Shooting Trajectory is Visible - Chapter 99



Only Krnovel

=======================================================

The commentators broadcasting the Korea vs. France match commentated on the match with somewhat serious expressions and subdued voices.

“Ah······ I definitely expected it to be a difficult match, but the gap is bigger than I thought. This is already the fifth valid shot.”

“If the goalkeeper wasn’t Kim Min-woo, we would have already conceded two goals. Kim Min-woo showed off his iron-clad defense in the Bundesliga 2nd division, but he looks like he’s having a really hard time in this match because the opponent is different.”

“Yes···.”

However, it wasn’t a completely mournful atmosphere. They were being attacked by France and there were several instances where the defense collapsed like a poorly constructed mansion, but the score was still 0:0.

Anxious 0:0.

A performance that looks like France could score at any time.

Watching this match, Kim Shin-a felt ‘nervous’ for the first time in a long time.

When I watched a game with Kim Min-woo as goalkeeper, I felt confident that no matter what happened, nothing would go wrong, but this game······.

“Are you going to score your first goal? Dad? What do you think?”

“Our Minwoo is good, but the defense around him is weak…”

“I admit that.”

After a long time, Shin-ah was sitting in front of the TV with her father, watching the game.

Dad had beer with chicken, and I had Coke Zero.

I tried drinking soju after being urged to drink alcohol given by adults, but seriously, it felt like drinking alcohol used in science class, so I took a sip and didn’t even touch it to my lips. The beer was also tasteless.

So what’s important now is.

“This match is going to be really tough, isn’t it?”

It was about the game.

Today’s game was really tough for my brother for the first time in a long time. I can’t even remember how long it’s been since I’ve seen him like that.

“It’s not strange if we concede a goal at any time. Our Minwoo is still great. His position is goalkeeper, so it’s about time he concedes a goal. The opponent is France.”

Her father was rambling on and on, probably because he was drunk. Shin-ah didn’t agree.

“But if I’m going to do it, I want to become a legend. A goalkeeper who retired without allowing a single goal during his professional debut… I’m going to create a Minwoo Award, not a Yashin Award.”

“Shina. Ottosan, we’re all out of beer. Let’s go.”

“what?”

Dad shaking his empty beer. Shin-ah was about to say something, but decided to understand since it was his father who had a hard time living in society.

And then, without saying a word, he got up from his seat, took out a can of beer from the fridge, and brought it to me.

“We’re eating chicken comfortably, but I feel a little sorry for you, oppa…”

Even now, Kim Min-woo on the screen was coordinating his movements while swearing at the defenders. The goalkeeper looks comfortable on the outside, but after watching this game, it doesn’t seem to be the case.

“Hey. If Dad gets 6 billion, he’ll tap dance over there and play goalkeeper.”

“If Dad were the goalkeeper, he would have conceded 6 goals in 5 minutes and been substituted?”

“That’s true. Hehe.”

After a long time, Shin-ah and her father laughed hahahohoho.

By the way, your annual salary is 6 billion won.

How surprised I was when I first heard it.

I remembered the excitement I had when I first heard the news.

I remember her saying she wanted to be my brother’s maid or his exclusive manager.

If it had been in front of me, it would have been quite annoying.

At that moment, the commentator on the screen raises his voice.

“Griezmann to Kylian Mbappe!”

“You have to stick together! You have to stick together!”

The situation on screen was dire.

The French players broke down the defense by linking up like Brazilian samba football (this has happened several times already) and Mbappe faced his brother with an unmarked chance. And Mbappe’s shot flew to the right.

“Wow!”

It was a shot that made me scream the moment I saw it.

What was really fortunate was that the ball hit Kim Min-woo’s fingertips and the angle was wrong, so it hit the goal post instead of the net and went out of bounds.

“Kim Min-woo! It’s Kim Min-woo! It’s Kim Min-woo again!”

“Kim Min-woo has made an incredible save for the umpteenth time in this game!”

Killian Mbappe was now opening his mouth wide and screaming in frustration, while Kim Min-woo was also shouting at the defense that had been irresponsibly breached.

“A monster with incredible strength. A strong and courageous person···.”

The small ship called Korea was rocking back and forth as if it was going to sink after encountering the waves called France, but it was barely able to maintain its balance thanks to the excellent helmsman.

Shin-ah didn’t know how long it would last, but she hoped that Kim Min-woo wouldn’t fall apart.

But still, he’s my real older brother.

***

Sweat dripped down in thick drops.

The French offensive was terrifying.

And in the meantime,

‘Coming!’

Mbappe’s right foot fires back.

And then a lightning-like cannon shot flies into the goal.

The trajectory appeared so late that I had to fly almost by instinct.

‘town!’

We have once again blocked an unknown number of French offensives.

I hugged the ball and took a moment to catch my breath.

‘Was soccer such a scary sport?’

The shots were so fast and powerful that I was honestly scared every time a cannonball shot flew.

I wanted to pretend not to react or dodge the shots that were being fired at me like crazy, but I couldn’t.

I was afraid of the power of that enormous ball, but somehow I managed to block it.

‘But if you block it wrong, you could break your nose.’

If you can’t block it with your hand and instead block it with your face, it’s no exaggeration to say that it’ll at least cause a nosebleed. If you get hit in the eye by mistake, it’ll cause blindness.

I got up from my seat and looked around for a moment. The coaching staff was shouting something as if they were frustrated, and the players were either going back to their seats or coming up to me to say a few words of encouragement, telling me I did well.

‘The time is now···.’

I checked the time on the scoreboard and saw that the first half was just past 35 minutes. If I just hold on a little longer, the hellish first half will be over.

I let out a sigh of relief and sent the ball far away. Park Seung-ho caught it and Korea’s attack began after a long time. Is it the first attack or something?

Anyway, Korea, which had been passing the ball back and forth for quite some time in the French camp, handed the initiative back to the opponent and started a half-court game.

‘Fuck.’

Eternal suffering. Eternal suffering…

***

“There are people like that.”

Thierry Henry gaped at the opposing goalkeeper Kim, who had already blocked his ninth effective shot.

The trio of Kylian Mbappe, Antoine Griezmann and Kingsley Coman have taken the French Olympic team to the next level.

It was like that last game, and it’s like that this game too.

Their attack power was on a different level from other teams.

It was a given, as all three wildcards are world-class attackers.

So, if it were other teams, they would have scored at least two or three goals by now.

The opponents are also age-based national teams, so they are much weaker than the existing A national team. But.

‘If I make a mistake, I’ll end up in a swamp.’

With not a single goal scored, the French national team was going too aggressively on the offensive even though it was only the first half.

When the opponent had the ball, they pressured them from all sides and stole the ball back, and they continued to increase the tempo of the game, preventing the opponent from following this flow.

Up to this point it has been 100% successful.

And if you’ve made it this far, the next step is naturally to reach the goal.

It was just like a mathematical formula.

If the opposing defense can’t keep up with our offense and gives us space to continue to break through, then it’s time for a shot, and no matter how well the goalkeeper blocks it, one of them is bound to go in.

But this match was different.

‘Damn. Is it because I’m lucky or because this is one of those days that only comes once in a player’s career? Why are you blocking so well?’

I already knew that Kim was good at blocking.

We analyzed it and figured out a way to break through it.

And the internal meeting concluded that no matter how much Kim is there, he can’t stop us.

The triangle of Mbappe, Griezmann, and Coman was an attacking force that no country participating in the Olympics could stop.

But Kim, an 18-year-old goalkeeper, was blocking them all. Should we call it a miracle? Or is it a tactical issue?

‘It’s not a matter of tactics. We are overwhelming Korea.’

But the ball just didn’t go in.

France needed three points.

If they fail to catch Korea, the problem of managerial ability could be raised.

I was planning to use this Olympics as a starting point to signal the revival of my career as a leader, but it would have been difficult if things had gone wrong from the group stage.

‘I failed in Monaco, so if I fail here too…’

Like Klinsgel, who was recently cut from the Korean national team, his coaching career could have been very messed up.

That won’t work.

‘The second half will be important. If we pour so much resources into the first half and there are no results, the second half could actually be a dangerous situation.’

The French players, who had been ordered to slow down the tempo a bit, played the rest of the game rather sluggishly, and that was how the first half ended.

It was a situation where Korea held out precariously despite France’s pressure.

However, Henry had no intention of being satisfied with a draw, so he went into the locker room determined to reorganize the second half.

***

Coach Choi Yong-seok came into the locker room and got extremely angry. The reason was that the players did not follow the bench’s orders, but since it didn’t apply to me, I was busy catching my breath and drinking water.

‘By the way, originally, Yoo Jin-ho was in that position. I’m not used to seeing Yoo Jin-ho stopping me…’

“Coach You! Tactic Board!”

Coach Choi, who had been grumbling for a while, ordered me to bring the tactical board. It felt like times had changed. When I was at Suyang High School, Yoo Jin-ho had ordered me to bring it…

Yoo Jin-ho placed the tactical board in front of the players so that they could all see it. Coach Choi spoke loudly about the tactical changes that would take place in the second half.

“Before I say anything, the coach apologizes for getting excited just now. It wasn’t because you guys failed. It was the coach’s tactical failure. Do you understand?”

silence.

If you blame the players for a long time and now say it’s not true, who would nod their head?

‘But it is true that it is the player’s fault.’

The national team’s performance in the first half was truly the worst ever. There may have been tactical issues, but beyond that, there were definitely issues with the players as they were attacked.

“The second half will start with the three backs and double bolantes. Huh?”

Coach Choi Yong-seok’s hands moving the tactical board here and there. The first half’s formation of 3-4-2-1 with three backs and double bolantes to strengthen the central defense was transformed into a slightly different formation by Coach Choi’s hands that change things up here and there.

“Three hundred is as it is, one bolante. And···.”

The tactical board indicated an attacking 3-1-4-2.

Three defenders. One defensive midfielder. Two central midfielders, two left and right midfielders. And two forwards.

The layout was slightly tilted forward, which seemed very aggressive, even though there was no explanation for it.

“Did you guys feel it too? It’s inevitable that we’ll get flanked by those French guys. Our defenders and Minwoo will have to shoulder some of the burden.”

The reason the tactics changed like a switch in the blink of an eye is probably because Korea was beaten beyond expectations in the first half.

Even Director Choi thought, “This is a bit…”

So in the second half, we went for an attacking tactic like turning the palm of your hand over, and in defensive situations, the left and right midfielders from the three backs act as fullbacks, and the 3-1-4-2 suddenly changes to a 5-1-2-2.

Coach Choi emphasized that if the midfielders in charge of the wings are unable to return, the one volante should be inserted into the back four and the left and right midfielders should be inserted into the two volantes to change to a 4-2-2-2.

It was complicated, but the players all nodded because players who can’t even understand these tactics won’t be able to survive in the professional scene.

“Everyone. I have just one thing to say. If we end the game like this, we won’t have the face to face with our people. I hope you run until you die.”

The atmosphere was gloomy. I guess it means that everyone was not satisfied with the performance in the first half. I am not the type to be the first to step up and do things like this, but since I am the youngest in the team, I closed my eyes and jumped out of my seat to lead the atmosphere.

“It’s still 0:0! Let’s go!”

“···Okay! Let’s go!”

The players belatedly made up their minds.

“You want to exempt me from military service? What are you all doing? If we don’t catch France, we won’t be exempt from military service.”

“That won’t do!”

Park Seung-ho’s cry.

Since he was a senior who had been very active in the military, we all laughed out loud.

Yeah. The mood is finally starting to liven up a bit.

The players also cheered as the score was still 0:0.

“Let’s do it!”

*

And the second half that follows.

Just as the tactics changed, the game’s dynamic also changed.

In the first half, France was just slamming Korea with their fists, but in the second half, Korea raised the line high as soon as it started.

Dare you raise the line against France?

The 50,000 French spectators watching the match naturally expected French revenge to follow.

It is expected that they will steal the ball like in the first half and attack the Korean goal.

Boohoo-!

And then Lee Kang-im’s mid-range shot.

It hit the goalkeeper’s hand and marked Korea’s first effective shot.

The crowd applauded the goalkeeper’s save, but I, watching from the opposite goal, just smiled.

‘It feels different?’

And that’s not all.

The following corner kick.

And the continued attacks on Korea.

A question mark appeared above the heads of the French spectators watching as the flow of attack showed no signs of stopping.

Now, it’s time for France to start punishing this arrogant Korea, but it’s not showing any sign of doing so.

Rather, Korea continued to launch attacks as if it had been waiting for this moment.

France was flustered by Korea’s sudden attack and was unable to mount a counterattack, continuing to allow shooting opportunities.

And after a long time, France takes the ball and counterattacks.

Coman broke through the flank and quickly advanced, passing a through pass into the space in front of Mbappe, who was running along.

It was a dangerous situation with not many defenders as they were pouring in attacks, but central defender Lee Jin-seop intercepted the ball in the middle and passed it to me short to overcome the crisis.

“yes!”

After receiving the ball, I kicked it forward, laughing at Mbappe who kept running towards me.

This time, Park Seung-ho received it with his heart.

“Brother Jinseop! Nice!”

Lee Jin-seop smiles and gives a thumbs up.

I also responded with a like.

How much does it cost for one serving, bro?

End

ⓒ Doctor Am