Shooting Trajectory is Visible - Chapter 241



Only Krnovel

Episode 241 Travelogue

After Holland missed the penalty kick, Manchester City’s flow was just like that.

Having missed two chances to turn the game around, Manchester City looked like a different team as the clock ticked down, and we were able to drag out the clock without much difficulty.

Coach Giovanni, who is also from Italy where catenaccio was invented, gave orders to refrain from attacking and maintain the status quo.

A manager who likes to attack would have taken the reins of attack, saying that now that Manchester City are out of power, this is the perfect opportunity to score, but Giovanni is definitely not that type of player.

And I really like people like coach Giovanni. If you’re already winning, why bother creating variables?

As long as you win, whether it’s by half a house or a whole house, that’s all that matters.

How much time has passed?

As the Manchester United anthem, chanted by supporters, came to an end, the referee looked at his watch.

And then he put a whistle in his mouth―

Beep— beep— beep!

Beep beep casting.

The game has officially ended.

As soon as the whistle blew, my colleagues collapsed or collapsed in their seats.

‘… … ?’

Well, everyone has had a hard time.

For a long time, Manchester United had not been able to beat Manchester City, but when they were tied for 1st and 2nd place and the points gap was not that big, beating Manchester City was so encouraging that some fans even shed tears.

Perhaps it is the thrill of thinking that this is the closest they have come to winning the league title since Ferguson. For them, football is their life, and perhaps their everything.

I waved to the fans.

And then I noticed Holland staring at the ground from afar. He was looking at the ground with his hands on his hips, and he looked so pitiful.

‘Now that the game is over, I’ll try becoming Angel Minwoo… .’

I walked to Holland.

Holland sensed my presence and looked at me, asking for a handshake. I shook his hand and even gave him a hug.

“Holland, don’t be too upset. You’re my opponent.”

You’re talented. Just do it.

… I was about to add that, but I stopped myself because it seemed like I was teasing her too much.

“Kim, I’ll admit it. Our first match was a complete defeat for me. But keep in mind. We’ll meet many times. We’ll meet again in the second half of the league this season, and we’ll meet again in the World Cup. I’ll definitely make up for today’s match.”

I was about to give an answer that suggested it was probably impossible, but then I remembered a movie I saw a while ago and used it.

“Good luck.”

“…Okay. In that sense, should we exchange our uniforms?”

You didn’t understand my intentions at all. Well, if the person receiving it took it well, then it was good regardless of my intentions.

I nodded and took off the uniform I was wearing and handed it to him. Holland also took off his uniform and handed it to him.

We said a few more words to each other, such as “We had fun” and “See you next game”, and then left.

* * *

I didn’t really feel that way, but I guess the world was watching the war of nerves during the Ballon d’Or ceremony with great interest.

People were seeing this Manchester derby as a clash between two geniuses rather than a battle between teams.

In the old days, it was like Messi and Ronaldo in El Clásico, something like that… .

Back then it was a striker and a striker, and this time it’s a striker and a goalkeeper, so the appearances are quite different.

Opposite positions.

However, since their positions are completely opposite, they will receive even more attention when they face each other in a match.

‘Because it’s clear who did better in a match between an attacker and a goalkeeper.’

If the goalkeeper blocks the attacker, the goalkeeper is better. If the attacker breaks through the goalkeeper, the attacker is better.

If you look closely, it’s not really supposed to be seen that way, but most people in the world see it that way.

Not everyone in the world is a soccer expert.

“Today was a fantastic match against Holland! And Erling Holland had two great chances against Kim, but neither of them scored. You have virtually won the game, how do you feel, Kim?”

The reporter who asked the question brightly was a friendly reporter for Manchester United. Of course. If he wasn’t friendly, he wouldn’t be able to ask questions…

I was wondering how to answer and decided to equip myself in humble mode.

“As you can see, my form was not very good today. If Holland had played as usual, the score would have been 1:2 instead of 1:0. So, to be honest, I am not personally satisfied with this game.”

“Are you saying that today’s win was purely ‘just luck’?”

Not at all, but let’s just say it is for now.

I nodded in agreement. The reporter tilted his head as if he was puzzled.

“But overall, Kim did really well as usual. Are you not satisfied?”

“I am not satisfied.”

“Hey… .”

The reporter gave me a look of respect. I opened my mouth, thinking that I should add a word about Holland at this time.

“Holland is the best striker in the world. Just looking at his Ballon d’Or win this year, I can see why. I hope a great player like him doesn’t get discouraged by his poor form today.”

no.

I actually hope it freaks you out.

Beyond being intimidating, I wanted to feel more in shape.

The world’s best striker faces the world’s best goalkeeper for the first time and feels stuck and even goes into a slump?

How can you stand this?

If Holland’s form really sucks, I really won’t be able to sleep…

But the reporter, who had no idea what I was really thinking, looked moved.

“Are all Koreans this friendly, Kim?”

“yes?”

“Son and Kim both seem so kind.”

“I… … am a mischievous child compared to Son. Ahahaha.”

The reporter burst out laughing at my words.

“If Kim is a bad boy, then players of other nationalities must be criminals!”

After that, I was also asked questions about things outside of the game.

What do you think about Manchester United’s run to the top spot after beating Manchester City, who were competing for the title?

“Don’t be complacent, and just do as you did in the first half of the second half…”

Classic questions with classic answers.

A good day, a good win, a nice interview to end the day with.

When I got home, I even had my mom’s Korean food.

happy.

* * *

The EPL cycle has come full circle since the Manchester derby. The first half is over. Now all we have to do is repeat this one more time and the season is over.

[Manchester United announces large-scale squad reshuffle during winter transfer window]

“hmm….”

After checking the local news in the UK, I thought for a moment. It seems almost certain that Onana and Anthony will leave the team, but I don’t know about the rest.

Of course, there are many players who don’t fit the Giovanni family.

McTominay, Eriksen, Evans, Maguire, Hoylund, etc.

Among them, Maguire and Hoylun have bounced back and are currently showing decent form, which is ambiguous, and McTominay and Eriksen are also ambiguous enough to be starters, but they are not the type of people who cannot do their part as substitutes.

“Well, the board will take care of it….”

First of all, it doesn’t seem like they’d do something stupid like completely overhauling the squad in the middle of the season. Why bother with it when they’re currently at the top of the league?

→They’re going to sell him to another team for cheap again.

→Recruiting is good, but why doesn’t our team know how to sell at a good price?

Of course, Manchester United fans were already impressed by this news.

Because Manchester United have a long tradition of buying players for high prices and selling them for cheap… .

“Is the next game Brighton?”

As January 26 approaches, the World Cup is just around the corner. In Europe, the World Cup starts as soon as the league season ends.

A festival for people all over the world.

As the group stage was decided, football associations around the world were busy preparing mock evaluation matches, and Korea was one of them.

During the A-match period this January, South Korea will be playing an evaluation match in a neutral country for the first time in a long while.

In addition, domestic players are also training abroad, and I hear that it has been decided to do so in Turkey.

[KakaoTalk―!]

As I was sitting in the rocking chair, gathering my thoughts and spacing out, I got a KakaoTalk message. When I checked to see if it was my younger sister, it was Hongmin, my older brother.

More precisely, a group chat where only EPL players gather.

In this group chat, there is me, Hongmin hyung, Heechun hyung, Kim Ji-seok who plays for Brentford, and lastly Junyoung.

I hurried in and read the message.

[Son Heung-min: The January evaluation match is coming up soon, guys. There’s not much time left until the World Cup, so everyone take care of yourselves. Be especially careful of injuries, guys.]

[Kim Min-woo: I have strong stamina, so you don’t have to worry]

[Kim Jun-young: I think it’ll be okay since I can’t go to the game!!!]

[Hwang Hee-cheon: Haha …

[Kim Ji-seok: Fighting!]

I heard that Kim Ji-seok couldn’t play last time against Brentford due to injury. Will he play in the second half of this season?

Still, it is quite encouraging that there are five EPL players. Five Premier League players in one era. So, can we really look forward to this World Cup?

[Kim Jun-young: But there are quite a few matches in this evaluation match? Usually, it’s only played against two countries…]

[Son Heung-min: There’s only half a year left until the World Cup. That’s why. Jun-young, don’t be too discouraged because you can’t play for your club. You have to get in shape for this evaluation match, so you have to play unconditionally. Got it?]

[Kim Jun-young: Always in perfect condition!!!]

[Son Hong-min: Haha, okay]

“I like him because he has a really bright personality.”

Since this evaluation match is being held in preparation for the World Cup, we will be competing against one European team, one African team, and one North American team.

I’m not too worried, but it feels new to me to be playing in a neutral country, so I started looking into the information on the opposing team for the evaluation match.

First, let’s start with the FIFA rankings.

“… … Is it all worth a try?”

If you just look at the FIFA rankings, Korea has no problem. Come on.

* * *

The upcoming schedule is as follows:

Immediately after the first match of the second half against Brighton, they will take a plane to Turkey to play three consecutive evaluation matches.

And then we come back and send out the league schedule.

I’ve kept it very brief, but there are some rough schedules in between.

Right now, today.

“Okay! Can the youngsters score a penalty against Kim? Again, for every penalty they score, £50,000 will be donated to vulnerable people in Manchester!”

A charity event hosted by Manchester United’s sponsors.

Today, I was invited as a goalkeeper to stop the little kids.

There were ten kickers in total, and the children attempted penalty kicks against me, and for every successful kick, a donation was made to help disadvantaged people in Manchester.

‘My goal has never been allowed to go to anyone except Kang-Im and Chunsoo…’

There were more times when I allowed it because I was tired during training, but in official settings, those two are the end. Let’s ignore the fact that they succeeded in the penalty shootout.

“Okay, Kim! Stand in front of the goal!”

I nodded and stood in front of the goal. The kickers were young, full of energy.

‘Hmm. What should I do?’

Isn’t it disrespectful to just feed it to someone ordinary?

And a trajectory is created.

The first kicker ran up and kicked. After seeing the shots of the world’s best attackers, seeing the kids’ kicks was so slow that it made me yawn.

It’s at a level where you can block it without even having to look at the trajectory.

So I stopped.

It was a slightly counterintuitive movement.

Then, a commotion begins to arise around them.

‘Ah, I’m sorry…’

This is not it.

And then the second kicker.

The second kid seemed a little nervous and focused after seeing me easily block the first shot, and I blocked the second one as well since it had come to this.

“… … Huh?”

“Kim? You don’t donate 50,000 pounds by blocking it, you donate 50,000 pounds by putting it in!”

Even the sponsor’s representative shouted that because he thought I had misunderstood the rules.

I nodded, saying I understood, and blocked the third and fourth kickers.

‘I don’t know. Since it’s come to this, let’s just block it all.’

Fifth, sixth, seventh… .

It was noisy at first because I kept blocking it, but now it’s chillingly quiet.

I felt like a series of images were flashing before my eyes as I read the surrounding atmosphere.

‘It seems like Kim Min-woo’s character controversy will soon erupt… .’

The atmosphere was good last time because I showed some outward affection for Holland, but I’m going to forget it all this time.

But now that it has come to this, there is nothing that can be done.

Block them all!

I blocked it cleanly for eight, nine, and the last tenth time, and the host was silent for a moment and then said.

“Ah, um… … Yes. Today’s donation was canceled… .”

Manchester United were holding cameras to film the scene, even if only to post it on social media, but from what I saw, the atmosphere was not one that could be resolved.

That is, if I just sit still and do nothing.

“Mr. Host? Could you please give me the microphone?”

In fact, it wasn’t something I did without thinking about the consequences. I had already simulated how I would deal with it since I had stopped my first child.

Then now let’s go ahead and do the simulation we planned.

I held the microphone and looked around as I spoke.

“No matter how easy the game was, I couldn’t let the ball go into the goal I was guarding. I knew that if I scored, it would be a donation, but I still had to stop it.”

Crowds of people.

I could sense that everyone on the scene was confused.

Well then, let’s twist it here.

“So I’ll donate my own money. You said 50,000 pounds for each successful one, right, sir?”

“Ah? Yes, yes. That’s right, but….”

I called over the H&B staff who had been watching from the side. Then I took out a cheque in my name, signed it for 500,000 pounds, and put it in the donation box in the corner.

Only then did the people around them realize the situation and begin to applaud and cheer. The host, who was watching from the side, also laughed in vain and said:

“We should do more charity events like this in the future. We need to bankrupt Kim!”

“Haha. Of course.”

I need to tell Philip Harris that if there’s an event like this, he should cancel it in advance… .