Shooting Trajectory is Visible - Chapter 263



Only Noblemtl

Episode 263: A Man Who Is Strong Even When He Does Nothing

It was their first loss in nineteen games.

It was their first defeat in half a year, so it would be normal for people to send encouragement, but… … .

“Manchester United have lost twice in the league, both times coincidentally when Kim was out. What do you think about that, manager?”

The atmosphere was worse than expected, perhaps because they suffered a crushing defeat of 3:0 and their performance plummeted as soon as their starting goalkeeper was out.

It’s unlikely, but if we lose all the remaining games until Kim Min-woo returns… … we could end up having to hand over the trophy we had reserved to Manchester City or Liverpool.

Giovanni stated in an interview that Kim’s absence is painful, but if the team doesn’t return to its previous form just because one player is missing, then it’s a team problem, and he declared that he will sort out this chaotic atmosphere as soon as possible.

And the next day.

Giovanni replayed the Tottenham match with his coaches.

Replays were essential to determine where the game went wrong and what the mistakes were.

“… It looks like the defensive concentration is very low. And even after the ball is broken through, the problem is that the players do not take active action to win the ball back.”

Feedback from the head coach.

And the tactical coach adds:

“It’s the same old thing. Nothing has changed. It’s something I always point out, but it doesn’t change. It’s not like that every time, but whenever it’s important, the lack of focus creates a bad situation. I was able to block it when Kim was there, but the chiller isn’t Kim.”

There were other problems as well, but the most important and biggest problem was concentration during defensive situations.

The players have adapted to the situation because Kim Min-woo is always there to block it no matter what happens.

Giovanni sighed deeply and leaned back in his chair.

“So, to put it simply… … you’re saying you’ve become accustomed to it.”

Everyone was silent. Silence in this situation was tacit consent.

“What is the solution?”

Waiting for Kim to come back… … .

Since that couldn’t be done, each coach present at the meeting began to suggest their own solutions.

First things first.

“We need to put a lot of pressure on the players to stop doing that.”

“I’ve always said that.”

Dismissed.

“We need to bring up the subs to create competition.”

“You want me to run a lab in a situation where the winner or loser is determined within a few games? Are you in your right mind?”

Dismissed.

“I think the existing tactics were dependent on Kim. I think it would be a good idea to change the tactics and play the game until Kim returns.”

“… As I said earlier, if you suddenly change tactics when the league championship is at stake, there is a chance of confusion.”

Dismissed.

“Then how about just increasing the number of defenders?”

“… … .”

The coach kept his mouth shut as Giovanni glared at him. What the coach said was a solution that was not at all Premier League-like.

It’s almost a military-style solution.

If a problem occurs somewhere, block the source of the problem, etc.

“When is Kim’s expected return date?”

“The minimum is six weeks, but Kim is a person with a quick recovery rate, so she may be able to recover sooner.”

“The minimum is 6 weeks, what’s the maximum?”

“It’s been 10 weeks.”

Two months and ten days.

By then the league will be over.

What the fuck.

The meeting continued after that, but no real solution was found. No wonder there was even talk of replacing the defense line at the end of the season as a solution.

.

.

And then time passes again, round 32. The match against Chelsea.

[Madueke, space is open!]

[And low! Middle! Gooooooooo! Palmer becomes a monster and splits the Manchester United net!]

First 15 minutes.

Cole Palmer laid Maguire down on the ground and fired home unmolested from inside the box.

It was a low pass from the right flank, and although there were four defenders in between, none of them could stop Palmer’s movement.

Even Maguire followed him and lost the fight, lying down in an ugly manner.

The defense was wide open, so there was nothing we could do about it.

In fact, it was Kim Min-woo who blocked it every time in that situation that was abnormal… .

[Ooooooh, oooooh, ooooohh …

[Mudrik Gooooooooo! Chelsea scores another goal! Manchester United’s goal, which was like an impregnable fortress, is being breached with just one new goalkeeper!]

[With Kim Min-woo out of the picture, the opposing teams are going crazy! Following Tottenham, even Chelsea is overwhelming Manchester United!]

[If the eel jumps, will the loach jump too? But the result is good!]

[Manchester United’s good times are over and now it looks like the harsh winter is coming!]

Mikhajlo Mudrik, who Kim Min-woo blocked during his time in Hannover’s second division.

Mudrik now looks seasoned and has given United a leg up.

He was so excited that he clenched his fists and celebrated loudly.

Giovanni, who was watching from afar, changed his expression to that of someone who had chewed shit.

Before we knew it, Manchester United was becoming a gourmet restaurant.

* * *

2:1.

Manchester United’s future still looked bleak after losing 2-1 to Chelsea.

In the first leg of the Europa League quarter-finals, Manchester United barely drew 2:2 with Benfica, then drew 1:1 with Aston Villa, and in the second leg of the quarter-finals, they won 2:1 after a fierce battle that went into extra time.

As Manchester United struggled in the league, Manchester City and Liverpool, in second and third place, quickly rose up the table.

Unlike Manchester United, who earned 1 point with 1 draw and 2 losses in 3 matches, both teams narrowed the points gap by earning 9 points with 3 wins in 3 matches.

The point gap that was close to 12 points has now been reduced to just 4 points.

If Manchester United stumble just a little more, their first title in 13 years will be out of the question.

Manchester City, who narrowed the gap from 12 points to 4, naturally had a very encouraging team atmosphere.

“…We will do the best we can, and leave the things we cannot do to heaven.”

I clicked my tongue watching Pep’s confident interview.

“They say that where there is no tiger, the rabbit reigns supreme… … .”

You left my seat empty, so how dare you try to win?

Well, of course I’m not saying that Man City are rabbits… .

First of all, I have no intention of giving up the championship. It’s not just about getting the title of ‘champion’.

There are additional rewards following the victory, but my stats are already increasing at a slow pace these days, and if I don’t get the victory reward, my growth will stagnate.

Once I get stuck, I don’t know when my clean sheet record will be broken.

The scariest thing about people is ‘learning’, and if I stop for even a moment, they will break me down into pixels and analyze me.

What if that happens?

‘If that happens, then the clean sheet record will be gone too.’

In fact, I kept telling myself not to get too hung up on the clean sheet record, but I still didn’t want it to be broken.

If I were to do it, I would probably want to set an immortal record.

So first of all.

“I need to get fully healed first.”

The doctors were looking at a minimum of six to ten weeks, but it didn’t seem like it would take that long to me.

Maybe it was because of the system, but I recovered strangely quickly.

It might be difficult right now, but I think it might be possible to deploy within two weeks.

‘Of course, the performance that has dropped in the meantime… … the defenders will have to cover for it.’

I don’t know if it will work.

And after I was away for a long time, some players contacted me personally to tell me they missed me.

―Kim. When on earth are you coming? Everyone misses you… .

It was Kobe Mainu. A romantic player who rose from the youth ranks to become a key player on the team.

“I’ll be there soon. Just wait two years.”

-2 years? Should I leave first before then?

“It’s just right.”

Mainu chuckled at my joke, then spoke a little seriously.

―Kim. You don’t have to stop me. Just stand in front of the goal.

“Then the goal will go in.”

– It’s okay. I feel secure just by being on the field. Without you, the other players can’t play as well as they usually do. They all seem to be intimidated.

That’s a bit of a shame.

But all I could offer was a little encouragement.

“Cheer up. I’ll be back soon.”

I focused on recovery while keeping an eye on the league situation.

Junyoung would occasionally come to visit me in the hospital, and he said that he wished we could play together again soon, but that the team atmosphere was getting worse and worse, and that he felt like he was on a sinking ship.

“It’s really strange. Without my brother, everything from offense to defense is shaky. My brother is the goalkeeper, but why is our offense lacking?”

“How is it? Since it exists and doesn’t exist, doesn’t it feel precious?”

“I’ve known since you were a brother!”

If you win the league and get a new skill or an enhancement reward, you should definitely upgrade the one related to injury.

I’m anxious, and although this season has been shaky without me, I also want to try to win the championship undefeated like Arsenal next season.

I also think that if you win undefeated, the rewards will be bigger.

.

.

Okay, round 34.

Away to Fulham.

The league leaders and 13th place had an uncharacteristically fierce battle.

Fulham’s opening goal.

Manchester United’s equaliser.

Another runaway goal for Fulham.

Another goal from Manchester United.

The two teams continued to fight fiercely for the three points, but in the end, the score was 2:2. They had to be satisfied with taking one point each.

Manchester United have already gone four games without a win and have only collected two points from those four games.

Man City and Liverpool were on 12 points… .

The score gap, which had been 4 points, has now been reduced to 2 points, and now it is almost as if they are neck and neck.

Manchester United fans, who had been proud of having virtually brought home the championship trophy, were beyond screaming and began to be shocked when they could only secure two points in four games.

Everyone knew why Man Utd were suddenly in such a slump.

Director Giovanni was considered a master director in his own right, but this time, his true colors were revealed in detail and he had to endure criticism from many people.

“It is embarrassing that a team like Manchester United cannot win four games in a row just because Kim is out.”

“Isn’t this basically proof that without Kim, Man U can’t do anything?”

“Not even Hanover was like this!”

No… .

[Manchester United have got their hands on the trophy and now all they have to do is lift it, but looking at the current situation, they can’t even do that… … .]

Endless criticism.

Moreover, if they lose or draw one more game, they will either give up the top spot to Manchester City or end up tied, which is a desperate situation.

This is where God appears.

I don’t think it was that fast, but it seemed to others that he overcame his injury and joined much faster than they thought.

“Sunshine―!”

As soon as I returned to the training ground, Kim Jun-young ran to me and hugged me tightly.

Not only that, the coaching staff and the manager also came over and finally looked relieved.

Needless to say, other players.

“How have you all been?”

“I just took a half-bath in hell water, Kim. Now it’s time for you to save us.”

“Don’t worry.”

Anyway, since Hannover, there hasn’t been a season where they’ve won without a hitch.

I recovered quickly from my injury and returned to training, but I had been out for quite some time so I had to get back into form.

Starting with the FA Cup right now.

.

.

FA Cup semi-finals.

The opponent, coincidentally, was Chelsea, who had defeated Manchester United following Tottenham.

People were surprised when I got back on the field much sooner than they expected, and they were even more surprised on the day of my return game.

[First of all, my impressions so far are that Manchester United’s performance has changed beyond recognition. When Kim Min-woo was out, the performance made me wonder if this was the same team, but now that he’s back, the performance makes me wonder if this is the same team.]

[Yes, it seems like the Manchester United we had forgotten is back. How can the performance change so drastically just because one player changed?]

[Haha, that’s right.]

Manchester United are starting a revenge battle against Chelsea.

[Kim Min-woo’s long pass. Mainu receives it, and oh-! Into space! Kim Jun-young receives it!]

Attack operations that continue like flowing water.

Chelsea started to get beaten up like it was a Manchester United without me.

It’s been a while since I’ve been back, but the defenders played better than I expected, and Chelsea’s offense wasn’t very good either, so I didn’t have any major difficulties playing the game.

We duly got our revenge on Chelsea with a 2-0 score and comfortably advanced to the FA Cup final.

In the opposite port, Liverpool and Manchester City faced off and Liverpool came out on top, but as expected from Klopp, who is the only player to have a higher head-to-head record than Pep, they won after a fiercely contested match.

Klopp, you’re talented, but now you’re reaching your limit.

When asked how he felt about meeting Manchester United for an interview after the win, Klopp said,

“We will come back to Liverpool for the match. We will not play to secure points like last time.”

He replied, “Yes.”

I understand.

Even if you try a no-catch strategy, it’s useless in a tournament.

If we dragged out the time like that and went to a penalty shootout, then it would be my stage again. A stage where I could fully show what kind of person I am.

I also received an interview after the victory.

“Kim! I thought you’d come back later than I expected, but you came back sooner than I expected!”

“The team was in crisis, so I focused solely on treatment. Fortunately, it seems it’s not too late.”

“Oh… It’s been a long time since Kim returned to Manchester United and we finally got a win. Manchester United is still in first place in the league, but the gap with Manchester City is now only two points. What will your mindset be going into the game?”

“As I said, I think I joined at the right time. I still think we are the team best suited to win the title, and unlike Manchester City, we can draw once… … so we will win this time.”

“We haven’t won four games in a row in the league. Will it be different now?”

I scratched my neck briefly at the reporter’s question.

“Well, if it doesn’t work out, I’ll put it in. If you’re frustrated, I’ll put it in and stop it.”

The reporter burst into laughter at my answer. Even I thought it was an absurd amount of confidence.

“It’s Kim, as expected. He’s exactly what Man U fans have been hoping for. Welcome back!”

I ended the interview by saying thank you.

After the interview was made public, it was natural for fans to be excited about seeing me. In addition, there were also the watchful eyes of fans from other teams.