Became The Premier League’S Youngest Manager [EN]: Chapter 142

142. The March Run

“Jang!”

At the goalkeeper’s scream, spotting an opposing team’s attacker penetrating the penalty box, Jang-Clair Todibo stuck to Taejin, but none of Nice’s other defenders could provide support.

Burnley’s left winger, Max Cornet, following Taejin’s instructions, spread wide to the left, drawing Nice’s right defender, Youcef Atal, who had two assists today, out of the penalty box.

On the opposite side, Nice’s left defender, Jordan Lotomba, was busy checking Burnley’s right defender, Guga, who had just sprinted down the right sideline to the front line, leaving him no room to focus on the center.

Then there’s Nice’s central defender, Dante, but he…

“Oh no!”

Nice’s goalkeeper, Walter Benítez, and Jang-Clair Todibo, who was chasing Taejin, both let out short screams as they realized the situation, but it was already too late.

The 39-year-old veteran defender was now in a one-on-one matchup with Burnley’s right attacker, Karim Adeyemi, who had already penetrated the center.

Having gone through Bayern Munich and the Brazilian national team, he was a veteran defender with a wealth of experience, but if experience alone could stop Karim Adeyemi, who possessed both skill and speed, then those countless football powerhouses wouldn’t have been torn apart by this young attacker in the World Cup.

In a desperate attempt to support the veteran, whose physical abilities were clearly declining, Jang-Clair Todibo took another step towards Dante.

At that moment, Burnley’s attack, subtly orchestrated by Taejin, began to move in unison.

“Here!”

“Me too!”

Guga on the right and Max Cornet on the left simultaneously raised their hands and shouted towards Nico Gonzalez, who was in charge of distribution in the center.

Thanks to this, Nice’s left and right fullbacks were tied up trying to check the opposing team’s flank attacks, while Nice’s two central midfield partners, Mario Lemina and Pablo Rosario, couldn’t support the defense to intercept passes.

However, amidst the Nice players scattered everywhere, Nico Gonzalez chose the person who didn’t raise his hand.

Casually kicking the bottom of the ball, Nico Gonzalez sent a lob pass over the heads of Nice’s two central midfielders blocking him.

The target was the very center of the penalty box.

“Huh?!”

As the two veteran midfielders blankly watched the ball arch over their heads, Taejin, who had shaken off Jang-Clair Todibo, who had been sticking to him like glue thanks to Karim Adeyemi’s movement, grinned and leaped into the air.

“Stop him!”

At the goalkeeper’s shout, Nice’s central defenders moved.

First, Jang-Clair Todibo.

Although caught in a reverse motion, the young French defender had excellent physical abilities that Barcelona had coveted.

Although a step late, he used the time it took for the ball to fall from the sky to throw himself between Taejin and the goal, successfully blocking most of the angle at which the header would head towards the goal.

As Jang-Clair Todibo jumped into the air with Taejin, Dante followed alongside the young defender, blocking the remaining angle towards the goal.

The remaining narrow angle was within the range that the goalkeeper, who was positioned behind them, could sufficiently predict and block.

It was a surprise lob pass, but Nice’s goalkeeper and defense, who had perfectly blocked the shot even in the rush, were relieved when they heard the attacker’s annoying voice from the air.

[This is what happens when you underestimate the elderly!]

With that, Taejin twisted his head and dropped the ball, which had been flying in from Nico Gonzalez’s lob pass, back into the penalty box.

“Huh?”

A blank expression was etched on the face of Jang-Clair Todibo, who was flailing in the air without being able to do anything before falling back onto the grass.

And as Nice’s goalkeeper and veteran defender opened their mouths in shock, Karim Adeyemi, who had confirmed the ball falling in front of his feet, facing the empty goal with a perfect feint, grinned.

“Shoot, and goal!”

***

“My tactics were perfect!”

Hyeongmin’s excited voice was heard in response to Taejin’s loud voice.

“Perfect my ass! You got completely *털렸잖아 [teollyeotjana – slang for ‘dominated’ or ‘outplayed’]* in the second half!”

The veteran playing coach scoffed at the manager’s rebuttal.

“You should have directed the response to the opposing team’s tactical changes.”

“So in the end, I directed it and we won 4-3!”

Taejin vigorously shook his head at Hyeongmin’s claim.

“No! That’s because I executed the attacking tactics and won!”

“I was the one who put Max in and pushed Guga forward?!”

“You just followed what I told Max to do!”

“The attacking tactics were already set up by Karolina!”

From the locker room to the bus, and from the bus to the private jet.

If they had lost the game, they would have created a solemn atmosphere, taking responsibility for each other, but since they won, Karolina glanced sideways at the two high school classmates, who were bickering non-stop in the front seats about who was right and who was wrong, with a look of disdain.

“Niki.”

“Yes, Coach!”

Karolina Stefan instructed the Austrian-born, upright young man, who had the face of a loyal dog ready to take down anyone at any time.

“Everyone’s tired, so go tell them both to shut up.”

“Yes, Coach!”

The Burnley players held their breath as they watched the young midfielder actually get up from his seat.

“Um, Manager. Coach.”

“Why, Niki?”

Nicholas Seiwald shrugged his shoulders at Hyeongmin’s question, but spoke politely.

“Coach Stefan says you both should shut up. The players can’t rest because they’re tired.”

“Oh? Okay….”

A peaceful silence returned to the private jet.

Amidst the Burnley players and coaching staff stifling their laughter, Burnley’s hierarchy was once again established.

Head Coach Karolina Stefan, followed by Vice-Captain Nicholas Seiwald.

The manager and playing coach were at the very bottom.

***

“Uwaaaa!!!”

Hyeongmin clicked his tongue as he watched the veteran attacker roaring towards the away fans at the corner flag.

Clearly, it’s a good thing when our team scores, right?

But why does my stomach still hurt when he scores?

The away fans cheered in unison, joining in on the high school classmate’s passionate goal celebration, who had been a reliable ally on the same team since high school.

“Tae! Jin! Jeong! Tae! Jin! Jeong!”

It’s not quite at the level of creating a chant yet, but just shouting the three syllables of his name, which are easy to pronounce in separate syllables, creates a slogan.

Hyeongmin, whose name has a syllable in the middle that Westerners find difficult to pronounce, clicked his tongue again.

“Oh, he’s not dead yet.”

Hyeongmin frowned as Karolina spoke nonchalantly with her arms crossed next to him.

“Damn… I miss Wout.”

“Not me? Look at the indicators, look at the indicators.”

Jeong Taejin was substituted in the second half of the Premier League Round 26 match against Newcastle at Turf Moor, which was played after returning from the match against OGC Nice, with the score tied at 0-0.

Then, he scored in the 64th and 89th minutes, sinking Newcastle.

In the subsequent FA Cup Round 5, he started against Chelsea, who are still fiercely competing for 3rd place in the Premier League, and scored the first goal and the winning goal of the game in the second half.

He even assisted Dwight McNeil’s goal at the end of the second half, recording 1 goal and 1 assist.

And today, in the Premier League Round 27 match being played at Leicester’s home stadium, King Power Stadium.

Leicester’s attacker, Kelechi Iheanacho, scored the opening goal, but Taejin immediately scored the equalizer, bringing the score back to square one, and now he scored an additional goal at the end of the second half, putting a damper on Leicester’s fierce pursuit, which had been trailing 2-1.

4 goals and 2 assists in March alone.

At this pace, if he had played a full season, he could have joined the competition for the top scorer.

“Well, he’s more than enough to be used as a joker [impact substitute]. He’s playing his role sufficiently by occasionally starting in cup matches.”

As if reading Hyeongmin’s thoughts, Karolina evaluated their playing coach.

“It’s a shame. He had the skills to make it in Europe if he was younger.”

“He made it enough. 23 goals in 58 matches over 2 seasons in La Liga [the top professional football division of the Spanish football league system]. 8 assists too.”

Even if he’s not satisfied himself, he immediately refutes it if he feels like someone else is undervaluing his friend.

Karolina chuckled.

“I know. That’s why it’s even more of a shame. If he had come over during his youth or played in Europe early in his career, it would have been really something to see.”

“Yeah.”

Hyeongmin sighed and replied.

“That’s really true.”

***

[…Ah, that’s unfortunate.]

[…It seems unavoidable. Burnley’s Manager Kim also has a calm expression.]

As the referee’s whistle blew, the commentators exclaimed in disappointment, and the broadcast camera showed the away team’s technical area.

Burnley, who had shocked everyone with their tactics in the Carabao Cup final and achieved a dramatic victory, ultimately failed to overcome Liverpool’s wall in the FA Cup, falling in the quarter-finals.

[…It seems that both managers had somewhat emptied their minds and formed the starting lineup mainly with rotation and reserve resources, but Burnley is not able to keep up with the depth of Liverpool’s squad.]

The commentator nodded at the caster’s point.

[…The last Carabao Cup was the final, where they could pour in both starters and rotation resources without distinction. In a normal situation, Burnley’s squad cannot be compared to Liverpool’s.]

It’s called Burnley Kindergarten, but even kindergartens have older and younger classes.

Certainly, Burnley’s rotation-level resources are made up of promising players with a much brighter future than the present.

Although Jeong Taejin supported the young and even childish players in the front, and Charlie Taylor supported them in the back, it was not possible to lead a victory against Liverpool purely with willpower.

The broadcast screen showed Hyeongmin, with a slightly disappointed expression, walking towards Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp, who was walking out of the home team’s technical area.

[Oh, I couldn’t sleep a wink last night wondering if they would come up with something strange again this time!]

Hyeongmin chuckled at the giant manager, who shook hands with his right hand with a hearty laugh and patted his shoulder with his other hand, speaking to him in German.

[If I did that every time, I wouldn’t have any stomach left.]

[Well, that’s true. It must have felt like riding a motorcycle on the Autobahn [German highway system with no speed limits].]

The tension of running above the speed limit, feeling like you’ll say goodbye to this world if you lose your mind even for a moment, your heart feels like it’s going to explode, but the motorcycle you’re riding isn’t rolling on the ground, but bouncing and floating in the air, so the cold sweat doesn’t stop.

Hyeongmin burst out laughing at the German manager, who accurately expressed the feeling he had felt.

[Anyway, congratulations on your victory. Since you’ve come this far, go all the way to win the FA Cup.]

[I have to! You beat Chelsea, so the bracket is a bit easier. It’s a bit of a shame for you, though.]

[We have to focus on the Europa League now.]

The Premier League 1st place team manager gave a mischievous smile at the Premier League 3rd place team manager’s remarks.

[Not challenging for the Premier League title?]

[With you and Manager Guardiola here? It’s difficult this season. You two take care of it.]

The giant Liverpool manager burst out laughing at Hyeongmin’s answer.

[Hahaha!! This season! You said this season! So I hear that you’re going to try to challenge next season?!]

[Well, we’ll have to see what happens then.]

Even while saying that, Hyeongmin muttered as he looked at the starters who couldn’t hide their disappointment and the bench members who were comforting them.