Soccer Genius Wants to Get Noticed - Chapter 129



Only Krnovel

Episode 129: When the name is revealed (2)

There are always pros and cons to everything in the world.

‘They said they wanted me to donate more, what should I do?’

‘… … I have to think about it.’

Instead of being pressured to donate more money to the Korean community, the car trunk was filled with soybean paste and various side dishes.

School life was the same, and the power struggle within the classroom was slowly finding its balance.

‘I told you to stop bullying the kids!’

‘Oh, this is really annoying.’

Sophie Hertz’s meddling continued, but a clear line of demarcation had been drawn between Ralph Pfaff’s group and mine.

‘Are you just going to leave me alone?’

‘You used to tell me to go around installing things, and now you’re asking me why I’m just sitting still?’

‘… … .’

‘Leave me alone. Just don’t touch mine.’

I didn’t mean to give a blunt answer on purpose.

Ralph Pfaff has recruited not only the band members, but also his former colleagues, including Claudia, Catherine Pfeiffer, Maxi, and Eric Koehler.

I didn’t want to admit it, but if we fought openly, it would be very disadvantageous for me, so for now I had to be content with maintaining a delicate balance.

‘What are you doing tomorrow?’

‘uh…….’

‘Nothing to do?’

In the middle, there were some kids who were neither here nor there who were getting cursed at, but is that my fault?

To be honest, I felt a little bit of a tease.

When the rules in the classroom break down, it’s not just me who suffers.

You should have taken my side a long time ago.

And another change that could never be missed was the routine at the training ground.

Gyaaaah!

Oh my, oh my.

Even before the official training ended, the people who had been swarming in were all black-haired Koreans. It took quite a while just to meet these people who had gathered regardless of gender and age.

If there was anything unexpected-

‘i love you.’

‘… … ?’

‘Oh, crazy. I’m sorry. I’m not usually one to swear… … but you looked at me!’

‘… … .’

‘Ouch! You looked at me again!’

‘… … .’

Female fans are surprisingly straightforward and bold.

‘Hey, could you please give me your autograph?’

‘Yes. Can I put it here?’

‘Spread it, spread it, do it wherever you want. It doesn’t matter where.’

‘… … .’

Instead, male fans would stutter or blush (why on earth?).

It’s hard to believe that the national team is receiving this much attention all at once.

The Cologne marketing team must have thought that they couldn’t just sit back and watch, so right after the official training ended, they asked for the manager’s understanding and called me out to the area near the home stadium.

* * *

Rhine Energy Stadium.

Inside the square, angular building, four huge pillars protrude.

The poles were connected to the stadium roof with thick wires, which were lit up in red and white during evening games.

But today, I came to do some business outside the field, not inside.

The team vehicle passed the stadium and drove about two kilometers before finally stopping at a spacious shopping mall.

[RHEIN CENTER]

The three-story shopping center is spread out like a stack of pancakes.

As I went upstairs from the underground parking lot, guided by the staff, I saw clothing stores lined up along a large hall.

“Hey? The stadium?”

“that’s right.”

Perhaps because filming is being conducted internally within the club, there is a line surrounding the entrance restricting entry.

“Hanul.”

As I entered the store, immediately greeted by the gazes of shoppers, a familiar yet unfamiliar face appeared.

Defenders who joined in the winter transfer window – Julian Chabot and Bright Arei-Mbida.

“Hello. You arrived first?”

“Yeah. We just got here too.”

“Are the three of you taking the picture?”

“I heard that.”

If possible, wouldn’t it be better to take a picture with the starting players? I thought that way without realizing it, since they are players who haven’t yet established themselves in the team.

“… … They’re both tall.”

“Hahaha, why is that?”

“I’m not short, but I look short.”

It wasn’t because they were both a head taller than me.

really.

After a while, as soon as the shooting preparations are finished, the camera rolls and we stand in the prepared spot and roll our eyes.

There are three tables in total.

The players were paired with their respective equipment managers, Ulche, a store employee and Max Wehen (physical coach).

“Welcome to the Cologne FC channel! Today we are joined by Hanul, Shabot and Arei Mbi.”

“hello.”

“As you all know, the Easter holiday is just around the corner, and although it might be difficult to light a bonfire in this location, we were able to prepare eggs and bunnies.”

The host’s comments are incredibly childish.

Who would want to receive something like colored eggs?

“See over there? Today’s winner will receive a statue of a bunny holding an Easter egg and a donation in his name. What do you think, Hanul? Are you confident?”

If you ask me, I don’t really have anything to say.

The statue will obviously be thrown into a corner of the room as soon as I receive it, and the donation money isn’t something I can swallow. The only thing that’s useful is… .

“Can you eat eggs?”

“Hahaha, then. You learned it properly.”

“I like it soft-boiled.”

“Uh… … I’ll check that out. I like unique answers. It’s Seonghanul after all.”

“… … .”

However, it is not difficult to understand why I was called.

“Today’s game is about guessing the set price of various items including uniforms, and the first one to bring them back after considering the size, etc., wins. So, shall we start by saying hello? Hanul, you first.”

“Hello. I am Seong Ha-neul.”

“… … .”

“… … .”

“… … Nothing more? The end?”

“Yeah. Doesn’t everyone know about me?”

“Haha… … Ha, while we’re at it, please speak in Korean too.”

I mutter simple Korean greetings and look around the store with my eyes.

The players’ names were written all over the place, but the uniform with [HA NEUL] written on it particularly stood out.

One entire wall is filled.

Although Anthony Modeste’s uniform was almost as prominent and an eyesore, I was clearly the star of the day.

So from now on, no.

From now on, I felt like I had to go forward and fight against my biggest and worst competitors.

* * *

Two weeks from then.

If I were to talk about all the stories from that time, two nights wouldn’t be enough.

My agent, Alex Pasek, kept sending me advertising offers every day (most of which were difficult to sign because I was a minor), I did two interviews at the request of the Korean media, and my grandmother and aunts all contacted me because of the interview that was published in a magazine.

I heard from my mother that it was full of nothing but pure praise.

Thanks to this, I was able to shake off some of the anxiety in my daily life and return to normal, which soon led to excellent performance.

On April 9th, in the 29th round of the Bundesliga, Cologne won 4-3 against Mainz.

Although we made several mistakes while making changes to our positioning when deploying attacks, we achieved satisfactory results once we got into the swing of things.

‘Take it easy, Inma.’

‘Hehehe.’

Jae-seon, who came in as a substitute around the 80th minute, did as my brother said and destroyed the right side of the opponent’s camp, scoring 1 goal and 2 assists.

The momentum continued in the 30th round of the Bundesliga on April 16th.

The opponent is Mönchengladbach.

As the Rheinisches Derby (a match between clubs based in regions adjacent to the Rhine River, such as FC Köln, Mönchengladbach, Leverkusen and Düsseldorf) is called, the match was extremely rough from the first half.

Thanks to this, it was perfect as a testing ground.

In other words, it was enough to reaffirm my competitiveness and solidify my high self-confidence.

Kwaaak.

“What the hell-!”

Early second half.

The flow of the game hasn’t changed much.

4231. Modeste, who started as Cologne’s lone striker, was caught up in the rough physical fights between the central defenders and was unable to exert any strength, and the same was true for the midfield battle.

Phew!

“Ahh!”

Beep!

Without any regard for the superiority or fault of either side, the game was mired in mud with foul play running wild and crossing the line.

Therefore, the opinions of the players on the bench and on the field are unified.

“Hanul!”

Side attack.

Boohoo-!

With Benno Schmitz back in the right-back spot, I have the full support of my team to roam the pitch at will.

To avoid a rough check, he moves centrally for a moment, and Schmitz joins the flank attack and receives a long pass.

I run towards Schmitz and shake off the dedicated defender who is following me closely.

If you choose to go around behind him, there is a gap in the air, and if you receive the ball along the sideline… … it’s a one-on-one situation.

and-

There is no need to say how important confidence is.

Kwak!

Putting complicated thoughts aside… … sudden braking.

Immediately after braking by digging the grass with his right foot and turning his body towards the friendly camp, he leans his upper body hard to give the impression that he is going to turn back, but his back foot, which is pulled in tightly, passes by without touching the ball.

Once again, a dramatic twist.

He sharply turns his body’s center of gravity toward the opponent’s corner flag and jumps out, shaking off the powerful load on his body’s muscles.

A fight for possession that can never fail, as long as the ball doesn’t get caught on the opposing defender’s toe.

Woof woof!

Amidst the boos from the home crowd, the defender who was guarding Schmitz comes to cover me… … but it’s actually good.

The soccer match is 11 vs 11.

When two people stick to one, the other one is bound to die.

Bam!

Instead of a forced dribble, a forward pass into Schmitz’s path as he runs up to the edge of the box.

As the Mönchengladbach centre-back approaches, the clever veteran flicks a back-heel pass with his heel.

Then the ball ownership is mine again.

I was about to take a shot, but before I could, the image of the national team flashed through my mind. If it was Jae-seon… … he would have looked at the other side of the box.

Fight!

I naturally kick the bottom of the ball, and the ball flies into the air, curves into the box and catches Mark Ut’s head.

A header pass that breaks its trajectory again as the trajectory is too high to shoot.

The finishing touch was given to Florian Kainz on the other side of the box.

Liar!

It was a direct volley shot.

Wow!

0 to 1. After a long tug-of-war, the first goal is scored and cheers erupt from the away stands as well.

“Good job, Hanul! That was a good pass!”

“Hey kid, why are you giving me a pass there!”

As Florian Kainz and Ut came over and ruffled my hair, I just thought about the next play.

How to break it down.

How to exert overwhelming influence and dominate the game.

It wasn’t just about doing ‘well’, it was about how to get to the destination that mattered, and I-

Thud, thud-!

That’s what I did.

About 5 minutes later, on the right side.

This time, he reacts to Schmitz’s pass from a deeper spot closer to the corner flag and runs at full speed… … breaking.

However, instead of just turning around like before, he immediately turns about 160 degrees and penetrates behind the defender’s direction of movement.

The key is not the fact that they broke through in succession, but rather that they won the psychological warfare.

With this, the right side of the stadium was completely under my control, and all that was left was to wield this control and dominate the entire game.