Soccer Genius Wants to Get Noticed - Chapter 118



Only Krnovel

Episode 118: New Companions

My free time at Paju NFC is not long. I am only allowed a couple of hours to pack up my personal belongings and catch some sleep.

From then on… …it was a natural meeting with the players.

“Oh! Hello, nice to meet you.”

“hello.”

“When did you come? I didn’t even know you were here.”

As I poke my head out the door to the noise echoing through the hallway, a greeting immediately flies in. Considering the attire and the current time, it seems like they just came back from lunch.

The first wave was a group of four or five people, so I stared at their faces and lowered my head a beat later.

This is the land of courtesy in the East.

If you don’t know who is who, you should at least be polite.

It’s not that it wasn’t, but it wasn’t easy to recognize them except for the really famous players.

“How have you been? It’s been a while.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Fortunately for me, someone I had met before took the initiative to speak to me. It was Lee Jae-seon of Mainz, who plays on the same German stage.

“This is Kwon Jeong-won. He plays for Gamba Osaka in the J-League and his position is center back (central defender).”

“Nice to meet you. Can we talk comfortably? I’m the same age as Jae-seon.”

“Yes, please do.”

“This is Dong-ju, who plays as a goalkeeper in Jeju. Is this your first time meeting?”

“Well, welcome.”

“Please take good care of me.”

I’ve played against them before and even had brief conversations after games, so it was much better than talking to strangers.

The problem was that while we were exchanging greetings, other players arrived, and at some point the once spacious hallway became completely blocked off.

So there was only one thing I had to say.

“Hello, hello, hello.”

“Oh, hello too. You’re cute.”

“But if he’s seventeen this year, what year is he born exactly?”

“Are you born in 2004?”

“… … Wow, he really is young. Kang Yoon must be happy.”

“Why Kang Yoon? He wasn’t even called up this time.”

“You can get into the national team if you just go with the flow. But more than that, you escaped as the youngest without doing anything.”

“Oh! That’s right. Is this okay? A young girl who just turned twenty is escaping from her youngest brother. Is this okay?”

“Hahaha. Don’t show off your old ways, man.”

But this was just the beginning.

“Hey you guys, stop teasing the kid and go away!”

“No, who are you bullying… … This is ridiculous.”

“Shut your mouth. Heaven, follow me.”

An older man who looked quite old pulled me out of the crowd, and then immediately started walking around the training center to give me a tour and introduction.

Certainly, it was a different experience.

In Cologne, I had plenty of time to adjust since I had already gone through the youth level, but here, I had to greet over a hundred people in just 30 minutes.

Coaching staff, other staff, and even KFA officials.

Although I couldn’t remember anything due to neuron overload, I was more than able to read the unique atmosphere of the national team.

At first glance it seems similar, but compared to Cologne it felt a bit more stiff (subtly).

“At this point… … I think I’ve seen almost everything. If you have any questions or don’t understand something, feel free to ask. But actually, it’s okay to learn slowly. I’ll be called up to the Paju NFC every time a game is held in Seoul. As you gain experience, you’ll naturally learn.”

“… … .”

“Then lastly, is there anything you’re curious about? Anything you want to ask? The afternoon training is coming up soon. Don’t be shy and ask quickly.”

However, the exploration time soon comes to an end, and I come down to the building entrance and look up at the other person.

The man who had been acting as a guide was finishing his speech by rubbing his head with the palm of his hand, but there was something else I wanted to ask.

“Yes. But, who are you?”

“… … Don’t you know me?”

“Not at all.”

“… … .”

“No, that’s because you didn’t tell me who you are.”

“… … National team coach.”

“Oh, I heard that the coach is Portuguese. The coaching staff is also from there. By any chance-”

“Oh, by the way, there’s a Korean coach too?”

“Ah… … Really?”

“Yeah. But this kid, what’s with that unpleasant expression? I heard it beforehand… … . This guy is really a pain in the ass. I’m even chosen! Cha Jin-tae. Don’t you know?”

Let’s just let the minor friction pass with an awkward laugh.

What’s important now is quick adaptation and conditioning.

As a second option, I had the opportunity to become close with Son Eung-min, the captain of the national team and playing for Tottenham, but in the end, my priority is to establish my position.

The former includes not only technical aspects but also receiving the coach’s seal of approval, such as recognizing and adapting to the tactical differences between the club and the national team.

The latter was… … to pull up the body condition that was at its lowest point.

* * *

The plan was a mess from the start.

On the field.

I expected a fierce practice match starting in the afternoon of that day, but the reality was just jumping around to adjust my condition. After that, I just played mini games with my hat up.

And in the meantime-

“No, I have to take it out with one touch! You idiot!”

“What are you talking about? Who would take it out with one touch? If you don’t know anything about soccer, just stay still~”

“What can I say, it’s worse than a dog’s ass!”

Players in training suits engage in a playful exchange of words.

Something like this… … No.

Is this what the national team training looks like?

To make matters worse, reporters from the broadcasting station swarmed the training grounds and filmed every move.

Since we’re already being interviewed, wouldn’t it have been better to have a practice match?

“Let’s take a short break and then do it.”

Then, suddenly, someone puts their arm around my neck and declares a break.

A voice that felt somehow familiar. As expected, when I turned my head to the side, a face that any Korean would recognize appeared.

“Let’s go and rest. Don’t your knees hurt?”

“……yes.”

“Really? I’m already feeling tingly.”

I’ve seen this a lot in commercials, and it’s someone whose name is always mentioned by adults on days when the national team plays.

It was Son Eung-min, the icon of the Korean national team and one of the best strikers in the world.

In this case… … I have no choice but to ask back, pretending to be completely calm.

If you think about it, it’s a meeting of the future and the present.

I didn’t intend to show you how embarrassed I was.

“Are your knees bad?”

“Oh, I was joking. If the reporters hear this, there will be chaos. Why don’t you go around telling people?”

“Of course. I have nowhere to talk anyway.”

“… … .”

Oh, my bad.

I quickly change the subject before any strange looks fly at me.

“But is this how you normally train?”

“Hmm, is that what you mean, ‘Do you usually train like this?’?”

“Oh, yes. That’s right. That’s what I meant.”

“It’s different than usual. As you can see, this afternoon is an open training session. It’s a short session of about two hours, and it’s focused on improving your condition. I’ll probably do it properly tomorrow morning. Why, my body feels so stiff?”

“… … Well, so-so.”

In fact, it’s quite the opposite.

My heart was full of ambition and excitement, but my body and mind were completely depressed. My condition did not improve even after just two hours of rest.

It’s just that, as always, greed got the better of me.

“Is it hard?”

“Rather than feeling tired, I feel a bit dazed. I think I’ll know how much fun it is when I play in the game, but I’m not sure right now.”

“Haha, you seem to have lost your sense of humor too? Well, long-distance flights can be quite burdensome.”

“You too, hyung?”

“Hmm? Oh, well then. I’m human too, just like you. Anyway, don’t push yourself too hard and increase your pace. Injuries come when you overdo it.”

That’s right.

If I had heard the same story from Mark Ut, I would have criticized him by saying, ‘So are you saying I should just run and become a candidate?’ But… … Who was the person I was talking to?

Sonny of Tottenham.

Even if I said that I could make soybean paste with red beans, I would have been suspicious that I was mistaken even if I knew it was a lie.

But, it only ended up to here.

“By the way, what song do you want to sing?”

“… … What song is it?”

“We’re going to have a welcome party with self-introductions in the evening, but you can’t just let it pass, right? You’re not the type of person to just sit still.”

“… … .”

“If you don’t have confidence in singing, you can dance.”

* * *

I don’t want to talk at length about my first day at NFC.

I closed my eyes tightly and went through a moderate initiation ceremony, then returned to my dorm to forget the shame and devoted myself to studying the national team’s tactics.

I fell asleep while talking to my roommate, Lee Jae-young, a younger defender on the team… … and that was the end of it.

Looking back, it was quite a vain day.

But the sun is bound to rise tomorrow, so I wake up early the next morning, make my bed, and get ready to go out for breakfast.

“Are you okay? You have really dark circles under your eyes. Didn’t you sleep well last night?”

The fact that I had just sorted out the honorifics with Jae-young Lee last night came to mind, so I left the title ‘Brother Jae-young’ silent and spoke comfortably.

“No, I slept. I just woke up at 3 in the morning.”

“Oh, like that.”

“Don’t worry about it. It’s not a problem at all. A star doesn’t succumb to hardships of this level.”

“Hahaha, something is different from yesterday.”

“What’s different?”

“You fell asleep while grumbling about the strange tactics. Don’t you remember?”

“… … That’s what my brother thought too.”

“For me, the tactical styles of my club team and the national team are so different. It was hard to adapt to them.”

what.

When will he ever lament that he is only the third option among left-footed centre-backs?

“That’s strange. Yesterday, someone clearly muttered something in a gloomy voice, saying something about the selection process.”

“… … Do you remember?”

“Of course. There may be things I don’t know, but I never forget things I’ve heard.”

“Then you said that if you came under me, you would help me even if it meant harming the starting defenders?”

“… … I said that?”

“Yeah. I was going to sneak some diarrhea medicine in.”

“Me? Am I right? Are you sure?”

“I’m sure.”

This is… … a blatant lie.

I really didn’t see it like that.

After I relieved some of my fatigue, I was able to clearly judge what kind of person the other person was.

He is twenty-three years old this year, and his personality is similar to Sali Ozcan.

Recently, he has been supporting the team by starting several times, but at the beginning of the season, he was overshadowed by Elias Schiri, a colleague of mine who used to sit on the bench.

As soon as I entered the restaurant, exchanging greetings with the players and coaching staff I encountered, the topic of conversation naturally turned to the morning training session.

“Anyway, I’ll be counting on you later. Today is the last day of pre-game training. If you want to play even for a little while, you have to get your seal of approval.”

“Why are you asking me? We’re on the same team?”

“Suko told you in advance yesterday.”

“Suko?”

“Head Coach.”

“ah…….”

I couldn’t remember anything, maybe because I was half-asleep.

“You too… … Hold on tight. If you make a bad first impression, you’ll suffer a lot. It’s the same whether you’re on a club team or a national team. You know that, right?”

“Yeah, I know.”

That’s right.

He was not even able to properly greet the national team coach Mauri Mendes. He did not show up at the open training and was far away at the welcome party last night.

I don’t think they would have brought him all this way and just sat him on the bench, but it would have been better to give him some more confidence before the match against Iran.