Lazy Genius Striker [EN]: Chapter 99

< 098. It's Real This Time >

“Is this even a believable record?”

“Even without the hype, it’s unbelievable.”

“Overwhelming. Just overwhelming.”

“Could there be a unanimous vote?”

“If all the voters are reasonable, it should be unanimous.”

Ban Seok-ho and Rohan were engrossed in their laptops, discussing something intently.

The laptop screen displayed the stats and performances of various players this season.

The PFA Awards [Professional Footballers’ Association Awards] are an award ceremony for players active in England.

It has a rich history and is considered the highest honor for Premier League players, a very prestigious award ceremony.

Among these, the following three categories receive the most attention:

PFA Young Player of the Year Award.

PFA Team of the Year.

PFA Player of the Year Award.

These are the three.

Yohan was nominated for all three categories.

It was only natural.

Yohan’s individual performance this season was so outstanding that he was not only nominated but also expected to win all three awards.

“Isn’t this the first time in history?”

“Of course, it’s the first time. How many players can win the PFA triple crown in their debut season?”

Of course, the competitors nominated for the Player of the Year award were formidable.

Especially the players from Manchester City.

Manchester City had won the league title and reached the finals of both the FA Cup and the Champions League, so their team achievements were all superior to Yohan’s.

However, this is an individual award given to an individual.

Individual performance takes precedence over team achievements.

Yohan’s performance this season as a single player was beyond comparison, no matter who you brought.

Even if you brought any of those great Manchester City players to West Ham, would they have been able to lead the team to second place in the league and win the FA Cup?

“I’m not nervous at all, but I still have to see the results.”

“Announce it already!”

As expected.

The results of the PFA Awards were as expected.

-Yohan Ban, ST [Striker], 17 years old, West Ham United

-Yohan Ban, West Ham United

-Premier League Runner-up

-English FA Cup Winner

-Premier League 33 games, 59 goals, 17 assists

-FA Cup 2 games, 5 goals

GK [Goalkeeper] Emil Eduardo, Man City

DF [Defender] Juan Milito, Man City

DF Mathias Gustavo, Chelsea

DF Derek De Cling, Liverpool

DF Danny White, Arsenal

MF [Midfielder] Renato Echo, Arsenal

MF Jack Price, Man City

MF Ricardo Silva, Wolverhampton

FW [Forward] Jared Carvalho, Liverpool

FW Samir Rishard, Man City

FW Yohan Ban, West Ham

“Yes! Yohan won the triple crown!”

“That’s right, that’s right!”

It was a natural result, but it felt good.

Triple crown in his debut season.

Yohan had accomplished something unprecedented.

“Does he even know how amazing his season was?”

“He wouldn’t even if we told him. He’d probably ask what the PFA is.”

“He was even disappointed that he didn’t win the league. Leading our team to second place is a huge achievement.”

“Everyone else knows, but he’s the only one who doesn’t. Maybe that’s a good thing.”

“He’ll do better next season. No third time’s the charm.”

“I’m already looking forward to it. Before that, we need to eat some youvo [Korean snack] first.”

In any case, the 27/28 season was literally Yohan’s season.

And now, he had to carry that momentum to Euro 2028 [European Championship].

“Your dad always regretted not winning the Asian Cup. I hope Yohan wins it right away.”

Ban Seok-ho felt bitter as he recalled his playing days.

Ban Seok-ho was South Korea’s absolute ace, but he failed to win the Asian Cup.

Because of that, he felt like his reputation was diminishing over time.

Being the national team’s ace and not winning the Asian Cup.

It was inevitable.

Even though he played in an era where all game footage was recorded, in the end, what remained was his career.

It’s easy to look up a career, but it takes effort to find and watch game footage directly.

Ban Seok-ho and Rohan hoped that Yohan wouldn’t leave even such a small flaw.

The Yohan they had seen live was, without a doubt, the best ever.

They wanted him to achieve a career worthy of that, so that he would receive a fair evaluation in later generations.

“If he wins the Euros as well, it won’t be just the PFA, but also the Ballon d’Or [Ballon d’Or, an annual football award presented by French news magazine L’Équipe].”

“If he doesn’t get it, it’s racism. We’ll formally sue.”

If England achieves good results in the Euros, and Yohan shows even half the performance he did in the league.

Winning the Ballon d’Or, the highest honor given to the best player in the world, wouldn’t be impossible.

The Ballon d’Or, which has been based on a season rather than a year since 2022, finishes voting in September and announces the winner in October.

In other words, in this year’s case, his performance in the Euros will naturally play an important role in whether he wins the award.

Based on his performance so far, Yohan was second to none in the world.

If there were any competitors, it would be Fernando Biegas, the core of Spain and Real Madrid.

Similarly, Kylian Mbappe, the spearhead of Real Madrid and the ace of France.

Well, Florian Stauter of Germany/Munich or Iago Quintes of Spain/Barcelona could also be competitors.

But since those two didn’t win the Champions League, they should be considered further away than the Real Madrid players.

Since Real Madrid defeated Manchester City to win the Champions League, the only threats are Biegas and Mbappe.

Spain and France are both considered strong contenders to win this tournament.

If one of those two countries wins the Euros, Biegas or Mbappe will boast an impressive team career with La Liga [Spanish Football League], Champions League, and Euro wins.

Of course, the Ballon d’Or after the revision places more emphasis on individual performance than team performance.

With Yohan’s league record, he could definitely compete even without a Champions League record.

However, the fact that Fernando Biegas and Kylian Mbappe also had outstanding individual performances could be a variable.

What if their team achievements are also good?

It certainly can’t be ignored.

“Since he didn’t play in the Champions League, he has to do well in the Euros.”

“If he leads England to their first victory, the impact will be enormous.”

“Honestly, winning the Euros is better than winning the Champions League. If he’s also the top scorer, it’s a done deal.”

“Of course. Of course.”

Depending on the outcome of this Euro, we might see it in a few months.

The moment Yohan is recognized as the best player in the world.

The guy who was a troublemaker in the family until just last year, becoming the best in the world.

Ban Seok-ho and Rohan really wanted to see that.

ㆍㆍㆍ

-[EURO2028] Group Draw Results: Group B – England, Sweden, Ukraine, Hungary… 99% chance of advancing as group 1st

-[EURO2028] Reactions from countries in the same group as England? “Having to face Yohan Ban… this Euro is over.” Despair!

-[EURO2028] Bookmakers’ predictions for the winning team? 1st France, 2nd Spain, 3rd England… They don’t want to win money

-[EURO2028] ‘European Golden Shoe’ Yohan Ban, first continental cup debut… Can he become the youngest top scorer? Most experts predict that he can also break the record for most goals in a single tournament

-[EURO2028] England, likely to face Serbia in the round of 16, Germany in the quarter-finals, France in the semi-finals, and Spain in the final if they advance to the knockout stage as group 1st

Euro 2028, which has become even larger with the participation of 32 countries from this tournament.

As a result of the draw, England was placed in Group B.

With a smooth group stage, it seemed easy to advance as the group 1st, and since the host countries for this tournament were England and Ireland.

It seemed like a perfect environment for England to win the championship.

The only worrying thing was that the hype was going too far because the situation was so good.

As soon as the group stage was over, they completed the bracket to the final, and legends and commentators were already making pledges to win the championship.

Like, if England wins, they’ll broadcast wearing only their underwear, things like that.

Anyway, it was just the usual England, but even in the midst of that, there were experts who made cool-headed analyses.

They cited Yohan’s condition as the biggest key to this tournament.

Last season was Yohan’s first full-time season.

It was the first time he had completed a full season.

Moreover, since he wasn’t a player with strong stamina in the first place, they expressed concern about whether his form in the league would continue until the end of the season.

Also, what fans were most worried about was the issue of motivation, more than the stamina issue.

Everyone who is a Premier League fan knows what Yohan is playing for.

For Yohan, the Euros might be a meaningless tournament.

It was not strange to question whether Yohan would do his best for England, and that was actually true.

“Ah, I don’t want to go…”

For Yohan, who was looking forward to his summer vacation, the Euro opening was a bolt from the blue.

How many tournaments are there?

These Europeans, who only play soccer all year round, seemed crazy.

He couldn’t understand why he had to go to the Euros.

But, one thing.

The story his brother told him moved Yohan’s heart a little.

“…A knighthood?”

“Yeah. If you win, you’ll definitely get it. You’ll get at least a 3rd class medal, right?”

“What’s so good about getting that?”

“What’s so good about it? You become a noble, a noble!”

“…A noble?”

At Rohan’s words that he could become a noble if he won, Yohan recalled the nobles he had only seen vaguely in textbooks.

“Then, can I have butlers and maids at home?”

“…Huh?”

“Why, nobles have that kind of thing, right?”

“Ah.”

Rohan realized that Yohan was misunderstanding something, but he didn’t bother to point out the misunderstanding.

Because he saw Yohan’s expression, which had been full of annoyance until just now, change.

“W-Well, maybe you can?”

“…Really? Hmm. I see.”

A knighthood.

Should I try to get one?

The issue of motivation that people are worried about.

It seemed to be resolved, albeit in a slightly strange direction.

ㆍㆍㆍ

England, a luxurious squad that is close to a Premier League All-Star team and is considered a golden generation, with even the advantage of being at home.

England, where the words that this tournament is the right time to win the championship do not feel like just hype.

However, England’s start to this tournament was not smooth.

-First evaluation match, 1-1 draw with Poland… Poor condition is a variable

-England 2:2 Portugal… Draws in both evaluation matches, what was the problem?

The two evaluation matches held before the tournament.

In those two matches, England drew both times.

Of course, Poland and Portugal are both strong teams.

However, since England was aiming to win the championship, a draw with them could not be said to be a welcome result.

At this news, Sweden and Ukraine, who were in the same group, suddenly began to pour out optimistic articles.

They said that England was nothing special when they opened it, and that it was worth a try.

In particular, Sweden, which has traditionally shown a strong performance against England, expressed confidence that they might be able to take the group 1st place.

However, there was one thing that even the media outlets that expressed such optimistic opinions always pointed out.

That was that Yohan did not participate in those two evaluation matches.

Mason Maguire of Tottenham started in those two matches.

There were many speculations about this.

The speculation that Yohan did not play was just to manage his condition and hide his strength.

Or,

The speculation that Yohan’s physical condition or physical condition was not as good as expected and he was pushed back by Mason Maguire.

All countries in Group B except England, of course, hoped for the latter reason.

Of course, Maguire is also a tricky striker, but everyone knows what kind of player Yohan is.

The destructive power he showed was so violent that the common opinion was that it was better to face Maguire than to face Yohan.

Therefore, they hoped that Yohan’s physical condition was not good and that his stamina problem was serious.

However,

June 11, 2028.

In the first match of Group B, England vs. Hungary, that expectation was shattered.

Because the striker for England who started in that match was Yohan,

Because England with Yohan was overwhelming.

-[EURO2028] England defeats Hungary 4-0! Yohan Ban, 2 goals in the first half alone!

Yohan’s performance in the match against Hungary was the same as in the league, unlike what they had expected.

The Hungarian defenders were flustered by the majesty of the PL [Premier League] top-class striker they had never felt before, and they collapsed much easier than expected.

Of course, hope had not completely disappeared.

Hungary was originally considered the weakest team in the group.

It was a team that England would have won overwhelmingly even without Yohan.

So, you never know.

But,

Ukraine and Sweden realized only after playing against England.

That in front of Yohan, they were not much different from Hungary.

-[EURO2028] England 3:1 Sweden

-[EURO2028] England 4:0 Ukraine

-[EURO2028] England advances to the round of 16 as group 1st with 3 wins! Round of 16 opponent is the 2nd place team in Group A

-[EURO2028] Serbia confirmed as 2nd place in Group A… Round of 16 England vs. Serbia

After the group stage, European soccer fans thought.