Shooting Trajectory is Visible - Chapter 236



Only Krnovel

Episode 236: The Goalkeeper Who Is Good at Transitioning

Before the match against Bournemouth, I made good use of the training I had in the meantime to get used to Yashin’s newly enhanced eye.

I had many experiences in various situations, and although there were no unexpected situations like in real life, I had no problem understanding and digesting the basic mechanisms.

And now.

Finally, the first real match, the match against Bournemouth, was just around the corner.

I don’t know about anyone else, but… … for me, it was a debut that opened my eyes to something new.

‘I’m not 100% used to it, but it’s good enough.’

My original goal was to fully adapt before the Manchester City match. Bournemouth is a mid-lower tier team in the EPL, but I realized before that there is no team that can be taken lightly in this league.

A team like Bournemouth would be enough training data. If something were to happen, we might concede our first goal against Bournemouth, not Manchester City.

“… … We just have to show what we can do!”

In the locker room, Giovanni was enthusiastically encouraging the players. I took a gulp of water to calm my nerves.

What, what’s the big deal? It’s just one of 38 rounds.

* * *

And we entered the Vitality Stadium. AFC Bournemouth’s home stadium. It is famous for being the smallest stadium in the Premier League.

The stadium has a capacity of just over 11,000, which is similar to Midtjylland, where Jo Kyu-seok plays.

‘I rather like it.’

Since we were always playing in front of 30,000 to 40,000, and sometimes 50,000 to 70,000 spectators, there was definitely less pressure psychologically.

We walked out with the kids and did a brief pre-game ceremony. Then, after a handshake between the players, each team headed to their respective camps.

Manchester United’s lineup today consisted entirely of first-choice players, with the exception of a few who have yet to return from injury.

Kim Jun-young was sitting on the bench with a familiar look.

‘It used to be excluded from the list, but where is the bench?’

I looked straight ahead again and decided to focus on the game. The kick-off was soon underway and the game was going to be Bournemouth’s first.

And possession of the ball went back and forth every ten seconds.

As expected from a world-class league, the game is played at a fast pace. Even if you are a goalkeeper, you won’t be able to keep up with the flow of the game if you take your eyes off it for even a moment.

I was tense and focused, and about 5 minutes had passed since the game started.

Things happened.

During the build-up in their own half, Manchester United made a pass error due to Bournemouth’s pressure, and the momentary pass error led to a counterattack by Bournemouth.

It was a counterattack that happened very quickly. The situation unfolded in an instant.

‘I can see it!’

The moment when the opponent steals the ball and runs forward, and our defenders are momentarily defenseless against this sudden counterattack.

Next was a pass into the penalty box. There was Varane and Maguire between them, but the gap was slightly wider than in the last training session.

The opposing player was going to pass through there. It certainly looked that way to me. And the trajectory of the shot that followed.

I bent my upper body and prepared. Then, a pass came across the defenders along the trajectory, and a shot popped out as if dribbling.

“Ugh!”

It was not difficult to block a ground ball. I lay down, holding the ball in my arms. The stadium was filled with sighs of regret.

And my thoughts are.

‘Much better.’

It felt like I could react about 2 seconds faster than before. It was especially comfortable to see the decisive pass.

In the past, even if you could see the shooting trajectory, you had to hit it by feeling because you didn’t know how it would proceed, but now it’s not like that. Since you can see the pass path, it’s much easier to deal with it.

‘Fuck… Seriously, who’s stopping me?’

Suddenly, that thought occurred to me.

Even if I stick with Messi, I won’t lose, right?

The me at the time of the Paris Olympics and the me now are so different that it’s like heaven and earth were created.

If I were to dare to compare, it would be the difference between the AI ​​when AlphaGo first appeared and the current level of AI technology.

“Kim. Get up. If you drag it out any longer, you’ll get a card for time delay.”

I woke up to Varane’s words. Yes. In the Premier League, even a little delay is considered a delay.

* * *

Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola watched the game while stroking his beard.

As befitting a club in top form this season, Manchester United overcame early woes to put Bournemouth on the back foot.

First half 20 minutes.

The current possession difference was 65:35, and the number of shooting attempts was also significantly different.

‘The opposing players seem to be in poor form today. They keep missing.’

Bournemouth maintained a tight defensive organization to prevent the opponent from shooting easily, but Manchester United’s attackers were in poor form.

Clap clap clap clap clap!

The crowd erupts in applause every time a Manchester United player misses an attacking opportunity. Hoilun has already had three chances to shoot, but all of them bounce off defenders and the balls never make it near the goal.

‘!’

But this time it was dangerous.

Bruno Fernandes switched to the wing and Dalot entered the box, but the team’s players missed it for a moment and it became a 1v1 situation.

‘It’s too far to hit directly. You just need to calmly mark Hoilun!’

Diogo Dalot struck directly and the crucial opportunity was ended by a side-netting strike. Thank goodness.

“Phew.”

Aside from missing a crucial opportunity early in the first half, there were few counterattacking opportunities.

The weight difference between Manchester United and Bournemouth was clear, so Bournemouth had to try to counterattack unconditionally, but they kept getting hit, so Andoni was getting impatient.

‘If you wait, the opportunity will come.’

Until then, the director’s job was clear.

“Smith! Smith! Don’t rush in, just step back and narrow the shooting angle!”

“Christie! If you lose the ball, come back right away!”

“Scott! Scott! Oh my gosh, I’m going crazy.”

Watch the game in real time and provide immediate feedback on any shortcomings. Andoni was a person who believed that the players’ movements and plays would noticeably improve whenever the coach gave passionate instructions.

And after enduring such a long period of patience, the opportunity really came. It was Bournemouth’s last chance to attack in the first half.

An out-front pass from the midfield to the flank. The pass was exquisitely passed between the gaps between the Manchester United players.

‘Okay, that’s it, Christie!’

Winger Luiz, who received an out-of-front pass from Christie, chased the ball into the penalty area and passed it straight to striker Solanke.

Maguire was there, but the pressure was loose.

‘come!’

A decisive scoring opportunity!

Boohoo!

“… … ?”

And goalkeeper Kim made a light save. He didn’t even make a save, he converted it into a long ball pass and poked it deep towards the front.

It wasn’t like I was blocking and then freezing, but I was freezing right away, so the transition was very natural.

The attack, which started as a counterattack by Bournemouth, leads to a counterattack by Manchester United with just one change from Kim.

“No, what is this….”

What did you just see?

Not only did he read the pass and block it, but he immediately stabbed it forward to open up a counterattack opportunity?

Andoni Iraola’s heart pounded at what happened next.

Bournemouth was in a situation where the line was too high. In that situation, Kim’s counterattack long ball went up and the game became chaotic in an instant, and Hoilun, who had been missing opportunities time and time again, received the ball and started to run alone.

Towards Bournemouth’s goal.

“This is.”

This doesn’t make sense.

What followed was even more absurd.

Hoilun, who had managed to get to the penalty box, calmly slowed down in front of the goal and hit the ball into the left net. The goalkeeper read the direction, but could not stop it from going into the goal.

It was a loss.

“… … .”

“… … .”

“… … .”

“―Wow!”

In the deep silence, Manchester United away fans and officials cheer quietly.

Andoni burst out laughing in disbelief. It was a scene that seemed like it came straight out of a cartoon or a movie.

They came close to scoring a goal, but the goalkeeper’s long ball immediately turned it into a goal.

Manchester United manager Giovanni, who was watching from a distance, had a similar reaction to Andoni. He looked dumbfounded.

Andoni had no idea how to react to the unrealistic situation. Should he go into the locker room and get angry at the players? But this situation—

And the referee’s whistle blows.

It was the last chance in the first half, and as time was running out, the referee quickly announced the end of the first half.

Andoni Iraola headed to the locker room with a sigh, his mind complicated, if not distraught.

* * *

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola was watching the match between Bournemouth and Manchester United.

For work, they are an opponent I have to face in the next round, and for personal reasons, I just watch them because I like soccer.

Manchester United’s recent run of form has certainly impressed Pep.

“Giovanni is indeed good at tactics and strategy. He knows how to crush his opponents with his weight class.”

After Kim saved a major crisis early on, it was Manchester United’s turn.

However, although Manchester United dominated the game itself, they kept falling behind in finishing and were unable to score.

Rather than the goalkeeper continuing to make ridiculous saves like Manchester United did, it was simply a matter of the attackers’ finishing ability.

And in that situation, there is nothing the coach can do. The process leading up to scoring a goal can be outlined by the coach, but solving it is entirely up to the individual players.

Pep, who had been watching the whole game, looked at his phone because it seemed like the first half was going to end like this, but at that moment, the decibel level of the commentary went up and he looked at the screen again.

[Bournemouth’s counterattack is underway!]

“oh.”

Good development. He breaks through the Man Utd defense with an out-front pass, the winger receives the pass, goes to the side of the box and passes it back to the center.

In a normal game, Pep would have been confident Bournemouth would score here. But it’s Kim, so he’ll block it, right?

and….

[Oh! Kim reads the pass, jumps out and kicks the ball far forward! That was the best a goalkeeper could do in that situation!]

“…for a moment.”

The following scene was shocking even to Pep, who had experienced all sorts of aerial battles in the football world.

Not only did they kick the ball away, but the kicked ball ended up becoming a stepping stone for a counterattack.

“Bournemouth got their line up on the counterattack and then they broke the line with that long ball and that’s how the game turned out?”

I don’t know if Kim intended this or not, but the situation unfolded and Hoilun broke the line to chase a long ball and got a chance to make a solo run.

Although Hoilun was in a disappointing form in today’s game, he was not a striker who would miss an opportunity like this, and the situation led to a goal.

[Hoilun-! He scores! It was a counterattack of a counterattack! Kim saw an opening in Bournemouth in the midst of a crisis of conceding a goal, and Hoilun did not miss the crucial chance that Kim gave him!]

[It’s a development that’s hard to believe even when watching. It was a truly dramatic scoring scene. Kim’s reading of the opponent’s pass was so crucial.]

Pep also fully agreed with the commentators’ opinion.

This goal in the last scene of the first half was an angle that no goalkeeper in the world could have seen. It was a scene that only Kim could have accomplished.

So Pep was curious.

“Was it intentional? Or was it just luck?”

After thinking about it carefully, Pep decided that it was Kim’s intention.

A goalkeeper like Kim would have had an easier time catching the ball instead of kicking it forward in that scene.

However, I chose the one-touch kick, which is much more difficult.

It was a very risky choice if it failed.

And Kim chose that difficult path and created the current scene.

Pep was one of those who had analyzed Kim countless times, and a scene like that was definitely something he had never seen before.

“Could it be that he has grown again?”

Kim in the German 2nd division, Kim in the Olympics, Kim in the German 1st division and Kim in the EPL were all different people.

More precisely, the people were the same, but their skills were different.

At every juncture, Kim grew. It was clear to Pep. And… … this is just a managerial instinct.

Kim seemed to have started growing again.

“Is there room for more growth there?”

It was absurd, but that’s the reality.

Thinking about it that way, Pep was genuinely scared about the next game.

Now it was our turn to confront that monster directly.