Lazy Genius Striker [EN]: Chapter 9

< 008 – Taming the Lazy Genius >

“…So, you’re saying you haven’t played soccer in two years?”

“Yes.”

“Is that really true…?”

“It’s true. I haven’t played at all for two years. Not that I worked hard before that, either…”

Maxwell, the U-18 team coach, looked dumbfounded at Ban Seok-ho’s words.

After seeing Johan’s genius on the first day of training, Maxwell had immediately told him to bring his father for an interview the next day.

Maxwell was initially surprised that the father was Ban Seok-ho.

He understood that talent ran in the family, which explained Johan’s potential.

But the problem was,

Everything else was completely incomprehensible.

First of all, Johan’s soccer career was unbelievable.

He had been forced to play by his dad when he was young, and even that he had quit completely two years ago.

And his tryout was the first time he had kicked a ball in two years.

He hadn’t even looked at a ball, let alone kicked it, for two years.

‘So, the kid I saw yesterday was playing soccer for the first time in two years.’

Maxwell couldn’t understand how that was possible.

Maxwell recalled the dribbling Johan had shown during the mini-game training yesterday.

That dribbling, from a kid who hadn’t touched a ball in two years.

The kids Johan had effortlessly blown past had been dedicated to training every day.

Some of them since they were very young, for years.

And were those kids untalented?

Not at all.

The U-18 team was a team you couldn’t join without talent.

Just surviving to this point was proof of their talent.

But,

That a kid who hadn’t touched a ball in two years had mercilessly crushed them.

It didn’t make sense.

“What about other sports? Did he play basketball, or even do bodyweight exercises…?”

“Not at all. He’s just been going back and forth to school.”

The second thing he couldn’t understand was,

That he hadn’t done any other sports at all.

His physique didn’t make sense.

A solid build that was visible even under his training clothes.

His natural frame was already impressive, but his solid muscles were evenly distributed across that broad frame.

And that was from someone who had just been playing around and eating.

Even if he was a growing boy with hormones raging.

Wasn’t that an unfair level of physicality?

If he had even done weight training, he might have already had top-tier physicality even in the pros.

What should he say about this?

The only explanation was that he was born to play soccer.

“So, you can imagine how much he’s worried me. For a kid like that to say he doesn’t want to play soccer. He could be the best if he just did it, but he’s naturally lazy and finds it annoying.”

“Lazy…”

“I barely woke him up this morning too. Even after waking him up, I practically carried him out the door. It’s a miracle he even came to training today, I don’t know how long this will last…”

Ban Seok-ho said, looking out the window at Johan, who was listlessly running around the training field.

Ban Seok-ho was happy even with that.

Just the fact that Johan was training at West Ham’s training ground.

However, he couldn’t help but feel anxious.

Honestly, Ban Seok-ho couldn’t guarantee how long he would endure it.

It was a miracle that he had come to training yesterday and today.

He might say he wouldn’t come tomorrow. No, that was highly likely.

He couldn’t let it end like that.

How could he give up on such a hard-won opportunity?

Giving up once was understandable, but giving up twice.

He might really never play soccer again in his life.

Ban Seok-ho wanted to somehow get Johan on the path to becoming a player with this opportunity.

“I feel the same way.”

Maxwell felt the same.

Maxwell recalled Johan’s half-hearted attitude towards training from the first day.

If an ordinary player had that kind of attitude,

Maxwell would have kicked him off the team without hesitation.

But,

Johan was different.

No matter how lazy he was, no matter how much he disliked his attitude.

He was a talent he wanted to fix somehow, a talent he wanted to unleash on the field.

To put it grandly, he even felt a sense of destiny as a soccer coach.

To put this talent on the field and create a player that soccer fans around the world could cheer for.

If he gave up on this talent just because he was lazy, he would feel like he was neglecting his duty.

That was exactly the extent of the talent Maxwell had discovered in Johan.

So, with their opinions aligned.

“Then the important thing is how to do it…”

“How to…”

Indeed, the question was how to gently train this lazy bum.

“Hmm.”

Maxwell listed the names of players who came to mind when he thought of ‘lazy geniuses.’

Johan Cruyff.

Romario.

Michael Laudrup.

Antonio Cassano.

Adriano.

These were the players that immediately came to mind.

‘Lazy geniuses have something in common.’

Their eras were different, their nationalities were different, and their upbringing was different.

But Maxwell could think of one thing they had in common.

The very reason they had no choice but to be lazy.

Romario, the epitome of a lazy genius, had said this:

“Why do I need to train when I know how to run?”

He had never felt that soccer was difficult.

That must be the common trait of lazy geniuses.

If it’s not difficult, there’s no reason to work hard.

So, they just seem lazy to the people around them.

Johan must be one of those cases.

“That’s right. It’s not just because he’s my son, but he’s always been the best wherever he goes.”

Ban Seok-ho nodded.

He had never seen a talent more outstanding than Johan.

Perhaps that was why Johan hadn’t been interested in soccer.

“Good. In that case, I might be able to create an environment.”

Maxwell looked out the window.

Many children were training hard.

One of them caught Maxwell’s eye.

‘Joshua.’

Joshua Bailey.

A 16-year-old winger, the same age as Johan and the youngest on the team.

But his skills were not those of the youngest.

In terms of talent, he was one of the best not only on the U-18 team but also on the U-21 team, and he was being evaluated as someone who could debut in the first team within a year or two.

‘That friend might…’

Maxwell thought that he could give Johan his first experience through Joshua.

For the first time in his life,

To face someone more skilled than himself.

He had never felt a wall before, so he had no choice but to be lazy.

If he were to realize that there was a talent better than him.

Johan, who had only been lazy, might develop a sense of ambition.

“For now, trust me and leave it to me. I’ll give it a try.”

“I’m counting on you, Coach.”

Maxwell nodded with a confident expression.

The taming of the lazy bum had begun.

***

“Okay. Alright, break time’s over! Let’s move on to the next drill!”

Today, too, training was boring and annoying.

When he thought about 30 minutes had passed and looked at the clock, only 10 minutes had passed.

When he thought he was really going to die and that an hour had passed, only 20 minutes had passed.

And why did the break time feel like 1 minute when it was 10 minutes?

He was really thinking about running away today, but then he remembered that his dad was here for the interview, so he couldn’t.

In the end, all Johan could do today was to try to be as lazy as possible and train half-heartedly.

Haa.

What’s waiting for me in the next drill?

“Two like this. Two like this.”

The coach started pairing up the kids in twos.

The paired-up kids were given a ball each.

“From now on, you’re going to do 1-on-1s. You’ll take turns attacking and defending, and the attacker gets 1 point for scoring a goal. The defender gets 1 point for stealing the ball or knocking it out. The first one to 10 points wins.”

1-on-1 training.

Johan shrugged his shoulders after hearing the coach’s explanation.

He thought it would be much better than the passing drills or tactical drills he had been doing until now.

He could see a way to do it half-heartedly.

He could just lose.

It’s not like there’s a penalty for losing.

“Ah, and. The loser gets a penalty. I’ll tell you what the penalty is after it’s over, but it’s a terrifying penalty, so do your best.”

…I’ve heard that words can come true, but can thoughts also come true?

Johan sighed at the coach’s words about the penalty.

Hmmm.

Then, I have to win for now.

“Hi. My name is Joshua.”

“Ah, uh. I’m Johan.”

Johan’s opponent was a friend named Joshua.

Joshua, who seemed to have a bright personality, smiled and reached out his hand first.

Looking at Joshua’s face, Johan felt sorry even before starting.

One of them had to receive a penalty, but he had no intention of receiving it.

In the end, this Joshua guy would get the penalty, but he couldn’t help but feel sorry seeing him smile so brightly.

“Then, beep-!”

The kids’ 1-on-1s started right away with the whistle.

Johan and Joshua.

Joshua was on the attack first.

‘I’ve never defended before.’

In fact, Johan didn’t know how good he was at defending.

He had no memory of defending.

He remembered his dad saying that these days, even attackers have to participate in defense, but.

He was too lazy to even attack, so he didn’t want to defend at all.

Because of that.

Johan’s defensive stance looked somewhat clumsy.

On the other hand,

Joshua’s movements as he tapped the ball with the instep of his foot and approached Johan were skillful.

Tatatat-!

‘He’s fast.’

Joshua was fast.

Joshua, who played as a left and right winger and a second-line forward in matches, was good at 1-on-1s from the start.

Even most defenders struggled with 1-on-1s against Joshua, so it didn’t seem easy for Johan, who was an attacker and had never defended before, to stop Joshua.

Because of that,

Joshua himself was the most surprised by the unexpected result.

Paang-!

“…!”

“It’s out. So, I get 1 point, right?”

Joshua was dumbfounded as he looked at the ball that had gone out of bounds.

He had tried a skill.

He was planning to shake his balance by mixing in upper body feints and then get past him with a La Croqueta [a dribbling move where the player flicks the ball from one foot to the other to evade a defender].

But,

It didn’t work at all.

Johan, who was standing awkwardly like a wooden statue, stretched out his foot the moment Joshua tried to break through,

And the ball that touched that foot went out of bounds.

Defensive win.

Johan had scored 1 point first.

“…Hehe. Right. You get 1 point.”

Joshua, who had been momentarily stunned, scratched his head and smiled.

Well, okay.

1 point is fine.

Since it was the first time, he tried a skill he was still practicing, but his feet got tangled.

It was just his mistake.

Joshua casually brushed it off, thinking he would do it properly next time.

However,

“I get 1 point, right?”

“…!”

After a few more changes of possession.

The smile had completely disappeared from Joshua’s face.

*

“…Huh.”

Maxwell, who was watching Johan and Joshua’s 1-on-1, let out a short sigh in disbelief.

This 1-on-1 drill, which he had just improvised, was a drill for Johan.

By pitting Joshua, the best player on the team, against him, he wanted him to feel a wall he had never encountered before.

His intention was to draw out the ambition and competitive spirit that was inside him through that.

But, what was this?

The two’s 1-on-1 ended the fastest among the kids.

That meant the score difference widened quickly.

10 to 2.

The first to score 10 points was,

Johan.

‘Joshua… isn’t enough?’

Joshua’s crushing defeat, whom he had believed in.

If even Joshua, the best talent on the team, wasn’t enough, who would he have to bring to make him feel a wall?

‘The U-21 team? No. Not at all.’

Joshua was the best prospect in all age groups.

There was no talent in the U-21 or U-23 teams that surpassed Joshua.

Then,

There’s only one thing left.

‘That’s ridiculous.’

That was ridiculous.

That meant he would have to send a 16-year-old trainee who had been training for two days to the first team.