Shooting Trajectory is Visible - Chapter 218



Only Krnovel

Episode 218: A Sharp Strike

Kim Jun-young showed an impressive performance in his debut match. That was the public opinion, and he himself thought he had a decent debut match.

‘It’s still not enough.’

Kim Jun-young caught his breath as he increased the speed of the treadmill.

‘It was a lucky game.’

I wasn’t trying to be humble.

That’s actually the case.

Director Giovanni also gave a similar evaluation to me and didn’t even pay attention to me after that.

You could tell just by looking at the fact that he wasn’t even allowed to sit on the bench in the next game.

‘What did you expect? To be honest, I felt like I was hitting a wall.’

Kim Jun-young, who finished high-intensity running training while whipping himself like that.

Junyoung, covered in sweat, felt refreshed as if he had let go of some of the stress about the future.

‘Still… … I can definitely feel the growth because it’s a big club.’

It was a feeling I had felt for the first time since Suyang High School. I felt like I was growing when I debuted in the K League, but I couldn’t feel it every game, every week.

But it was different after coming here.

I don’t know why, but I felt like I was growing.

Maybe that’s why, even though he couldn’t even sit on the bench, let alone start, Junyoung was quite satisfied with his current life.

“after!”

While I was taking a short break to catch my breath, Mainu passed by. He was the next generation star that Manchester United had nurtured from the youth team. In a way, he could be seen as Kim Jun-young’s ideal.

Mainu saw Kim Junyoung covered in sweat, waved at him, and passed by. And then, at that very moment, Mainu suddenly stopped walking.

“Hey, Kim.”

“Huh? Why?”

“Do you use deodorant?”

“… Deodorant? What’s that?”

“Sweat deodorant.”

Junyoung tilted his head at the unexpected question.

“No? Why all of a sudden?”

“I didn’t smell at all. Oh, now that I look at it, it smells a little like garlic. I saw an article the other day. It said that Koreans are genetically immune to smells.”

“Oh really? But the people here don’t smell either?”

“Because everyone uses deodorant.”

“ah….”

Mainu said a few words about how she was jealous that she didn’t have to bother applying medicine, and then left.

“What is that guy?”

Is this western style small talk? Or are you trying to get close to me?

Junyoung internally improved his impression of Mainu. He’s a good guy. He knows how to take care of Hako too.

“Kim!”

“Why again?”

When I looked back, it wasn’t Mainu. It was one of the coaches. Junyoung quickly corrected himself.

“Oh, sorry. What’s wrong?”

“The director is looking for you.”

“Director?”

Coach nods. Kim Jun-young visits the coach’s office in a daze. There’s still a lot of time left until the player meeting, what is it?

And Giovanni, who had returned to the director’s office after a long time, greeted Junyoung with the same attitude.

Giovanni delivered the shocking news with a calm demeanor.

“Kim. Let me get to the point. You will be starting in the upcoming match against Midtjylland.”

“…yes?”

Did I hear that wrong?

No it wasn’t.

Giovanni spoke again, slowly and clearly. You are the starting player for the upcoming trip to Midtjylland.

“Hey, me!?”

Why? This isn’t the EFL Cup, and it’s a pretty important match for Manchester United, isn’t it?

No, maybe Giovanni could easily trample on Europe, and even Midtjylland, on an expedition―

“I heard there’s a Korean striker in the same position as you in Midtjylland?”

“… Huh.”

“I heard that he is competing with that striker for a starting spot in the national team. Go play a proper match against him at his home ground. And show him what kind of guys the Red Devils are.”

Could it be that Giovanni had set up this place on purpose? … Is there such a romance even in this day and age?

“Why aren’t you answering? Do you hate it?”

“Oh, no! I’ll show you properly!”

Giovanni with a warm smile. I thought he was a scary person… .

“I will go to Midtjylland and show you clearly who is suitable as Son’s partner!”

“Hahaha! Right! Come to think of it, there’s less than a year left until the World Cup. Next year will probably be Son’s last World Cup, so go and show your countrymen a good show.”

“Yes! For the club… Um… … .”

The words just don’t come to mind. My English is still weak.

“Do you want to repay my trust, Kim?”

“yes!”

“Then go and score a goal against those Midtjyllanders. That will be your reward.”

“All right!”

Kim Jun-young realized that there was one more person he had to respect after Kim Min-woo.

‘I just realized it now, Father… .’

.

.

Unusually, the starting lineup for the Midtjylland match was also announced quickly.

The goalkeeper is, of course, Minwoo Haetnim.

The back four are Luke Shaw, Lisandro Martinez, Raphael Varane and Aaron Wan-Bissaka.

And then there’s Volanciro Mainu and Nicolo Rovella (players of the same nationality as Giovanni, who were brought in after Giovanni was appointed).

The next two lines were Rashford on the left wing, midfielder Fernando Bourne, right winger Garnazzo, and the last striker was Kim Jun-young himself.

Excluding Kim Jun-young himself, all members were selected.

Although most people seemed to understand, there were some who looked bewildered.

First of all, Minwoo Haetnim.

Minwoo Haetnim met my eyes and said with his eyes, ‘How?’

Junyoung winked one eye and answered, ‘I don’t know either.’

“Coach. I have no complaints since it is your authority to select players, but I have an objection.”

It was Hoilun.

‘Isn’t that what you’re saying…?’

But Giovanni kindly agreed.

“Tell me.”

“No disrespect to Kim, but… Kim, the striker. Can you tell me why Kim is starting and not me or Bayer?”

And then came Giovanni’s long and rambling story. It was so long that I almost lost focus, but the conclusion was, ‘Because we did well against Newcastle.’

“That was a good question. Any more questions?”

Maximilian Bayer looked like he had something to say, but he didn’t raise his hand. Fortunately, Giovanni had more Park Chan-ho talent than expected… .

* * *

Champions League Group C match 3.

Hannover vs Arsenal.

Jan Light clenched his teeth and watched the situation closely.

Things weren’t good. They were very bad.

The scoreboard showed 0:3, meaning Hannover was 0 and Arsenal was 3.

Arsenal have not been ranked at the top of the league this season due to several clubs making huge strides from the start, but that has been the story of the league.

Arsenal, who were playing in international competitions, were so strong that it was hard to approach them. It was to the point where I wondered if this was really a two-pot.

‘There are 30 minutes left.’

The first half was a typical power struggle.

And Hanover was clearly outclassed in the tug-of-war.

The goalkeeper who was brought in to replace Kim, of course, was not able to replace Kim at all.

Last season, when Hannover was losing the lead against their opponents and kept giving up attacking chances, Kim would end up blocking them as the last line of defense, but this season was different.

As Hannover was pushed back, even the goalkeeper, who was considered the flower of defense, was helplessly defeated.

1 goal in 31 minutes. 2 goals in 44 minutes.

And then, in the 51st minute of the second half, he scored the decisive goal that virtually decided the game.

Corsic struggled in defense, but the balance was too poor for him to handle alone.

“shit.”

If Kim had been there, it would have been 0:0 at best, and the attackers, impressed by Kim’s saves, might have even scored a goal.

The club was also inspired by Kim’s performance and brought in a fairly expensive goalkeeper, but everyone knew the truth.

It is nearly impossible for any goalkeeper in the world to replace Kim.

‘It’s fortunate that I was able to do well in the league…’

The Bundesliga has just finished its 8th round, and Hannover has 5 wins, 1 draw, and 2 losses in 8 matches. They are currently in 3rd place.

Since Munich missed out on the title last season, they are sharpening their knife this time, so they gave up on winning the title early. If possible, they just want to get a ticket to the Champions League at the end of the season. That’s about it.

Beep— beep— beep!

And the game is over.

It was a more listless game than I expected.

Is this the difference between the Bundesliga and the Premier League? Or is it simply a tactical mistake?

Jan felt bitter, but he shook hands with Arteta first and returned to the locker room.

‘It’s a day that I miss so much, Kim.’

As he trudged into the locker room, Sophie was waiting for him. She greeted Jan with a slightly sad expression, holding a camcorder in one hand.

“Thank you for your hard work, Director.”

“okay….”

Jan brought up a common topic, wanting to talk about something else for no reason.

“How are things with Kim these days?”

“yes?”

“Long-distance relationships can’t be easy, right?”

“… … .”

I guess it was a success since you’re not even refusing.

“If you’re going to do it, get married. It’s hard to find a successful man like that at your age.”

“I’m not that kind of materialistic person.”

“Is it so vulgar to say that you should marry because you love each other more?”

Sophie narrows her eyes and puffs out her cheeks as she sees Jan’s smile.

“Anyway, I was a fool for worrying about you, Director.”

Yan smiled and was about to say something again, but then he looked at the players who came in late and caught his breath. Now it was time to say something…

* * *

Korean derby!

South Korean sports broadcasters are in for a treat as Manchester United quickly announced their starting lineup.

It is very, very rare for three Koreans to play in one match in a European competition.

The community and the media were already paying attention to this match, and the broadcasters also broadcasted highlight videos of each player as special features before the match.

Kim Min-woo’s crazy saves highlights (there were so many that this was the longest).

Kim Jun-young’s EPL debut, national team and K-League videos.

And Jo Kyu-seok’s Midtjylland highlights.

However, since the starting lineup was questionable locally, coach Giovanni had to answer several questions about it before the game.

“The opposing team has a Korean striker in the lineup for that match. Did the coach include forward Kim in the starting lineup for reasons other than soccer?”

“I still get asked this question these days. My answer is, of course, ‘No.’”

And Giovanni, who keeps telling lies without changing his expression. Hoilun and Byer were already wondering about this, but Giovanni did his best to make Kim stand out.

The EFL Round of 32 match against Newcastle had a good lineup and Kim performed better than expected in that match, so he was used again this time, etc.

“But coach? Forward Kim is still too young, and more than anything, he’s unproven outside of that game. There’s Hoilun and Bayer, so it doesn’t make sense to use Kim over those players.”

Giovanni glared at the reporter. On the outside, he looked very angry, but in fact, Giovanni was thinking about what to eat later.

“I understand, but player selection is 100% up to the coach. Whatever the outcome, I will take full responsibility. Please watch and ask questions after the game.”

When Giovanni answered like that, the reporters were reluctant to ask questions about Kim and were cautious with their words. Then Giovanni added one more thing.

“Goalkeeper Kim also got a starting position in this situation. I hope striker Kim can do the same.”

And the interview ends.

While Giovanni was engaging in a war of nerves with reporters, the players were a little more relaxed.

I also told Kim Jun-young that he was invited to the upcoming Ballon d’Or awards ceremony.

“Eeeeeeek!? Really!? Really?!”

“Then are you kidding me?”

“Wow! Brother! Congratulations! Has there ever been a person who won the Ballon d’Or in their teens…?”

“Hey, hey. I only said I was a candidate, I didn’t say I would give it to you. And I don’t even have any international trophies like the Champions League or Europa League, so you’re going to give it to me?”

Even if he had been selected for the Asian Cup, it would have been unacceptable because its status is too low compared to other continental cups, but wouldn’t it have been something to brag about?

“Brother, you heard about the Asian Cup, right?”

“…I couldn’t go out?”

“It’s U23.”

“… … .”

Oh my, Junyoung.

* * *

And then we left for Denmark.

For the match against Midtjylland.

Perhaps because three Koreans were competing in one match, a rare number of Korean reporters also gathered.

“Player Cho Kyu-seok! You will be playing against your national teammates Kim Min-woo and Kim Jun-young in today’s match. Can you score?”

“I feel sorry for Holland and Mbappe, but I will take Minwoo’s first goal.”

The foreign reporters laughed when they heard that. Cho Kyu-seok didn’t care at all.

Korean reporters also laughed inwardly, but were glad that they had come all the way here and had something to salvage.

“You will also be competing against Kim Jun-young. What do you think?”

“Junyoung… he’s a really good striker, but I’ll show him that he’s no match for me yet.”

Hehehe.

The reporters kept asking questions while holding back laughter, and asked similar questions to Kim Min-woo and Kim Jun-young, who arrived later.

“Player Kim Min-woo! Player Cho Kyu-seok said he would give the first goal to Player Kim Min-woo. What do you think?”

“Huh? Who? Is it Gyu-seok hyung?”

Kim Min-woo looks confused. Then he scratches his neck,

“I think it’s because we haven’t met on the opposing team before, Gyu-seok hyung. I’ll make sure to beat him up.”

The Korean reporters who had come a long way laughed heartily at Kim Min-woo’s remarks.

“Player Kim Jun-young and player Jo Gyu-seok said that player Kim Jun-young is a good striker, but that he is not good enough for them yet. Do you have anything to say?”

Kim Jun-young rolled his eyes and glanced around for a moment. He looked at the reporters and at Kim Min-woo next to him.

Kim Min-woo, who made eye contact, nodded and made a gesture telling her to do whatever she wanted.

so…….

“If he had been better than me, wouldn’t Jo Gyu-seok have gone to Manchester United?”

The reporters looked at each other with puzzled expressions. Kim Jun-young looked at Kim Min-woo with a puzzled look on his face. Kim Min-woo was also looking at him with an expression that said, ‘That’s a bit… ‘

‘Oh shit. Isn’t this how it’s supposed to be done?’

Why can Minwoo Haetnim do it and I can’t?!