2nd Episode of the Genius Soccer Coach - Chapter 191



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Episode 191 What’s Important Now (1)

The day after the first leg of the Champions League.

The players gathered at the training center focused on recovery training.

Since the second match was held in a week, the priority was to relieve the accumulated fatigue in my body.

Then, Hyunwoo saw De Bruyne blankly staring at the sky.

“What’s going on?”

“yes?”

“Because you seem to have a lot on your mind.”

“ah.”

De Bruyne waved his hand as if it was no big deal.

“I wonder who will win the Ballon d’Or this season….”

“Hmm.”

Hyunwoo, with his arms crossed, thought of the names of players who were active this season.

‘Did Modric originally receive it?’

The 2010s were originally a time when Messi and Ronaldo split the Ballon d’Or.

Among the rivalries between the gods, the only person to win the Ballon d’Or was Modric.

‘Now that I think about it… .’

Looking closely at De Bruyne’s complexion, there was a strange sense of anticipation.

“Why? Because you thought you could receive it?”

“No, that’s not it.”

De Bruyne, who had been trying hard to deny it, soon nodded his head in agreement.

“…Actually, I’m looking forward to it.”

“That makes sense.”

This season, Messi and Ronaldo have not been able to stand out.

On the other hand, Barnett are challenging for an undefeated league title and treble.

That overwhelming performance was largely due to Salah and De Bruyne, so it was quite possible.

“That’s why I’ve been so conscious of Sala lately.”

“….”

“Isn’t it a bit ugly? Keeping your teammates in check… I think it’s pathetic as a captain.”

De Bruyne with a self-deprecating smile.

But Hyunwoo didn’t really care.

“Of course you should be aware of it. But apart from that, you’re acting like a professional, right? You’re not even trying to hold back and not pass the ball to Sala.”

“….”

“…No?”

“….”

De Bruyne’s face turned red, even though he didn’t overdo the training.

‘Should I watch the replay?’

Whatever he thought, in Hyunwoo’s view, there had never been a match in which such conflict had been revealed.

‘Sala doesn’t seem to care much.’

Mohamed was only interested in scoring goals as a forward. He wasn’t the type to be obsessed with records.

“Director.”

“huh?”

“If you had a vote, who would you vote for?”

“I both.”

“That’s impossible.”

De Bruyne stares as if he can’t believe it.

But in Hyunwoo’s opinion, it wouldn’t have been strange for either of them to receive it.

Barnett’s overwhelming performance was possible because of Bruyne’s ability to assemble the game in midfield and Salah’s ability to finish reliably based on that advantage.

However, as you can see from the list of Ballon d’Or winners, it is true that forwards have an advantage over midfielders.

It is true that records such as scores remain in people’s minds more than the content of the game.

“But it’s not like there’s no way.”

“…?”

“You said people focus on records, right? And records aren’t just about scores.”

“But assists are less valuable than goals. They also vary depending on the record.”

Hyunwoo shook his head.

“I’m not talking about assists, I’m talking about the performance of the team I belong to. And this summer is a festival for soccer players that comes around every four years.”

“…no way!?”

“Yeah. There’s the World Cup.”

The Ballon d’Or award is awarded based on a majority vote by journalists.

While club performance is important, performance as a national team member is equally important.

Wasn’t the reason Modric won the Ballon d’Or right away because he had a good performance in the World Cup with Croatia?

Another example is the case of Jorginho, who won the Euros and the Champions League with Italy and Chelsea, respectively, and has been on the podium.

‘Be careful, after all.’

Unlike De Bruyne, who is playing for Belgium at the World Cup, Salah’s status as an Egyptian player will be a hindrance to his progress.

Although they qualified for the regional qualifiers, Egypt’s squad was not good enough to perform in an international tournament like the World Cup.

“But you are different. Because you belong to Belgium.”

Belgium is currently considered to be the golden generation team.

There’s De Bruyne, who is a key player for Barnet, Hazard who has devilish talent, and Lukaku who is experiencing discord with the team but is said to be on the rise.

‘… There’s also Courtois who doesn’t get along with De Bruyne.’

With Chelsea’s Belgian connection and De Bruyne stepping up, it’s not impossible that they could do well at the World Cup.

“Director.”

“huh?”

“If we win the championship undefeated and achieve a treble this time, wouldn’t that mean I’ve done everything I can as a club manager?”

“yes?”

“What about the Belgian team coach?”

“What are you talking about, Kevin….”

“Aren’t you also greedy for a career that includes winning the World Cup?”

When I looked at him, thinking he was joking, Kevin’s face was serious.

He is constantly complaining about current Belgian manager Roberto Martinez.

“They’re going to use Hazard, so they’re going to put me in the defensive midfielder position, and there’s no specific tactic… I don’t like the player list either. If it were before, I wouldn’t have thought much about it, but after playing under the coach, I realized how incompetent he is.”

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“But I can’t take up the position when the World Cup is only three months away, right?”

“That’s true too….”

Kevin lowers his head as if he has given up.

“By the way, why are you so obsessed with the Ballon d’Or?”

“yes?”

“Even if you don’t win the Ballon d’Or, there’s no way anyone can deny that you are the best midfielder.”

Kevin looked at Hyunwoo’s question as if he found it ridiculous.

“It’s all because the director is blowing wind into it.”

“huh?”

“When the manager recruited me, he said I had enough talent to win the Ballon d’Or.”

‘…Was it like that?’

Actually, at that time, I felt like I said anything to recruit Deokbae. My memory was vague.

Unlike Hyunwoo, Kevin seems to have kept it in his heart.

“At first, I thought he was just saying that. I thought it would be nice to just play in the Champions League. But as the things the coach said came true one by one, I started to get greedy.”

“….”

“More than anything, it is an honorable award that every soccer player desires. Don’t you have any such goals, coach?”

“The goal is….”

Hyunwoo’s goal had long since been achieved.

It’s about establishing an absolute position in the club.

And at a time when he had achieved the treble and raised the club’s status, no one could mess with him.

After a moment of hesitation and a delay in reply, De Bruyne spoke with conviction.

“I guess you want to be remembered as the greatest soccer coach ever? If so, you should prove it by taking the post of Belgium coach….”

“Arthur. I’ll be staying in Barnett for at least five years.”

“That’s too bad.”

“And if I become the national team coach, which coach do you plan on playing for in the future?”

“That’s true too.”

Hyunwoo smiled as he looked at De Bruyne in disappointment.

Anyway, isn’t it about evaluating yourself highly?

There’s no way I could feel bad.

“…Then what are you going to do during the World Cup?”

“Well? Maybe we can have a beer and watch TV to analyze it? See if there are any good players.”

“The coach’s greed for players is endless.”

“When you become a leader later, you will understand how I feel.”

‘Come to think of it, the World Cup is just around the corner.’

I heard from my agent that there has been a flood of inquiries from Korean companies recently.

Ahead of the World Cup, in order to recruit Hyunwoo as an advertising model.

Of course, Hyunwoo, who was not financially lacking, refused all requests.

However, there was one proposal that piqued my curiosity.

‘You said you wanted to be a temporary commentator, right?’

It looked fun, but I put it on hold because the season wasn’t over yet.

Hyunwoo, who was lost in thought for a moment, soon tapped Kevin.

“It’s not too late to think about the Ballon d’Or after the season is over.”

“Yes.”

“For now, focus on the Champions League that is right in front of you.”

There was a certain determination in De Bruyne’s eyes as he nodded.

* * *

The second leg of the Champions League semi-finals at Barnet’s home ground.

Despite the close first leg, Barnett recorded a big win over Munich.

The content of the game was not overwhelming.

Munich’s players showed decent offensive development through promised plays.

However, Lewandowski and Muller, who have been in poor form recently, have been missing good chances.

Barnett’s players managed to convert this into a goal.

The actual XG values ​​were comparable.

― Has Kim ever shown this much respect for an opposing coach?

― Kim was also a coach under Klopp. There seems to be a German hegemony.

― Heynckes, Tuchel, Klopp, Kim, Löw… Are they German products that you trust and use?

– Kim is Korean?

Despite the defeat, Bundesliga fans are looking forward to next season as they threatened Barnet.

English football fans were feeling a sense of crisis over Barnet’s performance.

― To be honest, this season’s league champion seems to have been decided. Manchester City fans may not admit it, but now there’s only one thing left: whether Barnet will win the title unbeaten or not.

– I’m a citizen. This is correct.

– If we succeed in winning the championship without losing a single game, we can say that we have surpassed Manager Wenger.

― Is Wenger the problem? There has never been a manager in football history who has won two trebles. Even Ferguson is now under Kim.

– Hey, don’t be so quick to judge. Everyone agrees that Kim is great, but I don’t think she can compare to Fergie.

– Well? Of course, it won’t be easy to stay at the top for 20 years like Manager Ferguson, but the short-term impact has already been surpassed, right?

– Damn. Is this why Fergie chose Kim as his next manager? Look at Mourinho now. He’s Kim’s inferior in many ways.

― Manager Wenger also noticed Kim and tried to bring him to Arsenal… .

― Hey, guys, don’t be so excited. We haven’t even achieved our second treble yet. It’s not too late to think about that when we get there.

– Was the other side AS Roma and Real Madrid?

– Right. Real Madrid will probably come up.

Soccer fans’ expectations were not wrong.

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