Field Commander - Chapter 40

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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 40.

Chapter 40.

Chapter 40.

After the match ended, an interview with Manager Lee Sang-cheol was arranged.

“What do you think about today’s match?”

Lee Sang-cheol, who had already calmed down from his excitement at the stadium, answered.

“I think we showed the true strength of Korean football.”

“The performance in the first half wasn’t good, what do you think about that?”

The performance wasn’t good?

That wasn’t true.

The players ran their best and prevented Mexico from advancing beyond the half line.

We just couldn’t score goals due to poor finishing ability.

“There wasn’t much difference between the first and second half performances. It was just a matter of whether goals were scored or not.”

“Despite having numerous substitution options in the second half, was it your intention to bring in Kim Sang-hyuk, who joined recently?”

Journalists sometimes ask strange questions that are hard to understand.

“Before the substitution, Ki Sung-yueng showed great performance in both offense and defense. But he was getting tired physically, and since the opposing forward was strong in physical battles, we made the substitution accordingly. And player substitutions are naturally the manager’s intention.”

“Today, Kim Sang-hyuk could be said to have saved the Korean team. Do you intend to use him as a starter in the next match?”

Lee Sang-cheol turned his head and glared at the journalist who asked that question.

If he takes sides here, one player will get hurt feelings.

In football, which is a team sport, a manager who does such things is unqualified.

‘Is that bastard a Korean journalist? Why is he so desperate to create conflict?’

While thinking that, he slowly opened his mouth.

“Ki Sung-yueng is still a core resource of the team, and Kim Sang-hyuk showed amazing potential, so I think there will be less worry about using him in the future. However, team player selection is the manager’s authority, and decisions are made based on player condition and tactics on that day.”

When Lee Sang-cheol cleverly avoided the question, another journalist threw another strange question.

“Today’s MOM is Jung Joo-young, but in your opinion, which player was the best performer?”

Of course it was Kim Sang-hyuk.

Manager Lee Sang-cheol knew that, football officials knew it, and journalists knew it too.

That’s why they were asking follow-up questions.

It’s just that Kim Sang-hyuk isn’t famous enough yet.

For now, it was time to support Jung Joo-young.

‘I’m already looking forward to how amazing he’ll become later.’

Lee Sang-cheol opened his mouth.

“Not just those two players, but all players showed good performance.”

* * *

That evening.

Jang Jin-woo was searching for news on his mobile phone and lay down on his bed with a sullen expression.

‘Because of that bastard Kim Sang-hyuk…’

Today’s Korean sports news was all articles related to Jung Joo-young.

Well, it hurt a little, but it wasn’t enough to prevent him from playing.

He felt uncomfortable thinking that Jung Joo-young was receiving the spotlight he should have received.

Moreover, he wasn’t even sure if he could play in the next match due to his injury.

‘This is driving me crazy.’

He thought he could definitely play in the final qualifier against Switzerland…

At this rate, he couldn’t even aim for the starting striker position on the national team.

That was exactly why he was having this nerve war with Jung Joo-young.

But he couldn’t just curse Kim Sang-hyuk outright because today’s comeback definitely started because of that bastard.

If they had lost to Mexico…

‘Military service issue?’

Not a chance.

Military service was a really big problem for Korean athletes.

Because of that, they faced huge disadvantages when signing contracts.

Players worse than him received higher salaries precisely because of this military service issue.

In this situation, he couldn’t openly curse Kim Sang-hyuk, so he felt like he was going crazy.

‘Why did I have to provoke that bastard…’

At that time, it wasn’t about football but just telling him to get his act together and live properly, but he really didn’t think the situation would change like this.

Kim Sang-hyuk was the type who would remember anything he didn’t like and definitely get revenge someday.

He was like that throughout the entire two-year tournament.

Just because he played marbles once in first year, he really caught him like catching a mouse for the remaining two years.

‘Petty bastard.’

Would he really make a dangerous tackle on me?

‘That bastard would do it without hesitation…’

If they faced each other in the Bundesliga, would he really do that?

If Kim Sang-hyuk decided to break his leg, he probably couldn’t avoid it.

Because he was that kind of guy.

Jang Jin-woo opened the window with a frustrated heart and looked down below.

Several players were gathered together laughing and chatting, and Jung Joo-young was there too.

Even the junior players who used to try to look good to him were sticking around there.

‘Bat-like bastards.’

He opened the door and immediately went outside.

* * *

Own half pass success rate: 88%.

Opponent’s half pass success rate: 72%

Aerial duel success rate: 100%

Tackle success rate: 66%

…

I asked the information analyst to pull out today’s match stats.

“88%.”

Even I can’t succeed with every pass.

Because the opposing team isn’t a scarecrow.

The more I play football, the more I have to play in places crawling with only monsters or geniuses.

‘Then I’ll make even more pass misses.’

My main duty is to protect our defenders and do back build-up, but pass misses in our half can give the opponent decisive chances.

That’s why own half pass success rate is more important than opponent’s half pass success rate.

‘How did I lose it today?’

I don’t need to watch the video.

Because every time I make a pass miss, irritation and anger surge up, and those scenes are clearly in my head.

‘He read my pass route. I should have passed faster…’

‘The power of the one-touch pass was weak… I need to concentrate more when passing.’

Someone said that studying well and doing well on tests is the repetition of the process of making wrong problems definitely your own so you don’t get them wrong next time.

For me too, the way to play football well is to not repeat today’s failures tomorrow.

Until I quit football, my ability tomorrow must be better than today.

Anyway, because of some ridiculous goal.

“But why are you so gloomy?”

Jung Joo-young, who was always staying in his room, was unusually mingling with people today.

He probably gained some confidence.

So I got up from tossing and turning alone on my bed.

I was definitely struggling to breathe until the match whistle blew…

Since I didn’t play much, my body seems restless.

I bolted upright.

Because that often leads to sleepless nights.

I should probably take a walk or do some light ball juggling to burn off energy.

I grabbed a soccer ball and headed to the playground, where some big guy was fidgeting around doing something at the edge of the field.

It was too dark to see exactly what he was doing.

‘There aren’t many guys that big on the team.’

It’s definitely Jang Jin-woo.

‘Ah, that bastard must be feeling unsettled today too. Since his competitor scored 2 goals.’

Ah, I shouldn’t be laughing, but the thought was so amusing that I couldn’t help but smile.

As I got closer to him, I heard women’s voices.

“…What are you doing?”

The guy flinched at my words.

Usually he’d snap back with a retort, but instead he hunched his shoulders.

‘Is this bastard up to something bad?’

Curiosity exploded within me, and I quickly ran right next to him.

The flustered guy spun around, and there was a pen in his hand.

“What are you doing?”

At my question, he answered very politely.

“Oh, I’m giving autographs to fans.”

Huh, he should be irritable and sharp, what’s with this act?

He’s even smiling at me?

“Who is he?”

Several young women had gathered beyond the wire fence.

“Oh, you know player Kim Sang-hyuk, right?”

“Eh… who?”

If they watched today’s match, there’s no way they wouldn’t know me, right?

As soon as the women made eye contact with me, they each took a step back.

Well…

It’s such a familiar situation that I don’t really feel anything…

“He’s a teammate.”

“Oh, but he looks kind of scary.”

“He’s a bit of a scary person, so you should definitely be careful if you meet him. Now go inside.”

“Oh, thank you. Jin-woo oppa! I love you!”

“Get home safely.”

“Wait a minute.”

I called them back.

“Be careful of this bastard. He’s trash who made several women cry.”

“What?”

“Now. You can go.”

Question marks appeared on their faces, but that’s not my problem.

“Hurry up.”

I chased them away, and Jang Jin-woo looked at me with all the humor drained from his expression.

“What’s your deal?”

He glared at me with an extremely wronged and flustered expression.

“What, man? Got something to say to me?”

“…”

“The bastard’s doing other things during the Olympics. Want to fight? Let’s fight.”

When I rolled up my sleeves, he shook his head with an incredulous expression and disappeared into the darkness.

If he wasn’t a national team-level striker, I would have done the same thing to him that he did to me.

Ah, after winning the World Cup, I’ll have to break his legs.

* * *

The next day.

Jung Joo-young came into the room and contacted his agent.

Arsenal’s manager Arsène Wenger was still telling him to find a team where he could play within a year, but honestly, he had no desire to leave Arsenal.

He’d come to the team he’d always dreamed of, and now he should leave on his own?

– Coach Hwang is still the same. He says he won’t give national team opportunities to players who don’t play matches in the league.

It meant that if he didn’t go on loan, he couldn’t be included in the national team roster.

Him, Korea’s top striker?

– Is a loan the best option?

– For now, yes. Because of coming to Arsenal, things went completely sour with France, and there are no interested clubs in England, so only Germany and Spain are left. In Spain, only Celta de Vigo is an option.

– Sigh, Germany… Spain…

He didn’t feel like going to either place.

Jung Joo-young’s language skills weren’t as outstanding as his soccer. He played in France for 2 years but could barely speak the language.

He came to England but communication was impossible without an interpreter.

And now completely different countries with different cultures.

– Or you could hold out at Arsenal as long as possible, then find a team where you can play for 2-3 months before the World Cup.

Jung Joo-young felt sweet temptation at the words that he could stick it out at Arsenal as long as possible.

– Really? Would that be okay?

– Once you show them your playing, they can’t not select you. You had the best performance in this Mexico match too, right? Even Coach Hwang couldn’t ignore that, right?

After feeling tempted, he wondered if this was right.

If he stayed at Arsenal, he definitely wouldn’t be able to play any matches.

But since he was used to it, it wasn’t too bad just to stay there.

The salary was quite high, and if he got military exemption this time, various options would activate and 10 million dollars would come into his hands.

– But then I won’t be able to play matches. Will I be able to maintain my skills?

Suddenly yesterday’s match came to mind.

The first goal was a perfect opportunity, but he wasn’t prepared and missed it.

He was lucky it went into the net.

But the second goal was definitely a goal he created himself.

The movement from his prime AS Monaco days.

And yesterday he seemed to be excited all day.

The first feeling he’d experienced since leaving AS Monaco…

– I don’t know what you’re thinking, but a soccer player’s career is short. To prepare for the rest of your long life, you need to earn as much money as possible. Joo-young. We need to make a very wise choice.

This wasn’t wrong either.

– Usually players retire around 30. Joo-young, you have 3 years left. You know what I’m saying, right? Since we can’t find a club that pays more than Arsenal, we need to find a club where you can play while maintaining your weekly wage.

– I understand. I’ll make the decision after the tournament ends.

– Okay. Then I’ll make as many contacts as possible. If it doesn’t feel right, just stick it out at Arsenal.

– Yes.

* * *

When you first meet Jung Joo-young, you think he’s quiet and also somewhat chic.

But after spending a few days with him, he doesn’t drink or smoke, isn’t promiscuous, and takes very good care of his juniors – he’s a good person.

He doesn’t talk much, but his voice is actually pretty loud.

After finishing recovery training in the morning and having a meeting with the manager, I returned to my room, and it seemed like he was having some important conversation.

– Can I maintain my ability when I can’t even play in matches?

I’ve heard a lot about Jung Joo-young’s situation, so I roughly understand what he means.

Just then, my mobile phone buzzed.

When I opened it, there was a message.

– Bastard.

It was Christian Günter.

Why is this guy texting me?

When I opened it, laughing emoticons filled the entire first line.

– I’m going up. Hahahaha!!

He even sent a photo of the First Team Locker Room.

I immediately sent a text back.

– Are you happy that you’re going up before me?

But this bastard isn’t reading it.

Come to think of it, Freiburg SC was on a 5-game losing streak and was overwhelmingly in last place.

On top of that, I heard from Jung Seung-jin that 2 players got injured in the 5th round match.

– Freiburg is looking hopefully at your good performance against Mexico in the Olympic match. It looks like you’ll get called up to the first team soon. Around the time of the player squad re-registration.

To be precise, it means I can go to the first team right after the Olympic tournament ends.

I closed my mobile phone.

‘Getting fixated on weird things…’

I looked at the dormitory door again.

Even if you can’t play for your home team, there’s the option of going on loan to get opportunities.

And agents are probably frantically making contacts.

‘What, that he’s a scary person so be careful when you meet him?’

What Jang Jin-woo had said suddenly came to mind.

Jang Jin-woo’s team is in 2nd place with 4 wins and 1 draw, following Bayern Munich.

They have that many good players.

Could our team beat them?

‘The probability is about 5%’

In soccer, many things influence the outcome.

When I opened the door, Jung Joo-young seemed to be finishing up his phone call.

“You’re back?”

“Yes.”

I continued talking while taking off my sweat-soaked athletic wear.

“Hyung.”

“What?”

“Would you like to come to our team?”

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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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