Field Commander - Chapter 11

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 11.

Chapter 11.

Chapter 11.

– Thump!!

Cheongju FC uses a 3-5-2 formation.

Through three center-backs and multiple midfielders, they stabilized their defense and controlled the midfield, but they had the weakness of not being able to score easily due to a lack of creative players.

Their performance was good, but they often drew or lost matches.

However, when Seo Dong-myung, who was released from the K2 League due to injury, joined as a striker, their scoring ability improved, but they desperately needed a player who could utilize their fast wing-backs.

Park Chang-yeol and the coaching staff followed the trajectory of the ball with their eyes.

“What is he, a computer?”

It was a tactical training test, and Kim Sang-hyuk was accurately distributing passes to both flanks with just one touch, no matter what kind of pass came from the back.

“Didn’t he rarely make passes like that in high school?”

“I watched some footage during lunch break, and that guy hardly ever played long passes. But his performance back then was truly monstrous. The way he blocked all the goals that should have been scored… wow…”

Yang Chang-yeol was watching the scene with his arms crossed while listening to the coaches’ conversation.

– Please help Kim Sang-hyuk play on a stage that suits him. If he succeeds overseas, it will have a very positive impact on Cheongju FC as well.

He looked quite gentle, but once he started talking…

He seemed like a cold-blooded businessman.

‘Jung Seung-jin, was it?’

It was a request to allow him to play for Cheongju FC only until he regained his match sense.

– If a Bundesliga player emerges from Division 3, good players who chase dreams will be able to come to Cheongju FC. Moreover, not only the club’s image but also…

– The manager’s image will improve significantly too. Perhaps the probability of transferring to a higher-level club will also increase.

Seeing Kim Sang-hyuk’s tactical test performance today, Jung Seung-jin’s words weren’t just boasting.

‘If he shows that kind of performance in actual matches, he’s definitely not a player we can keep.’

But well, he hadn’t joined yet.

“Are there cases where skills improve after resting for nearly three years?”

Yang Chang-yeol couldn’t easily answer the coach’s question.

Because he had never seen such a case.

“We’ll need to see him play a real game for an accurate evaluation.”

* * *

Around 4 PM, 22 players were finally selected.

I was among them, but Dong-cheol was eliminated.

“Practice match at 6 PM two days from now, mini-game with the Cheongju FC squad starting at 1 PM on Saturday, and then we’ll select the necessary personnel. Manage your condition well and show everything you can do then.”

They didn’t specify exactly how many people they would select.

It meant they would only pick those who had the skills to play.

Among the remaining applicants, I could see a few people who seemed to recognize me, but none of them came over to acknowledge me.

In a way, they could be competitors.

I headed toward Dong-cheol, who was hanging his head.

Seeing him continuously make mistakes during the tactical test, it seemed like he lacked confidence in his play.

Yet he was the fastest among all the applicants.

I wanted to ask if he was okay, but this guy’s eyes were bloodshot red.

“Am I just not good enough?”

During my depressing childhood, football was my only escape.

I kicked anything that looked like a ball all day long, and when there was no ball, I would roll up newspaper from the street and kick it like a ball.

When I was kicking that, I could forget all the difficult situations and thoughts.

I was so happy when playing football with the neighborhood kids.

But when I entered the high school football club, things changed.

– If you guys don’t achieve at least semi-final results in the regional tournament, the football club might disappear next year.

Unlike many players who grew up steadily through youth systems, I was a player no one paid attention to as a first-year.

To prevent the football club from disappearing, with my lacking skills, the only way to avoid conceding goals was to prevent opponents from properly displaying their abilities.

That was the only method.

One match. One match.

Small successes made with tenacious fighting spirit accumulated to eventually make me who I am today.

“You have clear strengths. You’re very fast. Your fundamentals are good too. I think there’s just one reason for your mistakes.”

“What is it?”

“First, will you continue playing football?”

“If I don’t do this, I can’t really think of anything else I can do.”

“Good. You said you wanted to play football with me, right?”

Dong-cheol nodded.

“If you haven’t given up on football, you need to regain your confidence.”

“Confidence?”

“Yes. Challenge yourself in a slightly lower league and keep creating small successes.”

“Small successes?”

“If those accumulate, someday you’ll be playing alongside me. Wherever that may be.”

In a situation where I’m too busy taking care of myself, this is probably the best I can say to this guy.

* * *

The next day.

At a cafe near my house.

“Over here!”

Jung Seung-jin, whose build looked as generous as his face, waved his hand.

This was our second meeting, but he felt like a familiar neighborhood older brother?

After a light greeting and discussing the entrance test, we got to the main point.

“I had a conversation with the Cheongju FC general manager. Several players who were playing as military service substitute players are transferring to the Second Division League this time, so they need to fill positions, and they’re thinking very positively about Kim Sang-hyuk.”

“I see.”

“If it were a K1 club, they probably would have done their best to keep the player, but the K3 League is a place where countless players pass through every season, so they agreed with Kim Sang-hyuk’s plan. However, instead of the short-term contract we proposed, they mentioned a salary contract. They said that way, even when sending you away, they could write news about a Cheongju FC player advancing to the Bundesliga.”

“They’re not trying to hold me back with that contract, are they?”

“No, they’re not. We concluded the negotiation by adding supplementary clauses to the contract. And since things might change on Freiburg’s side, a salary contract would definitely be better.”

I thought for a moment and then said.

“Was a transfer fee also set?”

“The salary set in the contract will become the transfer fee. Free transfer will be possible after six months.”

If I play for six months, the K3 League will be almost over…

If I transfer before that, they’ll recover their invested funds.

The salary won’t be much, so it won’t be a big burden for the German club either.

I think it would be fine for me too.

He handles things well…?

“Starting from the entrance test practice match, I plan to film videos and continuously send them to Freiburg. From now on, it can be said that it depends on how Kim Sang-hyuk performs.”

“Will you be staying in Korea?”

“I have players I manage in Germany, so I’m planning to station one staff member here.”

“Then what about our contract?”

“As I told you when we first met, we’ll do it when the contract with Freiburg is finalized. When the contract with Cheongju FC ends, I’ll return to Germany and prepare the administrative procedures needed for Kim Sang-hyuk’s transfer.”

This means he’s covering all the administrative expenses for what he’s doing now out of his own pocket…

His attitude was so proactive and positive that it was hard to ask ‘will you be okay?’

“Then please take care of me.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll handle everything else so you can focus solely on soccer.”

* * *

“Is it true that Kim Sang-hyuk from Maedong High School is really among the applicants for this tryout?”

The players belonging to Cheongju FC stirred for a moment.

“Wasn’t his right knee joint completely messed up from Jang Jin-woo’s tackle, making him unable to play soccer?”

“…How did he recover?”

“Good for him. Because of that bastard… I couldn’t get into the university I wanted.”

Park Sang-il, who formed the main striker duo with Seo Dong-myung, gritted his teeth.

He was 22 years old.

He was currently playing for Cheongju FC as an alternative military service member.

He was from Gangwon Jeil High School, one of the most prestigious soccer schools… but because they were always brutally defeated by Maedong High School in regional tournaments, they couldn’t even make it to nationals and he wasn’t evaluated according to his skills.

“Want to get some revenge?”

“I need to get revenge, and brutally at that.”

“How strange. Why do all the forwards who faced Kim Sang-hyuk in tournaments grind their teeth like that?”

“That bastard… he’s been a complete trash scammer since his first year.”

“Scammer?”

“You have no idea how much he chatters throughout the game… His face looks like some gangster, but when he plays, ugh… I’m probably not the only one who got treated like that, right?”

“Oh, tell us more.”

“…And his hands are so dirty. He was the first bastard I saw who would tickle you with his hands during soccer. And when you try to run, he’d grab your uniform slightly and let go… Ugh… He’d just break your balance in a way that the referee wouldn’t call a foul…”

Park Sang-il went on with his tale, and Seo Dong-myung let out a chuckle.

‘So it wasn’t just me he did that to.’

He too had been annoyed to an unpleasant degree during the early morning soccer game.

It was a common occurrence on the professional stage.

It was a place where people overflowing with competitive spirit gathered, so even fouling had become specialized.

“Ugh! Just thinking about that time makes my body tremble. But he’s a tryout applicant? He’s screwed now.”

Park Sang-il said to Seo Dong-myung while gritting his teeth.

“Captain. You’ll help me, right?”

“When a key striker asks for help, I have to help.”

Seo Dong-myung answered with a smile.

“The coach will probably tell us to go easy, but aren’t you all curious? About facing the defender who made Jang Jin-woo, who’s now become Germany’s rising star, look like a fool?”

“I am curious. Just what kind of guy was he… that everyone made such a fuss.”

“Let’s properly evaluate him once. Just how good this guy used to be.”

* * *

Unlike the first test, today’s stadium was filled with silence.

The players taking the test were so full of determination that their faces and bodies seemed stiff.

I was lightly greeting the players who came for the test and warming up by passing the ball around with them, when the Cheongju FC coaches came out.

“Gather around here.”

All the selected applicants were around their early to mid-twenties.

“Since you’re not familiar with Cheongju FC’s tactics yet, we’ll do basic tactical training for about an hour, then have a light practice game for about 30 minutes. We’ll be speaking informally from now on, but it’s not because we don’t respect you – it’s for quick communication, so please understand.”

And they made the basic tactical training so intense that it felt like we’d be exhausted before even playing the game.

It wasn’t just me – I could see everyone gasping and holding their backs when each training set ended.

‘Are they deliberately draining our stamina?’

That was the thought that suddenly occurred to me.

Are they trying to see what kind of performance we show when we’re tired?

If that was the coaches’ intention, then working hard here and wasting energy would be meaningless.

* * *

“I can already see applicants who are cutting corners.”

A coach muttered.

“They’re being smart.”

Park Chang-yeol responded.

“Soccer is a sport where you need to be good at deception. If you’re not smart, you can’t reach a high level in this sport. The guys who assess the situation and conserve their stamina are doing well.”

“Ah, you didn’t create this situation just to figure that out, did you?”

“Players who dribble well and kick the ball well are everywhere. Whether you can go pro or not depends on this.”

Park Chang-yeol pointed to his head with his finger.

“But that guy definitely stands out. Cutting corners so blatantly?”

“Number 201? Maybe he’s already caught on to our intention?”

“That’s highly likely.”

“Should I go warn him?”

“Leave him be. That’s his real weapon.”

Park Chang-yeol and the other judges quietly watched the players’ tactical training.

“But Number 201’s switching long passes are incredibly stable, aren’t they? He keeps putting them in the exact right spaces.”

“His ball trapping is excellent too.”

“He’s using his left foot, right?”

“Yes.”

Park Chang-yeol stroked his beard.

“That guy’s left foot used to be his dominant foot.”

“Usually you trap with your weak foot and continue the next move with your dominant foot, right?”

“That’s why… watching him continuously, it seems like his right foot has become his dominant foot.”

“Isn’t that ambidextrous? It looks like he could trap with his right foot and then pass with his left foot too.”

“But he’s hiding it.”

“…”

“The guys playing with him won’t know that he’s ambidextrous.”

“To deceive them during the game?”

“I’d say that’s very much his intention.”

Park Chang-yeol chuckled.

“That’s… Kim Sang-hyuk for you. Now then, let’s see what our applicants can do.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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