Chapter 109 – End of Season (4)

109

In football, there is a saying to be careful when the game starts and when the game ends.
It’s not that the start and end times are special, but it’s a word to warn the players of losing their concentration.

After scoring the opening goal in an unresolved game, concentration naturally deteriorates.
I know rationally, but as a human being, it is inevitable that the tension is relieved.

So I took advantage of that gap.
Aiming for the moment when the tension eased before regaining concentration, he made a breakthrough and succeeded in taking the shot, but—

It’s time!
The ball, which I thought was a good hit, hit the goal post and went back.
The goalkeeper was aiming for a corner that he couldn’t reach, but that seemed to be poison.

“It’s a waste… It’s a waste.”

If I scored it, it would be a wonder goal.

“Ymma. Go easy, go easy.”
“Senior, I’m going to get a hat trick today.”
“Go fuck it. Is it easy to get a hat trick?”

Senior Yoon Hyuk, who was passing by, patted me on the back and passed by laughing.
Yeah… It’s not easy.

* * *

It wasn’t easy, but I didn’t say I couldn’t do it.

The equalizer was scored at the start of the second half.
The goal was created by Chicharo, who had been substituted for Rivaldo, and showed off his outstanding ability to break the pressure.

Chicharo, who has a small physique, showed off his unique agile movements and flexible dribbling skills to attract Hamburg players and create space.

It’s me
In the narrow space Chicharo created, he took over the ball and broke through, scoring a wonderful goal.

Close defense is not exclusive to Hamburg.
After Frankfurt managed to bounce back in the second half, there were cases where many of the mid-to-lower teams pulled down their line and parked the bus in front of the goal when facing our team.

The one who smashed the parked bus every time was a combination of me and Chicha.
No matter how much I am, I can’t break through all the dense players and score a goal, but with the help of other players, it will be much easier.

In particular, if Chicharo, who has excellent dribbling and depressurization abilities, distributes aggro, he can use the space 100%.

“Senior. First goal.”
“Oh, I hate you!!”

As a ceremony, I ran in front of the audience watching my parents, made a heart, and gave a loud shout to senior Yoon Hyuk.

In the second half, my goal tied the score 1:1, and the game was restarted.
Hamburg finally raised his crouched body.

A fierce offensive that seemed to shout that the focus on defense until now was never a lack of skill. Certainly, as a team that has settled in the middle of the 1st division, the overall quality is superior to our squad, which is evaluated as outstanding in the 2nd division.

But,

“Goal!! Launische Diva revives in the second half!!”

Home fans cheered in unison at the cheering shout of the announcer in the hall.
Another nickname for Frankfurt, Launische Diva. It means fickle diva.

As if the sluggishness in the first half was a whim, he struck a fatal blow to the nape of Hamburg, which had been fiercely resisting in the second half.

“The hero of the goal! Captain of the eagle corps Die Adler! Alexander!”
Mayer!!
“Alexander!!”
Mayer!!

The audience responds to the announcer’s lead with a chorus.
Amid the enthusiastic cheers of over 40,000 home fans, captain Alexander Meyer raised his clenched fist after turning a corner kick into a goal.

“Senior. Second goal.”
“Hey! This isn’t what you put in! It’s invalid!”
“Huh? Then we have to score two more goals.”
“…Just be content with the present.”

The goal was scored and his expression was not good, but senior Yoon Hyuk pretended nothing was wrong and threw a serious joke and went back to the camp.

Hamburg, which lost a number of key players due to injuries, rushed like a fury in the second half based on surprisingly solid organizational skills, and it was senior Yoon Hyuk who stood at the center.

He is said to be the commander of the midfield, and he realizes that he is not the only one who has grown up as he succeeds in heartbreaking key passes over and over again like a pass master.

‘What kind of Sabi is this, Alonso?’

However, no matter how much he has improved, senior Yoon Hyuk cannot become a player on the level of Sabina Alonso in less than a year.

Senior Yoon Hyuk’s pass through the ground was unfortunately blocked, leading to a counterattack.
The first option to consider during a counterattack, the ball that was shot toward me, who had been lounging around in the forefront even in a defensive situation.

The start stopped at the start of the pass, but there was a marksman who followed as if he was preparing.
Richard Goltz. Hamburg’s main left-back.

At the briefing before the game, he was said to be agile, quick-footed, and an excellent player for interpersonal marks… It’s definitely fast.

I ran to the spot where the ball landed, wearing a Richard Goltz that caught up behind me as I ran at full speed and did not fall off.

A precarious situation where you are one step ahead, but if you make a mistake in trapping, you may miss the ball or lose it to the opponent. The moment when a ball falling down in a parabola passes past your head, and your concentration reaches its peak.

The world has slowed down.
Ball falling slowly. Obstruction by an opposing player pulling his jersey from behind.

Concerns about how to receive the ball to continue the next play disappeared in an instant.
I just instinctively reached out for the falling ball,

Took!
The ball hit inside slows down and rolls sideways as if it had landed on a sponge. Momentarily withdrawing strength from the body, using the opponent’s strength pulling the uniform from behind, he turns his body half a turn and naturally escapes from the opponent’s grip, and at the same time kicks the floor.

“Eww!?”

While the opponent who failed to overcome the inertia collapsed on his knees, he changed direction at a right angle to secure possession of the ball and hit it straight toward the penalty box.

In that short time to change direction, the center back’s urgent tackle barely followed.
It’s easy to avoid. But if you stop the ball, you’ll be surrounded by the opposing team. Reflexively extend your leg forward in front of the ball and roll it up.

The ball lifted up with my heel passes over the opponent’s centre-back, and then my jumping body passes over it.

Even the opponent’s eyes widened in astonishment disappeared from sight, leaving only the opponent’s goalkeeper with a pale expression on his face.

Witnessing the absurd play right in front of his eyes, he hits and runs straight to the front of the frozen goalkeeper. And,

“Goall!! A fantastic Wonder Goal is coming!!”

A low shot between the legs of the goalkeeper who came out awkwardly shook the net lightly.

“Oh my God!! Wonderful! An astonishing goal has been scored!!”

The stadium, which had been quiet at the announcer’s cry, shook as if an earthquake had struck.
I crossed the buzzing ground and ran toward the VVIP seats.

A roar bursting out without my knowledge.
I was elated at the play that even I couldn’t believe, and I shouted while sliding in front of my parents who couldn’t help but be happy.

“Ahhhhhis the fuck!

* * *

『Unbelievable Wonder Goal!!』
『Hong Min-jun’s phenomenal play in the DFB-Pokal semi-finals!』
『Hamburg coach Rudi Feller said, “He is a player who will lead the football world in the future. Nothing could stop him.” High praise!』
『Hong Min-joon flew from Frankfurt! Barcelona is on the verge of panic!』
『Hong Min-joon’s transfer history is re-igniting ahead of the summer transfer market. Where is Hong Shim?』

My goal was the last, and the game ended 3:1.
Unfortunately, the hat-trick he promised to senior Yoon Hyuk failed, but on the contrary, senior

“Fuck. I’m more afraid of this than a hat-trick. It’s not some kind of horror movie, how can you stop it! You bastard dares to drop me and go to the finals? Defeat the finals!!”

And cursed,

『Yoon Hyuk opened up about Hong Min-jun』
“From friend to enemy! Hong Min-jun and Yun-hyeok, who had teamed up with Hojin University in the Olympics, collided in the semi-finals of the Focal Cup. …… Yoon Hyuk said of Hong Min-jun, “A player of genius talent. Not only is he talented, but he is also a hard worker who stays on the training ground longer than anyone else. Now that he is on the final stage, I hope he wins…”

He left a heartwarming interview.
… Maybe it’s not image management?

Frankfurt, which gained momentum, continued its upward trend in April, bombing the second division and rising to first place, a month after that.

May 17th.
Bundesliga 2 won the championship without missing first place until the last game was over.

And on May 24th.
Pokal Cup Final. Their opponents are relegated VfB Stuttgart.

Frankfurt won 2:0 in the last game, and succeeded in winning the league and cup competitions.

Frankfurt, which had a successful season by advancing to the European competition, ‘Europa League’ by winning the cup competition at the same time as promotion, has only one final task.

The key to the second half rebound.
It was only the complete transfer of Hong Min-joon, who emerged as a hot sale in the transfer market by winning the season MVP, the player of the year chosen by fans, the season’s best recruit, the league’s best 11, and the Bundesliga 2 scorer.