Field Commander - Chapter 37

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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 37.

Chapter 37.

Chapter 37.

St. James’ Park.

The soccer field used by Newcastle that can accommodate 52,000 people.

Operating a stadium with over 50,000 capacity in the small city of Newcastle upon Tyne with a population of 300,000 seems impossible unless people are absolutely crazy about soccer.

A place that averaged 30,000 spectators even when it fell to Division 3 at one point.

‘Is all of Europe similar?’

Even Freiburg II matches in Division 4 tend to have packed stands every game.

Just knowing how passionately the fans cheer makes my heart feel grand even before playing.

The first match was against Mexico.

While Korea always lost to Mexico in A matches (National Team), strangely, Korea had never lost to Mexico in Olympic matches.

Moreover, this Olympic squad was ‘legendary’ according to journalists, and articles poured out saying they could easily achieve victory since Mexico lacked weight compared to other teams.

‘What the hell does weight even mean?’

Anyway.

– We know little about that team. No matter what the media says, you guys need to be tense and careful.

Manager Lee Sang-cheol was rather being cautious.

Since Mexico had beaten strong Central and South American teams including Argentina to get here.

The bus during transport was quiet.

Team members were listening to music or quietly closing their eyes.

Staff also didn’t talk to avoid being disruptive.

So I too could focus completely on match preparation.

First, what’s important to me is the stadium size.

St. James’ Park’s size is 105m x 68m.

Freiburg II’s stadium Dreisamstadion’s size is 107m x 64m.

When making through passes based on feel, this stadium size affects things.

So while moving to the stadium, I closed my eyes and kept adjusting the stadium size in my head while running simulations.

I turned the players’ habits into data as much as possible and put it in my head, and those players were running wild on the ground in my mind.

Thinking constantly about what angle and how much force I should hit the ball with to make passes that utilize each player’s characteristics made my feet twitch automatically.

However, the variable is the opposing team’s ability.

That’s something I can adjust while watching the match.

Jung Joo-young sitting across from me caught my eye – not listening to music, not closing his eyes, just staring blankly out the window.

‘With that physique…’

He’s about 10cm shorter than me and has lower jumping power…

But his strength is so incredible that I couldn’t easily win aerial duels against him.

He’s not called Korea’s best striker for nothing.

That means players from other countries competing this time also have a high probability of failing in aerial duels against Jung Joo-young.

Moreover, his off-the-ball movement was incredible.

The moment defenders lose sight of him, they could give him a fatal opportunity.

Since Jang Jin-woo was completely out of the squad due to injury, he has to play full time in both halves.

So… if he happens to be substituted out in the second half…

‘That means I can utilize a senior with such abilities?’

* * *

– But is it really true that a German Division 4 league player joined the Olympic team? The media was criticizing it heavily.

– I personally like Manager Lee Sang-cheol, but watching just the news, he gets so much criticism that I feel sorry for him.

– But isn’t a manager who picks a player who quit soccer due to injury really not in his right mind?

– There must be many new subscribers. People who’ve watched this channel for a long time wouldn’t even ask such questions.

Choi Do-hoon burst into laughter inside while watching the incoming chat.

‘Right.’

Choi Do-hoon thought Manager Lee Sang-cheol was really a decent manager.

Seeing the media tear him apart like that, there must have been pressure from the association too.

Seeing him pick Kim Sang-hyuk and go like that.

Choi Do-hoon’s eyes turned to the continuously rising subscriber count.

Whenever there are big events, Korea’s soccer fans suddenly multiply several times.

Just a month ago he had surpassed 50,000 subscribers, but just now he exceeded 100,000 subscribers.

He made 50,000 in 5 years, but 100,000 in just one month.

With such rapid growth, there were many soccer novices and tons of new subscribers who only believed media stories.

“Uh… Manager Lee Sang-cheol was a core member of the 2002 World Cup semifinals. After that, he walked the path of a soccer coach and had a successful career. Such a manager wouldn’t have picked a player with terrible ability. And if you watch the videos in my channel’s ‘Kim Sang-hyuk Corner’, you’ll see that he’s definitely not a player who deserves criticism just for being a Division 4 league player.”

When he heard that Olympic team member Kim Woo-young was injured, Choi Do-hoon immediately thought of Kim Sang-hyuk.

Because the performance he was showing in Germany was truly incredible.

In several matches, he even felt like Kim Sang-hyuk alone was crushing the opponents.

Despite this being Kim Sang-hyuk’s first transfer season, he had become a core player who absolutely couldn’t be missing from the team.

‘Moving up to the first team soon is confirmed.’

If they don’t use such a player in the first team, the manager would be completely incompetent.

‘So he’s a player who plays in the Bundesliga. Like Gu Ja-yoon and Jang Jin-woo.’

– Kim Sang-hyuk is exempt from military service, so why was he picked?

Choi Do-hoon got angry every time such questions came in.

It’s natural for people who play soccer well to be picked, but he didn’t understand why they kept bringing up military exemption.

“Among players under 23, especially in the defensive midfielder position, there probably isn’t a player who can compete with Kim Sang-hyuk.”

– Ey, soccer novice.

Choi Do-hoon made a bitter expression at that comment and gently forced them out.

After changing the atmosphere like that, he opened his mouth.

“The national anthem is playing. It will start soon.”

Choi Do-hoon took a deep breath and adjusted the position of the monitors in front of him.

“…In terms of record, Korea is overwhelming, and this Olympic roster is also overwhelming when just comparing the players’ club affiliations…”

Jung Joo-young was Korea’s greatest striker of all time as chosen by soccer players.

A striker who could do everything.

However, showing finishing ability problems in big tournaments was his only flaw.

While Jang Jin-woo was the rising next-generation striker, many people still put Jung Joo-young as their first choice.

“Jung Joo-young needs to show good performance in this match. I hope he gets guaranteed many opportunities after returning to his club. If the Olympic team continues the chemistry they showed in practice matches into the main tournament, even a gold medal might be possible.”

– Ey, soccer novice. What gold medal for Korea? Sounds like saying Korea will win the World Cup.

Ah, this bastard.

He definitely kicked him out earlier, but he must have come back with a different ID.

After kicking him out again, Choi Do-hoon scratched his head.

‘Brazil and England are there though.’

Since it was the London Olympics, England had gathered only the best players from the world’s top leagues, and Brazil also had mostly players whose names you’d recognize just by hearing them.

Nevertheless…

He had a feeling that this Olympic team would somehow make something happen.

“Alright, the first half has started with Korea’s kickoff!”

* * *

– We need to offer better conditions than Freiburg to bring Kim Sang-hyuk.

– Look. I don’t think it’s worth investing that much money in a player who suffered a major injury and rehabilitated.

Scout Michel, who had lost interest in Mainz after they flatly rejected her proposal, received a call from Jürgen Klopp who had valued her before the season started, and moved her workplace to Dortmund.

Dortmund was one of the two pillars of the Bundesliga along with Bayern Munich, but had become such a mess that they couldn’t even qualify for European competitions, and within 2 years of Jürgen Klopp’s appointment, they became a team aiming for the championship.

However, the team’s key forward Robert Lewandowski had publicly expressed his desire to go to Bayern Munich, so they needed to find a forward who could replace him.

Jang Jin-woo, who was playing for Schalke 04, came up first on the list, but Schalke 04 had taken an absolutely no-sale stance.

They probably intended to hold onto Jang Jin-woo until they could participate in the Champions League.

There were a few other players, but they were too expensive for Dortmund to approve.

The club’s philosophy was to develop players, use them, and then sell them.

Unlike Bayern Munich.

In the end, they had to find promising newcomers, and the Olympics with U-23 participation was a very good opportunity.

The player she had her eye on was none other than 19-year-old Mexican forward Raúl Jiménez.

But then…

A quite familiar Asian player caught her eye.

Kim Sang-hyuk, sitting on the Korean team’s bench.

That face was too striking to ever forget easily.

Her eyes sparkled for a moment.

‘This quickly?’

A player who had been playing in a low-level league earlier this year suddenly being selected for the Olympic team meant he was showing his class.

‘Freiburg hit the jackpot. Mainz was completely stupid. Just go bankrupt, Mainz.’

Raúl Jiménez was playing right in front of her, but somehow her gaze kept turning toward the bench.

She would love to poach Kim Sang-hyuk to Dortmund, but…

Dortmund had too many excellent central resources sitting idle.

Even if Kim Sang-hyuk came, there would be no position for him to play.

What the team needed was a forward to replace Robert.

‘Ah, what a shame.’

The continued desire was an unavoidable scout’s heart.

She barely managed to turn her gaze away from Kim Sang-hyuk and looked at the stadium.

‘…What? Korea is dominating?’

She had thought Mexico would be slightly ahead or it would be evenly matched, but she could see the Mexican players looking flustered.

As time passed, instead of attacking, they were focusing on defense and only attempting counter attacks.

Looking closely, she could see the Korean players really giving their all.

‘I wanted to see Jiménez attacking, but I’m only seeing him defend…’

Fortunately, he wasn’t terrible at defense, and showed quite decent form in aerial duels.

Watching the match, she could understand why Mexico kept sitting back.

Player 9, playing as Korea’s front forward.

‘His movement is too good?’

‘He’s winning aerial duels with that small height?’

‘His shooting… is good too?’

The disappointing thing was that his shots weren’t connecting to goals.

But he was so threatening in front of goal that two Mexican defenders were sticking to him.

His movement was also clever – when many defenders attached to him, he would drag them to the sideline and then connect with passes to create space for other teammates.

‘Why didn’t I know about such a player?’

She searched for information on her phone and let out a light exclamation.

“Arsenal.”

No wonder.

‘If only his finishing was good…’

All his shots were flying into the air.

It wasn’t just flying randomly – the quality of passes coming to him was somewhat poor, and opposing defenders kept applying pressure to prevent him from concentrating at crucial moments.

‘If he can’t overcome things like that, it’ll be tough in Germany too.’

As expected, he had only played 2 matches at Arsenal.

* * *

Near the end of the first half, with the game progressing almost like a half-court game, Mexico’s counter attack began.

I saw Ki Sung-yueng marking the opposing forward Raul and judged it a mismatch.

Raul hadn’t shown much today, but in aerial situations, he had shown aspects of overwhelming Lee Young-kwon, our team’s key defender.

But Ki Sung-yueng, whose defensive ability was much weaker?

Sure enough, Raul easily dropped the ball with a header to a player penetrating to the left.

‘…They were aiming for this.’

The Mexican team hadn’t crouched back because they were flustered by our team’s organization and speed, but had shrunk for this moment.

They had utilized the fact that Korea’s right fullback moved up to a high position during attacks.

Lee Young-kwon, who had fast feet, ran to mark the forward, but he was too far away.

The opposing forward dribbled deep into the penalty area and sent up a fast, strong cross.

“…Huh?”

Raul, who had dropped the ball with a header, was somehow charging toward the goal post, and before goalkeeper Kim Seong-ryong could respond, he simply redirected the ball’s direction like cutting it off in front.

– Thwack.

Mexico created a goal with just one attack.

The loud noise from the Mexican cheering section, which occupied more than half the stadium, echoed through the ground.

I looked at Lee Sang-cheol’s completely hardened face.

Clearly Korea’s performance couldn’t be any better, but the problem was not being able to create goals.

They needed to keep pressing in the second half, but having seen such a high-level counter attack, the defenders would find it difficult to easily participate in attacks.

Then they might not be able to see the performance shown in the first half during the second half.

‘Probably, that’s what he’s thinking?’

The tactical studies I had done earnestly to get a coaching license after my injury seemed to help with understanding situations.

Lee Sang-cheol’s hardened gaze briefly turned toward me.

‘For blocking counter attacks?’

But that time was too short, and the manager went out to the sideline and began giving tactical instructions to the players.

‘Is it not time for substitution yet?’

How frustrating.

I want to go out and completely change the game…

That’s when it happened.

“Kim Sang-hyuk.”

Manager Lee Sang-cheol called me.

“Yes.”

“Start warming up.”

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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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