166. The Non-Selected Player

After Kang Sae-young’s expulsion, a wave of change swept through the national team.

“Seonhee-senba, can we eat together today? I have something I want to ask……”

The domestic players who had been ignoring Yoon Seo-hee gathered around her.

‘…Why?’

I pondered briefly, but I didn’t take long to discover the reason. Shortly after Kang Sae-young left the national team, rumors spread like wildfire that Yoon Seo-hee had asked the coach to expel the arrogant Kang Sae-young.

“So, after Seonhee-senba took Kang Sae-young… she made him pack his bags and leave?”

“That’s right. I was a club entry peer with Jae-hee. Jae-hee told me. The domestic players were gathered, and suddenly Seonhee-senba came and dragged Sae-young away. Wow, isn’t Seonhee-senba scary? Maybe because it’s the last one? She said she’d only bring players who match her well.”

“…Wow, really?”

“Really. I didn’t believe it at first either? But no matter how I think about it, why would Sae-young-senba have a reason to pack? Sae-young-senba’s movements weren’t ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠injured movements. But she left saying it was an injury? That Sae-young-senba? No way.”

“Wow. That’s really surprising.”

Since Jo Seo-won, who was playing for Lille now, was a senior among the overseas players with connections to domestic players from K League, if Jo Seo-won said it, it was probably true.

But as someone who knew Yoon Seo-hee’s personality and what the coach wanted to talk to Kang Sae-young about, I was at a loss for words, to the point where laughter came out.

It was unbelievable, but this change wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.

‘…Well, it turned out well? If this happens, it seems like it would result in the domestic players gathering under Yoon Seo-hee.’

As long as they appeared friendly on the surface, it was better than appearing divided on the surface.

Well, the center of attention, Yoon Seo-hee, had a troubled expression.

But that expression also looked cold, creating an atmosphere where, if you didn’t know Yoon Seo-hee’s true personality, it would be hard to approach her. Yet the domestic players kept circling around Yoon Seo-hee, undeterred by her expression and monosyllabic responses, showing no social skills.

It was as if they were courting her to choose them.

Actually, in midfield or defense, there was a solid starter, center-back Kang Yeon-ji, and the three already selected, excluding the goalkeepers who were going to the World Cup, were mostly in ambiguous positions.

In the midst of that, there was talk that Yoon Seo-hee was selecting players to play in the World Cup, so it made sense that they were doing such things to increase their chances a little. The World Cup was a stage where they wanted to go even if they had to pressure juniors.

Moreover, once the final list was announced, the effect would be greater. If the domestic players who approached Yoon Seo-hee made the final list? Then it was likely they thought it was due to Yoon Seo-hee’s influence.

Actually, there was no one who didn’t approach Yoon Seo-hee, and the selected players would gather under Yoon Seo-hee out of gratitude.

Of course, the relationship between the dropped players and Yoon Seo-hee would deteriorate, but since Yoon Seo-hee could only play in the national team for about 19 years until the Asian Games at best, it didn’t matter much.

‘Well, anyway, I’ve given up on human relationships. …Still, it’s pitiful, so I should treat her well when we meet later.’

With that, the national team gathered tightly, expecting to make it to the World Cup if they only showed well to Yoon Seo-hee, and prepared for the final friendly match against Bosnia in Korea.

And the Bosnia match began. The coach said there was no fixed entry yet and encouraged the players by saying he would use most of them,

In the first half, practicing aggressively assuming Sweden, and in the second half, practicing counterattacks assuming Germany, facing Bosnia.

Thanks to the players all gathering in one place, we were able to win ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠2:0 against ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Bosnia.

I didn’t particularly go aggressive and just passed the ball around.

Honestly, there were a few chances, and if I had decided to score and shot, I could have scored 1-2 goals, but since I might cause confusion in the coach’s entry selection if I was too flashy, I resisted the temptation to receive the crowd’s cheers.

Of course, if I participated in build-up like me, the team’s quality would rise, but even against European Bosnia, a 2:0 result was quite encouraging without me finishing the attack.

“Everyone worked hard today. I’ll think about it all night tonight too. I hope you think that even if you’re dropped, it’s for the country.”

After the Bosnia match ended, tension returned to the national team. Now, only the final selection remained.

And some players left for overseas before seeing their families, and some players locked themselves in the room due to tension, making the accommodation sparse.

Knock knock.

Someone knocked on my room door.

“…Who is it?”

“Ha-neul-ah, it’s good you’re not sleeping. Well, it’s not time to sleep yet.”

The person who knocked on the door of my single room, assigned because I’m male, was the coach.

“Ha-neul-ah, can you help the coach a bit?”

“…Me? What?”

“Yeah, sorry for assigning this, but anyway, the core of this World Cup is you. The remaining players here are all good players, so it would be good if players who match well with you go. Of course, this is a secret known only to you and me.”

……It wasn’t strange. Normally, if there was a superstar like me, it was natural to gather players who matched well around the superstar. In my previous life, every coach who came in asked for my opinion, so it was familiar.

But…,

‘…I really have to treat Seonhee-senba well later.’

…The Seonhee-senba who would receive the resentment of the dropped players was a bit pitiful.

South Korea, who scored 2:0 with goals from Kang Yeon-ji and Han Ye-jin, started the World Cup with a refreshing victory and announced a good start. Meanwhile, South Korea’s striker Kang Sae-young left the national team for injury reasons, but Manager Lee Young-hee said she wouldn’t select a substitute…

On this day, Manager Lee Young-hee announced the final 23-man roster through a press conference……

The following is the national team list of 23 players who participated in the World Cup.

Looking at the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠players included in this list, Yoon Seo-hee will participate in five World Cups including this one, tying the record for the most appearances in the World Cup with football legends from various countries around the world…… The oldest player is Yang Hyun-hee from Shanghai Seonhwa…… The youngest title belongs to Ryu Ha-neul from Barcelona, and if Ryu Ha-neul appears in the first match against Sweden, he will be recorded as the youngest World Cup debutant at 16 years and 200 days old.

Meanwhile, the South Korea national football team departed for Austria for pre-World Cup training, and will have a closed-door friendly match against Colombia and Poland from the H group including Japan, an East Asian country.

Many overseas players from big leagues including Yoon Seo-hee, Ryu Ha-neul, Kim Seul-gi, Park Hye-ri, Jo Seo-won, Han Ye-jin, etc., were included, and in the public, it was evaluated as an all-time level squad……