Field Commander - Chapter 45

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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 45.

Chapter 45.

Chapter 45.

5 AM.

‘What, a fly? This crazy rookie bastard. What kind of interview is conducted like that? Seriously, there’s nothing normal about this guy.’

Despite scoring a hat-trick in the Olympic tournament and instantly rising to first place in tournament scoring, he couldn’t fall asleep easily.

Because he was excited?

The Olympic tournament is a big competition, but not as much as the Bundesliga.

Was it because Kim Sang-hyuk’s comments caused soccer sites to crash from the flood of people, and angry female fans were causing a ruckus?

He doesn’t pay much attention to that.

Fans are just fans.

Was it because Kim Sang-hyuk compared him to a fly?

That’s somewhat correct, but it’s not the exact reason.

Jang Jin-woo got up from his bed.

Yesterday’s match flowed through his mind like a panorama.

Kim Sang-hyuk’s three assists that helped his three goals yesterday.

I wish the ball would be right here…

As soon as he thought that, the ball dropped exactly there.

When he thought, ‘I wish he’d slip it through at this timing,’ Kim Sang-hyuk’s through pass had already started from his foot.

The last goal.

In the set piece situation, when even the defender marking him rushed toward Kim Sang-hyuk, leaving him completely free, Kim Sang-hyuk, who hadn’t given him a single glance, broke free from three players’ pressure and dropped the ball in front of him with a header.

“Damn…”

Someone might think this should be a situation to be happy about…

But this wouldn’t be possible unless Kim Sang-hyuk had a perfect grasp of him, just like in the interview.

The disgusting feeling of having his mind completely read – where he’d move, what he wanted.

“Ah, fly swatter.”

Fly swatter…

Fly…

He’s not a crazy rookie bastard, he definitely really thinks that way.

That’s why he couldn’t sleep properly.

How to escape from that fly swatter.

Perhaps Jang Jin-woo might be the only person in the world who knows Kim Sang-hyuk best.

Maybe he made that tackle out of impatience, feeling like he’d forever be second place if Kim Sang-hyuk existed.

That’s something only Jang Jin-woo knows.

He fumbled around and changed into athletic wear.

While everyone was fast asleep due to the exhausting schedule, Jang Jin-woo thought that only grueling practice could change the situation.

For an athlete, there was no other answer.

He slowly warmed up and headed to the practice field, where someone was already training.

They were spinning around while doing two-foot juggling, and just from that build, there was no mistaking who it was.

‘Kim Sang-hyuk.’

Seeing how completely soaked his body was, he must have come out quite early.

Jang Jin-woo gritted his teeth for a moment and turned around.

“Hey!”

Ah, does this bastard have eyes on the back of his head too?

“If you’re here, you should exercise, right?”

Kim Sang-hyuk’s voice could be heard.

Ah… ha…

Jang Jin-woo stopped and calmed his excitement for a moment.

“Hey, fly!”

Ah, damn it.

Jang Jin-woo turned around as if he couldn’t stand it anymore.

Around that time, Kim Sang-hyuk approached nearby, still doing two-foot juggling.

“You think you can avoid the fly swatter by wavering back and forth like that? Flies like that are the first ones to get swatted.”

He doesn’t just provoke randomly.

It’s like he’s reading minds when he does it.

“You should have come earlier than me. After being provoked like that. Being this late, tsk tsk.”

Kim Sang-hyuk said that while…

While talking, still doing two-foot juggling, he walked quickly and disappeared.

‘Ah.’

Jang Jin-woo was momentarily speechless.

Because he realized how difficult it was to talk, read the opponent’s psychology, move quickly, and continuously juggle the ball stably.

Why Kim Sang-hyuk was so relaxed, stable, and had such wide field vision during soccer matches…

‘Genius…’

Jang Jin-woo had absolutely no confidence he could do that.

And if he avoided confronting him because he didn’t want to deal with him, he felt like he’d really never escape being a fly, just like the guy said.

A natural soccer genius who works 2-3 times harder than others.

Jang Jin-woo sighed deeply and plopped down to change into his soccer cleats.

‘I might have to work myself to death for the rest of my life to escape that bastard’s shadow.’

But soon Jang Jin-woo’s eyes showed a glint mixed with defiance.

‘No. I’ll definitely escape. Damn it, I’ll escape and fly away freely.’

* * *

“Ah! The World Cup Asian qualifier third match between Korea and Uzbekistan ends in a 2:2 draw.”

“This is problematic. We might pass the Asian qualifiers, but we need to consider whether we can advance to the main tournament with this level of performance.”

“Hwang Ki-ho, who faced his first test… ultimately disappoints the fans.”

The disappointed voices of casters and commentators echoed across all broadcast channels.

“The younger team (Olympic) is showing tremendous performance day after day, but the older team (World Cup) drew against a team they should have beaten.”

Choi Do-hoon also had no choice but to voice his disappointment.

“According to Manager Hwang Ki-ho’s interview, he said that suddenly taking charge of the national team left him no time to implement his tactics, and things will be different in matches played after the Olympics end.”

– Wow, I had huge expectations after watching the Olympic team’s matches, but this was completely subpar…

– People who didn’t watch and went to sleep are the winners!

– Ah, give me back my eyes. Back to before I watched this match!!!

– Did Hwang Ki-ho even have tactics? The Olympic team under Hwang Ki-ho didn’t seem to have great performance either.

– Wait, if he’s saying that, doesn’t it mean he’ll build the national team around the Olympic team?

– That sounds somewhat promising though?

– If we include Park Hong-min, Baek Ju-ho, and Hong Seok in the Olympic team, it might be pretty good?

…

Choi Do-hoon had the same thoughts as the comments.

Because the Olympic team had trained under Hwang Ki-ho for a long time, and judging by what they’re showing now, they gave the feeling they could work in the World Cup.

“Now, let’s provide live commentary for the Olympic national team’s final qualifier match between Korea and Gabon.”

When the World Cup Asian qualifier ended with terrible performance and stagnation, and the Olympic team’s match was about to start, the live viewers increased from around 700 to 2,500.

‘Half are female viewers…’

Choi Do-hoon already knew this was Jang Jin-woo’s power.

Jang Jin-woo was a handsome soccer player whose lineage had been cut off since player Yoon Jung-hwan, who caused a sensation in 2002, and he was the top sports star that all advertising companies were targeting.

His lean, muscular physique that occasionally showed, plus the fact that he had no girlfriend…

For women, he was more than an idol star.

“Today’s Olympic team starting lineup has changed significantly. All players have been replaced except for goalkeeper Kim Seong-ryong, center backs Jang Seok-young and Lee Young-kwon, and captain Gu Ja-yoon. Particularly noteworthy are Kim Sang-hyuk, who started in place of Ki Sung-yueng, and Jang Jin-woo, who started in place of Jung Joo-young.”

– Jang Jin-woo! Jang Jin-woo!!

– Oppa! Oppa!! I love you!!!

…

Choi Do-hoon scratched his head briefly while reading the comments.

The comment section, which used to have only in-depth soccer discussions, was now being flooded with crazy comments as Jang Jin-woo’s fans seemed to have taken over.

– Kim Sang-hyuk, go die!

– Who are you comparing to Paris?

– Someone who looks like a pancake is insulting who?

– Not only does he look nasty, but his personality is rotten too.

As some male subscribers joined in, the comment section became completely unwatchable.

– Ugh, the comments are so polluted.

– Why are they causing a ruckus even here?

– Are the bastards insulting Kim Sang-hyuk soccer illiterates?

“Alright, we just received news that Mexico beat Switzerland 2-0. With this, the teams advancing to the Olympic finals are Korea and Mexico. If Korea doesn’t lose to Gabon by more than 5 goals, they’ll advance as first place in the group.”

Choi Do-hoon smiled while looking at a foreign news article.

“There’s some very heartwarming news here, right? After the match against Korea, Swiss starting center back Michel Morganella posted disparaging comments about Korea on Twitter, which caused controversy. Thanks to that, he was suspended by the Olympic Committee and couldn’t play today.”

Choi Do-hoon displayed a photo.

A nasty-looking player with a skinhead-like haircut dyed in various colors.

“With this player out, Switzerland’s defense was completely shaken in the match against Mexico. I still wonder why he did such a stupid thing… We just received news that the Swiss Football Association has decided to permanently strip him of his national team status. They really show no mercy when it comes to racist remarks.

– Nice.

– Making racist comments on the internet… his intelligence seems pathetic.

– What did he post?

– The Twitter post was already deleted. But it’s probably circulating on the internet as images.

…

Fortunately, Choi Do-hoon, who had managed to calm the divided comment sentiment with this news, immediately guided them to focus on the match.

“Even if Gabon wins this match, they’re definitely eliminated. The players have no reason to play hard, and Korea’s starting lineup mostly consists of players who haven’t played much. It’s a situation where they’ll definitely play with their lives on the line to prove their abilities. It’s very favorable for Korea.”

Choi Do-hoon looked at the comment section and spoke again.

“It would be good to watch with anticipation to see if the chemistry between Jang Jin-woo and Kim Sang-hyuk that we saw in the Switzerland match will explode again in this game.”

* * *

Aubameyang had to return to his team immediately after the match against Korea.

While packing his luggage, he stared intently at his beloved Batman mask.

He had always wanted to wear this and do a goal celebration on the field someday.

But Olympic matches have strict regulations, making it impossible.

Then he received a call from his agent.

– Dortmund?

Aubameyang was shocked by the unexpected transfer offer.

Although he had grown as a promising player at AC Milan, he couldn’t establish himself in the team and went on loans before eventually moving to AS Saint-Étienne, but it wasn’t the club he wanted.

– Not right now, but next season? Still, that’s something.

The team he dreamed of was none other than Real Madrid, but that was the team he’d eventually have to reach.

He knew how lacking he was as a player.

– But it seems like they want you to show something in this Korea match?

– The Korea match?

Regardless of the result of this match, Gabon was eliminated.

Naturally, Aubameyang couldn’t find a reason to play hard in the match.

– Yeah. You know Jung Joo-young, right?

– Of course, he was the starting forward during his AS Monaco days.

Back then, he was a backup forward.

A player who always seemed to look down on him.

– It would be good to show that you can do better than that guy.

– What?

– Jung Joo-young seems to be on Dortmund’s radar too.

– Then I can’t just play casually.

Aubameyang stood in the center of St. James’ Park and looked at the Korean team.

‘Jung Joo-young isn’t there.’

That’s disappointing?

He thought if he crushed Korea today and scored more goals than Jung Joo-young, he could definitely make an impression on Dortmund…

The manager and coaching staff had also given up on today’s match, so they didn’t give detailed explanations about the Korean team.

He only heard them say not to get injured and just enjoy the game moderately…

‘All Asians look similar, so I can’t tell them apart.’

However, about two players caught his eye.

Jang Jin-woo right in front of him.

Even from his perspective, he had a very handsome face and was taller than himself.

And the nasty-looking player behind him.

He seemed to be the second tallest after the goalkeeper, and every time their eyes met, he instinctively flinched.

‘What? What’s with that guy?’

Eyes like a killing machine, as if he came not to play soccer but to fight a battle.

‘Ah, I shouldn’t clash with that guy.’

Aubameyang wasn’t very confident in physical battles.

‘Instead, I’ll kill them with speed.’

Aubameyang was absolutely confident in his speed alone.

* * *

‘Height 187cm. 75kg. Physical battle is shit. On-the-ball skill is also shit.’

I looked at Aubameyang and recalled the information I had gathered in my mind.

‘Average speed 35.43km/h. Top speed 36.66km/h. My top speed is 30.53km/h’

Jang Jin-woo, the fastest on our team, had a top speed of 35.11km/h.

Same in practice games…

Once Jang Jin-woo started running behind me, I couldn’t catch up.

‘On top of that, his instant acceleration is world-class level.’

If he breaks through, I can never catch up.

In the Switzerland match, he came on as a substitute in the second half and didn’t have much impact, but in the Mexico match, he started and scored 2 goals with that speed.

I didn’t think we’d lose to Gabon, but I was placing significance on being able to test what I could do against a player with world-class acceleration and speed.

Whether my abilities would work on him too.

This was a very important testing ground, and I kept staring at Aubameyang with slight nervousness.

‘I’ll crush him… I’ll crush him…’

While continuously muttering as if hypnotizing myself.

A warm but humid breeze swept across the ground once in the first half, and sweat drops from the warmed-up players fell onto the field.

– Peep!

With the referee’s whistle, the first half finally began.

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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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