Shooting Trajectory is Visible - Chapter 257



Only Krnovel

Episode 257 Damn it, it’s Kim Min-woo again

Giovanni sighed as he watched Kim’s performance. Kim was currently showing off an incredible performance that could hardly be described as ‘active’.

‘Full bloom…’

In fact, Kim doesn’t usually get moments like this where he can be this active.

No matter how bad the players are, there are rare moments when they are this bad.

It was a match of all time that comes out almost once a year.

In a bad way.

‘If things were as they were, we would definitely lose this match.’

Kim wouldn’t tolerate it.

And, if you can’t do anything when the goalkeeper does all this, that’s not right as a human being.

“It won’t work. We’ll have to replace a lot of players.”

“Yes, Director. Who should I prepare?”

The head coach, who was watching from the side, must have judged that there was no answer to the current flow of the game, so he prepared to write down the answer with a pen and notebook.

“Use five replacement cards at once. Greenwood, Dalot, McTominay, Lisandro, Hoilun. Prepare them like this.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Overall, it was a balanced reinforcement.

In fact, this match didn’t allow for a one-sided substitution of players, because all the players were equally good.

After a little more time, the players were replaced. Giovanni shook hands with each player who was being replaced. They all had dark expressions.

‘You guys. So do your best… Kim was struggling all by himself.’

Giovanni swallowed his words, unable to say a word as he was being replaced.

He also instructed that the strategy of continuously attacking without a moment to catch one’s breath be slowed down a bit.

After that, I watched how the game went.

“Phew.”

A sigh of relief comes out.

I still don’t like it at all, but I’m starting to feel more stable.

Above all, the ridiculous attacking opportunities that had been given to Tottenham so far were no longer available.

“Hey! Hey―!”

Even in this situation, Kim was adjusting the positions of the defenders in preparation for a possible Tottenham attack. It was great. It was also sad.

‘Richard, admit it. Recruiting Kim was the best decision of the century.’

No. In fact, looking at the form they are showing now, it is the best decision since the founding of Manchester United.

Manchester United must go all the way with that player. If he does end up leaving… … .

‘Wherever he moves to, that team will be the best in Europe until Kim retires.’

It’s not impossible to win all the trophies. If only we had a monster goalkeeper like that.

And then when I was lost in thought for a moment.

Beep!

“What kind of kid is this?”

Giovanni frowned and checked the referee’s position. But, hey? That’s Tottenham’s territory…

Rashford is lying on the ground in pain (which is obviously a lie) and the Tottenham players are protesting to the referee.

Wait a minute. Isn’t this a free kick situation?

I blinked and looked towards the Manchester United goal, but it was already empty.

Kim was running around like he was waiting for this.

“okay….”

This game, you’ve been bullied for quite some time. Show it, Kim. Let out your anger in one go.

Giovanni watched the upcoming free kick situation with a grin.

* * *

“ah….”

Kim Shin-ah looked at the screen anxiously.

The distance seemed very far. I had scored from a distance greater than that when I was in Hanover, but will it be possible this time?

If the shot misses and the clean sheet is broken with a counterattack… … .

[Kim Min-woo prepares.]

No matter what she thought, her brother on the screen seemed to have made up his mind. Even though he was far away, he decided to look at him directly.

Kim Min-woo takes a deep breath and blows it, then runs towards the ball. And then… … with a pop!

[Kim Min-woo, shoo-!]

A short final word from the commentator. And the net is shaking. It didn’t hit the side net. The goalkeeper tried to fly, but he couldn’t stop Kim Min-woo’s deeply emotional shot.

The broadcast team immediately shouted at the top of their lungs.

[I got in―! Kim Min-woouuu―!]

[Manchester United’s first goal! In the FA Cup quarterfinals, Kim Min-woo scores the first goal for Manchester United!]

[Kim Min-woo, who frustrated Tottenham players with his ridiculous performance throughout the game, now scores a goal! Oh, the POSTECH coach must really hate Kim Min-woo.]

[To be honest, the Manchester United players’ form today was not good, even to say the least. Not only did they directly block countless crises, but now they’re even scoring goals themselves. Is it frustrating that I’m just going to score?]

“good job!”

There is no need to doubt, Daeminwoo.

… In fact, when Son Heung-min dribbled through, I was so suspicious that it felt like the sky was falling. Ah, so this is how Min Woo-ham’s clean sheet record was broken. By a fellow Korean.

And when I stopped it with a foul, I was so happy… … .

As expected, Minwoo Ham. Actually, that’s right. Even if you get a red card, it’s more important to keep a clean sheet! But since you got a yellow card instead of a red card, the result was even better.

‘My brother is probably the first goalkeeper to turn a penalty kick into an opportunity.’

Before I knew it, my dad, who was eating the leftover chicken next to me after work, also laughed.

“I can’t get used to seeing the goalkeeper score a goal every time I see him.”

“Are you able to get used to being blocked like that?”

“Actually, Dad still can’t believe that Minwoo has become so successful.”

Shin-ah giggled in response to her father’s words.

“Maybe he’ll get used to it when the World Cup season comes? He’s doing so well now, so how well will he do in the World Cup?”

“Aren’t we going to make it to the semifinals for the first time in 24 years?”

“No? I’m watching the winner?”

“Who are you?”

“… … ?”

This is a real electric shock… .

Shin-ah pretended not to hear and spoke.

“Now that we’ve won, I wish we could stop talking about what happened in 2002. When adults do something, they click their tongues and say, “You must not have seen the 2002 World Cup.” Seriously.”

“Hahaha. That’s true.”

Shin-ah shook her head and quickly logged onto the soccer community.

A game where Kim Min-woo not only made a super save but also scored a goal? I can’t stand this reaction.

[(Tottenham vs Man U) Kim Min-woo puts this in with a free kick ㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷ 0-1]

→ManU main body

→Damn it, it’s Kim Min-woo again, now I have to worship him

→This is the best quarterfinal ever

→Maybe the FA championship team has already been decided?

→Fuck, this is soccer lol

→This is so much fun

→Look how sexy your goal is lol

→Click Soccer is really cost effective

→I seriously want to see Kim Min-woo stand as a volante. He is good at kicking long balls, dribbling, distributing the ball well, and taking free kicks as a goalkeeper. What would it be like if he played in a different position other than goalkeeper?

→I wonder if he’ll do well as a volante? Instead, his potential will be much lower than when he was a goalkeeper. He’s a player who gets paid 1 billion won a week, but he’s changed to a player who gets paid 200 million won.

→Just worship it

→Hanover is crying… .

Hehe.

“Ah. But Tottenham is still doing well. I thought they would collapse like Arsenal.”

Arteta’s Arsenal were defeated 7-0 after focusing only on attack, while Tottenham Hotspur of POSTECH focused on defense and stabbed Manchester United like an awl at important times, suffocating them.

Perhaps… … After this match ends, many teams will analyze this match. After all, in the matches where Kim Min-woo played, the moment of conceding a goal was the most brilliant.

‘Well~ somehow our Minwoo Ham will find a way to deal with this.’

Originally, constant checks and balances lead to higher growth. Therefore, Shin-Ah thought that Kim Min-Woo still had room to grow. He was still young, right?

* * *

After scoring the opening goal, Tottenham began to falter rapidly.

The sharp attacking power they had shown so far was gone, and all their attempts were blocked by Manchester United’s defense.

Giovanni’s tolerance technique worked.

And with Hoilun’s additional goal, the game was completely turned in our favor.

There were no meaningful scenes after that.

Tottenham’s players lost their sharpness due to the helplessness of not being able to win, and Manchester United had no need to be particularly aggressive as they had increased the score to two points.

That’s why.

Beep— beep— beep!

The referee blew the whistle to end the game.

“This is fucking awesome….”

I sighed and leaned against the goal post. Then I took a sip of water. It was a very exhausting game.

It was a match that completely drained my soul.

I see Son Heung-min over there.

And that look.

“Hong Min-hyung, you must have had a hard time too.”

Well, this game really seemed like it would result in a ‘score’. I was lucky. Especially when Hong Min-hyung beat me… … My heart thumped so hard it almost sank.

And I reached out without realizing it. It wasn’t intentional. It was instinct. When I was in that situation, I just reached out.

But I couldn’t just break my clean sheet like that… .

‘I was prepared to be kicked out, but I was lucky.’

I approached Son Heung-min and extended my hand. Son shook my hand and went one step further by giving me a hug.

“I could have taken your first goal. What a shame.”

“Of all the players I’ve ever faced, he was the closest.”

“Yeah. How surprised would you be to lose your hand?”

“…ha ha ha.”

Son Hong-min saw my shy smile, laughed brightly, and tapped the back of my head.

“The national team also does this. Expectations are high. Hyung, do you only trust Minwoo in Last Dance?”

“I will support you all the way to the finals with an unwavering spirit.”

“The mouth is like a flowing stream of green water.”

Don’t worry about it. I’m the type of person who keeps my word until the end…

.

.

From then on, POTM was naturally my responsibility.

Who else but me would get the award if I didn’t block all of Tottenham’s crucial scoring chances and even scored the opening goal that broke Tottenham’s organization?

“Kim! I’m sure you have a lot to say today. First of all, congratulations on your victory. There were a lot of dangerous moments, right?”

Reporter’s question. I briefly recalled today’s game.

It was a really long game. I thought it would be easy until the beginning of the first half, but it wasn’t. It was the most difficult game since I joined Manchester United.

“Yes. It was a truly memorable game. It’s been a long time since I’ve had a game like this. If you look at the indicators, it looks like Manchester United won easily, but anyone who watched the actual game knows that it wasn’t.”

“Yes, that’s right. Especially Kim’s clean sheet record is still amazing. That record was almost broken by a teammate.”

That ridiculous handling of Raphael Varane?

Even thinking about it now, it’s still absurd.

“… It was one of those really dangerous moments. If I had reacted a little slower, it would have worked. In fact, players are human and can make mistakes. But the problem is that today, the frequency of those mistakes was unusually high. I’m not saying this to criticize Varane. It was the same for all the players.”

The reporter asked him as many questions as his performance today. How did you feel when you were dribbled by Son? How can someone not be out of condition when they haven’t conceded a goal since their debut?

I said what I wanted to say while answering the reporters’ questions appropriately.

“… We really need to reflect on this kind of performance and improve ourselves. We won, but I’m not satisfied at all.”

That’s how I ended the interview.

It was a really tough day.

I should just rest and do nothing today.

Oh my.

* * *

Numerous Premier League teams were keeping an eye on the intense FA Cup quarter-final clash between Manchester United and Tottenham.

It was an interesting match.

There was a lot to take apart.

Above all, the point is that Kim Min-woo, who was like an iron fortress, showed many shaky aspects in that match.

That alone was enough to analyze.

The world’s best Kim Min-woo almost scored a goal.

Teams that were scared of matches against Manchester United or were just hoping for a draw have corrected their stance and changed their thinking.

People tend to become persistent when they see a clue to a seemingly unsolvable problem.

That’s what the teams in the Premier League have done, especially the ones that haven’t met Manchester United yet.

“We still have time.”

Pep Guardiola stroked his beard as he watched the match in retrospect. Other teams will probably analyse the match and come up with new ways to deal with it.

We can slowly put together a plan while also looking at how other teams are coping.