Dad was a Genius - Chapter 38
Only Noblemtl
My Dad Was a Genius Episode 038
“It’s pretty tough.”
Coach Kim Woo-seok whistled briefly as he watched Kang Dae-ho quickly get past three defenders.
That would have been a goal just now if the midfielders running behind hadn’t dived.
“He really deserves to be called the best striker in Korea. Isn’t he? He broke through three defenders with one kick.”
“ah…….”
The coaches looked embarrassed.
Director Kim Woo-seok is smiling as he speaks, but in fact he is angry.
How much training did you do to prepare for this situation?
But just now, with that one dribble, the iron wall of defense collapsed.
“I’m sorry, director.”
“We will give the players a harsh warning.”
“Yeah. You kept talking about it being an iron wall, but wouldn’t it be a problem if it kept getting breached? The attack on Cheonan is only just beginning.”
“yes!”
The coaches rushed forward and yelled at the players.
Director Kim Woo-seok just sat there and watched the scene.
When he was young, coach Kim Woo-seok often showed his anger and scolded players, to the point that he was nicknamed “Tiger.”
But as he got older, he took his anger out on his players in other ways.
After hearing that warning, the players regrouped.
[Whew! Ah! Defender’s block! Another shot! But this time, the goalkeeper’s super save! Pohang is completely blocking Cheonan’s attack!]
From then on, Cheonan was constantly attacked.
With Kang Dae-ho at the top, they raised the line extremely high and continued to knock on the goal.
Usually, when possession is pushed back to this extent and shots keep coming, the opposing defenders go crazy.
but,
“… … .”
Pohang’s defenders were honest.
He just focused on the ball coming in all the way without any noticeable change in expression.
Then, the faces of the Cheonan players who were leading the attack were distorted.
“Is this really going to work?”
The more they attacked, the more the Cheonan players began to have this question.
Can we really break through this wall?
“Even if I try to cross the ball, it gets blocked by the opponent’s defense, and even if I try to pass the ball, the defense is so tight like a net that it’s impossible. How on earth am I supposed to break through this?”
Lack of preparation?
No, it is not.
The players watched the video over and over again to prepare for the match against Pohang and tried to figure out their tactics.
Knowing that they are a team that never allows any openings, we added sharpness and pointiness to our attacks, as if sharpening an axe.
But it wasn’t just Cheonan that was making efforts.
Pohang also stood before them with a thicker and stronger shield against the spear called Cheonan.
As if not allowing even a single breakthrough, the long, straight wall moved as one, blocking all breakthroughs and passes.
“Whew. It’s harder than I thought.”
Kang Dae-ho took a deep breath and looked at the opposing team’s defensive wall.
“So. I’m saying they’re total perverts?”
The Pohang players remained silent and did not move even one step from their assigned positions.
It was a really strange formation, with five players taking charge of the back and forming a defensive wall, and the midfielders dropping back to try to press like defenders.
“It seems like they don’t even have the will to attack.”
When you steal the ball like that and get a chance, it is normal to go up and attack to counterattack.
However, if they judge that there is even the slightest angle missing, they immediately turn the ball back.
“Is this right? If anyone saw this, they would think Pohang won.”
And they just keep passing the ball around as if they are a team that is killing time while leading by one point.
“We have no choice but to apply maximum pressure to take the ball away.”
“When those guys pass the ball from behind, let’s wait for that moment and take the ball away. Then we’ll have a chance.”
The players planned their strategy and applied strong pressure when Pohang passed the ball.
But as if they had anticipated this situation, Pohang moved the ball back to their own camp even faster.
Instead of immediately throwing the ball forward as soon as the pressure is released,
“what……?”
“You’re passing it from behind again?”
They passed the ball back to the goalkeeper without hesitation.
“What the heck, these guys.”
“Are you really not planning to attack?”
It was truly a bewildering and absurd way the game unfolded.
“… … .”
And there is one person who is watching all this and smiling.
It was Pohang’s coach, Woo-Seok Kim.
‘Football is ultimately a battle of concepts.’
The concept of someone gathering only players with crazy talent to play a super game.
The concept of someone unleashing a match with unconditional attack.
Another concept is to score through pressure and counterattacks.
However, Pohang’s concept was one that emphasized only absolute defense.
‘It’s more important not to concede goals than to win. Then, winning will naturally follow, and we can win the championship.’
From an onlooker’s perspective, it must have been an extremely absurd tactic.
Which soccer team in the world gives up on attacking and only plays defense?
If it’s a weak team, I understand.
But isn’t Pohang a prestigious K-League team that is always among the strong teams?
Even a weak team will always charge forward when they have a chance to counterattack.
But these were an unprecedented team that would not gamble unless it was absolutely certain and would pass the ball back.
Naturally, fans who remembered the old Pohang were bound to swear.
‘At first, our fans also cursed a lot-.’
In the end, Pohang proved it with results.
This is the key to victory.
Because of this, fans are now crazy about Pohang’s defense.
A strange phenomenon could be observed: as the game became more boring and Pohang passed the ball around more blatantly, their cheers became louder.
‘Overall, Cheonan is not a team with particularly high stats.’
When looking at it objectively, Cheonan’s players’ overall abilities are not outstanding compared to other teams.
So, why was Cheonan able to reach its current level?
‘Cha Seong-eun’s tactics and training methods changed that team 180 degrees.’
The tea ceremony.
At some point, his name became a magic spell in the K-League.
Even in situations that are difficult to understand, if you say “Cha Seong-eun”, you will find yourself nodding your head.
Cheonan is exactly like that now.
If Cha Seong-eun had not led these people, a super rookie like Kang Dae-ho would not have been born, and in the end, the team would have been criticized as just a team with a pretty uniform while recording a perennial last place finish.
However, with one change in manager, the team has now become the overwhelming number one team in the K-League.
It’s magic.
‘But this time it’s going to be hard to break through.’
Cheonan has shown a miraculous winning streak so far.
Invincible Cheonan.
However, it will be shown that even such a Cheonan is helpless in front of the high iron wall.
“… … .”
Coach Kim Woo-seok looked at Cha Seong-eun, who was standing there quietly watching the game.
‘I thought it was romantic.’
Romantic.
A commander who uses clever and meticulous tactics and moves his players like chess pieces dares to talk about romance.
A thorough chess play that seems to hate romance more than anyone else.
‘Nothing will change even if you put that Kang Dae-ho you like so much in front.’
Was it because of Cha Seong-eun’s warning?
Or is it because Kang Dae-ho has already demonstrated power that is beyond the scope of domestic competition?
Dae-Ho Kang, known as a monster striker, is currently the league’s top scorer.
It was Woo-Seok Kim who understood the person named Kang Dae-Ho to a degree that was a bit excessive and even established a method of attacking him.
That’s why Kang Dae-ho has not been able to exert much force and has been blocked by Pohang’s defense wall time and time again.
“Gasp- gasp-.”
“Oh. Are you really passing the ball back again?”
“This is driving me crazy.”
Cheonan players were advancing to pressure Pohang, who kept passing the ball backwards.
Their panting breaths seemed to be audible from here.
‘Not yet, not yet.’
Director Kim Woo-seok is now starting to show up little by little.
The grass had turned into a deep, nasty swamp, and the Cheonan players were slowly sinking into it.
Before long, they will realize that they are in a deep swamp and will begin to flounder.
That’s right then.
At that time, it was a surprise to Cheonan.
You will come to realize that Pohang, which is content to just pass the ball around, also has a hidden sword.
* * *
“… … .”
The grass is getting dirtier and dirtier.
What had been mud was now a swamp, sinking my feet.
It is an abstract expression.
‘Is this coach Kim Woo-seok’s swamp soccer?’
When we talk about swamp football, we usually think of the Arab countries.
Well, they were bed soccer, to be exact.
But Pohang’s football is not the kind of low-quality football that just brushes past you and you’re instantly knocked down.
This was a tactic on a whole other level.
It is also a great tactic that changed the life of a man named Kim Woo-seok.
‘I was prepared for it, but… … .’
It’s still heavy.
Even though I’m not running, my body already feels heavy.
It’s even raining.
It was a structure that made it inevitable for the players’ stamina to deteriorate much more quickly.
That’s why,
‘He’ll be here soon.’
I smiled.
I was relieved that everything was working out as Director Kim Woo-seok intended.
Our Cheonan was struggling in the swamp of Pohang.
as soon as,
‘Just as I intended.’
* * *
“… … .”
Coach Kim Woo-seok was watching the game with dark circles under his eyes.
First half 30 minutes.
“I think this is enough.”
At Director Kim Woo-seok’s words, the coaches stood up and quickly gave signs to the players.
Finally, it was Pohang’s turn to land a decisive blow, having been huddled up like a sandbag.
And it happened when the Cheonan players least expected it.
Bam-!
The Cheonan players, who knew how to keep passing the ball back, moved forward once again.
But this time, surprisingly, Pohang passed deep towards the front rather than the back.
“!?”
The Cheonan players, who were taken aback by the sudden long pass, clung to Lee Dae-cheon to block him as he charged forward like a bull.
However, Lee Dae-cheon, who pushed away the defenders with his large body and continued to advance,
[Shoot-!!]
He managed to get close to the box and shoot.
[Ah! The ball goes out after hitting the defender! It was a sharp counterattack by Pohang!]
Fortunately, the ball hit the player in front and went out.
Then, Pohang, which had been playing the game with a defensive system with only one attacker in front, showed a different side this time.
They placed only three defenders at the back and the rest gathered in a swarm inside Cheonan’s penalty box.
‘Damn. It’s so fucking big.’
With their tall stature and bulky bodies filling the box, the Cheonan defenders couldn’t help but feel intimidated by their presence.
“Coming!!”
A cross is sent up immediately after the Pohang players take their positions.
It was a cross that fell in a much higher parabolic arc than that of other teams.
The athletes jumped as high as they could.
But when he looked up, what he saw was not the ball, but Pohang players who seemed to have one more head than him.
Crash~!
A power header that pushes the head straight into the incoming cross.
The ball was quickly sucked into the net before the goalkeeper could even react.
[Gooooo-!!]
“Wow!!”
Pohang’s shocking opening goal.
That too was a header goal created by a corner kick.
“crazy…….”
“You really went in… … ?”
Could it be because of the shock of being conceded a goal?
The Cheonan players’ faces turned pale.
‘Just because we’re obsessed with not conceding goals doesn’t mean we’re not scoring goals.’
Director Kim Woo-seok, who was watching things go according to his strategy, had the corners of his mouth go up.
‘Cheonan’s attack power is great, but if you sharpen the awl too sharply, the tip will eventually break easily.’
Cheonan’s aggressive formation play centered around Kang Dae-ho eventually revealed its limitations.
‘Today we will show that the spear is ultimately blocked by a shield made of steel.’
Then, now no one will dare to say that Cheonan is above Pohang.
‘What do you plan to do now?’
Director Kim Woo-seok looked in the direction where Cha Seong-eun was.
A situation where Cheonan’s quick counterattack and offensive play, which he boasts about, are not working at all.
however,
“… … ?”
Cha Seong-eun was not much different from before the game started.
It was still calm, as if I was looking at a still sea without a single wave.
‘Are you keeping a poker face on purpose?’
Usually, when watching an opposing team’s game, managers and coaches only watch the movements of the opposing team’s players.
But Kim Woo-seok was different.
He focused on Cha Seong-eun’s actions rather than the players’ movements.
How he gives feedback to the players, what facial expressions he makes in certain situations.
And I wonder if that guy who looks as cold as ice ever shows any signs of excitement.
We delved deeply into the nature of human nature.
‘Not once did he scream or show any sign of excitement.’
And after analyzing all the games, Cha Seong-eun never showed any signs of being out of sorts.
Usually, when a game doesn’t go well, you get excited and yell at the players.
But Cha Seong-eun was calm.
Even when he scored a goal, he only showed a brief expression of joy, and from the beginning to the end, he just watched the game silently.
So another nickname given to him is ‘The Silent Conductor’.
You could say that it’s just because of his personality, but according to Director Kim Woo-seok’s analysis so far, Cha Seong-eun’s behavior was not due to his personality.
‘He can be so calm because his tactics have never been wrong even once so far.’
That is, since everything is going as expected, there is no need to get excited or upset about it.
‘Then, could it be that you predicted this situation as well?’
As soon as that thought occurred to Director Kim Woo-seok, he felt a chill run down his spine.
‘No. No. I’m having delusions.’
Even if Cha Seong-eun had predicted this situation, nothing would have changed.
‘We play our game.’
The concept of maintaining a defensive stance until the end and drowning Cheonan in this swamp.
No matter how much I try, I can’t get out of this swamp.