Soccer Genius Wants to Get Noticed - Chapter 175



Only Krnovel

Episode 175 Weight Class Difference (2)

The possession ratio until the middle of the first half was 6 to 4. Although Cologne had the relative advantage, the details of the game are not very positive.

The opposing team’s top striker, Alvaro Morata, gains the upper hand in a duel with the team’s central defender and knocks the ball back.

The player who caught the ball was number 14, Marcos Llorente.

He is rugged but has the advantage of physicality, sense, and activity, and he immediately inserts a forward pass between the team’s defense. Then, the opposing wingback breaks into the space on the right side and sends a direct cross into the box.

[… … Aaaah!]

As the header narrowly missed the left side of the goal, the away fans cheered. Our own goalkeeper, Schwabe, clapped his gloved hands together and shouted at them to come to their senses.

But after a while, .

This time the left side is attacked.

Down the halfway line, two players leap towards a long pass from the opposition. Soon, left wingback Mandava wins the aerial duel. Possession is given to Joao Felix, who has been looking for the half-space all game.

Then, a friendly defender runs towards him and he passes the ball to the rear.

AT Madrid’s central midfielder – Koke receives the ball in the center of the second line and passes it to a teammate on the left side with a one-touch pass.

And then all at once… …side switch.

Boohoo!

Saul Niguez’s pass cuts across the second line and lands squarely on the right flank of the pitch, right at the feet of wing-back Molina.

‘Jonas, number 14!’

His first touch was so perfect that Jonas Hector was left helpless, allowing space inside the box to be blocked by central defender Huibers.

The instruction to his teammates to block players penetrating from behind may seem quite realistic, but the opponents’ choices are a step ahead.

Degururur-

The cutback pass was a cutback pass, but it was aimed at Saul Niguez, the left midfielder, rather than Llorente, the right central midfielder.

Boohoo!

A mid-range shot from an open chance was blocked by our own goalkeeper Schwabe… … but it was essentially the same as conceding a goal.

Allowing a 1-on-1 chance at 29 minutes, 34 minutes, or 39 minutes is not much different.

The score is 0-0, but if you look at the details, it’s a game where it wouldn’t be strange if they conceded a goal at any time. Honestly, if it weren’t for Marvin Schwabe, we would have conceded four or five goals long ago.

So how was the Cologne offensive?

We also achieved some results.

Although the 4231 prototype did not achieve the defensive results that he had intended, his teamwork with Mark Utt at the forefront was not bad.

But at the same time, that was it.

Beep!

“……ah!”

Following a one-two pass from the front, a direct penetrative pass is immediately put in. The linesman raises his flag and the attacking right is lost.

Florian Kainz is offside.

Our striker, stuck between the opposing wingback Mandava and the left-sided central defender, is unable to display his usual sense at all.

The timing of the hands holding the uniform and the body rubbing together was amazing, but more than that, it was the crazy teamwork shown by the AT Madrid defense line.

From offside line control to tight spacing between the 2nd and 3rd lines.

The wingers on both sides (I won’t mention Remperle) were unable to do their job due to the squirming and breathing nature of the game, which inevitably dulled the attacking edge.

Boom!

Although Jonas and Schmitz joined the attack and there were several sharp crosses, the problem was that the striker at the front was Uth.

Even the craziest meerkat had a hard time winning an aerial ball against 190-centimeter-tall central defenders.

In the end… …the same situation as the previous game was bound to repeat itself.

“Maintain the defensive block!”

“Juang! Just hold back! There’s no need to rush in aggressively!”

The end of the first half.

I come down near the center line and receive the ball.

Because the opposing defense was so tight and the spacing between the 2nd and 3rd lines was so excellent, there were almost no forward passes from the back line.

Cologne’s only solution was to use Jonas and Schmitz to attack from the flanks, or to come down and receive the ball directly and then drag it up, as they did now.

However, since the former is what Atletico Madrid wants, I have no choice but to choose the latter.

“Hanul! Baek!”

Skiri’s demands are ignored.

Within a second, he turns his body and looks towards the goal, noticing Joao Felix approaching from behind but not paying too much attention to him.

For now, the three in front of you take priority.

Saul Niguez, Koke and Llorente are the central midfielders of Atletico Madrid.

The distance is about six or seven steps.

It’s not enough space to reach top speed, but it’s not hard to increase the speed itself. Especially since the opponent is focusing on zone defense rather than man-to-man defense.

“Timmy! Kaints!”

Bring in attackers on both flanks to create a numerical competition. Jonas and Schmitz will fill the empty space on the flanks.

So now is my moment to shine.

Knock, knock, knock.

I push the ball with the top of my right foot, gradually adjusting the force of my touch to minimize the gap between the ball bouncing off.

From six steps to four steps, and then back to two steps.

Since the path is slightly to the right, the first player you face is Saul Niguez. The opponent is also very experienced, so he chooses a defensive style of retreating slowly rather than recklessly extending his feet.

In addition, the centrally located coke closes the space for cooperative defense.

Should I break through to the center?

Or should I just go around to the side?

But the choice is yours, so you kick your feet out once more and close the distance in an instant. It’s about a step and a half away, so you can reach it just by stretching out your feet.

“here!”

“Stab me forward!”

And at this point, Saul Niguez’s thoughts become clearer. Continuous backsteps. He has no intention of rushing in. He chooses to delay rather than take it right away.

This way, I’m comfortable.

If you back off, it’s only natural that you’ll speed things up even more.

He takes two more steps and increases his dribbling speed from around 60 to 70 to close to 80.

The direction of progress is from left to right.

Tick!

And then back to the left.

“Huh!”

The official ball, which was hit just off the edge of the pitch, veered sharply to the left, and Saul Niguez groaned as his late start and several changes of direction occurred.

I can’t say it was a complete success because my body’s center of gravity didn’t collapse, but sometimes small steps are necessary to achieve the ultimate goal.

I put aside my regrets and focus on the showdown with Koke. Before I knew it, a man with a thick beard was approaching me.

The outcome is decided in a split second.

A glance to the right, a shake of the shoulders, a tilt of the upper body, even a movement of the left foot. If you send out a lot of false signals, you can throw the opponent off balance without even touching the ball.

I get out on the same path I took diagonally, without touching the ball even once.

It wasn’t an incomprehensible choice.

Koke must have been concerned that his teammate Saul Niguez had not fully recovered his lost balance, and he also could not have ignored the fact that if he moved to the center, the second-line space would be wide open.

Besides, even if the left side is breached, the block won’t come crashing down.

Chorrrrrr!

As expected, Saul Niguez, who had given up space ahead of him, regained his balance and was chasing after him, when an ominous sound was heard from behind.

As expected, I am the same country.

Boom!

After taking a picture of the bottom of the official ball… … I don’t care anymore. It must have been Joao Felix who attempted a sliding tackle.

[Wow!]

And so it is.

Immediately after completing the first breakthrough under the cheers of the home crowd, the moment of ‘real exhaustion’ choice came to me.

If you ask me if I’ve completely penetrated the center, I’d say it’s half a success.

The way forward was open, but Llorente was coming in to cover on the far left, and Saul Niguez was closing in on the right.

I can push up to the second line like this, but I can’t go any further than that due to physical and breathing issues.

In this case… … I have to pass.

If it were last year, I would have somehow pushed myself up and finished, but I shook off my regrets and kicked the ball with my toes because I remembered Hannes Dold’s rebuke (or advice) in a corner of my mind.

Thud, slurp!

The destination is Mark Ut at the front line.

On the field, no. For today’s game, he was the only reliable player.

Kook, kkuk.

And indeed, despite the fierce marking of the central defender, Uth keeps his back to the ball and protects it with the sole of his foot.

He passed a short pass to Remperle, who was half-folded and crumpled like a scrap car that had been pushed through a crusher, but eventually narrowly narrowed down to the center.

Phew!

Remperle hits a hard ground pass towards me.

Whew.

I can sense that there is another intention through the speed at which the ball rolls, and I let it pass in front of me… … It is Kainz’s turn to show his skills as he enters the left half-space.

Too-ung.

At the end of a square pass by four players in sync, the ball curves into the box, drawing a beautiful trajectory in the air.

As I continued my penetration route and ran towards the penalty box, Atletico Madrid’s central defenders, Philippe and Axel Witsel, also reacted.

The strength and direction of the roving pass, as well as the position where it lands across the box line, are all perfect, so I also have priority in touching the ball.

Bam.

There is no need to touch it hard.

Just by quickly touching the ball, I am the first to have possession of the ball, the next touch is also mine, and if you try to stop it, you risk a penalty kick.

Knock, knock-

[Rumble.]

As he takes a couple of steps into the box, the cheers from the stands die down and only a muffled noise remains.

The first decisive opportunity in the first half.

The distance to the goal is at most 9 meters, and the location is slightly tilted to the left within the box, so if you shoot accurately, the goalkeeper will not even be able to stop it.

After stepping on the ground and catching your footsteps, you take a left-footed shot with your right foot as the pivot.

The target is the lower right corner of the goal.

The rotation of the ankle and calf was focused on pushing off naturally without applying force or trying to forcefully push.

Phew-

The feel of the ball on the instep is beyond compare. The shot is accurate and clean. It goes in like cutting through the grass… … .

Tick, thump!

[Ahhhhhhhhhhh!!]

“… … .”

The ball deflects off the post and goes over the goal line after being blocked by Atletico Madrid goalkeeper Jan Oblak.

Did it hit the tip of your finger? It wasn’t even a knuckle, it was like the tip of your middle finger.

“… … You crazy bastard.”

How absurd it must have been for someone to swear at the opposing goalkeeper before expressing regret or resentment.

It was so perfect that I would have considered the same course if given the same opportunity.

As a result, the best chance of the first half was wasted, and all that was left were worries and concerns about the second half.