Chapter 35
Chapter 35
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 35
Chapter Title: Protect the Maknae - 2
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"That must be really tough for you."
"Huh? What is?"
"Being the team captain."
"Why do you say that?"
"Well, it's just... the senior players don't seem like the easiest people to control..."
"Ah-Hahaha!"
When I cautiously made the remark, our team captain, Viragi-senpai, burst out laughing.
It was a short break before the main training began, right after we finished our warm-up stretches.
Viragi-senpai, who seemed to feel sorry for me as I was getting picked on by the other seniors, had brought me over to the vending machines, saying he'd buy me a drink.
After downing a cool ion drink, Viragi-senpai wiped his mouth and spoke.
"Well, you're right. It's not a job just anyone can do."
"I can see that. It's amazing..."
"That's why I'm failing at it."
"...Huh?"
Viragi-senpai shook his head as if the very thought was exhausting.
"You've probably noticed already, but there isn't a single normal person here. They're all a few screws loose. I wasn't always like this. I became like this just a year after taking the captain's armband."
"..."
As I listened with a serious expression, the captain gave a wry smile.
"You can just say everyone except me is crazy. But don't worry too much. For all their appearances, they're all dead serious about soccer. They're just playing pranks on you because they want to get close to you faster, so just take it as that. They don't mean any harm."
"Yes..."
"Just focus on playing soccer. That's all you need to do."
"I'll keep that in mind."
I nodded, looking at the captain's kindly smile. Well, he claims he's not doing a good job as captain, but to me, Viragi-senpai was the perfect image of a 'captain.'
He took the lead in training and worked hard, and he looked after me, the youngest, like he was doing now.
He was the only one who would step in to stop the other seniors' pranks.
If it weren't for him, I might have been on a plane by now. Not a real plane, but the kind my dad used to give me as a kid.
Something about me being like his nephew or something...
Earlier, they asked me to pick the ugliest person out of the group, and I was at a loss, but the captain secretly signaled me to pick him, so I managed to get out of it.
"Anyway, if anyone gives you a hard time, tell me right away."
"Yes, Captain."
"Alright, let's go."
I followed the captain back to the training ground. As we got closer, I could hear boisterous laughter.
When I wondered what was going on, I saw the seniors were at it again, doing something strange.
They were running around, trying to pull each other's pants down.
Giggling and cackling as they did.
This is... the first team?
"Sigh."
The captain let out a deep sigh at the sight.
Of course it's not easy being the captain with players like that.
His shoulders slumped, and I was about to offer to give him a massage, but he shook his head and spoke.
"Always be on your guard. Don't get influenced by those crazy bastards. There has to be at least one normal person on the team."
Saying that, the captain suddenly started running toward the seniors.
"It's sun-drying time! Is there anything fun to do besides me? Is there, huh?!"
"..."
I watched the captain's retreating form, unable to find the right words. No matter what happens... I must never end up like that...
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"Good, good! Faster! Faster!"
The captain's words were definitely true.
Everyone might look like they have a screw loose on the surface, but in the end, they're all dead serious about soccer.
The seniors who were playing pranks like elementary schoolers during the break completely transformed once training started.
They all shed their playful and joking attitudes and focused entirely on the training.
"Hey, Ji-an!"
"Jean, over here!"
"To the side! Pass it to Lee!"
What was particularly impressive was that the seniors didn't call me 'the youngest' or 'kid' once training began.
Whether it was Ji-an, Jean, or Lee.
They just called me by my name.
The coach had said a few times that on the field, there is no youngest or anything like that; everyone is an equal player.
It seemed like they were calling me by my name in that spirit.
Up until last week, they were still calling me 'the youngest' even during training. Maybe it's because I'm finally a real first-team player now, but I felt like I was being treated as an equal on the field.
However, the important thing was that this wasn't necessarily a good thing.
"I have to overcome this! I have to overcome this!"
Since everyone was equal on the field, the seniors didn't go easy on me just because I was the youngest.
For example, when I had the ball and was attacking, or when I was fighting for a second ball.
The seniors wouldn't hold back in physical challenges and would body me.
As a result, I lost my balance and fell several times, or lost the contest and gave up the ball.
"Huff."
Actually, not all the seniors were bigger than me.
There were seniors who were shorter than me, and seniors who were as skinny as I was.
But even those seniors felt difficult to beat in a physical battle.
How should I put it...
I got the feeling that a physical battle isn't just about size or strength, but a skill in itself.
I lacked that know-how.
"Grr...!"
Still, I didn't want to look discouraged, and a sense of pride started to bubble up.
I tried to be aggressive and throw myself into the fray in my own way.
Well, up until my youth days, I was on the smaller side, so I could avoid these situations if I wanted to.
But from now on, there will be situations I can't avoid.
I gritted my teeth and tried to be more aggressive.
Of course, it wasn't easy, and by the time the break came, I was completely exhausted.
"Ugh..."
"Hey, the youngest is about to die. Someone give him mouth-to-mouth."
"Who was bullying the kid? Was it you?"
"You were the one who handled him the roughest."
I was just about to lie down and rest, but the area immediately became noisy. For some reason, the seniors all gathered around me and started to take a break.
The pressure was even tighter than during training.
"Go a little easier on him, you guys. He's the youngest."
"I was trying to go easy. But what am I supposed to do if I can't stop him when I go easy?"
"If the youngest gets hurt, you'll get kicked off the team, you know?"
"Then I'll deal with you first. Anyone who hurts the youngest, I'll wreck them."
...Sigh. I can't even rest comfortably.
I forced myself to sit up and catch my breath.
Then, a question suddenly came to mind, and I asked Lucas Torreira-senpai, who was sitting next to me resting.
"Uh, Senpai, do you have any tips or know-how?"
"Huh? Tips for what?"
"For things like physical battles. I don't know how to beat players who are bigger and rougher than me. I was wondering how you overcome them..."
Torreira-senpai, who is from Uruguay, is quite small.
He says he's 171cm, but his profile lists him as 168cm.
Plus, he doesn't have a particularly thick build, so he doesn't look strong at first glance.
But Torreira-senpai's position is defensive midfielder. It's a position that requires fierce play throughout the match.
I was curious about how he could hold his own in that position with his physique.
"Well, about that."
Torreira-senpai suddenly made a gun shape with his hand and pointed it at his own head, then answered in English with a thick Spanish accent.
"I'm from the ghetto."
"...What's the ghetto?"
"I was born and raised in a place where everything is real. Gangs overflow on the streets, and if you're not tough, you become the prey. That's my hometown. I grew up in a place like that, so I had no choice but to become a tough guy. Kill or be killed. You know?"
"Hmm..."
Ah, that's right.
The captain said it. That there are no normal people.
As I watched Torreira-senpai point a finger-gun at me, I started to think I shouldn't have asked.
Then, the seniors around us burst out laughing and said:
"Stop spouting nonsense, you idiot. You're a rich kid."
"You grew up eating food made by a housekeeper."
"Didn't you call me before, crying, saying there looked like there were mobsters at a restaurant?"
"W-What are you talking about! I'm from the ghetto! Real shit!"
After his facts were checked by the other seniors, Torreira-senpai waved his finger-gun around in resistance, but soon gave up and shook his head, then said to me:
"I guess I should be honest. To tell you the truth, I'm not that good at physical battles either. How could I compete physically with bigger players? That's something with limits."
"Uh... but you're an 'incontresta,' aren't you? Don't you have to engage in physical battles a lot?"
"A lot. That's why I usually just go down. Maybe because I'm small, the refs give me a lot of calls."
"Ah..."
"It's not that overpowering your opponent with strength is the only way to win a physical battle. Players like us have to be smart about it. Then there are plenty of ways to win."
This time, the other seniors nodded in agreement. Torreira-senpai continued.
"Youngest, do you know a player named David Silva?"
"I... know the name, but I'm not sure exactly who he is."
"Wow, is this the era where the first team is a generation that doesn't know David Silva? When I was at Arsenal..."
I started to receive a lecture on who David Silva was, which came up out of nowhere.
Torreira-senpai said David Silva was one of the players who shocked him the most during his time playing in England.
Because he was just too good with the ball.
He said he'd never seen a player who used the ball more intelligently.
"Silva is only 170cm tall. But even those rough Premier League defenders couldn't stop Silva. They couldn't stop him at all."
He, too, had a slender, small build, but even bigger players couldn't stop him.
It was because he was fundamentally great with the ball, moved a step ahead of everyone else, and had quick judgment.
"So, in the end, it's not that physical battles are the only way. Youngest."
"Huh?"
"When I first played against you in training, I got a similar feeling. For a moment, it felt like David Silva was right in front of me."
"Huh? What do you..."
When I was flustered, Torreira-senpai spoke seriously.
"I'm being serious. I see that much talent in you. So, I don't think you need to worry about other things. Your strengths alone are enough to get you to the top. And besides, you're even bigger than Silva? You could become an even better player."
I listened intently to the senior's words.
I still thought the praise was excessive, but I felt I needed to take Torreira-senpai's words to heart.
As I was lost in thought for a moment and nodding, the other seniors began to speak one by one.
"That's right, youngest. Leave the dirty work to us seniors, and you do what only you can do."
"Look at all these ugly mugs here. We were born to do the rough stuff."
"We'll protect you, so don't think about doing anything rough, just play pretty."
The seniors spoke with a "hehehe" laugh.
At first, it was definitely scary, but maybe I'm getting used to it now.
Seeing them like that, I felt a sense of reassurance.
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"Hmm..."
Vincenzo, the coach, watched the training resume after the break, stroking his chin.
Then, he nodded.
'His greatest strength is that he's smart and humble at the same time.'
A thought from Toni, the previous coach, suddenly came to Vincenzo's mind.
He was looking at Lee Ji-an.
Tat-tat-tat!
Ji-an, who had been spinning around in a tight space, dribbled his way out.
He was in a situation where he was cornered by two defenders near the touchline, but he cleverly dribbled his way out of the crisis with a witty move.
In fact, just before the break, Ji-an had been playing uncharacteristically today.
I don't know if he wanted to show the audacity of a rookie, or if he thought he had to do at least that much to survive in the first team.
He seemed to be trying to be more physically aggressive than usual.
Well, of course, it could be seen as a good attitude.
It's true that professional games are much rougher than youth games, and you only get better by experiencing physical battles, so it's good to be aggressive if you don't get hurt.
However, in doing so, his unique strengths were less visible. It felt like he was trying to take a difficult path when an easy one was available.
He even lost the ball a bit easily, which was unlike him.
But now, it was different.
Maybe he had a realization himself, because in that short time, he had changed his style and was breaking through the difficulties.
"Good! Good!"
Look.
The players who were managing to stop him before couldn't stop him at all now.
Ji-an was weaving through the first-team seniors by himself.
'The humility to admit one's own weaknesses. The intelligence to utilize one's own strengths.'
Players of that type develop quickly.
Truly smart players often level up even during a match.
Ji-an was exactly like that.
"Hmm..."
Vincenzo stroked his chin again.
This weekend, Fiorentina's 10th-round league opponent is UC Sampdoria.
Sampdoria is a team at the bottom of the league, but their physical defense is quite troublesome.
Because of that, in terms of matchups, it was expected to be a tough game without Ji-an.
However, Vincenzo was planning not to play Ji-an if possible.
He thought that against a physical team like Sampdoria, the inexperienced Ji-an might struggle.
But seeing him like this now, his thoughts are starting to change.
As he said, players like Ji-an develop quickly.
Even if they play the same one game, they absorb more experience and grow more than others.
That's why it's better to play him in as many games as possible, even if it's just a little more.
"Mmm, good!"
So, Vincenzo found it hard to resist the temptation. He wanted to see Ji-an dominating Serie A as soon as possible.
If he keeps going like this, it probably won't be that long.