Field Commander - Chapter 53

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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 53.

Chapter 53.

Chapter 53.

– Gu Ja-yoon is coming off and Kim Sang-hyuk is coming on.

 

– Oh, this is an unexpected substitution. This means using two defensive midfielders, but shouldn’t Korea be attacking?

 

– That’s true, but Ki Sung-yueng is a multi-purpose player who can cover positions 5, 7, and 10. Also, it’s hard to see Kim Sang-hyuk as just a defensive midfielder since his attacking points are second only to Jang Jin-woo. He’s especially threatening on set pieces.

 

– Ah. So is this a substitution to increase height and target set pieces?

 

– That’s very likely.

 

– But didn’t Gu Ja-yoon perform well in the first half with his shooting?

 

– To be precise, he could only attempt mid-range shots. Mexico’s compact defense is no joke. Both Jang Jin-woo and Jung Joo-young are trapped in tight spaces and can’t make good movements.

 

– It seems like they need to score an equalizer quickly to have any chance of turning the momentum around.

 

– Yes. That’s right. If an equalizer comes, the momentum will definitely shift to Korea. Mexico can’t play defensive football anxiously with just a one-goal lead. They could concede additional goals from set piece situations.

 

– Ah, so can we look forward to the second half?

Choi Do-hoon opened his mouth while listening to the broadcast commentary.

“Oh, in the first half Gu Ja-yoon was trapped by the compact defense and made many pass misses, and instead of creating the game, he wasted opportunities with low-probability shots. When you waste the few opportunities like that, the manager gets disappointed. If Mexico continues with the same compact defense in the second half, there’s no need for Gu Ja-yoon to be there.”

 

– Kim Sang-hyuk has appeared.

 

– When he comes on, I get the feeling he’ll do something.

 

– Set piece headers! Let’s go!

 

– But why didn’t they take out Ki Sung-yueng? We conceded 2 goals because of that bastard.

 

– He’s taller than Gu Ja-yoon, right?

 

– By only 3cm? I think Gu Ja-yoon has better movement and would be better.

The chat was buzzing with such discussions, and meanwhile the whistle blew as the second half began with Korea’s kickoff.

“Oh, all the Korean players are starting to run.”

Usually when a match starts, they wait for the opposing players to press forward while circulating the ball in their own half before starting the attack, but this time they gave the ball to Kim Sang-hyuk and everyone except the center backs moved up into Mexico’s half.

And very quickly at that.

– Oh oh, the Mexican players who were trying to press… are backing up.

 

– But they’re all caught off guard by the feint and can’t body check from the front.

Without tactics or positions, running toward the goal post via the shortest route, the Mexican players who had never experienced such a situation moved in confusion.

As a result, mismatches began to occur.

Such a swift charge.

“Raúl Jiménez. He’s rushing toward Kim Sang-hyuk who’s bringing the ball forward. Raul seems to have read Korea’s attacking point. Kim Sang-hyuk’s long ball ability has been proven to be terrifying through this tournament! It looks like he’s planning to commit a foul at least…”

But Kim Sang-hyuk had already sent up a cross before Raul could body check him.

While Raul and Kim Sang-hyuk’s bodies tangled and fell to the ground.

That ball dropped right into the space between the goalkeeper and the final defender.

– Korean players are rushing in! The goalkeeper is coming out!

 

– Ah, but Jang Jin-woo is fast on his feet. He’s fast. He’s fast!! Shoot!!!

 

– Agh! It hits the goalkeeper and bounces out… ah what an insane super save!!! But luckily it falls in front of Ki Sung-yueng. Ki Sung-yueng shoots immediately!!!

The Mexican goalkeeper who had rushed out to the penalty area and boldly threw his body to block Jang Jin-woo’s shot was in no position to back up.

The final defenders rushed in and stretched their legs in front of the goal post but couldn’t reach it.

The ball drew a beautiful arc and wrapped around the goal net.

– Lobbing… shot!!!!! Goal!!! It’s a goal!!!

Korea’s equalizer that came just 7 seconds into the second half.

“Woooow!!!!”

Choi Do-hoon shouted and jumped up.

“Woah!!!”

Choi Do-hoon still couldn’t speak and was staring wide-eyed at the match video.

– Ah, this is crazy!!

 

– Wow… what was that

 

– Ah, wait I was getting water…

 

– I was peeing and ran out. The living room is completely flooded with piss.

 

– Free swimming pool. Go swim.

 

– Ah shit… I woke up because of the shouting upstairs.

 

– How is someone who just woke up commenting?

 

– Is this real?

 

– I can’t believe it even watching it.

 

– What just happened?

 

– Isn’t this the fastest goal in football history?

Choi Do-hoon sat down and caught his breath.

“This time… Korea completely targeted the second half. Before Mexico could set up their defensive formation, everyone except the center backs and Kim Sang-hyuk rushed toward Mexico’s goal. Mexico’s defense just collapsed, and although the goalkeeper made a super save, the god of football is helping Korea!!! Finally the long-awaited equalizer. A goal that came in 7.21 seconds!”

 

* * *

 

‘Ah damn. This bastard.’

I felt a sharp pain in my chest because of Raul who had thrown his body almost like a headbutt.

He definitely noticed our intention and seemed to have charged at me thinking of getting a card.

He rushed in at such quick timing that I couldn’t make an accurate cross but…

I got up at the deafening cheers.

Seeing our team players doing a goal celebration made me feel at ease.

The pain seemed to subside too.

But Raul lying next to me was holding his head and couldn’t get up.

According to my fleeting memory, it seems my elbow unintentionally hit his head.

It wasn’t intentional, should I call it survival instinct?

I saw the medical staff running over and lay back down.

The damp humidity and grass smell stimulated my nose.

‘…We did it.’

It’s not something I can use often, but in situations no one expects, it produces results like this.

And every time I pull off something like this, it feels like chemicals are rushing through my brain.

A thrill that gives me goosebumps.

– Ki Sung-yueng! Ki Sung-yueng! Ki Sung-yueng!

Chants for Ki Sung-yueng echoed across the ground along with drum beats.

“Phew, that’s a relief. It was exactly when we needed it.”

If a slick guy like Jang Jin-woo had scored, the emotion would have been cut in half.

Ki Sung-yueng probably feels much less guilt now.

And seeing the players didn’t ignore my words and ran forward, it seems their trust in my crosses is strong.

That means they can have confidence in my crosses going forward too.

It’s definitely become my weapon now.

“Are you okay?”

The medical staff approached.

“I think my chest is a bit bruised.”

 

“Lift it up.”

 

“Yes.”

After checking my chest, they spray pain relief spray all over it.

“No problem running?”

 

“I think so.”

But Raul next to me was still holding his head and couldn’t get up, and I could see the Mexican medical staff eventually requesting a stretcher.

While another medical staff member was running over with a stretcher, Raul lifted his head.

And half of his face was covered in blood.

 

‘Oh my. That’s a relief.’

 

That scene was flowing through the large screen on the electronic scoreboard, and it seemed like all the Mexico fans sitting in the stands were glaring at me.

 

The referee ran to Raul and touched his back pocket, but ultimately didn’t pull out a card.

 

‘No way… He deliberately hit someone with that hard head, so why isn’t he giving one? This is a traffic accident! A traffic accident!’

 

Questions and complaints surged for a moment, but I thought I shouldn’t excite the Mexico fans who were glaring at me like they wanted to kill me any further.

 

‘This referee seems to make decisions based on the flow rather than regulations?’

 

Each piece of information like that is very precious.

 

* * *

 

Lee Sang-cheol was puzzled when he saw all the players in front of Kim Sang-hyuk suddenly rushing forward like a flood right after the second half started.

 

‘What are they doing?’

 

But after seeing them create a goal in just a few seconds, all questions disappeared from his head as if they had never existed.

 

And…

 

Hope…

 

Yes, hope overwhelmed his heart and reason.

 

That they might be able to turn this game around.

 

The players had created that with their own thinking.

 

If it had been Hwang Ki-ho, he would have scolded the players, but he wasn’t that style.

 

He was the type to praise when players worked together to create results!

 

While Kim Sang-hyuk and Raul, who had collided, received medical treatment, Lee Sang-cheol called captain Kim Seong-ryong.

 

“Who was it?”

 

It would sound like a story without beginning or end to anyone listening, but Kim Seong-ryong answered without hesitation.

 

“Kim Sang-hyuk.”

 

“Got it. Very well done.”

 

“Thank you.”

 

“Tell the players. Basically maintain the tactical formation, but if you have good ideas, execute them freely.”

 

“Understood.”

 

It was football you couldn’t see in modern soccer, but could see about once every few years in children’s neighborhood soccer.

 

Everyone running forward without formation or defense, with one person dropping the ball in front of the goalkeeper from behind.

 

He was flustered too, so how flustered must the opposing team and coach have been?

 

In 7 seconds, they got caught without even having time to come to their senses.

 

Lee Sang-cheol quietly looked at the Mexico coach whose face had turned red.

 

He couldn’t curse at his players, and he couldn’t blame his own tactics.

 

It would just be pure bewilderment.

 

Like what he himself had felt during those few seconds before the goal.

 

‘Kim Sang-hyuk…’

 

Lee Sang-cheol repeated that name several times in his mind.

 

Come to think of it, he had always been at the center of every turnaround in this Olympic tournament.

 

‘That young guy has an amazingly excellent eye for reading and interpreting the game on the field…’

 

If he becomes a coach someday…

 

Lee Sang-cheol turned his head and saw the Mexico medical staff running over.

 

There, the number 9 forward who had been tormenting our team’s defenders throughout the first half was down and unable to get up.

 

He was carried on a stretcher shortly after, his face covered in blood.

 

It looked like the area between his eye and forehead was torn open lengthwise.

 

‘What hit him?’

 

He couldn’t tell because his attention had been focused only on the Mexico goal due to the players’ bewildering actions.

 

But judging by how they were busily wiping the blood, stapling the torn area with medical staplers, and immediately bandaging it, it was for continuation, not substitution.

 

‘Won’t that cause problems when heading?’

 

Bandaged fighting spirit was something Lee Sang-cheol had done during the World Cup too.

 

‘Back then, the torn area was around the eye that had lost vision, so it didn’t affect play, but…’

 

If you go from using both eyes to that condition, it creates problems with depth perception too.

 

‘Opportunity.’

 

Lee Sang-cheol thought that and called Lee Seok-young who was on the sideline.

 

* * *

 

“What just happened?”

 

“Uh, well.”

 

Michel and Schmaike had dumbfounded expressions.

 

“Was that really football we’re watching?”

 

“It happened on a soccer field, so it’s football.”

 

“That’s movement you’d rarely see even at elemental school.”

 

“So… they got caught ridiculously.”

 

“Wow, I need to look at that manager differently.”

 

The two stared intently at Manager Lee Sang-cheol for a long time.

 

“I don’t know how this game will turn out now.”

 

Michel said, but Schmaike’s gaze was elsewhere.

 

“Thank goodness.”

 

Seeing Kim Sang-hyuk jump up, Schmaike breathed a sigh of relief.

 

“It’s a relief.”

 

Michel muttered.

 

“Why?”

 

“You don’t need to know.”

 

Schmaike looked back at the field wondering what was going on, and Michel spoke quickly.

 

“Kim is really a good player. To deliver such a high-quality cross even in that situation. EPL teams would go crazy if they knew.”

 

“Could you… stop pouring out those curses?”

 

The game resumed, and Mexico shrank back instead of trying to pull further ahead.

 

Korea, riding the momentum, tried to attack both sides while using the field widely.

 

“But isn’t Mexico’s number 9 acting a bit strange?”

 

“Right. He keeps staying around Kim.”

 

“He sticks to Kim like a shadow wherever he goes.”

 

“Won’t that make it hard to receive the ball?”

 

“His teammates won’t pass to him.”

 

“Are they trying to isolate him?”

 

“The Mexico coach must be confident that if they stop Kim, they won’t concede goals.”

 

“Interesting. To see such diverse tactics in one game…”

 

The two ended that conversation and focused on the game again.

 

They had to watch the game and observe the players of interest.

 

‘To think of playing with such an injury. Amazing fighting spirit. He’d fit so well with our team. That player.’

 

Michel looked at Raul with an affectionate expression.

 

Schmaike’s gaze was directed at Kim Sang-hyuk.

 

‘Kim… show me what you can do with Jung Joo-young. Prove that our choice is right.’

 

* * *

 

‘Ah, this is annoyingly frustrating.’

 

I glared at Raul, who wouldn’t leave my side with bandages wrapped around his head.

 

This guy is clearly Mexico’s front forward, but he has no intention of attacking and just sticks by my side.

 

When my teammates try to pass to me, he hovers nearby to interfere, and when I try to move away and dart around here and there, he follows me like a shadow.

 

“Hey, man! Play football. Stop playing shadow games!”

 

When I chatter at him, he chatters back something, but of course I can’t understand it.

 

“Me golpeaste a propósito?(You hit me on purpose?)”

 

He keeps repeating things like that while continuously preventing me from receiving the ball.

 

No joke, in the 5 minutes after Korea scored the first goal, I only managed 3 ball touches.

 

As a defender.

 

Whenever a pass comes my way, he desperately throws his body to deflect the ball out of bounds.

 

‘This is driving me crazy.’

 

At this point, I’m not stupid – I had to realize what was happening.

 

‘They’re giving up on counter attacks and focusing on preventing me from getting the ball?’

 

It means Mexico intends to protect their one-goal lead until the end.

 

“Sung-wook.”

 

When I had a brief moment, I called out to Sung-wook.

 

Ki Sung-yueng, looking quite exhausted and gasping as if he might collapse, barely managed to look my way.

 

“You’re a defensive midfielder, right?”

 

“That’s obvious, isn’t it?”

 

“Then stay back for a bit.”

 

“What?”

 

“I’m curious to see how far this annoying guy will follow me.”

 

Even while we were talking, Raúl Jiménez was stuck right next to me.

 

“Got it.”

 

At that moment, I realized something.

 

Sung-wook had been playing full-time until now, and this guy stuck to me had also been playing full-time.

 

Despite having a clear tactical position, the fact that he responded to my request means he’s tired.

 

He’d been running around like a box-to-box midfielder covering both ends.

 

In this attack-heavy situation, falling back would allow him to manage his stamina.

 

‘That guy is thinking while he plays. But I was brought in during the second half.’

 

Throughout the tournament, my average running distance was around 7km.

 

Other players approached 10km, and the Mexico players who faced England and Brazil averaged nearly 13km.

 

‘The time has come when they’ll be physically drained.’

 

Let’s see how far he’ll follow me.

—————
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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