Became The Premier League’S Youngest Manager [EN]: Chapter 150

150. Sparta Prague

“Is this okay?”

After securing a victory against Sparta Prague on Thursday, Hyungmin returned to Burnley and completed the recovery training on Friday morning. He then declared a special 48-hour break for the squad until Sunday morning.

With the Premier League Round 33 match against QPR scheduled for Monday, this was the maximum amount of rest Hyungmin could grant.

Of course, Karim Adeyemi and Max Cornet, who needed immediate rehabilitation, were exceptions. However, the remaining players were allowed free time as long as they didn’t engage in separate personal training.

The Europa League final was within arm’s reach, and starting with the QPR match, they had six Premier League games to play in May.

The upcoming opponents were Manchester City, Liverpool, Wolverhampton, Bournemouth, and Aston Villa.

And there was also the second leg of the Europa League semi-final against Sparta Prague.

Anyway, with the players gone and the general staff not working, it was a quiet Sunday afternoon at Barnfield Training Centre.

In the empty first team meeting room, Helena, dressed in her usual white t-shirt and jeans, placed a brown paper bag on the table and asked.

“Uh, what is it?”

Hyungmin asked as he opened the bag and took out the contents.

Boxes of yellow and red, but somehow not tacky, friendly-looking boxes and fast food wrapped in thin greaseproof paper appeared one by one.

“Is this about eating this here, or giving the players a break?”

Helena chuckled at Hyungmin’s question.

“Well… I’m worried about both, but I can somehow get away with the manager being caught eating fast food. So, I’m more concerned about giving the players a break during such a critical time.”

“Ah, that.”

Hyungmin looked down at the two-tiered burgers with a satisfied expression and said.

“If not now, there won’t be a chance to give them a proper break until the end of the season. The intervals between matches are short, and each game is important.”

“I see.”

Both of them intentionally avoided mentioning the fact that winning the Europa League semi-final could add another game.

“By the way, this is nice.”

“What is? McDonald’s?”

The last time he visited McDonald’s, the line in front of him parted like the Red Sea [a biblical reference to Moses parting the Red Sea], and a manager, who appeared from nowhere, greeted him with a bright smile from behind the counter and took his order himself.

It seemed like the employees in the kitchen were fighting over who would grill the new burger. Anyway, he experienced all sorts of awkwardness as people flooded into McDonald’s and filmed his every move with their phones.

Eventually, Henry Tyler and the executives of the Burnley Football Club official supporters, whom Karim Adeyemi called the ‘Burnley Town Vigilantes’ [a humorous nickname for the passionate fan group], had to physically escort him out of the store due to the cloud-like crowd gathered inside and outside McDonald’s.

Of course, with a bag containing a warm—no, hot—Big Mac, french fries, and a milkshake that he didn’t order but was somehow added.

As Hyungmin thought about the only yellow arches in Burnley that he could no longer visit, he asked, and Helena burst into laughter.

“No! No, McDonald’s is good, but… I just like having lunch together like this.”

“Ah, that.”

Hyungmin tried to think of something appropriate to say to agree with Helena, but he couldn’t come up with anything. Seeing his expression, Helena smiled again as if she didn’t expect anything and took out coffee from another carrier.

“We first met and talked at this Starbucks next to McDonald’s.”

“Uh, I think we first met and talked at the interview? When you offered me the interim manager position?”

Helena raised an eyebrow and shook her head at Hyungmin’s rebuttal.

“That was about work. We met privately at Starbucks.”

“Ah, I see. It feels so long ago that I don’t remember.”

It hasn’t even been two years, but so much has happened in the meantime that his memory has faded.

As Hyungmin was thinking, he suddenly smiled as if he remembered something.

“Enjoy it while it lasts!”

The saying that she told the interim manager, who barely managed to lead the first game and wasn’t even confident in leading the second game, saying it was a common saying in the Cartwright family.

“Haa, who would have known? That the interim manager would actually be a master who is shaking up the Premier League and Europe at the same time.”

Helena gave a soft smile to the young manager, who gave an awkward smile as if he couldn’t accept the title.

“That’s what makes you so charming.”

“…?”

Helena chuckled again at Hyungmin, who tilted his head, and pushed the extra-large french fries towards him.

“Eat before it gets cold.”

“…But why did you buy three french fries?”

Hyungmin tilted his head, comparing the one in front of him with the two in front of Helena.

Besides that, there was clearly a bag with three more Big Macs, and each of them had coffee, so who does this milkshake belong to?

“Just eat!”

“Ah, yes.”

***

Late at night.

The studio, which had just finished watching the game, was still full of excitement.

“…Yes, with today’s victory, Burnley has advanced to the Europa League final!”

“…That’s a great achievement, but I can’t help but admire Burnley’s ability to discover and nurture promising players like a cornucopia [an abundant, overflowing supply]. Today’s protagonist is Jamal Lewis! The left-back, who was kicked out of Newcastle at the end of last season, played as a striker today and devastated Sparta Prague!”

The caster and commentator exchanged excited remarks.

At the producer’s gesture that the highlight video was ready, the caster turned to the large screen behind him.

“…Then, shall we take a look at the video?”

Highlights of Jamal Lewis’s performance began to play on the large screen.

First, the first goal scene.

As the clock at the top of the screen showed the 8th minute of the first half, Jamal Lewis, who received a pass from Nico Gonzalez in the center, dribbled at full speed along the left sideline towards the left corner flag.

To stop him, Sparta Prague’s right-back and one of the center-backs cooperated to block him. Jamal Lewis then pushed the ball behind his right foot with his left foot, suddenly changing his path in a direction close to a right angle and cutting into the center.

Benjamin Sesko, who was waiting in the center of the penalty box, suddenly moved to the left corner flag, dragging one of the remaining center-backs with him. Jamal Lewis, who crossed the empty penalty box diagonally, scored the first goal with a powerful left-footed shot.

Then, the second goal scene.

As the clock pointed to the 55th minute of the second half, Jamal Lewis receiving the ball on the left sideline was similar to the first goal.

He was running straight along the sideline, and only one of Sparta Prague’s right-backs followed him, remembering the first goal.

Jamal Lewis, who quickly reached the left corner flag while shaking off the opponent, turned at a right angle again and began to advance towards the penalty box along the goal line.

A situation where the ball could go out of the goal line with just a slight touch, or at least be turned into a corner kick.

Sparta Prague’s defenders rushed in one after another, but Jamal Lewis avoided a tackle from one of the center-backs and endured a body check from the defensive midfielder, advancing to where the goalkeeper could be seen.

The remaining Sparta Prague players were anticipating a cutback pass to the Burnley attackers waiting in the center of the penalty box and were checking them, but what?

He shot directly with his left foot towards the goal that had no angle at all as the goalkeeper blocked it.

With the goalkeeper’s flustered expression, the ball that passed under the goalkeeper’s right armpit shook the side net of the goal.

“…Wow, that’s amazing.”

The caster, who had been watching the highlights up to this point, exclaimed as if he had been holding his breath.

The commentator, who was watching the highlights with him, was no different.

“…Today, Jamal Lewis completely dominated Sparta Prague’s defense. Burnley has equipped a new attacking tactic by discovering a different type of attacker from Dwight McNeil or Max Cornet.”

“…I guess this is a little different from the pattern Burnley has shown before?”

At the caster’s words, who turned the highlight video back to the first goal, the commentator nodded and pointed to the development of each situation on the screen with his hand.

The places he pointed to began to be marked with yellow and red circles and orange arrows according to the situation.

“…If you look here, when Jamal Lewis broke through the side, two of Sparta Prague’s defenders followed him. Already here, Jamal Lewis has succeeded in the role ordered by the manager in the first place.”

Central attacker Benjamin Sesko, right attacker Joe Gelhardt, and midfielder Sebastian Szymanski penetrating into the penalty box.

With as many as three Burnley players looking for opportunities in the penalty box, the Sparta Prague players blocking them were one defensive midfielder, one center-back, and one left-back, making it a 1-on-1 matchup.

“…In fact, it would have been enough for the ball to be passed to anyone here, but Jamal Lewis succeeded in completely making fools of the two players who were checking him.”

The commentator, who pointed to Jamal Lewis suddenly changing direction, pointed to the center of the penalty box.

“…What you should pay close attention to here is the movement of the Burnley attack that was waiting in the penalty box.”

“…Ah, I see!”

The caster exclaimed, realizing what the commentator was trying to say.

Although it passed quickly in the highlights and was not noticeable, the three Burnley attackers scattered in three different directions at the same time as Jamal Lewis changed direction.

Benjamin Sesko in the direction of the left corner flag where Jamal Lewis was originally heading.

Joe Gelhardt to the right side where he was originally.

Sebastian Szymanski back outside the penalty box.

“…Originally, Burnley focused on central attackers such as Benjamin Sesko, Wout Weghorst, or Taejin Jeong moving back to create space in the penalty box. Then, the attackers from the left and right sides would dig into the empty space and receive the ball, but this time, all three of them moved out, providing Jamal Lewis, who came in with the ball, with a perfect finishing opportunity.”

With just one skill and three movements, a 1-on-1 battle was established between the attacker and the goalkeeper in the penalty box.

Not only is the possibility of a goal incredibly high, but the fact that this situation can be created itself means that the manager has won in the tactical battle.

“…Wow! That’s a really sophisticated attack. Is this Carolina Stefen’s work?”

“…Well, since she joined Burnley as the head coach, Burnley’s attack pattern has become much more sophisticated. And these individual players’ movements seem to be influenced by Taejin Jeong as well. In the second half, the movements of the Burnley attackers have improved significantly compared to before.”

The rest of the highlights played, but the commentator and caster, who had pointed out the most important parts, turned their seats to the front again and faced the camera.

“…Many people think that Karim Adeyemi was a big contributor to Burnley’s good performance in the second half, but in reality, it also had an impact on the overall improvement of the attack.”

The commentator nodded at the caster’s statement.

“…Of course, Karim Adeyemi is the best spear [the sharpest attacking player] that gives the expectation that he can break through any defense. But I think the attack that supports him was able to shine even more because there were movements and sophisticated tactics that could amplify it.”

“…That could be true.”

The caster, who was muttering, paid attention to the scene where Hyungmin, who was standing on the sideline, approached Adam Hlozek, who was carried out on a stretcher in the highlights that flowed to the end of the second half, and spoke to him.

“…What was that about? Usually, it’s rare for the opposing team’s manager to talk to the opposing team’s player during the game, especially to a player who was carried out due to an injury.”

“…Well, he’s a young prospect. Wasn’t it something like, don’t be too discouraged?”