Shooting Trajectory is Visible - Chapter 260



Only Noblemtl

Episode 260: Clearly a Strong Team

We were waiting in a place that looked like a school auditorium to greet Coach Hiddink.

And then, Gus Hiddink, who I had only heard about in words, actually appears. Then, Yoo Jin-ho shouts as if he had been waiting for it.

“Okay! Applause!”

“Wow!”

Clap clap clap clap clap clap!

Coach Hiddink came in with a smile as we welcomed him with applause.

‘Wow… that’s amazing.’

He was a memory of my parents’ college days and a person that adults could never leave out when talking about Korea at that time.

Gus Hiddink.

It is still called a ‘myth’ and is the main culprit that has made people still interested and intrigued by the story of that time even though it has been almost 25 years.

There were many people with cameras around, as if the Football Association was trying to publicize this meeting on a large scale.

Hiddink took the microphone and began his speech in English, saying, “Hello, everyone.”

It seems like Coach Hiddink wanted to meet informally and have a light chat, but he looked a little flustered as flashes of lights flashed here and there.

Well, it’s not that I don’t understand both sides’ positions.

The Football Association probably wanted to let the public know that Hiddink was coming in person, and Hiddink probably came to personally cheer them on.

Hiddink, who brought up everyday conversation, soccer-related conversation, and conversations related to Korea and the Netherlands, was given a brief question time.

“Does anyone have any questions or concerns for me?”

I took a quick look around. As expected, no one raised a hand, as if they were all shy Koreans.

At that moment, I met eyes with Yoo Jin-ho, and Yoo Jin-ho nodded. ‘Ask me a question, Min-woo.’

“Ahem.”

Well, it would be embarrassing if there were 0 questions.

I raised my hand.

“Coach, if Korea and the Netherlands meet in the World Cup, which team will you root for?”

People laughed lightly at the ventilation question. My fellow players looked at me with a look that said, ‘Here he goes again.’

“That’s a difficult question. It’s like asking me to choose between my dad and my mom.”

Hiddink’s answer was, ‘The winning team is our team.’ It was a wise answer…

After giving us some words of encouragement, Hiddink put down his microphone, and when the reporters also put down their cameras, Hiddink went to the players individually and talked to them.

Son Heung-min, Hwang Hee-cheon, Lee Kang-im, Kim Min-je, Kim Jun-young…

After having a brief chat with several players, Hiddink came to me one last time.

“Kim! I’m really impressed with your performance.”

“Thank you, director.”

“If you had been born 20 years earlier and joined in 2002… … Korea would have won the World Cup.”

“Is it still the same now?”

“huh?”

Hiddink tilted his head as if he didn’t understand for a moment. Then, as if he realized it later, he burst out laughing.

“Hahahahaha! You really are a different breed! All other Koreans are so humble!”

“It’s not a level of skill that warrants humility.”

Although humility is a virtue, once you surpass a certain level, humility begins to have a different meaning for people.

So I decided to go out with confidence, at least in terms of ‘skill’. If we limit it to the goalkeeper category, honestly, there is no one in the world who is as good as me.

… The personality that caused a ruckus at the Manchester United signing ceremony has not changed.

“But be careful. Anything can happen in sports. There are a lot of attackers waiting for you. You know? Now, your first goal is not just the goalkeeper’s first goal.”

“Has it become a little more symbolic?”

Hiddink nodded.

“This is the first goal conceded by a goalkeeper that even the world’s best attackers have failed to break through. It will go down in history.”

“… … Oh. I’ll keep that in mind.”

That’s how my meeting with Hiddink ended.

It was a meaningful meeting in its own way.

Leon also seemed to have exchanged a few words with Hiddink, and his expression was deeply moved.

* * *

And it was a breeze until the friendly match against the Netherlands. Before the match, the Dutch national team players and coach made many respectful remarks, as if they were definitely wary of us.

“Korea is clearly a strong team. Personally, I think Korea is a strong team, just like Germany, France, and England. If you just look at the FIFA rankings, they are now a soccer powerhouse.”

The coach of the Netherlands national team was Ronald Koeman. He was the successor to Louis van Gaal and also coached Barcelona.

“Korea is definitely a country to watch out for. Not only did they beat Poland, but they also have a lot of star players that everyone knows.”

Interview with Virgil van Dijk.

After hearing that, the reporter asked a question.

“How do you compare Korea to its neighbor Japan? Who do you think is the stronger team?”

“Yes? … Is there a comparison? Of course, Korea. There is no player in Japan who can compare to Kim. Not even Son, not even Kim from Munich―”

Van Dijk suddenly starts worshipping the reporter’s aggro.

Korean netizens praised the interview, calling him the legendary Liverpool defender, and Japanese netizens said, “Kissama!”, but in fact, they were not wrong, so they had nothing to say.

Without going as far as Kim Min-woo or Son Heung-min, Japan made the cut at Kim Min-je.

And the A match between Netherlands and Korea began in Amsterdam.

Johan Cruyff Arena.

AFC Ajax’s home stadium, a huge stadium with a capacity of 55,000.

Today’s match was against an unknown opponent, Korea, that we had only heard rumors about, and the stadium was sold out because the media had been talking about it every day.

Also… … the Netherlands squad was clearly superior to Korea, and they were a soccer powerhouse ranked within the top 10 in the FIFA rankings.

In addition, this is the Netherlands’ home.

If it had been an ordinary Korean national team, they would have given up possession before the first half even ended 30 minutes, conceded the first goal, and started the Dutch half-court game―

“Kim! Kim! No, Minje hyung!”

I habitually called her by her English name, but then I realized it was a mistake and quickly corrected myself.

There were too many Kims in this national team. Including the goalkeeper, there were five Kims in the defense.

I adjusted the positions of the defenders in Korean (with their last names removed) and the Netherlands pushed hard from the beginning based on their home advantage and strong squad.

‘Aha. I’ll try dipping it in some poop or soybean paste.’

Even in the Premier League, many teams have played against me a few times and decided that it wouldn’t work and are playing defensively. How dare you?

… … Of course, I would be happy if the opponent would bend defensively.

Soccer is a sport full of variables, and variables arise when a shot is attempted no matter what, but if the opponent is determined from the start to not succeed, then for the goalkeeper, whose key is to block variables, it’s like blowing your nose without doing anything.

‘Cross?’

A trail was created in my eyes.

It was a cross coming from the left.

As soon as the trajectory was created, the opposing central midfielder started running around from the center.

Even our midfielder Park Seung-ho created an opportunity with a careless tackle.

‘… It’s not just the pass.’

I read the situation calmly.

The cross trajectory continued into a shooting trajectory, and judging by the height of the trajectory, it was clearly a header.

And then the cross comes up.

I prepared… … Whew!

I caught Doni Malan’s header with both hands. It was easy.

I knew the cross was coming 2-3 seconds in advance, and although the shooting trajectory was shorter than that, I was prepared for it, so I was able to block the attempt without difficulty.

The Dutch players shook their heads and returned to their own camp, perhaps because they had blocked the ball so easily, and the friendly defenders also looked relieved.

… Still, I have to do what I have to do.

“Mark it straight! The mark is empty!”

I shouted and pointed my finger. Kim Ji-seok, a fellow EPL player who received my criticism, nodded with a stern expression.

And passed the ball forward.

‘By the way, one of the centre-backs is in the EPL and the other is in the Bundesliga.’

How great it would have been if only the Europeans had a full-back here… .

Unfortunately, the left and right fullbacks were from the K-League and the Middle East respectively. Sob.

‘But you still work hard.’

They were players with skills that were just as good as those of European players.

At least I was running like crazy so I wouldn’t hear people say that the game got harder because I wasn’t working harder.

I was quite satisfied with that.

From then on, the game went one-sided, contrary to people’s expectations.

No matter how much Korea has risen in recent times, it is still no match for the traditional powerhouse Netherlands.

Currently, Korea has not even been able to obtain a family register.

If you just look at the flow, it was a typical strong team vs. a weak team.

The defense, including me, is preventing goals from being conceded with tenacious defense, but, well, if we come all the way to the Netherlands home and just play defense, that’s a bit much…

‘Let’s wait and see.’

What I know means Leon is aware of it too. He’s back home and he probably has no intention of finishing the game after just getting beaten up hard.

Whatever it is, he probably wants to impress the Dutch people.

Even more so today since Hiddink is attending the game.

“Fuck… .”

Time passes as if I’m being beaten.

As the first half approached 30 minutes.

Son Heung-min competed with an opposing player on the flank to dribble the ball and passed it to Lee Kang-im, who was off to the side.

Lee Kang-im was in the half-space position, and for a moment, the Dutch players were unable to control him.

The positions of the Dutch players were slightly different from Lee Kang-im.

‘The shooting angle is open?’

If I were in Lee Kang-im’s position and in Lee Kang-im’s situation, I would have hit the mid-range ball without hesitation in that situation.

Lee Kang-im also saw the same angle and immediately hit a mid-range shot.

A powerful shot with the right foot!

“oh!”

Are you coming in?

The medium-range cannon, which flew without anyone’s warning, seemed to go straight in.

Even if it didn’t hit the top crossbar and bounce off.

The goalkeeper also reacted by diving, but it was a dive that was noticeably slower than the shot speed.

“Ah.”

If I had gone in, the composition would have been completely different.

I’m also an expert at consolidating a goal.

Once we score a goal, it’s completely our turn.

As time passes, people tend to become more anxious, and when they become anxious, they tend to do things they normally wouldn’t do.

And if you can just counter those irrational numbers, you win the game.

But unfortunately, Lee Kang-im’s sharp mid-range shot missed… … Until next time!

The Netherlands was shocked by Korea’s powerful venomous bite and from then on, they focused more on defense.

Until then, they had been attacking as if they had no backing, but after Lee Kang-im’s mid-range shot, they were definitely concerned about the balance of offense and defense.

You could tell just by looking at the frequency of attacks that they had decreased significantly.

‘The frequency of attacks has decreased, but the Netherlands still dominates.’

I’m just a little more cautious than before.

The flow continues as if they realize that their opponent has a powerful attack of their own and are trying to seize the opportunity to attack more reliably.

And the time zone with not much time left.

The opposing winger dribbled through the space on the flanks.

Our K-League fullback tried his best not to get caught, but the price difference seems to be inevitable… .

‘It’s a cross.’

This time, the opposing attacker was able to head the ball without any checks. I quickly flew over to block the header.

He hugged the ball tightly and lay back.

“Phew.”

It’s not easy.

But this level of attack was expected.

After that, the situation ends, and the first half is really about to end.

I was feeling relieved that extra time was almost over, but the Netherlands continued to attack.

‘What is this?’

I realize this today too. The final evolution version of the Prophet’s Eye is really sweet.

Not only the shooting trajectory, but also the final pass trajectory is visible. This is an unbelievable, fraudulent ability.

I checked the opponent’s kill pass trajectory in advance and ran straight to it.

As I was running, a pass came, and I caught the ball a few steps faster than the opposing striker and kicked it far away.

Boohoo!

Memphis Depay, who was running towards my surprise save, slows down and looks at me with a dumbfounded expression.

“… … What the heck?”

A dumbfounded expression. I responded with a dumb expression as well.

“I’m glad I’m in Spain. It’s a daily occurrence for kids playing in the EPL.”

“what?”

And then I trudged back to the goal.

Defy scratches his chin and returns to his camp.

Don’t worry, it’s just the beginning.