Became The Premier League’S Youngest Manager [EN]: Chapter 149

149: Sparta Prague

“Ooh! Sparta! Sparta!”

“We are the strongest in the land of our mothers!”

“Ooh! Sparta! Sparta!”

“Let’s go defeat our enemies!”

“Sparta’s heroes!”

Letná Stadium, home of Sparta Prague.

As the home fans waved their flags furiously and sang their cheers, Karolina, after hearing the interpretation of the Czech cheer from one of the game staff, smirked.

“The cheer is a bit aggressive.”

“The team name is like that from the start. Sparta. It’s like they’re Leonidas and 300 warriors or something.”

Letná Stadium was already a combative place, but with the Europa League semi-final, the whole city felt like it was on fire.

It was amusing that some extreme fans set off fireworks all night outside the hotel where the Burnley coaching staff and players were staying, having arrived the day before the game.

The police didn’t really stop them either.

Of course, thanks to Karolina, who knew the atmosphere of Eastern European away games well, all the players wore earplugs and slept soundly.

The Sparta Prague players looked determined as they warmed up for the last time before the game started.

“If we win today, they’ll give us a police escort to the airport.”

“Oh, really? That’s a relief.”

Hyungmin smirked and replied to the news Karolina delivered.

“Then I should definitely get a police escort once?”

***

“Huff… ha… huff… ha…”

Jamal Lewis.

25 years old this year.

Nationality: Northern Ireland.

Coming from the Norwich youth team, he played a key role in Norwich’s promotion to the Premier League, rising to become one of the most promising left-backs in the Premier League.

Norwich were relegated back to the English Championship the following season, but Newcastle signed him amidst the club’s policy of nurturing and selling promising players and the courtship of several teams who had been watching his performance in the Premier League.

The transfer fee was £10 million, which was quite high for Newcastle at the time.

It was a number that reflected expectations that he would grow into one of the best left-backs in the Premier League in the future.

However, after joining Newcastle, things went awry in many ways.

If you ask him if he didn’t try, that’s definitely not the case, but even if he tried to adapt to the new environment and club, the environment and club itself were always caught up in an unstable whirlwind.

The owner, who had virtually given up on running the club, and the Saudi Arabian consortium, whose acquisition attempts repeatedly failed.

And a manager who consistently used colorless and odorless defensive tactics to escape relegation by accumulating draws.

From Jamal Lewis’s point of view, who, along with Max Aarons, who was on the opposite side and from the same youth team as Norwich, put considerable pressure on the Premier League’s fullbacks, he was not comfortable.

After somehow getting through one season, Newcastle was acquired by the PIF [Public Investment Fund] consortium, which was mainly funded by the Saudi Arabian National Wealth Fund.

And then they started signing players en masse.

The newly appointed manager, Eddie Howe, gave him a positive review, but the club couldn’t afford to keep the players they had signed with huge sums of money on the bench.

Eventually, after drifting here and there, he was put up for sale at a bargain price at the end of the season, and Burnley, who had suddenly risen to the top of the Premier League under the leadership of a manager who had appeared like a comet, reached out.

Of course, he didn’t immediately accept the offer, remembering the harsh experiences he had at Newcastle, but there was no more promising offer than this.

Having joined Burnley, he was solidifying his position in a satisfactory rotation, with himself playing as an offensive player when needed, and Abdu Diallo or Mika Marmol playing as a defensive player when needed.

So when the manager called him and talked about a new idea, he was both happy and surprised.

“As a striker?”

“Yeah. Of course, it’s not that you’re lacking in defense as a full-back, but we think it would be good to make better use of your attacking power.”

“…We?”

Hyungmin nodded at Jamal Lewis’s puzzled question.

“Karolina and I have been thinking about it since the end of last year. Taejin also thinks that it’s a waste of your attacking power to keep you only on defense after playing with you.”

As if prepared in advance, the manager opened his laptop and showed a pre-arranged video.

“…Now, you see. When you break through straight to the corner flag like this and pull in the opposing defender, more space is created inside the penalty box, right? And if you cross from there or cut in and send a cutback pass, the power is…”

“I’ll do it.”

“…Huh?”

The young manager blinked, as if he thought he would have to persuade him for a long time, and his prepared remarks were cut off.

“I’ll do it. I will do it. No, please let me do it!”

At Newcastle, he was kicked out without being given a proper opportunity by the new manager or club management.

On the other hand, at Burnley, the coaching staff, including the manager, created and analyzed detailed data about him and spent almost half a season trying to find the best position for him.

“Um… don’t worry if it doesn’t work out. Your position as a left-back is solid. Just think of it as testing against Sparta Prague…”

“No! I will definitely make it a success! Definitely!”

And then he doesn’t remember what else he talked about with the manager.

When he came to his senses, he was in the small conference room of the Banfield Training Center, unfolding a detailed attacking tactics book the size of an encyclopedia and receiving an intensive lecture from the head coach.

Since there wasn’t much time, the head coach gave him three main options and told him to choose from them during the game.

Of course, the game situation is variable, so it won’t always be like this, but at least equipping one or more pattern plays can be a good weapon.

The first is to break through straight along the sideline, pull in one or more opposing players to the corner flag, and then cross.

The goal of the cross is between the opposing team’s goalposts from side to side, and between the penalty spot and the opposing team’s goalkeeper from top to bottom.

The second is a variation of the first, when only one opposing player is pulled in, but you are confident in breaking through.

In that case, pulling to the corner flag is the same, but instead of crossing, you break through again along the goal line and send a cutback pass.

The goal of the cutback pass is the same as the goal of the cross.

And the last is when the opposing players are concentrated on the side to block his sideline breakthrough, but it is judged that the path to the goal in the center is open.

In that case, you can rather dribble diagonally directly into the opposing team’s penalty box and break through.

Jamal Lewis himself will decide how to finish.

With anticipation, excitement, and a little fear coexisting, Jamal Lewis took a deep breath in and out while waiting for the game to start.

Without noticing the worried eyes towards him.

“Is he going to be okay? Why does he look so nervous?”

Karolina shrugged at Hyungmin’s muttering as he looked at Jamal Lewis in the technical area.

“Who knows? It’s his first big game like the Europa League semi-final, so it’s natural that he’s a little nervous, right?”

“I guess so? How’s the attacking tactic?”

When Hyungmin nodded as if he understood and asked, Karolina smirked.

“I’ve only conveyed a simple pattern for now, but since the player himself tends to move like that, it’ll be simple. The rest is up to Taejin and Cho to pick up.”

“That’s a relief then.”

“Jamal!”

With Nico Gonzalez’s shout from behind, the ball flew forward over his head from behind his right shoulder.

It was a pass he had received often before, but the difference was that there were no Burnley players in front of him.

While Jung Taejin, who started as a center forward, was pulling the center backs out of the penalty box, Luka Sukic, who pushed out Sebastian Szymanski and started today, is scheduled to penetrate the emptied penalty box in line with the pass.

Cho Gelhardt, who started as a right winger, will also be cutting in diagonally.

In other words, if a cross or pass doesn’t come from him, as many as three players will be doing nothing around the opposing team’s penalty box.

“Get out of the way!”

“Damn it!”

Jamal Lewis shook off Sparta Prague’s right defender, Tomas Wiesner, who was sticking to him, and sprinted at full speed.

Tomas Wiesner cursed and followed him, but it was already too late.

Except for Karim Adeyemi, there’s no way he can gain an advantage in a straight match against Jamal Lewis, who has the fastest feet in the Burnley first team.

Even the ball that Nico Gonzalez sent was stretching straight towards the corner flag at a speed that Jamal Lewis didn’t have to slow down.

Jamal Lewis, who was running to his heart’s content while looking only at the ball, increased his speed even more and stuck close to the ball as the corner flag and the ball appeared in his field of vision at the same time.

Since he can see the sideline and the goal line, there’s no need to lift his head to check where he is now.

After checking that there were no opposing players in the path of the cross, he immediately swung his left foot.

“Uh oh!”

Only now did he lift his head and see one of Sparta Prague’s center backs abandoning Jung Taejin in the meantime and running to catch up with him.

Behind the Sparta Prague defender, who was sighing as he watched the ball flying over his head, he saw Cho Gelhardt freely rising into the air.

As Jamal Lewis raised both arms, sensing a goal, the young striker on loan from Leeds twisted his head and planted the ball in the upper right corner of Sparta Prague’s goal.

“Aaaah!!!”

Jamal Lewis roared amidst the cheers of the away fans.

***

“Woo-hoo!!”

49 minutes into the second half.

A giant defender ran towards the corner flag, sliding on both knees and roaring.

“Aaaah!!!”

As the Burnley players swarmed the young defender who was waving his fists at the cheering away fans, Paulo Morais clicked his tongue even as he rejoiced next to Hyungmin, who was cheering with him.

“I definitely banned that celebration!”

With the appointment of Paulo Morais, he banned somersaults, knee slides, or other goal celebrations that could cause injury.

It was an instruction given out of the judgment that there was no need to risk unnecessary injuries, and Hyungmin actively agreed with it, but Nathan Collins seemed to have forgotten about it in the excitement of scoring a goal.

Of course, since it’s his third goal in his professional career, he may not remember such prohibitions at all.

In fact, how many defenders remember the prohibitions related to goal celebrations?

“Paulo, please talk about it again after the game.”

When Hyungmin said with a smirk, the Portuguese coach clicked his tongue and shook his head.

“It’s already hard enough with the players leaving, so unnecessarily…”

Both of them consciously did not continue the words, “doing things that are highly likely to cause injury.”

“Anyway, a crisis becomes an opportunity. We’re seeing a lot of new things today!”

Jamal Lewis, who swept through the left side and assisted Cho Gelhardt’s header in the first half, recorded his second assist with a corner kick he earned as soon as the second half started.

Nathan Collins, who had been firmly defending the rear with Anel Ahmedhodzic and Abdu Diallo, scored his first goal in two seasons since joining Burnley.

“Everyone in the starting lineup will have to be nervous next season.”

Hyungmin muttered as he looked at Sparta Prague’s Pavel Vrba, who was holding his head in agony.

***

“Ah, Jamal. I’m sorry.”

“No. Well, it can happen.”

Jamal Lewis smiled and accepted Taejin’s apology as he patted him on the shoulder as if he was sorry, but it seemed that there was someone who didn’t think so.

“It can happen! If only that had gone in, it would have ended comfortably 3-1!”

“You son of a bitch! Then you come and kick it next time!”

Oh, here we go again.

The young manager, who had chased after him into the tunnel after finishing his greetings with the opposing team’s manager, coaching staff, and players, was grabbing his high school classmate and nagging him.

“Hey! Where in the world does a manager kick a penalty?!”

“Then shut up and watch the players do it!”

As the two bickered and disappeared into the away team’s locker room, another thick arm wrapped around Jamal Lewis’s shoulder.

“You were really great today, Jamal.”

“Thanks, vice-captain.”

Although he was exhausted from blocking Sparta Prague’s desperate counterattack, Nicolas Seiwald smiled brightly.

“Dwight might have to be a little nervous in the future?”

“Hey…”

Jamal Lewis waved his hand.

Comments that touch the young ace from the youth team that Burnley fans are sucking and drooling over are not good for the health of people living within 10 miles of Burnley.

Of course, Dwight McNeil himself is not someone who cares about such things.

“The breakthrough at the end was really great. I actually thought it would be a goal…”

Jamal Lewis, who had penetrated the gap in the Sparta Prague defense, which had temporarily loosened after scoring a goal, succeeded in dribbling the ball diagonally through the opposing team’s penalty box.

It was almost a certain goal if he hadn’t been caught by the hand of Sparta Prague’s goalkeeper, who desperately ran out in a perfect 1-on-1 chance.

So the opposing team’s goalkeeper blocked it with a suicidal charge, risking a direct ejection, but Jung Taejin missed the penalty kick he earned from there, and it seemed like he was being scolded by the manager.

“Still, it’s good that you two are friends.”

“Really?”

Jamal Lewis looked at Nicolas Seiwald with a puzzled look.

“Isn’t it? There’s no one else in the club that the manager treats so comfortably. Even Coach Stefan doesn’t treat him so freely.”

“Well…”

The atmosphere has definitely changed since Jung Taejin came to Burnley.

If the tension seems to be rising too much, he relieves the atmosphere with light jokes, or he diverts the tension that can be concentrated on the coaching staff or the players by arguing with the manager.

Overall, he was playing a role in making the team’s atmosphere softer.

Of course, Max Cornet or Cho Gelhardt move quickly as soon as Jung Taejin says something, but it seems that the two of them have been told something separately.

“Honestly, can you imagine the manager scolding anyone for missing a penalty kick? It’s okay, you can kick better next time. It’ll end with that.”

“Yeah. That’s right.”

Jamal Lewis nodded, thinking of the usually gentle and polite manager at Nicolas Seiwald’s words, and then tilted his head.

“…But you know. I’m curious, what is a water bottle kick?”

Nicolas Seiwald’s bright face suddenly turned pale.

“Oh! There’s Luka over there. Luka!”

“Nicky?”

“I have something to talk about with Luka. Luka! Luka!”

Nicolas Seiwald suddenly called out to Luka Sukic, who was in front of the aisle, and ran away.

Jamal Lewis tilted his head as he watched the back of the young vice-captain.

“No, so what is a water bottle kick…”

Europa League Semifinal 1st leg. Sparta Prague (home) 1:2 Burnley win (Gelhardt 19 minutes, Collins 49 minutes, Minchev 89 minutes)