Shooting Trajectory is Visible - Chapter 98



Only Krnovel

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“I know that France, as the host country, is aiming for the gold medal, but Korea is also a team that has made it through the competition in Asia. It is not a country to be taken lightly, and there is no guarantee of victory in soccer, but France is showing that it has already won before the game even starts.”

At those words, the smiles disappeared from Mbappe and Henry’s faces. But the German reporter did not stop talking.

“France seems to be acting like this because they couldn’t see Kim’s save right in front of their eyes, but Korea is a country that defeated Ukraine 2:0, who defeated France 3:1 in the European qualifiers. Can’t you show a little more seriousness?”

The French reporters next to them frowned at the German reporter who was pouring cold water on the banquet as if he was looking at a virus.

The press conference, which had been full of cheerful atmosphere, quickly became as cold as an ice rink, and manager Thierry Henry used his long career in football to calm the mood.

“I know. Korea is definitely not an easy team. I expect it to be an even tougher match because we have Kim, who has kept 18 clean sheets.”

Thierry Henry frowned briefly as if that wasn’t enough and added:

“We will not repeat the mistakes Germany made.”

It was a backlash against Germany’s 2:0 loss to Korea in the World Cup.

Then, the French reporters burst into applause, and the German reporter raised his hand to say a few more words, but Mbappe gave the interview opportunity to the German reporter, and he had to leave bitterly without saying anything until the end of the press conference.

***

The war of nerves between the French national team and German reporters just before the match was also relayed to the Korean national team.

These days, information is so fast and sensitive that news spreads in an instant.

At that moment, the players were busy in the locker room, changing their uniforms and tying their shoelaces. Yoo Jin-ho relayed this news to me and the national team and shouted it out loud, as if he wanted everyone to hear it.

“Kim Min-woo! Mbappe ignored you, are you going to stay still?”

“···Should I run over and hit the back of your head?”

“You bastard! Don’t do that! We need to give France a real beating! It’s not just Kim Min-woo. They’re completely ignoring our national team. Are you guys going to stay still?”

This time, Yoo Jin-ho’s eyes turned to the entire national team. Each player raised his voice.

“Let’s catch a chicken (the symbol of the French national team)!”

“George!”

“Let’s go catch France!”

I looked at Yoo Jin-ho with mystical eyes. Was it something that had been suppressed for so long that had burst out? Yoo Jin-ho was stepping forward as if he was reminding me of his days at Suyang High School.

“Are you all ready to turn the tables?”

“evil!”

What’s this all of a sudden? Is this the military?

Oh, there are quite a few soldiers on the national team…

“Is this all you can say? Louder!”

“evil!”

At that moment, Director Choi interrupted with a smile. Director Choi tapped Yoo Jin-ho on the shoulder as if telling him to calm down, and only then did Yoo Jin-ho, who realized his position, shut his mouth.

“Okay. Calm down, everyone. If you get excited, you’ll lose. It sucks that these French brats ignore us, but times like these require us to stay calm. Okay!”

“evil!”

“Stop whining, kids. Keep your hearts hot. Keep your heads cool. Huh? Our goal today is a draw! One counter attack! Huh?”

Coach Choi used terms he had created and scribbled on the tactics board he had brought.

“We’re going for one shot, this is it. It’s a poison dart strategy. The more the opponent struggles to score a goal against us, the higher the line will rise. So what?”

“It’s a counterattack!”

It’s a strategy we’ve heard countless times before.

If we crouch down from the beginning of the game, France will pull up the line and take the reins of the attack, and we will seize the opportunity in that desperate situation.

As always, opportunities in life come from crises. Soccer was no exception. That was Coach Choi’s strategy.

“What if they score just one goal? Those French bastards are going to self-destruct.”

Well, Director, will that work out as planned?

France is a team that can break through our defense four times and still have room to play…

‘I should fill in what’s lacking.’

I smiled as I put on my goalkeeper gloves. It was a real showdown with a world-class player. It was definitely fun to feel my heart pounding. My thighs were shaking a little, which made me nervous.

“Is everyone ready? Minwoo. Are you ready? You are the most important.”

Director Choi looks at me intently. I nod slightly.

“I’m 100% ready, Director!”

“okay.”

“Let’s go~!”

Park Seung-ho shouted a catchphrase from an old movie and left the locker room.

The whole world will be expecting a French victory, but just like in 2018 and 2022, the Korean national team has always shined when least expected.

Now was the moment.

‘Beat the host country and just advance to the tournament in first place~’

*

The second match for host nation France was held at the Parc des Princes.

The home stadium of Paris Saint-Germain, captained by Kylian Mbappe. And the stadium most familiar to the French national team.

In addition, almost all of the 50,000 seats were blue waves cheering only for France.

It was a bit discouraging to start the game with two home advantage goals before it even started, but we entered the stadium in a good mood.

“Hyung Kang-im! I’ll trust you because this is your stadium!”

When I joked around like that, Lee Kang-im made a face like he was being teased.

“I only trust you?”

As I tilted my head for a moment, Lee Kang-im smiled brightly and tapped me on the head.

And we lined up with the children. Then the national anthem was played.

The national anthem resonating in Paris, France.

The national team players, including me, sang the national anthem at the top of our lungs.

It was a ritual we had done in the first match against the United States, but it felt more special because it was against an opponent.

And then the French national anthem.

The national anthem sung by a crowd of nearly 50,000 people was certainly magnificent. It was a feeling that my heart was completely broken before the game.

‘I haven’t even kicked off yet and I’ve already built 3 stacks…’

Is this home advantage?

Also, since they are the host country, I think the referee will be more lenient towards France.

And then it’s time to shake hands with the opposing team.

I shook hands with the French national team players who were passing by, staring intently at them.

Especially Kylian Mbappe who wore the captain’s armband.

And Antoine Griezmann.

And Kingsley Coman.

And overall, there are other French players who are much stronger than the Koreans.

‘There will come a day when I concede a goal and lose the game because of it, but I hope it won’t be today. Please…’

I’m a rookie who can’t even hand out business cards to Mbappe, but please, God of Heaven and Earth. Football Manager. Please help me just this once.

Every time Mbappe takes a shot, hit the post. Every time Griezmann takes a shot, miss. Every time Coman takes a shot, fit him in my arms…

After a brief moment of consciousness, I ran to the goal.

It was when I was about to run.

“Hey! Minwoo! Where are you going!”

Park Seung-ho’s call. Oops.

I went into the circle where the national team was gathered and performed the real ceremony.

To sum it up, the national team’s consciousness was like this.

“For military exemption! Uratcha!”

“Uratcha!”

The slogan has become more appealing···.

*

And the second match against France began.

Korea beats the US and wins 1 game.

France beat Egypt to win 1-0.

Whichever country wins, a win here will secure their place in the tournament.

If Korea were to beat France, that is, win with a clear performance, they would go beyond being a dark horse in the tournament and become a contender for the championship.

‘Okay. Not bad.’

I gulped and watched the game unfold.

At the very beginning of the game, things weren’t bad.

Rather, it was tense.

Of course, that’s natural.

Originally, at the beginning of the game, both players would check each other’s bodies.

If you rush in like a madman as soon as you see the ball, you’re very likely to get counterattacked.

France and Korea had a scouting match to get to know each other, and exactly 5 minutes after the start of the match, France ended the scouting match.

What does that mean?

“Jinseop! Jinseop!”

I found you again.

Yeah, I knew we were at a disadvantage and I expected to get beat up, but I didn’t expect it to happen 5 minutes into the game.

It was the real start of the Bancourt match.

France naturally pulled their line deep and started to take on the typical appearance of a strong team beating up a weak team.

Knock. Knock. Drumroll.

After a few passes, almost like tiki-taka, the Korean defense was completely broken through. I was momentarily bewildered, wondering if the tactics I had practiced so diligently could be broken through so easily.

However, Lee Jin-seop displayed a high level of concentration and blocked the front, and Mbappe attempted a bold shot with Lee Jin-seop next to him.

‘Fuck!’

My body moved with a squeak. The ball flew far away thanks to the punch I barely blocked, and I saw Lee Kang-im catch it and kick it away with all his might.

“Good job Minwoo!”

Lee Jin-seop laughed brightly, but I didn’t.

‘First-class is different.’

I gritted my teeth and got up from my seat.

Certainly, it’s different.

The speed of the shot, the strength of the shot, the timing of the shot, the way he penetrates and hits, etc., everything was different from the players I had played against before.

I could tell the difference in class with just one try.

Not only that, the ‘trajectory’ was also a problem.

‘It’s too late to come out.’

The shooting trajectory is completely visible.

But Mbappe’s shot trajectory appears too late.

If it were other players, they would have come out quite leisurely before hitting, but Mbappe’s shot feels like it comes out 0.2 seconds before hitting?

‘0.2 seconds is too short for a person to react.’

I had been a goalkeeper for over a year, trained hard, and had improved my stats so much that I could barely react. If it had been before my pro debut or early in my pro debut, I probably wouldn’t have been able to react to that attack just now.

‘It feels like the improved Yashin’s eyes that I received after my pro debut have returned to their original state···.’

Let’s wake up.

This is really hard.

No, even if I come to my senses, I have a feeling I’ll definitely score at least one goal.

‘At this point, luck has to be on your side.’

I held my pounding head, but I had no time to think.

France, who had caught the kicked ball again, was slowly rising again.

“Don’t take charge of space, just stick to it!”

I have always told my fellow players not to stick to the opponent when defending and to take charge of their assigned space.

If they enter your area, take them away, otherwise defend the position.

Anyway, I could see the trajectory, I could stop it if I just reacted, and it was much better that way than just sticking around and creating variables.

But this game won’t work.

The defense must stick.

We need to stop them from hitting us.

Defensive cooperation was extremely important.

And Kingsley Coman moves.

Kingsley Coman, who played on the left wing in this match, was a player on a completely different level from Mudrique, who played last time.

The incredible speed that makes him a top player in the Bundesliga.

Not only is his acceleration so fast that you wonder if he’s really human, but he also has crazy dribbling skills that crush his opponents.

‘Fuck. Fuck!’

And then the nose started to kick in.

Coach Choi’s defensive tactics were collapsing like a tower built on sand.

That’s what it looked like to my eyes.

If I tap it a few times, the side collapses. Is this correct?

Coman seemed to have gained confidence and coolly cut through the flank, breaking through Seol Young-woo and Park Seung-ho before hitting a cool shot from mid-range and close range towards the goal.

It was a shot that missed the goal, so I only reacted slightly with my upper body, but it was a chilling attack.

If Coman had not been greedy and passed the ball to a nearby player, he would have had another valid shot.

I received the ball from the ball boy, sweating profusely, and prepared to take a goal kick.

‘Brother Jinseop. Didn’t you say that you have to try to find out if something is long or short?’

It was just over 7 minutes into the first half, but it was clear.

We are short.

They are Yeoui-bong.

but······.

‘If we keep a clean sheet in this game, our stats will really go up, right?’

Suddenly, I had that thought.

I wonder if they will be able to continue their 18-game clean sheet streak by gaining a lot of experience from this Olympics and then somehow finishing in the top three and returning to the Bundesliga.

‘Oh, God of Heaven and Earth. Please···.’

I didn’t trust our defense.

Seeing Coman tearing the side, I think it would be better to trust the deep grass.

So I kicked the goal and prayed to the heavens.

Please, just give me some luck with the goal posts for this game.

End

ⓒ Doctor Am