Field Commander - Chapter 62

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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 62.

Chapter 62.

Chapter 62.

After my first debut at Wolfsburg…

 

I started in the next game, the DFB-Pokal first round match.

 

The opponent was SC Victoria Hamburg, a 5th Division team.

 

They had earned a spot in the DFB-Pokal by winning the 5th Division League, but the difference in player skill was stark.

 

The opponent put two physically strong and fast forwards up front and played what’s called long ball soccer, and I couldn’t help but love teams that play this style.

 

For me, with speed being my only weakness…

 

The longer the ball stays in the air, the more my defensive abilities are maximized.

 

However, against teams that connect short, quick passes in small increments, my defensive abilities don’t stand out as much relatively.

 

I just do my part, or maybe 1.5 times my part depending on the forwards’ tendencies?

 

The final result was 6-0.

 

Jung Joo-young scored a multi-goal in this game too, and I also had 2 assists before being substituted in the 25th minute of the second half, earning me the MOM award.

 

Aerial duel success rate 100%: 13/13

 

Dribble defense success rate 75%: 3/4

 

Interceptions: 11 times

 

Tackle success rate 100%: 2/2

 

Pass success rate: 92%: 103/111

 

Key passes: 6 times

 

And I had my first interview at the club.

 

“You were selected as MOM today, how do you feel?”

 

I fidgeted with my ear for a moment.

 

“Your voice is really erotic. Could you ask the question one more time?”

 

The journalists gathered in the interview room burst into laughter at my response.

 

The questions continued, and I answered lightly while looking at the printed materials handed to me by the PR team staff.

 

“Among Freiburg fans, there’s a lot of positive opinion about the team’s Bundesliga survival thanks to the recent transfers. What are Kim’s thoughts?”

 

“I’m not thinking about playing just to survive. I’m thinking about playing to win the championship.”

 

Laughter flowed among the journalists again.

 

Unlike when I first joked, there was also a hint of mockery mixed in.

 

“Isn’t that too unrealistic a goal? For a last-place team, and moreover for a player who just came up from the second team not long ago?”

 

Last-place team?

 

This is why the world is somewhat interesting.

 

These kinds of villains always pop up somewhere.

 

“Which publication are you from?”

 

At my question, the bearded man showed his palms and shrugged his shoulders as if wondering why I’d want to know that.

 

But text appeared on the prompt screen in front of me.

 

– John Jensen from Bild. He’s a journalist favorable to Dortmund. He’s famous for provoking players to write sensational articles. He has more influence than you’d think, so don’t get provoked.

 

The part about having influence really caught my eye from the prompt content.

 

Bild is Germany’s top football tabloid newspaper.

 

If I handle this well, it could be used as fuel to ignite my teammates’ motivation.

 

“What I’m best at is grabbing someone’s coattails. And this season, someone will be caught by my hands and won’t reach where they’re supposed to go. Especially teams like Dortmund?”

 

John Jensen burst into loud laughter.

 

“A team like Freiburg is going to grab Dortmund’s coattails?”

 

And text appeared on the prompt in front of me.

 

– That’s just his nature. Never engage with him.

 

I wonder who’s writing on this prompt?

 

I’ll have to find out later.

 

“Want to make a bet?”

 

“Of course.”

 

John Jensen was full of confidence as if this was perfect timing.

 

“If we win the game, how about you write articles criticizing Dortmund for the entire season?”

 

“What?”

 

“Why, are you scared?”

 

At this point, the other side should give up.

 

“Fine.”

 

The press conference room stirred for a moment.

 

“But if you lose, you’ll have to enter the stadium wearing a t-shirt I make for you before every game.”

 

Is Europe really different?

 

He’s got guts.

 

But is Dortmund really that good of a team?

 

I was slightly worried, but I’m not the type of person to back down in situations like this.

 

“Deal!”

 

As soon as I entered the locker room after the 10-minute press conference, Gunter made a comment as expected.

 

“You’re crazy. I can’t imagine how funny it’ll be every time you show up at the stadium wearing some shitty t-shirt.”

 

Without even knowing what kind of t-shirt it would be?

 

I don’t know either though.

 

“What, are you already thinking about losing?”

 

“Is Dortmund some name that’s just rolling around on the street?”

 

“Then, should I have avoided the provocation after being called a last-place team?”

 

“…”

 

“Would you have done that?”

 

Gunter shut his mouth tight and went to his spot.

 

I smiled inwardly at that sight.

 

That guy definitely loves this team like crazy.

 

“Damn! Last-place team my ass. That damn journalist bastard. Should I just smash his head in!”

 

Gunter cursed and threw a fit, then left the locker room.

 

I was changing out of my sweat-soaked athletic wear when Jung Joo-young came close and spoke quietly.

 

“Did you two have some kind of problem?”

 

“No. That guy’s just an idiot.”

 

“He seemed to play well though?”

 

“He only plays soccer well. He’s an idiot.”

 

“Still, I hope it doesn’t go in a direction that hurts the team atmosphere.”

 

Jung Joo-young seems to like this team.

 

“Of course. I have no intention of fighting with an idiot.”

 

Jung Joo-young chuckled.

 

Actually, Gunter isn’t an idiot.

 

He’s a true franchise player who’s grown up with this team since he was very young.

 

He’s not a mercenary like me who’s just passing through briefly.

 

He’s popular in the local community too…

 

Many players in the team follow that guy.

 

When a guy like that shows some charisma, the team atmosphere changes quickly.

 

He’s probably somewhere right now, fuming and building up anger against Dortmund.

 

‘To face strong teams, all players need that kind of attitude. Run more and play more aggressively.’

 

* * *

 

Jürgen Klopp, manager of Dortmund who was scheduled to face the formidable Schalke 04 in the 10th round, scratched his ear for a moment.

 

“Who?”

 

The journalist had clearly articulated the words Kim Sang-hyuk of Freiburg SC.

 

Everyone in the interview room had understood it, so there was no way Jürgen Klopp alone hadn’t heard it.

 

Jürgen Klopp momentarily took off his thick glasses and glared at the journalist who had asked the question.

 

Though he was over 190cm tall with a hairy face and sometimes had a reputation for being scary due to his clear-eyed, madman-like behavior,

 

he was one of the world’s top managers who had rebuilt the declining football powerhouse Dortmund.

 

“Is he a Schalke 04 player?”

 

“No.”

 

“Then why are you asking such a stupid question?”

 

Klopp put his glasses back on.

 

“But a guy with an impression as strong as mine guaranteed he’d beat our team?”

 

As if he wouldn’t answer that question, Klopp suddenly fell into his own world after speaking.

 

But all the journalists noticed.

 

That Klopp already knew about that Asian player.

 

Despite never having faced him once in the league.

 

“If we’re just talking about the impressions of the players on the field, that could be possible.”

 

The press conference room erupted in laughter at Klopp’s words.

 

“Football is a sport played with a round ball, and match results are unpredictable, so I won’t answer that question.”

 

After the laughter died down, Klopp looked at the journalist who had thrown the question.

 

John Jensen.

 

Well, a journalist he saw often.

 

He had written articles praising Dortmund his whole life.

 

When he was managing at Mainz, this journalist had given him a lot of trouble too.

 

But now he was writing articles defending Dortmund and himself from the front lines.

 

“But about those letters to put on that t-shirt…”

 

All the journalists’ eyes turned to Jürgen Klopp.

 

“How about writing ‘I am a core player of Dortmund’?”

 

The journalists burst into laughter again at those words.

 

A Freiburg player appearing wearing a shirt with such a phrase every time he entered the stadium?

 

But some journalists sharply analyzed this comment.

 

‘Klopp might be a bit crazy, but… he doesn’t joke around about stuff like this?’

 

‘Does he really have recruitment intentions?’

 

John Jensen also nodded.

 

“That’s not bad.”

 

Jürgen Klopp cleared his throat several times.

 

“Alright. Let’s end this question here and move on to the next one.”

 

* * *

 

– Jürgen Klopp recommends wording ‘I am a core player of Dortmund!’ on t-shirt for player who provoked him!

 

– Dortmund… interested in Freiburg’s rising prospect?

 

– Who is Freiburg SC’s Asian mercenary Kim Sang-hyuk?

 

Jürgen Klopp was the most influential manager in the Bundesliga along with Bayern Munich’s Pep Guardiola.

 

His words immediately began to be covered by major media outlets, and the name Kim Sang-hyuk started spreading throughout Germany.

 

“This is a somewhat dangerous statement, isn’t it?”

 

Voices of concern flowed from the board of directors.

 

The team was on a 3-game winning streak thanks to the recent performance of two Asian players who had joined the first team, and even the fans who had turned their backs were returning.

 

The upcoming 10th round match.

 

If they achieved victory in the match against Borussia Mönchengladbach, the team would gain momentum to rise.

 

“Would he really be a player who’d be shaken by such a statement?”

 

Since the club knew nothing about Kim Sang-hyuk, they seemed to worry even more.

 

“If you have time to worry, hurry up and proceed with the contract renewal. He’s a really necessary player.”

 

Having started him in the second half against Wolfsburg and in the cup competition, Streich realized that his skills weren’t greatly affected by the level of the opposing team and strongly demanded a contract renewal.

 

Streich had quite a deep connection with Jürgen Klopp.

 

They had trained together in coaching courses.

 

He was very pleasant and emotional, but absolutely not someone who would make careless remarks.

 

“So the bees can’t approach.”

 

Since he had already heard through scouts that Jürgen Klopp was very interested in Kim Sang-hyuk, he knew that statement wasn’t a slip of the tongue.

 

After finishing the meeting with the board, he held a team tactical meeting with the coaches.

 

“The team composition seems to be mostly finished. From now on, it would be good to focus on developing the team’s resources.”

 

Due to the rebuilding work that began at the start of the season, Freiburg had an average age of 24.7 years, becoming the youngest club among all Bundesliga clubs.

 

The meeting had been going on for a while, and now they began analyzing Kim Sang-hyuk.

 

“His strengths are amazing physicality and physical battle ability, right-foot crosses, wide field vision, quick decision making, and almost no mistakes.”

 

“What about weaknesses?”

 

“Speed. He didn’t show it at the club, but in the Olympics he missed fast players several times.”

 

“Is that his only weakness?”

 

“That’s what we’ve identified so far.”

 

There aren’t many ways to improve an adult player’s speed.

 

“However, he covers even that with proper decision making, so I’m not sure if it can be called a weakness.”

 

It would be a fatal flaw in a track and field competition, but football isn’t just a running sport and has many variables.

 

According to the coaching staff, in short, a player without weaknesses.

 

“What methods are there to improve his skills?”

 

“There’s one thing for now.”

 

Everyone focused on the analyst’s words.

 

“Kim is currently… doing pressure escape by stealing timing. Eventually his final choice will be long passes or through passes targeting the front line forwards. If the opposing team manager reads that, they’ll prepare countermeasures. It’ll be hard to get as many attacking points as now.”

 

Streich nodded.

 

“So we need to give him one more attacking option.”

 

“What kind?”

 

“Dribbling. Specifically, dribbling training with the right outside foot is needed.”

 

“Right outside foot?”

 

“Yes. In Kim Sang-hyuk’s case… once he gets used to this method, there won’t be much speed difference between running without the ball and dribbling.”

 

Players who are good off the ball usually have quite fast running speed.

 

However, their speed tends to drop significantly when running with the ball.

 

But players with slow speed often don’t lose much speed when running with the ball.

 

As the analyst said, when running while pushing the ball with the outside of the dominant foot, the foot shape is almost similar to just running.

 

This is also why slow players can still survive in the increasingly fast-paced football world.

 

“If we can make Kim advance to the opponent’s goal while dribbling, various attacking options will emerge, and it’ll be hard for opponents to counter. Of course, this is limited to the player Kim Sang-hyuk. Without his amazing decision making, prediction ability, and field vision, it would be meaningless training.”

 

Just 2 matches.

 

Kim Sang-hyuk was definitely recording overwhelming stats in defensive aspects.

 

But his attacking points were also considerable for a defender.

 

Especially his timing in breaking opponent’s offline tactics was truly artistic.

 

What particularly impressed the coaching staff was none other than his physical battles.

 

If he equipped more attacking options?

 

Would there be anything other than fouls that could stop his advance?

 

If he drew fouls in good positions… they could use Kim Sang-hyuk, who also had good aerial ability, as an attacking card.

 

“Good. Then let’s set Kim Sang-hyuk’s training focus for this season on dribbling.”

 

* * *

 

The 10th round Bundesliga match against Borussia Mönchengladbach, held just three days after the DFB Pokal 1st round.

 

Against expectations, I was included in the starting lineup.

 

Not just me, but Jung Joo-young too.

 

– GK Oliver Baumann.

 

– RWB Jonathan Schmid

 

– LWB Christian Günter

 

– CB Oliver Sorg

 

– CB Matthias Ginter

 

– CB Palo Dianeh

 

– MF Kim Sang-hyuk

 

– MF Max Cruz

 

– RF Jung Joo-young

 

– LF Daniel Caligiuri

 

– CF Antonio Sebastian

 

For my first Bundesliga starting appearance, I even received applause from my teammates and coaches.

 

It was quite modest though.

 

Moreover, since it was a match at our home stadium, I felt like I could properly show myself to the fans.

 

The same went for Jung Joo-young.

 

Until that incident happened.

 

– Thud!

 

We were finishing up our final tactical training the day before the match against Borussia Mönchengladbach.

 

While trying to catch the ball, my hand got hit by someone’s foot swinging from behind.

 

I felt considerable pain and turned around while holding my hand.

 

“What the hell?”

 

My agitated voice echoed, and players and coaches came running over.

 

“Ah, sorry! I didn’t mean to do that.”

 

The guy who apologized was Johann Plum.

 

The guy who had been a regular starter before I got selected.

 

But he didn’t mean to do that?

 

I was consumed with rage to the point my eyes felt like they’d pop out, but surrounded by players, I had to suppress my anger for a while.

 

A coach came running over and examined my hand for a long time.

 

“It looks like your pinky finger is fractured. Go to the medical team for an examination.”

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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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