Dad was a Genius - Chapter 57
Only Noblemtl
My Dad Was a Genius Episode 057
I watched videos of Didier Drogba all night and studied his plays when I got home.
As I was originally a Chelsea fan, watching Drogba play wasn’t that awkward.
But he never once thought of himself as a striker like Drogba.
Drogba is a player who, when given the chance, uses his brawn to break through the defense.
Although he wasn’t a fast runner, he was excellent at keeping the ball.
Also a powerful shot and goals scored from off-angles.
He doesn’t just focus on the offensive line, but actively participates in defense to create opportunities, and even has a Hulk-like appearance of standing up bravely even when defenders try to tackle him.
He was truly a complete striker, worthy of being a Chelsea legend.
‘But I’m a striker with a similar style to Drogba?’
At first I thought it was crazy.
But the more I studied the play by watching the video, the more I began to see something.
What to do in that situation, how to play in another situation.
Strangely enough, a vivid image appeared in my head.
Should I say that the gameplay is so easy to understand?
That’s where I realized it.
Kim Kwan-jin himself feels a sense of kinship now.
Of course, his skills are not even close to Drogba’s toes, but he has the ability to imitate them to some extent.
Yeah, I’ll give it a try.
Perhaps this Seoul game will be his turning point.
That’s why I risked my life.
There is a reason why you absolutely must win, a reason why you absolutely must make an impressive appearance.
I want to keep playing soccer.
I absolutely don’t want it to end like this.
I’m going to go back to the Kim Kwan-jin that people used to be crazy about.
and,
[What a fantastic play by Kim Kwan-jin! He breaks through the defense and holds on until the end, finally recording an assist!!]
Kim Kwan-jin carried out his mission properly.
This is it.
This is my true talent.
Cha Seong: This is exactly the correct playing style that the coach was talking about.
My blood boils and my heart pounds.
It was my first time feeling this exhilarating.
Maybe that’s why.
“Waaaaaaah-!!”
He stood still and roared loudly for a while.
I finally feel alive.
* * *
“… … .”
At the Seoul home stadium, manager Kim Seong-il declared that this time, they will definitely beat Cheonan.
I was that confident.
It is no exaggeration to say that Cheonan’s squad is currently in a state of scorched earth.
No matter how talented I am, I can’t take on a strong team with a hastily put together squad.
But, as expected, Cha Seong-eun was Cha Seong-eun.
“Did you throw away the Gegenpressing…?”
The reason Cheonan was scary was because they played the game centered around a shocking tactic called gegenpressing.
It was a tactic that had never been tried before in the K-League, and it was a very difficult tactic that no one had even dared to try. That is why it became the tactic that represents Cha Seong-eun.
However, Cha Seong-eun boldly abandoned the tactics that created today’s Cheonan.
“I didn’t expect this.”
Even when bringing in a large number of new players in this transfer market, Cha Seong-eun used tactics based on gegenpressing.
It means that he never lost his color.
So, coach Kim Seong-il also devised a tactic to destroy Cha Seong-eun’s gegen pressing.
But that destruction method was no longer needed.
“Do you dare to use normal tactics against our Seoul?”
But something… something was strange.
If it’s Cheonan without Gegenpressing, it’s not really scary.
However, Seoul continued to be pushed back.
Just looking at the market share, Cheonan was ahead by a whopping 65%.
Even when playing against other strong teams, Seoul never lost in possession rate.
In particular, Cheonan has not had much ball possession so far in the game.
This is because when the game is not going well, they sometimes throw in a tactic of deliberately passing the ball to the opponent and making them come forward to induce a counterattack.
But today’s Cheonan is on a different level from what we’ve seen so far.
Rather than applying harsh pressure, they were playing a defense that blocked space and continued to pass the ball without leaving their assigned positions.
As a result, Seoul’s defenders, midfielders, and even attackers were naturally trapped in the box, watching the ball pass around all day.
That’s okay up to there.
If you keep passing the ball around like that, you’re bound to make mistakes.
If you steal the ball at that time and run, it becomes a counterattack.
[Ah! Another breakthrough by Kim Kwan-jin! He’s a total monster today! He’s holding his ground even when the defenders rush in!]
The problem is Kim Kwan-jin.
It was that striker.
How on earth did the Dae-seong-i transform into some kind of human weapon, engaging in a fierce fight with the defenders and forcibly breaking through the siege?
And then there’s the shooting that follows.
[Jeong Sang-ho’s save!! It was a threatening shot!]
With his tall stature and broad shoulders, he has great power in shooting after beating defenders.
Although his running speed is not fast, his physical breakthrough power is something that is hard to find in the K-League.
He passes the ball to Kim Kwan-jin in the center after passing it around like that.
And Kim Kwan-jin deliberately induces defenders into physical contact and passes the ball to empty space or even shoots.
He truly could not have been anything but a fearsome striker.
“I never thought Kim Kwan-jin would have such abilities… … .”
In addition, rather than having the tall Kim Kwan-jin compete in the air for corner kicks, Cha Seong-eun waited outside the penalty box using his stronger feet and created an angle for him to volley the ball as soon as it came.
[Ah! Another powerful shot! Unfortunately, it hits the goal post and goes out!]
“… … .”
Even though Cheonan doesn’t have Gegenpressing and doesn’t have 7 starting members, they can still be this strong. It’s definitely not because the players are outstanding.
Of course, Kim Kwan-jin’s performance today was beyond expectations, but he was definitely not a striker like Kang Dae-ho.
So what made this half-baked Cheonan team into a strong team?
‘It’s because of this new tactic.’
It’s a feeling I haven’t felt in a long time.
Yeah. Where would it have been?
It was probably the first game against Cheonan.
Even at that time, director Kim Seong-il felt like he was dealing with something unidentifiable.
And today I felt the same way as back then.
Cheonan, no. Cha Seong-eun was now bringing new changes to this team.
If Cheonan’s tactic had been to rush in like a hungry beast, now it seemed like watching a wolf waiting in the bushes for its right moment and then lunging at them all at once.
New players, new tactics.
Managers usually don’t change their main tactics mid-season.
Because that is the team’s color and it has already seeped deep into it.
However, Cha Seong-eun did not care and was freely deploying his new tactics.
And that’s against Seoul, no less.
“Are you kidding me or are we on a different level from the start?”
Director Kim Sung-il burst into laughter.
I thought I could catch Cheonan this time.
With 7 of their main members gone, they were considered to be no different from a toothless tiger.
I really wanted to win this game, even though it was deadly and dirty.
“In the end, I can’t get over that wall.”
Kim Seong-il had no choice but to admit it.
Seoul, the champion last season, is no match for Cheonan.
And this season wasn’t a complete generational change in the K-League.
It was a coronation ceremony where the greatest manager ever and ever in Korean history was crowned the eternal No. 1 in the K-League.
* * *
[Once again, it’s Kim Kwan-jin! He’s blocked by defenders, but he breaks through the body fight and scores a mid-range shot!!]
Kim Kwan-jin, who could be called the star of today’s game, received a long ball and ran.
Because he was running slowly, the defenders quickly caught up to him, but he withstood their harsh pressure with his body and hit a mid-range shot from outside the box.
[Ah! It hit the keeper’s hand! But… … !]
The shot, which went out like a cannonball, hit the goalkeeper’s hand and shook the goal net.
[Gooooool!! Player Kim Kwan-jin records 1 goal and 1 assist today!!]
It was Kim Kwan-jin’s first debut goal.
“No, you’re crazy. Why are you so good at this?”
“They said seven starters were missing.”
“Isn’t that Kim Kwan-jin from back in the day? Was he that good?”
Seoul home fans watched the game indifferently.
They also expected a victory because they knew that Cheonan was not at its best at the moment.
However, Cheonan’s skills were such that it could not be considered a team without many starting members.
“Ah. So Cheonan is not the answer after all.”
“You are really good at it.”
Even though Seoul is currently on a winning streak and in peak form, Cheonan is something they can’t overcome.
The attack, especially centered around Kim Kwan-jin, was fierce.
Because every time that Hulk-like player shook the defense, it felt like the stadium was shaking.
And Cheonan was ahead not only in offense but also in defense.
It’s just that Cheonan’s tactics are overwhelming Seoul.
[The game is over! Seoul scored a goal in extra time, but the game ended in Cheonan’s victory!]
And so the game ended.
Seoul did score a late equaliser in added time, but it was a meaningless goal.
Cheonan won against Seoul once again this time.
“This… isn’t the Cheonan we know?”
While the Seoul fans returned home feeling regretful, the managers and coaches of each team who were watching the game closely felt a chill down their spines.
This is because they also predicted that Seoul would win this time.
But the result was Cheonan’s victory.
It was also important to discover a new striker and win with a completely different tactic than what had been used so far.
“What the hell kind of tactic did you just use?”
“Isn’t Seoul completely pushed out in market share?”
“I thought Cheonan was a weak team if they gave up on Gegenpressing.”
In fact, the coaches were overjoyed, saying that they could finally beat Cheonan, which was missing seven of its starting players. However, it would not be an exaggeration to say that they were now in shock and fear.
Cha Seong-eun, who was ridiculed as a Gegenpressing one-tool, came up with a new tactic and overwhelmed Seoul.
In particular, Cheonan without Kang Dae-ho was thought to be absolutely unable to score, but they brought back Kim Kwan-jin, a player everyone had forgotten about.
But never was that Hulk-like player a one-man carry.
Cheonan’s unexpected tactical change was a countermeasure against Seoul under coach Kim Seong-il.
In particular, Seoul insists on using tiki-taka tactics to gain a high possession rate, but Seoul was overwhelmed even in possession rate.
“So far, we have come together to find a way to destroy Cheonan’s gegen pressing tactics, but if this happens… … .”
They suddenly felt dizzy.
A new tactic that completely excludes gegenpressing.
Yet another terrifying tactic has been born that can ridicule Seoul.
“So what happens to us now?”
“What happened? It became X.”
“Ah. This time, it was the perfect opportunity to catch Cheonan… … .”
The cries of the managers and coaches on each team continued for a while.