Soccer Genius Wants to Get Noticed - Chapter 176



Only Krnovel

Episode 176: Complete Defeat

Halftime.

“… … .”

“… … .”

The locker room is filled with silence that matches the difference in the two teams’ performances. Just looking at the first half indicators, it is clear that Atletico Madrid has the upper hand.

Cologne has a slight advantage with possession at 52 to 48.

However, if we look at what tactics each of them used, we can find a serious problem.

While Cologne looked to be aggressive and have a high possession rate, Atletico Madrid looked to play efficient football.

In fact, they played a compact attack throughout the first half… … so the possession rate should have been much lower. At worst, it should have been 6 to 4, or even more.

However, the team’s total number of passes was 292 vs. 281. Of these, the number of successful passes was 228 vs. 235. Not only was the total number of passes not much different, but the number of successful passes was even lower.

That’s why there’s such a huge gap in the number of shots, 3 to 11.

I don’t even want to mention effective shots, because the only metric we have ahead of our opponents is the number of saves made by our goalkeepers.

But what makes me even more upset is that the problem doesn’t end there.

“… … Oh, shit. I’ve been caught offside too many times.”

“You have good line control.”

As Mark Ut’s soft curses were followed by Remperle’s mutter, the friendly attack force’s indicator was struck to the ground.

The creation of a decisive opportunity occurs only once.

Only once.

Of course, not all of the players were hanging their heads and enjoying the misery, so soon the veteran players began talking more actively.

“You have to release it from the side.”

“Sure. It would have been better if the two wingers had moved higher up.”

“Are you coming with me to Kaints?”

“Well, if two people go up, it will instantly become a three-top formation, including me?”

“yes.”

“If that happens, it will be a one-on-one clash with the opposing three-backs. It will be easier for Jonas and Schmitz to penetrate the flanks. At least, it will be easier than attacking the central area… … . Well, we’ll have to try it ourselves to see if it works.”

352 Typical weaknesses.

The attackers talked about attacking the flanks, while the defenders and midfielders mainly discussed the half-spaces.

It seems like the opposing midfielders are targeting the space between the second line, the center, and the wings.

“From the left, it’s Niguez, Koke, and Llorente. It would be nice if there was a fixed attacking midfielder, but he comes up flexibly in attack situations. He’s flexible depending on the situation.”

“Hmm. That’s true, but when I actually bumped into him, his physique was quite strong. Should I compete more roughly?”

“No. The referee is a very strict person. If you act any rougher than you are now, he will pull out the card right away.”

“If that doesn’t work, there’s no way to stop the aerial balls from being thrown. They just keep dropping them into our own territory.”

“What about pulling up the line?”

“… … Is that possible?”

Elies Skiri looks to the central midfielder Ljubicic (who was so quiet you didn’t even know he was playing) and ponders a solution to the opposing team’s high penetration, while at the same time looking at Whevers.

He is the most reliable man in our defense… …and our goalkeeper.

Still, he was a first-choice central defender who had secured a starting position and was the leader of the defense.

“Are you saying we should raise the line right after the ball is put in and set an offside trap?”

“That’s correct.”

“I’ll have to ask the coaching staff… … but I’ll give it a try. If we keep going like this, we’ll end up sinking anyway. It’s all thanks to Schwabe that we didn’t concede a goal in the first half.”

It’s good to see that he’s trying to come up with a solution somehow, but I’m still not at ease because his face is still gloomy.

Even Whibus isn’t sure.

Literally, somehow, somehow, just accepting a new method to try something.

“Hanul!”

Then suddenly, a call comes from one side of the locker room.

The person who called my name was head coach Andre Polak.

The middle-aged man, who had been discussing with coaches Steffen Baumgart, Rene Wagner, and Kevin McKenna since he entered the locker room, seemed to have finally come to an answer.

okay.

Our coaching staff is not behind the big clubs in terms of ability.

“Don’t go down in the second half.”

“……what?”

Did I hear wrong?

At that moment, feeling confused by the instructions that were completely different from what he had expected, he showed a serious expression under his shaking head.

“We’ll be more aggressive in the second half.”

“Then rather-”

“If that happens, you’ll likely run out of energy if you frequently come down to the center line and go up to the ball. So even if you’re isolated, you have to hold your position. Don’t go below the second line.”

“… … .”

“Ha-nul, you have to answer.”

“… … .”

I know that too.

How rude it would seem to not answer and just hold out.

Just because it’s Germany doesn’t mean it’s a free country with no hierarchy, it might be right to just accept the coaching staff’s instructions and move on.

But even though I opened my lips, my tongue did not move easily.

A house on all sides.

This word is appropriate to describe my current situation.

Tactically, I could understand the intention without further explanation. If I were to drop out in the second half, the threat factor would disappear, and naturally, the opposing defense would feel relatively comfortable.

He must be saying this because if he puts me in the second line, I can at least play the role of attracting Atletico Madrid players.

But it is true that some questions arise.

If we stay on the second line, is it possible to develop an attack?

As the second half draws to a close, the opposing team’s players will begin to lose stamina, but will our defense be able to hold out until then?

Even if we concede a goal, can we stop it by only allowing one goal?

By now you probably have figured out why I am struggling and why this contradictory situation exists.

If I just accept it, I worry that Atletico Madrid will score two or more goals, but if I refute it, it’s like I’m confessing that I don’t trust my teammates.

I… … don’t know.

But sometimes silence has meaning, and I reluctantly nod my head as eyes fly in from all over the locker room.

A decision that may not be the best, but avoids the worst.

I’m not being stubborn, as my position and role are different from last year at this time.

Ah, Anthony Modeste! If only you were here, I could have screamed like a dog.

The responsibility of an ace is truly immense.

“… … Okay. And one more thing.”

“……more?”

“I’m going to change positions in the middle of the second half.”

“Go to the front line?”

“Right side.”

“… … Right side?”

“Both are correct. The position is expressed as a right-wing attacker, but the actual movement should be oriented toward the center. At this time, pay attention to the distribution of positioning with the side defenders. Switch freely. The decision is entirely yours. Do you understand? It’s the same as a free role, only the position changes.”

“huh.”

Still, fortunately, the second instruction was easy to understand.

If you have to attack from the side, I think I’m better with my aggressive style than Remperle, who has the advantage of smooth link-ups.

“I’ll talk to Schmitz first.”

“… … Around the middle of the second half, we’ll bring in Kingsley to replace Schmitz. Talk to him.”

“Kingsley? Kingsley Schindler?”

“okay.”

“Schindler is a winger.”

“Did you forget? We practiced changing positions to right-back all preseason. And Schmitz was under a lot of pressure from back-to-back games… … Anyway, talk to Kingsley.”

“… … .”

Of course, not everything I read was to my liking.

Using a former winger as a fullback?

It certainly has its advantages on the offensive side, but is it really necessary?

Well, okay.

If you think you can seize the moment to push through after making a hundred concessions, then it’s possible.

“… … Hanul.”

“huh?”

“I know you don’t like it, but please don’t show it too much. You’ll get hurt if you do this.”

“… … .”

That could be the case.

* * *

Rhein-Energie-Stadion, W15.

The man sitting in the central seats overlooking the stadium lets out a small sigh and begins to speak.

“how is it?”

“The team? Or the players?”

“Both.”

The man sitting next to me, holding a notebook in one hand and writing something down, leans back against the chair. He looks a little indifferent.

“There’s nothing to really evaluate about AT Madrid. They had such great momentum at the beginning of the season. Today’s performance was also as expected. They’re sticky and slimy, but deadly. They seem to have prepared thoroughly for the game.”

“What about Cologne?”

“Cologne… … even if you hit it well, it’s 70 points?”

“The score is tight. It seems to have stabilized somewhat in the second half.”

“But we conceded a goal.”

It’s not that it isn’t, but the score of 0 to 1 is clearly written on the scoreboard across from it.

In the 4th minute of the second half, AT Madrid’s central midfielder Koke approached the box semicircle through a 2-on-1 pass and scored a low shot to the left of the goal.

“I don’t think it will be easy to turn it around?”

“I guess. Even though it’s a home game, the squad gap is too big. You can tell just by looking at the substitutes. AT Madrid has Carrasco, Griezmann, Cunha, Rodrigo de Paul… … It’s hard to say that the players who played in the first half are regulars. On the other hand, Cologne has Schindler, Martel, Duda, Adamian, etc.”

“You did make a big move on the bench.”

“Did you turn Hanul to the right?”

“huh.”

At that moment, Cologne’s attack unfolds and the ball is thrown right into the enemy lines.

Eric Martel, who came on as a substitute in the central midfield, passed forward to Mark Uth at the front, and after a physical fight with his back to the goal, he passed short to the right.

The left central defender of AT Madrid approaches the ambiguous ground ball pass of the century. Seong Ha-neul has the priority to touch the ball, but he boldly steps forward because it is outside the penalty box.

At the moment when Carrasco on the right and Rodrigo de Paul at the back are closing the distance and the space is shrinking, the boy takes a touch of the ball using the outside of his left foot.

“her.”

Despite being far apart, it felt so smooth and soft that the two men couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration.

The official ball whirls around as if responding to a slight touch, and passes between the legs of central defender Mario Hermoso, who runs straight at him.

Meanwhile, Sung Ha-neul leisurely moves to the right of the defender… … and another central defender, Axel Witsel, hurriedly comes in to cover.

If he takes just half a step more, he’ll be inside the box, so he runs straight at you, prepared to be cut off by a foul.

Knock, knock.

In that brief moment, the boy performs a touch of the ball with the outside of his left foot as before. With the first touch, he keeps the ball spinning, and with the second touch, he repeats the same action.

Instead, this time, he pushed the opposing player who was running from the left side out of the defensive range instead of between his legs. After that, he moved far to the right to avoid the foul, and soon brought the official ball to his feet.

[Wowaaaaaaaaa-!!]

“… … #@$.”

“Oh my, this is incredible.”

As he uses only his personal tactics to break down the defense, the stands erupt in cheers, and the two scouts also let out empty laughter.

Even though the summer transfer window has closed, interest has not died down, with clubs that have not given up yet coming to watch the matches.

and.

Phew!

[Ahhhhh-]

Just before the box, a finishing shot curved into the left-hand side of the goal. Another sigh of relief erupted at Jan Oblak’s crazy save.

“That one didn’t go in. Both teams’ goalkeepers were crazy today. I feel bad about it.”

“It’s a shame. But it turned out well for us.”

“It went well?”

“The more the players can feel the difference in level of their team, the better.”

The look of doubt was fleeting.

The middle-aged man wearing the jumper nodded his head involuntarily at the explanation that followed.

“We had a tough time against Club Brugge, but we won. But today’s game, the level of the opposing team is completely different. Not only is it tactical, but the individual skill gap is also clear. Except for me, no one has an advantage in any position.”

“Hmm, that’s true.”

“Furthermore, the tempo of the game is much faster than in the Bundesliga, so offense and defense transitions happen in the blink of an eye, and the organic organization in defense is something you’ll experience for the first time. Of course, there’s a giant in the Bundesliga called Bayern Munich, but Atletico Madrid is a completely different team from those guys. They play crazy, practical football.”

“But Hanul is doing well, right?”

At that point, I tried to raise a counterargument, but it was completely cut off.

“That’s better.”

“huh?”

“It’s not that he can’t do it, but his teammates can’t support him properly. He can’t create space beyond just receiving passes. You’ll be able to really feel where the real powerhouses compete, how they fight, and what Cologne’s limitations are.”

“… … So to sum it up, you’re saying that it might make you want to come to our team?”

“That’s true, and what I’m saying is… … the limitations are clear. Cologne’s only weapon is ‘Sunghanul’, right?”

“Well, the attack options aren’t that diverse.”

“On the other hand, the big clubs have at least two, or at most three or four. Along similar lines, I think that making it to the Champions League is high, but I personally think that it will be difficult to go beyond the round of 16.”

As if they had heard those words, AT Madrid regained possession of the ball with Jan Oblak’s punch and showed a rapid change in offense and defense.

Don’t even try to make useless passes, link up with teammates, but keep in mind that your ultimate goal is to advance into the opponent’s territory.

Boohoo!

A single pass sends the ball across the left-hand side of the field from Atletico Madrid’s half, and while Yannick Carrasco wastes time, players crouching near the box shoot out like bullets.

However, the spacing is constant, and even if they don’t speak to each other, their paths never overlap.

In addition, since Cologne’s midfielders were unable to return to their own camp, the battle of numbers ended in a 5 to 4 disadvantage.

Cologne’s right-back, Kingsley Schindler, who came on as a substitute, was thoroughly trampled by Angel Correa’s intervention as he tried to stop Yannick Carrasco.

“You shouldn’t have followed that.”

“Tsk.”

As Angel Correa moved from the front line to the flank, Kingsley Schindler could not ignore it, resulting in Yannick Carrasco dribbling into the central space without a single pass.

And what follows is a tragic moment that you cannot bear to see with your eyes open.

Knock, knock, knock, knock.

The official ball rolls from near the left side line of the penalty box, through the center, to the right side, back to the center through a cutback pass, and finally inside the box – to the left side.

Despite a dangerous pass link-up in space, the Cologne defenders did not dare to intercept it, and it ended with Yannick Carrasco’s exquisite curling shot.

[… …Wow!]

Just as the ball pierced the right side of the goal and landed in the net, distant cheers could be heard from the away side, and the Cologne players all lowered their heads.

This marks the 31st minute of the second half.

The second match of the Champions League group stage at home ended with a score of 0-2.

“I told you. The strong team has a lot of weapons.”

“Okay. Now all that needs to happen is for the players to react.”

“You probably already feel it, more than anyone else here.”

Indeed, that was the case.