Chapter 298 – A PIECE OF CAKE (2)
298
The 2nd match against Man City, the 2nd match of 5 consecutive matches from hell.
In the first leg of the semifinals, which took place over tickets to the League Cup final, many people expected Manchester City to win.
“No matter how good Newcastle’s recent momentum is, Man City will win this time due to the game schedule.”
“Isn’t it the difference between Hong Min-jun and Hong Min-jun in the end, even if they are ahead in the recent opponent record? For Newcastle, who has to play 5 matches in less than 2 weeks, they will not send Hong Min-jun to the League Cup, which is the least valuable. And can Newcastle in the 1.5 group without Hong Min-jun beat Man City?”
Despite the victory in the previous game, public opinion leaned towards Manchester City’s victory.
It is Newcastle who won against Man City in both the first and second half of the league, but if you look at the game, it is not only the difference between Hong Min-jun and Man City that has never been pushed unilaterally even with Hong Min-jun.
Like a team with the potential of being a European champion, now is the time to win… Despite the expectations, Man City lost the first leg of the League Cup semifinals as well.
“This is a very unexpected result. Contrary to everyone’s expectations, Hong Min-jun started, and Newcastle, who started an active rotation excluding Hong Min-jun, won another 1:0 victory against Man City.”
Who would have predicted that Newcastle, which is busy on its way to the league, the Champions League and the FA Cup, would be greedy for the League Cup as well.
Athletes are people, not machines, so they need proper rest. As a baseball coach insisted, the more you use it, the stronger it is, rather than breaking down.
Of course, in the League Cup, which has the lowest status, there was a dominant expectation that Min-jun Hong would be given a break, but coach Lauren Botman put Hong Min-jun in the starting lineup and even let him play for 80 minutes.
“Coach Botman is too focused on short-term goals. Not good. Hong Min-joon is a durable player with rare injuries throughout his career, but he is not a player with good stamina. Previously, the second half of the season showed a drop in form due to excessive business trips, but if it is already overworked like this, it will have a great negative impact on the competition to win the second half.”
That’s why, despite the victory, ‘Hong Min-joon abuse theory’ was raised and I didn’t hear good things about it.
“I agree with Hong Min-jun’s abuse… I want to draw your attention to another part. Against Man City this time, despite the fact that most of them were rotation members, except for Hong Min-jun, the performance was very good. It was very organized. I think this is a success in strengthening the squad that Newcastle sought before the start of this season. Newcastle have gotten stronger this season. It means the chances of winning are much higher.”
Some people paid attention to the fact that he showed good form with a squad close to the second group.
“It’s easy to say, it’s a double squad, but in fact, it’s close to impossible to fill all the first-team members with starters. Will it be as good as Manchester City or Real Madrid? However, even this is only made with player quality, and it cannot be made equal to the performance. No matter how good the quality of each player is, there is a difference in tactical proficiency between the main and non-main players. However… In this match, Newcastle showed a sum that would not be inferior even if it was a starter. How amazing.”
There is even a rash argument that Newcastle has succeeded in building a double squad, stemming from comments from famous analysts.
The cause of this situation, Hong Min-joon, was laughing at this analysis.
* * *
“What is a double squad?”
Analyst anyway.
Who can’t fit in the revealed results? You need to analyze the cause and process, not the result.
The double squad praised by experts is no different from an illusion.
A week devoted to tactical training after returning the winter break?
If a double squad is possible with a short training session of just over a week, is there any other team in the world that does not have a double squad?
No matter how moved they were by my famous speech, they were dripping with tears, but why are European and South American kids so easily allowed to work extra hours?
Even though it was a week of tactical training, the training time per day was only from morning to lunchtime.
I return my vacation and attend training, but the time should be short.
In fact, the time spent on tactical intensive training was about 1 hour and 30 minutes a day, which is not enough time to be perfect, although the players participated enthusiastically and digested the training intensively.
That’s why the coach and I prepared something grandiose like a double squad.
We have prepared only one thing.
The training of the members of the 2nd group was only to refine the defensive organization thoroughly ‘only for Man City’ to tie up the ‘prey’ targeting Man City.
Right around me.
Thanks to that, I was able to hold on against Man City.
What… During the build-up or attack, the partial tactics were inevitably insufficient, but that was unavoidable due to time constraints.
To put it simply, the rotation members only refined the defensive organization aimed at Manchester City for a week.
So, unlike usual, I participated in a more central fight and focused on the build-up.
In the beginning, the director and I had a simple idea.
A simple mechanical device centered on ‘Hong Min-jun’.
As long as the country has key parts, the ‘minor’ parts are constant even if they are replaced with other ones… At least to make it possible to maintain a certainty in the ‘defensive organization’.
Why?
The belief that I can somehow score a goal if I don’t score a goal… No, because it is an idea based on facts.
And the result was against Man City.
It was easier thanks to the unexpected performance of the rotation members, but anyway, compared to the existing members, the structure was inevitably crooked from the build-up, so I had to play lower than usual.
As the position moved away from the opponent’s goal, of course, the attack power decreased and the consumption of stamina increased, but… It doesn’t matter if your attack power is low.
The problem is fitness.
‘They said they prepared for this too.’
【Technology】
[Skill 92] [Dribble 92] [Trapping 92] [Short Pass 80] [Long Pass 80] [Shooting 92] [Free Kick 50] [Header 60] [Tackle 40]
【Mental】
[Vision 70] [Anticipation 70] [Judgment 70] [Concentration 70] [Off the ball 70] [Space Mark 50] [Peace 70] [Leadership 43] [Teamwork 60]
【Body】
[Agility 93] [Acceleration 93] [Balance 93] [Agility 93] [Reaction 93] [Power 80] [Jump 70] [Endurance 80 ▶ 85] [Recovery 80 ▶ 85]
【Hidden】
[Genius 93] [Charism 100] [Intelligence 70]
*Bonus Special One (1/3)
▷ Locked
▷ 30% reduction in negative opinions
▷ Locked
【Height 182.7cm｜75kg】
My stamina-related stats, which have entered my mid-80s, are holding me back.
At this level, even in the EPL, which is known to consume a lot of stamina, it will be in the top ranks in ‘endurance’ and ‘resilience’.
In addition, compared to the previous season, not only did my physical strength increase, but my overall stats increased, so my movement itself became more efficient, and the play of ‘run when I run, rest when I rest’ gained momentum.
No matter how much steel king you are, you can’t run around with full power for 90 minutes.
A great player should be able to distinguish when to explode power and when to conserve it.
Even if you have quick and accurate judgment and more efficient movements to distinguish between them, your physical strength will be consumed much less than before.
Now, like before, there will be almost no chance for me to lose my form in the second half because I get tired without even realizing it.
‘By the way… What is this obscure effect?’
A new perk item added to the status bar.
It’s ridiculous that 2 out of 3 are locked, but at best the unlocked effect is ‘reduction of negative opinions by 30%’.
If you can reduce the negative comments… Is that So-called anti-eliminator?
‘It’s kind of useful, but…’
It is an ambiguous effect that the sound of ‘to?
It is unclear whether negative opinions refer to all negative thoughts about me or only extreme emotions, and I have no idea what the standard of 30% is.
So I did some testing…
『Hong Min-jun “Man City is just a cake!”』
When I clicked on the interview article that was caught in the headline, the comment window opened, unsurprisingly.
What has changed?
Negative comments have decreased by 30%, but I don’t think negative comments have decreased by 30%.
Well.
Mmm.
If there is no particular harvest in the experiment to confirm the vague effect… The only thing left is to ask people who are smarter than me.
Anyone around me who is smarter than me, and who I can easily ask—
“Oh, Harin. It’s all I am.”
Are my girls
I can’t tell you the ‘status window’, so it’s a hassle to ask a little indirectly, but this much is nothing.
I’m the one who didn’t reveal my secret even to the girlfriends I’ve been living with every day for the past few years.
Truly a dragon! The word Simmo Wonryeo exists for me!
Am I going to be blocked by this detour question, having tricked even the brilliant, smart, and quick-witted Oh Harin and Yoon Daye?
“Yes. Is there any effect in playing the game? But I don’t know exactly what that means.”
-Game? … Uh, what is it
Ha, easy, easy.
My conscience hurt a little when I saw girlfriends with naive expressions without a single doubt, but the ‘status window’ is a secret that I can never tell.
Oh, you shouldn’t be so good at lying.
“That’s the soccer game we talked about before, remember? Taking stats and nurturing them.”
-Ah. It.
Harin and Daye looked back at each other and nodded at the same time.
Well… It seems we got along better.
“There, when I took the hidden stats to the end, the perks were unlocked. The effect is a 30% reduction in negative opinions… It’s a privilege, so it’s too lame. Why is this a perk?”
—Is it really good?
“Good? Why? Isn’t it just an anti-eliminator?”
—Aren’t fans the only ones affected by the effect? If applied to football workers, your reputation or evaluation in general will be more favorable, and if applied to reporters, the media will be more friendly. Ballon d’Or voting will also be more advantageous. What if it goes even further and applies to people who hate you, say racists?
… What?
—In a word, it’s an effect that allows you to become a soccer player loved all over the world.
Was it good