Chapter 48
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Translator: Silver Dragon
Chapter: 48
Chapter Title: El Clásico -2
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45th minute of the first half.
Real Madrid 1:1 Barcelona.
Javier Marias's fantastic volley followed by his provocative reverse-run celebration had riled up the Madrid players.
And as a result, the match naturally started to get rougher.
"Booooooo-! Pepe! You bald bastard who got dumped by your girlfriend because of your stinky breath!"
Sergio Pepe, who had injured a Barcelona attacker with a rough tackle, was met with a torrent of boos from the Barcelona home fans.
"Heh heh heh."
I burst out laughing at the sound of the Barcelona crowd's jeers, and Sergio Pepe shot me a glare.
Hey, the boos were from the Barcelona home fans—why are you glaring at me?
And even if you do glare, what are you gonna do about it?
Here, have some of this.
(Flipping him off)
Beep- Beeeep!
While I was discreetly flipping off Pepe behind the ref's back, the halftime whistle blew. Dodging a flushed-faced Sergio Pepe who was marching toward me, I slipped in among the Barcelona players and followed them into their locker room.
There, I exchanged greetings with Barcelona head coach José Sierra, whom I hadn't seen in a while.
"Huh? Jesus?"
"Hola, long time no see!"
"It has been a while, but... why are you in our team's locker room?"
"I got lost."
"...Someone take Jesus back to his side."
"Si."
Thanks to a kind Barcelona staff member, I safely made it back to the away team locker room.
"Thanks, Diego. You're as nice as ever."
"No big deal. It was the coach's orders."
"Still, you didn't grumble about it."
"If you're really grateful, sign something for me. My nephew's a fan of yours."
"Si, right now."
After handing Diego the signed item and saying goodbye, I entered the away locker room. There, I spotted manager Valverde passionately barking orders.
"Puta! Mark Barcelona's number 10 properly!!"
While everyone was focused on the manager's instructions, I quietly went to my spot, closed my eyes, and took a rest.
[With the referee's whistle, the second half of El Clásico has begun. The match was proceeding smoothly for an El Clásico, but things changed after Javier Marias provoked his former team, Real Madrid.]
[Yes. The moment Javier Marias did that celebration, Sergio Pepe charged in and shoved him. After that, players from both teams got heated, leading to a bench-clearing incident.]
[The players calmed down during halftime break, but the atmosphere at Camp Nou is still electric.]
[Luis García's long pass. Jesus Joo takes it smoothly.]
Booooooo-!
[Barcelona fans boo as Jesus Joo gets the ball. But Jesus Joo doesn't care and breaks through Barcelona's defense! One-on-one with the keeper!]
Splash-!
[Gooooooal! Jesus Joo calmly finishes it off!]
[He sliced through smoothly and stylishly, then finished with composure. Barcelona's defenders are slumped over, dazed.]
"Booooooooooo-!"
"You filthy bastards, go die!!!"
[Oh. Enraged Barcelona fans are throwing objects onto the pitch.]
After my second goal, Barcelona's spirit broke, and they couldn't keep up with Real Madrid's relentless attacks.
Bam-!
Barcelona keeper Dmitry Yashin, who barely blocked my right-footed mid-range shot, yelled at his teammates in broken Spanish.
"You fucking idiots! Don't give him shooting angles! Are you gonna snap out of it or not?!"
Despite the keeper's shouts, Barcelona kept getting pummeled without regaining their composure. Then, a turning point came due to a referee blunder.
Beep-!
"Puta! Why the hell is that a penalty!"
Sergio Pepe, mocking a Barcelona attacker who went down like a Hollywood actor despite minimal contact while trying to launch a counter, lost it when the ref blew the whistle and called a penalty. He kept protesting.
"My grandma, who's half-blind, sees the game better than you, you shithead."
"Oh yeah? Take this card home and tell your grandma what happened today."
Sergio Pepe, who had already picked up a yellow in the first half for shoving Javier Marias, got another yellow from the ref for his protests, leading to a red card and ejection due to accumulation.
"Fucking idiot. You get sent off for protesting that?"
"Puta, isn't the ref the idiot for not checking VAR on that obvious acting?"
"Sigh. Go on ahead. We'll win clean and join you."
"Hoo... Here, take this."
"...? Why give it to me?"
"Just take the captain's armband. You're the most level-headed on the team right now. Luis over there is all riled up too, eyes rolling."
Right before leaving the pitch, Sergio Pepe unexpectedly handed me the captain's armband. I put it on and started motivating the team.
"If you can't stop it, you're trash."
"...Fuck off."
"If you can't stop it, you're worse than their keeper."
"...I said fuck off."
"Looks to me like he'll go left."
"..."
Ter Noier, receiving my "encouragement," raised his massive hand with eyes full of venom, so I quietly shut up and stepped away.
And then the penalty kick.
Thwack-!
Splash-!
"Puta! I said left!"
Ter Noier jumped left as I predicted, but conceded, then glared at me with resentment.
"...? What're you talking about? He did go left."
"...You don't mean from the kicker's perspective, do you?"
"I'm a striker—of course I mean from the kicker's view. Why would I ever be blocking penalties?"
I brazenly lied to the resentful Ter Noier, and the naive young German fell for it hook, line, and sinker.
"Verdammt! (Damn it!)"
Leaving the self-blaming Ter Noier behind, I—Jesus, with my excellent leadership—rekindled the fighting spirit in the faltering Real Madrid players.
"If we lose, just blame Sergio Pepe. So relax and play."
[After Sergio Pepe's ejection, the momentum has swung to Barcelona. Another Barcelona attack.]
[Sergio Fabregas's surprise mid-range shot! Ter Noier punches it away! Corner kick to Barcelona!]
[Great shot met with a great save.]
[Regular time is up, and 3 minutes of added time are given.]
[Barcelona's corner kick continues. Sergio Fabregas is setting up again.]
[Jesus Joo, who raved about Sergio Fabregas's talent last season. As he predicted, Fabregas has fully bloomed this season.]
Thud-
[Ter Noier safely claims Sergio Fabregas's corner kick and immediately throws it to Jesus Joo. Madrid's counter starts in a flash.]
[Jesus Joo... runs. Roberto Fabianksi spreads it wide to the right.]
[Jesus Joo keeps running! He shrugs off the defender easily—Oh my days! Real Madrid's messiah slots home the winner! Despair for Barcelona!]
[No other words needed. The player who delivers when the team needs it most. That's what we call an ace.]
[So composed. He checked the keeper's position and just chipped it lightly over.]
"Madrid, Madrid, Madrid, ¡Hala Madrid!"
"Y nada más, y nada más, ¡Hala Madrid!"
[In the silent Camp Nou, only the voices of the few Real Madrid away fans echo.]
Splash-
After successfully scoring with a chip shot that perfectly lobbed the keeper, I sprinted to the corner flag amid a rush of euphoria, threw an uppercut, and roared.
"Vaaaaaaaaaaaaamos!!!!!"
I locked eyes with an elderly Barcelona fan sitting by the corner flag and snapped back to reality.
Oh right. I promised no celebrations.
What do I do?
Clap- Clap- Clap-
As I looked nervously at the stands, the old culé, noticing my panicked expression and realizing it was a mistake, let out a chuckle, stood up, and started clapping.
Starting with the elderly culé, applause suddenly rippled through Camp Nou in an instant.
I clapped back at the Barcelona fans' applause, expressing my gratitude. And I thought to myself.
This should clean up my image perfectly.
Just as I was thinking that, the applause died down.
And immediately, the Barcelona crowd's boos began.
"Booooooooo-!"
"You bastard! No celebration, my ass!"
Well, if life were that easy, I wouldn't be playing soccer at this age.
Ah! Fuck! I wanna play happy soccer for the national team too!!
Match end.
Real Madrid 3:2 Barcelona
[Jesus Joo, who achieved a hat-trick and led El Clásico to victory, explains his celebration: 'I was so happy I couldn't control my emotions. I'm sorry for celebrating despite the standing ovation and forgiveness from the Barcelona fans.']
[Elderly culé who watched Jesus Joo's celebration up close: 'I looked into Jesus Joo's eyes. He was clearly flustered. And honestly, I didn't expect it, but I clapped because he held back on celebrating twice.']
[New bad boy Javier Marias? Shows provocative celebration against former team.]
[Javier Marias voices his injustice: 'People are too harsh on me. Jesus Joo celebrated toward our home fans too—why pick on me?']
[Jesus Joo responds to aggrieved Javier Marias: 'You're ugly.']