Shooting Trajectory is Visible - Chapter 73

The quarter-finals of the DFB-Pokal and the first of two matches against Hamburg ended in a victory for Hannover.

It was a narrow victory.

It wouldn’t have been strange whoever won.

‘It was quite overwhelming to see nearly 60,000 spectators cheering one-sidedly.’

Even though Hamburg is not what it used to be, its power still seems to be intact. Entering the stadium, the cheers of the 60,000 spectators in unison were so thrilling that it made the hairs on my body stand on end.

And in front of that huge crowd, we managed to beat Hamburg and advance to the quarterfinals of the DFB-Pokal.

Since we’re already going, I’d like to go beyond the semifinals and finals and even win the championship trophy, but I’m not sure if that’s possible.

‘I don’t know about the quarterfinals, but are you saying I’m missing the semifinals because of the Asian Cup?’

The U23 Asian Cup opens on April 15.

The quarterfinals of the Pokal Cup are scheduled for April 6, so he can play in the match unless the national team sets a date early.

But the next quarterfinals.

‘A day after the Asian Cup finals.’

Even though it is U23, I am not sure if Korea can look forward to the Asian Cup final.

Just two years ago, we were defeated 0:3 by Japan in the quarterfinals, and the members from then and now are almost the same, so if there have been no changes since then······ Hmm.

‘Even at that time, Japan beat us 3-0 and lost to Uzbekistan 2-0. And that was against an Uzbek who had one player sent off.’

Korea lost 2:0 to Uzbekistan, which had no players, and 3:0 to Japan. On top of that, Japan was leading U21 players, not U23 players, who were two years younger.

Not only did they lose three major games to Japan, but they also suffered defeats in the Asian Games, so it is no wonder that the former coach’s head was blown off.

Even the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation would not have thought of changing the baton in the run-up to the Olympics, so it would be great if it were so.

And it was while I was recovering my stamina and preparing for the two-game series against Hamburg.

[Kim Shin-ah: Breaking news!!! Cleansegel has been fired!]

Speedwagon’s Kim Shin-ah posted a news link that appeared 36 minutes ago in the family chatroom. Then, the family’s response came up.

[Kim Min-seok: ^^]

[Kim Min-seok: That guy goes with art too^^]

[Choi Sung-hee: Hahaha]

[Choi Sung-hee: I’m so full~]

[Kim Shin-ah: Hahahahahahahahahahahaha]

[Kim Shin-ah: Oh, it’s so funny when Mom and Dad talk like young people]

I followed the link and found the article, and it was true.

“The Football Association finally fires coach Jurgen Klinsgel”

《The Korea Football Association has finally swung the sword at Coach Klinsgel, who has been heavily criticized for the three factors of the loss to Japan, winless evaluation matches, and negligent management of the national team. This has been only one year since he took the reins.

The Korea Football Association’s Technical Committee decided on the 9th at Paju NFC to dismiss coach Jurgen Klinsgel, holding him responsible for poor performance and results.

Coach Klinsgel, who took over as head coach of the national team in March 2023, is one of the best coaches of all time.

“wow.”

Honestly, I thought he wouldn’t even make it to the World Cup, but I didn’t know he would get there so quickly.

As expected, it’s Korea.

Anyway, as expected from a nation that can’t stand being frustrated, they quickly cut off Klinsgel’s neck.

It seems like the Football Association originally intended to keep him, but with public anger and the addition of lawmakers, they eventually gave up and gave in.

‘It’s too bad.’

So he left.

We weren’t close enough to give each other a subsidy, and we only exchanged a few words, so I went back to focusing on my recovery training.

Well, you could say it turned out well.

Rather than rushing through the process a year before the World Cup, it would be more positive for Korean soccer to cut the schedule quickly to give it plenty of time.

***

In the end, Kleinsgel’s head was blown off.

But it was not Klinsgel who was upset, but the Football Association.

Since the contract was terminated unilaterally and not through mutual agreement, a penalty of several billion won must be paid, and a new manager must also be found.

In this process, the people will watch the personnel selection process with eagle eyes. And if the people do not like the personnel selection process, there will be chaos again.

It was the tragedy of a popular event.

In unpopular sports, especially Olympic sports, people do not pay much attention or even send messages of support even if the sports do not achieve great results.

why?

I don’t really care whether it’s gold or air.

So rather than criticizing them for not doing well, I support them even if their grades are bad. Since I don’t care whether they do well or not…

But soccer is different.

Soccer is the most popular sport in Korea, along with baseball, and that is why every move is watched closely.

Even the slightest opening causes people to rush in like a pack of dogs and turn it into a place of condemnation.

“I don’t understand why they are firing me. Japan is objectively a much stronger team than Korea, and we should be proud of losing 2:3 to a team like Japan.”

《South Korea is the only country that dismisses a national team coach less than a year after accepting the position.》

And Klinsgel has once again rekindled public opinion.

It was an ugly departure until the end.

“Please, I beg you, don’t ever pick a German coach again.”

→Why are they picking on the coach of Germany, a small soccer country that was beaten by both Korea and Japan?

→The whole nation is focused on Kim Min-woo, who is currently playing in the Bundesliga.

→The league level and the manager level are different, lol

→If it weren’t for the crippled coaches like Stielike and Klinsgel, if it were a normal German coach, things wouldn’t have turned out like this.

Foreign media also reported significantly on Klinsgel’s dismissal.

Most of the articles were full of ridicule, about his flashy return to the Korean national team and his flashy dismissal.

“But you’re not going to choose a domestic director, are you?”

→Hakbeomson build-upㅋㅋㅋ

→ Mr. Cida, the air conditioner director;

→Let’s keep our eyes wide open and watch so that it never happens again

***

And a day later, Hannover were back on the same pitch.

The 58,000 spectators booed us as if they hadn’t forgotten our defeat in the DFB-Pokal.

Especially since the goalkeeper was so close to the stands, I could sometimes hear them swearing, and the German lessons I received from Sophie really shined at times like this.

“Hey monkey! I heard they eat dog meat in your country!?”

If I weren’t a soccer player, I would have shown that damned nosed bastard some spicy Joseon flavor, but I couldn’t do that now.

If I reacted to every single thing like that, they would do what I wanted, and part of being mature as a professional is not reacting to the boos of the audience.

‘Yes. Racism is a daily occurrence. Even Son Heung-min openly said that he was discriminated against in Germany.’

I remember it clearly.

Son Heung-min said that the most memorable game in his football career was the 2-0 win over Germany in the World Cup, and the reason was the unimaginably difficult life in Germany.

Son Heung-min, who suffered discrimination during his childhood in Germany, clearly took revenge when Germany needed it most.

‘Well, if you look at it that way, I’m just a drop in the bucket compared to Son Heung-min. At least I don’t get discriminated against by my teammates, right?’

I’ve been subjected to racism a few times by other teams, but I’ve never experienced it once in Hannover.

Maybe I’m just lucky.

When I was at my most vulnerable, Sophie was there to help me a lot.

I pulled myself together and relaxed my body.

The goal for this game, like the last one, is to keep a clean sheet. Whether the team draws or wins, I just need to keep my goal.

*

As a goalkeeper for Hannover 96, the more I play in the game, the more I feel that this club is weak on the flanks.

So, um, the aspect in a counterattack situation is really weak.

And it is even weaker against crosses flying from the side.

18 minutes in the first half.

Hamburg were playing cautiously while Hannover were going all out.

Hannover, who had taken the lead early on, pushed the line up high in an attempt to score a goal with this absolute advantage, but anything in excess can be toxic.

‘A cheetah cub is coming up…’

A black-skinned cheetah was running along the side, carrying Muramoto. It was so strong that Muramoto tried to engage in a physical fight and was thrown back. Crazy.

The opposing winger ran almost 70 metres along the touchline.

As if to prove that soccer is a sport where you lose more than 5kg with one play, most of the players in the opposing team’s camp were already inside our team’s penalty box.

How hard would it be to do that every 90 minutes?

‘Thank goodness I’m a goalkeeper.’

I cleared my mind of distracting thoughts and focused on the situation.

Halstenberg, who came on as a substitute for Corsic, was marking the opposing striker. Then a cross came in.

“What the heck.”

A trajectory has been created.

The final destination of the right wing forward’s cross is the left wing forward’s feet.

I was checking the location out of the corner of my eye, but I didn’t know it would flip over to the other side like this.

I ran to the opposite goal, watching the ball fly. The trajectory was pointing to the opposite corner of the left goal where I was standing.

‘Ugh!’

I ran and jumped with all my might.

At the same time, the opposing left wing forward attempts a volley.

It was a shot I would never have been able to block if I hadn’t run ahead because I didn’t have the ability to see the trajectory.

But I have the ability to see trajectories.

It also has the ability to appear 0.2 seconds faster than before.

I flew into the sky and blocked the volley shot with my right palm.

It was a fast and powerful shot that made my hands tingle, but if you know the timing, speed is meaningless.

You can block it just by placing your palm on the trajectory!

The ball bounced off my glove and went out of bounds. It was a corner kick.

“Good job Kim! When will you stop being so bad!?”

Phil Neumann runs up to me, sweating profusely, and gives me a gentle hug.

“You little bastard! Good job!”

It was Halstenberg.

The Korean goalkeeper who monopolizes the love of German defenders. Not bad···.

*

Hamburger SV played cautiously until the end.

Hannover also tried their best to score a goal, but they were not strong enough to deal a blow to a cautious Hamburger.

Hamburg narrowly missed out on promotion to the first division in the promotion/relegation playoffs last season, and they are a strong team that is working hard to be promoted to the first division this season as well.

And lately, Hannover have been showing such good form that everyone in the industry is surprised.

And at the center of it all, there I was.

It’s a bit funny to say this out loud, but what can I do when so-called soccer experts come out on TV and talk like that?

The match ended in a 0:0 draw, and the two teams, who were in the same ranking and had the same number of points, continued their uneasy relationship by taking one point each.

I was exhausted from making several saves in a high-level match throughout the first and second halves.

‘The stats are steadily increasing, but it’s still tough. Is it because they’re the top team in the 2nd division?’

Certainly, the teams that were said to be successful in the second half were clearly different in level from the lower ranked teams.

He was able to relieve himself of his worries about competing for the starting spot in this match as well, but this has given rise to new worries.

‘I hope Hannover secure promotion before I go to the Asian Cup.’

In order to do that, they need to bring down the 1st and 2nd place teams. The fastest way to narrow the point gap is to directly confront the 1st and 2nd place teams, and the earliest they can meet the 1st and 2nd place teams is on April 20th.

And then I have to go to Qatar.

‘Fuck.’

I don’t know. I guess if I just take the stairs in front of me and climb them one by one, something will happen.

February 10th was not only the second match against Hamburg, but also the Asian Cup final.

The finalist countries are Australia and Japan.

Japan reached the finals by defeating tough opponents such as Korea, Iran, and Qatar in succession, while Australia advanced by taking advantage of relatively comfortable teams on the other side.

And the final result was Australia 1 Japan 0.

In the end, it’s a question of physical strength.

Japan’s runner-up finish was very similar to Korea’s elimination from the Asian Cup.

After defeating the favorite and using up all of their stamina, they are eliminated in the next round due to stamina issues.

Japan had to constantly change up their starting lineup as they had to face Korea in the round of 16, Iran in the quarterfinals, and defending champion Qatar in the semifinals, and although they managed to advance to the finals, they had to kneel to Australia, who was in relatively good physical condition.

‘It was a planned result. Even if Korea had defeated Japan and advanced to the finals, the result would have been the same···.’

The result was that only Australia, which had great luck with the tournament draw, got a good result, while everyone else suffered.

I have since focused solely on Hanover.

Almost two months passed like that, and in that time, numerous Bundesliga matches were played.

“after.”

I stared blankly at myself in the full-length mirror. All I could see was a blank expression on my face, staring at me in the mirror, but I could see it clearly.

The numerous stats accumulated in the meantime, and the countless experiences in the European leagues that money cannot buy.

“The preparations are complete.”

The national team lost to Japan and ended early in the round of 16, but the U23 Asian Cup, where I am the goalkeeper, will be very different.

Attitude is a matter of attitude, but the me who first set foot in Germany and the me who is now are so different that you could practically say they are different people.

ⓒ Doctor Am