Soccer Genius Wants to Get Noticed - Chapter 197



Only Krnovel

Episode 197 The Way Forward, The Way You Must Take (3)

Despite my complicated feelings, time passes quickly.

I checked the flood of messages on my phone and sent a reply belatedly, and was scolded by the national team members (Isn’t it too much to reply now?).

I tried to clear my mind of distracting thoughts by going to the club’s training ground and sweating.

But does everything in the world always go the way I want?

My mind was full of thoughts about Sophie Hertz, so I couldn’t help but have trouble concentrating.

But a match is a match. On Sunday, October 16th, the 10th round of the Bundesliga… … I am sitting on one side of the bench.

Cologne welcomed Augsburg to the Rhein-Energie-Stadion and, considering the tight schedule, deployed their second-team lineup.

Sargis Adamian and Linton Maina started at the front, while Matias Olesen, Ljubicic, and Denis Husseinbašić played in the second line, and Eric Martel played in the defensive midfield position.

It was a cup match and not a league match, so they made a bold choice that made me tilt my head, but the content of the first half of the match was… … I couldn’t bear to open my eyes and watch it.

14 minutes in the first half.

From the opponent’s left flank to our team’s right flank, a long pass opens up a wide path into the box.

Tick, thud!

The ball bounced irregularly off the outstretched foot of the opposing forward, but luckily hit his torso and fell forward.

Next is a shot from the left side of the box, at an angle of only 30-40 degrees.

At this time, primarily, the friendly central defender Luca Killian failed to block the path, and secondarily, the goalkeeper’s position was also imperfect.

Crash!

[Ahhhh… … .]

The right side of the goal net shakes as the crowd sighs.

But that’s okay.

Steffen Baumgart’s grand strategy is to use his starting players in the second half and go for it. If he can put physical strain on them, he can score a goal or so…

Clang! Clang!!

“… … This is fucking crazy.”

“Hanul.”

“Another loss? How did you eat it? I didn’t see it.”

“A cross from the left flank to the other side of the box, Niederlechner passes back into the middle of the box. The finish is a midfielder. Vargas? I think it’s Vargas. Right winger.”

“If it’s Niederlechner… … center forward?”

“That’s right. But honestly, I don’t think it’s right to blame the defense. It was a really good play.”

If I were outside the stadium, I could have replayed the goal scenes on my phone. It was frustrating because there were no goals on the stadium scoreboard, especially not goals from the away team.

The defense is the starting lineup, and it’s too much to concede two goals even when the opponent isn’t a strong team.

But at the same time, our team manager is Steffen Baumgart.

A big guy.

If you don’t believe it, you might not know, but once you believe it, you won’t say anything else.

“Pressing!! Press harder!”

A middle-aged man walks to the sideline in front of the bench and yells so loudly that the top hat on his head falls off.

It means not to be discouraged by consecutive losses.

Then, indeed, the players on the field produced meaningful results just before the end of the first half.

Boohoo!

Counterattack situation.

Jonas floats a long pass in a straight line from the left flank of the friendly zone to near the opponent’s corner flag.

Linton Maina, who started as a striker, used his quick feet to secure possession of the ball, and soon gave up his greed in a one-on-one duel with the defender and floated a cross.

Whiriliririk.

Whether intentional or coincidental, the official ball, which traces a curved trajectory, falls exquisitely into the space between the goalkeeper and the defender.

Just then, Sargis Adamian cuts through two central defenders and finishes.

[Wow!!]

It was a perfect cross and an accurate shot that the goalkeeper didn’t even dare to touch.

This makes the score 1 to 2.

In the second half, it is up to the starting lineup to make the decision.

* * *

The difference between a candidate and a starter is the difference between dullness and flexibility.

That our breathing is in sync.

This is because it does not simply mean that passes are connected like flowing water, but also includes the fact that individual positioning, linking process, and ultimately the use of detailed tactics do not require special communication.

“Here! Get inside!”

“Timmy!”

“Back again!”

It was like that from the middle of the second half.

With Florian Dietz replacing Sargis Adamian, Naega replacing Linton Maina, and Jan Tillman and Remperle replacing the left and right wingers, the starting lineup has changed, and the blocked blood flow in the opposing team’s half has become smoother.

One-sided attack flow.

“Ugh!”

Boom! Boom!

Ljubicic, who started as an attacking midfielder, knocked a long pass from the third line down with his forehead, and Tillman on the left ran over and converted the pass with a one-touch.

The ball rolls slightly to the right, and I pretend to catch it as I go down the line. I let it fall between my legs.

Tata-tata-tak.

Then, without delay, turn to the right of Rempel.

“Number 28!”

It was expected that the defender would follow him, so he spread out diagonally to the right and climbed up the outside line of the penalty box.

The important thing is to create space.

Since two people, a central defender and a winger, are attached to me at any given moment, space is bound to open up in the second line.

Bam!

“The front of the box is empty-”

Boohoo!!

The main character of this chance is Ryubicic.

After winning the ball in the air, the man slowly climbs up and shoots from mid-range as soon as Remperle passes the ball to him.

The location is exactly in the center outside the box, at a distance of approximately 24 meters.

The official ball was flying straight towards the left side of the goal, in the blind spot… … It looked like it was properly resting on the instep.

Clang!!

[Wow!!]

A powerful shot that didn’t even reach the goalkeeper’s hands caused a roar of cheers from the stands.

I watch Ljubicic run towards the goal line, then look around at the opposing defenders.

“……under.”

“… … .”

There is a clear sign of a loss of momentum.

If this is the case… … Today’s game isn’t over yet, but judging by the flow of the game, it’s as good as over. It’s time to push a little harder.

Here, the bench boldly executes personal judgments that are not permitted.

“Jonas.”

“… … .”

“Jonas!”

“huh?”

“Don’t join the midfield, come up. Dimitri is tall. It won’t be effective to spread out to the side instead of Tillman. Leave the central support to Schmitz on the right, and just join the upper line on the left.”

“Uh… … Yeah. You have a point. Let’s give it a try.”

“Cross is mainly Dimitri. If Ljubicic joins or Remperle is empty on the other side, I think it would be good to give it to him.”

“I’ll do that. But… … Are you going to keep calling me Dimitri?”

“I know it’s Dietz. Florian Dietz. It’s the same as Florian Cainz. I can’t help but remember it. But how can I avoid Dimitri’s mouth?”

“… … That seems worse.”

I’m really frustrated.

Didn’t I already say, ‘What are you going to do?’

It was a bit frustrating because it seemed like the message that there was nothing I could do wasn’t properly conveyed. Six minutes after the game resumed, my mind started spinning as the offensive initiative shifted once again.

* * *

Beep!

The second substitution card from the Cologne bench came around the 71st minute.

As the ball crosses the sideline, Jonas Hector is signalled out of the field by the referee.

“great job.”

Clap, clap, clap.

He high-fived everyone, from the manager to the coaches, to the players who had played before and those who hadn’t played before, before entering the bench seat.

He sits next to the veteran striker who is occupying the central position like a kingpin.

“Are you here?”

“hmm.”

“How are you feeling?”

Mark Ut’s words are filled with playfulness and concern.

As a veteran, it is natural to have at least one chronic injury, and Jonas was also often sidelined due to knee and ankle problems.

“It’s okay. I’m just tired, my knees are fine.”

“Oh, then you can take a breather. The little one will take care of the rest.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah. Look at him running. He’s screaming that he doesn’t want to stay in Cologne any longer.”

“… … You too.”

Although I was left tongue-tied by the series of mischievous jokes, it wasn’t a wrong statement.

On the field.

The attack on Cologne was driven and controlled by the Holy Roman Empire, and the same was true of Augsburg.

“He just plays around with it. At the beginning of the season, he was often immature, but now… … he’s almost mature. He lures him into the half-space again. As a defender, you have no choice but to react. If he does that, that’s right. A lob pass to Tillman to the other side, yaaa~”

Whirlyrick.

Rather, the lobbed pass from the right side outside the box curves gently and falls to the left side of the box.

Boohoo!

[Ahhhhh!]

Although the ending was disappointing, the audience was applauding the one-sided attack.

“Don’t say that to the child. He still has a lot of room for improvement.”

“Me? Are you talking to me? Are you thinking I’ll make that little brat look cool?”

“… … I spoke nonsense. That can’t be true.”

“Of course. I’m saying this because he’s not here right now. He used to whine a lot before the game, but look at him. I told you it was all a joke.”

“Crying? Hanul?”

[Wow!!]

[good!]

[Ha-nul, stab Hanul!!]

Jonas’ question is once again drowned out by the cheers of the crowd.

After a high-intensity forward pressure, a pass error was induced in the middle of the Augsburg line, and Remperle soon intercepted the ball, creating a decisive attacking opportunity.

The ball was picked up on the right flank, but with Cologne’s final defensive line high, Eric Martel, starting as a defensive midfielder, cuts into the center of the second line.

Urrrrrrr.

Slightly off timing pass.

Two players wearing different uniforms run toward the ball pushed to the center of the field.

Avoiding the collision was virtually impossible, but Eric Martel was given the priority to touch the ball, and after kicking the lower part of the ball, it rolled on the grass, and the referee declared play to continue.

The ball is passed to Ljubicic, who is standing on his left, and he overcomes the opponent’s physical challenge in a somewhat blunt manner before sending a ground pass to Dietz on the left of the front line.

And while all this was happening, the Holy Sky was also moving diligently.

From the right striker position at the very front, he cuts diagonally towards the edge of the penalty box. This is the same method as the previous match, but the moment the ball passes to Ljubicic, he brakes sharply and circles behind the defensive line to escape.

The destination is Dimitri, or Florian Dietz.

With his height of 188 centimeters and his sturdy build, he was capable of holding his back to the opposing central defender.

Just 1-2 seconds.

A moment’s struggle can determine the outcome.

Kwaaaaah, bang! Bam!

Bam!

Immediately after blocking the defender’s thrusts at his upper body and enduring the footsteps of his soccer shoes on his heels and ankles, Dietz manages to push the ball a couple of steps away.

Is it too short? Let’s reproach ourselves for a moment.

As the boy’s figure fills my field of vision, it’s only then that I realize I should have opened up the shooting angle.

I should have just gotten out of there, but I was late again.

and.

The boy chooses a breakthrough in his own way.

Kwak!

Chorrrrrrrr!!

He steps on his left foot near the ball and moves his right foot around it as an axis, and the opposing central defender who was chasing him tries to block his shooting trajectory with a sliding tackle.

WHEEK!

I thought it was a shot, but it wasn’t. I put the ball between my feet… … and then I did something crazy like lift it up with my left heel.

Left centre-back Frederik Winter also attempted a sliding tackle.

Florian Dietz, who was standing directly in front of the box, with his back to the goal.

Right centre-back Roberto Gumni was unaware of what was happening behind him.

I could only stare blankly at the parabolic curves that circled overhead.

Rainbow Flick.

In England it is called Ardiles Flick, and also called ‘sombrero’ which means hat, and in Korea it is usually called Sapo (derived from Chapeu in Portuguese).

Individual skills that have little practicality and are not used in professional matches can produce mysterious results when combined with the right situation.

After making three men look like fools, he turns to the left and wins possession back in the box… … leaving him one-on-one with the goalkeeper.

[… … .]

But was it too shocking a scene for the onlookers?

Instead of cheers, there is silence in Cologne’s home stadium, with only a few spectators rising from their seats to make a scene.

Ta-da-dak, cho-a-ak!

The goalkeeper then runs out of the goal, emptying his goalpost, and makes a last-ditch effort, but is ultimately defeated by a ground shot aimed at his legs.

Roll, roll, roll.

As the shot, which had little power, crossed the goal line with brutal slowness, only then did deafening cheers erupt from all directions.

[Waaaaaaah!!]

“You crazy bastard, you fucking asshole, you crazy bastard! You confessed and got rejected! You really are good at being rejected!!”

“… … ?”

Mark Ut’s harsh comments were a bonus.