Soccer Genius Wants to Get Noticed - Chapter 117



Only Krnovel

Episode 117 New Star

While Sung Ha-neul was boarding a plane to Korea and passing through the sky, the Cologne players who were not called up for the A match were out at the training ground as usual.

“They should be here by now.”

“… … You teased me all the time, so now that I’m gone, you’re sad.”

“Remperle, Remperle. It’s not that I miss you. I’m just worried that you’ll become even more arrogant.”

“Isn’t that it?”

“It’s different. I’ll treat the former well when he comes back, but I’ll have to tease the latter even more so that he can come to his senses. Seriously. Who on earth would care about him like I do? Huh? Where can you find a teammate like me?”

“… … .”

Indoor training room.

Tim Remperle furrows one eyebrow as he pedals his exercise bike.

Mark Utna or Sung Ha Neul.

It was never a feeling close to hatred, but if you count them as troublemakers, they were both equally bad. The only difference was that Sung Ha-neul was the one who was the most outspoken, while Mark Ut was the one who quietly took it.

It was the same today.

I personally witnessed someone attending a party without permission, having their face exposed on social media, and getting scolded by the head coach.

However, it is true that he is a person you cannot hate, so Remperle quickly wiped the sweat from his forehead and asked back.

“But honestly, isn’t it unnecessary to become more arrogant? He… … is Hanul. Isn’t that just his natural disposition?”

“Arthur. You don’t know. Imagine if he had German citizenship. What would it have been like?”

“Uh… … You wouldn’t have just left it alone, right?”

The answer to this question is given by fellow player Jan Tillman.

“That’s a gross understatement. Moukoko (Borussia Dortmund prospect) is also openly mentioned as the next German national team player, let alone Hanul.”

“Is that so?”

“Of course. In fact, the comparison itself doesn’t make sense. Hanul is the same age as Moukoko, but he scored 15 goals in the league alone. On the other hand, Moukoko doesn’t get many opportunities to play.”

“hmm.”

“Besides, there’s no particular finisher for the national team. If he had German citizenship, as Uth said, the DFB (German Football Federation) would have brought him over.”

If you think about it, Rempel’s position overlaps with Sung Ha-neul’s, so although he is not without a sense of competition, he just nods his head obediently.

“That seems likely. It’s convincing.”

“Yeah. It seems like he’s been a bit shaky in recent games, but still… … . You know, when you play, you go up and down. The officials would know better.”

“Yeah. Then it’ll definitely get some attention. But I think it might actually have a positive effect on him. Hanul enjoys being the center of attention, right?”

Then, out of nowhere, Mark Ut intervenes with a look of inexplicable displeasure.

“Attention? Master~ok?”

“… … Why, why?”

“You guys are like these kids. Your inexperience shows through like this. The expression ‘attention-grabbing’ is far from enough. Haven’t you ever been on the national team?”

“I went to the representative teams by age group… … .”

“Hey, hey! That’s where the tadpoles with their hind legs sprouted gather! The national team is completely different!”

“… … .”

A tadpole that has just sprouted hind legs.

Isn’t that a bit too much?

As I was starting to feel rebellious, Mark Ut started giving a long speech, whether he knew it or not. It was based on his own experience… … and he was showing off.

“The fans’ interest is one thing, but the reporters’ attitudes are different.”

“Journalists?”

“Yeah. The age-based representative teams are tadpoles. Aren’t they cute? Oh my, our tadpoles… … They have to grow up well and not die in the middle? Something like that?”

“… … .”

“But when that tadpole turns into a frog, it’s a different story. They use informal language and ask rude questions, and they ask questions regardless of time and place, so at some point, your mentality completely deteriorates. The problem is that fans don’t know the process, so when an accident happens, they curse the player. Then, their shattered mentality turns to dust… … .”

“Are you worried about Hanul?”

“I’m worried, but I’m worried that I might become arrogant.”

“No, what you just said-”

“That’s a normal case. He’s young. He should be a tadpole, but he should be growing his front legs at the earliest, but he looks like a frog. To be exact, he’s probably a tadpole.”

“… … A tadpole?”

“Yes. So how could you not be interested? It’s amazing that it’s neither a tadpole nor a frog. Of course, the expression ‘attention’ is not enough. I don’t know much about Korea, but I’m sure of this one thing.”

Are you serious?

Since I am a very playful person, I have been having doubts about this, but looking at Jonas in front of me, it seems like it may be true.

He was nodding his head so subtly that it was almost imperceptible.

* * *

Mark Ut’s words were only half true.

The part that matches is that the expression ‘attention’ is insufficient.

[Seong Ha-neul, first call-up to the national team.]

[Bundesliga’s supernova finally on the verge of making his national team debut.]

[Son Eung-min’s successor? The same path he walked.]

[Coach Mauri Mendes said he expects a confident performance. No comment on whether he will be used.]

In fact, media attention was focused on one side long before arriving in Korea.

That would be the case, as qualification for the World Cup finals has already been confirmed.

Although there is a rivalry with Iran within the Asian region, it does not reach the level of the relationship with Japan, so the focus is ultimately on a specific player.

Because he is not only young, he has also fueled public interest by mixing in some hopeful observations with somewhat excessive expectations.

Gayorider: What’s this? Is he famous? Why are you making such a fuss?

└The King of the Unemployed: Where in the mountains have you been living? If you’re a soccer fan, you’ve probably heard of him since October of last year. He’s chewing up the Bundesliga.

└Gayo Rider: Link – [Sports News] ‘Will he break the record for youngest A-match debut? If he plays in the Iran match, he will be 17 years and 142 days old, surpassing the existing record of 17 years and 241 days held by Kim Pan-gon.’

└Gayo Rider: I know, I know. What I’m saying is, are you really that excited? First of all, you’re really young.

└Pepsi is fruit flavored: It’s a bit too much. Of course, the expression “chewing and eating” is a bit off-putting, and among the promising players, it’s at a level that should be compared to all time. Anyway, he has proven something on the adult stage. He’s also been linked to Bayern Munich. But… … Looking at the link, I realize how young he is. Born in 2004… … .

└Football Lobster: Baby, baby… … .

Hoik-ik?: I think the national soccer team is also entering its golden generation. There were a lot of second-line players to begin with, but I didn’t expect to see such outstanding players come out one after another.

└First Love for 20 Years: But I don’t know if he’ll be able to play. Mendes is often called up and ends up warming the bench. Plus, the player’s recent form doesn’t seem to be good, so I’m even more worried.

└Gapyeong Gorani: I agree. It’s not that there’s a lack of second-line resources, so I don’t think it’ll be possible for him to compete for the starting position. I just want him to play. I want to see how he plays.

└Ringdingdo-ro-dong: Seriously. It won’t work for Hwang Hee-chul. Not only is his soccer skills good, but his looks are also overwhelming.

└Huh?: Ah… … .

└Gapyeong Gorani: Heechul, don’t be so jealous. Go and wash your feet quickly and go to sleep. You have to train tomorrow.

In addition, what do Hamburg, where Son Eung-min played in the past, and Cologne, where Sung Ha-neul played, have in common, and what are the differences?

There is a lot of active opinion both online and offline about what kind of grades he achieved at the age of seventeen and who he compares to.

At the time, FC Köln was also looking to expand into Asia for marketing purposes, so various data such as the club’s reputation and local fans’ expectations were added.

However, as previously mentioned, one thing that differed from Mark Ut’s predictions was that the ‘decisive blow’ came from photography, not football.

The thing called ‘handsome’.

Sometimes, external appearances can obscure the essence.

Hehehehe: Has anyone seen the photo of Seong Ha-neul entering the country?

└Hehehehe: Your indifferent expression is so cool~

└Queen Yeri: Are you a soccer player? I don’t know anything about soccer… but you’re handsome?

└Hehehehe: He’s a soccer player playing in Germany. He’s playing for the national team this time. He’s seventeen years old!

└Soyongdori: He’s so young;; But if he’s handsome, he’s my brother… … .

Dadaenashiper: I don’t know much, but is this player good? I’m thinking about becoming a fan. I’m more into it than the news.

└Strawberry Gomi: You scored a lot of goals in Germany. I heard you were one of the best in your age group.

└Seongdeokjilleo: I don’t know anything about soccer, but I’ll just jump in!

Warm-up: Here are links to airport photos and interviews.

└YoungDuck: Local scent lol. But anyway, what’s with the face sales…?

└LauraneAA: It seems to stand out more because it’s a cool beauty tone. How can your skin be like that when you’re always running around?

└EnHYPE 00: It’s a local scent, lol. Okay.

The first impression must have been quite strong, as airport photos began to circulate in online communities. This, combined with the buzz surrounding the national soccer team, became even more intense.

So it was only natural that news reporters flocked to the national soccer team’s training ground.

NFC (National Football Center) in Paju, northern Gyeonggi Province.

clattering.

Reporters and officials rush forward before the vehicle even comes to a complete stop.

A monumental first gathering.

The so-called promising prospects who are receiving public attention are great newsworthy in and of themselves, so we wanted to capture them even from the moment they got out of the car.

Even the national team officials did so.

Because we plan to upload it on the video channel operated by KFA.

Suddenly.

And after a while, Seong Ha-neul opened the door and came out after fixing his messy hair.

“Holy Sky Sun-”

“hello~”

hmm?

“……hello.”

“Is this the training ground?”

“Oh, right?”

SpoN’s reporter is perplexed by the unexpected preemptive strike. Has there ever been a case where a player who was called up for the first time spoke first?

If you look for it, you’ll find it, but it’s usually an attitude only shown by experienced veteran players.

“What a dirty house. Why are you building this next to the airport? What are you talking about?”

“… … .”

“Ouch, my back hurts.”

And at that very moment, the reporter’s intuition shines.

This guy… … is a repeater.

Not in a negative sense, but in a positive sense. It was a word referring to a treasure that stands out with every action and brings me news stories.

On the other hand, it is also expressed as ‘star quality’.

If there’s just a minor problem –

“Hehe, are you feeling a bit swollen?”

“The problem is that I’m dizzy. I have a bit of a headache… … Is this what it means to grow old?”

“Heh heh heh… … Umm, I don’t have much time, so can I just ask a few questions?”

“Yes, please do.”

“… … How do you feel about coming to the NFC? You’ll be meeting the national team players soon. Isn’t it starting to feel real?”

“no.”

“Oh, I see. It still doesn’t feel real, does it?

“No, that’s not it. You said you were dazed just a moment ago. I’m dazed right now, whether it’s real or not.”

“… … .”

“Even taking a plane isn’t easy.”