Field Commander - Chapter 52

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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 52.

Chapter 52.

Chapter 52.

‘This is bad.’

 

Soccer is somewhat a game of luck, so you could unluckily concede a goal.

 

Ki Sung-yueng was about to clear it but got blocked, and that ball just happened to fall right in front of a Mexican forward who wasn’t being marked…

 

That was just incredibly unlucky.

 

But what happened next was the problem.

 

The players who conceded a goal too early became greedy trying to equalize, but to my eyes they just looked flustered.

 

– Mexico? Come on, there’s no way we’d lose to them, right?

 

Before the match started, the players definitely only had memories of that Mexico team we faced in the preliminaries.

 

But they were the team that had defeated championship favorites England and Brazil to make it this far.

 

They were a team that thoroughly utilized their strength in organization while thoroughly exploiting their opponents’ weaknesses.

 

‘…It feels like we’re going to concede another goal.’

 

That feeling suddenly flashed through my mind, and it wasn’t just a random thought.

 

In the preliminaries, when Korea attacked aggressively, Mexico would fall back and defend, but today they came out with a full confrontational strategy.

 

Offside…

 

Ki Sung-yueng’s precise passes from the front had a high probability of being offside.

 

The Mexican defenders’ line control was too precise.

 

‘England couldn’t break through that defense…’

 

That’s when Manager Lee Sang-cheol’s shout could be heard.

 

“Back up! Back up!!”

 

Just as the Korean players who had pushed their line high were retreating, Mexico’s free kick came quickly.

 

A through pass came in before Korea’s defensive line could get into position, and it was aimed right at the player Ki Sung-yueng was marking.

 

‘Raúl Jiménez.’

 

A player as tall as Ki Sung-yueng, much better at physical battles, and with good pace too.

 

Sure enough, Ki Sung-yueng lost his balance while desperately defending and ended up losing Raul.

 

It wasn’t that Ki Sung-yueng played poorly, but that player’s movement was quite agile.

 

‘They’re completely different from the preliminaries. Those Mexican guys…’

 

The moment Ki Sung-yueng, who should protect the center backs, was beaten, Mexico’s fast forwards rushed in from all directions.

 

Instead of dribbling in to create a perfect opportunity, Raul took a mid-range shot from where he was.

 

– Bang!

 

Kim Seong-ryong made an amazing diving save, but unfortunately the ball deflected to the feet of a rushing Mexican player.

 

– Thud!

 

The second goal conceded just 5 minutes after the first.

 

The bench atmosphere quickly turned cold.

 

“What are you doing? You bastards! Can’t you concentrate?”

 

Manager Lee Sang-cheol’s shouts were drowned out by the cheers of Mexican fans who had come to Wembley Stadium.

 

I couldn’t help but frown looking at those stands.

 

‘Really, so noisy.’

 

It’s natural to get on edge when you’re losing in a game.

 

Especially when you concede goals like lightning in the first half and watch the players’ expressions grow darker.

 

I couldn’t just sit there anymore, so I decided to slowly warm up even though the manager hadn’t given any instructions.

 

While moving slowly, I observed the Mexican players on the ground very carefully.

 

There would definitely be an opportunity, and we couldn’t end the match like this.

 

Our team play became too timid against their fierce counter attacks, and unlike early in the first half, Mexico completely sat back and only defended.

 

Even Mexico’s front forward dropped below the half line.

 

Korea’s possession play lacked power since there was no midfielder capable of creating opportunities by breaking through the packed defense.

 

Moreover, Ki Sung-yueng’s movement was too rigid when he should have been making direction-changing passes from the back.

 

He seemed unable to get past thinking about the earlier goals conceded.

 

The player who should unleash attacks kept making back passes every time forwards rushed at him…

 

No shots, nothing – a really boring first half flow.

 

Jang Jin-woo had two decisive headers from set piece situations, but they didn’t lead to goals.

 

– Peep! Peep!

 

The first half ended with the referee’s whistle, and I looked at the manager with desperate eyes.

 

‘Substitution. Substitution. Substitution. Substitution. Substitution…’

 

* * *

 

– Mexico’s got this championship locked up.

 

– Who said Korea would dominate?

 

– Looks like they’re completely outmatched in the tactical battle.

 

– What’s wrong with Ki Sung-yueng? Why is he playing like that?

 

– As expected, Korean soccer full of hopeful futures and good results!

 

– Wow, fuck… I’m an idiot for staying up at dawn to watch this.

 

– This is a complete disaster. A disaster. Seems like the worst Olympic match ever.

 

– Those Mexican bastards… what’s this? Was their game against Korea in the early rounds fake?

 

– Tell that Jang Jin-woo bastard to header with his face instead of his head. What kind of headers are all aerial balls!

 

– Did Jung Joo-young even play today? Why can’t I see even his shadow?

 

– They’re screwing around in the back, so you can’t blame the forwards.

 

– Ugh, this is so frustrating. Seems like they don’t want to play now that military exemption is secured.

 

– There’s a pension if they win gold!

 

– With their salaries, would they care about a pension?

 

– But why isn’t Kim Sang-hyuk coming out?

 

– Lee Sang-cheol seems like a fucking idiot manager.

 

…

 

Even waking up at dawn to do live commentary only works when the game is interesting.

 

Choi Do-hoon’s expression couldn’t be good either.

 

“It seems Mexico has figured out that Korea’s tactics are simple. Korea only made slight positional changes while the core tactics remained exactly the same…”

 

Long balls to Jang Jin-woo with superior physicality or Jung Joo-young with good aerial ability, and connecting passes starting from there.

 

Drawing the opposing team into their own half, then long passes to empty spaces.

 

Inducing set piece situations to attack the opponent’s goal with superior aerial ability.

 

That was all of Korea’s tactics.

 

Simple, but it worked well thanks to teams that underestimated Korean soccer.

 

But Mexico, having experienced it once, thoroughly analyzed Korea and came with prepared tactics.

 

“The situations where the Korean team scored in the Olympic tournament are exactly two: counter attacks and set pieces. They hardly scored when opponents only defended. So Mexico will probably sit back in the second half too.”

 

A single elimination match.

 

For Mexico, protecting their 2-goal lead in the second half would mean championship.

 

“Korea needs to substitute Ki Sung-yueng first. He’s not showing any of his strengths. And…”

 

The biggest problem with the Olympic team was the lack of a player who could neutralize the opponent’s defense through creative movement or passes when the opponent only defended.

 

“…they need a player who can threaten Mexico’s aerial dominance more.”

 

– That’s Kim Sang-hyuk.

 

– Kim Sang-hyuk monster!!

 

– Let’s go Kim Sang-hyuk

 

* * *

 

Meanwhile, Michel’s expression brightened as she watched this match, while Schmaike’s expression darkened.

 

‘As expected, my eye wasn’t wrong. Raúl Jiménez is a very good forward.’

 

‘Jung Joo-young’s performance today is really poor…’

 

With their different interests, Michel was the first to speak.

 

“Korea’s performance today seems really awful. Especially the transition from defense to attack is too rough.”

 

“Player 5 is too frozen. He can’t shake the mistakes from his head. Most of the balls go through Player 5 to reach the front. The Korea coach should have put in Kim Sang-hyuk from the start instead of Player 5. He never makes those kinds of defensive mistakes.”

 

“But seeing what Mexico is doing today, they seem to have countermeasures for him too. The coach seems to have studied Korea extensively.”

 

“I agree with that.”

 

Following the Mexico coach’s instructions, the players’ tactics completely change.

 

You can tell just from the first half that they prepared a lot for this single decisive victory.

 

“The desperation of the loser overwhelmed the composure of the winner.”

 

Mexico had suffered a comeback defeat to Korea in their first Olympic match.

 

Michel’s expression was quite poetic.

 

“The winner hasn’t played all their cards yet. Unlike Mexico.”

 

Michel nodded at Schmaike’s response.

 

“In that match too, it was turned around after Kim Sang-hyuk came on.”

 

“He was a player at an unpredictable level.”

 

“How will Mexico deal with him?”

 

“Well. It’s unpredictable.”

 

Michel realized she was getting along quite well with Schmaike.

 

“Schmaike.”

 

“What?”

 

“Want to come to Dortmund?”

 

Schmaike smiled.

 

“I love Freiburg.”

 

“I see.”

 

The two looked down at the stadium for the second half that was about to begin.

 

“He’s out?”

 

“He’s out.”

 

* * *

 

“Sung-wook, lift your head.”

 

Lee Sang-cheol had an extremely angry expression but didn’t yell at the players.

 

Ki Sung-yueng lifted his head with a dejected expression.

 

“Anyone can make mistakes. But quickly shaking off those mistakes is also a skill.”

 

“Yes.”

 

“You have to play in the second half too, so it’s better to shake off the mistakes quickly.”

 

Even I didn’t expect that.

 

‘Huh?’

 

Ki Sung-yueng also looked quite bewildered.

 

“Since there’s no time, I’ll quickly explain the second half tactics.”

 

All the players looked at Lee Sang-cheol with eyes full of doubt.

 

If he couldn’t properly explain this situation, the atmosphere would become strange instead.

 

“Ja-yoon.”

 

“Yes?”

 

“You worked hard in the first half.”

 

“Yes?”

 

“You know well that there’s no space for you to run because the opponent is playing compact defense, right?”

 

Come to think of it, Gu Ja-yoon was as invisible as Jung Joo-young in the first half.

 

Except for taking that contextless mid-range shot.

 

“Uh, but I’m the captain.”

 

“Right. Since you’re the captain, you can make sacrifices for the team, right?”

 

Gu Ja-yoon still looked unconvinced, but seemed to reluctantly accept due to his sense of responsibility as captain.

 

“Yes…”

 

“Sang-hyuk will go in instead of Ja-yoon.”

 

At those words, I doubted my ears again.

 

‘He’s telling me to play as an attacking midfielder?’

 

I thought, but…

 

“We’re going with double pivot. 4-2-3-1 tactics. Dong-won moves to attacking midfielder position, Bo-kyung moves up to Ja-yoon’s position. Seok-young and Chang-su will make attacking movements. You two stick to the sidelines when moving. Joo-young and Dong-won, both of you enter the penalty area when we attack. We’ll increase our attacking numbers and actively utilize crosses.”

 

That would extremely reduce our defensive numbers, but right now this is a match where nothing matters unless we make up two goals.

 

“Sung-wook and Sang-hyuk need to coordinate with each other to deliver the ball forward and stop the opponent’s counter attacks. Your roles are the most important. If the defense wavers, the attack can’t function properly. Got it? Remember? Your tactical training?”

 

We definitely did this kind of training.

 

When playing with Sung-wook, Sung-wook would lead the attack from a bit forward, while I would focus on defense from behind.

 

“Yes.”

 

I answered confidently right away, while Ki Sung-yueng still didn’t look bright, perhaps still carrying a heavy burden in his heart.

 

“…Yes.”

 

* * *

 

‘It’s packed.’

 

The final between Mexico and Korea was taking place in England, and the stands were full.

 

Ah, of course I knew this since I saw it in the first half too, but now I’m the protagonist on the field looking at it, so I can interpret it differently.

 

‘Half of them are Mexico fans.’

 

I could guess to some extent because they came wearing Mexico’s distinctive cone hats.

 

Before running onto the field, I briefly knelt on the sideline and touched the natural grass.

 

The familiar smell of grass.

 

‘There’s quite a bit of moisture today.’

 

That means it’s slippery.

 

The ground seems to be set up more favorably for Mexico than Korea.

 

Maybe Ki Sung-yueng’s mistake under strong pressure was because of this too.

 

He’s originally a guy with good ball-keeping ability.

 

‘Maybe because England can make excuses about losing to the winning team if Mexico wins?’

 

Well, it’s not important.

 

I have no intention of losing.

 

The Mexico coach who was sitting on the bench suddenly walks out to the sideline.

 

I caught sight of him tilting his head.

 

‘An unexpected substitution?’

 

First half…

 

Intense high press.

 

Then defensive tactics that seemed like they would defend the goal to outer space, as if they had no intention of scoring.

 

It was a match as if the Mexico coach was controlling the players by pulling eleven strings.

 

A puppeteer, you could say?

 

‘So there are no counter-tactics until they figure out what our tactics are?’

 

During the time I quit soccer, I read countless soccer tactics books, and I’m applying the content from them from a player’s perspective.

 

‘Then for the next 5 minutes, the opponent can’t respond…’

 

I tied my soccer cleats once more and entered the field.

 

“Hey, everyone gather!”

 

Kim Seong-ryong, wearing the captain’s armband instead of Gu Ja-yoon, called the players together.

 

“Anyone who has something to say, speak up now.”

 

No one responds.

 

“Um.”

 

As soon as I spoke up, everyone’s attention turned to me.

 

The second half would start with Korea’s kickoff.

 

“How about everyone except the center backs goes up when we start attacking?”

 

“Why?”

 

“I think they’ll immediately apply high press like they did in the first half. We should do the opposite and swarm forward to score a goal.”

 

“….”

 

The players’ expressions looked like they were wondering what kind of nonsense I was talking about.

 

“Right? Everyone thinks it’s ridiculous, but they’ll probably think the same. I think they’ll be really confused…”

 

That’s how you shake up their defense.

 

If we score just one goal, we can ride the momentum and the players can find their strength.

 

It’s really important.

 

That one goal.

 

“I think if we can just get one goal back, the second half will be manageable.”

 

Ironically, the first player to respond to my words was Jang Jin-woo.

 

“Got it. You’re saying just charge straight at the goal post? Like that time?”

 

Like that time?

 

Ah, come to think of it, I had scored a goal like this in the high school tournament and beaten Jang Jin-woo’s team.

 

‘He remembered that?’

 

I nodded.

 

“Yeah.”

 

“Alright.”

 

Since Jang Jin-woo responded like that, the other players also glanced around and nodded.

 

“Good. Then let’s try something crazy at the start. But you guys need to get back immediately. If I concede another goal from a counter attack, you better know you’re dead today.”

 

Is he talking to me?

 

But Kim Seong-ryong isn’t looking at me.

 

“Hey, forget about military exemption. You know what happens if we win today, right? It’ll be Korea’s first Olympic gold medal in football. It’s a business card that’ll follow you wherever you go. Let’s give our best today for that business card. Come on!”

 

We put our hands together and cheered.

—————
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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