Field Commander - Chapter 34

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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 34.

Chapter 34.

Chapter 34.

The dakgalbi restaurant in front of the university was packed with young students.

Among them sat two middle-aged men, enjoying their meal with drinks.

“I heard you’ve been doing well in the league lately.”

“It’s because the players are performing well.”

“They say football is a manager’s game.”

“Well, that’s somewhat true. But what’s this about all of a sudden?”

At Park Chang-yeol’s question, Lee Sang-cheol had no intention of beating around the bush.

“Sang-hyuk played for Cheongju FC, didn’t he?”

“Yeah.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Was there any need to mention it? Manager Hwang saw him directly.”

“Really?”

Suddenly, he remembered what Lee Ho-nam had said about seeing him when he went to check on Hwang Ki-ho and Kang Min-jae’s match.

“I guess his ability didn’t look that impressive from their perspective.”

From Park Chang-yeol’s barbed comment, Lee Sang-cheol could quickly figure out what was going on.

“Well, I’m currently the Olympic team manager. How’s that guy? Is he good?”

Park Chang-yeol could also figure out why Lee Sang-cheol had suddenly sought him out.

‘He’ll probably lie and say he happened to be in the area and thought to call.’

When Park Chang-yeol lifted his drink, Lee Sang-cheol shook his head.

“I have to drive.”

Now it was certain.

Lee Sang-cheol had come down specifically to ask about Kim Sang-hyuk.

“There’s an old saying, isn’t there? Class never changes. He wasn’t a player meant for the Third Division League.”

“Really?”

“He transferred to the German fourth division, but he’ll be promoted to the first team of the same club soon.”

“If it’s Freiburg’s first team, then…”

“That’s the Bundesliga.”

Lee Sang-cheol’s eyes sparkled.

“But why are you suddenly asking about that guy? Isn’t the final roster already decided?”

“Kim Woo-young, who was playing for Kyoto Sanga FC, got injured and can’t participate.”

“Injured? Kim Woo-young…”

“There’s no suitable replacement available.”

That couldn’t be true.

K League 1, K League 2

“The goal for this Olympic team is to win medals. That’s been the target from the beginning, and that’s where the investment has gone.”

So they included goalkeeper Kim Sung-ryong, who is on the national team as a wildcard, and Arsenal striker Jung Joo-young.

There was also Jang Jin-woo, who was competing for the top scorer title in the Bundesliga.

If Park Hong-min had come as well, it would truly be the greatest attacking lineup of all time, but Tottenham refused to release him.

“He’s a player currently playing in the third and fourth division leagues. Are you confident you can handle this? And isn’t selecting a new player at this point too much of a risky move? There’s going to be pushback from all sides.”

“I don’t want to worry about all that stuff. Let them make all the noise they want. I just want to know what that guy’s current skill level is.”

Park Chang-yeol let the beer flow lightly into his mouth.

“Remember back then? When we were watching Sanghyuk’s game and said that bastard could definitely help us win the championship if he joined our team?”

“Yeah. The team actually contacted me directly.”

“You haven’t forgotten what we talked about—bringing them in, fixing these issues, developing these abilities further… right?”

“Yeah.”

“When they came to our team, they already had all of that equipped.”

“Really?”

You can’t expect a sudden surge in a soccer player’s physical abilities or technical skills once they pass the age of 20.

Use the skills and physicality you’ve acquired so far to produce results.

In the process, non-physical abilities such as reading the game are improved.

“He played in a lower-level league, so I can’t guarantee his skills 100%, but he’s definitely someone you won’t regret picking up.”

Three consecutive league wins, including the first match.

According to Freiburg II coaches, it’s the first time in 14 years.

If they win the next game too, it would be a 4-game winning streak including the season opener, which would be a first in the team’s minor league history.

Perhaps that’s why everyone seems to be in a good mood and makes a good impression.

“Hey, Kim! Good morning.”

Even the snobbish guys who never paid much attention to me now wave and greet me warmly when they see me.

It would be the aftermath of the league game.

They’re mostly arrogant guys who used to be starters here, but they all act friendly.

“Yeah.”

That said, there’s no reason not to return a greeting.

Greetings are the most basic courtesy between people, aside from soccer.

No matter which country you go to.

But Gunter, who had exercised with me at dawn, didn’t respond well to their greetings.

“Hey, acknowledge the greeting.”

“Who are you to tell me what to do?”

He’s really difficult to handle in many ways.

If it had been another Korean, I would have smacked that disrespectful little punk upside the head and cursed him out for being so rude.

“Rude little shit.”

Then he mutters in Korean, which the guy can’t understand.

“You just need to pass it to me. The game will be over in no time.”

He tries to repeat the Korean words right away, not knowing that they’re curse words.

“Pronounce it properly. What is that supposed to be?”

“You should focus on your own German.”

Just because we both played well in three games together doesn’t mean his competitive spirit has softened.

Rather, it’s a situation where tempers are flaring.

Because I was the Man of the Match (MOM) in both of the first two games, and Gunter was MOM in the final game.

If a call-up came from the majors, it would likely be Nile.

It’s also amusing to watch them huffing and puffing like jealous little children.

“Now that everyone’s here, have a seat.”

The coach came in and began briefing about tomorrow’s game.

The team they’ll face tomorrow is Frankfurt II

They also had 3 wins but were in 2nd place due to goal difference.

‘Isn’t Frankfurt famous for sausages?’

While he was having such idle thoughts, Klaus brought up the screen.

“As you can see from the records here, Frankfurt has far more goals from midfielders than from forwards.

Looking at the records, that’s definitely the case.

The three strikers scored only 1 goal across 3 games.

Four midfielders recorded a whopping 7 goals.

Our team’s main forwards Antonio and Smith combined for 9 goals, while our midfield including myself scored 5 goals, so it is different.

“It’s not just this season – it was the same last season, and the first team is identical too.”

Then there’s only one thing I can deduce.

“The role of this team’s forwards is to act as decoys and defend. They open up space in front for the midfield line that has good shooting power and finishing ability. It’s a team that does strong high pressing defense, and the forwards move like center backs.”

Klaus’s gaze turned toward me.

“As you probably felt in the previous match, opposing teams are now starting to analyze and respond to our team’s tactics.”

In the previous match, a big and fast center back came out as a forward to mark me one-on-one.

If that guy had been smart too, it would have been tough…

He was moving so honestly following me that when I switched positions with other players a few times, it resulted in their defensive line collapsing.

Although I didn’t get any attacking points because of that guy, the team won 3-0.

“The position switching you guys showed during the match was very satisfactory, and you’ll need to do the same this time.”

After about 30 minutes of briefing, Klaus called me over.

“Kim. Come to my office after the briefing ends.”

I was wondering what it could be about when I got up, and Gunter approached me.

“You. If you get called up before me, I’ll curse you forever.”

Ah, this crazy bastard.

He’s really obsessed with weird things.

* * *

‘Could it really be a first team call-up?’

Because of Gunter, I too felt my heart flutter a bit from slight anticipation and false hope.

“Sit there.”

As I sat in front of Klaus’s desk, he rested his chin on his hand for a moment.

It was a really short time, but it felt too long and I finally couldn’t stand it.

“Am I getting called up?”

“Why, do you want to go up already? To that place… crawling with monsters?”

“I just need to become a monster too. Whatever.”

Klaus smiled gently.

“That’s truly an excellent answer.”

Am I really getting called up?

“Unfortunately, it’s not a call-up.”

Ah, my energy just deflated.

“Then why did you call me?”

He handed me a piece of paper.

“A request came from the KFA.”

KFA?

Korea Football Association?

“They want to call you up for this London Olympic team.”

At this completely unexpected news, I felt momentarily dazed.

“Huh?”

“The club has been considering whether to send you or not.”

What!

What do you mean considering whether to send me or not?

You should just send me!

The Olympic team isn’t the National Team, but it’s the best shortcut to get there.

“You want to go, right?”

“Yes.”

“Any soccer player would feel that way.”

Money aside, it’s a place of glory.

Being on the National Team.

For me, it’s the best means to approach the goal I need to achieve.

“First team manager Streich is watching you very closely. You know how difficult the first team’s situation is right now, don’t you?”

When the second team was 3 wins out of 3, the first team was 3 losses out of 3.

Bottom of the Bundesliga.

Almost all media outlets are pointing to them as a likely relegation team.

“Of course.”

“He wants you to adapt to the German league a bit faster. But he’s concerned that if you participate in the Olympics, your adaptation will be delayed.”

There was no mention of any disruption to second team matches.

And I couldn’t agree with that statement.

“Why does he think that? Monsters under 23 will be playing in those matches, right? I think I could adapt faster by competing with them instead?”

“Aren’t you afraid your ability will be exposed?”

“Well. I still don’t know how far I can go myself.”

Since I haven’t played in a high-level league.

At my answer, Klaus drummed his fingers on the desk and raised the left corner of his mouth.

He always has that habit when he finds something interesting.

This person.

“So you want to go?”

“Of course.”

“Even though attending there might delay your first team call-up?”

“Yes.”

Korea’s World Cup victory is the final destination of my soccer career.

“You don’t need to think about it at all?”

“I want to go. I can’t compromise on that even an inch.”

I expressed my intention firmly.

Then Klaus nodded.

“This is troublesome. We’re suddenly losing two core players from the team.”

Why do I feel such relief at those words?

The tension just left my shoulders.

Two people means…

Gunter is attending as part of the German team?

And the tension returned to my relaxed shoulders.

‘Ah, that shameless bastard. If I run into him, I’ll have to really mess him up.’

Klaus handed me something.

“They say Koreans have strong loyalty to their country over their own interests.”

“…”

“I already knew what answer you would give.”

What he handed me was a plane ticket.

“Go straight to London. I hear Korea’s team is training there.”

* * *

“It’s a shame Hong-min isn’t here.”

“That guy needs to get military exemption too.”

“His club refused to release him, so there’s nothing we can do.”

“Won’t that mess up his soccer career?”

Jang Jin-woo was talking with the players in the conference room of a small soccer field in humid London.

“First, we need to advance to the semifinals for us to get military exemption too.”

“We have to make it to the semifinals.”

When Jang Jin-woo spoke, the other players nodded their heads.

“Even without Hong-min, we have Jin-woo, so as long as we don’t concede goals, we’ll manage somehow.”

Jang Jin-woo shook his head at his senior’s words.

“Without support from behind, I can’t score goals either. All the players participating in this Olympics are from European First Division, right? If we let our guard down, we’ll be eliminated in the preliminaries. Hong-min not being able to come is really critical. There’s no player on our team with that level of speed and finishing ability…”

Before Jang Jin-woo could continue, Jung Joo-young glared at him.

“That’s a bit harsh, don’t you think?”

The national team’s tactics were 4-3-3.

With one striker up top, Jung Joo-young, who belonged to Arsenal, the world’s best club, but couldn’t play properly, and Jang Jin-woo, a rising rookie, were clashing sharply within the team.

Just as the atmosphere was about to turn cold, team captain Gu Ji-cheol opened the conference room door and entered.

“Did you hear the news? Kim Woo-young’s replacement?”

Since Kim Woo-young wasn’t a starter but a reserve player, most players weren’t paying much attention, but they couldn’t ignore the captain’s words.

“Who is it?”

Kim Seong-ryong, the goalkeeper selected as a hidden card, spoke up.

“Hyung, have you heard of Kim Sang-hyuk from Maedong High School?”

“Who?”

Kim Seong-ryong tilted his head, but the most surprised by those words was Jang Jin-woo.

His eyes trembled so much that everyone nearby could see it.

“What? Kim Sang-hyuk?”

Jang Jin-woo spoke so loudly that the conference room echoed.

Then Jung Joo-young, who had been quietly sitting, opened his mouth.

“Ah, that defensive genius that Jang Jin-woo destroyed?”

At those words, Jang Jin-woo glared at Jung Joo-young with cold eyes.

“Why, did I say something wrong?”

“That’s too harsh, don’t you think?”

“What? Too harsh?”

Just then, Lee Sang-cheol opened the door and entered.

“Why’s the atmosphere like this? Huh?”

Jang Jin-woo and Jung Joo-young sat down while glaring at each other, and Lee Sang-cheol shook his head after looking at both of them.

“Fight for positions with ability. Don’t do it with emotions.”

No one could defy the words of Lee Sang-cheol, who had achieved the World Cup semi-final miracle during his playing days.

“Kim Sang-hyuk. Come in.”

At those words, Jang Jin-woo’s eyes widened as he stared at the open door.

Oh, really?

And Kim Sang-hyuk was indeed slowly revealing himself.

It felt like someone had hit the back of his head with a giant hammer.

– Wait. I’ll definitely succeed in rehabilitation and completely destroy you on the field.

And Kim Sang-hyuk, who entered the conference room, immediately glared at him.

That bitter smile… matched his dirty impression and made him look like a devil.

‘This crazy bastard… this isn’t right… isn’t this too fast?’

—————
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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