Chapter 64
Chapter 64
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 64
Chapter Title: I Suddenly Became a Hero - 1
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The rumors have been swirling for months.
It was about Dušan Vlahović's transfer.
Perhaps there were even more fans who had already prepared themselves for it.
That Vlahović was a man who would leave.
There were simply too many teams eyeing him, and most of them were big clubs considered top-tier even in Europe.
It felt like a foregone conclusion that he would leave the team.
But when it actually became a reality, the sense of betrayal felt by the fans was inexpressible.
It wasn't even summer; it was the middle of the season, in winter.
And it was a transfer not to another league, but within Serie A, and to Juventus of all teams.
Again, again, again, Juventus.
Why is it always Juventus?
Fiorentina isn't some youth academy for Juventus, but it feels like every time they develop a player, they get snatched away by Juventus, and it's enough to make one's heart shatter.
It was even more painful because the team's recent performance had been good.
They had advanced to the Round of 16 in the Coppa Italia.
In the league, they had strung together consecutive wins against strong teams and had climbed up to 5th place.
At this rate, they might even secure a spot in the top four.
Could they make it to the Champions League, surpassing the Europa League, next season?
Could they become a team that gradually achieves better results, signs star players, and even aims for a championship?
They were dreaming of such a happy future...
But a transfer was announced, pouring cold water on that hopeful dream, so it was only natural for the Fiorentina fans' reactions to be intense.
To put it a bit strongly, it was almost at the level of a near-riot.
In the days leading up to Vlahović's departure, police were stationed around his house, and graffiti all over the city declared that they would never forgive him.
Quite a few fans even came directly to the training ground to denounce him. The anger wasn't just directed at Vlahović; it also turned back at the club.
After all, it was the club that had decided to sell him.
The Fiorentina fans were furious.
At Vlahović, who had abandoned the team and gone to their arch-nemesis, and at the club executives who seemed to care more about money than performance.
Everyone was saying that this team had no future.
And yet, in that very situation...
A 16-year-old youth academy kid led the team to victory and then said this:
— A 16-year-old prospect's reaction to Vlahović's transfer wearing a Juventus uniform... "I hope that by the end of the season, we'll be in a higher position than Juventus."
This season, we will stand higher than Juventus.
That's what he said.
The team's supposed star player ran off to a rival team, and the club's front office seemed more obsessed with money than results.
And yet, a player who was only 16 years old was declaring his ambition, looking toward a higher goal.
It was only natural that the fans' reactions were explosive.
└ I'm a 46-year-old ajussi. I'm crying because of a 16-year-old kid.
└ What incredible passion, damn...
└ That's exactly it! LOL
└ This kid's a man! Great confidence!
└ Now, Fiorentina's new king is Lee!
└ I saw Lee's face and put down the wrench I was holding.
└ Come to think of it, we don't need Vlahović. We just need Lee. LOL
└ For real, after watching the game, we don't seem to need Vlahović? Actually, the team runs better when we play through Lee.
└ That's not wrong. It felt like the team's performance got better as Lee's influence grew.
└ That guy who used to suck all the resources from the team might have been a limiter after all.
└ Just a limiter GOAT... Good riddance, Vlaho-bitch!
└ How is it that a 16-year-old kid is the only one with such ambition. The old geezers who've just eaten up their years should reflect on themselves.
└ Please, just as Lee said, let us climb to a higher rank so we can see that guy regret it.
└ If we make it to the Champions League next year and Juventus ends up in the Europa League, that would be a sight to see. LOL
└ I really want to see that guy bawling his eyes out.
The Fiorentina fans gave him a standing ovation.
It was thrilling, it was comforting, and it made them emotional.
It was a single sentence that acted like a bond, reattaching the affection that had fallen away.
Of course, as a side effect, the curses directed at Vlahović and the club increased, but the support for the remaining players, and especially for Lee Ji-an, exploded.
Lee Ji-an's popularity was already soaring through the roof.
But with this incident, Lee Ji-an had ascended to the position of a hero, not just the team's cute future.
It wasn't just a matter of popularity.
To give you an idea of how far it went...
└ It's okay if Lee puts water in his espresso. ♡
It got to the point where people were saying it was fine even if Lee Ji-an drank an Americano.
For Italians, this was a huge deal.
···
"What's that? Don't tell me you were secretly practicing because of me?"
"What?"
"I'm talking about practicing how to speak prettily."
"...Why all of a sudden?"
"Everyone's going crazy over you. They're calling you Fiorentina's hero. Wow, our Ji-an. I guess we can't go out together anymore."
"..."
To be honest, I'm a bit flustered.
Because the situation... has grown bigger than I expected.
Once again, that interview of mine caused a big stir.
Yesterday, during the interview, I just answered honestly. When they asked what I thought, I just said what I was thinking.
To be honest, I felt a bit betrayed, and I just didn't want to lose to Juventus, so I answered that way.
But from Ji-woo's words, it seems my comment caused a huge stir.
It wasn't a bad kind of stir... but it was a stir in such a positive way that it was awkward for me.
No, they're calling me a hero and whatnot.
Why am I a hero?
I'm really dying of the pressure.
Just pretending to be a genius is already killing me, and now I have to play the hero too?
Anyway, my mouth is the problem.
This mouth, mouth, mouth...
"What are you doing?"
"...Huh? Ah, nothing..."
I was unconsciously hitting my own mouth, and Ji-woo was looking at me with a strange expression.
I don't know how far this lie, which I told just to avoid embarrassment, will go.
"Anyway, our Ji-an. You have to do well in the next game too. It looks like things will get serious if you don't."
"...I'll do well."
Anyway, since it's something I did, I have to take responsibility. Well, I've already come a long way... but now there's really nowhere to run.
People are calling me a hero, so I really have to become one.
"I'll do well."
Ji-woo, who was standing next to me, bent down to meet my eyes as I sat.
When I nodded slightly, Ji-woo smiled and patted my shoulder.
"You've done well so far. So you can do well from now on too. And, uh? So what if you do a little poorly? You might not be able to. You've done so well up until now. If someone curses at you for failing just once, we don't need a person like that. So there's nothing to worry about."
...Why is it?
Is it because Ji-woo's voice is pleasant?
It's like hearing birds chirping deep in the mountains, and my mind feels at ease.
Listening to Ji-woo's words, I feel my mind calming down.
I might not be able to... Honestly, I don't know.
I still don't have the courage to be hated.
I don't have the courage to show my failures yet, and my heart isn't big enough to brush off curses with coolness.
I'm still far from becoming a true adult.
But, that's why I'll try to do well in the next game.
"I can't fail."
"Huh?"
Even though the situation turned out this way because of my bravado, it seems I still haven't come to my senses.
Looking at Ji-woo, who says it's okay to fail, I just want to do even better.
"Because I'm a genius and a hero."
"...Ugh."
...I guess I'm just a guy who was born this way, whether I like it or not.
···
The world is a difficult place.
I wish everything could go according to my wishes, but that's not always the case.
In fact, it more often flows into situations I don't want.
That's why life seems so complicated.
"Lee! Lee! Lee! Lee! Lee! Lee! Lee!"
After entering the stadium.
As I stood in line with my seniors, I could hear my name from all over.
The spectators, with fierce expressions, were chanting my name, even waving their fists.
...It's a scene that makes me wonder if it's cheering or not.
[Fiorentina's Hero, LEE!] [LEE, Florence's Most Beautiful Lily] [LEE Is Not Going Anywhere!]
It seems they've taken down all the banners from last week's match. In their place, other banners have appeared, most of them bearing my name.
To be honest, as the youngest member, standing next to my seniors who are staring wide-eyed at this spectacle, I'm so embarrassed I can't even lift my head.
My seniors are snickering, saying I should take a look, and I'm dying of embarrassment.
In a situation with a hundred times the pressure, I wish today's opponent was at least an easy one.
Life never goes the way you want it to.
Our opponent today is Napoli, who are in 3rd place in the league.
"Forza-!"
"Viola-!!"
As always, they shout "Victory" and disperse to their positions.
I also shout "Forza" and walk toward the center circle for the kick-off...
A sudden question pops into my head.
Why do they shout "Forza" before every match? I've never thought about it until now, but for some reason, I'm curious today.
Why do they shout this to start?
Shouting "Victory" doesn't guarantee victory.
To win a match, you have to play soccer well; you can't win just by shouting this.
So why do they always shout this?
...Faith?
Is it to have faith that they can win, by shouting that they can win?
"Peeeeep-!"
With the whistle, I erase the pointless curiosity from my mind and start the match with the kick-off.
*
Actually, there are no easy opponents in the league.
No matter which team you face, the match is never easy, and to win, you have to give it your all.
It's just that Napoli is particularly strong among them.
"Close the gap! It's widening!"
"Hey! Drop back! I said drop back!"
Fast, full of energy, and direct.
That was my first impression of Napoli.
They faced our slightly defensive 4-4-2 formation with a typical 4-2-3-1, pressing us aggressively.
Because of their aggressive pressing, we had to give up some possession, and whenever they got the ball, they always advanced toward our goal.
Especially their advancement from the sides was good.
Their opposing wingers weren't very big, they were small-framed players, but their speed was considerable. In fact, it was clear that they had excellent dribbling skills, seeming even faster when they had the ball.
But what doubled the threat from the sides was their central striker.
He was a black player who was tall and had a slender build, and from the pre-match briefing, I heard he had already scored 9 goals.
His movements inside the box were very threatening.
The manager told us we absolutely had to stop him, but it didn't look easy.
Thanks to that, we were exposed to dangerous situations from the start, and finally, an incident occurred around the 15th minute of the first half, as the anxious flow continued.
"Ah..."
We ended up conceding a goal.
First, we made a mistake by allowing a dribble penetration from the left, and second, our attention was drawn to that, causing us to miss the central striker's movement.
The winger's ground cross was pushed in by the player we were told to be careful of, shaking our net.
Perhaps because it was his goal to reach double digits in scoring, he looked extremely happy.
"It's okay, it's okay!"
"Let's go again! Just focus a little more!"
My seniors shouted "It's okay," but the situation did not get better from there.
The opponent, who had scored early, gained even more momentum and started to push us back.
The opponent's movements began to speed up, and they started to threaten us by aiming for the goal more aggressively.
There is definitely a "flow" in soccer.
And the team that catches that flow is the one that wins in this game of soccer.
We had to somehow break the opponent's flow right now. If we just got dragged along by their flow, the match would only become more difficult.
To do that, I kept thinking about what I had to do, but the conclusion was singular.
I had to get the ball first.
The opponent was always getting the ball in a high position, so defensively, there was a limit to the help I could provide.
For me to contribute to changing the flow, I had to wait for the ball to come to me, one way or another.
"Huuu-"
I felt impatient.
I had to do something, but the thought that all I could do was wait was a bit frustrating.
But I couldn't be impatient.
So, to control that impatience, I tried to trust my seniors.
I kept repeating to myself that if I didn't get impatient and trusted and waited for my seniors, the ball would definitely come to me, and I tried hard to stay calm.
Trust my seniors.
My seniors will send the ball to me.
Trust, trust...
And at that moment, I felt like I was starting to understand why they shout "Forza" before the match.
Because I trusted my seniors, they actually responded to my trust.
Faith was more important than I thought.
SWOOSH-!
Milenković, my senior, dives in front of the box. A clean tackle to intercept the opponent's pass in the middle.
My senior, who quickly gets back on his feet, glances forward and immediately sends a pass.
It was to me.
SWOOSH-!
The moment I see the ball coming, I survey the situation around me. My position isn't very high. It's far below the center circle.
But even so, I was in the highest position on my team. My teammates were positioned much lower to defend.
Then, I thought for a moment about taking a moment to settle...
But I thought that if I did that, I wouldn't be able to bring back the flow that had passed to the opponent.
I had to bring the flow to our side, somehow.
To do that, I felt I had to go all the way to the opponent's goal.
It was a judgment that was almost an instinct.
TATATAT-!
The moment I received the ball, I turned around.
I could see about four defenders. First, I looked for a relatively wide space and drove the ball toward the right half-space.
At that moment, a huge roar from the stands pierced my ears.
"Let's go-!"
"Show them-!"
These funny people believe I'm a hero.
But... the power of faith might be bigger than I thought.
So many people are all believing in me.
I might be the only one who doubts myself.
But I have to believe.
If I believe with all my heart, I can even deceive myself.
Maybe that's what believing is.
TATATAT-!
The goal is far, and there are many defenders blocking my path.
To get through this, I needed to believe in myself too.
Things happen as you believe.
I believed I was a real hero and drove the ball forward.
Then, for a moment, I felt a strange feeling.
Was I this fast?
It felt like someone was pushing my back from behind.