Shooting Trajectory is Visible - Chapter 49

In general, sweating and exercising is hard work and something we don’t like to do.

If your job is an athlete, exercising is something you have to do even if you don’t want to, and exercising all the time is boring and you don’t feel interested.

[You are training hard. GK Speed ​​increases by 1.]

Of course, this is an exception for me.

When things get boring and difficult, this stat window comes up every now and then to wake me up.

When I wanted to give up and give up, this one message washed away all my fatigue.

Maybe it’s because I’ve been joining the team for almost two weeks now and I’ve been making a really good impression on the players, staff, and coaches.

Why, when Western kids look at Asian kids, there’s always this universal gaze, right?

In technical terms, there is a stereotype that Asians are honest, exemplary, hard-working, disciplined, and don’t complain… things like that.

A very ingrained prejudice.

I was just training silently to get my stats up, doing the best I could, but at some point I realized that my image was being overlaid with such prejudice.

“Kim! Aren’t you working too hard?”

Goalkeeper coach Gerald Herrmann grins and pats me on the shoulder.

“Kim. I’ve been playing soccer for a long time since I was a kid, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen a player who works as hard as you do.”

This was Dominik Korsic, who I’ve become quite close with recently.

“It’s nice to see you working hard. You’re not thinking of switching to being a field player, are you? If you work too hard, you might get burned.”

This man, smiling and joking, was Ron-Robert Ziller, the Hannover captain and my rival (though he probably wouldn’t think so).

“You are so sincere.”

This was Ken Muramoto, a fellow East Asian.

I was secretly happy to be recognized, so when the players said that to me, I would just say something like, “It’ll just be a flash in the pan,” or “Don’t worry, you’ll get lazy soon.”

Of course, no one believed them.

Anyway, no matter what other people think of me, I trained really hard by my own standards.

Anyway, even if my stamina drops, it quickly replenishes thanks to Football Manager’s stamina compensation rate, so it was okay.

Even if I was exhausted, I could rest for about an hour and then train again, so that’s all I had to say.

People treated me like a ‘monster’ or a ‘monster’, but I was used to it because I was the first player to be like this at Suyang High School.

I’m just walking the same path I’ve been walking.

And on September 17th.

While Mom was busy applying for leave of absence in Korea, Hannover finally entered the 6th round.

A home game against Osnabrück.

Last season, the team was promoted from the German 3rd division by finishing in 3rd place, and Osnabrück are currently struggling in the 2nd division they were promoted to at the beginning of the league.

They have already played five games but have not won a single game, drawn two and lost three, so unless there is a major upset, Hannover will be able to beat Osnabrück and take the three points.

“Wow!”

Hannover’s home stadium, the Heinz von Heiden-Arena, is filled with cheers before the game starts.

The sound makes my ears ring and my heart flutter pleasantly.

Since it is a match held after a long time, all seats are sold out.

I sat in the best seat in the stadium and looked around with my mouth open.

‘This is crazy, really.’

The stadium, which seats well over 40,000 people, was packed with people. Enthusiastic supporters waved or waved flags bearing the Hannover 96 emblem.

Most of the others sang along while holding green scarves, the symbol of Hanover. It was a cheering song.

‘Is this Alte Liebe?’

As the male singer’s voice and accompaniment flowed out of the giant speakers and the 40,000 audience members sang along to the song, I felt my heart swell as I watched quietly.

‘Is this why there is a saying called home advantage?’

I think I would definitely gain more strength if I received one-sided support.

Before the game started, each team’s players came out with their children to greet the crowd, and I thought that I wished that chiller’s seat was mine.

I will definitely take it away from you…

‘I thought there were a lot of people at the high school finals, but it was really nothing.’

The professional world, with its proper soccer infrastructure, was like a four-dimensional wall that could not be overcome.

“Kim? I heard Hannover is your first professional contract? How do you feel about it?”

Next to me was my running mate, Dominik Korsic. He probably doesn’t even know he’s my running mate.

“I want to play. Of course, I’m not ready yet, so that’s why I’m here.”

“Hmm? Those words hurt me a little too.”

“Let’s eat together.”

Corsic nodded with a faint smile at my words.

“But are you listening to me?”

“Kim. Be confident. You speak English well.”

Yes. As long as the meaning matches, that’s all that matters. I asked to shake hands with Corsic, who encouraged me. Corsic smiled and shook my hand.

Of course, neither I nor Corsic were able to become starters, let alone bench players.

Excluded from the list.

Thanks to that, we were able to watch the game from the best seats in the stadium.

The game will begin now.

I can’t help but envy the sight of players running towards their own side, jumping up and down.

‘I’m out of the list. The 2nd and 3rd option goalkeepers are on the bench. This is where I am at now.’

After the coronavirus, the bench increased to nine and the number of substitutions increased to five, but there was still no place for me.

From the perspective of the people here, I think they signed the contract with the intention of ‘growing it up and using it’ or ‘raising it and eating it.’

In fact, he is still too young to be a goalkeeper.

I rested my chin on my hand and watched the ground. The game started with the referee’s whistle.

The game was very entertaining.

To be exact, it felt strange to see my colleagues who had trained with me until yesterday running around there.

It must be quite burdensome to be in front of tens of thousands of spectators. It must be burdensome even if hundreds of people are watching.

“Woooooo! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh!”

The stadium was buzzing with the cheers of the crowd. It wasn’t just an idiomatic expression, it was really buzzing.

As tens of thousands of spectators jumped up and down in their seats and cheered, I could not help but think that this was truly Europe.

The sound of drums could be heard here and there during the cheering, and whistles of boos could be heard when the opposing team got the ball.

‘Even if you just sit and watch the game, your heart can get warm.’

Time passed and passed and it was already 41 minutes into the first half. It was such an interesting game that when I checked the time, I thought, ’41 minutes already?’

Beep-!

The stadium is bustling again.

The whistle blew inside the penalty box, and the referee clearly awarded a penalty kick.

It was a penalty kick for Hannover.

Although the opposing Osnabrück players protested, it was a clear decision even from the stands.

One player openly made a VAR-like gesture and demanded a video review, but ended up collecting a yellow card instead.

It seems like a card with the nuance of, “Don’t dare question the decision of the stern referee.”

And Hannover 96 preparing for a penalty kick.

The kicker was Toyhert.

The uniform team striker who constantly threatened my goal during the last practice match.

Toyhert’s expression is reflected on the scoreboard.

He looks extremely focused, drenched in sweat.

And then the tense moment.

As the referee blew his whistle, Toijert fired into the right corner.

“Wow!”

The crowd is excited again.

The 40,000 spectators all stood up and cheered as if they had been waiting for this moment.

The flags were waving more fiercely than before, and no one was sitting down.

The opposing goalkeeper lowers his head in bewilderment.

‘If I were the keeper there, I would have stopped it no matter what···.’

I swallow my saliva in regret.

Even though it’s not on the list, the intuition is also fun!

[You are watching a high-level match. GK positioning increases by 1.]

“uh?”

What the heck? Just by looking at it, my stats go up?

‘This is really awesome···.’

Just watching it makes your stats go up as if you’ve been training. I unconsciously covered my mouth and smiled.

How much are they going to give me for playing this game?

*

The match that day ended in a 2:1 victory.

I was surprisingly lucky enough to have my stats go up by two just by watching the game.

And personally, watching the game made me even more passionate about practicing.

While others have to strictly separate training and rest, I can rest a little more loosely thanks to the stamina adjustment rate.

So the rest of the day was a repetition of training.

My daily routine was divided into three parts: training, language study, and diet control. I repeated this over and over again.

Time passed like that.

Hannover took three points at home to Osnabrück before losing their next away game in Düsseldorf.

They also won the match against Behen at home in the 8th round, and drew with Kaiserslautern in the 9th round.

So the total record from rounds 6 to 9 is 2 wins, 1 draw, and 1 loss. The points earned are 7 points. The current total points are 14 points. The ranking is 6th!

It was not a bad tone for Hanover.

Of course, the moment they lose even one game here, they will be dropped to 10th place in an instant. Since it is the beginning of the season, the points are all right next to each other.

[Choi Sung-hee: Son ㅠㅠ What should I do ㅠ I think it’ll be a little later ㅜ]

October passed, but Mom still hadn’t come. The reason was simple: Her leave of absence request wasn’t accepted.

To be exact, the process is being carried out according to a certain system, but he said that the progress is slower than expected.

I comforted that mother.

[Kim Min-woo: It’s okay, Mom. I told you it would be October at the earliest. It’s not too late. And what if it’s a little late? Haha.]

[Kim Shin Ah: Haha, pretend to be cool. In reality, every time I go to bed at night, my mom is like, “Oh my gosh, when are you coming?” There’s a 99% chance that she’s like this]

[Kim Min-woo: Haha, seriously, if you go to Korea, you’ll be a Tombstone Piledriver]

[Kim Shin-ah: What is that, you nerd?]

[Kim Min-woo: (GIF)]

He sent me a moving gif he searched the internet for. It’s a wrestling technique where you put your opponent’s head between your legs and pin them to the ground. The opponent’s two legs are lifted above the caster’s shoulders.

This is a technique where the target’s head looks at the ground, the legs look at the sky, and the head is tightly wedged into the caster’s legs, causing immediate KO if hit.

Then Kim Shin-ah gets scared.

[Kim Shin-ah: Wow, you’re going to bring down your lovely little sister like that? No, but isn’t the pose a bit more lewd?]

[Kim Min-woo: Haha …

[Choi Sung-hee: Haha, son, hold on haha]

[Kim Min-seok: That pose is a bit provocative. Honey. Do you want to try?]

[Choi Sung-hee: ?]

[Kim Shin-ah: ????Huh??]

[Kim Min-woo: tsk tsk]

[Kim Min-seok: I’m joking, kids haha;]

[Kim Shin-ah: Parents who are so good together that it’s suspicious;]

The ending was a bit awkward, but it was fun to communicate in Korean after a long time.

That doesn’t mean that studying German wasn’t fun, but isn’t it the most comfortable for Koreans to speak in Korean?

***

Hannover were playing their 10th league game.

At the same time, Germany’s FA Cup DFB-Pokal Cup was also coming up.

Director Jan Lytle sat in his chair and clicked his mouse several times.

The monitor showed Hannover’s schedule and first-team roster.

“Hmm···.”

Hannover have advanced to the round of 32 in the DFB-Pokal, but their opponents have been a problem.

The opponent Hannover would face for a spot in the round of 16 was the Bundesliga 1st division team, and that was Dortmund, a traditional powerhouse in the 1st division and also known as the Bees.

Hannover has been rebuilding recently and is slowly rising in the rankings, but even so, it was a fight with very low odds that they would defeat Dortmund, the top team in the first division, and advance to the round of 16.

‘And two days later there’s a league match. The opponent is Magdeburg.’

Magdeburg, like Hannover, were a mid-table team.

Because they were a team that could lose points at any time if they relaxed, it was right for Hannover, for whom promotion was important, to focus on opponents they could beat rather than opponents they could not beat.

‘We have a league match just two days after the match against Dortmund, so we have to be selective and focus.’

After making the decision, Jan Lytl called head coach Elmar Barlemann into the manager’s office.

The head coach knocked twice and came in.

As the years passed by, the head coach spoke as soon as he sat down on the chair in front of the desk.

“Are you talking about the upcoming schedule and player recruitment?”

“Where did you learn how to read minds?”

Elmar Barleman laughed heartily.

“You can tell just by looking at their expressions and the atmosphere. The topic will probably be how they will use their players in the match against Dortmund.”

“Oh. That’s great. Let me try it out. How do you think I’ll use the players?”

“The odds of winning are low, and we are a team aiming for promotion this season, so we need to pay more attention to the league. So······ the conclusion is exit.”

“You know exactly what I’m thinking. Well, actually, nine out of ten directors in this situation would make this decision.”

“That’s right. It’s a rational and reasonable decision.”

The head coach smiled broadly, spreading out both hands.

“Well, is that the end of the meeting? Since the manager and the head coach are of the same opinion, we can do as the manager wishes.”

“No. No.”

“yes?”

“There’s still the goalkeeper problem.”

“···A goalkeeper?”

As the head coach looked on in bewilderment, Jan Lytle opened a drawer and tossed a folder onto the desk.

“These are the data from after Kim joined our team. It’s filled with everything from trivial to important.”

“Coach, that kid is still too young to play.”

“I thought so too. Until Leo hurt his wrist. It’ll take at least a week for him to come back, right?”

Leo Weinkauf.

Sub goalkeeper for Hannover 96.

If Chiller is unable to play in a match due to unavoidable reasons, Leo will almost always play in the match.

In fact, if it weren’t for that reason, Jan Lytle wouldn’t have worried so much about this problem.

“Tony is here too, Director.”

“I’m thinking of sending that guy down to the minor leagues soon. He needs to get some more experience.”

“I think that would suit Kim better···.”

“Isn’t this a match we have no intention of winning anyway? If Leo isn’t here, it’s either Tony or Kim, but honestly, I’d rather Kim play.”

“Is it because of Kim’s potential?”

At that, Jan Wright shrugged.

“Well, that may be true, but I like honest friends. They train so hard, so I should reward them for it.”

ⓒ Doctor Am

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