Shooting Trajectory is Visible - Chapter 85



Only Krnovel

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Like Hannover, I felt that Holstein Kiel had prepared very well for this match.

Usually, in important matches, some managers change their tactics to exploit the opponent’s weaknesses, but Holstein did not do that.

Something they usually do well.

This is what worked best for me during many matches so far.

I took good care of it, cleaned it, and used it again in the final round.

The same was true of Hanover.

Jan Lytle’s special three-back tactic is back again, and while he was defensive in the last game, he brought out what he does best today.

I could tell how much Jan trusted me in this part, using aggressive tactics in a match where everything could have gone wrong.

Of course, the defensive burden during that process was solely mine. And 22 minutes into the first half.

“Neumann! A1!”

It was the timing of the enemy’s attack that broke through the flank.

I used our slang to tell Neumann to stay out of the way and take charge of his area.

Then, instead of crossing, the opponent cut back and passed the ball to the central midfielder, and a trajectory was created.

You can tell just by looking at the motion. It’s a mid-range shot.

I held my breath and blocked it without much difficulty.

‘What the fuck.’

It hits the wrist and the ball spins around in place a few times. It was a bounce.

In these cases, most of the time you’ll get bounced off, but I was unlucky.

I opened my eyes wide and hurriedly picked it up again. There was a reason I couldn’t feel at ease even though I could see the trajectory.

Because it is a sport with so many variables, blocking the trajectory does not necessarily mean that the goal will be blocked.

I breathed a sigh of relief because if I hadn’t moved quickly, I would have been hit in the arm and almost scored.

“from now on!”

And then he threw the ball forward.

The timing of the opponent’s attack also meant that the opponent’s defense was relatively weak, and the ball was passed to Captain Fisher, who had no other players around him.

Still, I don’t think it will lead to a goal because the number of defenders is quite large, but at least the crisis has been overcome.

*

Hannover’s back three usually consists of Phil Neumann, Halstenberg, and Ariumby.

If we were to make a slight variation here, we could take Halstenberg out of the middle and have Corsic or Werner come in, but Werner is currently out of the starting lineup competition, so he is excluded.

This match was Phil Neumann-Korsic-Arimbi.

Phil Neumann was a generally good defender.

Trustworthy. It’s true that Neumann makes mistakes like this occasionally, but it’s really rare.

And Corsic in the center.

Corsic has had many defensive issues, and today he was in danger of conceding a goal due to his sluggish actions early on, but overall he was fine.

If he had been a mistake-prone player from the start, he would not have been selected by Yann for this important match.

I guess he’ll grow more and more as we play more games. Anyway, he’s my running mate for now.

Ariumbi was a black defender with dreadlocks, born in 2003, and holds dual German/British citizenship.

He is a promising prospect from Hannover, and the position of Hannover’s promising prospect responsible for the future is mine.

However, I am in a situation where not only Hannover but the whole of Europe is paying attention, so if I leave, I will naturally take on the role of Hannover’s shining prospect.

Even in a situation where Halstenberg and Corsic are competing for the starting position, the fact that he is occupying one of the three backs without any competition at such a young age shows that he is definitely a good defender.

Like Neumann, he was also a man you could trust.

I have never seen him make a mistake in a game we played together.

Ariumbi was generally not a big focus for the goalkeeper, which meant that he was performing his role appropriately.

And it was a competitive process on the central side.

The central side of the field during the first 30 minutes when a fierce battle for the ball was taking place.

Left midfielder Derek passed the ball back, and Ariumbi also turned back as soon as he received the ball and passed the ball.

Since it was a promised play during practice, I was also out to the edge of the penalty box.

The build-up process to receive the ball from Ariumbi and use a quick and accurate kick to push forward.

But the balls were misaligned.

Ariumbi’s left foot failed to hit the ball and hit the air, and Piccolo, who was there to check it, took the ball away.

And then he runs towards me.

‘It’s fucked.’

The first thought that came to my mind when I saw that Piccolo guy galloping like a wild horse was, he’s fucked.

I ran towards the goal, even turning my back, but there was no trace in the meantime.

And in front of me, I saw Machino standing in space without any restraint.

Phil Neumann and Corsic were running from a distance, but it looked like it would be over before they could catch up.

Any normal goalkeeper would have intuitively thought this was a hit. And they would have been internally swearing at Ari-eum-bi with all sorts of curses, insults, and perhaps even racist remarks.

But I didn’t have time for that.

Piccolo approached slowly. He didn’t give it to Machino. It seemed like he was going to handle it himself.

‘This kid?’

Even though I was pretty close, no trajectory was created. The guy looked back and forth between me and the ball, as if he was watching my movements until the end and trying to kick.

And the final generated trajectory.

Because the distance was close enough to be right next to Piccolo, I sat down as soon as the trajectory was created.

The guy boldly aimed for the spot between my legs.

But when I did a perfect butt flip, the ball popped into my groin, and I embraced it without hesitation and fell to the ground.

And then my peripheral vision, sound, etc., went completely dark. I took a deep breath and collected my thoughts.

‘These fucking Hannover defenders.’

How many times did you get through in this important game? And it was happening in turns.

Even Ariumbi, even you whom I trusted!

Two gold diggers are enough. If all three hundred people become gold diggers, no matter how much of a country we are, we can’t cover them.

“Kim. Thank you so much. Please know how much I love you. You are my soul brother, and I really······.”

Ariumbi’s rough, scraping voice.

It must be really hard for you to sprint while making a mistake and then immediately cover yourself with it and talk.

I said with a sigh.

“Let’s do well. I believe in you.”

“Of course, Kim!”

And when I suddenly raised my face, I saw my surroundings.

Machino is looking at me with a dejected expression. And Piccolo is lying face down inside the goal, breathing heavily.

Now that I think about it, it’s not the Dragon Ball combination that’s scary, it’s our defense that’s scarier. Stop breaking through, you 10-year-olds…

***

And the first half is over.

Holstein was a real threat in the first half.

The synergy between Dragon Ball and Hanover’s defense combined made it feel like we were filming a thriller movie rather than playing a match.

Hannover also had some opportunities to score as they were attack-oriented, but they were definitely less aggressive than Holstein.

At least Holstein’s defense was not as good as Hannover’s in this match.

Of course, it was natural for the coach to get very angry when he entered the locker room.

“You guys, you pros, you play defense like that!?”

Jan is pissed.

As the players came in and took a short break, Jan threw his board marker, screamed, and threw a wad of paper hard on the floor.

Oh my. Yan has something like that too.

I looked at Jan’s anger and thought deeply.

‘Well, if you didn’t have that much guts in the sports world, you wouldn’t have made it this far.’

Even the high school coach Yoo Jin-ho had a really bad personality, so how much more pressure would there be if he were the second division coach?

After focusing, analyzing and immersing myself in this one game for over a week, and considering that the game almost went down to a goal due to a series of defensive mistakes, Jan’s reaction didn’t seem like an overreaction.

If it was Yoo Jin-ho, it would have been the chair that flew away instead of the board marker.

The players were speechless and downcast at Yan’s anger, but if it had been Yoo Jin-ho instead of Yan, they might have been terrified.

“Do you think Hannover fans pay a lot of money to come to the stadium to see you play like this?”

Jan’s anger lasted quite a while.

If the head coach hadn’t been there to stop him, he probably would have just been angry throughout the halftime and then went into the second half.

***

Machino wiped the sweat off his body with a towel and drank water. When he rewinds his memory and looks back on the first half, it was full of regrets.

‘I definitely should have put it in.’

45 minutes.

During that time, which was short if it was short and long if it was long, there were more scoring opportunities than expected.

And each time, that opportunity was lost.

80% of it is due to the goalkeeper’s saves.

20% is thanks to the performance of the defenders.

The central defenders were particularly irritating.

Croatian defender wearing number 32.

For the first 10 minutes of the first half, it felt like they couldn’t get a handle on it, but after that, they blocked the front with decent defense and squandered shooting opportunities.

“The goalkeeper is better than I thought. Don’t you think so?”

When he turned his head, it was his partner, Pickler. Machino nodded slightly in agreement.

“Watching the opponent’s movements until the very end and then kicking. I don’t know if that will work. I already tried that once and it was blocked.”

“But when that kind of situation arises, it’s better to accept the coaches’ advice. After all, that’s the conclusion that the coaches and manager came to after racking their brains.”

“Next time you get a chance, why don’t you pass it to me, Pickler?”

“Ah. Our last chance? Hehe. Okay. Of course I thought you could make it.”

In the first half, unfortunately, we didn’t score a goal, but the feeling was good. We couldn’t score a goal because of the goalkeeper’s performance, but it feels like we can score in the second half?

“Knock and the door will be opened to you…”

Machino muttered quietly.

Matthew 7:7.

Although Machino did not believe in Jesus, he took those words to heart as he came to Europe.

I have been active only in Japan, but when I knocked on the door of Europe, the door of Germany opened wide, and when I knocked on the doors of other clubs, the goal gates opened wide, and I have experienced countless instances where this happened.

This goalkeeper is stronger than you can imagine, but he will eventually open up. If he doesn’t open up, he will force it open and score.

That’s how Machino’s career went, and that mindset ultimately paid off.

‘Kim. Will we meet again at the Olympics?’

I’ll become more famous and better in the future, so I should apply for a uniform exchange after this match.

Machino, who smiled awkwardly, focused on the changing tactics for the second half.

Coach Holstein was looking at his players with a burning gaze, moving his tactical words around with an agitated expression on his face, checking to see if they were paying attention.

If you make a mistake here, you’ll get yelled at, so you have to concentrate. Or at least pretend to.

***

While Hannover were locked in a fierce battle at home to Holstein, the other teams tied on points were also struggling for a win in the final round.

“please.”

49 minutes in the second half.

Throw-in situation.

A Hamburg player throws the ball into the penalty box in one go.

And the players were gathered in the middle of the penalty box, arguing and bickering.

The Hamburg manager put both hands on his head and watched eagerly.

And the chaotic situation.

“Hey, hey, hey, hey─!”

The Volksparkstadion erupted in thunderous applause as Laszlo Benes finally scored a goal.

And the stadium is buzzing.

“Yaaaaaaah!”

Early in the second half, Hamburg took the lead 1-0 against Nuremberg.

The manager, coaches, and reserve players all hugged each other without saying who would go first and rejoiced.

And the rankings are reversed.

The commentators watched the exciting match and updated the changed rankings.

“Okay, now the rankings have been reversed! Hamburg has jumped up to first place, while Hannover and Jean Pauli have dropped down to second and third!”

“Hamburg finished third last year and failed to qualify for the play-offs. They have no intention of repeating that mistake this season!”

“The top of the Bundesliga 2 is in turmoil. Hamburg is the first to strike!”

And then changed location to Behen’s home stadium.

St. Pauli were having a tough time in their last crucial game away to Wehen.

Behen was a team that was confirmed to be relegated to the third division this season, and it was their last match in the second division.

He was pushing Jean Pauli hard as if he couldn’t lose a game at home.

“Coach. I have news that Hamburg has scored first. The current ranking is Hamburg first, Hannover second, and we are third.”

“Fuck.”

Jean Pauli’s coaching staff all watched the game with dark faces at the devastating news.

The last match was considered to be the easiest match among the recent matches, and I thought I would be able to easily get 3 points, but far from that, it seemed like I wouldn’t even be able to get 1 point.

Although the players are fighting hard, soccer is a sport that relies on the flow, so once the flow has flowed to Behen, it is not easy to change it.

If things continued this way, it seemed like we would end up giving up the first goal.

“We need to prepare for a substitution. Get Darnell and Connor ready.”

“Okay, Director.”

As the bench area was briefly in disarray, the situation changed abruptly.

It was Jean Pauli’s counterattack.

A corner kick situation was neatly blocked and Jean Pauli went up like crazy.

Defensive number 3. Offensive number 3.

The manager watched the situation as it quickly turned around while he was discussing tactics with the coaches.

The winger ran straight ahead without passing to the periphery and then fired a sharp long pass into the centre of the penalty box.

The two defenders were close together but not close together, and striker Andreas Albers neatly put the ball in with one touch.

The right net ripples slightly in response to the clean and classic counterattack.

The noisy stadium suddenly fell into silence.

Be that as it may, Jean Pauli’s bench is······.

“Waaaaaaaaaah!”

The rankings are reversed again.

Another commentator who was broadcasting the game quickly reported the change in rankings along with the goal situation.

“The rankings change again! This time Jean Pauli takes the lead! Jean Pauli moves up to first place, and Hamburg drops one place! If things continue this way, Hannover will advance to the playoffs!”

“Jean Pauli answers with a goal shortly after Hamburg scores! Now it’s Hannover’s turn to respond!”

The broadcast team shouted.

Answer me Hanover.

And the situation in Hanover is…

ⓒ Doctor Am