Shooting Trajectory is Visible - Chapter 225



Only Krnovel

Episode 225: The One Who Will Be The One Who Will Be

Giovanni watched the second half unfold, biting his fingernails.

Fortunately, unlike the first half, the players seemed to have adapted to playing in an away stadium and were showing a much better performance than in the first half.

‘Yeah. This is it. This is it… It’s still not quite up to par, but it’s a lot better than the first half.’

I watched the first half seriously and almost had to call an ambulance because I had trouble breathing.

In the end, the buyer made the goal happen no matter what the process was, and if not for that, Giovanni would have collapsed while watching and not been able to enter the locker room.

‘For now, it’s 1 to 0.’

Giovanni smiled contentedly.

If it had been last season.

So, if it had been a time when Kim wasn’t around, we wouldn’t have been able to act so relaxed as if we had won just by scoring one goal.

In soccer, a one-goal difference is a very close score difference.

It was a score that could be chased and followed at any time, and it was a score that could be reversed quite often.

But if Kim is the goalkeeper, it’s a different story.

How many valid shots did you block in the first half? Especially when I saw Son’s solo dribble, my heart was pounding.

But as always, Kim didn’t allow a goal.

Now that the first half of that eon has passed and the second half has begun, Manchester United have become a team that is completely different from the first half and are putting fierce pressure on Tottenham.

‘If this continues, we might be able to score one more goal.’

That’s when I thought so.

Rashford crosses from the half space and Bayer heads the ball home.

It was a shot that went straight into the middle, but goalkeeper Vicario blocked it very precariously with one hand, and the rebound was then aimed at the goal by Bayer with an overhead kick.

Fighting!

“Ah.”

However, the ball floated slightly and hit the crossbar. The ball bounced back and was kicked away by the opposing defense.

It’s a pity.

And this kind of scene was something that happened often to Manchester United in the second half.

It felt like the situation had completely changed from the first half.

Giovanni knew very well why the game had turned 180 degrees like that.

‘That’s because that Australian bear didn’t make any tactical changes.’

That’s why managers from marginal leagues are no good.

Although the first half was pushed well by luck, the next step was not successful. Rather than not successful, it was a bit slow.

Then what should be correct?

And then Manchester United attack again.

The game continued in Tottenham’s territory.

The players jumped around several times in a head-first competition for the long pass from Kim Min-woo, and the ball was finally marked by Rashford.

Rashford kicked the ball with all his might with his left foot after it bounced once.

‘Hmm? Rashford’s left foot is….’

Rashford’s dominant foot is his right foot. So his left foot is actually―

Chorus!

The mid-range shot went into the net without a moment’s thought. It was an incredible goal. Even if Kim were the goalkeeper, he couldn’t stop this shot… … That’s not it.

“Hey! Hey!”

Giovanni was jumping for joy.

Rashford’s left foot, which we didn’t trust, came out as the problem solver today.

Score 2:0!

Although he was looked down on as a manager from a marginal league, Postecoglou’s Tottenham were cruising along in their own way. And it was very satisfying to take a 2-0 lead against such a team.

And then suddenly, the conversation I had with the captain flashed through my mind.

“Giovanni. The match against Midtjylland is not enough.”

“Chief, Tottenham is a club on a different level than Midtjylland. Are you telling me to start striker Kim against a team like that?”

“No. It doesn’t have to be a starting pitcher.”

“yes?”

“Please put Kim in, even if it’s as a substitute. Wouldn’t this be a great opportunity to bring back the Korean fans who have been lost since Park? A showdown between Son and Kim? Haha.”

“… … .”

At the time, Giovanni said he would put it in when the team was winning the game comfortably as a compromise, but the manager was a master of such wordplay.

“Hmm. There aren’t many clubs that want to buy Anthony and Onana. This winter’s transfer market will be tough. If that happens, it will be hard to recruit the players Giovanni wants… Hmm.”

“Then I will put him in when Manchester United is ahead, even if it is 1-0.”

“… Hmm. I hope Kim gets at least 20 minutes of playing time.”

“If someone saw you, they’d think you were Kim’s agent.”

“Hahaha! Well, I’ll just trust Giovanni… .”

And it seems the promised time has arrived.

There is still plenty of time, but the score is 2:0. Our goalkeeper is Kim Min-woo. Giovanni has the coach call Kim because he doesn’t know what the coach will do if he breaks his promise because he is anxious.

Kim, who was sitting on the bench, gets up out of breath and runs towards Giovanni.

“Did you call, Director!?”

“Kim… .”

“Yes! I am ready at any time!”

When he looked at Kim, he saw that she was looking at him with a gaze that couldn’t be more earnest. Just like the gaze of Puss in Boots from Shrek… .

Giovanni nodded and answered.

“Relax.”

“Okay, Director!”

And Kim loosens up as he hurries.

Giovanni smiled faintly at the sight, then looked at the national flags spread out all over the audience.

It was the Korean national flag, the Taegeukgi.

“Anyway, Korea is a very unique country. Its flag resembles Pepsi….”

The Taegeukgi flags spread out all over the stadium looked pretty good. The combination of red, blue, and black on a white background.

It was much more aesthetically pleasing than the numerous tricolours of Europe.

‘I think it’s prettier than the Union Jack…’

Giovanni looked at his watch and realized that some time had passed, so he called Kim over.

“Kim. Go and show off your skills. Don’t be anxious about showing off something, and just play leisurely. Okay? We’re not at a disadvantage at all.”

“Yes! I understand!”

“Okay. Okay.”

Giovanni patted Kim on the shoulder with a friendly smile. Then he thought to himself.

‘If you create an attack point this time too… … then I will truly acknowledge you as a competitor to Bayer and Hoilun.’

And I’ll scrap the plan to rent it out.

Of course, we’ll have to wait and see if that’s possible.

And even if he didn’t create an attacking point, if he showed a movement that exceeded expectations, Giovanni was really thinking of developing Kim… .

* * *

73 minutes in the second half.

Buyer dropped out and Kim Jun-young was brought in.

I nodded confidently as I watched the replacement.

‘It was the same last time, the director made the change because he was concerned about Korea.’

It is not known whether they knew that this match was a hot topic in Korea, or whether it was because of the board’s recommendation, but it seemed very intentional to replace Hoilun with Kim Jun-young.

And because time was running out and the score was now two points behind, Giovanni immediately gave instructions to not play aggressively and to protect the score difference after bringing in Kim Jun-young.

‘If this is the case, there’s no way for Junyoung to be active…’

A striker doesn’t necessarily have to score goals to be effective, but there’s really nothing better than that.

People want to see a striker who scores goals rather than a striker who is good at defending. I thought the same thing.

‘Defense is something that defenders have to do well, and for attackers, scoring goals is the best part.’

And while Manchester United and Tottenham were in disarray with each making substitutions, Tottenham’s attack began.

In fact, Tottenham had wanted to attack from the beginning, but it could be seen that they had held back their will to attack because Manchester United’s offense was so threatening.

however.

“No, this is a bit much.”

Madison’s opposite turn.

The opposing striker blocked Wan-Bissaka with his body, but Wan-Bissaka was pushed back by the physical contact and fell to the ground.

As a result, the side was opened up and Son Heung-min got the ball. Another 1v1 situation.

I shook off my distracting thoughts and stood in front of Son Heung-min.

‘You have to come to your senses.’

It was dangerous.

It’s less dangerous than before, but it’s still dangerous enough.

Two trajectories were visible and then narrowed down to one in an instant. That alone showed Son Heung-min’s intentions.

Son Heung-min must have decided to aim for it himself. Towards the near post. There is no angle there, so that is why he is aiming for it. A kind of psychological warfare.

But that doesn’t work for me!

‘Huh!’

I held my breath and stretched my right foot toward the trajectory. At the same time, Son Heung-min’s shot went out, and the shot that hit my shin went out of the goal line. It was one of the biggest crises in the second half.

As soon as I kicked the ball away, I jumped up from my seat and shouted at the fallen Wan-Bisaka.

“Hey you son of a bitch! You’re not playing defense properly!”

Unfortunately, the line was tilted to the left, so the position that was supposed to be filled by Varane ended up being filled by Wan-Bissaka, and as soon as Wan-Bissaka said ‘Gerrard’, he immediately entered a dangerous situation.

If you’re going to fall over and get punched in the face while taking the position, it’s better if there’s no player in that position. Then, wouldn’t you at least prepare in advance? If you stand there and collapse and get punched in the face… … Phew.

As I was going wild at Wan-Ban-Saka, Son Heung-Min, who was watching from the side, smiled and covered his mouth.

When I looked at Son Hong-min with eyes that were young and full of life, Son Hong-min looked at me with an expression that said, ‘This kid?’ I quickly woke up.

Yeah. You have to stretch your legs out to find a place to lie down… Ahem.

“I’m sorry, Kim.”

And Wan-Bisaka comes running and apologizes.

I took a deep breath and glared.

“It’s not fun if you keep doing this.”

Wan-Bisaka kept apologizing after that, and I told him to prepare for a corner kick and focus on the next task.

Since we’ve already done the training, let’s start by blocking the corner kick.

* * *

“Ugh… .”

Junyoung groaned.

I have something to show, but I don’t have the chance.

If it had been other games, I would have waited calmly with the mindset that ‘the time will come’ since there was plenty of time, but this game was different.

He didn’t have much time as he was substituted in the 73rd minute of the second half.

Coach Giovanni said that since they were winning, there was no need to rush and there was no need to show it, but Kim Jun-young was not a fool who took the coach’s words at face value.

If he is a coach who turns his head away even when he scores a goal, and he fails to show a performance that matches his performance, Giovanni will completely give up on his expectations and even give up on the hope he had.

‘That won’t do!’

Today’s match was a Korean match, a showdown between the future and present of Korean soccer, but that wasn’t what was important to Kim Jun-young.

What was important to Kim Jun-young was whether he could extend his career by scoring a goal today.

The future of Korean soccer and the present? The people over there will do their best to solve that problem, so a Parisian like Junyoung won’t have time to get involved in that.

‘How, how come the opportunity doesn’t come?’

Now, Man U was crouching down and defending. Tottenham was attacking Man U, but since a team of similar weight class was determined to defend, there were not many opportunities to attack, let alone score a goal.

The frustrating situation of just looking around continues. Kim Jun-young becomes increasingly impatient as he feels the time passing by without a trace.

I ran around trying to steal the ball, but I couldn’t suppress my nervousness.

‘How… how can it not work?’

And as if heaven had heard Jun-young’s heart, Rashford cut off Tottenham’s passing lane while they were exchanging the ball.

And then immediately Rashford’s pass.

It was a pass towards himself.

Kim Jun-young gritted his teeth and ran.

‘Fuck! The defensive numbers!’

Two in front. Then three, following behind and now on the same line.

Junyoung slowed down for a moment and then passed the ball back to Rashford, who was sprinting towards the space.

As the player marking Rashford happened to be a little late, Rashford ran coolly down the ground.

Rashford used his origami skills to get past defenders who had already followed him to get a better shooting angle.

Fold it once. Fold it twice. When you think it’s time to hit it, Rashford hits it.

And the shot goes out of bounds after being saved by the opposing goalkeeper.

‘Ah… … This won’t do.’

When I checked the scoreboard, it was already 89 minutes.

First, Kim Jun-young prepared for a corner kick.

The corner kick taker was captain Bruno Fernandes.

Because the game was played very defensively, there weren’t many players involved in corner kicks.

After the whistle blew, Kim Jun-young prepared to head the ball.

Boohoo!

Captain’s cross flying in coolly.

And the Tottenham player in the middle heads it away.

“Fuck.”

A single word spoken in a voice.

I thought this was how things would end, but something felt strange. It wasn’t over.

‘what?’

The chaotic situation that continues in front of me.

Although it was not clearly visible because it was obscured by the players, it did not appear that the situation was over yet.

And then… …when he came to his senses, the ball was in front of his feet.

‘No… why is this in front of my feet?’

A question mark appeared in my head.

All the other players were so surprised that no one reacted.

Only one person reacted. The opposing goalkeeper. He was so surprised that he came running towards him, floundering, but Kim Jun-young, without thinking too much, poked the ball into the empty goal with his right foot.

The ball rolls into the goal and hits the net.

It was a goal.

“… … ?”

An absurd situation even after scoring a goal.

But it was a goal.

Kim Jun-young ran to the opposite corner kick area, realizing that he had once again seized a chance to extend his life.

“Yaaaaaaah! It’s a goaleeeeee—!”

As I run with my arms spread wide like airplane wings, my fellow athletes run with me. Is this what real life is all about? This is what it’s like.

*Those who are meant to be will be (Those who are meant to be will be)

Kim Jun-young held the flag with his left hand and danced. Since you scored a goal, wave it~