Shooting Trajectory is Visible - Chapter 223



Only Krnovel

From episode 223 digestion

I’ve received an unbelievable amount of congratulatory messages over the past few days. Eugene Yoo, in particular, even called me separately.

-Do you know how touched I am, hyung? Huh? From now on, you are my adopted son.

“I have parents….”

-I know, Emma! That means I was impressed by you!

And Yoo Jin-ho said that he bragged about this to everyone around him. He also received many congratulations from the national team officials and the football association officials.

-Even if you fall, my brother will drag you to death. Do you understand?

“I think the opposite case would be more realistic….”

Eugene Ho sighs at my whining. I snicker. This is the reaction I wanted~

―Anyway, Minwoo. Congratulations. I heard that you are the first Korean, or Asian, to win both the Trophy Yasin and the Trophy Copa.

“Oh, is that so?”

―You are the first Asian to make it into the top 10 of the Ballon d’Or. You surpassed Son Heung-min! You surpassed Cha Bum-goon, and you surpassed Park Ji-sung!

“I’m just a commoner from an era before I was born.”

-what?

“Just kidding, just kidding.”

Eugene Ho continued to talk as if he didn’t care. He explained until his mouth was dry that being in the top 10 of the Ballon d’Or was really great, but being in the top 5, or even in the top 3, was an absurd achievement.

―You’re a really great kid. Do you understand? You’re a really great kid. And who am I to recognize and discover you like that?

What a fucking great director you are.

I held back what I was about to say.

The end of the long speech was ultimately a boast about myself. My insight that discovered you, the awesome you, was like a gift from God.

―Some kids say that someone else would have found you if it weren’t for me, but that’s absolutely not true! No one has ever recognized you since you were eighteen. If it weren’t for me, Messi would have been just a regular office worker.

“Yes. I really appreciate that. To be honest, there was a time when I wasn’t sure about myself.”

-Hehehe.

admit.

If it weren’t for Yoo Jin-ho, I would be a college student by now. Still an ordinary college student with no interest in soccer.

And I’ll probably be preparing to enlist in the military next year. Thinking about it makes me shudder. It was definitely thanks to Yoo Jin-ho that my ordinary life changed so much.

… Actually, to be more precise, it’s Football Manager. Let’s move on.

After Eugene Ho’s congratulatory remarks, Leon followed.

South Korea national team coach.

Leon sent me word that not only he, but also the other coaching staff of the national team and the officials of the Football Association were very touched and happy about my winning the Ballon d’Or.

‘When I first went to the national team, he was a coach who wanted to do something ridiculous like a fight.’

Now it seems like they fully acknowledge my position.

There were many other people who contacted me, but the one who left an impression was the president of the Korea Football Association.

The Korea Football Association held a vote in the middle of this year to elect a president, and contrary to everyone’s expectations, the president elected was not Chung Mong-gyun, but a new president.

Now, Chairman Jeon Woo-jin, the 55th Chairman.

The Jeong family of Daehyun Group, which had virtually controlled the Korea Football Association from 1993 to 2025, has completely come to an end.

The decisive reason is, of course, the Asian Cup.

Not only did he appoint Klinsgel on his own arbitrariness, but Klinsgel, who was already embroiled in controversy over his no-tactic policy, was defeated by Japan in the round of 16, which literally inflamed public opinion, and Chairman Chung Mong-gyun ended up losing the 55th chairman election after making several embarrassing remarks in the process.

Even Klinsgel, whom he had chosen on his own initiative, carelessly went abroad and explained the reason for his appointment here and there, which made Chairman Jeong even more embarrassed, and this ended up being the main reason for Chairman Jeong’s defeat.

‘They say that if something happens, it will be a disaster, and that’s exactly what happened.’

Of course, the newly elected Chairman Jeon Woo-jin was not a lackey of Chairman Jeong or anything like that. He was a completely new person.

That too, he was the president of Proware, who had tried to get me to do it once and got rejected.

He personally contacted me and told me that I was a role model for Korean soccer and that he expected me to continue to do well in the future.

Honestly, I thought he would ask me to put on our soccer shoes even as a joke, but he didn’t even say anything, so I definitely liked him more than the previous president.

‘No matter how bad I am, I’m sure I can do better than Chairman Jeong.’

Why else would soccer fans use AI to create songs disparaging Chairman Jeong?

Politicians, celebrities, ordinary people, and countless people from other industries are urging the association chairman to step down immediately, but Chairman Jeong, who insisted on running for the next chairman election, is truly a fool.

‘Perhaps if Chairman Wang had seen this from the afterlife, he would have jumped out of the coffin.’

I felt even more sorry because I had once submitted a reading report on Chairman Wang’s autobiography, “There are trials, but no failures.” How could someone like that come from someone like Chairman Wang?

“Kim!”

And back to Manchester.

When I returned to the clubhouse, the players greeted me as if they were seeing each other for the first time in months.

“Trophy Yashin! Trophy Kopa! Congratulations on the double! I can’t remember when a Manchester United player was ranked third in the Ballon d’Or.”

The captain congratulated me. I smiled and thanked him. And I thought to myself, ‘Next year we will see a Ballon d’Or winner from Manchester United.’

The reason I didn’t say it out loud is because it would be embarrassing if I opened my mouth and it didn’t work out…

In addition, many players such as Kim Jun-young, Maguire, Varane, Luke Shaw, Eriksen, McTominay, Rashford, etc. congratulated me.

‘I’m busy, I’m busy.’

It wasn’t just the players.

The staff residing in the clubhouse also sent me congratulations.

Every time we saw each other, he said ‘congratulations’, but after hearing it so many times, I felt like I was going to faint…

Not only them, but even Giovanni and General Manager Richard Johnson came to me to congratulate me.

“Yes, Kim. It’s the first goalkeeper in 11 years since Neuer to finish third in the Ballon d’Or. It’s not going to end here, is it?”

A question from the captain.

“Oh, of course. I have a lot to do. I have to attend the World Cup and conquer the world…”

“Hahaha! Your dream is really big?”

“My father always told me to dream big.”

Fortunately, my physical condition was recovering quickly. I was probably recovering well enough to play in the next game without any problems.

And the next game is away at Tottenham, and as you know, Tottenham has Son Heung-min.

Since Kim Jun-young was suddenly selected as a starter in the last match against Midtjylland, I asked a direct question.

“Commander? Will Kim play in the match against Tottenham? A different Kim than me?”

The captain smiled contentedly, as if he was quite satisfied with me calling him commander.

“Player selection is up to the manager, so I cannot intervene,” said Kim.

“is it so?”

So did Giovanni put Junyoung Kim in on his own? He’s not the kind of person to do that… .

After that, I broke up the meeting with the team leader and focused on recovery training. I felt like I had a breath of air in my lungs after going to the Ballon d’Or ceremony, so I needed exercise at a time like this.

Training that will make you sweat without thinking about anything.

* * *

I haven’t used the trait ‘ordinary’ yet.

It wasn’t because I was worried about what to strengthen. In fact, I had already decided what to strengthen.

‘Of course it’s Yasin’s eyes.’

There is nothing that is more clearly felt when strengthening than this.

But I still haven’t strengthened it. The reason is.

‘It’s blocking fine now, but what if I strengthen it for no reason and I can’t adapt?’

The question was whether it was really necessary.

Although it was tough, I was able to block the attacks well, and although I felt like I was stagnating, there weren’t many instances where I felt like I was really going to get hit.

‘Hmm… .’

Do you just use it? Or do you take it out when you really feel like it won’t work?

After much thought, I decided to put it on hold for now.

For now, I had to digest the increased stats first.

Since the stats have increased all at once, and a whopping ’60’ stats have increased at once, it will definitely require some time to adapt.

After the recovery training, I actively participated in personal training and observed how my body changed.

“Will you take it, hyung?”

“Oh. Come on.”

The one who helps me with my training is Kim Jun-young.

But they still help me a lot because they are also Korean.

Kim Jun-young stood in front of the goal, looked at me for a moment, then placed the ball on the penalty mark in front of the goal and kicked it with all his might.

‘It’s on the left.’

A shot aimed at the bottom corner. It flew and was blocked. I ran as usual, but my body flew down faster than usual.

The body goes first, the ball comes after.

It was as if the ball was attracted to a magnet.

Junyoung said, seeming slightly surprised at my appearance.

“No, brother. You were injured, but your body feels lighter now.”

“No, Imma.”

That’s because Football Manager gives you 60 stats…

“I’ll try one more time.”

Kim Jun-young swung to the right this time. It was an angle that could have easily resulted in a huge explosion shot, but it was a shot that aimed well at the corner of the goal.

But it doesn’t work for me.

I flew again.

“Huh.”

And these two dives definitely showed me that my body was much lighter than before.

This time, Kim Jun-young was confident in his shot, but when I blocked it again, he opened his mouth in confusion.

“No… … Is this right? Something is strange?”

“Am I a little fast?”

I don’t fly after the opposing kicker kicks. I fly before the kick. That’s why no matter how strong your kick is, it can’t get through me.

“I know exactly how to destroy something. I’ll go again.”

“Are you trying to kick me by watching my movements?”

Kim Jun-young feels hot.

I smiled and waited for Kim Jun-young’s third kick. As expected, Kim Jun-young slowly approached the ball.

And he starts a psychological warfare. It’s like watching Neymar.

I also didn’t move until the end, following Kim Jun-young. And then the time of choice came.

If the ball falls, it will reach a point where it will touch your nose.

Boohoo!

When I didn’t move until the end, Kim Jun-young hit the right corner again, and only then did I fly and block the shot.

It was a shot that didn’t have much acceleration, so it was blockable. In addition, it had 60 additional stats, so it was much lighter.

When all three of my PKs were blocked, Kim Jun-young covered his face and looked at me with a dumbfounded expression.

“Wow… … Really, brother.”

“Still, was it a bit threatening?”

“It’s not like just anyone can win 3rd place in the Ballon d’Or.”

After that, I continued training and focused on getting stats up to 60. One thing I noticed was that I probably wouldn’t need to use the trait ‘Ordinary’ right away.

First, it is a priority to digest the stats that have increased by 60 at once.

* * *

Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Tottenham’s home stadium, is a brand new stadium that opened in 2019.

With a capacity of approximately 63,000, it is the second largest stadium in England after Old Trafford.

“Brother. They say it cost 1.5 trillion won in Korean currency to build this stadium.”

“It looks like that.”

The stadium was certainly grandiose and the facilities were clean. Old Trafford is old and worn out in many places… I’m a little jealous.

‘Manchester United has so much money, why doesn’t they do things like remodel their stadium?’

If you don’t maintain it enough, your sewer pipes will back up, your toilet will overflow and soak the floor, your roof will leak, and your concrete ceiling will collapse and fall onto fans.

Recruiting players is urgent, but improving facilities is a more important issue, so I think the club owner is going too far.

Even Tottenham has such nice facilities. Wow.

“Hey guys!”

And Korean.

The voice was also familiar.

When we turned around, Captain Sonny came up to us and greeted us happily.

“I’ve been looking for you for a long time! Why are you sitting here?”

“I was resting.”

We were sitting on the bench now.

Don’t get me wrong, I was just warming up to the point of sweating just a moment ago.

“Well, I’m sure you’ve heard a lot. Congratulations, Minwoo. Have you fully recovered from your injury?”

“Thank you. I’m fully recovered.”

Son Heung-min frowns at my words.

“Hey, sir. Then you’re going to start today. No. I’ll have to tell the manager to do a 10-0.”

“Huh? Then I’m good, right?”

I was chatting with Hongmin hyung. And Kim Junyoung, who was next to me, couldn’t get between us. He was such a rookie that he just laughed silently or looked at me. What a pitiful guy…

Hongmin also felt it and talked to Junyoung.

“Junyoung. You watched the game well too. What did you say to Gyu-seok? If you had done better than me, you would have gone to Man U?”

“Yes, yes? It’s a misunderstanding, hyung… .”

However, Son Heung-min showed an expression of admiration without even listening to Kim Jun-young’s words.

“Is it because he’s Minwoo’s junior? He’s just as bad as Minwoo.”

“Hey, I have morals too, hyung. I heard those words right next to me and I got chills too.”

When Son Hong-min and I decided to tease Kim Jun-young, Kim Jun-young became even more restless.

And we teased them even more because their reactions were funny. It was so much fun meeting and talking with Koreans from so far away.

‘Is it just fun to tease?’

I don’t know. As long as it’s fun, that’s fine.

“So, Junyoung. Are you selected today too?”

Then, Kim Jun-young becomes discouraged.

“No. I’m the bench… .”

“Huh? You scored multiple goals in Europa League, so why are you on the bench?”

“Brother, don’t be ridiculous. He was a proposition after the Midtjylland match and at West Ham.”

“… … ??”

Son Heung-min tilts his head as if it is absurd.

And then he coughs hastily.

“What, this league is so competitive. Just work hard. Junyoung, you look like you’ll make it in my eyes.”

As it was a brief meeting before the match, Captain Sonny left abruptly with a few words of encouragement.

And I thought the same thing.

He’s depressed now and doesn’t get many opportunities to start, but he’ll shake things off and become a starting striker someday.

‘And above all, this kid has a good mentality.’

And yet, he’s a guy who’d rather die if he gets to play in a game as a substitute.

“Okay! Let’s all go in!”

And the captain’s shout.

We hurriedly got up from the bench at that shout.

It was almost time for the game to start, so we went into the locker room with the Manchester United captain.