Soccer Genius Wants to Get Noticed - Chapter 140



Only Krnovel

Episode 140: Consecutive Winnings (2)

As the game enters a lull due to Bielefeld’s poor offense and Cologne’s stable second-half play, I satisfy the curiosity of the poor meerkat.

“Club? With who?”

“There’s a typical German nerd named Sophie Hertz, a Polish girl, an ‘old’ Liberian girl, and a Japanese girl. And me, five.”

“Do you have any Japanese friends?”

“Yeah. He looks white, but his mind is Japanese.”

“… … .”

After remaining silent for a moment about the most appropriate way to define Jonas Drur, Mark Ut delves a little deeper.

“What club is it?”

“On the surface, it’s a place to supplement schoolwork, but in reality, it’s a place to help kids who are at risk of being bullied. It’s kind of like a breakwater.”

“Oh, good. Keep going. My mind is getting more and more anxious.”

Who would have thought that someone would be discouraged by such words?

“The club’s official name is the Cologne Multicultural Institute.”

“Shit.”

“… … .”

Oh, I ate one.

“No, the name and the activities don’t match. You say it’s for academic supplementation? Like giving and receiving language help, right? But why is it multicultural? And before that, why did you add the word ‘research institute’?”

“Isn’t it great? Doesn’t it feel like we’re really putting our heads together and doing something?”

“… … Well, that aside, did you officially enroll in school? I’ve never been to a gymnasium, so I don’t know for sure, but wouldn’t it be included in your extracurricular activity scores if you got permission? I mean, when you go on to university.”

But soon, my interest shifted to academics.

“Didn’t you go to Kimnasium?”

“Huh? Of course. Kimnasium is where kids who want to go to college go to. I’ve always wanted to be a soccer player since I was little. That’s why I went to a vocational school.”

“What’s different about vocational schools?”

“It’s different. Only the elite gather there. If it’s a soccer-specialized school, you have to be affiliated with an academy within a professional club, or meet certain criteria—for example, you have to have won awards in amateur competitions, or you have to be affiliated with the West German Football Association. Classes are held in the morning or afternoon, and you can flexibly adjust them to match days. Other than that… …you don’t have to prepare for the Abitur (German SAT)? Of course, if you change your path due to injury or something, you can prepare for university.”

“aha.”

When I hear it, it’s not that different from my life.

“Are you preparing for the Abitur? It’s next June. There’s a little over a year left.”

“Are you ready?”

“That’s a good answer. Be sure to give the same answer wherever you go.”

“……what?”

Although my grades aren’t bad, I firmly disagree that they aren’t good enough to get into college.

Suddenly, an unfamiliar sound comes back.

After hearing the rest of the story, it didn’t seem like he was trying to tease me.

“I’ve been hearing rumors about your transfer from all over the place lately. You know that, right?”

“… … I have heard of it.”

“Listen, you and Modeste are making all sorts of fuss.”

“So what is it?”

“Don’t give them any room to maneuver. Preparing for the Abitur is seen as an intention to stay in Germany. In the first place, don’t even ask me questions about the future.”

“Do you really have to go that far?”

“Then answer however you want. The reporters will like it.”

“… … .”

“I get tired of the fuss about transfers. Take note.”

He even made a serious expression on his face without answering.

As I blink and nod, Mark Ut’s expression suddenly changes.

“But you… …is that why you’re suddenly doing club activities?”

“that?”

“You know. The first letter is C, then L, A, U-”

“No? It has nothing to do with my ex-girlfriend.”

“Huh~ really?”

Should I kill him?

While I was wondering if I could keep my snout tightly shut for mentioning Claudia Dreher, the poor meerkat was busy giggling and laughing like crazy.

That was when.

“Anyway, since you’re already here, try getting along with Sophie. She has a good personality and studies well. She’s the complete opposite of you, so you might get along well.”

“… … Do you know him well?”

“I know, right. You come to the training ground to see your grandfather sometimes. The players all knew about you before you came.”

In times like this, if we score a goal on the field, or at least create a decisive opportunity, we can pretend not to hear and change the subject.

Since the tactical change to 4231, Rempale, who rose to the top position, has gone from being quiet to completely disappearing.

Are you wearing an invisible cloak?

Where the hell are you and what are you doing?

* * *

After the game on Saturday.

It was hard to express the weekend as good even in empty words, but on the contrary, it was like any other day, so on Monday morning, I entered Kimnasium and enjoyed the power of a more strengthened social organization.

“Well, it’s still cool even when I look at it again. How did you do this?”

How dare we ignore Lisa Weiss’s excellent question?

“Oh, at this time? I have to check the situation first. I was with my back slanted toward the friendly camp, right? The opposing defender is approaching diagonally from the left.”

“huh.”

“If he had attacked the back properly, he wouldn’t have used ambiguous footwork, but the opposing defender saw the ball and rushed at it, which was a mistake. If you look, he caught the ball with his left foot… … He moved the ball with his right foot, then hit it with his heel and went back. Then he connected with a direct shot and scored.”

“How can the ball fly so curved? Even the goalkeeper jumped but couldn’t do anything. It’s amazing.”

iced coffee.

It’s never easy to explain the process of scoring to a soccer beginner, but it also has a unique flavor – and I’ll keep playing around with it for a while.

The first assist, the first goal, and the second assist.

“I don’t know much about soccer, but I think it went really well.”

“Hmm, but actually, the key here was how to get the first touch on the ball. The ball came up in the air, right?”

“Yeah. It’s about the height between my knees and thighs. Is this harder?”

“Good point. It’s actually worse because it’s an ambiguous height. It’s right in front of the penalty box.”

“The penalty box is this white line?”

“Yeah. You learn quickly.”

In the video, I momentarily turn my back to the goal and extend my right foot to the limit.

The ball tried to fly out of control as it flew into the air at a mysterious height, but my instep caught it before it could and pulled it toward the center of my body.

Too-woong!

Finish with a second ball touch as soon as you pull it in.

He kicks the ball between the heel and the inside of his foot with his left heel, and pokes a forward pass between the legs of the central defender who approaches from behind.

“Who is this player?”

“Who? Oh, the player who scored the goal? His name is Dejan Ljubicic, he’s Austrian. He’s not very talkative, but he’s a very honest person.”

“Well done and well done. Next time I’ll go to the stadium and see for myself! It looks fun! Everyone is screaming so loudly!”

“… … .”

Sounds fun… … doesn’t it?

No, if it’s fun, it’s fun. What’s something that ‘seems’ fun? That’s why Sophie Hertz kept giving me a pitiful look throughout the conversation.

Fortunately, Morsi’s addition redeems the Polish mistake.

“Ha-nul… …was selected as the best player of the game.”

“Hmm.”

“It’s almost certain that he’ll win the Player of the Month award. Hanul seems to be really good at what he does.”

“Yeah, yeah. Yeah, that’s right.”

How is it that there is not a single word that is wrong?

I regained my form from the 28th round and showed an unparalleled performance up until the 31st round.

“That’s right. I saw it in the article. Multi-goal in the match against Union Berlin, 1 goal and 2 assists against Mainz, 2 assists against Mönchengladbach, 1 goal and 2 assists yesterday. His league record alone is 19 goals and 15 assists. He’s having the best debut season since the Bundesliga was founded. He’s also high in scoring and 2nd in assists!”

“… … 2nd place? Who’s in 1st place?”

“Just a minute, let me look it up.”

“… … .”

“Bayern Munich’s… … Müller. He’s in first place with 16. But that’s only a one-point lead!”

“… … .”

“wow!”

“… … .”

“… … .”

Lisa, Lisa Weiss. What would I be if you exclaimed slowly, not even one beat, but two or three beats?

Nonetheless, I give it a high personal rating.

What was different from the previous crowd was that they were good listeners. They listened to my story very well, so that alone was enough to satisfy me.

Of course, except for the idiots watching anime on their phones during this time.

“Let’s stop going up now.”

Then, suddenly, Sophie Hertz intervenes and makes a point.

“Where are you going up to?”

“Principal’s office. You’re going to leave right away without eating lunch. You should go sign up for clubs before that.”

“Should I apply for a club with the principal?”

The feeling of wonder soon subsides.

“I asked Mr. Capel, and he told me to ask Bridget (the principal) directly since you were included.”

It was a law that celebrities required special care.

* * *

Lisa Weiss, a Polish-born girl, puts her books in her locker and heads upstairs with her new friends.

It wasn’t quite a great day, but it was much better.

This is because after I started hanging out with Sung Ha-neul in earnest, the bullying I experienced from my peers decreased noticeably.

‘stop.’

‘What did I do?’

‘You’ve been laughing at me since earlier.’

‘No?’

‘Even if you say no, I know. If you keep doing this, I’ll tell the teacher. Stop bothering the kids and play quietly among yourselves.’

‘Yes, yes. The nanny was kidnapped, yes.’

Since it was impossible to be together all the time, I had to rely on Sophie’s help in the afternoons, but my safety was guaranteed in the mornings.

Look at it now.

“Close your eyes.”

“… … .”

“Why, can’t you control your eyes? Turn them with your own hands?”

“… … #@$”

“Even the tongue is like that. Is it all passive?”

Boys of the same age just scream without paying any attention to what others think.

This is not right.

It’s enough to give you a little sense of liberation.

“Speak more politely. Why are you speaking so strongly on purpose? There’s no need to speak so strongly.”

“We have to stand strong to get along. You’re the scholar type, but I’m the survival type. Let’s respect each other’s territory. And actually, in that sense, we get along pretty well. We complement each other’s shortcomings, don’t we?”

“… … .”

“… … I was going to curse at you.”

“No? Not at all, I never even thought about that.”

“I made it clear… … .”

“I said no!”

The number of times Sophie frowns is also increasing –

‘Sophie is pretty even when she frowns.’

Even this feels like a good thing.

The interview in the principal’s office was the same.

“… … Cologne Multicultural Institute?”

“yes.”

“Ha-nul, are you the head of the club?”

“I see, right?”

Bridget Kohl, the top decision-maker at Hingen Wildegard Gymnasium, puts her index finger between her eyebrows as if in pain.

Sophie blushed at the mention of the club’s name, but in her eyes, the whole thing seemed simply amazing.

Not only did he interview the principal, he even pressured the other person!

“… … It helps children who have difficulty adjusting. The intention behind its creation is good. However, if you look at the details, it includes required subjects such as math and science.”

“I wrote it like that. Why?”

“You teach the kids?”

“Is there anything that can’t be done?”

“It’s not like it’s impossible, but… … you’re being given the option to skip class and focus on soccer. Can you make the time?”

“Of course. I see everything as a matter of will.”

Plus, the world is so shameless.

Because you said that it was your responsibility to teach the children, you left it all up to Sophie Hertz.

“Okay. Let’s skip that part. But that’s not the only thing that worries me. I don’t want to talk about your grades publicly, but… … I know you’re having trouble with some subjects. German, geography, history, biology, etc. are good. Above average. But math, physics, and English are just barely—”

“Oh, don’t worry. Just because you’re the club leader, does that mean you have to teach? You can learn, too. What’s important is, like, being a signpost? Rather, since it’s a close call, the kids won’t be discouraged by it, and since that pro soccer player is working so hard, they can be inspired to work hard too. Most importantly, Sophie is-”

“hertz.”

“Hertz is in charge. Did you hear?”

“… … .”

Truly, the gift of speaking was an art.

I absolutely have to learn German from Hanul.