Chapter 141 – End of the First Half (1)

141

As usual, I head to the stadium early in the morning.

“You came out the fastest today.”
“I’m growing, but I have to train.”
“Take it easy. If you grow too fast, you won’t be able to see them for a long time.”

A field manager in his 60s jokes with a sigh.
… It seems too serious to be a joke, though.

Frankfurt is not a club to kneel anywhere.
Even in Germany, the number one player in Europe’s economy, it is a team with a fairly solid financial foundation as it is based in Frankfurt, one of the centers of the economy.

However, having a solid foundation does not mean being affluent.
The level of spending by big clubs boasting world-wide popularity, including wealthy people from the Middle East and the wealthy in the United States, is a level that Frankfurt will never be able to match.

Of course, Frankfurt cannot afford to retain players who exceed the level of the club.
Because of this, the better I do, the more the fans who were happy in the beginning now sigh.

I’m sorry to the club and fans, but it will be difficult to afford my ransom after this season is over.
So the only thing I can do is to grow and play as much as I can while I’m there, achieve team results, and give me a large transfer fee.

While warming up with simple stretching, the South American duo came to the training ground early for some reason.

“Who is this? I’m a superstar who shocked Germany!”
“Ooooo bro~ I’m so proud that my brother is a superstar.”

Chicharo and Bruno enter the room nervously.
After that incident a few months ago, he earned the unsightly nickname of ‘Superstar’.

The incident itself was over in just a week, but the impact was so great that the media was buzzing for a while.
Even though the Korean Wave has been popular since 10 years ago, seeing hundreds of young German women making their own schedules and protesting in front of their homes must have been a huge culture shock to most Germans.

For a while, my face appeared more on the news and newspapers than on sports broadcasts.
Heh… Stupid Germanic guys. It’s ridiculous to be surprised and riot at Korea’s spicy sasaeng fan culture. In Korea, there were already women who were sasaengs and did all sorts of evil things for decades.

When Germany was shocked by the spicy K-culture, Korea on the other side reacted in the opposite way.
I heard that a native Korean soccer player captivated Germany with his skills and appearance, and my popularity, which had already increased as an Olympic and national representative, exploded in a big way when combined with a fully charged gukppong.

Anyway, the feeling of having my face featured in the media in both Korea and Germany… Exciting.

“Heh heh. These foolish things. A superstar is training, so what are you doing without helping?”
“Hey Bro. Min-joon is turning around because you keep teasing him. What to do with this?”
“Min-joon doesn’t do that for a day or two.”

Chicharo and Bruno lick their lips at my empty reaction.
I’m looking forward to seeing the frightened reaction of the first time he was teased as a ‘superstar’, but I can’t help it. Now it’s a step to enjoy beyond the stage of thinking like that.

“But Minjun. Aren’t you tired? All we have to do is play club games, but you also played national team games.”

December is already the end of the first half.
It’s been a long time since I’ve played Bundesliga, Pokal, Europa and even national team matches, so it’s been a long time since my fatigue hasn’t gone away even after waking up. … Is this because of Harin?

Aside from leagues, European competitions, and cup competitions, the national team adds to long-distance flights every time it is selected, really… Even after the final Asian qualifiers in September, they were called every month for evaluation matches until October and November, so I think I can understand why European players retire early.

“It’s not that I don’t hate the national team, but sometimes I wish they would remove me from the list. It’s so hard to adjust to the jet lag and fatigue when you go back and forth on a plane once.”
“…But I’m envious.”

Chicharo murmurs with a dark face at my lamentation.
Oh This guy got eliminated from the national team again.

Chicharo was a top-class prospect who played in all of Argentina’s national teams at different age levels.
He was a player who was expected to join the adult national team without difficulty if he grows up like this, but his career has been twisted a bit, so he has not yet made his national team debut.

He moved to Frankfurt in his early twenties, when there was talk of hiring an adult national team beyond the age-specific national team, but the team was relegated to the second division.

Argentina is not a third-class soccer country, and it is a first-tier country limited to soccer, but it is a bit difficult to select a second division leaguer as a national team… But if Chicharo eats the second copy, I won’t know again. Nor was it.

Of course, he was considered the best midfielder in the second division, but not to the point of picking a second division leaguer to replace his competitors, which made him very upset.

He returned to the first division this year, advanced to the Europa League, and was finally selected as a national team. Unfortunately, the timing is bad again.

“Hey, Chicharo. It’s okay. If you continue like you are now, you’ll be called up by the national team soon? You’re the key midfielder of a team that ranks 3rd in the Bundesliga and 1st in the Europa League group stage.”
“Thank you, Minjun. But it won’t work. The World Cup is less than half a year away.”
“…”

Okay.
Of course, the time is right around the corner of the World Cup, so it’s a bit of a bit of a bit of a bit of a bit of a bit of a bit of a bit of a bit of a bit of a bit of a bit of a bit of

Seeing Chicharo lowering his head gloomily, Bruno, who was next to him, gets restless and then sneaks away. No, such a foolish bastard!

“I’m trash. I should have tried harder… I was too proud when I was young and I’m being punished for not trying. Oh Lord, watch over the lamb.”

Suddenly, I mumbled a prayer in Spanish or Latin, but what is this?
Chicharo makes me feel bad. Because of this, his performance has a lot of ups and downs, and consistency has been pointed out as a weakness.

However, at least this year, they showed a steady high enough to call consistency a strength, and this is because they all reduced parties and alcohol and worked hard to manage their condition in the hope of being selected as a national team member.

My performance was important for Frankfurt’s cruising, but the performance of Chicharo and transfer students also plays a large role, and if left as it is, the status of a key player in the midfield will become a melon.

I only looked at the national team and ran, but if the possibility is gone, isn’t it a state of burnout and falling out? Our club is not a big club, and there is a big difference in quality between the main and non-main teams, but if Chicharo falls out like this… Your performance will drop dramatically right away.

‘This isn’t good.’

It is not known if it is a team with a lot of depth, but in our club, which maintains its current record by changing the best 11, if a key player is left out, there will be an immediate uproar.

In particular, the second half will be even more difficult, but if Chicharo is in this state…

“Hey Chicharo.”
“It’s okay, Minjun. I’ll do my best.”
“No, not that.”

Think… How did you save this kid’s spirit?

“Bundesliga winning team.”
“What?”
“Europa League winners.”
“What are you talking about all of a sudden, Minjun?”
“If you’re the key midfielder of a team that achieved the double, even Argentina wouldn’t be able to pick it up, right?”
“That’s it, but… That’s impossible.”

Chicharo, whose eyes sparkled as if he had imagined it, becomes sullen again.
Aww, this little bastard. I have no ambition.

“No, it’s possible. Because I am.”
“…Wow.”

Chicharo, who was staring at me blankly with his mouth open, managed to say a word.

“As expected, you are a superstar, Minjun.”
“Of course. If you’re a superstar, shouldn’t you have this much confidence? And you’re a superstar’s friend and colleague. Be confident Messi.”
“Messi…? Me?”

Chicharo, who wanted to be cheered up by my comfort, opened his eyes at the sound of ‘Messi’ and liked it.

“Uh… What… Right? It’s similar.”

For example, height, height, leg length…

Haha! Are my skills already tidying up Messi? Yo~ Bro~ I have eyes to see?”
“Of course. You are the Messi of the midfield.”
“Uhahaha!”

Okay. I’m glad you like it.
I have to gather my energy like this so that I can play an active part in the upcoming match against Monaco.

* * *

Frankfurt’s first half deserves praise.
It is ranked 3rd in the league table, the Pokal Cup has also succeeded in advancing to the round of 16, and it is also ranked 1st in the Europa League group stage.

Therefore, the expectations of the club officials and fans for the 6th round of the group stage, the last Europa match of the first half, were quite high.

It feels good to advance to the top of the group, but there are practical benefits as well.
But if you lose in Game 6, it’s not worth it.

If you don’t do it, you will end up in 3rd place instead of 2nd in the group.

1. Frankfurt — 3 wins, 0 draws, 2 losses
2. AS Monaco FC — 3 wins, 0 draws, 2 losses
3. Galatasai SK — 2 wins, 1 draw, 2 losses
4. Rosenborg BK — 1 win, 1 draw, 3 losses

The difference in performance between the starting and non-starting matches was so great that the best 11 had no choice but to be split.

Besides, I, the key player, am also a rookie, this is my first full-time season.
In addition, every month I was selected as a national representative and flew long distances, so when I faced Rosenborg, who was a relatively easy opponent, I turned the rotation and got hit. The other 1 loss was away from Galatasai.

Shit… I should have caught one of them.
The match against Rosenborg, which was excluded from the list and took a break, was unfortunately defeated in the Galatasai expedition due to the overlapping of the Turkish expedition and the exhaustion of physical strength.

The result is this.
They are equal on points with second placed Monaco and only two points behind third placed Galatasai.

Considering that the last 6 games were between Frankfurt and AS Monaco and between Galata and Rosenborg, Galatasai have a much better chance of winning.

But what if we lose?
3 wins 3 losses. Galatasai has 3 wins, 1 draw and 2 losses.

I mean, very bad things can happen.
So you have to win. Absolutely.

And in the last game against Monaco, the result is victory, but I have to take revenge on the guy who stopped me, Alex Richards.

‘Okay. Let’s spend some points now.’