Shooting Trajectory is Visible - Chapter 36



Only Krnovel

That day, I started as a goalkeeper and felt the ‘wall’ for almost the first time.

I clearly read the direction, but I couldn’t stop it.

Because my body wouldn’t keep up? That’s true to some extent, but it wasn’t the only reason.

‘I’m not doing this because I’m not feeling well. There are rules.’

It was clearly different from the high school players I had faced up until then. Above all, the difference in the speed of trajectory creation was noticeable.

If it were high school players, the trajectory would have been created very leisurely before the kick, but when Lee Kang-im kicked, the trajectory was created after the kick.

‘I clearly saw it before I kicked it earlier···.’

What’s the reason? Will? Mentality? Or is it because the stat difference is so overwhelming?

Whatever it was, I took this free kick very seriously.

If he used to react more leisurely, he now reacts immediately.

After I got used to it to some extent, I was able to block Lee Kang-im’s shots, but by then the free kicks were over.

In the match against Lee Cheon-seo that followed, he did not allow a single goal as he had just received special training from Lee Kang-im.

After blocking him about eight times in a row, Lee Cheon-seo’s temper worsened and the atmosphere of the broadcast became tense, so I let him eat the last two times.

“Ah! Now I get the hang of it!”

I was humbled by my luck, and inwardly concluded that there was definitely a difference between active and retired players.

‘It was more enjoyable than I expected.’

When will I ever get to play against such high-level kickers? It was a really informative time. I don’t think the kickers will think about it, but it was a time of growth for me.

‘And if you look at the fact that his stats go up just because he blocked a few free kicks…’

As expected, the answer lay in the level of soccer.

If you put one foot in the high level, you can achieve that much qualitative growth.

However, if there is one thing that is regrettable.

‘I didn’t get Lee Kang-im’s number.’

I couldn’t even ask for her number.

In the first place, there was no way I could give it to you just because you asked for it.

The ‘level’ difference is too big to ask for.

But there will be a day when we can run together···.

“How was it?”

I came to my senses and looked straight ahead.

Director Yoo Jin-ho.

I nodded slowly and answered in the affirmative.

“It was good.”

“Are you feeling humble now?”

“I was originally humble?”

Eugene Yoo blinked his eyes like a toad at those words.

“I know you sometimes take your jokes too seriously and it confuses me. When that happens, try to smile a little while you talk.”

“I’m serious.”

“If you are humble, I am Buddha, you punk.”

That’s a bit···.

“Okay, okay. The real main event will start soon, so get ready.”

“The King of Kings. Hmm···.”

“Why? Are you nervous?”

“No. I tried blocking Lee Kang-im’s ball, so I think he could block anything at the high school level.”

“Hey kid, look at this. What kind of humility is this?”

“This is what it means to be yourself.”

“You must be proud.”

“I’ve been showing you this all along-”

“Ah! Stop it! Get out, you punk!”

He got up from his seat with an embarrassed expression.

If that’s the case, then why did you call me?

As I was about to leave the director’s office, Yoo Jin-ho suddenly called me again.

“Hey, but.”

“yes?”

When I turned my head, Yoo Jin-ho hesitated for a moment. What is it?

“You’re not looking overseas, are you?”

“···What is that?”

“No, I heard that Suwon Seonyang made a huge offer, but you broke it ‘again’?”

“It’s on hold?”

“That’s what happened, you punk! If it were any other kid, I would have gotten on my knees and taken the beating!”

Director Yoo Jin-ho’s problem.

That guy has a good personality when he’s good, but sometimes his personality changes. I think he’s probably affected by the weather a lot. Or maybe he becomes like that when he can’t smoke.

So I also responded with a loud voice.

“Do I really have to say thank you and accept it?”

“what?”

“I’m the best. Even now, I’m getting calls from all kinds of clubs asking to sign me.”

“Then you···.”

“I need to let the kids ride a little longer. And overseas… Ugh. When you look at Korea from Europe’s perspective, it’s like a soccer outskirts.”

Yoo Jin-ho tilted his head slightly and opened his eyes sharply. I didn’t care and continued talking.

“Do you think European scouts would even look into a remote place like this? That makes no sense.”

And now I was really about to leave. But Yoo Jin-ho caught me again.

“Hey. If that’s the case, then it doesn’t matter, but if you receive such an offer and your thoughts waver, think carefully. A goalkeeper’s position is one where communication with the defenders is important. If you go overseas rashly, you could end up screwed.”

“I am.”

“I told you. You have the potential to become a national team goalkeeper and to go to Europe. But that’s not the case now. You’re not ready yet. It means you might get hurt if you rush.”

I turned my head and grabbed the doorknob. And then I said.

“Coach. Did I keep a clean sheet because I communicated well with the defenders here?”

“···what?”

With those words, he left the director’s office.

Director Yoo Jin-ho will know very well what I am trying to say.

*

A few more days passed, and the preliminaries for the King of Kings tournament were held.

Actually, there was no difficulty.

In the past few months, Suyang High School has gained a lot of experience by winning two competitions, and they believe they can easily overwhelm the teams they face in the group stage.

And it wasn’t just a thought, it was actually like that.

They advanced to the top after crushing Jeju FC’s youth team 3:0 in their first match, and then crushed Busan’s powerhouse Gyeongnam Machinery High School 4:0.

The remaining team also followed a similar procedure, and we advanced to the tournament by winning three out of three matches and taking first place in the group stage.

Even though these schools have suppressed all the kids who are considered cool in each region, they were no match for Suyang High School.

If it’s defense, it’s defense, if it’s offense, it’s offense.

Now, I think we’ve become a pretty perfect team at the high school level.

And this tone did not change even after advancing to the tournament.

The King of Kings tournament of the round of 32.

We won 3-0 against Seoul Dongjanggo, just like the other teams we met in the group stage.

The result of the game, the content of the game, it was a perfect victory for Suyang High School that killed two birds with one stone.

And the round of 16.

The return match against Gyeongnam Motgolgo, which followed the last competition.

The match, which was played once again, ended in Suyang High School’s victory. The score was 2:0.

“Now, victory feels a bit natural.”

Kim Jun-young’s arrogant remarks.

But there are no players paying attention.

Everyone just laughs it off.

The team atmosphere was great.

It was expected because they won every game they played and there were no major crises.

And the number of scouts watching the game has increased significantly compared to before, so everyone is running around trying very hard to get noticed even just once.

‘It seems like most of them came to see me.’

Still, wouldn’t it be possible to bring a few more people wholesale?

I came to see Kim Min-woo and thought, “Hey, he’s a bit cold. Let’s put him on the shopping list too!” … You can do that.

And the quarterfinals.

As befitting the name of the King of Kings Tournament, the Korea Football Association will broadcast the quarterfinals live on YouTube and even provide commentary.

It’s not a terrestrial broadcasting station, but I wonder where this is.

And then it was the return match.

Our opponent is Taebaek First High School.

The team that competed in the finals of the Geumgang Banseok competition.

“Taebaek again?”

Since it is the best competition in Korea and even in high schools, the higher you go, the more familiar faces you see.

Even if we win this match, our opponent in the semifinals will be Seoul Jinwi High School or Taebaek Central High School, who we faced in the last competition.

“Still, they’re amazing. It’s amazing that they’re competing against the same guys we saw in the previous competition in a place where all the professional teams are coming out.”

That means that none of the teams we faced were easy teams.

High school elites who are competitive enough to compete with professional youth.

And I also felt proud.

It has been clearly proven by Suyang High School’s advancement to the quarterfinals of this tournament that they did not win the tournament through Go-Stop, and it also means that the team’s level has improved that much.

***

“This is the quarterfinals of the tournament. It’s a match between Suyang High School and Taebaek First High School.”

“Do you remember that the two teams met once before? At the Geumgang Banseok Competition held in Gangwon Province, Suyang High School broke the prevailing opinion that Taebaek Jeil High School would win and lifted the championship trophy.”

“Yes. Those two teams met again on a single-log bridge. Taebaek Jeil High School, who lost to Suyang High School last time without scoring a single goal despite having a whopping 21 shooting opportunities, must have been really gnashing their teeth.”

The commentators at the booth provided by the Football Association told the story of the two teams before the match, keeping the viewers excited.

Well, that was all the viewers watching on YouTube. However, since it was a revenge match, the number was quite large.

Even though it was the King of Kings tournament, it was not common for over a thousand users to line up to watch the quarterfinals of the high school league.

But the comments······.

[Good luck to Jeilgo!]

[Please hold on to Suyang High School]

[I cheered for Jeil High School in the last competition, but I was so shocked when I saw them lose at home. I really hope Jeil High School wins this time ㅜㅜ]

The absolute majority were rooting for one side.

Somehow it looked similar to that time.

“···But Taebaek First High School should be wary of the goalkeeper Kim Min-woo who was guarding the Suyang High School goal at that time, right? He became a very hot super rookie. After the Geumgang Banseok Competition, they also won the President’s Cup Competition without conceding a goal, and goalkeeper Kim Min-woo played a very decisive role.”

“Not only that, Suyang High School back then and Suyang High School now are quite different. If you look at Suyang High School’s record in the King of Kings Tournament, most of the results are one-sided. If you think about the last competition and push forward aggressively, you could end up in a very difficult situation.”

And the players enter with the referees.

The way the players were portrayed on camera was the complete opposite.

Suyang High School is relaxed, Taebaek Jeil High School is determined.

Naturally, the comments were full of criticism towards Suyang High School and comments saying that Taebaek First High School would win this time.

In MZ generation terms, it was a comment section filled with hate comments and outrageous comments.

[ㅋㅋAnyway, Kim Min-woo is going to block everythingㅋㅋ]

[Kim Min-woo’s mother. You shouldn’t do that here.]

[Kim Min-woo’s younger sister]

[You can tell at a glance that he’s an orc lol. If he approaches men, they’ll probably block him like Kim Min-woo lol]

[Yeah, you can’t even talk to me ㅗ]

In the comment section, someone was fighting a lonely battle, but there was no one to take their side. It was like one against a hundred. For every comment that cheered for Suyang High School, there were a hundred comments opposing it.

And the game began.

The game wasn’t as one-sided as it used to be.

Suyang High School, whose physical strength issues had been somewhat resolved, did not just sit back and watch like they did in the finals of the last competition when they were listless.

There were only one or two cameras, so the sense of three-dimensionality was clearly lacking, but the commentators made the broadcast more enjoyable to watch with their wit.

“I guess it’s not just Taebaek First High School that’s grinding its teeth, right?”

“Yes, Suyang High School also has a lot to say about the last competition. We didn’t win both competitions because we were lucky, and Suyang High School’s movement continues to show that.”

The pass moved up, down and sideways.

The tight game begins to show cracks due to Kim Jun-young’s dribbling.

“Okay, Suyang High School will block the ball with a solid defense and start running forward!”

“Kim Jun-young’s dribbling. Kim Jun-young runs from his own team’s camp to the opponent’s penalty box! Alright, shoot!”

“It was a ridiculous ball.”

Kim Jun-young’s shot hit the defense, deflected greatly, and rolled in front of the opposing goalkeeper.

The spectators watching the game applauded with short sighs.

Scouts were watching with their arms folded all over the audience, but in the corner, a Western man was wearing a hat and was chatting with a Korean sitting next to him.

Because he was speaking in a foreign language, the audience sitting around him were curious about what he was talking about but couldn’t understand it.

But one of the courageous men asked the man who was talking to the foreigner a question.

“hey.”

“yes?”

“That person seems to be European. What are they talking about?”

The man who was talking to a foreigner was momentarily taken aback by the sudden question, but soon smiled and answered.

“He’s a friend. He likes Korea and soccer, so he wanted to come and visit.”

“Oh really? Then why don’t you go watch a professional soccer game···?”

A man was silent for a short time. The foreigner sitting next to him said something, but the man shook his head.

“I heard they were playing soccer here.”

“Oh. Really?”

I was a little suspicious, but I let it slide. If I paid too much attention to a foreigner, wouldn’t that make them feel uncomfortable?

“But where are you from? I don’t think you speak English.”

“I’m German.”

“Ah. Mother-in-law! Do you know Mother-in-law?”

“Yep. I’m from Hanover. nice to meet you.”

“Hey. You’re really good at English. Enjoy the game.”

The audience and foreigners shook hands and ended the conversation.

The foreigner asked the man sitting next to him again in German.

“Did I tell you I’m a scout?”

“No. I lied and said that I was a friend who came to Korea to visit.”

“Well done.”

The German said, looking intently at the Suyang High School goalkeeper.

“So, that guy is one of the rising goalkeeper prospects in Korea?”

“Yes. He is a super rookie who appeared like a comet. His recruiting value is clear.”

End

ⓒ Doctor Am

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