Field Commander - Chapter 35

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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 35.

Chapter 35.

Chapter 35.

While my teammates left for Frankfurt to play their match, I took a flight to London.

I was worried I’d struggle since I couldn’t speak any English, but my agent Jung Seung-jin came with me.

– You should probably study English. Unless you’re planning to continue your playing career in Germany.

With his help, I reached the training camp where the national team was staying without much difficulty, and met Manager Lee Sang-cheol as soon as I arrived.

One of the key figures who led Korea to the World Cup semifinals.

I’d never met someone like this in my life.

“I’m Manager Lee Sang-cheol. Welcome. Did you have any trouble getting here?”

“No.”

“You must have been surprised to be called up so suddenly?”

“Not at all. I’ve been waiting for an opportunity like this.”

He had long, dyed hair like the new generation, but his face looked incredibly tough.

“I’m not sure how many opportunities you’ll get, but I hope you’ll work hard in team training for the remaining time.”

“Yes.”

“You must be a bit tired, but let’s go through today’s training schedule together.”

“Yes.”

I followed him as he walked.

During the 2-3 minute walk, Lee Sang-cheol told me about the tournament.

The Olympic qualifiers would start in a week, and Korea was placed in Group B out of four groups.

Mexico, South Korea, Gabon, Switzerland

“All three teams will be tough opponents, but we need to finish at least 2nd in the group stage to advance.”

I heard that all three teams had many players from their domestic leagues, making tactical analysis difficult and requiring us to adapt during the matches.

And the sad news was that Germany wasn’t participating in this tournament.

My determination to crush Gunter couldn’t be fulfilled.

It seemed he was participating in the European U-21 Championship instead of the World Cup.

I followed him into a conference room, where I saw familiar players.

Players I had played against once or twice during high school.

And the handsome, well-built guy at the back immediately caught my eye.

Jang Jin-woo.

I don’t know why, but I found myself smiling automatically.

The guy looked clearly flustered.

‘What? Didn’t think I’d make it this far?’

After that, I looked around at everyone.

“You all know who this guy is, right?”

Then one player answered.

“Ah, it was vague, but seeing his face I remember now. Because of that guy, most of the players here probably never got to hold a championship trophy during their two years of high school, right?”

“That’s right. Now I know who he is.”

“Maedong High School… that was really an annoying school to face.”

“The place where we thought we could win, but could never actually beat.”

Ah. Come to think of it, the Olympic team was mostly composed of U-23 players.

More than half would be 23-year-old players, and since I’m also 23, these were players I had played against back then.

I felt a bit sorry for not remembering them.

“You know him well. There’s only a week left until the tournament, so help him adapt to the team. First, introduce yourself.”

At Manager Lee Sang-cheol’s words, I stood in front of the podium and spoke.

“I’m Kim Sang-hyuk, playing for Freiburg II in Germany’s 4th division. Please take care of me.”

At those words, I could hear murmuring from here and there.

“4th division?”

“Wouldn’t Jung-sik who’s playing in K League 1 be better?”

“4th division is a bit…”

I didn’t expect to be called up while playing in the 4th division either…

I decided to just let it slide…

But I’ll remember their faces.

“Stop the local broadcasting, will you?”

Everyone went quiet at Lee Sang-cheol’s single comment.

“Go sit in an empty seat.”

“Yes.”

When I sat down, two players welcomed me.

“Oh, you’re playing in Germany? I’m Gu Ja-yoon, playing for Augsburg. I’m the captain.”

Augsburg meant Bundesliga.

But Gu Ja-yoon?

“Are you by any chance Gu Ja-yoon from Boeing High School?”

“That’s right. I got beaten twice in tournaments. By Maedong High School. More precisely, by you.”

Beaten…

But I remembered him.

He was clearly a midfielder but attacked like a forward.

Normally we wouldn’t have clashed, but because of that tendency we often collided, and with that slender build, it would have been hard for him to handle me.

Especially when even Jang Jin-woo was cowering.

“Let’s forget the past. Nice to meet you. Please take care of me.”

“Sure.”

And another player.

“Hello.”

A player that no one who plays soccer in South Korea could not know.

Jung Joo-young, who carries on the lineage of South Korean strikers.

“Nice to meet you, Jung Joo-young sunbae.”

“Oh, you know me well?”

“Of course. Anyone in Korea who doesn’t know you would be a spy.”

Then Gu Ja-yoon, who was next to us, chimed in.

“Sunbae is usually a man of few words, but seeing him greet you first, he seems to like you.”

At those words, Jung Joo-young chuckled and turned his head.

Gu Ja-yoon, who was next to me, lowered his voice.

“Actually, he’s having a rivalry with Jang Jin-woo. Over the striker position. If you’re not on good terms with Jang Jin-woo, he considers you one of his people.”

“Ah, really?”

I turned my head to look at Jang Jin-woo.

It seemed like he had been watching me the whole time, as his gaze was fixed on me.

‘They say the enemy of my enemy is my ally, right?’

* * *

“What did you say again?”

“…”

After the morning briefing ended, I headed toward Jang Jin-woo.

“I’m the scoring champion and MVP of the K-League. You’re a night shift convenience store part-timer. What I’m wearing is Hermes, what you’re wearing is from Dongdaemun. Or is it from Used World? The car I drive is a Ferrari and what you ride… don’t tell me you walk everywhere?”

“…”

“Those words pierced my heart and I can’t forget them.”

His expression slightly frowned.

Jang Jin-woo was undoubtedly one of Korea’s greatest sports stars alongside Park Hong-min.

He had a handsome face, a height over 190cm, and a wonderful physique.

He was leading in goals scored in the German Bundesliga, and if you just typed the word “soccer” on Korean internet, Jang Jin-woo’s name would inevitably appear in the results.

He was popular enough with overseas women to definitely make it into the top 10 most handsome soccer players in the world.

Truly a guy who had everything.

“I told you I’d chase you down and mess you up, didn’t I?”

“….”

“We’re on the same team this time so that won’t happen, but let’s meet in the Bundesliga soon.”

I’m someone who clearly separates public and private matters.

That’s why I plan to watch how this guy plays throughout the entire tournament in order to mess him up in the Bundesliga.

“Talk big after you make it up to the Bundesliga, will you?”

When I glared at him, he also got up.

Nearly equal height.

Our eye levels were similar too.

“Even in Germany alone, there are plenty of defenders who surpass you. They’re monsters. I’m scoring goals by breaking through guys like that. If you’re caught up in past glory, you’ll never be able to handle me. Kim Sang-hyuk. Try to mess me up if you can.”

He wasn’t being vicious, but his face seemed truly full of confidence.

‘This bastard… he really has changed.’

He’s not even falling for provocation?

“You think I’d fall for such petty provocation? A fake substitute bastard who barely got on the team through luck is talking about messing someone up? It’s so funny I can barely hold back.”

I felt a surge of anger for a moment.

‘Ah, am I the one being provoked?’

Whose fault is it that I ended up like this?

I imagined planting my fist in that handsome face, but of course I didn’t act on it.

My judgment doesn’t get clouded to that extent.

“You’ve grown quite a bit, haven’t you?”

“What?”

“Why, does your pride hurt hearing this from a 4th division player?”

His expression twisted slightly, but he soon regained his composure.

“Are you jealous of my Ferrari? Should I give you a ride when you get off work?”

Damn…

Look at him changing the subject.

Instead of answering, I gave him the middle finger.

“Get lost.”

* * *

The National Team’s tactics were 4-3-3.

Two center backs, two fullbacks

Among the three midfielders, one was a defensive midfielder, and two were attacking midfielders.

The forwards were right wing, left wing, and the striker up front.

‘His nickname is Girrard?’

Ki Sung-yueng, who was a solid starter at defensive midfielder, got this nickname from fans because his play was similar to Liverpool legend Gerrard…

He was really good at long balls forward, and his footwork was excellent too.

However…

He kept getting beaten by Jang Jin-woo’s physical battles.

“Jin-woo is definitely amazing. Sung-yueng is a guy who works even in the EPL, but he’s dropping him like that.”

“Except for the Switzerland match, there aren’t any forwards who are good at physical battles. It should be fine.”

“There aren’t many players who are as good at physical battles as Jang Jin-woo, so it won’t be a big problem.”

While keeping my ears open to the coaches’ murmuring, I worked hard to understand the other players’ movements while receiving basic tactical training.

The players competing here are guys who will someday go to the World Cup.

While they formed teams of 8 and played practice matches, I set up various equipment in front of the goal post and practiced.

“Sang-hyuk. You need to focus.”

I don’t understand why I have to do this.

I want to join them and play too.

Looking at the several obstacles set up in front of me, I spoke to Coach Lee Ho-nam.

“What do I ultimately need to do?”

“After passing through three obstacles with dribbles, just send a fast and strong pass toward where the manager is.”

“Can’t I just pass from here?”

“Would that be possible?”

Instead of answering, I hit the bottom of the ball while giving it a powerful spin.

It’s called a drop shot…

Due to the strong rotation, sometimes it can’t go forward anymore and drops straight down from the air.

There were several things I learned while having various playful competitions with Gunter in the morning.

The ball that went up grazing the obstacle right in front dropped right where the coach was.

“….”

If you pass through obstacles with dribbles, the time to deliver the ball to the forward becomes slower.

That gives opposing players time to make decisions, increasing the possibility that our attack won’t work.

“Do it again.”

Lee Sang-cheol ordered again, and I put the ball in the exact same course.

“One more time.”

Geez, he really doesn’t trust people.

This shooting method had been ingrained in my body for a long time.

I dropped the ball in the exact same position as they requested.

“Ho-nam. Remove what’s in front and pressure him directly yourself.”

Lee Sang-cheol said that and brought one obstacle to place in front of the goal post.

“I’ll send a pass from the back, so Sang-hyuk, you just need to cross like before and hit this. Okay?”

As soon as the pass came to Lee Sang-cheol, Lee Ho-nam charged like a wild boar and pressured me.

‘That’s not how a soccer player moves, is it?’

Since I couldn’t just get caught by a charging wild boar, I momentarily made a short turn movement to create space.

Then I kicked up the bottom of the ball.

Although I didn’t hit the obstacle Lee Sang-cheol had set up, it fell near it.

“Again.”

We did the same thing about 10 times.

Lee Ho-nam pressured me in various ways, and I also kept crossing while avoiding such pressure.

And I hit the obstacle exactly once.

‘But isn’t this too unreasonable a demand?’

Asking me to hit that accurately in a situation where someone is charging like this…

Contrary to my thoughts, the manager had a very satisfied expression.

“Pretty good… quite useful?”

So can I now join them and play?

“Alright, let’s move on to the next training.”

Ah…

No, I can’t.

* * *

It was when training ended and evening dusk covered London’s sky.

“…A loan, you say?”

Jung Joo-young’s quiet voice echoed through the dormitory.

– RC Celta de Vigo. Since it’s Primera Liga, the level won’t be low. If you can’t play games at Arsenal, I think it would be good to find a place where you can play.

He had made a spectacular entry into Arsenal after displaying excellent performance at AS Monaco in French Ligue 1, but in one year he had only played 2 games as a substitute.

Meanwhile, his agency was looking into places where he could play on loan.

Jung Joo-young let out a deep sigh.

He was quite a quiet and introverted person.

“I’ll think about it more. France, then England, and now Spain?”

So he couldn’t easily become close with his teammates either.

Tired of always living a drifting life in foreign lands, he was considering returning to Korea.

Just then, the door creaked open and a teammate appeared.

“…Spain?”

It was none other than Kim Sang-hyuk.

The Olympic Team squad consisted of 18 members.

When there were 17 members, Jung Joo-young had a room to himself, but after Kim Sang-hyuk arrived, they had to share the same room.

“Did you hear?”

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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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