Lazy Genius Striker [EN]: Chapter 53

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To be fair, Ginter was in an unfavorable position during that collision.

Ginter was blocking the way, and Johann was the one running and ramming into him.

In such a situation, the one pushing is naturally at an advantage compared to the one blocking.

But still.

Ginter wasn’t one to fall easily, even if an average player ran from a distance and collided with him.

Johann was the first, at least in the PL [Premier League], to make Ginter tumble so spectacularly.

“Wow, that crazy kid!”

The West Ham bench erupted in exclamation the moment Ginter rolled around as if he’d been in a traffic accident.

It was Coach Jamie who had jumped up from his seat when Ginter blocked Johann’s path.

He knew they couldn’t possibly hear him from that far away, but he still wanted to shout.

‘Don’t collide with him.’

Johann’s body is currently the most valuable asset West Ham possesses.

No matter how incredibly healthy he is, he hoped Johann wouldn’t collide with Ginter.

But,

What do you know.

It wasn’t Johann who needed to be careful of injuries, but Ginter?

In fact, though Johann might not know it, West Ham had suffered a lot at Ginter’s hands until last season.

Therefore, Ginter’s humiliation was a refreshing moment worthy of cheers from the bench.

However,

It was too early to rest assured.

Tap-! Tap-!

Ginter, who had fallen, did a back roll and naturally stood up.

And,

Tap-! Tap-! Tap-!

Ginter started running towards Johann’s back.

Partly because he was embarrassed and wanted to get up quickly,

‘Damn it.’

But mostly because he had completely lost it.

Ginter had snapped from the humiliation he had never experienced before.

Tap-!

Johann had the ball and was dealing with Bellamy, who was providing defensive cover.

In Ginter’s eyes, only Johann’s back was visible.

‘I’ll kill him.’

That wasn’t a fair contest of strength just now.

It was a fight where he was bound to be at a disadvantage.

So, it’s invalid.

But even if it’s invalid, he couldn’t just let it go.

Ginter is the type to pay back exactly what he received.

Like an angry bull, Ginter charged towards Johann’s back, snorting.

Thud-!

Thump-!

However,

It was Ginter who fell again this time.

But it wasn’t Johann who made Ginter fall.

A giant no less than Ginter, who had run in from the side at Ginter who was only looking ahead.

“Hey, you ain’t shit!”

It was Scotland’s Jacob Buckley.

In fact, Buckley had been given one more mission in addition to his usual duties since preparing for the match against Chelsea.

A special order to protect Johann from Ginter, who would surely harass him.

“Is it possible, Buckley?”

“Piece of cake, mate.”

“Ginter is not an easy opponent.”

“Mate, if that bloke came to my hometown, he’d be called a wee lass [a small girl].”

He was confident in his mission.

In fact, Buckley was as proud of his physique as Ginter.

Therefore, Buckley had been keeping a close eye on Ginter since earlier.

And as soon as he saw that the bloke seemed to be rushing in recklessly, he ran in first and knocked him out of the touchline.

“Where do you think you’re touching, our prince!”

“Bweeep-!”

Of course, the referee’s whistle blew.

And,

“What, what is it!”

Buckley was given a yellow card.

“That bloke was gonna charge first, so I just stopped him!”

He protested, spitting, but in fact, it would have been strange if he hadn’t received a warning.

Even in the Premier League, which is lenient with physical battles, that body check was something you’d only see in a rugby match.

“Ah, you’re so harsh, mate.”

Buckley sighed as his protest fell on deaf ears.

Eventually, Buckley gave up protesting and returned to his position with Johann.

And,

Ginter’s expression, watching the two of them from his butt on the ground, was blank, like someone who had temporarily lost his memory.

‘Damn it.’

He had suffered humiliation that he could count on his fingers in almost 10 years since he started playing soccer, twice in less than a minute.

Once could be considered a fluke, but after being humiliated twice, Ginter couldn’t help but have many thoughts.

‘What… are those monsters…’

Ginter sat there for a moment, reflecting on the past.

And,

After a while, Ginter, who grabbed his aching waist and stood up, had kind eyes.

*

“Mate, tell me honestly.”

“What is it?”

“Is that bloke stronger, or am I stronger?”

“…”

Johann gave Buckley a dumbfounded look at Buckley’s question.

‘This guy is also a very unique person.’

Sometimes he seems like a younger brother rather than an older brother.

‘Okay. You have to cheer up your younger brother.’

‘My brother always cheered me up.’

“I think you’re stronger, hyung [older brother in Korean].”

“Really? Really? Woohoo!”

Buckley burst into laughter as if he had the whole world just from hearing that you were stronger.

Buckley tapped Johann on the shoulder.

“If that bloke tries to mess with you again, I’ll make him a pulp again, so you don’t have to worry about it and just score goals.”

“…”

Buckley, with his neck in a cast, put a lot of strength in his shoulders and returned to his place.

Although he received a warning quite early, Buckley felt like he was flying.

Because Johann admitted that he was stronger than Ginter.

‘Damn, but he is strong. Ouch, my shoulder.’

However, he also felt that it was fortunate that he received a yellow card.

He couldn’t pretend to be weak in front of his younger brother, so he made a big noise, but to be honest, he didn’t want to collide with that big guy again.

The yellow card would be a good excuse in that case.

Of course, he wouldn’t avoid it if that situation came again, but he hoped that situation wouldn’t come if possible.

‘That bastard is dirtier than I thought.’

‘Is that bloke pretending to be okay too?’

Buckley clicked his tongue as he looked at Johann, who didn’t seem to be in any pain.

Then he shook his head.

‘That bloke is real.’

Buckley felt more pain when he collided with Johann during training than when he collided with Ginter just now.

So,

Johann was definitely okay.

*

“……”

The atmosphere on the Chelsea bench became serious.

‘What’s going on.’

Coach Josef Hoffmann couldn’t understand this situation.

At the beginning of the game, they were completely giving the flow to the opponent.

It was a scenario that was not in the plan at all.

Coach Hoffmann had planned to take control of the game from the start with physical play led by Ginter and to solve the game easily.

But, what is this?

It was a scene he had never seen before.

Ginter falling backwards, and falling sideways.

Oh, yeah.

To be honest, saying that it was the first time he saw it was an exaggeration, and it was a rare scene that he couldn’t remember well.

But, the problem was after that.

That was the first time he saw it.

Ginter’s play felt somewhat passive.

‘I was only worried about being sent off, but I never worried about that.’

Ginter was a player who couldn’t be controlled even by Gustavo when he was excited.

If that went well, it would lead to the result of intimidating the opponent and completely eating them, but if it didn’t go well, it would lead to an absurd sending off.

Because of that, he was worried about Ginter being too excited, and worried about being sent off, but he had never worried about his play becoming passive.

But now it was.

Ginter’s play has become passive.

Was the shock of rolling on the floor twice so great? Was he embarrassed by the unfamiliar experience he was feeling for the first time?

Or maybe.

‘Is he hurt somewhere?’

Did he get injured during the collision?

When he thought about it, Ginter’s running form looked uncomfortable.

He’s really worrying about things he hasn’t worried about many times today.

He’s worried about Ginter’s injury.

A guy who seems like he’ll be fine even if he’s hit with a steel pipe.

“Haa-”

Coach Hoffmann’s breath came out long like a chimney.

Anyway, Chelsea was starting to get twisted from the start.

Far from using Ginter to set the atmosphere,

He gave it away instead.

In the early part of the first half, the flow of the game began to flow with West Ham in control, contrary to everyone’s expectations.

In fact, West Ham had no reason to be impatient.

Although their league ranking itself was higher, it was natural for them to be underdogs against Chelsea.

In addition, it was an away game, so just drawing today would be a satisfactory result.

Therefore, now that they had the flow, they could slowly unravel the game.

Slowly turn the ball around to warm up their bodies and maximize their possession.

They had plenty of time to spend leisurely and safely.

If it was West Ham until last season, they would have definitely done that.

But this season’s West Ham was different.

West Ham had won 10 of the previous 12 games.

West Ham was not used to losing, but used to winning.

And, the West Ham players knew very well that the reason for that victory was not mature game management.

From the beginning of the season until now, West Ham had been able to be in a high position in the league table, so awkward for themselves,

It was all thanks to Johann.

In other words, it was an attack.

A flow can easily be passed on to the opponent with even a small mistake.

There was no guarantee that they would be able to maintain this flow until the end, or even 5 minutes later.

Therefore, West Ham, who had seized the early flow, began to show a more active appearance that Chelsea was embarrassed by.

Now was not the time to go slowly, but the timing to push the opponent.

Paah-!

Gordon in the center passes to Nathan on the left.

And,

Paah-!

Nathan passes the ball to Johann in the center, who is slightly lowered with one touch.

At the same time, Nathan runs forward along the touchline.

Tap-

When Johann gives his attention to Nathan, the Chelsea defense momentarily disperses widely.

Chelsea also knew that the rest of the players except Johann should not be easily left alone.

Because of that, they couldn’t concentrate on just Johann, and thanks to that, Johann was given the time to stop for a while even after catching the ball.

The efforts that the players had made so hard were given to Johann as a gift.

Then it’s Johann again here.

Johann, who put the ball on his feet and slightly checked the Chelsea defense, started tapping the ball and going out as soon as he finished calculating in his head.

“…”

First of all, Ginter was standing in front of him.

Ginter is standing about two feet away from before.

However, Ginter’s strengths are not revealed in these scenes.

Ginter is a player whose strengths are revealed when defending aggressively.

When defending while waiting, he’s just a big scarecrow.

Besides, his movements are more sluggish than usual right now.

His waist was a little weird.

Tap-! Tap-!

Johann lightly outpaces Ginter with just his momentary speed.

There are no fancy personal skills.

He just gets past with the necessary movements in a concise manner.

Because of that, Johann’s breakthrough is always so fast that it’s difficult for other defenses to cover.

Tap-! Tap-!

Still, Chelsea had Gustavo and Bellamy besides Ginter.

The existence of these two was the reason why Ginter could defend aggressively without worrying about what would happen next.

Even if Ginter’s challenge failed, the cover of the two was so fast.

It was the same now.

As soon as Ginter was passed, Bellamy blocked Johann’s path again as if he had expected it.

Not only that.

Gustavo was also seen taking a position behind Bellamy.

Gustavo definitely knows.

Bellamy was the most trusted teammate Gustavo had ever played with,

Still, 1-on-1 with Johann would not be easy.

In the first place, that was what Bellamy had admitted first.

Bellamy had seen Johann first in the England national team.

He had trained with him and played together on the field for a while.

Bellamy, who had experienced Johann like that, honestly admitted that none of the three backs would be easy in a 1-on-1.

Because of that,

Bellamy and Gustavo joined forces.

But, did you forget for a moment while knowing?

They knew that the rest of the players except Johann should not be easily left alone, so didn’t they scatter like that earlier?

Then why did you gather again like this?

“Hey!” “Here!” “Mate!”

Sounds of calling Johann came from three directions.

Nathan, Gordon, Buckley.

The three were rushing into their respective directions at the same time.

Who should I give it to?

Okay. Well, it wasn’t what I wanted, but I’ll pay you back since you protected me once earlier.

It’s good to return the favor, right?

Paah-!

Johann’s choice is right.

When passing to Buckley, you must deliver the ball with as much consideration as possible.

Otherwise, Buckley, who has a hasty personality, will bounce the ball.

Twoong-!

Fortunately, the consideration seems to have been conveyed this time.

Johann’s pass was gently placed in front of Buckley’s feet.

Buckley, who received Johann’s pass while rushing diagonally from right to center,

Bang-!

Shot with his left foot as it was without stopping.

And that shot,

Swoosh-

Thud-!

Split Chelsea’s goal net.

“Woohoo! It’s me! It’s me!”

Buckley, who scored his third goal of the season, covered his head and roared as if he couldn’t believe it himself.