Shooting Trajectory is Visible - Chapter 281



Only Noblemtl

Episode 281 Victory Amulet

One day before the match against Switzerland, as expected, my family came to the training ground.

“Oh, dad…!”

Kim Shin-ah waved her hand from the outskirts of the training ground like a cautious woman. Knowing my sister’s true colors, I couldn’t help but laugh, but my colleagues rushed over as if they had seen some kind of idol.

“Hello! My name is Park Seung-ho, Min-woo’s close friend! We were on the Olympic team together!”

“Oh, yes. Hello… .”

First, Kim Shin-ah left him alone and greeted her parents. Her mom and dad couldn’t help but praise the newly built training facility, saying it looked really nice.

While other colleagues also greeted their parents, Kim Shin-ah seemed to be struggling, unlike her usual self, perhaps because she felt burdened by being surrounded by strong men.

‘I don’t have a separate Lu Bu.’

It was surprising and cute to see another side of Kim Shin Ah. Or is she just pretending to be skinny?

“Hey. Act like you usually do. You won’t adapt.”

“What are you usually like?”

Lee Kang-im’s question. I answered quickly.

“Just a guy with long hair?”

“what!”

Kim Shin-ah is getting angry. The married men and seniors who are well over 30 years old look at her with delight.

What about players my age or younger?

“I saw you on SNS and you look exactly like the picture! Minwoo is tall and handsome, but your younger brother is also handsome!”

“Ahaha… Thank you.”

I sat down and plotted.

We continued with our training and spent some more time with our families before heading back.

After that, I received KakaoTalk.

[Kim Shin-ah: Ah, I almost developed social phobia because there were so many people crowding around]

[Kim Shin-ah: But contrary to what I expected, there wasn’t anything special?]

[Kim Shin-ah: If I had gone alone, it would have been a waste of time… haha]

[Kim Min-woo: But why are you pretending to be careful?]

[Kim Shin-ah: It’s our first time meeting, so I can’t do it to you like I did to you]

[Kim Min-woo: lol]

After that, the topic of my younger sister came up for a while in the national team. Half of the people talked about her appearance, and the other half were surprised that she graduated from Seoul National University. And there were even some who were jealous of me for having a good younger sister.

I was about to say something because it seemed like we were only talking about my younger sister, but luckily, Hongmin hyung helped direct the traffic.

It was a gathering after work hours.

“Guys, I understand you’re excited about beating Turkey 4-0, but we’re in the World Cup. In two days, we have a friendly match against Switzerland. There aren’t many of you who are confident that you can make it to the World Cup right now.”

Son Heung-min’s intensive mental training was flawless. In short, it was telling me to stop talking about my sister and focus on soccer.

As soon as the captain of the national team said a word, everyone followed suit and the brief gathering was disbanded.

“Minwoo. You stay for a bit.”

And Hongmin hyung left me alone to check if I was uncomfortable.

“Aren’t you uncomfortable with the constant mention of your sister? If you were uncomfortable, I’ll make sure that it doesn’t happen again.”

“No, it’s okay. I’ll just do it today. I’ll get back in there as soon as the game starts.”

Son Heung-min nodded to my words and patted my head as if he was proud of me.

“Okay. Let’s do our best, Minwoo. You know that hyung trusts you a lot, right?”

“I also only trust you, hyung.”

“Hahaha. Anyway, I can’t help but think it’s pretty.”

After that, everything went as I expected.

The slightly relaxed atmosphere tightened up again as the friendly match against Switzerland approached, and the national team players trained passionately ahead of the second friendly match… .

* * *

Before the match, the two commentators recited South Korea’s recent performance and match details, as well as Switzerland’s performance and match details.

“South Korea is currently in a state of shock. It is unconventional, shocking, and shocking. If you look at the A matches so far, Leon Harpers’ national team has not suffered a single defeat, except for the defeat to UAE in the third round of World Cup qualifiers.”

“Since the Leon Harpers was launched, we’ve only suffered one defeat?”

“Yes. It’s not like we only played against weaker teams. We played against strong teams from South America. We also played against strong teams from Europe, but we didn’t lose.”

And then, the screen instantly reveals the entire national team players.

“There are really good players all around from the front to the back. There has never been a lineup this good in the history of Korean football, and there will never be one in the future.”

“If we have to find a weakness, it would be the left and right fullback resources. This is actually a global phenomenon. Fullbacks are a valuable resource in any country.”

“Goals scored per game are goals, but what stands out the most is the goals conceded. The goal conceded rate, the goal conceded rate is ridiculous.”

Leonho conceded a total of 8 goals. At first glance, it seems like that’s all, but if you look closely, the story is different.

“If we include only the games in which Kim Min-woo played, these goals conceded would be 0. He is simply invincible. Kim Min-woo is a talisman for victory for the national team!”

“Oh, that’s right. Despite the fact that he has played in so few games, Kim Min-woo has not allowed a single goal. Whether with the national team or his club team, Kim Min-woo has not allowed a goal anywhere!”

And Kim Min-woo’s super saves were broadcast on the screen. The two commentators were watching it and exclaiming ‘Kya’ and ‘Wow’ in admiration.

“Really… … Kim Min-woo is a true blessing for South Korea. I feel a great sense of pride that a legendary player, not just world-class, has emerged from South Korea.”

“Me too.”

And the Swiss side’s power and recent records were also explained, but the data was still poor compared to Korea.

“We can’t let our guard down, but this is an opponent we can definitely beat. Since this is the final evaluation match before the World Cup, we have to show the best performance we can and the best tactics we can use.”

After the pre-match preview, preparations for the A-match began in earnest at the stadium.

And in today’s game, Son Heung-min went up top and Kim Jun-young went to the wing, just as coach Leon intended. And several first-option and second-option players were also named in the starting lineup.

“For today’s game, captain Son Heung-min will be at the top, and Kim Jun-young will be moved to the left wing. It’s not a big change, but it’s definitely a meaningful position. Son Heung-min has been playing well as a top player for Tottenham.”

“Yes. The only unknown is Kim Jun-young, right? Kim Jun-young on the wing proved to be effective when he was at Suwon Shenyang, but I’m not sure. We’ll have to wait and see if he can be effective in a match of this level.”

And the game began.

The FIFA rankings of both teams were very close.

What kind of form, what kind of flow, what kind of game would unfold depended on how well both teams had prepared for today’s game.

It was South Korea that took the offensive first.

Korea dominated the game with ease, as they had already crushed Turkey with overwhelming performance.

“Okay, Hwang Hee-cheon on the side. To Lee Kang-im.”

“Lee Kang-im is everywhere.”

“Yes. And Lee Kang-im will upload it!”

Korea is making progress similar to what it showed in the previous Turkey match.

Lee Kang-im floated the ball from the half space to the center of the box, and Kim Jun-young, who was in the center of the box through a switch, received the ball and attempted a header.

It was a slightly off-target header.

That’s why the ball’s trajectory flew to an unpredictable place. The header was headed to the right, but the ball bounced to the left.

The opposing goalkeeper was caught in a momentary reversal, and by the time he hesitated and tried to block the ball, the ball had already gone into the goal line.

“Kim Jun-young, header, header—!”

“Eeeeeeeee! It’s in!”

“So quickly, Kim Jun-young again, ahead of Turkey, consecutive goals— Huh? Ah!”

And the flag of the vice-minister went up.

The decision was that Kim Jun-young’s feet were ahead of the defenders.

The commentators sighed when they saw it.

“Ah, this. Ah. That’s too bad.”

“I was a little ahead. It’s okay.”

Early in the game, Switzerland also began to respond quickly to Korea’s surprise attack.

Players were placed at every intersection to avoid a situation like the one just before.

And with that organized defense, Korea also passed the ball around and watched the situation rather than attacking rashly.

After a short period of looking at each other, the Swiss attack situation.

It was a corner kick.

Michel, who had been holding the ball on the wing with a short pass instead of a cross into the box, crossed a beat slower.

“Solid header. Good defense.”

Because it was such a ridiculous attempt, the commentators reported it as if it was nothing, and the situation where the ball was kicked out with a header became a ping-pong game where players from both teams continued to head the ball.

Then, Swiss striker Shaqiri, who regained possession of the ball, turned his back on the Korean players and headed towards Xhaka.

Xhaka collected the ball outside the box and fired a long-range shot straight at goal.

Boohoo!

“Hey! This is dangerous!”

“Kim Min-woo! He kicked it out! Good save! Kim Min-woo flew in and blocked it easily!”

“You did a good job of kicking and blocking. But you shouldn’t have given yourself this opportunity. You need to focus.”

After the save, the game fell into a lull again. As expected between two countries with close FIFA rankings, the game was tighter than expected.

Unlike the previous times, it seemed like the balance was somewhat maintained.

If only Kim Min-woo hadn’t kicked the ball coolly in front of me from outside the box.

In fact, Kim Min-woo was constantly looking for an opportunity. It is impossible for a human to maintain concentration in a 90-minute game, and if you are in a tug-of-war situation where you are stagnant, there are bound to be moments when you take a leisurely walk and rest.

Kim Min-woo continued to watch the liver and then kicked it far forward at exactly the right time.

Son Heung-min competed with the opposing defender to receive the ball. More precisely, he turned his back and passed it to Lee Ja-seong, who was behind him.

Lee Ja-seong, who received the ball, passed the ball back to the space where Son Heung-min was.

It was a one-two pass.

The organized Swiss defense line collapsed like a mirage with that light pass.

“Son Heung-min is running―!”

“You have to follow me. The other players have to follow me!”

It was Son Heung-min running between the center and the side. His position was ambiguous to aim for the goal.

Hwang Hee-cheon was running right behind Son Heung-min, while Kim Jun-young was ahead but a little further away.

“Son Heung-min runs into the side of the box.”

“I think I need to connect you to another player.”

Son Heung-min looked around while running. Then, after checking Kim Jun-young’s position, he floated the ball to the center of the box. The ball drew a parabolic curve.

There was a Swiss defender on Kim Jun-young’s right, and he tried to block the connection by jumping, but the ball just grazed his head.

The ball bounced once on the ground and was delivered straight to Kim Jun-young, and Kim Jun-young was not an attacker who would miss this situation.

Since ancient times, Kim Jun-young has been the type of attacker who misses difficult shots but scores easy shots.

In this situation, the commentators naturally raised the decibel level.

“Here I come! Here I come!”

“He went in―! Kim Jun-young! Kim Jun-young has once again scored against Turkey and Switzerland, scoring two goals in a row in this evaluation match!”

“A pass from soccer guru Son Heung-min, and a goal from soccer machine Kim Jun-young! It’s a perfect collaboration!”

“How can you put it in so easily, Kim Jun-young!”

“Yes! And Kim Min-woo’s long ball was also really good! It was like that last time against Turkey, but Kim Min-woo’s attacking ability is really good!”

“Kim Min-woo is a player who blocks goals so well, but he is also good at making goals! And Son Heung-min, Lee Ja-seong, and Kim Jun-young are players who know how to move in these situations!”

South Korea scored the first goal in the 20th minute of the first half. It was a bit tricky compared to Turkey, but Switzerland was also prey in the end in Korea’s backyard.

After that, Korea started to attack as if they had gotten the hang of it.

He didn’t give his opponent a chance to rest.

He kept pushing.

He was acting as if he had been hit with a bullet.

The commentators who were watching continued to exclaim in admiration at the match’s appearance.

“South Korea keeps attacking, having cornered Switzerland! We need to be careful of counterattacks, but the current situation looks really good!”

“It’s so good right now. The ball keeps going forward. Attack, attack, attack. Coach Leon’s style isn’t this aggressive, but in today’s game, somehow the ball won’t go back!”

“The South Korean national team continues to play in the Swiss camp. Even goalkeeper Kim Min-woo is seen standing quite far from the goal.”

“This is a bit of a weird setup! Korea and Switzerland are only one level apart in the FIFA rankings, but they’re playing as if they’re 100 levels apart!”

Although no additional goals were scored, the commentators were impressed by the continued attacking style.

The current state of the game is proof that Korean soccer, which was pushed to the edge after the Asian Cup, has made a complete comeback.

How dark a path have I walked?

The national team had been going through ups and downs for quite some time since Leon took office.

And as always, the crisis came out of nowhere. Korea had actually raised the line too much, and if they lost or lost the flow in that state, they were in a perfect position to be counterattacked.

It was like that now.

After losing the ball due to sudden pressure, Switzerland launched a full-scale counterattack as if to avenge the humiliation they had suffered so far.

“Hey hey hey hey―! Now, we have to watch out for counterattacks!”

“That was too aggressive! We have to block this counterattack well!”

Everyone except the Swiss goalkeeper rushed to the Korean camp. This included Kim Min-woo… .

21 athletes running fiercely as if they were in a first-come, first-served race.

Switzerland’s counterattack, which seemed to show something, ended more futilely than expected.

If the national team’s offense and defense were greatly strengthened with the appearance of Kim Jun-young and Kim Min-woo, it was because the existing resources were also quite good.

“Kim Min-je’s defense! Shaqiri falls down after being caught in a shoulder fight! The referee didn’t blow the whistle, and Kim Min-je passes to Kim Min-woo!”

“The situation was over in an instant. Oh, Kim Min-je! That was a great defense!”

Switzerland, who had been counterattacking fiercely, ended up losing the game in 7 seconds. There was no need for Kim Min-woo to come out. The Korean defense had a monster.