Soccer Genius Wants to Get Noticed - Chapter 166



Only Krnovel

Episode 166 Small and Big Changes

August 1st.

I just got back from training and stopped by a café in downtown Cologne.

Café 333, a store run by a classmate’s mother, and where I got free juice last year around this time.

The interior and exterior are still the same. Inside the store, there are four or five tables lined up in a small but cozy manner, and outside the window, trams are passing by.

The only difference is my framed autograph on one side of the wall.

“Was the training fun?”

“So-so. I was feeling a bit under the weather because I ate a lot of shit, but training hard isn’t all that bad.”

“Are you… eating… shit?”

“There is something like that. What about you? Did you have a good vacation?”

“Yeah. Me too… … ?”

Then suddenly, I came to my senses at the words my friends had said.

Morsi and Lisa, Otaku and Sophie Hertz have been exchanging messages for a month, so they must know what’s going on.

Since the person who asked the question was an Asian man with an unfamiliar appearance, he immediately answered awkwardly with an awkward expression.

The reason is that while I was away for a while, the ‘Seonghaneul Gathering’ (officially known as the Cologne Multicultural Research Institute), disguised as a club, increased its membership.

Although it was uncomfortable that five more people showed up at our meeting today, I don’t think of it in a completely negative way.

There is also a saying that goes, “the number of people is not a bad thing.”

Of course, even in the midst of all this, the existing members stood out on their own.

Especially otaku.

“Is it true?”

“what.”

“Anthony Modeste is transferring.”

“I don’t know either. It’s not my business-”

“Shit.”

“… … .”

When did he start imitating my manly way of speaking? Just when I was wondering if he had been practicing during the vacation, Jonas Dr continued speaking with a confident tone.

“If you’re a Cologne player, you must know. Don’t pretend not to know because you’ve been to Mallorca. It was total chaos here. It was a real mess.”

“okay?”

“Yeah. Every other day, news about your transfer came out, and then all of a sudden, bang- Modeste submitted a transfer request. There was an uproar that the board was ruining the team. In fact, I heard they even detonated a Molotov cocktail in front of the training ground the day before yesterday.”

“Oh, that?”

“Did you see it?”

“It was gorgeous. The fireworks were of all colors. They burned longer than I thought.”

“… … .”

Don’t talk nonsense.

Team workers rush out and spray fire extinguishers, equipment managers turn on sprinklers just in case, and a few moments later, police cars and fire trucks arrive with sirens blaring.

Even though the place where the Molotov cocktail was thrown was a completely uninhabited place, we were able to learn the lesson(?) that all places where people live are similar.

Just because Germans are not always rational.

However, I focus more on giving the answers you want than on spreading personal enlightenment. The new club members’ eyes were sparkling.

“I think he’ll transfer. They said there’s no way to keep the players. They all said that even if they’re the team owner, they’ll have no choice but to send them away.”

“Well, there’s only one year left on the contract. But how can I go to Dortmund?”

“That must have been the reason he decided to transfer. Dortmund is a big club in terms of size. He must be old enough to be old, so this is his last chance.”

“… … Hanul.”

“Oh, why? You’re old, aren’t you?”

Sophie Hertz’s scolding glare is quickly buried in Jonas Dr’s rebuttal.

“A big club in terms of ‘size’? They came in second last season. That’s one place higher than Cologne.”

“shut up.”

“… … Did I say something wrong?”

“Are you constantly nitpicking on the end of things these days?”

“Who do you think I learned it from?”

“… … .”

I really ignore the gossip.

I also have a lot of information that I’ve heard here and there, so let’s just change the conversation to that.

“Anyway, it seems Dortmund wasn’t originally planning to recruit him either. Was it Sebastian Halle? I heard that he was brought in for a huge sum from a Dutch team called Ajax, but he was diagnosed with testicular cancer before he could play in an official match. So they were trying to find a replacement in a hurry-”

“… … This is terrible.”

“That’s right. That’s right. Anyway, Dortmund is in trouble-”

“No, not that. I mean testicular cancer.”

“… … Do I really speak like that? No, really. Everyone, speak up.”

“That’s because I learned it from you.”

At this, I spread my arms wide and expressed my feelings of bewilderment, while Sophie Hertz shook her head and took out an English workbook from her bag.

Seong Ha-neul talks nonsense, and the model student teaches you how to study.

But since we’re outside, I’ll keep talking.

“Okay, well. Anyway, to sum it up, the board of directors took a shit and it turned into a giant piece of shit that rolled all the way to Cologne. But from what I heard from Jonas, Modeste’s position is understandable.”

“Jonas Hector?”

“Yeah. He must have had his ups and downs throughout his career as a player. He went to China, went on loan to France, and eventually returned to Cologne because none of it worked out. He must have had a hard time rejecting offers from big clubs.”

“Huh.”

Now the conversation is finally moving in the direction we wanted.

High-level information flowing within the team.

But these are stories that can flow away without any problems.

“Thanks to that, only Cologne was in trouble.”

“Because of the transfer fee?”

“Oh. Did you see the news? They said that since he’ll be a free agent after a year, he’ll get 5-6 million euros at best. The coaches and players were all worried about that. At the end of the spring training, they were just talking about how they’re going to get a striker. Cologne doesn’t have much money. The only advantage they have is that they’re going to play in the Champions League.”

“So that’s why.”

“……what?”

Then, suddenly, a sense of alarm arises at the intervention of a cheeky otaku. I don’t know what he’s trying to say, but the way he builds up seems like something I’ve seen a lot of times.

“There was a time when I made a save in the Pokal final.”

“You… … Phew, okay. What is that?”

“No, online they call it the 40 million euro punch.”

“40 million euro punch?”

“You have 35 million, Modeste has about 5 million. A total of 40 million.”

“… … .”

shit.

If it had reached Jonas Drur, it was only a matter of time before the meerkat would be teasing him.

Well, I guess I should be thankful since they paid a lot for it.

* * *

While each team was busy moving during the transfer period, Sung Ha-neul had just finished a club meeting and was out playing on the terrace next door.

The topic is the 40 million euro punch, followed by news articles related to Anthony Modeste, as reported by Lisa Weiss.

“What do you think, sir?”

“Hmm, even if you ask me… … I don’t really know.”

“I heard Modeste himself interviewed her. Do you want to see it for yourself?”

“I didn’t bring my glasses. Just summarize it for me. What did you say?”

“Right after that incident, I was busy protecting Sung Ha-neul in the locker room. I felt that there was no one on my side among the players and coaches, and I had a gut feeling that it was time to leave. That’s what I was talking about. Can you believe it? Seriously, who took my side!”

“… … .”

Sven Gunther does not answer hastily and remains silent.

The boy called him uncle, but in reality he was an extremely old man. Rather than talking to him in detail, he chose to give him time to come to terms with it on his own.

“Of course Jonas helped lower the level of discipline. I heard that Utd went to talk to the coach. And Skiri… … added a word, saying that he understood emotionally.”

“… … .”

“No, but Modeste also has people on his side like Florian Kainz and Ondrej Duda. If you want to find the cause, shouldn’t you start by looking back at your own interpersonal relationships?”

“… … .”

“Hmm, but on the other hand, Kainz and Duda also became quite close to me towards the end of the season. So, in reality, I have no one on my side except for the goalkeeper. But… … .”

“however?”

“Oh, okay. Sir, just a moment!”

Then, all of a sudden, Seong Ha-neul stops talking and runs out the front door of his house. There is a sudden sound and silence flows for a while.

The boy returned with a calm expression and collapsed on the wooden chair.

“You came quickly. Should we continue?”

No questions this time either.

Instead of asking what brought you here and back, I just continued the conversation I was having.

“… … What I mean is, you’re not acting like an adult. An adult should act like an adult. [A little rascal], and why are you mentioning that so openly in an interview? Oh, [a little rascal] is a word used to describe someone who is narrow-minded and petty.”

“Hmm.”

“It’s natural within the club, and it’s not like that even with the national team. Son Eung-min, Kim Min-je, Lee Jae-seon. They show a wide range of tolerance because they are older. It’s really comfortable when you go there. The tactics are different and fun to play. It’s completely different from Modeste.”

There is no need to read too much meaning into small talk, but there were some elements that stood out as positive.

“You don’t call me Gorilla anymore? I’m Modeste.”

“Because he’s the one leaving. More importantly, he’s going to replace the testicles. If I had to call him by a nickname, I could call him Gohwan.”

“… … Hanul, that’s a bit-”

“I know it’s a terrible joke. I only say this to you because it’s convenient. You make a troubled expression and point out my mistakes, but you end up secretly laughing. You don’t go to such lengths in other places.”

I laughed without realizing it.

As Gunther instinctively touches the corner of his mouth, the other person runs back into the house, saying, “Just a moment!”

On the terrace where silence flows.

He thought about it for a moment, then snorted and laughed as if he couldn’t stop himself. It was a terrible joke, as the person involved said, but it wasn’t something he couldn’t understand.

It must have been because the situation was so stressful.

Bam!

As expected, after about 15 minutes, looking at Sung Ha-neul’s expression as he pushed open the front door and came out, it seemed like the fifth attempt had also ended in failure.

“… …Fuck.”

“… … .”

“But this time I brought it up.”

“What did you say?”

“Do the dishes.”

“… … You to your mom?”

“No. I called my mom, and she told me. That’s why it took some time.”

“… … .”

In reality, the boy was trying to have a conversation with his parents by ‘partially’ accepting the advice from the veterans on the team, as was his story and his actions.

Fortunately, they are aware of the problem and are trying to solve it on their own. Unfortunately, despite countless attempts, they have not been able to bring up anything related to transfer.

And he knew that fact very well.

“I can’t do it! I absolutely can’t do it! What should I do?”

“But you’re trying. That makes sense. I personally really like seeing it.”

“It’s not enough to just look good. We need to go there and hammer nails in quickly. Don’t even think about Munich.”

“… … Are you going to say that?”

“No, that was a lie. If you’re going to go anyway, you should say you want to go to England. You can pay for your brother’s treatment with money.”

“… … .”

“What do you think, sir? Is it really that bad?”

“… … I think it would be good to polish it up a little. I heard you got calls from overseas team coaches. How much they want you, and how much you want to go. You need to explain those facts smoothly… … .”

It was a week before Anthony Modeste’s move to Dortmund was confirmed.