Shooting Trajectory is Visible - Chapter 216



Only Krnovel

Episode 216: The Captain is Unstoppable

‘It’s worse than I thought.’

Giovanni frowned as he watched the flow of the game. He had no intention of losing this game. If he had, he would have given Garnazzo, Maguire, and Kim a rest instead of playing them.

However, the situation in the first half was not very good.

Rather than losing the tactical battle, it was more like being pushed back by the players’ capabilities. The opponent sent out half of their starters and half of their subs, while Manchester United sent out three starters, three subs, and the rest as subs of the subs… … It was a natural thing to do.

‘After looking at the situation, I think I’ll have to send out the 1st and 2nd options in the second half.’

Manchester United were barely hanging on. If Kim had not been in goal, the game would have been over by now.

‘Is the first half going to end soon?’

Since the game was never interrupted, extra time would be at most one or two minutes. Giovanni sighed and finished thinking about how to play the game in the second half.

And then, Man U’s counterattack.

Kim starts by drawing Newcastle players into the box and passes it to McTominay.

McTominay to Garnazzo. Garnazzo far forward to Kim.

It was a good try, but the Newcastle defence looked set to kick it away. Giovanni wasn’t expecting much.

And the opponent’s small mistake. In that short period of time, he must have thought a lot, because he received it with his shoulder instead of his head.

Striker Kim didn’t miss that insignificant mistake. The ball fell forward, he darted forward and hit it before it even hit the ground.

The ball flew towards the left goal with a whooshing sound. It was an incredibly fast shot, as it was made before the ball even landed.

The goalkeeper reacted, but he was not fast enough to stop it without diving in advance.

Crash!

Giovanni briefly admired the shot. It was a shot that even the world’s best attackers would not be able to easily aim for, and it was a goal.

‘Was it like this?’

Is that why Kim recommended you?

But the ceremony that followed was a bit strange.

He reacted in a bewildered manner, as if he didn’t even know he would get in. He covered his mouth with his hand and looked around. He scratched his head absentmindedly, which was the highlight of the story.

“…Puhhh.”

In short, it was a lucky goal.

And in this game, the lucky one was the best.

By the way, that ceremony is really funny. It’s not like he likes it, but he’s just reacting in a bewildered manner.

“It must be fun to raise it.”

We’ll have to keep watching to see if that’s really a stroke of luck or just a skill factor that comes from being prepared.

Anyway, it was good.

No matter how good the content is, if you don’t score a goal, it’s all for naught, and no matter how mishmash the content is, if you score a goal, it’s called zombie soccer or swamp soccer. This is the world where this is the place.

In that sense, Giovanni secretly gave high marks to forward Kim. Whether it was luck or something else, that goal just now would not have been easy even for Messi.

* * *

BJ Best sighed and frowned at Manchester United’s disappointing performance.

Still, he was a streamer with 2 million subscribers, and he tried to shout loudly to raise the tension.

“Okay, Book! Manchester United is having a tough time in the first half, but will Manchester United lose today!?”

Best opened the book in front of the camera, and the words on it read: ‘There is no doubt.’ Best threw the book back.

And how much time has passed?

Just before the first half ended, the flow of the counterattack was on.

A counterattack that happens quickly in the blink of an eye.

“Oh! Let’s go! Okay! Okay! Kim Jun-young! Ah… .”

Garnazzo’s lobbed through pass. And Newcastle’s defense. At that moment when it seemed like the last attack would end in vain, Kim Jun-young volleyed.

It was a stunning shot, and it ended up in a goal.

Best, who had been silent for a moment, shouted “Nice!” “Kim Jun-young!” as soon as he saw the ball go in.

And I laughed and moved on to Kim Jun-young’s ceremony. While shouting that luck is also a skill.

“A debut goal in your debut match! Wow! And you scored it really well.”

It was an incredible goal, even when shown again on replay.

[Newcastle vs Man U Kim Jun-young’s debut goal ㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷ]

→Stop it, Kim Jun-young!!

→Wow, your sense is crazy ㄷㄷ

→The ceremony was so funny lol

→It seems like the opposing players will get attacked lol

→Wow Wondergoal

→This is so damn good

→This is it, yeah

→Kim Tae-sik is back~

→The net is torn ㄷㄷ

→Let’s go to the main event~

Community response was also favorable.

And the first half ends.

BJ Best brought out the tactics board while praising Kim Jun-young and Kim Min-woo who saved the game from being overwhelmingly behind by 0:0.

“No, the problem now is!”

And he went to the manager and pointed out the problems that Manchester United had in the first half. He made some reasonable remarks.

“Kim Jun-young did really well at the end, but if Kim Min-woo hadn’t been there, it would have just been 5:1. How many goals did he block? And a game where the goalkeeper shines like this? I-”

Dr. Maeng’s appeal.

The viewers laughed amongst themselves as they watched Best’s blushing face. Among those viewers was Kim Shin-ah… .

* * *

And the second half began.

Giovanni replaced the left fullback, who was unusually weak, right at the start of the second half, and I secretly expected Jonny to be replaced as well, but that didn’t happen.

Just as serious as the left fullback is the center back, which is a bit of a problem.

Manchester United started the second half with just one substitution, while Newcastle started the second half without making any substitutions.

And the game pattern.

‘Nothing has really changed?’

It didn’t go as well as it did in the first half, but that was because Newcastle deliberately lowered the tempo of their attack, not because United were playing well.

The score was 1-0, but Newcastle were still in control.

‘I’m the only one carrying the log again.’

We all have to lift the log together, but it feels like the weight is falling on me. Kim Jun-young, McTominay, Maguire, etc. are helping out a little, but the one I’m most worried about is Johnny.

Instead of helping to lift the log, Johnny was lying down and resting… .

‘Hey, it’s broken again?’

Johnny Evans went toe-to-toe with the opposing striker, shoulder-to-shoulder, but the old and sick Johnny could not overcome the physical strength of the opposing striker.

I checked the trajectory and threw my body at Hoytcha. The opposing attacker felt so sorry that he pulled up his uniform to cover his face.

‘Yeah. But it’s better than nothing… .’

Even if there is a limit to the penetration, it is different from facing each other and being empty.

Time passed like that.

About 20 minutes into the game, Giovanni must have felt that this wasn’t right and made a number of substitutions. Jonny Evans, McTominay’s partner, and the left winger were all replaced.

They were replaced by Lindelof, Eriksen and Rashford respectively.

Lindelof and Eriksen were second-choice players, while Rashford was a regular, but even with only these changes, the game was very lively.

It feels as if something that was blocked is being cleared.

“Why did you come now…?”

The change in performance has been really noticeable.

The battle in the Central Plains, which had been falling apart without a fight, finally became worth fighting for, and the offensive development that had been hopeless was now smooth.

The defense, which was as vulnerable as an automatic door with Jonny out and Lindelof in, is now able to function as a defense in its own right.

In other words, what was once a one-sided match has now become an equal match with one-two punches being exchanged.

I watched them pass the ball back and forth from behind, and took a sip of water from the jug next to the goal. It was refreshing and delicious.

‘There’s not much time left in the game, but I feel like I can live a little now.’

A fierce battle for dominance led to a fierce battle between the two sides. In the midst of this, Newcastle’s manager used the substitution card, and he seemed to have judged that it would be difficult to turn this match around, so he took out many of the starting players.

It was the right decision.

‘Okay. You’re talented.’

And so began the world of Manchester United’s comeback.

With Newcastle out of the starting lineup, the initiative naturally shifted to Manchester United, and as is often the case, goals are scored by the team that creates the most attacking opportunities.

The Newcastle goalkeeper starts to block numerous chances, just like I did in the first half.

And Rashford’s killer pass.

It was a pass that curved into the box, and Kim Jun-young made an exquisite pass. The angle wasn’t that pretty, but―

Beep!

“Oh my.”

A foul by a defender who came on as a substitute. A foul inside the box is a penalty kick.

I watched from behind with satisfaction.

.

.

The ensuing penalty was scored by Rashford.

And the penalty kick was awarded as an assist by Kim Jun-young because it was provided by Kim Jun-young.

With this, he has 1 goal and 1 assist in his debut.

‘1 goal and 1 assist against an EPL 1.5 team. You did it, Kim Jun-young.’

Even though Junyoung had many hurdles to overcome, it was a successful debut.

At least when Bayer and Hoilun were injured at the same time, it meant that Giovanni would try to put Kim Jun-young at the top.

* * *

Richard Johnson watched forward Kim’s debut with satisfaction.

Score 2:0.

It was a desperate first half for Manchester, but all that despair and nightmare was endured by goalkeeper Kim.

“Kim is definitely the best signing of the century. Hahaha.”

He was practically the MVP of this game.

When things that need to be done from an attacking position continue to get blocked, the air current changes, and each time that happens, the air current becomes more and more distorted.

The air current that was gradually changing suddenly changed, and this was the result.

If Newcastle had scored even once in the first half when they were on the rise, the rest would have been in their favour and the game would have ended that way.

However, goalkeeper Kim is a goalkeeper who has never allowed such a flow since his professional debut, and this match was no different.

“And Kim’s friend Kim finished the game. Ahahaha.”

The captain kept replaying Kim’s volley goal. No matter how many times he replayed it, it was still fantastic. Even the celebration that followed. A celebration that he didn’t know he would score.

I think from the other person’s perspective, that would be more annoying than happy.

[Congratulations on your successful debut!]

Richard sent a text message to forward Kim and also checked out the post-game interview.

[I know the competition for a starting spot will be tough, but I will do my best to play for this huge club.]

His English is still clumsy. He speaks slowly and his pronunciation is awkward, but his sincerity is felt.

[It won’t be easy to surpass world-class attackers like Hoilun and Bayer, but as a fellow Korean, I will cheer you on from the side.]

And even the support fire of the iron wall Kim.

Richard smiled like a father at the friendship between the two Korean leaguers.

“I heard that uniform sales in Korea are also increasing… … Kim, cheer up. If you work a little harder, we’ll be able to open our own store in Korea.”

After watching the interview, Richard checked Manchester United’s schedule on his computer. And as he was checking the schedule, Richard Johnson’s eyes lit up.

“Wait a minute. Mitwillan? I think there was a Korean here….”

I checked. It was true. Mr. Jo was a striker. Wouldn’t Koreans be interested in watching the match between Korean leaguers? Wouldn’t it be more box office-friendly if it were striker vs. striker + goalkeeper, rather than striker vs. goalkeeper?

“If Kim does well there….”

It was a good opportunity to increase the number of Korean fans who had waned since Park and also sell uniforms.

‘I need to schedule a meeting with Director Giovanni tomorrow.’

I wasn’t going to pressure Giovanni into using Kim for the Europa League. I was going to use gentle persuasion. Or maybe even force.

You can roughly think of the deal as being about the winter transfer market. By then, they were planning to sell players and bring in new ones anyway.

* * *

There was a reason why coach Giovanni had Kim, a valuable resource in the beer cup, in the round of 32. Even though it was a match, it was held at Manchester United’s home stadium, and a loss in front of tens of thousands of fans, no matter how insignificant the match, had to be avoided.

So we sent out Kim, a valuable resource.

And won.

In away games, Kim was not scheduled to play and a large number of backup players were sent out.

If you win that way, it’s good, but if you lose, there’s nothing you can do about it.

Giovanni put the EFL Cup’s status this season at that level, as United have had plenty of important fixtures outside of the EFL.

however.

“Kim’s performance was really impressive. Honestly, I was surprised.”

The captain’s call. And the blatant praise for Kim. The old man must have called because he wanted others to acknowledge his decision.

Giovanni wasn’t particularly good at flattering, but he gave him more or less the answer he wanted to hear.

“Yes. Kim is a player who will go down in football history for generations to come. The manager has really made a great signing.”

Then the captain tilted his head.

“…Kim is like that?”

He meant to pretend not to know and to praise me more. Oh, really, old man. Why are you like this when we’re both getting old? Really.

Giovanni agreed again, hiding his true intentions.

“Yes, sir. If you recruit Kim, the future of the club will change completely. Isn’t he the most likely goalkeeper to win the Ballon d’Or after Yashin?”

“… … Ahahahaha!”

The captain laughed as if he had caught a glimpse of something so funny. Giovanni looked at the captain who looked satisfied and thought to himself, ‘Good, you idiot.’

“I think there is some misunderstanding.”

“yes?”

“I wasn’t talking about goalkeeper Kim, I was talking about striker Kim.”

“… … Ah. That Kim?”

What the hell.

Giovanni quickly collected his expression.

“Yes, Kim was also great. He showed a very impressive performance even though it was his debut match.”

“That’s right. So, Director.”

“Yes, go ahead.”

“We need to put striker Kim in the match against Midtjylland.”

“…yes?”

“Isn’t it also a manager’s virtue to give another chance to a player who has performed well?”

Giovanni thought to himself again, What is this crazy bastard talking about?