept on pushing, but Leicester’s goal was not opened.

So the game ended 1:0.

I was satisfied with finishing this game without conceding a goal and hugged my teammates.

Today’s game was definitely not easy. There can’t be an easy game in the world’s top league.

* * *

After the match against Leicester City, manager Giovanni was adjusting the training program and schedule in the manager’s office.

It was something I always did.

For Giovanni, days off from matches were simply a time to prepare for matches.

Giovanni, who had been working on his computer for a while, checked the report that had arrived via email. As expected from an Italian, there was a warm espresso on his desk.

Giovanni, who was checking the coach’s report while taking a sip or two, scratched his beard after checking the recent progress of those promoted from the minor league.

“They say he’s a great resource in the K-League, and he seems to be doing pretty well.”

What Giovanni was looking at was the record that Kim Jun-young had built up. 5 goals and 1 assist in 2 appearances.

In the first game he scored 2 goals and 1 assist, and in the second game he scored a hat trick.

It was a pretty good record, despite the unfamiliar language and culture and the extremely short time it took to adapt to the team.

It was only two games, so we’ll have to keep watching… … but in Giovanni’s opinion, it seemed like a waste to keep him rotting away in the minor leagues.

“I guess I’ll just watch until the winter transfer market and then send him out on loan or something.”

Even though he was chewing up the reserve league, there was no intention of using striker Kim in Manchester United’s first team.

The difference in level between the Reserve League and the Premier League is very significant.

Sending him on loan required him to play at least one game in the first team, but that didn’t matter either.

All he had to do was bring him on five minutes before the end of a match where he was already certain to win.

“Let’s see. Where should I send it?”

Giovanni, who thought that he might not be able to use it right away, but might actually be able to use it if he bloomed more than he did now, thought of a few teams that would guarantee him a starting position, but soon erased it from his mind.

If you ask them to send you to a team where you are guaranteed a starting spot, the board will take care of sending you there.

and…….

“Anthony and Onana.”

Giovanni briefly frowned and shook his head.

Both players should have been released before the transfer window closed this summer. It is frustrating to think of the incompetent board, but there is nothing we can do about what has already happened.

“Excluded from the roster for the 6th round match against Arsenal.”

This is not just Giovanni’s philosophy, but that of all directors.

Players who are stubborn towards the coach will be thoroughly suppressed. If players who are climbing the ladder are ignored or not dealt with appropriately, the team hierarchy will collapse.

Even Anthony is in terrible form, and Onana is not bad, but the moment an irreplaceable goalkeeper like Kim was brought in, his release was virtually certain.

“That’s fortunate. It was those guys who got hit and not the other players.”

I can’t tell you how thankful I am that there are people who can be excluded from the list without any problems.

Manchester United’s current record is 3 wins and 2 draws in 5 matches. They are ranked 3rd with 11 points. It was a very satisfying start to the season.

This season, I really thought we might have a shot at winning the league.

“It’s the first league title since Ferguson took over….”

Hehehe.

If he can achieve what many great managers who have led Manchester United have not been able to do, his authority as a manager will naturally rise to the level of a world-class manager.

Hannover manager Jan Rytl once said, “If you play with Kim as a goalkeeper, you’re thinking you’re a legendary manager,” and I can kind of understand why he said that.

“The Arsenal away game is….”

Giovanni finished his reflection and thought about his starting lineup for the match against Arsenal.

First, let’s draft it like this, and then we need to discuss it with the coaches again and properly discuss what tactics we should use against Arsenal.

* * *

Mikel Arteta.

He was Arsenal’s captain during his playing days, and after ending his long playing career, he worked as a coach at Manchester City before taking charge of Arsenal in 2019.

Arteta, who was once suspected of being a Pep imitation, has proven his ability as a manager and has steadily grown to become a manager who has now established himself in the EPL.

Especially after narrowly missing out on the championship for two seasons in a row, the fans’ continued suspicion had completely disappeared.

This season, Arsenal also had a decent start with 3 wins, 1 draw, and 1 loss.

Arteta had been closely analysing Kim at the club level ahead of their home clash with Manchester United.

We also knew that we almost conceded a goal to Leicester in the previous match, and we had analyzed Kim’s habits and told the players about them.

So, Manager Arteta confidently declared in his pre-match interview.

“Today we will break Kim’s clean sheet record at the Emirates Stadium.”

The reporters naturally laughed. The directors who had already shouted that out loud sat in four rows and walked around the parade ground twice by number.

“So many directors have already made and broken promises like that, but how exactly do you plan on breaking through with Kim?”

“There’s no need to talk too much. You’ll see what happens in the game. You can even make a promise.”

“Huh? A promise?”

“Yes. If Arsenal don’t score, should I just wear my underwear and dance Gangnam Style?”

“……yes?”

“That means you are that confident.”

The reporters were dumbfounded by the absurd answer, and then asked more questions, wondering, “What the heck is this?”

Naturally, these were questions aimed at eliciting more provocative answers.

If Kim’s clean sheet was broken after his debut, that would be a huge topic of conversation, but Arteta’s Gangnam Style was also an event to watch.

And Arteta’s interview was quickly broadcast around the world.

[Will Kim’s clean sheet be broken or will Arteta’s London style be the question]

In a league that is already receiving worldwide attention, Arteta’s bombshell remarks were enough to draw even more attention before the match… .