Chapter 88
Chapter 88
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 88
Chapter Title: Whale in a Well -1
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─Good afternoon, viewers. This is Allianz Stadium. I am caster Mariano, and with me is commentator Nicola...
Wednesday.
After finishing training and returning home, I sat in front of the television.
On the screen, Juventus's home stadium was visible.
Juventus's match was just about to begin.
The reason I特意 sat in front of the TV to watch the Juventus match was that this particular game seemed quite intriguing.
─The players from both teams are entering the field. The Juventus players in their black and white stripes, and the Villarreal players in their yellow uniforms, are making their appearance.
I could see familiar faces on the Juventus side, but on the opposing side, I saw unfamiliar uniforms and unfamiliar players.
A team called Villarreal CF, with names I'd never heard of, was facing Juventus today.
Just looking at the opponent, one could tell this was not a Serie A league match.
─Let's take a look at the starting lineups for both teams. First, Juventus! Wojciech Szczęsny is in goal, with a back three of Danilo, Matthijs de Ligt, and Daniele Rugani. In the midfield...
─And now, the starting lineup for Villarreal, who are currently in 8th place in La Liga this season. Goalkeeper Gerónimo Rulli, a back four of Sergi Roberto, Raúl Albiol, Pau Torres, and Pervis Estupiñán...
Every time a player's face appeared on screen, it felt as if the tension was piercing right through it.
Everyone was making such solemn expressions that I was getting tense for no reason.
Then, a song that made my heart swell just hearing it echoed through the stadium, raising the atmosphere to a fever pitch.
─Yes! The Champions League Round of 16, second leg! The match between Juventus and Villarreal has begun!
This match, which was neither a Serie A game nor a Coppa Italia match, was a Champions League fixture.
The Champions League.
It's one of the European competitions where teams from various European leagues face off, and it is said to be the premier club competition, boasting the greatest prestige of all.
This season, our team's goal was precisely to qualify for this Champions League.
I only have a vague idea of just how prestigious this tournament is.
Perhaps my dad or the uncle next door knows better than I do. After all, there's still so much I don't know about the history of European football.
However, while spending time with my seniors, I was able to feel it firsthand through them.
How important this competition is.
First, they said that simply qualifying for the Champions League would mean our team's financial situation would improve significantly, enough for us to take planes for all our away games.
They also said we could expect an influx of more fans and better players.
Above all, some of my seniors said that just getting to play in a Champions League match was a dream in itself.
Senior Bonaventura had said something like that once.
That he wanted to step onto the Champions League stage at least once before he died, even if it was just for one game.
He said that was his dream as a player.
Since all my seniors were striving towards qualifying for the Champions League, I couldn't help but make it my goal as well.
That's why I'm watching this match now, as a form of preparation.
─Juventus, who drew 1-1 away in the first leg, certainly has the advantage. However, if they don't score an early goal, it could be difficult to guarantee the outcome of the game.
─Villarreal is a team with an excellent defense and a powerful counterattack, after all.
I was watching the match as a form of study, but a strange feeling began to creep in.
For some reason, I was watching the game with a slight rooting interest for Juventus.
That I, of all people, am cheering for Juventus.
Even I think that's an impossible situation.
Juventus is a team I'd want to meet every day and lose to, and just hearing their name makes me scowl.
But why do I want Juventus to win... no, not necessarily want them to win.
I guess I want them to show a good performance?
Is it because Vlahovic is playing?
Hmm...
That's part of it, sure.
But it seems there's a bigger reason.
Whether I admit it or not, Juventus is a strong team in Serie A.
Even though they are currently in 5th place and have lost to us 'twice'.
Regardless, it's a fact that they have won the most Serie A titles.
Juventus is a team that represents our league.
It means they are facing off against a La Liga team from Spain as a representative of Italy's Serie A.
Therefore, so to speak.
It's a matter of pride? It's a match where pride is on the line.
The pride of Serie A.
So, perhaps I don't want to see them lose.
If the representative of Serie A can't show its strength, then our team playing in that same Serie A becomes insignificant as well.
Well... to be more honest.
You could say I want to confirm that I'm not a frog in a well.
Of course, I know.
The world is wide, and outside of Italy, there are incredibly strong teams and countless geniuses scattered everywhere.
That's why I'm scared.
The Juventus I knew was a strong team, and in reality, we had to fight hard to beat them...
It's frightening to think that even such a team might be nothing special once they go out into the wider world.
Then, in the end, the one who is a frog in a well would be me.
─Vlahovic, takes a shot! But it's straight at the goalkeeper! Pau Torres did a great job narrowing the shooting angle just now!
─Juventus is accumulating effective shots one by one, but Villarreal's defense is rock-solid. At first glance, it might look like a one-sided game, but this is Villarreal's plan, you see?
When Vlahovic's shot was blocked, I almost let out a sigh without realizing it, but I barely managed to hold it in.
Well, even so, I can't sincerely cheer for Juventus.
However, it was true that I was getting more anxious as the scoreless draw continued.
It was even more so because Vlahovic, who had been such a threat to us, wasn't showing much of his strength.
─And the first half ends in a 0-0 draw. Judging by ball possession and the number of shots, it was clearly a first half dominated by Juventus. However, the one smiling will likely be Villarreal.
After a frustrating first half, it ended 0-0.
While advertisements were playing for a moment, I picked up my phone and started looking up the team Villarreal.
Villarreal CF. Nicknamed the Yellow Submarine.
They finished 7th in La Liga last season and are currently in 8th place this season.
Originally, the top four in La Liga qualify for the Champions League, but it seems Villarreal secured their ticket by winning the Europa League last season.
They've never won a La Liga title.
"...Hmm."
I tilted my head.
It's funny for me to be evaluating them, but anyway, just looking at the records, you couldn't really call them a particularly strong team.
Not compared to Juventus, which has won Serie A dozens of times.
And yet, the fact that such a team is playing on equal terms with Juventus... is quite a shock to me.
If Villarreal were a team that frequently won La Liga and regularly appeared in the Champions League, then I could understand.
But seeing Villarreal match Juventus is shocking because, within La Liga, they are just an ordinary mid-table team.
Then just how good must teams like Real Madrid and Barcelona, which come to mind immediately when you think of La Liga, be at football?
If Juventus were to face such teams... wouldn't they lose without being able to do anything?
There was nothing scarier to me than that.
*Thud*!
"Ugh!"
I let out a strange sound without realizing it because the front door was suddenly flung open.
Jiu, who had opened the door and entered, looked at me strangely.
"What's with you? Why are you so startled?"
"Uh... nothing. You're here."
"Yeah! Ahh, I'm exhausted. Did you have a good training session?"
"Yeah."
Jiu, who had shuffled over, naturally sat down beside me, and as I listened to her talk about how she spent her day,
The second half began on the television screen.
"What's this, you're watching football? Huh? Juventus? Why are you watching their game?"
"Ah... that. It's just, it's a pretty important match."
"Important match? What's so important about it?"
I scratched my head and explained at Jiu's question. That it's the Champions League, that our team's goal is to participate in the next one, and that's why I'm watching.
I don't know how much she understood, but Jiu nodded her head earnestly and said,
"So, it's a tournament where only the good teams are gathered, and then the best team among them is picked."
"Yeah. That's right."
"So, the season, is it called? If we do well this season, Fiorentina can go to that tournament next season too?"
"Yeah."
As I nodded, Jiu shrugged her shoulders.
"Ah, then this season is invalid."
"...Invalid?"
"What's the point of them fighting among themselves without our football genius? So it's invalid."
"Hmm..."
"Right?"
"Y-yeah..."
I awkwardly laughed and nodded at Jiu's words.
I'm really grateful that she believes I'm a genius, but hearing it when I know the truth is just too embarrassing. I feel guilty.
"Whatever the case, they have to lose. They absolutely have to lose. As long as I'm watching, they have to lose."
"Th-that's right."
I gave a half-hearted agreement to Jiu, who was cursing at Juventus, and continued to watch the match.
Uh... Jiu.
That's true, but... if Juventus loses, I...
"Oh! Oh! He fell! Isn't that a foul? It's a foul, right? It is a foul! As expected, they can't play clean! It's a penalty kick, right?"
"Uh... yeah..."
"What are you doing! Be happy, quick!"
"Yay..."
Ignoring my feelings, the foul committed by Juventus on the TV was recognized as a penalty kick.
Jiu grabbed my arm and shook it violently, so I pretended to be happy, flailing my arms like a balloon figure.
"Goal! It's in! Nice!"
"Nice..."
The ensuing penalty kick cleanly split the net of Juventus's goal.
...The game was getting stranger and stranger.
This can't be happening...
"Wow! Wow! Another one went in! Awesome!"
A few minutes later, an additional goal from Villarreal exploded.
A single cross from the side collapsed the entire defense, and a Villarreal attacker easily tapped it in.
The representative of Serie A, Juventus... was collapsing against Villarreal, a mid-table team from La Liga.
And it didn't even end there.
─Ah, another penalty kick is awarded. This is practically the moment Juventus's elimination is decided.
─Villarreal is showing the epitome of pragmatic football. With this, following Inter and AC Milan, who were eliminated early, Juventus will also have to taste the bitter cup of elimination.
Just before the end of the match, Juventus conceded a second penalty kick, making the score 0-3.
─Serie A, wiped out.
The fact that Juventus, considered a strong team within Serie A, was nothing more than an average level on the European stage was laid out before my very eyes.
Because of that, Jiu was jumping for joy beside me, but I couldn't do the same.
Europe is wide, and Serie A is not the best among them.
That means if I were to play there... I would have to fight against teams of a much higher level.
Could I really play the 'genius' there, just like I do now?
Against the real monsters of Europe who make even Juventus look insignificant...
"All the Italian teams got eliminated? Sigh, that's what they get for leaving our real genius out and fighting among themselves. Hey, this won't do. Our Jee-an has to show them."
"..."
"You'll show them, right? That there's a real genius elsewhere!"
"...Of course."
I nodded at Jiu's words.
Well... it's true that I'm getting scared out of my mind.
If I fight against real monsters, Jiu might find out that I was just a frog in a well.
Everything could be exposed.
But... on the other hand, I'm also getting curious.
Am I really just a frog in a well?
Maybe I'm not a frog, just trapped inside a well.
In fact, I'm the most curious one. Just how far can my 'genius act' fool people...
"I'll show them."
I muttered as I nodded my head.
I'm scared, yes, but more than that, the desire to see just how far I can go is much stronger.
"Just trust me."
"My dad said, 'Never trust men who say "just trust me".'
"..."
It's strange that I'm feeling this way.
But for sure, I'm starting to want to face stronger opponents.
I can be honest with myself about this.
For some reason, it even sounds like it could be fun.
I was amazed at myself for thinking this.