Dad was a Genius - Chapter 28
Only Noblemtl
My Dad Was a Genius Episode 028
“Seongeun-ah. Are you resting these days?”
“yes?”
“Look at your complexion, Inseok. Are you taking all the medicine I told you to take?”
“Yes. Thanks to you, I’m going to work with energy today, Dad.”
I answer with a smile, but Chairman Cha doesn’t seem to be at ease.
“Thanks to you, my lifespan seems to have increased, but I don’t want to shorten my child’s lifespan. So don’t push yourself too hard. Take it easy.”
“Yes. Thank you for your concern.”
“Okay. Fighting today too.”
After saying goodbye to my family, I headed to the training ground.
My body definitely feels a little heavy.
I exercise every day and take good nutritional supplements.
‘I guess it’s lack of sleep.’
No matter how much I try to keep my mental strength up, I can’t help but feel pressured.
The feeling that you absolutely must win.
The idea that this team absolutely has to win.
And my personal goal is to achieve the incredible record of 100 points.
This came as a huge pressure and kept me from sleeping.
“Are you here, Director?”
“Yes. Good morning. How are the players?”
“Yes. They come 10 minutes early and are already practicing. Other team players either arrive right on time or are often late, but our team players don’t have that. Haha. Everyone comes at least 30 minutes early and prepares for practice.”
The coaches were busy smiling and praising the players.
This is what it means to be a successful team.
There’s always good news coming from inside and outside.
This good flow is what creates good victories.
“Then shall we go out and take a look? I need to check the players’ condition.”
“Okay. Let’s go together.”
I went out to the training ground with the coaches and observed how the players were training.
How are their conditions? Are they feeling any discomfort? Are the players doing well with the training schedule I have laid out?
The manager needed to be sensitive to the players like this.
“Fortunately, everyone looks in very good condition, Director.”
“I think the 10 consecutive wins were a good motivation for the players.”
Despite feeling heavy in the morning, the players ran around the training ground as if they were flying in the sky.
But my eyes kept focusing on my father running ahead.
“no way…….”
A different movement than usual.
The coaches may not have noticed yet, but my eyes, having watched my father’s play videos hundreds and thousands of times, cannot be deceived.
“Player Kang Dae-ho.”
The thing called sports.
No. In everything in our lives, there are variables.
We always make plans, but no one knows when and where plans will go wrong.
Even at this moment, when we are on the verge of a 10-game winning streak, variables always come into play.
“Oh, yes, director.”
I spoke in a much more agitated voice than usual.
“Since when?”
“yes……?”
“I’m talking about Kang Dae-ho’s injury. When did it start?”
My father looked slightly surprised and couldn’t answer.
“Injured?”
“Kang Dae-ho?”
“No way. There wasn’t anything wrong when I examined your injury.”
The coaches also approached, taking note of the unusual atmosphere.
“I, I’m fine, Director.”
“I don’t know about other people, but don’t lie to me as the manager. Especially not when it comes to something that could affect the game.”
“… … .”
I tried to grab my father’s ankle.
“Ugh!”
Judging from the immediate reaction, there was definitely a problem with the ankle.
“Has it been since the Suwon Battle?”
“that is…….”
In the Suwon match, my father was attacked intensively by the opposing team.
Although Lee Su-yong did a good job of playing the role of crack and alleviated some of the pressure, they were still prone to falling over due to their rough tackles.
“Go to the medical team first. We’ll talk about it later. Also, Kang Dae-ho is excluded from the starting lineup for the Ulsan game.”
“Go, Director!”
“Go quickly!”
I never raised my voice at the players, either during training or during a game.
That’s because I never felt the need to do so until now.
But this time it’s different.
Since the player’s life and my father’s soccer career were at stake, I had no choice but to take a strong stance.
“I… … Director. I’m sorry. We should have looked more closely.”
“No. If the player is determined to hide it, minor injuries can be easily hidden. But please look a little more closely next time.”
“Yes. I will go and find out exactly what the tiger’s condition is.”
The players who were listening to my conversation with the coaches started to gossip.
“Brother Daeho is injured?”
“Wait a minute. Is this a serious enough injury to be ruled out of the starting lineup?”
“If Dae-ho is excluded from the starting lineup, who will take the striker position…?”
The team’s morale seemed to be wavering.
This is dangerous.
There’s a saying that sports are all about momentum.
If we, who have maintained high momentum so far, are shaken by this incident, it will be impossible to predict the future results.
“Everyone, gather around for a moment.”
So as a director, I had to be the center to help them stand strong again.
“I’m sorry for raising my voice in the training ground. But I’m also human and I can’t help but get emotional sometimes. Because it’s very unfortunate and sad for me when you guys get injured.”
The players nodded slowly.
“We will have to get Kang Dae-ho tested to find out, but even if it is a minor injury, he will be excluded from the starting lineup for the Ulsan match.”
“… … !”
It is a huge blow to us that our father was excluded from the starting lineup and we will be playing against Ulsan.
It’s understandable why players make such expressions.
“You may be worried right now. The Ulsan game is right around the corner, and Kang Dae-ho, who is the key player in our Cheonan tactics, is out.”
But that doesn’t mean we’re a weak team, and there’s no need to be depressed.
“I want to ask you all. Is our Cheonan a one-man team led by Kang Dae-ho?”
All the mass media and media say it.
Supernova Kang Dae-ho, and the one-man team Cheonan.
But I have never once thought of our Cheonan as a one-man team.
“If there are any players who think like that, please change it now. Our Cheonan has always moved as one body, and it is not a team where Kang Dae-ho does everything alone.”
It is true that my father performed exceptionally well, but no matter how good he was on his own, he would never be able to shine if the team did not support him well.
You must remember.
“Soccer is not a sport you play alone, it is a sport you play with 11 people together.”
Therefore, the entire team should not fall apart just because one player is missing.
“I have never trained this team as a one-man team, and I will never train this team as a one-man team. So don’t be shaken. Just play according to the tactics as you always have. Then we will win this time too.”
“yes!”
The players’ expressions changed at those words.
The mood seemed to have gone down for a moment, but now it’s much higher than before.
These are also things they want to prove themselves.
That Cheonan is by no means a one-man team.
* * *
“… …Who got injured?”
“I’m talking about Kang Dae-ho. It seems that he was the only one to take a tackle in the Suwon match, and that eventually led to the Incheon match. That’s why he’s been excluded from the starting lineup for the Ulsan match.”
“under!”
Director Jo Tae-il couldn’t hide his smile.
Is this what they call heaven’s help?
“It’s not just anyone else, it’s Kang Dae-ho who’s excluded from the starting lineup.”
In fact, the biggest concern for Ulsan was Kang Dae-ho’s presence.
Kang Dae-ho is not a guy who can be stopped by just one or two defenders.
His explosive breakthrough power and goal-scoring ability have long since surpassed the domestic level.
Moreover, it was because of that guy that Lee Su-yong, the threatening crack, was able to shine.
That Kang Dae-ho is missing.
This is right here in the Ulsan match.
“Cha Seong-do’s head must be exploding by now.”
Kang Dae-ho has started in all nine games so far.
Of course, he did bring in substitutes to manage stamina from time to time, but it is an undeniable fact that he started and secured the victory early on before going back to the bench.
“This is it. I wanted to fight at full strength if possible. If this happens, the match will be too easy. Is this reliable information?”
“Yes, I am sure. I got the information from a reliable source.”
“I don’t know where that source came from, but it’s a good one.”
It is very important to find out what tactics the opposing team is preparing and what the condition of the players is.
This is because you can counter your opponent’s tactics and figure out in advance how they plan to play the game.
But Cheonan has always had strict information control.
Even Cha Seong-eun did not tell the entire team the tactics, but only told each player his role, so it was impossible to figure out what strategy he was using.
‘This is big.’
But I knew Kang Dae-ho was out, so that was fine.
Because Cheonan without Kang Dae-ho is no different from a toothless tiger.
This match was a sure win for Ulsan.
“Call all the coaches. Kang Dae-ho is gone, so we need to change our tactics accordingly.”
Ulsan’s greatest weapon was offense.
However, coach Jo Tae-il was conscious of Kang Dae-ho and moved the line back a little.
But if Kang Dae-ho is out, there is no need to use that tactic.
“We have to show everyone how Ulsan can take down Cheonan.”
Cheonan will be trampled in front of everyone by the merciless attack of the Tiger Ulsan.
* * *
“This time too?”
“Yeah. I heard someone was called up from the minor league? It’s a midfielder.”
“Not a striker?”
The Cheonan players watched from afar as the players were called up to Coach Cha Seong-eun’s office.
As Kang Dae-ho’s starting lineup changed due to injury, second-team players were suddenly being called up one by one.
It may be to increase tension and competitiveness among the players, but seeing that Kang Dae-ho was called up at a time when he was out, it was clearly a sign of some tactical change.
“What kind of tactics are you going to use this time?”
Cha Seong-eun is a meticulous person.
Even if it seems like trivial training, it all has meaning, and when using tactics, we train the players in advance so that they can adapt to the tactics without having to tell them in advance.
So, without realizing it, the players are in a state that suits certain tactics.
But until the day before the game, Cha Sung had no idea what tactics the coach was going to use.
“Okay, everyone, gather around!”
Then the tactical coach called everyone together.
“This is the tactic the coach came up with for the upcoming Ulsan match. Everyone has a different role and instructions, so make sure you read them all. Lastly, it is absolutely forbidden to reveal the contents of the paper to anyone else.”
“yes!”
The players, who were already curious about what Cha Seong-i was going to do, ran out of breath and received the paper.
“hmm?”
“Ah-. That’s why the midfielders… … .”
“But is this possible?”
The players had question marks floating over their heads.
Because it was a tactic that they still did not quite understand.
But I could feel it instinctively.
The magic of Cha Seong-eun, who always led them to victory, is about to begin again.