Soccer Genius Wants to Get Noticed - Chapter 113



Only Krnovel

Episode 113: Community of Destiny

Lothar Mateus, I think I’ve heard of this guy before.

There was a time when people criticized my behavior, saying that I had a ‘low-quality personality’ or something.

Why do you have such a grudge against me?

It’s heartbreaking to be hated by someone for no reason, so complaints naturally flow out of your lips.

If this happens… …I’ll have to think of another way to get revenge.

Seriously, it gives me something to do when I’m already busy.

Bam!

Then suddenly, a door opens and a huge figure appears across the hallway.

Shudder.

As soon as the gorilla made eye contact with me, he slowed down his steps and furrowed his brows. I wasn’t happy to see him either, so I instinctively stuck out my lips.

And then, in an instant, they reach an agreement.

Their feelings for each other may not be positive, but at least this isn’t a good place to fight.

He takes the elevator down to the lower floor, and I, too, roughly organize my stack of newspapers and get up from the sofa.

Right side of the glass table.

The fragment of the article that had been buried at the very bottom came into view belatedly, but for now, I had to talk to Baumgart first.

[… … Sky, strongly linked with Bayern Munich. Insider reports they are preparing an ‘unrejectable’ offer for the summer transfer window.]

It’s probably a flyer, though.

And after a while.

“what?”

I ended up shouting in shock inside the director’s office. I knew it was rude, but there was nothing I could do.

“… … From now on, I’m going to make sure to let Modeste play with me. Even if we have to sit on the bench, we’ll be together, and even when we enter the stadium, we’ll be together.”

“… … .”

Doctor, no.

Director, what kind of miserable thing is this?

“Why… … . How did you come to make that decision? We’re the worst combination. Wouldn’t it be better to separate us? If we’re going to do it, let me be the center-”

“No. Both of them are important forces in Cologne. Excluding one of them is not an option. I have already informed Anthony, so he should know that.”

“… … Did I break into the meeting without making an appointment and just barge in like this? Are you upset?”

“… … Hanul.”

“I’m sorry, it was my fault!”

If I had known that apologizing would be this easy, I would have come up and thrown it down a long time ago. No, maybe it was the special ability of the bear leader to accept an apology so easily.

“I’m not asking for an apology. There’s no need for one, and it’s meaningless. It’s not like the locker room clash was just one person’s fault.”

“then?”

“I’ll say it again, there’s no need to say ‘yes’. The reason I’ve been keeping an eye on the relationship between you two, Anthony and Hanul, is because I expected it to be resolved naturally, but because of the conflict in the last game… … .”

“It’s over?”

“Yes. Both sides made irreversible choices. But the problem is that I am the coach of this team, and I can’t choose just one of the two tactically. They have different strengths and positions.”

The more I think about it, the stranger it becomes.

Before I entered the room, I had imagined Baumgart suppressing his anger with a bright red face, and me compromising and making some concessions.

The reality is quite the opposite.

When I came to my senses, I realized that I was the one trying to persuade the other person. This wasn’t just empty words; I was exhausted.

“So you’re going to graft me and that ugly gorilla together (I wanted to emphasize this part)?”

“Oh my god, Hanul. Where on earth did you learn that expression? To graft.”

“Anyway. What if Modeste makes a reckless tackle and gets sent off?”

“I told you over and over again that you’re going to fall for it too.”

“that is…….”

Does that make sense?

Shit, shit, fucking shit.

It’s clear that today’s incident was the worst.

At school, when I asked them to gather wild animals, they brought back kids who would just eat grass, but on the other hand, at the club… … they told me to form a partnership with a gorilla?

Gorillas may also be considered beasts of burden… … No! No!

No matter what, this isn’t right!

“Oh, please. I won’t fight anymore. I won’t pick a fight or be sarcastic. I’ll just pretend I don’t know. Why should I suffer because of that person? I should just do better.”

“Just like the last game?”

“that…….”

“I know. I’m not criticizing your play. If you think about it, it was my fault. If I had brought in Modeste earlier, the defense would have been more focused. That would have not only increased the burden on the defense, but also put pressure on the referee. Anthony doesn’t like to play rough, but he does it very well.”

“… … What does putting pressure on the referee have to do with me?”

“As the number of fouls increases, the referee will also become mentally shaken. He will realize that the game is getting out of his control and will try to control it more strongly. If that happens… … the number of fouls he gives and the level of fouls he gives will decrease. It will also make it more comfortable for you to play.”

Oh.

No, you can’t. You can’t be persuaded.

This isn’t kindergarten, so why do I have to run in a three-way race with Modeste?

“I’ll do better. Just give me a chance. Seriously-”

“You already had your chance. If you wanted to convince me, you should have shown your skills in the game where Modeste was absent, not with words.”

“but-”

“And above all… … why should I choose?”

“uh?”

“Both can be used, but the best results come when both are used together, so why should I choose only one of them? Will Modeste show an overwhelming performance that will chew up the entire league? No. I acknowledge his scoring ability, but his ability as a front-line attacker is clearly divided into strengths and weaknesses. Then, Hanul, what about you? If we make a tactic centered around you, can you score more than 30 goals in the league? Can you show not only overwhelming skills but also consistent performance?”

It is difficult to refute this claim because his performance in the last match is holding him back.

30 goals?

There are 10 league games remaining.

They have scored 15 goals so far, so to score that many, they need to score at least… … one goal in each of the remaining 10 games.

“If I score 30 goals, will you give me a separate award?”

“If you prove it.”

“… … Just wait and see.”

To my dismay, the leader bear just smiled.

* * *

A 1-1 draw with bottom-of-the-table team Greuther Fürth won’t ruin Cologne’s reputation.

“Hanul! Hanul, just one picture here!”

“Anthony!”

After warming up in the training room to avoid the cold wind and going outside to finish the scheduled session, Friday training is over. The fans lined up outside the fence must have noticed that it is almost time to leave work, so they wave their hands and ask for pictures and autographs.

Instead of approaching the fans, I tried to run towards the parking lot, but I couldn’t avoid the taunts that were creeping into my ears.

“Wow, it’s a painting. Anthony and Sung Ha Neul. As expected, the best duo in Cologne! The two tops who are admired by fans! The worst brothers on earth!”

“… … .”

I won’t bother mentioning who said it.

He was glaring at Modeste, who was over 30 years old, as if he was going to kill me, so a promising player wouldn’t have done that.

“Ut, stop there.”

“Huh? Why?”

“I hate them both.”

“Of course you should hate it. That way, it’s more fun to tease.”

Crackle crackle.

A talent that even made Elias Skyri shake his head. On the one hand, it was an admirable ability, but… … I couldn’t help but feel angry.

The director’s decision has spread like wildfire, and I’m being teased as if I’ve really become part of a community of shared destiny.

The only consolation was that all formal training was over.

It means that you can’t tease them anymore.

“Okay, that’s all for today’s training. Tomorrow, we’ll just be light-hearted in preparation for the weekend game, so if you have time, let’s review today’s training. Do you remember how we lost to Hoffenheim in the first half?”

“Ja (yes)!”

“Okay. Let’s definitely pay it forward this time. Have a nice evening, everyone!”

As soon as head coach André Polak said his final goodbyes, the Cologne players dispersed as if they had been waiting for it.

Modeste walks out with his group of goalkeepers, including Ondrej Duda and Florian Kainz. Goalkeepers Timo Horn and Schwabedo stick together and go out.

Naturally, Remperle, Jan Tillman, and Schmitz came over to me and talked to me.

“Are you going to go today too?”

“That’s right. Are you going to train extra?”

“Oh. I guess I’ve been a starter before, so I’ll have to push harder when the opportunity comes. When Modeste comes back… … I think it won’t be easy.”

Oh my.

That position competitor will now be competing with me.

I don’t know if they just didn’t listen to the rumors at the training ground or if they were deliberately pretending not to know.

“You might want to join us. Skiri said he’d show us how to do topspin. That might help you too.”

“I have to go home later.”

“Okay. Then there’s nothing I can do. See you tomorrow.”

Since I wasn’t in a good enough condition to pay attention to each and every one of them, I greeted them with a light fist bump and left the training ground.

Swish swish swish.

After taking autographs and pictures with the driver without making him wait too long, we boarded the car parked on one side of the parking lot, and this marked the end of our official schedule.

Bam!

“Are you tired? I’ll drive slowly, so get some shut-eye.”

“huh.”

I am once again thankful that Mr. Guwi Aziz is my driver. Not only is he an excellent driver, he never adds unnecessary words.

If you had told me to ‘go home and get some rest’, I would have reacted quite sensitively. The ‘official schedule’ was over, but the work of the day was not over.

Seong Ha-jun, Seong Ha-jun, Seong Ha-jun.

Normally, I don’t need to say anything negative, but on a day like today when I’m not feeling well, I find myself unconsciously becoming filled with negative emotions.

Of course, you are not actually given any time to close your eyes.

Soccer is a sport, and sports are generally physical activities. Right after training, my mind was extremely clear, and even then, because my house was close to the training ground, my tires stopped moving in less than 20 minutes.

“Ha-nul, they’re all here.”

“Yeah. Tomorrow is the day I go straight to the training ground.”

“I know. I’ll be there on time.”

Should I throw a tantrum and say I don’t want to go in?

I might have done that about 3 years ago.

But now my parents fight less about money, and most importantly, I have Uncle Gunther.

Yeah, I’m going to go out and play later tonight. I just walked into the house like an idiot, completely unprepared.

Squeak!

“Has heaven come?”

“… … Yes. You came early?”

To my surprise, I heard my mother’s voice before I even took off my shoes.

Have you decided to quit your side job now?

That’s not really bad news.

As I took off my shoes and went inside, I saw that she was busy washing dishes. As bubbles started to bubble up in the sink, she turned on the tap and washed the dishes.

It was originally a mission given to me.

I guess I avoided the worst day.

“Heaven, can I talk to Mom for a minute?”

“Yes, why? Didn’t you get your paycheck?”

“That’s not it… … .”

The situation that followed was also perfect. I took off my socks and was about to put them in the washing machine, but they were already spinning around and around. It was still far from my birthday, but I wondered if this was okay.

“What is it?”

“My mom got a phone call, and it was from the soccer field.”

“… … In Cologne?”

“No, I heard a name called Marco Nepe… … .”

Then suddenly, a strange word makes my head creak and turn.

Where to play soccer?

Mom and Dad barely used the word soccer.

Especially after immigrating to Germany.

Then, out of the blue, a conversation I had with my agent came to mind.

‘Marco Nepe wants you.’

‘Who is that person?’

‘Bayern Munich’s technical director. He has the authority to recruit. That means this is far from just a rumor.’

Marco Nepe.

He was clearly the director of Bayern Munich.

“… … I heard?”

“… … .”

“I heard, but what? You didn’t give me any answer or promise, did you?”

“A promise? I didn’t make anything like that. I just said I knew that person. If you ever change teams later on… … .”

Let the gossip flow unnoticed.

One after another, news articles I had seen at the main training center flashed before my eyes.

[… … Sky, strongly linked with Bayern Munich. Insider reports they are preparing an ‘unrejectable’ offer for the summer transfer window.]