Field Commander - Chapter 21

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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 21.

Chapter 21.

Chapter 21.

A few days passed.

Schmaike was disappointed to hear that Cheongju FC’s next match wasn’t a league game but a practice match against a high school soccer club.

Considering the level difference between a semi-professional club made up of adults and a high school club, he thought there was no need to watch, but since he had instructions to observe for two weeks, he decided to watch anyway.

However, when he entered the stadium stands, he couldn’t help but be flustered enough to feel his heart sink.

“Michel?”

It was because a scout from Mainz was at this place.

She also spotted Schmaike and showed a perplexed expression.

“Schmaike?”

While they didn’t know all the Bundesliga scouts, Michel had once moved from Freiburg to Mainz, so they knew each other’s faces.

“What brings you here?”

Schmaike asked Michel with a wary expression, and Michel also answered with a tense look.

“I came to watch the game. Why are you here?”

“Well, I also… came to watch the game.”

A strange silence flowed between the two.

“Do you have any players you’re interested in?”

“Well… a defender.”

When Michel spoke casually, Schmaike’s face filled with worry.

Mainz.

While Freiburg had been becoming a complete mess recently, Mainz had entered the Bundesliga through the skills of a promising new manager named Jürgen Klopp, and had since maintained a stable mid-table position for nearly four seasons.

Although Klopp had transferred to Dortmund, he had achieved such great accomplishments that he received applause from all Mainz fans in his final game.

Based on that foundation, they were a team aiming for 6th-7th place this season, which was completely different from Freiburg’s situation of struggling in the relegation zone.

If you knew even a little about the Bundesliga situation…

Want to go to Freiburg? Want to go to Mainz?

If you asked players, most would choose Mainz.

However, Michel’s heart was also racing with anxiety.

Mainz was also a team that was always financially strapped like Freiburg.

They were maintaining good results because Jürgen Klopp had brought in good players at ridiculously cheap prices with his excellent leadership, but after Klopp left, the players he had brought were also preparing for FA transfers instead of contract renewals.

It was impossible to sign European-South American players of similar level to the departing players, so they were turning their attention to Asia as an alternative.

They had come directly because they heard there was a center-back in Korea who was called a monster despite his young age.

Unlike Mainz, which had spent a lot of money even going into debt under the Klopp system, Freiburg maintained a management style of using players they had developed themselves, so Michel thought Freiburg would have more money to spend.

“Hahaha. Really? I’m also looking at a defender.”

Sparks flew from both their eyes in an instant.

“Well then. Watch carefully.”

“You too.”

Although they had come to see different players, a strange misunderstanding had begun.

The two turned around sharply and immediately pulled out their mobile phones.

* * *

“That guy? Number 3?”

“That’s right, hyung. He’s a head taller than the other guys.”

“Look at his body. I feel like I’d die if I collided with him?”

I could hear Park Sang-il and Seo Dong-myung joking around while warming up.

They were saying scary things, that they’d die, but… actually our players were full of confidence about how they’d handle these kids today.

All the players here were ones who had been called geniuses and legends during their youth days.

They weren’t even thinking about losing in a practice match against a high school.

“Hyungs! Let’s beat them!!”

When the Cheongju FC players were full of confidence, the Suwon Technical High School players seemed relatively intimidated.

But Kang Min-jae shouted in a voice mixed with dialect.

“The ball is round and we don’t know who will win!”

He has Park Sang-il’s build but runs like Seo Dong-myung…

Actually, I couldn’t imagine such a sight either.

It’s a natural law of physics that if you have a large physique, your agility decreases and acceleration is slow.

He was called a monster because he broke free from that.

While I was paying attention to that side, Park Sang-il and Seo Dong-myung’s gazes were elsewhere.

“It’s just a practice match, but there are several foreigners here, and I can see people who look like scouts? Oh, isn’t that person… the Olympic National Team manager?”

“That’s right. It’s senior Hwang Ki-ho.”

At those words, I also turned my head.

One of the protagonists of the 2002 World Cup semi-final miracle.

“The Olympics were U-23, right?”

“Right.”

“Could there be an opportunity for us too?”

“Not us, but you guys.”

Seo Dong-myung pointed at me and Park Sang-il.

“Playing in front of people like that isn’t an opportunity that comes easily. Today, show them the professional wall that’s hard for amateurs to overcome.”

“Oh my. My joints. The Olympics are right around the corner, so what opportunity is this? Since they say Coach Hong might go as the successor to the National Team manager, there’s an opportunity for everyone. Will my joints be okay today?”

Lee Soon-deok casually joined the conversation.

“With hyung’s current joints, it would be too much.”

When Seo Dong-myung answered, Lee Soon-deok smiled.

“Hehehe… There’s no match fee today, so let’s take it easy. Take it easy.”

Truly professional.

You need money to move.

A professional mindset.

After warming up and before the game started, we all gathered together and lightly shook hands.

“Senior! Please take care of us!”

“Please take care.”

The Suwon Technical High School team bowing deeply and greeting respectfully.

Cheongju FC responding with smiles.

“You look like you’re good at sports.”

When I said this while shaking hands with Kang Min-jae, this guy grinned broadly.

“You seem like that too, senior. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“Me?”

“Yes.”

Kang Min-jae making a strangely meaningful expression.

“Please take care of us today.”

Quite polite too.

I kind of like him?

* * *

There were no major changes in our starting lineup.

The opponent used a somewhat defensive 4-4-2 formation.

As expected of a team that had dominated high school tournaments, their organization was very good.

They gave almost no space between the defense-midfield-attack lines, making it very difficult for us to develop our attacks.

The same was true for the Suwon Technical High School team, but they were operating too defensively, so their counter attacks weren’t developing properly.

Though honestly, I was cutting off almost everything at my line.

‘Their pass routes are very predictable.’

There’s a rumor that the better you can deceive your opponent, the more likely you are to become an outstanding player.

Because if you can’t do this when facing a player more skilled than yourself, you’ll definitely get eaten alive.

It’s natural to expect that from youth teams, but it’s asking too much.

But…

“That bastard Park Sang-il…”

He kept getting beaten by Kang Min-jae, who looked more slender than Park Sang-il.

The guy who should be winning physical battles and connecting the ball to nearby players was missing every pass that came up.

Because Kang Min-jae jumped higher, was faster, and made decisions quicker.

Even so, we couldn’t connect the ball to Seo Dong-myung because the opposing defenders were positioned too tightly.

No matter how good the through pass was, most got blocked, so we kept circulating the ball only in the back field.

After this situation continued for about 20 minutes, the flow of the game began to change.

Suwon Technical High School’s morale was rising and their movement was getting better, while our team that had been pressing attacks early was gradually being pushed back.

“Ugh!”

Well, that didn’t mean those guys could break through our defense.

I leisurely watched the opposing striker who had been pushed back and tumbled in the physical battle with me, then passed the stolen ball to the back field.

The reason I focused on defensive stability rather than fully showing my skills was to draw out the opponent’s complacency.

‘They should start coming out soon, right?’

Mood rising, coaches yelling to attack…

Naturally, it was a predictable sequence for high school students who were still developing rather than complete to get intoxicated by the atmosphere and come out aggressively.

And perhaps everyone was thinking the same thing, as our team players also retreated little by little with somewhat tense expressions.

Sure enough…

Kang Min-jae, who had won the physical battle against Park Sang-il, began driving forward with the stolen ball.

Just when it seemed Seo Dong-myung and the left wingback would prevent him from advancing, he broke through them in an instant.

Lee Soon-deok rushed in with surprise, and Suwon Technical High School’s strikers ran into the open space.

When even the midfielder followed out when he should have retreated, the defensive line above me was completely exposed.

“Hold your positions!”

I shouted and retreated, but that bastard Kang Min-jae didn’t pass to the rushing striker but instead used his speed to break through the two players clinging to him.

A situation where the opposing strikers outnumbered our defenders.

‘He’s really damn fast.’

Thinking that if I delayed even a little I wouldn’t be able to catch up to that speed, I boldly rushed toward Kang Min-jae instead of the ball.

– Thud!

‘Ow!’

I tackled him head-on, but why am I falling down too?

Only after rolling on the ground several times could I see the sky.

When I turned my eyes, Kang Min-jae was also collapsed near me, panting heavily.

– Tweet!!!

As expected, the referee’s whistle sounded, and he immediately pulled out a yellow card toward me.

If there hadn’t been a center-back in the back, it probably would have been a red card.

“Ah…”

I heard Kang Min-jae’s groan near my ear.

“That’s no joke. I thought I avoided it.”

Avoided what?

You bastard?

Who were you trying to get past?

‘This kid is completely legit?’

And a feeling swept through my mind.

I got up and made eye contact with Kang Min-jae.

“You’re pretty good?”

The guy answered while enduring the pain.

“Hehe. Thank you. Hearing that from you, senior, makes me think I need to do even better.”

At those words, I could only give a wicked smile instead of answering.

‘Yeah. You’ll need to do better. Because I’m going to torment you a lot from now on.’

* * *

“Whoa…”

Schmaike jumped up at the bigger collision.

Seeing both players get up immediately, he sighed with relief.

In a situation like that, it wouldn’t be strange if either player got injured.

“But isn’t that Number 3 a center-back?”

What kind of center-back drives the ball alone and goes up to attack?

Apart from that, his footwork was good and his speed was… really incredible.

“He’s a 16-year-old player named Kang Min-jae.”

At the interpreter’s words, Schmaike’s eyes widened.

“16 years old? With that physique?”

Moreover, he had thought Cheongju FC’s Number 9 Park Sang-il played quite well in previous games, but today he couldn’t do anything against that player.

Even if he hadn’t stopped him with a foul this time, he probably would have gotten a decisive opportunity.

‘Kim Sang-hyuk’s decision making is still amazing. If he had hesitated even a little, he wouldn’t have been able to catch up to that speed.’

And naturally, his eyes couldn’t help but be drawn to Kang Min-jae.

‘Why are there so many rough diamonds who will succeed greatly in this area?’

Realizing at a glance that Kang Min-jae was a player who would make it big in the future, he looked at Michel who was watching the game from a distance.

‘Could it be that she was scouting that young player?’

In the case of youth players, their physique is often not fully developed.

Since changes in physique often disrupt balance and prevent skills from showing, scouts use the expression “scratching lottery tickets” when recruiting youth players.

But Kang Min-jae’s case was somewhat different.

The feeling of a so-called super prospect who could play in the first team from his teens?

“Those people over there are Korean Olympic Team coaches.”

The interpreter that Jung Seung-jin had provided pointed to people nearby who were writing something down.

“Their gaze is fixed on Number 3 in the blue uniform. They’re probably considering whether to select him for the national team or not.”

At those words, Schmaike looked at Michel sitting in the distance and gave up his desire for Kang Min-jae.

‘He’s not a player we can bring over.’

If he’s receiving that much attention…

We can’t compete with other clubs with abundant finances.

Meanwhile, Michel, Mainz’s scout, had come to see Kang Min-jae but her gaze kept getting stuck on the opposing team’s Number 28.

‘What’s with that player? How many interceptions is he making?’

Anyone with even a little knowledge of soccer tactics could tell that Number 28 Kim Sang-hyuk was the core of Cheongju FC’s defense and the link in their attacks.

Even when Suwon Technical High School came out with counter attacks, the ball almost always stopped in front of that player.

Whether it came from below or through the air.

There were no cases where it properly led to a counter attack.

He didn’t show any flashy individual skills or dribble breakthroughs, but his pass connections were too smooth.

Of course, since Suwon Technical High School used tactics focused on preventing goals rather than high pressing, she couldn’t see his exact abilities, but he was a player who kept catching her eye.

Then when Kang Min-jae, the final defender, suddenly used his speed to break through the opponent, he blocked his path, and it was the first time today she saw Kang Min-jae bounce off like that.

Of course, Number 28 also rolled on the ground several times from the impact.

“If he hadn’t stopped that, it would have been a scoring crisis, but his decision making is incredibly good too?”

Michel had come to see Kang Min-jae, but her gaze kept being drawn to Number 28.

When about 5 more minutes of the game had passed, Cheongju FC, who had been playing almost a half-court game, made the first substitution.

They substituted the defensively-oriented right wingback, and this player was also incredibly fast, just like Cheongju FC’s Number 11.

Just before the end of the first half.

“…Huh?”

Cheongju FC’s Number 28, who had only been playing the role of stable defense and pass connection, stole the ball from the opposing striker with intense pressure.

And he instantly shook off two players who were rushing to stop the counter attack with light body movements.

Michel caught sight of the bewildered expressions on the players who had been beaten.

‘He’s never shown anything like that before?’

And as if there was no need to touch the ball, he made a long pass just like that.

– Bang!

A powerful but fast and low bullet-like right-footed pass.

Michel’s gaze turned to Kang Min-jae, who was struggling after being momentarily blocked by the physically strong Number 9 striker.

‘Coordinated movement. Attacking tactics.’

But as if nothing had happened, he overcame Number 9 in the physical battle and started running toward the ball.

‘He’s late… it seems… huh?’

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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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