Chapter 32
Chapter 32
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 32
Chapter Title: Who Is That Guy? -2
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“What’s with the atmosphere?”
“Huh?”
“Aren’t we winning?”
“We are winning.”
“But everyone looks so angry. Look at that guy over there! He looks like he’s about to throw something.”
“Well...”
At Kim Ji-woo’s question, Lee Won-hoon scratched his head.
He wasn’t wrong. The atmosphere in the stadium was far from good. It hadn’t been so bad at first, but it had grown increasingly hostile as time went on.
Here and there, sighs and curses could be heard, and some people were even punching their seats in anger.
Yet, Fiorentina was leading the match.
Having finished the first half with a 1-0 lead, Fiorentina had scored another goal around the 10th minute of the second half to take a 2-0 lead.
And that lead had held until now, 20 minutes later.
Moreover, the opposing team, the visitors, had barely managed a proper attack, so one could even say it was a one-sided match.
Despite this, the spectators’ mood was so foul that it was only natural for Kim Ji-woo to feel something was off.
Lee Won-hoon spoke cautiously.
“They must find it boring, I guess.”
“Boring?”
“Well, winning is important, of course. But in the end, people watch to be entertained. Lately, public sentiment has been poor, and today hasn’t changed that...”
Lee Won-hoon wasn’t an expert on soccer. However, because his family, particularly his son, played the sport, there were things he couldn’t help but know.
He was well aware of Fiorentina’s recent atmosphere, at the very least.
Somehow, they were getting lucky with results, so their standing wasn’t that bad, but their gameplay was described as being as frustrating as a sweet potato that won’t cook. That was the current assessment of Fiorentina.
Their build-up play consisted of nothing but passing the ball around before sending it to the side, and their attacks were limited to blind crosses followed by headers.
Especially considering they had a good striker like Dušan Vlahović, the fact that this was all they could do was a major point of criticism. They were using a player whose main weapons were his movement, link-up play, and left-footed shots as nothing more than a heading machine.
“Hmm... Honestly, it is a bit boring.”
“If it weren’t for Ji-an, I probably wouldn’t be watching this either.”
It was no different today.
Well, if the opponent were a strong team, one might understand.
But today’s opponent was Genoa, the lowest-ranked team in the league.
To be playing such a frustrating match even against a team like Genoa, the fact that they were winning wasn’t the issue.
“It would be more fun if Ji-an came on, right?”
“Well... but it’s unlikely he’ll play.”
“Why?”
“Well... he’s just too young, isn’t he? He doesn’t have any experience either. Just sitting on the bench for the first team at 16 is already impressive; it’s not easy to expect him to actually play.”
“Huh, is that so...”
At Lee Won-hoon’s words, Kim Ji-woo pouted.
“Still, I feel like Ji-an could do better than the players out there...”
“Well, I wouldn’t mind seeing Ji-an play either, but... it’ll be tough today.”
“Tch. If I were the coach, I’d put Ji-an in right away. Are they all idiots?”
Lee Won-hoon chuckled at Kim Ji-woo’s grumbling.
Well, it wasn’t that he had no hope, but he wasn’t expecting much.
He wasn’t expecting to see Ji-an play today.
It was only natural.
To put a 16-year-old kid who had been playing for the U17 team just last week straight into a match.
Unless the coach was head over heels and desperate to put him on the field, it was an impossible task.
“In the first place, just sitting there at that age is already truly amazing. Incredibly so. So it’s only natural he doesn’t play, and there’s no need to be disappoi—”
“Huh? Mister! Mister!”
“...Huh?”
Then, Kim Ji-woo suddenly shot up from his seat. This caused Lee Won-hoon to cut his sentence short.
Kim Ji-woo pointed towards Fiorentina’s bench and shouted.
“Ji-an! Ji-an! He’s coming out!”
“Wh-what?”
What is he talking about? Ji-an is coming out?
Frowning, Lee Won-hoon stood up and looked where Kim Ji-woo was pointing...
Lee Won-hoon’s eyes widened into circles.
“...Huh?”
Wait a minute.
This doesn’t make sense.
Just sitting on the first-team bench at 16 is supposed to be a huge deal...
It’s supposed to be unimaginable for him to actually start a match...
But, then...
“Th-this is real!?”
Ji-an was really coming off the bench and warming up near the touchline?
Wh-what is this...
“I told you he would come out! See? I was right!!!”
“Uh... uh...”
Lee Won-hoon wondered if he was dreaming.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
“Don’t worry about anything. Just focus on one thing.”
“Yes.”
“Do everything you want to do. Okay?”
“Yes. Understood.”
I stood with the coach on the touchline, waiting for the substitution signal.
The coach kept talking to me, almost in a headlock-like embrace around my shoulder.
“If you lose the ball, if you make a passing mistake, if your shot goes wide, I won’t say a word. But, if you play passively, I’ll scold you.”
“Yes.”
“Don’t try to fit in with your seniors. Don’t think about yielding to your seniors. Do what you want to do. Okay?”
“...Yes.”
It was me who was going into the match, but for some reason, the coach seemed more excited.
The coach’s hot breath kept hitting my ear, which wasn’t a pleasant feeling.
But strangely, since the coach was this excited in my place, I felt myself calming down.
No, perhaps it wasn’t that I was calm, but that I was so tense I couldn’t feel anything.
Either way, it didn’t matter.
What’s important is that I’m ready to play.
“Whistle-!”
The whistle blew, and the match stopped for a moment.
The assistant referee next to me raised the substitution board, and one of our players walked out.
He reached out his hand to me.
I, too, reached out my hand towards his,
“Give it your all!”
and ran onto the field with the coach’s hand slapping my back.
I didn’t feel it was real, but it was the moment I set foot on a Serie A field.
“Number two! Number two!”
However, there was no time to be lost in sentiment.
Extending my fingers high, I relayed the coach’s tactical change to my seniors.
A change from a 4-3-3 to a 4-2-3-1.
I was going into the middle of the ‘3’, the position of the withdrawn striker. I had always played this position in the U17 team, so it was nothing new.
“Whistle-!”
The whistle blew, and the match resumed with our team’s throw-in.
The ball started to circulate slowly from the back.
While the ball was circulating, I scanned my surroundings, looking for the position I should be in.
The opponent was still sitting deep.
A compact defense.
The gaps, especially in the center, were very narrow. The gaps between the front and back lines were tight, and the gaps between the left and right were the same.
They seemed to be willing to concede crosses from the sides, but were determined not to allow any shots from inside the box.
Even while being down by two goals, their attitude hadn’t changed.
I thought they were quite stubborn, but on the other hand, I was relieved.
That they wouldn’t change their defensive tactics and would stick with them.
Because I had already scored against that defense several times in my head.
Of course, only in my head.
While sitting on the bench watching the match, I had run countless simulations of how I would break down that defense.
To be honest, I saw several goal-scoring opportunities with my own eyes. It’s not that I saw angles my seniors couldn’t because I was better than them.
It’s just different when you’re watching from inside the stadium versus from the bench. It’s always easier to see things more clearly when you’re a step removed. I was outside, so I could see more clearly.
Anyway, the important thing was that the opponent’s defense wasn’t so solid that it was impossible to break through.
They had clearly exposed their weaknesses several times.
Especially now, as we were approaching the end of the second half, the gaps would be created even more easily.
I planned to actively target those gaps.
Tat-tat-tat!
I moved out of my original position, heading down towards the bottom. I went all the way down to near the half-line.
Then, the ball was immediately passed to me.
Whoosh-
I received it lightly and turned around.
Since the opponent wasn’t pressing me at all in this area, I had plenty of time.
The question was how to advance from here.
Whoosh-
Whoosh-
I exchanged light passes with nearby teammates and moved to the left.
Even though I didn’t specifically ask for a return pass, the ball came to me right away, which showed that my seniors were also tired.
This made me feel less burdened.
Since my seniors were tired, they wouldn’t think badly of me if I held the ball and dribbled around a bit longer; in fact, they’d probably appreciate it.
Tat-tat-
From near the left touchline, I started to slowly dribble the ball upfield.
Since there was still no pressure from the opponent, my advance was easy.
If I decided to dash forward, I felt like I could get all the way to the left corner flag without any interference. That’s how much they were neglecting the side space.
But I had no intention of going that way.
There’s nothing I can do but cross if I go there, and I’m not confident I can break down the opponent’s box defense with my cross.
Tat-tat-tat!
So I head for the center.
I move diagonally towards the box, entering the left half-space.
It feels like I’m charging towards a beehive.
As I approach a sensitive area, the opponent’s defense starts to react one by one, becoming wary of me.
But I don’t feel that intimidated.
After all, I’ve faced the first-team seniors in training.
The opponent is inferior to our team’s seniors.
The league standings prove that, and today’s match is also proving it.
So, without flinching, I dribble the ball and charge at the defense blocking my path.
Taaat!
The opponent stretches out his leg. But I was prepared for it. I push the ball to the side with my right foot to evade the tackle.
Tat-tat-tat!
At the same time, I kick the ball forward again, momentarily increasing my speed to get past the defender.
One down.
But still, a crowd of defenders swarms in front of me.
A mountain of obstacles.
It looks difficult for me to squeeze through that gap alone...
But I’m not alone.
“Hey!”
A familiar face suddenly pops out from among the defenders.
It’s Vlahović.
He positions himself inside the box, with his back to the defender, and shouts at me.
Is this the reason we train?
My body reacts before my head does to that voice.
Whoosh!
I pass the ball to Vlahović and run towards the slightly widened gap in the defense.
The simulation I had only run in my head and the reality in front of my eyes began to overlap.
I move just like the simulation I ran countless times. To the left from here.
Whoosh!
As I reached near the box, the ball came back to me.
The truly amazing thing was that even before I received the pass, I could see Vlahović positioning himself in front of me again.
Does that senior have two bodies?
Whoosh!
Evading a defender charging at the ball, I return the pass with a single touch. At the same time, I don’t stop running and continue into the box.
Tat-tat-tat!
I keep my eyes fixed on Vlahović, adjusting my speed so as not to cross the opponent’s final defensive line, waiting for the pass.
Of course, it’s fine even if the pass doesn’t come.
But in training, Vlahović usually passed to me when possible.
So I was prepared, and for that, I felt lucky.
Because I could see the ball flowing behind the opponent’s defense. If I hadn’t been prepared, my reaction would have been slow.
Tat-tat-tat!
I grit my teeth and run towards the ball flowing towards the left goalpost.
Now that I think about it, it’s a truly strange thing.
I’m running.
With the first-team seniors, against a Serie A team, in front of these thousands of spectators.
I thought I wouldn’t be able to run.
I thought my head would go blank, my whole body would stiffen, and I wouldn’t be able to run, let alone breathe.
But what’s strange is that, right now, I’m not thinking of anything.
My head is indeed blank. But because of that, all I see is the ball in front of me.
At the same time, the other thousands of spectators were invisible to me. Only the thought that my dad and Ji-woo would be watching crossed my mind.
I want to show them.
Myself, right now.
Bwoooooooooooong-!
I placed the ball on the instep of my left foot.
The keeper was running out, hugging the near post to narrow the angle, so I shot for the far post.
Actually, I paid more attention to the height than the direction.
In a situation like this, a low-driven shot along the ground is the most difficult for a keeper to handle.
So I completely straightened my instep and hit it.
Shaaaaaa-
The shot I took flew out, grazing the grass.
But... why is it going so weakly?
It feels like time has stopped.
Is this place underwater? Why is my shot so slow?
Go faster. Go faster, I tell you.
Faster...
Thwack-!!
It went. It went in.
Thank goodness.
It went in.
Waaaaaaaaaaaaa-!
At that moment, shouts that felt like they would tear my body apart engulfed me from all sides.