Shooting Trajectory is Visible - Chapter 37



Only Krnovel

Dieter Kramer is a scout from Hannover 96, dispatched to Far East Asia.

He was usually dispatched to China and Japan to carry out his duties, but recently, due to the rapid progress of Korean athletes, he was dispatched to Korea for the first time.

And the Korean friend who helped him with his work was Mr. Jang.

Mr. Jang is a college student in his early 20s who speaks German fluently. He recently passed the club internship and was assigned to assist Dieter Kramer.

His main role was to simply provide interpretation while assisting with work.

“Kramer! Welcome to Korea!”

“It’s been a while since I’ve felt welcomed by someone. Thank you.”

Mr. Jang was a sincere and passionate college student. He said that his dream in the future was to work in a soccer-related field in Europe or Korea.

Kramer sincerely wished him good luck for the future.

“Oh, actually, I was originally going to talk about this during the video conference.”

“Do you have anything to report?”

Mr. Jang opened the zipper of the backpack he had brought, put his right hand in, and began to search for something busily. And what popped out of his hand was a wad of paper.

“What is that, Jang?”

Mr. Jang’s real name was Jang Yeong-sil. He explained that his name was the name of a famous Korean scientist from the past, but he didn’t care about that and just called him ‘Jang’ because it was easier to pronounce.

“This is a business report!”

“Business report?”

He’s a very motivated guy. But his passion runs deep. He must have worked hard on it, so I’ll just skim through it.

“You can think of this as a list that scouts absolutely must check! Hannover 96 is in the second division of the Bundesliga and can’t afford to spend a lot of money, right?”

“Hmm···.”

Dieter Kramer picked up the report with a trembling expression and looked at it while riding in a taxi.

Most of them were youth.

Or players playing in the 3rd or 4th division.

‘There are already enough youth players in the club.’

Above all, the players he had to check were already set. Players playing in the K League 1 and 2 divisions. There was no need to check the players below them.

Even in Germany, those kinds of gemstones are strong and cheap.

A chapter that I look at anxiously as I quickly turn the pages.

And then the last page.

I was actually going to hand over the report to Jang as is, but the final list contained some rather impressive records.

“Kim min woo? Are you sure this is a record?”

“Oh! Are you talking about that player?”

Mr. Jang explains as if he was waiting for this moment. As if the rest of the players were just there for show and this is the real deal.

“It’s exactly the record that Kramer is looking at. Kim has not conceded a run since his debut. He has already played in 25 games!”

“That’s an interesting record.”

It was just about that level.

25 games without conceding a goal.

Even though it’s only at the level of a remote high school, it’s certainly interesting to keep a clean sheet for 25 games.

“Kramer. The school Kim belongs to is not a great team, according to my research! He is not Neuer!”

“···Not Neuer, what is that?”

“Kim didn’t keep a clean sheet while playing for Munich, he kept a clean sheet while playing for Hertha!”

“······.”

It is clear that Zhang is referring to Hertha BSC, a team that barely managed to stay in the Bundesliga last season after going through the relegation playoffs.

In a word, it means the weakest team.

“If you are ever sent to Korea, he is a prospect you should definitely check out.”

And then there’s the chapter where he takes something out of his backpack.

There were other bundles of documents.

Kramer, who checked it with an impression, confirmed that the paper was in German.

“As you can see, thanks to Kim’s performance, his school won two consecutive tournaments. Before that, the school had not won a single championship.”

“Even so, it’s only at the high school level, right?”

“It’s not just high school, Kramer.”

“sure?”

“We won the competition where only the best high schools in Korea gather. Twice in a row! And Kim’s school is still participating in the competition, which is called the King of Kings Tournament, and all the club youths participate. Kim’s club has advanced to the round of 16 and, as expected, has not conceded a goal.”

Kramer scanned the chapter up and down. The chapter was extremely excited. It was as if he had seen the real Mona Lisa in an antique shop.

“If you say club youth, which club youth are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about the clubs in the top leagues of the K-League. Seoul Furics. Ulsan Daehyun. Suwon Shenyang. Literally, the youth of all the teams.”

“So, um. So Hertha went to the Champions League and advanced to the round of 16 against Manchester City, Real Madrid, Munich, etc.? And without conceding a goal?”

“That’s it!”

The taxi driver, who had been quiet, flinched at the shout. Then he looked this way through the rearview mirror.

“What are you talking about? You sound like Hitler and Goebbels…”

“What did that article just say? I think I’ve heard that name somewhere.”

Jang broke out in a cold sweat and quickly answered.

“Please lower your voice. I’m a little excited.”

“Ahem. It’s certainly interesting, but I don’t know. We already have enough goalkeepers in our club.”

When I expressed my refusal in a firm tone, Jang raised his voice again. It seemed like he was trying to persuade me rather than get angry.

“Kramer. The club has many goalkeepers, and it is clear that Kim is not an immediate force. The Bundesliga and the high school league are different levels. But the data proves it. He will become Korea’s Neuer one day. Since Kramer is also German, you remember the World Cup in Russia, right?”

“that···.”

Kramer frowned involuntarily. How could he not remember? Wasn’t it the humiliating moment when Germany, the world’s strongest tank corps, collapsed on the point vending machine?

Germany went into a complete decline after that, and even got crushed by Japan in the next World Cup.

“Kim is a guy who shows performance at the level of a Korean goalkeeper in every game. He will definitely be able to do well in the Bundesliga. His current price is definitely the cheapest he has ever been in his career.”

“Goalkeeper···.”

Kramer was a little worried because Jang was so persuasive. But he didn’t come to Korea to see the goalkeeper.

Above all, Hannover had enough goalkeepers. The fact that the team captain was a goalkeeper says it all.

“In addition, there are rumors that K-League clubs have made offers to recruit him. Kim is already a proven player due to the love calls from those clubs. Kramer. First, watch him play. And if he is suitable for Kramer’s eyes, wouldn’t it be possible to report to the club?”

“Jang. I didn’t come to Korea to find a goalkeeper. My job at the club was-”

“I know, but Kramer, the club asked me to look for a defender and I found Mbappe, who hasn’t signed with anyone yet. So you’re not going to report it to the club?”

Dieter Kramer couldn’t stand it any longer. He rebuked Zhang in a firm voice.

“This metaphor is too much. I’ll stop listening.”

“Munich signed Kim for 50 million euros, right? Hannover has the chance to sign Kim for 50,000 euros. It’s up to Kramer to decide whether to miss it or not.”

“You’re crossing the line.” Kramer also became emotional and raised his voice.

“Can you take responsibility for those words?”

“Of course!”

“Okay. Let’s go watch Kim’s game. If he falls short of my expectations, I will formally request that you be fired by the club. Do you agree?”

Then the silent chapter.

I knew this would happen.

As I sighed and shook my head, Jang opened his mouth again.

“I am sure.”

“Okay. Let’s go check out Korea’s Neuer. Right now!”

The taxi driver glanced at the scene through his rearview mirror and muttered again.

“Do all German kids speak like that?”

*

Dieter Kramer watched the quarterfinals of the King of Kings tournament closely with both hands on his mouth.

The first half was tight.

A game with moderate exchange of offense and defense.

Usually, when teams of similar level compete, games like this happen.

“Oh! Oh!”

“I have to go! I have to go!”

“Hit him! Hit him! I told you to hit him!”

There were hooligans in East Asia, too, although they were much more polite than in Europe.

Kim’s team takes control of the ball and attempts a curling kick.

It was the famous Son Zone.

The area where Tottenham’s Korean player, Son Heung-min, likes to hit curling shots.

Even the high school striker’s curling kick wasn’t bad.

‘The goalkeeper is too far forward. This worked.’

It was a sure thing. Dieter Kramer had seen a thousand similar situations, and when you consider the overall situation – the goalkeeper’s position, the power of the curling shot, the chaos in front of the goal – it was a goal, no doubt.

“Wow!”

A scream of joy erupted from the crowd and players. Dieter Kramer could not believe his eyes.

‘Stop this?’

It was a save that would have made any irascible Brit scream “What the fuck?”

It looked like I was going to score, so I ran back and blocked it. What the heck was that?

‘Soccer intelligence? Sense? How should I explain this?’

It is extremely rare for a goalkeeper to turn around and jump in that situation and block the ball, even in professional leagues. If we really look at it, it was a decision that only a top-class goalkeeper would make.

Goalkeepers whose names we all know. Neuer, Alisson, Lloris, Courtois, etc.

‘But the reaction was slow. If he was a pro, it would have been eaten by the time he turned back.’

The speed of the ball was different. Since he was still at the high school level, his kicking power was ambiguous compared to that of a professional. However, even so.

‘That’s definitely okay. 25 games of clean sheets wasn’t achieved by luck.’

While I was internally analyzing Kim Min-woo, Jang spoke to me.

“Do you see it up ahead?”

“Are you talking about the audience seats?”

“Yes. I think he’s a scout from Suwon. I vaguely heard him talking to another scout, but it wasn’t a rumor that he made a recruiting offer.”

“···okay.”

“Even when the scout sitting next to him asked if it was true that he had promised the best in the industry, the Suwon scout was evasive. Given the circumstances, it is clear that Suwon made a very good offer.”

“Okay, I understand.”

The second half after halftime.

The competition became increasingly fierce.

If the first half was a one-on-one battle, the second half was a slugfest. Both teams came up with the tactic of slowly letting their guard down and trying to hit at least one more.

So it was a lot of fun to watch.

And every time, Kim’s defensive ability shines.

“He certainly has excellent save skills. He could even make his professional debut right away.”

“Is that so?”

A noticeably happy Zhang. He looks pleased that his convictions were not wrong. However.

“The other abilities are miserable.”

“···yes?”

“Aside from one very sharp goal kick in the first half, nothing really stands out other than saves so far.”

“······ah.”

“Except for the save, it’s pretty average. It’s seriously unbalanced. Jang. How long has it been since Kim debuted?”

“The official records are from April of this year. There are no records before that.”

“Is there no record from the Korea Football Association?”

“No. There is talk that he debuted this year.”

“···okay.”

Dieter Kramer’s eyes became serious.

Only then did I begin to understand the serious imbalance in that goalkeeper’s abilities.

“If that’s true, then it’s only been four months since I started learning football properly.”

“yes.”

“Then the puzzle is solved. He has only been playing soccer for a short time, but he has come this far with monstrous defensive ability. He has nothing else to offer, but the manager probably didn’t care.”

“Is that how it is?”

“It’s very likely. And for a goalkeeper, saving is a much more important skill than any other skill. Footwork, build-up, touch, vision. They are certainly important skills, but they are not as important as saving. And those are things that can be filled with a good teacher.”

Jang tilted his head and looked at Kramer. Kramer looked straight at Jang and said.

“Kim is a goalkeeper with the most important ability that cannot be taught through education. It is also called ‘ability’. Ability can be honed and refined, but its limitations are clear.”

“What I mean is, if Kim goes to Europe and gets a proper education….”

“That’s right. Just as Jang preached, he could become a Korean Neuer. No, he could become a world-class goalkeeper even better than that. He’s at that level now, so if he plays as a pro for a few more years, he’ll become a better player than Kim in Munich.”

“······Oh my goodness. Kramer, who specializes in player analysis, says something like that···.”

“I just say what I see. If another scout from Europe came and saw Kim, he would say the same thing. Of course, you can’t fully evaluate a player after seeing just one game.”

Jang swallowed hard and asked again.

“What you are saying is······.”

“That team with Kim will probably win this tournament too. With that level of defense, they will most likely be able to stop the penalty shootout. We need to change the schedule.”

“yes?”

“It means that we will closely analyze Kim.”

Jang’s eyes opened wide and he nodded vigorously.

“yes!”

End

ⓒ Doctor Am

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