Became The Premier League’S Youngest Manager [EN]: Chapter 99

99. September Showdown

“Oh, really?”

I figured there might be some nerves, seeing as how many of our players were making their debut on the big stage of European competition.

Still, I thought playing at home in Turf Moor would make it easier for them to adjust.

But the Burnley players in the starting lineup today are all putting on a terrible performance.

“These guys!”

“They’re just not clicking. It’s too much change too fast, and our teamwork is suffering.”

Standing next to a furious Hyungmin with her arms crossed, Karolina calmly assessed the situation.

But even she clicked her tongue when Nico Gonzalez, usually the epitome of reliability, sent the ball sailing into empty space.

Honestly, Burnley’s starting lineup today is so young it’s practically glacial.
Wout Weghorst at center forward, Max Cornet on the left wing, and Charlie Taylor at right back are the only ones who could even be called veterans, but they’re still all under 30.

Aside from the Carabao Cup game against Forest Green, a fourth-division team with significantly less power, it’s essentially the first start for 20-year-old right winger Joe Gelhardt, 21-year-old left back Mika Marmol, and 26-year-old backup goalkeeper Bailey Peacock-Farrell.

To support the freshly-debuting midfield duo of 20-year-olds Christian Medina and Luka Sukic, we put the reliable Nico Gonzalez in as a defensive midfielder, but instead of providing stability, he’s floundering right along with them.

Of course, Nico Gonzalez is also only 20, but he debuted with Barcelona’s first team at 17 and played 16 games for Burnley last season, putting in a great performance. So in the current Burnley kindergarten lineup, the coaching staff considers him a seasoned player.

The central defense pairing of 21-year-old prospect Nathan Collins is supported by the relatively more experienced 23-year-old Anel Ahmedhodžić, which is the only reason they’re holding on.

Against Burnley’s starting lineup with an average age of 23.3 years, Sparta Prague, a prestigious Czech team composed of players in their late 20s and early 30s who are in their prime, is gleefully showing off their skills.

Of course, Sparta Prague also had a noticeably sparkling young gem.

“He’s definitely good.”

“Right? When I was at Leipzig, Red Bull was very interested in him. German clubs send a lot of scouts to Eastern Europe, so Dortmund and other upper-mid-table Bundesliga teams are all watching him.”

Adam Hložek.

Sparta Prague’s cherished youth academy ace, currently 20 years old.

He can handle both the right and left wing positions, and can even fill in as a central striker if needed, which is similar to Burnley’s gem, Dwight McNeil.

He’s already played in over 80 games for Sparta Prague’s first team and has 19 appearances for the Czech national team, making him a next-generation star.

He was one of the players strongly recommended by the scouting team last season when responding to Chris Wood’s sudden transfer.

Frankly, if it weren’t for Wout Weghorst’s destructive power and proven scoring ability, Hyungmin and Jonathan Landris would have considered him as a top priority signing.

Even now, Lee Sa-seok, Jonathan, and members of Burnley’s scouting and analysis teams are watching him with fiery eyes from the stands.

“Yeah, I know he’s a good player, but what are we supposed to do when he’s running wild like that at Turf Moor!”

Hyungmin grumbled as he watched Adam Hložek successfully dribble past another defender.

Today, Sparta Prague’s attack pattern and tactics are simple.

They basically maintain a 4-2-3-1 formation, with the two central midfielders sitting deep to form a square defensive block with the two central defenders.

While firmly protecting the rear, they focus their attack on the right side.

They distribute the ball to Adam Hložek, who starts on the right wing.

Then, Adam Hložek uses his dazzling dribbling skills to break through the defense and either shoot directly or draw the defense to himself before connecting with the other three attackers who are rushing into the penalty box.

After drawing the opposing team’s attention to the right, they occasionally attempt attacks on the relatively looser left side, alternating between jabs and uppercuts.

Adam Hložek’s finishing passes and crosses are a bit inaccurate, and Mika Marmol, Burnley’s left back, is somehow managing to defend against him with Anel Ahmedhodžić, preventing them from conceding a goal, but it’s only a matter of time.

More than anything, Hyungmin is extremely frustrated that they’re being pushed back so helplessly at home.

“Looks like Mika is having a bit of trouble, doesn’t it?”

Hyungmin shrugged at Karolina’s cold assessment.

The young defender from Barcelona B is trying his best to stick to Adam Hložek and prevent him from developing attacks, but he’s clearly behind in both skill and speed.

Mika Marmol is by no means lacking in talent, but he is absolutely lacking in experience at this point.

He’s already at a disadvantage as a defender against an attacker, and since he’s also at a disadvantage in terms of experience, he’s quickly being pushed back, causing one of the central defenders or Nico Gonzalez, who is playing as a defensive midfielder, to provide support, which is disrupting the entire defensive line.

He seems to be aware of this himself. It’s a European competition and his first actual start, but Mika Marmol’s face is growing darker as he further destabilizes Burnley’s already weak defensive formation.

And it seems Sparta Prague has noticed that the left side of Burnley’s defense, guarded by Mika Marmol, is more vulnerable than the right side, guarded by veteran Charlie Taylor, so their attacks are becoming increasingly focused on that side.

No, it seems like deploying their ace Adam Hložek on that side was their plan from the start.

“I’ve been thinking,” Karolina continued, ignoring the fuming manager next to her.

“What if we added a tactic to our training that transforms into a three-back formation in attacking situations?”

“Three-back? Hmm…”

Hyungmin paused to consider Karolina’s suggestion, momentarily setting aside the situation on the field.

“…You want to maximize Gugan [Likely a typo and should be ‘Guganlu’] and Charlie’s attacking power on the right?”

“Exactly. And Mika isn’t exactly known for his great attacking or breakthrough abilities, even if we put him at left back. Instead, we can transform into a three-back formation when attacking to defend, and push Nico further up to add more power to the attack. We can also put Abdu on the left in the league.”

Honestly, Abdu Diallo and Anel Ahmedhodžić, who are central defenders, have better skills and more experience than Jamal Lewis or Mika Marmol, who are currently in charge of Burnley’s left defense.

The suggestion is to list the defenders in order of skill, regardless of position, and then field them in order, matching the formation to them, rather than fixing the formation and sending out players according to their positions.

“Then Jamal’s position will become ambiguous, won’t it? Jamal is good at activity and attacking, but his defense is still lacking.”

“We’ll have to think about that. Honestly, it’s also a way to move Jamal up to the attacker position altogether. Or it’s okay for Jamal to transform into a left wing-back depending on the opponent. It’ll be harder for the opposing team to predict when facing us.”

Hyungmin turned to look at Karolina, turning Karolina’s suggestion over in his head.

Karolina frowned at the expression on the manager’s face as he stared intently at her.

“Are you crazy? You want to experiment with tactics right now?!”

“There’s no need to wait. Strike while the iron is hot.”

“Hey, that’s not how that saying is used!”

***

Sparta Prague, who secured a 1-0 lead with a goal scored by central striker Lucas Julis, assisted by Adam Hložek, at the end of the first half, and confidently entered the second half, were taken aback.

Of course, the Burnley players, who adopted a sudden tactical change under the direction of the manager and head coach during halftime, were also internally embarrassed.

However, since they were already confused by their dulled teamwork during the first half, the total amount of embarrassment didn’t increase, but rather the direction changed.

On the other hand, Sparta Prague’s manager Pavel Vrba and the team were bewildered by Burnley’s offensive stance, which wholeheartedly focused on the right side, after confirming that their tactics were working well during the first half.

Mika Marmol, the left back who had been constantly harassed by Adam Hložek, practically gave up defending the left side and formed a three-back formation with central defenders Anel Ahmedhodžić and Nathan Collins.

Above them, Nico Gonzalez, who had advanced further forward from his existing defensive position in the midfield line, stood between the existing central midfielders Christian Medina and Luka Sukic, forming a line of three midfielders.

With these six people lined up in two rows, giving up the sidelines to some extent, forming a square, and the entire formation advancing to attempt a tight forward press, the remaining players went all-in on the attack.

Meanwhile, Charlie Taylor, who started as a right back, completely gave up on defense and advanced to the front line, occupying the space vacated by right winger Joe Gelhardt, who cut inside next to central striker Wout Weghorst.

Together with Max Cornet, Burnley’s left winger standing opposite him, they began to fire crosses into Sparta Prague’s penalty box every time they got the ball.

In a deformed formation that could be called a 3-3-2-2 or 3-3-4 formation, Sparta Prague’s manager and team realized that all of their existing attack routes had been blocked.

Even if their two central midfielders tried to advance, they were outnumbered by Burnley’s three midfielders, so their passes were intercepted or they lost the ball.

It was too much to break through the intense front pressure of Charlie Taylor and Max Cornet, who had moved up as Burnley’s wingers, to develop attacks through the fullbacks.

Even if Burnley’s coaching staff, such as Hyungmin and Karolina, didn’t find Max Cornet’s defense reliable, he was originally a defender.

He just attacks much better than the average defender and defends much worse than the average defender, so his position has continued to move forward until he became an attacker, but it would be unfair to compare his defense to that of a typical attacker.

What if crosses are being fired like crazy towards the massive body of central striker Wout Weghorst, who has shown a commanding presence in the penalty box in the Bundesliga [German professional league]?

“Goal! It’s a goal! Number 27 for the Clarets [Burnley’s nickname]! A man from Leeds, his name is Joe~ Gelhardt~!!!”

“Uwaaaa!!!”

The 20-year-old young attacker who scored the equalizer ran madly towards the stands and roared at the cheering home fans.

He lurked for an opportunity next to the giant striker who could easily hold and shake two of the opposing central defenders, and connected Wout Weghorst’s softly headed ball with a left-footed volley.

He shook Sparta Prague’s goal with a refreshing shot.

As Burnley’s players jumped on top of the young loanee who scored the neat finish and celebrated, Hyungmin looked back at Karolina, who was making a sullen expression.

“How is it? We can do it, right?”

“Ugh, I don’t know, you crazy bastard…”

Karolina, who had racked her brains with Hyungmin at the end of the first half and during halftime to devise a three-back tactic with forward pressure and forcibly instilled it into the players, said as if she was dumbfounded.

“You’re the one who’s going to get fired, so I don’t know.”

“It’s okay, it’s okay. I won’t get fired with just this. We even scored the tying goal, right? If we score the go-ahead goal, we’ll win this game. Yeah, yeah.”

“Stop shaking your leg while you’re talking, because I’m getting tired of watching you. Anyway, you’re so full of bluff…”

Karolina scoffed at her friend, who was talking boldly but was shaking his left leg so much that his whole body was slightly trembling due to the tension of trying a new tactic that hadn’t been verified on the European stage he was facing for the first time.