Lazy Genius Striker [EN]: Chapter 104

< 104. An Area Outside Calculation >

It was true that Florian Stautner was an amazing talent.

He was a player who was the ace of Bayern Munich, a mega-club that was consistently in the top three in Europe.

That alone made it clear that he was a player who needed no further explanation.

Stautner was definitely world-class.

But, England had a player who surpassed world-class.

At least in terms of deciding the game.

He wasn’t good at game management like Stautner, nor did he have a big influence on the entire game.

Just the ability to make the game winnable.

The ability to decide the game.

When it came to that, Johann was not a player who could be defined as world-class.

He was just Johann Van.

The English side of the stands was overflowing with a flesh-colored wave instead of a white one.

Everyone was going crazy, taking off their shirts and waving their uniforms.

Today will be recorded as a historic victory.

The Irish police would already be on high alert.

It wouldn’t be strange for these excited fans to do anything, anywhere tonight.

On the other hand,

“···”

The German stands were silent, in and of themselves.

They were reminded of what Coach Schmidt had said before the game.

That Johann’s talent was above Stautner’s.

They had just thought that he was saying that because he was working as a coach in England, so he was being mindful of others.

They thought that he was bound to favor his own student.

But, was Coach Schmidt’s statement just an objective analysis?

Right. He was German after all.

That was just a rational and cool-headed judgment based on facts.

As the second half flowed towards the end, Germany was becoming a different team from the first half.

The organization was falling apart, and the defense was shaking.

Stautner, who had been the lubricant for the solid Germany, was just a selfish player acting alone in this situation.

The number of Stautner’s turnovers continued to increase, and Germany’s attack was not threatening at all.

It was a completely contrasting situation to England’s attack, which was centered around Johann.

Anyone could see that today’s game was a complete victory for England.

As soon as the whistle blew to signal the end of the game, the English fans began to leave their seats.

And,

The police who were on standby began to be deployed one after another.

Today was a victory of frenzy to that extent.

“Ehem.”

“You don’t seem to be feeling bad? No, you seem to be feeling rather good?”

“About what.”

“Is Johann better than your homeland now? Wow. To abandon your homeland for your own glory.”

“This guy says everything he can’t say.”

“Well, if you still have a little conscience left, I’ll be happy for you instead. Johann, you were awesome! You proved that the coach was right!”

“Ahem.”

Coach Schmidt, who was watching the game on TV, cleared his throat, and Coach Jamie cheered.

‘You rascal.’

To be honest, Coach Schmidt hates saying things like ‘I told you so’.

But this time, he wanted to say it.

I told you, Stautner and all that wouldn’t work.

I’m the one who’s been watching him the closest, why don’t you believe me.

Johann is a guy who’s beyond the level of common sense you guys know.

“Haa.”

He’s trying to manage his expression because of Coach Jamie’s nagging, but.

Still, Coach Schmidt couldn’t hide the sense of pride he felt.

It was naturally disappointing that Germany had lost to England, and it was definitely not a good thing that Johann would have to play at least two more games because he made it to the semi-finals, but.

It couldn’t be helped.

It was good to see Johann playing well.

Right.

Coach Jamie might be right.

Coach Schmidt, honestly, liked Johann more than his homeland.

ㆍㆍㆍ

-[EURO2028] France defeats Portugal, advances to the semi-finals··· Semi-final matchups confirmed

-[EURO2028] Semi-finals Spain vs Italy, England vs France

After all the quarter-finals were over, the completed semi-final matchups.

As you can see from the teams that made it to the semi-finals, the characteristic of this tournament was that there were no upsets.

All the teams that deserved to be there made it, so these semi-finals seemed even more worth watching.

Capello: I’m already up there

Capello: See you in the finals.

Capello: If you lose to the likes of France, I won’t let you off

A message sent by Capello ahead of the semi-finals.

The game between Italy and Spain was also a game that received a lot of attention.

The clash between Spain’s spear, which was showing off its explosive offensive power in this tournament, and Italy’s shield, which was always the best in defense, as always.

In between, there was a battle between two geniuses, Fernando Biegah and Daniele Capello, in the midfield.

Honestly, it didn’t really matter who went up, but Johann still wanted Italy to go up.

Because beating Capello is always fun.

However, Johann’s wish was not fulfilled.

Spain, the number one favorite to win this tournament, was strong.

-[EURO2028] Spain 3 : 1 Italy

-[EURO2028] As expected, overwhelming firepower··· Spain shatters the shield

Capello struggled, but Spain’s offensive power was 넘사벽 [an insurmountable wall].

Fernando Biegah, who was 뿌려대는 [scattering] killer passes like breathing, Pablo Enrique, the La Liga [Spanish Football League] top scorer, and Iago Quintes, the magical dribbler.

Spain’s offensive power was so strong that it could be said that Italy was the only team that could stop them with 3 points.

Johann: lol

Capello would have been furious at Johann’s reply after the game.

Anyway, Spain had already confirmed their place in the finals on the other side.

Now all that was left was the England vs France game.

With these three teams left, what people were paying attention to was, of course, that.

Ballon D’or Odds

┼ Yohan Van 5/12

┼ Fernando Biega 11/6

┼ Kylian Mbappé 10/4

2027/28 season Ballon d’Or 배당률 [odds].

The 배당률 [odds] at this point was like this.

You can understand that the lower the 배당률 [odds], the higher the probability that the player will receive it.

In other words,

Johann, who carried the game against Germany with a hat trick, is in first place.

Biega, who sent Spain to the finals, is in second place.

Mbappé, who is about to play in the semi-finals, is in third place.

Honestly, the 배당률 [odds] that Johann received should have been lower than it is now.

He doesn’t have a Champions League record, but he does have an FA Cup trophy.

His league record is 불가침범 [untouchable] level, and he’s been carrying every game in the Euros.

If it was Mbappé’s record instead of Johann’s, the 배당률 [odds] would have been at least 1/20 instead of 5/12.

Mbappé has already been the best star in Europe for several years.

However, Johann’s first full-time season was last season, so it seems like people can’t be sure.

The Ballon d’Or has quite conservative standards.

It’s also true that it feels like a popularity vote.

Anyway, Biegah and Mbappé both have good stats and have won the league and Champions League, so they are not completely unqualified to win.

Anyway, it seems likely that Johann will win if things stay the way they are now.

However, there is a possibility that the results could be reversed depending on the remaining two games.

If France defeats England and advances to the finals, the 배당 [odds] will change again, and if Spain wins the championship, Biegah’s 배당 [odds] will go down, and if France wins the championship, Mbappé’s 배당 [odds] will go down.

In the end, there are only two games left, but everything could change depending on the results of those two games.

Originally, when you look at the year-end awards, the year-end hit is more advantageous than the early-year hit, right?

Furthermore, the Euros are a major tournament that can’t help but have a lot of weight.

Kylian Mbappé of France.

And Fernando Biegah of Spain will definitely do their best in the remaining games for the Ballon d’Or.

And, of course, Johann wasn’t taking it easy either.

With only two games left.

He will win the game to achieve his goal.

Ah, but.

That goal was not the Ballon d’Or, of course.

He doesn’t care about the Ballon d’Or or anything.

Johann’s goal for this Euro was only one from the beginning.

“Butler, please make the bed. Did you do the laundry?”

“Of course. I’ve also drawn your bath and prepared breakfast.”

The life of a nobleman who doesn’t lift a finger.

He won’t make the bed, do the laundry, or clean the room.

Because he’s a nobleman.

‘Capello hyung [older brother/term of endearment] has to clean the locker room.’

His teammates hyungs [older brother/term of endearment] won’t be able to avoid it either.

He’s already made a list.

Things to make them do when he becomes a nobleman.

‘Ah, wait. But Capello is Italian, so does it not matter?’

Hmm.

He’s not sure about that.

Anyway, just wait until he gets the title.

He won’t do anything outside the stadium.

“Hehe.”

Johann is already looking forward to winning the tournament.

Perhaps Johann’s motivation is stronger now than the players who are hoping for the Ballon d’Or.

ㆍㆍㆍ

July 7, 2028, Aviva Stadium.

France was a team that could be seen as having a similar feel to England in terms of style.

Overall, they boast a flashy squad, and they are a team that is more weighted towards attack than defense.

In particular, rather than 승부한다 [competing] with organization like Germany, they are a team that bets a lot on the individual skills of a definite ace.

The characteristic of this kind of team is that their performance tends to be a bit inconsistent.

Since the ace accounts for a large portion of the team’s strength, the team’s performance changes depending on the ace’s condition.

Fortunately, France’s performance in this tournament has been consistently high so far.

In other words, Kylian Mbappé’s condition is not bad.

No, to be exact, it’s not just that he’s not in bad condition. Mbappé has been showing the best form so far.

Kylian Mbappé, who is already in his 12th year as a professional.

It feels like he’s quite old since he’s in his 12th year as a professional, but he just debuted at a very young age.

Mbappé is still a player who is running his prime at the age of 29.

But, anyway, Mbappé is a striker who mainly uses speed and lives off his physical abilities.

Who wouldn’t, but this type of player is even more afraid of getting older.

If their physical abilities naturally decline due to age, they will lose their greatest strength.

In that respect, Mbappé was risking his life in this tournament.

His age at the next World Cup is thirty-one.

He’ll be thirty-three at the next Euro.

Mbappé thought that this Euro might be the last major tournament he would participate in with his peak performance.

Also, Mbappé has won the World Cup, but he hasn’t won the Euro.

He has most of the trophies, but he doesn’t have the Euro trophy.

Mbappé had to win this tournament to grab the last piece left to complete his career.

Mbappé had been preparing so desperately for this tournament that he had 맞춰 [adjusted] the cycle so that he would be in the best physical condition in July, when the Euro was held. In July, when the season ends.

Because of that, Mbappé showed quite poor form from the beginning of this season to the first half, but in the second half, he showed his original 모습 [form] and 무섭게 치고 나갔었다 [surged forward menacingly].

And this tournament.

Mbappé’s condition was more destructive than ever.

Mbappé had been focusing on today since a year ago.

He had prepared everything for winning this tournament, even calculating meticulously with a lot of money and effort.

But,

There was one thing that Mbappé had not calculated.

That was the crazy striker who suddenly popped out this season.

This guy who is shaking hands now.

He hadn’t calculated this guy.

“···”

Mbappé is winking at Johann while shaking hands.

Winks that players usually exchange often contain a meaning of respect.