Soccer Genius Wants to Get Noticed - Chapter 187



Only Krnovel

Episode 187: Horns made of steel

As time goes by, my breathing gets harder, but I run around the field without even realizing that my stamina is depleting.

“Return!”

Bam.

“Spread your arms wider to the sides!”

If the first half was filled with both joy and regret due to the opening and tying goals, the second half left no room for petty emotions.

The offensive and defensive roles change every 2-3 minutes, and soon they launch an active attack without looking back.

Perhaps because they instinctively knew that the moment they let go of the reins, the balance of the game would be tipped, no one hesitated.

“Timmy, I said earn more!”

“sorry.”

“Don’t apologize, just answer!”

“okay!”

This remained true even after the two wingers were replaced by Tillman and Remperle, and after right-back Benno Schmitz was replaced by Kingsley Schindler.

“Number 18! Box side!”

“I’ll stop it!”

Borussia Dortmund’s bench also fought back, bringing in Emre Can instead of Ozcan, and Moukoko and Thorgan Hazard as substitutes.

Thanks to the physical weaknesses being compensated for, the performance of both teams did not decline easily, but around the 27th minute of the second half, a problem eventually arose on the left side of the friendly camp.

Chorrrrrr!

“Ahh!”

Beep!

Near the sideline, Moukoko, who came in as a substitute, received a forward pass and was running when his foot was caught in a sliding tackle by Jonas.

He quickly admits his mistake and raises both hands, but he cannot avoid receiving the cards.

In this case… … the defense’s accumulated cards were the second. But what was more serious was that Jonas’ stamina seemed to have reached its limit.

“are you okay?”

“Don’t worry. It’ll be fine.”

While the opposing players were preparing for a free kick, I approached them and spoke to them, but received a firm response.

How could there be no problems?

I would like to make a request to the bench, that Christian Pedersen, who joined this summer as a replacement for Jonas Hector, be brought in.

Since he’s Danish, he probably drinks a lot of yogurt, so wouldn’t he be able to run around a lot?

Nothing in life is ever as good as imagination, because right after that, in the blink of an eye, Dortmund’s free kick was awarded.

Boohoo! Whirlirik!

From the right sideline, past the edge of the box, into the centre of the goal, and then to the opposite goal.

The free kick flew much farther than I expected, and at the end, a duel between two big men unfolded.

Modeste and Whibus.

It’s a showdown between Dortmund’s No. 20 and Cologne’s No. 4, but there’s no clear winner this time. The ball hits Modeste’s forehead first, but bounces off the side of Huybers’ head and into the middle of the box.

Kwak! Bam!

The ensuing premarital situation.

At first glance, it seemed like both teams were focusing more on physical contact than on the ball, but in the end, it was Dortmund’s central defender Schlotterbeck who ended up getting a touch of the ball and joining the attack.

The ball rolls toward the goal with a careless swing of the foot, but soon hits Shabot’s shin and rolls out to the back of the road.

and.

Boohoo-

slam!

“Damn!”

The finishing shot belongs to Jude Bellingham. I blurt out a curse word as I shoot, but my ominous prediction is not wrong.

The ball, which rose in a straight line, landed neatly in the upper right corner of the goal, and the person who scored the goal approached the away fans and celebrated the goal under the silence of the home crowd.

2 to 3.

But… … it’s okay.

Because we weren’t just helplessly beaten like we were in the AT Madrid match.

“Jonas.”

“……huh?”

“Don’t go too high. Tillman can spread his wings wide and I can move over to add to them.”

“but…….”

Now is the time to think rather than complain.

“Let’s do that.”

“……okay.”

The opposing defense also has central defender Jules and left-back Guerreiro receiving cards, so they are trying to draw their own picture.

Right-back Meunier doesn’t look in great form, and Jules won’t be able to attempt a rough foul either.

The attack point was on the left side.

* * *

Our chance was given around the 36th minute.

There are less than 10 minutes left in regular time.

The players who started as starters are slowly moving, so Schiri breaks down the pressure of the opposing attacking midfielder, Julian Brandt, and looks forward.

“Hier (now)!”

2nd line left. A ground ball with a strong spin comes in at the call of Ondrej Duda, and he controls the ball with his foot and turns 180 degrees.

Turn your body gently towards the front.

Boom!

Then, before Bellingham’s pressure comes in, a forward pass with the tip of his left foot is passed to Jan Tillman near the left sideline with Meunier in front.

Then I also glanced at the Mark Ut on the right, then moved my feet to join the left side.

Kwak.

In case he was about to do something, the opposing central defender, Niklas Sule, came up behind him and grabbed his jersey.

Not yet.

Tillman got the ball, I stood close to the edge of the box, on the same line, and below him, Ondrej Duda followed, forming an inverted triangle formation.

So, let’s put off using our individual abilities for a while.

Knock, knock.

As expected, the next situation also leads to a linked play.

Tillman tried to break through and threw a ground ball to me, and I was held by my uniform so I didn’t push myself and gave it to Duda.

Duda only takes two touches of the ball before pushing in and then slamming the ball into the path of Jan Tillman, who is cutting in diagonally.

Too-woong!

Who wouldn’t be a tactical fanatic? His penetrating movements are simply superb. As long as he doesn’t get caught in the offside trap, he can break down the side.

The opposing defenders were also clearly aware of this fact, and so the strength with which they held my back weakened.

The timing was off for the offside trap, so the Dortmund defense momentarily faltered.

Honestly, these kids did pretty well.

When Niklas Sule drops out to block Tillman’s path, the vacant spot is filled by his partner in central defense, Schlotterbeck, and Mark Uth, who was previously responsible for Schlotterbeck, is replaced by central midfielder Emre Can.

Because I saw how he handled things smoothly without even shouting once, I could understand a little bit why Anthony Modeste suddenly left.

But, I wanted this too.

Although they were successful in marking each player individually, the structured defensive zone was in disarray, making one-on-one defense essential.

Soon, Tilmann, whose path forward was blocked by Jules’s footsteps, sent a pass to the rear, and from here on, it became a fight between me and Schlotterbeck.

Phew, swoosh!!

The pass is so strong that it almost looks like it’s being intercepted in the middle. The trajectory also bounces off the grass and is an ambiguous height, like knee-high.

Therefore, you must concentrate very hard and keep your eyes on the ball, but do not miss the movements of the opposing defender that are vaguely visible in your field of vision.

I thought about cutting off the pass for a moment, but then gave up and started coming closer to me.

Once you’ve confirmed your opponent’s movements, you can quickly decide what the outcome will be.

The first thing to stretch out is the right foot.

At first glance, it seems like a stupid choice. My position is on the left side of the box line. If I touched the ball with my left foot, it would be different, but if I took the first touch with my right foot, it would be like confessing that I was going to break to the left.

Moreover, even if he tries to break through to the right, he can only catch up with him quickly and block his shooting angle. At best, he can only pass back to Ondrej Duda, who is further behind.

So, the first ball touch is that important.

Phew!

The impact area is the outside of the right foot.

To be precise, bounce it up into the hollow space between the heel and the side, drawing a trajectory exactly at head height. Send it in advance right in the center of the box.

At the same time, the body turns to the left.

An unnecessary turn of about 230 degrees, but it is perfectly suited to escaping the opponent’s thinking.

“… … !”

As I turned my body like that, I saw the ball falling from the air. Since I couldn’t break the laws of physics, the strong pass was soon replaced by a terrible level of rotational force.

Therefore, the second ball touch must be a direct shot.

Maintaining a state of breathlessness, take a step in time with the timing of the ball landing. Plant your left foot firmly into the grass at shoulder height, and start rotating your right foot as it falls below chest level.

As you reach your waist, gradually spread your right knee… … contact.

Whoaah-

Since I didn’t try to force myself, the follow-up movements were also completed smoothly, and the sensation came up through the instep belatedly.

A ticklish feeling, like cotton candy.

Even though I know it’s hard to do any better than this, I still wonder if I did it right, and my eyes follow the trajectory of the ball.

A straight path towards the upper left corner of the goal.

But at the end, I had to get off for a moment to get into the goal.

Go down.

Come down.

Tell him to stop and come down.

Phew-

Fortunately for me, the official ball that reached the goal suddenly lost its spin and revealed a pattern on its surface.

It suddenly drops down as if its weight has increased, and pierces the blind spot on the left side of the goal.

Clang!!

[Wow#@$@-!!]

[@$@*!!]

This makes it 3 to 3.

The goalkeeper did jump, but the timing was off enough that it felt like he was about two seconds late to react (which of course didn’t make sense), and the crowd went beyond cheering to shouting unintelligible phrases.

“Phu-ha.”

I let out the breath I had been holding, then inhale the satisfaction of a perfect result.

Was it great?

“It’s a hat trick!! You crazy psycho!”

Mark Ut seems to think so.

Did you do well enough to stand out?

“What’s going on today? Why are you so good at it!!”

Remperle’s fuss is similar.

Did the exclamation just come out naturally?

“Hanul-!”

“… … .”

No.

This is not it.

“Just leave it alone for a moment. I’ll go get the ball.”

“Huh? Huh… … . Yeah, that’s right. I have to overcome this!”

One more goal.

okay.

I wanted that.

* * *

The second half, the final moments.

The clock on the scoreboard stopped, and two minutes of the four minutes of added time had passed. The eighth round of the Bundesliga was still fiercely contested.

As stamina wore down, individual mistakes occurred, and in the 41st minute, Julian Brandt’s shot just slid past the left side of the goal.

In the 43rd minute, Mark Utt’s threatening mid-range shot was barely blocked by opposing goalkeeper Maier.

But if there is one difference between the two teams in the end… … it is that this is the Rhein-Energie-Stadion.

[FC Köln, the one and only~]

[Wings for the harness!]

[Score a goal and move towards glory!]

Thud, thud, thud.

Although I didn’t have time to look at the mufflers spinning like windmills, the large flags fluttering behind the goal posts, or the spectators arm in arm.

[TOOOORRR! MARK UTH!]

[SKHIRI, SKHIRI, the star we love!]

[HECTOR, you warm our hearts!]

The cheering for the team and the sound of feet stamping in unison were clearly audible.

So can we end it like this?

There are 2 minutes of extra time remaining.

Moukoko, who was digging into the left flank of the friendly camp, loses possession of the ball after being pushed by Jonas, and immediately passes the ball to Shabot, who kicks the ball far away.

The result of trying to somehow get them past the center line rather than targeting someone.

“Little one!”

But perhaps inspired by the cheering song, Mark Ut ran near the landing point and called out to me.

It’s an absurd attempt.

Schlotterbeck, who is competing for the right to serve, is obviously over 190 cm tall. There is no way Ut can win unless he gets hit by a truck that suddenly enters the stadium (that’s what it says).

but-

[A young goat grew up in the vast Rhine River!]

Because my story is also in the lyrics that come into my ears.

[Sunghanul, the pride of Cologne!]

Ta-da-da-dak!

Draw a route that penetrates diagonally, targeting the rear of the high defensive line near the second line of the opposing camp.

[Our lyrics flow out from the steel horns!]

The dedicated marksman’s reaction is slower than usual.

I guess you had the same thoughts as me.

But at that moment, Mark Utt, who had gritted his teeth and jumped up, got entangled with the opposing central defender and both of them lost their balance.

Within moments, the ball hit Schlotterbeck’s shoulder with a thud and rolled out behind him.

“Niklas!”

“#@$… … .”

The offside trap is meaningless. In the first place, the speed of the run was adjusted so that the two could be on the same line at the moment of competition.

From now on, it’s time to use up all your remaining stamina and run explosively.

[He hits, dribbles and scores!]

It seems as if he has thrown all delicacy to the Dortmund bench, and his first touch is crude. He pushes the ball far ahead and runs.

One-on-one chance.

[Strong young goat, score a goal. Score one more goal for us!]

Of course I thought so.