Shooting Trajectory is Visible - Chapter 84



Only Krnovel

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The final match of the Bundesliga 2nd division was held quite leisurely.

Unlike the Premier League, the Bundesliga only has 34 matches, and the time between the 33rd and 34th matches was a whopping 8 days.

‘If it was the EPL, two games would have been played in that time…’

However, just because the interval between games is ample does not mean that the schedule in between is also ample.

Because we were literally going through special training after special training for the last game.

“Kim! Faster!”

I gritted my teeth and followed the training of the devil coach, Gerald Hermann.

It was an unprecedented 62. 62. 62.

We prepared like crazy for the Holstein match over the course of a little over a week, as the fate of each team literally depended on the last game.

“He’s a striker for Holstein Kiel. His jersey number is 13. Shuto Machino. Muramoto? He’s from my hometown. Do you know him?”

Relative analysis time.

Jan threw something like a joke at Muramoto, and Muramoto nodded in response.

“Yes. He’s a great friend. I meet him sometimes.”

“Yeah. That Japanese guy transferred to Holstein last year. He’s a pretty good striker. He’s dangerous. It means he could kill Kim.”

It’s a joke that doesn’t even make the corners of your mouth move.

But the players burst into soft laughter, and as many eyes turned to me, I forced a smile too.

The lower body is smiling, but the eyes are not smiling.

“If the opponent uses a one-top tactic, Machino will be at the end, and if they use a two-top tactic, Machino and Pickler will come out. Let’s take a quick look at their attack patterns.”

When Jan pressed the remote control, a video appeared. It was Holstein Kiel scoring.

I looked at it and thought to myself.

‘A Japanese striker and a striker named Piccolo Bismury as a top two. It’ll be quite dangerous…’

It’s a Dragon Ball combination, so it feels uneasy for no reason.

Besides, just as we are diligently analyzing our opponents, Holstein will definitely be analyzing us as well, and I have a feeling they will be focusing on me in particular.

As if dismantling it. Piece by piece. Every single movement of mine.

‘What would be the easiest thing for an enemy to notice when analyzing me?’

I was lost in thought for a moment. When I look at myself from the other person’s perspective, I······.

‘It’s literally the Berlin Wall.’

A run of 17 consecutive clean sheets is by no means an easy feat, and can be seen as a great achievement.

Even though it’s part 2, if you add modifiers like 18 years old, Asian, first season, etc…

“Kim?”

“yes?”

“The strength of the opposing team is their line breaking. They can break down our defense with one pass. Your role is especially important against Holstein.”

“Yes, sir.”

It was a story I had heard all along. Even in the training focus situations, we trained a lot assuming the opponent’s line breaking, especially the killer pass that can break down the defense in one go, and preparing for it.

And one of my strengths is one-on-one.

However, I cannot let my guard down because my opponent will have analyzed me carefully.

“And because the opponent’s style is to dominate the game by building up the midfield especially thickly······.”

Jan not only provided detailed analysis of the opposing players but also their tactics, and gave us meticulous advice on how we should play the final round.

And another good thing is that the final match will be played at Hannover’s home ground.

We play our last game in front of 40,000 spectators who are desperately hoping for promotion, while our opponents have to play to one-sided boos.

This will be a huge advantage, as psychological factors also play a huge role in soccer.

And above all.

‘It doesn’t matter what the opponent has prepared. I will block whatever nonsense they do.’

Even if our team draws, I won’t let them lose.

Of course, Hannover must win.

If all the teams currently competing for the title, including Hannover, Jean Pauli, and Hamburg, each win in the final round, we will have the same number of points, but we will take first place on goal difference.

And the prize money for winning the Bundesliga 2nd division was well over 20 billion won.

If he plays just one game, it’s all Hannover’s and it could be a very positive factor in player recruitment and salary negotiations next year.

I nodded as I listened to the manager’s long speech about what kind of mindset we should have in the next game.

If you don’t pretend to listen carefully, Jan will get upset and ask questions for no reason, so you have to react to him at least to this extent.

*

And finally the moment came when everything was decided.

Hanover was going about its daily life, but it was a life full of tension.

Sometimes when I meet people in the city, I hear them say that if we just beat Holstein, they will forgive us for going to Qatar.

And I felt that the people of Hanover were really desperate for promotion.

Besides, it seemed like they wanted to win the second part and then move on to the first part.

It won’t be difficult. If we just win this game, the championship trophy will be ours.

“Kim! Will we be able to keep a clean sheet today!?”

Just before entering the stadium, a reporter called out to me and I answered as I passed through the passage.

“Check.”

Then Captain Fisher, who had been walking in front of me with a warm smile on his face, turned his head and smiled.

And then we entered the stadium.

I arrived at the stadium early, did some light stretching to warm up my body, and began to fully prepare for the final round.

And 10 minutes before the game starts.

“Niemals allein, wir gehen Hand in Hand, zusammen sind wir groß und stark wie eine Wand!”

Hannover’s fast-paced, upbeat anthem resonated continuously from the seats, which were completely filled.

It was a cheer I heard every time we played at home, but it sounded more solemn today.

Maybe it’s because of the situation we’re in.

After a competitive match, Corsic, who came in as a substitute for Halstenberg today, tapped me and showed me his arm.

“I got goosebumps. Look.”

“Let’s do well today, Corsic.”

“Does it sound like I’m not usually good at it?”

When I looked at him with a kind Buddha smile, Korsic turned his gaze and nodded.

“Okay. Let’s do our best.”

And just before leaving the locker room.

Jan didn’t speak at length today.

“Everything depends on today’s game. Let’s go and play without regrets. Is everyone ready?”

“yes!”

Under the coach’s leadership, we gathered in a circle, cheered, and left the locker room.

And as I stood next to the opposing team players at the entrance to the stadium, the atmosphere was definitely no joke as the fate of both teams was decided in this match.

‘This feels exactly like entering the Colosseum…’

I’ve played in countless matches since my days at Suyang High School, but I can confidently say that there has never been a match that was more stressful than this one.

no.

If I had to choose one, maybe before debut?

Anyway, my heart was pounding right now. It was a pleasant pounding. My heart was tickling, and if I got any more nervous, I felt like I was going to poop.

I entered the stadium with the referees with a heart full of excitement.

At that moment, the cool breeze blowing from the stadium. The voices of the fans cheering passionately. The green waves symbolizing Hannover everywhere in sight. Memories of the hardships I had endured to get here. Countless waves surged from outside to inside my body.

It’s a stadium I always watch, but today it feels different. This one game. This one game, the fate of many teams, the emotions of countless people, and the careers of some people are all changing and being divided, so I feel nervous and excited.

And as I stood in a line looking at the fans, the various emotions I had felt disappeared and the thought that I absolutely had to win began to dominate my thoughts.

‘calm down.’

I watched the fans waving their flags with enthusiasm, carrying their backpacks on their backs.

You need to calm down and think calmly.

Today, rather than thinking that we absolutely must win this game, we need to think about how we can avoid conceding goals.

Actually, what I had to do was already decided.

‘Winning games is not something I can do. What I can do for the team is to make sure they don’t lose.’

I chewed on it again.

The opponent must have also prepared a lot to win this match.

The opponents are aware that I have kept 17 clean sheets.

That is why it is highly likely that they have prepared something special and different from usual.

Calmly and calmly.

As always, just like you usually do.

There is no need to try hard.

Just do as you usually do.

Soon, the time came to shake hands with the opposing players. As I shook hands with the opposing players, I felt something strange.

Especially the opponents 9 and 13. Piccolo and Machino.

Piccolo shook my hand while laughing as if he found something so funny, and Machino had something in his empty eyes that I couldn’t understand. It just felt that way.

As the handshake time ended and I slowly ran towards the goal, I had an intuitive thought.

‘These kids, I don’t know what it is, but they’ve prepared something. I’m sure of it.’

I tend to trust my intuition.

Today is kind of an unlucky day.

When I woke up, Kim Shin-ah had sent me a KakaoTalk message saying, “I opened a fortune cookie today and it said, ‘It’s okay. We have tomorrow. Fighting!’” and she had told me about it. I had dropped my phone while walking down the street and the screen broke. I had already experienced two ominous signs.

But I don’t feel good because I feel an inexplicable sense of uneasiness in the handshake situation just now.

‘I will never let my guard down today.’

I stood in front of the goal and glared at the opposing attackers standing in the center circle.

I don’t know what you’ve prepared, but I’ll make you kneel before your overwhelming defense.

***

I felt good today.

I felt like I could do something.

Machino performed his final ritual just before the game, jumping up from his spot and then started walking around the field when the referee blew his whistle.

The early game flowed into an exploratory battle.

With so much at stake in this one match, both teams took their time and avoided making any rash moves.

But it was the calm before the storm.

The crowd booed Holstein hard as he took possession of the ball, but Machino thought:

‘If I could turn that jeer into silence…’

What could be more thrilling than that?

And that opportunity came sooner than I thought, much sooner than I thought.

It was less than three minutes into the first half.

The action took place right below the center circle, right in front of where the coaches were directing.

Teammate Porras won the contest and poked forward, which turned out to be a pass into space.

Without even thinking, Machino bit his lip and ran towards the ball.

The defender who was marking him was slow to change direction.

He was slow and fell behind slightly, so he blocked the space in front of him, but in that short time, he entered the penalty box.

‘Sideways.’

And the shooting angle is slightly bent to the right, which is much greater.

The opponent, not expecting it, tried to block it by turning around to the other side, but soccer is a sport where a lot is decided in 0.1 seconds.

Machino immediately attempted a curling shot.

And I felt it intuitively.

‘It’s a goal.’

This is a goal.

Strikers get a feel for the shot.

Whether this is a goal or not.

Of course, there are times when I don’t feel it, but the shots that I do feel it for have a very high probability of going in.

One of the animalistic senses that comes with being an athlete.

And I saw the ball fly.

The ball was wrapped very well.

And then there’s the sound of a fight.

‘Fuck.’

I wanted to hear a crash, but it was a crash.

The cause of the sound was the goalkeeper’s save.

He blocked the ball with both hands and sent it out of the goal line.

‘Stop this?’

This was definitely a goal.

Certainly, as the coaches and manager had warned, the opposing goalkeeper had great saving ability.

But that’s okay.

Just give me a chance.

After countless analyses and countless practices, I figured out how to take him down.

Kim was getting angry at the defense that was so vainly breached. Machino was snickering beside him.

And although I felt a little disappointed, I quickly shook it off and started preparing for the corner kick.

End

ⓒ Doctor Am