Field Commander - Chapter 19

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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 19.

Chapter 19.

Chapter 19.

After that, I came on as a substitute at the start of the second half in every match.

Though I desperately wanted to start, there were many advantages to playing in the second half.

First, I had time to observe the opposing players and understand their tactical movements.

The coaching staff showed us videos of the opposing team and analyzed them before the match started, but watching directly from the stadium was much better.

Which players were in good or bad condition.

Who had what habits.

How the opposing team responded overall in various situations.

When data accumulated bit by bit in my head, I could make better decisions quickly.

My synesthetic ability also became more active.

Cheongju FC had 3 wins and 1 loss in the last 4 matches.

I had 3 goals and 2 assists during that time.

– Are you really a defender? Why do you have more goals than me?

Park Sang-il muttered constantly.

– Don’t score goals, just pass the ball.

After playing with Park Sang-il, I could see why he couldn’t leave K3.

His linking play and ability to receive the ball with his back to goal were good, but his finishing was poor.

A striker who received countless opportunities scored only 2 goals in 5 matches.

– Go back to foot touch training.

– Will that help me score goals?

– It’s better than not doing it.

After training ended, he started doing ball juggling training and several other exercises for about 30 minutes a day.

‘He’s in K3 now, but if he works hard, he’ll be in K League 1 in a few years.’

His mouth was annoying, but he was actually a very diligent guy.

The 1 loss was against Hwaseong FC, who had been aiming for K League 2 promotion for a long time, with all team members having K League 1 experience, and there was a clear difference from Cheongju FC in terms of play refinement.

We couldn’t score the goals we should have scored, while they scored when they needed to.

And the team we’re facing tomorrow is Siheung Citizens Club, last year’s champions who have been at the top with Hwaseong FC since the beginning of the season.

“I’ll announce tomorrow’s match lineup.”

The time when all players were most focused and nervous.

“Goalkeeper Na Jung-seok.”

Applause erupted from here and there.

He joined the team with me and clearly had better saves and decision making than the current starting goalkeeper.

It seemed like he would become a starter soon, but he finally got his chance.

I also clapped enthusiastically for him.

“Th… Thank you. I’ll work hard.”

He had a somewhat introverted personality and always got scolded by the coach for speaking too quietly, so now he spoke loudly and clearly.

After all, it’s a position where you have to constantly shout at players from behind.

“Center back Yoo Young-sang.”

That means…

“… Defensive midfielder Kim Sang-hyuk.”

“Wow, you’re starting now?”

I also received applause from the players.

“Strikers Park Sang-il, Lee Chang-su.”

Since Seo Dong-myung, the captain and star striker, couldn’t play due to accumulated yellow cards, Lee Chang-su also got his chance.

Park Chang-yeol, who announced the lineup, approached the players who were dropped from the starting eleven and lightly patted their backs.

“As I always say, this is professional. In the end, skill is everything. You need to work harder and show better performances.”

The manager turned his gaze to the players.

“Tomorrow’s match in particular will be a very difficult game. And it’s a test to see if we can achieve promotion.”

The difference from Hwaseong FC was that they had won K3 League several times but had no intention of going to K League 2.

Except for their organizational teamwork being superior to other teams after working together for a long time, the individual abilities of players weren’t as outstanding as Hwaseong FC, according to the manager’s explanation.

“You need to make good decisions so you’re not swayed by the opponent’s passes, focus on the frequent switching plays. And the way to break through their solid defensive organization and score goals is to create set play situations.”

* * *

On the way back to the dormitory after training, I received a call from agent Jung Seung-jin.

– How have you been?

– Fine. How have you been?

– Thanks to you. I’m happiest when the players I manage perform well in matches.

– Haha. Thank you.

– Actually, Freiburg, which I mentioned before, has sent a scout.

I was already enjoying playing soccer so much recently, and now that a Bundesliga club was sending scouts as Jung Seung-jin had planned, it felt like the tangled knots of my life were finally being untied.

– Oh, really? Already?

– I received some indication that the club found player Sang-hyuk’s match videos very interesting. Seeing that they’ve expanded their scouting range to send someone, they seem very interested.

– How long will they be here?

– They’ll probably stay and observe for about 2 weeks.

At least 2 matches.

– You’ve been doing very well so far. If you show that same performance in upcoming matches, the probability of going to Germany will increase greatly.

– Are there things they particularly like?

– Oh, of course. They tend to like players who can maintain concentration and produce results even in extreme physical battle situations.

What soccer player wouldn’t get excited hearing this?

I tossed and turned a bit at night, and woke up to Park Sang-il’s snoring.

“Ah, damn…”

It sounded like a tank passing by.

I looked at the guy sleeping sprawled out without a care in the world, then got up.

I changed clothes and went outside for a short walk.

Come to think of it, my right leg.

At first, since it was a leg that always hurt, I was constantly worried about it, but now I didn’t worry about it.

I could focus solely on playing, and my leg didn’t interfere with that at all.

‘Ultimately, Korea’s World Cup victory.’

Otherwise, everything I’m experiencing now and everything I’ll have in the future would turn to bubbles…

It’s almost impossible for one player to change a team.

Because it’s a team sport.

Unless you become a great player who can have overall influence on the team, beyond just being an outstanding player.

At first, it seemed like an impossible goal, but with the gradually improving situation, I could have a little hope.

And for the first time in a while, I had that thought.

‘What can I do to develop much further?’

* * *

“But there’s a foreigner here?”

Foreigners rarely come to Division 3 league matches.

Occasionally they’re seen when recruiting foreign players, but currently Cheongju FC had no foreign players.

Also, I had never seen foreign tourists until now.

“A foreigner?”

“Yes. It doesn’t seem like he just came here casually.”

The coach pointed to one side.

Today’s attendance was about half of the first day’s 1,200 spectators.

That made it even more noticeable.

When I was coaching at a K League team, foreign spectators were frequent.

Among them were often scouts, who would always bring interpreters just like that foreigner over there.

“Could it be a scout?”

“Well, that’s possible.”

Only Kim Sang-hyuk and the club owner know about his contract with the club.

“Who could it be?”

“Who else but Kim Sang-hyuk.”

The coaches shared their opinions.

“Whoever they came to see, it could be motivating for the players.”

He didn’t know which Bundesliga club Kim Sang-hyuk was connected to either.

Only that the contract was made to allow transfers when the time comes.

‘I need to use that guy a bit more…’

Only a month had passed, but no one disagreed that Kim Sang-hyuk was the core of Cheongju FC’s defense.

It was even more regrettable to let him go since the defender scored goals well too.

“Should I tell the players?”

“Not now. Around when the first half ends.”

Meanwhile, Schmaike took a seat on the Cheongju FC side.

“This is really Korea’s 3rd Division League?”

The interpreter nodded.

“That’s right.”

“For a 3rd division semi-pro league, isn’t the attendance too low?”

“The Second Division League doesn’t have spectators either.”

“Well, that’s interesting. To think so many good soccer players come from a country like this.”

The interpreter was about to answer but closed his mouth.

There was no need to explain that failing at soccer meant your life would hit rock bottom.

“…Well, the quiet atmosphere is perfect for watching a match.”

The interpreter soon pointed with his finger.

“That player wearing number 5 is Kim Sang-hyuk.”

The performance shown in the video had satisfied even the club owner.

Now it was Schmaike’s job to watch the match directly and analyze the player’s level, what position would suit him, how to train him to improve his skills, and how to fit him into the team’s tactics.

The match started with Siheung Citizens’ kickoff.

‘Wow… the level is quite impressive?’

A country on the periphery of soccer.

A 3rd division match with so few spectators you’d wonder how they maintain the clubs.

He hadn’t expected much, but both teams showed good player movement, tempo, and organization.

‘They seem better than our reserve team?’

Having worked as a coach for Freiburg II, Schmaike knew well about match quality.

The Siheung team didn’t show any outstanding players, but their offensive and defensive organization was very solid, as if they’d been working together for a long time. They didn’t look like a team that would lose easily.

Cheongju FC had big differences in individual player capabilities and seemed to have slight problems with their attack, but the defense coordinated by number 5 looked like they would never concede a goal.

‘Number 5. Kim Sang-hyuk.’

He couldn’t help but notice him because of his movement that densely blocked the opponent’s passing lanes.

At first glance it looked like he was just wandering around, but from a distance you could see he was reading and blocking the opponent’s passing routes.

Something that couldn’t be seen in the video.

‘He’s better than expected?’

Unable to feed the ball to the striker from the center, they kept spreading wide, but there they were consistently back-passing due to Cheongju FC’s very fast defenders.

“But which of the two teams has better results?”

The interpreter answered.

“The Siheung team was last year’s champion.”

“That team?”

“Yes. They’re undefeated this season too.”

“What about the Cheongju team?”

“8th out of 13 teams. They’d been mid-table for several years, but they’re 3rd this year.”

It was around 20 minutes when both sides couldn’t mount proper attacks.

“…Huh?”

The moment the Siheung team, having stolen the ball from attacking Cheongju FC, unhesitatingly sent a through pass toward their forward, Kim Sang-hyuk’s sliding tackle caught his eye.

In a situation where you couldn’t tell if the pass or the sliding came first, Kim Sang-hyuk barely managed to intercept the through pass.

As soon as he regained his balance, as if in retaliation, he sent a through pass to Player 34 who was penetrating the opponent’s collapsed line during the counter attack.

An unexpected interception, a sharp through pass with no time to think.

If the opposing center back hadn’t grabbed and pulled down the striker’s uniform, it would have been a 1-on-1 situation with the goalkeeper.

– Tweet!

A red card came out immediately.

The Siheung players rushed to the referee protesting that a red card was too harsh, but according to the revised FIFA rules, it was clearly an ejection.

Schmaike took a deep breath for a moment.

‘Is there any player in our club who could make a play like that?’

No matter how much he thought about it, no player came to mind who could make such an interception or such a through pass.

He briefly looked around.

To see if there were any other scouts like himself.

* * *

“Ah! What a waste.”

Lee Chang-su, who had feinted against the marking defender at perfect timing and headed toward the goal post, kicked the innocent grass.

He seemed confident he would have scored if he hadn’t been fouled.

‘But that was dangerous.’

Without the synesthetic ability, I wouldn’t have known the through pass would come in so fast and unexpectedly.

Even though I slid with all my strength… I was really lucky it barely caught my toe.

Looking at our line, if I had missed it, we would have given them a perfect 1-on-1 chance.

“That was amazing. The defenders couldn’t predict you’d turn and run at that timing.”

“I trusted you could do that.”

They seemed to know each other from playing together since the entrance test.

Actually, if I had aimed for a goal, I would have spread it more to the right for the through pass.

But the defender marking Lee Chang-su seemed to keep playing rough, so I tried to draw a foul and it worked.

The opposing center back, who seemed heated and glared at me for a while, left the field huffing, and the opposing coach was preparing a substitution with a flustered expression.

“Come on. The opponent is down one player! From now on, it’s your time!”

Park Chang-yeol shouted.

“If you keep trusting me, there will be good results.”

Lee Chang-su smiled and nodded at my answer.

‘I must have scored good points with the manager just now.’

I immediately entered the opponent’s penalty area.

This was our first set piece, showing how high the opponent’s concentration had been today.

And the opponent was much shorter than our team.

Knowing this, rather than setting up a wall, they all came in for close marking.

The determination to prevent proper jumping.

– Opponents weak in height won’t set up many walls in set piece situations. We’ll target that aspect.

Lee Soon-deok, who had good kicking ability, stood alone in front of the ball.

“Oh my, my joints.”

Although I couldn’t hear the sound, his lips moved that way.

That’s how intensely focused I was on this match right now.

With the referee’s whistle, Lee Soon-deok kicked a sharp shot.

Since there wasn’t much of a wall, the spinning ball curved into the right corner.

Befitting the goalkeeper of a 3rd Division League championship team, the Sade Goalkeeper read the trajectory and dove.

At that moment, I caught sight of a thick trajectory being drawn about 2 meters ahead.

Synesthesia!

‘It’s going to bounce out.’

The moment I thought that, I pushed away the player grabbing and hanging onto my uniform and ran forward.

– Riiip!

The sound of my uniform tearing reached my ears from how hard he had grabbed it.

– Thunk!

The sound of the ball hitting the goal post and bouncing out, and at the same time I screamed and threw my body forward.

I don’t know why I screamed, but I was probably annoyed by the player who kept grabbing my torn uniform.

Thanks to that I lost my balance, but I didn’t lose my concentration.

It was almost like a bicycle kick situation where I just swung my leg to match the trajectory.

– Thud!

At that moment I felt the ball settle on my foot, and I twisted my waist with all my strength and swung my leg.

– Swoosh!

The sound of the net splitting.

“Waaahhh!!!”

The roar of our team players!

As I fell onto the soft natural grass, I clenched my fist tight.

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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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