Shooting Trajectory is Visible - Chapter 300



Only Noblemtl

Episode 300: Head-on Showdown

Currently, Korea is performing better than expected in the World Cup in North and Central America.

A perfect record in the group stage was a result that was hard to imagine before the World Cup, and they easily advanced to the round of 32 against Senegal.

The round of 16 against Italy was a tough match, but we eventually won just like we did 24 years ago.

In the quarterfinals, we were also overwhelmingly behind, but we ended up winning in a penalty shootout.

Senegal, Italy, Spain. Having defeated tough tournament opponents, Korea’s next opponent was Brazil, which could be considered the final boss.

The all-time record is 1 win and 7 losses.

Except for one friendly match in 1999, they lost all of their matches. There is not a single draw between the two teams. Either they lost or won.

If you only look at the record, they are close to being natural enemies, and Korea is particularly weak against South American countries, but this time the atmosphere was different.

There was a pervasive feeling throughout society that they could do it. They beat Italy and Spain, so why can’t they beat Brazil?

And there was a similar atmosphere within the national team. The reason Korea couldn’t beat Brazil until now was because Kim Min-woo wasn’t there… …! My seniors kept praising me.

‘I guess the save against Italy left a strong impression on you?’

He prevented the team’s defeat by blocking a deflected shot that was no different from a natural disaster, and in the subsequent match against Spain, he silently played the role of goalkeeper and led the team to the semifinals.

That’s why the belief in me within the team was almost at a religious level.

“Minwoo. Let’s say something to prepare ourselves before we go for training.”

“Yes? Me?”

Yoo Jin-ho’s unexpected suggestion made me gather all the national team players and say something. I was flustered, but… … I could say a hundred words if it was to boost the team’s morale before the game.

“This World Cup will be Hong Min-hyung’s last World Cup… As I’ve said many times, I will make Hong Min-hyung’s last dance end with a World Cup victory.”

“Oh… .”

“Hey! Then what about Neymar?”

Lee Kang-im’s cry. This World Cup is actually Neymar’s last World Cup. He has a weak body that gets injured easily, so he will never be able to play in the next World Cup. He is old.

“Well, I get it. You danced every time you scored against us in the last World Cup, so now you deserve to get retribution.”

Why is there such a saying? If you don’t think you can win, join. If you’re going to be a pushover, join the Korean national team. Heh heh.

However, Brazil also seemed to have been stimulated by Junyoung and I’s interview and made excuses for the incident from four years ago.

In Brazil, dancing every time a goal is scored is not disrespecting the opponent, it is our culture. I wanted to refute this as soon as I saw that interview.

“Really? Then, from now on, we should create a culture where we dance every time we score a goal against Brazil.”

I want to score a goal and just tee-bagging in front of them.

Brazil also seems to think that beating us and advancing to the finals won’t be easy, as they have been consistently making remarks at official events that say Korea is a strong team.

If they ignore and look down on them and lose, it will be difficult to handle the angry public opinion in their own country. That is why they are laying the groundwork. They might lose.

Didn’t Italy just start a riot because they lost to us?

When we defeated Italy and Spain to reach the semifinals again for the first time in 24 years, the world’s reactions were also varied.

Surprising was the norm, and discussions continued about whether Korea’s storm would swallow up even Brazil.

Many people called it a miracle, but those who knew even a little about soccer said it was an expected result. And they named me as the person who contributed the most to Korea’s advancement to the semifinals.

In fact, even I, Brazil.

‘I won’t let you dance, I said loudly that I’ll make it to the finals…’

It’s easy to say, Brazil was one of the best teams in the world. Of course, Italy and Spain were also like that, but Brazil was on a different track.

Every single player was just an incredibly crazy bunch.

First of all, the goalkeeper pool is ridiculous. Alisson and Ederson. Does that make sense? Both goalkeepers were world-class goalkeepers.

Of course I’m better at it. It’s not possible for me unless those two fuse like in the Dragon Ball manga.

But that’s not the end.

Danilo Luis.

Marquinhos.

Eder Militão.

Gabriel Magalhaes.

Lucas Veraudo.

There are many other resources as well.

All of the players listed here are defenders, but the midfield and attackers also have a fierce lineup.

Paqueta. Joao Gomez. Rodrigo. Rafinha. Neymar. Vinicius. Martinelli. Jesus.

‘Listing them all makes my head spin.’

It is no exaggeration to say that all 11 of them are Son Heung-min. No, it may be an even stronger team than that. It may have been presumptuous to say that Brazil can’t dance… .

‘No. No. Even if all those Brazilian players were combined, they wouldn’t be able to beat me. I’m greater than that, damn it!’

Just looking at the players, it’s honestly intimidating, but what can I do? I’m the goalkeeper who frustrated Bayern Munich, Dortmund, Manchester City, Liverpool, and countless other great teams.

If they were scared over there, they would have eaten it. I don’t need to be scared. I was just a little scared of the name Brazil.

Thinking that way made me feel a lot better.

‘Don’t think of it as the World Cup semi-finals, think of it as just one game. It’s a game that happens every week.’

If you were to substitute Brazil for a team in the EPL, roughly which team would it be? I thought about it and only one team came out.

Manchester City.

‘It’s a somewhat important match.’

Ahem.

* * *

The semifinal match against Brazil was held at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia.

A dome stadium with a seating capacity of 75,000.

It was quite refreshing as the stadium was completely different from those in Europe.

And apart from that, the crowd at this stadium was a one-sided yellow wave.

An overwhelming wave of support for Brazil.

There were crowds cheering for Korea, but judging by the crowd, it seemed like the vast majority were cheering for Brazil.

It might be discouraging, but I actually liked this situation.

‘It’s also fun to make the audience scream.’

Brazil never let their guard down against us. The Brazilian people’s reaction to Kim Shin-ah was also surprising.

Before our game, everyone gathered in the streets, crying and praying, or mumbling something incomprehensible to the sky.

When I saw the video, I wondered if it was really that bad… but just looking at the situation in Korea where the World Cup fever was raging, it was clear what the World Cup meant to the people of each country.

[Kim Shin-ah: The whole world already knows that you said you would write a fairy tale]

[Kim Shin-ah: Let’s show it]

[Kim Min-woo: Oh, so that’s why you said that]

Before the match, Alisson, who heard from Kim Jun-young that it was nothing special, said this in an interview.

“Korea has been on a fairytale-like journey, but now the fairytale will end.”

Whether Brazil’s ‘reality is cold’ ending or Korea’s ‘half-baked’ ending will be revealed when the match actually takes place.

The preparations are complete.

Today, unlike the last match against Spain, Korea will be going out with its best 11.

The same was true in Brazil.

After entering the stadium and going through some ceremonial procedures, we took the time to shake hands with each other and then returned to our respective camps.

I thought about Leon’s tactics again.

[I would never have tried it if it were me, Kim. Can I trust you?]

[You said you didn’t believe me at one point.]

[The Spain match was so frustrating. It wasn’t my style.]

[Are you going to be aggressive?]

[Yes. Can you block it as well as you have done so far?]

Aggressively against Brazil.

Korea did that in the last World Cup and ended up conceding 4 goals in the first half alone.

But I wasn’t there at that time.

And, to be honest, I was a little nervous. How could you not be nervous when Hannover plays aggressively against Manchester City?

But, well.

[Okay, I’ll officiate this game too.]

I also enjoy thrills.

.

.

“Fuck.”

And I regretted it just 5 minutes into the game.

Korea aggressive against Brazil?

This is crazy.

It’s good to go up and fight without being discouraged by Brazil, the world’s best.

Our attacking line is strong no matter where you place it in the EPL, so we have the ability to break through the Brazilian defense.

But that’s not our defense.

The defense, which I thought was quite strong, collapsed more easily than I thought when I met Brazil.

And the aftermath was all my responsibility.

They stopped Brazil’s attacks twice in the first five minutes of the game. And now here they come again. It was Brazil’s counterattack after cutting off Korea’s attacks well.

Hafinya quickly entered the side box and passed the ball ground to the center of the box.

The pass goes past a number of players crowding the box and out to the other flank, and there it is: Vinicius.

I thought about jumping out to block it for a moment, but I held my ground firmly. Jumping out was a risky choice.

‘What is this?’

And the trajectory that was created. It was a shot that hit me honestly where I was.

I jumped and caught the shot with both hands like a princess. Who else would dare hit me with such an honest shot?

You guys, you need to get some exercise.

I immediately jumped forward and threw the shot put for the first time in a long time.

As if he knew, Kim Jun-young lightly taps the ball with his right foot and quickly launches a counterattack.

Brazil’s counterattack was easily blocked, and this time it was Korea’s counterattack.

In an instant, the Brazilian players returned to their own camp. Four players in yellow uniforms surrounded Kim Jun-young.

If it were someone like Cho Kyu-seok or Hwang Eul-jo, I would have just thrown the ball away or blocked the back pass that broke the flow, but my running mate, Kim Jun-young, who is also competing for the number one option at Manchester United, was definitely different.

He dribbled to the left or right and then passed the ball into space. Son Heung-min, who was on the other side, received it, but the shooting angle was not right, so the attacking opportunity was lost.

“Kkabi.”

But it was a good try.

With this level of counterattack, Brazil won’t be able to take us lightly. They say we’re a strong team and that they won’t take us lightly, but deep down inside, they probably have contempt for Asian teams.

Brazil is a team of that level.

And Korea continued to be aggressive under Leon’s tactics.

A strange worldview unfolds where Brazil defends and Korea attacks.

‘If anyone saw me, they’d think I was wearing a different uniform.’

It was Son Heung-min.

Son Heung-min dribbled from the side and then moved into the half-space, where he attempted a curling kick in the famous Son Heung-min zone.

“You came!?”

Fantastic trajectory, and a fast-flying mid-range shot!

And then Allison flies in and blocks it. You crazy bastard… You block that?

‘I admit it. You’re doing well.’

He was a goalkeeper I’d met several times in the EPL. He was definitely good. If he had eyes to see the trajectory, he would have been a real monster.

And then Korea’s attack again. I don’t know why we keep playing aggressively just because we’re playing aggressively, but except for the very beginning of the first half, it was our pace.

This time it was Lee Kang-im.

Outside the box.

The area in and around the box was full of Brazilian players, so Lee Kang-im attempted a mid-range shot like Son Heung-min.

Tae-aeng!

“Ah!”

And that attempt unfortunately hit the goal post and missed. The yellow waves watching the game looked bewildered by Korea’s continued attacks.

“Kukuk.”

Is it good?

People were at a loss as the performance was completely opposite to what they had expected.

Yeah. Who would have expected that Korea would show this level of performance against Brazil?

Even in the previous match, the quarterfinals, Korea barely made it to the semifinals with space defense.

But the whole of Korea is different.

Although the defense is a bit shaky, the offense is still not that bad compared to other soccer powerhouses!

After so many good attempts, it is now Brazil’s turn again.

Brazil raised their line fiercely as if they wanted to avenge the humiliation they had suffered so far (which was not much).

It was a matter of seconds before several of our players were wiped out with a few passes.

‘… Oh, shit, that’s scary.’

I swallowed hard and prepared to block. Neymar suddenly came rushing in.

And there seems to have been some sort of collision while Kim Min-je was kicking the ball away. Suddenly, Neymar jumps and falls down.

This is fucking not good.

And then the referee’s whistle blows right away.

It was a penalty kick decision.

“ah.”

Ah. This is a bit.

The Korean players immediately rush out to protest, but, well, it doesn’t seem to have any effect.

I bit my lip and swallowed.

I know Neymar’s penalty kicks very well.

I’ve seen a lot of guys who kick like Neymar, but this is the first time I’ve actually taken a penalty kick against Neymar.

And the first penalty shootout I ever experienced was also a Neymar-style psychological warfare.

‘Is it today?’

It wasn’t Holland or Mbappe who took my first goal. Maybe it was Neymar.

I sighed and prepared for the penalty kick.

Since it’s come to this, we might as well confront it head on.

I’ve grown a lot too.