Chapter 221 – Show and Prove (3)

221

2035.9.2.Sunday
St James’ Park, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, Northeast England
Premier League Round 5 Newcastle vs Liverpool

[Newcastle 4-3-3]
GK — Yomund
LB — James Paul
CB — John McCarthy
CB — Smith Paul
RB — Jose Alba
DM — Baum Johann (c)
LCM — Locke Woody
RCM — Musam Pasha
LWF — Nicholas Hossmann
RWF — Jonathan Silva
CF — Minjun Hong

“Eh? What! Jose… No Jose?”

Watching Liverpool play at home… No, Sarah McGinn, a reporter from Chronicle Live who came to cover the story, spat out a strange sound while watching the starting lineup on the screen.

“Jonathan selected? It would be too much to replace Jose….”

Jonathan Silva is one of the prospects the club cares about and nurtures.
As a part of the club’s long-term project, his talent is certain, but as a young player, his strengths and weaknesses are so obvious that he has been a backup player.

Jonathan was a player who was difficult to use as a starter because he was too weak in tactical movements, defense, and linkage play, although his excellent sixth sense and the resultant scoring power were excellent.

“Besides what! Hong is a central striker? This is right?”

Jonathan is also Jonathan, and even Hong Min-joon is listed in a strange position.
Even though she had to post the starting lineup article quickly, Sarah McGinn couldn’t move her fingers.

‘Director bastard… He said he was experimenting, but he had a big accident like this.’

The Toon Army, who had filled St. James Park early on and sang fervently, seemed to have lost their energy at this embarrassing lineup.

I could feel the enthusiasm of cheering that had filled the arena suddenly waned.

‘Nope. I believe in my prince! I believe in the lord!’

Dakkaehong Sarah McGinn, who took control of her shaking heart, wrote an article in an instant.

『Minjun Hong, the leading scorer with 7 goals in 4 matches, played as a forward striker to score a goal against Liverpool!!』

* * *

The atmosphere in the locker room was great.
It’s only been a month since the season started, and it’s only been 4 games, but Newcastle has been winning consecutively with overwhelming performance, so the atmosphere shouldn’t be bad.

In addition, since young players in their early and mid-20s are the main players, the momentum changes quickly with each match result.

To put it in a good way, once you get the momentum, it burns terribly, and to say it badly, it has a lot of ups and downs… Well, for now, it’s positive, so it won’t matter.

I listened to the director’s explanation of tactics until the end and headed for the entrance passage at the signal.

“Minjoon. I don’t need to say more, right?”

After tying the laces of the exclusive soccer boots sponsored by Nike, I smiled confidently at the coach who patted me on the back.

“Sure. First half like Messi. I know.”

Messi, Messi….
My role this time is the same as Messi in his days as the false nine under Pep Guardiola.

Create space by attracting a lot of aggro to attract the opponent’s defense, supply key passes to colleagues who penetrate into that space, and create decisive chances through direct dribble breakthrough when the pressure is relaxed… Responsible for both scoring and playmaking.

It is a task that most players cannot afford to undertake.
Since he has taken on a bunch of missions that are difficult to do even one properly, it is a weighty role that will only be laughed at if he does not have a genius talent like Messi.

“What are you looking for, kid?”

One of Liverpool’s two centre-backs, Scott Adam, threatens with his signature Liverpool accent (Scouse).

Well… I’ve heard the notoriety, but it’s really hard to understand.
I’m not at the level of a native speaker, but even I, who can speak English freely, frowns at the bizarre accent that’s hard to understand properly, and Scott Adam suddenly pokes his face.

“Is this bastard frowning in front of me? Prepare to break your leg today, kid.”

The threat is clear, but the meaning is ambiguous.
So…

“Ah, the pronunciation is fucking stupid. What the hell.”
“What?”

Fuck I don’t know
I want to speak Korean too.

Liverpool, who adopted a white away uniform this season, is a colorless appearance of the self-proclaimed ‘Red Empire’.
However, the momentum felt from each player was amazing… Certainly, the feeling of pressure typical of Liverpool that all members are world class.

Bayern Munich is the only team that has ever faced this level of pressure.
If the momentum of Liverpool, which is not perfect, is this much, what if it is perfect?

‘I want to break through once. I wonder how well it works and how well it responds.’

It suppresses the instinctive competitive spirit that squirms and oscillates.
It’s not time to expose your claws yet. Let’s be patient.

But even without claws, a beast is a beast.
Lions have many weapons to replace their claws—

He shifts his position slightly between the two center backs and observes their reactions.

‘Scott Adam’s gap is wide. Is that the role of a fighter over there?’

In a four-back system, two center backs are in charge.
And usually, when one person takes on the role of a fighter, the other person takes over the cover.

The fighter-type Scott Adam, who first applies active pressure, and the command-type Luciano Salve, who works hard on cover and coordination behind him, checks the gap.

‘About this… No, at this point.’

The weapon that can replace claws is the ability to instinctively read the opponent’s reaction.
This is my own weapon that I had before I got the status window.

Instinctive sense of ‘realizing’ how the opponent will react and what kind of movement will be made when breaking through the dribble.
Also, after raising the Hidden Stats Genius and Intelligence, the ability that developed further was useful for identifying the opponent’s gap like now.

Until now, I’ve only used this when breaking through the dribble, but I realized another way to use it while training with a pulse nine.
If you move this to overlap the critical moment when the two react—

“Red!”

Funny things will happen
Luke, who caught the ball in midfield, sending me a long liner pass.

Like the guy who has the best long passing ability on the team, the ball hits me accurately even from a long distance.
Unlike a long pass, it jumps out straight away to catch a relatively low pass.

A place that I had been constantly thinking about even before the pass came. As a spot where the spacing of the two centre-backs overlap.

Liverpool’s two centre-backs look back at each other at the same time and wince.

“Shit! Adam stick!”

Scott Adam runs out belatedly as if he confirmed that no one had moved.
But… Late.

A ball that lands under your feet softly, as if you were hit by a ball of fluff.
You can’t let the striker catch the ball unhindered.

Certainly, like a Liverpool centre-back, the reaction is good. As soon as he realizes he can’t stop receiving the ball, he’s closing in on the shooting path in an instant.

If you turn around like this, you’ll face Scott Adam’s pressure.
A match against him would be pretty fun, but unfortunately this time the goal is to raise awareness rather than a one-on-one match.

“What— shooting!”

Indeed, the reaction of a world class center back.
Scott Adam, gasping for breath, didn’t notice, but Luciano Salve, who was observing calmly from behind, let out a sharp shout the moment my body turned half way.

But it’s too late this time.
As the first trapping, the ball placed on the side at a slight interval is connected with a turning shot by turning the body as it is.

Even in the difficult situation of a turning shot, the shooting stat of 85 created a graceful posture, strong ankle strength, and accurate targeting.
For an unexpected shot from an unexpected place, a sharp shot headed for the goal,

Puck!
Liverpool’s goalkeeper McCauly, who reacted late to the counterattack, managed to make a save thanks to the position being shifted to the center rather than the corner of the goal because he was concerned about accuracy.

The shouts that echoed through the home stadium turn into sighs all at once, followed by passionate applause as if they had done well.

Hearing the compliments or consolation from his colleagues saying that he did well or that he felt sorry for him, he felt a stinging stare on his back as he returned to the friendly camp. Looking back, I can see that Liverpool’s two centre-backs are sending hot eyes.

Well. I’m so glad you like it so much.
So I blew a wink.

* * *

[Ah~ Hong Min-joon’s great shooting! I’m sorry.]
[If you look at the previous scene, Hong Min-joon went down to receive the pass and Liverpool’s two center backs couldn’t react momentarily.]
[It’s not that I’m sneaking into a blind spot, but I’m obviously moving forward, so why couldn’t I react?]

The commentator’s mouth moves busily in response to the caster’s question.

[Hey~ This, I guess, went in skillfully on the boundary of the gap. I’ve only imagined it during my career as a player, but there are players who use it in actual games.]
[Boundaries?]
[Why, isn’t there a range for each player to react? Whether it’s tactics or personality, this is a different law for each player. In particular, in the case of center backs, the zones are usually divided, so who presses first on this side and who moves on the other side. However, Hong Min-Jun broke through that boundary and made Liverpool’s two centre-backs unable to react in an instant. Look at this. When Hong Min-joon moves, the two Liverpool center backs momentarily look back at each other, right?]

A caster with a good reaction burst into admiration at the explanation of the former national team commentator.

[Wow~ Is that possible? It sounds like it’s not easy just by listening to it, but it’s really amazing, player Hong Min-joon.]
[I’ve only imagined this, but it’s difficult to use in a real game. This is something that can only be born. Isn’t Hong Min-joon a well-known master of psychological warfare? Maybe it’s a kind of talent~ I think.]
[Okay. Besides, the turning shot was also very good, right?]
[Sure. Even if that doesn’t seem like a big deal, if you shoot while twisting your body like that, you won’t have enough strength. But the shooting power is quite good, right? There’s also the accuracy. He is a player who has reached the peak technically, you can see it that way.]
[Uh? Hong Min-joon looks at the camera and winks?]
Haha. You are so handsome, our Hong Min-jun player. The female viewers who are watching will really like it]