Chapter 10
Translator 8uhl
Chapter 10
Chapter Title The Eldest Son Desperately Wants Soccer 10
The first half was over.
The score was 00.
Maedan was Maedan, alright.
Their defensive line was rocksolid. Impenetrable as a fortress.
Whew, sorry about that, Taeyang. You set it up so perfectly, and we still couldnt score.
Its fine, sunbae.
No.
It wasnt Maedan that was the problem. It was our attacking sunbaes.
How could they miss shots like that?
Did they have thorns on their feet or something?
A fullpower shot, and Mount Fuji might erupt. A light tap, and its like a lady delicately floating the ball.
They seemed embarrassed to even face the goal, tapping it gently right into the keepers arms.
Ugh, this is frustrating.
On the flip side, the Suwon kids managed to keep the game flowing even with their midfield ace, Choi Jiwoo, tightly marked.
Using the flanks or having their fullbacks join the midfield, whatever it took.
You could tell Suwon knew the value of fullbackstheyd been developing them effectively for ages.
In the last ten years, the national team fullbacks had all come from Suwon or Maedan kids. That said it all.
Hey, you were talking like youd smash them to pieces, what happened?
Thats when Gong Sehwan sidled up to me, grumbling.
Youre not planning to carry us and blaming me instead?
No, I mean, you said youd bag a hattrick!
Im not playing striker right now.
True. Hate to say it, but our sunbaes really suck.
I smirked at Gong Sehwans whispered complaint. He hadnt noticed Id heard everything and was glaring at him.
Amusing, huh?
Got it. Ill step up in the second half.
What? Then what was the first half?
New position, had to get the hang of it. Ill carry now. Dont worry.
Yeah, hoping our teams attack line would do something was a fools dream.
Id have to handle it myself.
And so the second half kicked off.
Just one more chance, lets believe.
With that thought, I slipped past two Suwon players and threaded a through pass into the open halfspace.
Weirdly, whether it was the sunbae striker or the wing forwards, they had a killer nose for goal.
Same here.
The right wing forward sunbae charged ferociously toward the ball slicing into the halfspace.
The instant he reached itdirect shot!!
Ah.
Whew.
Regretful groans echoed around.
Ah, that wasnt the timing for a shot!
The guy couldnt even control the ball properlywhat kind of direct shot was that with his triangular hair?
Yeah, Id have to sort this out myself.
Steeling myself, I glanced back.
At least the line from centerback to defensive midfielder was reliable.
I gradually pushed up the line, starting to move from the 1.5 line position.
Our teams line rose naturally with me.
With the compressed lines, Choi Jiwoowhod been stifled from the startlost the ball to Gong Sehwan, and it rolled right to my feet.
As soon as I took possession, Suwon dropped back a bit, marking our attacking line oneonone.
Just one guy stuck to me.
Idiots.
They really thought one marker on me would do the trick?
They figured the tight space would kill my speed, leaving me helpless. Big mistake.
Time to teach these cafeteria kids some soccer.
My legsonce dead weight, now more precious than treasuretensed at the tips of my toes as I exploded forward.
This reborn body of mine hit speeds that even surprised me.
Tight space, short distance?
No issue.
A few steps, and Id be at top speed.
Eek!
The guy marking me panicked at my burst, reaching out desperately.
As if.
I swatted his hand away with my arm and kept charging ahead.
The defender with no one to mark came rushing at me.
Without slowing, I feinted left and right, then bodyfaked left to unbalance him and cut right.
Now the guy marking the striker sunbae came at me.
Yeah, I must look more dangerous than the sunbae whod squandered chance after chance.
Oblivious, the nowfree sunbae waved for the ball.
Taeyang!!
Calling my name and all.
But Suwons centerback ignored him completely, eyes locked on me.
Like he was dead certain Id try to finish it solo.
Sure, knowing my natural position was striker and that Id scored almost every goal so far, they had no choice but to focus on me.
I grinned and passed to the sunbae.
As the stunned centerback froze.
I blew past him, yelling.
Sunbae, back to me!!
Sunbae must have cotton in his ears.
He didnt even pretend to hear, just stared at the goal.
His whole body burned with determination to score.
Hed probably erupt like Mount Fuji.
Couldnt let that happen, so I shouted.
Hey! Give me the ball! Pass it!!
The shock of my blunt yell made him flinch, and like he was mesmerized, he nudged it back to me.
I took it and drove forward.
Just the keeper left.
He crouched carefully, eyes on my right foot.
In that instant, I rolled the ball left and swung my left foot wide.
His eyes bulged at my left footnever used in an official match beforebut with all his focus on blocking my rightfoot shot, he couldnt react.
He just leaned back, staring blankly as the ball shook the net.
Wooooah!!
No sooner had I scored than our players rushed me.
Whoa! Dude! Youre carrying hard!
Whatd I tell you?
I patted Gong Sehwans shoulder as he ran up excited, then strolled to the halfway line.
Casual, like it was nothing.
Truth be told, showboating after scoring on middle schoolers felt embarrassing, but turns out it was great for provoking the opponent.
Sure enough, even Maedans kids glared at me with fire in their eyes.
Tch, stay calm, guys! Its just one goal! We can catch up!
Maedans captain rallied the team.
Meanwhile, Coach Jo Bongsu made a sub.
Pulled the striker sunbae, moved me up top, brought in a defender for a 343 switch.
Protect the lead while feeding me for another? Something like that.
Yeah, better a problemsolving striker than a fuming midfielder.
From up top, Maedans weaknesses popped into view.
Maybe cause they were built around good passers, but those two centerbacks were slow as hell.
Lure them down the line, exploit the space behindboom, another goal.
Lee Junghoo had pegged Yoon Taeyang from the videos as just a quick player who scored some goals.
Speed was a huge weapon for soccer players, and in modern soccer, it was key for gauging youth potential.
But when building Koreas youth teams, Lee Junghoo avoided speedsters.
Europe, leaders in evolving modern soccer, could nurture fast players systematically into more than just sprinters.
Korea? Still too many places trained them like speed was everything.
Theyd lure track prospects with soccer pays better than athletics, then exploit those legs and burn them out.
In that brutal environment, a few survived, but most either got injured and lost their golden legs, or had nothing else to offer and faded away.
So, useful shortterm maybe, but not for his grand 2038 projectthat was Lee Junghoos take.
Still, hed scouted Taeyang for his ball control at speed and killer finishing. Worth a shot.
But what was this?
Taeyang was way more.
Sharp long passes exploiting rightside gaps early on, passes dictating tempo and positioning, shrugging off one or two markers effortlessly.
All first half, he dominated midfield like a pro.
It was like...
A veteran with 100 Amatches under his belt.
Exactly.
Kid was technically and tactically complete already.
Only thing lacking unfinished physicals from being so young.
Did that guy reincarnate or something?
No other explanation.
Or one other.
A natural genius. Beyond genius.
Nothing else fit.
Now he wondered.
Why was Coach Jo Bongsu only using him for counterspeed goals?
With this versatile genius on hand?
Watching the whole first half, it clicked.
It wasnt the plan.
Seouls defense was solid, unlike their attack linewhich was garbage.
Not even Suwonlevel team passing.
Yeah, suddenly remembered Seoul being called the worst generation compared to others.
No matter how he lured, escaped pressure, created space, and fed passesno one converted.
So hed solved it solo out of frustration.
Sure enough, second half starts from midfield, he beats three with the left foot for a goal. Solo again.
And...
Left foot too?
Pinpoint into the corner. Elite level.
A genius ambidextrous talent.
Rare.
Incredibly rare.
Watching him score, switch formations, and soloexploit Suwons backline like always, Lee Junghoo asked his coach.
Whens the next scheduled U17 match?
No U17 for a bit.
Right, qualifiers over. Nothing till next years friendlies. Man, wanna borrow that kid and test him out.
The coach thought a sec, clapped, and said.
No U17, but theres U15.
Huh?
Japan exchange match.
Lee Junghoos eyes lit up.
Right, forgot about that.
His face brightened thinking of the annual U15 soccer exchange with Japan.
Might as well test all those socalled 3.5gen kids at once.
Excitement bubbled up for the first time in a while.
And it was against Japan, no less.
You know, never lose even at rockpaperscissorsthat Japan match.
Kids game or not, blood boiled.
But wait, if the young ones lose, will they tell em to swim back across the East Sea?
Probably? Nah, youd say it to them first, Coach.
Me? Pfft, Im not like that.
Even without Japan, arent you the soccer psycho who loses it on loss?
The coach bit his tongue, said nothing, and just watched the field.
The final whistle blew, and there was Yoon Taeyang hollering for the hotel buffet.