The Shocking List Release? (2)
Ten minutes before the squad list dropped, my family and I were gathered in the living room, watching TV together.
"Tae-woo, how much time is left?"
"Ten minutes."
Sitting around waiting is boring. Might as well check the gallery.
Ten minutes out from the announcement, the Indomitable Taegeuk Warriors Gallery was livelier than it had ever been.
When Miguel Clough had first been appointed as the previous manager, he had talked about winning Olympic gold with staggering confidence and sent expectations through the roof. Then he went and got eliminated in qualifying, and the interview he gave afterward detonated across Korea.
As the controversy refused to die, the KFA scrambled to smother the story by bringing in Cheon Mu-seok, a coach of some reputation out of Germany, and just barely managed to settle the waters. If they failed to deliver results this time as well, there would be genuine hell to pay.
In the novel, they actually went as far as holding a hearing over it.
If someone asked whether I took pride in being selected for the national team, I would honestly say no. But it was also true that, if you wanted to play in Europe, there was no stage quite like the Olympics.
No matter how good you were, European clubs were not going to sit around scouting Asian high school tournaments.
On top of that, Manchester City's current goalkeeper, Ederson, was already catching a mountain of criticism for his shaky shot-stopping. If I put in a standout performance as a keeper at the Olympics? I might not walk straight into City, but I would be more than enough to catch the scouts' eyes.
And if I settle the military service problem on top of that, there isn't a better prospect on the market. Offers will come. From Europe. No question.
The one thing that still nagged at me was whether they could actually quiet the distrust that came with picking a high schooler.
Last time, just selecting Yoo Hee-sung alone kicked up a massive backlash. This time it's me as well — no, who knows who else they'll take, now that the tactics have changed.
"Let's just take a little peek."
This bastard acting like seven Ballon d'Ors come free with dinner.
Busted.
"Puhahahaha!"
Jung Mi-na, who had snuck up beside me without my noticing and was reading over my phone, burst out laughing.
"What are you even fighting people in a gallery for? If you already know you're making the squad, there's no reason to argue."
How would you know how I feel.
It was true that this body, different from before the transmigration, couldn't bring every last bit of my ability to the surface. But there were things that had actually improved precisely because I was Jung Tae-woo.
Reaction speed, for one.
With reflexes this absurd, I was confident I could put up a performance that matched my Kim Chan-ki days — no, that surpassed them. As a goalkeeper, of course.
"They're saying I'm high school level? Tell them to produce a high schooler who plays like I do."
"Hmm... Hee-sung oppa?"
Why does this kid call Yoo Hee-sung oppa and me just hey?
"Hey. If Hee-sung gets 'oppa,' why don't I?"
"Hee-sung oppa is handsome."
"And me?"
Honestly, even from a third party's point of view, Jung Tae-woo was better-looking than Yoo Hee-sung.
"You're not actually asking that seriously, right?"
Jung Mi-na looked at me like I was something stuck to the bottom of her shoe.
Well... what could I do? I wasn't exactly thrilled to have Mi-na sitting next to me either. She was probably in the same boat.
"Mina, what's wrong with your brother? There isn't a man out there as handsome as Tae-woo."
"Ugh, blech. Mom, you have a serious habit of inflating Oppa."
"Inflating, my foot. Just look at your friend Seol-ah."
"That's because Seol-ah... damn it, I'm not talking to you, Mom!"
A sizable crowd of reporters had packed into the sports press room next to the Korea Football Association.
"Aigoo. We're probably getting knocked out in qualifying anyway..."
"Still, they say this one was a well-known coach out of Germany."
"Please. With the KFA still dug in, you think that manager actually picked who he wanted?"
"This time might be different."
"Suddenly?"
"I heard the new manager got into a massive fight with the KFA directors."
"With the directors? If he went that far with the board... you don't think?"
"Yeah. It'll be over the squad list. This announcement is going to make some noise."
A huge man opened the door and stepped in through the reporters' murmuring, and the room went quiet.
"Good afternoon. I am Cheon Mu-seok, and I will be managing the Madrid Olympic team."
Whether it was his enormous frame or that frightening face, the reporters froze for a moment and couldn't get a word out.
"I'll get straight to it and announce the squad for the 2036 Madrid Olympics."
Startled by a manager who actually intended to read the list, the reporters snapped back to themselves and fired off a question.
"Coach, you've taken charge of this Olympic side, and former manager Miguel Clough once said that as long as the KFA exists, Korea will never get through qualifying. Do you agree with that statement?"
"Gentlemen, would it be all right if I took questions after the squad announcement?"
Whether it was that scary face or simply that only the well-mannered reporters had shown up, everyone agreed.
"Then I'll begin. First, the player who will take our goal..."
"It's got to be Jeon Hyeong-min from Jeonbuk, right?"
"Obviously. There's nobody as good as Jeon Hyeong-min to begin with."
"What? Did he just— he called someone else instead of Jeon Hyeong-min?"
"That's not even the problem. Jung Tae-woo is a first-year in high school."
The press room exploded in an instant.
"Coach, did you just say Jung Tae-woo?"
"I did."
"Not Jeon Hyeong-min from Jeonbuk as the number one?"
"I understand this will come as a surprise. But Jung Tae-woo stands a solid six-foot-two, with absurd reflexes and a physical profile that will keep the Republic of Korea's goal locked down. On top of that, he's capable of the attacking play that fits the tactics I intend to use."
"We know Jung Tae-woo is good, but he's still only a first-year in high school. That's a child."
"Gentlemen, I said this at the start. I know you're surprised, but please hold your questions until the announcement is finished."
"Ahem."
Cheon Mu-seok paid the reporter's protest no mind at all, and pressed on with the rest of the list.