Soccer Genius Wants to Get Noticed - Chapter 139



Only Krnovel

Episode 139: Consecutive Winnings (1)

In the 31st round of the Bundesliga, Cologne welcomed DSC Arminia Bielefeld to their home stadium.

It is a match between the 3rd and 17th place teams in the league, so it is not likely to attract much attention, but there are only 4 games left until the end of the Bundesliga.

The competition for the top 4 spots to advance to the Champions League, the competition for the 5th or 6th spots for the Europa League, and the battle for the 7th spot for the Conference League, which is located below that. As the competition for the top spots is fierce, Bielefeld, which is in the relegation zone, is also showing strong motivation.

That’s because 16th place has another chance to play against a team expected to be promoted to the second division through the relegation playoffs, while 17th and 18th place are directly relegated.

‘Stop it! Stop it somehow!’

For this reason, they played the game from the beginning of the first half with a focus on not conceding goals while crouching down.

Unfortunately, there was no room for complacency in Cologne.

‘Julian! Adjust the line!’

‘The line is now-‘

‘You’re so tired!’

Steffen Baumgart, FC Köln coach, stood on the line throughout the first half, urging (or berating) his players.

This resulted in blocking the opposing team’s counterattack, and the friendly attacking line was able to easily play the game based on the stability of the rear area.

Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump.

What is a strong team?

Showing off uninterrupted passing play in the midfield?

Liar!

A one-touch pass that successfully breaks through the side zone?

Too-woong!

‘It’s mine! Slow down again!’

‘Sali! Over here!’

Even if a cross into the box fails, the ball is quickly recovered by the team’s midfielder?

All of that is correct, but if we look a little further, it was the difference in tactical execution that determined the outcome of the game that day.

How consistent is the gap between the defense, midfield, and attack?

What attacking patterns do the attackers have against a dense defense, and can they push on with confidence even if they fail?

Finally, when the opposing defender makes a mistake… … can you connect with the finishing step through flexible movement?

[Wow!]

19 minutes into the first half. A defender tries to kick the ball away from the left edge of the box, but Jonas, who had joined the attack, steps forward and intercepts it.

‘Jonas!’

‘here!’

After walking three or four more steps in a straight line, the goal line was right in front of us, so Modeste, Uth, and I all ran towards the goal.

The captain’s choice was Anthony Modeste, who ran closest to the goal.

Gorilla’s knees have been showing signs of trouble recently, and his finishing ability is not as sharp as before. The official ball, lightly kicked, soon meets the forehead of a friendly striker.

A header shot aimed towards the left side of the goal.

To-ok!

Would it be too negative to say, “I knew it would turn out like this?”

The goalkeeper instinctively extends his right foot to the header shot that is right in front of his nose, but it ends up getting caught on the tip of his shoe and coming back straight at him.

Not only the central defenders but also the opposing midfielders rushed in, but the ball was not caught by anyone’s foot and instead flowed back through the densely packed players, and the situation that followed was chaos itself.

Whether he was a professional or not, he desperately ran towards the ball, looking only at it.

And in the meantime, the first person to claim ownership of the ball was… … none other than me.

The choice was split into two.

A direct shot had no angle at all, so I had to either pass it back to Modeste on my left, or aim for Uth, who had turned to my right – one of two things.

So instead of making a shooting motion, I just bring my left foot forward in the same position as when I jumped in.

Boom-!

A little stronger than usual.

It’s a strong grounder pass that Mark Ut can shoot, but could use a little more flair.

Degurrurur-

As might be expected, the clever meerkat shows amazing insight.

Pretending to shoot, the ball slips between his legs. Then, the finishing touch falls to Remperle, who is on the far right and has no marking man attached to him.

slam!

[Wow!]

He is weak under pressure, but when there is no pressure, he is a player with more talent than anyone else. He stabilizes the ball once and then swings his foot to put it in the upper right corner of the goal.

This makes it 1 to 0.

Bielefeld’s plan to earn at least one point went awry from the start.

‘Thank you! Thank you! Thank you too!’

‘… … Am I the third?’

‘Damn, does it matter? I scored!’

‘Ugh.’

‘Kid, when you score a goal, you’re just like him, right? So don’t sigh, you little punk.’

‘… … .’

Although the sight of Remperle being ungrateful was annoying, it was soon forgotten as the first goal was only the beginning.

Even after scoring, they continued to attack fiercely.

21 minutes into the first half. Anthony Modeste comes out to the second line to receive the ball, and a stunning forward pass (quite neat, honestly) to Mark Uth, who runs into his own position. He shoots from the edge of the penalty box before the defender can mark him… … and it flies far away towards somewhere in Düsseldorf, a city north of Cologne.

idiot.

In the 23rd minute of the first half, right after Ljubicic won a corner kick, his team’s central defender Julian Chabot, who was involved in the set piece, finished the goal with a header that narrowly missed the top of the goal.

In the 26th and 28th minutes, Bielefeld’s central defender Amos Pieper and striker Yanni Gera received yellow cards in succession, showing that they were feeling extreme pressure.

In the 31st minute, Jonas’ defense-splitting pass burst from the left flank, and Modeste immediately got a 1-on-1 chance. It split the left side of the goal net… … and with the help of the VAR (video assistant referee) room, the goal was disallowed.

This is a bit of a dud.

However, Arminia Bielefeld, who had been barely holding on, soon reached their limit.

Beep!

‘You, you little punk… … .’

‘Sally, get away!’

‘That’s an over-the-top tackle!’

‘Back off. There’s no need to get emotional. I saw it too.’

During a counter-attack, Patrick Wimmer swung his elbow while competing for an aerial ball with Jonas, and the referee put his hand in his front pocket without hesitation.

Before the first half was even over, there was a third yellow card.

The balance between the two teams is clearly tilted.

All they needed now was one more goal. With the game now two points behind, it would be difficult for relegation-challenged Bielefeld to drop their line any further.

And the second scorer will be decided shortly.

Boom!

The chaos had not yet subsided as Jonas was carried off the field with a hemorrhage around his eye and the Bielefeld players protested the referee’s decision.

As soon as play resumed, a long pass from Schiri slammed into the box, and Gorilla lifted his massive body and dropped it to Mark Utt, who was a few steps behind.

Boom, whiriririk!

When Utt immediately brings the inside of his foot to stab a return pass, he immediately connects with a direct shot.

Because the defensive wall was blocking it, the ball hit the center back’s shin on its way to the goal… … and then rolled back in the opposite direction from where the goalkeeper threw his body.

[Wow!]

[Anthony, Anthony Modeste!]

[lalalalala, lalalalala~]

[He scores another goal!]

[lalalalala, lalalalalala-!]

shit.

Like a heartless beast.

While he was worried about Jonas and couldn’t concentrate, he ran in without being swayed by personal feelings and scored a lucky goal.

But jealousy is something only a writer with incompetence can do.

As the second goal went in, the opposing players all hung their heads, and the game… no. The one-sided violence was just beginning.

* * *

I returned to the bench early, being substituted for midfielder Matthias Olesen in the 9th minute of the second half by the coaching staff’s instructions.

The score on the scoreboard was 4 to 1.

They conceded a point through an own goal by their central defender Julian Chabot, but things went smoothly after Modeste’s goal.

The moment Bielefeld launched a belated counterattack, their flimsy formation was torn to pieces and the result was a crushing defeat.

“Drink some water.”

“huh.”

“You look so happy despite being replaced early? What’s going on?”

Mark Ut’s question is not worth answering.

Because it was clear that he was just trying to be playful.

Still, I don’t feel bad about it, so I’ll gladly accept it.

“My record today is 1 goal and 2 assists.”

“Oh, you’re the best player of the game?”

“That’s one thing, but the important thing is to be ahead of your competitors. Some people score one goal. I score one goal and two assists.”

“… … Can you tell me that the competitor is Rempel? Just tell me a lie like that.”

“Of course it’s over there. It’s a bit new.”

“What a kid, you damn bastard. You made me stick my tongue out. You too… … .”

As Mark Ut shook his head, Modeste, sitting in the front seat, shot him an annoyed look, but he returned it with a snort.

If you’re going to be angry, do it better than me.

“No, but you guys are a community of destiny, right? Since it’s come to this, even if you’re not close, what’s the benefit if you get along without blushing?”

“That’s why we’re competing in good faith. Since the two of us play at the same level every time anyway, the one who’s not so good gets treated like an idiot. Then, even if it’s frustrating, won’t he do better in the next game? Since I even changed my position to the front-line striker, I think the effect will be doubled. Baumgart must have intended this too. I’m sure of it. 100 percent. Dojo bang bang bang.”

“… … .”

Perhaps because he said something so right, Ut looked blank for a moment before suddenly changing the subject.

“How is school life? Is everything okay?”

“Why are you suddenly asking that?”

“I’m just checking in advance to see if our little one gets into trouble. The league is almost over, so it’s time to start thinking about the next step.”

“There are still three more games left?”

“That’s because third place is practically guaranteed. The next game is away to Augsburg, which is also at the bottom of the table, so it won’t be terribly difficult. The next game is at home to Wolfsburg, and the last is away to Stuttgart. Wolfsburg is the only one that poses a threat.”

He covers his mouth with his palm and talks about something great, but there is quite a bit of rebuttal.

“Isn’t it worse if you’re in a lower ranking? Jonas said that you shouldn’t let your guard down against teams in the relegation zone. And when we met Stuttgart in the first half of the season, it was pretty tough-”

“That’s just a basic argument. If we lose all of them, it’s fine, but if we win two of them, we’ll secure third place. And Inma, Stuttgart won 2-0 in the first half, right?”

“Was it so?”

“Okay. So tell me your story. It’s Mark Ut’s consulting time. Can’t you get it even if you pay for it?”

“Shit.”

“… … .”

Look at this.

If you’re going to poke my balls while the camera is staring at you, why are you going to cover your mouth?