Chapter 121 – The New King (2)

121

“Yes, the game starts, uh, uh? Frankfurt players, suddenly running! Frankfurt running right from the start! Alexander Meyer! Nice long pass!”

As the referee blows the whistle, the caster quickly spits out the words as the players run away.
The commentator, who had been watching in bewilderment, quickly intervened.

“Minjun Hong runs! Ah, I think this is part of a planned pattern play! Minjun Hong, Minjun Hong, and, ah, Maxim Maier occupy the seats first! Because of the exquisite positioning… Oh my God!”
“Pierce it!! Hong Min-jun neutralized Maxim Mayer!”
“It’s a chance! You have to hit it!! Hong Min-jun shooting!! Hey~ A beautiful shot came out!! Hong Min-jun making the first goal with a nice chip shot!!”

One of the commentators, who was enthusiastic about the chip shot that crossed the goal line in a parabolic arc past the goalkeeper’s hand, who was eagerly reaching out, suddenly raised his voice.

“Wait, now, how many minutes have passed? The replay is… Oh, 6 seconds! 6 seconds!! The opening goal was scored 6 seconds into the game!!”
“You have to find the shortest record to find out, but Hong Min-jun! It’s a record goal!!”

— Crazy
— Take off your panties and scream!!
—I just got pissed off; Hong Min-joon Are you really crazy?
-Wow… I get nothing but admiration while watching the fuck

The gaze of the commentators, who had been watching the chat window go up like crazy, turned to the writers outside the camera.
As if I had just found the record, there were scribbled letters on the whiteboard.

“Hong Min-Jun! Set another record! He scored a goal in 5.9 seconds from the start of the game, surpassing the European league record of 6.2 seconds!!”

* * *

“Such a madman! Are you really going to make it work!!”
“Aaaaa!! Goal against Munich!! Crazy!!”

It was my colleagues who stopped me from jogging while staring at the stands of the library-turned-Allianz Arena.
By the time the Allianz Arena was shaken by the sound of booing from the teammates who screamed and attacked the whole body, the real thing was soon after.

Even the referee sends a signal to go back to his seat at the pressure of tens of thousands of spectators booing in unison.

“We scored the first goal, so let’s keep it. We have to win against Munich.”
“Okay. We’re going to destroy the strongest team!”

Fortunately, the teammates, who were intoxicated with the excitement of the opening goal, seemed to be burning with a fighting spirit despite the crowd’s booing.
The ball was put on the center line again in just a few minutes.

It was Munich taking the lead this time.
A sense of intimidation felt from the calmly sunken Munich players.

‘… It must be difficult.’

And the match that started again was an angry Munich solo stage.
The Munich players, supported by tens of thousands of spectators, pushed our team hard.

Our team, equipped with a defensive camp that had practiced a lot in preparation for the Munich game, effectively became a 5-4-1 camp against Munich, which was fiercely attacking.

To the extent that even I, who rarely participate in defense, ran hard to pressurize the opposing center backs who play the role of playmakers in the rear by pulling up the line.

Munich is constantly aiming for the goal with its overwhelming individual ability and high-level tactics, and the scene that is no different from a goal passes several times.

5 times only hitting the goal posts or finely brushing them.
Thrilling moments passed one after another in the defense’s dedicated hustle play, and the Munich players’ movements became impatient in a situation where they seemed to enter but did not enter.

37 minutes in the first half.
By the time even the Munich players, who moved as passionately as the fierce offensive, lost their concentration due to physical exhaustion.

Once again, a decisive chance occurred.
Immediately, the Munich center back, who crossed the half line and came into our camp, pushed the tuk-tuk and started digging inside. As if feeling frustrated at our team’s defense, which seems to collapse but does not collapse, it is a movement to advance further.

No matter how crouched he may be, the Munich center back crossed the half line and dribbled.
I quickly entered the pressure, but the guy who stripped me off with a light turn hit me in an instant.

‘Shit!’

He gritted his teeth and chased after him, but the guy who struck once fired a through pass to Maxim Maier, who was digging into the side sharply.

Taking over the ball, Maxim Maier blocked the front and peeled off two friendly players with a light 2:1 pass. Feeling a sense of crisis, captain Alexander Meyer tried to catch up quickly, and he immediately took a cross posture.

The captain made a tackle, but it was a fake by Maxim Meyer.
As successive pressures failed, the left side of the penalty box momentarily emptied, and Munich midfielder Andre Hoffman passed the ball straight to the place where he properly dug in, and Andre Hoffman, who was running, connected it with a shot.

Bang!!
The moment the intense shooting erupted with the sound of leather popping, the captain, who had lost his balance after the tackle, blocked the shot with his face.

Puck!
The moment the ball hits the face, the blood spurts, and all the players flinch.

‘It’s an opportunity!’

No matter how strong the shot was, the ball deflected after hitting the captain’s face goes over the half line.
A situation in play as long as the captain is concerned but the referee has not blown his whistle. He kicked the ground with all his might.

In that brief moment when everyone was distracted by the intense visual effect of being hit in the face by a shot and bursting with blood, no one marked me.

The Munich goalkeeper noticed the situation and ran out of the penalty box, and the ball landed in the Munich camp over the half line and began to roll around.

Even the final defensive line crossed the half line and the back was empty, so it was a sharp decision by the Munich goalkeeper, who was near the penalty area in preparation for an unexpected situation.

“No!!”

I was faster
Turning around belatedly, he saw the Munich goalkeeper sprinting toward the goalpost and connected it with a shot.

A long shot of 35-40M shook the net as it passed the desperately running Munich goalkeeper.
It was the second goal.

“… Frankfurt’s goal.”

In the silence of the Allianz Arena, the trembling voice of his wife, Unseo, echoes in the midst of a few away fans going mad.
Behind me, roaring across the ground, I see the Munich players staring at the swaying goal in disbelief.

* * *

“Goal!! Goal again!! Hong Min-joon, how terrifying have you become!! This is Hong Min-Jun who scores 2 goals against Munich!!”
“Hey! A very calm and technical goal. Both goals were beautiful!”

—Kiya ㅑㅑㅑㅑ
—Shut up the housekeeper!!
ㄴThe housekeeper’s happy storyhaha
—Mom, I want to be Hong Min-jun when I grow up!! Mom, I want to be Hong Min-jun when I grow up!! Mom, I want to be Hong Min-jun when I grow up!!
—Wow, are you crazy? Scored 2 goals in the first half against Munich;
ㄴ이새끼는 진짜다… Good job
—Is that you guys? Hong Min-jun now ranks first in points.
ㄴA top scorer!?
N crazy guys;; There are a lot of teams that haven’t even played their first game yet;

Contrary to Korea’s frantic reaction, the Munich players were lethargic for the rest of the first half, perhaps because the shock of scoring a goal after countless attacks was great.

And the second half started.

As expected, Munich’s offensive was driven hard from the start.
And at every counter-attack opportunity that came infrequently, he faced Maxim Meyer. Sometimes I overcame him and created a threatening opportunity, and I was able to feel the level of a world-class defender as I repeatedly kicked the poor ground after being blocked by him.

‘As expected, it’s hard.’

Despite improving his physical abilities, Maxim Maier was slightly faster than me, was much better at fighting, and dominated the air.
And above all, the speed of thought was different.

Maxim Maier, who quickly and accurately selects from the myriad of options a player encounters at every moment, was clearly the most difficult, cumbersome, and difficult opponent I’ve ever faced.

But,

‘It’s worth it.’

Physical ability and judgment are also pushed.
The only thing I’m better than him is the technical part, but it’s still worth it.

I don’t know how many times I faced Maxim Mayer in the first and second halves. 6 times? 7 times? Maybe 10 times.
The odds of winning against him are 3-4%.

However, the calculations are different for attackers and defenders.
Successfully attacking 3 or 4 times out of 10, even with little help from teammates, creating threatening opportunities by breaking through Munich’s main full-back with only one’s individual skills was no different than showing my growth.

“You have grown tremendously.”

After 30 minutes in the second half, everyone was exhausted and there was a lull.
Maxim Maier, who was standing by my side watching the Munich players slowly turn the ball in the distance, spoke to me.

“Of course. Grow more. Forward.”

Through my efforts, I became fluent in listening and interpreting, but I was still clumsy in speaking.
Still, it’s not at a level that I can’t understand, so there’s no problem with normal conversation.

“It is so different from last year. Since he is a promising player, I assumed and prepared for him, but he is much better than I expected.”
“Thank.”
“You speak German quite well.”

I wondered why he was acting like this at the sudden compliment, but Maxim Mayer grins.

“I will run with you soon.”
“…… ?”

Even I actively participated in the defense and played a defensive battle at the level of anti-football, but Munich’s potential was amazing, and they finally managed to score a comeback goal.

However, the result is 2:1.
A miracle happened.

Round 1 of the 2033 season Bundesliga.
Munich suffered a defeat in the opening game at home against a promoted team.