Chapter 36 – Friendly Match Against Olympic Team (2)

036

A troubled look.
What? Is this really something?

“Do you know anything? A national team.”
“No no no no. Absolutely. It’s not like that… I just thought that Min-jun would be called by the national team soonhehe.”
“Hmm. Do you know anyone in the national team?”
“…Heeep!”
“…Really?”

The woman who had been rolling her eyes, let out a deep sigh.

“Ahhh, this guy’s mouth is straight. This is a really, really secret. You can’t tell it anywhere. Never!”
“Absolutely.”
“So… My dad, no dad… He’s the head coach for the U23 national team.”
“Ah. Then I’m really on the national team…?”

Head coach of the national team.
Isn’t this almost official level? Ha, after all, when I become a national team coach, I know my skills.

“It’s not confirmed yet. I’m diligently showing my father, no father, Min-jun’s video and recruiting him…”

And then I glance over.
What? If you do this well… ?

“Aigoo~ Our Soyoung-nim! Thank you!”
Hehe. Ay~ I’m not doing this to get thanks~”
“Uh huh! Being thankful is what I’m thankful for. Thanks to our So-Young-nim filming it, it’s in the national team’s coach’s eyes. Wow~ It’s a benefactor, benefactor.”
“Ehehehe~”

He looked up and said softly.

“By the way… Did the coach comment on anything…?”
“Ah… There is.”
“Hmmmm. If our analyst Soyoung can tell us a little bit~”
“Boo, Analyst? Me?”
“Yes, the analyst. My personal analyst?”
“Ayu~ Analyst~ I’ve never studied professionally~”

… What? Do you like it more than you think?
So I worked hard on Nadenade.

“Ehehehehe. Then I’ll let you know as Min-Jun’s player analyst!”
“Of course! Any advice from our Analyst Soyoung!”
“So~ I can get in as a member of the Olympic national team right now. But… The finals are important, right?
“That’s right.”
“But… Korea has the most abundant resources in the second line. Of course, 3 out of 18 people will pick a wild card… Maybe, wouldn’t they pick one or two people in the second line?”
“Is… That?”
“Then, Minjun’s seat is…”
“…Ah.”

Exactly… I didn’t think of that.
The number of entries for the Olympic soccer team is exceptionally small compared to other competitions. Only 18 people.

While the World Cup has 23 players, it is a whopping 5 digits less number.
What’s even more exciting is that 3 out of 18 are goalkeeper positions. So only 15 field players can participate… Three more wild cards here.

In other words, the Olympic team is called the U23 team, and the U stands for Under. The national team under the age of 23.

In other words, the composition of the Olympic team is made up of under 23 years old, and at this time, the three wild cards given to the finals are hidden cards that ignore the age limit.

Since the goal of the Korean Olympic team is to obtain medals, to be exact, exemption from military service (exactly, it is not an exemption, but a special exception), so of course, experienced players have better skills than young players under the age of 23, so for grades, all three wild cards are used.

After all, there are only 12 spots on the Olympic team that I have to compete for.
I don’t know how many attackers I’ll pick, but at most 4-5.

Maybe a wild card scorer and one of the rich second line attackers. And the 22-year-old young side striker who plays the main role in the K-League Pohang, the ace of the current under-23 national team, will also occupy a spot, so three people have already been filled.

I have to compete for the remaining 1-2 spots… Can you really get picked?
You can’t compete with a wild card that will definitely be drawn from the European faction… The coach’s favorite pupil and the striker who is the ace of the current Olympic team must be a regular starter.

Should I do well to become a member of the rotation?
When I think of it, I can only sigh.

“Anyway… The 2nd line will be difficult. Personally, I think if Min-Jun improves a little bit, he will be able to make up for the national team’s weaknesses.”

My eyes lit up at those words.
Is there such a thing!?

Also my analyst!!

“If Min-Jun improves his off-the-ball and passing skills… If he shows potential as a playmaker, who is pointed out as the national team’s weak point, he can play as a starter.”
“Ph, playmaker? Me?”

It’s not a role that doesn’t fit my play style at all.
However, isn’t it the words of a daughter-in-law who is not just a guru, but an aide to the head coach of the national team?

“Um… I’ll think about it.”

* * *

That happened a few days ago.
And now.

“Fist! We have good news for our team.”

The director came in with a smile from the morning and made a surprise announcement.

“Next week we have a friendly against the U23 team. Are you surprised?”
“Dae, the national team!?”
“A friendly match with our team!?”

Among the players who were all surprised, I was deep in thought.

‘Is it different from what Soyoung said? It’s not a national team selection, it’s a friendly match… Are you trying to check my skills?’

The national team cannot call up players at all times.
Players belong to the club team, so the national team is only borrowing players belonging to the club team for a certain period of time in a way called ‘selection’.

To put it mildly, the club team is a job, and the national team is a dispatched job with only honor.

Of course, it would be an honor to be a ‘national representative’ for an individual player, but from the perspective of a club team that suddenly lost its players to the country, it is inevitable.

Of course, depending on the position, there are club teams that like to be selected for the national team.
Representatively, in the case of a team with a low status or a selling club.
The former can raise the status of the team through the selection of the national team, and the latter can raise the ransom by increasing the value of the player, so it is favorable to the selection of the national team.

However, on the other hand, this also means that a team with a high status or a team that is not interested in selling players is negative about being selected for the national team.

And these teams are leading clubs leading the soccer world, so-called prestigious families with world-class reputations.
Isn’t that why there are often fights between FIFA and prestigious club teams?

What… This is what a pro team is all about.
So what about the college football team… Of course I like it, no, I go crazy beyond that.

What is the goal of the college soccer team in the first place?
Good grades? Of course that would be correct too. But the ultimate reason college football teams want good grades is to get more players into the pros.

Of course, a career in the national team is a very, very positive factor for advancing to the pros, and even if you are not selected, a friendly match with the national team is good enough.

Although the Olympic team often plays friendly matches with college soccer teams to warm up, it is not against any team.

From the perspective of the national team, which has to raise its commanding power as much as possible during the limited call-up period, where will it try to play against the poor team?

Of course, being selected as the national team’s sparring partner means that the national team is evaluated as a good enough team to be chosen as a friendly match, that the player can be introduced naturally to the national team officials, and above all, the unquantifiable benefits of motivating each player. Give.

And after the match against the Olympic team was confirmed, our team looked forward to the match day with excitement and enthusiasm… In accordance with the national team convocation schedule, they started intense training for two weeks.

Actually, I was in deep trouble.

‘How should I spend the points?’

I usually use it right away when I accumulate points, but… I was chewing up the college league just now, and I had a meeting with Han So-young, the operator of Football in Love, while I was collecting things because I was showing notice because of my rapid growth these days.

The question is, how far will you trust Han So-young’s advice?
Obviously, the background is the background, and the analytical skills of the person concerned are quite good, but… Anyway, isn’t Han So-young, strictly speaking, an outsider?

Her father is the head coach of the national team, and Han So-young herself is her coach.
The head coach wouldn’t tell me everything in detail. And I don’t even know the intention of the director who is the decision maker.

Shall we go in the direction of maximizing our strengths?
Or, as advised by Han So-young, should I supplement some areas that are considered weak points to acquire the ability as a playmaker?

If you maximize your strengths, can you have the skills to overwhelm the wild card or the current national team ace? If it were similar, he would use the existing member and not use me… It takes 2 points to raise 1 stat when the stat is over 70. Can I use this to create a stat that will overwhelm the Europeans?

Or what if you secure a weakness?
To be honest, I am a player with many weaknesses. In the meantime, I have only chewed up the college league by maximizing my strengths, but there is no limit when it comes to weaknesses.

Of course, you can’t make up for everything, so as per Han So-young’s advice, if you want to have the ability as a playmaker… There is no limit to this either.

Playmaker is not a normal role.
Passing ability, vision, depressing ability, keeping ability… It’s not just one or two things you need to have.

Can I get all of them with the points I have now? What if the playmaker ability becomes obscure due to lack of points?

As I struggled with endless unanswered questions, the day of the friendly match approached.

‘… Ah fuck I don’t know Let’s play the game and decide.’

It was a new feeling to see the national team players warming up on the ground before the game started.
When I was in middle school, I was selected for the youth national team as a regular starter, but after going to high school and going through a long slump, I naturally got away from the Taegeuk mark.

It used to be such a hassle to convene a national team… When he saw the Taegeuk mark, he wondered why he was so envious.
As I was bouncing a plump ball, I was thinking about the old days, and senior Yoon Hyuk’s face caught my eye.

‘That senior is indifferent even against the national team.’

It is so amazing to look through the power analysis table for the national team given by the coaching staff. Does that mean I have a high soccer IQ?

“Let the game begin. To both team positions.”